By Lance Jennings
VENTURA, CA – JULY 21, 2011… This Saturday, July 23rd, the traditional 360 Sprint Cars of the Ventura Racing Association will compete in Round #14 at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway. Joining the action packed card will be the Senior Sprints, Dwarf Cars, Mod Lites, Mod Lite Juniors, Junior Midgets & Mini Dwarfs. The front gates will open at 3:00pm with racing at “The Best Little Dirt Track In America” to begin at 5:30pm.
Heading into Saturday’s action, Greg Taylor of Ventura holds a 260 point lead over the competition. Driving the #7 Clark Engineering Construction / Westco International Consulting Inc. special, Taylor scored a seventeenth place finish the last time out and will be looking to rebound with a victory. To date, the former track champion has two feature wins, six heat race victories, ten top-10 finishes, and eighty-seven feature laps led to his credit.
Camarillo’s Josh Ford is second in the championship point standings and will have his eyes set on Saturday’s 30-lap feature win. Piloting the #73 King Racing Products / A&A Precision Machining entry, Ford claimed third after starting eighth on July 16th. The former USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has four heat race victories, one hard charger award, eleven top-10 finishes, and six feature laps led in the 2011 campaign.
Veteran driver Steve Conrad of Quartz Hill is third in the VRA point chase. Last Saturday night, the driver of the #56 Roy Miller Freightlines / SC Grafix machine came home fourth in the Ventura main event. The former USAC TQ Midget graduate has one feature win, one heat race victory, three hard charger awards, ten top-10 finishes, and eighteen feature laps led on the season. Look for Conrad to have a strong performance this Saturday night.
Camarillo’s Brian Camarillo has come on strong over the last few races to secure fourth in the point standings. Driving the #22 Agromin Soil / Waste Management special, Camarillo finished second to Troy Rutherford last Saturday night. The young driver has one feature win, six heat race victories, one semi-main win, seven top-10 finishes, and has led 30 feature laps led to his credit. Camarillo will be looking to add another Ventura feature win to his resume.
Don Gansen of Rialto is fifth in the point chase. Piloting the Gansen Motorsports #7G Sprinter, Don earned last Saturday’s Hard Charger / Best Passing Job with a sixth place run after starting nineteenth. The California Lightning Sprint Car graduate has one feature win, two heat race victories, and has led thirty-three feature laps led on the season. Look for Gansen to challenge for the Ventura 30-lap feature victory.
Among the other top contenders expected to be in action are Ojai’s Derek Buckley, Camarillo’s Brent Camarillo, Markus Niemela of Santa Barbara, Ventura’s Cory Kruseman, Jimmy Crawford of Newbury Park, Ojai’s Troy Rutherford, Santa Clarita’s Clark Templeman III, and many more.
Ventura Raceway is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California. Adult tickets are $14, Senior, Military, and Student tickets (ID Required) are $11, while Children’s tickets (12 and under) are FREE. For more event information, please visit www.venturaraceway.com or call (805) 985-5433.
To catch all of the action of the VRA Sprint Car Series and Ventura Raceway, Mike Truex’s Loudpedal Productions has DVD videos available for purchase. For more information, call (805) 407-7229 or visit www.loudpedalvideo.com. In addition, Ventura Raceway offers a live feed of every event at www.venturaraceway.com/live.html. The live feed is scheduled to begin at 5:00pm PST.
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VRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Greg Taylor 2765; 2. Josh Ford 2505; 3. Steve Conrad 2295; 4. Brian Camarillo 2200; 5. Don Gansen 2100; 6. Derek Buckley 2085; 7. Brent Camarillo 2000; 8. Markus Niemela 1815; 9. Kyle Smith 1595; 10. Cory Kruseman 1565; 11. Jimmy Crawford 1505; 12. Austin DeBlauw 1410; 13. Tom Harper 1385; 14. Brandon Thomson 1175; 15. Dakota Kershaw 1080; 16. Brody Roa 1055; 17. Guy Woodward 1005; 18. John Nock 955; 19. Clark Templeman III 920; 20. Troy Rutherford 810.
NEXT VRA SPRINT CAR RACE:
July 23rd – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California