From Dick Jordan
R.J. Johnson of Phoenix, Ariz. hopes to close out his 2014 USAC Southwest Sprint Car Championship on a high note November 20-22 in the 47th Annual Sands Chevrolet “Western World Championships” at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz. He has a comfortable 116-point lead over Josh Pelkey in the series standings entering the series finales.
Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda, Calif. and C.J. Leary of Greenfield, Ind. starred in last weekend’s 360 “Oval Nationals” Grudge Series finale at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.
Mitchell emerged with the 2014 USAC West Coast Sprint Car title, while Leary earned his initial USAC feature victory in the 30-lap main event.
Leary passed Bryan Clauson on lap 30 and led the final 11 laps in his Leary Construction/Green Tech Lubricants DRC/Mopar. Clauson finished second ahead of Jake Swanson, Richard Vander Weerd and Mike Spencer while Mitchell’s sixth-place finish was enough to claim the 2014 championship. Leary was also the Woodland Auto Display fast qualifier.
Markus Niemela, the Finnish driver who entered Thursday’s race with a chance to catch Mitchell for the championship, escaped injury in a flip during qualifying which ended his bid.
The West Coast Sprint car regulars will also compete in the November 20-22 Peoria events but no West Coast points are available due to the “special event” status.
FINAL 2014 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Standings:1-Matt Mitchell-709, 2-Markus Niemela-632, 3-Richard Vander Weerd-603, 4-Danny Faria Jr.-540, 5-Ryan Bernal-539, 6-Jace Vander Weerd-535, 7-Troy Rutherford-534, 8-Austin Liggett-513, 9-Nic Faas-465, 10-Dennis Howell-399.
2014 USAC Southwest Sprint Car Standings: 1-R.J. Johnson-1,259, 2-Josh Pelkey-1,143, 3-Charles Davis Jr.-1,117, 4-Matt Rossi-1,040, 5-Mike Martin-993, 6-Shon Deskins-977, 7-Tye Mihocko-893, 8-Michael Curtis-685, 9-Nick Aiuto-663, 10-Andy Reinbold-656.