By Dick Jordan
Richard VanderWeerd remains atop the 2011 USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car standings after finishing fourth in last Saturday night’s race at Hanford, Calif. He’s 55 points ahead of Ryan Bernal, winner of last Saturday’s race. The two will continue their battle for the championship October 8 when the series returns to the Tulare (Calif.) Thunderbowl Raceway with 74 points up for grabs.
Bernal, of Hollister, Calif., won Saturday night’s race at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway, leading the final 27 laps after passing Marty Hawkins on lap four. Dennis Howell came home second ahead of Peter Murphy, series point leader VanderWeerd and Wes Gutierrez.
The Hanford win was the fourth in the last six series features for Bernal as he continues to narrow VanderWeerd’s point lead.
USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS
1-Richard VanderWeerd-810; 2-Ryan Bernal-755; 3-Wes Gutierrez-701; 4-Jace VanderWeerd-662; 5-Dennis Howell-623; 6-Danny Faria Jr.-600; 7-Greg Alexander-538; 8-Justyne Hamblin-515; 9-T.J. Smith-502; 10-Bud Kaeding-439.