AUTO RACING : Rough Track Helps Kruseman

With five laps remaining in Saturday night’s 30-lap Sprint Car feature race at Ventura Raceway, it looked like Ricky Gray of Northridge would have his second victory in as many weeks.

But Ventura’s Cory Kruseman had other plans, and a rough track was on Kruseman’s side.

Kruseman made an inside pass on Gray on the 27th lap to grab his second International Motor Contest Assn. victory, to go along with an April Sprint Car Racing Assn. victory at San Jose.

“It was just such a rough racetrack tonight that you just didn’t know what was going to happen,” Kruseman said.

“I just got through the holes better.”

Said Gray: “I don’t want to be a sore loser, but I spent a little too much time out there trying to find a spot, and the other guys found it first.”

Gray led from the second lap through the 10th before yielding to Ventura’s Randy Moody for 11 laps.

Gray reclaimed the lead on the 22nd lap and Kruseman slipped past Moody one lap later.

It took three attempts to get the race started, due to a collision between Ventura’s Mark Collins and Big Bear’s Danny Wirth, a flip by Ventura’s Gary Howard and a spinout by Eddie Wirth.

When the race finally got underway, Dale Harwood of Simi Valley ran over the back of Kruseman’s car on the second lap, damaging Kruseman’s rear push bar.

Although Harwood dropped back, Kruseman didn’t even slow down.

Rick Carstens of Fresno won the 20-lap Mini Sprint main event by almost a full lap, with Ray Campbell of Delhi second and Mike Benson of Calistoga third.

Carstens passed John Rahe of Santa Ana for the lead as the cars passed the finish line at the end of the sixth lap, and opened up a quarter-lap lead within four laps.

In a special 15-lap non-points Pony Stock feature, Jim Jewett Sr. of Oxnard held off a late charge from Ventura’s James Brown to grab the $100 first-place purse.

Brown was disqualified after a post-race inspection revealed illegal parts on the car.

Third-place finisher Tina Verdun of Ventura was awarded the $60 second place purse, and William Kruft of Ventura took home the $40 third-place prize.

It was the second disqualification in two weeks for equipment violations at the quarter-mile clay oval.