WEST COAST SPRINTS VISIT THUNDERBOWL SATURDAY;

JACE VANDER WEERD (WC) and JOHNSON (SW) TAKE SPRINTS

Danny Faria Jr. leads USAC’s West Coast Sprint cars to Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. for the "KRC Safety Fall Shootout" Saturday night and enjoys a 143-point cushion over series runner-up Richard Vander Weerd. Faria has “podium” finishes in all five Tulare outings so far this year while Vander Weerd’s only podium came in a runner-up finish to Matt Mitchell in July. Ryan Bernal has a pair of Tulare wins this year, while Bud Kaeding and Faria also joined Mitchell as 2015 Tulare winners.

Jace Vander Weerd of Visalia, Calif. led wire-to-wire to win Saturday night’s “Jim Evett Memorial” USAC West Coast race at Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds in Hanford, Calif. Mike Spencer finished second ahead of Faria, fast qualifier Jake Swanson and Richard Vander Weerd.

R.J. Johnson, winner of last Saturday’s race at Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek, Ariz. holds a 61-point lead over Charles Davis Jr. in the latest Southwest Sprint Car standings. The next series event is October 17 at Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande.

Johnson padded his Southwest lead Saturday night at Arizona Speedway, winning the “Neil’s Garage Cabinets Fall Classic.” He passed Stevie Sussex on lap 11 and led the rest of the way in his Michaels entry to beat Davis, Mike Martin, Tom Ogle and Matt Rossi. The USAC win was Johnson’s 26th in the state of Arizona.