by Lance Jennings
WATSONVILLE, CA – AUGUST 11, 2013… In a storybook ending, Santa Rosa’s Marty Hawkins led the final two laps to score his first USAC Western Classic main event at Ocean Speedway. Co-sanctioned with the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, the Friday night triumph earned Marty $2,500 for his efforts. Richard Vander Weerd, Jace Vander Weerd, Jay Waugh, and Ryan Bernal followed Hawkins to the checkered flags.
Looking for his first USAC Sprint Car victory, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams led the first fourteen laps from the pole position. Charging from fifth, Ryan Bernal took command from Williams and set to run away from the field with his restricted machine. While multiple caution flags halted the action and several of the heavy favorites were retired, Ryan maintained the top spot. Unfortunately, a late yellow flag bunched the field and Ryan’s car faltered on the restart. As the leader struggled with fuel problems, Hawkins took advantage and sailed to the upset victory.
Piloting his #3M Blakeley Landscaping / The Toyiabe Group Eagle, Marty Hawkins also earned the night’s Kaeding Performance / Racing Optics “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with the win after starting thirteenth. Qualifying thirteenth out of the twenty-one cars in the pit area, Hawkins also won his first heat race of 2013, claiming the Extreme Mufflers sponsored event.
Richard Vander Weerd of Visalia had a solid night in his second Watsonville appearance with a runner-up finish after starting eighth. Driving the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Richard was sixth fast in time trials and placed fifth in his heat race. To date, Vander Weerd has one Saldana Racing Products / Rod End Supply Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, three top-10 finishes, and 10 feature laps led.
Visalia’s Jace Vander Weerd scored third in the Watsonville main event after starting twelfth. Racing the family owned #88 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Jace qualified twelfth overall and claimed sixth in his heat race. With a second and third place finish at Ocean Speedway, the Vander Weerd team had their best night in USAC competition.
Jay Waugh of Canberra, Australia had his best finish with USAC finish with a fourth place run from sixteenth. Piloting the 360 powered Kruseman Motorsports’ #89K Lucas Oil / Cory Kruseman’s Sprint Car & Midget Driving School Eagle, Waugh was sixteenth quick in time trials and sixth in his heat race.
After leading fourteen laps, Hollister’s Ryan Bernal scored fifth at the checkered flags. Driving Keith Ford’s #73 Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Bernal qualified second and ran second in his heat race. When the dust settled, Ryan reclaimed the Western Classic point lead with one heat race victory, one dash win, one Kaeding Performance / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, four top-10 finihses, and 67 feature laps led.
Austin Williams of Yorba Linda earned his first Saldana Racing Products / Rod End Supply Fast Time Award of the campaign. Racing Jack Jory’s #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Spike, Williams was fourth in his heat race and scored nineteenth in the main event after an early exit.
Concord’s “The Demon” Damion Gardner won the 10-lap DJ Safety Heat Race #2. Piloting Mark Alexander’s #4A Scott Sales Company / Advanced Racing Suspension Spike, Gardner was fifth quick in time trials and scored twenty-first in the feature after an early flip.
Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda won the program’s Keizer Wheels / Competition Suspension Inc. Heat Race #3. Driving his #37 MPD Racing / A.R.T. Enterprises entry, Mitchell qualified third and claimed eighteenth in the main event after an early exit.
The USAC Western Classic Racing Series will return to action on Saturday, August 31st at Calistoga Speedway for the annual “Louie Vermeil Classic.” Co-sanctioned with the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, the event will also feature the Honda USAC Western Midget Series and Vintage Cars. Located on the Napa County Fairgrounds, advance tickets are on sale and for more information, visit the www.louievermeilclassic.net or call (916) 773-7223.
Announced in earlier press releases, the August 17th event at Reno-Tahoe-Fernley Speedway has been cancelled.
The USAC Western Classic Racing Series would like to thank Amsoil, Hoosier Tire, BR Motorsports, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, King Racing Products, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, SBI Fuel Systems, and Saldana Racing Products 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 Western Classic Racing Series, visit www.usacracing.com, follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA & WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
August 9, 2013 – Watsonville, California – Ocean Speedway
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / ROD END SUPPLY TIME TRIALS:
1. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-12.975; 2. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-13.015; 3. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-13.028; 4. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-13.036; 5. Damion Gardner, 4A, Alexander-13.040; 6. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-13.057; 7. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-13.266; 8. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-13.302; 9. Aiden Corish, 21K, Kruseman-13.406; 10. Nathan Washam, 33X, Hood-13.483; 11. Landon Hurst, 179, Hurst-13.490; 12. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-13.497; 13. Marty Hawkins, 3M, Hawkins-13.581; 14. Tony Hunt, 56, Phulps-13.682; 15. Rip Williams, 3, Jory-13.703; 16. Jay Waugh, 89K, Kruseman-13.728; 17. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson- 13.750; 18. Nick Larson, 24N, Larson-13.767; 19. Austin Smith, 36, Springstead-13.855; 20. Shauna Hogg, 5, Hogg-13.960; 21. Geoff Ensign, 5V, VanLare-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Marty Hawkins, 2. Nathan Washam, 3. Brody Roa, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Austin Smith, 6. Jay Waugh, 7. Mike Spencer. NT
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps)
1. Damion Gardner, 2. Ryan Bernal, 3. D.J. Johnson, 4. Cody Williams, 5. Landon Hurst, 6. Tony Hunt, 7. Shauna Hogg. NT
KEIZER WHEELS / COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Matt Mitchell, 2. Rip Williams, 3. Nick Larson, 4. Aiden Corish, 5. Richard Vander Weerd, 6. Jace Vander Weerd, 7. Geoff Ensign. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Marty Hawkins (13th), 2. Richard Vander Weerd (8th), 3. Jace Vander Weerd (12th), 4. Jay Waugh (16th), 5. Ryan Bernal (5th), 6. Tony Hunt (14th), 7. Cody Williams (1st), 8. Nathan Washam (10th), 9. Shauna Hogg (20th), 10. Nick Larson (18th), 11. Brody Roa (2nd), 12. Landon Hurst (11th), 13. Geoff Ensign (21st), 14. Aiden Corish (9th), 15. Mike Spencer (7th), 16. Austin Smith (19th), 17. D.J. Johnson (17th), 18. Matt Mitchell (4th), 19. Austin Williams (6th), 20. Rip Williams (15th), 21. Damion Gardner (3rd). NT
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**Damion Gardner flipped during the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Cody Williams, Laps 15-28 Ryan Bernal, Laps 29-30 Marty Hawkins.
KAEDING PERFORMANCE / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Marty Hawkins (13th to 1st)
USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT POINTS: 1-Bernal-410, 2-Johnson-380, 3-Hunt-355, 4-Hogg-322, 5-Hurst-113, 6-Gordon Rodgers-94, 7-Hawkins-86, 8-Bud Kaeding-73, 9-Ensign-71, 10-R.Vander Weerd-68.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS: 1-Gardner-826, 2-Nic Faas-759, 3-Spencer-656, 4-Bud Kaeding-564, 5-Mitchell-548, 6-C.Williams-488, 7-A.Williams-487, 8-Roa-457, 9-Bernal-419, 10-R.Vander Weerd-371.