Hoseheads Sprint Car Photos & News

Simone – Ageless Anthony Simone arrives late for a Sunday night non-qualifier crash party, taking a header into the fence.

Volume 11, Number 12

The Essentials

The product of a hard-working, two-parent household of European descent, my mom and dad made some supreme sacrifices to make sure each one of us eight Oldham offspring owned the necessities for survival. As difficult as it was to feed and clothe such a large family, never once do I remember going hungry, nor do I recall walking into school with filthy jeans or holes in my shoes. And even though we did not have the luxury of air conditioning, albeit sometimes sweaty I always had a warm, dry bed to rest in each night. Even a dentist’s wage did not make us wealthy, but whatever we needed, we generally got, within reason of course. To this day, mom and dad still willingly make that same sacrifice.

Preceded by six siblings who were model students, I was taught responsibility and the value of the dollar at an early age, trying hard not to be the one to screw up that golden lineage. Following the preferred path, I currently maintain a solid career that pays my bills in such a way that I still don’t have to worry about food, water, or shelter. It’s easy to take such things for granted, even when there are professional panhandlers begging for change less than two miles from my humble abode.

Two Wheels – Matt Streeter is not just for midgets anymore, taking a two-wheeled tour of Tulare.

Even with those essentials, man cannot live on bread (and water) alone. Some might say that positive human interaction is also a necessity and just like nourishment, refreshment, and a roof, try living without such relations for an extended period of time.

Outside of the excitement and entertainment value, I’ve always maintained that the supreme benefit to membership in the racing fraternity is the people and ever since I’ve blogged about the sport of sprint car racing, I’ve managed to command more comrades than I would have ever imagined, from all ends of the globe to boot. One such individual was California diecast dealer Mike Seifert, who ten years ago offered a place to stay for the Perris Oval Nationals after placing an order for a Parnelli Jones Watson Indy Roadster. I wonder if any other avocation contains as many individuals so willing to open their doors as diplomats. I highly doubt it.

Over that last decade, Seifert’s San Bernardino slab consistently served as the west coast gathering place for sprint car aficionados. Two years ago, the no vacancy sign was lit on Golondrina Drive, squeezing myself, Hosehead founder Allan Holland, Ventura’s Darrin Pinegar, and northern California photographers Chuck Fry and Steve Lafond into three bedrooms and one living/dining area. My first time to meet Lafond in person, I was already familiar with his work through contributions to the now-defunct newspaper named Sprint Car as well as Open Wheel magazine, also aware of his “Lafond Jar”, filled with hundreds of dollars of pocket change reserved for the passing master in Ken Wagner’s Wagsdash. Previously purchasing some Sacramento Silver Crown photos from his Tear-Off Heaven Fotos website (www.tohf.com); it just so happened that Steve and I shared an appreciation for the musical masterminding of a trio of legendary Canadians. Instantly forming a bond, he eventually took me up on an Indiana Sprint Week invitation this past summer.

Haulin’ Hansen – USAC Western Midget champ Garrett Hansen steered Mark Priestley’s 7 to Saturday victory, his first national sprint car score.

Eight weeks after Sprint Week, I listened to those voices inside my head, hearing the call to instinctively interact with friends from the left coast, perhaps acting on an In-N-Out urge as well. But because of work scheduling, for the first time since 2006 I was unable to wander west for the annual Oval Nationals meeting. The next best thing was held one week later just a few hours north in Tulare: the 30th annual Pacific Coast Open, an old Ascot title that was revived for the first time in a long while and was once one of the three biggest sprint car races in the nation. Dissimilar to those San Bernardino sessions, this time only a third of the gang could get together, as I responded to Lafond’s offer to crash at his Campbell quarters, not too far from the Kaeding Performance compound.

And unlike previous Perris excursions, no racing acquaintances boarded the same flight, this time out of Indy’s impressive year old airport. After a cup of fresh fruit and an Odwalla smoothie at Café Patachou, I perused the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gift shop and found a 2009 Indy 5 program for just five bucks. While consuming a grilled bison burger in snowy Denver, it was great reading material during the nearly two-hour layover. It’s hard to believe that Marco Andretti only weighs 138 pounds. Does the kid even eat?

Finally arriving in chilly San Jose at 9:30 California time, Steve was there as promised. Tossing my bag into the back of his Jetta GLI rocket, en route to Casa Lafond I experienced very little turbocharger lag as he quickly grabbed gears with short throws. How ABOUT that second gear!

Hammer Time – Simply put, Tracy Hines is hard on the hammer Saturday night.

Eyeing his well-revered ’82 Scirocco that shows 376,000 miles on the odometer, the headlamps from “Railed2” shed light on garage walls plastered with all kinds of sprint car paraphernalia, reminding me of my bedroom and college dorm as a fanatical teenager. Warmly welcomed at the door by dogs Maya (Aussie Shepherd) and Kalla (Border Collie), after listening to Steve’s latest installment in Australia’s Let’s Talk Speedway radio program, I learned that former host Brian Hennings has a dog named Campbell (in honor of Steve) while Kalla’s moniker comes from Kallaroo, a suburb of Perth where Steve visited Brian in a 2000 down under sprint car tour.

Daughter Korie and wife Kim were next to greet, Kim graciously filling two bowls of her delicious chili for my benefit after showing me the guest bathroom and the foldout bed in the living room, complete with mints and candy on the pillow. Just like a mother and father, Kim and Steve had all my essentials covered.

Unique Meeting – Shain Matthews and Justyne Hamblin form a sprint car tee-pee.

