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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
- #4A Damion Gardner Wins at Santa Maria Speedway. Photo by Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos.
DAMION GARDNER ADDS SANTA MARIA TO WIN LIST
by Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – JUNE 16, 2013... After a dramatic and emotional win at Watsonville, Concord’s “The Demon” Damion Gardner added Santa Maria Speedway to his win list. Taking the lead from outside front row starter “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. on lap seventeen, Gardner sailed to his 46th career Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory. Faria led the first four laps until pole sitter Ryan Bernal powered to the lead on lap five. “Hollywood” regained command on the next circuit and maintained the lead until “The Demon” charged to the top spot. Faria, Richard Vander Weerd, Nic Faas, and Matt Mitchell followed Gardner to the checkered flags.
Racing Mark Alexander’s #4A Scott Sales Company / Competition Suspension Inc. Spike, Damion Gardner out-qualified the 18 car field to claim his fourth Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award. Placing third in his heat race and scoring his fifth win of the campaign, “The Demon” holds a 51 point lead over the competition. To date, Damion leads the point chase with four heat race victories, one dash win, eleven top-10 finishes, and 91 feature laps led on the season.
After hurting his 410 engine at Watsonville, “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. of Tipton changed to a 360 power plant and led fifteen laps before placing second. Piloting his #17V Johnston Calf Pens / DeBoer & Sons Trucking Spike, Faria was seventh fast in time trials and ran fourth in his heat race. In limited USAC/CRA appearances, “Hollywood” is twenty-first in the standings with two heat race victories, one dash win, and two top-10 finishes to his credit.
Visalia’s Richard Vander Weerd had his best finish with a third place run at Santa Maria. Driving the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Richard qualified third and claimed third in his heat race. The 2011 USAC West Coast Sprint Champion has moved to tenth in points with one heat race victory, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, and five top-10 finishes in 2013.
Nic Faas of Huntington Beach scored fourth in the 30-lap feature. Racing Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / Competition Suspension Inc. Spike, the former USAC Western Midget Series Champion was second quick in time trials and third in his heat race. Currently second in points, Nic has one feature win, one heat race victory, eleven top-10 finishes, and 33 feature laps led on the year.
Yorba Linda’s Matt Mitchell had another strong night with a fifth place finish at Santa Maria. Piloting his #37 MPD Racing / A.R.T. Enterprises entry, Mitchell qualified fifth and placed sixth in his heat race after hitting the fence. With help from other crews, Matt and his team were able to make repairs and start the main event. Currently, the 2-time “Salute to Indy” winner is fifth in the point standings with two heat race victories, seven top-10 finishes, and 30 feature laps led on the season.
“The Kruser” Cory Kruseman of Ventura earned the night’s Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics "Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with an tenth place run from sixteenth. Driving Mark & Carmen Priestley’s #7 Roy Miller Freightlines / Sander Engineering Bullet, the 2006 Champion was sixteenth fast in time trials and won the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. Making his return after a Perris crash in early March, Kruseman is twenty-second in points with two top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Rauma, Finland’s Markus Niemela won Santa Maria’s 10-lap DJ Safety Heat Race #2. Racing Steve Watt’s #18 Christian Stover Foundation / Lost Reality Clothing Maxim, Niemela qualified seventeenth overall and claimed fifteenth in the main event. Markus sits twentieth in the point standings with one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award and two top-10 finishes to his credit.
Mike Spencer of Temecula drove to victory in the Saldana Racing Products / Circle Track Performance Heat Race #3. Piloting Ron Chaffin’s #50 Madera Produce / Grubstake Mini Storage Maxim, the five-time champion was twelfth fast in time trials and seventh in the main event. To date, Spencer is fourth in points with one feature win, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, four heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award and eight top-10 finishes on the year.
