By Lance Jennings
VENTURA, CA – SEPTEMBER 14, 2011… This Saturday night, September 17th, Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway will host another action packed card. The race could play a fey role in the VRA Sprint Car championship as point leader and last week’s winner Greg Taylor holds 245 point advantage over Josh Ford. With six races remaining on the schedule and over 240 points available on race day, the battle for the title is far from over.
Joining Saturday’s showcase will be the VRA Midgets, Ford Focus Midgets, Junior Focus Midgets, IMCA Modifieds, and VRA Go Karts. The Pit Gate will open at noon, Front Gates will open at 3:00pm with Racing at “The Best Little Dirt Track In America” to begin at 5:30pm.
Piloting Tommy Horne’s potent #13 sprinter, Ventura’s Greg Taylor started twelfth and passed Josh Ford on the last lap to claim his third main event of the year. The 2007 Champion and current point leader has seven heat race victories, two hard charger awards, twelve top-10 finishes, and leads the series with eighty-eight feature laps led. This Saturday night, Taylor will be looking for another victory as he continues to inch closer to another title.
Josh Ford of Camarillo led twenty-nine laps of last Saturday’s main event before settling into second. Driving the #73 King Racing Products / A&A Precision Machining entry, Ford has yet to score a feature win, but has been very consistent by leading the series with fourteen top-10 finishes. Currently second in the hunt for the championship, the former USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has four heat race victories, one hard charger award, and led thirty-five main event laps. Josh will have his sights set on Saturday’s 30-lap feature win and gaining valuable points on Taylor.
Quartz Hill’s Steve Conrad is third in the point standings. Piloting the #56 Roy Miller Freightlines / SC Grafix special, the former USAC TQ Midget graduate was third in last week’s feature after starting fifth. Conrad has two main event wins in 2011, along with one heat race victory, three hard charger awards, thirteen top-10 finishes, and forty-eight feature laps led. Steve could play a spoiler in the point chase by adding another main event win to his resume.
Driving the #22 Agromin Soil / Waste Management entry, Camarillo’s Brian Camarillo is fourth in the point chase. Last Saturday night, Camarillo scored seventeenth after a crash ended his night. To date, the veteran driver has one feature win, seven heat race victories, one semi-main win, nine top-10 finishes, and thirty feature laps led to his credit. Brian will be looking to rebound and surprise the field with a main event victory.
Camarillo’s Brent Camarillo has climbed to fifth in the championship points. Piloting the #51 Agromin Soil / Waste Management car, Brent was seventh in last Saturday’s feature. In 2011, the young driver has three heat race victories, one semi-main win, one hard charger award, six top-10 finishes, and seventeen feature laps led. Camarillo will be in the mix for the feature win on Saturday.
Among the other top contenders expected to be in action are Ojai’s Derek Buckley, Don Gansen of Rialto, Santa Barbara’s Markus Niemela, Jimmy Crawford of Newbury Park, Ventura’s Cory Kruseman, Norwalk’s Brandon Thomson, Ojai’s Troy Rutherford, 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 3355; 2. Josh Ford 3110; 3. Steve Conrad 2950; 4. Brian Camarillo 2695; 5. Brent Camarillo 2445; 6. Derek Buckley 2365; 7. Don Gansen 2290; 8. Markus Niemela 1995; -. Jimmy Crawford 1995; 10. Kyle Smith 1980; 11. Cory Kruseman 1805; 12. Austin DeBlauw 1665; 13. Dakota Kershaw 1550; 14. Tom Harper 1385; 15. Guy Woodward 1255; 16. Troy Rutherford 1235; 17. Brandon Thomson 1175; 18. Tom Hendricks 1150; 19. Cody Kershaw 1130; 20. Steve Hix 1075.
VRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
September 17 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
September 24 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 1 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 15 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 29* – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
November 12 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
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*All Coast Construction 360 Challenge.