MOTOR RACING / VINCE KOWALICK : Ventura Break Forces Drivers to Shift Gears

Visitors to Ventura Raceway during the next four weeks will see motorcycle racing, the annual Ventura County Fair and even a rock concert featuring Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.

What they won’t see is stock-car racing.

With the close of Friday night’s program, Ventura drivers will begin a four-week hiatus from high-balling their various vehicles around the quarter-mile dirt oval. Drivers are scheduled to return Aug. 21 to kick off a three-day weekend of racing as part of the fair.

“I’ve raced out there since stock cars began in ‘86,” Street Stock points leader Paul Moore of Oak View said. “And this is the weirdest schedule I’ve seen.”

Not that most drivers couldn’t use a break. Ventura’s racing season begins in April and stretches to mid-November.

So what do some of the track’s top drivers plan to do during the break? Go racing, of course.

Moore said he probably will venture to Bakersfield Speedway in Oildale, a quarter-mile dirt oval similar to the one at Ventura.

“It’s nice to take a break,” Moore said. “But not for a month.”

Others planning to trailer their wheels and hit the road include IMCA Modified competitors Ray Marroquin of Santa Maria and Herb Hill of Simi Valley. Both said most of the division’s drivers are making similar plans.

Hill, seventh in the division’s points standings, said he likely will spend two weeks racing in Bakersfield and another at Saugus Speedway.

“I like to race at least three weekends a month,” Hill said. “I know that when you don’t race, it kind of takes the edge off you. It’s almost like getting back into your car in the spring.”

Marroquin, the IMCA Modified points leader, said he would not lose his edge or his points lead if he took a month off. He is just driven to race.

“I’ll race somewhere,” Marroquin said. “I might catch a ride on someone’s stock car at Santa Maria Speedway. I always like to get in someone else’s car.”

Maybe he should give Don Keeter of Ventura a call. Keeter, an IMCA Modified rookie from Ventura and fourth in the division’s points standings, said he plans to park his car in the garage and his feet on the coffee table for the better part of the break.

“I’ve always enjoyed the breaks,” said Keeter, who skipped last season after three years in the track’s Street Stock division. “I’m going to Hawaii with my wife and family for one week, then I’m just going to take a break, give the family a break and do some things around the house.”

His first chore?

“I’ve had trouble with my car,” Keeter said. “I’ve got some things to work on.”

Quite a scare: Crashes at Saugus Speedway are not uncommon, but they usually are no more spectacular than a car spinning into traffic or skidding into a wall.

Last Saturday night, R. C. Zimmermann of Claremont drew a gasp from the crowd of more than 5,000 when his open-cockpit Formula Vee car flipped forward in a turn and landed upside down. Zimmermann, a 74-year-old, 25-year racing veteran, landed with his crash helmet on the pavement.

The crash occurred five laps into the evening’s main event for Formula Vees, which are sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America and were making their first appearance of the season at Saugus. The race was delayed for several minutes while track officials scrambled to aid Zimmermann.

Surprisingly, he was not seriously hurt.

“The roll bar took most of the jolt,” said Zimmermann, a semi-retired mechanic for the Claremont Unified School District. “I got clobbered in the back by some fella and I thought I had room to stop, but I guess I didn’t.”

Tour continues: After a four-week break, the NASCAR Southwest Tour resumes tonight with a 100-lap race at Redwood Acres Speedway in Eureka, Calif.

Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale, with one victory among six top-five finishes in nine starts, is second in the tour’s points standings. Hornaday trails Doug George of Atwater, Calif., by 44 points.

Other area drivers among the points leaders include Will Harper of Tarzana (10th), Bob Lyon of Newhall (11th), Mark Perry of Sylmar (13th), Ray Hooper Jr. of Palmdale (14th), Wally Pettengill Jr. of Studio City (16th) and Harry Brady of Newhall (20th).

Miscellany: The NASCAR Winston West Series has scheduled an additional race for Sept. 20 at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Tex. The 500-kilometer race will expand the series to 11 races. The Winston West’s seventh and next scheduled race is Aug. 1 at South Sound Speedway in Tenino, Wash. Bill Sedgwick of Granada Hills, with three victories among five top-five finishes, is the series’ points leader and defending champion. . . .

Doug Renno of Canoga Park has dropped to 52nd in the NASCAR Sunbelt Region points standings. Renno, second in the Sportsman division standings at Saugus Speedway, was 42nd last week among Sunbelt Region leaders. . . .

Mike Kiedrowski of Canyon Country finished third last weekend in the American Motorcycle Assn. 250cc U. S. Grand Prix of Motocross in New Berlin, N.Y.