STEVIE SUSSEX TRIUMPHS IN QUEEN CREEK RETURN
Queen Creek, Arizona.........Making his first USAC SouthWest Sprint Car start since his June 4th Las Cruces win, Stevie Sussex (Tempe, Arizona) claimed last Saturday’s victory at Queen Creek’s Arizona Speedway. Taking the lead on lap twenty after a torrid battle with Josh Pelkey and R.J. Johnson, Sussex won the curfew shortened event after five more laps. Pelkey, Johnson, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., and Matt Rossi rounded out the top-five drivers.
Charging from seventh, Stevie Sussex earned his sixth win of the campaign. Driving Mike Burkhart’s #21AZ Stratis Construction / Westin Diversified RSS, Sussex won the night’s second 8-lap heat race and ranked seventh out of twenty-seven racers in passing points. Returning from racing USAC 360 and 410 sprints in California, the young driver is seventh in the point chase with six heat race victories, two top-qualifier awards, one hard charger award, ten top-10 finishes, and 119 feature laps led.
After leading the first nineteen laps, Josh Pelkey (Peoria, Arizona) had to settle for second at Arizona Speedway. Piloting Robbie and Gaye Allen’s #12 ABC Body Shop / Napa Auto Parts entry, Pelkey won the program’s first heat race and placed sixth in passing points. To date, the 1997 ASCA Champion sits eleventh in the standings with three heat race victories, three hard charger awards, six top-10 finishes, and 27 feature laps led to his credit.
R.J. Johnson (Tempe, Arizona) had a solid night with a third place finish at Queen Creek. Racing Bill Michael’s #77M Kodiak Products / Beal’s Auto Body Sherman, Johnson won the night’s third 8-lap heat race and was seated third in the night’s passing points. As this writing goes to press, the three-time champion has a 113-point lead with ten feature wins, nine heat race victories, six top-qualifier awards, twenty-three top-10 finishes, and 230 feature laps led on the season.
“Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Arizona) scored fourth in the 25-lap main event. Driving the Massey Motorsports’ #50 RSS Industries / Rod End Supply RSS, Davis ran third in his heat race and ranked fourth in passing points. The five-time Arizona champion is currently second in the point chase with eleven heat race victories, three top-qualifier awards, one hard charger awards, twenty-two top-10 finishes, and 39 feature laps led on the year.
Matt Rossi (Glendale, Arizona) charged from eleventh to score fifth in the Queen Creek feature. Piloting the family owned #02 Apache Scapes / IWR Spike, Rossi placed third in his heat race and ranked eleventh in the night’s passing points. The former Western World 360 Champion left Queen Creek sitting third in points with three heat race victories, one semi-main win, twelve top-10 finishes, and 13 feature laps led to his credit.
Dennis Gile (Phoenix, Arizona) earned the night’s “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a ninth place run from seventeenth. Racing the family owned #13 Quarterback Academy / Bobby Q Ellis, Gile scored fifth in his heat race and won the 10-lap semi main. To date, last season’s Rookie of the Year is sixth in the point standings with five heat race victories, three top-qualifier awards, two hard charger awards, seventeen top-10 finishes, and 51 feature laps led.
Michael Curtis (Cottonwood, Arizona) scored the night’s top-qualifier award over the 27 racers in the pit area. Driving the Kevin Turner & Greg Wheeler owned #11C DAR Racing / JT Engineering Maxim, Curtis won the fourth 8-lap heat race and finished eleventh at the checkered flags. At press time, the young driver sits fifteenth in the USAC SouthWest point chase with three heat race victories, two top-qualifier awards, one hard charger award, and six top-10 finishes in the campaign.
After a break in the schedule, the USAC SouthWest Sprint Cars will return to Queen Creek’s Arizona Speedway on Saturday, October 15th. Located at the ET Motopark, the event will also feature Sport Mods, Pure Stocks, and ModLites. For more event and ticket information, visit www.arizonaspeedway.net or call 480.926.6688.
For more information on the USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series, visit www.southwestsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, or follow the series on Facebook.
LANCE JENNINGS - USAC MEDIA
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USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: September 17, 2016 – Queen Creek, Arizona – Arizona Speedway – “Central Arizona College Night”
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1.Josh Pelkey (#12 Allen), 2. Bruce St. James (#7K St. James), 3. Charles Davis Jr. (#50 Massey), 4. Tom Ogle (#48 Ogle), 5. Dennis Gile (#13 Gile), 6. Landon Cling (#54 Cling), 7. Brett Yarnell (#29B Yarnell). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Stevie Sussex (#21AZ Burkhart), 2. Shon Deskins (#20 Deskins), 3. Matt Rossi (#02 Rossi), 4. Mike Martin (#16 Martin), 5. Brian Hosford (#22B Weber), 6. Matt Lundy (#98 Lundy), 7. Tyler Brown (#9G Brown). NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. R.J. Johnson (#77M Michael), 2. Tye Mihocko (#5 Mihocko), 3. Kyle Shipley (#0G Shipley), 4. Cody Batten (#71B Batten), 5. Lealand Fuller (#3 Fuller), 6. Jordan Stetson (#8AZ Stetson), 7. Vickie Faber (#50V Faber). NT
FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Michael Curtis (#11C Turner/Wheeler), 2. Andy Reinbold (#19 Underwood), 3. Chris Bonneau (#78 Bonneau), 4. Tanner Grau (#34 Grau), 5. Joe Schoepner (#17 Schoepner), 6. Zach Madrid (#5Z Madrid). NT
SEMI: (10 laps) 1. Gile, 2. Cling, 3. Lundy, 4. Schoepner, 5. Hosford, 6. Fuller, 7. Yarnel, 8. Faber, 9. Stetson, 10. Brown. NT
FEATURE: (25 laps – Shortened from 30 due to curfew) 1. Stevie Sussex, 2. Josh Pelkey, 3. R.J. Johnson, 4. Charles Davis Jr., 5. Matt Rossi, 6. Tye Mihocko, 7. Chris Bonneau, 8. Tom Ogle, 9. Dennis Gile, 10. Kyle Shipley, 11. Michael Curtis, 12. Landon Cling, 13. Brian Hosford, 14. Mike Martin, 15. Shon Deskins, 16. Cody Batten, 17. Matt Lundy, 18. Joe Schoepner, 19. Tanner Grau, 20. Bruce St. James, 21. Lealand Fuller, 22. Andy Reinbold. NT
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**Madrid flipped during the fourth heat. Reinbold flipped during the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 Pelkey, Laps 20-25 Sussex.
HARD CHARGER: Dennis Gile (17th to 9th)
NEW USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Johnson-1,135, 2-Davis-1,022, 3-Rossi-928, 4-Martin-881, 5-Mihocko-769, 6-Gile-722, 7-Sussex-718, 8-Nick Aiuto-639, 9-Bonneau-609, 10-Hosford-587.
NEXT USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT RACE: October 15 – Queen Creek, AZ – Arizona Speedway