SOUTHWEST SPRINT POINT RACE BEGINS AT PEORIA SATURDAY

R.J. Johnson of Phoenix, Ariz. officially opens defense of his 2013 USAC Southwest Sprint Car championship when the series returns to Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Ariz. Saturday. It’s billed as the CSP Opener” although the Southwest Sprint cars competed in six races there in January and February.

Dave Darland scored three wins during the “Copper on Dirt,” while Brady Bacon, Colby Copeland and Richard Vander Weerd also scored victories.

Johnson notched a pair of thirds, a sixth, a seventh and a 10th in his five starts during the “non-point” events earlier this year.

Last year Johnson grabbed five wins, a second and a third in nine Peoria starts on his way to his first USAC crown. Other Southwest Sprint point-race winners last year were Charles Davis Jr. (2), Bryan Clauson (2) and Mike Spencer.