Getting a Jump : Flying Start Helps Griffin Reach Sprint Tracks Faster

Richard Griffin will be off to a flying start long before he sets the wheels of his sprint car onto the track for the feature race tonight at Ventura Raceway.

Griffin, a resident of Silver City, N.M., will already have flown himself into town in his Cessna 210 airplane, a routine he follows frequently.

Griffin’s hometown is in an isolated region of New Mexico. The closest places for him to race are in Las Cruces, N.M., and El Paso, Texas, both of which are 150 miles away.

Instead, he chooses to compete in Sprint Car Race Assn. events in Arizona and California.

After running a limited schedule last year, Griffin, 32, has teamed with second-year car owner Ron Chaffin in pursuit of a points title.

“Out of 22 races we have been in the top five 15 times, and he has set track records for qualifying at Perris and Bakersfield,” Chaffin said.

“I’m very happy.”

On race days, Griffin flies to an airport near one of the tracks where he is racing, then meets his mechanic, who stays in California with the car.

His travel arrangements are unusual and can be hectic and expensive.

Griffin estimates he spends $100 for each hour he operates his plane. His expenses for racing in Ventura and at Perris Raceway on Saturday should run about $1,200.

“It’s a luxury that fortunately I’m able to afford,” he said.

Griffin is scheduled to fly into Ontario or Hemet early today and then commute to Ventura.

Once he arrives, Griffin plans to show the crowd why his nickname is “The Gas Man.”

“I put my foot on the gas and just leave it there,” Griffin said. “Sometimes it works and I’m a hero . . .

and other times I end up in the doghouse.”

To wit: In a sprint car race at Ventura last month, Griffin rolled his car three laps into the main event. He recovered and rallied to finish third, but tonight he hopes for a higher finish.

Griffin is expected to be among a field of about 50 drivers for tonight’s event. He has won three feature events this season and is second in the standings with 1,333 points, 41 behind Ron Shuman of Tempe,

Ariz.

The leaders had an intense battle last week in a race at King’s Speedway in Hanford, Calif. Griffin and Shuman got tangled up in the 27th lap of a 30-lap feature. Griffin’s vehicle was unable to continue and he finished 10th. Shuman placed second.

“It was two guys going hard that collided,” Griffin said.

“We’re going to pick it up right where we left off last week.”

Rip Williams of Yorba Linda is another driver to watch. The hottest driver on the tour, he has won six events this season, including the feature at Hanford last week.

Williams was bidding for his fourth consecutive victory last Saturday, but the race at Santa Maria was canceled because of the power outage that struck the West Coast.

Local favorite Corey Kruseman also cannot be dismissed. Kruseman has run at Ventura for years and last month won three consecutive sprint car races.

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Kruseman is returning from a stint racing midgets in the Midwest, where he was hospitalized after flipping his vehicle at a track in Belleville, Kan.

“Guys like Griffin and Shuman are the reason

our organization is doing well at the grandstands this year,” sprint car club president Glen Howard said.

“They put on a good show.”

Because of the parity in sprint cars, Howard is optimistic about the future of the racing series.

“Our group is the only one in California that runs a non-winged [sprint car] series and it’s catching on,” he said.

“We’re looking for growth and good competition and the guys on our tour are providing it.”

The 30-lap feature tonight is scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m.