Ventura Raceway
March 30, 2015
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Luis Espinoza wins Sprint Car Feature at Ventura Raceway

by Cliff Morgan
VENTURA, CA (March 28) - Saturday night March 28, saw another night of exciting open wheel and stock car racing at Ventura Raceway as the new season continued. The night featured six adult classes racing to see who will lead the point races after three races. Exciting, fast paced competition was the rule of the night with drivers going all out to show their abilities.

Past VRA Sprint Car Champion Luis Espinoza returned to action this week and scored his first 30 lap feature event win of the new season. Espinoza took the lead from Jimmy Crawford on lap 26 of the 30 lap main event. Crawford led laps 10 through 25 after taking he lead from 2014 Senior Champion Clif Warren who led laps 1 through 9. Espinoza took the win over Jimmy Crawford, Guy Woodward, Clif Warren and Rick Hendrix. Heat race wins went to Ed Schwarz in heat one and Jimmy Crawford in heat two. After two races Kyle Smith leads the VRA Sprint Car point race by 30 points over Rick Hendrix. Smith who won last week's race had a tough night finishing 11th,

In IMCA Modified action, Josh Vogt came back from a tough night last week to take the 20 lap Modified victory over a strong field of 13 IMCA Modifieds. Vogt led all 20 laps taking the lead on lap one from his fourth place starting position. Following Vogt to the line were Dennis Eckert, Aaron Rodarte, Dave Phipps and Andrew Phipps. Two heat races were run with wins going to Dennis Eckert and Josh Vogt. After three races in 2015, Dave Phipps leads the point race by 1 point over Andrew Phipps and Josh Vogt 109 to 108.

VRA's Hobby Stock Class continued their new season with eight cars in attendance. Point leader Cameron Dougan, winner of the first two Hobby Stock races in 2015 saw his winning streak broken by his dad Randall Dougan who took his first Hobby Stock win. Cameron Dougan settled for second place and continues his point lead in this series by 70 points over David Heurung. Following the Dougans to the line were David Heurung, Ken Redman and Mira Cook. Their one heat race went to Jesse James Verdun.

VRA Senior Sprints returned to action with one of the best races in their series' history. Chris Meredith took a very hard fought win over multi time champion Clif Warren in their 20 lap feature. The two drivers battled for several laps at the end of the race after a yellow closed the field, taking away a large lead from Meredith who had pulled out to a nice lead by mid race. Warren did all he could to try to get by Meredith but it was to no avail. Meredith took the win over Warren, Ed Schwarz, Steve Brown and Mike Cook. Steve Brown took their one heat race. Clif Warren leads the series by 80 points over Ed Schwarz after two races.

VRA Dwarf Cars were back this week to resume their point battles in two divisions, Seniors and Pros. In Pro action, Tim Conley made it two in a row in 2015 in a hard fought win over his brother Johnny, Ricky Lewis, April Banuelos and Tom Stephens Jr. The night saw the best ever finishes for both Lewis and Banuelos. Three heat races were run in the class with wins going to Brandon Wiley, Tommy Velasquez and Johnny Conley. After two races Tim Conley leads in championship race by 30 points over brother Johnny Conley. In Senior competition, Mike Lewis took a strong victory over a field of 8 racers. Following Lewis to the line were Bill Vanpraag, Bob Kaufman, Keith Vondersaar and David Conley. Their one heat race also went to Mike Lewis. After two races Bill Vanpraag leads Lewis in the Seniors season point race by 5 points.

Racing resumes Saturday night April 11, after we take April 4, off as the Fairgrounds holds a large event.

 
Ventura Raceway Race Results for 03/28/2015

VRA Sprint Cars
Race #3 03/28/2015

Main Event Results: 1. Luis Espinoza, Castaic, 30 Laps; 2. Jimmy Crawford, Ventura, 30 Laps; 3. Guy Woodward, Santa Clarita, 30 Laps; 4. Clif Warren, Camarillo, 30 Laps; 5. Rick Hendrix, Palmdale, 30 Laps; 6. Hobie Conway, Ventura, 30 Laps; 7. Tom Hendricks, Simi Valley, 30 Laps; 8. David Taylor Jr., Moorpark, 30 Laps; 9. Dan Tedrick, Apple Valley, 30 Laps; 10. Melissa Perkins, Costa Mesa, 30 Laps; 11. Kyle Smith, Moorpark, 26 Laps; 12. Sheldon Deblauw, Ventura, 16 Laps; 13. Kyle Edwards, Fountain Valley, 8 Laps; 14. Mike Cook, Long Beach, 5 Laps; 15. Ed Schwarz, Santa Fe Springs, 3 Laps
Lap Leaders: Clif Warren (1-9), Jimmy Crawford (10-26), Luis Espinoza (27-30)

Heat Race Winners: Extreme Mufflers Heat 1: Ed Schwarz; Saldana Racing Products Heat 2: Jimmy Crawford

Top 10 in points: 1. Kyle Smith, 610; 2. Rick Hendrix, 580; 3. Tom Hendricks, 560; 4. Guy Woodward, 545; 5. Kyle Edwards, 495; 6. Sheldon Deblauw, 460; 7. Dan Tedrick, 415; 8. Jimmy Crawford, 400; 9. Luis Espinoza, 390; 10. Hobie Conway, 375

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VRA Senior Sprints
Race #2 03/28/2015

Main Event Results: 1. Chris Meredith, Thousand Oaks, 20 Laps; 2. Clif Warren, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 3. Ed Schwarz, Santa Fe Springs, 20 Laps; 4. Steve Brown, Ontario, Ca, 20 Laps; 5. Mike Cook, Long Beach, 18 Laps; 6. Ron Bach, Santa Paula, 12 Laps; 7. Wally Pankratz, Orange, 10 Laps
Lap Leaders: Chris Meredith (1-20)

