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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series
#77M R.J. Johnson & Crew In Victory Circle. Photo by Patrick Shaw / Backed In Photography.
R.J. JOHNSON SPRINTS TO “CANYON CLASH” VICTORY
by Lance Jennings
PEORIA, AZ – APRIL 28, 2013... After Charles Davis Jr. and “The Magic Man” Mike Martin battled hard for the top spot, R.J. Johnson of Phoenix took command and won the “3rd Annual Canyon Clash.” For Johnson, the $1,500 victory at Peoria’s Canyon Speedway Park was his third USAC Southwest Sprint Car triumph of the campaign. Bryan Swinehart, Chris Bonneau, Nathan High, and Justin Quinn rounded out the top five drivers.
Racing the Bill Michaels owned #77M Kodiak Products / Beal’s Auto Body Sherman, R.J. Johnson takes over the point lead with the popular win from seventh. Earlier in the special program, the second generation driver was fourth quick overall in time trials, won the Racers Advantage Store Heat Race #4 and was seventh in the dash. Heading to Arizona Speedway on May 11th, R.J. holds a 13 point advantage with three heat race victories, one Sunoco Fuels Passing Masters Dash win, one hard charger award, six top-10 finishes, and 56 main event laps led to his credit.
Bryan Swinehart of Prescott Valley had his best run of the year with a second place run from twelfth at the “Canyon Clash.” Piloting Tim and Shelly Beal’s #68 Beal’s Auto Body / DNS Performance RSS, Swinehart qualified fifteenth and was third in his heat race. Currently fifth in the championship points, Bryan has one heat race victory and two top-10 finishes on the season.
Phoenix’s Chris Bonneau finished third at Canyon Speedway Park after starting fifth. Driving his #78 Priced Right Auto Sales Triple X, Bonneau was eighth fast time trials, fourth in his heat race, and fifth in the dash. To date, Chris is tenth in the point standings with two top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Scoring fourth in the “Canyon Clash” after starting fourteenth was Nathan High of Goodyear. Racing his #1A Pro Tech Coatings / KSE Custom Drywall Maxim, High qualified nineteenth and won the Racers Advantage Store Heat Race #3. Heading to Queen Creek, Nathan is fifteenth in the point chase with one semi-main win, one hard charger award, and two top-10 finishes on the year.
Phoenix’s Justin Quinn came home fifth at CSP after starting eighth. Piloting the family owned #93 Four Peaks Hardwood Flooring / Lasting Impressions Ellis, Quinn was tenth fast, second in his heat race, and eighth in the dash. As this writing goes to press, Justin is sixth in the point standings with one semi-main win and three top-10 finishes to his credit.
Mike Bonneau of Phoenix earned the night's "Hard Charger / Best Passing Job" honors with a ninth place run after starting twentieth. Driving his #29 Priced Right Auto Sales Triple X, Bonneau qualified sixth, ran fifth in his heat race, and was fourth in the semi-main. To date, Mike sits fourteenth in the standings with one Sunoco Fuels Passing Masters Dash win, two top-10 finishes, and 12 feature laps led.
Yuma’s “The Magic Man” Mike Martin set the standard in time trials over the twenty-eight car field. Racing his #16 Ultimate Offroad / Naquin Precision Earth Moving Maxim, Martin led six laps of the main event before falling to Davis. Later involved in a tangle, Mike rebounded to score thirteenth at the checkered flags. Earlier in the program, the Hall of Fame Classic Winner was third in his heat race and ran second in the six-lap dash. Now seventh in points, Martin has one feature win, one heat race victory, three top-10 finishes, and 24 feature laps led in 2013.
Josh Pelkey of Peoria claimed the 10-lap Racers Advantage Store Heat Race #1 victory. Piloting Robbie and Gaye Allen’s #12 ABC Body Shop / Napa Auto Parts DRC, Pelkey was ninth fast in time trials, third in the dash, and scored eighth in the main event. The veteran driver sits fourth in the standings with six top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Nick Aiuto of Camp Verde raced to victory in the Racers Advantage Store Heat Race #2. Driving his #27 Bondurant School of High Performance Driving / ABC Motorsports DRC, Aiuto qualified eighteenth and scored twentieth in the feature after an early exit. Heading to Arizona Speedway, Nick is thirteenth in points with three heat race victories, one top-10 finish, and 4 feature laps led on the year.
