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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series
RICKIE GAUNT WINS EMOTIONAL “DOUG FORT MEMORIAL” AT SANTA MARIA
By Lance Jennings
JULY 7, 2015... After leading all 30-laps, “Super” Rickie Gaunt of Torrance, California won Friday’s “Doug Fort Memorial” at Santa Maria Raceway. For Gaunt, the emotional $2,500 Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory was his first triumph since February 28, 2009. Richard Vander Weerd, Matt Mitchell, fast qualifier “The Demon” Damion Gardner, and Austin Williams followed “Super” Rickie to the checkered flags.
Piloting Shawn McDonald’s #9 Sander Engineering / Smiley Crane Sled, Rickie Gaunt got the jump on pole sitter Richard Vander Weerd to grab the early lead. Setting a fast pace around the Santa Maria oval, Gaunt held off several challenges from Austin Williams as the leaders raced through heavy traffic. In the closing laps, a miscue by Williams became a three-way battle for second with Richard Vander Weerd and Matt Mitchell. This allowed Gaunt to extend his lead and score the popular victory in front of the large Santa Maria crowd.
By claiming the “Doug Fort Memorial,” Gaunt earned his eighth USAC/CRA main event win. Starting his career in the late 1980s at Ascot Park with CRA, Santa Maria was also the site of his first victory. On April 27, 1991, Rickie won the winged NARC / Golden State Challenge feature for Danny Pivovaroff. Last Friday, the veteran driver qualified sixth out of the twenty-four racers in the pit area and won the Saldana Racing Products / Circle Track Performance Heat Race #3 after teammate Danny Sheridan did not report to the scales.
After falling back to third, Visalia’s Richard Vander Weerd ran second in the Santa Maria feature. Racing the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Stone Gate Development Maxim, Vander Weerd was seventh quick in time trials and won the night’s Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1.
Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda, California had a solid night at Santa Maria Raceway with a third place finish. Driving his #37 Campbell Bros. Storage / Pit Boss Jacks Maxim, Mitchell qualified fifth overall and placed third in his heat race.
Concord, California’s “The Demon” Damion Gardner ran fourth in the “Doug Fort Memorial” after starting sixth. Piloting Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / Weld Racing Spike, Gardner recorded his 64th career Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award and claimed third in his heat race.
Austin Williams of Yorba Linda, California pressured Gaunt for several laps before falling back to fifth. Racing Jack Jory’s #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Spike, Williams was third fast in time trials and scored third in his heat race.
Anaheim, California’s Jake Swanson earned the night’s DMI / Keizer Wheels “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a seventh place run from sixteenth. Driving Tom and Laurie Sertich’s #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Ram-Bull Racing Buckley with 360 power, Swanson qualified sixteenth, ran fifth in his heat race, and took sixth in the semi-main.
“Thunder” Tommy Malcolm of Corona, California earned his first USAC/CRA Sprint Car heat race victory at Santa Maria. Piloting Dino Napier’s #5X Indiana Truck Salvage / B&D Powder Coating Victory, Malcolm was eighth fast in time trials, won the DJ Safety event, and had his best run with an eighth place finish in the main event.
Temecula, California’s Mike Spencer won the 12-lap Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main. Driving Ron Chaffin’s #50 Grubstake Mini Storage / Madera Produce Maxim, Spencer qualified fourth overall, took sixth in his heat race, and salvaged a fourteenth place finish in the main after a tangle on lap seventeen.
The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks Hoosier Tire, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Diversified Machine Inc., Extreme Mufflers, Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror, Keizer Wheels, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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 Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit www.usacracing.com and follow the series on Facebook or Twitter. Mike Truex's Loudpedal Productions has DVDs available for purchase that feature the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. For more information, call (805) 407-7229 or visit www.loudpedalvideo.com.
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS:
July 3, 2015 – Santa Maria, California – Santa Maria Raceway – “Doug Fort Memorial”
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TIME TRIALS:
1. Damion Gardner, 4, Alexander-14.527; 2. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-14.639; 3. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-14,703; 4, Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-14.722; 5. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-14.831; 6. Rickie Gaunt, 9, McDonald-14.837; 7. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-14.852; 8. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.876; 9. Danny Sheridan, 93, Gardner-14.982; 10. Brody Roa, 48, Leonard-15.014; 11. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-15.029; 12. Luke Boles, 56A, Boles-15.041; 13. Parker Colston, 64, Gore-15.084; 14. Jeff Sibley, 42N, Sibley-15.247; 15. Logan Williams, 5, Jory-15.290; 16. Jake Swanson, 92, Sertich-15.306; 17. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.354; 18. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.444; 19. Jeremy Ellertson, 98, Ellertson-15.605; 20. Chris Dyson, 71K, Kruseman-15.616; 21. James Herrera, 91, Herrera-15.649; 22. Tyler Schmidt, 49, Schmidt-15.730; 23. Jordan Linson, 10J, Linson-16.393; 24. Geoffrey Strole, 09S, Strole-16.698.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE #1: (10 laps)
1. R.Vander Weerd, 2. Roa, 3. Gardner, 4. Colston, 5. Swanson, 6. Spencer, 7. Ellertson, 8. Schmidt. NT
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE #2: (10 laps)
1. Malcolm, 2. J.Vander Weerd, 3. Mitchell, 4. C.Williams, 5. Gansen, 6. Sibley, 7. Dyson, 8. Linson. NT
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE HEAT RACE #3: (10 laps)
1. Gaunt, 2. Bender, 3. A.Williams, 4. L.Williams, 5. Boles, 6. Herrera, 7. Strole, 8. Sheridan. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / ROD END SUPPLY SEMI-MAIN: (12 laps)
1. Spencer, 2. Sheridan, 3. Boles, 4. Gansen, 5. Sibley, 6. Swanson, 7. Schmidt, 8. Ellertson, 9. Strole, 10. Dyson, 11. Linson, 12. Herrera. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Rickie Gaunt (2nd), 2. Richard Vander Weerd (1st), 3. Matt Mitchell (3rd), 4. Damion Gardner (6th), 5. Austin Williams (4th), 6. Tommy Malcom (8th), 7. Jake Swanson (16th), 8. Danny Sheridan (9th), 9. A.J. Bender (18th), 10. Parker Colston (13th), 11. Brody Roa (10th), 12. Logan Williams (15th), 13. Jeremy Ellertson (19th), 14. Mike Spencer (7th), 15. Chris Gansen (17th), 16. Tyler Schmidt (21st), 17. Geoffrey Strole (22nd), 18. Jeff Sibley (14th), 19. Cody Williams (5th), 20. Jace Vander Weerd (11th), 21. Luke Boles (12th), 22. Chris Dyson (20th). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Gaunt.
DMI / KEIZER WHEELS HARD CHARGER: Jake Swanson (16th to 7th)
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