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Emotional Faria Drives Heart Out at Santa MariaJuly 5th, 2008
By Peter the Pretty Good
Spectacular sprint car ace Danny Faria raced to victory with a heart as heavy as his right foot. The loss of his good friend, Ozzie Martin Jr in a tragic motorcycle verses car accident left the team dedicated to the goal of victory. After two straight runner up results Hollywood Dan was on a mission. As a somber Dan Faria put an improvised and heartfelt message on his blue 17V visor before qualifying dedicating his evening to the lost friend and family who mean so much to Faria and family. The upbeat and always cheerful driver and team couldn't mask their sorrow and their jubilation in the mission accomplished during an emotion victory circle display. Faria jumped from the car and hugged crew members before being interviewed by legendary track announcer Jim Pluhar in front of another large summer evening short sleeved crowd.
One thing was obvious during the feature, Danny Faria wanted the victory like no other and nothing was going to stop him! The walls that he banged off of wouldn't, the lapped traffic wouldn't and the equally determined Peter Murphy couldn't snatch the win from the elbows up Tipton driver. It was as exciting of a feature as there had been this season as all 19 entries raced on the track well polished by three open wheeled divisions with only two cautions during the last portion of the race. The first caution bunched up the field when Livermore's Rick Eberhardt lost the handle and spun in turn three and then again on lap 26 when Davey Pombo's mount lost power for the only car not running at the end of the feature. This was crucial as heavy traffic and tight battles raged all around the 1/3 mile clay which put skill and tactics into play.
Bakersfield veteran Rusty Carlile started the race with a good lead into turn one off of the green but rookie contender Richard VanderWeerd had the preferred line and led the first 10 circuits on the slickening two line race surface. All of the passing and maneuvering behind the Visalia racer was hard and furious. From the get go Faria who started on the outside second row with the black 21 of Murphy to the inside of him on the down low. The early laps were definitely two line affairs as Faria had to work hard to pass Carlile sliding high at the north-end of the track, then rubbing tires on the inside down the front straight. Then he went to work on young VanderWeerd with Murphy following in kind.
Behind this pack another fierce duel between Greg Porte and fast-timer Albert Pombo as they exchanged positions several times before Porte moved ahead and focused on his next victims as he worked his way to his 3rd place podium finish. Meanwhile Jayson May made his presence felt as he followed Porte to the front in a similar manner on his way to a well earned 5th place finish. May slugged it out with Fast Albert, Jace VanderWeerd and Wes Gutierrez before having his go at Carlile before just falling short of over taking Richard VanderWeerd for the 4th position at the end of 30 laps.
Faria, who seemed to acquire some breathing room after wresting the lead from R. VanderWeerd found it shrink rapidly after the charging Murphy found his way past VanderWeerd who got stuck behind the down low Bill Jones. The lap 20 caution bunched everyone up but Faria had a two lapper cushion on the Murphy juggernaut. On the restart Murphy dispatched the lapped cars of Steve DeMott and Kevin Barnes before catching Faria and pulling along side of Hollywood Dan on the 22nd lap entering the third turn. The Murphy threat got Faria up on the wheel that much more , pulling a wheel stand while sliding in front of Murphy by cutting a crossed his bow entering turn one in a move that forced Peter to stand down for the moment.
Most drivers were like the lead tandem, they were using the high, low and barely existent middle grove to work the cars in front while keeping challengers at bay.
The fight continued to unfold to the delight of the open-wheeled faithful until the late caution as the Iturriria-Pombo 27 lost power on the front stretch. With the laps dwindling and the ever present threat of the black Tarlton and Son 21 on the board behind the 17 of Hollywood Dan, a lesser driver might have been intimidated but Danny was as determined as ever a driver was. Yes there was the loss of "Lil' Oz", but there was also a season where a hard wreck was preceded by hard luck and then followed by an off period where work over shadowed fun and upon the teams return two 2nd place finishes where victories were within reach! Danny Faria, like all of the best, never wants for motivation; the fire is in the belly. As in true spectacular style Faria put his foot through the floor pan and Murphy did like wise for the green-white-checkered end where freezing a field is no option, fans were on their feet to the whoops and hollers of the strong fan contingent. Greg Porte, for all of his charging was just a tick behind the duo to complete the podium trio, while in position to capitalize should the top two tangle despite a lapped car pad.
The highest finishing rookie, Richard VanderWeerd earned the BR MOTORSPORTS YOUNG GUN AWARD over fellow contenders Wes Gutierrez, brother Jace VanderWeerd, Tyler Schmidt and Rick Eberhardt.
Qualifying was interesting as rarely the track sees three divisions qualify on it. But before the featured sprint cars could hit the clay NMRA ¾ Midgets and USAC Midgets got it while she was better but had a smooth and fast surface to time in with. "Fast Albert" Pombo set the standard with a 14.308 (about 1 second off the track record) earning the VMAC PACE SETTER AWARD. All but a couple cars were within a few ticks of the new to Albert number 11 ride provided by the McCowen.
The SPINTECH MUFFLERS heat one was taken by Fresno's beloved Kevin Barnes. He was trailed by fellow transfers Peter "the Speeder" Murphy, "Fast Albert" Pombo and "the Answer" Jace VanderWeerd. Falling short was "the professor" Jeff Culver and the hammerdown Wes Gutierrez who had to fall out due the hammer sticking down.
STAINLESS STEEL STORAGE SOLUTIONS heat 2 went to the heat race dominator Justyne Hamblin in Steve's always well prepared red white and black race car. Racer 8 was followed by rising star Tyler Schmidt whose one minor slip cost him his first heat win. Fellow travelers to the feature with time were Greg "the Great" Porte, and the green party of Carlile. Missing the ticket was 5th fastest qualifier Jeff Fiscus and Livermore's favorite framer Rick Eberhardt.
The EXTREME MUFFLERS heat 3 was won by the mission bound Faria who was harassed by May for a lap or two before setting sail as the red dusk signaled sailors delight. Richard "the Racing Hearted" VanderWeerd cruised to the 3rd transfer and "Masonry Mike" Larson was on the gas to shut down buddies Steve DeMott and Bill Jones for bragging rights.
Peter Murphy didn't win this battle but won another piece of the Bandit war. He finished five spots in front of his nearest rival and moved that much closer to clinching his championship. Murphy is on a two race losing streak, which is humorous enough on its own. He is ahead of everybody in all four non-winged championships available even with the level of competition present. It is amazing and enjoy it. That being stated, 2nd in points Alberto Pombo has better than a one night margin over his nearest rivals, even though he did not race the opening night. Being fast and consistently up front as well as being such a nice young man helped Dennis and Connie McCowan make their choice of drivers. They selected the best driver statistically and performance wise in the series short of Murphy.
Throughout the evening there were a couple of teams chasing gremlins. Something was a miss for the strong Iturriria team as a yet undiagnosed minor problem that has plagued the team for a few weeks manifested itself in a still confounding way. They thought they had it figured out but after missing warm-ups, and qualifying before dropping from the heat and main prematurely realize that simple or not, they have a problem to work out. This is more problematic for the competition though. Once this is situation cured and done, "Big Daddy will be movin' to da' front!". The other is the Wes Gutierrez team's battle with a new motor and throttle problems. Thanks to the Hamblin's and Porte's in addition to their crew, Wes was again able to show what he has and finished in the top 10. It was another great example of what makes this deal great as teams pitch in to help one another. I love it!
As mentioned, all but Davey was running at the end of the feature and he lasted 24/25 laps. WOW. No wonder the racing has been fantastic and nothing saves racers money than not wrecking! As a master of the obvious I salute the drivers who have demonstrated that they can race hard for 30 laps and not tear things up. Also the track prep has been such that the surface has not been a cause for accidents. This has been a trend for a few years at Santa Maria Speedway, and since the repaving job tire wear has helped make this venue the best facility to race at in the west if not the entire USA. People are racing with low attrition and rolling the cars up and have something to bring back next week. Kudos' from Curto to every one.
