September 2003 - Inside Line Column - by Floyd Busby

Floyd Alvis pulled out the bottle of champagne that he has had stored in his motorhome frig for quite some time in hopeful anticipation of it's need!....It's need came to pass at the Reno-Fernley Raceway following his very decisive Midget win on the
fast 3/8-mile oval on August 23.....and the cork popped in celebration!

The six-time and defending driving champion has had a somewhat disappointing season by his standards....some very good
drives, but overall disappointing finishes.

If the season-to-date, prior to Reno-Fernley, had some thinking that the soon-to-be 69-year-old veteran was no longer a threat, they were proven wrong. Alvis didn't just win his first feature of the year, and his 50th career win, but he trounced the competition with the largest margin of victory that has been seen in years within the usually tightly contested main events.....by nearly a full half lap!

The surface of the Reno-Fernley Raceway had a reputation by the Midget owners and drivers as devastating in the tire wear department. Even the main events were relegated to 20-laps because brand new tires could not muster past that point before total failure.

With the dawning of the 2003 season, the track management imported clay into the high desert sand track and have been working it on a daily basis. The results are astonishing. With the first of the two scheduled BCRA races in May it was realized that this was a completely different race track. The size is the same (a true 3/8ths on the pole that could house many other purported 3/8-mile tracks within its infield), but the smooth racing surface is different. The totally blistered and worn new right rears from the past two years are replaced with tires that could well do another main event. The most recent race in August was pushed up to 25 laps and could have been considerably more.....Hats of to Rich Klein, Christopher Coclich and their crew for a job well done.

The 500 acre Reno-Fernley facility also houses a paved road racing circuit, eighth-mile drag strip, off road facilities, shooting range, paint ball games course and other entities.

BCRA's longest trek in a number of years is now in the history book. The Sunset Speedway in Banks, Oregon, West of Portland, played host to BCRA in early August. The fast 1/5-mile dirt oval attracted 13 BCRA entries and a number of the track's Northern Oregon Midget Association entries as well as a couple of WMRA pavement cars, tuned for the dirt. It was a lot of fun and very well received by the enthusiastic crowd. Adam Young, a Midget owner/driver from Phoenix, won the feature from the outside front row. Those who attempted to pass him ended up either in a spin or lost positions as the young driver held his line throughout the 30-lapper. It was almost embarrassing that the fast time was clocked by a driver named "Rusty Nutts"....in reality it was track builder and operator and former Midget and Sprint Car driver Mike McCann, who utilized his Chevy II powered Gambler to set the standard. Nutts..I mean McCann, came back from the rear to make a crowd-pleasing outside pass to nab the dash, but then parked for the night with a persistent oil leak....of course an uncountable number of laps on his own track had to be a bit of an advantage!

On Friday prior to the race a barbecue was on tap at the track, hosted by McCann and BCRA's Ken Bonnema. Bonnema, who has to be among the most unlucky owner/drivers this season, had car problems from the onset and didn't even get the $200 guarantee for any car taking the green flag in qualifying.

The two WMRA entries were Nick Seidelman of Tacoma and Dixon Helgeson of Spokane. Neither owner/driver had ever run a Midget on dirt, so they had their work cut out for them, both in the setup department on their pavement cars, and as drivers. Both did yeoman jobs and should take great pride in their efforts. Unfortunately Helgeson dropped out early while running fourth. Seidelman finished tenth. Helgeson is a true veteran, having driven Super Modifieds and Sprint Cars since the 1970's. He only recently acquired his first Midget, as he stated, because of the quality of the people involved in WMRA - read that as "non-combative, ie. fisticuffs as in his Sprint Car experiences!

Also on hand at Banks, as members of NMRA, were several former BCRA drivers who over the years had moved northward into Oregon territory. Rich Gentes and Dick Gibson, as well as Mike "Rusty Nutts" McCann, will be remembered by veteran BCRA members and fans. Gentes made the comment that he believes that he is the last driver to ever win a NARC Sprint Car race in an Offy. Later BCRA referee Rick Eisenbeis stated that Gentes is probably the last in the whole nation to be able to make that claim! BCRA member Rob Lindsey of Marysville, WA, ran his first dirt show also and looked very good, placing eighth in the feature.

Young, fresh from his Banks win, felt confident that he'd make an equally good showing the following weekend at the Orland Raceway. His hopes were quickly dashed when he flipped halfway down the backchute during his heat race. There was an opening and he went for it...it closed...end of story! Young received pulled muscles in his right shoulder and a very bent race car.

Rob Russell became the only Midget two-time feature winner of the '03 season, taking the Walker Racing Esslinger/Stealth to the win in one of the most ferociously-contested main events of this season - maybe in several seasons. The track at Orland was rough, but the Midget entourage attacked it as though it were the smoothest track of the season. This made for some spectacular and very close racing. Jimmy Christian in particular wowed the crowd with his wheel stands down the front chute, looking more like a Sprint Car exhibitionist than a Midget.

Rob's hopes to make it three didn't pan out at the next race at Reno-Fernley where the car simply wouldn't handle and he had to
settle for eighth.

Johnny Rodriguez became the focus factor at Fernley early-on when he became the first driver of any form of oval track racing
there to break the 16-second barrier with a 16.96 timing. The 1999 Silver Dollar Speedway 410 Sprint Car champion won the dash and looked very promising in the feature, but a slight bobble dropped him several positions and he charged back to finish fifth. Early Fernley leader Rick Haugh, finishing sixth, is the 1987 Silver Dollar sprint champ.

At Orland BCRA assistant Midget referee Greg Tyler earned himself the new nickname of "Bungee"....seems Greg forgot his belt, and so as not to show the crowd his underwear, he borrowed a bungee cord from one of the vintage division members and utilized the elastic to hold his pants up. I couldn't resist the chance to give Greg his new moniker!

BCRA President Bob Roza was in awe of Floyd Alvis on the Oregon trip. The two played golf at three different courses over
three different days. Seems Alvis would be up at the cock's crow and ready to go at the dismay of Roza and the other duffers in the group who would have preferred a few more winks. "Floyd is older than I am, how can he keep up such a pace", was Bob's remark. (The same question is perhaps posed by others after Floyd's Fernley win).

A suggestion....do not travel in the Portland area during rush hour if there is any way to avoid it....took me two and a quarter hours to go from Beaverton to the Portland International Airport (approximately 26 miles) to pick up referee Rick Eisenbeis...of course it was on a Friday during rush hour. The traffic makes some of our Bay Area freeways look like child's play!

The Reno-Fernley race marked the only time during the season that all three BCRA divisions, Midget, Midget Lite and Vintage, raced on the same program. It was the first time for the Lites and the track marked the longest that the chain-driven Lites have competed on. They were very fast and took to the smooth surface with vigor.

Todd Dennett took the win over Scott Clark. Third-place finisher Doug Hunting still leads the point chase which is evolving into a very tight race for the championship with only two races to go in the division; Placerville and Antioch on August 30 and Sept. 13.

The Midgets too are evolving into a dog fight for the title, especially in the car owner category. Gary Dickenson leads that battle, only five points ahead of Cameron Beard. Driver-wise Travis Berryhill holds a good lead with five races remaining. His edge was diminished somewhat at Fernley with Alvis moving into second over Glenn Carson by two points. Berryhill has a 57 point advantage over Alvis.