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Just A Kid From The Grandstands: My Time In Auto Racing
Stories of my time in auto racing from the beginning to 2003
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Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover
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Don's California Racing Recollections: Best Of The Blog And Beyond
Racing History, Stories, Statistics And Pictures
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Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback
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Berendsen, Clymens, Gustafson Win Antioch Speedway Races
Antioch, CA...May 12...Carl Berendsen II scored the impressive victory in the 20 lap All Star Series A Modified Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. A two-time champion at the speedway, Berendsen grabbed the lead on lap two as early leader Bobby Montalvo broke his steering in Turn 2. After that, Berendsen charged ahead after every yellow flag and was never really threatened in winning the race. The battle all race long was between Kellen Chadwick and Trent Wentworth. The two ran most of the race side by side, and Chadwick finally slipped low in Turn 4 of the 17th lap to grab the second position for good. Wentworth settled for third ahead of incoming point leader Bobby Motts Jr and Sean O'Gara.
Current point leader Trevor Clymens won a good battle with Brent Curran for his second 20 lap B Modified Main Event win of the season. Clymens and Curran each won their heat races and started on the front row. Curran raced into the lead at the start with Clymens a close second. After a lap five yellow flag, Curran and Clymens continued their battle and pulled away from the pack. As they exited Turn 4 of the 14th lap, there was slight contact between Clymens and Curran, allowing Clymens to move ahead for the lead. Clymens caught traffic in the final two laps but was able to make the right moves to win just ahead of Curran. Kenny Shrader won a good battle with Mark Garner and Chuck Golden for the third place finish.
Chris Sorensen won a race long battle with reigning champion Cameron Swank for his third 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event win of the season. Sorensen took the lead from Tanis Rangel when Rangel pushed high exiting Turn 2 of the third lap. Swank gained second in Turn 4, and the battle was on. A red flag flew moments later when Don Phillips hit the back wall and rolled. Sorensen led Swank on the restart, and the two stretched their lead to a half a straightaway before the final yellow flag on lap 10. The battle resumed on the restart, but Sorensen drove a flawless race and would not relinquish the lead to Swank. Rangel scored his best finish in third ahead of John Wacht and heat race winner Billy Garner.
Mike Gustafson won the 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event to become the fourth different winner in four races. Gustafson has now won over 50 features in this class. Gustafson got the lead, but he still had his hands full battling Mike Walko, Brian Zachary and heat race winner Mark Garner. However, Gustafson was up to the challenge and took the checkered flag ahead of Walko. Garner made a late move around Zachary for third as Chad Hammer finished fifth.
Point leader Mike Corsaro had a little bit of luck on his side in winning the 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event. For much of the race, it appeared as if Miranda Chappa would be the winner. Chappa led from the get-go as Corsaro, David Rosa and heat race winner Travis Hensley had a good battle going for second. Hensley spun for a lap 14 yellow flag, collecting Rosa among others. Chappa led Corsaro on the restart, but Chappa spun in Turn 2 with four laps remaining. Corsaro held the lead at that point and led the rest of the way for his fourth win of the year. Mario Marques was a career-best second ahead of ageless veteran Charlie Correia, Chappa and Chris Mello.
The excitement continues next Saturday night during the Contra Costa County Fair as the All Star Series Wingless Spec Sprints and Hobby Stocks will be competing. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Unofficial race results
All Star Series
A Modifieds
Heat winners (8 laps)-Kellen Chadwick, Nick DeCarlo. Main Event (20 laps)-Carl Berendsen II, Chadwick, Trent Wentworth, Bobby Motts Jr, Sean O'Gara, DeCarlo, John MacDougall. Bryan Lewis, David Zeiter, Buddy Kniss.
B Modifieds
Heat winners (8 Laps)-Trevor Clymens, Brent Curran. Main Event (20 laps)-Clymens, Curran, Kenny Shrader, Mark Garner, Chuck Golden, Al Johnson, Kevin Brown, Ryan DeForest, Matt Taylor, Randal Pfuhl.
