By Ken Wagner
August 18, 2009

This was a weekend I needed to go racing, but most of my guys were off. An invitation to travel in style in the Kittle Motorsports Hauler to get the inside story on Danny “Showtime” Sheridanwas just the ticket for this weekend. My trip from home base Vegas to Harbor City and the Shiosaki hotel took 8 long hours, 4 driving and 4 getting a blown radiator hose replaced.

Once in So Cal, new challenges faced the mild mannered Kittle crew chief Randy Shiosaki and the Howells. In the last few months, Dennis Howell’s # 62 has been almost a companion car to the # 18 Kittle racer. On several occasions the # 62 was loaded in the huge Kittle hauler and carted along. On others the two teams caravanned to the race together. Dennis has been running 360 and 410 shows with his 360 motored car with the help of the Krack Kittle Krew. And the results have been very satisfying as the young “hot Shot” is scoring very well as he gets his required seat time. But first, what about that challenge facing them all? The nice red 250 Ford tow truck wasn’t playing fair. Recently it has had bouts of unresponsiveness, that means when you push on the gas, it wouldn’t go, and two weeks in the repair shop didn’t fix it. On Friday night the intermittent light was on, so alternate towing was required. Randy shuffled his brothers white 250 Ford truck in it’s place and we were on the road to Santa Maria by 9 AM on Saturday. The Howells would be staying over on Sunday to check out their overheating Fontana powered midget that weeks of trying have not fixed that problem. They plan to run it at Calistoga, so were really wanting to make it run cooler before taking that long trip.

For my pics Click here , for the Zanzabuku Sports Lounge fun Click here , or Doug Allen's amazing work Click here .

As usual, the beautiful and cool Santa Maria greeted us after the reasonably short run orchestrated by our real truck driver Steve. After pulling in to the saved spot in the Santa Maria pit area, the crew unloaded as I wandered around catching up with many. This would be a West Coast 360 show with Stockers, TQ’s and Modifieds also running. There were 24 sprinters with Danny, Dennis and many other familiar cars in house. Qualifying saw Dennis about third quick and the last car out on the smooth slick track was 12th quick, that being Showtime who would suffer on this track tonight like everyone else.

Richard VanderWeerd had fast time at 14.550 on an early pass by the twin. Greg Porte, Justyne Hamblin and Koen Shaw won the heats. Dennis won the semi and would start 13th in the main with Danny 12th. On the start of the 30 lap main, the think pink car of Justyne Hamblin took the lead on a very slick track that would not allow much passing. Most of the passing was due to mistakes in front of them, but Showtime was smooth and cool as he methodically used every restart to move forward until he got to 4th and ran out of laps. Peter Murphy benefitted on Justyn’s out of shape move that cost her a bunch of spots. It looked like she got jostled, but I really didn’t see it very well. Regardless, she then had a flat tire that ruined her night. Peter went on to pull away and win the race with ease. Hobie Conway had a great ride running 4th most of the race, but ended up in6th with some equipment problem. Greg Alexander was 5th after winning last weeks Grand Slam here. Dennis Howell had his problems as he was trying to work traffic and got caught up in someone else’s spinout, finishing 18th on the night.

After the races Joey Claborn, a local modified driver, kept everyone in stitches around the Kittle hauler, especially after the promoter Chris Kearns came by. This guy is entertaining and a riot! Visitors packed the pits as the crowd was very full in the grandstands and they love their Sheridan Man.

Local driver Lynn Hamilton and his wife Algelica brought two cute 4 month old dapple weenie dogs for their first race. They seemed to enjoy the races. I saw quite a few people I knew from the area, who were all surprised to see me there. It’s a sprint car race right? Thanks to the Kittle’s, their crew and the caretaker of the Shiosaki Hotel for the hospitality and fun enjoyed. Oh yes, the Tri-tip was awesome as usual and the cooks get my pat on the back.

Sunday was the Tony Jones fest at the Zanzakubu Sports Lounge in Lakewood, CA. It was the third annual event designed to add to the racing coffers of Mark Alexander’s car. When I arrived there were several sprint cars besides the # 4 Silver Bullet that The Cowboy drives, plus some winged lightning sprints, some focus cars and a few hot rods scattered around. A good crowd came to enjoy the hospitality of the lounge and it’s owner Bob Davidson. Tony and his crew were on hand to visit and eat the Taco’s and enjoy the afternoon. I got in a few visits before it was time to hit the road. I did, in fact, make the date with my wife to see Roger Williams play the piano, and I can’t believe an 85 year old man can still play like that. He has played for 9 presidents and is still very aware and entertaining. Of course, most of you wouldn’t know that “elevator” type stuff, but it’s really great and we had a ball! Whew, a long weekend and I am pooped!

Another week off this coming weekend, so my grandson Christopher and I will be on the road to San Diego Saturday to see the Padres play baseball, then to Dodger Stadium on Sunday and Angel Stadium on Monday before heading back to the desert. A quick but entertaining weekend I am sure in the wild world of major league baseball.

Calistoga arrives in one more week after this one. Steve Howard is still trying to raise money for the racers who make that trip up there and if you have any extra $$$$$ contact him at So Cal Performance. Two days of racing on the biggest half mile in California should be interesting. Last year was the first annual Vermeil Classic and was amazing! It had been many years since the wingless cars had run there and the crowd loved it. The local scenery and the Napa Valley wineries should make it a great holiday weekend trip for those who can travel.

"A" Main Event at Santa Maria- 1) Peter Murphy, 2) Greg Porte, 3) Albert Pombo, 4) Danny Sheridan, 5) Greg Alexander, 6) Hobie Conway, 7) Davey Pombo, 8) Rusty Carlile, 9) Jayson May, 10) Richard VanderWeerd, 11) Chris Ennis, 12) Jace VanderWeerd, 13) Koen Shaw, 14) Jared Little, 15) Justyne Hamblin, 16) Wes Gutierrez, 17) Joey Layman, 18) Dennis Howell, 19) Bill Jones, 20) Jay Nichols, 21) Mike Knopf, 22) T. J. Smith.