(June 2, 2021, Yucca Valley, CA) After fourth and 12th place finishes in the POWRi Lightning Sprint Car Nationals last weekend at the Central Missouri Speedway, Jeff Dyer has returned home and will race in the Grand Re Opening of the Ventura Raceway this Saturday night, June 5th. Of course, that will come after the veteran racer and his wife head east to spend three days on the Colorado River.
The trip to the “Show Me State” did not start off the way Dyer would like it. While running third in his heat last Saturday night, plug problems sent him off the track with a last place finish. That meant he had to start on the back row in 13th in one of the B mains against a stacked field and he had to finish in the top four to make it to the A main. The Yucca Valley, California resident got his elbows up and shocked everyone by passing 10 cars to finish third, and locking himself into the A.
The stakes were higher in Saturday’s 25-lap A main. Dyer was pitted against 23 of the top Lightning Sprint Car stars in North America, and he put on a show. Actually, he put on THE SHOW! Starting near the back in the 22nd spot, he began a dramatic march towards the front as soon as the green flag signaled the start of the race. Had the race been two laps longer, in all likelihood, he would have finished third. His high-speed passing clinic netted him the “Main Event Hard Charger.”
Sparked on by his crowd-pleasing performances on Saturday, Dyer was one of the favorites when he returned for the finale on Sunday night. On a lock down track, he started fourth and finished third in his heat. That performance earned his ticket into the A Main without having to run the B like the night before.
For the 30-lap finale, Dyer started 16th. The track proved hard to pass on and while he moved forward, it was not as much as he had hoped for. Especially after the run he turned in on Saturday. When it was all over, he ended up placing 12th in the 24-car field.
All in all, the trip was a pleasure for Jeff and his fellow CLS driver James Turnbull who traveled with him to the Midwest. It was a fun trip for both drivers and the crew, which included Jeff’s crew chief, his teenage son Seth.
A few hours after unloading the hauler, Dyer and his wife Christina got on the road and headed to the Colorado River for three days of rest and relaxation. However, it will be back to the racing grind when he returns home on Friday night to get ready for Ventura’s Grand Re-Opening. It will be the first race at the track in 14 months. For Dyer and his fellow CLS Series drivers, it will be their first race at Ventura since October 26, 2019. On that night Dyer steered his #4 to a seventh-place finish. In six races at the track that is adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in 2019, his best finish was a fourth.
In the first two CLS races in 2021, Dyer got off to a rough start with 15th and 20th place finishes. However, he turned it around in the last two races with seventh and third place results. That sees him come into Saturday’s race fifth in CLS points.
For fans who would like to attend Saturday’s Grand Re-Opening of “The Best Little Dirt Track In America,” tickets are on sale now at http://bitly.ws/dHrg. Spectator gates will open at 3:30 and the first race will be at 5:30. The track is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 W. Harbor Boulevard (93001). The website is http://venturaraceway.com/ and the office phone number is (805) 648-RACE.
Throughout the 2021 campaign, Dyer will be racing in memory of his grandfather, Glenn Sels.
Dyer Motorsports would like to thank the following sponsors for making the 2021 racing season possible. John Springstead Racing, T Shirts By Timeless, LDS Investigations, Hair Cuts by Susie, Amsoil, Dependable Machines, JC Auto and Repair, Schweitzer Racing and Crutchfield Race Engines. If you would like to be a part of the team in 2021, call or send an E-mail to the contact information at the top of this page.
Jeff Dyer’s 2021 Racing Results
3-12 Kern County Raceway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 14th A Main
3-13 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 15th A Main
3-26 Mojave Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 8th A Main
3-27 Mojave Valley Raceway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 2nd A Main
4-3 Barona Speedway POWRi Southwest Lightning Sprints 11th A Main
4-10 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprints 20th A Main
4-17 Merced Speedway California Lightning/BCRA Civil War 7th A Main
5-15 Bakersfield Speedway California Lightning Sprint Cars 3rd A Main
5-22 Perris Auto Speedway USAC/CRA Sprint Cars 17th A Main
5-29 Central Missouri Speedway POWRi Lightning Sprint Car Nationals 4th A Main
5-30 Central Missouri Speedway POWRi Lightning Sprint Car Nationals 12th A Main
