PETALUMA HOSTS USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SHOWDOWN
By Lance Jennings
JULY 26, 2021... This Saturday, July 31st, the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars will invade the Petaluma Speedway (Petaluma, CA) for their second of three appearances at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds. Promoted by Rick Faeth, the seventh point race will also feature the USAC Western States Midgets, WMR Western Midgets, and 600 Micro Sprints. The Pit Gates will open at noon, The Front Gates open at 4:00pm, Practice starts at 5:00pm, and Racing at “The Fastest 3/8 Mile Dirt Oval in Northern California” will begin at 6:00pm. For event information, visit the track’s website at petaluma-speedway.com or call 707.763.7223 (RACE). For those that cannot travel to the races, floracing.com will broadcast a live stream of both night’s action over the internet.
PETALUMA NOTES:
- UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, ANY HOOSIER TIRE ON ALL FOUR CORNERS ARE ALLOWED.
- PETALUMA SPEEDWAY HAS A MANDATORY COMPETITOR COVID-19 WAIVER FORM AT petaluma-speedway.com/covid-waiver.
- PETALUMA MANDATORY MUFFLERS: FLOWMASTER: 53545-10, SPINTECH: 1545P SUPER STOCK. *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- PETALUMA TARP RULE: Tarps are mandatory under all racecars in the pit area and must stick out at least one foot at each side.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- NO ENTRY FEE IN 2021. ALL RACERS MUST PURCHASE THEIR USAC LICENSE / MEMBERSHIPS OR TEMPORARY PERMITS (TPs) ONLINE PRIOR TO THE EVENT AT USACRACING.COM OR USACLICENSE.COM. TPs are $25 and Memberships are $150.
- 2021 ENGINE RULES: Legal ASCS spec cylinder head w/ 2 3/16 Injector/Restrictor; or 2 3/16 with any open legal head. All Open head must be within 1 degree of OEM Head. All heads ASCS and Open must be Chevy 23 degree plus or minus 1 degree. Ford 20 degree plus or minus 1 degree. Dodge 18 degree plus or minus 1 degree.
- 2021 WEIGHT RULE: 1,475 lbs. with driver for cars with an open cylinder head. Cars with an ASCS cylinder head must weigh 1,450 lbs. including driver.
- California state protocol calls for competitors, crews, officials, and anyone on the grounds to practice safe social distancing, proper sanitizing, and follow local regulations regarding the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
- ANY WINGLESS SPEC SPRINT is invited to race with the USAC West Coast Sprints and can run their rules 100 percent, including their tire rule.
- TRANSPONDERS ARE MANDATORY.
- ONE WAY DRIVER RADIOS ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS ARE MANDATORY.
- The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
Entering Saturday’s event, the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds has hosted six USAC West Coast Sprint Car races. “The Human Highlight Reel” Geoff Ensign leads all drivers with three victories, including the July 29, 2017 debut and the May 15th main event. Ensign also set the 1-lap track record of 13.728 at the debut and the Petaluma series win list at the end of this release.
Heading to Petaluma, D.J. Johnson (Stockton, CA) has a 47- point advantage over the competition. Racing his #33 Bill’s Tire Service of Pacheco / The Halstead Real Estate Eagle, Johnson ran fourth at Merced on July 9th and eleventh the following night at Placerville. To date, the 2013 USAC Western Classic Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has posted three heat race victories, five top-10 finishes, and 5 feature laps led on the season. D.J. has two career series wins and will be looking to add a Petaluma trophy to his collection.
Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) is second in the championship point standings. Piloting the family owned #83 Excel Environmental / Liggett Trucking Maxim, Liggett scored eleventh at Merced and tenth at Placerville. At press time, the 2018 Champion has recorded four top-10 finishes and three feature laps led in the campaign. With twelve career victories, Austin will be racing double duty with the USAC Western States Midgets and will have his sights on sweeping both shows.
Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, CA) ranks third in the chase for the championship. Driving the family owned #29T Timmons Auto & Truck Repair / Evergood Fine Foods entry, Timmons placed seventh at the Merced debut and scored twenty-first at Placerville. To date, the 2016 Rookie of the Year has two Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards and four top-10 finishes on the season. Ryan has four career wins and will be looking to continue his championship bid with a Petaluma triumph.
Kaleb Montgomery (Templeton, CA) sits fourth in the USAC West Coast standings. Racing the family owned #3 Mission County Properties / David Crye Maxim, Montgomery set new track records at Merced and Placerville before recording a fifth and thirteenth place finish. To date, the young driver has posted two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award, three top-10 finishes, and 24 feature laps led to his credit. Kaleb has one career USAC win and is a threat to earn the winning trophy at Petaluma.
