The
100 winningest drivers MY EYES have seen
- By Bobby Gerould - Last updated
October 23, 2005. Rocklin, CA. …Here is a fun project that anyone
can do. Try to re-trace all the races that you have been to in your lifetime,
and list the winners of each feature your eyes have seen. It takes time;
I've been working on my list literally for about six years. About once
a month I take a few hours and dig through old programs, do Google searches,
read journals, and use Kevin Eckert's
website to try to find the race winners I saw. For the sake of clarity
- I am including any race where I was on the grounds - even the ones I
may have slept through as a three year old. My Dad was an announcer of
super-modified, and sprint car events on the West Coast. From birth I
went to West Capital Raceway (W. Sacramento, CA.) on Saturdays. Later,
as Dad did more writing, and announcing we included Friday nights at Chico
CA. and special events at Dixon CA. into the mix. As a teenager and college
student I worked for NARC and hit all the major Northern California dirt
tracks. Adult work for USAC, the World of Outlaws, and others has blessed
us with the opportunity to see many tracks across the USA, and into Canada.
The results of all this logging and work will be a historical log that
I can always go back to for reflection. Over the course of the next 100
weeks, HammerDownUSA.com will list a driver in a countdown of the driver
who MY EYES have seen win the most feature races. My list will obviously
reflect my environment. It will not be a list of who I consider to be
the greatest drivers ever. That would be subjective, and impossible. But
I can scientifically list the best drivers I have seen. This list is a
fun project for me and I hope you will enjoy the journey to naming number
one. ...#100 Perry
James Jr. - Elverta, CA. -
2 wins. #99 - Peter Murphy - Sydney,
New South Wales, Australia / Oakhurst, CA. 2 wins. #97 Johnny
Tiner - Rio Linda, California. 2 wins. # 97
Ed Organ, Napa
CA. - 2 wins. #96 Lee Brewer
Jr. - Memphis, TN. - 2 wins. #95 Johnny
Pearson, Stockton, CA. two wins. #94
Dave Bradway SR
- Fair Oaks, CA. - Two wins. #93 Mike Kirby.
Torrance, CA. - two wins. #92
Joe Hill
- Sacramento, CA. - Two wins. #91
Blake Robertson
- Visalia, CA. - two wins. #90 Andy
Forsberg -
Auburn, CA. - two wins. #89
Brian Crockett -
Sacramento, CA. - two wins. #88
Rick Horton
- Concord, CA. Two wins. #87 Jason
Statler - Los Gatos, CA. two wins. #86 Larry
Burton - Roseville, CA. two wins. #85 Rip Williams
- Yorba Linda, CA. two wins. #84 Tyler
Walker - Santa Clarita, CA. two wins. #78
Mitch Sue - Live Oak, CA. - 3 wins.
#84 Tyler Walker
- Santa Clarita, CA. two wins.
…Exciting. Thrilling . Spectacular. Crazy-Fast.
HammerDown! All those words describe Tyler Walker. At his best, Walker
is as good as anyone I've ever seen wheel a winged sprint car. He whips
a car around a dirt track with aggression and instinct. Always in attack
mode, Walker has the 'rip your heart out' attitude that makes a competitor
a competitor. He has had ups and downs in his career bouncing around from
dirt to pavement, winged sprints to stock cars. ...I witnessed a dominating
Walker performance at Lowes Motor Speedway October 11, 2002 in North Carolina
that had opposing mechanics marveling at how good Tyler was. Said one
veteran I respect a ton, "We gave our guy Tyler's set-up and our guy was
scared." …It should be noted that Tyler is a friend of mine. He is what
I call an 'old soul'. He has been around the block a time or two - and
his life experiences make him a unique and interesting cat to hang with.
Full of life, Tyler is a daredevil that will jump his bike over anything.
…I saw Tyler's first sprint car race when he turned 16 years old. The
son of racer Bob Walker, Tyler ran a partial rookie season with NARC.
…The first time I witnessed a Tyler Walker feature win was at the famed
Knoxville Raceway on August 14, 1999. It was a prelim to the Knoxville
Nationals. …Tyler is a veteran of 19 NASCAR Busch Series starts. He also
raced three times in the Craftsman Truck Series. In 2004 - Tyler Walker
won a USAC Silver Crown Race at Nazareth, PA. He was an All-HammerDown!