What was a fantastic race will be carried forth to next week. The Bandits are back at Kings Speedway "the Place to race" in a three division program featuring the Bandits, with IMCA Modifieds and Stock Cars on the program. The summer evening at Kings will be another beautiful night of Banditos and amigo's.
BANDIT SPRINT CAR SERIES Results – Santa Maria Speedway July 12th 2008
(19 Cars Entered)Qualifying: went to number 11 "Fast Albert" Pombo, Fresno, 14.308; 3G Greg Porte, Atascadero,14.313; 17V "Hollywood Dan" Faria, Tipton, 14.321; 21 Peter Murphy, Clovis, 14.440; 13 Jeff Fiscus, Nipomo, 14.592; 10 Richard VanderWeerd, Visalia, 14.602; oo7 Wes Gutierrez, Gilroy, 14.628; 51 Rusty Carlile, Bakersfield 14.675; 8M Jayson May, Taft, 14.702; 36B Kevin Barnes, Fresno, 14.729; 49 Tyler Schmidt, Hollister, 14.675; 7L Mike Larson, Nipomo, 14.825; 71C Jeff Culver, Lompoc, 15.036; 8 Justine Hamblin, Tulare, 15.066; 88V Jace VanderWeerd, Visalia, 15.149; 4 Rick Eberhardt, Livermore, 15.408; 16J Bill Jones, Santa Maria, 15.685; 27 Davey Pombo, Kerman, N/T
SPINTECH Heat 1: Barnes; Murphy; A. Pombo; J. VanderWeerd; Culver; Gutierrez
STAINLESS STEEL STORAGE SOLUTIONS Heat 2: Hamblin; Schmidt; Porte; Carlile; Fiscus; Eberhardt
EXTREME MUFFLERS Heat 3: Faria; May; R. VanderWeerd; Larson; DeMott; Jones
BANDIT SERIES "A" FEATURE: Faria; Murphy; Porte; R. VanderWeerd; Carlile; A. Pombo; Hamblin; Gutierrez; J. VanderWeerd; Fiscus; Schmidt; Barnes; DeMott; Larson; Culver; Eberhardt; Jones; D. Pombo
Thanks Santa MariaSpeedway Officials and Scorers and Staff, Bandit Series Staff (me), All Sponsors, G.F. Rowan Licensed Beer Distributor and especially Joe...
Car/Driver Points
21 Peter Murphy 650
35A Albert Pombo 525
51 Rusty Carlile 494
8 Justyne Hamblin 476
32 Jonathon Logan 388
oo7 Wes Gutierrez® 382
10 Richard VanderWeerd® 373
8M Jayson May 364
36B Kevin Barnes 357
88VJace VanderWeerd® 356
27/27x John Iturriria 299
11 Greg Bragg 299
4 Rick Eberhardt® 289
28 Davey Knott 283
62 Adam Frith-Smith 247
27 Davey Pombo Jr 243
87 Ricky Kirkbride® 238
51T Jeff Gardener 212
17V Dan Faria 210
25 Jared Little® 200
3G Greg Porte 180
35D Steve DeMott 159
18 Danny Sheridan 146
16J Bill Jones 140
21T Michael Faccinto 136
88H Jonathon Henry 119
71C Jeff Culver 115
22 Newt Price® 104
1 Greg Taylor 99
49 Tyler Schmidt ® 94
7L Mike Larson 89
1K/2K Austin Mero 86
9 John Niggli 85
88W Ron Wade 82
97 Matt Day 75
71M Jessie Mack 68
19/92 Brandon Thomson 67
13F Jeff Fiscus 67
23 Jerry Wise Jr 66
11 T.J. Smith ® 59
2K Henry Clarke 59
73 Josh Ford 58
31 Bruce Douglas 57
22A Greg Alexander® 55
93 Steven Williams 54
76 Derek Buckley 54
7L Jimmy Thompson 38
13S Ludwig Solberg IV 36
32X Rocky Hodges 32
13F Don Kithcart® 27
3P Anthony Pombo 1
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