"I'll travel anywhere to race rewinds!" says San Diego's Gary "Kensington" Morgan.

February 20^th 1999 was a great day for a race. This California winter set aside the perfect day in Simi Valley and that brought out the usual guys for another bash. Garry had his 21st Century track in perfect condition for the event, and a round of main events was the order of the day.

After meeting with some potential new racers that stopped in, the Amateurs were ready to go with their Tyco super stocks. Top Qualifier Johnny Cukras parlayed his quick time into a main event win. Jim, Glenn, and Johnny traded the lead for the first 3 heats until Johnny ran red and took over and opened it up some for the win. Jim hung tough and drove a fine race to finish 2^nd. Glenn Bachman had his best race of ’99 and was just a couple of laps back in 3^rd. Oscar Morales had much trouble on the tight end of the track and was 4^th. Aaron Wakamatsu had many car problems this day and was 5^th.

The Tomy super stocks and our Amateurs make for some great races. Glenn Bachman took off at the start of this race and with Oscar Morales in tow, they proceeded to pull out a good lead that lasted until the half way mark of the race. Then Pole Sitter Jim Williams and Johnny Cukras started to fly and charged to the front. At the finish, Jim had himself a come from behind win and was jetting. Johnny was back a bit from Jim, but had a great 2^nd. Glenn podiumed again in 3^rd, but in this race flirted with the lead. Oscar had the worst, and I don’t mean Brat, orange lane of the day and was 4^th. Aaron Wakamatsu had still more car problems and was 5^th.

Best Appearing race car competition has been Jim Williams' personal category lately, and this event was no different. I do not have the results here to report on, but I believe Jim took 1^st and 2^nd place, with Milt Surratt garnishing 3^rd. Good Show!

The Experts were next and the Tyco super stock class was up 1^st. Rick Jocham has been on a tear lately, and his win in this event just started his truly fine run over the next 3 weeks. Rick won two races today and also had wins in Arizona and San Diego. What a run! Chris Wiley kept Rick in sight this race with a good 2^nd. Milt Surratt just kept on keeping on in 3^rd. John Cukras took the pole in this event and stopped Rick from taking everything today! John also finished 4^th. Garry Haworth had a few quick heats and was 5^th. John Wakamatsu had many problems and was 6^th.

The last race of the day was upon us and the Expert R/O race looked to be a good one. But, no one told Rick Jocham. Rick parlayed his Pole to record a 30 plus lap win! Wow! Milt Surratt had the lead for the 1^st two heats and ended up a super 2^nd. John Wakamatsu drove a splendid race to the podium in 3^rd. John Cukras battled John from the start to the finish, and finished one lap down in 4^th. Doug Shepard was blindingly fast, but purple and orange lane took their toll and he was 5^th. Chris Wiley had a turn marshal accident with his gears and was 6^th. Gary Morgan had a broken chassis and fought it for awhile until he retired in 7^th.

This early warm up for the Springnats was a lot of fun, and the weather this winter has been just great on race day. Thank you Garry for a super track to race on. See you at Chris Wiley’s  for the next round. Get ready for the Springnats! Info will be sent out soon.

- John Cukras