LOS ANGELES, California - USAC Open-Wheelers in Stock Cars: Josh Wise, 24, has enjoyed recent success in NASCAR and ARCA driving for Michael Waltrip and Eddie Sharp Racing. The three-time USAC driving champion (2006 National Sprint, 2005 National Midget and 1999 USAC TQ-Midget) and 2005 Silver Crown championship runner-up has led laps and scored two consecutive second place feature finishes in ARCA. On Friday, August 31 at Gateway Int'l Raceway in Madison, IL, Josh drove a Toyota Camry and set fastest qualifying time of 33.686 (133.587 mph) on the mile + paved track. Josh led the first 35 laps. On the fairgrounds mile dirt track in DuQuoin, IL three days later (Labor Day), Josh led 20-laps late in the 100-lap race. NASCAR Nextel Cup veteran Ken Schrader chased Josh to lap 85 when he made his winning pass. Josh settled for second, in a Dodge, for his second consecutive runner-up finish in ARCA RE/MAX. Josh had his first NASCAR Busch Series start on Saturday, July 28 in the Kroger 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, IN, a few miles west of the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Cup drivers raced the next day. Josh qualified 29th fastest in the 43-car field and finished the televised race on the lead lap in 19th position (with 34 cars racing at the finish). He earned $19,512.
Other drivers of note making inroads in stock car racing are Tulsa Chili Bowl Midget Classic 2006-winner Tim McCreadie, from New York, and Josh Richards, 19, from World of Outlaws Dirt Late Model ranks. Richards, in a Tony Stewart-owned Chevrolet, finished third in the ARCA DuQuoin 100-lap race. USAC open-wheeler A. J. Fike was fourth, also on the lead lap, in a 40-car field. Michael McDowell, an ARCA rookie with sports car and Formula Mazda experience, won the ARCA 200 at the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. He had won his eighth pole in an Eddie Sharp Dodge and then led 98 laps of the 134-lap feature. It was his third victory in ARCA this year. The second-ranked ARCA driver closed ground on perennial ARCA champion Frank Kimmel. Other recent ARCA stock car newcomers from Rolex sports car racing are Colin Braun, 18, and veteran sporty car driver Andy Lally. They all seem to run in the top ten. In fact, Braun drove a Ford to third place at Joliet, IL September 8.
The recent success of Juan Pablo Montoya, an Indy Car champion, Indy 500 winner and Formula One winner, has led others to seek stock car racing careers. Scott Speed, a Formula One driver in 2006-07 who recently lost his sub-standard F.1 ride, could soon wind up in a USA series. Then there is nice-guy Patrick Carpentier, from Champ Car (ex-CART), who could land anywhere. IRL may lose Sam Hornish, Jr and Dario Franchitti, the last two Indy 500 winners, to NASCAR next season. Jacques Villeneuve, the 1995 Indy 500 winner, may join them in NASCAR after his recent exit from Formula One. In the past few years Christian Fittipaldi tried NASCAR with Petty Enterprises and left for a Rolex Series sports car ride. Franchitti's reasons for looking towards NASCAR as his future racing venue could come from the following: 1. Back to back flips this summer in IRL cars of AGR Racing, 2. Lack of backing by co-owner Michael Andretti after Franchitti collided with Marco Andretti in Sonoma, CA racing for the lead. 3. Achieving his top IRL goals in 2007--his Indy 500 victory and IRL championship. Dario's actress/wife, Ashley Judd, might favor NASCAR for her hubby as well. Franchitti passed the fuel-starved car of Scott Dixon to win the 17th and final IRL 2007 race on September 9 at Joliet, IL and the 2007 IRL championship by three-points over Dixon. Ironically, Franchitti's car owner in NASCAR will be Chip Ganassi, the owner of Dixon's IRL car. Will the last major open-wheel driver exiting please turn out the lights?
The ARCA Gateway 150 race on August 31 had some other interesting names in the 40-driver field. Justin Allgaier, a USAC Midget and Silver Crown racing veteran, started and finished fourth. Michael Annett, of Des Moines, IA, comes from a sprint car racing sponsor/backer at Knoxville, IA Raceway. His TMC Trucking Dodge is sponsored by The Mickow Corporation of Knoxville IA. It also sponsored the black & gold No. 12 TMC WoO sprint car in the 1980s with Iowan Mike Brooks as the driver. Recent ARCA races have had three female drivers competing. They are former WoO sprint car driver Erin Crocker, in the No. 98 Ray Evernham Dodge, Michelle Theriault, a Grand National East veteran from Bristol, CT, in the No. 37 Glock (firearms) Chevrolet, and Gabi DiCarlo, a Phoenix-based ASA Speed Truck veteran in the No. 90 Great Clips Chevrolet. Crocker has started up front and led races. She finished fifth in the September 9 ARCA race at the Chicagoland 1.5-mile track.
