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DATELINE MAY 30
HANFORD, CA
SCRA BACK TO WORK
By Dan Fleisher
After three weeks of “down time,” the Sprint Car Racing Association returns to action this Saturday at Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA. The 360 c.i. wingless sprinters make their fifth appearance (of 13) at the popular 3/8’s-mile clay facility.
Although the series has been on hiatus since May 12, point leaders Davey Pombo and Peter Murphy have been hard at work, continuing their rivalry. The pair sauntered over to the coast last Saturday for a visit to Santa Maria Speedway, where they ran one-two for the fourth time this season. After exchanging the lead several times, Pombo took the checkers on this occasion. Desirous of keep their skills honed, the pair ran the following night with at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway where Pombo captured his heat and Murphy finished 10th in the feature against the potent USAC/CRA 410 c.i. contingent.
Although SCRA’s series has been dominated by this pair, the competition will be keen with regulars Rusty Carlile, winner of three of the last four Trophy Dashes, Richard Harvey Jr., who’s returning to form after a slow start, last year’s champion Jonathan Logan, and Andy Ferris, making his initial start of the season, all eager to upset the dynamic duo. Ferris finished fourth in points last year and was the Passing Masters Dash Champion. Another competitor “hot on the trail” of the Pombo/Murphy combine is Kiwi Alexander, who is primed for his initial feature win after several strong showings in recent events.
Also returning to the series is teenager Michael Faccinto, who takes time from his USAC Midget ride to battle his peers, 17-year-olds Justyne Hamblin, Myles Bishop, Jace VanderWeerd and John Niggli. Niggli is coming off several fine feature finishes, including one sixth-place and two eighth-place recordings in the last three outings.
Other veterans expected to appear include Brian Schuler, with a rebuilt engine, Matt Day, Kevin Barnes, Jeff Gardner, Garrett Ishii, who sheds his Golden State Challenge Series wing, John Iturriria and Ron Tjaarda.
SCRA returns to Kings on June 23rd.
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