Carpooling His Resources

Gentleman, start your broken-down, low-budget, on-their-last-leg engines. The Wags Dash is coming to Ventura Raceway.

Financially strapped, accident-prone drivers of the Sprint Car Racing Assn. can thank the benevolence of Ken Wagner, who for a decade has spread the wealth among them with his exhaustive fund-raising.

Wagner, 56, an Orange County computer operations manager for Kawasaki and self-described racing fan, will stage his annual season-ending dash for cash Oct. 31 on Ventura’s one-fifth-mile clay oval.

But the Wags Dash, which Wagner said might make Ventura its permanent home after the inaugural visit, isn’t the only method by which Wagner rewards.

Wagner attends every SCRA event on the 10-month schedule, collecting donations from spectators and others. Attired in a red-and-white, polka-dot hat and toting a clipboard, Wagner has been a familiar sight at SCRA tracks since he conceived the idea in 1988 at a visit to now-closed Ascot Park.

“People know me,” Wagner said. “And people easily find me. Most of the time, they give me cash. But we have 50-50 raffles, silent auctions, racing photos for sale. . . . It’s all collected during the season.”

And distributed--based on need--to drivers during the season.

Many SCRA competitors operate on a shoestring budget. Factor in the costly repair of an occasional accident and it is easy to understand why some drivers struggle to stay on track.

Wagner at each event determines which driver is most deserving of a financial boost. Typically he doles out between $200 to $500 among several drivers.

“Remember, it’s low-buck,” Wagner said. “I won’t give the money to a [defending champion] Ron Shuman or anyone who is winning all the time. I’m looking at the guys who could use sponsorship, and I give [the money] to the [car] owner.”

The season-ending dash includes a field of about 20 needy drivers who received “Wags Bucks” during the season. Wagner presents his most-lucrative purse at the Wags Dash, which he has organized every year since 1991. Wagner’s goal this year is to offer a $20,000 purse.

“He’s just a racing fan who really cares,” Ventura promoter Jim Naylor said. “He and his group pay the money to the guys, and they could use it.”

Wagner estimates he has collected and disbursed $150,000. He also publishes a racing newsletter, “Wag Times,” with his own column, “Wag’s World.”

“I happen to love racing,” Wagner said. “And this idea happens to work.”

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Shuman, 45, who successfully ran for the presidency of the SCRA after winning his seventh sprint car championship last season, will be honored during Ventura’s program next Saturday.

“The Flying Shoe,” one of the best West Coast open-wheel drivers in history, won the Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix eight times.

Richard Griffin of Silver City, N.M., is the points leader.

Cory Kruseman of Ventura, who edged Griffin two weeks ago at Perris Auto Speedway to win his second main event of the season, is fourth, 321 points behind Griffin.

The SCRA is idle until Aug. 29.

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With the passing this month of the third anniversary of the closure of Saugus Speedway, fewer and fewer names of the track’s former drivers appear on racing rosters.

More than a dozen continue to compete at Bakersfield’s Mesa Marin Raceway.

Among the few who have excelled is Brian Kelley of Arleta.

Kelley, who won three division titles at Saugus, is second in points in Mesa Marin’s modified stock division, with one victory and five top-five finishes. Kelley won the division title last season, winning six races.

“In my division, there’s only one other [former Saugus] guy, so it’s kind of lonely up there,” Kelley said. “When Saugus closed, this was the only track that had a good sportsman division. But Bakersfield has only 11 races, so it’s kind of a short season.”

Kelley spends his spare time motoring to races at Las Vegas, San Bernardino, Lake Havasu and Blythe.

“We’ve had great sponsorship,” Kelley said. “I wish I could say it’s all me, but I’m just the little guy.”

Nevertheless, Kelley deserves credit. In a memorable episode several years ago at Saugus, Kelley displayed remarkable improvisation by repairing a serious oil leak with a tampon.

Kelley discovered the leak during qualifying, wriggled beneath his engine with a roll of duct tape and returned to the track to win the main event.

“I’ll always remember that,” Kelley said with a laugh. “I still keep a box of them in my truck.”