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All Comers invited to Murph's Turf ; Bandit VRA Grand Slam at Bakersfield! By Peter Curto With all of the states best sprint car drivers converging on Bakersfield Speedway for Saturday nights Grand Slam. Bandit standout "Perfect" Peter Murphy all but owns the legendary speedway where many of open-wheeled greats proved themselves over many decades. Murphy's success has almost forced Bakersfield owner/promoter Scott Schweitzer to issue a press release stating that contrary to the rumors, the Schweitzer family still owns the grounds even though Murphy owns all of the trophies this year along with the initial Bakersfield Grand Slam event ever. The fact is only other winners have come when Murphy was racing else where.
The surface sure suits the style of the calculating veteran driver. The pilot of the Tarlton and Son jet black Tachi Palace 21 has not had to gamble this season as great runs have been a sure bet every time. The ability to adapt to the rapidly changing surface has been a team hallmark and been an almost unfair advantage at the Bakersfield events so far this season. Another strong suit as well is never missing a detail on the rules and procedures of an event. All of the black shirts are always asking questions and watching everybody and everything, as they should be, they are never caught off guard. The competitive spirit is alive and well with the driver and team as the Bandit bar is raised in 2008.
The Tarlton team will certainly have their hands full Saturday night with a stout VRA contingent let alone from his Bandito amigos. The VRA hot shoes will challenging Murphy will be plentiful as they will surely be on hand to accept the challenge of beating the best to lay claim to their own chest beating and title claiming.
Defending Grand Slam and VRA champion Greg "Champ" Taylor is a veteran VRA standout. Champ was hot on Murphy's tail at the Kings Speedway Grand Slam opener in April. Taylor and Murphy both have Shark powered machines in common as well as a great handle on the handle. Taylor is an experienced veteran who typifies the no quarter given style VRA drivers. On the tight 1/5 mile bullring things happen in hurry and reflexes are honed to a razors edge. That is why it is no surprise that VRA racers are competitive on the larger faster tracks. The proof is the VRA stars have won two of the three previous Grand Slam Championships. "Champ" Taylor is currently 2nd in the Grand Slam series and is battling Murphy to be the first two-time Grand Slam Champion.
The VRA also has many great stand outs like "Fierce" Kevin Kierce whose team most resembles the Tarlton crew in intensity and seriousness as well as personality. Kierce has won several features this year including the All Coast Construction event at Ventura. Kierce also lays claim to winning the first Grand Slam race ever held at Kings Speedway. Kierce is currently on top of the hotly contested VRA points chase looking for his second championship title. Kevin was the 1999 I.M.C.A. Sprint Car champion at Ventura. At the first G.S. at Kings in April, KK dropped from his heat and had to start scratch in the "B" feature and won. The yellow 2S then came from the 18th starting spot in the "A" to a very respectable 5th place finish when he ran out of laps. Never count this VRA leader out of contention.
The third generation racer from legendary stock, Clark Templeman III is currently second with the VRA in points and is pressuring Kierce and his team's championship quest. Templeman has been fast and close to wins at every Grand Slam event. Bad luck has kept Clark just shy of the target but sits in 5th spot in points ready to strike. Chris Wakim and his fine 9W team are another example of a classy team who know how to win as well as represent the sport well. The champion sandwiched in between Murphy and Taylor is the irrepressible Jimmy "Neutron" Crawford. The long time VRA star has been making his presence felt with the USAC/CRA organization in a good way. His heavy right foot and experience shows as he earned a hard fought 2006 G.S. title as well as the 2002 VRA Championship.
Also coming on strong with the VRA crew are the rising stars like "the Outlaw" Brandon Thomson who will race anyone any time any where! Or feature winners "Flyin" Brian Camarillo and talented Greg Alexander both in different number 22 cars. Veteran VRA performers "D-Rod" Dennis Rodriguez, Steve Conrad, Rick Hendrix and Richard McCormick all are winners with something to offer fans at the each and every event they show up at. Also having a great rookie season is sure future standout is Justin Kierce.
