Ocean Speedway 9-23-11,

Ok, so I am a little late in getting this in. Oh wait, I am two weeks late! Geez time flies. Sorry about the lag, I have been very busy the past couple of weeks trying to help manage some work and bid on some work for my friend Earle Stanton who owns Nobel Construction. The construction industry has been pretty slow, but thankfully we have a rash of jobs to bid and a couple to actually do lately.

The last Taco bravo event was also a California Civil War event, so I got to see a few people who I don’t normally see a lot of. It was nice to see Kyle Hirst as well as his team owners Steve and Darin Smith. Also got to see Andy Forsberg who I have gotten to know a little and who is always willing to take time to talk to me and give an interview. Hirst is always a great interview as well and I am sorry I didn’t get a chance to interview him. My mistake. I also had a chance to talk with Jason Statler for a short time. Since Statler moved out of town, the opportunity to speak with him has gotten less, so it was really great to have a few minutes to chat. Let me see, shaw Wright was there from Lodi. Nice to see Shawn. Tim Kaeding was on hand, so that means I got to say hi to Bonzai! LOL. Any time Bonz is around makes my time at the track better, even if I don’t get to visit with him much. It was also nice to see Evan Suggs who always does well at Ocean as well as his dad John and his mom Linda. I always get along good with John Suggs and he always takes time to visit with me and let me know what is on his mind from a car owner’s point of view. I really think we get along so well because we are both so screwed up no one else wants to bother with us!

I am trying to remember everything that happened so you guys will have to bear with me. I’m doing the best I can here! LOL. I have a lot to remember and not very much to remember it with.

Oh, I have to say WTF to my buddy Don Erikson up in p-ville. Don almost got squashed by a flipping car that landed on him at p-ville. I heard Stephen Allard was the driver, but am not sure. Hear the car flipped up the hill at the track and darn near ended Dons racing career.

One thing that I need to say is that our friend “Carwash” Mike Avilla passed away just a few days before the last event. Mike was a friend to sprint car racing and a very ardent and supportive fan. Mike had health issues that had him on a waiting list to receive a new set of lungs. Unfortunately Mike ran out of time before the operation could take place. That is a damn shame as a person like Mike is exactly the type transplants are supposed to help.

I am very lucky to have known Mike for the time I did. Andy Forsberg said everyone always says nice things when someone dies, but in Mikes case the words are not just a product of losing someone; they represent the true feelings everyone I know had for “Carwash”.

Thanks to the help of a few who knew Mike, I was able to put together a small video of people remembering him. http://www.vimeo.com/30170414  to watch. Thank you to everyone for contributing to the video and thank you to those who have given me thanks and support for what little I do.

The racing was EXCELLENT for the event. How is that for jumping right in! If you haven’t been out to Ocean Speedway to see the Taco Bravo races, you should really make a point to get out there before the season ends on Oct14th.

One person who didn’t start out the night very good was Ronnie Day who was leading the series points. Ronnie had motor problems that sidelined his car for the night. Fortunately for Ronnie and his team, he has a friend and team mate who was kind enough to step out of his car and offer it to Ronnie for the night. Since the motor problems for the Keith Day Trucking #22 occurred before qualifying, Ronnie was able to jump in the car of Jeremy Chisum.

Ronnie made good use of the opportunity presented to him as he went out and set fast time with out ever having been in the car at all. With the caliber of competition present, that was an amazing accomplishment. As the night unfolded and Ronnie’s closest rival for the points championship had problems, it became apparent just how fortunate Ronnie and the team were to even be able to race. Ronnie ended up finishing third in the main event and extending his points lead to 32 over Tommy Tarlton.

On the other end of the spectrum was the afore mentioned Tarlton. Tommy had one of those racing nights you just want to forget and move on. Unfortunately he will not be able to forget if it ends up costing him a chance to repeat as Taco Bravo Series champion.

Tommy had a qualifying time that started him third in his heat. Unfortunately, he had a car that he just couldn’t do much with and fell out of a transfer position to the main event. Having to run the B main, Tommy still had a car that was a handful. While trying to get into a transfer position to the main event Tommy ended up flipping in traffic. That was enough to end his night and possibly his championship hopes. Anything can happen and fortunes could turn back his way in the next two races, but at this time Tommy and team Tarlton have their work cut out for them.

As I said the racing in the main event was EXCELLENT! Shane Golobic, Craig Smith, Ronnie Day, Tim Kaeding and Rico Abreu put on one heck of a show. The battle for the lead between Golobic and “Cowboy” Craig Smith and the battle for the third spot between TK, Day and Abreu was about the best you could ask for at any sprint car event. Those guys all raced as hard as I have seen while still showing each other some respect. No one put anyone in a position to cause problems even though they were racing wheel to wheel, sometimes three wide through traffic. Everyone who was in the main event did a great job, but the top five guys were the class of the field.

Golobic ended up passing “Cowboy” who finished second for the lead, and Day ended up edging TK for third. Abreu came home fifth. If you are keeping score, that means Ocean regulars swept the top five spots over the visiting Civil War cars. Civil War cars filled the rest of the top ten though.  http://www.oceansprints.com/2011/results/r110923.html for full results.

It was nice to see Shane Golobic get his second Taco Bravo win of the season and to see Craig Smith doing so well after having a heart attack just about a month before.

TK ran from 11^th to 4^th to get the DDNi Hard Charger award of $100

Ronnie Day grabbed the $100 Ray Scheidts Electric Fast Time award for the fourth time this season. That is a series high. Only Justin Sanders is the other driver with repeat fast times. He has two.

I am picking Jeremy Chisum as the hard luck driver. Jeremy gave up his car to Ronnie Day after hot laps and I know that was a hard thing to do.

I am awarding the underdog of the night to Craig Smith. “Cowboy” had a great night and topped it off with a strong second place run. Seeing as he was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack just a few weeks before, he put in an underdog performance. Craig was also racing in honor of “Carwash” Mike and Mike would have been proud of Craig.

Shane Golobic is the hero. Shane drove a heck of a race and was able to get around Craig Smith towards the end of the race for the win. Very good drive Shane.

I usually reserve the zero award of the night for someone who just steps all over themselves or who just screws things up for someone else. As much as I like Tommy Tarlton and Paul Baines I just have to make them co-winners of the zero award this week. Tommy had a bad night from the beginning with a car he just couldn’t make perform and ended up flipping in the B main. I have to make Paul take some of the credit for the night as he is the guy setting up the car and gets credit when it is good. So Paul, you get some of the blame when it is bad too! I hope you guys come back and turn things around and get back into the championship hunt, and look like heroes, but for now you get to be zeros.

I have to add an award for a true sprint car hero. “Carwash” mike Avilla was that true hero to sprint car racing. He took time to help fans and drivers and teams any way he could, no matter where he was. There are people across the nation that will always be greatfull they had the chance to know “Carwash” and who will miss him.

The next Taco Bravo event at Ocean Speedway will be Oct 7 with the final event of the season Oct 14. make it a point to be at Ocean Speedway to see the exciting finish to a great 2011 season

Please keep up to date with what is going on as far as the struggle to keep the race track open www.saveoceanspeedway.com

For more info on Ocean speedway visit www.oceanspeedway.com

For more on the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo Series visit www.oceansprints.com

See you at the races, Buzz Rightrear.