From Dick Jordan
Victory in Saturday night’s “Glenn Howard Memorial” Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Series finale could be worth a whopping $32,500-plus for a driver willing to take the “Glenn Howard Challenge.”
Courtesy of So-Cal Performance, USAC and Perris Auto Speedway, a $30,000 bonus awaits a driver who earns the pole starting position but elects to start last, then ends up winning the 30-lap feature on the half-mile dirt oval.
Only twice in Perris Auto Speedway history has a driver been able to start last and win a Sprint car main event. Both drivers are expected to be in Saturday’s field, namely Rip Williams and Damion Gardner.
The bonus creates added excitement to what already shapes up as one of the best races of the season. Mike Spencer of Temecula, Calif. is headed for this year’s series championship, becoming the first two-time champion in USAC/CRA history. Runner-up David Cardey of Riverside, Calif. is currently 100 points back, but only 74 are available Saturday.
Cardey is 50 points ahead of third-ranking Garrett Hansen of Manhattan Beach, Calif. Hansen will put the lid on his 2009 USAC Western Midget championship season Thursday at the 69th Lucas Oil “Turkey Night Grand Prix” at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Calif. Four of the eight victories posted by the point-leading trio this year have come at the Perris oval.
Gardner won the last Perris race, the Budweiser Oval Nationals feature contested November 7, a race in which Spencer took second.
Saturday’s race honors the memory of the late driver, car owner, racing equipment businessman, sanctioning body leader and father of three sprint car drivers who passed away in 2007.