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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
#2 Austin Williams at Santa Maria Speedway. Photo by Korie Layne Lafond.
AUSTIN WILLIAMS SCORES 1ST USAC/CRA VICTORY AT SANTA MARIA
By Lance Jennings
SANTA MARIA, CA – AUGUST 15, 2011… Last Saturday night, Yorba Linda's Austin Williams led all 30-laps to claim his first career victory with the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars at Santa Maria Speedway. It was not an easy victory for the 2009 Rookie of the Year, as he held off a determined "Showtime" Danny Sheridan, Ronnie Gardner, and "Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr. With the victory, Austin became the fifth different winner in ten events and currently sits fourth in the championship point chase.
Driving Jack Jory's #2 Viper, backed by the John Jory Corporation and AMA Plastics, Austin Williams was tenth fast in qualifications and third in his heat race. By virtue of two faster cars missing a top four finish in their heat races, Austin would start on the pole position of the main event. Making the best of the opportunity, Williams got the jump on fellow front row starter Danny Sheridan to grab the lead. The tight Santa Maria clay oval provided close wheel to wheel racing and the son of Hall of Fame driver Rip Williams faced constant pressure from Sheridan. Ronnie Gardner and Danny Faria Jr. later joined in close formation to form a lead pack, but it was Austin Williams' night, taking the win in front of a large Santa Maria crowd. To date, Austin has one heat race victory, one Keizer Wheel Hard Charger Award, and seven top-10 finishes on the year.
"Showtime" Danny Sheridan drove the #18 Kittle Motorsports' Pace Lightning / PIPE Sherman to the runner-up finish in front of his hometown fans. The former Santa Maria track champion was ninth quick in time trials and finished second in his heat race. "Showtime" pressured Austin Williams throughout the feature, but it was not to be on this night. Splitting the year with the USAC West Coast 360 Sprints, Danny climbed to ninth in the standings with one heat race victory, one Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, and five top-10 finishes to his credit.
Norco's Ronnie Gardner continues to impress in Jeff Gardner's #93 Jamison Engineering / DWT Wheels Sled with a third place run. The young driver worked his way from fifth to close in on Williams and Sheridan to score third at the finish. Earlier in the program, Ronnie was fifth quick in time trials, third in his heat race, and second in the Last Man Standing Dash. Gardner is now seventh in the points, with two Sander Engineering Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, and five top-10 finishes on the season.
"Hollywood" Danny Faria Jr. of Tipton took advantage of a night off with the USAC West Coast 360s and claimed fourth in the 30-lap feature. Piloting Junior Bowman's #2X Bullet sponsored by Buster & Ziggy Enterprises and Kaeding Performance, Faria was eight fast in qualifications and won the Saldana Racing Products / Circle Track Performance Heat Race #2. Danny is currently seventeenth in the championship points with two heat race victories, three top-10 finishes, and thirteen feature laps led.
Like Faria, USAC West Coast 360 Point Leader Richard VanderWeerd of Visalia joined the USAC/CRA action to race at Santa Maria. Driving the family's #10 VanderWeerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Richard was sixth quick on the night, fourth in his heat race, and fifth in the main event. As this writing goes to press, VanderWeerd is thirteenth in points with one Sander Engineering Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, and three top-10 finishes on the year.
Yorba Linda's Matt Mitchell earned the Keizer Wheels Hard Charger / Best Passing Job honors on the night with a ninth place run after starting seventeenth. Driving the J.W. Mitchell Motorsports' #37 Mancha Realtors / Sierra Springs Maxim, Matt was seventeenth fast on the night and scored sixth in his heat race after a violent flip. Mitchell walked away uninjured and his crew worked valiantly to repair his machine for the main event. Their efforts and Mitchell's hard driving salvaged their night as the former USAC Western Midget Series standout sits third in the standings with one feature win, four heat race victories, eight top-10 finishes, and twenty-six main event laps led on the year.
USAC/CRA Point Leader Mike Spencer of Temecula earned his fourth Sander Engineering Fast Time Award of the year at Santa Maria. Piloting Ron Chaffin's #50 Madera Produce / Grubstake Mini Storage Maxim, Spencer won the Extreme Mufflers / Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror Heat Race #1 and the Rugged Radios $1000 Last Man Standing Dash. Finishing sixth in the 30-lap feature, Mike now holds a forty-three point advantage over the competition with five main event wins, four heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, seven top-10 finishes, and 114 feature laps led to his credit.
