By Lance Jennings
OCTOBER 2, 2023… The chase for the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Championship will be settled this Saturday, October 7th, at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (KCRP). Promoted by Larry Collins, the “Championship Night” and “George Snider Classic” will also feature the USAC Western States Midgets and Southern California Dwarf Cars. Located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard in Bakersfield, California, the Pit Gates will open at 2:00pm, Hot Laps are scheduled for 4:30pm, Time Trials at 4:55pm, and Racing is scheduled at 6:20pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at kernraceway.com or call 661.835.1264.
For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of the night’s action over the internet.
After the races, the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars and USAC Western States Midgets will celebrate their 2023 season with an awards banquet / after party. The event is nearly sold out, but interested parties can contact Stephanie Odom at odom.stephanie@me.com for tickets.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
– MEMBERSHIPS / TEMPORARY PERMITS: All USAC racers MUST PURCHASE their USAC license / membership or temporary permit online PRIOR TO THE EVENT at usaclicense.com or usacracing.com.
– ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
– TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
– MUFFLERS: Mufflers ARE NOT REQUIRED at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (KCRP).
– ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
– FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
– FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
– COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
– RULE BOOK: The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
In addition to championship points, each night will award points for the season-long Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Standings, Sammy Bahr & Ray Stansberry Feature Points, and Passing Master Standings. The top drivers in Woodland TQ points will take home $500-for-1st, $300-for-2nd, and $200-for-3rd. The winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet following the “George Snider Classic / Championship Night” on October 7th at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park.
Saturday’s event will be the fourth appearance for the non-winged 360 sprint cars at the fast 1/3-mile oval. Chase Johnson topped the first two races and local driver Brody Fuson claimed last year’s “George Snider Classic” and “Championship Night.” Kyle Edwards established the 1-lap qualifying track record of 14.394 on February 26, 2022.
After running fourth at Ventura on September 16th, Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, California) has extended his point lead to 72 markers over the competition. Driving the family owned #29T Red Line Oil / Evergood Fine Foods Maxim, Timmons has two feature wins, one heat race victory, five top-10 finishes, and 14 feature laps led on the season. The 2016 Rookie of the Year is tied with Chase Johnson for twelfth on the win list and will be looking for his eighth career victory and the championship this Saturday night.
Ron LaPlant (Oroville, California) ranks second in the USAC West Coast point standings. Racing his #69 RJL Truck & Tractor Painting / Feather Falls Casino Eagle, LaPlant earned his third BR Motorsports / Rod End Supply Hard Charger / “Best Passing Job” honors at Ventura with a ninth place run from seventeenth. To date, the leading rookie contender has five top-ten finishes and 18 feature laps led to his credit. Ron will have his sights on the first victory of his career at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway.
Kyle Edwards (Fountain Valley, California) has tied Ron LaPlant for second in the chase for the championship. Piloting the family owned #39 Safehouse Security / Van Dyne Engineering Triple X, Edwards placed seventh at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. At press time, the third generation driver has posted two heat race victories, four top-10 finishes, and 6 feature laps led in the campaign. Kyle will be looking for the first win of his career at the “George Snider Classic.”
Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California) sits fourth in the point standings. Driving Bob & Toni Van Meter’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson raced to the Ventura win on September 16th. To date, the USAC Western States Midget point leader has one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, one BR Motorsports / Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, one Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13” Award, two top-10 finishes, and 14 feature laps led on the season. Fresh off last Saturday’s USAC Western States Midget win at Antioch, Brody will have his sights on the fourth USAC 360 win of his career.
After finishing fifth at Ventura, David Gasper (Goleta, California) is fifth in the championship standings. Driving the Gasper Racing / Kittle Motorsports #18 AR Air Repair / Valley Precision Products Triple X, Gasper has one feature win, two top-10 finishes, and 24 feature laps led to his credit. The rookie contender and two-time California Lightning Sprints Champion will be a favorite to watch at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park.
While Ron LaPlant leads the chase for rookie of the year honors, David Gasper, Jon DeWees (Lemoore, California), Adam Christian (Santa Clara, California), Bryan Whitley (Oak View, California), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, California), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California), Heath Holdsclaw (Loomis, California), Verne Sweeney (Lomita, California), and “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski (Riverside, California) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are 2022 Rookie of the Year Tyler Hatzikian, Tom Hendricks, Cody Majors, 2022 Champion Trent Carter, Chris Ennis, Elexa Herrera, Camie Bell, Hannah Mayhew, Logan Calderwood, James Herrera, Matt Day, Tanner Boul, Malyssa Perkins, and more.
The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park (KCRP) is located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard in Bakersfield, California. To get to the speedway, take Interstate-5 and exit at Enos Lane (CA 43, Exit 246) and drive to Raceway Blvd. The track is on the west side of the interstate. Adult tickets are $25, Junior tickets (6-12) are $10, and Kids Tickets (5 and under) are FREE. CAMPING IS FREE. For more event information, visit kernraceway.com or call 661.835.1264.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, P1 Racing Images / A.J. Johnson, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Wagtimers, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email Stephanie Odom at Odom.Stephanie@me.com or Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.
