By Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – APRIL 13, 2010… The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series will hold their sixth round of competition this Saturday night, April 17th, at the Santa Maria Speedway. It will be the first of five events at the 1/3-mile facility, followed by May 8th, June 26th, July 24th, and the Ron Otto Memorial on August 28th. The Otto Memorial is also part of the Southwest Contractors 360 Clash, a four-race mini-series that has a $5,000 point fund.
Series point leader Craig Stidham from Fresno kicked off the Southwest Contractors 360 Clash Mini-Series with an impressive 30-lap feature victory last Saturday night at Tulare. The pilot of the Brad Johnson Trucking / KRC Safety #3S Maxim took the lead on lap three and led the rest of the way for his second victory of the 2010 campaign. The Faria Memorial win tied him for second on the series feature win list and extended his point lead to a 58 point advantage over Kerman’s Davey Pombo.
Pombo earned “Best Passing Job” honors at Tulare with a fourth place finish after starting thirteenth. Driving Junior Bowman’s Buster & Ziggy sponsored #3 Bullet, the 2004 Bandit Series champion was victorious at Bakersfield on March 27th. With four top-5 finishes on the year, Pombo will be looking to cut into Stidham’s point lead at Santa Maria.
Clovis’ Peter Murphy is currently third in the points chase. After a tough start to his 2010 season, the 2007 SCRA champion took Tom Tarlton’s Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino #21 KPC entry to a second place finish at Tulare. With a third place finish the week before, Murphy is back to last year’s form and will be among the favorites to score his first victory of 2010 at Santa Maria.
Rusty Carlile of Bakersfield is now fourth in the point standings. After switching to last year’s bright green Southwest Contractors / N.T.S. Incorporated #51 Bullet, last season’s runner-up in the series points had a third place finish at Tulare. Carlile has four top-10 finishes on the season and will be working for his first win of 2010. Saturday’s event at Santa Maria could be his breakthrough race to victory lane.
Sitting fifth in the points hunt is Hanford’s Jonathan Logan. After leading the first two circuits at Tulare, Logan took the Evett Racing / Mike Downing Racing Engines #32 KB entry to a fifth place finish. The 2006 SCRA champion has three top-10 finishes on the year and will be looking for his first victory of 2010 at “The West’s Best Short Track.”
Among the other top contenders expected to be in action are defending series champion Justyne Hamblin of Hanford, “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. of Tipton, Four-time Santa Maria track champion “Junkyard” Jimmy Thompson from Arroyo Grande, Fresno’s T.J. Smith, Mariposa’s Andy Ferris, and Chris Ennis of Bakersfield.
The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series would like to thank Southwest Contractors, Hoosier Tire, Amsoil, Cory Kruseman’s Sprint Car & Midget Driving School, Crow Enterprizes, DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Hinchman-Indy Racing Uniforms, Integra Shocks, Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, Kirkey Racing Fabrication, Port City Racing, Saferacer.com, and Sander Engineering for their support.
Santa Maria Speedway is located 1/4-mile north of the 101/166 interchange on Hutton Road. Joining the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars will be the Toste Grading & Paving Mini Stocks and Okie Bowl Hardtops. The Front Gates will open at 3:00pm, Time Trials will start at 5:00pm, with Racing at 6:00pm. Adult tickets are $16, Senior, Military, and Student tickets are $14, Kids tickets (6-12) are $5, and Children’s tickets (5 and under) are FREE.
For more event information, visit the track’s website at www.racesantamariaspeedway.com.
For more information on the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car series, visit www.racesantamariaspeedway.com, and www.usacracing.com.
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USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS:
1. Craig Stidham 318
2. Davey Pombo 260
3. Peter Murphy 248
4. Rusty Carlile 234
5. Jonathan Logan 216
6. Justyne Hamblin 211
7. T.J. Smith 208
8. Danny Faria Jr. 206
9. Andy Ferris 193
10. Chris Ennis 192
11. Jace VanderWeerd 169
12. Garrett Ishii 146
13. Jimmy Thompson 137
14. Jesse Mack 126
15. Dave Knott 117
16. Kevin Barnes 114
17. Richard VanderWeerd 113
18. Wes Gutierrez 109
19. Dean Alexander 103
20. Geoffrey Strole 88
21. Danny Sheridan 87
22. Matt Day 74
23. Jared Little 71
24. Steve Osborne 47
25. Ronnie Case 44
26. Ray Knight 40
27. Matt Streeter 37
28. Scott Kinney 36
29. Koen Shaw 32
30. Adam Frith-Smith 26
31. Ricky Kirkbride 21
32. Albert Pombo 18
33. Aaron Altaffer 1