From Lance Jennings
Santa Maria, CA — (October 28, 2013) — This Friday and Saturday, the cars and stars of the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will return to Don Kazarian’s Perris Auto Speedway for the “18th Annual Budweiser Oval Nationals, presented by All Coast Construction.” Co-sanctioned with the USAC National Series, over forty entries from across the country will compete in the prestigious $15,000-to-win event. The popular winged California Lightning Sprints and the PAS 360 Senior Sprints will join the action at “America’s Premier Dirt Track.”
The festivities will begin on Wednesday, October 30th, with a special practice session. Admission to the grandstands is FREE and cars will be on the track between 5:00pm and 6:00pm. The concession stand will be open with $2 pizza and $2 beers for sale. The following night, Perris Auto Speedway will host the “360 Oval Nationals” featuring the USAC West Coast and SouthWest Sprint Cars. Several USAC National and USAC/CRA regulars are expected to compete in the “Grudge Series” finale that will pay $2,500-to-win and $300-to-start. In addition, there will be Halloween contests for kids and adults, while candy will be given away to kids around the facility.
This year, longtime race fan Shawn McDonald will serve as Grand Marshall. For racers, extra bonuses will be up for grabs. Sponsored by Woodland Auto Display, an extra $600 will be collected by the driver that earns the Billy Wilkerson Fast Time Award on both nights. Thanks to All Coast Construction, the top four 360 cubic-inch powered sprints on Friday and Saturday will earn an extra bonus. The top 360 will earn $750, second will take home $350, third will receive $250 and the fourth 360 will pocket $150. In addition, the Ray Scheetz Mechanic of the Race Award will also be presented.
Heading into the Oval Nationals, “The Demon” Damion Gardner of Concord holds a 140 point advantage as he closes in on his second Amsoil USAC/CRA Championship. Driving Mark Alexander’s #4A Scott Sales Company / Advanced Racing Suspension Spike, Gardner scored fifth and eighth at Canyon Speedway Park’s 2-day “Hall of Fame Classic.” Currently, “The World’s Fastest Sprint Car Driver” has five feature wins, four Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, nine heat race victories, one dash win, one Last Man Standing Dash win, eighteen top-10 finishes, and 108 feature laps led. “The Demon” will have his sights on claiming his third Oval Nationals victory.
Gardner’s teammate, Huntington Beach’s Nic Faas is second in the USAC/CRA point chase. Piloting Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / Competition Suspension Inc. Spike, Faas placed nineteenth and fourteenth at Canyon Speedway Park. This season, the former USAC Western Midget Series Champion has three feature wins, four Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, sixteen top-10 finishes, and 56 feature laps led. Nic will be looking to claim his 10th career USAC/CRA main event triumph at the Oval Nationals.
Mike Spencer of Temecula sits third in the Amsoil USAC/CRA point standings. Racing Ron Chaffin’s #50 Grubstake Mini Storage / Madera Produce Maxim, Spencer scored third and fifteenth at the “Hall of Fame Classic.” Currently, the five-time champion has one feature win, seven Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, five heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, fifteen top-10 finishes, and 48 feature laps led. Last year’s Oval Nationals Champion will have his sights on adding another eagle trophy to his collection with his 35th career USAC/CRA victory.
Yorba Linda’s Matt Mitchell is fourth in the championship point standings. Driving his #37 MPD Racing / A.R.T. Enterprises entry, Mitchell ran twelfth and thirteenth at Canyon Speedway Park. To date, 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, ten top-10 finishes, and 58 feature laps led to his credit. Matt will be looking to win his 6th USAC/CRA main event at the Oval Nationals.
Bud Kaeding of Campbell is fifth in USAC/CRA point standings. Piloting Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Maxim, the 3-time Oval Nationals Champion did not compete at the “Hall of Fame Classic.” Entering Friday’s race, Kaeding has one feature win, one heat race victory, one dash win, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, twelve top-10 finishes, and 40 feature laps led in 2013. Bud will have his sights on winning his fourth Budweiser Oval Nationals and scoring his seventh career USAC/CRA main event victory.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Austin Williams, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Brody Roa, Ryan Bernal, “The Ripper” Rip Williams, R.J. Johnson, Richard Vander Weerd, Jace Vander Weerd, “Dynamite” David Cardey, “The Kruser” Cory Kruseman, “Super” Rickie Gaunt, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., Seth Wilson, “The Magic Man” Mike Martin, and 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.
Ranking 13th with USAC/CRA, Bryan Clauson also leads the Amsoil USAC National Sprint point standings. “The People’s Champion” Dave Darland, Brady Bacon, Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas Jr., Tracy Hines, “The Madman” Robert Ballou, “The Bear” Chris Windom, Tyler Courtney, and Hunter Schuerenberg round out the top-10 drivers. Other National drivers expected to race at Perris are Jon Stanbrough, Justin Grant, and Nick Drake.
Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds at 18700 Lake Perris Drive in Perris, California. Advance tickets are on sale and Friday General Adult tickets are $30 and $8 for Children (6-12). Saturday General Adult tickets are $30 and $12 for Children (6-12). 3-Day General Adult passes are $60 and $20 for Children (6-12). 3-Day Reserved Adult passes are $85 and $$35 for Children (6-12). For more information, visit www.perrisautospeedway.com or call (951) 940-0134. Camping is available for $25 at the fairgrounds.
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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OVAL NATIONALS CHAMPIONS:
1996-Jimmy Sills; 1997-Rip Williams; 1998-Rodney Argo; 1999-Rickie Gaunt; 2000-Tony Jones; 2001-Bud Kaeding; 2002-Bud Kaeding; 2003-Cory Kruseman; 2004-Cory Kruseman; 2005-Dave Darland; 2006-Dave Darland; 2007-Bud Kaeding; 2008-Jesse Hockett; 2009-Damion Gardner; 2010-Chris Windom; 2011-Damion Gardner; 2012-Mike Spencer.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINT STANDINGS:
1-Damion Gardner-1,208, 2-Nic Faas-1,068, 3-Mike Spencer-1,053, 4-Matt Mitchell-803, 5-Bud Kaeding-753, 6-Austin Williams-751, 7-Cody Williams-734, 8-Brody Roa-659, 9-Ryan Bernal-551, 10-Rip Williams-470, 11-R.J. Johnson-459, 12-Richard Vander Weerd-447, 13-Bryan Clauson-380, 14-Jace Vander Weerd-332, 15-David Cardey-330, 16-Cory Kruseman-321, 17-Rickie Gaunt-315, 18-Charles Davis Jr.-279, 19-Seth Wilson-274, 20-Mike Martin-364.
AMSOIL USAC NATIONAL SPRINT POINT STANDINGS:
1-Bryan Clauson-1,828; 2-Dave Darland-1,771; 3-Brady Bacon-1,658; 4-Chase Stockon-1,582; 5-Kevin Thomas Jr.-1,574; 6-Tracy Hines-1,464; 7-Robert Ballou-1,413; 8-Chris Windom-1,155; 9-Tyler Courtney-1,027; 10-Hunter Schuerenberg-1,000, 11-Shane Cottle-952, 12-Jon Stanbrough-885, 13-Justin Grant-678, 14-C.J. Leary-631, 15-Nick Drake-620, 16-Jerry Coons Jr.-559, 17-Kyle Cummins-413, 18-Christopher Bell-370, 19-Scotty Weir-361, 20-Levi Jones-332.
2013 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK – LOCATION
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.