Wrap Ups

VRA Dwarf Cars put on another exciting night of racing for the fans in attendance. In Seniors the win went to Mike Neal followed by Bob Kaufman, Tim Morse, Bill VanPraag and Tom Stephens Sr. Their heat race win went to Mike Neal. In Pro action the main event win went to point leader Ray Estrada followed Luke Boles, Johnny Conely, Thomas Velasquez and Eric Moore. Heat race wins went to Luke Boles and Eric Moore. Again this week both Dwarf Car classes ran fast and smooth and easily finished in their 20 minutes 20 lap time frame. All drivers should be proud of this accomplishment as it has shown just how good their racing can be.

The final classes racing Saturday were our kids classes. In Junior Midgets, 2011 series champ Devin McCree took the win and continues to hold the point lead by 85 points over Miles Hedrick and Tommy Velasquez III. Finishing second was Oliver Blades, third went to Miles Hedrick, fourth went to Tommy Velasquez with Mike Long taking fifth. Their heat race win went to Oliver Blades. In VRA Superchargers the win went to Nick Velasquez, followed by J D Brown. Nick Velasquez continues to lead in the point race after 4 races. In Pistons, the feature went to Garrett Egan after on track winner Zack Chavez 's team refused an engine tear down and was DQ’d. Finishing second was Blake Hendricks followed by Bailey Hendricks.

Ventura Raceway now takes a two week break in our 2012 season while events are held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds that keep us from competing. We will return to action on Saturday July 14, with a full program of racing action featuring VRA Midgets, Senior Sprints, VRA Dwarf Cars, VRA Focus Midgets, Go Karts and our kids classes.

Rain cancelled our race on April 28th...but not this time! It was a gorgeous Southern California day at Ventura Raceway Saturday, perfect for racing!

In our VRA Dwarf Cars, as always, it was an exciting night at the track! Mike Lewis took the Senior main event followed by Bill VanPraag, Rick Lapka, Mike Neal and George Calvo, who also won his heat along with Mike Lewis. Mike Lewis is the current point leader followed by Bill Van Praag and George Calvo.

In the Pro Dwarfs Division the main event win went to Randy Gordon followed by point leader and 2011 champion Ray Estrada, Lee Majors and Eric Moore our Featured Driver of the Week on vradwarfs.com. Heat race wins went to Luke Boles and Ray Estrada.

Both Dwarf Car classes exhibited great driving easily finishing in their 20 minutes 20 lap time frame. Good job guys!

In our kids classes, despite a slick track the VRA Mini Dwarfs Superchargers win went to points leader Nick Velasquez, followed by J D Brown, Destyn Garcia, Jacob Aguilar and Eli Marshall.

In the Mini Dwarf Pistons Division, the feature main went to Blake Hendricks making four in a row! Blake was followed by Garrett Eagan, Andrew Clark, Dylan Neal and Zack Chavez.

In Junior Midgets, 2011 champ Devin McCree took the main event win and the point lead. Finishing second was Oliver Blades, followed by Tommy Velasquez, Miles Hedrick and Kayle Brazel. Kayle Brazel who is our Junior class featured driver of the week took her first heat win.

Coming Very Soon: In a couple of days you will see our new link on the vradwarfs.com website: "Featured Drivers of the Week." I will be interviewing and posting a story that will profile a new driver each race week so we can get to know some fun facts about drivers that you may or may not already know! Watch out drivers....YOU could be next!

After a wet forecast cancelled the March 17th race, we owe a big thank you to Jim Naylor for extending the offer to add our kids classes to the Saturday, March 24 race! And of course a big thank you to Tami Velasquez for connecting with all of the kids and parents on such short notice to make it happen!

As with most race nights, the kids classes hit the track with their share of thrills! Congratulations goes out to Velasquez brothers as they both took a win in their divisions!

In the VRA Mini Dwarfs Piston division after having won his heat race, Blake Hendricks of Simi Valley took his second feature main event win in a row, followed by Zach Chavez in second, Garrett Egan in third, rookie Bailey Hendricks took fourth place. Dylan Neal was unable to complete the main event after mechanical problems brought him into the infield.

In the Mini Dwarf Supercharger Division, Nick Velasquez of Camarillo took the heat win. In the feature main event, former champion in the Piston division, JD Brown led the race until the final lap, when Nick Velasquez overcame JD Brown within seconds of the checkered flag, making two feature wins in a row for Nick! Nick and JD were followed by Destyn Garcia and Jake Aguilar across the finish line.

In our VRA Junior Midget class, the checked flag went to Tommy Velasquez, followed by Miles Hedrick taking second, and finishing in third was Devin McCree.

It's sure great to see our kids skills progress with each race and even greater to see their display of good sportsmanship with one another!

All junior classes will take to the track again this weekend on March 31st along with our VRA Dwarfs Pros and Seniors divisions! SEE YOU THERE!

What an exciting night at the season opener of 2012! The crowd was full with scores of energetic fans, friends and family enjoying the first race of the new season at Ventura Raceway! The pits were emanating with the enthusiasm of both new and seasoned drivers!

Our VRA Dwarf Cars, Pros Division packed the track with a car count of 21. With three separate heats, the wins were taken by Ray Estrada, Craig Clements and Chris Wakim. After a few rough starts in the feature main event, Kevin Calvo took the win over Ray Estrada, Eric Moore, Lee Majors and Randy Gordon. It was great to see some of our Junior Division Alumni readily take to the track as this year’s rookies in the Dwarf Cars, Pro Division alongside the veteran drivers.

Running separately, the VRA Dwarf Cars, Senior Division had 10 cars. In Seniors, the two heat race wins went to Mike Lewis and Mike Neal. Their 20 lap feature went to Mike Lewis making his first Senior start followed by Bill VanPraag, Tom Stephens, Troy Kunas and Mike Neal.

In the VRA Mini Dwarf Superchargers Division, Nick Velasquez, who took multiple feature wins last season, took the heat race win as well as the feature win. Following him across the finish line in the feature were Destyn Garcia, after a strong lead the first five laps, and former Piston Division driver, J D Brown.

In Mini Dwarf Pistons the feature win went to rookie and first time feature winner, Blake Hendricks. In second place was 2011 Rookie of the Year, Garrett Egan, followed by Zack Chavez, Bailey Hendricks and Dylan Neal in the main event.

In VRA Junior Midgets. Oliver Blades took their heat race win. In their 15 lap feature, Miles Hedrick took the win over last year’s champ, Devin McCree followed closely by Kayle Brazel, Tommy Velasquez and Oliver Blades.

This coming weekend (March 10^th) VRA Midgets (All Coast Challenge #1), IMCA Modifieds, Mod Lites, and Focus Midgets will take to the track.

VRA Dwarfs and VRA Kids classes will be back in action on March 17^th along with the VRA midgets (ARP Battle at the Beach #1), Senior Sprints, Focus Midgets and Go Karts.