Limited Late Models
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Mark Garner, Ryan Cherezian. Main Event (20 laps)-Mike Gustafson, Mike Walko, Mark Garner, Brian Zachary, Chad Hammer, Ryan Cherezian, Kimo Oreta, John Evans.
Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Cameron Swank, Billy Garner. Main Event (20 laps)-Chris Sorensen, Cameron Swank, Tanis Rangel, John Wacht, Billy Garner, Haley Gomez, Michael Cooper, Chris Vigna, Breanna Troen, Jordan Swank.
Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Travis Hensley, Mike Corsaro. Main Event (20 laps)-Mike Corsaro, Mario Marques, Charlie Correia, Miranda Chappa, Chris Mello, Troy Stevenson, Roberto Monroy, Lonnie Tekaat, David Rosa, Travis Hensley.
Dean, Alexander, Corder Win Merced Speedway Features
Merced, CA...May 12...Kodie Dean won the 25 lap Hobby Stock Main Event Saturday night at Merced Speedway. This was the third win of the season for the reigning track champion as he closes in on the point lead. Dean chased George Silva for two laps before taking the lead, and two-time division champion Bruce Nelson settled into second on lap three. Austin Van Hoff at times made it a three-car battle for the lead throughout the race. But the biggest competition for Dean was given to him by Nelson, who searched high and low for a way around. However, Dean kept his cool under pressure and scored a well-earned victory ahead of Nelson and Van Hoff. Michael Shearer made a late race pass on incoming point leader Shannon Nelson to finish fourth as Donny Shearer Jr, Kristie Shearer, Mike Germait, Katie Briggs and Kaleb Shelton completed the Top 10. The three eight lap heat races were won by Shelton, Nelson and Dean.
The BCRA Midget Lites made their first of two scheduled appearances at the speedway. Dean Alexander came up from the California Lightning Sprint group and went flag-to-flag for the victory. Only one slow down in the race occurred with a lap 12 yellow flag, and Alexander maintained command on the restart. Scott Kinney wasn't too far back in second as the checkered flag flew. Hunter Kinney was a solid third ahead of Dakota Albright, Aidan Lange, Bradley Dillard, Eric Greco Jr, Steve Brown, Terry Bergstrom and Danika Jo Parker. The division also had time trials, and Scott Kinney set the fast lap of 12.925 to beat the 12.975 of Alexander. Hunter Kinney and Albright were eight lap heat race winners.
Three-time reigning Mini Stock champion Chris Corder bested the 20 car Mini Stock field to win his third Main Event of the season. Corder started back in the fourth row and worked his way up to battle his sister and current point leader Jennifer Corder for the lead. Chris Corder made the late race pass for the lead on the front straightaway and went on to victory. Jennifer Corder settled for second ahead of Shawn DePriest, Robert Jackson, Allen Neal, Lucy Falkenberg, Friday night Watsonville winner Kelly Campanille, Bryant Desaire, Lee Ragsdale and Jason Belton Jr. Belton also won one of the four eight lap heat races with Jennifer Rodgers, Chris Corder and DePriest winning the other three.
Jesse Burks won both the eight lap heat race and 15 lap Main Event for the California Sharp Mini Late Models. Burks had the pole for the Main Event and led most of the way to win with point leader Tim Crews a close second. Riley Jeppesen, Carson Guthrie and Ian Shearer rounded out the finishing order.
Racing resumes next Saturday night at Merced Speedway with a program headlined by the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds. Mini Stocks will be back in action along with the Valley Sportsman division. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.
