BRODY ROA TOPS USAC/CRA CALIFORNIA SPRINT WEEK
By Lance Jennings
SEPTEMBER 12, 2018... When Jace Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA) took the checkered flags last Saturday at Hanford, the victory brought the “5th Annual Bullet Impressions California Sprint Week” to a close. Showcasing six-races in eight days at five racetracks, the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Cars had an average car count of twenty-two, with thirty-six drivers overall, six different winners, three first-time victors, and fourteen of the same drivers at every show.
On Saturday, September 1st, twenty-six drivers checked into the famed Calistoga Speedway for the opening round of the “11th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic.” “The Demon” Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) slipped by “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. to lead the final four circuits and claim his first Calistoga triumph since September 5, 2010. Gardner piloted Mark Alexander’s #4 Trench Shoring / Weld Racing Spike to the $6,000 victory over Faria, Ryan Bernal, “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, and Max Adams. Gardner also claimed his second consecutive Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award as Brody Roa, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, and Colby Copeland won the 8-lap heat races. Matt McCarthy earned the night’s Saldana Racing Products / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award with a tenth place run from twenty-sixth.
The following night, twenty-four drivers battled at the Napa County Fairgrounds and Colby Copeland (Roseville, CA) led all 30-laps to earn his first USAC/CRA victory. Copeland drove his #16A Good Guys Rod & Custom / Econo Lube & Tune Maxim to the “Louie Vermeil Classic” win over Roa, Chase Johnson, Austin Williams, and Ryan Bernal. Gardner scored his third straight Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award as Austin Liggett, Bernal, and Jace Vander Weerd topped the 8-lap heat races. The night’s Saldana Racing Products / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award went to Bernal, who charged to a fifth place finish after starting fourteenth.
Twenty-one AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Cars ventured to Petaluma Speedway for a rare Monday night show and Ryan Bernal (Hollister, CA) led all 30-laps to earn his ninth career win. Racing Keith Ford’s #73 Edgewater Construction / Sun Valley AG Transport Triple X, Bernal won at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds over Austin Williams, Faria, Gardner, and Roa. For the fourth consecutive race, Gardner earned the Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award as Bernal, Adams, and Roa won the 10-lap heat races. Richard Brace Jr. claimed this night’s Saldana Racing Products / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award with a twelfth place run from twentieth.
After two days off, the “California Sprint Week” resumed at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway on Thursday, September 6th with twenty-four drivers. After leading the first two laps, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) powered by Colby Copeland on lap 29 to win his first USAC/CRA main event. Driving the Thomas Family’s #68 Safecraft Safety Equipment / Pitstop USA Maxim, Johnson won the USAC/CRA portion of the “Gold Cup Race of Champions” over Roa, Copeland, Koen Shaw, and Logan Williams. Gardner topped the Woodland Auto Display Time Trials for the fifth consecutive race as the 10-lap heat races were claimed Gardner, Faria, and Bernal. Jake Swanson drove to the night’s Saldana Racing Products / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award with a ninth place from twenty-third.
The following night, Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway hosted the fifth round of “California Sprint Week” and nineteen racers were ready for action. Driving the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Maxim, Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) led all 30-laps to earn his sixth USAC/CRA win over Bernal, Chase Johnson, Adams, and Austin Williams. Williams broke Damion Gardner’s string of Woodland Auto Display Fast Times to earn the fourth top-qualifier honor of his career. R.J. Johnson, Swanson, and Roa topped the 10-lap heat races and Swanson earned his second Saldana Racing Products / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award during Sprint Week with a seventh place run from thirteenth.
On Saturday, September 8th, the traditional 410 sprint cars headed to Hanford’s Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds for the final round of “California Sprint Week.” Jace Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA) took the lead from Roa on lap six and sailed to his first USAC/CRA win over the nineteen car field. Gardner, Faria, Roa, and Swanson chased Vander Weerd’s family owned #88 Vander Weerd Construction / Stone Gate Development KPC to the checkered flags. “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. earned his first USAC/CRA Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award and Cody Williams, Vander Weerd, Gardner won the 10-lap heat races. Using a 360 engine, Koen Shaw earned this night’s Saldana Racing Products / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award during Sprint Week with an eleventh place finish after starting seventeenth. When the dust settled, Brody Roa won the “5th Annual Bullet Impressions California Sprint Week” over Austin Williams, Damion Gardner, Danny Faria Jr., and Ryan Bernal.
On Saturday, September 22nd, the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will return to Don Kazarian’s Perris Auto Speedway for the annual “Glenn Howard Classic.” Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds in Perris, California, the sixteenth point race will also feature the PAS Senior Sprint Cars, PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars, and WRA Vintage Cars. More event information can be found at www.perrisautospeedway.com or calling 951.940.0134.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks Hoosier Tire, All Coast Construction, BR Motorsports, Bullet Impressions, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, King Racing Products, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, surfNsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, contact PR Director Lance Jennings at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
For more information on USAC/CRA, visit the United States Auto Club (USAC) website at www.usacracing.com. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
Loudpedal Productions has USAC/CRA DVDs and videos on demand available for purchase at www.loudpedal.tv and 805.407.7229.
