KIRBY WINS TWO RACES IN A ROW AND TAMES TULARE CLAY

The only trip to Tulare this season was a winner for SCRA and their fans. The Thunderbowl oval was ready for the assault when Thirty-two cars showed up to battle in the very unseasonable cool weather under the full moon flying. When the slide jobs settled, Mike "Super K" Kirby rolled into victory lane with his 3rd win of the year and 36th lifetime SCRA victories.

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Now lets get this straight. Is it 2-Larry or 2-Lrrie? Regardless, the stands were full for this night of wingless adventures and the crowd went home very satisfied after the battle between Mike and Rip Williams got them on their feet at the end. Last week Mike said they need to get the point leader, Cory Kruseman, away from the PAS so they had a chance to beat him, and that happened at the Thunderbowl.

Mike, driving the Geurin's Mobile Home Service, State Wide Towing, Barberie Mold Stinger Chassis, # 5, was in control, seemingly, from the start. He led John Scott until Rip took over 2nd and made a late charge at the leader. Rip passed Mike just after they passed under the white flag with one lap to go, and went into turn one with the advantage. Kirby, not one to let it go that easy, stayed on the gas thru turns one and two, staying even with Rip as it got real interesting. The key was Mike not allowing Rip to come down on the track to the much favored and faster lower groove coming out of turn four. This allowed him to recapture the lead and to win by a few feet a few seconds later. Great drive by Kirby, who had won the fair figure 8 race at Ventura on Wednesday night. He drove both races the same way, like he intended to win!

Rip, driving the Vista Paint, John Jory Corp, AMA Plastics, Gambler Chassis # 3, seemed on a mission tonight. He was driving hard all night and passing cars often where others found no traction. He said after the race that he did what he had to do, when he passed Mike for the brief lead, but it was just a few feet short of his goal to break his winless streak this year. Rip said he was happy with his new Gambler chassis and was ready to win.

The day started with the annual Stinger Chassis barbeque as fans and racers arrived early to enjoy some tri tip sandwiches and all the trimmings. Richard Harvey Sr, the proprietor of the Stinger Chassis construction, was hoping for a victory by one of his many cars, and he got it. When a former customer, Rip who shifted to Gambler, took the lead late, it was a great and wild finish for Stinger and Kirby. The crowd loved it and poured into the pits to see their heroes afterwards.

John Scott fought hard for his 3rd place finish in the Pace Electronics, Pro Prep, Design Works Custom Graphics, TCR chassis, # 83. He had a few looks at Mike before the Ripper came by him, but rode the high groove very well. He won the JE Pistons Passing Masters Dash after getting third in his heat. Steve Ostling put the strong Fischer Motorsports # 29 entry in 4th with some great moves on the fast track. He won the Semi after a near crash in his heat, and marched from his 9th starting spot to put on a show in the Watt Enterprise, Pacific Coast Sportswear, Stress Relief Engineering # 29.

Hard charger of the night was a driver who the last time he appeared here at Tulare, won a NARC winged show. Eric Rossi took off the bloody thing to challenge very well in the Family # 98X car. He was 4th in his heat with a few good moves, then started 16th in the main and cruised up to 8th by the end. Good job and maybe, with the Northern boys dark for the rest of the season, he will come South again.

Troy Cline put the Jeff Bagley Special in 5th this week as he visited from his Southwest Tour ride again. Troy's versatility continues to shine to the point that I hope he gets his goal of running with the big boys of NASCAR soon.

How does that song go? E-mail, weeeeeeeeee got e-mail, so I know somebody is reading this stuff. After I mentioned a Safety Safari type deal for SCRA in last weeks column, guess what? There has been work going on for this goal for some time, and I just had no clue. Shane Holt, an SCRA official who is in charge of "safety" issues, has been doing what I suggested for the better part of the season. Without getting into details, he informed me that a truck has been requested from a major manufacturer with the possibility of it happening very good. Plus, Shane has been working with the NHRA's Safety Safari people, and several other racing organizations trying to learn what is best for our racing needs and how to get it. Anyway, I see that this goal to get an equipped SST (SCRA Safety Truck) by next season is an ongoing effort that could come to pass. He says it looks good for it all to come together by next season. Let's hope it happens. But if you have anything to help in this effort, please contact Shane.

The SCRA point leader, Cory Kruseman, didn't have his best night of the year, but 6th was a victory considering the track and who was ahead of him. Cory, the ten-time winner this season, is so busy these days, he probably is exhausted! What with Casie Leeann at home to keep him awake at night, his driving school on off days, and the travel schedule he keeps, he was glad to get to go home this night. Oops, he will run the Oskaloosa challenge race this Monday in Iowa before the next SCRA race, so busy is as busy does, and he's off racing!

Tony Jones made his 2nd appearance in the Gasman's ride at Tulare this week. He was 9th fast, won his heat and ended up 9th in the main doing a great job in the red # 50. He had one of those near misses that you want to see the replay as soon as it happens. Late in the race, the cushion was right on the wall coming out of turn two. A number of drivers had major problems with it, but Tony, well his ride was the E-ticket one that made me lurch in my seat. If you ride a motorcycle at speed on a windy road, you know you have to "lean' the bike to get it to turn the direction the road goes. That's just the way it works, you can't horse the handlebars left or right, because you might crash! When Tony came around this turn 2 corner at speed, he rode his right front wheel up as high on the fence as you can with the left side tires still on the track, (I think) so we got a good top view of him in the cockpit! Yet, he was able to lean it to the left and come back down on all four, just like he planned it. A lap later, Danny Sheridan tried the same tricky maneuver, but his E-ticket ride ended up with him on his head, lightly, and stopped the race. Danny was all right, but the car was done for the night.

Great shiny tire battle this week with Ronnie Clark in Hank Winter's # 33 getting the nod after Bud Taylor did the deed on both sides of all four tires, wow! The mini went to Richard Watkins on Rip's crew, as that car had them shined for only the 2nd time in history. Unfortunately, I forgot the awards, so will present them this week at The PAS! The line-up was in front of the stands so they got to see the cars shining brightly before they were pushed off. A great show from all of you racers, the fans loved it!

The Wagsbucks this week will go to the George Gervais recovery fund. As Tim Huver Sr continues to update his condition on the message board at scrafan.com, there are some fund raising efforts coming from several sources. An account is being set up for donations to the get well Big George effort, and here it is: Big George Gervais, Temecula Valley Bank, 41500 Ivy Street, Murrieta Ca 92562. Phone 909 461-0411. Also decals that say "get well soon Big George" sold out at Tulare, with more coming for the Perris race this week. Look for a booth to be set up for those cool decals, and be sure and stop by to sign the huge card for Big George. He can use your help and keep him and the family in your prayers.

I just learned about something that might interest some. It is the 9th annual "Gas up" and Dry Lakes Racing hall of Fame induction ceremony on September 29th. It is at Mendenhall's Petroleum Museum in Buellton, CA. It cost $30 per person and starts at 9 AM, with BBQ at 1 pm and the induction ceremony at 3 pm. It is also the weekend we return to Santa Maria for our last trip this year, so it is do-able. If interested, send a check payable to Gold Coast Roadster & Racing club to P.O. Box 40272, Santa Barbara, CA 93140-0272. I hear it is a blast, and you will love the museum.

Next week the SCRA is at the PAS, before another trip to Santa Maria and that beautiful place. I might, say might, be going to the first 4 nights of the 5 Crown races in Indiana, but haven't got every thing worked out to get on a plane. One of the obstacles is the flight in on Saturday morning to LAX and the ride to SM, but I am working on it!