Beyond BCRA: BCRA Alum Making Waves in the Racing World

By Robert Haugh

Volume 2, June/July/August 2007
Hot Summer Nights

With the amazing amount of BCRA owners and drivers having gone on to success at bigger levels in the wider gamut of racing, its no wonder that a plethora of BCRA Midget and Midget Lite alumni have been making waves throughout the racing world. BCRA alum include Indy 500 car owner champion George Bignotti and a myriad of well-known racers, names such as Vukovich, Agabashian, Baldwin, Boyd, Foland, Butcher, and a host of others coming through BCRA before finding greater success.

Several former and current BCRA Midget and Midget Lite chauffeurs are fostering success beyond BCRA recently, including wins in Midgets, 360 and 410 Winged and non-wing Sprints, Spec Sprints and more.

At the end of each month, we’ll capture some of the highlights from the month of former and current BCRA stars.

Here are just a few highlights from the Hot summer months of June, July & August:

• 1999 BCRA champion Matt Streeter continues finding success at Placerville and Silver Dollar Speedways, currently sitting second in the tracks’ combined Wingless Sprints series wheeling the Mark Orth #24 360 Sprinter. Thus far in 2007, Streeter has amassed three A-main victories, 10 Top 5s, 17 Top 10s, one fast time, two B-main wins and five Heat wins. He is just three points behind first place in the series points standings.

• Darrin Bolton, 2006 BCRA (Dirt) Rookie of the Year, running with USAC Western States and American Sprint Car Series in 2007, is featured in the June issue of FLAT OUT Magazine http://mompub.com/flatout.php. Unfortunately, he sustained a compression fracture in his vertebrae racing a sprint car at Manzanita on May 26, and will be out for at several months. He was planning on running several BCRA races in 2007 and hopes to be able to race again soon.

His website is www.xxracing.com.

• Shannon McQueen won her first Midget feature at Madera Speedway on July 7. DMS Race Products driver Paul Zimmerly set fast time at the USAC-WS race as well. McQueen placed fifth in her #7 Spike/Esslinger followed by Scott Pierovich in sixth in Lance Pierovich’s #35 Stealth/Mopar at the USAC-Western States Midget race at Ventura on June 9. McQueen’s web site is www.shannonmcqueen.com.

• BCRA Midget Lite ace Scott Kinney of Citrus Heights claimed sixth in the Pacific Sprints feature at Placerville on June 30, after winning the B-main. Fellow Midget Lite alum, Richard Bailey placed 10th.

Bailey also placed 11th in the Pacific Sprints feature at Placerville on July 4 and 6th in the California Civil War Sprint series race at Placerville on June 23. Kinney placed 6th.

• Fellow Midget Lite grad Brad Sweet of Grass Valley set fast time, clocking in as the only driver breaking twelve seconds at the 410 Sprint race at Silver Dollar Speedway on July 6. He placed 4th in the A-main.

• Two-time Midget Lite champion Jeff Griffin piloted his #50 410 Winged Sprint Car to 15th in the A-main and 5th in the B-main on July 14 at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.

• Two-time reigning BCRA champion John Sarale finished third at the Washington Midget Racing Association (WMRA) race at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval on July 14 driving the Glenn Seidelman #4 Hawk/Esslinger. Sarale triumphed in the “B” Dash and First Heat race.

• Prior to setting Fast time at the USAC-Western States Midget race on June 16 and claiming fourth in the feature, BCRA hardcharger Scott Pierovich was involved in a practice accident at the ½-mile speedway in Tracy destroying his frame. He, his dad, and his crew thrashed all night Friday transferring the good parts over to a new frame.

DMS Race Products drivers Paul Zimmerly and Justin Melton finished third and fifth respectively, while BCRA Hall of Famer Bob Rosen’s #4 Mr. Espresso Beast/Fontana placed sixth with driver Tony Hunt aboard.

• Pierovich also placed fourth at the USAC-WS race in Bakersfield on June 23. Clovis’ Brian Gard, the BCRA season-opener victor Brian Gard set fast time.

• Robby Flock, a semi-regular in BCRA Midget competition finished fifth at the prestigious Belleville Midget Nationals on July 28 piloting on of Mike Sala’s always-strong #19 Midgets.

If you have any additions to the list, feel free to E-mail Robert Haugh at checkered2154@aol.com.