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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series
#92 Jake Swanson & Moose Racing Team in Ventura’s Victory Circle. Photo by Scott Sheldon / SprintCarScotty.com.
JAKE SWANSON WINS THRILLER AT VENTURA
By Lance Jennings
VENTURA, CA – JULY 20, 2014... In his first start with the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars, Anaheim’s Jake Swanson won Saturday’s 30-lap feature at Ventura Raceway. Co-sanctioned with the VRA Sprints, Swanson took the lead from Michael Pickens on lap 25 and streaked to the $1,500 triumph. Ryan Bernal, Pickens, Troy Rutherford, and “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. followed Jake to the checkered flags.
Looking for his first series win, front row starter Matt Mitchell grabbed the top spot and led the first sixteen laps. Taking advantage of a Mitchell miscue on a restart, Michael Pickens assumed command and had his sights on running away from the field. With intense three-wide racing close behind the leader, Pickens began to struggle with a right rear tire that was losing air pressure. Charging from sixth, Swanson entered the fray by running the cushion and gaining momentum on the leader. After a bobble by Pickens, Swanson took over on lap twenty-five and sailed to victory at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
Piloting Tom & Laurie Sertich’s #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Ram-Bull Racing Buckley, Jake Swanson became the 32nd driver to claim a USAC West Coast feature win. Using the non-qualifying / passing point format, Jake ran second in his heat race after starting sixth. This placed the former USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year as the night’s high point driver out of the twenty-six racers in the pit area. From there, Swanson had a night to remember and took home the winning trophy.
Battling up front all race long, Ryan Bernal of Hollister had to settle for second and watch the end of his five-race win streak. Driving Keith Ford’s #73X Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Bernal won the Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1 and was ranked sixth in the night’s passing points. Heading to Watsonville on August 8th, Ryan has climbed to sixth in the point chase with five feature wins, three Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, nine top-10 finishes, and 100 feature laps led.
After leading eight laps of the main event, Auckland, New Zealand’s Michael Pickens took third at Ventura Raceway. Racing Steve Watt’s #81 JD Machine Tech / AAA Propane Service Maxim, Pickens won the Saldana Racing Products / Weld Racing Heat #3 and was seated third in passing points. In limited starts, the six-time New Zealand Midget Champion is seventeenth in points with one heat race victory and two top-10 finishes to his credit.
Troy Rutherford of Ojai charged to fourth in Ventura’s 30-lap feature after starting ninth. Piloting his new #11 AAA Propane Service / Trench Shoring Spike, Rutherford scored fourth in his heat race and placed ninth in passing points. The former VRA Champion left his home track ranked third in the standings with one feature win, one heat race victory, nine top-10 finishes, and 14 feature laps led on the year.
Tipton’s “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. scored fifth in the USAC-VRA “clash” after starting thirteenth. Driving Junior Bowman’s #2 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / DeBoer & Sons Trucking Spike, Faria took fifth in his heat race and was seated thirteenth in passing points. The defending champion left Ventura ranked seventh in the point chase with two heat race victories, two Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Awards, and six top-10 finishes on the season.
Jimmy “Neutron” Crawford of Ventura earned his first Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a sixth place run from fifteenth. Racing his #51 Twister-X / Steve Gresham Racing Engines XXX, Crawford scored fifth in his heat race and placed fifteenth in passing points. In limited starts, the former VRA Champion is twenty-sixth in the standings with two heat race victories and one top-10 finish in the campaign.
Making his first start in Steve Watt’s #81M Kings River Commodities / Steve Watt Enterprises Maxim, Riverdale’s “Shifter” Landon Hurst won the Deist Safety Heat Race #2. Hurst was second in the program’s passing points and scored nineteenth in the feature after an early exit. Currently eleventh in points, last season’s Rookie of the Year has three heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, and four top-10 finishes to his credit.
VRA point leader Kyle Smith of Moorpark raced to victory in the 12-lap Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main. Piloting the family owned #55X California RV Service / Roy’s Towing Maxim, Smith claimed seventh in his heat race, ranked nineteenth in passing points, and ran eleventh in the feature after starting seventeenth.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series would like to thank Berry Pack, Mitchell Properties, All Coast Construction, and Maxwell Industries for sponsoring Saturday’s race at Ventura Raceway.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Cars will return to action on Friday, August 8th, at John Prentice's Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, California. Located on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, the co-sanctioned show with the USAC Western Classic Sprint Cars will also feature the winged 360 Sprint Cars presented by Taco Bravo, American Stocks, IMCA Modifieds, and IMCA Sport Mods. For more information, visit www.oceanspeedway.com or call 831.622.WINN (9466).
