By Dick Jordan
Damion Gardner of Concord, Calif. hopes to hold onto an all-time lead while trying to vault to the 2013 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint point lead Saturday night when the series competes in the “Power of Purple Night” benefitting the City of Perris Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society at the Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.
Gardner, who will focus on the USAC/CRA campaign this season, has 25 career wins at Perris, one more than five-time series titlist Mike Spencer of Temecula, Calif. Spencer has won seven of the past 11 races at the PAS, all since Gardner’s last Perris win in 2011.
Gardner trails Bryan Clauson by 23 points in the latest AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint standings. He is tied in the current points with Nic Faas of Huntington Beach, Calif., who scored three Perris wins in 2011 and one last year.
Clauson scored a Perris win last year and the 2013 opener over Gardner and Faas this season.
Cory Kruseman is the only other 2012 winner at the half-mile dirt oval and he has 16 career wins there. His 2013 Perris debut resulted in a flip during a heat race.
2013 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-Bryan Clauson-210, 2-Damion Gardner-187, 3-Nic Faas-187, 4-Bud Kaeding-146, 5-Rickie Gaunt-134, 6-R.J. Johnson-127, 7-Ryan Bernal-124, 8-Cody Williams-111, 9-Mike Spencer-104, 10-Charles Davis Jr.-102.