Kaeding, Aguiar, Elrod Ocean Speedway Winners
Watsonville, CA...May 11...Bud Kaeding scored his second Ocean Sprint Car, presented by Taco Bravo, 30 lap Main Event victory Friday night at Ocean Speedway. Wheeling the #0 car for Maurie Williams, Kaeding chased Cole Macedo for five laps before making the pass on lap six to take the lead. The only yellow flag waved on lap nine, and Kaeding continued to lead Macedo and Justin Sanders on the restart. Kaeding pulled away just a bit, but Macedo and Sanders had a close race going for second. In the latter stages of the race, Macedo closed in just a little bit on Keading, but he was unable to pose a serious threat. Kaeding took the checkered flag ahead of Macedo, Sanders, Kyle Offill, Brad Furr, Koen Shaw, Nathan Rolfe, Kurt Nelson, Jeremy Chisum and Danny Malfatti.
Kaeding set the fast time of 11.663 on the Tom Sagmiller prepared quarter-mile clay oval, beating the 11.828 effort of Macedo. Sanders won the first eight lap heat race ahead of Furr, and a battle of the Shaw brothers saw Koen beat Kyler for the victory in the second heat. Macedo won the four lap Trophy Dash ahead of Kaeding.
Jack Aguiar won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event that was destined to go without a yellow flag. It was his second win of the season. Aguiar grabbed the lead at the start ahead of 2015 champion Jim DiGiovanni. Aguiar ran smooth, and though he didn't build a huge lead, he was about half a straightaway in front by the waving of the checkered flag. DiGiovanni held second until Bakersfield Speedway competitor Austin Manzella made the move by him on lap 17. DiGiovanni settled for third behind Aguiar and Manzella. Mike Dean held off Merced Speedway star Chase Thomas to finish fourth as Igor Grandzuk, Matthew Hagio, Justin McPherson, Tanner Thomas and John Ferro completed the Top 10 in the 17 car field. Aguiar also won his eight lap heat race ahead of Anthony Giuliani. DiGiovanni captured the other heat in front of Manzella.
JC Elrod held off a late surge by Matt Kile to win the 20 lap American Stock Main Event. Joe Willoughby was the early leader with Elrod settling into second. Elrod slipped past Willoughby for the lead on lap eight. Kile gained second on lap 12 with the departure of Willoughby and set about closing the gap for the lead. Rob Gallaher was third at that point. In the final two laps, Kile made it a close battle for the lead, but Elrod managed to beat him back to the checkered flag. Gallaher was a solid third ahead of Tony Oliveira, Terry Traub, Ken Orr, Jason Perkins, Willoughby, Mike Calhoun and Jerry Skeleton. Kile was working on a clean sweep effort as he won his eight lap heat race ahead of Orr and then outran Elrod to win the four lap Trophy Dash. Elrod won the other heat ahead of Calhoun.
After a crash took her out of contention at the previous race, Kelly Campanille came back strong by winning the 15 lap Mini Stock Main Event. Chris Amos led the first four laps before his race came to an abrupt end for the only yellow flag of the race. Dakota Keldsen took the lead on the restart ahead of Campanille and Kate Beardsley. Campanille was pressuring Keldsen hard for the lead and finally made her winning pass on lap seven. As Campanille stretched her lead, Beardsley moved in to challenge Keldsen for second. A last-lap pass gained Kate Beardsley second as Keldsen settled for third ahead of Abigail Kennedy, Nicole Beardsley, Bill Beardsley, Amos and Nate Teramo. Teramo won the first eight lap heat race ahead of Bill Beardsley. Campanille won her heat ahead of Williams.
The IMCA Modifieds return to headline next Friday's event along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, American Stocks and the Police N Pursuit. For further information, go to www.racepmg.com.
Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results May 11, 2018
Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo
Bud Kaeding
Cole Macedo
Justin Sanders
Kyle Offill
Brad Furr
Koen Shaw
Nathan Rolfe
Kurt Nelson
Jeremy Chisum
Danny Malfatti
Jason Chisum
Richard Fajardo
Ryon Nelson
Mathew Mole
Tucker Worth
Kyler Shaw
IMCA Sport Mods
Jack Aguiar
Austin Manzella
Jim DiGiovanni
Mike Dean
Chase Thomas
Igor Gandzuk
Matthew Hagio
Justin McPherson
Tanner Thomas
John Ferro
Billy Robertson
Adriane Frost
Charlie Hunter
Steven Allee
Courtney Burks
Austin Williams
Anthony Giuliani
American Stocks
JC Elrod
Matt Kile
Rob Gallaher
Tony Oliveira
Terry Traub
Ken Orr
Jason Perkins
Joe Willoughby
Mike Calhoun
Jerry Skelton DNS
Four Bangers
Kelly Campanile
Kate Beardsley
Dakota Keldsen
Abigail Kennedy
Nicole Beardsley
Bill Beardsley
Chris Amos
Nate Teramo
Justin Williams DNS
Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results May 12, 2018
Hobby Stocks
Kodie Dean
Bruce Nelson
Austin VanHoff
Michael Shearer
Shannon Nelson
Donnie Shearer Jr
Kristie Shearer
Mike Germait
Katie Briggs
Kalob Shelton
George Silva
Marshall Weaver
Cody Smiley
Race Shelton
Roy Hart Jr
Mini Stocks
Chris Corder
Jennifer Corder
Shawn DePriest
Robert Jackson
Allen Neal
Lucy Falkenberg
Kelly Campanile
Bryant Desaire
Lee Ragsdale
Jason Belton Jr.
Jennifer Rodgers
Scott Roehrenbaeck
Tyler Jackson
Kristina Cole
Joe Terry
Abigail Kennedy
Kevin Lockerby
Jerry Tubbs
Devin Belton
Andrew Krumm DNS
BCRA Midget Lites
Dean Alexander
Scott Kinney
Hunter Kinney
Dakota Albright
Aiden Lange
Brad Dillard
Eric Greco Jr.
Steve Brown
Terry Bergstrom
Danika Parker
Adam Teves
Brandon Leedy
Bobby Michnowicz DNS
Mini Late Models
Jesse Burks
Tim Crews
Riley Jeppesen
Carson Guthrie
Ian Shearer
Reno Fernley Unofficial Race Results May 12, 2018
IMCA Modified
Robert Miller
Ryan McDaniels
Travis White
Shawn Natenstedt
Riley Simmons
Royce Goetz
James Thibodeaux
Thomas Martin
Walter Ball
Shawn LaRocque
Alec Childs
Andy Strait
Barry Stone
Byron Hutchinson
Robert Tatum
Jay Bradley
Fred White
Don Childs
Keller Auto Speedway Unofficial Race Results May 12, 2018
IMCA Stock Car
Results are not official
1 #11 Brock Hamilton
2 #22 Rod Bane
3 #10T Larry Thompson
4 #11P Preston Martin
5 #17 Ron Hurt
6 #1 Alan Mendes
7 #1JX Steve Streeter
8 #99 Josh Nichols
9 #2 James Elliott
10 #77X Pat Biggs
11 #15 Shawn Schwartzenberger
12 #13 Renn Bane
13 #111 Chett Reeves
14 #159 Chad Johnson
NS #45 Troy Patee
USAC West Coast 360 Sprint
Results are not official
1 #10 Richard Vanderweerd
2 #88 Jace Vanderweerd
3 #15T Tristan Guardino
4 #83 Austin Liggett
5 #29T Ryan Timmons
6 #88K Koen Shaw
7 #57 Steve Hix
8 #7 shannon mcqueen
9 #7K Hobie Conway
10 #67 Briton Brock
11 #51 Austin Ervine
12 #71 Brent Owens
13 #72 Ryan Stolz
RaceSaver IMCA Sprint Car
Results are not official
1 #15 Blake Robertson
2 #2 Brooklyn Holland
