BCRA champion to race at Indy in "BC39"

Defending Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) series champion Maria Cofer a group of several BCRA  drivers entered for “The Driven2SaveLives BC39 presented by NOS Energy Drink” midget race set to take place next week on the new quarter-mile dirt oval located inside turn three of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2 ½-mile oval.

Maria is scheduled to pilot the #97 Spike/Toyota entered by Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) as part of the nine-car KKM team. The race honors the memory of fallen racer Bryan Clauson who was born in Carmichael California and went on to capture three national midget championships.      

In addition to Ms.Cofer who hails from Macdoel, California regular BCRA competitors Robert Dalby from Anaheim, David Prickett from Fresno and Randi Pankratz who lives in Atascadero are all set to make the long tow east to the greatest race course in the world and take part is what is billed as the richest midget racing event in recent history, the event will feature a purse that totals more than $70,000 with incentives, topped by the $15,000 winner's purse. Also on the entry list for the “BC39” is 2007 BCRA champion Justin Grant, who now lives and races in Indiana.

The first night of racing action on Wednesday, September 5, will feature hot laps, heat races and a pursuit race. On Thursday, September 6, on-track action will begin with hot laps, as all cars will practice with their respective qualifying races, followed by qualifying races and the “alphabet races” as used at the Chili Bowl Nationals all which lead up to the 39-lap A-Main event.   

NBC Sports will the air event in a one-hour recap package on Friday, September 7 at 3 PM Pacific time with complete coverage of the two-day event.  

Maria Cofer wins

with a clean sweep

at Placerville Speedway

Maria Cofer, her father John, and crewman Bobby Boone should have brought a broom with them to Placerville Speedway for the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) midget races Saturday night August 25.  Cofer, the defending BCRA series champion in the Tule Vista Ranches-sponsored Spike/Esslinger executed a “clean sweep,” as she posted the fastest qualifying time, won her preliminary heat race, and then topped off her night with a dominant victory in the 20-lap feature.

Off the trailer the Cofer #57 midget sported this trick visor,

built by John Cofer's Flying Farmer Fabrications

but it was replaced by a conventional visor by race time

The BCRA midgets at Placerville Speedway exhibited a remarkable variety of engines, as in addition to Esslinger and Fontana engines, Dr. Brad Dodenhoff debuted his new all-billet Chevrolet based engine for son Sean in the #9D, Robert Dalby’s #4D entry sported a new Van Dyne Engineering Mopar W9RP engine, while Beau Lemire’s #24 car featured a flat four-cylinder Subaru powerplant and Mike McCluney debuted his new #73 midget powered by a Ecotec 2.4-liter engine driven by Keoni Texeira.

As the first car out,  Dalby set the early pace in time trials and recorded a best lap of 12.136 seconds, which none of the other BCRA challengers that included David Prickett, Randi Pankratz, JR Williams, Sean Dodenhoff, Marvin Mitchell and Lemire could eclipse. As the next-to-last car out to qualify, Maria Cofer in her familiar black white and red #57 roared around the Placerville ¼-mile clay oval in just 12.080 seconds on her first lap then improved on her second lap with a run of 12.043 seconds to post the fast time for the evening.    

Following Cofer’s memorial lap that honored BCRA Hall of Fame member Howard Segur, Junior (see separate article), the BCRA midgets lined up for their 8-lap heat race with Marvin Mitchell and David Prickett on the front row and Dalby and Cofer deep in the field on the third row. At the drop of the green flag, Prickett jumped into the lead but on lap two Pankratz grabbed the point. On the third lap, Randi tried the high side of turn two but lost momentum which opened the door for Cofer to blast past into the lead which she never relinquished. Cofer was trailed across the finish line by Dodenhoff, Pankratz, Dalby, Prickett, Mitchell and JR Williams.

After the heat race was completed, the Dodenhoff #9D was withdrawn with an engine problem, as the all-new billet powerplant finished the race on just three cylinders, and McCluney also withdrew his #73 with an apparent fuel pump failure.  Maria Cofer drew the “0” pill in the redraw for the feature line-up which meant the evening’s fastest qualifier started the 20-lap feature from the coveted pole position with second fastest qualifier Robert Dalby on her outside.

Unfortunately, before the evening’s feature race began, the #14 of Beau Lemire came to a stop with terminal issues with the Subaru engine and was done for the night. When the green flag was shown, Cofer rocketed into the lead with Prickett in hot pursuit trailed by Pankratz and Dalby, who spun the black #4D to a stop in turn two on the eleventh lap for the race’s first caution period. After the restart, Cofer quickly rebuilt her lead to over five car lengths ahead of Prickett until the yellow caution flag flew again on lap 17, this time for Randi Pankratz’ yellow #8 stopped in turn three.

 Bobby Boone (Left) Maria Cofer, and John Cofer

celebrate their third BCRA victory of 2018

When the racing action resumed, over the final laps David Prickett was not able to get close enough to the flying Cofer to challenge for the lead and Cofer romped home to her third BCRA victory of the 2018 season with a two-car length victory over Prickett’s #24X. Robert Dalby overcame a throttle response issue to finish third ahead of Randi Pankratz who recovered from her earlier problem to finish fourth. Marvin Mitchell edged out JR Williams for fifth place, while Beau Lemire as awarded a seventh place ‘did not finish’ result.

Next up for the BCRA mighty midgets will be the 46th annual Harvest Classic at Madera Speedway, as the midgets will appear in the program together with the Western Winged Super Sprint Series, United States Auto Club (USAC) Western Midgets, Northern California Modified Association (NCMA) Sprints, California Supermodified Series (CSS) 360 Super Modifieds, the Legends of Kearney Bowl and the California Hard Tops, plus supercharged multi-engine pulling tractors.        

