This message was edited on
June 20, 2011 at
01:54:28 PM by stevenblakesley
THE KRUSER SWEEPS USAC WEEKEND AT
OCEAN AND SANTA MARIA
SACRAMENTO,
CALIFORNIA (June 20, 2011) – The USAC Western Classic Racing Series and USAC/CRA visited the
central coast of California over the weekend with large fields and comfortable
weather at Ocean and Santa Maria Speedways, with Cory Kruseman dominating the
show by winning both races.
“The
Kruser” from Ventura, CA won both features by virtue of late-race
restarts.At Ocean, he led the field to
the restart with five laps to go to top Geoff Ensign of Sebastopol and
hard-charging Mike Spencer, while his win at Santa Maria came after a lap 22
restart ahead of Huntington Beach’s Nic Faas and Greg Bragg.
The races
on the weekend paid points for the both the USAC Western Classic and USAC/CRA
with Tony Hunt and Matt Mitchell the incoming points leaders respectively.
On Friday
night at Ocean Speedway, incoming WCRS second in points Scott Pierovich led the
field to green but flipped violently in turn two.Pierovich was unhurt but done for the weekend
after suffering significant damage to his chassis.
Fast-time qualifier
Mike Spencer was unable to take the initial green while his team changed his
engine.The red flag for the Pierovich
flip allowed Spencer time to get on the track and join the field at the rear.
On the
restart, “Dynamite” David Cardey flipped collecting Evan Suggs to end both of
their nights.Former Ocean Speedway
track champion Ryan Bernal led the field through lap four before Kruseman took
over the top spot.
The red
came out again on lap seven when Timmy Sherman, Jr. flipped and Bernal went to
the pits with a flat tire.Spencer
marched through the field and took over fifth on lap 20.Matt Mitchell from the rear of the field
followed Spencer through to take sixth from Eric Rossi.
Danny
Sheridan went toe-to-toe with Ensign for second but they made contact sending Sheridan spinning.That caution set up a five lap shootout
between Ensign and Kruseman, with Kruseman getting a solid restart to pull away
for the victory.Spencer completed his
run to a podium as he finished third ahead of Faas.
Lincoln’s Tony Hunt came home tenth to be
the highest finishing USAC 360 in the field worth a $200 bonus from USAC.Shauna Hogg finished 15th but was
third amongst USAC Western Classic cars.Hogg also won her heat race on Friday night.
Saturday’s
action at Santa Maria Speedway would set up another charge through the field
with Sheridan and Mitchell set to start on row nine.Richard Vanderweerd took fast-time with a
14.664 second lap, while WCRS points leader Tony Hunt qualified 13th.
Spencer led
the opening laps while Ensign and Hogg passed Hunt.Ensign, Hogg, and Wes Gutierrez went
three-wide out of turn two and touched wheels sending Ensign into a spin.Ensign was then hit by Rip Williams.
Sheridan’s drive to the front ended after he
was involved in two incidents.First Sheridan was collected when Danny Faira spun
on lap 14 in traffic, then Sheridan spun on the ensuing restart as the
field entered turn one.
Spencer
looked to be in pursuit of his fourth win of the season but was struck by
mechanical problems on lap 22 to hand the lead to Kruseman.Mitchell also stopped with mechanical
problems.
Kruseman
again had an outstanding restart to win over Faas, who won the $1000 to win
trophy dash, and Bragg.Tim Barber was
the highest USAC Western Classic car and the highest 360 worth $200.
Mitchell’s
lead over Spencer in the USAC/CRA points is just five markers with Faas in
third, while on the USAC WCRS side, Hunt leads Ensign, Hogg, Barber, and
Pierovich.Pierovich fell from second to
fifth by missing the Santa Maria event.
Kaeding
Performance awards of $50 went to Shauna Hogg and Scott Pierovich on Friday night and Tim Barber and Tim Sherman, Jr. on
Saturday night.
The USAC
Western Classic Racing Series will return to action on July 9 on the pavement
at Stockton 99 Speedway, while the USAC/CRA will next race on July 2 at Perris
Auto Speedway.
More
information on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series is available on Facebook
at keywords “USAC Western Classic Racing Series”.The United States Auto Club is online at www.usacracing.comThe USAC Western States is available at www.usacwesternstates.com with contact information and the
latest news.
The USAC
Western Classic Racing Series is brought to you by: Amsoil, Hoosier Tires West,
and Kaeding Performance.
www.stevenblakesley.com
|