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August 24, 2012 at
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RACING SCENE Column - (USAC TNGP & I-15 Freeway Series) – By Tim Kennedy
Los Angeles, Calif. - The 2012 USAC Midget Turkey Night Grand Prix is returning to its roots—dirt—for the 72nd running of the historic event. USAC National and Western Series points will be awarded on Thanksgiving evening, November 22 at the half-mile clay Perris Auto Speedway south of Riverside. J. C. Agajanian, Jr. and PAS president Don Kazarian made the announcement jointly at 8:00 pm over the track PA system to more than 2,000 sprint car fans at the USAC-CRA sprint car race. The news met instant approval from dirt track open-wheel racing fans. PAS hosted the TNGP event in 1996 during its first year of racing. Billy Boat won that 100-lap GP in John Lawson's No. 15 Stealth/Gaerte. It was his second of three consecutive TNGP victories at three different dirt tracks—Bakersfield, PAS and Ventura. Only three of the 24 drivers in the 1996 TNGP are still active in midgets. The TNGP feature will be 98-laps again to salute the late car owner/race organizer J. C. Agajanian, who used No. 98.
The TNGP has been hosted for the last 13 years since 1999 at the Irwindale Speedway half-mile paved track, which has not had racing this season. Only practice sessions and a driving school now use the Irwindale oval track. It will be interesting to see how many dirt track only teams from the Midwest, Arizona, and Washington will tow to “So Cal” for the prestigious Thanksgiving racing classic that dates to 1934 at Gilmore Stadium in Hollywood. Kazarian said dirt track fans have lobbied annually for the TNGP return to PAS. Now it's up to fans to turn out in significant numbers to support the race and guarantee the return of the event to the PAS. The TNGP event has been hosted by nine tracks, only three paved (Speedway 605 in 1975, Saugus (1991) and Irwindale Speedway (1999-2011).
I-15 FREEWAYS SERIES: August 18-19 became the first “I-15 Freeway Series” for USAC-CRA 410 cu. in. non-wing sprint car teams. PAS hosted another triple-header Saturday night with California Lightning Sprints (winged cars/motorcycle engines) and the age 45+ Senior Sprint drivers with 360 cu. in. power as support divisions. USAC-CRA tied the season-high car count of 37 on opening night (2/25). CLS had 19 cars and Seniors had seven cars in the pits. Cory Kruseman (410s), Bobby Michnowicz (CLS) and “Hubcap” Mike Collins, 55, (Seniors) won the three features. The chance to race two nights attracted about seven additional cars. Three cars came from Arizona, several from central California and from inactive status. Kruseman's driving school had three sprint cars and two midgets in competition. Two of his sprint drivers were first-time PAS competitors with USAC-CRA. Tom Hendricks and Auckland, New Zealand driver Trevor Cooper drove school cars.
Don Kazarian has cut and prepared his PAS clay oval for about four years according to PAS marketing manager Charlie Watson. It was 97 degrees at 5:30 pm Saturday and still 79 degrees when the USAC-CRA feature concluded at 10:21 pm. Despite the hot 102 degree day at PAS August 18, the track was racy all night. The fast way around was up next to the crash-wall in the turns at the end of the feature. The one-lap track record, set by Nik Faas earlier this season, is 15.833. Mike Spencer, the four-time series champion and 2012 point leader, was the 18th qualifier. He set fast time of 16.348, just 0.515 off the record.
With six drivers inverted in four 10-lap heat races, winners Spencer, David Cardey and Kruseman started sixth in the first three heats and David Bezio started third. Kruseman started the 22-car 30-lap main second and led all the way. The race had the green light to lap 27 when a solo spin caused a brief yellow. Under caution, P. 7 Austin Williams rolled in turn two for a red flag. That eliminated Kruseman's 15-yard advantage over Spencer, who was trying to win his sixth consecutive PAS feature. Kruseman had a 50-yard lead on lap 23, but he got high in turn two a lap later lapping cars and lost ground. On lap 26, P. 2 Cardey also got high and lost two positions. With four laps remaining after the red flag, second place Spencer was poised to nab another PAS victory. It didn't happen as Spencer was best in the high groove being used by Kruseman. “I thought I'd lose two positions if I went to the bottom,” Spencer said later. Positions three through five changed during the final four laps. P. 3 Ryan Bernal (No. 73) jumped the cushion between the first and second corners on lap 27 and dropped to fifth place finish after Cardey and Faas passed him on the inside in the second turn.
