Best of 2005
It's that time of year again. The market will flood with 'Best Of, Worst Of' lists. Of course the regular readers of this space know how we do it. No hating. Strictly "Best of" here. ...And we are green!
Best Racer: Steve Kinser. One runs out of words to describe how special a driver Steve Kinser is. No one dominates their sport the way 'The King" does sprint car racing. Michael Jordan? His six NBA championships seem weak compared to Kinser's 20 World of Outlaws titles. John Wooden's UCLA Bruins, who set the standard for college basketball, won ten titles in 12 years. Heavyweight Joe Louis was the boxing world's iron fist for nearly 12 years. The Boston Celtics won 11 of 13 championships from 1957-69. Okay, as far as a dynasty, they are close to Kinser but still not as dominant in their sport. How about the New York Yankees? Sorry, the Bronx Bombers from 1949-53 ripped off five straight World Series wins. Kinser won the World of Outlaws championship six times in a row from 1983 through 1988. This year Steve won the Kings Royal, the Eagle Nationals, and the Gold Cup on his way to the World of Outlaws championship. He also scored big event wins at Volusia, FL., Princeton, MN., and again at Eagle, NE. Steve's race team with Scott Gerkin, and Jaime Coates is as first class as they come.
"The King" (Photo by Jim Morrison)
Best Race: We don't screw around here. We get straight to the good stuff. The best race for me was tough to call because of the multiple contenders. My rule is that it has to be a race I watched live and in person.
The nominees are:
- 1. The Tulare WoO prelim with seven lead changes in 30-laps on the high banked Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare.
- 2. The Calistoga Harvest Classic WoO A-main between Kinser & Donny Schatz.
- 3. The $10,000,000 to-win USAC Western Midget First Heat Race at Santa Maria on June 18.
…The nod goes to the Tulare race which was a barnburner. The Friday October 14th race saw Kraig Kinser, Sammy Swindell, and eventual winner Schatz all lead at various points of the action.
Best newcomers: Kody Swanson & Kevin Swindell. Swanson is poised, smart, and fast. He won the USAC Western Sprint Car Championship as a rookie. He set quick time in the sprint cars at Irwindale's Turkey Night. ...Swindell is faster than fast, and has firsthand knowledge of dang near every dirt track in America. As Sammy and Amy's son, Kevin has seen it all at age 16. As he gains more experience behind the wheel, look out.
Kody Swanson won the USAC Western Sprint Car championship as a high-school senior. (John's Racing Photos)
Best breakthrough performance: Ryan Kaplan. The Chico, California driver romped to USAC Western Midget wins on dirt at Ventura, and Oildale. He scored on the pavement at Lakeport in BCRA action. He sealed this award by running into the top-five at Turkey Night. Don't sleep on Ryan Kaplan. ...Also special nod to Damion Gardner who had a spectacular season, winning the USAC/CRA championship.
Best Racetrack: Thunderbowl Raceway. Tulare, CA. …Steve Faria takes pride in his dirt track. He works, and reworks the clay. He has the banking just right to produce HammerDown! racing. The joint could use a sound system upgrade but other than that - I have no complaints about the 1/3 mile. If you haven't been there lately - you should make the trip.
Joey Saldana put the HammerDown! at Tulare's Thunderbowl Raceway. (John's Racing Photos)
Best place for a weekend of racing: Calistoga Speedway, Calistoga, CA. The half-mile hit perfect stride at the shows contested in 2005. Weather took a bite from the schedule but the Harvest Classic `05 edition was the best in years. The setting gets no finer than the green hills of the Napa Valley surrounding the historic dirt track that started racing in 1937. Seriously, the place should be a historical landmark. The shops that line the streets of the small town reflect diverse cultures. World class restaurants, or fresh California deli's offer terrific dining experiences that you might not easily associate with a weekend of good ol sprint car racing. There are multiple spas, and retreats. And for the wine lover, you are at the doorstep of the world's premier region. Don't tell me you haven't been to Calistoga.
Most talent untapped: Brad Sweet. He sold me further this year at the Western World at Manzanita Speedway. Sans wing on the scary half-mile, here was Sweet running the cushion in the family ride. He was sixth when a racin' deal took him to the back. He wound up 13th. My crystal ball says many wins are coming his way.
Brad Sweet has the potential for super stardom. (John's Racing Photos)
Best cushion abuser: Donny Schatz. Twice this year I saw Schatz do a 'Fred Flintstone' and carry his car into the corner harder than common sense says one can. He leaned on it so hard at Calistoga racing with Kinser that I swore the #15 would flip through the concrete. Schatz did it again at Tulare in his epic battle with Sammy.
Most enthusiastic drivers: This is our annual salute to those who love racing so much you can see it in their stride. All these pilots had contact with me in 2005 and uttered no negativity in regard to anything. I can't remember everyone who gets down like that but these drivers did come to mind: Andrew Gregg, Brad Sweet, Bradley Galedridge, Jac Haudenschild, Ronnie Day, Randy Hannagan, Dennis Moore Jr., Ronnie McCann, Shane Stewart, Jerry Coons Jr., Jason Solwold, Mat Neely, Jon Allard, Jesse Hockett, Bryan Clauson, Brandon Wimmer, Jason McCord, Cody Veenstra, Mike Spencer, Casey Shuman, Roger Crockett, Brian Brown, Sean Becker, Chuck Gurney Jr., Audra Sasselli, Justin Marvel, Rick Fowzer, Jordan Hermansader, Kyle Hirst, Sparky Howard, Chad Riolo, Monty Ferreria, Melissa Yates, Rob Johnson, Mike Faria, Danny Faria Jr., Jason Statler, Toni Lutar, Jimmy Trulli, Jason York, Brad Bumgarner, Mike Murgoitio, Michael Trimble, Benny Moon, Kody Swanson, Stuart Krum, Bob Ream Jr., J.R. Williams, Tommy Tarlton, Stephen Allard, Josh Blakeley, and Andy Forsberg.
Audra Sasselli is always professional and enthusiastic. (John's Racing Photos)
Comeback of the year: I thought about giving this award to Jon Allard. It seems others had 'left him for dead' at the start of the season. Allard could not get a ride to start the year but wound up in Morrie Williams' #0 sprint car after Dennis Moore Jr. was injured in March. Allard ended up winning like crazy, including the Dirt Cup at Skagit. To give Allard the 'comeback' award would mean that I thought he was once no good. Actually, I never gave up on Allard so as unpredictable as his success was in 2005, I can't call it a 'comeback'. ...So I give the nod to Turkey Night. Once in limbo after leaving ASCOT Park, the big race has found a huge following at Irwindale Speedway. Well over 130 cars participated in front of a packed house on Thanksgiving night 2005.
Best underdog achievement: Rob Chaney winning the MOPAR Thunder at Eldora. The USAC non-wing sprint car race was a Chaney runaway worth $50,000.
Most fun to be around: B.F. - My buddy Bill Foland took in Turkey Night with me. We laughed for what seemed like 24 hours straight.
Best interviewees: Joey Saldana. Joey will give you an honest answer to any question. He isn't quick to 'sponsor-pop', and he actually listens to the questions being asked. …Steve Kent could win this award every year. He could be a public speaker if wanted to be because of his ability to project his voice. He knows cars inside and out.
Best Production: The 'Pioneer Day' races at Rocky Mountain Raceways in Utah was the best I saw all season. This pavement track should be on your list of places to see.
Best racing ambassador. Cory Kruseman. He gets high marks for the way he treats race fans, and media members. He has learned well from one his mentors; Lealand McSpadden.
Best pavement race of the year: Honestly, none really stood out as a GREAT race. I guess Turkey Night for the midgets at Irwindale was the best I saw. There was drama with Jason Leffler's car, and Kyle Nicholas was spectacular.
Best group of youthful racers: USAC's National series can claim Levi Jones, Josh Wise, Darren Hagen, Mat Neely, Ron Gregory, Bryan Clauson, and Tom Hessert III.
Bryan Clauson won 'out of the box' as a 16 year-old at Columbus Motor Speedway. (Jim Morrison photo)
Feel good race of the year - Nick Rescino Jr. winning the 100-lap USAC Western Sprint Car event at Stcokton 99 Speedway.
Nick Rescino Jr. clutches the trophy after his win in the 100-lap USAC Western States DuWayne Starr Classic at Stockton 99 Speedway (CA.) - John's Racing Photos
Hotel of the Year: This is pretty sad to say but the best place I stayed all year was a new Holiday Inn Express in Tempe, AZ. On University, near the airport.
Best track food: Santa Maria Speedway gets high marks for the Torta.
