Sorry for the late start on this. This will be my road trip blog thread....

The schedule, as it is right now...

November 1, 2, 3
USAC National & CRA wingless 410 sprint cars "Oval Nationals"
Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA
Nov. 1 Winner: Daron Clayton
Nov. 2 Winner: Jesse Hockett
Nov. 3 Winner: Bud Kaeding

November 8
USAC Silver Crown and National Midgets
Phoenix International Raceway - Avondale, AZ

November 9, 10
USAC National & CRA sprint cars "Western World"
Late models
Manzanita Speedway - Phoenix, AZ

November 11 *tentative*
NASCAR Nextel Cup
Phoenix International Raceway - Avondale, AZ

November 16, 17
Southern All-Star Late Models, "Gobbler 75"
Cleveland Speedway - Cleveland, TN

November 23, 24
Gulf Coast Dirt Track Championships
Flomaton Speedway - Flomaton, AL

November 30, December 1
Florida 400
Desoto Super Speedway - Bradenton, FL

December 6
PRI go-karts
Orange County Convention Center - Orlando, FL

December 7
Mopar-PRI Sprint & Midget Classic
Orlando Speedworld - Orlando, FL

December 8
Crate Late Model "World Championship"
East Bay Raceway Park - Tampa, FL

November 2, 2007
12:45 p.m. Pacific Time
Posting from: Moreno Valley, California

Finally found a place to get online. The "It's a Grind" coffee shop here in Moreno Valley, California. I am about five miles or so north of Perris Auto Speedway, where Daron Clayton won last night's USAC Budwesier Oval Nationals preliminary.

I hit the road at about 9 a.m. Wednesday morning in Vancouver and I made it to PAS at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Stopped only twice the entire way, getting gas in Yreka and Stockton. Nothing unusual has happened so far at least. Last night I did meet a couple of the "Hosers" for the first time, those going by "Turn4Rob" and "Stubb." Also re-aquainted with "TopRow."

Kyle Bates, a limited sprint car driver out of Alberta, is down here to race, but his team has been plagued with motor problems and they never took to the track to qualify or race.

The pit gates will open at 2 p.m. this afternoon.

Clayton scores Oval Nationals opener

Andrew Kunas



PERRIS, Calif. – Daron Clayton comes all the way from Missouri, but so far his trip to California has been worth it as he won Thursday’s preliminary feature in the USAC Budweiser Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway. For Clayton, it was his first career victory at the southern California oval.



Clayton, driving the Tappie Racing No. 10c entry, started the 25-lap affair outside the third row, but needed only four laps to motor past Scotty Weir as they exited turn two of the 3/8-mile, semi-banked clay oval. That same lap, however, Clayton lost the lead to Casey Shuman in turn four. Clayton fought back and regained the lead position shortly after.



The red flag was displayed on lap five for the cars of Jerry Coons Jr., Shane Cottle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all tangling in turn one. Stenhouse, driving one of two Tony Stewart Enterprises entries, had already used a provisional to start the A-Main after failing to transfer out of the B-Main. Just two laps later Brady Bacon, driving one of two Kasey Kahne Racing entries, spun his machine around in turn two to bring out a yellow flag.



The field managed to get in nine green flag laps before another yellow flag came out on lap 16. Shuman challenged Clayton for the lead on lap ten, but Clayton again held him off. Meanwhile, B-Main winner Rickie Gaunt moved around Weir for fourth.



On the lap 16 restart, Clayton had difficulty getting around turns one and two as he was starting to experience brake problems. Shuman took advantage and regained the lead in the Massey Motorsports No. 2az DRC. On lap 18, Clayton had mastered his problem and pulled off a slide job on Shuman in turns three and four to take the lead back for good.



“I feel great. This car was awesome. I had no brakes, but I got lucky and saved it,” Clayton said in victory lane. “I pumped the brakes going down the front stretch and got them back.”



Shuman soon had his hands full with Kevin Swindell, who was driving the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 JEI. Swindell, who started fifth, moved into third on lap 21 and just two laps later got around Shuman for second. Shuman motored back around Swindell on lap 24. Swindell, however, got the best of Shuman on the final lap and took the second place position coming out of turn four for the checkered flag.



