VENTURA RACEWAY WELCOMES USAC WEST COAST SPRINTS TO TURKEY NIGHT

By: Lance Jennings – USAC Media

On Wednesday, November 23rd, the USAC West Coast and VRA Sprint Cars will battle at Ventura Raceway for two nights of action. Joining the prestigious “76th Annual Turkey Night Grand Prix,” with the USAC National and Western States Midgets, the 360 powered traditional sprints will battle in special non-point events. The Pit Gates at the “The Best Little Dirt Track in America” will open at Noon, the Driver’s Meeting will be held at 2:45pm, and the program starts at 3:30pm.

To date, the Ventura County Fairgrounds has held two West Coast Sprint Car races. Johnathon Henry won the West Coast / VRA “Grand Slam” event on April 4, 2009 and Jake Swanson was victorious on July 19, 2014. Since qualifications were not used at both events, a new track record will be set on Wednesday. The event format and purse are listed at the bottom of this release.

Brody Roa (Garden Grove, California) clinched the series championship at Hanford’s Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds on August 13. Piloting the BR Performance owned #91R HD Industries / Lee & Norma Leonard Maxim, Roa posted two feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, eleven top-10 finishes, and 68 feature laps led to his credit. Brody will race Steve Watt’s #81 Maxwell Industries / SWE entry at Ventura and will be looking for his fourth series triumph.

Jace Vander Weerd (Visalia, California) closed out the season on a hot streak and climbed to second in the West Coast point chase. Racing the family owned #88 Vander Weerd Construction / Stone Gate Development Maxim, Jace had two feature wins, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one Keizer Aluminum Wheels / Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, nine top-10 finishes, and 85 feature laps led on the year. Vander Weerd is tied with Peter Murphy for sixth on the series win list and will be looking to add a Ventura win to his resume.

D.J. Johnson (Stockton, California) finished third in the championship point standings. Driving the family owned #33 Proplant Farm Services / J. Milano Company Eagle, Johnson scored two feature wins, three heat race victories, one BR Motorsports / King Racing Products Hard Charger Award, twelve top-10 finishes, and 51 feature laps led on the season. The former USAC Western Classic Rookie of the Year had a great season and is a threat to win the Ventura doubleheader.

After winning the series point finale at Hanford on August 13th, Richard Vander Weerd (Visalia, California) ran fourth in the chase for the championship. Piloting the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Stone Gate Development Maxim, Richard posted two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, one BR Motorsports / King Racing Products Hard Charger Award, nine top-10 finishes, and 33 feature laps to his credit. The 2011 Champion ranks second in career wins and will have his sights on earning his twentieth victory.

Max Adams (Loomis, California) had a strong season and placed fifth in the West Coast point standings. Racing his #5M ART Speed Equipment / Ken Imler Diesel Performance Maxim, Adams registered two heat race victories, one BR Motorsports / King Racing Products Hard Charger Award, seven top-10 finishes, and two feature laps led. The 2016 USAC/CRA Rookie of the year will be looking for his first West Coast win at Ventura.

Finishing ninth in points, Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, California) earned Rookie of the Year honors. Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Austin Liggett, Tristan Guardino, Cody Majors, Trey Marcham, Jeff Sibley, Troy Rutherford, Kyle Smith, Gary Nelson Jr., Jake Swanson, Shon Deskins, Chase Johnson, Jay Ervine, and more.

Rick Hendrix (Palmdale, California) added the VRA Sprint Car Championship to his list of accomplishments. Kyle Smith, Austen Figueroa, Guy Woodward, Chris Meredith, Kyle Edwards, Hobie Conway, Tommy Dunkel, “The Bear” Jeremy Ellertson, and Troy Rutherford round out the top-10 drivers.

Ventura Raceway is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California. Advance tickets are on sale and for more event information, visit the track’s website at www.venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.

The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks Amsoil, Hoosier Tire, BR Motorsports, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Incorporated, DJ Safety, Diversified Machine Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, King Racing Products, Rod End Supply, Stand 21 Racer Goes Safer Foundation, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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, visit www.westcoastsprintcars.com, and www.usacracing.com. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC West Coast Facebook and Twitter pages.

Loudpedal Productions will live stream both nights of the Turkey Night Grand Prix on http://www.loudpedal.tv/live! In addition, they have USAC Western States Midget DVDs and videos on demand available for purchase at www.loudpedal.tv and 805.407.7229.

