RYAN BERNAL WINS USAC/CRA THRILLER AT TULARE
TULARE, CA – APRIL 2, 2022… After one of the most hotly contested AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car main events, Ryan Bernal (Hollister, CA) emerged with Saturday’s victory at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway. Driving Keith Ford’s #73 Edgewater Construction / Sun Valley AG Transport Triple X, Bernal got the better of Chase Johnson to claim the “Chris and Brian Faria Memorial” victory. “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, Matt Mitchell, A.J. Bender, and fast qualifier “The Demon” Damion Gardner chased Ryan to the checkered flags.
Before scoring the tenth win of his career, Bernal qualified eighth overall and ran second in his heat race to Nate Schank. The former two-time USAC Western Classic Champion is running a limited USAC/CRA schedule and has climbed to twenty-second in points.
“The Demon” Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) posted his 101st career Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award with a time of 15.457 over the 24-car roster. Piloting Mark Alexander’s #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner won the 10-lap Flowdynamics Incorporated Heat Race #1 and finished fifth in the feature. The nine-time champion and point leader heads to the Mohave Valley debut with a 99-point advantage.
Leading rookie contender Nate Shank (Santa Rosa, CA) won Tulare’s 10-lap BillsJerky.net Heat Race #2. Racing the family owned #1$ Joe Hunt Magnetos / Industrial Machine Maxim, Schank was fourteenth quick in time trials and scored seventeenth in the main event. Nate left the Tulare County Fairgrounds ranked eighth in points.
Hanford victor, Austin Liggett (Linden, CA) raced to victory in the In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner Heat Race #3. Driving the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Liggett Trucking Maxim, Liggett qualified ninth overall. The former USAC West Coast 360 Champion in running a limited schedule and sits twentieth in the point chase.
Matt Mitchell (Yorba Linda, CA) earned the night’s Hard Charger Award with third place run from eighth in the feature. Piloting his #37 Roy Miller Freight Lines / Campbell Brothers Storage Maxim, Mitchell was fifth quick in time trials and fifth in his heat race. The former USAC West Coast 360 Champion heads to Mohave Valley Raceway ranked third in the standings.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, AZ) earned the Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13 Award.” Racing his #47 MP Environmental Services / Black Magic Bead Breaker DRC, Davis qualified eighteenth and ran second to Austin Liggett in his heat race. The multi-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion is currently second in USAC/CRA points.
The USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will make their first ever appearance at Mohave Valley Raceway (Mohave Valley, AZ) on Saturday, April 23rd.
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks BillsJerky.net, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics Incorporated, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Laserworx Manufacturing, Woodland Auto Display, BR Motorsports, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Rod End Supply, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
For more information on the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: April 2, 2022 – Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, California – “Chris & Brian Faria Memorial”
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-15.457; 2. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-15.709; 3. Austin Williams, 2, Williams-15.709; 4. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.776; 5. Chase Johnson, 8M, May-15.786; 6. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-15.846; 7. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-15.881; 8. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-15.921; 9. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-15.930; 10. Ricky Lewis, 41, Lewis-15.935; 11. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-16.006; 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-16.102; 13. Trent Williams, 52V, Williams-16.109; 14. Nate Shank, 1$, Schank-16.175; 15. Dawson Faria, 12B, Faria-16.232; 16. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-16.338; 17. Christopher Muraoka, 25, Muraoka-16.352; 18. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-16.560; 19. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-16.638; 20. Jeff Dyer, 39, Cal-Sun-16.650; 21. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-16.699; 22. Travis Buckley, 21K, Kruseman-16.853; 23. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-NT; 24. Logan Calderwood, 6, Calderwood-NT.
FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Lewis, 3. Bender, 4. T.Williams, 5. Mitchell, 6. Sweeney, 7. McCarthy, 8. Buckley. NT
BILLSJERKY.NET SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Schank, 2. Bernal, 3. Johnson, 4. L.Williams, 5. Boul, 6. Grabowski, 7. Muraoka, 8. Dyer. NT
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Liggett, 2. Davis, 3. A.Williams, 4. Tafoya, 5. Malcolm, 6. Hix, 7. Faria. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Ryan Bernal (1), 2. Austin Williams (4), 3. Matt Mitchell (8), 4. A.J. Bender (3), 5. Damion Gardner (6), 6. Austin Liggett (9), 7. Chase Johnson (2), 8. Tommy Malcolm (7), 9. Trent Williams (13), 10. Ricky Lewis (10), 11. Dawson Faria (15), 12. Logan Williams (5), 13. Charles Davis Jr. (18), 14. Tanner Boul (11), 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (12), 16. Steve Hix (21), 17. Nate Schank (14), 18. Matt McCarthy (19), 19. Austin Grabowski (23), 20. Christopher Muraoka (17), 21. Travis Buckley (22), 22. Verne Sweeney (16), 23. Jeff Dyer (20). NT.
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*Calderwood flipped during hotlaps. Grabowksi flipped during qualifications.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Johnson, Lap 18 Bernal, Laps 19-23 Johnson, Lap 24 Bernal, Lap 25 Johnson, Lap 26-30 Bernal.
HARD CHARGER: Matt Mitchell (8th to 3rd)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Charles Davis Jr.
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-479, 2-Charles Davis Jr.-380, 3-Matt Mitchell-358, --Austin Williams-358, 5-Logan Williams-320, 6-Eddie Tafoya Jr.-288, 7-Tommy Malcolm-267, 8-Nate Schank-252, 9-Ricky Lewis-235, 10-Matt McCarthy-234.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: April 23 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona