After two false starts caused by rain, the VRA Midgets were finally able to open their season. When all was said and done it was Greg Edenholm taking his first ever midget main event win over Ronnie Gardner, Jake Swanson, Wink Schweitzer and Brian Camarillo. The racing was fast and furious throughout the field as Brian blasted around the top of the track as he tried to get to the lead. It turned out the low side proved more favorable as everyone else tried to catch Edenholm on the low side. Edenholm held them off to get the well deserved win. There were two heat races run with wins going to Ronnie Gardner in the first heat and to Brian Camarillo in the second heat.
VRA Senior Sprints were back in action with Victor Davis taking the win and the new season point lead. His teammate Bruce Douglass is now second in points after a fifth place finish. Other top finishes went to Chris Meredith in second, Russell Deblauw in third and Ed Schwarz in fourth. The Seniors ran two heats with wins going to Clif warren in heat one and Victor Davis in heat two.
VRA Dwarf Cars played host to visiting drivers from CDCRA and other sanctioning bodies as the returned to action Saturday night. Racing in two classes, Seniors and Pros racing was very competitive and exciting for the fans in attendance. In Senior action, 2011 series champ George Calvo took the win over Mike Lewis, Brent Stevens, Bill VanPraag and Keith Vondersaar. They ran two heats with wins going to Bobby Lague in heat one and Kelly Gutches in heat two, both visiting drivers. In the Pros, 26 Pro dwarf cars signed into the pits. Four heats were run with wins going to Luke Boles in heat one, Eric Moore in heat two, Deviln Autrey in heat three and Ray Estrada in heat four. A new rule has been placed upon the Dwarf car racers that allow their races to go 20 laps in 20 minutes or less. On Saturday the Seniors ran their race in 5 minutes and the Pros ran theirs in 20.08 minutes.
IMCA Modifieds were also racing Saturday. Past series champ Jack Parker got back to his winning ways by taking the 20 lap main over a field of 15 cars. Finishing second through fifth were Brad Prows, Gary Curtis, Aaron Rodarte and Tom Topping. Heat race wins went to James Stowe in heat one and Topping in heat two. Gary Curtis now leads in the season points by 6 over Parker, Aaron Rodarte and Brad Prows who are tied for third.
VRA Go Karts returned to action this week with a strong field of karts. One heat was run with the win going to Cody Nigh. The 20 lap feature went to Mike Evans with Tyler Stover, Justin Raper, Kenny Beyers Jr. and Tyler Stover close behind in second through fifth.
For the first time Ventura Raceway ran Flat Track Quads on a car night. Eight quads were in attendance and provided the fans an exciting event with a six lap heat race and a 12 lap feature on the big track. The final finishes are still being determined due to possible tech violations. Stay tuned for a report to follow with the finishing order as soon as it is verified. Despite the tech issues the racing was great and we are looking forward to the remaining races in this new series.
- Ventura Raceway on Apr 26, 2012
- Article Date: 4/26/2012 by Cliff Morgan