On Thursday, July 4th, the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will be back in action at Perris Auto Speedway for the annual “Firecracker 30 and Sky Concert.” Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, more event information can be found at www.perrisautospeedway.com or calling (951) 940-0134. To catch all of the action of the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series at Perris Auto Speedway, Mike Truex's Loudpedal Productions has DVD videos available for purchase. For more information, call (805) 407-7229 or visit www.loudpedalvideo.com. In addition, Perris Auto Speedway offers a pay per view feed of every event at www.circletracknetwork.com.
The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series would like to thank Hoosier Tire, BR Motorsports, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Inc., Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, King Racing Products, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, SBI Fuel Systems, Saldana Racing Products, Weld Racing, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at [email protected].
For more information on the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit www.usacracing.com/cra or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/USAC-CRA-Sprint-Car-Series/167535183297971) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/#!/USAC_CRA).
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS:
June 15, 2013 – Santa Maria, California – Santa Maria Speedway
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TIME TRIALS:
1. Damion Gardner, 4A, Alexander-14.270; 2. Nic Faas, 4, Alexander-14.351; 3. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-14.365; 4. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-14.479; 5. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-14.495; 6. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-14.596; 7. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-14.628; 8. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-14.634; 9. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-14.637; 10. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-14.650; 11. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-14.731; 12. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-14.804; 13. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-14.829; 14. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-15.078; 15. Cody Swanson, 36, Springstead-15.188; 16. Cory Kruseman, 7, Priestley-15.257; 17. Markus Niemela, 81, Watt-15.365; 18. Cotton Farmer, 15, HAL-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Brody Roa, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Danny Faria Jr., 5. Austin Williams, 6. Cody Williams. NT
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps)
1. Markus Niemela, 2. Ryan Bernal, 3. Nic Faas, 4. D.J. Johnson, 5. A.J. Bender, 6. Matt Mitchell. NT
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Mike Spencer, 2. Bud Kaeding, 3. Richard Vander Weerd, 4. Jace Vander Weerd, 5. Cody Swanson, 6. Cotton Farmer. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Damion Gardner (6th), 2. Danny Faria Jr. (2nd), 3. Richard Vander Weerd (4th), 4. Nic Faas (5th), 5. Matt Mitchell (8th), 6. Cody Williams (7th), 7. Mike Spencer (12th), 8. Austin Williams (10th), 9. Jace Vander Weerd (9th), 10. Cory Kruseman (16th), 11. Ryan Bernal (1st), 12. D.J. Johnson (14th), 13. Cody Swanson (15th), 14. A.J. Bender (11th), 15. Markus Niemela (17th), 16. Brody Roa (13th), 17. Cotton Farmer (18th), 18. Bud Kaeding (3rd). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Danny Faria Jr., Lap 5 Ryan Bernal, Laps 6-16 Danny Faria Jr., Laps 17-30 Damion Gardner.
KEIZER WHEELS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Cory Kruseman (16th to 10th)
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINT STANDINGS:
1-Damion Gardner-739, 2-Nic Faas-688, 3-Bud Kaeding-564, 4-Mike Spencer-558, 5-Matt Mitchell-467, 6-Cody Williams-423, 7-Austin Williams-415, 8-Brody Roa-384, 9-Ryan Bernal-359, 10-Richard Vander Weerd-309.
2013 AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE - TRACK – LOCATION
July 4: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Firecracker 30)
August 9: Ocean Speedway - Watsonville, CA
August 10: Santa Maria Speedway - Santa Maria, CA
August 17: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (California Racers Hall of Fame Night)
August 31: **Calistoga Speedway - Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 1: **Calistoga Speedway - Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic)
September 14: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Glenn Howard Classic)
October 5: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Southern California Fair Race)
October 25: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Hall of Fame Classic)
October 26: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Hall of Fame Classic)
November 1: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
November 2: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Oval Nationals)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event With USAC National Sprints.
** = Co-Sanctioned Event With USAC Western Classic Racing Series.
This schedule is subject to change.
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