By Scott Daloisio
(Perris, CA, April 10, 2019) The #1 sprint car series west of the Mississippi, the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, returns to Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday night, April 13th, for the annual Sokola Shootout. The race salutes original CRA car owner and series president Gary Sokola and his son Mark. This year’s edition of the event comes with renewed enthusiasm in the series and an old school feeling to the racing. Spectator gates will open at 5:00 P.M. on Saturday and the first race will be at 7:00.
The renewed enthusiasm and old school feel mentioned above are being generated by a pair of sources. One was the naming of Tony Jones as Racing Director of the USAC/CRA Series and the other is the USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series switching from 360 to 410 cubic inch engines. Both developments took place over the winter and have met with favorable reviews from PAS fans.
Jones, who won the Oval Nationals in 2000 and the USAC/CRA championship in 2007, is arguably the most popular driver to ever compete at The PAS. A tremendous racer on the track, the 48-year-old Orange, California resident was extremely fan friendly. And, he was never afraid to voice his opinion on racing and the way it should be run. That makes him a perfect fit for his new job.
“I am trying to get more racers on the racetrack, which will mean more fans in the grandstands,” Jones said over the phone on Sunday night. “If we can do that, it can mean more races, bigger purses for the drivers and larger profits for the promoters. It starts with getting the drivers excited which in turn will get the fans excited. I think so far we are doing that.”
One of the ways Jones is trying to get drivers excited is by getting more sponsors involved in the series either with added money or contingencies. For example, some of the sponsor money goes to a drawing that awards one team a rear tire (over $200.00 in value) at every pit meeting.
“I do not want to see this sport die,” Jones stated. “I did this (raced sprint cars), so I can relate to the racers. That is what made me interested in this job. We want to put on a good, fast-paced show. That includes getting the fans in and out of the races without them having to stay there all night long and having their kids get tired and bored. We want the kids to tell their parents that they want to go back to the races.”
While Jones wants to help the racers, he is also showing them and wants them to know, there is a rule book and he plans on sticking to it. Like Gary Sokola, who ran the original CRA in one of its golden eras from 1977 through 1987, Jones wants competitors to know they are all racing from the same rule book and the rules will be followed. At the first race of the season last month in Arizona, he served notice when he penalized over ¾ of the field for presenting their cars late for the main event. In the subsequent two races, not one team has been late.
“We are going to stick to the black and white rules in the rule book,” Jones explained. “I want to run it (the show), the way it should be run. We do not want a bunch of people unhappy and complaining. That includes not only drivers, but also fans, officials and the promoters. It needs to be happy and fun for everyone involved. That is the goal.”
The other part of the equation is the previously mentioned USAC Southwest Series moving from 360 to 410 engines. When Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix closed its doors in April of 2009, it essentially brought a halt to regularly scheduled 410 sprint car racing in the Copper State. Since then, sprint car racing in Arizona switched predominately to 360 racing with first ASCS and then USAC. When it was announced over the winter that the Southwest Series was switching back to 410 racing, it brought hope for increased fields for both the Southwest series and USAC/CRA. The first race of the season at The PAS bore that out with a fine 27-car field that included six Arizona cars in the pits.
“Everybody was excited when word came out that Tony had the job of race director,” Perris promoter Don Kazarian said. “Everybody likes him, and they expect him to do a great job. And, the announcement of the Southwest Series going to 410s has gotten people pumped up as well. The drivers in Arizona are tough. We had a good turnout of them on opening night and we hope those numbers continue to grow. It is going to make the competition a lot tougher and the racing a lot better. It will be like the old days in the original CRA when there was such a great rivalry between the California and Arizona drivers. There is a lot to be excited about in 410 sprint car racing in the southwest and on the west coast these days.”
In addition to the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, The PAS Senior and Young Gun Sprint Cars will also be in action.
Tickets for Saturday’s race are $25.00 for adults. Seniors 65 and over get in for $20.00. For active military with proper id and their spouse or date, it is $5.00 each. Teens 13-18 with their school id and kids 6-12 get in for $5.00. Children 5 and under are free. Parking on the fairgrounds is $8.00.
Camping on the fairgrounds opens at noon on Friday. Tailgating on the grassy area outside of turn four begins at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday.
Advance tickets for all Perris Auto Speedway events are available 24-hours a day online at https://bit.ly/2Aa50Lj or by calling 1-800-595-4849. If you do not wish to buy tickets in advance for any race, there will be plenty of tickets for everyone at the ticket window on race night.
Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the SoCal Fair and Event Center (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, on the Ramona Expressway and go three miles east to the fairgrounds. For directions on MapQuest, the address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and the zip code is 92571.
Perris Auto Speedway wants to thank its corporate partners for the 2019 season. All Coast Construction, Austin Hutchinson Realtor, Battery Systems, Brass and Bass Firearms & Fishing Supplies, Budweiser, Bud’s Tire Pro, Chris’ Hauling, City of Perris, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, Harley’s Custom Cycles, HD Industries, Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, K2 Displays, Living Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part, Luke’s Transmission, Pepsi-Cola, Pole Position, Precision Engine of Temecula, PrintItNow.com, Rainbow Bolt & Supply, Shaver Specialties, Square H, Sunoco Race Fuels, Sunstate Equipment, Trench Shoring, Varner Construction, VIA RV Service and Vista Paint.
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Video and DVD productions of all racing sprint cars 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.
DVD’s of all the PASSCAR/IMCA racing and Nights of Destruction at The PAS are available from Fourvideos. For more information call (714) 225-9500.
racesatthepas@aol.com is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment.