Ventura Raceway
May 4, 2013
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Taylor Returns Triumphantly To Ventura Raceway

by Cliff Morgan
OXNARD, CA (May 4) - The topic of discussion Saturday night May 4, was NEW RED CLAY.  Thanks to Paige Pollock and his crew we were able to get some long needed clay delivered to the track before Saturday night.  The new clay changed the look of the track greatly as we went from light dirt colored soil to red clay.  Everyone from drivers to fans were impressed by the hard work it took to get the track ready for Saturday night.  The work paid off in dividends as racing was very good in all divisions racing.

VRA Sprint Cars returned to action after a month off and they got back to the fast and furious action they are known for.  All out top drivers were on hand to test the new track.  Racing got under way with two heat races that were won by Luke Boles and Guy Woodward.  The 30 lap feature got under way with pole sitter John Nock leading lap 1-11.  As he was leading, past VRA Champion Greg Taylor was moving through the field from his 12th starting position and took the lead on lap 12.  He then went on to take his first win of the 2013 season leading the final 18 laps.  Point leader Guy Woodward tried to chase Taylor down but had to settle for second place which keeps him in the lead in the 2013 point race.  Following Taylor and Woodward to the line were Clark Templeman III making his first start in 2013, Luke Boles, with his best finish ever and Nock. The main event went green to checker in 6 minutes and 43 seconds.

IMCA Modified racing continued to be the Joshua Vogt show.  Once again he started toward the back in 9th position but he raced to the front to take his fifth win in row and extend his record setting run.  The race saw David Phipps lead lap 1-3, followed by Steve Bulpitt leading lap 4-10 before Vogt took the lead on lap 11.  When the race was complete the results saw Vogt on top followed by Parker, Mark Davis, John Romero and Steve Bulpitt.  Bulpitt moved up to 4th and Robbie Witwer moved to 5th when Romero did not comply with post race tech requests and was disqualified.  Two heat races were run with the wins going to David Phipps in heat one and Robbie Witwer in heat two.

VRA Focus Midgets also were on hand and one heat race was run with the win going to Wally Pankratz.  In the heat race Ashley Hazleton had a very hard cash on the front straight that sent her car flipping and then it went under power across the infield stopping on the back straight.  Ashley was taken out of the car and taken to the hospital with possible neck injuries.  The main event was a all Wally Pankratz race as he took the lead on lap 6 after passing early race leader Christine Breckenridge, to lead the final 14 laps. Following Pankratz to the finish were point leader Brennan Rogers, Darin McCard, Courtney Crone and Christine Breckenridge.  Breckenridge fell out of the race after her muffler fell off on lap 8 ending her night.

VRA Flat Track Quads raced in two classes Sportsman and Open.  In Sportsman competition, Robert Peterson took the win in their heat race and their main event and now leads in their point race.  Following Peterson in the main finish were Carson Puryear, John Nickel Jr., James Bell and Justin Smith.  In the Open Class the heat race win went to point leader Danny Elderbaum.  In their main event the win went to David Knight followed by Kyle Eurto, Danny Elderbaum, Mike Lewis and Raygen Harris.

In our kids divisions the races in the Mini Dwarf Pistons the win went to Garrett Egan followed by Zack Chavez, who won their heat race, Blake Hendricks and Dylan Neal.  In Mini Dwarf Superchargers, the main event went to point leader J D Brown followed by Eli Marshall and Will Mims.  Brown also took their one heat race.  In Junior Midgets Nick Velasquez took another win over Mike Long.  Long took their heat race win.

When the night was over the one thing everyone was talking about was the way the new clay worked out.  With a few more races to get it worked, in the racing will only get better as the drivers adapt to the new track conditions.  The track stayed moist all evening and only needed one watering early in the evening.  With a couple of cutting periods the track proved to be racy all night long with no dust.

Racing continues nest Saturday night with a full program of VRA Sprints, Dwarf Cars, the new VRA Hobby Stock class, Sport Compacts and VRA Mod Lites

VRA Sprint Cars

Race #3 05/04/2013

Main Event Results: 1. Greg Taylor, Ventura, 30 Laps; 2. Guy Woodward, Santa Clarita, 30 Laps; 3. Clark Templeman III, Santa Clarita, 30 Laps; 4. Luke Boles, Goleta, 30 Laps; 5. John Nock, Newhall, 30 Laps; 6. Tom Hendricks, Simi Valley, 30 Laps; 7. Kyle Smith, Moorpark, 30 Laps; 8. Russel Deblauw, Ventura, 30 Laps; 9. Richard Ortega Jr, Camarillo, 30 Laps; 10. Charlie Butcher, Santa Barbara, 29 Laps; 11. Chris Meredith, Thousand Oaks, 29 Laps; 12. Austin DeBlauw, lVentura, 25 Laps; 13. David Taylor Jr., Moorpark, 10 Laps; 14. Jeff Fillingame, Santa Paula, Did not show; 15. Derek Buckley, Ojai, Did not show

Lap Leaders: John Nock (1-11), Greg Taylor (12-30)

Heat Race Winners: Extreme Mufflers Heat 1: Luke Boles; Saldana Racing Products Heat 2: Guy Woodward

K&N Engineering Hard Charger: Greg Taylor

Keizer Wheels High Point Award:

DJ Safety Hard Luck Award: Derek Buckley

Top 10 in points: 1. Guy Woodward, 725; 2. Tom Hendricks, 625; 3. Luke Boles, 560; 4. John Nock, 525; 5. Kyle Smith, 495; 6. Jeff Fillingame, 420; 7. Rick Hendrix, 405; 8. Greg Taylor, 390; 9. David Taylor Jr., 380; 10. Russel Deblauw, 315; 10. Richard Ortega Jr, 315

