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KIERCE: VENTURA RACEWAY RULES ‘COST EFFECTIVE’
by Lee Elder
VENTURA, Calif. (April 1, 2008) – Reseda sprint car driver Kevin Kierce understands winning. Witness his victory in the recent All Coast 3-2-1 Challenge at Ventura Raceway on March 29.
Kierce, the 1999 Ventura Racing Association Sprint Car champion at Ventura, raced at Ascot Park in the 1980s and has been among the best drivers Ventura has to offer for the last decade.
So when Kevin Kierce says the racing at Ventura Raceway has something important to offer sprint car drivers and team owners, those people listen.
“I would say the program at Ventura Raceway is probably the most cost effective racing in the country,” Kierce said hours before winning the Challenge. “Among other things, we run such a low gear that we don’t strain the engine.”
Those cost effective VRA sprinters will be racing again April 5, when the track also hosts the United States Auto Club Midgets, USAC Ford Focus Midgets, Jr. Focus Midgets, VRA Junior Midgets and VRA Mini Dwarfs. The spectator gates open at 3 p.m. The kids divisions race at 3:30 and the adult divisions start racing at 5:30.
The VRA Sprint Car rules package, Kierce said, including the tires mandated for every competitor, makes for close, exciting racing that does not cost the teams more than it must.
“You can do it (run the full season) with one car,” Kierce said. He pointed at the teams pitted near his and continued gesturing around the pits, “That’s all he’s got. He’s got one car. It’s convenient to have a spare car, but we didn’t use the spare car last year.”
Kierce admitted he has several racecars at his disposal and enough parts for more, should the need arise. His son, Justin, drives a Kierce mount and other drivers appear from time to time in Kierce cars. But all Kierce does to prepare those cars is normal, week-to-week maintenance.
The VRA Sprint Car division cars are powered by 360 cubic inch engines. Only sprint cars from touring divisions that use 410 cubic inch engines are faster at Ventura. But the VRA rules package creates reliability.
“You’ll only use one engine,” Kierce said of the VRA-approved power plant. “But you’ll go through it halfway through the year,” to freshen it.
More information about Ventura Raceway is available, cost effectively, at www.venturaraceway.com.
Raceway notes: After four events this season, Ventura averages 110 cars per week … The March 29 VRA Sprint Car main event had a caution period to start the race, then went trouble-free over the final 29 laps … Ventura hosted a dozen divisions and four sanctioning bodies in the first month of the season.
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