by Cliff Morgan
Saturday night September 11, was a night for Don Gansen to shine and Troy Rutherford to continue his season long quest to become the 2010 champion. Gansen finally was able to get his first VRA Sprint Car win in a hard fought battle that saw early race leader Greg Taylor tangle with Brian Camarillo in turn four and flipping hard into the crash wall. The accident put both front runners out of the race on lap 18. From that point on, Gansen who had been running with the leaders, put his number 81 out front for good and took win number one of his VRA career. Rutherford had another good night, but the night with a strong second place finish. Josh Ford came from 12th starting position to finish third, but the move of the race goes to young charger Brody Roa who started 11th in the semi and moved to third and a transfer position and then started 19th in the main and ran all the way to 4th. He ran two great races and was the hard charger of the night. Finishing fifth in the feature was John Nock. Rutherford retains his point lead over Ford and Taylor as we move into the final few races of 2010 next week. Gansen’s popular win comes after a season that has seen him challenge the leaders but often have issues that have kept him out of victory circle. VRA Sprints had 27 360 sprints signed in for the night’s event and fans in attendance knew that they were in for some exciting racing. The night began with four heat races to determine the transfer cars to the main event. Heat race victories went to Marcus NiemelaGreg Taylor, Justin Kierce and Brian Camarillo. One semi main was contested with Ronnie Case taking the win. Joining him in transfer spots to the feature were Steve Conrad, Roa, and Jesse Mack.
VRA Senior Sprints were back Saturday night with 19 cars signed in. Heat race wins went to Cliff Warren, Rob Kershaw and Bruce Douglas. The 20 lap feature was a fast and furious event that saw Jeff Culver lead laps 1-4 and then saw Cliff Warren jump out front and lead from lap 5-13 when he was passed by Rob Kershaw. Kershaw went on to take the win and increase his point lead over Bruce Douglass who finished fourth. Also scoring top five finished were Gary Howard in second, Warren in third and Jesse Denome in fifth.
VRA Dwarf Cars were racing together in two divisions again Saturday night. Angel Figueroa kept his strong season alive by taking the win in the Pro Class. Following him to the checker were Curt Cook, Thomas Velasquez, Mike Lewis and Ray Estrada. Ray Estrada. Lewis was DQd in post race tech inspection but has filled an appeal to the decision and the final finishing order is not final until the appeal is ruled upon. Two Pro heats were run with wins going to Ray Estrada and Angel Figueroa. In Seniors, the win went to George Sack Jr. after apparent winner Kent Benson’s car failed post race inspection and was disqualified. Following Sack across the line were George Calvo, Mitch Hedrick, Mark Davis and Linda Tauylor. Their two heat races went to Kent Benson and Kevin Alverson.
The California Lightening Sprints also raced Saturday night with 11 cars in attendance. Two heat races were run and a 20 lap feature was competed. Results were not given to this reporter so a full accounting of their finish is not available.
In our kid’s divisions, Mini Dwarf Pistons action saw the feature win and heat race win go to Detyn Garcia. Following Garcia in the feature were Logan Rutherford, J D Brown, Ryann Butcher and Garrett Eagan. In Mini Dwarf Super Chargers the win went to Tommy Velasquez in the 12 lap feature, followed by Nick Velasquez, Miles Hedrick, Oliver Blades and Joseph Magana. Their heat race win went to Joseph Magana. In Junior Midgets, the feature went to Devin McCree followed by Tommy Velasquez, Cody Majors, Brennan Rogers and Chase Lippert. Brennan Rogers still maintains the point lead over Devin McCree by 60 points after 10 races. In the Piston feature Ryann Butcher had a hard crash that sent her to the hospital for a check up. Happily she returned to the track before the night was over in good condition.
VRA Sprint Cars return on Saturday night September 18.