Somerton, Arizona (November 4, 2023)………In his first ride in the Team AZ Racing No. 21AZ, Daison Pursley became a first-time AMSOIL USAC CRA Sprint Car Series feature winner during Friday’s opening night of the 56th Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors and Yuma Insurance at Somerton, Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway.
Pursley (Locust Grove, Okla.) charged from his fourth starting position to take over the lead from Matt Westfall just two laps into the 30-lap contest. From there, Pursley, this year’s Rookie of the Year on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship tour, led the remaining 29 laps in his Team AZ Racing/Apache Transport – Stratis Construction – USW Cat Construction/DRC/1-Way Chevy.
The victory came in Pursley’s first visit to Arizona since suffering a spinal injury during a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event during the Western World Championships of 2021 at the now defunct Arizona Speedway.
It’s the second straight victory at Western World for the Team AZ Racing team, which swept the final night of the 2022 event with driver Jake Swanson.
Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) finished as the runner-up with Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.) third, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.) fourth and 2019 USAC National Sprint Car champion C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Ind.) rounding out the top-five.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS November 3, 2023 – Cocopah Speedway – Somerton, Arizona – “56th Western World Championships presented by Avanti Windows & Doors and Yuma Insurance”
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-16.393; 2. C.J. Leary, 77M, Michael-16.429; 3. Daison Pursley, 21AZ, Team AZ-16.464; 4. Jake Swanson, 73X, Ford-16.498; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 15, Bonneau-16.605; 6. Chase Johnson, 73, Ford-16.779; 7. Max Adams, 44C, Corey-16.824; 8. Matt Wetsfall, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-16.830; 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.869; 10. Brody Roa, 17R, Dunkel/BR-16.939; 11. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-17.026; 12. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-17.048; 13. Justin Grant, 37, Mitchell-17.061; 14. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-17.061; 15. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.117; 16. Braden Chiramonte, 73B, Chiaramonte-17.151; 17. Austin Williams, 2, Williams-17.158; 18. Tommy Malcom, 5X, Napier-17.210; 19. James Turnbull II, 2J, Turnbull-17.283; 20. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-17.307; 21. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.479; 22. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-17.481; 23. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-17.519; 24. R.J. Johnson, 2R, Yeley/Petty-17.547; 25. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-17.591; 26. Josh Pelkey, 12, Allen-17.646; 27. Logan Calderwood, 73C, Ford-17.681; 28. Dustin Burkhart, 21X, Team AZ-17.851; 29. Mitchel Moles, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-17.932; 30. Patrick Krob, 3K, Krob-18.380; 31. Shane Sexton, 74, Sexton/Gatlin-18.436; 32. Justin Kierce, 43, Tuttle-18.559; 33. J.J. Yeley, 2Y, Yeley/Petty-NT.
FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. A.Williams, 2. Grant, 3. Thomas, 4. Lewis, 5. Moles, 6. G.Sexton, 7. Tafoya, 8. Grabowski. NT.
BILLSJERKY.NET SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. Roa, 3. Leary, 4. Mihocko, 5. C.Johnson, 6. Boul, 7. Pelkey. NT.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Sweeney, 2. Turnbull, 3. L.Williams, 4. Pursley, 5. Adams, 6. Bender, 7. Calderwood, 8. S.Sexton. NT.
WC FRIEND COMPANY FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. R.J.Johnson, 2. Westfall, 3. Swanson, 4. Chiaramonte, 5. C.Williams, 6. Davis, 7. Kierce, 8. Burkhart. NT.
FACTORY WRAPS SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Adams, 2. C.Johnson, 3. Davis, 4. Moles, 5. Grabowski, 6. Pelkey, 7. G.Sexton, 8. Bender, 9. Kierce, 10. Calderwood, 11. Boul, 12. S.Sexton, 13. Burkhart, 14. Tafoya, 15. C.Williams. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Daison Pursely (4), 2. Matt Westfall (1), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2), 4. Chase Johnson (7), 5. C.J. Leary (5), 6. Jake Swanson (3), 7. Charles Davis Jr. (11), 8. Logan Williams (10), 9. Tye Mihocko (13), 10. Austin Grabowski (17), 11. Austin Williams (14), 12. Tommy Malcolm (15), 13. Mitchel Moles (22), 14. A.J. Bender (23), 15. Brody Roa (9), 16. Josh Pelkey (21), 17. Verne Sweeney (18), 18. Max Adams (8), 19. R.J. Johnson (19), 20. Justin Grant (12), 21. James Turnbull II (16), 22. Grant Sexton (20), 23. Ricky Lewis (6). NT.
—————————-
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Westfall, Laps 2-30 Pursley
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Mitchel Moles (22 to 13)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Mitchel Moles