3 #67G Grant Duinkerken
4 #67D Steven Tiner
5 #7Z Zane Blanchard
6 #75 Brendan Warmerdam
7 #23T George Tristao
8 #86 Chris Ennis
9 #35 Albert Pombo
10 #53 Michael Pombo
11 #67 Vaughn Schott
12 #38 Kyle Rasmussen
13 #95 Eric Correia
14 #11 Blaine Fagundes
15 #9S Rick Bray
16 #18 Lance Jackson
17 #31H Phil Heynen
18 #45 Monty Ferriera
19 #12 Jacob Pacheco
20 #10F Jared Faria
21 #41A Jake Baines
22 #4X Richard Weddle
Mini Stock
Results are not official
1 #6 andrew boydstun
2 #777 Clinton Massey
3 #15 Paul Schwartzenberger
4 #9 Gene Glover
5 #9W Brian Widdowson
6 #3 Hank Sytsma
7 #32X Jason Cook
Petaluma Speedway Unofficial Race Results May 12, 2018
PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprints
Results are not official
1 #101 Klint Simpson
2 #7h Jake Haulot
3 #27 Brett Rollag
4 #73c Cody Fendley
5 #52 David Lindt II
6 #12j John Clark
7 #11k Kenny Drew
8 #88 Bret Barney
9 #25b Chet Wilson
10 #32 Norm Johns
11 #27t Jason Toft
12 #1s Nathan Schank
13 #9n Nicholas Ringo
14 #3a Ricky Brophy
McLea's Tire IMCA Modified
Results are not official
1 #49 Troy Foulger
2 #34j Jeff Faulkner
3 #1jr Jerry Roy Jr.
4 #23 Oreste Gonnella
5 #74s Chris Sieweke
5 #22m Mitch Machado
6 #4x Anthony Slaney
7 #2y Justin Yaeger
8 #42b Tony Bernard
9 #17y Tim Yaeger
Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks
Results are not official
1 #22m Mitch Machado
2 #46 Steve Studebaker
3 #49 Woody Woodward
4 #60 Shawn McCoy
5 #1d Larry Drew
6 #11c Sean Cook
7 #07 Manny Avila
8 #51d Sid Hess
9 #3 Matt While
10 #22 Paul Hanley
General Hydroponics Redwood Empire Dwarf Car
Results are not official
1 #59r Matt Hagemann
2 #66b Mark Biscardi
3 #66r Scooter Gomes
4 #79r Mark Hanson
5 #22n Josh Miller
6 #11r Carroll Mendenhall
7 #15r Adam Johnson
8 #10r Barry Waddell
9 #03r Mike Affonso
10 #78r Tommy King
11 #43r Michael Williams
12 #34r Sam Borland
13 #27r Danny Marsh
14 #8r Michael Brian
15 #23r Dave Mosier
16 #46r Marty Weisler
17 #13 Trevor Mendenhall
Madera Raceway Unofficial Race Results May 12, 2018
Madera Late Models
Jason Aguirre
Matt Erickson
Garland Tyler
Jarret Gilmer
Tyler Herzog
Dillion Tucker
Loren Kutz
Henk Gaalswyk Jr
Joseph Reichmuth
Shelden Cooper
Monty Tomlinson
Matt Kutz
Mike Shapiro
Howard Holden
Toyota Sedans
Jillaun Holden
Jason Lawton
Tim Curtis
Greg Tyler
Thomas Magray
John Tevis Jr
Kyle Labrie
Manny Gonzales Jr
Mike Marley
Kurt Davison
Brinn Schiver
J.J Brandsen
MST
Ryan Reynolds
Bert Stephens
Dave Lander
Tim Kammerer
Patrick Geiger
Shaun Reynolds
Dennis Brannon
Rian Bowman
Hobby Stock
Steve Schermerhorn
Jesus Hernandez
Jon Schlundt
The Editor's Viewpoint
It's Friday afternoon, and I'm trying to enjoy the few hours of calm before everything starts over again. I think I've managed to cover all the bases for this week. As I was sitting here thinking, I realized there was something else that I wanted to talk about in last week's column.
