This message was edited on
November 12, 2006 at
09:00:38 PM by ljennings
Wise Wraps Up National Sprint Title With Western World Win
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Josh Wise started the 2006 USAC Sprint Car Series season dominating a race at Manzanita Speedway.
Nearly 10 months later, he did the same thing yet again, and did so ending the night with his third career USAC title and second National championship in as many seasons, taking Saturday's 40-lap Checker Auto Parts Western World Championships feature at the half-mile track.
Wise, in the No. 20 Mopar/Bass Pro Shops Maxim/Mopar, jumped from third to first in the opening two turns, and after a battle with feature runner-up Daron Clayton over the course of the first lap, dominated the 40-lapper, which was interrupted only once by an incident.
“This crew did a great job tonight and this season,” said Wise, the 2005 National Midget titlist who will move into NASCAR next season driving for Michael Waltrip Racing.
The Riverside, Calif. native, who also won Friday’s preliminary race and started third after the six-car inversion, wasted not only no time getting to the front, but pulling away from Clayton and the rest of the field.
Behind him, Clayton, Thursday’s 25-lap prelim winner Bud Kaeding and Jerry Coons Jr. battled for postion. Kaeding got into second on Lap 5, while Clayton regained the spot on Lap 7 when Kaeding nearly bicycled the car in Turn 2.
Wise continued his charge through the field, and opened up more than a five-second lead before the only interruption of the feature occurred on Lap 38, when Robert Ballou and Shane Cottle tangled, then Cottle flipped in Turn 2. Drivers had about 10 minutes in between the red and the green to prepare the cars.
But Wise didn’t need too much work to his car. He already had two lapped cars in between him and Clayton when the cars restarted, and when the green flag flew again, Wise nailed the throttle and pulled away again.
Clayton couldn’t catch Wise, despite picking off both cars in the first two laps. On the final lap, Wise continued pushing his mount the same way he did almost the entire night – running away the top and beating Clayton by about a half straightaway for his fourth USAC National victory of the season.
Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises also won its third USAC National car owner title in four seasons. Car owner Tony Stewart attended the event and stood with Wise and team manager Bobby Barth on the champion podium before spraying his driver and team manager with champagne, then jumped off the podium and sprayed the rest of the crew.
Wise was getting a little nervous toward the end of the race, mostly because the track started going away.
“Once I felt the rubber, I was a little concerned, so I slowed down a little bit,” he said. “I didn’t want to do anything out of the ordinary.”
The final point margin for Wise over Jones, the 2005 series champion, ended at 88 markers.
Seventh-place Cory Kruseman continues to lead the CRA Sprint Car Series point standings over 2005 series champion Damion Gardner with one race left – Nov. 18 at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.
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