Ryan Bernal (Hollister, CA) has climbed to fifth in the USAC West Coast point chase. Driving the Matt Wood Racing owned #17W NOS Energy Drink / Elk Grove Ford entry, Bernal won the Merced debut and ran second to Cody Fendley at Placerville. At press time, the 2011 Rookie of the Year has two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, three top-10 finishes, and 43 feature laps led. With thirty-eight career wins, Ryan is running a limited schedule with the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars.
Jarrett Soares (Gilroy, CA), leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors by one point over Cody Fendley (Placerville, CA). Logan Calderwood (Goodyear, AZ), Tuesday Calderwood (Goodyear, AZ), Nate Schank (Santa Rosa, CA), and Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, CA) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Tanner Boul, Cody Fendley, Jake Hodges, Cody Smith, Jacob Tuttle, Heath Holdsclaw, Shawn Arriaga, Bruno Bianci, Norm Johns, and more.
Petaluma Speedway is located on the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California at 100 Fairgrounds Drive. Adult Grandstand Tickets are $18 and Senior Tickets (65 & Over) are $15. Military Tickets are $15, Junior Tickets (12-15) are $13, Children Tickets (6-11) are $13, and Kids (5 & Under) are FREE. For more information, visit the track's website at petaluma-speedway.com or call 707.763.7223 (RACE).
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks AMSOIL, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, FloRacing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
For more information on the series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content at the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
FloRacing.com has live, flag-to-flag coverage of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series. You can catch the action by subscribing to FloRacing on a monthly or yearly basis to view their huge catalog of live and on-demand auto racing and sporting events.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2009-Justyne Hamblin, 2010-Craig Stidham, 2011-Richard Vander Weerd, 2012-Bud Kaeding, 2013-Danny Faria Jr., 2014-Matt Mitchell, 2015-Danny Faria Jr., 2016-Brody Roa, 2017-Jake Swanson, 2018-Austin Liggett, 2019-Tristan Guardino, 2020-NO AWARD.
PETALUMA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Geoff Ensign – 13.728 (07/29/17)
PETALUMA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 3-Geoff Ensign, 2-Austin Liggett, 1-Ryan Timmons.
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Ryan Bernal, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-Cody Fendley, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Troy Rutherford.
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. D.J. Johnson-400, 2. Austin Liggett-353, 3. Ryan Timmons-319, 4. Kaleb Montgomery-257, 5. Ryan Bernal-241, 6. Tanner Boul-238, 7. Brody Roa-229, 8. Kyle Edwards-217, 9. Jarrett Soares ®-211, 10. Cody Fendley ®-210, 11. Jake Hodges-181, 12. Logan Calderwood ®-153, 13. Kalib Henry-144, 14. Tuesday Calderwood ®-135, 15. Shane Hopkins-131, 16. Nate Schank ®-130, 17. Brody Fuson ®-126, 18. Cody Smith-111, 19. Danny Faria Jr.-110, 20. Jacob Tuttle-95, 21. Trent Carter-90, 22. James Herrera-86, 23. Geoff Ensign-78, 24. Troy Rutherford-76, 25. Trent Williams-69, 26. Heath Holdsclaw-67, 27. Jace Vander Weerd-66, 28. Tristan Guardino-60, 29. Bruce Douglass-47, 30. Jake Morgan-47, 31. Hannah Mayhew-43, 32. Rick Hendrix- 42, ---. Travis Buckley-42, 34. Christopher Muraoka-36, ---. Dylan Bloomfield-36, 36. Braidon Moniz-32, 37. Jimmy Trulli-27, 38. Tom Hendricks-25, 39. Matt Streeter-24, 40. Steve Hix-10, ---. Kala Keliinoi-10, ---. Michael Faccinto-10.
2021 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE – TRACK - LOCATION
April 3: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (CANCELLED)
April 10: Keller Auto Speedway – Hanford, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
April 17: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Winner: Brody Roa)
May 15: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA (Winner: Geoff Ensign)
June 12: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (CANCELLED)
June 26: *Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Troy Rutherford)
July 9: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Winner: Ryan Bernal)
July 10: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Winner: Cody Fendley)
July 31: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA
August 7: Merced Speedway – Merced, CA (Kevin Triplett Memorial)
August 28: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (Ron Otto Memorial)
September 18: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA
September 19: Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA
October 9: Placerville Speedway – Placerville, CA (Prospector Pandemonium)
October 10: Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, CA
October 16: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
November 26: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 27: *Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with VRA Sprints.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.