GERMANETTI HOPES TO ACE VENTURA.

Byline: Tim Haddock Auto Racing

Some could say Craig Germanetti has the hands of a surgeon and the mindset of an ambulance driver. What's undeniable is that the Carpinteria resident doesn't mind getting those same hands dirty to build a championship stock car. He also has no problem finding the fastest way to the checkered flag either.

Germanetti will return with his Chevy Camaro and begin defense of his Street Stock title Saturday night at Ventura Raceway. After a career in off-road racing that spanned two decades, the 35-year-old found almost instant success in stock car racing. In his second year at Ventura Raceway, Germanetti won two races and didn't finish out of the top 10 in 16 races in 1999.

``I wanted to race a car with a V-8 engine,'' Germanetti said while building a Street Stock Camaro for Walter Van Wingerden, who will make his rookie debut at Ventura Raceway on Saturday. ``Street Stocks are like the grass roots of racing. It's a type of class that has always fascinated me.''

Germanetti raced for nearly 15 years on the SCORE Desert Series, in the Baja 500 and Baja 1000. He has competed in Class 7 with a Ford Ranger and in Class 1 with a dune buggy. The way Germanetti sees it, racing off-road and racing at Ventura aren't that much different.

``I'm still in the dirt,'' Germanetti said. ``But I see pavement in my future.''

While Germanetti has proven he is an adept driver, he has also demonstrated he is equally talented at building race cars.

In addition to driving his Camaro at Ventura Raceway, Germanetti also doubles as crew chief and spotter for James Weston's NASCAR Late Model and Greg Voigt's NASCAR Super Late Model, which run at Irwindale Speedway. Last season, Weston and Voigt each finished third in their respective season standings at Irwindale.

VRA Sprints, Pony Stocks and I-4 Modifieds will join Street Stocks for opening night at Ventura Raceway.

Hornaday among elite: Ron Hornaday Jr. has vaulted into the top 10 on the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series standings after a strong third- place finish in the Dura Lube 400 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham on Saturday.

The Palmdale native is seventh in points and second in the rookie standings as the series heads for Las Vegas and the Sam's Town 300 on Saturday.

Las Vegas has been a good bet for Hornaday over the years. It was where he clinched both of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck titles.

``Las Vegas is a track that has a lot of great moments for me,'' Hornaday said. ``We won the NASCAR Truck Series championship at this track in 1996 and 1998, so my greatest accomplishments in racing have happened here. The minute we pull into the infield, I get goose bumps.''

The one thing Hornaday has yet to accomplish in Vegas is a trip to victory lane. In four years of racing on the Truck Series at Las Vegas, his best finish is second, in 1998. He has a pair of third-place finishes as well.

His stiffest competition may be a familiar face from the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Mark Martin, coming off Saturday's win in the Dura Lube 400, is expected to challenge the Busch Series drivers again in Vegas. Martin is also the defending Sam's Town 300 champ and holds the race and qualifying records at the track.

``We'll probably be chasing Mark Martin again,'' Hornaday said. ``He seems to have Rockingham and Las Vegas down. You will probably hear the old argument on whether or not the Winston Cup guys need to be racing in this series. I think it's good for the series. It lets you know where your teams stands.

``We want to be the best team out there and at Rockingham, we weren't. Mark's team was. We must do our homework to get better. But there are 50 other teams in this series that are doing their homework to get better as well, so you just can't worry about the Cup guys.''

For the time being, Hornaday is chasing Jay Sauter in the rookie standings. He trails Sauter by three points. Additionally, Hornaday is 76 points behind series leader Matt Kenseth.

The Sam's Town 300 will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

Irwindale kickoff: Irwindale Speedway will host the first stop for the FreeRide Moto-X tour March 11.

The half-mile speedway will be transformed into a freestyle motocross playground, with 5,000 cubic yards of dirt and six steel ramps.

Some of the top freestyle motocross riders, including Carey ``Vegas'' Hart, Brian Deegan, Mike Cinqmars, Mike ``The Godfather'' Metzer, Mad Mike Jones and Clifford ``The Flyin' Hawaiian'' Adoptante, are scheduled to compete.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster.com or at Irwindale Speedway. The event starts at 7 p.m.