By Dick Jordan
R.J. Johnson’s USAC Southwest Sprint Car point lead now stands at 144 points over Charles Davis Jr. after Johnson won Saturday night’s “Summer Slam” at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz. He’ll take that lead to back-to-back races this weekend (Friday and Saturday) at Prescott Valley Raceway in Prescott Valley, Ariz.
Davis won at Prescott Valley in June and Shon Deskins was the winner in USAC’s debut there in May.
Johnson, of Phoenix, Ariz., extended his all-time USAC Arizona victory lead with his 16th career win Saturday night at Canyon. He trailed Matt Rossi for 28 laps, then led the final two in his Michaels entry to grab the “Summer Slam” triumph.
Rossi took second ahead of Deskins, Josh Shipley and Mike Martin. Second-ranking series driver Davis escaped injury in a feature flip.
Valuable points will be up for grabs at Prescott Valley, with the two events offering a maximum total of 148.
2014 USAC Southwest Sprint Car Standings: 1-R.J. Johnson-739, 2-Charles Davis Jr.-695, 3-Josh Pelkey-680, 4-Shon Deskins-607, 5-Matt Rossi-575, 6-Mike Martin-564, 7-Tye Michocko-517, 8-Andy Reinbold-459, 9-Mike Colegrove-442, 10-Bruce St. James-434.