From Lonnie Wheatley
TUCSON, Ariz. (September 3, 2011) – The opening night of the Sunoco Fuel ASCS Canyon Region’s two-night stand at USA Raceway played out in dramatic fashion with Stevie Sussex rallying from deep in the field to claim his first career series feature win.
After starting 17th, Sussex slid past Charles Davis, Jr., in the final pair of corners to snare the win in Friday night’s 30-lap feature atop the 3/8-mile clay oval.
While Sussex was mired nine rows deep as the green flag flew, front row outside starter Joshua Hodges gunned into the early lead and paced the initial four circuits before pole starter and current series points leader Jeremy Sherman took command.
Sherman held the point until the 20th round when eighth-starter Charles Davis, Jr. took the top spot. Davis, Jr., the two-time and defending series champion, was less than a half-lap away from his first win of the year only to have the 20-year-old Sussex slide by in traffic for victory in the final corner.
Sussex and Davis, Jr., were chased to the line by Sherman and Hodges, with Josh Pelkey charging from 21st to round out the top five. Andrew Reinbold was sixth, with Chris Bonneau, Nick Aiuto, Mike Martin and Brian Hosford completing the top ten.
Hodges, Sherman and Davis, Jr., won Saturday night’s heat races.
Sunoco Fuel ASCS Canyon Region Results from USA Raceway:
First Heat (10 Laps): 1. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 2. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 3. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 4. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 5. 32b-Brian Hosford, 6. 68-Bryan Swinehart, 7. 48T-Thomas Ogle.
Second Heat (10 Laps): 1. 21-Jeremy Sherman, 2. 96-Carson Ditsch, 3. 7k-Bruce St. James, 4. 93-Justin Quinn, 5. 6-Ronnie Clark, 6. 1-Stevie Sussex, 7. 99-James Aragon.
Third Heat (10 Laps): 1. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 2. 16-Mike Martin, 3. 78-Chris Bonneau, 4. 51-R.J. Johnson, 5. 9-Ryan Linder, 6. 9s-John Shelton, 7. 12-Josh Pelkey.
“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1-Stevie Sussex, 2. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 3. 21-Jeremy Sherman, 4. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 5. 12-Josh Pelkey, 6. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 7. 78-Chris Bonneau, 8. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 9. 16-Mike Martin, 10. 32b-Brian Hosford, 11. 48t-Thomas Ogle, 12. 7k-Bruce St. James, 13. 51-R.J. Johnson, 14. 9-Ryan Linder, 15. 6-Ronnie Clark, 16. 68-Bryan Swinehart, 17. 9s-John Shelton, 18. 93-Justin Quinn, 19. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 20. 99-James Aragon, 21. 96-Carson Ditsch.
Sunoco Fuel ASCS Canyon Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jeremy Sherman 1,629, 2. Charles Davis, Jr. 1,530, 3. R.J. Johnson 1,440, 4. Andrew Reinbold 1,324, 5. Ronnie Clark 1,300, 6. Bruce St. James 1,249, 7. Josh Pelkey 1,200, 8. Mike Martin 1,198, 9. Justin Quinn 1,130, 10. Ryan Linder 1,118.