by Lance Jennings
WATSONVILLE, CA – JUNE 16, 2013… Using a last lap “slide job” pass on Bud Kaeding, Concord’s “The Demon” Damion Gardner scored his 45th career Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory. Outside front row starter Nic Faas led the first twenty-one laps at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway before Kaeding grabbed the top spot. Bud led the next eight circuits before Gardner’s daring pass took away the win. Co-sanctioned with the USAC Western Classic Racing Series, Kaeding, Faas, Matt Mitchell, and WCRS point leader Ryan Bernal rounded out the top five drivers.
Prior to the 30-lap feature, both Kaeding and Gardner honored racer Jason Leffler with memorial laps at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds oval. Leffler, who passed away earlier in the week, was good friends with both drivers and Damion’s car owner when he moved to Indiana to race with USAC. In the mid-1990s, Jason competed briefly with the SCRA Sprints before moving up the NASCAR ranks. He will be missed by many in the racing community.
Piloting Mark Alexander’s #4A Scott Sales Company / Competition Suspension Inc. Spike, Damion Gardner out-qualified the 29 car field and earned his third Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award. Scoring fourth in his heat race and claiming his fourth win of season, Damion leads the point chase with four heat race victories, one dash win, ten top-10 finishes, and 77 feature laps led to his credit.
Bud Kaeding of Campbell was looking for his first win of the season and had to settle for second on this night. Racing Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Bullet, the 3-time USAC Silver Crown Champion was third fast in time trials and third in his heat race. With the runner-up finish, Bud moved to third in the standings with one Dash win, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, nine top-10 finishes, and 25 feature laps led in the campaign.
Huntington Beach’s Nic Faas led the first 21 laps before falling to Kaeding and scoring third. Driving Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / Competition Suspension Inc. Spike, the 2008 Rookie of the Year qualified seventh and was second in his heat race. Currently second in points, Nic has one feature win, one heat race victory, ten top-10 finishes, and 33 feature laps led on the season.
Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda raced to fourth after starting seventh. Piloting his #37 MPD Racing / A.R.T. Enterprises entry, Mitchell was fifth fast in time trials, fifth in his heat race, and won the 12-lap Competition Suspension / Rod End Supply Semi-Main. To date, the 2-time “Salute to Indy” winner is fifth in the standings with two heat race victories, six top-10 finishes, and 30 feature laps led in 2013.
Hollister’s Ryan Bernal was the highest finishing WCRS car, scoring fifth in the main event. Racing Keith Ford’s #73 Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Bernal qualified eighth and was third in his heat race. The WCRS point leader is ninth in USAC/CRA standings with two Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics “Hard Charger” Awards, five top-10 finishes, and 9 feature laps led.
Markus Niemela of Rauma, Finland earned the night’s Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with an eighth place run from nineteenth. Driving Steve Watt’s #18 Christian Stover Foundation / Lost Reality Clothing Maxim, Niemela was twenty-second quick and second in his heat race. The hard charging driver is twenty-first in points with two top-10 finishes on the season.
Fremont’s Shane Golobic race to victory in the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. Piloting Joe Von Schriltz’s #121 Country Builders Construction / ButlerBuilt Maxim, the recent World of Outlaw Sprint winner qualified seventeenth and scored twenty-first after an early exit.
Austin Liggett of Tracy won the night’s DJ Safety Heat Race #2. Racing the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Home Connections Inc. Maxim, last year’s USAC West Coast Rookie of the Year was tenth fast in time trials and ninth in the 30-lap feature.
“Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. of Tipton won the Saldana Racing Products / Circle Track Performance Heat Race #3. Driving his #17V Johnston Calf Pens / DeBoer & Sons Trucking Spike, Faria qualified fifteenth and claimed thirteenth in the main event. In limited USAC/CRA appearances, “Hollywood” has two heat race victories, one dash win, and one top-10 finish.
Yorba Linda’s “The Cadillac” Cody Williams scored the Weld Racing / SBI Fuel Systems Heat Race #4 win. Piloting Jack Jory’s #44 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Spike, the Watsonville track record holder was twenty-fourth quick in time trials and claimed nineteenth in the feature after a flip ended his night. Currently sixth in the standings, Cody has one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, five top-10 finishes, and 3 feature laps led on the season.
The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series would like to thank Hoosier Tire, BR Motorsports, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Inc., 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 Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit www.usacracing.com/cra or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/USAC-
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA & WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS:
June 14, 2013 – Watsonville, California – Ocean Speedway
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TIME TRIALS:
1. Damion Gardner, 4A, Alexander-12.764; 2. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-12.809; 3. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-12.850; 4. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-12.870; 5. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-12.933; 6. Marty Hawkins, 3M, Hawkins-12.982; 7. Nic Faas, 4, Alexander-13.009; 8. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-13.053; 9. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-13.067; 10. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-13.071; 11. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-13.077; 12. Cory Kruseman, 7, Priestley-13.147; 13. Landon Hurst, 179, Hurst-13.152; 14. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-13.198; 15. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-13.204; 16. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-13.286; 17. Shane Golobic, 121, Von Schriltz-13.300; 18. Colby Copeland, 14, Vertullo/Pierson-13.338; 19. Tony Hunt, 56, Phulps-13.361; 20. Klint Simpson, 84, Simpson-13,374; 21. Geoff Ensign, 5V, Van Lare-13.474; 22. Markus Niemela, 81, Watt-13.480; 23. Rip Williams, 3, Jory-13.489; 24. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-13.530; 25. Colton Slack, 17, Slack-13.607; 26. Nathan Washam, 33X, Hood-13.814; 27. James Sweeney, 11X, Lewis-14.452; 28. Shauna Hogg, 5, Hogg-NT; 29. Terry Rothweiler, 17S, Shanoian-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Shane Golobic, 2. Richard Vander Weerd, 3. Geoff Ensign, 4. Damion Gardner, 5. Matt Mitchell, 6. Landon Hurst, 7. Colton Slack. NT
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps)
1. Austin Liggett, 2. Markus Niemela, 3. Mike Spencer, 4. Jace Vander Weerd, 5. Nathan Washam, 6. Marty Hawkins, 7. Colby Copeland. NT
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Danny Faria Jr., 2. Nic Faas, 3. Bud Kaeding, 4. Tony Hunt, 5, Rip Williams, 6. Brody Roa, 7. James Sweeney. NT
WELD RACING / SBI FUEL SYSTEMS HEAT RACE 4: (10 laps)
1. Cody Williams, 2. Cory Kruseman, 3. Ryan Bernal, 4. Austin Williams, 5. D.J. Johnson, 6. Klint Simpson, 7. Shauna Hogg. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / ROD END SUPPLY SEMI-MAIN: (12 laps)
1. Matt Mitchell, 2. Brody Roa, 3. Colby Copeland, 4. D.J. Johnson, 5. Rip Williams, 6. Colton Slack, 7. Nathan Washam, 8. Marty Hawkins, 9. James Sweeney, 10. Klint Simpson, 11. Shauna Hogg, 12. Landon Hurst. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Damion Gardner (6th), 2. Bud Kaeding (4th), 3. Nic Faas (2nd), 4. Matt Mitchell (7th), 5. Ryan Bernal (1st), 6. Cory Kruseman (11th), 7. Richard Vander Weerd (8th), 8. Markus Niemela (19th), 9. Austin Liggett (9th), 10. Geoff Ensign (18th), 11. Colby Copeland (16th), 12. Brody Roa (10th), 13. Danny Faria Jr. (13th), 14. D.J. Johnson (14th), 15. Jace Vander Weerd (12th), 16. Rip Williams (20th), 17. Tony Hunt (17th), 18. Austin Williams (3rd), 19. Cody Williams (21st), 20. Mike Spencer (5th), 21. Shane Golobic (15th), 22. Shauna Hogg (23rd), 23. Colton Slack (22nd). NT
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**Landon Hurst flipped in the semi-main.
**Colton Slack & Cody Williams flipped in the feature.
**Shauna Hogg used a provisional.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Nic Faas, Laps 22-29 Bud Kaeding, Lap 30 Damion Gardner.
KEIZER WHEELS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Markus Niemela (19th to 8th)