[FishBurger]

This one only goes back 15 years. Hope others here will enjoy the look back, as I did.

Qualifications - 23 cars
17 Tony Elliott - 17.377
90 Tom Downing - 18.263
4 Rickie Gaunt - 17.495
4 Kenny Irwin, Jr. - 17.274
21 Bobby Michnowicz - 17.985
17 Charles Davis, Jr. - 17.982
57 Ron DiDonato - 17.314
09 Rusty McClure - 17.356
81 Jon Stanbrough - 17.766
26 Scott Burns - 18.426
93 Matt Lamborn - 18.422
63 Jack Hewitt - 17.397
36 Dave Darland - 17.131
4 Mike Kirby - 17.672
6 Bill Rose - 17.421
4 Tray House - 17.495
63 Mike English - 17.737
91 Lealand McSpadden - 16.801 QUICK TIME (by a bunch)
47 Rip Williams - 17.600
12 Doug Kalitta - 17.814
79 Gary Fisher - 17.923
10 Troy Cline - 18.130
2 Eric Gordon - 17.814

Note: Track Record at that time was held by Richard Griffin at 15.796. I don't remember now why he wasn't there for this race.

First Heat
1. Jack Hewitt (from 4th); 2. Lealand McSpadden; 3. Eric Gordon; 4. Jon Stanbrough

Second Heat
1. Gary Fisher (from the Pole); 2. Rusty McClure; 3. Rip Williams; 4. Bill Rose

Third Heat
1. Doug Kalitta (from 3rd); 2. Kenny Irwin, Jr.; 3. Charles Davis, Jr.; 4. Tony Elliott

Semi-Feature
1. Dave Darland (from the pole); 2. Rickie Gaunt; 3. Tray House; 4. Mike Kirby

Feature..................Finish
.4 Mike Kirby........................5
.6 Bill Rose..........................19
63 Jack Hewitt......................1 (The Winner)
17 Tony Elliott......................3
09 Rusty McClure..................2
.4 Kenny Irwin, Jr..................4
36 Dave Darland...................11
91 Lealand McSpadden..........18
.4 Tray House.......................9
47 Rip Williams......................6
.4 Rickie Gaunt.....................17
81 Jon Stanbrough.................7
12 Doug Kalitta.....................12
.2 Eric Gordon.......................10
79 Gary Fisher......................13
17 Charles Davis, Jr...............16
21 Bobby Michnowicz..............8
57 Ron DiDonato....................15
90 Tom Downing....................14
10 Troy Cline........................20

Additional CRA Recollections:
- Seems I recall that Tom Downing was or had been a jet pilot which us midwestern goobers found fascinating.
- Unlike night 2 (more on that later) this was a clean night with no flips.
- On night 2 of this CRA Eastern Tour Lealand McSpadden was again FQ at 16.992.
- Gary Fisher took the #79 out of the ballpark in turn 1 on his qual. lap. He was O.K., the car.....not so much.
- A night 2 addition, Robbie Stanley ran the Hoffman 69. Other newbies were #16 Jerry Nemire and #5 Terry Shepherd.
- McSpadden, Hewitt, & Darland won the night 2 heats. Rip Williams took the Semi. The GREAT Lealand McSpadden won the feature.
- Tony Elliott and Charles Davis, Jr. on the lids in feature. Both O.K.
- After CRA returned from the Far East (PA) 8 of their guys ran at Lawrenceburg on 5/22/93 where Bill Rose was quick timer at 12.483; Heats were won by McSpadden, Williams, and Darland and the Semi by Hewitt.
- 'Burg feature was won by some young charger (:confused in a #5 by the name of Kevin Briscoe followed by Mike Kirby, Jack Hewitt, Gary Fisher, Randy Kinser,
Larry Bland, Lealand McSpadden, Dave Darland, Robbie Stanley, and Bill Rose rounded out the top 10.

