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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RULE CHANGES ANNOUNCED FOR THE USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT CAR SERIES

By Lance Jennings

SANTA MARIA, CA – MARCH 30, 2010…Due to the high amount of feedback and concerns from drivers and race teams after last Saturday's show at the Bakersfield Speedway, USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series Promoter Chris Kearns and Competition Director Doug Lockwood have announced several rule changes.

The "2 Cause Rule" regarding stops on the racetrack is no longer in effect. The series will now adopt the following rule:

1. Any car that receives 2 charged stops will be black flagged for the remainder of that race. In other words, if you stop on the track twice and require a push start, you will be black flagged.

In addition, the series format rule regarding Heat Races will be adjusted to:

C. The top 6 qualifiers in each heat shall be inverted, with the balance of competitors to be straight-up on time. If two or three heat races are run, the TOP FOUR OR FIVE will get their qualifying time back. If four or five heat races are run, then the TOP FOUR will get their qualifying times back. The format will be announced at the drivers meeting.

The USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series will hold their fourth round of competition this Saturday night, April 3rd, at Tulare's Groppetti Automotive Thunderbowl Raceway. The popular non-wing sprint cars will also return the following Saturday, April 10th, for the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial. That event will be the first race of the Southwest Contractors 360 Clash mini-series.

The Groppetti Automotive Thunderbowl Raceway is located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds at the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare. Joining the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars will be the Central California Modifieds. Reserved Grandstand Tickets are $18 and Bleacher Tickets are $15. Advance tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling the track office at (559) 688-0909. For more event information, please visit the track's website at www.tularethunderbowl.com.

For more information on the USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series, please visit www.racesantamariaspeedway.com, and www.usacracing.com.

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USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT CAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS – 03/27/10:

1. Craig Stidham, 3S- 183
2. Danny Faria Jr., 17V- 155
3. Garrett Ishii, 71G- 146
4. Chris Ennis, 86- 141
5. T.J. Smith, 14- 140
6. Davey Pombo, 3- 134
7. Jonathan Logan, 32- 129
8. Rusty Carlile, 51- 123
9. Andy Ferris, 4J- 119
10. Peter Murphy, 21- 117
11. Jace VanderWeerd, 88- 116
12. Justyne Hamblin, 8- 116
13. Jimmy Thompson, 71R- 110
14. Dean Alexander, 11- 103
15. Matt Day, 97- 74
16. Richard VanderWeerd, 10- 70
17. Kevin Barnes, 36B- 61
18. Dave Knott, 28- 56
19. Jesse Mack, 8M- 52
20. Steve Osborne, 9J- 47

Can you please clarify something? I was at the Bakersfield race and some cars that were slightly involved in a few incidents actually drove away from the accident (so they did not stop as a direct result of the accident) BUT then they pulled into the pits to do a quick safety inspection of their car and needed to be pushed off again. Does that also count as one of your two allowed stops? Some will argue that if they keep the car running and don't need a truck (use thier own quad) that they didn't need a push etc. Plus at the drivers meeting the officials said that they sometimes use a "Mechanical Black Flag" with a white stripe in case your car has a loose shock or sheet metal etc. If they give you that Black Flag will that also count as a stop if it's an easy fix or if they were wrong and nothing is wrong with your car?

I am not looking to argue one way or the other. I just want to eliminate any confusion for the future.

Thanks

Chad

Hey chad thanks for asking. We wrote the rule to read stopping on the track. To me if you go in the pits you are already going to start in the rear so stopping in the pits will not count as a stop(this was a big issue with the way scra rule was written 2-3 years ago). It will be two stops on the track where a car is required to be pushed.There for if you stop on the track and then a push truck pushs you that will count as one, but if you are tangled in something on the track and still running and you drive to the pits and stop no that will not count as a stop bc you went to the pits under your own power.

Thank you for your time.

Doug Lockwood

USAC West Coast 360 Race Director

Thanks for the info Doug

Chad