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KRUSEMAN WINS 40-LAP SOKOLA CLASSIC AT MANZANITA SPEEDWAY |
Phoenix, Arizona…(March 20, 2004) Several late incidents didn’t deter the efforts Cory Kruseman made and achieved in the “Sokola Classic” Saturday at Manzanita Speedway. Kruseman led the final 23 laps of the 40-lap event, his first victory in the Valvoline USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. Following Kruseman by nearly 1.5 seconds was Jeremy Sherman, who started in 17th, while Tracy Hines, Rickie Gaunt and Troy Rutherford rounded out the top five.
“My crew did a great job tonight,” Kruseman said in victory lane. “We were pretty happy starting where we were. It’s pretty tight to come out here and win. Manzy is a tough place to win. I have to thank all of my sponsors and the crew. It’s a fantastic deal driving for them. I had a good time and the race was good.” Kruseman surged ahead quickly from his third starting spot past polesitter Brian Venard but trailed Tony Jones, who from the outside pole, took the early lead. Kruseman’s first attempt at taking the lead, which was after Jones slipped in turn four, was stopped when Damion Gardner stopped in turn two after the field had completed three laps.
Jones gained considerable ground on the race restart and put distance between himself and Kruseman, while Kruseman increased his advantage over Eric Wilkins. The trio split from the rest of the field before Kruseman began catching Jones after eight laps, using the low line of the ˝-mile track.
The field stopped after 10 laps when Bud Kaeding flipped end over end in turn one, bringing down several feet of the outside fence before coming to a rest on the track. Kaeding, who nearly left the track during the incident, also flipped in turns three and four of the first heat, displaying a series of flips that almost took him to a junkyard outside the track. It took track officials nearly 20 minutes to fix the fencing.
On the restart, Kruseman finally found the momentum he coveted. He caught Jones in turn two and challenged on the outside groove, then used the low line in turns one and two to gain ground on lap 17. Kruseman then picked up the lead on the following circuit with a similar move. From there, Kruseman built his lead, extending it to eight car lengths after 23 laps. He began lapping cars on the track after 25 laps, and had a half straightaway lead after 26 laps. Jones’ success quickly turned sour when became a victim on lap 30. He flipped wildly between turns three and four before stopping near the dirt-covered wall.
Kruseman shot ahead on the restart, and a caution with two circuits to go didn’t help the rest of the field much, as Kruseman charge ahead, never challenged again as he went on to victory. “Last night, both Tony and I struggled in qualifying, but tonight we were in the first two rows,” Kruseman continued. “It’s really good. It’s always fun to race with Tony. He runs clean, and he’s definitely a cowboy because he runs hard. It was one of those deals that I think we just made the right call, with the chassis setup and the tires.”
Rickie Gaunt set the fast time for the second straight night, stopping the clock at 19.106 seconds. Gaunt also won the first heat, while Jeremy Sherman, Josh Ford and Robert Hall, Jr. won the final three heats. Kaeding won the 12-lap semi-feature following his first incident of the night.
FEATURE: (40 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Cory Kruseman (3rd), 2. Jeremy Sherman (16th), 3. Tracy Hines (7th), 4. Rickie Gaunt (8th), 5. Troy Rutherford (5th), 6. Mike Spencer (4th), 7. Charles Davis, Jr. (10th), 8. Rip Williams (12th), 9. Damion Gardner (14th), 10. Levi Jones (11th), 11. Josh Ford (13th), 12. Brian Venard (2nd), 13. Jeff Slinkard (21st), 14. Greg Bragg (20th), 15. Dave Darland (17th), 16. Robert Hall, Jr. (18th), 17. Tony Jones (1st), 18. Alan Ballard (19th), 19. Mike Leslie (15th), 20. Eric Wilkins (6th), 21. Bud Kaeding (9th). NT.
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS:
Laps 1-17 Tony Jones, Laps 18-40 Cory Kruseman.
NEW USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR STANDINGS:
1-Cory Kruseman-177; 2-Damion Gardner-157; 3-Rip Williams-140; 4-Troy Rutherford-138; 5-Rickie Gaunt-133; 6-Tracy Hines-128; 7-Mike Kirby-117; 8-Jeremy Sherman-111; 9-Tony Jones-108; 10-Josh Ford-98. |
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