From Lance Jennings
BAKERSVFIELD, Ca. (March 16, 2019) — Bakersfield, California… Taking the lead from Troy Rutherford on lap seven, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) claimed the 30-lap USAC West Coast Sprint Car feature at Bakersfield Speedway. Racing the family owned #24 Johnny Franklin Mufflers / PitStop USA Maxim, Johnson became the 51st driver to earn a series victory.
Starting sixth, Chase earned his first career $1,500 USAC West Coast Sprint Car win over Austin Liggett, “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr., J.J. Ringo, and Tristan Guardino. Liggett earned hard charger honors wth a twenty-first to second place run.
With a local power outage, series drivers elected to use a passing points format to speed up the show. Versatile driver Johnson topped the 24-car roster and was the night’s Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier.
Johnson also took the checkered flags in the Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. 2-Time series champion “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. and Tristan Guardino claimed their 10-lap heat races.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks AMSOIL, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.
For more information, visit www.westcoastsprintcars.com and www.usacracing.com. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC West Coast Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: March 16, 2019 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Chase Johnson (#24 Johnson), 2. J.J. Ringo (#2 Keller), 3. Michael Faccinto (#8 Richardson), 4. Shawn Arriaga (#56 Arriaga), 5. Koen Shaw (#88 Shaw), 6. Brent Owens (#71 Martin), 7. Ryan Stolz (#72 Ford). NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Danny Faria Jr. (#17V Faria), 2. Ryan Bernal (#73T Ford), 3. Hannah Mayhew (#43 Mayhew), 4. Ryan Timmons (#29T Timmons), 5. Tom Hendricks (#14 Hendricks), 6. Austin Ervine (#51 AJ), 7. Austin Liggett (#83 Liggett), 8. Matt Day (#97 Day), NT
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Tristan Guardino (#15T Guardino), 2. Troy Rutherford (#11 Rutherford), 3. Cody Majors (#81 Watt), 4. Shannon McQueen (#7 Van Meter), 5. Ricky Kirkbride (#87 Kirkbride), 6. Steve Hix (#57 Hix), 7. Slater Helt (#81X Watt), 8. James Herrera (#5J Herrera). NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parenthesis) 1. Chase Johnson (6), 2. Austin Liggett (21), 3. Danny Faria Jr. (5), 4. J.J. Ringo (3), 5. Tristan Guardino (4), 6. Ryan Bernal (7), 7. Ryan Timmons (10), 8. Trent Carter (23, #13 Carter), 9. Cody Majors (9), 10. Tom Hendricks (11), 11. Ricky Kirkbride (18), 12. Koen Shaw (17), 13. Hannah Mayhew (1), 14. Steve Hix (13), 15. James Herrera (22), 16. Brent Owens (16), 17. Shawn Arriaga (14), 18. Austin Ervine (12), 19. Troy Rutherford (2), 20. Ryan Stolz (20), 21. Shannon McQueen (15), 22. Michael Faccinto (8), 23. Slater Helt (19). NT
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**Stolz flipped on lap 12 of the feature. Ervine flipped on lap 14 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Rutherford, Laps 7-30 Johnson.
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER: Chase Johnson
HARD CHARGER: Austin Liggett (21st to 2nd)
NEW USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Guardino-195, 2-Faria-186, 3-Jake Swanson-161, 4-Brody Roa-154, 5-Charles Davis Jr.-147, 6-Stevie Sussex-145, 7-Timmons-139, 8-Shaw-135, 9-Mayhew-119, 10-Dennis Gile-113.
NEXT USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE: March 23 – Ventura (CA) Raceway – “Battle of the Beach Race #1” – Co-sanctioned with VRA