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RACING SCENE Column
- By Tim Kennedy
Los Angeles, CA. - My last column mentioned horse breeder Kjell Qvale from Northern California owned the winning thoroughbred horse in the $100,000 Phoenix Gold Cup feature race Saturday, February 16 at Turf Paradise Race Track in Phoenix. I wondered in print if he was the same Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) participant during the 1950s-60s. That brought the following interesting response from John Kelly, Editor/Publisher of MotoRacing, a monthly auto racing newspaper (P.O. Box 1203, Pleasanton, CA. 94566-0120). "I think you've got the right guy. He's now in his mid-80s and recently moved his 'fleet' of 55 horses to a new home near Sebastopol, CA (west of Santa Rosa). He's been through several ranch sites beginning with one in Temecula, CA. Kjell Qvale is the key founder of SCCA's San Francisco Region and part of the money behind development of Laguna Seca Raceway (near Monterey). SCCA named Qvale to its Hall of Fame at its national convention in San Antonio, TX in February 2008. Qvale was the money-man behind the racing cars produced by Joe Huffaker, Sr., including the Offy-powered MG Liquid Suspension Specials run in the Indianapolis 500 (1960s). His son Bruce Qvale, works for the family car business. They moved it into a huge display building on Van Ness Ave. that was constructed originally by Earle C. Anthony, the local Packard dealer. For a long time there was a banner on the roof proclaiming radio station KFI. That's now a clear channel 50,000-watt station in Los Angeles heard throughout the west on clear nights. Kjell for a time owned the Jensen-Healey operation and son Bruce won an SCCA E Production National title in a Jensen-Healey, a business now long-gone. Other note: I bought my '56 Austin Healey new from Qvale's then Van Ness Ave. store. I still own it. At a press gathering years ago I told him of my purchase some 30 years earlier. Kjell's question back to me was 'Who was the salesman?' I couldn't remember, but I have since recalled his name."
My last column also mentioned Chad Boat, 16-year old son of Indianapolis 500 driver Billy Boat, and their plan to race their No. 30 midgets and sprint cars on the USAC National circuits. Chad's first start came in his No. 30 midget on Sunday, April 6 at the Anderson, IN paved quarter mile. Chad qualified 21st fastest in a 43-car field, finished third in one of four 10-lap heat races, and 12th in the 24-car, 50-lap main event. He ended the day fifth in USAC National Midget Series points, only one-point out of fourth place. At the April 12 National Midget race on the 4/10-mile paved Kenly, N.C track there were 26 competitors. Chad was 21st fastest in time trials, sixth in his heat and 16th in the 40-lap feature. He slipped to tenth in USAC National Midget point standings, only two digits behind ninth place after three National; point events this
season.
BONDURANT DRIVING SCHOOL: The Sunday 2/17/08 Arizona Republic daily newspaper Cars Section had a nice 24-paragraph, two-page story (with five photos) about former open-wheel race driver Bob Bondurant's High Performance Driving Instruction School. Bob raced sports cars (Carroll Shelby Cobras), Indianapolis Cars and Formula One cars as well. He began his driving instruction school 40-years ago in 1968 after being involved in several movies--Grand Prix starring James Garner in 1966 and Winning starring Paul Newman and Robert Wagner in 1968. His movie role as an Indy Car racing driver was the genesis of Newman's 40-year involvement as a sports car racing driver and co-owner of Newman-Haas Racing. Bob, now a gray-beard 74-year old, began his school in 1968 with a couple of Datsun roadsters, a Datusn sedan and a couple of VW-powered race cars. Newman and Wagner were in his second class of three students. Bondurant, who drove the pace car during my one and only hobby stock car race in a 1957 Chevy (No. 589) at the long-gone Corona Speedway, is a much-respected driving instructor. His driving school has moved three-times, from Orange County Raceway, to the 1970-80 active years of Ontario Motor Speedway, to Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, CA, and in 1990 to its fourth home-the current 66-acre site on the Gila River Reservation. His school is adjacent to Firebird International Raceway, SE of Phoenix near Chandler, AZ. Firebird is the home of NHRA drag racing and boat drags on an infield lake. The story related the fact that Bob wants to expand his school in the future.
