USAC/CRA BRINGS TRADITIONAL SPRINT CAR RACING TO THE NORTHWEST.

Skagit Speedway race fans were treated to two action-filled nights of “traditional sprint car racing” on July 30 and 31. The weather was warm and perfect for the fans and the thirteen USAC/CRA teams that traveled over 1,100 miles to participate in the USAC/CRA Valvoline Inaugural Event at Skagit Speedway. Cory Kruseman and Damion Gardner were the winners, as the travelers and local teams mixed it up very well, to the delight of the fans who normally watch their local wing heroes.

The pics for Friday click here. Then Saturday's Click here.

When the checkered flag flew at the end of Saturday night’s 40-lap Main Event, it was obvious the field had been “Demonized! ” Damion “the Demon” Gardner led every lap convincingly for his third CRA win of the season in the Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply, Arizona Race Mart, Madera Produce, # 50. But not for an aggressive move that cost him a trip to the back on Friday night, he might have swept the weekend, as he was fast and hungry on the oval he seemed to love. Even though Saturday’s Main Event was stopped by several yellow flags, Damion never missed a beat as he pulled away to healthy leads on his way to victory circle, using the preferred smoother top groove.

Rip Williams drove the wheels off of the black # 3, John Jory Corporation, Weld Wheels, Stinger, both nights. After sliding to a stop against a crashed car on Friday night, he made a masterful rush forward to finish 7th. On Saturday, he was 2nd quick, ran 3rd in his heat and started 7th on the grid. He put on a great show using the unpreferred low groove that had a built-in launching pad coming around turn four. It was rough riding, but the Ripper made it interesting the last few yellow restarts. He was fast late in the race, but said in the winners circle, “Damion was faster tonight, but we’ll see next time!” Sounds like the point leader is issuing a warning to me.

The Kruser took a break from his Tony Stewart-owned # 21 and flew in to drive the Alexander Trucking, La Villa Restaurant, Agromin, # 4 for the weekend. With two USAC/CRA wins already in the bank for the team, Cory was 4th fast in qualifying, he ran third in his heat and started in the third row of the 30 lap main on Friday night. He passed early leader and teammate, Jordan Hermansader on the 13th lap and only had one testy moment when Damion tried to put a move on him, before going on to win his third USAC/CRA race of the year. Cory’s Saturday night was looking good until he stopped on the track while running 2nd and finished 18th.

Mike “Sunshine” Kirby had a loose car mess him up in the feature on Friday night, after being 2nd quick and finishing 2nd in his heat. He started 7th and finished 8th in the Main, as the car betrayed him. He fared much better on Saturday, after he was 3rd quick and won his heat handily. Starting in the third row of the Main, he stayed in the low groove almost exclusively, and didn’t have the launching problems others were experiencing. Driving the ITI Performance, Sander Engineering, TCR, # 38, Mike was relentless in his quest to get to the front as he put the red car through its paces.

Young Jordan “the Gladiator” Hermansader surrendered the lead to his teammate, but not without a fight. He battled like a gladiator fighting for his life in the Roman Forum making his way thru traffic. He then chased the winner and captured his best finish of the year in the second silver bullet-like sprinter. It was a great night for the Alexander team and they should celebrate their success, but Saturday night was very different.

Danny ”Showtime” Sheridan came into this long haul with a great record, as he has been running both 360 and a few 410 races this year. Success has been his, as he has won 6 of 10 races, recently. The WD Racing, Stinger Chassis # 21a sprinter was hooked up on the racy Skagit clay as he gathered in another podium on Friday night with the bigger motor. It was his third 410 third place finish this year, the other two coming at Ventura and Tulare. On Saturday, he finished 7th.

Tony Jones came north to run a wing in a local car last week at the track. He stayed around after finishing 10th that night, and had a strong 6th in the opener on Friday after getting third quick time. Unfortunately for the Cowboy, he was involved in two squirrelly incidents and with two stops, you’re out on Saturday night. Bobby Cody had a 9th and then a big 5th on Saturday for a great weekend for the youngster. “Crafty” Cody is getting into the groove and figured the small Skagit track out very well. He continues to impress and improve every race. Mike Spencer came looking to put the Nadine Keller owned #5 back-up Sled in the winner’s circle, but Friday he finished 11th and then the motor blew up on Saturday early in the evening. Nadine graciously stepped out of her # 6 car, and put Mike in the seat. He started in the back and finished 12th. Nadine had a great Friday night with a 2nd in her heat, after leading most of it, and finished 16th in the feature. Ronnie Case drove the Blair # 33 hard during the two days, with 12th and 14th his two finishes. He drove well, but had his experiences with the local guys’ flight patterns. He did great, then and rolled it on the trailer for the long drive home! Greg Bragg finished 13th and 9th in the Bill & Evelyn Pratt car. Ricky Ziehl came to run a local car owned by Bob and Lori Scott. They are so local, you can walk to their house from the track! That was good because the brand new motor blew a rod in hot laps, and they went home to install a 360 pavement car motor for Saturday. Rick got fast time and ran 13th in the pretty black car when they came back the next night.

Several other notable drivers rolled into Skagit for this two day affair. Jason Statler, Australian Peter Murphy, and Bud Kaeding were visiting from Northern California. Jason, the new Golden State Champion, was 4th both nights in a rare non-wing appearance, and he looked very good in a local car. His teammate for the weekend was Bud Kaeding, the USAC driver from Campbell, CA, who had 21st and 8th place finishes. Peter Murphy has been running traditional sprints some this season, so he had a good time at Skagit. He was 5th on Friday, but was out early Saturday, finishing 17th.

