From Lance Jennings
Hanford, CA — (June 8, 2013) — With temperatures over 100 degrees, the action was even hotter as Visalia’s Richard Vander Weerd grabbed his third win of the campaign. The $1,500 USAC West Coast Sprint Car triumph at Hanford was the eleventh career victory for the 2011 champion. Point leader Ryan Bernal, “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr., Austin Liggett, and fast qualifier Dennis Howell followed Richard to the checkered flags.
After claiming the Woodland Auto Display Dash win, Danny Faria Jr. had his sights on the Hanford victory. Taking command at the green flag, “Hollywood” would lead the first eighteen laps before Vander Weerd slipped by in heavy traffic. Faria looked to battle back and almost reclaimed the top spot until an aggressive move by Richard split Danny and a slower car. This gave Vander Weerd some needed breathing room.
Running the outside groove, Bud Kaeding and Ryan Bernal soon dropped Faria to fourth. Using the extra momentum, Kaeding began to inch closer to the leader. At the same time, Vander Weerd had to recover from jumping the cushion between the third and fourth corners. The defending champion was now within striking distance as the starter held the checkered flag. With one more shot for the lead, Kaeding drove hard into the third turn. The move ended in heartbreak as Bud’s car bicycled and slipped off the edge. Vander Weerd claimed the 30-lap victory and moved to second in career feature wins.
Piloting the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Richard Vander Weerd qualified third, won the Saldana Racing Products / Keizer Wheels Heat Race #3, and was second in the dash. Currently second in points, Vander Weerd has two Weld Racing Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc., / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, two BR Motorsports / Racing Optics Hard Charger Awards, eleven top-10 finishes, and 71 feature laps led.
Ryan Bernal of Hollister had a strong run and finished second at Kings Speedway. Driving Keith Ford’s #73 Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Bernal was fourth quick in time trials, second in his heat race, and third in the dash. To date, Ryan has a 25 point advantage with five feature wins, four heat race victories, one Woodland Auto Display Dash win, one BR Motorsports / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, eleven top-10 finishes, and 85 feature laps led.
Tipton’s “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. led early and claimed third in the main event. Racing his #17V Johnston Calf Pens / DeBoer & Sons Trucking Spike, Faria qualified sixth, placed second in his heat race, and won the dash. “Hollywood” has climbed to third in points with one Weld Racing Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one BR Motorsports / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, eight top-10 finishes, and 22 feature laps led.
Austin Liggett of Tracy raced to fourth in the main event after starting eighth. Piloting the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Home Connections Inc. Maxim, Liggett was eighth fast in time trials, second in his heat race, and eighth in the dash. Last season’s Rookie of the Year is ninth in the championship points with one heat race victory and two top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Rancho Palos Verdes’ Dennis Howell scored fifth in the Hanford feature. Driving the family owned #62 San Pedro Auto Body / Howell Meyer Racing Maxim, Howell earned his second Weld Racing Fast Time Award, ran third in his heat race, and placed fourth in the dash. Currently, the USAC Midget graduate is tenth in the standings with five top-10 finishes and 20 feature laps led to his credit.
Don Gansen of Verdemont Heights made his first start of the season and earned the night’s BR Motorsports / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award with a seventh place run from nineteenth. Racing the family owned #7G Trench Shoring / Heavy Equipment Rentals Maxim, Gansen qualified eleventh overall and claimed seventh in his heat race.
San Diego’s Chris Ennis had a good night and won the program’s 10-lap Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. Piloting his #86 Spy Optics / Bell Helmets 777 entry, Ennis was seventh fast in time trials, sixth in the dash, and sixth in the main event. To date, the 2010 Rookie of the Year has two heat race victories and two top-10 finishes on the season.
Landon Hurst of Riverdale won the night’s DJ Safety Heat Race #2. Driving the family owned #179 Kings River Commodities / Duinkerken Farms Maxim, Hurst qualified fourteenth and was ninth in the main event. The leading rookie contender has one BR Motorsports / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, three top-10 finishes, and 13 feature laps led in the campaign.
On June 22nd, the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series will make their first appearance of the year at Ruben & Katy Munoz’s Santa Maria Speedway. The “28th Annual Bud Stanfield Memorial” will also feature the VP Racing Fuels Late Models, C&D Bonding Hobby Stocks, and Toste Construction Mini Stocks. Located 1/4-mile north of the 101/166 interchange at 1900 Hutton Road in Nipomo, California, more event information can be found at www.racesantamariaspeedway.com or calling (805) 315-2023.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series would like to thank Southwest Contractors, Hoosier Tire, Amsoil, BR Motorsports, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Diversified Machine Inc., Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, King Racing Products, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, SBI Fuel Systems, Saldana Racing Products, Weld Racing, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.
