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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series
#88 Jace VanderWeerd & Crew. Photo by surfnsprint.com.
JACE VANDERWEERD WINS SANTA MARIA SHOOTOUT
By Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – APRIL 11, 2011... Jace VanderWeerd of Visalia scored his third career USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series feature win last Saturday night. VanderWeerd reclaimed the lead from Santa Maria track champion T.J. Smith of Fresno on lap twenty-four and led the rest of the way to take the victory. "I was a little tight in the beginning and the track started coming to me as it slicked off a little bit," remarked VanderWeerd. "I was catching him little by little and tried to drive really hard."
From his pole position starting spot, VanderWeerd set the early pace and led the first seven circuits. Fellow front row starter Smith found his rhythm and took advantage of a VanderWeerd miscue. Coming off turn four, Jace slid up from the bottom groove and this allowed Smith to power by for the lead. While the duo battled for the top spot, they had to contend with "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr. of Tipton, and Ojai's Troy Rutherford, the defending Ventura track champion.
Smith, who won four times last season, was looking to add another Santa Maria win to his resume. The former Plaza Park champion set a fast pace as VanderWeerd regrouped and gave chase after the leader. As Faria and Rutherford diced for third, another battle was shaping up for fifth between sixteenth starting Justyne Hamblin of Hanford, Hollister's Ryan Bernal, and San Martin's Wes Gutierrez.
As the leader chose the high line of the speedway, VanderWeerd found the bottom groove to his liking and began to apply pressure. By this time, Faria had shook free from Rutherford and set his sights on the leaders. With the trio catching slower traffic, Smith's progress was slowed and VanderWeerd shot for the lead. Slicing his way through, Jace vaulted the left rear tire of Santa Maria's Bill Jones. The contact moved Jones up the track, and Smith jumped over Bill's right rear tire. As VanderWeerd gathered up his machine, Faria's opening for the lead closed and the veteran drivers touched.
With seven laps to go, VanderWeerd was out front. Faria and Smith dueled for second, as Bernal and Gutierrez tried to wrestle fourth away from Hamblin. The remaining laps counted down and VanderWeerd took the checkered flag, followed by Smith, Faria, Hamblin, and Bernal.
By virtue of winning the 30-lap feature, Jace VanderWeerd now sits third in the point chase. Piloting the family owned #88 VanderWeerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Jace was ninth quick in time trials and fifth in his heat race. With an eight pill drawn for the main event invert, VanderWeerd inherited the pole position as one faster car did not transfer from the heat races. Jace sits twelve points behind the leader and will be looking to give himself an early birthday gift with a Tulare win this Saturday.
T.J. Smith led sixteen laps of the feature before falling to VanderWeerd. Driving Steve LeGras' #14 UHL Rubber / S&S Automotive Maxim, Smith timed in eighth fast on the night and won the Saldana Racing Products and Keizer Wheels Heat Race #2. T.J. is currently fifth in the point standings and is ready to make a bid for the series championship.
Piloting Junior Bowman's #2 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Bullet, "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr. scored his best finish of the year with a third place run. Still settling into his new ride, Faria was seventh fast on the night and claimed third in his heat race. Now seventh in the point chase, Faria will be determined to score Tulare's "Chris and Brian Faria Memorial" victory on Saturday.
Justyne Hamblin earned the Keizer Wheels "Hard Charger / Best Passing Job" honors on the night with a fourth place finish after starting sixteenth. Driving the JH Motorsports owned Tachi Palace & Casino / Dias Law Firm #8 SpeedTech, Hamblin was seventeenth fast in qualifications and second in her heat race. The former series champion is now sixth in the standings and will look for the win at Tulare.
With his fifth place finish, Ryan Bernal now sits atop the point standings. Piloting Danny Olmstead's #11D Steve Watt Enterprises / S&S Automotive Maxim, Bernal was sixth quick in time trials and third in his heat race. The multi-time Wingless Spec Sprint Champion finished second in his Tulare debut on March 19th and will look to score Saturday's Faria Memorial victory.
