By Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – SEPTEMBER 6, 2011… On Thursday night, September 8th, the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will make their first appearance at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway. The special event during the famed “Gold Cup Race of Champions” is a co-sanctioned race with the USAC Western Classic Racing Series and will also feature the USAC Western and BCRA Midget Series. The spectator gates will open at 5:00pm, time trials at 6:30pm, with racing at the “Thursday Night Thunder” to begin at 7:00pm.
Heading into the Chico event, thirteen races have been completed on the schedule with six different drivers claiming victory. Fresh off Sunday’s Louie Vermeil Classic victory at Calistoga, Mike Spencer leads the series with six triumphs. Matt Mitchell and “The Kruser” Cory Kruseman have two feature wins, with Bud Kaeding, Austin Williams, and Robert Ballou scoring one main event victory.
Temecula’s Mike Spencer continues his march to a fourth straight title in Ron Chaffin’s #50 Madera Produce / Grubstake Mini Storage Maxim. At Calistoga’s Louie Vermeil Classic, Spencer claimed fourth on Saturday and won Sunday’s 30-lap feature. As this writing goes to press, Mike holds a forty-six point lead over the competition and has four Sander Engineering Fast Time Awards, five heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, and ten top-10 finishes on the season. Look for the Bruce Bromme Jr. wrenched machine to be running up front at Chico.
Running second in the point standings is Nic Faas of Huntington Beach. Piloting Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / VP Racing Fuels Spike, Faas scored sixth on Saturday and followed that with a third in the Louie Vermeil finale. The 2008 Rookie of the Year has two Sander Engineering Fast Time Awards, five heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Awards, and ten top-10 finishes on the season. Nic will have his sights set on his first victory of the year at the Gold Cup Race of Champions.
Sitting third in the point chase is Yorba Linda’s Matt Mitchell. Driving the J.W. Mitchell Motorsports’ #37 Mancha Realtors / Sierra Springs Maxim, the former USAC Western Midget Series Rookie of the Year is one point behind Faas and forty-seven behind Spencer. Matt was third in last Saturday’s show and finished second to Spencer on Sunday. To date, Mitchell leads the series with six heat race victories and eleven top-10 finishes during the 2011 campaign. In addition, he has one Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award and will have his sights set on the Thursday night victory.
Austin Williams of Yorba Linda is fourth in the point standings. Driving Jack Jory’s #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Viper, Williams was fourteenth in the Calistoga opener and scored nineteenth after a hard crash in the finale. The 2009 Rookie of the Year has two heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, one Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award, and eight top-10 finishes on the year. The son of Hall of Fame driver Rip Williams will be looking to add a Silver Dollar Speedway victory to his resume.
Visalia’s Greg Bragg is fifth in the championship points. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich’s #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Pacific Business Machine Buckley, Bragg was tenth in the Calistoga opener and eighth in the Sunday finale. The 3-Time California Lightning Sprint Champion has three heat race victories, two Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Awards, and nine top-10 finishes on the season. The Moose Racing Team will be in the hunt for a feature win at Chico.
Among the other top contenders expected to be in action are Yorba Linda’s Cody and “The Ripper” Rip Williams, “The Demon” Damion Gardner, and many more. The USAC Western Racing Classic Series is led by Sebastopol’s Geoff Ensign, followed by Lincoln’s Tony Hunt, Shauna Hogg, of Fair Oaks, Alamo’s Scott Pierovich, and San Francisco’s Tim Barber.
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.
Silver Dollar Speedway is located on the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico, California. Advance tickets are on sale with 4-day and single day tickets available for the Gold Cup Race of Champions. For more information, please www.silverdollarspeedway.com or call (530) 350-7275. Chico has a strict muffler rule and recommends competitors to run the FlowMaster Suitcase, Spintech Suitcase, or 180 degree mufflers.
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 CAR POINTS:
1-Mike Spencer-754; 2-Nic Faas-708; 3-Matt Mitchell-707; 4-Austin Williams-551; 5-Greg Bragg-451; 6-Cody Williams-441; 7-Danny Sheridan-412; 8-Rip Williams-387; 9-David Cardey-380; 10-Ronnie Gardner-370.
NEW USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT CAR POINTS:
1-Geoff Ensign-675; 2-Tony Hunt-665; 3-Shauna Hogg-579; 4-Scott Pierovich-576; 5-Tim Barber-524; 6-Audra Sasselli-314; 7-Tim Sherman- Jr.297; 8-Jerry Kobza-286; 9-Cody Gerhardt-281; 10-Tim Skoglund-263.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT SCHEDULE:
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.