"The Kruser" Cory Kruseman of Ventura drove his #21K Eagle sponsored by Lucas Oil and Sander Engineering to victory in the DJ Safety Heat Race #3. The USAC Western Midget Series Point Leader was fifteenth fast in qualifications and scored eleventh in the feature. Also splitting time with the VRA 360 Sprints and Midgets, Kruseman is currently twelfth in USAC/CRA standings with two feature wins, four top-10 finishes, and forty-five main event laps led on the season.
The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series would like to thank Hoosier Tire, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Donovan Engineering, Electro Tech Powder Coating, Extreme Mufflers, Hilborn Fuel Injection, Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror, Keizer Wheels, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sander Engineering, and So-Cal Performance for their support. For more information, visit www.usacracing.com/cra or follow the series on facebook.
Round #11 for the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will be held this Saturday, August 20th at Don Kazarian's Perris Auto Speedway. Located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, more event information can be found at www.perrisautospeedway.com or calling (951) 940-0134.
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
August 13, 2011 – Santa Maria, California – Santa Maria Speedway
SANDER ENGINEERING TIME TRIALS:
1. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-14.227; 2. Nic Faas, 4, Alexander-14.612; 3. Rip Williams, 3, Williams-14.655; 4. Jace VanderWeerd, 88, VanderWeerd-14.733; 5. Ronnie Gardner, 93, Gardner-14.782; 6. Richard VanderWeerd, 10, VanderWeerd-14.794; 7. Wes Gutierrez, 07, WG-14.801; 8. Danny Faria, 2X, Bowman-14.803; 9. Danny Sheridan, 18, Kittle-14.812; 10. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-14.838; 11. Rickie Gaunt, 66, Miller-14.885; 12. Rusty Carlile, 51, Carlile-14.886; 13. Rodney Argo, 19, Argo-14.887; 14. Johnathon Henry, 16, Jones-14.914; 15. Cory Kruseman, 21K, Kruseman-14.995; 16. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-15.055; 17. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-15.262; 18. Bill Jones, 16J, Jones-15.556.
EXTREME MUFFLERS / HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Mike Spencer, 2. Cody Williams, 3. Austin Williams, 4. Jace VanderWeerd, 5. Wes Gutierrez, 6. Rodney Argo. NT.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE 2: (8 laps)
1. Danny Faria Jr., 2. Rickie Gaunt, 3. Ronnie Gardner, 4. Nic Faas, 5. Johnathon Henry, 6. Matt Mitchell. NT.
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Danny Sheridan, 3. Rusty Carlile, 4. Richard VanderWeerd, 5. Rip Williams, 6. Bill Jones. NT.
RUGGED RADIOS LAST MAN STANDING TROPHY DASH: (9 laps)
1. Mike Spencer, 2. Ronnie Gardner, 3. Nic Faas, 4. Jace VanderWeerd. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps - With Starting Positions)
1. Austin Williams (1st), 2. Danny Sheridan (2nd), 3. Ronnie Gardner (5th), 4. Danny Faria Jr. (3rd), 5. Richard VanderWeerd (4th), 6. Mike Spencer (8th), 7. Jace VanderWeerd (6th), 8. Rip Williams (9th), 9. Matt Mitchell (17th), 10. Rusty Carlile (12th), 11. Cory Kruseman (15th), 12. Nic Faas (7th), 13. Rickie Gaunt (11th), 14. Johnathon Henry (14th), 15. Cody Williams (16th), 16. Rodney Argo (13th), 17. Bill Jones (18th), 18. Wes Gutierrez (10th). NT
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**Matt Mitchell Flipped During Heat Race 2.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Austin Williams.
KEIZER WHEELS HARD CHARGER: Matt Mitchell (17th to 9th)
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT POINTS:
1-Mike Spencer-561; 2-Nic Faas-518; 3-Matt Mitchell-505; 4-Austin Williams-457; 5-Greg Bragg-385; 6-Cody Williams-362; 7-Ronnie Gardner-343; 8-Rickie Gaunt-338; 9-Danny Sheridan-333; 10-Rip Williams-319.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT SCHEDULE:
August 20: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA
September 3: **Calistoga Speedway - Calistoga, CA
September 4: **Calistoga Speedway - Calistoga, CA
September 8: **Silver Dollar Speedway - Chico, CA
September 24: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA
October 8: Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA
October 28: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ
October 29: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ
November 3: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA
November 4: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA
November 5: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA
November 12: *Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA
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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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