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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series
#56 Ryan Bernal Wins at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway. Photo by Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos.
RYAN BERNAL STORMS TO WATSONVILLE VICTORY
By Lance Jennings
WATSONVILLE, CA – MAY 18, 2014... Taking the lead from Austin Liggett on lap 14, Hollister’s Ryan Bernal cruised to the Friday’s USAC West Coast / Western Classic Sprint Car win at Ocean Speedway. With the $1,500 victory, Bernal became the fifth different driver in as many point races to stand atop the podium. New track record holder Markus Niemela, Austin Liggett, Nic Faas, and D.J. Johnson followed Bernal to the checkered flags.
Driving the Mike Phulps owned #56 Core Power / Metal Works Maxim, Ryan Bernal tied Richard Vander Weerd for the series lead with fifteen main event wins. The defending USAC Western Classic Champion qualified fourth overall out of the twenty-four cars in attendance and placed fourth in his heat race. Ryan left Watsonville with four top-10 finishes and 33 feature laps led in USAC West Coast competition.
Markus Niemela of Rauma, Finland took second in the Watsonville feature. Piloting Keith Ford’s #73 Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Niemela earned his second Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, set a new track record, and placed fourth in his heat race. To date, the point leader has five top-10 finishes and 12 feature laps led on the season.
Tracy’s Austin Liggett held the lead for three laps before scoring third at Ocean Speedway. Racing the family owned #83 Excel Environmental Services / Home Connections Inc. Spike, Liggett was ninth fast in time trials and placed fourth in his heat race. The 2012 Rookie of the Year has one feature win, three top-10 finishes, and 31 feature laps led in the campaign.
Nic Faas of Huntington Beach scored third at Watsonville after starting fifth. Driving Keith Ford’s #73X Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Faas qualified second overall and claimed fourth in his heat race. The former USAC Western Midget Champion has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, eight top-10 finishes, and 10 feature laps led.
Stockton’s D.J. Johnson raced to fifth on the Ocean Speedway feature after starting eighth. Piloting the family owned #33 Unique Breeds / Proplant Farm Services Eagle, Johnson was sixth quick in time trials and claimed sixth in his heat race. Last season’s Western Classic Rookie of the Year has one top-10 finish in USAC West Coast action.
Oakdale’s Jeff Sibley earned his first Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with an eleventh place run from twentieth. Racing the family owned #42N Western Plumbing / ButlerBuilt Seats TCR, Sibley qualified twentieth overall and claimed fifth in his heat race. Fresh off a racing trip to Cottage Grove, Oregon, Jeff is continuing to gain valuable experience.
Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda earned his first heat race victory of 2014 in the Extreme Mufflers sponsored race. Driving his #37 MPD Racing / ART Enterprises Maxim. Mitchell was tenth fast in time trials and scored sixth in the main event. To date, the USAC/CRA standout has two Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Awards and four top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Roseville’s Colby Copeland won the 10-lap Deist Safety Heat Race #2. Driving Ted Williams’ #74 Marks Bolts / M&J Trophies Maxim, Copeland qualified seventeenth and claimed twenty-first in the main event after an early exit. The versatile driver has one feature win, four heat race victories, one top-10 finish, and 30 feature laps led on the season.
Marty Hawkins of Santa Rosa raced to victory in the Saldana Racing Products / Weld Racing Heat Race #3. Piloting his #3M Susie’s Bar / Vermeil Wines Maxim, Hawkins was eighteenth fast in time trials and claimed seventeenth in the feature. Marty has recorded two heat race victories and two top-10 finishes on the year.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks Amsoil, Hoosier Tire, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Inc., Deist Safety, Engler Machine & Tool, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Keizer Wheels, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, Saldana Racing Products, SouthWest Contractors, VanLare Steering Repair, Weld Racing, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. For more information, visit www.westcoastsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/#!/pages/USAC-West-Coast-Sprint-Car-Series/369549755817), or Twitter (www.twitter.com/USACwc360).
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USAC WEST COAST & WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS:
May 16, 2014 – Watsonville, California – Ocean Speedway
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TIME TRIALS:
1. Markus Niemela, 73, Ford-12.979 (New Track Record); 2. Nic Faas, 73X, Ford-13.015; 3. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-13.107; 4. Ryan Bernal, 56, Phulps-13.023; 5. Dennis Howell, 62, Howell-13.031; 6. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-13.043; 7. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-13.078; 8. Troy Rutherford, 81, Watt-13.156; 9. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-13.169; 10. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-13.178; 11. Michael Pickens, 81S, Watt-13.191; 12. Landon Hurst, 179, Hurst-13.238; 13. Danny Faria Jr., 2, Bowman-13.273; 14. Trevor Schmid, 2X, Schmid-13.306; 15. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-13.350; 16. Kevin Barnes, 36B, Barnes-13.566; 17. Colby Copeland, 74, Williams-13.566; 18. Marty Hawkins, 3M, Hawkins-13.582; 19. Scott Hall, 77J, Campanile-13.586, 20. Jeff Sibley, 42N, Sibley-13.681; 21. Scott Dupont, 3X, Dupont-14.017; 22. Scott Clough, 60, Clough-15.779; 23. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-NT; 24. Richard Mitchell, 66, Mitchell-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Matt Mitchell, 2. Danny Faria Jr., 3. Ryan Bernal, 4. Markus Niemela, 5. Bud Kaeding, 6. Scott Hall, 7. Kevin Barnes. NT
DEIST SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps)
1. Colby Copeland, 2. Troy Rutherford, 3. Dennis Howell, 4. Nic Faas, 5. Jeff Sibley, 6. Trevor Schmid, 7. Michael Pickens, 8. Richard Mitchell. NT
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / WELD RACING HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Marty Hawkins, 2. Jace Vander Weerd, 3. Landon Hurst, 4. Austin Liggett, 5. Richard Vander Weerd, 6. D.J. Johnson, 7. Scott Dupont, 8. Scott Clough. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Ryan Bernal, 2. Markus Niemela, 3. Austin Liggett, 4. Nic Faas, 5. D.J. Johnson, 6. Matt Mitchell, 7. Jace Vander Weerd, 8. Dennis Howell, 9. Troy Rutherford, 10. Landon Hurst, 11. Jeff Sibley, 12. Kevin Barnes, 13. Scott Clough, 14. Michael Pickens, 15. Danny Faria Jr., 16. Richard Vander Weerd, 17. Marty Hawkins, 18. Scott Hall, 19. Scott Dupont, 20. Bud Kaeding, 21. Colby Copeland, 22. Richard Mitchell, 23. Trevor Schmid. NT
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**Chris Ennis flipped during qualifications.
**Trevor Schmid and Michael Pickens flipped during the second heat.
**Richard Vander Weerd flipped during the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 Troy Rutherford, Laps 11-13 Austin Liggett, Laps 14-30 Ryan Bernal.
KEIZER WHEELS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Jeff Sibley (20th to 11th)
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