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SEPTEMBER 1ST CALISTOGA FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Damion Gardner, 2. Danny Faria Jr., 3. Ryan Bernal, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Max Adams, 6. Brody Roa, 7. R.J. Johnson, 8. Austin Liggett, 9. Logan Williams, 10. Matt McCarthy, 11. Cody Williams, 12. Geoff Ensign, 13. Cody Jessop, 14. Jace Vander Weerd, 15. Johnathon Henry, 16. Billy Aton, 17. Jake Swanson, 18. Chris Gansen, 19. Shayna Silvia, 20. Richard Brace Jr., 21. Austin Ervine, 22. Chase Johnson, 23. Zack Lynskey, 24. Colby Copeland, 25. Nick Larson, 26. Tanner Thorson. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Faria, Laps 22-25 Gardner
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Matt McCarthy (26th to 10th)
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SEPTEMBER 2nd CALISTOGA FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Colby Copeland, 2. Brody Roa, 3. Chase Johnson, 4. Austin Williams, 5. Ryan Bernal, 6. Danny Faria Jr., 7. Geoff Ensign, 8. Austin Liggett, 9. Cody Williams, 10. Jace Vander Weerd, 11. Max Adams, 12. R.J. Johnson, 13. Logan Williams, 14. Chris Gansen, 15. Zack Lynskey, 16. Matt McCarthy, 17. Shayna Sylvia, 18. Cody Jessop, 19. Nick Larson, 20. Austin Ervine, 21. Jake Swanson, 22. Richard Brace Jr., 23. Damion Gardner. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Copeland
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Ryan Bernal (14th to 5th)
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SEPTEMBER 3RD PETALUMA FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Ryan Bernal, 2. Austin Williams, 3. Danny Faria Jr., 4. Damion Gardner, 5. Brody Roa, 6. Cody Williams, 7. Chris Gansen, 8. Logan Williams, 9. Max Adams, 10. Geoff Ensign, 11. R.J. Johnson, 12. Richard Brace Jr., 13. Shayna Sylvia, 14. Matt McCarthy, 15. John Clark, 16. Nick Larson, 17. Chase Johnson, 18. Ricky Brophy, 19. Gary Paulson, 20. Jake Swanson, 21. Shawn Arriaga. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Bernal.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Richard Brace Jr. (20th to 12th)
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SEPTEMBER 6TH CHICO FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Chase Johnson, 2. Brody Roa, 3. Colby Copeland, 4. Koen Shaw, 5. Logan Williams, 6. Austin Williams, 7. Michael Faccinto, 8. R.J. Johnson, 9. Jake Swanson, 10. Max Adams, 11. Damion Gardner, 12. Ryan Bernal, 13. Cody Williams, 14. Geoff Ensign, 15. Shayna Sylvia, 16. Chris Gansen, 17. Cody Jessop, 18. Gary Paulson, 19. Ron Laplant, 20. Richard Brace Jr., 21. David Johnson, 22. Matt McCarthy, 23. Nick Larson, 24. Danny Faria Jr. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 C.Johnson, Laps 3-10 Gardner, Laps 11-28 Copeland, Laps 29-30 C.Johnson.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Jake Swanson (23rd to 9th)
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SEPTEMBER 7TH WATSONVILLE FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Brody Roa, 2. Ryan Bernal, 3. Chase Johnson, 4. Max Adams, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Danny Faria Jr., 7. Jake Swanson, 8. Cody Williams, 9. Damion Gardner, 10. Logan Williams, 11. Billy Aton, 12. Koen Shaw, 13. Geoff Ensign, 14. R.J. Johnson, 15. Chris Gansen, 16. Shayna Sylvia, 17. Joel Rayborne, 18. Austin Ervine, 19. Austin Liggett. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Roa
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Jake Swanson (13th to 7th)
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HANFORD SEPTEMBER 8TH FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Jace Vander Weerd, 2. Damion Gardner, 3. Danny Faria Jr., 4. Brody Roa, 5. Jake Swanson, 6. Austin Williams, 7. Max Adams, 8. Cody Williams, 9. Chris Gansen, 10. R.J. Johnson, 11. Koen Shaw, 12. Logan Williams, 13. Cal Smith, 14. Joel Rayborne, 15. Shayna Sylvia, 16. Ryan Bernal, 17. Geoff Ensign, 18. Chase Johnson, 19. Austin Ervine. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Roa, Laps 6-30 Vander Weerd.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Koen Shaw (17th to 11th)
FINAL BULLET IMPRESSIONS CALIFORNIA SPRINT WEEK POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brody Roa-426, 2. Austin Williams-406, 3. Damion Gardner-377, -. Danny Faria Jr.-377, 5. Ryan Bernal-375, 6. Max Adams-337, 7. Cody Williams-323, 8. Chase Johnson-322, 9. Logan Williams-302, 10. R.J. Johnson-297, 11. Chris Gansen-269, 12. Geoff Ensign-265, 13. Jake Swanson-261, 14. Shayna Sylvia-206, 15. Colby Copeland-173, 16. Jace Vander Weerd-169, 17. Koen Shaw-153, 18. Matt McCarthy-146, 19. Austin Liggett-142, 20. Richard Brace Jr.-113.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brody Roa-1069, 2. Damion Gardner-1018, 3. Austin Williams-918, 4. Cody Williams-864, 5. Max Adams-851, 6. Jake Swanson-802, 7. R.J. Johnson-719, 8. Danny Faria Jr.-682, 9. Logan Williams-658, 10. Chris Gansen-636, 11. Ryan Bernal-527, 12. Tommy Malcolm-444, 13. A.J. Bender-406, 14. Matt McCarthy-313, 15. Joel Rayborne-310, 16. Austin Ervine-269, 17. Verne Sweeney-264, 18. Austin Liggett-252, 19. Jace Vander Weerd-251, 20. Matt Rossi-178
2018 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE-TRACK-LOCATION
September 22: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Glenn Howard Classic)
September 28: Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, AZ (Hall of Fame Classic)
September 29: Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, AZ (Hall of Fame Classic)
October 20: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA
November 2: *Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 3: *Arizona Speedway - San Tan Valley, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 8: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction)
November 9: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction)
November 10: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with AMSOIL USAC National Sprints.
This schedule is subject to change.