With the moist marine layer still impenetrable, we awoke early Saturday morning for Korie’s drama club pancake breakfast at the local Applebee’s. Enjoying only one plate, even though I ordered orange juice, like a sponge I absorbed my recommended daily allowance of water, and then some! It’s hard to believe memories could be made over a plate of pancakes, but let me just say that you had to be there to see me make my big splash in NorCal. Priceless, as the MasterCard commercials say.

Touring the high-tech hub better known as Silicon Valley, amongst impressive complexes housing headquarters for AMD, Apple, Adobe, eBay, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Intuit, Oracle, and Yahoo, Steve showed me NetApp, the massive computer storage and data management facility that butters his bread from Monday through Friday. Ranked first on Fortune 100’s best places to work for 2009, the dozen or so buildings comprising the NetApp campus is just steps from the valley’s mass transit system, with one complete floor of those buildings dedicated to fitness, including a full-sized basketball court. Additional outdoor diversions include a beach volleyball court and putting green, complete with sand trap. With such luxuries and gorgeous green landscape, one might believe that this is paradise, but you’re immediately brought back to reality when making eye contact with the mountainous landfill located across the street. Just like my cube in Indy, Steve’s office walls are covered, many of the images showing sprint cars slinging mud and sliding sideways. It’s no wonder we share a bond, eh?

Rooster tail – Spraying clay, Cory Kruseman nearly took the win on Saturday, settling for a hard-fought second place.

Not personally knowing that many fellow fans of Rush, it seems as though most of them I do know are musicians, and Steve certainly fits that bill. A self-taught drummer for the bay area band Ded Ringer (check them out on the web at http://www.myspace.com/dedringerrocks3541), their unique sound, influenced by such heavyweights as Tom Petty, ZZ Top, Frank Zappa, The Beatles, Todd Rundgren, and The Who, is heard most frequently at Sunnyvale’s Quarter Note Lounge, another of the venues I visited. One week later, Ded Ringer’s all original material could be heard in person at “The Note” and in preparation, a special practice would be held at 10 AM on my behalf in the garage belonging to bass player and backup vocalist Julio Garcia.

Still fairly early in the morning to be blown away by the sounds of hard rock, I was formally introduced to each member of the band, including Julio, lead singer and guitar god Bob Maddoux, and newest member Rick Acaccia, a high school acquaintance of Steve who plays keyboards, percussion, and guitar, not to mention backs up on vocals. While getting their gear set up in the garage insulated by egg-crate foam, I spied the list of songs for the following Saturday’s show, with the second set containing four new tracks (in anticipation of a seventh CD) that Steve had sent my way a month ago. Warming up with the all-instrumental The Funk, they dove head first into the new material with Let’s Get, playing the entire ten-song second set and three from the first.

Sitting in the corner next to a stack of amps, I watched Steve bang on his drums like a crazed beast, confirming the reason for his Muppet tattoo bearing the image of “Animal”. It was nothing but a good time listening to the guys jam, without question the highlight of the trip. Recording a bootleg on my digital recorder, I can confirm that Ded Ringer rocks, and rocks hard, although I wish I were able to experience a real show in person.

Rewards – To the victor goes the spoils, as Sunday’s big winner Jon Stanbrough poses with trophy queen Sonja. Indiana victory lanes need trophy queens like Sonja.

All too soon it was time to say our goodbyes and hit the road for Tulare, a 196 mile journey through parts of California previously unseen. Needing at least three hours to cover the distance plus make a solid stop for food and a Motel 6 check-in, I rummaged through Steve’s glove box to play disc jockey, choosing Ded Ahead amongst a myriad Rush and “Ringer” selections.

Squirting southeast on the 101 to Gilroy, Steve mentioned how the city is the “garlic capital of the world”, backed up by odoriferous emanations and research showing that Gilroy Foods processes more garlic than any other factory in the world. Hosting a garlic festival each year, many garlicky foods are featured, including a special run of garlic ice cream, which I heard is quite tasty. Exiting the 101, west was Watsonville (home to Ocean Speedway) but instead we angled east, immediately tackling a Toyota 4Runner with a USAC-CRA window decal and a license plate labeled “SPRINTS”. Much like running into a fellow fan of Rush, it’s always good to stumble upon another traditional sprint car nut.

Along route 152 signs pointed to Hollister, which to my knowledge has nothing to do with the trendy clothing line but is rather well known for a fourth of July motorcycle rally dating back to 1947, thus considered the “birthplace of the American biker”. Hollister is also one of three California towns claiming the title of earthquake capital of the world, the others being Coalinga and Parkfield, as the Calaveras Fault, a branch of the San Andreas system, splits the city north and south.

Nice View – Some said that there’s nothing to look at in between San Jose and Tulare, but the San Luis Reservoir provided some attractive scenery.

152 would be the most scenic stretch of the three hour tour, four lanes of curves with plenty of elevation, eventually intersecting Interstate 5 but not before reaching the San Luis Reservoir, the largest off-stream reservoir in the United States. Seeing the early afternoon sun shine on the water, it was a beautiful sight, enough to warrant a snapshot.

Time to switch discs, this time it was Rush’s Hold Your Fire as we spotted all kinds of crops grown along both sides of 5. Although almond trees appeared most extensive, this was perhaps the largest variety of agriculture I’ve encountered along any stretch of highway. Entering Fresno County, this Central Valley features four of the top five counties in the U.S. according to agricultural sales, and Fresno happens to be number one. West coasters teasing Hoosiers about farming is like the pot calling the kettle black!