For more information on the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series, visit www.westcoastsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/#!/pages/
——————————
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
June 8, 2013 – Hanford, California – Kings Speedway
WELD RACING TIME TRIALS:
1. Dennis Howell, 62, Howell-15.892; 2. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-15.912; 3. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-15.914; 4. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-16.045; 5. Jeff Sibley, 18, Watt-16.072; 6. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-16.096; 7. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-16.161; 8. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-16.226; 9. Ricky Kirkbride, 87, Van Meter-16.316; 10. Kolby Araki, 30K, Araki-16.614; 11. Don Gansen, 7G, Gansen-16.672; 12. Marty Hawkins, 3M, Hawkins-16.690; 13. Max Adams, 5X, Adams-16.701; 14. Landon Hurst, 179, Hurst-16.806; 15. Austin DeBlauw, 65, DeBlauw-16.994; 16. Matt Day, 97, Day-17.026; 17. Kevin Barnes, 36B, Barnes-17.273; 18. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.441; 19. Austin Stone, 29X, Coffman-20.284; 20. D.J. Netto, 88N, Netto-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Chris Ennis, 2. Ryan Bernal, 3. Dennis Howell, 4. Max Adams, 5. Matt Day, 6. Kolby Araki, 7. Austin Stone. NT
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps)
1. Landon Hurst, 2. Austin Liggett, 3. Bud Kaeding, 4. Kevin Barnes, 5. D.J. Netto, 6. Jeff Sibley, 7. Don Gansen. NT
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / KEIZER WHEELS HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Richard Vander Weerd, 2. Danny Faria Jr., 3. Austin DeBlauw, 4. Marty Hawkins, 5. Chris Gansen. NT
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY DASH: (6 laps)
1. Danny Faria Jr., 2. Richard Vander Weerd, 3. Ryan Bernal, 4. Dennis Howell, 5. Bud Kaeding, 6. Chris Ennis, 7. Marty Hawkins, 8. Austin Liggett. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Richard Vander Weerd (2nd), 2. Ryan Bernal (3rd), 3. Danny Faria Jr. (1st), 4. Austin Liggett (8th), 5. Dennis Howell (4th), 6. Chris Ennis (6th), 7. Don Gansen (19th), 8. D.J. Netto (15th), 9. Landon Hurst (10th), 10. Bud Kaeding (5th), 11. Marty Hawkins (7th), 12. Kolby Araki (18th), 13. Kevin Barnes (13th), 14. Austin Stone (20th), 15. Jeff Sibley (16th), 16. Matt Day (12th), 17. Austin DeBlauw (11th), 18. Chris Gansen (14th), 19. Max Adams (9th), 20. Ricky Kirkbride (DNS-17th). NT
—————————-
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-18 Danny Faria Jr., Laps 19-30 Richard Vander Weerd.
BR MOTORSPORTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Don Gansen (19th to 7th)
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1-Ryan Bernal-521, 2-Richard Vander Weerd-496, 3-Danny Faria Jr.-439, 4-Bud Kaeding-399, 5-Jace Vander Weerd-356, 6-Markus Niemela-344, 7-Rusty Carlile-314, 8-Ricky Kirkbride-276, 9-Austin Liggett-266, 10-Dennis Howell-250.
2013 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK – LOCATION
June 22: Santa Maria Speedway – Santa Maria, CA (Bud Stanfield Memorial)
July 6: Santa Maria Speedway – Santa Maria, CA (Doug Fort Memorial)
July 20: Kings Speedway – Hanford, CA
August 3: Kings Speedway – Hanford, CA (Jim Evett Memorial)
September 7: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
September 20: Kings Speedway – Hanford, CA (Jim Turner Memorial)
September 21: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (John Anthony Sharp Memorial)
September 28: *Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Brawl For It All / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series / Non-Points)
October 12: Kings Speedway – Hanford, CA (Cotton Classic)
October 31: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series / Non-Points)
November 14: *Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points)
November 15: *Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points)
November 16: *Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / $7,500-to-Win / Non-Points)
——————————
* = Co-Sanctioned Event With USAC Southwest Sprints.
This schedule is subject to change.
22 – Santa Maria (CA) Speedway – “Bud Stanfield Memorial”