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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series
#56 Ryan Bernal wins at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway. File photo by MMRacingPhotos.com.
RYAN BERNAL WINS “CHRIS & BRIAN FARIA MEMORIAL” AT TULARE
By Lance Jennings
TULARE, CA – MAY 18, 2014... Inheriting the lead after Nic Faas had a flat tire on lap 23, Hollister’s Ryan Bernal swept the “Chris and Brian Faria Memorial” at Tulare’s Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway. With the $1,500 victory, Bernal claimed both USAC West Coast / Western Classic Sprint Car features at Watsonville and Tulare. “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr., point leader Markus Niemela, Matt Mitchell, and Jace Vander Weerd rounded out the top-five drivers.
Racing Mike Phulps’ #56 Core Power / Metal Works Maxim, Ryan Bernal scored his series leading sixteenth West Coast feature win and set a new USAC Western Classic (WCRS) track record at Tulare. The defending Western Classic Champion swept the program, earning his first Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award and also winning the Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. The WCRS point leader ranks twelfth in the West Coast point chase with two feature wins, five top-10 finishes and 40 feature laps led in the campaign.
Tipton’s “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. finishes a close second to Bernal at Thunderbowl Raceway. Piloting Junior Bowman’s #2 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / DeBoer & Sons Trucking Spike, Faria qualified third overall out of the twenty-eight cars in attendance and placed second in his heat race. The defending series champion has climbed to fifth in the standings with two heat race victories, two Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Awards, and four top-10 finishes on the year.
Markus Niemela of Rauma, Finland has a strong run with a third place showing after starting seventh. Driving Keith Ford’s #73 Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Niemela was fourth quick in time trials, scored fifth in his heat race, and claimed second in the semi-main. The point leader left Tulare with a 38-point advantage on the strength of two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, six top-10 finishes and 12 feature laps led.
Yorba Linda’s Matt Mitchell scored fourth in the “Faria Memorial” after starting eighth. Racing his #37 MPD Racing / ART Enterprises Maxim, Mitchell qualified fifth, took fifth in his heat race, and won the 12-lap Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main. The former USAC Western Midget Rookie of the Year sits third in points with one heat race victory, two Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Awards, and five top-10 finishes on the season.
Jace Vander Weerd of Visalia charged to fifth in the Tulare main event from the twelfth spot. Piloting the family owned #88 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Jace was twelfth fast in time trials and placed fourth in his heat race. The former USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year is currently second in points with one feature win, one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, two heat race victories, seven top-10 finishes, and 20 feature laps led in 2014.
Stockton’s D.J. Johnson earned his first Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with an eighth place run from twentieth. Driving the family owned #33 Unique Breeds / Proplant Farm Services Eagle, Johnson qualified twentieth overall and took second in his heat race. Last season’s USAC Western Classic Rookie of the Year ranks seventeenth in West Coast standings with two top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Visalia’s Richard Vander Weerd won the night’s 10-lap Deist Safety Heat Race #2. Racing the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Richard was second quick in time trials and scored fifteenth in the main event. The 2011 Champion left Tulare eighth in points with one feature win, five heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, five top-10 finishes, and 16 feature laps led.
Bud Kaeding of Campbell raced to victory in the Saldana Racing Products / Weld Racing Heat Race #3. Piloting Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Maxim, the 2012 Champion qualified seventh and led the first twenty-one laps before a flat tire dashed his feature winning drive. Bud was able to restart at the back and charged to a tenth place finish at the checkered flags. In limited appearances, Kaeding sits fifteenth in points with two top-10 finishes on the season.
Rancho Palos Verdes’ Dennis Howell scored the 10-lap Pyrotect Racing Cells Heat Race #4 victory. Driving the family owned #62 San Pedro Auto Body / Howell-Meyer Racing Maxim, Dennis was sixteenth fast in time trials and placed thirteenth in the “Faria Memorial.” At press time, Howell is ninth in the point chase with one feature win, two heat race victories, three top-10 finishes, and 30 feature laps led.
On Saturday, May 31st, the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series will return to the Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California. Located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds, the showcase will also feature the USAC Western Midgets, IMCA Modifieds, and Racesaver Wing Sprints. For more information, visit www.tularethunderbowl.com or call 559.688.0909.
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. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at [email protected].