For more information on the series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content at the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2009-Justyne Hamblin, 2010-Craig Stidham, 2011-Richard Vander Weerd, 2012-Bud Kaeding, 2013-Danny Faria Jr., 2014-Matt Mitchell, 2015-Danny Faria Jr., 2016-Brody Roa, 2017-Jake Swanson, 2018-Austin Liggett, 2019-Tristan Guardino, 2020-NO AWARD, 2021-D.J. Johnson, 2022-Trent Carter.
GEORGE SNIDER CLASSIC WINNERS: 2022-Brody Fuson.
CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT WINNERS: 2017-Tristan Guardino, 2018-Ryan Timmons, 2019-Kaleb Montgomery, 2020-CANCELLED, 2021-NO RACE, 2022-Brody Fuson.
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Ryan Timmons, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Brody Fuson, 1-David Gasper.
KERN COUNTY USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Kyle Edwards – 14.394 (02/26/22)
KERN COUNTY USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Chase Johnson, 1-Brody Fuson.
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ryan Timmons-372, 2. Ron LaPlant®-300, -. Kyle Edwards-300, 4. Brody Fuson-295, 5. David Gasper®-244, 6. Tyler Hatzikian-232, 7. Tom Hendricks-210, 8. Jon DeWees®-198, 9. Cody Majors-197, 10. Trent Carter-182, 11. Chris Ennis-175, 12. Adam Christian®-167, 13. Elexa Herrera-152, —. Jake Andreotti®-152, 15. Camie Bell-148, 16. Steve Hix-143, 17. Bryan Whitley®-137, 18. Hannah Mayhew-133, 19. Tom Dunkel®-129, 20. Troy Rutherford-125, 21. Logan Calderwood-111, 22. Heath Holdsclaw®-101, 23. James Herrera-93, 24. Cole Wakim®-85, 25. Matt Day-76, 26. A.J. Bender-75, 27. Tanner Boul-72, 28. Kaleb Montgomery-68, 29. D.J. Johnson-61, 30. Chris Wakim®-60, 31. Verne Sweeney®-49, 32. Joey Bishop-47, 33. Rick Hendrix-46, 34. Charlie Butcher-41, 35. Bruce Douglass-40, 36. Austin Grabowski®-33, 37. Grant Sexton®-29, 38. Eathon Lanfri®-28, 39. Malyssa Perkins®-10, —. Tony Everhart®-10.
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1. Ryan Timmons-24, 2. Brody Fuson-16, 3. David Gasper®-13, -. Kyle Edwards-13, 5. Troy Rutherford-12, 6. Cody Majors-9, 7. Logan Calderwood-6, 8. Kaleb Montgomery-5, 9. Ron LaPlant®-3, 10. Cole Wakim-2, 11. Tyler Hatzikian-1, –. Chris Ennis-1.
SAMMY BAHR & RAY STANSBERRY FEATURE POINTS: 1. Ryan Timmons-317, 2. Ron LaPlant®-272, 3. Kyle Edwards-261, 4. Brody Fuson-241, 5. Tyler Hatzikian-215, 6. David Gasper®-196, 7. Tom Hendricks-188, 8. Jon DeWees®-175, 9. Cody Majors-168, 10. Trent Carter-166, 11. Chris Ennis-145, 12. Adam Christian®-144, 13. Jake Andreotti®-137, 14. Elexa Herrera-130, 15. Steve Hix-127, 16. Camie Bell-124, 17. Bryan Whitley-119, 18. Tom Dunkel-115, 19. Hannah Mayhew-111, 20. Troy Rutherford-98, 21. Logan Calderwood-95, 22. Heath Holdsclaw®-92, 23. James Herrera-87, 24. Cole Wakim®-78, 25. Matt Day-68, 26. Tanner Boul-64, 27. A.J. Bender-62, 28. Chris Wakim®-56, 29. D.J. Johnson-55, —. Kaleb Montgomery-55, 31. Verne Sweeney®-43, 32. Rick Hendrix-39, 33. Bruce Douglass-35, 34. Joey Bishop-34, 35. Charlie Butcher-33, 36. Austin Grabowski®-27, 37. Eathon Lanfri®-25, 38. Grant Sexton®-23.
PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1. Ron LaPlant®-29, 2. Jon DeWees®-23, 3. Tom Hendricks-19, 4. Heath Holdsclaw®-16, 5. Elexa Herrera-15, 6. Adam Christian®-14, 7. Ryan Timmons-13, 8. Brody Fuson-11, -. Camie Bell-11, 10. Hannah Mayhew-10, —. Trent Carter-10, 12. Chris Ennis-6, –. Bryan Whitley-6, –. Bruce Douglass-6, –. Kyle Edwards-6, –. Tom Dunkel-6, 17. D.J. Johnson-5, –. James Herrera-5, –. Matt Day-5, –. Tyler Hatzikian-5, 21. Tanner Boul-4, –. Steve Hix-4, –. Troy Rutherford-4, 24. Cody Majors-3, –. Verne Sweeney®-3, –. Cole Wakim®-3, 27. David Gasper®-2, –. Joey Bishop-2, 29. Eathon Lanfri®-1, –. Jake Andreotti®-1, –. Chris Wakim®-1, –. Logan Calderwood-1.