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IMCA Modifieds

Race #5 05/04/2013

Main Event Results: 1. Joshua Vogt, Santa Maria, 20 Laps; 2. Jack Parker, Simi Valley, 20 Laps; 3. Mark Davis, Ventura, 20 Laps; 4. John Romero, Camarillo, Disqualified; 5. Steve Bulpitt, Culver City, 20 Laps; 6. Robbie Witwer, Ridgecrest, 20 Laps; 7. Brad Prows, Oak View, 19 Laps; 8. Joe Weaver, Ventura, 19 Laps; 9. Dennis Eckert, Canyon Country, 7 Laps; 10. Randy Gens, Oxnard, 6 Laps; 11. David Phipps, 4 Laps; 12. James Stowe, Ridgecrest, 4 Laps; 13. Rob Green, Ojai, Did not show; 14. Frank Woodward, Did not show; 15. Mark Joe, Santa Paula, Did not show

Lap Leaders: David Phipps (1-3), Steve Bulpitt (4-10), Joshua Vogt (11-20)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: David Phipps; Heat 2: Robbie Witwer

Oldies Speed Shop Hard Charger: Mark Davis

Oldies Speed Shop Hard Luck Award: Rob Green

Top 10 in points: 1. Joshua Vogt, 200; 2. Jack Parker, 186; 3. Robbie Witwer, 185; 4. Brad Prows, 173; 5. James Stowe, 164; 6. Dennis Eckert, 155; 7. Mark Davis, 153; 8. Steve Bulpitt, 150; 9. John Romero, 127; 10. David Phipps, 114

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Ford Focus

Race #5 05/04/2013

Main Event Results: 1. Wally Pankratz, Orange, 20 Laps; 2. Brennan Rogers, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 3. Darin McCard, 20 Laps; 4. Courtney Crone, Corona, 20 Laps; 5. Christine Breckenridge, Irvine, 8 Laps; 6. Ashley Hazelton, Northridge, Did not show

Lap Leaders: Christine Breckenridge (1-5), Wally Pankratz (6-20)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Wally Pankratz

Top 10 in points: 1. Brennan Rogers, 1165; 2. Wally Pankratz, 1000; 3. Ashley Hazelton, 715; 4. Courtney Crone, 425; 5. Christine Breckenridge, 405; 6. Steve Brown, 210; 7. Clayton Ruston, 195; 8. Darin McCard, 0; 8. Greg Foster, 0; 8. Alexander Bissett, 0; 8. Cory Elliot, 0; 8. Austin Blair, 0

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VRA Quads Open

Race #3 05/04/2013

Main Event Results: 1. Dave Knight, 15 Laps; 2. Kyle Eurto, 15 Laps; 3. Danny Elderbaum, 15 Laps; 4. Mike Lewis, Sunland, 14 Laps; 5. Raygen Harris, 3 Laps

Lap Leaders: Dave Knight (1-15)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Dave Knight

Top 10 in points: 1. Danny Elderbaum, 735; 2. Kyle Eurto, 660; 3. Dave Knight, 615; 4. Mike Lewis, 560; 5. Raygen Harris, 335; 6. DJ Noerr, 0; 6. Ronnie Talley, 0; 6. Heather Menefee, 0; 6. Aaron Darli, 0; 6. Michael Zavala, 0; 6. Andrew Rogers, 0

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VRA Quads Sportsman

Race #3 05/04/2013

Main Event Results: 1. Robert Peterson, 15 Laps; 2. Carson Puryear, 15 Laps; 3. John Nickel Jr, Moorpark, 15 Laps; 4. James Bell, Bakersfield, 15 Laps; 5. Justin Smith, 14 Laps Lap Leaders: Robert Peterson (1-15)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Robert Peterson

Top 10 in points: 1. Robert Peterson, 740; 2. James Bell, 675; 3. Justin Smith, 560; 4. John Nickel Jr, 395; 5. Carson Puryear, 225; 6. Clay Nixon, 0; 6. Brad Tyach, 0

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VRA Junior Midgets

Race #4 05/04/2013

Main Event Results: 1. Nick Velasquez, Camarillo, 15 Laps; 2. Mike Long, Thousand Oaks, 15 Laps

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Mike Long

Top 10 in points: 1. Nick Velasquez, 1030; 2. Mike Long, 715; 3. Jake Aguilar, 235

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VRA Mini Dwarf - Superchargers

Race #4 05/04/2013

Main Event Results: 1. J D Brown, Port Hueneme, 12 Laps; 2. Eli Marshall, 11 Laps; 3. Will Mimms, 10 Laps

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: J D Brown

Top 10 in points: 1. J D Brown, 1015; 2. Will Mimms, 650; 3. Andrew Orlando, 495; 4. Bailey Hendricks, 235; 5. Eli Marshall, 0

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VRA Mini Dwarf - Pistons

Race #4 05/04/2013

Main Event Results: 1. Garrett Egan, Saugus, 12 Laps; 2. Zack Chavez, Santa Paula, 12 Laps; 3. Blake Hendricks, Simi Valley, 12 Laps; 4. Dylan Neal, Oxnard, 12 Laps

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Zack Chavez

Top 10 in points: ; 5. Blake Hendricks, 0; 5. Dylan Neal, 0; 5. Garrett Egan, 0; 5. Zack Chavez, 0