Team maker in 2003, and he won the World of Outlaws Gumout Series championship
in 2002. …The last time I saw Tyler - he was living in North Carolina.
Tyler
Walker Silver Crown star at Nazareth - HD Staff - 08/29/04 - Nazareth,
PA. - Southern California ace Tyler Walker displayed his ever-improving
pavement driving skills and took home $17,000 in the process in winning
the USAC Silver Crown event at Nazareth Speedway. Driving a car owned
by buddy Kasey Kahne, Walker claimed his first career USAC Silver Crown
win. He passed Dave Steele on lap 81 of 100 and then witheld challenges
by the series points leader. Steele finished
second, with Bobby East, Jay Drake, and Dane Carter completing the top
five. Versatile Bud Kaeding who is second in both the USAC National Sprint
Car and Silver Crown points finished sixth. (more)
Manzanita WoO Prelim all
Tyler Walker - HD Staff - February
20, 2004 - Phoenix, AZ. - It took one hour and twenty minutes to complete
but Tyler Walker never had to sweat in topping The World of Outlaws USA
season opener at Manzanita Speedway Friday night. Regarded as the toughest
sprint car series in the universe, WoO season openers are greatly anticipated.
Walker started from the pole in Guy Forbrook's #5, and was never seriously
challenged during the 25-lap preliminary run that was plagued by caution
flags. Steve Kinser, the defending WoO champion, finished second, followed
by Tim Shaffer, Donny Schatz, and Paul McMahan. Sixth trough tenth went
to Dean Jacobs, Danny Lasoski, Jon Allard, Jason Sides, and Brian Paulus.
28 cars timed-in led by Lasoski who earned quick time after hurting a
frame in warm-ups. Lasoski, and Sammy Swindell both transferred through
the B-Main. Jason Meyers broke during the B-Main, and Erin Crocker did
not start the B race due to mechanical ills. (more)
...Tyler
Walker was named USAC Silver Crown Most Improved Driver for 2003.
...Tyler
Walker finished fifth in the USAC Silver Crown point standings this
season. Tyler said of the series, "It is good to end the season with
another top five. Next season we want to come back and go for the championship.”
This was Walker’s first full season in the big cars. “I am real proud
of the guys this season,” smiled Walker. “We got off to a bad start at
the beginning of the season. Everyone put their heads together and we
came back with 4 top 5’s and two podium finishes. I’m happy that we could
finish the season strong for our sponsor Curb Records.”
At the Million 2003:
…Tyler Walker, was a rim-riding blur in Friday's marathon time trials.
The crowd buzzed after Walker's second-quick qualifying lap. In a couple
of brief convos, Walker expressed that he is taking his NASCAR Craftsman
Truck opportunity very seriously. Tyler timed-in behind only Tracy Hines.
Steve Kinser
#11 and Tyler Walker #35 are pictured in this Jim Fleming photo.
Tyler Walker Adds Curb
Records, Agajanian Names - HD Staff - 03/18/03 Phoenix, AZ. ...2002
Word of Outlaws Gumout Series Champion, Tyler Walker will make his return
to USAC Silver Crown Racing this weekend at the prestigious Copper World
Classic. Walker will do so with added sponsorship from Curb Records, and
Cary Agajanian. (read all about it on Tyler's
HammerDown! driver page)
Tyler Walker was the winner of the World
of Outlaws sanctioned, Devils Bowl Spring Nationals in Texas over the weekend.
(Photo by Jim Fleming)
MEMPHIS, TN – March 17, 2003 – R.E. Technologies
Racing announced today the sponsorship of Tyler Walker. Curb Records, the
leader in the country music industry, has agreed to sponsor Tyler Walker
in the Curb-Agajanian Special for the entire 2003 Weld Racing Silver Crown
Series season. The race car is co-owned by R.E. Technologies/Curb-Agajanian.
Owner of R.E. Technologies Racing, Roger Johnson says this is a wonderful
opportunity for Tyler and the team. “The Curb name carries a lot of prestige
with it because both Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian have a reputation of excellence.”
