Perris Auto Speedway
September 14, 2013
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NIC FAAS WINS GLENN HOWARD MEMORIAL AT PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY



by Lance Jennings
PERRIS, CA (September 14) - Taking the lead from Mike Spencer on lap 22, Nic Faas of Huntington Beach won the “6th Annual Glenn Howard Memorial” at Perris Auto Speedway. For Faas, Saturday’s hotly contested $2,500 feature win was the third Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory of the campaign. Spencer, “The Demon” Damion Gardner, Bud Kaeding, and “The Kruser” Cory Kruseman followed Nic to the checkered flags.
 
Damion Gardner led the opening laps before third starting Cory Kruseman took over on lap three. Looking for his second straight Perris win, Kruseman led the next nine circuits before Mike Spencer powered to the lead from the outside line. Nic Faas chased down the five-time champion and took command on the twenty-second lap. Spencer battled back and took advantage of a Faas bicycle off the turn four cushion to take over on the next lap. Unfortunately for Mike, a caution flag erased the lead change and Nic regained the top spot. From there, the 2008 Rookie of the Year hit his marks and ran away from the field to claim his ninth career USAC/CRA victory.
 
Racing the #4 Scott Sales Company / Competition Suspension Inc. Spike, Nic Faas earned the 40th career USAC/CRA victory for car owner Mark Alexander. Earlier in the program, Nic recorded his fourth Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award of the season and ran second in his heat race. Currently second in points, Faas also has four heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, sixteen top-10 finishes, and 58 feature laps led to his credit.
 
After leading ten laps, Temecula’s Mike Spencer looked to have regained command from Faas before a yellow flag erased his efforts. Driving Ron Chaffin’s #50 Grubstake Mini Storage / Madera Produce Maxim, Spencer qualified second, placed second in his heat race, and had to settle for second in the “Glenn Howard Memorial.” To date, last year’s Oval Nationals Champion is third in the standings with one feature win, six Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, five heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, fourteen top-10 finishes, and 48 feature laps led.
 
“The Demon” Damion Gardner of Concord led the first two laps before scoring third in the 30-lap main event. Piloting Mark Alexander’s #4A Scott Sales Company / Advanced Racing Suspension Spike, the “World’s Fastest Sprint Car Driver” was fourth quick in time trials and won his series leading eighth heat race in the Extreme Mufflers event. Currently leading the USAC/CRA point chase, “The Demon” has five main event wins, four Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one dash win, one Last Man Standing Dash win, sixteen top-10 finishes, and 108 feature laps led on the year.
 
Campbell’s Bud Kaeding earned his first Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a fourth place run from fourteenth at Perris. Racing Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Maxim, Bud qualified fifteenth and won his first heat race of 2013, claiming the D.J. Safety sponsored event. To date, last year’s USAC West Coast Sprint Car Champion is fourth in points with one feature win, one dash win, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, twelve top-10 finishes, and 40 feature laps led.
 
“The Kruser” Cory Kruseman of Ventura took fifth in the “Howard Memorial” after leading laps three to eleven. Driving Mark Priestley’s #7 Roy Miller Freight Lines / Sander Engineering Bullet, the 2006 Champion was fifth fast in time trials and third in his heat race. In limited starts, Kruseman is fifteenth in the standings with one feature win, two heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, five top-10 finishes, and 13 feature laps led in 2013.
 
Apple Valley’s “Mr. Excitement” John Aden raced to victory in the Saldana Racing Products / Circle Track Performance Heat Race #3. Piloting his #7A 777 Race Cars “house car,” the former Victorville Sprint Car Champion qualified sixteenth overall and scored twentieth in the feature after a flip ended his night. Aden walked away uninjured and sits thirty-fourth in points as this writing goes to press.
 
David Bezio of El Cajon won the 12-lap Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main. Racing his #37X Inga Bezio Salon / SC Grafix Ellis, the California Lightning Sprint graduate was eighth fast in time trials, fifth in his heat race, and claimed sixteenth in the main event. Heading to Canyon’s “Hall of Fame Classic,” Bezio is twenty-second in USAC/CRA standings.
 