Waterway – Off to the left of Interstate 5 is the California Aqueduct, moving the essential resource from Northern to Southern California.

So appropriate, while High Water was heard we crossed the California Aqueduct, an extensive system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the ditch, including two pumped-storage hydroelectric plants, Castaic and Gianelli. Gianelli is located at the base of San Luis Dam, which forms the already discussed San Luis Reservoir.

An oasis on the rather drab 5 was Coalinga, once known as Coaling Station, Coalingo, or Coalinga Station, named for the site of a Southern Pacific Railway coaling station that dates back to 1888. Coalinga is also the site of Harris Ranch, a substantial cattle farm that also contains a hotel, several restaurants, and a gift shop. While watching Stanford stun USC, Steve dined on Harris tri-tips and eggs while my taste buds were overwhelmed with an awesome 14 ounce rib eye, one of the best I’ve ever sampled. Expensive – yes, but damned good.

King Cole – Kissing the concrete to set quick time on Sunday, that was the lone weekend highlight for Cole Whitt, placing 15th and 20th in features.

The infinite, open spaces surrounding the ranch took me back to our trip to Indiana’s Benton County for an incredible Kamp contest. Cutting it close on time yet again, route 198 was traversed rather quickly. Opening up the Jetta to 123 miles per hour, cotton fields and Land-O-Lakes dairy farms were commonplace, even passing a Portuguese radio station (KIGS) before Hanford, where Kings Speedway could almost be seen in the distance.

Everyone knows that clean, fresh drinking water is essential to human and other life forms and according to wikipedia, there is a clear correlation between access to safe water and GDP per capita. It plays an important role in the world economy, as approximately 70% of fresh water is consumed by agriculture. Could that be the reason for so many political signs along 198, complaining about a Congress induced drought? Too much or too little water seemed to play
a central theme all weekend long.

Soon enough, interstate 99 was met near Visalia, not too far from our Motel 6 accommodations. For forty-five bucks, not only will they leave the light on for you, but they’ll also leave all the flies in the room too, as Steve and I must have killed at least 12 of them when we arrived back from the Tulare Thunderbowl. Are insects that much slower to react in California?

Thanks to Lafond’s credential hookup via Julie Shiosaki and Don Sharp, I entered Tulare’s back gate as an esteemed member of the media, unlike 2002 when I paid a visit for the post-Turkey Night winged festival put on by announcer-extraordinaire Bobby Gerould. Extremely memorable, after decking an irate Steve Kent while still belted in during a red flag, Tim Kaeding romped from the eighth row to win. Webmaster of the informative www.hammerdownusa.com website, this time Gerould had Troy Hennig alongside in the booth, both ably handling microphone duties and adding quite a bit of class and credibility. I really enjoyed Bobby’s pre-produced bits of Pacific Coast Open trivia, learning that the longest event was a 200-lapper held in November of 1968; with Tamale Wagon pilot Bob Hogle raking in the $1,430 winner’s share.

Jam Session – From left to right, Ded Ringer’s Bob Maddoux, Julio Garcia, and Rick Acaccia rocked the garage walls in Saturday morning band practice.

Passing by the pit of local cattle farmer Dennis Roth, Dennis inserted Jerry Coons, Jr. into a mix that already included Calistoga winner Kevin Swindell and veteran Outlaw wrench Rob Hart. DR always has solid shoes strapping in the saddle as my last visit in ’02 had Danny Lasoski and Kasey Kahne serving as hired guns. Three cars might have been too many, but it would have been cool to see Roth’s Tulare Trophy Cup winner Tim Kaeding take a shot at the Pacific Coast Open too.

In search of a premium parking spot, we slid by Central Valley Samurai (as coined by Rob Klepper) Garrett Ishii, who again played wingless car owner. Remember Mat Neely at the Ovals a few years back in the 71G? This time, Ishii installed Darren Hagen, who continued to receive assistance from Indy eastside resident Jimmy Jones, who is no longer employed by Jerry Bell.

Except for the addition of Cole Carter, Cale Conley, Brad Sweet, Jesse Hockett and a few locals, the remainder of the cast seemed the same as the previous week’s Oval Nationals. Numbering 54, the population was impressive, counting nearly twenty who towed equipment all the way from the Hoosier state and stayed over after the Ovals. After clinching the USAC national sprint car title in Perris, the week-long wait allowed Levi Jones to bask in the glow of a supreme feat, joining Larry Dickson, Sheldon Kinser, and Robbie Stanley as three-time champs. Only Steve Butler has more sprint car rings but apparently Levi will have to scrounge up a pavement ride for 2010 to equal Steve’s success, as Tony Stewart Racing is cutting back its USAC sprint effort to just one dirt entry. Regardless of the uncertainty of next season, bravo to Mister Jones for a job well-done this year, as he was intimately involved in making decisions on his racecars.

Das Auto – The Lafond household is home to four Volkswagens – Steve’s Jetta GLI and ’82 Scirocco, Kim’s Passat, and daughter Korie’s Golf.

Up in the stands, I recognized so many familiar faces, making it seem like a Sunday night in Kokomo rather than a USAC union some 2,170 miles away, especially with equal weather back home. Kirk and Jim Spridgeon, Dean Mills, Shawn Buckley (recipient of an autographed drum stick from Lafond), Brent and Asha Goodnight, and Al Longiny were just a few of those faces and after so many years of Oval Nationals attendance, many of the left coasters seemed commonplace as well.