The 3/10 mile track is fast, wide, high banked and provides great racing. The friendly attitude that greets racers and fans starts with their leader, Steve Beitler, and goes all the way down to the back gate worker. Everyone at Skagit Speedway has a smile for you. Approximately 10,000 seats, with new concrete walls and fencing, and a new high powered lighting system are just a few of the track improvements since my last trip here. The track was racy both nights, but the unseasonably warm weather didn’t help the track prep. On Friday, the dust was tough for spectators and the racers, although it didn’t lessen the exciting action on the track. The track was much heavier on Saturday, yet Friday’s heats and feature were more exciting, overall. Saturday was no slouch, but when the winner leads every lap, you have to keep and eye on him and find someone on the move, like Ripper and Kirby in this case, to watch.

To sum it up, Steve Beitler stepped out on a limb to bring the 2004 USAC/CRA Inaugural Event to the fans. It appears it was worth the effort, and hopefully we’ll be making plans for the 2nd Annual Event before long! The 2nd annual will hopefully include at least two more races in the Pacific Northwest, and it may even grow into a three day event. With the 28 car turnout, and only a partial showing of the CRA roster, it can only be bigger the next time around. It was a great show with only the long haul a negative. The potential is there and the official USAC/CRA position is to consider putting a national point’s event at Skagit, bringing traditional sprint car racing and all the heroes to the Pacific Northwest!

This coming weekend will showcase the $50,000 to win Mopar event at Eldora. The top traditional sprint car drivers in the country will be there. Then on Tuesday, Terry McCarl’s $30,000 to win event at Oskaloosa returns for the third year in a row. The top 10 drivers from that one will race at historic Knoxville Nationals on Wednesday, for a purse that will pay over $16,000, for 12 laps in front of the big crowd of wing fans. You can still add to that purse by contacting the Knoxville track while you are there. When all that is said and done, the CRA will return to Hanford on the 14th of August. It will be the last visit there this year, so get on up there.

Remember the new Wags “BIG DAWG” Dash and how you can get involved. It will hopefully be a $30,000 purse, but I need your help. I collected some money while in Washington from several who will never even get to go to the dash, so what about you? See ya at Hanford.

Jay Drake is number one in the Knoxville Hall of Fame Poll. 1., Jay Drake (12), Val Verde, CA, 1345 points, 2., Cory Kruseman (3), Ventura, CA, 728, 3., Rip Williams (1), Yorba Linda, CA, 465, 4., Damion Gardner (1), Concord, CA, 438, 5., Rickie Gaunt, Torrance, CA, 321, 6., Brandon “Bud” Kaeding, Campbell, CA, 320, 7., Mike Kirby, Lomita, CA, 210, 8., Bobby East, Speedway, IN, 178, 9., Dave Darland, Lincoln, IN, 143, 10., Jon Stanbrough, Jamestown, IN, 114, 11., Levi Jones, Olney, IL, 106, 12., Josh Wise, Riverside, CA, 103, 13., Michael Lewis, Noblesville, IN, 91, 14., Troy Rutherford (1), Ojai, CA, 76, 15., Kevin Briscoe, Mitchell, IN, 59, 16., Tony Elliott, Kokomo, IN, 45, 17., Tony Jones, Garden Grove, CA, 40, 18., Dickie Gaines, Mitchell, IN, 38, 19., Charles Davis, Jr., Buckeye, AZ, 30, tie, Eric Gordon, Indianapolis, IN, 30, 21., Bob Ream, Jr., Glendale, AZ, 25, 22., David Steele, Tampa, FL, 24, 23., Brad Bumgarner, Chico, CA, 20, tie, Mike Knopf, Santa Maria, CA, 20, 25., Steve Ostling, Corona, CA, 19.,

Also receiving multiple votes: A.J. Anderson, Alan Ballard, Michael Burthay, Ronnie Clark, Bryan Clauson, Shane Cottle, Shane Hollingsworth, Tony Hunt, Jason McCord, Brian McLish, Adam Mitchell, Aaron Pierce, Boston Reid, Jeremy Sherman, Mike Spencer, Danny Sheridan, Brian Tyler, Eric Wilkins.

FRIDAY FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Jordan Hermansader, 3. Danny Sheridan, 4. Jason Statler, 5. Peter Murphy, 6. Tony Jones, 7. Rip Williams, 8. Mike Kirby, 9. Bobby Cody, 10. Damion Gardner, 11. Ronnie Case, 12. Mike Spencer, 13. Greg Bragg, 14. Jeff Bell, 15. Jesse Whitney, 16. Nadine Keller, 17. Mike Harris, 18. Roy Blumenhagen, 19. John Tharp, 20. Axel Walker, 21. Bud Kaeding, 22. Brock Lemley.

SATURDAY FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Damion Gardner, 2. Rip Williams, 3. Mike Kirby, 4. Jason Statler, 5. Bobby Cody, 6. John Tharp, 7. Danny Sheridan, 8. Bud Kaeding, 9. Greg Bragg, 10. Brock Lemley, 11. Jesse Whitney, 12. Mike Spencer, 13. Rick Ziehl, 14. Ronnie Case, 15. Roy Blumenhagen, 16. Jeff Bell, 17. Peter Murphy, 18. Cory Kruseman, 19. Brian Ash, 20. Axel Walker, 21. Clint Houston, 22. Mike Harris, 23. Tony Jones, 24. Jimmy Deitz. NT

NEW VALVOLINE USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-Williams-873; 2-Gardner-847; 3-Kirby-801; 4-Troy Rutherford-675; 5-Jones-573; 6-Steve Ostling-476; 7-Bragg-472; 8-Kruseman-470; 9-Brian Venard-461; 10-Hermansader-439.