Motor Racing : Crow Puts Dad on Track With Old Gift

Rick Crow did not want to buy his dad a cheap tie. And he did not want to buy him a bottle of cheap cologne.

So, he bought him a cheap car.

“It cost me a hundred bucks,” said Crow, 25, a resident of Canyon Country. “And $100 for the roll cage. I just wanted to show my appreciation. It was a way to thank him for helping me so much.”

The younger Crow has been soaring in the Saugus Speedway Hobby Stock figure 8 points standings. He has won three of the past six main events and currently is fifth in the standings.

But Vern Crow, 51, a former drag racer, wanted to show his son that he wasn’t just another old . . . well, let’s just say, “Like son, like father.”

Eight days ago, Vern Crow hit the track in his newly acquired, battered Plymouth Satellite, promising to beat his son. Instead, he wound up eating . . . well, let’s just say he didn’t fare too well. His qualifying time of 24.19 seconds bettered only one driver and left him 15th--dead last among cars that crossed the finish line--in the 20-lap oval semi-main event.

“But, hey, he did better than I did,” Rick Crow said.

True. But so did nearly everyone. Crow slammed into a wall during a heat race and his car was unable to greet the green flag for the oval main event.

An affair of the parts: An oil change and a tuneup is hardly a girl’s idea of a romantic evening. But no one is confusing Larry Krieger with Casanova.

“My girlfriend,” the Reseda driver said, “she says, ‘Do you have to stay home and work on your car?’ ”

You bet your bumper, Krieger, 22, does. Autumn is in the air and Krieger’s fancy has turned to racing. With only two races left, Krieger, Saugus’ Hobby Stock defending champion and last season’s rookie of the year, trails Lawrence Leis of Canyon Country by 11 points in the figure 8 standings.

Had Krieger avoided a suspension last month for racing with an illegal tire, he would be far ahead in the points standings and could probably afford the luxury of taking his girl out--probably to the races--Saturday night. However Krieger, attempting to regain the lead, says extra hours in the garage, even on Saturday night, are more important than romance.

“It’s in here,” Krieger said, punching his chest with his thumb. And, perhaps, the finish of Krieger and his girlfriend?

“She understands,” he said. “Now she says, ‘There are only two races left. Go ahead and do it.’ ”

Walloped in the wallet: One has to admire a man with his priorities in order.

Consider Brian Kelley, whose car was rammed by another vehicle and knocked unconscious for several minutes during the Hobby Stock figure 8 main event last Friday night at Saugus.

Kelley, however, seemed more concerned with his car than with his health.

“It cost me about $1,000,” said Kelley, who races with a ‘For Sale’ sign in his window. “After that night, people wanted to buy my motor but not my car. Bent the frame, cracked the transmission, poked a hole in the oil pan.”

Kelley places a high value on his racing coveralls, too.

“They wanted to cut the sleeve of my suit to take my blood pressure,” Kelley said. “But I wasn’t going to let them . . . a $250 suit!”