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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series
- #21AZ Stevie Sussex Wins the Hank Arnold Memorial at Canyon Speedway Park. Photo by Patrick Shaw / Backed-In Photography.
STEVIE SUSSEX WINS HANK ARNOLD MEMORIAL AT CANYON
By Lance Jennings
PEORIA, AZ – OCTOBER 19, 2014... Leading all 30-laps, Tempe’s Stevie Sussex won Saturday’s “Hank Arnold Memorial” at Canyon Speedway Park. The $1,500 triumph was the first USAC SouthWest Sprint Car victory of his career. “The Magic Man: Mike Martin, Matt Rossi, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., and Josh Pelkey rounded out the top-five drivers.
Racing the #21AZ RSS backed by Stratis Construction and All Styles Barber Shop, Stevie Sussex became a two-time winner of the Arnold Memorial. Winning the last event in 2011, Sussex started the 2014 race by qualifying ninth out of sixteen racers and running second to Bruce St. James in his heat race. Starting on the pole position, the second generation driver hit his marks throughout the feature to claim the checkered flags. Stevie left Canyon Speedway Park ranked fourteenth in points with two heat race victories, one hard charger award, eight top-10 finishes, and 45 feature laps led on the season.
“The Magic Man” Mike Martin of Yuma took second in the Hank Arnold Memorial. Piloting his #16 PPG Professional Paints / Desert Building Materials Maxim, Martin was seventh quick in time trials and placed third in his 10-lap heat race. Heading to Queen Creek on November 1st, the former “Hall of Fame Classic” winner is sixth in points with one feature win, four heat race victories, two semi-main wins, one hard charger award, nineteen top-10 finishes, and 31 feature laps led.
Phoenix’s Matt Rossi had another solid night by scoring third at Canyon Speedway Park. Racing the family owned #02 Apache Scapes / Advanced Engine Components Spike, Rossi qualified eighth overall and claimed third in his heat race. To date, Matt is fourth in the standings with four heat race victories, two hard charger awards, sixteen top-10 finishes, and 28 feature laps led in 2014.
“Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. of Buckeye scored fourth in the 30-lap main event. Driving the Massey Motorsports #50 RSS Industries / MP Environmental RSS, Davis was fourth fast in time trials and placed fourth in his heat race. Heading to Arizona Speedway, the five-time state champion is third in points with four feature wins, twelve heat race victories, one semi-main win, two hard charger awards, twenty-four top-10 finishes, and 122 feature laps led.
Using the qualifying format for the Hank Arnold Memorial, Phoenix’s Shon Deskins set fast time on the night. Piloting his #20 Spike Chassis / MP Environmental Spike, Deskins scored fourth in his heat race and claimed ninth in the main event. Currently, the veteran racer is fifth in series points with one main event win, eight heat race victories, one hard charger award, twenty-one top-10 finishes, and 60 feature laps led on the year.
Racing Bill Michaels’ #77M Kodiak Products / Beal’s Auto Body Sherman, R.J. Johnson of Phoenix earned his second “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors by charging to sixth after starting thirteenth. The defending series champion and current point leader qualified thirteenth overall and ran fifth in his 10-lap heat race. Johnson heads to Queen Creek with ten feature wins, thirteen heat race victories, twenty-seven top-10 finishes, and 202 feature laps led.
Phoenix’s “The Radio Flyer” Bruce St. James raced to victory in the night’s first 10-lap heat race. Driving his #7K Woodland Auto Display / Weld Racing Maxim, St. James was fifth fast in time trials and placed seventh in the Hank Arnold Memorial. To date, Bruce sits twelfth in the standings with three heat race victories and five top-10 finishes on the season.
Tom Ogle of Surprise won the program’s second 10-lap heat race. Driving the family owned #48 RSS Industries / JT Engineering RSS, Ogle qualified tenth overall and claimed eighth in the main event. In limited starts, Tom is currently fifteenth in points with eight top-10 finishes in 2014
The USAC SouthWest Sprint Cars will be back in action on Saturday, November 1st at Queen Creek's Arizona Speedway. The action packed card will also feature Dwarf Cars, X-Mods, and Bombers. For more event and ticket information, visit www.arizonaspeedway.net or call 480.926.6688.
The USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series thanks Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Tire, Racers Advantage Store, and the Hose Advantage Store for their support. For more information on the group, visit www.southwestsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SouthwestSprintCars).
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USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS:
October 18, 2014 – Peoria, Arizona – Canyon Speedway Park – “Hank Arnold Memorial”
QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-15.295; 2. Josh Pelkey, 12, Allen-15.344; 3. Brian Hosford, 32B, Weber-15.380; 4. Charles Davis Jr., 50, Massey-15.395; 5. Bruce St. James, 7K, St. James-15.439; 6. Michael Curtis, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-15.487; 7. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-15.489; 8. Matt Rossi, 02, Rossi-15.636; 9. Stevie Sussex, 21AZ, Sussex-15.781; 10. Tom Ogle, 48, Ogle-15.904; 11. Matt Lundy, 98, Lundy-15.937; 12. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-15.996; 13. R.J. Johnson, 77M, Michaels-16.303; 14. Mark Morin, 28, Morin-16.346; 15. Justin Quinn, 93, Quinn-16.673; 16. Glenn Styres, OG, Styres-17.726.
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps)
1. St. James, 2. Sussex, 3. Martin, 4. Deskins, 5. Johnson, 6. Hosford, 7. Lundy, 8. Quinn. NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps)
1. Ogle, 2. Mihocko, 3. Rossi, 4. Davis, 5. Curtis, 6. Pelkey, 7. Styres, 8. Morin. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Stevie Sussex (1st), 2. Mike Martin (3rd), 3. Matt Rossi (2nd), 4. Charles Davis Jr. (5th), 5. Josh Pelkey (9th), 6. R.J. Johnson (13th), 7. Bruce St. James (4th), 8. Tom Ogle (7th), 9. Shon Deskins (6th), 10. Michael Curtis (11th), 11. Brian Hosford (10th), 12. Tye Mihocko (8th), 13. Glenn Styres (15th), 14. Justin Quinn (14th), 15. Matt Lundy (12th), 16. Mark Morin (16th).
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Sussex.
HARD CHARGER: R.J. Johnson (13th to 6th)
USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS:
1. R.J. Johnson-1193, 2. Josh Pelkey-1077, 3. Charles Davis Jr.-1072, 4. Matt Rossi-979, 5. Shon Deskins-940, 6. Mike Martin-930, 7. Tye Mihocko-844, 8. Michael Curtis-649, 9. Andy Reinbold-641, 10. Nick Aiuto-613, 11. Brian Hosford-605, 12. Bruce St. James-596, 13. Mike Colegrove-530, 14. Stevie Sussex-443, 15. Tom Ogle-420, 16. Josh Shipley-416, 17. Chris Bonneau-327, 18. Mike Bonneau-318, 19. Mark Morin-293, 20-Josh Hodges-279.
2014 USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
November 1: Arizona Speedway - Queen Creek, AZ
November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Oval Nationals / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series / Non-Points)
November 20: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 21: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships)
November 22: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / $7,500-to-Win)
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* = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC West Coast Sprints.
This schedule is subject to change.
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