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(JUNE
14, 2004, PERRIS, CA) Escondido, California’s Adam Mitchell will be out
for the second win of his career when Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply and
Vista Paint present the Valvoline USAC/CRA Sprint Cars in the Budweiser Bash at
Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday night.
Mitchell, a 12-year veteran, scored the first win of his career before another
large crowd at The PAS last Saturday. Heading into the event, the 33-year old
had a lot of luck at The PAS this year. Unfortunately all of that luck was bad.
He was robbed of a top five finish due to a late race yellow flag on April 10th.
On April 24th, while running in the top 10 in the main, he flipped violently in
turn one on lap 18. The result was a destroyed sprint car, a case of racetrack
rheumatism and missing the May 1st race.
Mitchell returned to action with a brand new car on May 29th at the annual
Salute to Indy and once again bad luck bit him. The car went up in a puff of
smoke in the main and he was done for the night. Fortunately it was only a
broken water hose and not a broken engine.
Last Saturday, after qualifying twelfth and winning his heat, Mitchell started
the 30-lap main on the pole and took the lead at the outset. With the toughest
field of the year behind him, Mitchell began to build a lead. As the laps piled
up, he advanced his lead into an insurmountable margin. That is, an
insurmountable margin unless one of two things happened - his bad luck rearing
its ugly head or a yellow flag. You guessed it – he got both!!!
With less than three laps to go, his car began to belch smoke! On the next to
last lap, the yellow came out when Bud Kaeding stopped on the back straight. For
the restart Mitchell was followed by a lapped car then second place Tony Jones.
When the green flag dropped for the final two laps, Mitchell left no doubt on
what his car had left as he walked away from the competition for a very popular
win. When he hopped out of the car for his victory interview, his driving shoes
were coated with oil that had blown out of the engine.
After racing go-carts & BMX and being a speedway midget champion at the
Carlsbad Raceway, Mitchell first hopped into a sprint car in 1992 with CRA. He
spent 1993 racing with the USAC National Series in the Midwest. Mitchell
returned to Southern California in 1994 and has been a fixture on the sprint car
scene ever since. Away from the track Mitchell and wife Denise have a young
daughter named Paige and he owns Electro Tech Powder Coating.
With the monkey off his back, Mitchell will be out to make it two wins in a row
this Saturday at The PAS, Southern California’s home of Major League Sprint
Car Racing! Series point leader Rip Williams (who started ninth and finished
third last week) will be on hand along with the likes of Tony Jones, Mike
Spencer, Damion Gardner (13th to 6th last week), Steve Ostling, Mike Kirby, Troy
Rutherford, Brian Venard and a host of others.
Remember, the month of June is Kid’s Month at The PAS. Bring one, 100 or 1,000
kids 12 and under and they will be admitted free when they are accompanied by an
adult.
Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds,
home of the Southern California Fair, approximately one hour east of Los
Angeles. Take the 215 Freeway, exit at the Ramona Expressway and go east two and
a half miles to the fairgrounds.
For more information on this or any events at Perris Auto Speedway events,
please call (909) 940-0134.
VALVOLINE USAC/CRA POINT STANDINGS
1. Rip Williams – Yorba Linda, CA – 652
2. Damion Gardner – Concord, CA – 601
3. Mike Kirby – Torrance, CA – 578
4. Troy Rutherford – Ojai, CA – 557
5. Tony Jones – Corona, CA – 398
6. Cory Kruseman – Ventura, CA – 378
7. Steve Ostling – Corona, CA – 376
8. Brian Venard – Irvine, CA – 370
9. Jeremy Sherman – Phoenix, AZ – 342
10. Greg Bragg – Visalia, CA - 334
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