By Lance Jennings
PERRIS, CA – NOVEMBER 6, 2011… Starting from the pole position, “The Demon” Damion Gardner of Concord, California led all 40-laps to win the “16th Annual Budweiser Oval Nationals” at Don Kazarian’s Perris Auto Speedway. Gardner, who won the race in 2009, joins Bud Kaeding (2001, 2002, 2007), Cory Kruseman (2003, 2004), and Dave Darland (2005, 2006) as the only multiple winners of the event. Mike Spencer, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, and Chris Windom rounded out the top five drivers.
Piloting the DG Racing #71 Pace Lighting Eagle, Damion Gardner entered the finale sixth in event points and was locked in the feature. Getting the jump on fellow front row starter Levi Jones, “The Demon” sailed to victory despite a red flag on lap eleven for Richard VanderWeerd and Brady Bacon. From there, it was all Damion Gardner on this night as he won his second career Oval Nationals. As this writing goes to press, “The Demon” is sixth in Amsoil USAC National series points heading to “The Finals” at Hanford.
Mike Spencer of Temecula, California was the event’s high point driver and won the Dean Thompson Award for his efforts. Starting sixth, the USAC/CRA point leader drove Ron Chaffin’s #50 Madera Produce / Grubstake Mini Storage Maxim to second in the 40-lap finale. Later, Spencer won the $10,000 Legends of Ascot Match Races by one point over Chris Windom. The 3-time USAC/CRA Champion holds a fifty-three point lead over the competition going into Hanford’s season finale.
Olney, Illinois’ Levi Jones claimed third in the 40-lap feature behind the wheel of the Tony Stewart Racing #20 GM Performance Parts Eagle. The 4-time Amsoil USAC National Champion was fifth in event points and finished third in the Legends of Ascot Match Races. Jones holds a thirty-three point lead in the Amsoil USAC National standings.
Bud Kaeding of Campbell, California raced the #29 Buster & Ziggy / BK Motorsports Maxim to fourth from the seventh starting spot. The 3-time Oval Nationals Champion was seventh in event points heading into the finale and will be a driver to watch at “The Finals” at Hanford’s Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway.
Canton, Illinois’ Chris Windom, scored fifth in the Oval Nationals finale. Piloting the Baldwin Brothers Racing #5X Fox Paving / Claxton Engines Maxim, the Round #2 winner was third in event points and second in the Legends of Ascot Match Races. The Indiana Sprint Week Champion is second in the Amsoil USAC National point chase.
“The Kruser” Cory Kruseman of Ventura, California earned his first Sander Engineering Fast Time Award of the year aboard Mark & Carmen Priestley’s #7H Roy Miller Freight Lines / Sander Engineering Maxim. The 2006 USAC/CRA Champion was second in his qualifying race and scored tenth in the Oval Nationals finale.
Sikeston, Missouri’s Hunter Schuerenberg won the program’s first qualifying race sponsored by Extreme Mufflers and Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror. Driving Hank Byram’s #35 Fatheadz Eyewear / R&B Truckers Spike, the young hard charger claimed twelfth in the 40-lap feature and sits third in Amsoil USAC National points.
Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana raced to victory in the night’s second qualifying race backed by Saldana Racing Products and Circle Track Performance. Piloting the Tucker/BCI/Curb-Agajanian #7 Curb Records Spike, Clauson finished eighth in the Oval Nationals and is currently eighth in Amsoil USAC National standings.
“Cadillac” Cody Williams of Yorba Linda, California won the night’s third qualifying race sponsored by DJ Safety. Driving Jack Jory’s #44 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Viper, Williams claimed fifteenth in the 40-lap finale. The 2008 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Co-Rookie of the Year is fifth in the Amsoil USAC/CRA point chase.
Phoenix, Arizona’s R.J. Johnson drove to victory in the Electro Tech Powder Coating / Rod End Supply qualifying race #4. Piloting Bobby Martin’s #51 Weiler Farms / BG Chemicals Maxim, the ASCS Canyon Region standout placed sixteenth in the Oval Nationals.
