The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 45

Woman driver has handled some rough rides John Funk of Bakersfield Calif a member of the Mike Duncan Racing pit crew came ready for racing Saturday at Kansas Speedway really" he said it comes to pit stops we re not worried about speed not at my level Our motto is If tight right' We just want the lugnuts to be tight Take your time get them Could be the makings of a TV commercial: No I've never changed a tire before but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night RACE REPORT WOOD COMES CLOSE drivers started the two races at Kansas Speedway on Saturday Fifty-nine men one woman "Needless to say it can get a little lonely out said Karla Lampe smiling Lampe from Carroll Iowa is one of just two women drivers on the ARCA circuit The other Shawna Robinson make this trip For Lampe race was a step into the big time though she was able to complete just 21 laps because of mechanical problems is the biggest track ever raced she said believe how far it was between turns You keep expecting a turn to come up and you want to let up on the gas a little and then it come something It really Certainly a long journey from the dirt tracks in and around Iowa It was there that Lampe got her start eight years ago and it has been a rough ride at times to say the least "The other drivers and people here (in ARCA) have been really said Lampe who is married and has sue children it was todgh starting out There were some good of boys who didn't especially want to see a woman racing "I can remember some guys really coming after me There was this one time when the leader of the race kept coming around and hitting me this guy leading the race and lapping me yet every time he comes around to lap me again banging into me finally nailed him the next time around the tiling you just have to take care of yourself like any other driver You don't get mad you get ampe too interested in making social statements anyway 'Tve tried to tell people that this about a woman trying to be as good as a she said just Racing fans got their first look and one of the up-and coming drivers in the NASCAR Winston West Series race won by Frank Kimmel Jon Wood 19 was in the pole position and came dose to capturing his first win on the series but an untimely caution flag and the veteran racing skills of Kimmel rele-gated him to second Wood is a third generation com petitor of the Wood Brothers racing family and in his first season on the Winston West Series He qualified fourth and placed 1 1th in bis first Winston West race in February at the Phoenix International Raceway and qualified second and finished second in April at the California Speedway He's also made one start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this season for a brief time Saturday Wood could taste his first Winston West victory But when Johnny Borne No 8 car blew an engine and caused a caution flag going into the 93rd lap Kimmel was able to creep back into contention before finally overtaking Wood down the stretch Wood who did not take his first lead until the 91st lap was not sur prised when Kimmel immediately made a move after the restart "Well I expected it because I knew something was going to http-pen" said Wood whose efforts earned him a check for $10010 was just trying to think how I would get back around him after he passed me" One ARCA driver who make it to Kansas Jity was Jerry Glanville former Ni head coach and a mainstay on I IBO's the Glanville wrecked during last ARCA event in Charlotte NC but he remains a favorite among other ARCA drivers a lot of Buckley said doesn't race that much and he does have a tendency to wreck a lot But really not that bad a driver just always in the wrong place "But whenever he races he draws a crowd but got a lot of stories just fun to hang out There are no atheists in foxholes and noneon pit road either DickVarder is a traveling chaplain for the drivers and he tours wherever they do Varder explains that not here to ease the fearof dying think they have a fear such as that "Varder said "I think they approach it the way a police-man or a fireman would that when they pull on their blue pants or whatever that it might he the last time They approach it that if this is the day they crash and burn then that was meant to To support his travel expenses Varder said he gets money from the drivers but not by passing the oil pan or anything nothing like he said laughing "I even push the offerings They (the drivers) just do it on their own" To reach Jeffrey Flamgan call (816) 234-4492 and leave a message or send e-mail to jflanaganKPkcstarami JIM HAIU IJSThc Kansas City Siar Responding to a sign asking for help with a makeshift pit crew for Mike Buckley on Saturday were Linda VanDrulT (front) Van VanDruff (left) Ronnie Forkner Tom Alexander lxirry Saunders and Mark Weller BAD DAY FOR HOMETOWN HERO BRIGGS love racing not trying to prove anything other than I love to race" As with many other racers