By Dick Jordan
The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series returns to Santa Maria (Calif.) Speedway Saturday night as Craig Stidham hopes to maintain his lead in the series standings, which currently stands at 59 points over Davey Pombo.
Stidham, of Fresno, Calif., has finished no worse than sixth in each of the previous six 360 Sprint races this season, including a sixth-place finish at Santa Maria April 17. He’s the only driver to post two wins so far, winning back-to-back races at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway. He’s also the only driver with “top-10” finishes in all six races.
Pombo missed the series opener but has strung together five straight “top-10s” including a seventh at Santa Maria in April. He also won a race at Ventura Raceway in March.
Danny Sheridan, who calls Santa Maria home, won the April race at his home track and is expected to be among favorites for victory when the series returns Saturday.
USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT SERIES POINT STANDINGS
1-Craig Stidham-370, 2-Davey Pombo-311, 3-Peter Murphy-306, 4-T.J. Smith-272, 5-Justyne Hamblin-269, 6-Jonathan Logan-259, 7-Rusty Carlile-255, 8-Danny Faria Jr.-250, 9-Andy Ferris-232, 10-Chris Ennis-221.