Buckeye’s “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. won the program’s 6-lap Sunoco Fuels Passing Masters Dash. Racing the #50 Massey Motorsports' #50 RSS Industries / Rod End Supply RSS, Davis was second quick, third in his heat race, and scored nineteenth after leading twice in the feature. The five-time Arizona Champion is second in the standings with one feature win, two heat race victories, one semi-main win, one hard charger award, seven top-10 finishes, and 36 feature laps led on the season.
Andy Reinbold of Gilbert won the program’s 12-lap semi-main. Piloting the Todd Underwood owned #19 AME Electrical / Ross Equipment Rentals RSS, Reinbold qualified sixteenth, ran fifth in his heat race, and claimed fifteenth in the main event. Currently eighteenth in points, Andy has four top-10 finishes in the campaign.
The USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series will be back in action on Saturday, May 11th at Arizona Speedway in Queen Creek. The action packed card will also feature Supers, Mini Sprints, and Bombers. For more event and ticket information, visit www.arizonaspeedway.net or call 480.926.6688.
The USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series would like to thank Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Tire, Hose Advantage Store, and the Racers Advantage Store for their support. For more information on the series, visit www.southwestsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SouthwestSprintCars).
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USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
April 27, 2013 – Peoria, Arizona – Canyon Speedway Park – “Canyon Clash”
QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-14.082; 2. Charles Davis Jr., 50, Massey-14.126; 3. Stevie Sussex, 1AZ, Sussex-14.184; 4. R.J. Johnson, 77M, Michaels-14.219; 5. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-14.263; 6. Mike Bonneau, 29, Bonneau-14.274; 7. Bruce St. James, 7K, St. James-14.304; 8. Chris Bonneau, 78, Bonneau-14.353; 9. Josh Pelkey, 12, Allen-14.463; 10. Justin Quinn, 93, Quinn-14.499; 11. Ronnie Clark, 6, Clark-14.506; 12. Tom Ogle, 48, Ogle-14.507; 13. Jason Grady, 45, Grady-14.515; 14. Bob Ream Jr., 8, BRAT-14.530; 15. Bryan Swinehart, 68, Beal-14.546; 16. Andy Reinbold, 19, Underwood-14.562; 17. Michael Curtis, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-14.583; 18. Nick Aiuto, 27, Aiuto-14.592; 19. Nathan High, 1A, High-14.609; 20. James Aragon, 94, Aragon-14.610; 21. Brian Hosford, 32B, Weber-14.676; 22. Jody Wirth, 5X, Wirth-14.711; 23. Stephen Harms, 60, Harms-14.868; 24. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-14.908; 25. Kyle Danielson, 17K, Danielson-15.218; 26. Darrell Sickles, 29S, Sickles-16.192; 27. Mark Morin, 28, Morin-16.878; 28. Johnny Shelton, 9, Shelton-18.438.