Visalia's Richard VanderWeerd earned his first Sander Engineering Fast Time Award of the year by besting the twenty-seven car field. Driving Ron VanderWeerd's #10 VanderWeerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Richard was fourth in his heat race. Unfortunately for VanderWeerd, he had an early exit in the main event after being involved in his second tangle. This resulted in an eighteenth place finish for the young driver as he sits ninth in championship points.
Kevin Barnes of Fresno held of a hard charging Troy Rutherford to claim victory in the Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. Piloting his unsponsored #36B Eagle, Barnes was thirteenth fast on the night and had mechanical issues in the feature. Officially scoring a twenty-second place finish on the night, Kevin is now seventeenth in the point standings.
Rancho Palos Verdes' Dennis Howell won the DJ Safety Heat Race #3. Driving the family owned #62 San Pedro Auto Body / Howell-Meyer Racing Maxim, Howell was fifteenth quick in time trials. The USAC Western Midget Series graduate was involved in an early tangle that ended his night, scoring a twentieth place finish. Dennis is currently eighteenth in the point chase as the series heads to Tulare.
Davey Pombo of Kerman won the night's 10-lap Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main. Piloting Joey Eames' #3E TCR backed by Eames Trucking and Cool Hand Luke's Saloon, Pombo was fourth fast on the night and sixth in his heat race. Davey was involved in an early main event tangle that resulted in later mechanical problems. The Southwest Contractors 360 Clash Champion's night ended early and he was credited with a nineteenth place finish. As this writing goes to press, Pombo is eighth in the point standings.
The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series would like to thank Southwest Contractors, Hoosier Tire, Amsoil, BR Motorsports, ButlerBuilt, Competition Suspension Inc., Cory Kruseman's Sprint Car & Midget Driving School, Crow Enterprizes, DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Hilborn Fuel Injection, Hinchman-Indy Racing Uniforms, Integra Shocks, Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, King Racing Products, Port City Racing, Saferacer.com, Saldana Racing Products, and Sander Engineering for their support.
The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series will return to action this Saturday, April 16th, for the "Chris and Brian Faria Memorial" at Tulare's Groppetti Automotive Thunderbowl Raceway. Joining the action will the Golden State King of the West Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, and Vintage Super Modifieds. Located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds at the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare, the Front Gates will open at 5:00pm, with time Trials at 6:00pm, and Racing at 7:00pm. Reserved Grandstand Tickets are $20 and Bleacher Tickets are $17. Advance tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling the track office at (559) 688-0909. For more event information, visit the track’s website at www.tularethunderbowl.com.
For more information on the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series, please visit westcoastsprintcars.com, usacracing.com, racesantamariaspeedway.com, or follow the series on facebook.
