By Lance Jennings
PEORIA, AZ – NOVEMBER 12, 2013… Starting Thursday, November 14th, Kevin Montgomery’s Canyon Speedway Park will host the “46th Annual Sands Chevrolet Western World Championships presented by the Racers Advantage Store.” The three day co-sanctioned event between the USAC SouthWest and USAC West Coast Sprint Cars will also showcase the Honda USAC National and Western Midget Series. The Front Gates will open at 4:00pm with Racing scheduled to begin at 7:00pm.
In addition to the $7,500-to-win Sprint Car purse, Montgomery has secured a special bonus for the “Western World Championships.” If the winning Sprint Car driver can also win the Midget feature ($7,500-to-win), a $5,000 bonus from E&K Construction will raise the impressive payday to $20,000. As this writing goes to press, about 50 Sprint Cars have pre-entered the historic event and the entry list is posted at the end of this release.
The USAC Sprint Car field will be split between the Thursday and Friday night preliminaries. Using a pill draw format to set the heat race lineups, a finishing/passing point will set the qualifiers. The top-16 in overall points will transfer to the main event with the remaining cars set for the semi-main. On Saturday, the top four from each night are locked into the $7,500-to-win finale. Those eight drivers will have a “Revenge Draw” to determine a Passing Masters Dash where the finish will set the first four rows of the main event. The remaining cars will lineup according to points in twin semi-mains and a consolation race if needed.
While “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. has already clinched the USAC West Coast title, the USAC SouthWest crown will be earned this weekend. Racing Bill Michaels’ #77M Kodiak Products / Beal’s Auto Body Sherman, R.J. Johnson of Phoenix has a 57-point advantage over the competition. While running sixth in the October 31st “360 Oval Nationals” at Perris Auto Speedway, Johnson has had a career season in 2013. To date, the USAC/CRA “Copper on Dirt” winner has recorded ten feature wins, nine Racers Advantage Store Heat Race victories, five Sunoco Fuels Passing Masters Dash wins, two hard charger awards, twenty-one top-10 finishes, and 295 feature laps led. R.J will have his sights on claiming the $20,000 paycheck at Canyon Speedway Park.
Buckeye’s “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. is second in the SouthWest point standings. Driving the Massey Motorsports’ #50 RSS Industries / Rod End Supply RSS, Davis set a new track record and scored seventeenth at the “360 Oval Nationals.” Currently, the five-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion has six feature wins, one fast time award, eleven Racers Advantage Store Heat Race victories, four Sunoco Fuels Passing Masters Dash wins, two semi-main wins, three hard charger awards, twenty-five top-10 finishes, and 117 feature laps led. The veteran driver will be looking to win the Western World and take the championship.
“The Magic Man” Mike Martin of Yuma ranks third in the championship points. Piloting his #16 PPG Pittsburg Paints / Ultimate Offroad Maxim, Martin ran tenth in the Halloween night feature. As this writing goes to press, “The Magic Man” has one feature win, one fast time award, seven Racers Advantage Store Heat Race victories, twenty-one top-10 finishes, and 24 feature laps led on the year. Mike will have his sights on adding his name to the winner’s list of the Western World and earning a nice payday.
Phoenix’s Shon Deskins sits fourth in the USAC SouthWest point chase. Racing his #20 Performance Plus / Ellis Race Cars Spike, Deskins had an early exit in the Perris finale, scoring twenty-second. To date, the veteran driver has eight Racers Advantage Store Heat Race victories, one semi-main win, one hard charger award, fifteen top-10 finishes, and eight feature laps led on the season. Shon will be one of the drivers to watch at the Western World Championships.
Ronnie Clark of Tucson is fifth in the point standings. Driving the family owned #6 RCM / Ellis Race Cars machine, Clark did not compete in “360 Oval Nationals.” As this writing goes to press, the veteran driver has yet to claim a main event win, but has three Racers Advantage Store Heat Race victories and fourteen top-10 finishes in the campaign. Ronnie will be looking to score an upset victory and earn the $7,500 payday at Canyon Speedway Park.
Canyon Speedway Park is located at 9777 West Carefree Highway in Peoria, Arizona. To get to the track, take Lake Pleasant Parkway, then 1.3 miles west on Carefree Highway. Single Day Adult Tickets are $20 for Thursday and Friday and $25 on Saturday. Three Day Adult Tickets are $65, Three Day VIP Suite Tickets are $95 and All Access Passes are $110. Advance tickets are on sale now and for more event information, visit www.canyonspeedwaypark.com or call (602) 258-7223 (RACE).
The USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series would like to thank Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Tire, Hose Advantage Store, and the Racers Advantage Store for their support. For more information on the series, visit www.southwestsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series would like to thank Southwest Contractors, Hoosier Tire, Amsoil, BR Motorsports, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, King Racing Products, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, SBI Fuel Systems, Saldana Racing Products, Weld Racing, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. For more information on the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series, visit www.westcoastsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/#!/pages/
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WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONS: (WING / NON-WING)
1968-Bob Cleberg (nw); 1969-Bob Huebner (nw); 1970-Jerry McClung (nw); 1971-Jan Opperman (nw); 1972-Jan Opperman (nw); 1973-Earl Wagner (nw); 1974-Rick Ferkel (nw); 1975-Ron Shuman (nw); 1976-Bubby Jones (nw); 1977-Ron Shuman (nw); 1978-Lealand McSpadden (nw); 1979-Tim Green (nw); 1980-Jeff Swindell (nw); 1981-Ron Shuman (nw); 1982-Steve Kinser (nw); 1983-Steve Kinser (nw); 1984-Ron Shuman (nw); 1985-Steve Kinser (w); 1986-Bobby Davis Jr. (w); 1987-Steve Kinser (w); 1988-Mark Kinser (w); 1989-Sammy Swindell (w); 1990-Steve Kinser (w); 1991-Danny Lasoski (w); 1992-Steve Kinser (w); 1993-Lealand McSpadden (nw); 1994-Ron Shuman (nw); 1995-Lealand McSpadden (nw); 1996-Steve Kinser (w); 1997-Mark Kinser (w); 1998-Tyler Walker (w); 1999-Donny Schatz (w); 2000-Jay Drake (nw); 2001-Jeremy Sherman (nw); 2002- Bud Kaeding (nw); 2003-Tony Elliott (nw); 2004-Bud Kaeding (nw); 2005-Dave Darland (nw); 2006-Josh Wise (nw); 2007-Jerry Coons Jr. (nw); 2008-Kevin Swindell (nw); 2009-Sammy Swindell (w)/Brady Bacon (nw); 2010-Donny Schatz (w)/Brady Bacon (nw); 2011-Donny Schatz (w)/Tracy Hines (nw); 2012-Wayne Johnson (w)/Bryan Clauson (nw).
THURSDAY QUALIFIERS:
2 Matthew Rossi (Glendale, AZ); 2 Joshua Shipley (Peoria, AZ); 5 Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, AZ); 5V Bradley Terrell (Sebastopol, CA); 6 Ronnie Clark (Tucson, AZ); 7K Bruce St. James (Phoenix, AZ); 8 Bob Ream, Jr. (Glendale, AZ); 9 Ryan Linder (Phoenix, AZ); 11 Joe Ramaker (Boise, ID); 12 Josh Grady (Floravista, NM); 18 Dustin Cormany (Phoenix, AZ); 20 Shon Deskins (Waddell, AZ); 26 Connor Kassik (Hanford, CA); 29 Mike Bonneau (Phoenix, AZ); 48 Thomas Ogle (Phoenix, AZ); 50 Charles Davis, Jr. (Buckeye, AZ); 53 Tom Lee (Prescott, AZ); 57X James Aragon (Glendale, AZ); 68 Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA); 73 Dave Darland (Lincoln, IN); 74 Colby Copeland (Glendale, AZ); 77M R.J. Johnson (Phoenix, AZ); 88 Richard Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA); 99 Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK); Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ).
FRIDAY QUALIFIERS:
3X Jimmy Crawford (Ventura, CA); 5 Tye Mihocko (Peoria, AZ); 5X Jody Wirth (Queen Creek, AZ); 7M Mike Spencer (Temecula, CA); 10 Jace Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA); 11C Michael Curtis; (Cottonwood, AZ); 12 Josh Pelkey (Peoria, AZ); 16 Mike Martin (Yuma, AZ); 19 Andrew Reinbold (Gilbert, AZ); 20 Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, IN); 20S Jon Stanbrough (Avon, IN); 21 Tracy Hines (Wilkinson, IN); 28 Mark Morin (Surprise, AZ); 32B Brian Hosford (Gilbert, AZ); 41W Rick Ziehl (Las Cruces, NM); 45 Jason Grady (Floravista, NM); 55 Tony Everhart (El Cajon, CA); 57 TBA; 60 Michael Harms (Scottsdale, AZ); 74X Chad Boespflug (Hanford, CA); 77 Casey Shuman (Rattlesnake Bend, AZ); 93 Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK); 97 Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Cullman, AL); 98 Matt Lundy (Phoenix, AZ).
USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1-R.J. Johnson-1161, 2-Charles Davis Jr.-1104, 3-Mike Martin-965, 4-Shon Deskins-860, 5-Ronnie Clark-827, 6-Josh Pelkey-786, 7-Andy Reinbold-767, 8-Brian Hosford-629, 9-Chris Bonneau-625, 10-Bruce St. James-614, 11-Mike Bonneau-589, 12-Steven Harms-474, 13-Bryan Swinehart-373, 14-Thomas Ogle-367, 15-Bob Ream Jr.-341, 16-Jody Wirth-335, 17-Stevie Sussex-331, 18-James Aragon-329, 19-Justin Quinn-320, 20-Michael Curtis-319.
FINAL USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1-Danny Faria Jr.-930, 2-Richard Vander Weerd-903, 3-Bud Kaeding-862, 4-Markus Niemela-677, 5-Rusty Carlile-665, 6-Ryan Bernal-661, 7-Jace Vander Weerd-609, 8-Austin Liggett-545, 9-Landon Hurst-492, 10-Kevin Barnes-440, 11-Jeff Sibley-440, 12-Ricky Kirkbride-377, 13-Marty Hawkins-335, 14-Matt Day-302, 15-Chris Ennis-289, 16-Dennis Howell-270, 17-D.J. Netto-268, 18-Troy Rutherford-258, 19-Andy Ferris-251, 20-Kolby Araki-231.