By Lance Jennings
VENTURA, CA – SEPTEMBER 28, 2011… The cars and stars of the VRA Sprint Car Series will return to action this Saturday night, October 1st, at Jim Naylor’s Ventura Raceway. The action packed program will also feature the Senior Sprint Cars, Dwarf Cars, Mod Lites, Mod Lite Juniors, Go Karts, Junior Midgets, and Mini Dwarfs. 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.
With four races to go in the chase for the championship, Ventura’s Greg Taylor has a stout 550 point lead over the competition. Last Saturday night, the pilot of the #7 Clark Engineering Construction / Westco International Consulting Inc. entry won his ninth heat race of the year and placed ninth in the feature. To date, the former track champion has four feature wins, two hard charger awards, and fourteen top-10 finishes on the year. Taylor will have his sights set on another main event win as he gets closer to another crown.
Steve Conrad of Quartz Hill has climbed to second in the championship points. At the last event, the driver of the #56 Roy Miller Freightlines / SC Grafix special was third in his heat race and scored thirteenth in the feature. In 2011, the veteran driver has two feature wins, one heat race victory, three hard charger awards, and thirteen top-10 finishes. Conrad will be looking to rebound with a strong performance and a Ventura main event victory.
Currently sitting third in the point chase is Camarillo’s Brian Camarillo. Last Saturday night, the pilot of the #81 Christian Stover Foundation / Steve Watt Enterprises car won his eighth heat race and second main event of the season. The hard charging driver also has one semi-main win and ten top-10 finishes to his credit. Camarillo will be looking for another feature triumph at Ventura Raceway.
Josh Ford of Camarillo is fourth in the point standings. The driver of the #73 King Racing Products / A&A Precision Machine entry did not compete in last Saturday’s show, but is tied for the series lead with fourteen top-10 finishes. The former USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has four heat race victories, one hard charger award, and thirty-five main event laps led on the year. The veteran driver is a threat to win on any given night.
Camarillo’s Brent Camarillo is fifth in the standings. On September 24th, the pilot of the #51 Agromin Soil / Waste Management car was sixth in his heat race and sixth in the 30-lap feature. To date, Brent has four heat race victories, one semi-main win, one Hard Charger Award, and eight top-10 finishes on the season. Camarillo will have his sights set on his first victory of the year on Saturday.
Among the other top contenders expected to be in action are Moorpark’s Kyle Smith, Santa Barbara’s Markus Niemela, Jimmy Crawford of Newbury Park, Oak Park’s Dakota and Cody Kershaw, 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 3790; 2. Steve Conrad 3240; 3. Brian Camarillo 3115; 4. Josh Ford 3110; 5. Brent Camarillo 2855; 6. Kyle Smith 2380; 7. Derek Buckley 2365; 8. Don Gansen 2290; 9. Markus Niemela 2195; 10. Jimmy Crawford 1995; 11. Dakota Kershaw 1940; 12. Austin DeBlauw 1930; 13. Cory Kruseman 1805; 14. Guy Woodward 1605; 15. Cody Kershaw 1510; 16. Tom Harper 1385; 17. Tom Hendricks 1340; 18. Troy Rutherford 1235; 19. Brandon Thomson 1175; 20. Steve Hix 1075.
VRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
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.