Perris Auto Speedway
October 31, 2013
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MIKE SPENCER WINS PERRIS “360 OVAL NATIONALS” & GRUDGE SERIES CROWN

by Lance Jennings
PERRIS, CA (October 31) - After claiming the “Brawl For It All” win at Canyon, Temecula, California’s Mike Spencer earned the “Grudge Series” Championship by winning the “360 Oval Nationals” at Perris Auto Speedway. The Thursday night $2,500 victory was the second USAC SouthWest & West Coast Series main event win for the five-time USAC/CRA Champion. Matt Mitchell, Ryan Bernal, Brody Roa, and Jon Stanbrough rounded out the top-five drivers.

Dash winner Richard Vander Weerd set the pace and led the first four circuits. Charging from the third starting spot, Spencer took command from Vander Weerd as he looked to score his “home track” feature win. USAC National Champion Bryan Clauson had other plans and used a turn three “slide job” to grab the top spot on lap 20. The pair raced hard through slower traffic until Clauson climbed the wall of the northern corners that knocked him out of contention. From there, Spencer powered to the 30-lap main event triumph and won the first “360 Oval Nationals” eagle trophy.

Racing the Mark Priestley owned #7 Roy Miller Freight Lines / Sander Engineering Maxim, Mike Spencer clinched the “Grudge Series” crown with his second win of the year. Qualifying third out of the thirty-five cars in attendance, Mike placed second in his heat race and ran third in the dash. Heading to Canyon’s “Western World Championships,” Spencer has one Sunoco Fuels Passing Masters Dash win, two top-10 finishes, and 28 feature laps led in SouthWest action.

In his first USAC SouthWest appearance of 2013, Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda, California piloted his own #37 MPD Racing / ART Enterprises Maxim to second in the “360 Oval Nationals” after starting twelfth. The USAC/CRA standout was seventeenth quick in time trials and won the first 8-lap Racers Advantage Store Heat Race.

Making his first USAC start behind the wheel of Mike Phulps’ #56 Metal Works / Red Line Oil Maxim, Hollister, California’s Ryan Bernal scored third at Perris Auto Speedway. The USAC Western Classic Champion qualified eleventh, won the Racers Advantage Store Heat Race #3, and ran fourth in the dash. To date, Bernal has two Racers Advantage Store Heat Race victories, four top-10 finishes, and 9 feature laps led in 2013.

In his first SouthWest appearance, Brody Roa of Buena Park, California earned the night’s “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a fourth place run from twenty-first. Driving the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Spike, Roa was twenty-fifth fast in time trials, fifth in his heat race, and third in the first semi-main.

Avon, Indiana’s Jon Stanbrough charged to fifth at Perris after starting seventeenth. Piloting Keith Ford’s #73 Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, the veteran driver qualified fourth, scored eighth in his heat race, and won the first 10-lap Semi-Main. Currently, Stanbrough has one Racers Advantage Store Heat Race victory, one semi-main win, five top-10 finishes, and 9 feature laps led on the year.

“Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. of Buckeye, Arizona set a new track record and earned his first Fast Time Award of 2013. Racing the Massey Motorsports #50 RSS Industries / Rod End Supply RSS, the five-time Arizona Champion was third in his heat race, ran sixth in the dash, and scored seventeenth in the feature after a tangle ended his night. Currently second in the SouthWest point chase, Davis has six feature wins, eleven Racers Advantage Store Heat Race victories, four Sunoco Fuels Passing Masters Dash Wins, two semi-main wins, three hard charger awards, twenty-five top-10 finishes, and 117 feature laps led to his credit.

“The Kruser” Cory Kruseman of Ventura, California raced to victory in the Racers Advantage Store Heat Race #2. Driving his #21K Lucas Oil / Kruseman’s Sprint Car & Midget Driving School “Breast Cancer Awareness” Spike, Cory was eighteenth quick in time trials and claimed eighteenth in the main event. To date, the future Hall of Fame driver has one top-10 finish in SouthWest action.

Phoenix, Arizona’s R.J. Johnson scored the 8-lap Racers Advantage Store Heat Race #4 triumph. Piloting the Bill Michaels’ #77M Kodiak Products / Beal’s Auto Body Sherman, the USAC SouthWest point leader qualified twelfth and scored sixth in the main event. As this writing goes to press, Johnson has ten feature wins, eight Racers Advantage Store Heat Race victories, five Sunoco Fuels Passing Masters Dash Wins, three hard charger awards, twenty-one top-10 finishes, and 295 feature laps led.

Richard Vander Weerd of Visalia, California won the night’s Sunoco Fuels Passing Masters Dash and led the first four laps of the main event. Racing the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Stone Gate Development Maxim, Richard was ninth fast in time trials, ran second in his heat race, and placed eighth in the feature. The 2011 USAC West Coast Champion has one semi-main win, two hard charger awards, six top-10 finishes, and 4 feature laps led in SouthWest action.

Verdemont Heights’ Don Gansen raced to victory in the program’s second semi-main. Piloting the Gansen Engineering #7G Trench Shoring / Dynamic Powder Coating Maxim, the former California Lightning Sprint Champion qualified nineteenth, placed fifth in his heat race, and claimed fifteenth in the main event.

USAC WEST COAST & SOUTHWEST “SPECIAL EVENT” SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
October 31, 2013 – Perris, California – Perris Auto Speedway – “360 Oval Nationals” – “Grudge Series”

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Charles Davis Jr., 50, Massey-16.739; 2. Bryan Clauson, 16B, Martin-16.767; 3. Mike Spencer, 7, Priestley-16.851; 4. Jon Stanbrough, 73, Ford-16.902; 5. Jonathan Henry, 17, Henry-16.949; 6. Shon Deskins, 20, Deskins-16.966; 7. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-17.004; 8. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-17.045; 9. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-17.045; 10. Landon Hurst, 179, Hurst-17.136; 11. Ryan Bernal, 56, Phulps-17.137; 12. R.J. Johnson, 77M, Michaels-17.160; 13. Jimmy Crawford, 3X, Crawford-17.169; 14. Colby Copeland, 74, Williams-17.223; 15. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.242; 16. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-17.265; 17. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-17.285; 18. Cory Kruseman, 21K, Kruseman-17.297; 19. Don Gansen, 7G, Gansen-17.348; 20. Bruce St. James, 7K, St. James- 17.361; 21. Tom Hendricks, 14K, Kruseman-17364; 22. Dennis Howell, 62, Howell-17.394; 23. Victor Davis, 13, Davis-17.416; 24. Bob Ream Jr., 8, BRAT-17.457; 25. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-17.467; 26. Jeff Sibley, 18, Watt-17.487; 27. J.J. Ercse, 14, Springstead-17.533; 28. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-17.548; 29. A.J. Bender, 12, Bender-17.578; 30. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.601; 31. Trent Williams, 52, Williams-17.639; 32. Andy Reinbold, 19, Underwood-17.645; 33. Austin Stone, 29X, Coffman-17.730; 34. Kenny Perkins, 0, Perkins-19.313; 35. Stevie Sussex, 57X, Stone-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Mitchell, 2. R.Vander Weerd, 3. C.Davis, 4. Hendricks, 5. Roa, 6. Crawford, 7. Henry, 8. Stone. 2:22.34

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Kruseman, 2. Deskins, 3. Howell, 4. Clauson, 5. Copeland, 6. Hurst, 7. C.Gansen, 8. Sibley, 9. Perkins. 2:21.28

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Bernal, 2. Spencer, 3. Rutherford, 4. J.Vander Weerd, 5. D.Gansen, 6. Sussex, 7. T.Williams, 9. V.Davis, 9. Ercse. 2:20.70

FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Johnson, 2. Ream, 3. Faria, 4. Martin, 5. Ennis, 6. St. James, 7. Reinbold, 8. Stanbrough. NT

DASH: (6 laps) 1. R.Vander Weerd, 2. Faria, 3. Spencer, 4. Bernal, 5. Rutherford, 6. C.Davis, 7. Deskins, 8. Clauson. 1:46.46

FIRST SEMI: (10 laps) 1. Stanbrough, 2. Hurst, 3. Roa, 4. Copeland, 5. Sussex, 6. Stone, 7. Stone, 8. St. James, 9. Ercse, 10. T.Williams, 11. Bender. 2:56.95

SECOND SEMI: (10 laps) 1. D.Gansen, 2. Henry, 3. Crawford, 4. Reinbold, 5. Ennis, 6. C.Gansen, 7. V.Davis, 8. Sibley. 3:03.31

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Mike Spencer, 2. Matt Mitchell, 3. Ryan Bernal, 4. Brody Roa, 5. Jon Stanbrough, 6. R.J. Johnson, 7. Troy Rutherford, 8. Richard Vander Weerd, 9. Jace Vander Weerd, 10. Mike Martin, 11. Dennis Howell, 12. Bryan Clauson, 13. Tom Hendricks, 14. Bob Ream Jr., 15. Don Gansen, 16. Danny Faria Jr., 17. Charles Davis Jr., 18. Cory Kruseman, 19. Johnathon Henry, 20. Jimmy Crawford, 21. Landon Hurst, 22. Shon Deskins. NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 R.Vander Weerd, Laps 5-19 Spencer, Laps 20-27 Clauson, Laps 28-30 Spencer.

NEXT USAC SOUTHWEST & WEST COAST “SPECIAL EVENT” SPRINT RACE: November 14-16 – Peoria, AZ – Canyon Speedway Park – “46th Annual Western World Championships"