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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
#21K Cory Kruseman At Watsonville's Ocean Speedway. Photo by Lance Jennings.
CORY KRUSEMAN TAKES WATSONVILLE FEATURE
By Lance Jennings
WATSONVILLE, CA – JUNE 17, 2011… For the second year in a row, Ventura's Cory Kruseman scored the 30-lap Amsoil USAC/CRA victory at Watsonville's Ocean Speedway. Starting fourth in the first ever co-sanctioned feature with the USAC Western Racing Classic Series, Kruseman took the lead from Hollister's Ryan Bernal on lap five. From there, the 2006 USAC/CRA Champion held off all challenges to claim his first USAC/CRA win of the 2011 campaign.
With thirty-two cars in the pit area, the special Friday night event was the first round of a doubleheader with Santa Maria Speedway. John Prentice's tacky 1/4-mile oval had some bite in Sander Engineering Time Trials, as Campbell's Adam Kaeding and Jerry Cisco of Ranch Cordova flipped their machines. Both drivers were uninjured, but were done for the night. Temecula's Mike Spencer earned his third fast time award of the season.
After the twenty-four car field took the green flag of the main event, pole sitter Scott Pierovich of Alamo flipped his #14 Dave Vertullo and Ken Pierson owned Eagle in turn two. Behind Pierovich, the balance of the field scrambled to avoid contact. Ten cars were tangled in the incident and that proved beneficial to Mike Spencer. As the track's safety crew worked to clear the speedway, Spencer's team was able to complete an engine change after winning the semi-main. Per USAC rules, the 3-time defending champion was able to tag the back of the field in a complete restart after missing the initial green.
Pierovich was able to walk away from his heavily damaged machine, but the veteran driver's weekend was over. USAC/CRA point leader Matt Mitchell, who was also caught in the incident, left the speedway on the hook. Mitchell's crew made repairs and he joined Spencer at the rear of the field in perhaps the key moment of the 2011 championship chase.
With Pierovich out, USAC West Coast 360 point leader Ryan Bernal inherited the pole position. Starting alongside Geoff Ensign, Bernal grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag. Setting a torrid pace around the Watsonville oval, Ryan soon faced pressure from Cory Kruseman. After several challenges, Kruseman took control on lap five. The youngster tried to battle back, but Kruseman was too strong. Later in the feature, a reported bleeder problem ended Bernal's night in the work area during a yellow for a stalled Mark Beck and Tim Barber.
As Kruseman led the single file formation, he was followed by Geoff Ensign, "Showtime" Danny Sheridan, Austin Williams, Nic Faas, and Eric Rossi. Cory got an excellent restart and it was an all out battle royal behind the leader. The laps clicked off in rapid fashion and Kruseman sailed to victory. Geoff Ensign, Mike Spencer, Matt Mitchell, and Nic Faas rounded out the top five drivers at the checkered flags.
Piloting the #21K Kruseman Motorsports entry backed by Lucas Oil and Sander Engineering, Cory Kruseman led the final twenty-six laps to claim the Watsonville victory. Earlier in the program, "The Kruser" was eighth quick in time trials and third in his heat race. In limited starts with USAC/CRA, Kruseman has three top-10 finishes and led thirty-seven laps of main event competition.
Sebastopol's Geoff Ensign claimed second in the Watsonville 30-lap event. Driving Ted Finkenbinder's Western Industrial X-Ray #3F Eagle, Ensign was eleventh quick on the night and scored fourth in his heat race. The USAC Western Racing Classic Series regular left Ocean Speedway third in the WCRS point standings heading to Santa Maria.
After tagging the back of the field, Mike Spencer took Ron Chaffin's famed #50 Madera Produce / Grubstake Mini Storage Maxim to third. Earlier in the night, Spencer set the standard in Sander Engineering Time Trials, but scored eighth after a tangle knocked him out of his heat race. Mike won his first Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main of the year and left Watsonville six points behind Matt Mitchell in USAC/CRA point chase.
Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda battled through the field to claim a fourth place finish in the main event. Piloting the J.W. Mitchell Motorsports #37 Maxim sponsored by Mancha Realtors and Sierra Springs, Mitchell was seventh quick on the night and won the night's DJ Safety Heat Race #3. The USAC/CRA point leader won the Perris "Salute To Indy" on May 28th and has six top-10 finishes in the 2011 season.
Huntington Beach's Nic Faas was fifth at the checkered flags. Driving Mark Alexander's #4 Spike, backed by Scott Sales Company and VP Racing Fuels, Faas qualified fifth quick and won the Extreme Mufflers / Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Heat Race #1. The former USAC Western States Midget Champion leads USAC/CRA with four heat race victories and climbed to third in the standings.
Shauna Hogg of Fair Oaks won the Saldana Racing Products / Circle Track Performance Heat Race #2. Piloting Rich Hogg's Borello Race Engines / Jerry Crowell Racing Shocks #5 Eagle, Shauna was twenty-sixth fast in qualifications and scored fifteenth in the main event. The veteran pavement driver left Watsonville fourth in points with the USAC Western Racing Classic Series.
Evan Suggs of Scotts Valley earned the Electro Tech Powder Coating / Rod End Supply Heat Race #4 victory. Driving the family owned #33E Maxim, sponsored by Lucas Oil and Riley Collins Body Shop, Suggs was twentieth fast in qualifications. The winged Golden State King of the West Sprint Series regular scored twenty-second in the 30-lap feature after an early exit.
