MALCOLM THUNDERS TO PERRIS USAC CRA VICTORY
Perris, California (June 22, 2024)………Tommy Malcolm topped the field for his first victory of the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car season on Saturday night at southern California’s Perris Auto Speedway.
Malcolm (Corona, Calif.) started from the pole and led all 20 laps en route to victory in his Dino Napier-owned No. 5x. The triumph was the fourth of Malcolm/Napier’s career in USAC CRA competition, three of which have come at Perris’ 1/2-mile dirt oval.
Following Malcolm to the line was Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, Calif.) who earned his best career finish of second place in what was his 158th career series start. Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, Calif.) grabbed third while Logan Willams (Yorba Linda, Calif.) took fourth. A.J. Bender (San Diego, Calif.) rounded out the top-five.
Grant Sexton (Lakeside, Calif.), the 2023 USAC CRA Rookie of the Year, finished a season best sixth after advancing 10 spots from his 16th starting position. For his efforts, Sexton earned hard charger honors in memory of Jim and Chet Gardner.
Cody Williams (Corona, Calif.), who earned Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier honors for the night, finished 12th in the feature event, which was originally scheduled for 30 laps, but shortened to 20 due to track conditions.
Malcolm’s victory also cut his deficit in the race for the 2024 USAC CRA Sprint Car title from 44 to 14 behind point leader R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Ariz.) who finished 11th in Saturday night’s main event.
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AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 22, 2024 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-17.084; 2. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-17.153; 3. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-17.318; 4. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-17.329; 5. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.506; 6. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-17.626; 7. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-17.651; 8. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.660; 9. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-17.661; 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-17.848; 11. Austin Williams, 17w, Dunkel-17.890; 12. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-17.910; 13. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-17.950; 14. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-18.125; 15. Gary Marshall Jr., 23, Bellegante-18.209; 16. Grant Sexton, 22, Sexton-18.360; 17. Brent Owens, 71, Martin-18.433; 18. Stevie Rogers, 11, Burgeson/Rogers-18.568; 19. Brent Sexton, 44s, Sexton-18.698; 20. Tyler Hatzikian, 27, Hatzikian-18.914; 21. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-18.956; 22. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-19.230.
FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. Matt McCarthy, 2. Logan Williams, 3. Cody Williams, 4. R.J. Johnson, 5. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 6. Grant Sexton, 7. Brent Sexton, 8. Elexa Herrera. 2:55.68
BILLSJERKY.NET / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. Austin Williams, 2. Charles Davis Jr., 3. A.J. Bender, 4. Chris Gansen, 5. Verne Sweeney, 6. Tyler Hatzikian. 2:57.65
WC FRIEND COMPANY / IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to feature) 1. Tommy Malcolm, 2. Matt Mitchell, 3. David Gasper, 4. Jeff Dyer, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Gary Marshall Jr., 7. Stevie Rogers. 3:05.14
FEATURE: (20 laps, shortened from 30 laps due to track conditions, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tommy Malcolm (1), 2. Chris Gansen (2), 3. Austin Williams (11), 4. Logan Williams (7), 5. A.J. Bender (8), 6. Grant Sexton (16), 7. Gary Marshall Jr. (15), 8. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (10), 9. Verne Sweeney (14), 10. David Gasper (12), 11. R.J. Johnson (3), 12. Cody Williams (6), 13. Brent Sexton (18), 14. Stevie Rogers (17), 15. Tyler Hatzikian (19), 16. Austin Grabowski (9), 17. Charles Davis Jr. (5), 18. Matt McCarthy (13), 19. Jeff Dyer (20), 20. Elexa Herrera (21), 21. Matt Mitchell (4). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Tommy Malcolm.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Grant Sexton (16th to 6th)
NEW AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-R.J. Johnson-518, 2-Tommy Malcolm-504, 3-A.J. Bender-482, 4-Logan Williams-477, 5-Austin Williams-468, 6-David Gasper-434, 7-Cody Williams-407, 8-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-397, 9-Verne Sweeney-330, 10-Charles Davis Jr.-285.
NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: July 6 – Santa Maria Speedway – Nipomo, California – Doug Fort Memorial