by Cliff Morgan
Troy Rutherford became the newest VRA Sprint Car Champion on Saturday night by clinching the 201 championship with a second place finish in the 30 lap feature event.
Rutherford’s accomplishment comes in a year when he has consistently run up front in a tough series. He has won five main events, taken 15 heat race wins and finished in the top five in 18 of his 19 races. With two races left in the season he can only improve on these stats. Racing Saturday night was another night of great sprint car action. Josh Ford moved into second place as he took the win in a green white checker 30 lap main event that saw Richard McCormick lead lap 1-7. Ford took the lead on lap eight and went on to take his second win in 2010. Rutherford finished second followed by Rick Hendrix, Brian Camarillo and Brandon Thomson. The race took just six minutes and thirty-two seconds to run 30 laps. There were 32 sprint cars signed into the pits Saturday night. Four heat races were run with wins going to Cody Kershaw in the LRB Manufacturing Heat One, Troy Rutherford in the Steve Watt Enterprises Heat Two, Rick Hendrix in the Kaeding Performance Heat Three and Brian Camarillo in the Fast Undercar Heat Three. The ITI Performance Semi Main went to Steve Conrad. The Hard Charger Award for the night went to Nick Faas who moved from 20th to eighth in the feature.
The VRA Drivers are now focusing their efforts toward next week’s All Coast Challenge Race which will feature a purse that sees a $5,000 first place check going to the winner. This race will also see a starting amount of $300 and a $500 Hard Charger Award. When the race is over we will also crown a three-race series champion who will receive a check for $5,000. Several drivers including Josh Ford, Troy Rutherford, Jimmy Crawford and Greg Taylor are all shooting to take the series champion check.
The USAC Midgets returned to Ventura Raceway Saturday night as well with 30 cars signed into the pits. The night proved to be a night of exciting racing that reminded many of the midget races that made Ventura famous in the 1990’s. The 30-lap feature saw a 22-car field scheduled to take the green. Cody Swanson and Kenny Perkins had mechanical issues and failed to take the green so the race began with 20 cars on the track. The race proved to be a rough night for many drivers as 10 cars fell out by lap 18. Included in these were point leader Cory Kruseman who exited the race on lap 9. The race up front was a good one with visiting driver Brad Loyet taking the lead from Robbie Josett on lap 7 and then battling Johnathon Henry the rest of the way to take the win. Following Loyet and Henry to the line were Randi Pankratz, David Prickett and Josett. There were four heat races run Saturday with wins going to Cory Kruseman, Troy Rutherford, Johnathon Henry and T J Smith. The Semi Main event went to Josh Lakatos. Kruseman’s 17-place finish keeps him in the USAC Western States Midget series points lead. These drivers are looking forward to Ventura Raceway’s Fall Classic presented by ARP to be held on November 20. This race will be a USAC National Midget Series race that will feature a $10,000 winners check. All the top midget racers are expected to be here for that very special race.
USAC Ford Focus Midgets were on hand to continue their season. There was one heat race run for the eight cars signed into the pits. The eight-lap race went to Nick Carlson who led all 20 laps to take the win. The race ran green white checker. Following Carlson to the line were Wally Pankratz, Kyle Edwards, Tony Cinque and Jet Davison.
The USAC Young Gun Series, formerly known as Junior Focus also raced Saturday with their one heat race win going to Jared Blondell. The 20-lap feature went to Tanner Kershaw. This race also ran green white checker. Finishing second through fifth were Casey Martinez, Jared Blondell, Bradley Morris and Alex Jacobsen.
VRA Pro Dwarf Cars also competed in the night’s racing. Two heat races were run with wins going to Lars Wolfe and Curt Cook. Wolfe went on to take the win in the feature but his car failed post race tech giving the win to Angel Figueroa. Finishing second through fifth were Curt Cook, Thomas Velasquez, Michael Sweeney Jr. and Tom Stevens.
The final class racing was our VRA Go Karts. The win in the 20 lap feature went to James Locy followed by David Pankratz, Jeremy Ellertson, Ashley Hazleton and Kyle Park. Robert DeGuadio finished 8th and took the season championship by 5 points over 2009 champion David Pankratz. Heat race wins on the night went to Richard Renken, Ken Ito and Austin Figueroa.
Be sure to be here next Saturday night October 23, as we will crown the VRA Sprint Car All Coast Champion in the final All Coast Series Race of 2010. This promises to be a very special night. Also racing that night will be VRA Dwarf Cars and Sport Compacts.