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JONES EMOTIONAL AFTER CRA WIN AT THE PAS
By Robert Mayson
Perris, Calif……Overcoming a heavy heart with an even heavier right foot, Lucas Oil USAC/CRA point leader Tony Jones of Norco, Calif., became the first repeat winner at the Perris Auto Speedway this season after he drove his Alexander Trucking / La Villa Restaurant #No. 4 DRC to a 30-lap victory.
“We were on a mission tonight,” Jones said while holding back tears in his eyes. “Grandma Jones passed away this morning and my wife’s mom Shirley recently passed away, so we had a couple of angles watching over us tonight. I just got off the phone with my dad (Bubby) and he was pretty proud that we could go out and win one for grandma.”
Jones, who also turned the fastest lap in time trials, started the main event in the eighth position and was able to pass two cars on the opening lap. Meanwhile, Rodney Argo, Long Beach, Calif., led the first lap after moving his Don Argo / Decore Plating No. 19 Stinger ahead of the front pair of Seth Wilson and Jimmy Crawford.
Like Argo, Blake Miller found the low-line to his liking and was quickly in contention for the lead after starting in the third row. With fourth-row starter Mike Spencer following him to the front, Miller squeezed under Argo exiting turn-two on the third circuit. By the end of the lap, Spencer had also passed Argo for second-place.
Miller appeared to be leading comfortably, but a bleeder valve problem on his right rear tire had been slowly brewing. Unfortunately for Spencer, he was unable to avoid Miller when the tire finally went flat on the tenth-lap. Spencer spun to a stop, while Miller headed to the work area for a new tire. Both drivers returned to action with Spencer eventually finishing eighth and Miller eleventh. Argo reassumed the lead for the restart with Jones sitting directly behind him. While Jones searched for a way around Argo, sixth-place Danny Sheridan’s night ended in flames on the 14th lap. Sheridan was able to safely stop his fiery mount even though the engine rod that shot through the side of the block also knocked out his left front suspension.
Jones continued to pressure to only Ford powered car in the field after the restart. Showing the savvy of a veteran, Jones tested a potential crossover pass exiting turn-two for two laps before finally making the move on the 22nd lap. Once out front, Jones uncharacteristically moved away front the cushion to the faster bottom groove to earn his third win of the season.
Argo did a heck of job tonight. Anytime you can run side-by-side with a guy, that’s some fun racing. He’s been good the last couple of months and it’s good to see him up front,” Jones later said, referencing Argo’s second-place run. “Argo never really got away from me, but he was fast on the bottom. I moved down (from the cushion) a couple of times and found a couple different lines that were just a little better. I watched the scoreboard a little and saw that Rip Williams (Yorba Linda, Calif.) was coming and I figured he was probably doing it on the bottom.”
Jones was right about Williams “doing it on the bottom.” After starting 15th, Williams powered his Sharon Jory / AMA Plastics No. 3 Stinger to a third-place finish. Williams was also named the “Hard-Charger” of the race.
Defending series champion Cory Kruseman, Ventura, Calif. finished fourth in his Agromin Soil No. 21k Bullet after starting ninth. Despite starting the feature with a car running on only seven cylinders, Rickie Gaunt of Torrance, Cailf., was still able to drive his Nadine Gardner / Gardner Pipe & Mechanical No. 94 Chalk to a fifth-place finish. Interestingly, the first five finishers were all former Oval Nationals winners.
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