By Scott Daloisio
(Perris, CA, August 21, 2017) When the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars return to the “Southern California Home of Major League Sprint Car Racing,” Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday night, August 26th, they will have several extra reasons to run hard during “California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night.” To be exact, they will have more than 7,000 extra reasons to run hard as more than $7,000.00 has been added to the normal USAC/CRA purse! Spectator gates for the extra dollar race will open at 5:00 PM and the first race will begin at 7:00.
“As usual, Chris Holt has done a great job gathering donations for this annual event,” Perris promoter Don Kazarian said. “Thanks to his hard work and the generous donations of many, drivers will be fighting for over $7,000.00 extra on Saturday. The money will be put into qualifying, a special trophy dash, the heat races and the 30-lap main event. If a driver were to sweep the show, he could possibly take home more than $7,000.00. It will make every lap, starting with qualifying, very intense on Saturday night.”
Money will start being doled out in qualifying. Saturday’s fast qualifier will pocket a cool $600.00. Not bad for about 33-seconds on the track. As usual, there will be the $100.00 “Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award.” In addition, in what has become a tradition at the “Hall of Fame Classic,” Anne Wilkerson is donating an extra $500.00 for the “Billy Wilkerson Fast Time Award” in memory of her husband who won the CRA Championship in 1967 and 1972.
First up after qualifying will be the “Jr. Kurtz Trophy Dash.” The longtime car owner’s wife, Michelle Kurtz, has posted a $2,000.00 purse in his memory for the dash. Modeled after Speedway Motorcycle racing, the four fastest qualifiers will contest four, three lap races. Each driver will start off each starting position one time. The winner of each three lapper will receive three-points, second place will get two-points, third-place will get one point and last will get zero. At the end of the fourth three lapper, the points will be tallied and the driver with the most will get $1,000.00. The driver with the second highest point total will get $500.00, third will get $300.00 and fourth will get $200.00.
The current hottest driver at The PAS is Laveen, Arizona’s R.J. Johnson. Shown here just ahead of Brody Roa, Johnson has won the last two USAC/CRA main events and he led ever single lap in both races. Please give photo credit to Doug Allen.
AMA plastics owner Mark Atchison, a former sprint car driver himself, has stepped up and is donating $1,500.00 total in heat race prize money. The top three in each heat will divvy up Atchison’s dough. It will mean that drivers will have more to race four than the normal first four spots (the transfers to the main) in each heat.
Lastly, there will be more than $3,000.00 in lap money for the main event. The leader of each lap will collect a minimum of $100.00 (a handful of laps will pay $200.00). Thus, if a driver leads all 30 laps, he will collect over $3,000.00 in lap money plus the normal $2,500.00 winner’s share of the purse.
In addition to the all the extra money for the drivers, the fans will be getting more bang for their buck on Saturday. Pacing the main event field will be the “Last Real American Dirt Car” driven by National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Chuck Gurney. The “Plastic Express Special” was recently finished by Jeff Heywood and is a tribute to longtime car owner Junior Kurtz.
Before the races, several legends from the past will be inside the famous Riverside County half-mile clay oval’s sports bar to meet fans, sign autographs and pose for photos. Among those expected are Gurney, Heywood, Jimmy Oskie, Eddie Wirth, Brad Noffsinger, Don Thomas, Stan Atherton, John Redican and more.
Also on Saturday, as fans walk through the front gate they will be greeted by the gorgeous vintage sprint cars and midgets from the Western Racing Association.
Adult tickets for Saturday’s race are $25.00. Seniors 65 and older get in for $20.00. Active military members with proper id, teens 13-18 with their school id and gets age 6-12 get in for $5.00. Children 5 and under are free. Parking on the fairgrounds is $8.00.
Advanced tickets for Saturday’s event are available 24-hours a day by calling 1-800-595-4849 or online at http://pas.tix.com/Event.aspx?EventCode=922979. For those who do not wish to purchase advance tickets, there will be plenty of tickets available for everyone at the ticket window on Saturday.
Amsoil USAC/CRA Point Standings
1. Damion Gardner – Concord, CA – 658
2. Brody Roa – Garden Grove, CA – 654
3. Jake Swanson – Anaheim, CA – 592
4. Mike Spencer – Temecula, CA – 591
5. Austin Williams – Yorba Linda, CA – 529
6. Cody Williams – Yorba Linda, CA – 462
7. Logan Williams – Yorba Linda, CA – 423
8. Max Adams – Loomis, CA – 392
9. Chris Gansen – Verdemont Heights, CA – 368
10. Richard Vander Weerd – Visalia, CA – 345
PAS Senior Sprint Point Standings
1. Richard McCormick – Canyon Country, CA – 298
1. Ed Schwarz – Santa Fe Springs, CA – 265
3. Rick Hendrix – Palmdale – 241
4. John Aden – Apple Valley, CA – 186
5. Danny Parrish – Fairbanks, AK – 155
PAS Young Gun Sprint Car Point Standings
1. Hannah Mayhew – Acton, CA – 291
2. Joel Rayborne – West Covina, CA – 285
3. Blade Hildebrand – Yucca Valley – CA – 172
4. Daniel Anderson Venice, CA – 114
5. Malyssa Perkins – Oak Hills, CA – 102
Perris Auto Speedway wants to thank its corporate partners for the 2017 season. All Coast Construction, Amsoil, Ayers Hotel and Spa, Brass and Bass Firearms & Fishing Supplies, Budweiser, Bud’s Tire Pro, Center Point Church, Champion Towing, City of Perris, Country Values Magazine, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof Driveshaft, Edelbrock, Flowdynamics, Full Throttle Scissor Lift Rental, Green Sheet, HD Industries, Hoosier Tires, Indiana Truck Salvage, K&N Engineering, Living Water’s Hospice, Luke’s Transmission, Moreno Valley Magazine of Values, Paul Oil Company, Pepsi-Cola, Pick-A-Part Auto Salvage, Pole Position, Precision Engine of Murrieta, PrintItNow.com, Scott Sales, Shaver Specialties, Square H, Sunstate Equipment, Swedish Speed, Original Tommy’s Burgers, Trench Shoring, Valley News, Vista Paint and Weedmaps.
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Video and DVD productions of open wheel 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 website LoudPedal Productions
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.