By Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – AUGUST 18, 2011… Round #11 for the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will be held this Saturday night, August 20th, at Don Kazarian’s Perris Auto Speedway. The popular winged California Lightning Sprints will join the showcase at “America’s Premier Dirt Track” and spectator gates will open at 5:00pm with racing set begin at 7:00pm.
The event will mark the sixth of eleven stops for the traditional 410s at their “home track” where point leader Mike Spencer of Temecula has scored four of his five feature wins. Only Yorba Linda’s Matt Mitchell has stopped Spencer’s assault by claiming the “Salute To Indy” victory on May 28th.
Piloting Ron Chaffin’s famed #50 Madera Produce / Grubstake Mini Storage Maxim, Spencer leads the competition by forty-three points. The 3-time defending series champion claimed sixth last Saturday at Santa Maria after earning his fourth Sander Engineering Fast Time Award, winning his fourth heat race, and winning the $1000 Last Man Standing Dash. In addition, Mike has one Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, seven top-10 finishes, and leads the series with 114 feature laps led. Spencer’s march to the championship will continue this Saturday night.
Huntington Beach’s Nic Faas is second in the point chase. Driving Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / VP Racing Fuels Spike, Faas scored twelfth last Saturday at Santa Maria. The former USAC Western Midget Series Champion has one Sander Engineering Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award, and seven top-10 finishes on the year. Nic will be in the hunt for his first main event win of the year this Saturday at Perris.
After a hard flip in his heat race at Santa Maria, Matt Mitchell rebounded to earn the Keizer Wheels Hard Charger / Best Passing Job honors on the night with a ninth place run after starting seventeenth. Piloting the J.W. Mitchell Motorsports’ #37 Mancha Realtors / Sierra Springs Maxim, the former USAC Western Midget Series standout is currently fifty-six points behind Spencer. Mitchell has four heat race victories, eight top-10 finishes, and twenty-six main event laps led on the year. Matt will have his sights set on the Perris 30-lap victory.
Yorba Linda’s Austin Williams led all 30-laps to claim his first career USAC/CRA victory last Saturday at Santa Maria. Driving Jack Jory’s #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Viper, Williams is currently fourth in point standings as the series reached the half-way point. The son of Hall of Fame driver Rip Williams has one heat race victory, one Keizer Wheel Hard Charger Award, and seven top-10 finishes to his credit. Austin will be looking to add another win to his resume on Saturday.
Greg Bragg of Visalia sits fifth in the standings. Driving Tom and Laurie Sertich’s #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Pacific Business Machine Buckley, the team missed last Saturday’s action as they regroup for the rest of the year. To date, the 3-Time California Lightning Sprint Champion has two heat race victories, two Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Awards, seven top-10 finishes, and led seven main event laps on the season. Bragg and the Moose Racing Team will be looking for the Perris feature win on Saturday.
Campbell’s Bud Kaeding and Cory Kruseman of Ventura have also claimed feature wins in 2011. Kaeding won the Hanford shootout on May 7th, while Kruseman won the Watsonville feature on June 16th and the following night at Santa Maria. Perris Auto Speedway will also host the Glenn Howard Memorial on September 24th, the So-Cal Fair Race on October 8th, and the 3-day Budweiser Oval Nationals starting on November 3rd.
Among the other top contenders expected to be in action are Yorba Linda’s Cody and “The Ripper” Rip Williams, Riverside’s “Dynamite” David Cardey, “Super” Rickie Gaunt of Torrance, Norco’s Ronnie Gardner, “Showtime” Danny Sheridan of Santa Maria, and many more.
Local 360 iron-block powered Sprint Cars are welcome to race with USAC/CRA. The 360s can run their local approved tires (all four corners must be Hoosier), but must meet series tech standards and race track muffler rules. The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series does not have an entry fee or charge for transponders, but drivers must have one-way radios. In addition, the series is offering a bonus to the highest finishing 360 team. To be eligible for the $200 cash award from USAC and 20 gallons of methanol from So-Cal Performance, the owner or driver must have a current USAC membership.
Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds in Perris, California. Adult tickets are $20, Senior tickets are $15, and $5 for Active Military and Children. For more information, please visit www.perrisautospeedway.com or call (951) 940-0134.
The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series would like to thank Hoosier Tire, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Donovan Engineering, Electro Tech Powder Coating, Extreme Mufflers, Hilborn Fuel Injection, Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror, Keizer Wheels, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sander Engineering, and So-Cal Performance for their support. For more information, visit usacracing.com/cra or follow the series on facebook.
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS:
1-Mike Spencer-561; 2-Nic Faas-518; 3-Matt Mitchell-505; 4-Austin Williams-457; 5-Greg Bragg-385; 6-Cody Williams-362; 7-Ronnie Gardner-343; 8-Rickie Gaunt-338; 9-Danny Sheridan-333; 10-Rip Williams-319.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT SCHEDULE:
August 20: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
September 3: **Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA
September 4: **Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA
September 8: **Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA
September 24: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 8: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
October 28: *Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ
October 29: *Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ
November 3: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA
November 12: *Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway – Hanford, CA
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event With USAC National Sprints.
** = Co-Sanctioned Event With USAC Western Classic Racing Series.
This schedule is subject to change.