“The People’s Champion” Dave Darland of Lincoln, Indiana won the Competition Suspension Inc. B-Main #1. Driving Dwight Cheney’s #42 Pace Lighting / Sander Engineering DRC, Darland was third in his qualifying race and scored seventeenth in the 40-lap finale. The 2-time Oval Nationals Champion sits ninth in the Amsoil USAC National standings.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon raced to victory in the 12-lap Competition Suspension Inc. B-Main #2. Piloting the Dynamics Inc. #69 Mean Green / Mopar Chalk, the Short Track Nationals runner-up scored twenty-fifth after an early flip ended his night.
Elk Grove’s Kyle Larson earned his second Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award of the season with a thirteenth place run after starting twenty-third. Piloting Junior Bowman’s #1L Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Maxim, Larson finished third in his qualifying race and fifth in the Legends of Ascot Match Races. Chico’s “Tiner Family Classic” winner is currently third in the USAC National Driver’s Championship points.
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 season finale for both the Amsoil USAC/CRA and National Sprint Car Series will be held this Saturday, November 12th, at Hanford’s Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway. Located on the Kings County Fairgrounds, more event information on “The Finals” can be found at www.giantchevroletspeedway.com or calling (559) 584-RACE (7223).
——————————————————–
USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:
November 5, 2011 (Night) – Perris, California – Perris Auto Speedway – 16th “Budweiser Oval Nationals”
SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS:
1. Cory Kruseman, 7H, Priestley-16.443; 2. Bryan Clauson, 7, Tucker/BCI/Curb-Agajanian-16.467; 3. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.497; 4. Bobby East, 5, Klatt-16.636; 5. Ryan Bernal, 11D, Olmstead16.648; 6. Rickie Gaunt, 66, Miller-16.662; 7. Casey Shuman, 21x, Roberts/Tate-16.707; 8. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.727; 9. Hunter Schuerenberg, 35, Byram-16.758; 10. Richard VanderWeerd, 10, VanderWeerd-16.762; 11. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-16.777; 12. Robert Ballou, 72, Ford-16.784; 13. Kyle Larson, 1L, Buster & Ziggy-16.790; 14. Ronnie Gardner, 93, Gardner-16.797; 15. Danny Sheridan, 18, Kittle-16.803; 16. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-16.805; 17. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-16.855; 18. Shane Golobic, 121, BonSchriltz-16.914; 19. Greg Alexander, 23, Bellegante-16.991; 20. Dave Darland, 42, Cheney-16.993; 21. Andy Forsberg, 92x, Forsberg-17.003; 22. Rip Williams, 3, Jory-17.027; 23. Colby Copeland, 24c, Copeland-17.033; 24. Jon Stanbrough, 53, Fox-17.050; 25. Danny Ebberts, 01, Carroll-17.133; 26. John Aden, 7A, Aden-17.185; 27. Jace VanderWeerd, 10x, VanderWeerd-17.203; 28. Danny Faria Jr., 2B, Bowman-17.285; 29. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-17.314; 30. Josh Ford, 73, Ford-17.400; 31. Seth Wilson, 75, Stansberry-17.489; 32. David Bezio, 37B, Bezio-17.614; 33. Royal Adderson, 40, Adderson-17.763; 34. Gavin Matlock, 25, Williams-18.133; 35. Raymond Potter, 33, Potter-20.981; 36. Greg Bragg, 92, Sertich-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS / HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps)
1. Schuerenberg, 2. Kruseman, 3. Larson, 4. Bernal, 5. Forsberg, 6. Ebberts, 7. Rutherford, 8. Roa. NT
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps)
1. Clauson, 2. R.VanderWeerd, 3. Gaunt, 4. R.Williams, 5. R.Gardner, 6. Golobic, 7. Aden, 8. Ford. 2:51.46
DJ SAFETY THIRD QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps)
1. C.Williams, 2. Shuman, 3. Alexander, 4. Copeland, 5. J.VanderWeerd, 6. Wilson, 7. Mitchell, 8. Sheridan. NT
ELECTRO TECH POWDER COATING / ROD END SUPPLY FOURTH QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps)
1. Johnson, 2. East, 3. Darland, 4. Bacon, 5. Bezio, 6. Faria, 7. Ballou, 8. Stanbrough. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. B MAIN #1: (12 laps)
1. Darland, 2. Mitchell, 3. Larson, 4. R.Gardner, 5. Golobic, 6. Bezio, 7. Ballou (#73x Ford), 8. Roa, 9. Wilson, 10. Ebberts, 11. Alexander, 12. R.Williams, 13. Adderson. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. B MAIN #2: (12 laps)
1. Bacon, 2. Stanbrough, 3. Bernal, 4. Aden, 5. Bragg, 6. Gaunt, 7. J.VanderWeerd, 8. Faria, 9. Matlock, 10. Sheridan, 11. Copeland. NT
FEATURE: (40 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Damion Gardner (1st – #71 DG), 2. Mike Spencer (6th – #50 Chaffin), 3. Levi Jones (2nd – #20 Stewart), 4. Bud Kaeding (7th – #29 Buster & Ziggy), 5. Chris Windom (4th – #5x Baldwin), 6. Nic Faas (5th – #4x Alexander), 7. Tracy Hines (8th – #4 Hines), 8. Bryan Clauson (10th), 9. Bobby East (9th), 10. Cory Kruseman (12th), 11. Casey Shuman (14th), 12. Hunter Schuerenberg (11th), 13. Kyle Larson (23rd), 14. Ryan Bernal (18th), 15. Cody Williams (16th), 16. R.J. Johnson (13th), 17. Dave Darland (17th), 18. Ronnie Gardner (22nd), 19. Danny Sheridan (25th), 20. John Aden (24th), 21. Keith Bloom Jr. (3rd – #27 Abreu), 22. Jon Stanbrough (21st), 23. Matt Mitchell (19th), 24. Richard VanderWeerd (15th), 25. Brady Bacon (20th), 26. Rip Williams (26th). NT
———————————–
**Copeland flipped during the second B Main. Bacon and R.VanderWeerd flipped during the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-40 D.Gardner.
KEIZER WHEELS HARD CHARGER: Kyle Larson (23rd to 13th)
LEGENDS OF ASCOT MATCH RACE:
1. Mike Spencer (11pts), 2. Chris Windom (10pts), 3. Levi Jones (8pts), 4. Nic Faas (7pts), 5. Kyle Larson (4pts). NT.
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR STANDINGS:
1-Spencer, 1,212; 2-Faas-1,159; 3-Mitchell-1,073; 4-A.Williams-741; 5-C.Williams-633; 6-Bragg-631; 7-Sheridan-570; 8-R.Williams-552; 9-Gaunt-520; 10-R.Gardner-484.
NEW USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CAR STANDINGS:
1-Jones-1,602; 2-Windom-1,569; 3-Schuerenberg-1,378; 4-Stanbrough-1,376; 5-Hines-1,250; 6-D.Gardner-1,248; 7-Ballou-1,238; 8-Clauson-1,187; 9-Darland-1,119; 10-East-994.
NEW USAC NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1-Clauson-1,056; 2-Windom-1,024; 3-Larson-1,016; 4-Jones-1,007; 5-Hines-989; 6-East-942; 7-Jerry Coons Jr.-921; 8-Schuerenberg-864; 9-Stanbrough-834; 10-Darren Hagen-824.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT SCHEDULE:
November 12: *Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway – Hanford, CA
———————————————–
* = Co-Sanctioned Event With USAC National Sprints.
This schedule is subject to change.