Cory Kruseman is 5th in Indiana Sprintweek opener!

The SCRA world, and all of sprint car racing, was rocked this week with the news that Richard Griffin, the threepeat SCRA champion and one of the best sprint car drivers today, was injured on the job. A power grinder got loose and nearly severed his right arm, but the doctors patched him up and sent him home to recover. How long it will take the "lefty" to heal and get back in his racecar is a good question, but Richard is not one to be idle and is probably already planning his return very soon. The little red sucker is his ride when he comes back, no doubt about that, but how long will that be?

When Richard called Bruce Bromme Jr, his crew chief, to let him know the bad news, he told him to call Cory Kruseman and tell him he didn't have to hurry back from Indiana Sprint Week! Richard is only 144 points behind Cory in the annual season long championship run, so up until now, the championship race was still thriving. The Gasman has won seven features and Cory nine, so they have gone head to head each week much to the fans delight. We will miss this weekly confrontation, so someone else will have to step up! This accident probably kills the Gasman's chance of repeating as champion, but the car is still in the hunt for the car owner's title that Ron Chaffin has won six in a row. The # 50 is only 83 points behind because Cory was in a borrowed car at Lakeside in KC, and those points didn't go to the # 45 car.

Devastating as it may sound, all is not lost, and the show always goes on. Richard has to get the arm healed so he can get back, and in the meantime, a reliever is warming up. While Richard goes through therapy, the # 50 car will have a very strong young driver in the seat. Tony Jones has been picked to give this team a temporary boost with his skill and aggressive attitude on the track, keeping them in the race for the car owner championship at least. It will be the Cowboy's big chance to get back to winning. It was lucky for them he was available and could be the break that Tony needed after leaving his former ride in May. He will look almost normal to most of us in the red car, after all, it's only two digits off of the one we know him best in, (#48 Cowherd Racing) but now it's up to Bruce and his crew to get Tony on "the" level they need to contend each week. Look for good things from "our" Cowboy; he will be buckled in the "little red sucker" at Perris on July 28th.

Is there still a point's race left, or can Cory take off to pursue the Silver Crown road and still win the SCRA drivers title? Cory could change his focus a little, but I think number 1 is the # 45 car and it's future. Mike Kirby and Troy Rutherford are parked in a tie for third in points at 318 points behind Kruseman, so Cory would have to miss a few to tighten that up much. As we have already seen, anything can happen, so lets let it play out and enjoy the races, but keep an eye on Kirby, he loves a challenge.

The week off for the SCRA will be the last one until September, so many of the crews took this time to get their equipment ready for the last half of the year. Several took off for Indiana and the annual Sprintweek. Hope all goes well for them, but after the first race at Putnamville, Cory Kruseman is tied for 4th in points for the Sprintweek series. Cory was 2nd quick and ran 5th in the main in a race won by Jon Stambrough. Mike English had a flat in the semi to eliminate his chances in the main. Troy Rutherford was 15th as the West coast boys had to battle over 50 cars to make the grade. J J Yeley, our transplanted WC hero, won his heat and finished 9th. Look on Hoseheads for further details.

This week I had plans to go to Ventura after a block party garage sale in my neighborhood finished. I was done selling early, so with my brides blessing (you know, get outa the house so I can get something done!) set out towards the sea. After crawling on the freeway and making 15 miles in 90 minutes, and listening to traffic reports that spoke volumes about delays, and saw a flashing sign that said the freeway was "jammed" at an intersection about 5 miles ahead, and the Ventura freeway had delays, and on and on and on. So I gave up in pure frustration, turned around and was home in 15 minutes with traffic flowing south just fine. Imagine my real frustration when I woke up this AM and saw that Casey Shuman won his first VRA feature last night, and I missed it! Woe is me. Congratulations, to Casey as this has been a long time coming. He must feel great in this car knowing he could win again! His "teammate, and point leader Gary A Howard, was 2nd so they probably had a loud party afterwards.

The SCRA returns to Perris this coming Saturday the 28th, then heads up highway 99 the following weekend to Tulare. Look for the battle between the black # 45 and the red # 50 to continue as the season heats up, and the pack to be chasing after them both. See ya on the dirt! We will have something special to get get best wishes to Richard signatures on, so look for us!