By Scott Daloisio
(Perris, CA, July 8, 2019) This Saturday night July 13th, Perris Auto Speedway will play host to a jointly sanctioned program featuring the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars and the Sands Chevrolet USAC/ Southwest Sprint Cars. It will be the first time the two groups have contested a co-sanctioned race in California. Spectator gates will open at 5:00 P.M. with racing at 7:00. At intermission, kids will be allowed onto the track to see all the cars up close and meet and collect candy from all the drivers.
(The two photos attached, one of Arizona’s R.J. Johnson racing inside California’s Cody Williams and the other of kids collecting candy from the teams at intermission, are courtesy of Doug Allen)
Late last year it was announced that the Southwest Series would allow 410 engines for the first time in 2019. The engine switch allows the Arizona drivers to come to California to race on a more level playing field. Likewise, it allows the drivers of USAC/CRA to journey to Arizona and race in the Southwest Series. Ironically, the same driver leads the championship standings in each series. Garden Grove, California’s Brody Roa, who won the “Doug Fort Memorial” at the Santa Maria Raceway last Saturday night, leads Concord, California’s Damion Gardner by a single point in the CRA Series heading into Saturday’s race. In the Southwest Series, Roa is 53-points in front of Laveen, Arizona’s R.J. Johnson.
“There are a lot of good sprint car drivers in Arizona,” Perris Auto Speedway promoter Don Kazarian stated. “USAC implementing 410s into the Southwest Series has already allowed us to see some of them on a regular basis for the first time in years. Driver’s like R.J. Johnson, Charles Davis Jr., Stevie Sussex and Mike Martin are top notch competitors in top notch cars. They have been to The PAS several times this year and we hope to see them, and some other top drivers come over to challenge the CRA regulars on Saturday night.”
Like the CRA Series contesting most of its races in California, the Southwest Series confines a majority of its races to Arizona. However, with the temperatures sizzling in the “Copper State” in June, July and August, most of the tracks in the state take those months off. The Southwest Series last raced in Arizona at Canyon Speedway Park on June 8th and will not race in its home state again until September 14th. The three-month break in the schedule creates the opportunity for its teams to head west to race in California. In addition to racing at The PAS this Saturday night, the August 17th race will also be co-sanctioned between the two series.
Saturday’s race will be the fifth USAC/CRA race at The PAS in 2019. Thus far only one driver, Visalia’s Richard Vander Weerd who was born in Upland and spent part of his childhood in Chino, is the only driver with two wins in the first four races. Sikeston, Missouri’s Hunter Schuerenberg and Roa have split the wins in the other two races on the famous Riverside County half-mile clay oval.
Due to popular demand with all the fans and the racing teams, the candy giveaway is coming back for the second straight sprint car race at The PAS.
“The candy giveaway for the kids has been very popular,” Kazarian said. “Not only popular with the kids but also the race teams. Our pits are open to the fans after each race, but with many families having a long drive home, they must hit the road. By doing the candy giveaway at intermission, they all get to meet the drivers and the drivers get to meet more kids.”
In addition to the CRA/Southwestern part of the show, The PAS Senior and Young Gun Sprint Cars will also be in action.
Spectator gates for Saturday’s race will open at 5:00 P.M. and the first race will take the green flag at 7:00.
Tickets 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.
USAC/CRA Sprint Cars
1. Brody Roa – Garden Grove, CA – 607
2. Damion Gardner – Concord, CA – 606
3. Austin Williams – Norco, CA – 544
4. Jake Swanson – Anaheim, CA – 481
5. Tommy Malcolm – Corona, CA – 397
USAC Southwest Sprint Cars
1. Brody Roa – Garden Grove, CA – 589
2. R.J. Johnson – Laveen, AZ – 536
3. Stevie Sussex – Tempe, AZ – 511
4. Charles Davis Jr. – Buckeye, AZ – 467
5. Mike Martin – Yuma, AZ – 482
PAS Senior Sprint Cars
1. John Aden – Apple Valley, CA – 243
2. Ed Schwarz – Santa Fe Springs, CA – 229
3. Richard McCormick – Canyon Country, CA – 181
4. Dan Taylor – Reily, OH – 150
5. Dale Gamer – Anaheim, CA – 136
PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars
1. Amanda Roberson – Ramona, CA – 182
2. Dillon Osborne – Corona, CA – 130
3. Blade Hilldebrand – Yucca Valley, CA – 65
4. Gage Rucker – Bellflower, MO – 65
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, HD Industries, Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, K2 Displays, Living Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part, Luke’s Transmission, Pepsi-Cola, Pole Position, 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.