on the ARCA circuit finding sponsorship can be a consuming endeavor Heck even finding pit crew members can be a challenge AR(A driver Mike Buckley from Ann Arbor Mich posted a sign on his No 28 car on Saturday morning that he was taking volunteers to join his pit crew just working guys" Buck-ley said had to take two days off of work to get here and not all of my crew was able to do the same So we knew be shorthanded So we asked for help and today I got about six guys to join the pit crew I use the Internet to find help Whatever it Buckley a bit worried that amateurs could accidentally mess up his chances of winning? Randy Briggs said he felt the pressure and bis car felt the heat When bis Ford mid its overheated engine were pushed to the garage after 51 laps of the ARCA RKMAX Series BPIJ 200 Briggs ended a day hoped would prove more impressive to his hometown fans Briggs who's from Kansas City Kan and began driving at Lakeside Speedway received the loud est pre-race cheer of any driver before he started as the ninth-fastest qualifier Saturday could feel the energy when 1 got behind the said Briggs who finished 22nd in a field of 37 rode with my heart They were riding with me every one of With the support though came pressure Briggs said he felt to reward all the well wishers he saw before his homecoming really wanted to finish this thing in front of the hometown" Briggs said knew we had a top 1 0 cm mid thought we had a chance at the top five WHITLOCK: Speed noise add to fun AND HOMETOWN HERO O'NEAL Continued from C-1 one of the few local racers at the speedway on Saturday spun out of control between turns three and four I Iis car eventually plowed into the wall rear-end first and ended day prematurely "I'm OK" be said "It rang my bell a little bit but had hardei crashes" But no bigger disappointments saw this race as his chance to move up from running the local tracks such as 1-70 Speedway in Odessa is my first time at this level of competition" he said ex perience of these drivers is second-to Everything was working even better tlian John O'Neal Jr had envisioned it There he was working his way up from the 21 si spot in the line up of what arguably was the biggest race of bis life He had weaved his way into second place hanging out in the upper echelon 42 laps into the Winston West race lie was racing in his own backyard a local kid whose boyhood home once occupied what is now turn three of the Kansas Speedway a while" he said "il was a dream come Then a cap blew off his left rear tire Winston Cup) Kimmel said as his crew packed up to leave "Financially be rich But going into races knowing that you don't have a real chance at winning would be really hard for me something that talked about with my sponsors It takes one-tenth the budget to do this Can I justify to my sponsors can I get them the exposure?" Saturday he gave his sponsors plenty of exposure 1 Ie had the fastest car in the feature race the BPU 200 Engine trouble the last 1 0 or 15 laps is all that prevented Kimmel from running away from the field Jason Jarrett the son of Dale Jarrett tracked down Kimmel and won the race It was a great two-race show It was a wonderful trial run for the people who run Kansas Speedway It seemed that things could not have run more smoothly Track president Grant Lynch decided to that all racing fans are drunken hillbillies Everybody drinks at CEOs housewives doctors lawyers factory workers let ter carriers race was more proof of my theory about attending auto races or any event If not looking for trouble you find any trouble The people I talked with Saturday were extremely friendly and extremely polite and some were extremely in-t oxicated I didn't have a problem I enjoyed the races something about cars going that fast making that much noise that makes watching them turn left pretty darn exciting 1 forget Frank Kimmel or my first afternoon at Kansas Speedway Jason column normally appears Monday Tuesday Thursday and Sunday To reach him call (816) 234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlockkcstarcom delay the first race 30 minutes to accommodate late-arriving fans No one seemed upset The track itself is breathtaking I iriving up it looks like Arrowhead Stadium doing the splits The grandstand concourse is spacious The concession stands were plentiful Aid at least on the first day the bathrooms were clean As for traffic? I left my inner-city Johnson County shack (1 was forced to move out here by court order) about 9:10 am hopped on I-435West and took exit 13B Traffic was never a problem Probably took me 40 minutes from my front door to the parking lot where I picked up my credentials I watched from the infield most of the day I walked over to the grandstand for the second race because I wanted to mingle with race fans Look don't buy the stereotype local racers told me Kimmel was running the Winston West Kimmel has the skill and the crew for Winston Cup But he likes being the big fish Who can blame him? And