By Lance Jennings
VENTURA, CA – OCTOBER 3, 2011… Starting from the third position, Camarillo’s Brent Camarillo took the lead from Jace VanderWeerd on lap nine and led the rest of the way to claim the 30-lap feature at Ventura Raceway. The victory marked Camarillo’s first career triumph with the VRA Sprint Car Series as the young driver sits fifth in the championship points.
Jace VanderWeerd of Visalia shared the front row of the main event with Ventura’s Hobie Conway. As the starter’s green flag waved, VanderWeerd grabbed the lead over the thirteen car field. The traditional 360s roared through the second turn and close quarter racing resulted in a stop for last week’s winner Brian Camarillo and point leader Greg Taylor. Brian was able to restart and Greg’s night was done early.
On the restart, VanderWeerd once again shot to the lead. The visiting driver was looking to put some distance between himself an the field as Brent Camarillo took second. Third became a three-way battle between Conway, Jimmy Crawford, and Richard VanderWeerd. Jace’s twin brother powered his way into third and a high flying Brian Camarillo was making his way forward from the back.
Jace looked strong on the Ventura clay oval as Brent gave chase. With both drivers looking for their first VRA series win, Camarillo inched closer. For several laps, Brent applied heavy pressure and an opening presented itself in turn four. As VanderWeerd ran the outside groove, Camarillo slid underneath to take the lead on lap nine.
Camarillo began to “check out” on the field, while there was intense racing for positions behind him. Twelfth starting Markus Niemela advanced his way forward and had torrid battles with Richard VanderWeerd. Brian Camarillo entered the mix and made his way past Niemela and VanderWeerd to take third. From there, Brent Camarillo sailed to his first victory, followed by Jace VanderWeerd, Brian Camarillo, Markus Niemela, and Richard VanderWeerd.
Piloting the #51 Agromin Soil / Waste Management special, Brent Camarillo had a night to remember. The young driver placed third in his heat race and nine top-10 finishes, four heat race victories, one hard charger award, and one semi-main win on the year.
Jace VanderWeerd led the first eight laps before falling to Camarillo. The driver of the VanderWeerd Construction / Battery Worx #88 entry was fourth in his heat race and had to settle for second in the main event. In limited starts with VRA, Jace has three top-10 finishes to his credit.
Driving Steve Watt’s #81 Christian Stover Foundation / Steve Watt Enterprises car, Camarillo’s Brian Camarillo had to work his way back to finish third. Last week’s main event winner was third in his heat race and now finds himself second in the point chase. In 2011, Camarillo has eight heat race victories, one semi-main win, and eleven top-10 finishes.
Santa Barbara’s Markus Niemela earned the night’s hard charger award with a fourth place run after starting twelfth. Piloting Steve Watt’s #69 Surfnsprint.com / Steve Watt Enterprises special, Niemela was sixth and is currently seventh in the standings. To date, Markus has two heat race victories and ten top-10 finishes on the season.
Richard VanderWeerd of Visalia claimed fifth in the night’s action. Driving Tommy Horne’s #13 sprinter, the USAC West Coast 360 point leader claimed third in his heat race. In limited starts with VRA, VanderWeerd has one heat race victory, one semi-main win, and three top-10 finishes.
Simi Valley’s Tom Hendricks won his first heat race of the year behind the wheel of the Lucas Oil / Sander Engineering #71K machine. Hendricks placed tenth in the main event and now sits fifteenth in points. In the 2011 campaign, Tom has four top-10 finishes on the year.
Greg Taylor of Ventura won his series leading tenth heat race, by taking the program’s second 10-lap event. Piloting the #7 Clark Engineering Construction / Westco International Consulting Inc. special, the point leader scored thirteenth after a tangle caused an early exit. To date, Taylor has four feature wins, two hard charger awards, and fourteen top-10 finishes on the season.
Ventura Raceway scheduled eight other companion classes on the night. Richard McCormick claimed victory with the with the Senior Sprint Cars and Lars Wolfe won in the Pro Dwarf Car action. Mike Neal scored the Senior Dwarf Car feature and Kevin Alverson won in the Mod Lite division. Cody Nigh took the non-point Go Kart win and J.D. Brown added to his Mini Dwarf Piston resume. Destyn Garcia claimed the Mini Dwarf Supercharger feature and Oliver Blades won in the Junior Midget class.
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 will begin at 5:00pm PST.
This Saturday night, October 8th, Ventura Raceway will be dark and will return to action the following Saturday. The VRA Sprint Cars will headline the card featuring Senior Sprints, Dwarf Cars, Mod Lites, Mod Lite Juniors, Go Karts, Junior Midgets, and Mini Dwarfs. For more event information, please visit www.venturaraceway.com or call (805) 985-5433.
——————————————————–
VRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS:
Ventura Raceway – Ventura, California
October 1, 2011
ENTRIES: ( Car / Driver Name / Points)
3M Jake McVey 20; 7 Greg Taylor 155; 11X Jimmy Crawford 180; 13 Richard VanderWeerd 195; 24 Guy Woodward 160; 47K Hobie Conway 160; 51 Brent Camarillo 250; 55s Kyle Smith 170; 56 Steve Conrad 5; 57 Steve Hix 135; 65 Austin DeBlauw 130; 69 Markus Niemela 190; 71K Tom Hendricks 170; 81 Brian Camarillo 220; 88 Jace VanderWeerd 225.
HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Tom Hendricks, 2. Brian Camarillo, 3. Brent Camarillo, 4. Hobie Conway, 5. Jake McVey, 6. Kyle Smith, 7. Austin DeBlauw, 8. Steve Conrad.
HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps)
1. Greg Taylor, 2. Jimmy Crawford, 3. Richard VanderWeerd, 4. Jace VanderWeerd, 5. Guy Woodward, 6. Markus Niemela, 7. Steve Hix.
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Brent Camarillo (3rd), 2. Jace VanderWeerd (1st), 3. Brian Camarillo (6th), 4. Markus Niemela (12th), 5. Richard VanderWeerd (4th), 6. Kyle Smith (11th), 7. Jimmy Crawford (5th), 8. Guy Woodward (10th), 9. Hobie Conway (2nd), 10. Tom Hendricks (7th), 11. Steve Hix (13th), 12. Austin DeBlauw, 13. Greg Taylor (8th), 14. Jake McVey (DNS – 9th), 15. Steve Conrad (DNS – 14th).
———————————————
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-8 Jace VanderWeerd, Laps 9-30 Brent Camarillo.
HARD CHARGER: Markus Niemela (12th to 4th)
VRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. Greg Taylor 3945; 2. Brian Camarillo 3335; 3. Steve Conrad 3245; 4. Josh Ford 3110; 5. Brent Camarillo 3105; 6. Kyle Smith 2550; 7. Markus Niemela 2385; 8. Derek Buckley 2365; 9. Don Gansen 2290; 10. Jimmy Crawford 2175; 11. Austin DeBlauw 2060; 12. Dakota Kershaw 1940; 13. Cory Kruseman 1805; 14. Guy Woodward 1765; 15. Tom Hendricks 1510; –. Cody Kershaw 1510; 17. Tom Harper 1385; 18. Troy Rutherford 1235; 19. Steve Hix 1210; 20. Brandon Thomson 1175.
VRA SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE:
October 15 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 29* – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
November 12 – Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
———————————————–
*All Coast Construction 360 Challenge.