(Oxnard CA, Noel Dawson, October 15th) Ventura Raceway will close out the 2012 season with the VRA Sprint Cars chasing $5,000 in the third and final All Coast Challenge. The All Coast Challenge always features some of the highest paying purses at Ventura. As he traditionally does with the final race, All Coast Construction owner Mike Grosswendt has upped the ante to $5,000 to win, $1,500 for 2nd, $1,250 for 3rd and $300 to start. The All Coast Construction Hard Charger bonus of $500 will go to the driver with the best passing job in the feature. The list of previous All Coast Challenge winners is a who’s who of Ventura Raceway: Troy Rutherford, Greg Taylor, and Cory Kruseman are just a few names who have cashed an All Coast Challenge check.
On March 10th, Mike Spencer held off a charge from Troy Rutherford and Danny Faria and led wire to wire for a $2,500 victory. Brody Roa mastered difficult track conditions to take the second All Coast Challenge on July 21st. Jonathan Henry led the first 23 laps until a slip in turn 2 allowed Roa to drive by and grab the victory.
In addition to the $5,000 going to the feature winner on November 10th, another $5,000 will go to the 2012 All Coast Challenge points champion. On the strength of a 5th and 2nd place finish, Cory Kruseman leads Spencer by just 5 points going into the finale. With a maximum of 260 points available in the night, more than 10 drivers are still mathematically alive for the championship including the top 3 in VRA Sprint Car points, Kyle Smith, Tom Hendricks, and Brian Camarillo.
The 2012 VRA Sprint Car championship will also be up for grabs on this night. At press time, Kyle Smith leads Tom Hendricks by 225 points. Just 5 points back, tied for third are Brian Camarillo and Clark Templeman III. Templeman III is the only one with multiple feature wins this season with 3, while Smith and Camarillo each have one victory and Hendricks is still looking for that elusive first win.
The Dwarf Cars, Focus Midgets, and Go-Karts will also have championships on the line. The Pro Dwarf title fight has taken a big swing in the past three races. A mid-season struggle capped off by an injured wrist has put 2011 champion and previous leader Ray Estrada in a tied for second with Curt Cook. Luke Boles has come on strong to take a 35 point lead after the October 6th event. Bill Van Praag has a 105 point lead over Tom Stephens Sr. in the Senior Dwarfs. Van Praag has had his share of mechanical troubles at times during the 2012 season but Stephens has been unable to capitalize.
The Focus Midgets return after a 2 month break. Currently Wally Pankratz holds a 70 point lead over Parker Colston. Pankratz also leads the way with 3 victories this season.
The Go-Karts started the season on the infield track and they’ll finish the season on the big track. Cody Nigh grabbed the opening night win on the infield track and he grabbed his first big track win on October 6th. In between, Nigh has used eight Top 5’s to build a nearly unbeatable 255 point lead over Justin Raper with just the November 10th race remaining.
The VRA Sprint Cars conclude their 2012 season with the All Coast Challenge and some of the biggest names in California sprint car racing going for $5,000. Dwarf Cars, Focus Midgets, and Go-Karts round out a night where champions will be crowned and another page of Ventura Raceway history will be written.
For more information on Ventura Raceway, visit www.venturaraceway.com
For more information on All Coast Construction, visit www.allcoastconstruction.com
- Ventura Raceway on Oct 16, 2012
- Article Date: 10/16/2012 by Ventura Raceway/Noel Dawson