Greeted with a barrage of dark brown bullets that stained my ten year-old Ovals sweatshirt, I closed my coat and found my way to lower level seating, camped behind a snazzy Plastic Express wool varsity jacket worn by ’89 Silver Crown king Chuck Gurney. It was interesting listening to Chuck critique qualifying performances and if anyone knows how to get around a racetrack, it would be Mr. Gurney given how he used to flat-foot the one-mile DuQuoin circle at 9 AM each Labor Day. With Jimmy Sills and George Snider lending their expertise to Justin Grant (Baldwin 5) and Davey Pombo respectively, the weekend had a hall-of-fame feel to it, as the talented trio accounts for 29 Silver Crown scores and five championships.

With more than enough water applied, cool and damp air kept Tulare’s one-third mile in excellent condition, allowing for an entertaining hour-long qualifying session complete with oohs and aahs from the crowd. Six men slipped underneath Blake Miller’s previous one-lap mark, with Cory Kruseman the first to do so. Nic Faas was the next to nail a new track record, the first-ever fourteen second wingless tour of the Thunderbowl at 14.802. Second from the end with a scintillating 14.646 mark was 2009 Hoosier Auto Racing Fan Club driver of the year Bryan Clauson, with his father Tim, also a 2009 HARF mechanical achievement award winner (via Corey Tucker Racing) visibly pumped, jogging back to the pit area to congratulate and evaluate. Faas, Chad Boat, USAC-CRA point leader Mike Spencer, USAC western midget point leader (and eventual champ) Garrett Hansen (Priestley 7), and Kruseman rounded out the first six. Tracy Hines, Ronnie Gardner (the same kid who wanted to borrow my orange Schwinn in the 1999 Terre Haute National Open bike race), Henry Clarke, and a surprising Bruce St. James fulfilled the list of top-ten timers.

Colorful – Greg Bragg qualifies the Sertich 92 during Sunday’s twilight show. The setting sun sure provides a nice backdrop.

Second in an ASCA Canyon contest on October 3rd, St. James had an intriguing cast calling the shots, as “Bullet” Bob Ream and David Landis (brother to Knoxville winger Calvin) made mechanical music while long-time west coast fixture Dennis “The Menace” Rodriguez provided moral support. One week later at the Western World in Tucson, Ream’s yellow number 8 became 36D for Indiana legend Dave Darland, who blew the engine to bits on Friday but passed 31 cars in 45 laps on Saturday after Bob commandeered a third Jim Massey entry, also organizing another Radio Flyer riot.

Given the national sanction, of course a pair of non-qualifier races would reduce the 54 car field to 40, eliminating Shane Golobic (in familiar Country Builders Construction colors), Putnamville winner Keith Bloom (run out of Brent Kaeding’s trailer but giving up a transfer after blasting the wall in three and four), Cale Conley (in a second Scott Benic Maxim), David Cardey (second in CRA points and pushing into the same wall as Bloom), and Bloomington champ Brady Short. Still heavy, as you can imagine overtaking was an uphill battle, with noticeable names like Hagen, Riggs, Kaeding, Gulick, and Coons just squeezing into the heats.

Those heats were just as difficult to make headway, as each one of the four were won from the front by Cole Whitt, Matt Mitchell, Kyle Larson, and Cole Carter. The fastest twelve qualifiers could not even make the cut from rows three or four! For 17 year-old Larson, it was only his second ever outing in a sprint car sans wings, clocking circuits beneath the track record in his BK Motorsports number 99. Speaking of BK, Brent’s son Bud connected with Bruce St. James, eliminating the Arizona radio personality for the remainder of the weekend. After flipping twice in one Oval Nationals qualifying session, Blake Miller inverted his Gardner Motorsports Sled yet again.

Clean and pristine – Davey Pombo’s sharp looking ride rewarded with a ninth on Saturday.

Finding Ralph Ahlgrim and Jere Rivard behind the main grandstand, I joined them in the unofficial “Ralphie Section” for B and A-mains. Their reserved seats offered a much better view, noticing how the place offered long straights like Paragon and the sweeping corners of Kokomo. Transferring eight from the B instead of the usual six, the biggest names unable to move forward included Coons, Kaeding, Hagen, Bill Rose, and Miller, with last year’s Oval Nationals annihilator Jesse Hockett able to pick off three cars to claim the final ticket.

With no undercard, Saturday’s show was four and a half hours old when 27 cars lined up for the thirty lap conclusion. Ronnie Gardner, Henry Clarke, and David Cardey popped provisional pills but Gardner’s unnecessary stoppage provided enough evidence to maintain my stance that excessive provisional awarding is a waste of time, especially when one of them negatively alters the outcome. Why would any sprint car sanctioning body want to emulate the artificiality of NASCAR?

Kruseman and Long Beach State University student Hansen fired from the front row but back behind them, Hockett’s horrible Tulare luck continued when he dumped in turn two. Danny Sheridan, Dave Darland, Cardey, and Cole Whitt clogged turn one and caused a complete restart, which again saw Garrett gain the advantage exiting corner two.

With a dozen tours in the books, Kruseman, Boat, Spencer, Clauson, and Jones closed on Hansen in the single-file procession. Just when things were starting to heat up and get interesting, at lap 13 Ronnie Gardner pulled his number 96 out of gear on the back chute after going a lap down, killing key momentum.

