by Cliff Morgan
Greg Taylor passed Marcus Niemela on lap 26 of the 30 lap feature Saturday night to take his fourth win of the 2010 VRA 360 Sprint Car Series season. Taylor put his car out front after Niemela had led the first 25 laps of the feature from his pole position starting spot. The race was one that saw fifteen of the 20 starters finish on the lead lap. The race was a fast and furious one that saw one red flag for a flip by Brent Camarillo on lap 17. On the restart Niemela led the field until lap 25 when Taylor got by him to take the win. Niemela followed him across the line to score his best ever VRA finish. Following these two drivers across the line were Cory Kruseman, Josh Ford and Steve Conrad. Taylor’s win keeps him in second place in the point race behind point leader Troy Rutherford who finished a strong 6th after having to come from last starting place to win the semi main and then from 17th starting position in the main. The LRB Manufacturing Heat Race #1 went to Cory Kruseman, The Steve Watt Enterprises Heat # 2 went to Brian Camarillo, the Kaeding Performance Heat #3 went to Greg Taylor and the Fast Undercar Heat #4 went to Luis Espinoza. The ITI Semi Main Event went to Rutherford. The Sushi Fresh Hard Charger award went to Rutherford as well for his 11 position improvement in the feature. Ventura Raceway and all our drivers want to thank our contingency sponsors that have come on board to help out our fine drivers. Troy Rutherford maintains a 285 point lead in the series point race as we now take a month break for the running of the 2010 Ventura County Fair.
In VRA Senior Sprint Car action, past VRA Sprint Car Champion Rob Kershaw took the 20 lap feature over teammate Gary Howard. The two number 26 cars raced hard to the finish as these two teammates have dominated the last few Senior features. Following Kershaw and Howard to the line were past champion Bruce Douglass, Cliff Warren who had led 1-11 and Bob Alderman who had another strong run.. Three heat races were run with wins in the heats going to Kershaw in the LRB Heat one, Douglass in the Maxwell Industries heat two and Jeff Culver in the Fast Undercar heat three. Rob Kershaw’s win keeps him 295 points ahead of Douglass in the season long point race.
IMCA Modifieds ran another great 20 lap main event that saw visiting driver Danny Lauer take the IMCA feature win over Kyle Heckman. The race came down to a pass by Lauer on lap 17 of the 20 lap race. Heckman had led the first 16 laps. Following Lauer and Heckman across the line were Randy McGraw, Aaron Rodarte and Randy Thornell. Heat race wins on the night went to Lauer and Heckman. Austin Rodarte continues his point lead in the series. He holds the lead by 27 points over brother Aaron Rodarte after 13 events. IMCA Modifieds will be here on August 5th to race for a first place prize of $850 at the 2010 Ventura County Fair.
VRA Sport Compacts put on a god night of racing action in this entry level class. Point leader Trevor Fitzgibbon took another win as he led 19laps of the 20 lap feature. He passed pole sitter Michaela Stanton who led lap one. Following Fitzgibbon across the line were Mike Frazier, Brent Underwood, Jason Marshall and Cody Greiman. Heat race wins went to Underwood and Frazier. Fitzgibbon continues to lead in points by 220 over Cody Greiman. Sport Compacts will also be back on August 5, to run at the FAIR.
USAC Young Gun Focus Midgets were in the pits to race on Saturday as well. A small field of 6 cars ran a heat race and a feature. The heat race went to Alex Jacobsen. The 20 lap feature was a good race between the top four finishers who were tightly bunched the final 10 laps. The win went to Tanner Kershaw, with Jacobsen, Colin Henry and Casey Martinez following him across the finish line. The Young Guns will be here at the FAIR on August 4th.
The last group racing Saturday night was our VRA Go Karts. There were 18 karts in the main event that saw Robert DeGuadio take lead from Ken Ito on lap 8 to take the win. His win puts him in the point lead for the season. Three heats were run with wins going to Josh Ford, Tayler Hayley and Scott Bohle. A semi main event was run to set the main event starting field with the win going to George Ito. Go karts are a part of the FAIR Motorsports events with a race set for August 5th.
Ventura Raceway will be dark next Saturday July 31, as we prepare for the two day Ventura County Fair Motorsports events. The two days will feature events that run Wednesday August 4, with VRA Dwarf Cars, USAC Focus, Young Gun Focus, Mini Dwarfs, Junior Midgets and a Demolition Derby and then on August 5, with IMCA Modifieds, VRA Sport Compacts, Go Karts and Demolition Derby. We will then a break as the FAIR makes its run and return to regular Ventura Raceway action on Saturday August 28.