NOTICE TO COMPETITORS: A $50 Entry fee covers both nights. (If you run Thursday only, it is still $50 and you tag back of a B-Main) The Hoosier 105/16 Medium is the ONLY legal right rear tire and all four corners must be Hoosier tires. The Hoosier 105/16 Medium is also the current legal tire with the USAC/CRA, USAC SouthWest, and VRA Sprint Cars. Cockpit adjustable shocks are NOT allowed and engine restrictor rules are 1-7/8” with open heads and 2-3/16” with ASCS cylinder heads. The weight rule is 1,475 lbs. with driver and the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rule Book can be found online at www.westcoastsprintcars.com and www.usacracing.com.

Ventura Raceway has a strict mandated sound rule and the track legal mufflers are Extreme (Part #6014-3535 180 Degree, Part #3615-3535), Coast Fabrication (350x625x17-2sVRA), Spintech (180 Degree, 1545P Super Stock Series), B&B Performance (FRAC-0375-S, 180 Degree, with side outlet), Flowmaster (Hushpower, Suitcase- Part 53545-USAC.), and Schoenfeld (14272735). The Flowmaster “Suitcase” is also the legal muffler for Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway, Petaluma Speedway, and Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway. Failure to comply with the Ventura muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.

-----------------------------------------------

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.

2016 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS:

4-Bryan Clauson, 2-Josh Hodges, 2-D.J. Johnson, 2-Brody Roa, 2-Troy Rutherford, 2-Jace Vander Weerd, 2-Richard Vander Weerd, 1-Ryan Bernal, 1-Austin Liggett.

VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS:

1-Johnathon Henry, 1-Jake Swanson.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT PURSE:

1. $1000, 2. $700, 3. $500, 4. $350, 5. $275, 6. $250, 7. $225, 8. $200, 9-20. $125.

THURSDAY NIGHT PURSE:

1. $3000, 2. $1000, 3. $800, 4. $700, 5. $600, 6. $500, 7. $400, 8. $300, 9. $250, 10. $225, 11-20. $150,

*First Non-Transfer in each B-Main $125, Second Non-Transfer in each B-Main $100, Third Non-Transfer in each B-Main $75.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT FORMAT:

Qualify 2 Laps, Heat Races: Invert 4. Take Top-20 out of heat races, If 4 heats take 5, If 5 heats take 4.

No B Mains on Wednesday Night. Invert for main is 6 off qualifying time. Top 8 from Wednesday feature are locked into redraw on Thursday for first 8 spots.

THURSDAY NIGHT FORMAT:

2 or 3 Semi-Mains lineup with the 12 non-transfers from A-Main. Wednesday first, then cars that did not make Wednesday feature lined up by time. Top 12 from Semi-Mains go to A-Main. 2 Semi-Mains will be 6 transfer each. 3 Semi-Mains will be 4 transfer each.

FINAL USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS:

1. Brody Roa-876, 2. Jace Vander Weerd-807, 3. D.J. Johnson-794, 4. Richard Vander Weerd-704, 5. Max Adams-626, 6. Danny Faria Jr.-622, 7. Austin Liggett-597, 8. Tristan Guardino-590, 9. Ryan Timmons-551, 10. Cody Majors-465, 11. Trey Marcham-457, 12. Jeff Sibley-445, 13. Shannon McQueen-435, 14. Troy Rutherford-401, 15. Kyle Smith-338, 16. Kevin Barnes-249, 17. Colton Slack-242, 18. Stevie Sussex-239, 19. Landon Hurst-192, 20. Kyler Shaw-191.

FINAL VRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS:

1. Rick Hendrix-3030, 2. Kyle Smith-2270, 3. Austin Figueroa-2140, 4. Guy Woodward-1975, 5. Chris Meredith-1250, 6. Kyle Edwards-1000, 7. Hobie Conway-955, 8. Tommy Dunkel-935, 9. Jeremy Ellertson-935, 10. Troy Rutherford-775, 11. Tyler Williams-735, 12. Brandon Wiley-705, 13. Cody Majors-680, 14. Charlie Butcher-660, 15. Kenny Perkins-610, 16. Ed Schawrz-525, 17. Ron Bach-510, 18. Luis Espinzoa-505, 19. Brody Roa-495, 20. Wally Pankratz-495.

2016 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE

DATE-TRACK-LOCATION

November 23: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / Non-Points)

November 24: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (Turkey Night Grand Prix / Non-Points)