|
Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| Press Release |
|
|
|
MAJOR LEAGUE SPRINT CAR RACING RETURNS TO PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY THIS SATURDAY! |
|
(AUGUST 16, 2004, PERRIS, CA) Say Hallelujaaaaaah! The drought is over!
For the first time in nearly two months, Major League Sprint Car Racing returns
to Southern California when the Valvoline USAC/CRA Sprint Cars return to their
home track, Perris Auto Speedway, this Saturday night. Coming home with them is
a red-hot battle for the coveted 2004 championship. Looking back on the last exciting episode of the Valvoline USAC/CRA Series staged at the Riverside County clay oval on July 3rd, longtime veteran Rip Williams carried a 56-point lead over Damion Gardner heading into that race. How things have changed in the last seven weeks! When the series rolls into town this Saturday, Gardner, who goes by the moniker of “The Demon,” has whittled Williams advantage to a mere 11-points. Gardner, who resides in the San Francisco suburb of Concord, began his dramatic challenge when he debuted a new Eagle chassis in late June. He won the prestigious Firecracker 50 at Perris on July 3rd. The next events on the schedule were at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Washington on July 30th and 31st. Gardner spun on the first night and ended up tenth after restarting at the back of the pack. The following evening he led all 40-laps to win over Williams and Mike Kirby of Torrance. Last Saturday, Gardner, who came to traditional (non wing) sprint cars after racing dwarf cars and winged sprint cars, smashed the old track record by nearly a half-second at King’s Speedway in Hanford. He then won his heat and passed Kirby on lap five of the main and led the remaining 25 circuits for his series leading fifth win of the season. Williams, a popular 48-year old from Yorba Linda, has three wins in 2004 and has been tough as he tries to fight off the advances of the fast closing Gardner. He finished second to Gardner in Washington and was fourth behind Gardner, Kirby and Australia’s Peter Murphy last Saturday in Hanford. His only finish out of the top ten since the end of June came when he had a flat tire and finished 15th at The PAS on July 3rd. Like Gardner, Williams is in a new car. On August 7th, The John Jory Corporation team hauled a brand new Stinger to The PAS to shake it down. On the fourth lap on the clock they turned a 16.874! That would have been good for fast time at all but two races at Perris this season (Williams out-qualified the field with a 16.630 on July 3rd and Gary W. Howard was the fastest qualifier on June 19th with a 16.788). Joining Williams and Gardner on Saturday night will be third in points Kirby (3 wins), Howard of Fontana, Tony Jones of Corona, Ojai’s Troy Rutherford, Steve Ostling of Corona, Irvine’s Adam Mitchell (1 win), Jordan Hermansador of Long Beach, ex-Speedway Motorcycle racer Bobby Cody of Costa Mesa and a host of other drivers and their 800-horsepower fire breathing sprint cars. Spectator gates will open at 5:00 PM and racing will begin at 7:00. 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 other event at Perris Auto Speedway events, please call (909) 940-0134. VALVOLINE USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS 1. Rip Williams – Garden Grove, CA – 932 2. Damion Gardner – Concord, CA – 921 3. Mike Kirby – Torrance, CA – 864 4. Troy Rutherford – Ojai, CA – 675 5. Tony Jones – Corona, CA – 573 6. Steve Ostling – Corona, CA – 521 7. Greg Bragg – Visalia, CA – 519 8. Brian Venard – Irvine, CA – 486 9. Jordan Hermansador – Long Beach, CA – 476 10. Cory Kruseman – Ventura, CA - 470 |