Former CRA and SCRA 410 sprint car winner Bobby Michnowicz started fifth and led laps 2-20 in a 19-car CLS main. “Hubcap” Mike Collins, 55, started from pole position and led the Senior Sprint feature all 20-laps in a close three-way dogfight for his first victory. “This is a race I wanted to win for about four years. I think I'm going to go home and cry,” the happy hubcap dealer told fans over the PA microphone during his finish line interview. He has won a PAS street stock main.
ROUTE 66 MOTORPLEX—Victorville: The USAC doubleheader Sunday the 18th was an ambitious endeavor by new USAC open-wheel promoter Scott Burns. He drove his own No. 26 sprint car in CRA and SCRA from 1990 to the late 1990s. He raced in the first Perris sprint car event in 1996. Another promoter, Steve Quercio, presented USAC-CRA racing once last year on Saturday, March 26 at the then named Victorville Raceway Park semi-banked clay three-eights mile on the grounds of the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds. The track first hosted racing on August 18, 1996 and is 2,930 feet above sea-level. Mike Spencer (No. 50) won that 30-lap feature after Nic Faas (No. 4) set fast time of 13.145 in a field of 30 cars.
Burns and his track preparer, John Aden, worked in truckloads of new clay weeks before his August 18 race featuring both USAC-CRA sprints and USAC Western midgets. Three drivers raced in both divisions. Ruts that developed in the turns last year were eliminated this year. A 100+ degree hot and humid day caused dust, despite repeated watering. The water truck was busy all night watering the infield edge of the track to reduce dust. Dust flew during the two main events anyhow as a natural result of the weeks of hot days in the high desert area. It was still 100 at 4:25 pm when warmups and hot lapping (two divisions) started.
The schedule called for opening the front gate for fans at 3 pm, warmups/hot laps at 4 pm, and racing at 6 pm. It ran late. Sprint cars warmed up and hot-lapped in three groups from 4:25-5:05 and midgets did likewise in two groups from 5:25-5:40. Sprint cars qualified from 5:49-6:38; all 21 midgets qualified from 6:40-7:04 pm. Suggestion: Cut qualifying from two laps per car to one lap to save both track wear and time on a Sunday night show. People have to drive home for work or school on Mondays. Track watering followed qualifying and left the track too wet/slippery for racing at 7:50. Sprint heat one cars ran the track in gradually via hot lapping. They needed fuel, so officials moved heat two cars onto the track quickly to become the first heat at 8:10. Original heat one cars raced as heat two at 8:21. Following four sprint car heats, three 8-lap midget heats ran from 8:56-9:15. A 16-car 12-lap B sprint race ran 9:31-9:35. More track grooming followed. All 21 midgets finished 20 quick laps in five minutes from 9:51-9:56 with only two cars lapped. The 30-lap sprint main followed from 10:11-10:41 with one red flag for a lap 2 flip by Cardey.
The crowd was larger than expected, so the concessionaire made runs to local stores for additional cold bottled water. Food ran out before the features. Admission prices were reasonable for the fan-popular sprint car/midget doubleheader. Adult tickets were $15, seniors and military $10, and children $5. Promoter Burns even had a souvenir ten-page printed program with color for $3.00 on sale at the front ticket booth. Hopefully, everyone who attended this inaugural Route 66 Motorplex event will return for future races at the site.
Car Counts were excellent in both divisions. The spacious pit area is beyond the backstretch and the third/fourth turns. There were 33 sprint cars and 21 midgets, both excellent turnouts for a new track promoter and in the down economy. Site lines from the 3,500 seats (covered main grandstand and bleachers on the fourth turn side) are excellent. The midget feature had four leaders, including two females--Shannon McQueen (laps 1-4), Randi Pankratz (L 5-9), David Prickett (L 10-12) and Arizonan R. J. Johnson (L13-20). The sprint main started 22 cars and had two leaders—Brody Roa, 21, (L 1-14) and fourth starter Ryan Bernal (L 15-30). It was the first USAC-CRA feature victory for the 18-year old recent high school graduate from Hollister (south of San Jose).
Route 66 Motorplex is a welcome addition for racing teams and fans. Drivers were pleased with the track and potential for growth. Racing in the spring (March-April) and fall (October-November) would offer the best chance for ideal weather conditions at the high desert facility, some 80 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Scott Burns and his team merit congratulations for their ambitious and successful first effort.
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