Fremont's Shane Golobic earned the Keizer Wheels "Hard Charger / Best Passing Job" honors on the night with a sixth place run after starting fourteenth. Piloting the Joe Von Schriltz owned #121 Maxim backed by Country Builders Construction, Golobic was fourteenth in time trials and finished second in his heat race to Shaun Hogg.
The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series would like to thank Hoosier Tire, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Donovan Engineering, Electro Tech Powder Coating, Extreme Mufflers, Hilborn Fuel Injection, Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror, Keizer Wheels, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sander Engineering, and So-Cal Performance for their support. For more information, visit www.usacracing.com/cra or follow the series on facebook.
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA & WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
June 17, 2011 – Watsonville, California – Ocean Speedway
SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS:
1. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-12.814; 2. Rip Williams, 3, Jory-12.858; 3. Danny Sheridan, 18, Kittle-12.941; 4. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-12.981; 5. Nic Faas, 4, Alexander-12.983; 6. Andy Forsberg, 92, Forsberg-13.007; 7. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-13.060; 8. Cory Kruseman, 21K, Kruseman-13.119; 9. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-13.204; 10. Ryan Bernal, 11D, Olmstead-13.211; 11. Geoff Ensign, 3F, Finkenbinder-13.223; 12. Scott Pierovich, 14, Vertullo/Pierson-13.311; 13. Scott Hall, 56X, Hall-13.313; 14. Shane Golobic, 121, Von Schriltz-13.314; 15. Mark Chaves Jr., 5X, Chaves-13.368; 16. David Cardey, 42, Cheney-13.375; 17. Daniel Hood, 33, Hood-13.500; 18. Eric Rossi, 17, Sanders-13.561; 19. Tony Hunt, 56, Phulps-13.594; 20. Evan Suggs, 33E, Suggs-13.602; 21. Richard Brace Jr., 21J, Adel-13.616; 22. Craig Smith, 39, Smith-13.640; 23. Jerry Kobza, 93, Kobza-13.714; 24. Marty Hawkins, 3M, Hawkins-13.766; 25. Tim Barber, 3T, Finkenbinder-13.768; 26. Shauna Hogg, 5, Hogg-13.778; 27. Tim Sherman Jr., 1JR, Sherman-13.792; 28. Jerry Cisco, 4B, Basden-14.061; 29. Todd Miller, 96, Miller-14.248; 30. Mark Beck, 50S, Shurley-14.455; 31. Adam Kaeding, 7B, Bjork-NT, 32. Wes Gutierrez, 007, WG-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS / HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Nic Faas, 2. Tim Barber, 3. Daniel Hood, 4. Scott Hall, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Todd Miller, 7. Richard Brace Jr., 8. Mike Spencer. NT.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps)
1. Shauna Hogg, 2. Shane Golobic, 3. Eric Rossi, 4. Ryan Bernal, 5. Rip Williams, 6. Andy Forsberg, 7. Craig Smith, 8. Mark Beck. NT.
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Matt Mitchell, 2. Danny Sheridan, 3. Tim Sherman Jr., 4. Geoff Ensign, 5. Mark Chaves Jr., 6. Tony Hunt, 7. Jerry Kobza. NT.
ELECTRO TECH POWDER COATING / ROD END SUPPLY HEAT RACE 4: (10 laps)
1. Evan Suggs, 2. Austin Williams, 3. Cory Kruseman, 4. Scott Pierovich, 5. David Cardey, 6. Marty Hawkins. NT.
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. SEMI-MAIN: (12 laps)
1. Mike Spencer, 2. Rip Williams, 3. Austin Williams, 4. David Cardey, 5. Andy Forsberg, 6. Tony Hunt, 7. Mark Chaves Jr., 8. Marty Hawkins, 9. Mark Beck, 10. Jerry Kobza, 11. Todd Miller, 12. Richard Brace Jr. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps - With Starting Positions)
1. Cory Kruseman (4th), 2. Geoff Ensign (2nd), 3. Mike Spencer (9th), 4. Matt Mitchell (5th), 5. Nic Faas (6th), 6. Shane Golobic (14th), 7. Andy Forsberg (11th), 8. Cody Williams (12th), 9. Austin Williams (7th), 10. Tony Hunt (18th), 11. Eric Rossi (17th), 12. Danny Sheridan (8th), 13. Rip Williams (10th), 14. Scott Hall (13th), 15. Shauna Hogg (21st), 16. Marty Hawkins (23rd), 17. Mark Beck (24th), 18. Ryan Bernal (3rd), 19. Tim Barber (20th), 20. Tim Sherman Jr. (22nd), 21. David Cardey (15th), 22. Evan Suggs (19th), 23. Scott Pierovich (1st), 24. Daniel Hood (16th). NT.
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**Adam Kaeding and Jerry Cisco flipped during qualifications.
**Scott Pierovich, David Cardey, and Tim Sherman Jr. flipped during the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Ryan Bernal, Laps 5-30 Cory Kruseman.
KEIZER WHEELS HARD CHARGER: Shane Golobic (14th to 6th)
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS: (6/17)
1-Matt Mitchell-349; 2-Mike Spencer-343; 3-Nic Faas-281; 4-Blake Miller-277; 5-David Cardey-273; 6-Greg Bragg-244; 7-Austin Williams-227; 8-Rickie Gaunt-223; 9-Cody Williams-195; 10-Rip Williams-188.
WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT POINTS: (6/17)
1-Tony Hunt-292; 2-Scott Pierovich-264; 3-Geoff Ensign-232; 4-Shauna Hogg-219; 5-Tim Barber-203; 6-Jerry Kobza-193; 7-Audra Sasselli-182; 8-Brian McClish-160; 9-Luis Ramos III-160; 10-Cody Gerhardt-151.
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