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BROWN SAILS TO SEASIDE PARK WIN
By Robert Mayson
Ventura, Calif…(October 25, 2008) Tyler Brown of Norco, Calif., was able to hold back hometown favorite Cory Kruseman Saturday night at Ventura Raceway to earn his second Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car win of the season.
“It felt really good to win, especially beating Cory Kruseman here at his home track. I’ve got the team that I need behind me and the car was awesome tonight and I felt very relaxed behind the wheel,” said Brown after his wire-to-wire 30-lap victory. “We’ve been up and down a little this year, but to get two wins during the season is pretty good and I’m happy with that. But, there’s still a lot of racing left and hopefully we can get a couple more before the end of the year.”
Brown started on the pole in the Nadine Gardner / Goodwine Glass No. 96 Sled before pulling ahead of fellow front row starter Chris Wakim. The race was marred by nine caution periods, the first of which came on the second lap after several cars tangled leaving Ron Bach and J Hicks parked in turn-three. Fast-time qualifier Blake Miller was one of the cars involved and was the recipient of a flat tire during the melee. After a tire change, Miller kept his title hopes alive with an eventual ninth-place finish.
Sandwiched between the yellow flags was some tremendous racing for second-place between Wakim, Kruseman and the Alexander Trucking / La Villa Restaurant No. 4 DRC driven by Tony Jones of Norco, Calif., who started the event in the seventh position. Driving a 360-powered car, Wakim did a fine job defending his position against the last two USAC/CRA champions until he pushed wide entering turn-one on lap-nine restart.
Driving the Kruseman Enterprises / Lucas Oil No. 21k Viper, Kruseman had to work hard to keep Jones behind him during the next several laps. Even with a few more cautions and a red flag for a Josh Ford flip, Brown was able to pull away from the “Open-Wheel Professor.” Near the end of the race, Kruseman finally narrowed the gap when Brown’s car appeared to develop a slight push. But in the end, Kruseman ran out of laps before he could even think about mounting a challenge to the cushion-riding Brown.
“We had so many restarts that I knew that I had to be good on them. I just chose a line where I knew it would be hard for Cory to pass me and it worked out,” Brown said with a big grin. “My car got little tight there at the end and I was having trouble entering right on the cushion. And, I think I went into the turns a little too hard on the last couple laps and it pushed the front end. But the car got such a good bite coming off the corners that Cory wasn’t able to do anything.”
Brown’s Gardner Motorsports teammate Rickie Gaunt, Torrance, Calif., finished fourth in the Jeff Gardner / Roy Miller Frieghtlines No. 93j Sled with Rip Williams, Yorba Linda, Calif., placing fifth in the John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics No. 3 Maxim.
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