The following night, August 9th, the both groups will battle at Chowchilla Speedway. Located on the Chowchilla Fairgrounds in Chowchilla, California, more details on the event will be released soon.
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). Mike Truex's Loudpedal Productions has DVDs available for purchase that feature the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series. For more information, call 805.407.7229 or visit www.loudpedalvideo.com.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS:
July 19, 2014 - Ventura, California - Ventura Raceway (Co-Sanctioned with VRA)
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps)
1. Ryan Bernal (#73X Ford), 2. Jake Swanson (#92 Sertich), 3. Markus Niemela (#73 Ford), 4. Luke Boles (#56A Boles), 5. Danny Faria Jr., (#2 Bowman), 6. Rick Hendrix (#15 Hendrix), 7. Kyle Smith (#55X Smith), 8. Kevin Barnes (#36B Barnes), 9. Tony Everhart (#55 Everhart). NT
DEIST SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps)
1. Landon Hurst (#81M Watt), 2. Brandon Thomson (#19F Thomson), 3. Bill Jones (#16J Jones), 4. Austin Liggett (#83 Liggett), 5. Tom Hendricks (#14 Hendricks), 6. Cody Majors (#54 Majors), 7. Garrett Long (#38 Long), 8. Kyle Edwards (#39 Edwards), 9. Jeremy Ellertson (#98 Ellertson). NT
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / WELD RACING HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps)
1. Michael Pickens (#81 Watt), 2. Matt Mitchell (#37 Mitchell), 3. Brian Camarillo (#12 Dale), 4. Troy Rutherford (#11 Rutherford), 5. Jimmy Crawford (#51 Crawford), 6. Shelden DeBlauw (#45 DeBlauw), 7. George Morris (#3K Kruseman). 8. Trent Carter (#13 Carter). NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / ROD END SUPPLY SEMI-MAIN: (12 laps)
1. Kyle Smith, 2. Rick Hendrix, 3. Cody Majors, 4. Kevin Barnes, 5. George Morris, 6. Tony Everhart, 7. Garrett Long, 8. Kyle Edwards, 9. Trent Carter. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Jake Swanson (6th), 2. Ryan Bernal (1st), 3. Michael Pickens (4th), 4. Troy Rutherford (9th), 5. Danny Faria Jr. (13th), 6. Jimmy Crawford (15th), 7. Markus Niemela (7th), 8. Brian Camarillo (12th), 9. Matt Mitchell (2nd), 10. Austin Liggett (8th), 11. Kyle Smith (17th), 12. Rick Hendrix (18th), 13. Tom Hendricks (10th), 14. George Morris (21st), 15. Kevin Barnes (20th), 16. Cody Majors (19th), 17. Tony Everhart (22nd), 18. Bill Jones (11th), 19. Landon Hurst (5th), 20. Brandon Thomson (3rd), 21. Luke Boles (14th), 22. Shelden DeBlauw (16th). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Matt Mitchell, Laps 17-24 Michael Pickens, Laps 25-30 Jake Swanson.
KEIZER WHEELS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Jimmy Crawford (15th to 6th)
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT POINT STANDINGS:
1-Markus Niemela-548, 2-Matt Mitchell-528, 3-Troy Rutherford-500, 4-Jace Vander Weerd-436, 5-Richard Vander Weerd-423, 6-Ryan Bernal-421, 7-Danny Faria Jr.-412, 8-Austin Liggett-408, 9-Dennis Howell-399, 10-Nic Faas-342, 11-Landon Hurst-325, 12-Kevin Barnes-231, 13-Marty Hawkins-207, 14-Bud Kaeding-180, 15-Chris Ennis-154, 16-Garrett Long-153, 17-Michael Pickens-150, 18-Jeff Sibley-133, 19-Trent Carter-121, 20-Matt Day-115.
2014 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
DATE - TRACK - LOCATION
August 8: #Ocean Speedway - Watsonville, CA
August 9: #Chowchilla Speedway - Chowchilla, CA
September 27: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Brawl For It All / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series / Non-Points)
October 11: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Cotton Classic / Non-Points)
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Oval Nationals / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series)
November 20: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points)
November 21: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points)
November 22: *Canyon Speedway Park - 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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