And now, I gotta go get settled in to root for Bryan Clauson in the Nationwide race. He was the 8th quickest timer and the fastest Dodge. Take 'er to the front BC. :applaud:
:checkered:

[AustinSprinter]

Thanks for da Trivia "Fish"...Go B.C.!!.....Brucer'

Originally Posted by FishBurger This one only goes back 15 years. Hope others here will enjoy the look back, as I did. Qualifications - 23 cars 17 Tony Elliott - 17.377 90 Tom Downing - 18.263 4 Rickie Gaunt - 17.495 4 Kenny Irwin, Jr. - 17.274 21 Bobby Michnowicz - 17.985 17 Charles Davis, Jr. - 17.982 57 Ron DiDonato - 17.314 09 Rusty McClure - 17.356 81 Jon Stanbrough - 17.766 26 Scott Burns - 18.426 93 Matt Lamborn - 18.422 63 Jack Hewitt - 17.397 36 Dave Darland - 17.131 4 Mike Kirby - 17.672 6 Bill Rose - 17.421 4 Tray House - 17.495 63 Mike English - 17.737 91 Lealand McSpadden - 16.801 QUICK TIME (by a bunch) 47 Rip Williams - 17.600 12 Doug Kalitta - 17.814 79 Gary Fisher - 17.923 10 Troy Cline - 18.130 2 Eric Gordon - 17.814 Note: Track Record at that time was held by Richard Griffin at 15.796. I don't remember now why he wasn't there for this race. First Heat 1. Jack Hewitt (from 4th); 2. Lealand McSpadden; 3. Eric Gordon; 4. Jon Stanbrough Second Heat 1. Gary Fisher (from the Pole); 2. Rusty McClure; 3. Rip Williams; 4. Bill Rose Third Heat 1. Doug Kalitta (from 3rd); 2. Kenny Irwin, Jr.; 3. Charles Davis, Jr.; 4. Tony Elliott Semi-Feature 1. Dave Darland (from the pole); 2. Rickie Gaunt; 3. Tray House; 4. Mike Kirby Feature..................Finish .4 Mike Kirby........................5 .6 Bill Rose..........................19 63 Jack Hewitt......................1 (The Winner) 17 Tony Elliott......................3 09 Rusty McClure..................2 .4 Kenny Irwin, Jr..................4 36 Dave Darland...................11 91 Lealand McSpadden..........18 .4 Tray House.......................9 47 Rip Williams......................6 .4 Rickie Gaunt.....................17 81 Jon Stanbrough.................7 12 Doug Kalitta.....................12 .2 Eric Gordon.......................10 79 Gary Fisher......................13 17 Charles Davis, Jr...............16 21 Bobby Michnowicz..............8 57 Ron DiDonato....................15 90 Tom Downing....................14 10 Troy Cline........................20 Additional CRA Recollections: - Seems I recall that Tom Downing was or had been a jet pilot which us midwestern goobers found fascinating. - Unlike night 2 (more on that later) this was a clean night with no flips. - On night 2 of this CRA Eastern Tour Lealand McSpadden was again FQ at 16.992. - Gary Fisher took the #79 out of the ballpark in turn 1 on his qual. lap. He was O.K., the car.....not so much. - A night 2 addition, Robbie Stanley ran the Hoffman 69. Other newbies were #16 Jerry Nemire and #5 Terry Shepherd. - McSpadden, Hewitt, & Darland won the night 2 heats. Rip Williams took the Semi. The GREAT Lealand McSpadden won the feature. - Tony Elliott and Charles Davis, Jr. on the lids in feature. Both O.K. - After CRA returned from the Far East (PA) 8 of their guys ran at Lawrenceburg on 5/22/93 where Bill Rose was quick timer at 12.483; Heats were won by McSpadden, Williams, and Darland and the Semi by Hewitt. - 'Burg feature was won by some young charger (:confused in a #5 by the name of Kevin Briscoe followed by Mike Kirby, Jack Hewitt, Gary Fisher, Randy Kinser, Larry Bland, Lealand McSpadden, Dave Darland, Robbie Stanley, and Bill Rose rounded out the top 10. And now, I gotta go get settled in to root for Bryan Clauson in the Nationwide race. He was the 8th quickest timer and the fastest Dodge. Take 'er to the front BC. :applaud: :checkered:

Great stuff there, thanks for that post.:applaud:

[smith19]

Fish, i was at the race at the burg. Went to the pits that night and talked to him. Was asking him about the bailey bros (01) car of whom he made his first visit to the midwest for the eldora nationals. He's a hell of a nice guy. He signed my new shirt and i put it in the smith household hall of fame. You mentioned the gary fisher crash. That was one of the oddest crashes ever. I just wached it on tape and the car twiched, the left rear dug in and there he went. Can't believe he wasn't hurt. This began to happen at the flag stand.

