By Scott Daloisio
(OCTOBER 14, 2010, PERRIS, CA) The only driver to win the Budweiser Oval Nationals more than two times, Campbell, California’s Bud Kaeding, heads a list of 22 new entries for the 15th edition of the celebrated race at Perris Auto Speedway on November 4th, 5th and 6th.
Kaeding, a 30-year-old racing star, first won the Oval Nationals after a late race duel with Tony Jones in 2001. He backed that up with another victory by beating Troy Rutherford and JJ Yeley to the checkered flag in 2002. The third generation racer, who will be gunning for his fourth USAC Silver Crown championship this Saturday at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway, last won the Oval Nationals in 2007 when he passed Casey Shuman on the last lap of the 40-lap main event.
Shuman, a native of Arizona who now lives in Indiana, is also among the latest group of drivers to enter the prestigious race. The 31-year old driver, who was married last weekend in Texas, was the dominant driver in the 2007 Oval Nationals until Kaeding’s last lap pass. He was third fast qualifier and finished third in the A main at the Thursday night preliminary. The following night he was only 21st fast qualifier, but he again ended up third in the main and was the high point driver heading into the Saturday finale before finishing second to Kaeding.
Torrance, California’s “Super Rickie” Gaunt notched the biggest win of his career when he bested the field to win the 1999 Oval Nationals at The PAS. The exuberant 42-year-old also won the 2004 SCRA and Non Wing World Championship. At the end of that season, he came back to The PAS and beat the best in the USAC/CRA series to win the Jack Kindoll Classic. Gaunt, who is coming off a season best USAC/CRA second place finish last Saturday, scored the only USAC National win of his career at the 2009 Sokola Shootout at The PAS.
Chris Windom will be at the Oval Nationals in the two-time winning car of Jeff Walker. Walker claimed the Oval Nationals titles in 2005 and 2006 with Dave Darland in the cockpit. A Christmas Eve born driver, 19-year-old Windom won the 2010 Kokomo Speedway championship over Shane Cottle and Jon Stanbrough (all three have entered the Oval Nationals). The Canton, Illinois resident won his first ever USAC National Sprint Car main event on June 4th at Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pennsylvania and is currently ranked sixth in the USAC National standings. Windom made his Oval Nationals debut with a 24th place finish in 2008. He was third at the Sokola Shootout at The PAS in February.
Jerry Coons Jr., a Tucson, Arizona native who now resides in Plainfield, Indiana, will be driving the Hoffman Auto/Phillip Motorsports #69 in this year’s edition of the Oval Nationals. In 2008 Coons was USAC National Sprint Car and Silver Crown champion. He also won the 2006 and 2007 USAC National Midget championships. The 38-year-old driver’s best ever finish in the Oval Nationals was a second place outing behind Jesse Hockett in 2008. In 2010, Coons is currently ranked fourth in the USAC National Sprint Car standings, second in the Mopar National Midget Championship chase and seventh in Silver Crown.
Another multi-crowned USAC champion to enter this year’s Oval Nationals is Wilkinson, Indiana’s Tracy Hines. Now 38-years-old, Hines was the 2000 Silver Crown champion and the 2002 USAC National Sprint Car champ. In addition to those two coveted titles, Hines was named USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year in 1998, won the 2005 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and the Sprint Car portion of the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 2008. The past NASCAR Truck and Nationwide Series driver is currently fifth in 2010 National Sprint Car points with a win at Gas City (Indiana). He is fourth in the Midget National points with wins at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and Columbus, Ohio.
Popular USAC/CRA regular “Showtime Danny” Sheridan has submitted his entry for this year’s running of the Oval Nationals as well. Despite seeking his first USAC/CRA win of 2010, the 35-year-old Boeing employee still sits second in the championship chase behind Mike Spencer. A two-time Stock Car champion at the Santa Maria Speedway, Sheridan graduated to Sprint Cars and won the 1997 Santa Maria IMCA championship and followed that up in 1998 by winning the Bandit Sprint Car crown. Sheridan also won The PAS 2008 360 championship.
Brownsburg, Indiana’s Bobby East hopes to make it two wins in 2010 at The PAS at this year’s Oval Nationals. In February, East, the son of longtime Southern California open wheel racer and noted car builder Bob East, won the Midget portion of the Sokola Shootout. The 25-year-old Torrance, California born driver is currently 14th in USAC National Sprint Car points and 7th in the Mopar National Midget standings (in addition to his PAS win he also has a win at Anderson, Indiana). East has spent time in the NASCAR Truck Series driving for Jack Roush and the Wood Brothers.
Another of the Indiana based transplanted Californian’s to enter this year’s Oval Nationals is Henry Clarke. Driving for highly respected car owner Keith Kunz, the Villa Park native is contesting his first full season of racing in the Midwest and it has been a successful one. The 20-year-old racer bagged his first USAC National Sprint Car win on the half-mile high-banked Toledo Speedway on July 2nd. He comes into the Oval Nationals seventh in USAC National points. Last season he finished ninth in the Oval Nationals. Clarke recently made his debut in the Indy Lights Series and finished 11th in Miami driving for Davey Hamilton Motorsports.
From Phoenix, Arizona comes the 2005 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year R.J. Johnson. These days Johnson does most of his racing with the ASCS Canyon Region Sprint Cars where he is second in the point standings with two wins this year. The 23-year-old driver is a three-time Arizona Midget Champion and he won his first Midget main at the age of 14. Johnson has one main event win in the USAC/CRA Series and that came at The PAS on March 24, 2007.
