Results 9-16-2017

Saturday night September 16, saw the return of the Light Up the World Beverages USAC Midgets to Ventura Raceway for their second visit of the season. Also on the card were the VRA Dwarf Cars, IMCA Modifieds and Focus Midgets. Racing was hard fought throughout the field in each class that competed Saturday night.

Nineteen Light Up the World Beverages USAC Western States Midgets were signed into the pits for the night’s racing. Shannon McQueen set fast time for the night with a time of 12.337 seconds around Ventura’s 1/5 mile oval. They ran three heats, with wins going to Clayton Ruston in heat one, Chad Boat in heat two and Matt Mitchell in heat three. All nineteen midgets were eligible to start their 30 lap main event. The main event was a fast and furious event with the win going to Chad Boat. Boat jumped out front on lap one from his outside front row starting position and led all 30 laps to take his first Ventura Raceway win! The racing behind him was intense and led to several on track incidents that took out a number of competitors. The most serious incident involved Randi Pankratz who flipped wildly down the front straight on lap 18. She emerged from her car uninjured. The finish of the race saw Ronnie Gardner, Robert Dalby, David Prickett and J J Ercse follow Boat across the finish line. In another earlier incident, Cory Elliott flipped hard in turn four in heat three. He got out of his car on his own but was later taken to the hospital for a check up after complaining of neck and back pain. Ronnie Gardner’s second place finish keeps him out front in their season long point battle. The USAC Midgets will be back at Ventura on October 28, as they prepare for the 77th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix on November 23.

In VRA Dwarf Cars, Tim Conley got back to his winning ways with a strong run, leading all 20 laps of the feature. Following Conley across the line were Jason Horton, Gage Cheek, Johnny Conley and Tommy Velasquez III. The race saw 11 of the 16 starters finish on the lead lap. A serious crash on lap 1 took David Conley, Trent Morley and Korey Cowan out of the race. Both Conley and Morley flipped hard at the start finish line. Both drivers emerged from their cars uninjured. The night saw three heat races run with wins going to Trent Morley in heat one, Trevor Fitzgibbon in heat two and Jason Horton in heat three. A 10 car semi main event was also run to set the 16 starters for the feature. That race went to Nick Velasquez over Korey Cowan, Tommy Velasquez and Zach Curnel. These four cars then transferred to the feature. After thirteen races in the 2017 season, Johnny Conley leads Jason Horton by 120 points in the season long point race.

A small field of 3 IMCA Modifieds were on hand Saturday night. Terry Hershberger took his second win in a row, dominating the three car field in their 12 lap main, taking the lead on lap one and was never headed. He was followed by Jack Parker and returning driver Brad Prows. This was the final point event for Modifieds in 2017. Luis Espinoza clinched their championship at their last race on September 2.

The Focus Midget Main Event saw Phil Schack take his second win in a row at Ventura as he led all twenty laps in their 15 lap race. Following him across the line were Kyle Beilman, Mike Leach, and Jet Davison. Jet Davison took the win in a soggy heat one and Mike Leach took the win in heat two. After nine Focus events in the 2017 season, Jet Davison leads Mike Leach in their point race.

Ventura Raceway will be dark next Saturday, September 23rd. We will return to racing with our final Flat Track Motorcycle race of the 2017 season on Saturday September 30. That night will feature Amateur and Pro flat track motorcycles and quads, Vintage Speedway bikes and the wild sidecar racers.