Bryan Clauson, is an 18-year old USAC sprint car and Midget winner (driving No. 67 Keith Kunz cars) and Chip Ganassi driver development program 2007 stock car driver. The Noblesville, IN driver drove Ganassi's No. 40 Memorex Dodge from 15th starting spot to victory in the August 31 Gateway ARCA race. He raced up front with Wise, McDowell, Allgaier and led laps 85-90 and 103-120. Sixteen of the drivers ran all 120 laps and 26 of 40 starters were racing at the finish. It was Clauson's first stock car victory and he beat second-place Wise (No. 22 NAPA ESR Toyota) by ten lengths (0.855) in the televised race. Wise's teammate, Michael McDowell (from Phoenix) led the most laps (38) and finished third in the No. 2 ESR Z-Line Dodge. Justin Allgaier, from Springfield, IL, finished fourth in the No. 16 Chevrolet after he led lap 91-102. Sports car drivers Lally, from Georgia, and Braun, from Texas, finished seventh and ninth respectively, on the lead lap as newly minted stock car racers. Clauson still races Kunz cars and he won a USAC Midget feature Sat. September 15 at the paved quarter-mile Anderson (IN) Speedway.
NECROLOGY: Recent deaths of open-wheelers from the West Coast included DUANE SEARS, a former Midget driver in his 70s, who raced out of Westminster, CA. Duane died on Monday, August 27 from pancreatic cancer at Bullhead City, AZ. He drove Midgets in URA events from the 1950s and USAC Western Midgets until a bad crash in 1973 at the half-mile paved Speedway 605 in Irwindale ended his racing career. Duane won the 1961 NMRA-TQ (3/4-midget) driving championship driving for car owners Ron and Gay Otto. Duane's son, Kirk, also raced the Otto's TQ Midget. Services were held Friday, September 7 at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Park in Boulder City, NV.
Checking USAC Yearbooks, I learned Sears drove the No. 25 Warren Hoakinson Ford V8-60 in 1961, the No. 39 Ella Mae Gilchrist Offy and No. 59 Harry Starner Ford V8-60 in 1962-63. On 9/14/63 on the Ascot quarter-mile, Sears drove the No. 34 Doug Caruthers Offy (a front-line midget raced by Billy Cantrell, Roger McCluskey, Bobby Unser, Bob Wente, Edgar Elder and Allen Heath). Duane set 10th best time in a field of 36 and was 16th (DNF) in the main. In 1964 Duane raced the No. 79, later No. 80 Bob Hoff Offy at paved and dirt tracks in California and Arizona. He began making main events and finishing in the top ten regularly. He also raced the No. 18 Vern Barker Falcon and the No. 27 Joe Lynch Offy in the Ascot Park Thanksgiving Night Midget Grand Prix. He finished 32nd in USAC 1964 National Midget points. His 1965 midget rides included the No. 80 Hoff Offy, the No. 50 Jim Gary Offy and No. 27 Lynch Offy. He finished 65th in USAC National Midget points that year. His 1966-73 seasons produced solid performances (if no USAC feature victories) aboard various rides. Duane was a respected, clean feature event driver. RIP.
DOROTHY WICKHAM, 92, died Thursday, July 26 at her residence in Acton, CA. She was the mother of Dottie James (wife of long-time CRA and WRA vintage racing-cars president Walt James) and Veronica "Ronnie" Crowley (wife of former NARC sprint car driver and official Bill Crowley). Her late husband Warren owned Sunset Auto Supply and fielded sprint cars after WW II into the 1950s. His cars won championships in three racing organizations (CRA, URA and WRA) in the same season with the late Harry Stockman driving, according to Walt James. Dorothy had been in poor health for many years and needed daily medical assistance. She lived with Dottie and Walt James at their home in Acton. By the way, Walt said the annual WRA vintage racing reunion/luncheon will be held from Saturday, January 19, 2008 from 11:00 to 2:00 at the same Knotts Berry Farm Resort Hotel in Buena Park. He picked a date one-week after the annual Tulsa Chili Bowl Midget Classic to allow more people to attend the popular event.