The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will take a break in the schedule before heading to Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Arizona. Starting Friday, October 25th, the two night "Hall of Fame Classic" is also co-sanctioned with the USAC National Sprint Cars. For more event and ticket information, visit www.canyonspeedwaypark.com or call (602) 258-7223 (RACE).

For more information on the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, visit www.usacracing.com

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS:
September 14, 2013 – Perris, California – Perris Auto Speedway - “Glenn Howard Memorial”

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Nic Faas, 4, Alexander-16.279; 2. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-16.285; 3. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.578; 4. Damion Gardner, 4a, Alexander-16.635; 5. Cory Kruseman, 7, Priestley-16.654; 6. Rickie Gaunt, 66, Miller-16.708; 7. David Cardey, 92, Sertich-16.710; 8. David Bezio, 37x, Bezio-16.827; 9. Greg Alexander, 72, Tyler-16.854; 10. Rip Williams, 3, Jory-16.869; 11. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.888; 12. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-16.894; 13. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-16.927; 14. Danny Faria Jr., 17v, Faria-16.90515. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-17.084; 16. John Aden, 7a, Aden-17.184; 17. Seth Wilson, 1x, Wilson-17.245; 18. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-17.282; 19. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-17.303; 20. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.445; 21. Cody Swanson, 14, Springstead-17.463; 22. John Bluntach, 58, Bluntach-17.495; 23. Jimmy Crawford, 3x, Crawford-17.665; 24. Toby Sampson, 82, Sampson-18.275; 25. Mike Collins, 04, Collins-18.754; 26. Jeremy Ellertson, 98,Ellertson-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Faas, 3. Faria, 4. R.Williams, 5. Cardey, 6. Bender, 7. Crawford, 8. Wilson. NT

SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Kaeding, 2. Spencer, 3. Kruseman, 4. J.Vander Weerd, 5. Bezio, 6. Mitchell, 7. C.Swanson, 8. R.Vander Weerd, 9. Sampson. NT

THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Aden, 2. A.Williams, 3. C.Williams, 4. Gaunt, 5. Roa, 6. Alexander, 7. Bluntach, 8. Collins. NT

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Bezio, 2. Roa, 3. Cardey, 4. Wilson, 5. R.Vander Weerd, 6. Mitchell, 7. C.Swanson, 8. Alexander, 9. Bender, 10. Bluntach, 11. Collins, 12. Sampson. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Nic Faas, 2. Mike Spencer, 3. Damion Gardner, 4. Bud Kaeding, 5. Cory Kruseman, 6. Rip Williams, 7. Brody Roa, 8. Greg Alexander, 9. Cody Williams, 10. Rickie Gaunt, 11. Richard Vander Weerd, 12 Jace Vander Weerd, 13. Seth Wilason, 14. Danny Faria Jr., 15. Johnny Bluntach, 16. David Bezio, 17. A.J. Bender, 18. Cody Swanson, 19. David Cardey, 20. John Aden, 21. Austin Williams, 22. Matt Mitchell. NT

**Cardey and Bezio flipped during qualifying. Aden flipped during the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Gardner, Laps 3-11 Kruseman, Laps 12-21 Spencer, Lap 22 Faas, Lap 23 Spencer, Laps 24-30 Faas.

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Gardner-1,107, 2-Faas-1,008, 3-Spencer-960, 4-Kaeding-753, 5-Mitchell-745, 6-C.Williams-708, 7-A.Williams-692, 8-Roa-659, 9-Ryan Bernal-551, 10-R.Vander Weerd-447.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: October 25-26 – Peoria, AZ – Canyon Speedway Park

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PAS Senior Sprints
1. Jimmy Crawford
2. Rick Hendrix
3. Bruce Douglass
4. Bill Badger
5. Ed Schwarz
6. Mike Collins
7. Steve Brown
8. Jim Giardina
9. Brian Williams
10. Ed McWilliams

PAS Young Gun Sprints
1. Bradley Morris
2. Logan Williams
3. Parker Coltson
4. Alexander Bissett
5. Mikey Lovas
6. Mitch Collins
7. George Morris
8. Chancellor Tiscareno