Morgan Revved Up for Start of Season at Ventura Tonight

Cliff Morgan is a happy man.

Morgan, in his 10th year as Ventura Raceway’s general manager, has high hopes and expectations for the racing season that begins tonight.

The raceway has a revised schedule, an influx of new drivers and the addition of I-4 modifieds to its card, all of which excite Morgan.

“A lot of guys are coming out from Simi Valley, Saugus and the San Fernando Valley area for our stock car division,” Morgan said.

“As a result I’d say our car counts have improved by about 20%.”

Ventura eliminated Friday night racing from its schedule and will concentrate solely on Saturday evening events.

“People can’t get here on a Friday night because of the traffic,” Morgan said. “Try getting here from Santa Barbara or the San Fernando Valley during that time and it’s nearly impossible.”

The choice to add I-4 modifieds was made after the cars were well received by Ventura fans in two exhibition races last season, Morgan said. The I-4s will replace mini-stock competition.

Drivers of I-4s should be able to turn laps in the 14-second range, nearly a second faster than the mini-stocks.

“These guys can now race with any type of four-cylinder engine,” Morgan said. “A lot of our mini-stock drivers are going to convert over to this division.”

Cliff Tietz and his son Jim, are among the drivers making a switch.

“We were looking to move out of the mini-stock division anyway so this is nice,” Cliff said.

Cliff also is happy with the track’s decision to change racing dates.

“I’m glad that they went to Saturday nights,” he said. “It was a wise decision for the fans and the drivers.”

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It’s still early in the season, but it appears Lance Hooper’s decision to step up a notch in class is a wise one.

Hooper, the Southwest Tour champion last season, moved atop the NASCAR Winston West Series point standings by taking the checkered flag in the St. Patrick’s Day 200 at Altamont Raceway last weekend.

The Palmdale driver also set a track record with a lap of 98.9 mph over the half-mile oval.

“I give the car owners a lot of the credit for what we’re doing,” Hooper said.

“They get me the best equipment they can, so the least I can do is keep from wrecking it.”

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Not that he’s superstitious, but NASCAR SuperTruck driver Ron Hornaday Jr. figured he had an edge heading into the season opener at the Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex last weekend.

The race was on March 17, the same day he and his wife, Lindy, celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary.

But so much for numerology.

“I wanted to win it for Lindy, but I guess she’ll take third place,” Hornaday said.

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Motorcycle drag racer Steve Johnson of Chatsworth advanced to the second round of the 27th annual National Hot Rod Assn. Gatornationals before bowing out to Paul Gast.

It was Johnson’s first venture on his own after leaving the Star Racing team last season.

“We won together and lost together,” Johnson said of his new crew. “In the second round I made a choice and I made the wrong choice, but the team is still behind me and I thank God for that.”

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A pair of Simi Valley drivers took checkered flags at Bakersfield Speedway last weekend.

Rick Hendrix, who led the final 14 laps, posted his first career victory in United Auto States Club midgets by winning the 30-lap Western States Midget feature.

In the three-quarter midget 20-lap main, Alex Harris passed Greg Edenholm on Lap 10 and held on to post his first victory of the season.

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Chuck Graves continued his early season success with a victory in a Formula I motorcycle race at Willow Springs International Raceway. The Granada Hills racer added a fifth-place finish in the 600 Superstock event. . . . Bob Lyon of Agua Dulce couldn’t gain ground on Chris Raudman during a late caution flag and finished third in a Southwest Tour race at Altamont Raceway. Keith Spangler of Chatsworth took seventh,