Johnson says that there is a big responsibility to carry the Curb name.
“There is a lot of integrity that goes with that. We are real excited to
have it but we are also aware of the awesome responsibility. Curb Records,
as a name by itself, has a great deal of success and carries with it perhaps
an automatic connotation of successful people.”
“With Tyler Walker, we think we have a big
opportunity to represent the Curb name well.” Curb Records currently sponsors
a NASCAR Busch Grand National team and fielded a car in the Indy Racing
League last season. Mike Curb has been successfully building strong auto
racing programs for 25 years. He has a knack for spotting young talented
drivers and developing top-notch racing programs around them. Curb’s racing
resume includes owning cars for such legends as Dale Earnhardt (1979 – Winston
Cup Rookie of the year) and Richard Petty (1984-85 - Daytona 500 champion).
This Silver Crown program is an attempt to work closely with another rising
star in Tyler Walker. Business partner and team co-owner, Cary Agajanian,
feels that Tyler Walker could be a nice fit for their future racing plans.
“Mike and I have been looking to build a relationship
with a young charger like Tyler for some time,” stated Agajanian. “We certainly
like his maturity on the race track and think he can be a great driver in
NASCAR or the IRL. With Tyler’s talent and Roger’s first-class racing program,
I am confident that the RE Technologies/Curb-Agajanian Special will have
a strong chance to win at every event. We feel real fortunate to be a part
of this USAC Silver Crown team this season.”
Curb Records has a formidable roster of Country
music artists, such as Tim McGraw, The Judds, LeAnn Rimes, Hank Williams,
Jr., Hal Ketchum, Sawyer Brown and Lee Greenwood, to name just a few. Mike
Curb, chairman of Curb Records, also owns several other media recording
companies including a Christian recording label and publishing. “We hope
the name of the car, the “Curb Agajanian Special,” will bring memories of
bygone times where the Agajanian Special #98 of JC Agajanian dominated.
To accomplish that, Tyler is going to have to perform well on and off the
track. If he does that, certainly, there will be people watching him,” said
Johnson. “I think the sponsorship from Curb carries both an opportunity
and an awesome responsibility. If Tyler measures up to that, I think he
could have some good opportunities.”
The announcement of the Curb Records sponsorship
caps a busy month of testing for the R.E. Technologies/Curb-Agajanian Race
team. The team just returned from testing in Phoenix in preparation for
the Copper World 100 on March 22nd.
Tyler Walker on Phoenix Test:
" Everyone did a good job on preparing the cars. The cars were very
fast. We had a neutral setup, which I believe will be a good race setup.
I am real excited and looking forward to the race. This is a beautiful
place. There is nice weather and a lot of USAC fans always turn out which
is good for our new sponsor Curb Records. I am real excited that I have
caught the attention of such a prestigious sponsor. I truly believe that
my car owners and sponsors are looking out for my best interests and want
to see me succeed. I think everyone on the team has the same goals and
I certainly think that we will meet those goals. I am so lucky to have
so many qualified mechanics working on the car. We should be real strong.
I know that the car will always be setup right and it will be my job to
put the car in the winners circle. The new J&J car has been real nice
to drive, too. It felt real solid and real quick. We were close to the
track record in our test. I don’t look at my times as much as I concentrate
on making a 20 lap run and looking to see if the car stays beneath me
and it did all day. I work to stay consistent and that is how you win
silver crown races. "
Best of 2002: Tyler
Walker Back in Sprint Cars on Dirt - I'm with Tyler when he says, 'A race
driver is a race driver, it doesn't matter if its dirt or pavement, sprint
car, or stock car'. ...But I'm glad he is back on dirt in a winged sprint
car. This kid is exciting to watch, and when he's on, even Steve Kinser
admits, "he can be impressive." Teamed with his 'brother', crew-chief,
Ricky Warner, Tyler is one fast cat. He won the World of Outlaws support
series title, and was super fast at Lowes in the fall.
...Tyler Walker is profiled in a pre-race
press release for Texas Motor Speedway's WoO races. You
can read it here.
