Perris Is Eagerly Awaiting the Return of 'the Demon'

By SHAV GLICK

May 13, 2005 12 AM PT

The fortunate folks who were at Perris Auto Speedway two weeks ago still are shaking their heads over the daring deeds of Damion Gardner, a 31-year-old driver from Concord, Calif., in the evening’s USAC/CRA sprint car program.

Known as “the Demon” among enthusiasts of the dirt-throwing 800-horsepower racing monsters because of his aggressive driving tactics, Gardner had a night for the ages in Ron Chaffin’s red No. 50.

Gardner followed that up with a victory last week at Ventura Raceway, and Saturday night back at Perris’ half-mile clay oval he will try to become the first USAC/CRA driver this year to win three consecutive races.

The night at Perris two weeks ago began with Gardner’s coming within two-tenths of a second of breaking his track record for the non-winged sprinters.

Then things began to go wrong.

In a three-lap trophy dash, Gardner collided with Bobby Cody of Costa Mesa. Then he finished last in his heat, after crashing when several cars spun out ahead of him. It was worse in the B main, when he finished last again after getting a flat tire from running over his broken torsion arm.

Fortunately, the team had a provisional starting spot, so Gardner started 23rd -- last -- in the 30-lap main event. By the 19th lap he had threaded his way to sixth place, but ahead were some of the finest sprint car drivers in the country. One by one, he reeled them in, keeping the crowd on its feet as he passed series champion Rip Williams, former Arizona champion Charles Davis Jr., former Oval Nationals winner Tony Jones, former CRA champion Mike Kirby and, finally, with two laps to go, Cory Kruseman, the two-time defending Oval Nationals champion.

“It was incredible,” said long-time racing observer Rodger Garrett of Loma Linda. “It was something that deserved to be seen on national television.”

After 10 of 32 scheduled races, Williams continues to hold a narrow lead over Kirby, 571-541, with Davis, 537, and Gardner, 521, within striking distance. Kirby, who won the old California Racing Assn. championship in 1993, and Gardner are the only back-to-back winners this year.

Legends Cars

H. A. “Humpy” Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., is considered one of America’s outstanding motor racing promoters. Elliott Forbes-Robinson, a longtime resident of La Crescenta, is considered an icon among American sports car drivers.

Their racing legacy, however, may be more lasting through their design and creation of the Legends Car, a revolutionary low-cost machine made of fiberglass on a five-eighths scale of the old pre-NASCAR modifieds of the 1930s, the ones raced by such legendary characters as Buck Baker, Speedy Thompson, Curtis Turner and Banjo Matthews.

The first Legends model was unveiled in April 1992 at Charlotte (now Lowe’s) Motor Speedway. It was powered by a Yamaha motorcycle engine that produced about 130 horsepower.

“We knew we had to find a way to provide racing without the astronomical costs that were keeping people out of the sport,” Wheeler said. “The car counts were dropping and we felt something new and less expensive was needed. Legends are not only affordable, they are fun to look at. They have a nostalgic look that appeals to fans.”

The Legends cars are mostly replicas of 1934-37 Ford sedans, 1937 Chevy coupes and flat-back sedans, 1937 Dodge couples and 1940 Ford sedans.

All are constructed by 600 Racing, Inc., of Charlotte and strict rules prohibit modifications to chassis, tires, brakes, shocks or engines. They weigh only 1,080 pounds and have a 73-inch wheelbase. By contrast, a Nextel Cup car weighs 3,400 pounds with a 110-inch wheelbase.

There are now more than 3,000 Legends cars racing on more than 200 tracks -- dirt and paved ovals and road courses -- in the country. Many prominent drivers, such as NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch and his brother Kyle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Casey Atwood gained experience driving the little cars.

At Irwindale Speedway, where 33 cars showed up last week, Legends run on the low-banked third-mile oval in the center of the half-mile track. They make up one of the track’s most popular series, and will be back a week from Saturday.

Kurt Busch was national Legends rookie of the year in 1996 before winning the Featherlite Southwest Series championship in 1999. He entered a Legends event at Irwindale in 1999 and swept the card, winning the pole, the trophy dash, his heat and the main event. The next year, the Las Vegas youngster hooked up with Jack Roush’s Cup team and four years later was the series champion.

Kyle Busch was only a month past his 14th birthday when he slipped into a Legends car at Irwindale on June 6, 1999, and after qualifying 12th, finished fifth.

“These little cars pack a real wallop,” said Bob DeFazio, Irwindale’s general manager whose son Nick started his racing career in one. “They’re quite fast, and they reward good driving. I can’t think of a better place for a young driver to start a NASCAR career.”

Young DeFazio is now racing and working in North Carolina.

Forbes-Robinson, 62, who had a memorable road-racing career in Southern California before moving to Sherrills Ford, N.C., two decades ago, won several SCCA events in his Legends car.

“It stunned everyone,” he said after the first sports car race in which he competed -- and won.

Last Laps

Boris Said, the versatile veteran from Carlsbad, became the first American to be on the winning team in the German 24-Hour Race, which concluded Sunday at the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit, a 15.5-mile, 186-turn course.

Greg Pursley won the

NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series national championship last year while driving in the super late model division at Irwindale. This season, another Irwindale driver, Todd Southwell of San Marcos, is the Division IV leader with 270 points. Southwell, who has won two races and will be in Saturday night’s super late model main event, holds a 12-point advantage over Wade Buttrey of Fairview, Va. Buttrey competes at Music City Motorplex in Nashville. Southwell’s margin as the Irwindale points leader, however, is only two over Andrew Phipps of Simi Valley.

In the confusing NASCAR ladder system, the AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series, will hold a race Saturday night at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield. Auggie Vidovich II, the defending series champion from Lakeside, will be after his second consecutive win.

This Week

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP

Chevy American Revolution 400

* When: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3 p.m.); Saturday, race (FX, 4:30 p.m.).

* Where: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (tri-oval, three-quarter mile, 14-degree banking in turns).

* Race distance: 300 miles, 400 laps.

* 2004 winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

* Next race: All-Star Challenge, May 21, Concord, N.C.

NASCAR BUSCH

Funai 250

* When: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 1:30 p.m.), race (FX, 5 p.m.).

* Where: Richmond International Raceway.