SPEEDWAY CYCLES: On Wednesday, April 2 there was an open-practice session at 7:00 p.m for speedway cycle riders on a dirt track put together in two days at the indoor Grand Arena at the Industry Hills Expo Center. There were 22 riders-youth to Division 3, 2 and 1experts--in action on a track that looked racy. Co-promoters this year at Industry Speedway are the 1981-82 world speedway cycle champion Bruce Penhall, 50, and Jeff Immediato, who was involved in promotional work at Ascot Park until that track closed after 1990. Opening night this year will be Wednesday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m for a full slate of speedway races. There will be 16 weeks of speedway racing in this fifth year of racing at the scenic Industry site on Temple Ave. that overlooks the eastern San Gabriel Valley. Riders practicing included Ricky Wells, speedway cycle national youth champion. He is 16 and will turn 17 in late July according to his mom, who had Ricky's friendly female basset hound in the pits. Mom said Ricky and his twin sister (she was born first) were born in the family's native New Zealand. The Wells family relocated to Yorba Linda in Orange County years ago. Ricky's goal is to race speedway cycles on the pro circuits in Europe where six-figure earnings are common. He certainly has the talent to succeed. Also present for the test session was Ron Mongenel, who races speedway cycle No. 158 in D-3 and Speed Truck No. 58 at Irwindale. The Covina resident was mourning the recent death of a 21-year old co-worker and new father in a solo auto accident. He was NOT wearing a seat belt. Also watching the special practice was video-grapher Howie Zechner and announcer Bruce Flanders and his daughter Meagan. Bruce is now using a portable oxygen unit wherever he goes to aid his breathing. He was diagnosed with COPD (chronic oxygen pulmonary disorder) which is emphysema-like and not curable. The long-time heavy smoker had to quit smoking cold turkey. Bruce, now in his mid-50s, was a speedway cycle racer in his younger days. He was the chief announcer at Ascot Park from the mid-1970s, the long-time public address announcer at the Long Beach Grand Prix, chief announcer at Perris Auto Speedway from 1996-98, at Irwindale Speedway since it opened in 1999, and at Industry Speedway for all four years it has operated. Bruce also is the voice of many radio/TV commercials, especially commercials involving automotive events and products. SAGE ADVICE-Wear your seat belts and do NOT smoke or chew tobacco.
CONGRATS: Congratulations are in order for some recent first-time main event winners. KODY SWANSON, 19, won his first USAC National Midget race aboard Steve Lewis' Beast/Toyota in a 26-car field at the 4/10-mi. paved track in Kenly, N.C. JOHNNY RODRIGUEZ, the 32-year old 2004 & 2007 USAC Western Midget champion, won his first USAC-CRA sprint feature at Perris. He became the eighth
different winner in the first nine CRA races of 2008. He also set fastest qualifying time in the No. 87 Mitchell Racing Maxim with 30 competitors present. JOSH FORD won his first USAC Western Midget main in his No. 73 JFM/Wirth Midget. HENRY CLARKE, 18, and ALEX BOWMAN, 14, became first-time USAC Ford Focus Dirt Series M-E winners at Ventura. In the USAC FF Midget paved series, BRENDAN LANGLOIS, 15, and JUSTIN HOMMEL, 18, became initial winners at Irwindale and Blythe respectively. SHANE GOLOBIC, 16, won his first Golden State Challenge Series winged 410-sprint car main in an 18-car feature field at Ocean Speedway, a quarter-mile dirt track in Watsonville, CA, near Santa Cruz. TYLER WALKER, a former World of Outlaws sprint car winner, USAC Silver Crown Series winner and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver, won a GSC winged 410-sprint car 30-lap feature at the Antioch, CA quarter-mile dirt track April 5 in a green No. 24.