RACERS ADVANTAGE STORE HEAT RACE #1: (10 laps)
1. Josh Pelkey, 2. Shon Deskins, 3. Mike Martin, 4. Brian Hosford, 5. Jason Grady, 6. Michael Curtis, 7. Kyle Danielson. NT
RACERS ADVANTAGE STORE HEAT RACE #2: (10 laps)
1. Nick Aiuto, 2. Justin Quinn, 3. Charles Davis Jr., 4. Bob Ream Jr., 5. Mike Bonneau, 6. Jody Wirth, 7. Darrell Sickles. NT
RACERS ADVANTAGE STORE HEAT RACE #3: (10 laps)
1. Nathan High, 2. Ronnie Clark, 3. Bryan Swinehart, 4. Bruce St. James, 5. Stevie Sussex, 6. Stephen Harms, 7. Mark Morin. NT
RACERS ADVANTAGE STORE HEAT RACE #4: (10 laps)
1. R.J. Johnson, 2. Tom Ogle, 3. James Aragon, 4. Chris Bonneau, 5. Andy Reinbold, 6. Tye Mihocko, 7. Shelton. NT
SUNOCO RACE FUELS PASSING MASTERS DASH: (6 laps)
1. Charles Davis Jr., 2. Mike Martin, 3. Josh Pelkey, 4. Shon Deskins, 5. Chris Bonneau, 6. Bruce St. James, 7. R.J. Johnson, 8. Justin Quinn. NT
SEMI-MAIN: (12 laps)
1. Andy Reinbold, 2. Jason Grady, 3. Stephen Harms, 4. Mike Bonneau, 5. Tye Mihocko, 6. Stevie Sussex, 7. Jody Wirth, 8. Sickles, 9. Danielson, 10. Michael Curtis, 11. Johnny Shelton, 12. Mark Morin. NT
HOSE ADVANTAGE STORE FEATURE: (30 laps - With Starting Positions)
1. R.J. Johnson (7th), 2. Bryan Swinehart (12th), 3. Chris Bonneau (5th), 4. Nathan High (14th), 5. Justin Quinn (8th), 6. Brian Hosford (16th), 7. Ronnie Clark (9th), 8. Josh Pelkey (3rd), 9. Mike Bonneau (20th), 10. Shon Deskins (4th), 11. Stevie Sussex (22nd), 12. Bruce St. James (6th), 13. Mike Martin (2nd), 14. Tom Ogle (10th), 15. Andy Reinbold (17th), 16. James Aragon (15th), 17. Stephen Harms (19th), 18. Tye Mihocko (21st), 19. Charles Davis Jr. (1st), 20. Nick Aiuto (13th), 21. Jason Grady (18th), 22. Bob Ream Jr. (11th) NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Charles Davis Jr., Laps 6-11 Mike Martin, Laps 12-16 Charles Davis Jr., Laps 17-30 R.J. Johnson.
HARD CHARGER: Mike Bonneau (20th to 9th)
USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT POINT STANDINGS:
1-R.J. Johnson-231; 2-Charles Davis Jr.-218; 3-Ronnie Clark-207; 4-Josh Pelkey-196; 5-Bryan Swinehart-188; 6-Justin Quinn-186; 7-Mike Martin-171; 8-Thomas Ogle-162; 9-Shon Deskins-158; 10-Chris Bonneau-150; 11-Stevie Sussex-149; 12-Brian Hosford-144; 13-Nick Auito-143; 14-Mike Bonneau-128; 15-Nathan High-112; 16-Bob Ream Jr.-110; 17-Bruce St. James-99; 18-Andy Reinbold-97; 19-James Aragon-85; 20-Jody Wirth-68.
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2013 USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE - TRACK - LOCATION
May 11: Arizona Speedway - Queen Creek, AZ
May 25: Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Salute To Indy)
May 26: Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Salute To Indy)
June 8: Arizona Speedway - Queen Creek, AZ
June 22: Central Arizona Raceway - Casa Grande, AZ
June 29: Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Summer Sizzle)
July 13: Arizona Speedway - Queen Creek, AZ
July 19: **El Paso Speedway Park - El Paso, TX
July 20: **Southern New Mexico Speedway - Las Cruces, NM
July 27: Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Summer Slam)
August 21: Mid America Speedway - South Coffeyville, OK (Freedom Tour / $2,500-to-Win / Non-Points)
August 22: 81 Speedway - Wichita, KS (Freedom Tour / $2,500-to-Win / Non-Points)
August 23: Dodge City Raceway Park - Dodge City, KS (Freedom Tour / $2,500-to-Win / Non-Points)
August 24: Dodge City Raceway Park - Dodge City, KS (Freedom Tour / $2,500-to-Win / Non-Points)
September 7: Arizona Speedway - Queen Creek, AZ
September 14: Central Arizona Raceway - Casa Grande, AZ
September 28: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Brawl For It All / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series)
October 12: Central Arizona Raceway - Casa Grande, AZ
October 19: Arizona Speedway - Queen Creek, AZ
October 31: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Oval Nationals / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series / Non-Points)
November 14: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 15: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 16: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / $7,500-to-Win)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event With USAC West Coast Sprints.
This schedule is subject to change.
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