From Lance Jennings
MERCED, Ca. (September 6, 2019) — Racing from fifth, Austin Liggett (Tracy, CA) slipped by Jake Swanson on the eleventh lap and sprinted to the Friday night “California Sprint Week” debut at Merced Speedway. Piloting the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Liggett Trucking Maxim, Liggett scored his second career AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car triumph and became the tenth driver to win in fifteen races. The defending USAC West Coast Champion finished ahead of “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr., Chase Johnson, Brody Roa, and Swanson.
Ryan Bernal earned the Specialty Fasteners Hard Charger Award with an twentieth to eighth place run. Koen Shaw claimed the Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13 Award” and Colby Johnson scored the USAC 360 bonus for the second race in a row.
“The Demon” Damion Gardner also posted his 89th career Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award and a new track record with a time of 12.085 over the 20-car field.
The night’s 10-lap heat race victories went to Gardner (Extreme Mufflers First Heat), Swanson (Circle Track Performance / Ultra Shield Race Products Second Heat), and “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Saldana Racing Products / ButlerBuilt Seats Third Heat).
On Saturday, September 7th, the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will head to Santa Maria Raceway for the fifth and final round of “California Sprint Week.”
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Saldana Racing Products, Specialty Fasteners, surfnsprint.com, Sway-A-Way Racing Technology, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 6, 2019 – Merced Speedway – Merced, California – “California Sprint Week Round #4”
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Damion Gardner, 4, Alexander-12.085 (New Track Record); 2. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-12.219; 3. Charles Davis Jr., 50, Davis-12.478; 4. Danny Faria Jr., 42, Cheney-12.544; 5. Colby Johnson, 38, Johnson-12.545; 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-12.568; 7. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-12.580; 8, Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-12.599; 9. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-12.628; 10. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-12.765; 11. Chase Johnson, 68, Thomas-12.773; 12. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-12.897; 13. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-12.901; 14. Mark Barroso, 78, Barroso-12.984; 15. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-13.086; 16. Sean Watts, 98, Watts-13.169; 17. Austin Ervine, 51, AJ-13.170; 18. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-13.295; 19. Koen Shaw, 88, Shaw-13.323; 20. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-NT
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Roa, 3. Martin, 4. Faria, 5. McCarthy, 6. Watts, 7. Shaw. NT
CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE / ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Swanson, 2. Liggett, 3. Ch.Johnson, 4. Bernal, 5. Co.Johnson, 6. Barroso, 7. Ervine. NT
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / BUTLERBUILT SEATS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Williams, 2. Davis, 3. Gansen, 4. Hix, 5. Tafoya. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, with starting positions) 1. Austin Liggett (5), 2. Danny Faria Jr. (3), 3. Chase Johnson (11), 4. Brody Roa (2), 5. Jake Swanson (1), 6. Austin Williams (9), 7. Damion Gardner (6), 8. Ryan Bernal (20), 9. Charles Davis Jr. (4), 10. Colby Johnson (7), 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (8), 12. Mike Martin (13), 13. Koen Shaw (19), 14. Steve Hix (18), 15. Chris Gansen (12), 16. Sean Watts (16), 17. Mark Barroso (14), 18. Matt McCarthy (10), 19. Austin Ervine (17).
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**McCarthy flipped on lap 4 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 Swanson, Laps 11-30 Liggett
SPECIALTY FASTENERS HARD CHARGER: Ryan Bernal (20th to 8th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Koen Shaw
USAC 360 BONUS: Colby Johnson
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Gardner-986, 2-Roa-958, 3-Williams-927, 4-Swanson-821, 5-Gansen-647, 6-Malcolm-598, 7-McCarthy-565, 8-Faria-544, 9-Davis-526, 10-Richard Vander Weerd-508.
NEW CALIFORNIA SPRINT WEEK POINTS: 1- Faria-267, 2-Gardner-250, 3-Williams-248, 4-Ch.Johnson-248, 5-Roa-242, 6-Swanson-227, 7-Liggett-223, 8-Davis-201, 9-Bernal-183, 10-Gansen-167.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: September 7 – Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, California – “California Sprint Week Finale”