By Dick Jordan
Damion Gardner and D.J. Johnson will try to protect point leads this Friday when the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint and the USAC Western Classic Sprints combine for Friday night’s program at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif.
Saturday night, the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprints continue their 2013 campaign at the Santa Maria (Calif.) Speedway.
Gardner has a 44-point lead over teammate Nic Faas entering this weekend’s pair of USAC/CRA races, while Johnson holds a tenuous five-point lead over Ryan Bernal in the Western Classics going into the Watsonville event.
Gardner has five wins in the last eight USAC/CRA outings and was the Watsonville winner in June. Faas has a pair of victories this year, while five-time series champion Mike Spencer has one.
Johnson has four “top-10” finishes in the Western Classics, while Bernal swept the two series openers, including the series debut this year at Ocean Speedway.
Bud Kaeding, currently fourth in the USAC/CRA points, was the winner at Watsonville last month. Gardner won the only previous USAC/CRA race this year at Santa Maria.
In related news, the August 17 Western Classic race at Reno-Fernley Raceway in Nevada has been removed from the calendar.
2013 USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-D.J. Johnson-295, 2-Ryan Bernal-290, 3-Tony Hunt-247, 4-Shauna Hogg-224, 5-Colton Slack-167, 6-Matt Streeter-157, 7-James Sweeney-150, 8-Scott Hall-125, 9-Colby Copeland-120, 10-Nathan Washam-113.
2013 AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-Damion Gardner-803, 2-Nic Faas-759, 3-Mike Spencer-628, 4-Bud Kaeding-564, 5-Matt Mitchell-519, 6-Austin Williams-461, 7-Cody Williams-441, 8-Brody Roa-420, 9-Ryan Bernal-359, 10-R.J. Johnson-330.