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USAC WESTERN CLASSIC RETURNS TO THE
DIRT IN CRA SHOWDOWN
SACRAMENTO,
CALIFORNIA (June 15, 2011) – After three consecutive pavement races, the USAC Western Classic
Racing Series will return to the dirt this weekend with a double-header against
the stars of the USAC/CRA with shows at Ocean Speedway on Friday night and
Santa Maria Speedway on Saturday night.
A large
field of both 360 and 410 cubic inch traditional sprint cars from throughout
California is expected to race for a purse of $2500 to win each night’s
feature. Race fans can expect at least a
dozen CRA cars in action including points leader Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda and three-time feature winner Mike
Spencer. Blake Miller, “Super” Ricky
Gaunt, and Rip Williams are also among the CRA contingent planning to compete
this weekend.
The USAC
Western Classic Racing Series is being led in the overall standings by Lincoln’s Tony Hunt who is on the drive for
his seventh USAC title. Hunt has taken
over the points lead on the strength of two wins during the pavement swing,
while second place in points Scott Pierovich had a top-ten in the dirt opener
and is expected to be a strong contender on the dirt.
Over a
dozen Western Classic competitors are expected at Watsonville including the Ted
Finkenbinder-owned entries of Geoff Ensign and Tim Barber. Fair Oaks’ Shauna Hogg and Folsom’s Jerry
Kobza round out the six teams that have competed on both surfaces full-time
thus far.
The drivers
competing in the dirt races includes current USAC West Coast 360 points leader
Ryan Bernal of Hollister. The North Bay is well-represented with
Calistoga’s Marty Hawkins and St. Helena’s Jeff Griffin. Jerry
Cisco, Scott Hall, the driving team of Mark Beck and Jeff Shurley, and Alan
Kaiser Motorsports are also competing with USAC in 2011.
Kaiser
Motorsports had a strong showing in the season-opener at Chico with Brent Kaeding bringing home a
top-five finish. Brian McClish of Santa Rosa has piloted the Kaiser car on
pavement with much success including a third place effort last Saturday at Madera.
Other
drivers planning to race in the Western Classic vs. CRA weekend include
multi-time winged sprint car champion Andy Forsberg of Auburn, Calif. and Gilroy’s Wes Guiterrez who will drive for
Moose Motorsports.
Drivers
racing for USAC Western Classic Racing Series points will have the option of
running either the DT3, HTW, or SC15 Hoosier right rear tires and 410 cubic
inch cars will be required to run an intake restrictor.
Among the
special incentives for the weekend includes a $200 prize and 20 gallons of
methanol to the highest finishing 360 each night. Saturday’s show at Santa Maria will run a
$1000 to win “Last Man Standing” trophy dash the will start with four cars
before winding down to a two car, two lap shootout for the cash.
USAC
Western Classic Racing Series cars will be ranked amongst themselves for points
purposes while trying to chase the $2500 prize for the overall victory. A pair of $50 Kaeding Performance
certificates will be awarded each night to WCRS cars as well.
Track
location, tickets, and gate information can be found at the track websites www.oceanspeedway.com
and www.racesantamariaspeedway.com
More
information on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series is available on Facebook
at keywords “USAC Western Classic Racing Series”. The United States Auto Club is online at www.usacracing.com The USAC Western States is available at www.usacwesternstates.com with contact information and the
latest news.
The USAC
Western Classic Racing Series is brought to you by: Amsoil, Hoosier Tires West,
and Kaeding Performance.
www.stevenblakesley.com
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