Long time USAC/CRA and VRA stand out Troy Rutherford also of a great racing pedigree is also a front runner and constant threat to win. Josh Ford, Eric Severson and Luis Espinosa are all VRA standouts who are USAC/CRA regulars this season. Ford is a versatile shoe who has won many 360 and 410 races as well as being a midget contender with many noteworthy feature wins. VRA champion Luis Espinosa has been racing the 92 Moose car at Perris but is more recognizable in his black and purple number 09 bruiser cruiser. Luis quietly won the 2006 VRA title and people have taken notice ever since. Severson has several fast times with the bandit series and is owed a victory with many near misses in the past year.
And we haven't even mentioned the Kruseman corral. Hobie Conway will lead "The Kingsburg Cowboy" Austin Mero, youngster Alex Schutte and "Hammerin'" Henry Clarke and the rest of the Krusemaniacs as they motor into town with their usual merry troupe of 4-5 entries!
Wild card performers who may show up could be USAC stars Blake Miller who won the 2005 VRA title along with Bakersfield homeboy Tom "Terrific" Stansberry who has back-to-back VRA titles in 2003-2004. 17 year old Jonathon Henry, who finished 3rd at Kings, had a great season in 2007 as one of the Krusemaniacs and is currently running his own family effort from their Stockton race shop. Henry is tough and fast money racer where ever they have run in 2008 including winning the D'Angelo's Coatings event in April at Ventura.
All of this to keep the bragging rights with the VRA!
Don't feel sorry for the Bandito crowd, Murphy is far from the only bullet in that pistola. In fact, multiple Bandit champion and arguably the strongest 360 sprint car driver this decade "Big Daddy" Davey Pombo is back after a USAC/CRA stint with iTi Performance. The King of Kerman is piloting the beautiful white iTi Performance; Brad Downing powered 27 of Bakersfield gentleman John Iturriria. This team has come out of the box as contenders running familiar and successful equipment and has fallen just shy of victory while being a consistent front runner as expected. Look for this championship caliber team to come in as a strong favorite this week-end. Once Davey Pombo finds a winning stride, watch out because they are fully capable of a long and dominating winning streak.
"Fast" Albert Pombo is Davey's cousin but has the high powered championship gene. Albert currently is second in the Bandit championship and has been fast where ever they have run. Missing the season opener in Bakersfield, young master Pombo has racked up an impressive streak of consistency that is sure to net him a spot in victory lane. Albert has been rolling in the dough in 2008 with his family's Extreme Pizza Special sprinter.
The black McGowen 11 driven by Greg Bragg has been flying since taking over for rookie TJ Smith after the last G.S. race at Kings. Winner of the July '07's Santa Maria G.S. race, this partnership has been very powerful since reuniting in April. Bragg is a veteran of USAC/CRA and a Lightning Sprint Car champion who has lifted the talent bar with the Bandit series and is a threat to win G.S. races. He placed 2nd in the most recent Bakersfield event, pounding on Murphy's tail the whole race. With this strong combination of team, driver, owner and crew certainly have their act together. Watch out for this hard core racer to be on the podium anytime anywhere.
Bakersfield is very well represented with home grown talents like Rusty Carlile, John Iturriria, young Ricky Kirkbride, teacher Matt Day and Taft's irrepressible son Jayson May. Carlile finished 2nd at the season opener and looked strong but a hard luck streak has held this strong team to mixed results. After jumping a tire at the Kings Grand Slam event and taking a low-light reel tumble on the back stretch and ending his night with a splitting head-ache. The John Goodman led crew got the red 51 back into action the very next week. Look for Rusty's area 51 team to get back to their winning ways this week-end. Nothing tastes better than home cookin'. Look for a green four leaf clover for this team and stand back! This personable driver will single handedly be responsible for filling a section of the grand stand.
John Iturriria is very smooth and fast at his home track and bad luck has kept him from victory at Bakersfield. Giving his good ride up for Pombo, John is running his 27X TCR chassis. John is fully capable of running up front and is one of the sports good guys. Young racer Ricky Kirkbride also has been snake bitten at his home track but look for the voodoo to be lifted as his familiar looking paint scheme heads to the front. It closely resembles the Bobby Davis car that they took over. This team also runs iTi/TCR equipment and look for them to show what they can do with the best competition. Matt Day is a long time Bandit racer who runs a part time sprint car schedule. Jayson May is a intense competitor who cannot be discounted, especially at Bakersfield. His bright orange 8M has had it's bugs this season but they seem to have them worked out and are ready to return to their winning ways. The May clan threatens the Carlile crew for the largest area of the grand stand taken up. Count the orange shirts, there will be a bunch.
Young gun Justyne Hamblin was SCRA's last Rookie-of-the-Year in 2007 and has put everyone on notice that she and her team will be future sprint car champions. Also missing the season opener Hamblin has put together a strong effort currently setting in 3rd with the Bandit series and a strong 4th in the Grand Slam series. Hamblin is in contention for the title in her second year which bodes well for her bright future. Michael Faccinto is another young gun that is not quite a rookie but is lightning quick and has a '08 Bandit feature to his credit.
It is a very fine year as the Bandit Rookie crop ripens on the vine. Led by '08 feature winner Richard VanderWeerd and brother Jace VanderWeerd, these twins are a mere 16 point apart in an intense battle for the ROY. These brothers sit a respectable 6th and 8th in bandit Series points. In a close 3rd in the Bandit ROY chase is 9th place Wes Gutierrez of Gilroy. The Gilroy Gasser is in 14th in Grand Slam points and finished a strong 3rd in the last event at Bakersfield. "Quick" Rick Eberhardt, the previously mentioned Ricky Kirkbride, and Hanford's big Jared Little and Hollister new comer Tyler Schmidt are all future stars and represent the future of sprint car racing. These fine racers represent the best and strongest rookie group since Bandit series began 14 years ago.
Veteran Bandit star Davey Knott of Fresno is a long time series competitor and leader who will be looking to turn his abominable Bakersfield luck. The last time out he had a flat in qualifying and then had a brake rotor disintegrate in his heat which sent him into the turn 3 wall destroying his evening and equipment. Former SCRA champion Jonathon Logan is another fast and hard racer who has had the wrong luck much of the season although has had many strong runs this season. The Hanford's lead foot is certainly working on the new Maxim chassis to get back where he had been recently. The super popular "Hollywood" Danny Faria is a long time winged sprint car veteran who has been very competitive with non-wing sprint cars where ever he runs. Work comes first for this family oriented racer but when he comes out to play he plays hard and to win. He is excitement personified!
Fresno is also well represented with Kevin Barnes and Jeff Gardner. KB finished 6th at the first Bandit Bakersfield race and is a racers racer. Low on dollars but high in talent and desire, Barnes is a more mature racer who everyone respects as he gets the most out of his equipment and rarely wrecks. Kevin often brings home his car with all four wheels rolling and currently sits 8th in the G.S. standings. Jeff Gardner is another star who is a veteran of both dirt and asphalt sprint car racing. Jeff has averaged a 6th place finish at Bakersfield in his two starts including a fourth at the season opener. With his diverse experience, the bright orange 51T will be easy to spot moving forward at Bakersfield and sits 19th in G.S. points.
Danny "Showtime" Sheridan and the Kittle Motorsports team are not previously mentioned. Winning both of their Bandit starts, they may represent the biggest fly in the ointment for most teams with USAC/CRA having a well placed night off. A two-time sprint car champion (SMS-IMCA and Bandit) and one of the hottest USAC stars, "Showtime' just may put the Kittle blue 18 at the top of the mountain. He has wins with both the VRA, Grand Slam as well as many Bandit wins. The Kittle Krew just may be the only team who can match the consistency of the team Tarlton and Son and rival Davey Pombo's speed and success.
With drivers coming from far northern California and far southern California, Bakersfield represents a great mid-state venue to host this event. Who is left out here in addition to these great Bandit and VRA stars? There is no race at Victorville, but are there many 360's there? There are probably some more teams that are capable of winning in this great state, but until there is otherwise, Bakersfield is still Murph's turf! The Grand Slam series lays open the claim for the best sprint car driver in the state. You doubt it? Show up to Schweitzer's place Saturday night.
For tickets and information call Bakersfield Speedway - Phone: (661) 393-3373 Fax: (661) 393-7085 Buy your tickets in advance before they are gone. This premium show is sure to be packed! The weather is set to be beautiful and the beverages cool and refreshing. Bring your family, bring your friends, bring your neighbors along with your friend's neighbors to "the West's Fastest 1/3 Mile High Banked Short Track" and enjoy the great full program with the side by side racing of the IMCA Modifieds.
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