Heat Race Winners: SpinTech Mufflers Heat 1: Steve Brown

Top 10 in points: 1. Clif Warren, 490; 2. Ed Schwarz, 410; 3. Steve Brown, 405; 3. Chris Meredith, 405; 3. Mike Cook, 405; 6. Wally Pankratz, 345; 7. Ron Bach, 340; 8. Brian Grosenheider, 205; 9. Danny Parrish, 195; 10. Mark Weitzman, 170

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VRA Pro Dwarf Cars
Race #2 03/28/2015

Main Event Results: 1. Tim Conley, Oxnard, 20 Laps; 2. Johnny Conley, Oxnard, 20 Laps; 3. Ricky Lewis, Oxnard, 20 Laps; 4. April Banuelos, Sylmar, 20 Laps; 5. Tom Stephens Jr, Ventura, 20 Laps; 6. Tommy Velasquez, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 7. Brandon Wiley, Santa Maria, 20 Laps; 8. Nick Velasquez, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 9. Todd Atkins, Ventura, 20 Laps; 10. Stephen Brunn, Monrovia, 20 Laps; 11. Tommy Velasquez III, Camarillo, 20 Laps; 12. Antonio Mazzola, 20 Laps; 13. Trenton Morley, Woodland Hills, 20 Laps; 14. Jessica Clark, Ventura, 20 Laps; 15. D. J. Lebow, Camarillo, 18 Laps; 16. Corbin Hames, Oak View, 18 Laps; 17. Brandon Busenbark, Santa Clarita, 18 Laps; 18. Chris Neal, Northridge, 0 Laps; 19. Jason Horton, Oxnard, 0 Laps; 20. Shaun Irwin, Santa Paula, 0 Laps
Lap Leaders: Tim Conley (1-20)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Brandon Wiley; Heat 2: Tommy Velasquez; Heat 3: Johnny Conley

Top 10 in points: 1. Tim Conley, 510; 2. Johnny Conley, 480; 3. Ricky Lewis, 415; 4. April Banuelos, 395; 5. Tommy Velasquez III, 370; 6. Tommy Velasquez, 355; 7. Tom Stephens Jr, 340; 7. Brandon Wiley, 340; 9. Nick Velasquez, 325; 10. Jessica Clark, 300

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VRA Senior Dwarf Cars
Race #2 03/28/2015

Main Event Results: 1. Mike Lewis, Santa Clarita, 20 Laps; 2. Bill Van Praag, Ventura, 20 Laps; 3. Bob Kaufman, Santa Clarita, CA, 20 Laps; 4. Keith Vondersaar, Acton, 20 Laps; 5. David Conley, 20 Laps; 6. Dave Dotson, Thousand Oaks, 19 Laps; 7. Mike Neal, Northridge, 0 Laps; 8. Curt Cook, Santa Paula, 0 Laps
Lap Leaders: Mike Lewis (1-20)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Mike Lewis

Top 10 in points: 1. Bill Van Praag, 450; 2. Mike Lewis, 445; 3. Keith Vondersaar, 410; 4. Bob Kaufman, 405; 5. Curt Cook, 360; 6. Dave Dotson, 355; 6. David Conley, 355; 8. Mike Neal, 350

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IMCA Modifieds
Race #3 03/28/2015

Main Event Results: 1. Joshua Vogt, Santa Maria, 20 Laps; 2. Dennis Eckert, Canyon Country, 20 Laps; 3. Aaron Rodarte, Ventura, 20 Laps; 4. Dave Phipps, Simi Valley, 20 Laps; 5. Andrew Phipps, Simi Valley, 20 Laps; 6. Austin Rodarte, Ventura, 20 Laps; 7. Jack Parker, Simi Valley, 19 Laps; 8. Andrew Greiman, Camarillo, 19 Laps; 9. Chuck Becker, Yucaipa, 19 Laps; 10. Donald Houghton, Rosamond, 3 Laps; 11. Tim Morse, Burbank, 2 Laps; 12. Mark Davis, Ventura, 0 Laps; 13. Jeff Houghton, Lancaster, 0 Laps
Lap Leaders: Joshua Vogt (1-20)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Dennis Eckert; Heat 2: Joshua Vogt

Top 10 in points: 1. Dave Phipps, 109; 2. Andrew Phipps, 108; 2. Joshua Vogt, 108; 4. Jack Parker, 106; 5. Dennis Eckert, 102; 6. Mark Davis, 101; 7. Andrew Greiman, 99; 8. Tim Morse, 95; 9. Aaron Rodarte, 76; 10. Austin Rodarte, 74

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VRA Hobby Stocks
Race #3 03/28/2015

Main Event Results: 1. Randal Dougan, Moorpark, 16 Laps; 2. Cameron Dougan, Moorpark, 16 Laps; 3. David Heurung, Ventura, 16 Laps; 4. Ken Redman, 16 Laps; 5. Mira Cook, Camarillo, 15 Laps; 6. Jesse James Verdun, Santa Paula, 15 Laps; 7. Tom Stephens Sr, Ventura, 6 Laps; 8. Sam Garvin, Oxnard, 2 Laps
Lap Leaders: Randal Dougan (1-16)

Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: Jesse James Verdun

Top 10 in points: 1. Cameron Dougan, 720; 2. David Heurung, 650; 3. Tom Stephens Sr, 645; 4. Randal Dougan, 610; 5. Mira Cook, 575; 6. Jesse James Verdun, 570; 7. Ken Redman, 515; 8. Ernie Malone, 180; 9. Sam Garvin, 175; 10. Mike Stanford, 25