This is the 30th Anniversary season for the Northern California Modified Association. It started in 1988. Actually, Mike Johnson, who founded the club, made an attempt to start it on the back of the California Dirt Car group in Santa Maria in 1987. But in 1988, he managed to convince the new Antioch Track Manager, George Stiles, that this was the greatest thing since sliced bread and he needed to give it a shot. George went for it, and suddenly, all those Dirt Modified fans who thought that it was going to be the division that would be at Antioch in 1988 had a new enemy, Mike Johnson.
But I'm not here to tell that story again. It's been 30 seasons, and the club still exists. True, the NCMA is barely on the radar, but they still exist. I'll tell you how bad it is, they opened their season at Madera with just three cars. Last season wasn't looking much better folks. With those kinds of numbers, this club won't be around very much longer. I'm kind of saddened by that.
The forebearer to the Wingless Spec Sprint effort was the NCMA Modified. The club pretty much controlled the wingless stuff for a decade before the Spec Sprints exploded and took total control out of the hands of the club. They soldiered on for another 20 years, obviously, but they no longer dictated how everything was going to go. I'm proud that I had a hand in doing that.
There were people who erroneously said that I was trying to kill the NCMA. That's ludicrous. I went so far as to try and get them race dates at Antioch Speedway and Petaluma Speedway while we were starting the Wingless Spec Sprint class. In fact, they had dates until they made the mistake of booking on top of some of those dates after the Reno meeting that year. I was the one who had to make the phone call to their Business Manager explaining that they would no longer have those dates. It was not something I wanted to do, but I realized I couldn't defend the group anymore. Eventually, it would have bit me in the rear end with management.
The Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series that we're all enjoying as the premiere thing for the class was something that I had lobbied Antioch management for 15 years ago. I saw the golden opportunity with the NCMA, the Orland Raceway class and the fledgling new group at Sacramento Raceway. This was the time. Unfortunately, Antioch management had no interest in promoting anything special for any of his classes that weren't the Modified division. So, the opportunity went to somebody else.
At first, the NCMA realized the potential that was there. They aligned with the group based out of Sacramento and formed the NCMA Select Series. Those shows generally had bigger car counts than the regular shows and offered more money. It was actually a very shrewd move by the NCMA to do it. It lasted about five or six seasons before the NCMA packed their bags and headed exclusively to the asphalt. I never agreed with the decision to do that, but they saw a golden opportunity. It was at that point when they Hunt Series stepped in and continues to this day, now promoted by Rick Faeth.
The problem with the NCMA pavement effort is it basically ran off anybody who wanted to run NCMA dirt. There were still a few people who wanted that, and now they had to join one of the other efforts if they wanted dirt. For a few years, it was working out okay. However, car count dwindled to a point where these guys just sort of tagged the show. They existed, but it was pretty much in name only. That's where they are today.
Last season, as the NCMA was beginning its 30th year, I was contacted by Scott Holloway. He had an eye towards coming back and making a big promotion out of the fact that the group has been around for 30 years. However, Scott wanted to do it on the dirt. He wasn't alone in that. There were other people. I still get contacted by Roy Greer from time to time on the subject. I was ready to endorse Scott's plan, because I feel like this is what is needed. The time is actually right.
What we're witnessing right now is the waning years for the Wingless Spec Sprint class, that is unless the promoters figure out a way to revitalize it. Watsonville abandoned their class after the 2014 season. Orland has a division, but they insist the racers use gasoline rather than alcohol. As far as Chico and Marysville are concerned, the division now only runs at Chico. Because the promoter there created something called Winged Economy Sprints, it divided what was a respectable car count. A half a dozen cars is now considered good at Chico.
The last two tracks standing with a regular show worthy of talking about are Petaluma Speedway and the place it all began, Antioch Speedway. Don O'Keefe and I have spoken often about the class we helped start, and we both agree that a 20 year run is actually pretty good for any division. I don't necessarily think it needs to end, but things need to be done to get the interest back up again. This class should still be producing car counts worthy of having B Mains. Of course, Petaluma promoter Rick Faith took over the Hunt Series last year and has done some good things to get that kind of car count on occasion.
