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SPENCER WINS THIRD STRAIGHT
By Robert Mayson
Perris, Calif…(October 10, 2009) After posting his third straight 30-lap Lucas Oil USAC/CRA sprint car win Saturday night at the Perris Auto Speedway, defending series Mike Spencer, Temecula, Calif., served notice that his Ron Chaffin / Grubstake Storage No. 50 Maxim will be ready when the USAC National boys head west for the 14th Annual Budweiser Oval Nationals on November 5th-7th.
“It’s just great to be back in victory lane again,” said Spencer after becoming the first driver in over four years to win three consecutive CRA features. “We’ve had about as good of a stretch as you can have heading into the Oval Nationals and I hope we can get it done for the West Coast guys this year.”
Making just his second USAC/CRA start at the PAS, Wes Gutierrez beat former Oval Nationals Champion Rodney Argo into the first-turn at the start of the race. Gutierrez held the lead until he jumped the turn-four cushion and slammed into the wall on lap-three.
With Jimmy Crawford, Ventura, Calif., now setting the pace in his Twister X / Steve Gresham Racing Engines No. 11 Triple X, second-place Argo flipped wildly through the first-turn on a lap-seven restart. Argo was not hurt, but the same could not be said for the only Ford powered sprinter in the field.
After starting tenth, Spencer muscled his way past the Alexander Trucking / La Villa Restaurant No. 4 DRC, driven by Tony Jones, Norco, Calif. on lap-ten and took over the third position. Jones battled back, but could only watch as Spencer used his line on the cushion to pass rookie driver Austin Williams for the second spot on lap-14. Three laps later, Spencer used the turn-two cushion to take the lead from Crawford. Once out front, the series points leader confidently led the remainder of the race.
“Crawford was running good, and he was on the bottom, which is where I would have preferred to be. Tony Jones and I were racing hard trying to get through everyone and he kind of should me the top,” Spencer said after his 13th career USAC/CRA win. “I knew we were better on the longer runs, so tried to give the crew some good feedback during that red (flag) and they made a little adjustment that made the car just that much better.”
Crawford completed his best ever USAC/CRA run at Perris with a second-place finish. David Cardey, Riverside, Calif., earned “Hard-Charger” honor for the second consecutive race driving his Glenn Crossno / ITI Performance No. 38 Viper to a third-place finish after starting 15th.
Fast qualifier Blake Miller was running fourth when he and Greg Bragg, Visalia, Calif., touched wheels along the back-straight six laps from the finish. Miraculously, Miller’s car landed on all four wheels despite being higher in the air than the wall. While Miller limped home to a 12th-place finish, Bragg was able to drive his Tom & Laurie Sertich / Huntington Beach Glass No. 92 Buckley to a fourth-place finish. Meanwhile, Jones recovered from a couple rough bounces off the cushion to finish fifth.
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