AUTO RACING

Ventura’s Cory Kruseman enjoyed his night off from Sprint Car Racing Assn. competition although the same could not be said for the International Motor Contest Assn. sprint car that he drove.

The car’s engine belched a cloud of smoke as Kruseman crossed the finish line 12 lengths ahead of teammate Gary Howard to win the 30-lap feature race.

Kruseman started sixth, worked his way up to third by the end of the first lap, and was running neck and neck with Howard by Lap 8.

Kruseman grabbed the lead coming out of the second turn on the 16th lap, then steadily pulled away.

Ricky Gray of Northridge--another SCRA driver--was the only other driver on the lead lap with Kruseman and Howard.

In the main event, Gray had power to spare, doing unintentional wheelstands down the straightaway on the second and third laps.

Gray attributed his traction problems to the 10 gallons of fuel that were added for the feature race, which put 60 additional pounds over the rear wheels, making it harder to go through the corners.

Murrieta’s Brian Stewart won the 20-lap Western Legends feature, after taking his eight-lap heat race earlier in the program.