By Scott Daloisio
(Perris, CA, April 29, 2014) The wildly popular Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will top the list of performers this Saturday night in a sprint car quadruple header at Perris Auto Speedway. Joining the most exciting sprint cars series west of the Mississippi on the famous Riverside County half-mile clay oval will be The PAS Senior & Young Gun Sprint and the California Lightning Sprint Cars. Spectator gates for the open wheel spectacular will open at 5:00 PM and the first race will take the green flag at 7:00.
The racing table is already set for another appetizing battle between defending series champion Damion Gardner of Concord, California and 5-time series champ Mike Spencer of Temecula. Gardner has won the first two races at The PAS in 2014, but each time has had to withstand a tremendous attack by Spencer. In fact, the 32-year-old Cal Poly Pomona engineering graduate has passed Gardner for the lead in each race only to see the slender Northern California star get back by and be the first driver to arrive at the checkered flag.
Damon Gardner #4 of Concord and Mike Spencer #50 of Temecula fight for the lead at the last Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car race at The PAS. Media, feel free to publish this photo and please give photo credit to Doug Allen.
Thus far in 2014, there have been three races in the USAC/CRA Series. Two at The PAS and one at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Arizona. In addition to his three main event triumphs, Gardner has one fast qualifying time and two heat race wins. He swept the March 15th race at The PAS when he was fast qualifier, won his the heat and the main event earning a “Dean Thompson Award.” If Gardner wins the main event this Saturday, he will become the first driver in the 11-year history of the Amsoil USAC/CRA Series to have won the first four main events of the year in a row.
Spencer has out qualified the field at two of the three races and has one heat race win.
Even though he has finished second to Gardner in the last two races, Spencer was 16th at the season opener in Arizona. Thus, he is third in the championship standings coming into Saturday’s event. Nic Faas of Huntington Beach is second in the title chase and has placed third and fourth in the two races at The PAS. Gardner’s teammate last year, Faas moved onto the Josh Ford Motorsports team over the winter and comes into Saturday’s “Showdown at The PAS” 31-points behind the leader. Yorba Linda’s Matt Mitchell, who finished third at the April 12th race at The PAS, is fourth in the standings followed by USAC/CRA newcomer Gary Taylor of Snohomish, Washington. Taylor claimed third in the season opener and was sixth at the last race earlier this month.
The top drivers will face a stiff test that they did not have at the last race at The PAS. Anaheim’s Jake Swanson was about to take on the top stars for only the third time in the famous Moose Racing #92. However, when the 21-year-old Cypress College student went out to wheel pack, the engine had no oil pressure. He pulled the car into the pits and rather than risk damage to the expensive power plant, the team scratched the car for the night. In his first two races in the car, he finished an impressive seventh and eighth.
Anaheim’s Jake Swanson has two top ten finishes in his first two races in the Moose Racing #92. Media please feel free to publish this photo and please give photo credit to Doug Allen.
In addition to the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, The PAS Senior Sprints for drivers 45 and older, PAS Young Gun Sprints for drivers 14-21 and California Lightning Sprints will also be in action.
2014 AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Standings:
1. Damion Gardner- Concord, CA – 215
2. Nic Faas – Huntington Beach, CA – 184
3. Mike Spencer – Temecula, CA -171
4. Matt Mitchell – Yorba Linda, CA -159
5. Gary Taylor – Snohomish, WA -143
6. R.J. Johnson – Phoenix, AZ -108
7. Brody Roa Buena Park, CA -103
8. Cory Kruseman – Ventura, CA – 97
9. Cody Williams – Corona, CA – 97
10. Jake Swanson – Anaheim, CA – 92
Adult tickets for Saturday are $25.00. Seniors 65 and older get in for $20.00. For active military members with proper id, teens 13-18 with their school id and kids 6-12, it just $5.00. Children 5 and under are admitted free.
For more information on The PAS call: (951) 940-0134.
Camping for all events at The PAS is available for $25.00 per night. The campground will open at noon on Friday. Tailgating in the spectator parking lot will begin at 1:00 PM for all PAS events as well.
Perris Auto Speedway wants to thank its corporate sponsors for the 2014 season. 1-800LoanMart, 777 Racecars, All Coast Construction, Amsoil, Ayers Hotel and Spa, BlueLine Rental, Budweiser, CamGuard, Champion Towing, City of Perris, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Edelbrok, Engine Pro, HD Industries, Hoosier Tires, K&N Engineering, Pep Boys, P.I.P.E., Pepsi-Cola, Pick-A-Part Auto Salvage, Prolong Super Lubricants, Running Waters Hospice, Scott Sales, Shaver Racing Engines, Sherwin-Williams, Showtime Motorsports, Sprint Car Driving Experience, Square H, Swedish Speed, Trench Shoring, US Foods and Valley Auto Salvage.
To keep up with all of the latest Perris Auto Speedway news, photos, gossip and receive special offers, sign up at The PAS Facebook site at: https://www.facebook.com/
You can also keep up with the latest news and receive special offers from The PAS Twitter site: http://twitter.com/
You can also keep up with the latest news and receive special offers from The PAS Twitter site: http://twitter.com/
Video and DVD productions of all racing events at Perris Auto Speedway are available from Loudpedal Productions. For more information on these productions you can contact them by calling (805) 844-3854, E-mailing mailto:trtruex@gmail.com or you can visit the web site http://www.loudpedalvideo.com/
Fans can participate for free in The PAS 2014 Fantasy League at: http://www.shorttrackin.com/. There are separate divisions for the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars and the Amsoil OilTwins.com PASSCAR classes of Street Stocks, American Factory Stocks and the Modifieds. Players can compete in as many divisions as they like. Prizes will be announced as they come in.
Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (home of October’s Southern California Fair), approximately one hour east of Los Angeles and one hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, exit on the Ramona Expressway and go three miles east to the fairgrounds.
racesatthepas@aol.com is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment