VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : MOTOR SPORTS NOTEBOOK : Joanides’ Short Southwest Career Not Yet Checkered

Nothing has been able to steer Nick Joanides away from racing.

Doctors told the 29-year-old real estate appraiser from Woodland Hills he would be facing a six-month layoff after receiving third-degree burns to his hands and left arm following a 1995 car explosion at Mesa Marin Speedway in Bakersfield.

Joanides was hospitalized for one month, then competed in Las Vegas following his release.

“That was pretty cool,” Joanides recalled. “It was nice just to show everybody I could do it.”

Skin graft surgery has been a regular part of Joanides’ life since, most recently two weeks ago.

That won’t keep him from racing his NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Chevy Monte Carlo the Los Angeles Street Race on an eight-turn road course at Exposition Park on Monday.

Lady Luck has frowned on Joanides, who hasn’t been in the winner’s circle during his rookie year.

Joanides has competed in eight of 12 races and is 18th in the points standings, nearly 1,000 points behind leader Kurt Busch of Las Vegas. His best finish was 10th at Tucson, Ariz., in the first race of the season, Jan. 10.

He won the pole position for the May 29 race at Mesa Marin with an average speed of 99.522 mph, then tangled with Doug McCoun of Prunedale in turn three on the first lap and made an early exit.

When the series made its first local stop, May 15 at Irwindale Speedway, the engine in Joanides’ car blew during practice.

The series returned July 31 to Irwindale and so did bad luck. Joanides tried to pass Mark Reed of Bakersfield for the lead with four laps left. The cars made contact and both spun. Reed went on to finish seventh and Joanides was 12th.

“We wanted to put on a good show for the fans,” Joanides said. “But not that type of show.”

Joanides started his career drag racing at age 16, while he was attending Taft High.

“They had all these wonderful sports to offer at Taft and I had to be difficult and pick one that costs a lot of money instead,” Joanides said.

Joanides switched to road racing in 1992, and won the Sports Car Club of America Formula Renault Las Vegas Regional Championship.

He competed in his first oval-track race at Saugus Speedway the same year, late in the season.

“A lot of the drivers on the tour don’t have road-racing experience,” Joanides said, “So I think we’ll be in real good shape for the L.A. Street Race.”

Joanides is excited at the prospect of racing in front of hometown fans, especially against the likes of NASCAR Winston Cup stars Mark Martin and Kenny Irwin, and Ron Hornaday, two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck champion.

The Street Race last year was the first Featherlite Southwest race for Joanides. It proved to be an omen, since he was forced from the race with a blown engine.

“I had a lot of fun at it last year,” Joanides said. “The drawback was that the layout of the track made it tough for the fans, although it made it fun for the drivers.”

The track layout has been changed this year in an attempt to allow fans to see all of the action, which suits Joanides just fine.

“I think it’s going to be a whole lot better for the fans,” Joanides said. “It’s going to be a tighter race track, which should make for tighter racing for the fans.”

Joanides acknowledged that he feels added pressure to do well in his own backyard.

“You try not to [feel it], but it just naturally comes,” Joanides said. “You have all the family and friends out, and you want to do well, and that does add pressure.”

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Kevin Corso of Chatsworth will make his IndyCar debut Sunday in the American IndyCar Series as part of the L.A. Street Race.

Corso will either drive a 1992 March IndyLights car or a 1993 Lola originally campaigned by Michael Andretti for Newman-Haas.

Buddy Lazier, 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion, won the inaugural American IndyCar Series championship in 1998.

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John Wright of Ventura won the International Motor Contest Assn. sprint car race Saturday night at Ventura Raceway. Kevin Kierce of Reseda maintained his lead in the points standings with a second-place finish. . . . The Sprint Car Racing Assn. will make its final points-paying appearance of the season at Ventura this Saturday. Cory Kruseman of Ventura is third and Troy Rutherford of Ojai is 11th in the points standings.