Gaunt, driving the Nadine Gardner No. 94 Chalk, finished fourth and David Cardy finished fifth in the Glen Crossoen No. 83 Bullet. Weir finished sixth, followed by USAC/CRA point leader Tony Jones, defending USAC Silver Crown champion Bud Kaeding, Mike Spencer and Damion Gardner, who rounded out the top ten. Spencer, who is running second to Jones in the CRA points, was racing around Jones for most of the race with Gardner and Kaeding both in the mix as well.



Former Oval Nationals winner and defending USAC/CRA champion Cory Kruseman finished 11^th while USAC National Sprint Car points leader Levi Jones finished 14^th. Tim Kaeding, running at Perris without the wings for the first time, finished 15^th. Two-time defending Oval Nationals champion Dave Darland failed to transfer out of the B-Main and used a provisional to start in the A-Main, where he finished 19^th.



Gaunt’s win in the 12-lap B-Main came over Bacon, Bud Kaeding and Charles Davis Jr., who all transferred with Gaunt. R.J. Johnson and Josh Ford came up short in fifth and sixth.



Dustin Morgan won the 10-lap C-Main and transferred to the B-Main with Sammy Swindell, Robert Ballou and Greg Taylor. Critter Malone won the 10-lap D-Main and transferred with Brandon Thomson, Tony Everhart and Mike Martin to the C-Main. All cars in the D and C-Mains were 41^st or slower in qualifying.



The top 40 qualifiers were locked into the five ten-lap heat races, which each transferred four to the A-Main. Gardner, Kruseman, Darren Hagen, Tony Jones and Danny Sheridan each won heat races.



About 67 cars were in the pit area for Thursday’s preliminary program. Friday’s program will be a repeat of Thursday’s, with qualifying, heat races and main events all taking place. Saturday’s event will be main events only, with the A-Main being 50 laps and $30,000 to win.



More information on USAC is available at http://www.usacracing.com. Perris Auto Speedway’s website is http://www.perrisautospeedway.com.



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United States Auto Club – National & CRA sprint cars

Oval Nationals – Night 1

Perris Auto Speedway

Perris, CA

November 1, 2007



UNOFFICIAL RESULTS



D-Main (10 laps): 1. 11 Critter Malone, 2. 91Brandon Thomson, 3. 55 Tony Everhart, 4. 16m Mike Martin, 5. 40 Royal Adderson, 6. 48 Jonas Reynolds, 7. 33 Jonny Bates, 8. 16 Nadine Gardner, 9. 6 Todd Hunsaker, 10. 23 Ben Astenius, 11. 10x Lawrence O’Connor. Top four finishers transfer to C-Main.



C-Main (10 laps): 1. 11d Dustin Morgan, 2. 2h Sammy Swindell, 3. 81 Robert Ballou, 4. 47 Greg Taylor, 5. 21t Peter Murphy, 6. 17x Seth Wilson, 7. 76 Mike Leslie, 8. 19 Rodney Argo, 9. 16m Mike Martin, 10. 20c Brent Camarillo, 11. 11 Critter Malone, 12. 25n Jason York, 13. 91 Brandon Thomson, 14. 55 Tony Everhart, 15. 9w Chris Wakim, 16. 67 Ross Millar, 17. 02 Matt Rossi, 18. 2b Brady Short, 19. 12 Brian Venard, 20. 22c Brian Camarilo. Top four finishers transfer to B-Main.



Heat 1 (10 laps): 1. 71 Damion Gardner, 2. 69 Jerry Coons Jr., 3. 2az Casey Shuman, 4. 57 Shane Golobic, 5. 29k Matt Mitchell, 6. 17n Mat Neely, 7. 97 Bret Mellenberndt, 8. 93 Blake Miller. Top four finishers transfer to A-Main.



Heat 2 (10 laps): 1. 21k Cory Kruseman, 2. 10 Tim Kaeding, 3. 111 Troy Rutherford, 4. 10c Daron Clayton, 5. 15 R.J Johnson, 6. 97x Jon Stanbrough, 7. 50az Charles Davis Jr., 8. 71x Thomas Messeraull. Top four finishers transfer to A-Main.



Heat 3 (10 laps): 1. 67x Darren Hagen, 2. 50 Mike Spencer, 3. 75 Jesse Hockett, 4. 9 Kevin Swindell, 5. 73 Josh Ford, 6. 92 Luis Espinosa, 7. 51 Jimmy Crawford, 8. 3 Rip Williams. Top four finishers transfer to A-Main.



Heat 4 (10 laps): 1. 4 Tony Jones, 2. 21 Michael Trimble, 3. 20 Levi Jones, 4. 38 Scotty Weir, 5. 21s Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 6. 44 Dave Darland, 7. 94 Rickie Gaunt, 8. 29 Bud Kaeding. Top four finishers transfer to A-Main.



Heat 5 (10 laps): 1. 18 Danny Sheridan, 2. 83 David Cardy, 3. 67k Brad Sweet, 4. 10t Shane Cottle, 5. 99 Brady Bacon, 6. 29w Cole Whitt, 7. 7 Garrett Hanson, 8. 38s Davey Pombo. Top four finishers transfer to A-Main.



B-Main (12 laps): 1. 94 Rickie Gaunt, 2. 99 Brady Bacon, 3. 29 Bud Kaeding, 4. 50az Charles Davis Jr., 5. 15 R.J Johnson, 6. 73 Josh Ford, 7. 21s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 8. 29k Matt Mitchell, 9. 29w Cole Whitt, 10. 97x Jon Stanbrough, 11. 38s Davey Pombo, 12. 44 Dave Darland, 13. 71x Thomas Messeraull, 14. 47 Greg Taylor, 15. 7 Garrett Hanson, 16. 97 Bret Mellenberndt, 17. 92 Luis Espinosa, 18. 81 Robert Ballou, 19. 51 Jimmy Crawford, 20. 11d Dustin Morgan, 21. 17n Mat Neely, 22. 3 Rip Williams, 23. 2h Sammy Swindell, DNS – 93 Blake Miller. Top four finishers transfer to A-Main.



7 Garrett Hanson, 15 R.J. Johnson, 21s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and 44 Dave Darland use USAC provisionals to start in A-Main.



A-Main (25 laps): 1. 10c Daron Clayton, 2. 9 Kevin Swindell, 3. 2az Casey Shuman, 4. 94 Rickie Gaunt, 5. 83 David Cardy, 6. 38 Scotty Weir, 7. 4 Tony Jones, 8. 29 Bud Kaeding, 9. 50 Mike Spencer, 10. 71 Damion Gardner, 11. 21k Cory Kruseman, 12. 75 Jesse Hockett, 13. 67x Darren Hagen, 14. 20 Levi Jones, 15. 10 Tim Kaeding, 16. 99 Brady Bacon, 17. 15 R.J. Johnson, 18. 111 Troy Rutherford, 19. 44 Dave Darland, 20. 69 Jerry Coons Jr., 21. 21 Michael Trimble, 22. 7 Garrett Hanson, 23. 50az Charles Davis Jr., 24. 67k Brad Sweet, 25. 57 Shane Golobic, 26. 10t Shane Cottle, 27. 21s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 28. 18 Danny Sheridan.

Kruseman drops out, Hockett scores Ovals Friday prelim

Andrew Kunas



PERRIS, Calif. – For the second straight night, a driver from the state of Missouri scored a main event win at Perris Auto Speedway for the first time.



Thanks in part to Cory Kruseman’s sudden dropout from the event with throttle problems, Jesse Hockett of Warsaw, Mo. scored his first career USAC National Sprint Car series victory Friday night in the second night of Budweiser Oval Nationals at the southern California clay oval. Hockett ran second until a lap 17 yellow when Kruseman suddenly pulled to the pit area during a caution. Hockett would hold off Tim Kaeding to lead the final nine laps of the 25-lap feature.



The night before, it was Daron Clayton of Sikeston, Mo. who claimed the victory in the Oval Nationals Thursday preliminary.



Hockett, driving the VKCC Motorsports No. 75 Kriner-powered DRC, started inside the third row and ran sixth early on. By the third lap he was up to fourth. Two laps later, he passed two cars to move into second and immediately went after reigning USAC/CRA champion Kruseman, out of Ventura, Calif. Hockett made contact with the retaining wall on the back stretch of the 3/8-mile, semi-banked clay oval on lap 16, but kept going with no apparent damage.



