This message was edited on
June 20, 2008 at
09:44:53 AM by vrafan
written by: surfnsprint
It Means Something
I
went into the pits after Saturday’s race looking for Kevin Kierce. He
had just spanked the whole twenty-car field from the front row to the
flag to win his fourth Main event this season. He did it by coming out
of every single start with a clean getaway against such veterans as
Josh Ford and Steve Conrad. He would get that clear horizon in front of
him and he was gone. Team member Scott would shoot him signals on every
lap (“I use blinking” he tells me) and Kevin asserts he never really
hit full throttle. “How do you always get away that quick” I ask? Kevin
gives me that stone cold look. “It’s like a bar fight, you gotta get in
that first punch”….
All Thrill and No Fill
Kevin Kierce Is Dominating Ventura in 2008
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Charlie Butcher Winning Junior Focus Midgets
Charlie
Butcher continues to control the VRA Junior Focus Midgets. He went from
the front row to rip the checkered flag. Dennis Simunovich took second,
but never seriously challenged the Butcher. Dennis had his battles with
third place finisher Jake Swanson. Lance Butler was fourth and Zac
Bozanich closed out the top five. Great to see rookies Gaunt and
Michnowicz running hard. Butcher also owns the point’s race and pulled
down five hundred bucks from vrafan.com for picking the Trifecta a few
weeks back (no easy feat). Good fortune is dripping off of this guy and
it’s because he’s got a winning attitude. Check him out, upfront at any
race at Ventura.
Michael Lewis Eats Up Ventura Dirt
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The Great Wally Pankratz
Ford
Focus drivers (eligible young as fourteen) knocked out an exciting main
event. But it was Alex Bowman that had star billing working from eight
position to first place. Walt Johnson ran an impressive start, holding
off an aggressive Kevin Michnowicz and tough Austin Williams. Nick
Carlson slotted behind Bowman for second with an awesome drive. At one
point Johnson, Bowman and Carlson were running practically side-by-side
for first. Williams took third, Johnson in fourth and confident Kevin
Michnowicz finishing top five. Great racing.
Bowman Beats Everybody
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It Can’t Be That Hard To Sell This Place Out
Check
out the New Fan Challenge. VRAFAN.COM is sponsoring a chance for fans
to bring a rookie and win money. Show up, buy two tickets and fill out
the drawing stub with the sponsor name and the new fan name. They will
pull a winner out of a Helmet right before the main event. Winning stub
will pay $250 to the sponsor, another $250 to the new fan. Now what’s
wrong with that? There has been a lot of chatter on the message board
about bringing in new fans. It’s only going to happen the old fashioned
way, drag them in kicking and screaming. The money is just trying to
prime the pump. It’s the first weekend after the Fourth of July; just
about everyone should be home. It’s right after a two-week break; I
will be needing my speeding. It’s going to be a great race to show
people, the All Coast Challenge will be paying 2K to the winner. Naylor
is making the whole month of July free to kids twelve and under. Holy
Hoosiers, what’s it gonna take? Anybody that ever indicated they want
to help Ventura Raceway grow, bring a new fan July 12. Let’s sell this
joint out.
Ventura Raceway #1 Fans Galen and Joyce
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Joseph Fabozzi Never Said Die
First
Midget race of the year in April featured twenty-one cars. The gas
crunch had us this weekend at seventeen. I assume it’s the gas crunch.
Brutal. The good news is that this is an extremely gifted group,
including Rahe, McQueen, Sarna, Faas, Fabozzi, Pierovich and Ford. Ford
started on the pole and dominated the race. Danny Ebberts was running a
strong second while the real fighting was for third between Joseph
Fabozzi and Robby Josett. On the thirteenth lap your points leader Nic
Faas caught Randi Pankratz’s wheel and cashed out. Ebberts lost
positions as Scott Pierovich, Josett, and Shannon McQueen gained.
McQueen has been on a tear and her full throttle approach here was
plain to see. But it was really Fabozzi that stood out in a desperate
attempt to catch and pass Ford. Ford doesn’t make many mistakes, but
Fabozzi never lost heart or drive. Talented Chris Rahe and C.J. Sarna
crashed about lap twenty-four. It finished Ford, Fabozzi, McQueen,
Ernie Bartley III and Randi Pankratz. I love the speed, sound and fury
of the midgets.
Josh Ford Continues His Winning Ways
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VRA
Junior Midgets ran solo this weekend as Saturday night’s opening act.
They did good. Tyler Jerman passed Austin Figueroa halfway through the
race and never looked back. Austin tells me it’s hard to pass, you just
have to wait for someone to make a mistake and make your move. Tyler
didn’t make any mistakes. Michaela Stanton took third, Luke Boles in
fourth and Brennan Rogers as your top five. Brennan Rogers is tied with
Jessica Clark for the points lead. Luke Boles had the most passes.
Tyler Jerman With Cousin Cody
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Brian Camarillo Is On The Cusp
It
was great to have Josh Ford and Luis Espinoza grace the house this
weekend. USAC-CRA was in Santa Maria and the cost of fuel was
prohibitive for many. Special shout out to Espinoza sponsor Tom Ingram,
who was home sick and missed the race. We missed you, Tom, thanks for
every time you bring the 09 to Ventura. I thought Josh Ford was going
to clean sweep both Midgets and Sprints, but Kevin Kierce had other
plans. He took the front row next to Ford and burst from the gate.
Track was excellent and Kierce found his groove on the top. Guy
Woodward took a nasty flip in turn one, going over Clark Templeman’s
left rear and gathering up hard charging Rick Hendrix. Guy says
everything was black when he stopped moving. Both he and Hendrix gone.
There wasn’t a lot of passing up front with one exception, Brian
Camarillo. Brian went from seventh to second showing a lot of skill and
nerve. He passed everybody that had anything. He passed McCormick,
Thomson, Taylor, Conrad and Espinoza. Really impressive watching him
pass Josh Ford for the second spot. Both Camarillo boys exhibit a
blow-torch desire to race. After passing Ford, Brian went after Kevin
but the Calculator was way gone. Further back Angel Figueroa had the
most passes going from twentieth to tenth. Bobby Michnowicz ripped from
seventeenth to ninth. It finished Kierce, Brian Camarillo, Josh Ford,
Luis Espinoza and Steve Conrad.
Kierce Crew In A Very Familiar Spot
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I
already explained that Kevin Kierce smoked the feature. It would be
hard to convey my enthusiasm for Kevin Kierce. Check out the feature
wins, the long history, watch the Loudpedal crash compilation Pacific
Vibrations and see the vicious wipeouts this man has endured. Climbed
out, rebuilt the car, showed up to race again. Over and over. It’s
beyond inspiration and we are not worthy. He’s got a vise lock on the
championship points because it’s important to him. He understands the
history and respects the value of it all. It means something.
Brent Knows Who He’s Racing
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