Last year’s National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Rookie of the Year, Ronnie Gardner of Whittier, California, is entering his second Oval Nationals in a car owned by his father Jeff. The latest driver to hit the track from the legendary Southern California Gardner racing clan, the 22 year old made his Oval National debut in 2009 and shocked everyone when he qualified third fastest on Thursday night and finished 10th in that night’s A Main. In Saturday’s finale he ended up a very respectable 14th in the A Main. He has two wins this year at the Victorville Auto Raceway. He is the grandson of past Indianapolis 500 driver Ronnie Duman.
The other entries received this week are highly regarded “Slammin’ Brandon” Thomson of Norwalk, California who won the 2008 All Coast Challenge, the 19 year old Vanderweerd twins – Richard and Jace – from Visalia, California who finished seventh and ninth respectively in the USAC West Coast 360 Series, 1994 California Lightning Sprint Car Series Champion Tony Everhart of El Cajon, California, Shelbeyville, Indiana’s Casey Riggs who is 15th in the USAC National Sprint Car point standings, up and coming racer Ludvig Solberg IV from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Cody Kershaw of Oak Park, California who is 11th in VRA points, Santa Rosa, California 17-year-old Marty Hawkins who was sixth in the USAC/CRA main at Calistoga September 5th and 17-year old “Mad Dog” Matthew Shedarowich of Mission Viejo, California.
The Budweiser Oval Nationals is America’s premiere and toughest traditional Sprint Car race. All drivers have to race all three nights as they seek the prestigious title of Budweiser Oval Nationals champion and the $12,500.00 first place paycheck that goes with it. It is a full points paying event for both the Amsoil USAC/CRA and USAC National Sprint Cars. The final two days of the three-day racing fest will also include the California Lightning Sprint Cars.
Advance tickets for the 15th Annual Budweiser Oval Nationals are on sale now. You can order by phone at: 1-800-595-4849 or online at perrisautospeedway.com or tix.com
You can keep up with all of the latest news from Perris Auto Speedway on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/perrisautospdwy.
For more information call The PAS at: (951) 940-0134.
Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (home of October’s Southern California Fair), approximately one hour east of Los Angeles and one hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, exit on the Ramona Expressway and go three miles east to the fairgrounds.
Video and DVD productions of all racing events at Perris Auto Speedway are available from Jeff Kristensen’s Raceway Video. For more information on these productions you can call: (818) 618-9764 or visit the web site at: racewayvideo.com.
racesatthepas@aol.com is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment
2010 15th BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS ENTRY LIST
OK – Kenny Perkins – Victorville, CA
007 – Wes Gutierrez – San Martin, CA
2 – Austin Williams – Yorba Linda, CA
2B – Bryan Clauson – Noblesville, IN
3 – Rip Williams – Yorba Linda, CA
3M – Marty Hawkins – Santa Rosa, CA
4 – Tony Jones – Orange, CA
4G – Casey Shuman – Indianapolis, IN
4X – Tracy Hines – Wilkinson, IN
5 – Justin Grant – West Liberty, IN
5X – Bobby East – Brownsburg, IN
7 – Blake Miller – Yorba Linda, CA
7A – John Aden – Apple Valley, CA
8 – Shane Cottle – Kokomo, IN
8X – Jim Richardson – Graeagle, CA
9 – Matthew Shedarowich – Mission Viejo, CA
10 – Richard Vanderweerd – Visalia, CA
11 – Chris Windom – Canton, IL
15 – R.J. Johnson – Phoenix, AZ
18 – Danny Sheridan – Santa Maria, CA
20 – Levi Jones – Brownsburg, IN
21K – Cory Kruseman – Ventura, CA
27 – Cody Kershaw – Oak Park, CA
28 – Ludvig Solberg IV – Rancho Cucamonga, CA
29 – Bud Kaeding – Campbell, CA
30 – TBA
37 – Matt Mitchell – Yorba Linda, CA
37X – Casey Riggs – Shelbyville, IN
38 – TBA
44 – Cody Williams – Yorba Linda, CA
50 – Mike Spencer – Temecula, CA
51 – Rusty Carlile – Bakersfield, CA
53 – Jon Stanbrough – Jamestown, IN
55 – Tony Everhart – El Cajon, CA
59 – David Cardey – Riverside, CA
66 – Rickie Gaunt – Torrance, CA
67 – Henry Clarke – Villa Park, CA
67K – TBA
69 – Jerry Coons Jr. – Plainfield, IN
71 – Damion Gardner – Pittsboro, IN
76 – JJ Hughes – Columbus, IN
88 – Jace Vanderweerd – Visalia, CA
92 – Greg Bragg – Visalia, CA
92T – Brandon Thomson – Norwalk, CA
93 – Ronnie Gardner – Whittier, CA
BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS CHAMPIONS
1996 – Jimmy Sills
1997 – Rip Williams
1998 – Rodney Argo
1999 – Rickie Gaunt
2000 – Tony Jones
2001 – Bud Kaeding
2002 – Bud Kaeding
2003 – Cory Kruseman
2004 – Cory Kruseman
2005 – Dave Darland
2006 – Dave Darland
2007 – Bud Kaeding
2008 – Jesse Hockett
2009 – Damion Gardner