Motor Racing / Steven Fleischman : Even the Big Wheels Have Trouble With Tires

There are countless mechanical parts on a car that can malfunction during a race. Some are easy to spot--carburetors, brakes, fuel pumps--while others can befuddle the most experienced mechanic.

But sometimes it’s the most obvious component--the tires--that cause the greatest problems. A case in point took place in last Saturday’s NASCAR Southwest Tour race at Placer County Speedway in Roseville.

Points leader Dan Press of Frazier Park had a two-race winning streak end when a bad valve core allowed air to escape from a tire, forcing him into the pits on the 23rd lap. Press finished 13th.

Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale was in second on lap No. 83, ready to pass leader and eventual winner Roy Hooper Jr., also of Palmdale, when a cut tire forced him into the pits and a 12th-place finish.

And Roman Calczynski of Sepulveda, who has been plagued by mechanical problems all season but had the fastest qualifying time (12.223 seconds), finished seventh with mismatched tires. A stagger gave way on one tire, causing vibration in the chassis.

“Normally every gun had one guy in the pits that handles nothing but tires,” Press said. “When that guy has problems or something goes wrong, it can really hurt you.”

Said Calczynski: “It was very hot out there. One little rock can cut right through the tires.”

M. K. Kanke of Granada Hills finished second in the race, two seconds behind Hooper, who recorded his second victory of the tour.

Press, who has five wins, remains atop the standings with 1,616 points, ahead of Bakersfield’s Mike Chase, with 1,427; Hooper is third with 1,396, followed closely by Kanke with 1,390.

The Southwest Tour continues tonight with the Olympia 100 in Eureka and Aug. 4 with the American National Bank 100 in Bakersfield.

Trivia Question: With Saturday’s victory in the Winston 100 at Saugus Speedway, Dave Phipps, a resident of Simi Valley, has won the race three consecutive years. Who is the only other driver to win the Winston 100?

Set an example: Rick Crow of Canyon Country and Eric Foster of North Hollywood are two of a growing number of drivers at Saugus Speedway trying to clean up the image of the rough-and-tough auto racer.

Crow and Foster do not allow alcohol in their pit areas after races and avoid rough language to set an example for children. Crow started this policy at the beginning of the season and says it is modeled after his childhood racing idol, Ron Hornaday, Jr., a past Saugus competitor now on the NASCAR Southwest Tour.

“If people can’t bring their kids out to the races they won’t come,” Crow said. “In the long run it will help us because the more fans that come, the larger our purses will be. . . .

“There’s been a big change out here the last 15 years, since I’ve been coming. The drivers are becoming more aware of the effects of alcohol. Now the alcohol is locked up in the blockhouse until after the races.”

Crow said that he and other drivers want to start a NASCAR-sponsored fund raiser to generate money for a local group involved in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Ray Wilkins, general manager of the speedway, said that he has spoken to the drivers and that some sort of promotion may be instituted next season. For the past two seasons, Saugus has had a family section where alcohol is prohibited.

For Foster, who has “Hugs, not drugs” painted on the back of his Street Stock car, the cause is a little more personal. He said his wife, Jennifer, is a recovered drug addict.

“There’s so many kids coming out here and watching us . . .,” Foster said. “I work for Caltrans and I see first-hand what happens as a result of drugs and not wearing seat belts.”

Ventura Update: Tonight’s program at Ventura Speedway will include the return of the Outlaw Mini Sprints, along with Modified Midgets. In addition, mini stocks, which run on Friday nights, will be running a double points, 40-lap main event.

The last time Mini Sprints ran at Ventura, Monty Contente crossed the finish first, but was penalized for rough driving, giving the victory to Jim Keener. Both Contente and Keener are expected to return tonight, leading an expected group of 20 racers. Racing starts at 7 p.m.

Trivia Answer: In 1986, Ken Sapper of La Crescenta won the inaugural Winston 100. That year, however, it was a Modified division race, not a Sportsman competition, as it has been since.