WALKER
CLAIMS GUMOUT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP - By
Lenny Ferguson, 09/30/02 - Beaver Dam, WI. Tyler Walker picked up his
$50,000 check Sunday afternoon at the 2002 World of Outlaws Gumout Series
banquet. The banquet was held at the Hospitality Center at the Raceway at
Power Com Park in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Walker drove the C & W Motorsports
Wesmar powered Eagle to the title for car owners Wallace & Ceota Ledford
with the help of Crew Chief Ricky Warner and the entire race team. The California
Kid joins an elite list of former Gumout Series Champions Craig Dollansky
and Daryn Pittman. Both former champions have went on to great success with
the Pennzoil World of Outlaws. Walker hopes to do the same in 2003. Along
with the point fund check Walker also received awards from Huggins Cams
for winning the most Ronald Laney Fast Times during the season. He also
received a new chassis from Eagle Chassis for winning the most heat races
driving an Eagle with 14 heat race wins. Walker's great season included
fourteen dash wins, 16 top-five's, and eight quick-times. He led a series
record 358 A Main laps on his way to eleven wins, which tied him for first
on the all time list. Among those wins was the Front Row Challenge in Oskaloosa,
Iowa and his second Sharon Nationals which was worth $10,000.
Walker Wins Front Row Challenge: Pittman
Comes From the Back to Third By TJ Buffenbarger - 08/05/02 - Oskaloosa,
IA. ...Tyler Walker started on the front row and led every lap to become
the first driver to score a repeat victory at the Front Row Challenge at
the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa with the Gumout World of Outlaws.
Walker turned down a chance to race from the back of the pack to win $50,000,
as did Fred Rahmer. Pennzoil World of Outlaws regular Daryn Pittman accepted
a challenge from Front Row Challenge promoters Bill McCroskey and Terry
McCarl to start at the tail of the field for a $15,000 bonus and raced up
to the third position. (read the whole deal)
Summer 2002: ...Tyler Walker
and mechanic Ricky Warner are getting it done in World of Outlaws
Gumout action. The team has been dominant.
Tyler Walker Gumout Guru Beatrice,
NE. - By Lenny Ferguson - 06/12/02 ...Tyler Walker picked up his third
Gumout Series win of the season Wednesday night at Beatrice Speedway in
Beatrice, Nebraska. The Los Angeles, CA. pilot took the lead from Daryn
Pittman on the low side entering turns three and four on lap 29. After the
win, Walker did his end over end, gymnastic flips on the front stretch to
the delight of the cheering fans. Pittman was runner-up, with Shane Stewart,
Craig Keel, Paul McMahan, Terry McCarl, Wayne Johnson, Justin Henderson,
Jeremy Campbell, and Ricky Logan next in line. (summary)
Walker is Class of Jetmore Gumout Gathering
By: Camisha Klumb JETMORE, KS. June 8, 2002. The World of Outlaws
Gumout Series invaded Jetmore Motorplex Saturday night. The Gumout Series
literally blew into town and took the cash. With wind gusting up to 40 mph,
current points leader Tyler Walker ran down early race leader Jason Sides
and posted his second Gumout Series victory of the season. An overflow crowd
was then treated to the now patented cart wheels and flips done by Walker
in victory lane after each win."I was patient and it feels good to win,
stated Walker." The high winds played in big part in the outcome of the
race with drivers having a hard time driving into turn three. Jason Sides
while running second ran into problems when he spun off the high side of
turn three. Sides would come back to finish in ninth spot. (more)
Tyler Walker is Hot! Wins
WoO at Sedalia - HD Staff - May 10, 2002 - Sedalia, MO. One week
after posting a "clean sweep" in Gumout series racing at LaSalle,
Il., Tyler Walker continued his hot streak by beating the big boys Friday
night. Walker outgunned the Pennzoil World of Outlaws touring teams with
a 25 lap triumph at State Fair Speedway. Walker snatched the lead from eventual
runner-up Danny Lasoski on lap 18. Craig Dollansky, Shane Stewart and Paul
McMahan completed the top five. (summary)
Tyler Walker races inside Johnny Herrera
at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo by Doug Johnson)
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