As Hockett struck the wall, Kruseman was entering slower traffic at the time, and it appeared he would have the track in front of him cleared because of the yellow flag for Scotty Weir stopping on the track with a torn left rear tire. Kruseman pulled off the track and into the work area with a broken throttle, handing the lead to Hockett and putting Kaeding in second and USAC National Sprint car point leader Levi Jones in third. Meanwhile, Casey Shuman, who finished third in Thursday’s event, had moved all the way up to fifth from the 15^th starting position and inherited fourth place for the lap 17 restart.



Hockett momentarily lost the lead on the restart when he bounced through turn two, allowing Kaeding to move by. Hockett, however, moved back past Kaeding with a slide job in turns three and four. Kaeding challenged Hockett again on a lap 24 restart, but failed to make anything work and had to settle for second aboard the Tom Rolfe No. 10 Don Ott-powered Maxim.

"I didn't know it was over until it was over," Hockett said following the race. "I was told during the red flag (lap 24) that I should get up on the top and stay there (to hold off Kaeding)."

"We tried," said an excited Tim Kaeding, who was only racing at Perris without the wings for the second time. "Tomorrow, we're going after it. It's a whole new ball game and we're coming out swinging."

Shuman, who fell back to sixth for a short time, moved back in the closing laps, jumping to fourth on the final restart and on the final lap he passed Damion Gardner for third in the Massey Motorsports No. 2az Wesmar-powered DRC. Brad Sweet, who used a provisional to start the A-Main, came all the way from the 25^th starting position and passed Gardner as well to finish fourth in the Kunz Motorsports No. 67k Bullet.



Shuman, finishing on the podium for the second straight night, has likely earned the pole for Saturday’s 50-lap, $30,000-to-win A-Main event.

"The goal was to get in the show and finish top ten or 15," Shuman said. "We did better than we expected. We've got top three in points. This is just exciting."



Gardner, a former USAC/CRA champion, finished fifth in the Jason Leffler No. 71 Stanton Mopar-powered Eagle. Dave Darland, the two-time defending Oval Nationals champion, finished sixth after starting 13^th. Jones, driving one of the two Tony Stewart Enterprises cars, finished seventh. Twenty-third starting Brady Short finished eighth with Danny Sheridan finishing ninth and Josh Ford rounding out the top ten. Pole sitter Charles Davis Jr. finished 11^th.



Tony Jones and Mike Spencer, running 1-2 in the USAC/CRA point standings, both had to use provisionals to start the A-Main. Both drivers were in the B-Main and both fell out with problems in their cars. Spencer’s crew changed motors between the B-Main and the A-Main. Jones, who had a 57-point lead over Spencer going into the evening, finished 12^th and Spencer was 16^th.



Former USAC/CRA champion and Oval Nationals winner Rip Williams finished 13^th and Thursday winner Daron Clayton finished 17^th. Kruseman was credited with 20^th. Kevin Swindell, who was slated to start outside the second row, crashed on the front stretch on the initial start and was scored 27^th.



Darren Hagen, one of the top USAC National sprint car drivers in the field, had his rear end and drive line come apart during his qualifying run. Due to the repair time needed, Hagen skipped the D-Main and used a provisional to start the A-Main. Hagen’s bad luck continued in the A-Main, when he crashed in turn one on lap 24. Hagen was scored 19^th.



David Cardy won the 12-lap B-Main, taking Darland, Thomas Messeraull and Jerry Coons Jr. with him to the A-Main. Tony Jones, who did not qualify well enough to get into the heat races, won the ten-lap C-Main and moved on to the B-Main with Robert Ballou, Blake Miller and R.J. Johnson. Nadine Gardner won the ten-lap D-Main and transferred with Todd Hunsaker, Royal Adderson and Tony Everhart.



The top 40 drivers in qualifying were all locked into the five ten-lap heat races. Clayton, Bud Kaeding, Rickie Gaunt, Sheridan and Swindell all scored victories.