good for us on Saturday Kimmel 39 was just the kind of experienced hand we needed for our first race Kimmel started racing in Southern Indiana at age 16 His parents operated a small auto parts store in Clarksville Ind Kimmel left the family business and became a full-time racer two years ago Kimmel the 1 998 and 2000 ARCA RE MAX Series champion has more than 1 90 career starts and nearly 1 00 top-five finishes which is more than any other active ARCA driver He has flirted with Winston Cup know if enjoy it (racing ACCIDENT REPORTS Another driver who was involved in an on-track incident was Ken Small whose car No 14 crashed into the wall in turn one of the 70th lap Small was taken by ambulance to KU Medical Center for chest injuries and is listed in fair condition Borneman who is ranked eighth in NASC AR Winston West Series standings had to eject himself from his car when it caught fire I le was taken to University of Kansas Medical infield center at the track and released without major injury ARCA: Jarrett races past Kimmel MCGRIFF PUCES 14TH Racing veteran Hershel McGriff overcame mechanical difficulties late in the Winston West race to hold on for a 14th place finish McGriff 73 worked his way up to sev enth with 30 laps to go and appeared to be on his way to his third top 10 finish of the year McGriff's top finish this season was fifth at Tucson Raceway Park HITCHING A RIDE As late as Thursday afternoon Ryck Sanders was nothing more than a backup driver with little chance of racing on Saturday But Sanders a mechanical services contractor who lives in Leawood wanted desperately to drive a car So when he found out that some race teams made the trek to Kansas Speedway with more cars than drivers he started making the rounds walked around" he said "and tried to see if I could get in the He did coaxing his way into a Pontiac owned by Keller Motor-sports for the ARCA race Sanders then put together a nice run completing 124 laps and finishing in 14th place of 37 drivers But alas Sanders' day wasn't yet done After the race on Saturday afternoon he scurried out of his car and racked up his belongings Up next: another round of racing at 1-70 Speedway in Odessa later on that night go" said Sanders 35 pulling my own mini-Tony Stewart tonight" The Jason Jarrett tile AGE: 25 HOME: Hickory NC FAMILY TIES: Father is 1999 Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett: grandfather is two-time NASCAR Grand National champion Ned Jarrett BEST ARCA FINISH: race was his first ARCA victory Before that his best finish was a fourth at Salem Ind April 29 OTHER EXPERIENCE: Jarrett has also made 25 career Busch Grand National starts since 1999 He also competed in the Winston Racing Series late-model sportsman division at Hickory knew something was wrong was coming back to Jarrett said He came all the way back on lap 131 After the pass Jarrett said he was afraid to look in his rear-view mirror Afraid Kimmel would be moving back into position to deny him what he has been chasing his whole career The victory he said will give him a major shot of something he needs pretty desperately confidence It also allowed him to gain ground on the ARCA points leader That leader? Kimmel But Jarrett proved Saturday that he is quite capable of passing the No 46 car when he needs to Continued from C-1 0 Kimmel clearly had the strongest cat His only problems appeared to be in the pits as he lost track position just about every time he headed in But every time he came back out of the pits he was able to work back to the lead and do it quickly exactly what happened on the final pit stop of the race On lap 115 he went into the pits under caution first and was fourth when the track went green on lap 121 Five laps later he passed Jarrett and had his fifth lead of the day It was also his final lead of the day Apd it also would mark the unofficial end of his four-race ARCA victory steak Kimmel could not shake Jarrett Not even close Jarrett hung on the bumper of Ford Taurus and stayed in position to make his victory-securing pass The problem for Kimmel was mechanical He had dropped a cylinder and was down on power broke a valve spring or something like Kimmel (Jarrett) was catching me quick" Kimmel said his car was and down the straightaways and Jarrett said he i COMPUINT LINE Marinovich said To that end the Unified Government on Monday will have extra staff on hand and a special phone line for residents who people who experienced problems Ivan Carter Steve Rock Jonathan Rand and Mark WiebeThe Star Wyandotte County Unified Government officials want to hear from anyone who has complaints or concerns related to Saturday's inaugural races such as excessive noise or traffic congestion need to address any concerns that might arise from the race as best we Mayor Carol IOHN SLEEZER Fhe Kansas City Star Jason Jarrett (bottom) put some distance between his car and Frank Kimmel (top left) and Norm Benning as he headed for victory in the ARCA REMAX BPU 200 Saturday.