By Dick Jordan
Central Arizona Raceway hosts this Saturday’s USAC Southwest Sprint Car race and series point leaders R.J. Johnson and Charles Davis Jr. again share the favorites spotlight. The Casa Grande, Ariz. track is one which has eluded Johnson so far this year as he leads Davis by 80 points in the latest standings. Davis and Josh Pelkey have been the winners there so far this year.
Davis, of Buckeye, Ariz., emerged victorious in Saturday night’s race at Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz., surviving a late-race duel with Johnson. The two leaders swapped the lead back and forth at the end, Johnson taking the lead on the white-flag lap, then Davis regaining it on the final lap for the win in his Massey Motorsports RSS Industries/Rod End Supply RSS/Don Ott. Johnson finished second ahead of Bruce St. James, Ryan Linder and Ronnie Clark.
The win for Davis extended his lead as the winningest USAC driver in the state of Arizona. The win was his 11th in the Grand Canyon State.
2013 USAC Southwest Sprint Car Standings: 1-R.J. Johnson-943, 2-Charles Davis Jr.-863, 3-Mike Martin-769, 4-Ronnie Clark-686, 5-Shon Deskins-669, 6-Andy Reinbold-602, 7-Josh Pelkey-583, 8-Chris Bonneau-575, 9-Brian Hosford-498, 10-Bruce St. James-461.