By Lance Jennings
PERRIS, CA – SEPTEMBER 26, 2011… It was a near perfect night for Nic Faas of Huntington Beach last Saturday at Don Kazarian’s Perris Auto Speedway. Starting eighth in the 30-lap feature and taking the lead from Greg Bragg on lap eight, Faas led the rest of the way to claim the 4th Annual Glenn Howard Memorial. The triumph marked the second career Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series victory for the young driver and his first of the 2011 campaign. Following Nic across the finish line were Matt Mitchell, Austin Williams, “Showtime” Danny Sheridan, and Bragg.
Piloting Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / VP Racing Fuels Spike, Nic Faas set the standard in Sander Engineering Time Trials over the thirty-two car field. The 2008 Rookie of the Year was fourth in a special 3-lap trophy dash and while charging to victory in the Extreme Mufflers / Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Heat Race #1, observers clocked lap times near the track record. Faas also earned the night’s Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award and is currently third in championship standings, thirty-nine points behind leader Mike Spencer. To date, Nic has three Fast Time Awards, six heat race victories, twelve top-10 finishes, and two Hard Charger Awards on the season.
Yorba Linda’s Matt Mitchell raced to the runner-up finish after starting ninth in the Howard Memorial. Driving the J.W. Mitchell Motorsports’ #37 Mancha Realtors / Sierra Springs Maxim, Mitchell was ninth quick in time trials and second to Faas in his heat race. The former USAC Western Midget Series Rookie of the Year is second in the standings, thirty points behind Spencer until the series returns to Perris for the Southern California Fair on October 8th. In 2011, Mitchell leads USAC/CRA with thirteen top-10 finishes and has two feature wins, six heat race victories, and one Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award.
Austin Williams of Yorba Linda recorded his ninth top-10 finish of the year with a third place run. Piloting Jack Jory’s #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Viper, Williams qualified fifth quick on the night and was fourth in his heat race. The 2009 Rookie of the Year is fourth in the point chase and has one feature win, two heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, and one Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award in 2011.
“Showtime” Danny Sheridan of Santa Maria charged to fourth in the Howard Memorial after starting tenth. Driving the Kittle Motorsports’ #18 Pace Lighting / PIPE Sherman, the former Wagsdash Champion qualified tenth quick and won the Saldana Racing Products / Circle Track Performance Heat Race #2. “Showtime” is seventh in the championship points with two heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, and seven top-10 finishes on the season.
Visalia’s Greg Bragg led the first seven laps before fading to fifth in the 30-lap feature. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich’s #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Pacific Business Machine Buckley, Bragg was eighth fast on the night and scored third in his heat race. The former California Lightning Sprint Champion is fifth in the standings with three heat race victories, two Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Awards, and ten top-10 finishes on the year.
Ronnie Gardner of Norco won the special four-car, 3-lap Howard Memorial Trophy Dash. Driving the family owned #93 Jamison Engineering / DWT Wheels Sled, Gardner qualified fourth fast on the night and claimed second in his heat race. Scoring seventh in the feature, Ronnie is eighth in points with two Sander Engineering Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, and six top-10 finishes in 2011.
Yorba Linda’s “Cadillac” Cody Williams raced to victory in the DJ Safety Heat Race #3. Piloting the Jack Jory’s #44 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Viper, Williams qualified eleventh and scored tenth in the main event. “Cadillac” is sixth in the point chase with four heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award, and seven top-10 finishes on the season.
Josh Ford of Camarillo made his first appearance of the year at Perris and won the Electro Tech Powder Coating / Rod End Supply Heat Race #4. Driving the family owned #72 Berry Pack / A&A Precision Machine Ellis, Ford was twelfth fast in time trials and scored twenty-second in the main event.
Lomita’s Verne Sweeney made his first start in several seasons and won the night’s 12-lap Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main event. Piloting the #98 Wesco Tube & Exhaust DRC, Sweeney was fourteenth quick on the night, fifth in his heat race, and claimed fifteenth in the Glenn Howard Memorial. Also earning transfer spots to the feature were Bobby Bender, Kenny Perkins, Brandon Thomson, David Bezio, and Jay Waugh.
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 www.usacracing.com/cra or follow the series on facebook.
The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will be back in action on Saturday, October 8th, for the Southern California Fair Race at Perris Auto Speedway. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, more event information can be found at www.perrisautospeedway.com or calling (951) 940-0134.
To catch all of the action of the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series at Perris Auto Speedway, Jeff Kristensen’s Raceway Video has DVD videos available for purchase. For more information, call (818) 618-9764 or visit www.racewayvideo.com. In addition, Perris Auto Speedway offers a live pay per view feed of every event at www.pasvideo.com. The live feed is scheduled to begin at 6:00pm PST.
