CRA EYES SEPTEMBER 24 RACE AT PERRIS; GARDNER TAKES “SPRINT WEEK” TITLE WITH A FLAIR
Damion Gardner of Concord, Calif., riding the crest of his recent All Coast Construction “California Sprint Week” championship, leads the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Cars back to Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway for the September 24 “Glenn Howard Classic.” He’s the defending winner of the race and now owns a 106-point lead over Richard Vander Weerd in the latest series standings.
Gardner, eked out the “California Sprint Week” championship last week on a night that didn’t start well for him. On the fourth lap of the main event in Saturday’s race at Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds in Hanford, Gardner flipped. He restarted and, after hasty repairs, was able to work him way back to 12th by race’s end.
Meanwhile, Thomas Meseraull, who appeared headed for the mini-series title, was involved in a spin on lap 23 while running fourth and was relegated to 14th at the finish, leaving him 23 points behind Gardner in the final standings. Defending “California Sprint Week” champ Ryan Bernal ended up third in the final 2016 points.
Gardner passed Brady Bacon with seven laps remaining in Thursday night’s “Gold Cup Race of Champions” feature at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico and put his Mark Alexander Scott Sales Company/Weld Racing Spike/J & D in victory lane. Bacon took second ahead of Meseraull, Bernal and Danny Faria, Jr.
Meseraull, of San Jose, Calif., came back on Friday to snatch the 30-lap feature win away from Gardner on the final corner of the final lap at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville. Trailing Meseraull’s Josh Bates SportClips/LRB Manufacturing Maxim/Kistler were Gardner, Chad Boespflug, Bernal and Jake Swanson.
Bacon, of Broken Arrow, Okla., dominated Saturday’s finale at Hanford, leading all 30 laps in the Keith Ford Sun Valley AG Transport/Walker Filtration Systems Triple X/Claxton Mopar. Bernal was second ahead of Richard Vander Weerd, Brody Roa and Jace Vander Weerd.
Woodland Auto Display fast qualifiers were Jake Swanson (twice) and Gardner, while BR Motorsports Racing Products hard chargers were Jake Morgan, Bacon and Jace Vander Weerd.
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UPCOMING AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT:
DATE: Saturday, September 24, 2016
SERIES: USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Car Championship
TRACK: Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, California) - 1/2 Mile, Semi-Banked Dirt Oval
EVENT:“Glenn Howard Classic” featuring the USAC/CRA AMSOIL Sprint Cars, PAS Senior Sprints & PAS Young Guns
STARTING TIMES: Front gates will open at 5:00pm and racing will start around 7:00pm.
TICKET PRICES: Children (12 & under): $5.00. Seniors (65 and over): $20.00. Adults (13-64): $25.00.
TRACK ADDRESS: 18700 Lake Perris Drive - Perris, CA 92571
TRACK PHONE: (951) 940-0134
TRACK WEBSITE: http://www.perrisautospeedway.com/
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2016 FINAL ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION “CALIFORNIA SPRINT WEEK” POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (406) Damion Gardner (Corona, CA)
2. (383) Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, CA)
3. (362) Ryan Bernal (Hollister, CA)
4. (342) Geoff Ensign (Sebastopol, CA)
5. (325) Chad Boespflug (Hanford, CA)
6. (316) Richard Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA)
7. (304) Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Cullman, AL)
8. (299) Jake Swanson (Anaheim, CA)
9. (284) Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)
10. (281) Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA)
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2016 USAC/CRA AMSOIL SPRINT CAR DRIVER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (1008) Damion Gardner (Corona, CA)
2. (902) Richard Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA)
3. (893) Jake Swanson (Anaheim, CA)
4. (847) Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA)
5. (806) Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA)
6. (721) Mike Spencer (Temecula, CA)
7. (659) Max Adams (Loomis, CA)
8. (560) Jace Vander Weerd (Visalia, CA)
9. (542) Jeremy Ellertson (Lawndale, CA)
10. (541) Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, CA)
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2016 USAC/CRA AMSOIL SPRINT CAR OWNER POINT STANDINGS (TOP-10):
1. (1008) Mark Alexander #4
2. (902) Ron Vander Weerd #10
3. (893) Tom & Laurie Sertich #92
4. (847) BR Racing #91R
5. (806) John Jory #2
6. (659) Max Adams #5m
7. (560) Ron Vander Weerd #88
8. (542) Jeremy Ellertson #98
9. (541) John Jory #5
10. (532) Gansen Racing #4s
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2016 USAC/CRA AMSOIL SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & RESULTS:
Mar 5: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
WINNER: Bryan Clauson
Apr 16: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
WINNER: Josh Hodges
May 7: Ventura, CA – Ventura Raceway
WINNER: Troy Rutherford
May 28: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
WINNER: Austin Williams
Jun 11: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
WINNER: Richard Vander Weerd
Jul 1: Santa Maria, CA – Santa Maria Raceway
WINNER: Ryan Bernal
Jul 2: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
WINNER: Danny Sheridan
Jul 30: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
WINNER: Matt Mitchell
Aug 27: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
WINNER: Damion Gardner
Sep 3: Calistoga, CA – Calistoga Speedway
WINNER: Ryan Bernal
Sep 4: Calistoga, CA – Calistoga Speedway
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull
Sep 5: Petaluma, CA – Petaluma Speedway
WINNER: Damion Gardner
Sep 8: Chico, CA – Silver Dollar Speedway
WINNER: Damion Gardner
Sep 9: Watsonville, CA – Ocean Speedway
WINNER: Thomas Meseraull
Sep 10: Hanford, CA – Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds
WINNER: Brady Bacon
Sep 24: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
Sep 30: Peoria, AZ – Canyon Speedway
Oct 1: Peoria, AZ – Canyon Speedway
Oct 15: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
Nov 4: Queen Creek, AZ – Arizona Speedway
Nov 5: Queen Creek, AZ – Arizona Speedway
Nov 10: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
Nov 11: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
Nov 12: Perris, CA – Perris Auto Speedway
Races noted with @@@ represent California Sprint Week
Races noted with ### represent a co-sanctioned event with the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship
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2016 USAC/CRA AMSOIL SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS:
1. (3) Damion Gardner (Perris Auto Speedway on Aug. 27, Petaluma Speedway on Sept. 5 & Silver Dollar Speedway on Sept. 8)
2. (2) Ryan Bernal (Santa Maria Raceway on July 1 & Calistoga Speedway on Sept. 3)
(2) Thomas Meseraull (Calistoga Speedway on Sept. 4 & Ocean Speedway on Sept. 9)
4. (1) Brady Bacon (Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds on Sept. 10)
(1) Bryan Clauson (Perris Auto Speedway on March 5)
(1) Josh Hodges (Perris Auto Speedway on April 16)
(1) Matt Mitchell (Perris Auto Speedway on July 30)
(1) Troy Rutherford (Ventura Raceway on May 7)
(1) Danny Sheridan (Perris Auto Speedway on July 2)
(1) Richard Vander Weerd (Perris Auto Speedway on June 11)
(1) Austin Williams (Perris Auto Speedway on May 28)
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ALL-TIME USAC/CRA AMSOIL SPRINT CAR DRIVER FEATURE WINS:
1. [68 wins] Damion Gardner
2. [37 wins] Mike Spencer
3. [35 wins] Cory Kruseman
4. [20 wins] Tony Jones
5. [12 wins] Bryan Clauson
6. [10 wins] Nic Faas, Mike Kirby & Rip Williams
9. [9 wins] David Cardey
10. [8 wins] Ryan Bernal, Rickie Gaunt & Danny Sheridan
12. [7 wins] Dave Darland & Matt Mitchell
15. [6 wins] Robert Ballou, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, Blake Miller & Richard Vander Weerd
20. [5 wins] Garrett Hansen
21. [4 wins] Darren Hagen, Kevin Swindell & Austin Williams
24. [3 wins] Brady Bacon, Jerry Coons Jr., Charles Davis, Jr., Jesse Hockett, Jeremy Sherman, Scotty Weir & Josh Wise
31. [2 wins] Rico Abreu, Tyler Brown, R.J. Johnson, Kyle Larson, Thomas Meseraull & Chris Windom
37. [1 win] Alan Ballard, Jayme Barnes, Christopher Bell, Greg Bragg, Daron Clayton, Shane Cottle, Danny Faria, Jr., Ricci Faria, Josh Ford, Marty Hawkins, Tracy Hines, Kyle Hirst, Josh Hodges, Tim Kaeding, Mike Martin, Adam Mitchell, Brody Roa, Johnny Rodriguez, Troy Rutherford, Jon Stanbrough, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Chase Stockon, Cole Whitt, Cody Williams & Jason York
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ALL-TIME USAC/CRA AMSOIL SPRINT CAR DRIVER CHAMPIONS:
2004: Rip Williams, 2005: Damion Gardner, 2006: Cory Kruseman, 2007: Tony Jones, 2008: Mike Spencer, 2009: Mike Spencer, 2010: Mike Spencer, 2011: Mike Spencer, 2012: Mike Spencer, 2013: Damion Gardner, 2014: Damion Gardner, 2015: Damion Gardner
