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| Press Release |
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| Spencer Scores CRA Victory at Perris |
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PERRIS, Calif. – It only took four races into the USAC/CRA Sprint Car
season for Mike Spencer of Temecula, Calif. to drive car owner Ron Chaffin’s
Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply No. 50 Maxim to an impressive 30-lap feature
win Saturday the Perris Auto Speedway.
Moving into arguably the most sought after ride on the USAC/CRA circuit, Spencer seems more than ready to fill the shoes of Lealand McSpadden, Richard Griffin and Damion Gardner, all of whom won championships driving for Chaffin and crew chief Bruce Bromme, Jr. “Last time here we had fast time and had a good night, so that was something for us to build on. We’ve gotten better each race, and for us to get a win four races into the season is awesome…I’m just happy to be here with this team,” Spencer said after earning the fourth series win of his career. Even though the night ended well for Spencer, it started out with a little uncertainty after the team was plagued with engine problems in hot laps and time trials. “We actually qualified (ninth) on seven cylinders and later learned that we broke something in the valve train, so we pulled the motor out,” Spencer explained. “On top of everything else, we were in the first heat race. So, this is a really credit to the depth of this whole team, because being able to get a transfer out of our heat race gave us a front row starting spot in the feature which was just huge.” Jason York started outside of Spencer, but was unable to find the traction he needed exiting Turn 4 to challenge for the lead at the drop of the green flag. Tony Jones started fifth and took advantage of some bumping among the first couple rows and moved the Alexander Trucking / La Villa Restaurant No. 4 DRC into the second position ahead of Rickie Gaunt, York, Rip Williams and defending series champion Cory Kruseman. The windy-tortured surface proved to be tricky throughout the main event, especially during the first part of the race. Spencer learned that the extreme top can be a difficult place to exit the corners. Unfortunately, he learned this after he skated wide on the second lap, relinquishing the lead to Jones. Gaunt, who started seventh, immediately recognized that the bottom groove was the place to be at the start. With cushion-riders Jones and Spencer directly ahead of him, Gaunt quickly put his Nadine Keller / David Zoriki Motorsports No. 94 Chalk into the lead on the eighth lap. The only red flag of the race came on Lap 11 after fifth-place Kruseman flipped after sliding into the Turn 3 wall. Kruseman was not hurt. The stoppage was beneficial for a number of teams, particularly for fourth-place Spencer, who saw first-hand the advantages of having Bromme turning the wrenches for him. “We were okay before the red flag; we weren’t great,” Spencer said with a smile. “So, I told Bruce what the car was doing and that it was hopping getting into the corners. I don’t know exactly what he did, but it was good.” “Right before the red flag I thought that the top was going to be the place for me to be because I was starting to get things figured out up there and starting to build a little momentum,” Spencer continued. I figured that the bottom was going to start getting slicker at some point, so I stayed committed to the top.” Yorba Linda, Calif. native Williams muscled his Sharon Jory/John Jory Corporation No. 3 Stinger into second-place on the restart. Spencer followed Williams dropping Jones to fourth. Stilling riding the cushion, Spencer passed Williams on Lap 19, before taking the lead from Gaunt one lap later. Once in the lead, Spencer was never challenged and went on to beat Williams to the checkered flag by nearly half the length of the front straight. Josh Wise, Riverside, Calif., took a break from his stock car schedule to drive Keith Kunz’s Advanced Racing No. 67 Bullet to a third-place finish ahead of Gaunt and Jones. Damion Gardner, who like Spencer won a USAC/CRA main event the fourth time he drove for Chaffin, finished sixth despite having been one of three cars sent to the rear for presenting their cars late for the main event. Scotty Weir earned Hard-Charger honors for the second straight race, driving from 19th to seventh. Jimmy Crawford, Ventura, Calif., circled the Perris clay in 17.030 seconds to win the fast time award in qualifying. The series continues Thursday and Friday at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, held in conjunction with the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series weekend. Wise and J.J. Yeley return to their roots after moving to Stock cars over the last three years. |