Austin Williams wins a shocker at the PAS

The author attended the “California Racers Hall of Fame” race program Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway (PAS) which featured the Lightning Sprints, the PAS Young Guns sprint cars, PAS Senior sprint cars, and as  the featured class,  the USAC/CRA sprint cars.


The author attended the event as a guest of Kim Kazarian and Chris Holt, and as always, the PAS staff were warm and welcoming, and the half-mile facility looks just as pristine as when the author attended his first race at the PAS in its first year of operation in 1996.

Photo by the author

Before the racing program kicked off the PAS hosted a Hall of Fame autograph session that featured a “who’s who” of California racing, including Richard and Claudia Woodland, Tommy and Tony Hunt, John Redican, George Blacker, Shane Carson, Jimmy Oskie, Brad Nofsinger and many more (there were too many to list, and our apologies to those we overlooked.) 


The author was honored to assist Shane Carson and Jimmy Oskie in their efforts to raise money to aid veteran CRA racer and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame member Bob Hogle, who at age 84 is at home in Phelan California on the mend from a broken hip.


At the same time, behind the main grandstand there was also an impressive display of vintage race cars from the Western Racing Association including two of Junior Kurtz' dirt champ cars.  

Damion Gardner in the Alexander #4 sponsored by Trench Shoring who topped the speed charts at 16.662 seconds in time trials for the twenty-two USAC/CRA sprint cars. The "Demon" was trailed by Brody Roa at 16.764 seconds with Cody Williams in third as the only other car in the 16-second bracket with a best lap of 16.885 seconds.

The evening's racing program began with the Junior Kurtz trophy dash, which was conducted in four sets of three-lap dashes with each of the four-car taking a turn as the pole position starter. Gardner dominated and won the first three dashes before he settled for second place in the fourth and final dash. Gardner as the leading point earner won the dash series over Roa and the brothers Cody and Austin Williams. Victories in the subsequent three ten-lap heat races went to Gardner, Roa, and Max Adams, who was hot off his recent win at Santa Maria Speedway.

Arizona’s Tye Mihocko and Adams shared the front row for the 30-lap feature with Danny Sheridan and Austin Williams in row two, Roa and Gardner in row three, and Cody Williams and RJ Johnson, the new driver of the Mooser Racing #92 the fourth row starters.


Max Adams led the first three circuits until Damion Gardner powered past to take the point on the fourth lap. In the early stages of the race, the lead pair of cars, leader Gardner with Roa close behind, built a straightway cushion over third place Sheridan when the caution flag flew on lap 13.

When racing resumed, Gardner continued to lead, but steadily fell back in the clutches of Roa who took over command of the race on lap 23. Two laps later, as Roa and Gardner raced through turns three and four in heavy traffic, their cars made contact, and Damion’s sliver #4 flipped. Almost simultaneously, the left rear tire on Sheridan’s fluorescent red #12 car exploded in spectacular fashion.  

All the carnage left Austin “the Big Game Hunter” Williams in the lead in the John Jory #2 with Max Adams second and Cody Williams in the #44 Jory machine third.  The last four laps were run without incident with Austin taking the win over Adams, and brother Cody with Danny Faria Junior in fourth place as Brody Roa made a great recovery to finish fifth.


Faria, who had started 12^th was awarded the race’s hard charger award, while Roa’s finish moved him into the lead of the USAC/CRA points with half the season yet to run.   

     

What did you build today?

 

 

 

 

 

While touring the show floor at the 2017 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show, the author encountered this unique display at the K1 Technologies booth. K1 USA made "RACEREADY" connecting rods and crankshafts are a cut above the average and are held to some of the tightest accepted tolerances in the racing industry. Both the rods and cranks are made from premium 4340 steel and the original design of the K1 Technologies line of connecting rods saves weight without sacrificing strength.

 

 

Before any finish work is done, K1 rods are 100% magnetic particle inspected and after they are honed in-house they are weight-matched into sets and boxed, with the rotating, reciprocating and total weights noted for convenient use in the balancing process. K1 crankshafts are core hardened for increased tensile strength and fatigue life and are 100% mag particle inspected with bearing surfaces are polished and gas nitrided surface hardened for wear resistance.

 

For more information visit http://www.k1technologies.com/


Photos by the author

George Poteet’s 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan

 

This 1932 Ford Tudor Sedan owned by George Poteet, the well-known hot rodder from Memphis Tennessee  was a featured part of the Ford exhibit at the 2017 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) show in Las Vegas.

 

Photo by the author

 

The real-steel car was built by Alan Johnson of Gadsen Alabama and is a multiple award winning car, as it was one of the “Great Eight” finalists for the Ridler Award at the Detroit Autorama, was named the Goodguys Street Rod of the Year and won the Ford award for outstanding achievement of design at the SEMA show.

 

Photo courtesy of SEMA

 

Photo by the author

 

Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop chopped the top 3-inches in front and 2-inches in the rear and leaned the A-pillars back eight degrees. At the rear the crew raised the rear wheel openings three inches, and re-arched them and rotated them forward to outline the rear wheels which are Coker Tire Firestone dirt track tires around Real Rodders magnesium Indy wheels. The completed body was covered in a glistening custom black mix PPG paint.

  

Photo by the author

 

The powerplant is a 339-cubic inch Ford Y-Block V-8 engine with FAST WFI electronic fuel injection built by Keith and Jeff Dorton with Johnson’s custom machined valve covers and beehive oil filter. The engine’s 400 horsepower is fed through a Tremec TKO 600 five-speed manual transmission to the Winters Performance V-8 quick change rear end.  The interior floorboards were assembled from more than 275 pieces of laser-cut high-density aircraft-quality plywood with leather wrapped 1932 Ford seats.