SHANE HMIEL, a North Carolina-based driver and son of respected racing exec Steve Hmiel, has made a splash in open-wheel racing on the West Coast. The NASCAR veteran of Busch and Craftsman Truck Series, won two BCRA midget features in two attempts. Shane, banned by NASCAR for drug violations, drove to victories at the 3/8-mile paved Shasta Raceway in Anderson, CA on March 29 and at the third-mile Madera Speedway on April 5 in the No. 21 Kaplan Stealth/Stanton Mopar. Hmiel made more news Saturday, April 12 by winning his first USAC Western 360 cu. in. wingless sprint car feature at Roseville, CA in his first USAC race. He also set fastest qualifying time in a 19-car field on the paved quarter-mile All-American Speedway aboard the Kaplan-owned No. 20 Eagle/Losorwith sprint car. Amazingly, neophyte open-wheel driver Hmiel is now the point leader in both BCRA Midgets (which began operating in 1939) and USAC Western Sprints-simultaneously. That achievement could be a first this late in the season. Hmiel is driving the main event winning Ken Kaplan cars raced last year by Ken's son Ryan Kaplan, of Chico, CA. Ryan won the 2007 USAC Western Sprint Championship and rookie of the year title as well. Ryan, 21, is currently racing NASCAR Late Model stock cars bi-weeky at the half-mile paved Irwindale track for the six-car Tim Huddleston High-Point Distributing/Justice Brothers Team. Ryan relocated to an apartment in Noblesville, IN and is also competing on the USAC National Midget Series in the Indiana-based No. 27 Tim Clauson-owned midget as a teammate to the owner's son. Bryan Clauson is the 2007-08 NASCAR Nationwide Series driver of the No. 41 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge and also drives the
Clauson No. 47 midget for his dad. At Anderson, IN. Kaplan drove the No. 27 midget to 16th fastest qualifying time in a 43-car field & P.8 in the 12-lap semi-main. Teammate Bryan qualified the Clauson No.47midget fourth fastest at Anderson, but he had a problem in his heat and was a DNF-out for the day. In Irwindale's ultra-competitive NASCAR Late Models, newcomer Kaplan has qualified 8th, 3rd and 5th fastest in 28 car fields. He also has finishes of 8th, 7th and 6th in his first three NASCAR Late Model 40-lap features at Irwindale against more experienced stock car drivers. He ranks fifth in Irwindale LM points among the 33 drivers with 2008 points. He is a friendly, articulate, quick-study talented driver who should soon follow development driver Clauson into the NASCAR national circuits for some team.
GRAHAM RAHAL, 19, won his first IRL race on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL in his first IRL attempt in a Dallara/Honda and at that street course. He won in the rain and in a car different from the Panoz-turbo-charged Cosworth that he raced to fifth place in final points as a 2007 Champ Car rookie. Graham was the second guest on the Wednesday, April 16 David Letterman Show. Graham, who was named for F.1 champion Graham Hill, was friendly, articulate and seemed relaxed with Letterman, co-owner of Rahal-Letterman Racing. He is an excellent representative for racing and a much-needed American in IRL along with Marco Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Danica Patrick. AT IRWINDALE: First-time main
event winners at the Irwindale track this season have been: (on the third-mile)-Jimmy Hansen, 18, and Ryan Reed, 14, in Legend Cars, plus Daryl Scoggins in Mini Stocks; (on the half-mile)-paraplegic Ricky James, 19, twice in West Coast Pro Trucks, Charles Price, 21, twice in Super Late Models, Connor Cantrell, 17, in Super Trucks, and Todd McLauchlan, 38, in ASA Speed Trucks.
DRUG POLICY: The Wednesday, April 9 "NASCAR NOW" half-hour show on ESPN2 devoted a major portion of the show to the Aaron Fike revelation that he had used heroin on a day he raced the No. 1 truck in a NCTS race. He finished a career-best fifth. NASCAR and his fellow drivers did not uncover his reported cocaine and heroin drug use. Police found him at the Kings Island Amusement Park in Ohio using drugs with his girl friend in their parked vehicle. NASCAR promptly banished him from NASCAR racing. It seems Aaron had been using drugs following injuries related to an open-wheel crash. As I recall, some years back his father (RFMS team owner) would not allow him to drive one of the two Fike team USAC cars until he got himself together again. Evidently he did so and he progressed into NASCAR ranks where he showed promise. Aaron was in the top ten in NCTS points when he was arrested in Ohio last year for drug possession and use. That had to be a wake-up call. With a resolve to regain his racing career, Aaron cleaned-up and returned to USAC open-wheel racing in February 2008 at Manzanita Speedway's "Copper on Dirt" event on the half-mile clay oval. He drove cars owned by his dad in both the USAC Silver Crown and Midget Series.
The nation's newspaper--USAC TODAY--on April 14, 2008 reported that Darrell Waltrip said, "I don't think our sport has a drug problem. I do know that NASCAR tests more drivers than they make public. They are really on top of it." The ESPN2 TV show displayed a list of some six NASCAR drivers banned during the last ten years. They included Sammy Potashnick (GN West), Kevin Grubb and Shane Hmiel (Busch Series), Tyler Walker and Aaron Fike (NCTS). Subsequent SPEED TV shows interviewed NASCAR Cup drivers for their views on drug use. Their comments ranged from Kevin Harvick calling for a drug-testing program for NASCAR drivers to several drivers, including Michael Waltrip, saying NASCAR has it
correct as it is. Instead of random drug testing, as in major league baseball, NASCAR is able to test drivers and crew-members whenever the sanctioning body has reasonable cause and suspicion of drug or substance abuse. Also, racing teams are able to test routinely all of their own drivers and team members. We'll see how the drug abuse in racing story develops in upcoming months and years.
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