Ventura Raceway Race Results for 09/16/2017

USAC Midget
Race #2 09/16/2017

Main Event Results: 0. Cory Elliot, Bakersfield, 0 Laps0. Bryan Drollinger, 0 Laps1. Chad Boat, Phoenix, AZ, 30 Laps; 2. Ronnie Gardner, Norco, Ca, 30 Laps; 3. Robert Dalby, Anaheim, 30 Laps; 4. David Prickett, Fresno, 30 Laps; 5. J. J. Ercse, Lakewood, 30 Laps; 6. Shannon McQueen, Tehachapi, 30 Laps; 7. Clayton Ruston, Yorba Linda, Ca, 30 Laps; 8. Kyle Beilman, 30 Laps; 9. C.J. Sarna, Palm Desert, 30 Laps; 10. Frankie Guerrini III, San Rafael, CA, 30 Laps; 11. Robby Josett, Santa Clarita, 25 Laps; 12. Randi Pankratz, Atascadero, 18 Laps; 13. Terry Nichols, Delano, 15 Laps; 14. Brennan Rogers, Camarillo, 14 Laps; 15. Matt Mitchell, Yorba Linda, 11 Laps; 16. Jake Swanson, Anaheim, 11 Laps; 17. Courtney Crone, Corona, 11 Laps

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Bryan Drollinger; Heat 2: Terry Nichols; Heat 3: Courtney Crone

Ventura Raceway does not calculate points for this class

———————————————–

VRA Pro Dwarf Cars
Race #13 09/16/2017

Main Event Results: 1. Tim Conley, Oxnard, 20 Laps; 2. Jason Horton, Oxnard, 20 Laps; 3. Gage Cheek, Valencia, 20 Laps; 4. Johnny Conley, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 5. Tommy Velasquez III, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 6. Nick Velasquez, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 7. Trevor Fitzgibbon, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 8. Tommy Velasquez, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 9. Zach Curnel, Palmdale, 20 Laps; 10. Kody Cowan, Lancaster, 20 Laps; 11. Jeff Brink, Ventura, 20 Laps; 12. Tom Stephens Jr, Ventura, 12 Laps; 13. Jeff Hinz, Saugus, 2 Laps; 14. David Conley, Oxnard, 1 Lap; 15. Trent Morley, Woodland Hills, 1 Lap; 16. Korey Cowan, Lancaster, 1 Lap
Lap Leaders: Tim Conley (1-20)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Trent Morley; Heat 2: Trevor Fitzgibbon; Heat 3: Jason Horton

Top 10 in points: 1. Johnny Conley, 2700; 2. Jason Horton, 2580; 3. Tim Conley, 2570; 4. Tommy Velasquez III, 2525; 5. David Conley, 2515; 6. Nick Velasquez, 2410; 7. Trevor Fitzgibbon, 2240; 8. Trent Morley, 2190; 9. Tom Stephens Jr, 2145; 10. Tommy Velasquez, 1965

———————————————–

IMCA Modifieds
Race #12 09/16/2017

Main Event Results: 1. Terry Hershberger, Corona, 12 Laps; 2. Jack Parker, Simi Valley, 12 Laps; 3. Brad Prows, Buellton, 12 Laps
Lap Leaders: Terry Hershberger (1-12)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Brad Prows

Top 10 in points: 1. Luis Espinoza, 394; 2. Jack Parker, 357; 3. Dave Phipps, 287; 4. Chris Crompe, 262; 5. Andrew Greiman, 198; 6. Justin Dunn, 171; 7. Austin Rodarte, 165; 8. Scott Olsen, 160; 9. Terry Hershberger, 157; 10. Aaron Rodarte, 136

———————————————–

Focus Midgets
Race #9 09/16/2017

Main Event Results: 1. Phil Schack, San Luis Obispo, 15 Laps; 2. Kyle Beilman, 15 Laps; 3. Mike Leach, Foothill Ranch, 15 Laps; 4. Jet Davison, Running Springs, 15 Laps
Lap Leaders: Phil Schack (1-15)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Jet Davison

Top 10 in points: 1. Jet Davison, 1925; 2. Mike Leach, 1770; 3. Kyle Beilman, 1340; 4. Jessica Valentine, 960; 5. Daniel Anderson, 925; 6. Phil Schack, 515; 7. Jess Love IV, 475; 8. Adam Lemke, 440; 9. Brandon Biggs, 430; 10. Tom Patterson, 390

———————————————–

Report Created by Ventura Raceway Scoring Program
Report Created: 09/17/2017 11:15