By Dick Jordan
Markus Niemela of Finland remains atop the USAC West Coast Sprint Car standings for now, but he needs to keep an eye peeled for Ryan Bernal, despite the fact that Bernal is 11th in the standings!
If Bernal continues the kind pof success he’s had the past three weeks, he’ll rapidly close the 150-or-so deficit he currently faces.
Bernal, of Hollister, Calif., has been nothing short of spectacular since mid-May, sweeping all four feature events he’s competed in this year!
The latest victory came Saturday night at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., where he led the final 28 laps in the Mike Phulps Core Power/Metal Works ART/S & S entry to beat Richard Vander Weerd, Nic Faas, Dennis Howell and Matt Mitchell, who led the first two laps.
Niemela took sixth in the Hanford feature.
The USAC West Coast Sprints resume action June 21 at Thunderbowl Speedway in Tulare, Calif.
2014 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Standings: 1-Markus Niemela-452, 2-Matt Mitchell-418, 3-Troy Rutherford-388, 4-Jace Vander Weerd-379, 5-Richard Vander Weerd-361, 5-Danny Faria Jr.-360, 7-Nic Faas-342, 8-Dennis Howell-339, 9-Austin Liggett-322, 10-Landon Hurst-297.