Cole Whitt paced the field of about 66 cars in qualifying with a time of 16.880 seconds around the Perris Auto Speedway. Whitt finished eighth in his heat race and ninth in the B-Main.



Saturday’s event will feature main events only, with lineups based on points accumulated during Thursday and Friday’s racing action.



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USAC National & CRA Sprint Cars

Budweiser Oval Nationals – Night 2

Perris Auto Speedway

Perris, CA

November 2, 2007



UNOFFICIAL RESULTS



66 cars



Fast qualifier: 29w Cole Whitt, 16.880 seconds



D-Main (10 laps): 1. 16 Nadine Gardner, 2. 6 Todd Hunsaker, 3. 40 Royal Adderson, 4. 55 Tony Everhart, 5. 48 Jonas Reynolds, 6. 397 Kyle Bates, 7. 10x Lawrence O’Connor, DNS – 21s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 67x Darren Hagen. First four finishers transfer to C-Main.



C-Main (10 laps): 1. 4 Tony Jones, 2. 81 Robert Ballou, 3. 93 Blake Miller, 4. 15 R.J. Johnson, 5. 7 Garrett Hansen, 6. 9w Chris Wakim, 7. 21 Michael Trimble, 8. 17x Seth Wilson, 9. 33 Jonny Bates, 10. 11 Critter Malones, 11. 22 Brian Camarillo, 12. 57 Shane Golobic, 13. 02 Matt Rossi, 14. 16m Mike Martin, 15. 91 Brandon Thomson, 16. 6 Todd Hunsaker, 17. 40 Royal Adderson, 18. 16 Nadine Gardner, 19. 55 Tony Everhart, 20. 20c Brent Camarillo. First four finishers transfer to B-Main.



Heat 1 (10 laps): 1. 10c Daron Clayton, 2. 99 Brady Bacon, 3. 2az Casey Shuman, 4. 20 Levi Jones, 5. 83 David Cardy, 6. 111 Troy Rutherford, 7. 10t Shane Cottle, 8. 29w Cole Whitt. First four finishers transfer to A-Main.



Heat 2 (10 laps): 1. 29 Bud Kaeding, 2. 50az Charles Davis Jr., 3. 10 Tim Kaeding, 4. 97x Jon Stanbrough, 5. 67k Brad Sweet, 6. 29k Matt Mitchell, 7. 38s Davey Pombo, 8. 44 Dave Darland. First four finishers transfer to A-Main.



Heat 3 (10 laps): 1. 94 Rickie Gaunt, 2. 21k Cory Kruseman, 3. 19 Rodney Argo, 4. 73 Josh Ford, 5. 25n Jason York, 6. 71x Thomas Messeraull, 7. 47 Greg Taylor, 8. 2h Sammy Swindell. First four finishers transfer to A-Main.



Heat 4 (10 laps): 1. 18 Danny Sheridan, 2. 76 Mike Leslie, 3. 3 Rip Williams, 4. 75 Jesse Hockett, 5. 97 Bret Mellenberndt, 6. 92 Luis Espinoza, 7. 51 Jimmy Crawford, 8. 69 Jerry Coons Jr. First four finishers transfer to A-Main.



Heat 5 (10 laps): 1. 9 Kevin Swindell, 2. 71 Damion Gardner, 3. 2b Brady Short, 4. 38 Scotty Weir, 5. 21t Peter Murphy, 6. 50 Mike Spencer, 7. 17n Mat Neely, 8. 11d Dustin Morgan. First four finishers transfer to A-Main.



B-Main (12 laps): 1. 83 David Cardy, 2. 44 Dave Darland, 3. 71x Thomas Messeraull, 4. 69 Jerry Coons Jr., 5. 67k Brad Sweet, 6. 81 Robert Ballou, 7. 15 R.J. Johnson, 8. 97 Bret Mellenberndt, 9. 29w Cole Whitt, 10. 111 Troy Rutherford, 11. 29k Matt Mitchell, 12. 10t Shane Cottle, 13. 38s Davey Pombo, 14. 21t Peter Murphy, 15. 2h Sammy Swindell, 16. 93 Blake Miller, 17. 11d Dustin Morgan, 18. 17n Mat Neely, 19. 25n Jason York, 20. 50 Mike Spencer, 21. 4 Tony Jones, 22. 92 Luis Espinoza, 23. 47 Greg Taylor, DNS – 51 Jimmy Crawford. First four finishers transfer to A-Main.



4 Tony Jones, 50 Mike Spencer, 67k Brad Sweet and 67x Darren Hagen use provisionals to start in A-Main.



A-Main (25 laps): 1. 75 Jesse Hockett, 2. 10 Tim Kaeding, 3. 2az Casey Shuman, 4. 67k Brad Sweet, 5. 71 Damion Gardner, 6. 44 Dave Darland, 7. 20 Levi Jones, 8. 2b Brady Short, 9. 18 Danny Sheridan, 10. 73 Josh Ford, 11. 50az Charles Davis Jr., 12. 4 Tony Jones, 13. 3 Rip Williams, 14. 97x Jon Stanbrough, 15. 29 Bud Kaeding, 16. 50 Mike Spencer, 17. 10c Daron Clayton, 18. 71x Thomas Messeraull, 19. 67x Darren Hagen, 20. 21k Cory Kruseman, 21. 38 Scotty Weir, 22. 76 Mike Leslie, 23. 19 Rodney Argo, 24. 94 Rickie Gaunt, 25. 99 Brady Bacon, 26. 83 David Cardy, 27. 9 Kevin Swindell, 28. 69 Jerry Coons Jr

12:40 p.m. PT November 2nd
From: Moreno Valley, CA

Greetings from the same spot as yesterday. Computer had issues yesterday so I had to shut down early. Hopefully the problem is fixed for now.

The track last night went dry slick but I thought the racing was really good still, and to my shock the fans here thought it was only subpar. Perris is now my favorite race track and I wish we had more of this wingless stuff back home. Had the pleasure of meeting track announcer Scott Daloisio last night. A wonderful gentleman to talk with and I enjoyed listening to him the last two night's. Virtually everything with Perris is very professional, and that most definitely includes Scott, who I can safely say is one of the best in the business.

Alland Holland of Hosehead's was in the house and I had the opportunity to chat with him a little bit. I first met Allan at last year's PRI Trade Show in Florida. He didn't recognize me in street clothing for a moment as he remembered me dressed up all nicely.

Hung out with some fans after the races last night. I spectated a Texas Hold'em tournament last night. Not knowing how to play cards and everything, I just watched. Also met a few modified drivers who race at Barona Speedway.

Kyle Bates is a cool guy to talk with, as was Lawrence O'Connor. Look for a story on the two Canadians sometime in the next few days...

Thank You Andrew looking forward to Your Story!

http/www.cmpvideo2go.com

Bud Kaeding overtakes Shuman in Oval Nationals

Andrew Kunas

PERRIS, Calif. – Bud Kaeding led only one lap and it was the one that counted in the end as he won his third Budweiser Oval Nationals on Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway.

For a time the defending USAC Silver Crown champion out of Campbell, Calif. didn't think he had that great a chance at winning, as he started ninth and had many potent race cars with capable drivers, including his own brother, ahead of him. Late in the race, Kaeding suddenly found himself in third place after mishaps by Kevin Swindell and Damion Gardner. He only had his brother Tim and Casey Shuman in front of him.

On a lap 30 restart Tim Kaeding, who led a race high 21 laps, was loose going through turns one and two, allowing both Shuman and Bud to drive by. Shuman pulled away quickly but in the closing laps Kaeding crept back up. After a caution with 38 out of 40 laps completed, Shuman and Kaeding were set for a green-white-checkered dash.

After taking the white flag Kaeding made his move. Shuman slid through turns one and two on the far inside of the 3/8-mile, semi-banked clay oval while Kaeding swung around on the far outside against the fence, completing the race winning pass coming out of turn two.

On the front stretch after taking the checkered flag, Kaeding climbed out the top of his BK Motorsports No. 29 Shaver-powered Maxim and greeted the fans. The first two-time winner of the event was now the first three-time winner and $30,000 richer.

"Everything just fell into place," Kaeding said. "The car was really good on the bottom early. Shuman and I started passing guys, picking them off one by one. We passed my brother and I knew he was good up on the top. On the last lap I got lucky."

Shuman, who had the most consistent weekend out of the nearly 70 drivers in the field, knew he had lost the race when he saw Kaeding move by on his outside.

"I knew it was over then. I knew he'd go to the bottom in three and four (after the pass)," a clearly disappointed Shuman said after the race. "I knew to be careful not to do something stupid and run second."

Shuman, who finished third in both Thursday's and Friday's preliminary features, was the top point scorer and was forced to start sixth in Saturday's A-Main due to an invert. The Tempe, Ariz. driver was the only one to finish on the podium all three nights in the Massey Motorsports No. 2az Wesmar-powered DRC.

"It's awesome," Shuman said. "I used to never run good here. To be on the podium all three nights with everyone in non-wing racing here, I really can't complain too much. Still, it'll take a while to get over this. One corner, that's all it was. Maybe next year."

For Kaeding, Perris at first wasn't too kind to him, but in recent years he has become very fond of the southern California facility.

"I love Perris," Kaeding said. "This track has been really good to me now. I was originally the first two-time winner, and now I'm the first three-time winner. It's surreal for all of us."

Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, Okla. had one of the best runs of the night, finishing third in the B-Main and coming from the 15^th starting position to finish third in the A-Main in the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 99 Mopar-powered JEI. Bacon was not even in the top ten for most of the race, but later was running fifth with 11 laps remaining. After moving to fourth, Bacon advanced to third after Tim Kaeding missed a slide job on his brother on lap 32.

Missouri's Jesse Hockett, who won Friday's preliminary feature, finished fourth in the VKCC Motorsports No. 75 DRC. Scotty Weir finished fifth in the No. 38 Bullet. B-Main winner Danny Sheridan was sixth after starting 13^th with former Oval Nationals winner Cory Kruseman seventh and Jerry Coons Jr. eighth. Tony Jones, the USAC/CRA point leader, finished ninth after coming out of the B-Main and starting 17^th. Cole Whitt, the 12^th and final driver to transfer out of the B-Main, started 24^th and finished tenth.

Ricky Stenhouse, who started the night in the D-Main, made it all the way to the B-Main but missed the transfer to the A-Main by four positions. Stenhouse used a USAC provisional to start near the rear of the field and eventually finished 12^th. Former USAC National sprint car champion and current point leader Levi Jones finished 16^th after taking a trip to the work area midway through the event.

Tim Kaeding was scored 20^th after crashing into the turn four wall on lap 39, ending his bid at a victory. The Oval Nationals was his first time racing at Perris Auto Speedway without wings. Kaeding impressed everyone, especially after finishing second in Friday's preliminary. Fans showed their appreciation for Kaeding's efforts as they applauded him while he walked down the front stretch toward the pit area. Despite his own misfortune, Tim was thrilled to see his brother win, as he walked on the front stretch pumping his fists as Bud rolled to victory lane following the race.

Indiana's Dave Darland, who had won the two previous Oval Nationals, had a rough weekend. Darland uncharacteristically crashed before the B-Main and for the second time in three nights he had to use a USAC provisional to start in the A-Main. All three nights saw four provisionals being used to create a large 28-car field for the A-Main.

Following Sheridan in the 20-lap B-Main also transferring were Charles Davis Jr., Bacon, Josh Ford, Tony Jones, Coons, Mike Spencer, Rip Williams, Dustin Morgan, Troy Rutherford and Whitt. R.J. Johnson, who also used a provisional to get into the A-Main, won the 20-lap C-Main and transferred to the B-Main with Four Crown Nationals winner Robert Ballou, Whitt, Davey Pombo, Rodney Argo, Matt Mitchell, Morgan and Stenhouse.

Peter Murphy, who won this year's SCRA championship in wingless 360 sprint cars, won the 15-lap D-Main race. Jimmy Crawford finished second but scratched for the C-Main, allowing ninth-finishing Matt Rossi to transfer as well. Garrett Hansen, Stenhouse, Jason York, Chris Wakim, Critter Malone and Mike Martin also transferred.

Both USAC National and USAC/CRA will race together again Friday and Saturday at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Ariz. in the Western World Championships. USAC will crown its National champion there, but USAC/CRA will close its season on November 17 at Perris with the Jack Kindoll Classic.

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USAC Nationals & CRA sprint cars

Budweiser Oval Nationals

Perris Auto Speedway

Perris, CA

November 3, 2007

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

D-Main (15 laps): 1. 21t Peter Murphy, 2. 51 Jimmy Crawford, 3. 7 Garrett Hansen, 4. 21s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 5. 25n Jason York, 6. 9w Chris Wakim, 7. 11 Critter Malone, 8. 16m Mike Martin, 9. 02 Matt Rossi, 10. 22c Brian Camarillo, 11. 6 Todd Hunsaker, 12. 33 Jonny Bates, 13. 16 Nadine Gardner, 14. 48 Jonas Reynolds, 15. 10x Lawrence O'Connor, 16. 397 Kyle Bates, 17. 40 Royal Adderson, 18. 17x Seth Wilson, 19. 91 Brandon Thomson, 20. 55 Tony Everhart. First eight finishers transfer to C-Main. 02 Matt Rossi also transfers due to scratch from C-Main.

C-Main (20 laps): 1. 15 R.J. Johnson, 2. 81 Robert Ballou, 3. 29w Cole Whitt, 4. 38s Davey Pombo, 5. 19 Rodney Argo, 6. 29k Matt Mitchell, 7. 11d Dustin Morgan, 8. 21a Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 9. 17n Mat Neely, 10. 21t Peter Murphy, 11. 67k Brad Sweet, 12. 93 Blake Miller, 13. 7 Garrett Hansen, 14. 92 Luis Espinoza, 15. 16m Mike Martin, 16. 11 Critter Malone, 17. 25n Jason York, 18. 57 Shane Golobic, 19. 76 Mike Leslie, 20. 97 Bret Mellenberndt, 21. 47 Greg Taylor, 22. 9w Chris Wakim, 23. 02 Matt Rossi, 24. 2h Sammy Swindell, DNS – 51 Jimmy Crawford. First eight finishers transfer to B-Main.

B-Main (20 laps): 1. 18 Danny Sheridan, 2. 50az Charles Davis Jr., 3. 99 Brady Bacon, 4. 73 Josh Ford, 5. 4 Tony Jones, 6. 67x Darren Hagen, 7. 69 Jerry Coons Jr., 8. 50 Mike Spencer, 9. 3 Rip Williams, 10. 11d Dustin Morgan, 11. 111 Troy Rutherford, 12. 29w Cole Whitt, 13. 29k Matt Mitchell, 14. 21 Michael Trimble, 15. 97x Jon Stanbrough, 16. 21s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 17. 81 Robert Ballou, 18. 15 R.J. Johnson, 19. 38s Davey Pombo, 20. 2b Brady Short, 21. 71x Thomas Messeraull, 22. 19 Rodney Argo, DNS – 10t Shane Cottle, 44 Dave Darland (crash). First 12 finishers transfer to A-Main.

15 R.J. Johnson, 21s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 44 Dave Darland and 93 Blake Miller use USAC provisionals to start A-Main.

A-Main (40 laps): 1. 29 Bud Kaeding, 2. 2az Casey Shuman, 3. 99 Brady Bacon, 4. 75 Jesse Hockett, 5. 38 Scotty Weir, 6. 18 Danny Sheridan, 7. 21k Cory Kruseman, 8. 69 Jerry Coons Jr., 9. 4 Tony Jones, 10. 29w Cole Whitt, 11. 67x Darren Hagen, 12. 21s Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 13. 93 Blake Miller, 14. 50az Charles Davis Jr., 15. 11d Dustin Morgan, 16. 20 Levi Jones, 17. 83 David Cardy, 18. 73 Josh Ford, 19. 15 R.J. Johnson, 20. 10 Tim Kaeding, 21. 71 Damion Gardner, 22. 3 Rip Williams, 23. 9 Kevin Swindell, 24. 50 Mike Spencer, 25. 94 Rickie Gaunt, 26. 10c Daron Clayton, 27. 44 Dave Darland, 28. 111 Troy Rutherford.

Lap leaders (unofficial): Tim Kaeding 1-11, Damion Gardner 12-19, Tim Kaeding 20-29, Casey Shuman 30-39, Bud Kaeding 40