Five laps later, The Kruser was all over the leader yet again, trying every imaginable line on both ends to no avail. Garrett might pull away for a couple of laps, but Cory would simply reel him back in, planning his next move and licking his chops as lapped traffic loomed with only three laps left.

Those final circuits took forever to complete, as Cardey came to a stop after two-wheeling turns three and four. Operating in the show position, Chad Boat’s night ended when he had to evacuate his hot seat, cockpit flames becoming a bit too unruly. After green lights glared, Aussie Peter Murphy climbed the wall in one and helicoptered down the banking, leaving Darland and Whitt nowhere to hide. The next attempt saw R. Gardner, Carter, and Sweet meet in turn four, wondering how we would ever reach lap 30.

BK – With Davey Jones wrenching on Sunday, Bud Kaeding was up on the wheel.

In the last blast to the checkered, Kruseman climbed the cushion in two, handing Hansen his first national sprint car score. Chasing the Roy Miller Freightlines/Hansen’s Welding Maxim and the Lucas Oil Viper were Spencer, Jones (in a last turn, last lap overtaking), Clauson, Hines, Damion Gardner, Jon Stanbrough (Riggs 37), Davey Pombo, and Rip Williams (in another Viper). Mostly everyone finished where they started, except for Levi, Damion, and Jon, who passed six, five, and seven cars respectively. Post-race conversations centered around the lack of overtaking and the amount of water in the surface. I’d rather see super-saturated, no passing, and no dust as opposed to bone-slick, blinding dust, and limited passing, but that’s just me.

Now a chilly forty-three degrees at 9:16 PM, after slipping through the cage Hansen had this to say about his seventh victory of the season: “Oh, it feels real good. I was just happy to qualify really good. To be able to get our front row starting spot definitely helped, with the way the track was tonight. I just can’t thank these guys enough. Cory did a heckuva job. He’s a real good racer. We just got lucky to get him at the start and were able to hold him off.”

Questioned about the last yellow flag, Garrett admitted, “It felt more like 500 laps with just two to go. You just want to get it over with at that point but we got it done and it felt pretty good.”

Looking for his first USAC-CRA triumph since the fourth of July, Kruseman countered, “I tell you what, Mike Nigh and all the guys work real hard on our ITI motor and our Viper chassis. Right before that last red flag, I noticed that the brake pedal was getting real soft. I broke a brake line off the front of the thing. We tried to run the last couple of laps there with no brakes but this place was so heavy tonight. Garrett did a good job. He was running in the right spot of the racetrack. We didn’t tear anything off of it and we finished second. We’ll go home and be happy with that and come back for tomorrow. I appreciate all the fans coming out and freezing their butts off.”

Bike Ride – Tulare grip was great as evidenced by Wes Gutierrez. He could sell advertising on his belly pan.

Since winning the second night of the Louie Vermeil Classic at Calistoga on September 6th, in his quest to defend his USAC-CRA crown Mike Spencer reeled off two victories in a row, followed by strong seventh, third, and second place finishes at the Oval Nationals. Third on the opening night of the Pacific Coast Open, Mike maintained, “Yeah, it was tough to pass. The track was just actually starting to get real racy there at the end with two grooves. We just couldn’t pass them so we had to follow. We got it going alright. I just want to thank all the fans for coming down tonight. I want to thank my car owner Ron Chaffin for giving me a great racecar, Bruce Bromme, and all the guys that work so hard on it.”

“You know, since I’ve been driving this car, this is my third year in it, I think we’ve only made two laps here in the main event. Normally we haven’t gotten very many laps. We got the laps tonight so we’ll just come back tomorrow and try to do a little bit better.” Although Sunday’s performance turned out to be less than ideal, it was still enough to make Mike the CRA champ for the second season in a row. Since USAC took over the sanction for this series, Spencer becomes the first two-time champ, the third such title for Chaffin.

Afterwards, Steve allowed me to indulge my In-N-Out urge, now a ten year tradition. Was it as good as I last remembered? No question about it… Now THAT’S what a hamburger is all about! Unfortunately, this would be my only In-N-Out opportunity of the two day trip.

Heading back to the house of flies, inadequate wi-fi meant we’d have to locate a Kinko’s in the morning, just so a few obligatory photos could be sent to www.usacracing.com and www.hoseheads.com. Preceded by a serving of saddle bags at Apple Annie’s, forty frustrating minutes were spent in front of a PC, forcing Lafond to cough up eight bucks so that he could maintain his integrity and upstanding media member status. Steve still swears by his Mac by the way.

After getting kicked out of our room by the cleaning ladies, we would kill time at Chili’s, planting our behinds on a bar stool and tempering the tension with an adult beverage, all while catching some Sunday NFL action. Fueling up just down the road from the track, frustrations were furthered when the Arco AM-PM station did not offer tools to clean the windshield, not to mention their “convenience” charge for using a credit card to pay at the pump. Leaving his mark, I think Steve effectively let the folks at Arco know his feelings about such frivolous fees.

Beef Packer – 2008 USAC sprint car champ Jerry Coons, Jr. found work in Dennis Roth’s 83JR. Missing Saturday’s show, he was seventh on Sunday.

With Sunday afternoon activities starting an hour earlier, Steve and I had ample time to roam, finding Tim Clauson and Jimmy Jones up near the pit entrance in turn one, both studying the surface for all-important water content. Schooled by Karl Kinser to analyze soil alongside his son Mark, Jones was upset with the amount of H2O applied, stating, “They ought to let it go slick. It would be better racing.” Hailing from Oklahoma, of course the ex-Outlaw prefers dry-slickies. In the grand scheme, we need water to live but thinking more minutely, isn’t it amazing how much this resource alters the outcome and actions of those associated with the sport of sprint car racing?