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 17, 2014 – Tulare, California – Thunderbowl Raceway – “Chris & Brian Faria Memorial”
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TIME TRIALS:
1. Ryan Bernal, 56, Phulps-15.543; 2. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-15.550; 3. Danny Faria Jr., 2, Bowman-15.670; 4. Markus Niemela, 73, Ford-15.678; 5. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-15.733; 6. Kyle Hirst, 51T, Roth-15.15.755; 7. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-15.792; 8. Nic Faas, 73X, Ford-15.954; 9. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-15.976; 10. Colby Copeland, 74, Williams-15.16.094; 11. Landon Hurst, 179, Hurst-16.145; 12. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-16.182; 13. Troy Rutherford, 81, Watt-16.229; 14. Marty Hawkins, 3M, Hawkins-16.236; 15. Scott Hall, 77J, Campanile-16.236; 16. Dennis Howell, 62, Howell-16.270; 17. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-16.321; 18. T.J. Smith, 87, Van Meter-16.382; 19. Michael Faccinto, 81S, Watt-16.391; 20. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-16.541; 21. Austin Stone, 29X, Coffman-16.697; 22. Kevin Barnes, 36B, Barnes-16.735; 23. Jeff Sibley, 42N, Sibley-16.851; 24. Johnny White, 51, Carlile-16.892; 25. Trent Carter, 13, Carter-16.900; 26. Garrett Long, 38, Long-17.082; 27. Matt Day, 97, Day-17.233; 28. Jeff Bothelo, 14X, Bothelo-19.042.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Ryan Bernal, 2. Austin Stone, 3. Austin Liggett, 4. Troy Rutherford, 5. Matt Mitchell, 6. Chris Ennis, 7. Garrett Long. NT
DEIST SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps)
1. Richard Vander Weerd, 2. Kyle Hirst, 3. Colby Copeland, 4. T.J. Smith, 5. Marty Hawkins, 6. Matt Day, 7. Kevin Barnes. NT
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / WELD RACING HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Bud Kaeding, 2. Danny Faria Jr., 3. Landon Hurst, 4. Michael Faccinto, 5. Scott Hall, 6. Johnny White, 7. Jeff Sibley. NT
PYROTECT RACING CELLS HEAT RACE 4: (10 laps)
1. Dennis Howell, 2. D.J. Johnson, 3. Nic Faas, 4. Jace Vander Weerd, 5. Markus Niemela, 6. Trent Carter, 7. Jeff Bothelo. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / ROD END SUPPLY SEMI-MAIN: (12 laps)
1. Matt Mitchell, 2. Markus Niemela, 3. Scott Hall, 4. Marty Hawkins, 5. Jeff Sibley, 6. Chris Ennis, 7. Day, 8. Johnny White, 9. Kevin Barnes, 10. Trent Carter. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Ryan Bernal (6th), 2. Danny Faria Jr. (4th), 3. Markus Niemela (7th), 4. Matt Mitchell (8th), 5. Jace Vander Weerd (12th), 6. Marty Hawkins (14th), 7. Austin Liggett (9th), 8. D.J. Johnson (20th), 9. Austin Stone (21st), 10. Bud Kaeding (2nd), 11. Chris Ennis (17th), 12. Troy Rutherford (13th), 13. Dennis Howell (16th), 14. Kyle Hirst (3rd), 15. Richard Vander Weerd (5th), 16. Nic Faas (1st), 17. Scott Hall (15th), 18. T.J. Smith (18th), 19. Jeff Sibley (22nd), 20. Landon Hurst (11th), 21. Michael Faccinto (19th), 22. Colby Copeland (10th). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Bud Kaeding, Laps 22-23 Nic Faas, Laps 24-30 Ryan Bernal.
KEIZER WHEELS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: D.J. Johnson (20th to 8th)
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Markus Niemela-355, 2. Jace Vander Weerd-317, 3. Matt Mitchell-300, 4. Troy Rutherford-289, 5. Danny Faria Jr.-283, 6. Nic Faas-281, 7. Austin Liggett-237, 8. Richard Vander Weerd-233, 9. Dennis Howell-230, 10. Landon Hurst-215, 11. Marty Hawkins-163, 12. Ryan Bernal-143, 13. Kevin Barnes-126, 14. Jeff Sibley-118, 15. Bud Kaeding-116, 16. Chris Ennis-112, 17. D.J. Johnson-98, 18. Michael Pickens-84, 19. Brody Roa-79, 20. Davey Pombo-72.
USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Ryan Bernal-268, 2. Matt Mitchell-202, 3. Nic Faas-201, 4. Jace Vander Weerd-186, 5. Richard Vander Weerd-180, 6. D.J. Johnson-173, 7. Marty Hawkins-165, 8. Landon Hurst-147, 9. Geoff Ensign-130, 10. Markus Niemela-128, 11. Trevor Schmid-118, 12. Scott Hall-116, 13. Austin Liggett-107, 14. Danny Faria Jr.-98, 15. Terry Schank Jr.-84, 16. Dennis Howell-82, 17. Troy Rutherford-77, 18. Bud Kaeding-58, 19. Jeff Sibley-51, 20. Austin Stone-43.
2014 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE - TRACK - LOCATION
May 31: Thunderbowl Raceway - Tulare, CA
June 7: Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA
June 21: Thunderbowl Raceway - Tulare, CA
July 19: Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA
August 2: Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA (Billet Cup / $2,500-to-Win)
August 8: #Ocean Speedway - Watsonville, CA
August 9: #Chowchilla Speedway - Chowchilla, CA
September 27: *Canyon Speedway - Peoria, AZ (Brawl For It All / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series / Non-Points)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Oval Nationals / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series)
November 20: *Canyon Speedway - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points)
November 21: *Canyon Speedway - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points)
November 22: *Canyon Speedway - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / $7,500-to-Win / Non-Points)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC Southwest Sprints.
# = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC Western Classic Sprints.
This schedule is subject to change.
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