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
September 24, 2011 – Perris, California – Perris Auto Speedway – “4th Annual Glenn Howard Memorial”
SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS:
1. Nic Faas, 4, Alexander-16.466; 2. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-16.868; 3. Rickie Gaunt, 66, Miller-16.942; 4. Ronnie Gardner, 93, Gardner-16.992; 5. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-17.102; 6. Rip Williams, 3, Williams-17.186; 7. David Cardey, 59, Cardey-17.205; 8. Greg Bragg, 92, Sertich-17.316; 9. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-17.330; 10. Danny Sheridan, 18, Kittle-17.378; 11. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-17.386; 12. Josh Ford, 72, Ford-17.474; 13. John Aden, 7a, Aden-17.482; 14. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.533; 15. Bobby Bender, 12x, Bender-17.638; 16. Brody Roa, 91R, Roa-17.655; 17. Kenny Perkins, 0K, Perkins-17.678; 18. Cal Smith, 39, CalSun-17.854; 19. Donnie Gansen, 7G, Gansen-17.867; 20. Randy Waitman, 69, Waitman-17.969; 21. Derek Buckley, 76, Buckley-18.048; 22. Brandon Thomson, 36, Springstead-18.097; 23. Jay Waugh, 21k, Kruseman-18.109; 24. Jerry Welton, 62, Welton-18.218; 25. David Bezio, 37X, Bezio-18.236; 26. Tony Everhart, 55, Everhart-18.300; 27. Ray Potter, 33X, Potter-18.369; 28. Matt Shedarowich, 12, Blair-18.498; 29. Royal Adderson, 40, Adderson-18.515; 30. Corey Ballard, 20, Ballard-18.696; 31. Gary Potter, 6, Potter-18.853; 32. Tom Hendricks, 71x, Kruseman-NT.
TROPHY DASH: (3 laps)
1. Ronnie Gardner, 2. Rickie Gaunt, 3. Mike Spencer, 4. Nic Faas. NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS / HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Nic Faas, 2. Matt Mitchell, 3. John Aden, 4. Austin Williams, 5. David Bezio, 6. Kenny Perkins, 7. Derek Buckley. 2:51.24.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE 2: (8 laps)
1. Danny Sheridan, 2. Mike Spencer, 3. Rip Williams, 4. Corey Ballard, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Brandon Thomson, 7. Cal Smith, 8. Tony Everhart. 2:53.67.
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Cody Williams, 2. Donnie Gansen, 3. Rickie Gaunt, 4. David Cardey, 5. Jay Waugh, 6. Bobby Bender, 7. Ray Potter, 8. Gary Potter. 2:55.21.
ELECTRO TECH POWDER COATING / ROD END SUPPLY HEAT RACE 4: (10 laps)
1. Josh Ford, 2. Ronnie Gardner, 3. Greg Bragg, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Matt Shedarowich, 6. Jerry Welton, 7. Randy Waitman. NT.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. SEMI-MAIN: (12 laps)
1. Verne Sweeney, 2. Bobby Bender, 3. Kenny Perkins, 4. Brandon Thomson, 5. David Bezio, 6. Jay Waugh, 7. Tony Everhart, 8. Cal Smith, 9. Ray Potter, 10. Royal Adderson, 11. Gary Potter, 12. Jerry Welton, 13. Matt Shedarowich, 14. Derek Buckley. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Nic Faas (8th), 2. Matt Mitchell (9th), 3. Austin Williams (4th), 4. Danny Sheridan (10th), 5. Greg Bragg (1st), 6. Mike Spencer (7th), 7. Ronnie Gardner (5th), 8. Rickie Gaunt (6th), 9. David Cardey (2nd), 10. Cody Williams (11th), 11. Brody Roa (16th), 12. Kenny Perkins (17th), 13. Donnie Gansen (18th), 14. David Bezio (21st), 15. Verne Sweeney (14th), 16. Corey Ballard (22nd), 17. Jay Waugh (20th), 18. Brandon Thomson (19th), 19. Rip Williams (3rd), 20. John Aden (13th), 21. Bobby Bender (15th), 22. Josh Ford (12th). NT.
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**Randy Waitman flipped during the fourth heat.
**Matt Shedarowich flipped during the semi.
**Jay Waugh flipped during the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 Greg Bragg, Laps 8-30 Nic Faas.
KEIZER WHEELS HARD CHARGER: Nic Faas (8th to 1st)
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS:
1-Mike Spencer-867; 2-Matt Mitchell-837; 3-Nic Faas-828; 4-Austin Williams-631; 5-Greg Bragg-562; 6-Cody Williams-504; 7-Danny Sheridan-471; 8-Ronnie Gardner-422; 9-David Cardey-421; 10-Rip Williams-409.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT SCHEDULE:
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.
This schedule is subject to change.