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USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
April 9, 2011 – Santa Maria, California – Santa Maria Speedway
SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS:
1. Richard VanderWeerd, 10, VanderWeerd-15.007; 2. Rusty Carlile, 51, Carlile-15.040; 3. Greg Alexander, 72, Tyler-15.196; 4. Davey Pombo, 3E, Eames-15.255; 5. Marcus Niemela, 69, Watt-15.358; 6. Ryan Bernal, 11D, Olmstead-15.375; 7. Danny Faria Jr., 2, Bowman-15.493; 8. T.J. Smith, 14, LeGras-15.535; 9. Jace VanderWeerd, 88, VanderWeerd-15.535; 10. Troy Rutherford, 72X, Ford-15.550; 11. Jonathan Logan, 32, Evett/Logan-15.557; 12. Wes Gutierrez, 007, WG-15.697; 13. Kevin Barnes, 36B, Barnes-15.700; 14. Bruce Douglass, 31, Douglass-15.810; 15. Dennis Howell, 62, Howell-15.840; 16. Jeff Culver, 71C, Culver-15.879; 17. Justyne Hamblin, 8, JH-16.053; 18. Bill Jones, 16J, Jones-16.078; 19. Andrew Murray, 18, Murray-16.140; 20. Nico Russo, 3N, Russo-16.208; 21. Ricky Kirkbride, 87, Van Meter-16.208; 22. Geoffrey Strole, 09S, Strole-16.286; 23. Cole Peard, 58, Peard-16.333; 24. Hobie Conway, 29K, Kruseman-16.404; 25. Russell DeBlauw, 55, DeBlauw-16.430; 26. Lynn Anderson, 7, Anderson-16.755; 27. Austin DeBlauw, 65, DeBlauw-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (8 laps)
1. Kevin Barnes, 2. Troy Rutherford, 3. Danny Faria Jr., 4. Richard VanderWeerd, 5. Jeff Culver, 6. Davey Pombo, 7. Nico Russo, 8. Andrew Murray, 9. Hobie Conway. NT.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / KEIZER WHEELS HEAT RACE 2: (8 laps)
1. T.J. Smith, 2. Justyne Hamblin, 3. Jonathan Logan, 4. Marcus Niemela, 5. Rusty Carlile, 6. Ricky Kirkbride, 7. Cole Peard, 8. Bruce Douglass, 9. Russell DeBlauw. NT.
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 3: (8 laps)
1. Dennis Howell, 2. Greg Alexander, 3. Ryan Bernal, 4. Wes Gutierrez, 5. Jace VanderWeerd, 6. Bill Jones, 7. Geoffrey Strole, 8. Lynn Anderson. NT.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. SEMI-MAIN: (10 laps)
1. Davey Pombo, 2. Ricky Kirkbride, 3. Geoffrey Strole, 4. Cole Peard, 5. Nico Russo, 6. Bruce Douglass, 7. Bill Jones, 8. Hobie Conway, 9. Lynn Anderson, 10. Russell DeBlauw, 11. Andrew Murray. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps - With Starting Positions)
1. Jace VanderWeerd (1st), 2. T.J. Smith (2nd), 3. Danny Faria Jr. (3rd), 4. Justyne Hamblin (16th), 5. Ryan Bernal (4th), 6. Wes Gutierrez (12th), 7. Troy Rutherford (10th), 8. Jonathan Logan (11th), 9. Marcus Niemela, 10. Greg Alexander (6th), 11. Cole Peard (21st), 12. Bruce Douglass (19th), 13. Nico Russo, 14. Jeff Culver (15th), 15. Bill Jones (20th), 16. Ricky Kirkbride (17th), 17. Geoffrey Strole (18th), 18. Richard VanderWeerd (8th), 19. Davey Pombo (9th), 20. Dennis Howell (14th), 21. Rusty Carlile (7th), 22. Kevin Barnes (13th). NT.
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS:
Laps 1-7 Jace VanderWeerd, Laps 8-23 T.J. Smith, Laps 24-30 Jace VanderWeerd.
KEIZER WHEELS HARD CHARGER: Justyne Hamblin (16th to 4th)
USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Ryan Bernal 122; 2. Greg Alexander 113; 3. Jace VanderWeerd 110; 4. Wes Gutierrez 108; 5. T.J. Smith 101; 6. Justyne Hamblin 88; 7. Danny Faria Jr. 85; 8. Davey Pombo 84; 9. Richard VanderWeerd 77; 10. Bud Kaeding 76; 11. Johnathon Logan 70; 12. Andy Forsberg 57; 13. Craig Stidham 55; 14. Rusty Carlile 54; 15. Marcus Niemela 49; --. Troy Rutherford 49; 17. Kevin Barnes 48; 18. Dennis Howell 43; 19. Garrett Ishii 39; 20. Marty Hawkins 37.
NEXT USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT RACE:
April 16 – Groppetti Automotive Tulare (CA) Thunderbowl Raceway - "Chris & Brian Faria Memorial"
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