From Lance Jennings
Santa Maria, CA — (August 14, 2013) — This Saturday, August 17th, the cars and stars of the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will return to Perris Auto Speedway for the “California Racers Hall of Fame Night.” The special showcase will also feature the California Lightning Sprints, PAS Senior Sprint Cars, and PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars presented by The Sprint Car Driving Experience. The spectator gates at the “Southern California Home of Major League Sprint Car Racing” will open at 5:00pm and racing will start at 7:00pm.
The “California Racers Hall of Fame Night” continues the tradition of honoring those that have contributed to the Southern California Sprint Car scene. Going back to the legendary Ascot Park, special events have paid tribute to Don Peabody, Dave Sanborn, Jack & Wilda Kindoll, the Bagleys (Jeff, Paul, and Helen), and Glenn Howard. Led by the efforts of Perris and Ascot infield announcer Chris Holt, additional prize money has been raised to add spice to an already exciting program.
Starting with the “Billy Wilkerson Fast Time Award,” $700 will be awarded to the driver that sets fast time in qualifications. The driver that is second quick in time trials will earn $200. The “Walt James Last Man Standing Trophy Dash” will feature the four fastest qualifiers in three, three lap races. As the last driver is eliminated in each of the stages, the last remaining driver will pocket $2,625 at press time. The dash purse could rise to over $3,000 and more potential awards are available. Interested parties can email Chris Holt at MrChrisHolt@aol.com.
Heading to Saturday, Concord’s “The Demon” Damion Gardner holds a 130 point advantage over the competition. Piloting Mark Alexander’s #4A Scott Sales Company / Advanced Racing Suspension Spike, Gardner ran twenty-first last Friday at Watsonville and third the following night at Santa Maria. To date, “The Demon” has five feature wins, four Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, six heat race victories, one dash win, thirteen top-10 finishes, and 91 feature laps led. The 2005 Champion will have his sights on the Perris victory after qualifying the “World’s Fastest Sprint Car” at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Gardner’s teammate, Nic Faas of Huntington Beach is second in the championship standings. Faas missed the Watsonville-Santa Maria road trip due to illness, but already has two Perris victories in 2013. Racing Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / Competition Suspension Inc. Spike, the former USAC Western Midget Champion has three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, twelve top-10 finishes, and 47 feature laps led to his credit. Nic will be looking to add the billet trophy to his collection and gain valuable points.
Sitting third in the USAC/CRA point chase is Temecula’s Mike Spencer. Driving Ron Chaffin’s #50 Grubstake Mini Storage / Madera Produce Maxim, Spencer claimed fifteenth at Watsonville and fifth at Santa Maria. To date, the five-time USAC/CRA champion has one feature win, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 17 feature laps led. On Saturday, Mike will be looking for another “California Racers Hall of Fame Night” feature win.
Climbing to fourth in the point standings is Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda. Piloting his #37 MPD Racing / A.R.T. Enterprises entry, Mitchell scored eighteenth at Watsonville and second at Santa Maria. Currently, the former USAC Western Midget Rookie of the Year has one feature win, four heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, nine top-10 finishes, and 32 feature laps led one the season. At Perris, Matt will have his sights on his sixth career USAC/CRA main event victory.
Campbell’s Bud Kaeding is fifth in the USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Bullet, Bud missed the action at Watsonville and Santa Maria. Entering Saturday’s race, the 3-time Oval Nationals Champion has yet to win a main event, but has one dash win, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, nine top-10 finishes, and 25 feature laps led on the year. Kaeding will be looking to at the “California Racers Hall of Fame Night” main event to his win list.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Austin Williams, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Brody Roa, Ryan Bernal, Richard Vander Weerd, “The Ripper” Rip Williams, “Dynamite” David Cardey, Seth Wilson, “Super” Rickie Gaunt, Jace Vander Weerd, “The Kruser” Cory Kruseman, and many more. Local 360 iron-block powered Sprint Cars are welcome to race with USAC/CRA. The 360s can run their local approved Hoosier tires, but must meet series tech standards and race track muffler rules.
Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California. General Adult tickets are $25, Senior tickets (65 and over) are $20, and $5 for Children (6-12). For more information, visit www.perrisautospeedway.com or call (951) 940-0134. Camping is available for $25 at the fairgrounds.
To catch all of the action of the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, Loudpedal Productions has DVD videos available for purchase. For more information, call (805) 407-7229 or visit www.loudpedalvideo.com. In addition, Perris Auto Speedway offers a live pay per view feed at www.circletracknetwork.com and the live feed is scheduled to begin at 5:30pm PST.
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, Rugged Radios, Rod End Supply, 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 or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/USAC-
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS:
1-Damion Gardner-889, 2-Nic Faas-759, 3-Mike Spencer-708, 4-Matt Mitchell-613, 5-Bud Kaeding-564, 6-Austin Williams-545, 7-CodyWilliams-538, 8-Brody Roa-505, 9-Ryan Bernal-491, 10-Richard Vander Weerd-371.
CALIFORNIA RACERS HALL OF FAME NIGHT WINNERS:
2012-Mike Spencer.
2013 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK – LOCATION
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (California Racers Hall of Fame Night)
August 31: **Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 1: **Calistoga Speedway – Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 14: Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Glenn Howard Classic)
October 25: *Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Hall of Fame Classic)
October 26: *Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Hall of Fame Classic)
November 1: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 2: *Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC National Sprints.
** = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC Western Classic Racing Series.
This schedule is subject to change.
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ATTACHED PHOTOS/IMAGES:
– #37 Matt Mitchell. 4th in USAC/CRA points. Photo by Doug Allen.