By Dick Jordan
USAC’s West Coast and Southwest Sprint Cars resume action October 12, the West Coast series at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif. and the Southwest series at Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande. Drivers Danny Faria Jr. (West Coast) and R.J. Johnson (Southwest) will try to protect their respective point leads in the October 12 races, Faria trying to close out the West Coast campaign as the series reaches its final stop.
Five-time AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Champion Mike Spencer of Temecula, Calif. won Saturday night’s 30-lap “Brawl for It All” Grudge Series sprint race at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz. He passed R.J. Johnson on lap 22 and led the rest of the way in his Mark Priestley Roy Miller Freightlines/Sander Engineering Bullet to beat Colby Copeland, Josh Pelkey, fast qualifier and new track record holder Shon Deskins and Charles Davis Jr. The race offered points toward the Southwest Sprint series and was a “special” non-points event for the West Coast Sprints.
Faria’s West Coast lead stands at 57 points over Richard Vander Weerd entering the Hanford finale, while Johnson, after finishing 15th at Peoria, continues to hold a 49-point lead over Charles Davis Jr. in the Southwest points.
2013 USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-R.J. Johnson-1,035, 2-Charles Davis Jr.-984, 3-Mike Martin-867, 4-Shon Deskins-789, 5-Ronnie Clark-760, 6-Josh Pelkey-674, 7-Andrew Reinbold-665, 8-Chris Bonneau-625, 9-Brian Hosford-562, 10-Bruce St. James-535.