JOHNSON WRAPS UP SOUTHWEST SPRINT TITLE;

ROSSI “WESTERN WORLD” CHAMP; BERNAL SWEEPS PRELIMS

R.J. Johnson of Phoenix, Ariz. secured his first USAC driving title Saturday, finishing fourth in the 47th Sands Chevrolet “Western World Championships” finale at Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz. His final margin of victory over runner-up Charles Davis Jr. is 204 points.

Matt Rossi of Glendale, Ariz. emerged as the “Western World” champion with a dominating performance in Saturday’s 30-lap finale. He led the final 20 laps in his Apache Scrapes/Schure Built Suspension Spike/Advanced after passing Ryan Bernal on lap 11. Bernal, who captured the preliminary 30-lap victories Thursday and Friday, slipped to eighth at the checkered flag.

Johnson led the first nine laps Saturday, but Kevin Thomas Jr. finished second ahead of Bryan Clauson, Johnson and Brady Bacon.

Bernal and the Core Power/Metal Works ART/S & S swept 30-lap prelims Thursday and Friday. On Friday, Bernal trailed Jon Stanbrough for two laps and then led the final 28 laps to beat Clauson, Casey Shuman, Johnson and C.J. Leary. Thursday’s race saw Gary Taylor lead the opening lap while Bernal led the next 19. Shuman led lap 21 before Bernal returned to lead the final nine.