BOB CONSANI, 74, succumbed to a massive heart attack Sunday, September 2 at his home in Santa Rosa, CA after battling a long illness and a recent bout with pneumonia. The long-time BCRA and USAC car owner started his race car involvement with dragsters, BCRA hardtops and midgets. He expanded to USAC Midgets, Sprints and Silver Crown cars. He was known for using No. 4 on his racing cars, or No. 04 at times. His meticulously prepared cars were frequently dark red with colorful yellow/blue flames painted at the front. His drivers included Hank Butcher, Rick Bussell, Billy Vukovich III, Chuck Gurney, Davey Hamilton and Jimmy Sills. He won the USAC Silver Crown car entrant championship in 1990 with Sills as his driver. Sills won the 1990 S/C 100-lap race in Sacramento, the 1992 Springfield, IL 100 and the 1993 Sacramento 100 for Consani. Bob owned and operated Performance Engines in Santa Rosa since the 1960s. During the 1980s Bob was a licensed Indianapolis 500 mechanic and in 1989 entered a car in the Indy 500 with Vukovich III as his driver. In recent years he sold some of his racing cars. He still provided technical support to racing teams. In fact the last time I saw the lean Consani was in the pits at Irwindale last fall. He was present at a mid-week testing session helping two racing teams with engines and set-ups for the upcoming USAC Western Sprint Car race at Irwindale.The beneficiaries of his advice were Brian McClish in his No. 04 and Jessica Helberg in her No. 4x-both colorful ex-Consani sprint cars.
EARL 'ROSIE' ROUSSEL, 85, died this year on August 9 at home in Bakersfield. Funeral services were private. The popular California Jalopy Assn (CJA) and California Racing Assn (CRA) driver was a 1950s track champion at central California tracks in Porterville and Tulare. The last time many of us saw Rosie was several years ago at the Wally Parks NHRA Museum in the Pomona Fairplex. Emcee Bob Jenkins introduced Rosie in the audience at the Parnelli Jones racing exhibit/luncheon. Roussel switched from CJA to CRA and finished 13th in 1958 CRA final points. He was 48th in CRA points a year later with one race. In 1960 Rosie raced for Hank Higuchi early in the season and Ted Wyrozumski as well. On 6/11/60 Rosie drove the No. 29 Boghosian Brothers Wayne-Chevy at Ascot Park in Gardena. He started first and won his first CRA feature; he led all 30 laps. Bob Mathouser, Wayne Douglas and then Hal Minyard drove the Morales Bros Offenhauser most of 1960 before Rosie got the ride on October 8 at Ascot, where he qualified 10th best of 29. Rosie started third and won the 30-lap feature, leading the final 28 laps. He drove the famed Morales Brothers Offy No. 1 (the 1959 Chuck Hulse CRA championship car) at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix a week later on Oct. 15. He set fifth fastest qualifying time and dropped out of the feature on lap 12. In the Ascot 100-lap season-ending race on Oct. 29 Rosie again drove the Morales Offy. He was 14th fastest of 33 drivers and dropped out early, finishing 24th (last). He won two CRA features and finished 13th in 1960 CRA driver points. The Morales Offy placed third in final 1960 owner points.
Rosie had the No. 3 Morales Bros. Offy ride for the 1961 season-opening
California Mid-Winter Fair weekend races near El Centro with 45 cars present. On
Saturday, March 11 Rosie started the 20-lap main event 12th and finished second
after the race ended with a wild crash on lap 14. The reason was Rosie. He was
told the car ran best up high. High-riding Rosie hit a rut on the front
straight at top speed and took out the fence in front of the scorer and announcer,
who were on a low stage at the starting line. His wild flip totaled the car
and ended racing for the day with no fencing remaining on the front straight.
Rosie, taken by ambulance to a hospital three miles south in El Centro, suffered
a broken collarbone and shoulder injury, plus facial lacerations. He
recovered to race again, but Billy Cantrell had the Morales ride when it reappeared as
No. 25 in mid-June 1961. Rosie skipped CRA sprint car racing until 8/21/63 at
Ascot, where he set second fastest qualifying time in his first appearance in
the No. 1 Kenny Worth Chevy. Bob Hogle had vacated the ride and accepted the
Morales Offy ride. Hogle won the 30-lap feature that night and drove the
Morales ride to his 1963 CRA championship. The Morales clan won the 1963 car owner
championship. Rosie started seventh and finished fifth August 21. Bob Coulter
had the Worth Chevy ride at the next race. Rosie scored 23-points in his one
appearance and finished 54th in final 1963 CRA points. However, Rosie had an
impressive final night of CRA sprint car racing and showed he still had it as a
daring, talented sprint car driver.