[Ovalmeister]

[QUOTE=FishBurger....Additional CRA Recollections:Seems I recall that Tom Downing was or had been a jet pilot which us midwestern goobers found fascinating.
QUOTE]

I used to help Freeman Downing and his NEMA midget team. (Tom's Dad). I've known the Downing family since the mid 80's and don't recall Tom ever being a jet pilot. You may be thinking of another west coast driver (Tom Ball) from New Mexico. I believe he was an active jet fighter pilot, attached to a reserve squadron in NM. He used to come over alot and run with us at Manzanita in AZ. Not sure what ever became of him but he was a regular back in the CRA/SCRA heydays.
David.

A little addition to the trivia:

- After it took a good long bit to get the Evans 79 back over the wall and get the fence somewhat patched up, Hewitt came down to dad's pit and was pleading with him to get the car back together because he was running so well before the crash. Obviously that didn't happen.

- Surprisingly, the motor wasn't hurt even though it screamed to the tune of 9200 rpm during the flip. That was a big, big number back then. The digital tach that was in that car is used to this day in the Edison 10E. Unless it didn't survive Weir's season-ending crash at Kokomo.

- The frame bent in the flip was a Gambler car, I don't remember the year. In the week following the crash, Dad and the guys who helped us back then (Monte, Jerry Davis and others) re-assembled the car with the '89 Gambler used the year before. The ensuing Sunday, Dad won the opener at Kokomo with a primer-gray hood and mostly primer-gray tank. "Spot" was what they called it.

[FishBurger]

[QUOTE=Ovalmeister;73649]

Originally Posted by FishBurger....Additional CRA Recollections:Seems I recall that Tom Downing was or had been a jet pilot which us midwestern goobers found fascinating. QUOTE I used to help Freeman Downing and his NEMA midget team. (Tom's Dad). I've known the Downing family since the mid 80's and don't recall Tom ever being a jet pilot. You may be thinking of another west coast driver (Tom Ball) from New Mexico. I believe he was an active jet fighter pilot, attached to a reserve squadron in NM. He used to come over alot and run with us at Manzanita in AZ. Not sure what ever became of him but he was a regular back in the CRA/SCRA heydays. David.

Right you are David. :thumb Downing.....Ball.....Ball......Downing...the names are so similar, you can see how I might get them mixed up. :wink I did get the "Tom" part right. Thanx for straightening me out. I still have a great memory.....it just doesn't last as long as it once did. :doh: :headbang

[DonRacer]

[QUOTE=Ovalmeister;73649]

Originally Posted by FishBurger....Additional CRA Recollections:Seems I recall that Tom Downing was or had been a jet pilot which us midwestern goobers found fascinating. QUOTE I used to help Freeman Downing and his NEMA midget team. (Tom's Dad). I've known the Downing family since the mid 80's and don't recall Tom ever being a jet pilot. You may be thinking of another west coast driver (Tom Ball) from New Mexico. I believe he was an active jet fighter pilot, attached to a reserve squadron in NM. He used to come over alot and run with us at Manzanita in AZ. Not sure what ever became of him but he was a regular back in the CRA/SCRA heydays. David.

Tom Ball still races with the New Mexico Motor Racing Association (NMMRA)
In addition to flying an F-16 for the National Guard he flies a Boeing 737 for
Southwest Airlines.

[KOP]

[QUOTE=Ovalmeister;73649]

Originally Posted by FishBurger....Additional CRA Recollections:Seems I recall that Tom Downing was or had been a jet pilot which us midwestern goobers found fascinating. QUOTE I used to help Freeman Downing and his NEMA midget team. (Tom's Dad). I've known the Downing family since the mid 80's and don't recall Tom ever being a jet pilot. You may be thinking of another west coast driver (Tom Ball) from New Mexico. I believe he was an active jet fighter pilot, attached to a reserve squadron in NM. He used to come over alot and run with us at Manzanita in AZ. Not sure what ever became of him but he was a regular back in the CRA/SCRA heydays. David.

Your correct on Tom Ball there Davey boy. He is doing OK in New Mexico. He was the president of the NMMRA ( www.nmmra.com ) for a spell and still straps into his sprinter now and then. If I recall correctly, he recently retired as a commercial pilot from Southwest Airlines. He comes to Chili Bowl each year traveling in his motor home and is one hell of a funny dude!

[Ovalmeister]

Marv, I completely relate to the memory statement, I too suffer the affliction! :O:
Great trip back in time though, keep 'em comin.

DonRacer, thanks for the update on Tom Ball, I often wonder what happened to some of those guys. Glad to hear he is still getting after it!

KOP, John...I'm thinkin of hittin the Chili Bowl...what do you think, good idea? :thumb
David.