But I'm going back to the NCMA here for a moment. It has all come full circle. It's obvious that the group has no interest in the dirt. A few drivers still have cars, and tracks will give them dates, but the NCMA will never make any kind of splash on the pavement at this point. The value, the potential revival of this class, will only happen if you put them back on the dirt again.
When this idea was forwarded to them last year, the response was that the club is only running on the pavement. They don't want to divide things. Problem was, the people who were pushing for the dirt have no intention of running any pavement dates. It's not happening. If they wanted to run pavement, they'd be running with them now. And I think it was pretty short-sighted of the leaders to not realize they could do both. It's likely that the pavement side of things is not interested in running on the dirt either. But there's still an NCMA Banner. Why couldn't you have some dirt dates and some pavement dates that don't conflict? Would they be afraid that the dirt would start to pop and render the pavement obsolete?
I'm not suggesting that the NCMA going back to dirt would suddenly surpass the Hunt Series as the leading Spec Sprint Tour. It would not, that is unless somebody was putting lots of money into the purse. However, I believe there to be six to eight dirt dates for the taking if the NCMA were to pursue that. I see potential dates happening at places like Orland, Merced, Yreka, Chico... You could get the dates. How do you go about making such a move? The first thing would be for the person to step up and be that leader of the dirt movement. Is that Scott? I don't know. When I reached out to him earlier this year, I never got a response.
Surely, you're not going to get any of the leadership in the group now to spearhead a dirt movement, so that would fall on somebody else. Coordinate with the pavement side on a schedule that doesn't conflict, but the sooner you make an announcement that 2019 will have the NCMA doing some dirt races, the better. If you were to do this right, you could get the group back on the dirt for the first time in about nine years.
When the NCMA fades away from the pavement, which it will, this will end an era. There aren't too many open wheel groups in California that have been around as longer than the NCMA. I'm talking California based groups. You have the BCRA. NARC ceased operations back in 2000, though the name has been brought back within the last year. The Golden State Challenge Series was started in 1985 and continues as the King Of The West Series today. CRA had a hiatus for a few years while the SCRA ran things. So, the NCMA's 30 year run is still something worth value.
Perhaps it's the nostalgia getting to me. I was there with Mike Johnson, Jim Booth, Mike Lokmor and the others during the first seven years of that run. I served on the board from 1989 to 1993. I still wrote about the group in my magazine up until the end. I remember the struggle. I remember when it looked like everything would fall apart, but the group always managed to fight back. Will this be a time when they can fight back, or will the group fade Into history finally?
I look at some of the NCMA Legends who are no longer with us. People like Darryl Shirk, Jim Booth, Del Quinn and Roland Lokmor. I can't help but think that they would appreciate seeing the NCMA continue on for years to come. I just don't see that happening as long as pavement is their primary focus. I see the group fading away within the next two or three years under its current model.
The other thing to look at is evolution of cars. We haven't had the next big thing in racing in California since the Modified division was brought to the state in 1987. Basically, we're recycling those chassis as Sport Modifieds. Somebody will start an Economy Modified class next to bring some of the older chassis back out again. The Wingless Spec Sprint division was pretty much started on the same model back then. There are older Sprint Car chassis that you won't find running in the 360 Sprint class, but they are still good enough for a class like this. There's plenty of those chassis out there. So this division could still see an upturn in the immediate future.
Where the NCMA comes into all of this is you have your driver run organization. The racers make the decisions. They are the ones who set the rules and decide where they're going to run. Currently, there is no group out there that really gives the drivers a voice. Sometimes I feel like an association shoots itself in the foot, but there's also merit in having this type of organization. So, this is another reason I suggest that somebody wanting a racer's voice in Spec Sprint racing might want to pursue bringing the NCMA back to the dirt and giving the group just the shot in the arm it needs.
That's all for now...
