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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC Western Classic Racing Series
#56 Ryan Bernal wins at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway. File photo by Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos.
RYAN BERNAL SWEEPS TULARE’S “CHRIS & BRIAN FARIA MEMORIAL”
By Lance Jennings
TULARE, CA – MAY 18, 2014... Inheriting the lead after Nic Faas suffered a flat tire, Ryan Bernal of Hollister swept the “Chris and Brian Faria Memorial” at Tulare’s Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway. With the $1,500 victory, Bernal claimed both USAC Western Classic / West Coast Sprint Car features at Watsonville and Tulare. “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr., Markus Niemela, Matt Mitchell, and Jace Vander Weerd followed Bernal to the checkered flags.
Driving the Mike Phulps owned #56 Core Power / Metal Works Maxim, Ryan Bernal earned his third straight USAC Western Classic (WCRS) triumph of the campaign. The 30-lap “Faria Memorial” marked Bernal’s series leading seventh main event win and he set a new WCRS track record at Tulare. The defending champion earned his first Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award of 2014 and also won the Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. The WCRS point leader left Tulare with a 66-point advantage on the strength of four top-10 finishes and 42 feature laps led.
Tipton’s “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. finished a close second to Bernal at the Tulare County Fairgrounds. Racing 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. In limited starts, the defending USAC West Coast champion is fourteenth in WCRS standings with one top-10 finish on the season.
Markus Niemela of Rauma, Finland raced to a third place finish in the “Faria Memorial” after starting seventh. Piloting 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 West Coast point leader left Tulare sitting tenth in the WCRS point chase with one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award and two top-10 finishes.
Yorba Linda’s Matt Mitchell scored fourth in the 30-lap main event after starting eighth. Driving 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 is second in points with one heat race victory and four top-10 finishes on the season.
Jace Vander Weerd of Visalia charged to fifth in the “Faria Memorial” from the twelfth spot. Racing the family owned #88 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Jace was twelfth fast in time trials and ran fourth in his heat race. The former USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year is currently fourth in the standings with three top-10 finishes 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. Piloting the family owned #33 Unique Breeds / Proplant Farm Services Eagle, Johnson qualified twentieth overall and took second in his heat race. Last season’s Rookie of the Year ranks sixth in the point standings with one heat race victory and two top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Visalia’s Richard Vander Weerd won the program’s 10-lap Deist Safety Heat Race #2. Driving 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 former West Coast Champion left Tulare fifth in WCRS points with one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award and two top-10 finishes on the season.
Bud Kaeding of Campbell drove to victory in the Saldana Racing Products Heat Race #3. Racing Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Maxim, the 3-time USAC Silver Crown Champion qualified seventh and led the first twenty-one laps before a flat tire ended his 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 eighteenth in points with one top-10 finish on the year.
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 scored thirteenth in the “Faria Memorial.” As this writing goes to press, the USAC Western Midget graduate is sixteenth in the points with one top-10 finish.
The USAC Western Classic Sprint Car Series will take a break in the schedule before returning to action on August 2nd at Kings Speedway. Located on the Kings County Fairgrounds in Hanford, California, the “3rd Annual Billet Cup” will also feature the Racesaver Wing Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, and Mini Stocks. For more information, visit www.kingsspeedway.net or call 559.584.7223.
The USAC Western Classic Racing Series thanks Amsoil, Hoosier Tire, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Inc., Deist Safety, Engler Machine & Tool, Extreme Mufflers, Keizer Wheels, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, Saldana Racing Products, VanLare Steering Repair, 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 on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series, visit www.usacracing.com, follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/WesternClassicSprints), or Twitter (www.twitter.com/USAC_WCRS).
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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 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 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.
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.
2014 USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE - TRACK - LOCATION
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 20: Marysville Raceway Park - Marysville, CA
October 4: Petaluma Speedway - Petaluma, CA
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC West Coast Sprints.
This schedule is subject to change.
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