By Ken Wagner
July 2, 2006

The Cowboy, Tony Jones, rode roughshod over the field this week in the 40 lap Firecracker 40 at the PAS in the Alexander Trucking, La Villa Restaurant, RC, # 4. It was his second win this season and it added another “Major” to his list of 17 all time wins with CRA. They include the Sokola classic and the Oval Nationals. Tony was 9th quick in qualifying, ran third in his heat and led from green to checkered in the main event. He did what he knows how to do, when he ogt the opportunity, win baby win!

My pics are here Click here.. Mrs Wags Click here.

When Tony hooked up with the Alexander’s this year, he had been on a long dry spell and could hear the chatter about maybe he was over the hill. Hardly the case as he has been competitive in every race this year and now is one of three multiple winners with the CRA, and has plans to continue to run for the podium even more. He had his spurs on at each restart and pulled away, and he was never threatened the entire race.

Mike Spencer continued his podium walk this week, for the fifth time in six races, in the Murrieta Development, Spenco Machine, yellow # 44. He was 8th quick and won his heat before starting 3rd in the main event. He made the moves to try and wrestle the lead from the Cowboy, but Jones was too strong on the top groove and kept pulling away. Mighty Mike kept him in sight, but never got a lreal ook at his second win.

Damion Gardner had a less than satisfactory night after being 5th quick in qualifying. He had to hustle to get the last transfer in his heat and appeared to be locked in when the main started after passing several to get 2nd before the yellow flew. On the restart, his car didn’t pick up and he was quickly headed for the work area. They were unable to fix the throttle problem and he sat there as they blasted off without him. With Cory Kruseman finishing 4th, they swapped positions where now Damion is 17 points behind Cory after being ahead by 17 going into the night.

The day started off with a warm sunny look and the gates opened early for the hearty that came at 3 pm to see the cars and drivers out front for them. It was a gala affair with autographs and fun as the drivers paired up with the kids to compete in three legged races and more. The only snag to the days events were for the racers who didn't ride into the pits in a hauler, they had to pay $5 to park a long way from their job. What's up with that?

When it cooled down the racing began and Charles Davis Jr was the surprise fast timer. Not that I mean he isn’t always fast, but that Damion has dominated that stat this year. The afternoon wind and the added heat made the track a little slower than usual, and forced the action to the top for the most part. The heats were interesting with Rip’s run from the back after he was involved in a crash the best one.

Richard Brace Jr lives in Auburn, CA and drives a wing car normally. Ray and Nellie Stansberry have had their son driving their car for a long time. Tom has now quit driving and they called Richard in for a look see. They didn’t make the main, but will be back.

RJ Johnson hasn’t had a great year with CRA, but this week he overcame some problems and did his best so far. In his heat he had a little encounter that required some welding before the semi. He was 3rd in that 12 lap race and started 13th in the main. He rolled it up to 5th at the end for a good job.

Bobby Cody started 15th and finished 6th for a good ride in the Moosemobile this week. Seth Wilson had his best finish in a while with 7th in his Warbird. Matt Mitchell was the hard charger of the night coming from 19th to 8th in the Ripper’s back up car.

Charles Davis Jr Was flying in third when he began to slow seriously near the end and dropped back to 10th. Teammate Rickie Gaunt also had a malady and was 17th. Others with their problems included Chad Boespflug (motor quit) Danny Sheridan (encountered the wall and had to make a second stop to fix), Evan Suggs, Mike Kirby, Josh Ford, Jordan Hermansader, Rick Becker and Johnny Rodriguez. All were running strong when they pulled off.

Another fireworks display and we were outa there and home by 2 am. No CRA races for two weeks and I will be in Indiana for Sprint week next week. Look for me and add to the Wagsdash. FEATURE: (40 laps - With Starting Positions) 1. Tony Jones (2nd), 2. Mike Spencer (3rd), 3. Rip Williams (7th), 4. Cory Kruseman (12th), 5. R.J. Johnson (13th), 6. Bobby Cody (15th), 7. Seth Wilson (11th), 8. Matt Mitchell (19th), 9. Blake Miller (14th), 10. Charles Davis Jr. (8th), 11. J Hicks (21st), 12. Davey Pombo (10th), 13. Johnny Rodriguez (6th), 14. Rick Becker (22nd), 15. Mike Kirby (1st), 16. Evan Suggs (5th), 17. Rickie Gaunt (9th), 18. Jordan Hermansader (17th), 19. Josh Ford (20th), 20. Damion Gardner (4th), 21. Danny Sheridan (16th), 22. Chad Boespflug (18th- DNS). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-40 Jones.

NEW USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1-Kruseman-968; 2-Gardner-951; 3-Spencer-807; 4-Jones-776; 5-Sheridan-727; 6-Williams-644; 7-Gaunt-628; 8-Davis-582; 9-Kirby-569; 10-Cardey-529.