Wearing a University of Illinois sweatshirt instead of Pace Lighting gear, Davey Jones was choosing rear shocks and studying chassis height on Bud Kaeding’s 29. Apparently a heated disagreement with employer Damion Gardner on Saturday night led to the dissolution of this driver/crew chief combination, this coming one week after winning the biggest race of the year and six weeks removed from a $10,000 tally in Lawrenceburg. Back with Bud, at least for today, they had their best years together in the first half of this decade, twice bagging big bucks at the Four Crown Nationals, the Oval Nationals, the Western World, and Lakeside.

A field of 51 prepped for the twilight tango, the last on the USAC national sprint slate. History has showed that afternoon affairs always take longer, and today added further fuel to the fire. With the south end shaded and the north exposed to sunlight, it proved to be a tricky track, one better suited to veterans. But even the most experienced had trouble, namely Dave Darland. The Rave biked Benic’s 2B in turn one of hot laps, smacking the wall with the right rear and flipping. The first of 12 untimely inversions, it extended Dave’s west coast nightmare. Not exactly Haubstadt-caliber in expediency but still effective, the Tulare track crew had their hands full in cleaning up so many messes, several of them involving multiple machines.

Slick to a slim cushion in three and four but heavy in one and two, qualifying setups involved compromise. Sixteenth in line and one of the best in hustling a tight racecar, Cole Whitt used his Kokomo experience to kiss the concrete in corner four, topping all with an aggressive 14.874 lap in the Keith Kunz Bullet. Fifteen cars later and apparently performing his final Tony Stewart sprint car chore, choosing the same line as Whitt was Tracy Hines, looking like his old self by flirting with concrete in a brave 14.884 clocking. Just like last night, Chad Boat was third on the charts, with a revived Bud Kaeding, Jon Stanbrough, and “Hammering Hank” (Clarke) fourth through sixth. Local boy Danny Faria flipped on the south end, as did “Showtime” Danny Sheridan.

Backing It In – Danny “Showtime” Sheridan backs it in, Ascot style, in honor of the Pacific Coast Open formerly held at Ascot Park.

Only one non-qualifier race would be staged, but with three red flags, three yellow flags, and five flips, the race from hell was thankfully checkered early. Justyne Hamblin, ageless Anthony Simone, and Wes Gutierrez (dumping big at Bloomington in a midget) inverted, as did Sheridan and Faria for a second time. Both of Rip’s boys and Conley were again victims.

With options to choose from, Sunday heats offered much more passing over Saturday. Three of four were still won from the front (Swindell, Pombo, and Mitchell), but the first saw Cole Whitt begin from eighth, move up two rows for a Ripper, Spencer, and Hockett scrum, and eventually win from fourth. Once clearing the NQ, David Cardey and last night’s winner Garrett Hansen advanced to the A-main after starting at the rear. Hagen’s horrendous weekend continued with a half-spin, front axle snapping when Spencer and Cardey joined the party. Larson and Clarke double flipped during their heat, bringing the count to nine and ten before B and A-mains!

With plenty of downtime before the last chance race would launch, a waltz to the pits found Lafond, still in disbelief of the carnage. Both of us spotted four-time NHRA champion Gary Scelzi, who like Steve hails from Fresno and chose a sprint car show over the World Finals at Pomona. Steve mistook Gary for non-qualifier crash victim and fellow-Fresno flier Anthony Simone. Scelzi immediately barked, “I’m not f***ing Anthony!” Remembering Gary’s appearance on a previous Jack Slash Show from Tulsa’s after-hours Elephant Run, he’s certainly not afraid to be himself.

Luckily, the twelve lap consolation came without serious stoppage, although amber bulbs were illuminated for Hockett (spin), Grant (turned around by Larson), Hagen (bike), and Jayce Vanderweerd (tangling with The Hawk). Hockett, Faas, Miller, and Bragg were allowed do-overs, but guys like Rose, Grant, Hagen, and Short were not so fortunate.

Silent Gasser – Jon Stanbrough picks his line in turns three and four in Sunday qualifying, good enough to start him from the front row of the feature.

Offering a four-wide salute at 8:15 to ease the pain of an irritating update on the Colts-Patriots game, forty laps were left to decide the winner of the $12,500 to win Pacific Coast Open. Paying a handsome $700 to start, Clarke and Stanbrough led the field to green.

Similar to Saturday, just as Garrett Hansen gained the initial advantage off the top side of turn two and led the rest of the distance, so did Jon Stanbrough. His most serious threat came from fourth-starting Chad Boat, scooting to second by the third tour. Eighth to fourth early, Damion Gardner gained on Clarke, as did Boat on Stanbrough before Kyle Larson flipped through turn one on lap seven, collecting Cory Kruseman in the mess. When was the last time you can remember three men who flipped twice in one night? Larson, Faria, and Sheridan shared that dubious distinction and like a cat with nine lives, Kyle was able to continue in the battle.

Three laps later, Bragg lit red lights for the twelfth time after tangling with Blake Miller. Seven laps of green flag fury saw Stanbrough and Boat pull away, with Chad searching for a way around or underneath the Indiana Underground Maxim. Gardner got third just as Cole Whitt spun from sixth in the treacherous turns three and four.

