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$6,000.00
IN LAP MONEY FOR SATURDAY’S JEFF BAGLEY CLASSIC AT PERRIS AUTO
SPEEDWAY! |
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(AUGUST
16, 2005, PERRIS, CA)
When Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply presents the Valvoline USAC/CRA
Sprint Cars in the Annual Jeff Bagley Classic at Perris Auto Speedway this
Saturday night, the drivers will have 6,000 extra reasons to run hard in the 30
lap main event. $6,000.00 in lap
money ($200.00 per lap) has been added to the regular purse.
The leader of each lap will get $100.00, 2nd place will
receive $60.00 and third place will pay $40.00.
Saturday’s
race honors the memory of 1988 CRA Sprint Car Rookie of the year Jeff Bagley.
Less than a year after winning that crown, Bagley lost his life in a
crash at Ascot Park on May 20, 1989. The
race also remembers Bagley’s parents, Paul and Helen, who lost their lives two
years ago at The PAS. Jeff
Bagley served in many positions before he finally realized his dream of driving
a 410-sprint car. He was a
crewmember, corner worker, very talented open wheel photographer and an odyssey
racer before racing to the CRA Rookie of the Year award.
His parents supported all of his efforts in racing.
After his death, they remained staunch supporters of the sport by helping
numerous drivers and the sport in general until they lost their lives in 2003. Among
the favorites for victory in Saturday’s Bagley Classic is Yorba Linda,
California’s Rip Williams. A
friend of Bagley’s, “The Ripper” leads hard charging Damion Gardner by 34
points as he tries to win his second straight USAC/CRA Championship.
Less than a month ago, Williams was 109 points ahead of Gardner in the
chase to the championship and some thought that lead was insurmountable.
However, those who know Gardner know that anything is possible and
probable when he slides into the cockpit of Ron Chaffin’s red #50 sprint car.
Williams
looked to be the man to beat when the series last raced two weeks ago at The
PAS. He led 13 laps before an
engine problem bit him with four laps to go.
Rather than picking up the 101st win is his illustrious
career, he ended up fifteenth. Before
the engine woes stopped him, it looked like Williams was going to add some extra
points to his thinning advantage over Gardner.
Known as “The Demon” to his fans and to his detractors, who seem to
think the moniker is more than appropriate, Gardner gave the large, boisterous
crowd a thrill in the main event. After
bumping with Ventura’s Cory Kruseman in turn two, “The Demon” started to
spin in turn four on the same lap. Like
everything else associated with the slender driver, the almost spin turned
spectacular. He did a miraculous
360 and kept on going. However,
before he completed the effort, the yellow flag came out and he was sent to the
back of the pack for the restart. From
the rear, Gardner charged all the way back to 10th spot in the waning
laps and chopped Williams’ point lead down to the 34 markers it stands heading
into Saturday’s race. Kruseman
won the 30-lapper that ended up having more drama than a midday soap opera.
It was Kruseman’s fifth victory of the year, which only ranks second to
Gardner who has bagged ten USAC/CRA first place trophies this season. Last
Tuesday Kruseman and Gardner finished second and third respectively behind
Illinois driver Levi Jones in the $30,000.00 to win Ultimate Challenge in
Oskalossa, Iowa. That race that
also featured Tony Stewart (Stewart ended up 22nd after dropping out
with mechanical problems) two days after his emotional triumph in the Brickyard
400. Saturday’s
race should also see the return of popular Tony Jones of Norco, California.
Jones, who seldom misses a race at The PAS, sat out the event two weeks
ago after suffering a concussion in a wild flip at Skagit Speedway in Washington
the previous week. What
will happen this Saturday night? Can
Williams pick up win #101? Will
Kruseman make it two in a row? And,
what trick does Gardner have up his sleeve to thrill the crowd?
The only way to find out is to be at Perris Auto Speedway to watch the
most competitive sprint car racing on the west coast. Saturday’s
mesmerizing pageant of speed on dirt will consist of qualifying, the 3-lap
Snap-on Tools Trophy Dash, four heats races, a B main and a 30-lap A main event.
Spectator gates will open at 5:00 PM. Don’t
forget, on Friday night, The Diamond Valley Automotive Group Honda – Mazda –
Volkswagen Strip at The PAS street legal drag strip will be in action as well.
The cost to race on the drag strip is only $20.00 per competitor.
Gates open at 5:00 PM. Perris
Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the freeway close 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. racesatthepas@aol.com
is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released
from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment VALVOLINE
USAC/CRA POINT STANDINGS
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