By Richie Murray
Perris, California (November 2, 2022)………Brady Bacon is in the midst0 of trying to track down Justin Grant in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship standings.
During Wednesday night’s open practice, he was the fastest on track at southern California’s Perris Auto Speedway with a time of 16.204 seconds around the half-mile dirt oval in his Dynamics, Inc./Fatheadz Eyewear – Cressman Sanitation – DriveWFX – Tel-Star/Triple X/Rider Chevy.
It was the final tune-up before the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and the AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Cars do the real thing for three-straight full nights of racing on Thursday-Friday-Saturday, November 3-4-5, at The PAS.
Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.), a three-time Oval Nationals prelim winner, bested a field of 23 drivers and cars that took to the track and turned a lap during practice on Wednesday night. Forty-three drivers are entered for the Oval Nationals.
Yorba Linda, California’s Matt Mitchell was second overall in practice behind Bacon at 16.448 with three-time and defending Oval Nationals victor Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) third at 16.486. Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Ind.) timed in fourth at 16.545 while Oval Nationals Rookie Mitchel Moles (Raisin City, Calif.) clocked in fifth at 16.686.
Outside of the top-five, USAC National Sprint Car point leader Justin Grant (Ione, Calif.) was sixth overall at 16.696. C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.), the 2019 Oval Nationals winner, was ninth at 16.774. Robert Ballou (Rocklin, Calif.), the 2014 Ovals champion, was 12th at 16.803.
While no on-track incidents took place, Jason McDougal’s Team AZ entry experienced engine trouble which sidelined him for the remainder of the night after timing in eighth quickest. The team will swap engines and be ready to go for Thursday night’s Ovals opener.
RACE DETAILS:
Tickets for the 26th Annual Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals are on sale online at www.perrisautospeedway.com or by calling 1-800-595-4849. For those who do not wish to buy tickets in advance, there will be tickets available for everyone at the ticket window all three nights.
On Thursday and Friday night, the pits open at Noon Pacific with the drivers meeting at 4:30pm, grandstands opening at 5pm and cars on track at 5:30pm. The features each night will be 30 laps in length and will pay $5,000-to-win.
Thursday and Friday adult general admission is $35. General admission tickets for children 6-12 are $10. Three-day general admission tickets are $90 for adults and $30 for children 6-12. Three-day reserved tickets are $125 for adults and $40 for children 6-12.
On Saturday night, the pits open at Noon Pacific with the grandstands opening at 4pm, the drivers meeting at 4:30pm and cars on track at 5:15pm. The feature will be 40 laps in length and will pay $20,000-to-win and $1,000-to-start.
Saturday adult general admission is $40. General admission tickets for children 6-12 are $15. Three-day general Admission Tickets are $90 for adults and $30 for children 6-12. Three-day reserved tickets are $125 for adults and $40 for children 6-12.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE RESULTS: November 2, 2022 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 26th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals
PRACTICE: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-16.204; 2. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.448; 3. Kevin Thomas Jr., 17GP, Dutcher-16.486; 4. Jadon Rogers, 14, Engler-16.545; 5. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.686; 6. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.696; 7. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-16.716; 8. Jason McDougal, 22AZ, Team AZ-16.740; 9. C.J. Leary, 77m, Michael-16.774; 10. Austin Williams, 2, Williams-16.789; 11. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-16.799; 12. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.803; 13. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.823; 14. Emerson Axsom, 47BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-16.838; 15. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-16.838; 16. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.856; 17. Max Adams, 73, Ford-16.876; 18. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-16.887; 19. Chris Bonneau, 15, Bonneau-16.984; 20. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.177; 21. Ricky Lewis, 41, Stensland/Halley-17.209; 22. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.240; 23. Troy DeGaton, 39T, DeGaton-17.529.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & AMSOIL USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: November 3-4-5, 2022 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 1/2-Mile Dirt Track – 26th Heimark Anheuser Busch Budweiser Oval Nationals