Action finally settled down for a lengthy twenty-three lap sprint to the checkered, stacking a top-five deck that contained Stanbrough, Boat, Gardner, Clarke, and Kaeding. Sunday night’s surface seemed awfully technical, requiring precise positioning to hit the narrow line of moisture around the bottom of turns three and four. One and two was slick on entry but the exit allowed for flexibility, as one could follow the cushion or dive-bomb the bottom. Regardless of such south-end options, passing still came at a premium.

Stanbrough’s unique diamonding of one and two allowed him to sail away from Boat, but Bud Kaeding’s decision to deviate from the norm by tracking through three and four’s no man’s land paid dividends. Easily collecting fourth from Clarke by flying high, a similar maneuver with five to go bounced BK to third.

The Silent Gasser slipped through lapped traffic like a sleuth, carefully studying the cars in front of him and choosing the optimum opportunity to overtake. In the end, it all worked out for Jon, cashing the largest first place paycheck in his career at 8:51 PM. Boat, Kaeding, Gardner, and Clauson completed the first five. Clarke, Coons, Hines, Cardey (advancing 12 spots), and Sweet were scored sixth through tenth.

The Note – Ded Ringer drummer Steve Lafond poses in front of their most frequent concert venue, the Quarter Note Lounge in Sunnyvale, California.

Receiving high-fives from his crew as he took off his hard hat, Stanbrough spoke to trackside announcer and former San Jose Fairgrounds voice George Hague, who made the comment that he thought it looked like Jon was on cruise control out there. Jon recalled, “I don’t know. I saw some cars stick their nose in there a few times. I just couldn’t get through three and four very well. I kind of figured it out, I think, and then I got into lapped traffic right there at the end. I saw someone stick their nose back in there. I didn’t know if it was a lapped car or if it was second place. I tried to use that lapped car as a pick on the last lap and it all worked out.”

Receiving his unique hardware from scantily clad trophy presenter Sonja, the winner continued, “It was a multi-groove track tonight. I want to thank everybody for coming out. I want to thank everybody who worked so hard on the racetrack to make it so racy for all the fans. I’ve got to say thanks to Terry Riggs, Mike Dutcher, Casey, Bobby – everybody did a great job on the racecar. I want to say hi to all my family back home. I’m just happy to be here!”

Having to settle for second, Boat bantered, “We had a really good car tonight. We had a good car last night but we didn’t run that car tonight. We pulled out the backup car and it was just as good. That’s a testament to our equipment – both cars are great. I can’t thank my guys enough.”

The Bullet – Two cars from the end of the order, Bryan Clauson set a new track record in Saturday qualifying.

“This is actually my first time here. Last night was the first time at the track. It’s an awesome track and reminds me a lot of some tracks back in Indiana like Kokomo and Haubstadt. Hopefully they can have some more races for us here.”

Responding to Hague’s notion that the ending could have been a different story had the race been another ten laps, third place Bud Kaeding commented, “Yeah, I was looking for that NASCAR debris caution. I don’t know if I had anything for Jon but we had enough a good enough car to get to second place. That’s what non-wing racing is all about there, guys. It’s not follow the leader like it was last night. The track was really good tonight for racing. I still don’t know what I’d do to make it out of my heat race but things really worked out and I can’t thank my guys enough for this whole season. We won our third Silver Crown championship this year. It was awesome.”

“My guys put this stuff out here to go have fun with. We just get to tour all over the country with a racecar and I get to go racing with a bunch of my buddies. We try to win ‘em. If we don’t win ‘em, we drink beer. If we win ‘em, we drink beer. We just enjoy ourselves. That’s what it’s about. That’s why we’re standing out here tonight.”

“Like I said earlier, we located an old friend of ours, Davey Jones, a mechanic of mine back in the day. He got released last night and we gave him a place to work tonight and he gave us a hand. The car was really good. It was fun to drive like it used to be, that’s for sure.”

Heading out to the front stretch to offer my congratulations to the winner, I gave a handshake but received a hug in return, this obviously a huge moment in Jon Stanbrough’s career as west coast wins against national competition are as meaningful as they get. Throw in the fact that the name for this race originated with the iconic Ascot Park in Gardena, California and the significance of the moment digs even deeper. For the long-time local Indiana racer whose career was on the brink of extinction ten years ago, the walk back to the pit area had to be extra special, receiving further congratulations and respect from his fellow home state racers.

Similar Spaces – Lafond’s office is decorated a lot like my cube in Indy.

I’ve noticed the inconsistency in the billing of this event as both the Pacific Coast Open and the Pacific Coast Nationals. Regardless of what you want to call it, it was also significant for Indiana Underground crew chief Mike Dutcher, who beamed, “Yeah, it is a big one. I grew up out here in California. I told Jon, since I started crew chiefing these race cars, I’ve never won a race here in my home state of California. The Pacific Coast Nationals is a race I grew up with as a kid. I always dreamed of winning it. We finally got one so I can’t be more proud. Jon Stanbrough is probably the best racecar driver in the world. We’re just real happy right now.”

Carrying the very unique trophy back to his pit, when asked who gets to keep the intriguing piece, Mike measured, “We’re going to have to find the trophy maker and see if we can get a duplicate because Jon needs one and we’ve got one going up in the shop. Hopefully we’ll have two. It’s just a real honor to win this race. It was a great night.”

When discussing the team’s plans for 2009, Dutcher donated, “Well, it’s early. We want to keep this team together. We’ve had so many good runs. We had a monkey on our back. We ran a lot of seconds this year. We had races won – we were out in the lead but just never finished it. With Jon Stanbrough, hopefully we get to keep racing together, somehow. I think we’re really good together and if we can keep this going next year, we don’t know what his plans are, but I sure would love to race with him.”

As good as I felt after learning of the monumental fourth quarter Colts comeback against the dreaded Pats, I did not feel so great about the weekend withering away. All I had left to look forward to was a mad dash back to San Jose, as Steve had to work in the morning and I had a 7:40 flight. Reminding me of a return home from Haubstadt on a Sunday night, we drove through the darkness with the 2009 racing season in our rear view mirror. Missing our exit for 198 and instead touring 99, sightseeing was limited to lights and signs for places that rang a racing bell.

One of those signs did point to Selma, home to the late Dave Helm and his Selma Shell sprint car team that campaigned cars for Rick Freund, Steve Kent, Kevin Huntley, Greg Hodnett, Tim Shaffer, Joey Saldana, Stevie Smith, Jeff Shepard, Paul McMahan, Danny Wood, Lucas Wolfe, Kerry Madsen, and Tim Kaeding. I wonder if Selma Shell still exists.

The Animal – Steve Lafond is a show by himself when he gets into his drumming, also providing background vocals.

Already experiencing the garlic capital of the world, shouldn’t the California raisin capital of the world reside in Raisin City rather than Fresno? Signs also signaled proximity to Caruthers and Clovis, home to brothers Clay and Rob Klepper and 2009 Outlaw runner-up Jason Meyers respectively.

Through Lafond’s former hometown of Fresno, this was once a racing hotbed best known for its talent. The most notable was of course the Vukovich family, beginning with Bill Sr., a 500 winner in ’53 and ’54. Very close to claiming the ’52 running, it could have been three in a row in ’55 had it not been for an errant lapped car, paying the ultimate price with his life in one of the most horrific automobile racing accidents of all-time. Of course son Bill Vukovich, Jr. had a storied career in all kinds of open-wheeled machinery, as did Billy the third before his untimely passing in November of 1990. Johnny Boyd, Duane Carter, Edgar Elder, and Earl Motter also called Fresno home, as did Indycar owner/constructor Fred Gerhardt, an Indy fixture from ’57 through ’76, collecting a third place finish with Mel Kenyon in ’68. Kokomo’s Lynn Reid was once a Gerhardt employee.

Continuing northwest and whisking past Madera Speedway, it’s no surprise that classic races remembering Vukovich and Gerhardt are hosted here. West on 152, signs for Chowchilla and Merced made me think of additional California dirt tracks that I know of by name but will probably never see in person.

Nearly reaching the crossroads of 152 and 5 at Los Banos, which in common Spanish translates to “the bathrooms”, ironically Steve required the use of one at this juncture, but no restaurants were open due to the late hour. Like any man who has to go, some bushes behind one of those establishments made due.

Spotting one last chance for In-N-Out at the 101, I deferred a double-double in the interest of sleep, as the expected alarm at just past five was not a pleasant thought. Although I dozed off in the final stretch, the 196 miles to Campbell was covered in about two hours and forty-five minutes. With his right foot literally pushing through the floorboard, I think Lafond missed his calling as a Cannonball Run racer.

Surprise – This is what we encountered in Gilroy. We know where this guy is headed.

Of course 5 AM came far too soon, able to spy some of Steve’s spectacular Sunday photos from Tulare before my ten minute trip to the airport, giving a somber goodbye to yet another memorable weekend getaway. I am still not sure if two solid days in California is enough time to warrant the amount extended for airfare, but when factoring in the intangible benefits of maintaining a fantastic friendship, the cost seems very insignificant.

Grabbing a bear claw and a bottle of fresh squeezed orange juice before boarding, my flight from San Jose to Phoenix initially followed the meandering California Aqueduct, the water seemingly sending me home. Just as we were about to land in Phoenix, the venerable one-mile oval now owned by NASCAR’s International Speedway Corporation was easily observed. I could not however find Manzanita Speedway, which continues to be demolished. Some twenty-two years ago, both of those venues were visited for the first time for a combined Western World/Checker Classic mini-vacation with my father. Unless the old Copper Classic is revived, there’s no real reason for me to ever make Phoenix a destination.

Finding both Tim Clauson and Dean Mills during a layover, thankfully they saved me a middle seat, making the three-plus hours pass with ease. Arriving in a cold and rainy Indianapolis, just as I grabbed my bag and exited the airport, Speedball pulled up for the proverbial perfect pickup, with a homemade steak sandwich, a container of Shapiro’s potato salad, applesauce, and a bottle of SmartWater ready for my consumption thanks to an overly-concerned mother. Snacking on junk all day long, I can’t begin to tell you how great that sandwich tasted.

Three Wide – Some said the racing wasn’t that great in Tulare. Matt Streeter, Peter Murphy, and Shane Golobic prove the naysayers wrong.

Even though I feel like I’ve made it in this world and am completely self-sufficient, arrivals in California and Indiana confirmed that several are still concerned with my ultimate well-being, satisfying my need for the requisite food, water, and shelter. In this cold and impersonal world, it’s good to know that there are still unselfish individuals out there who actually care, such kind of benevolence coming only from family, friends, and loved ones. Such generosity may no longer be necessary for my survival, but count me as someone who considers these cherished relationships as essential to life as fresh water. Given that most of us are not robots but rather human beings with feelings and emotions, I’m sure I’m not the only one who shares this sentiment either.

The Wall – Lafond’s garage wall is plastered with sprint car posters. Way cool.

bullringko@aol.com