ROBERT BALLOU WINS $20,000 BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS AT PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY

by Lance Jennings
PERRIS, CA – NOVEMBER 10, 2014... After winning the Friday night preliminary feature, Westfield, Indiana’s Robert Ballou earned the biggest win of his career at the “19th Budweiser Oval Nationals, presented by All Coast Construction. Securing the lead from Mike Spencer on lap thirty-one, the “Madman” raced to the $20,000 triumph at Perris Auto Speedway. Spencer, Bryan Clauson, “The People’s Champion” Dave Darland and Ryan Bernal followed Ballou to the checkered flags.

Racing the Ballou Motorsports #12X Blakesley Auto / Cliffon Services Maxim, Robert Ballou started fourth in the 40-lap finale after taking fourth in the special 6-lap “Super Six Dash.” Battling hard with the front runners all race, the Northern California native added the prestigious race to his resume as the Amsoil USAC National and USAC/CRA Sprint Cars head to Canyon Speedway Park for the “Hall of Fame Classic” seated eighth in national points.

After leading the opening five laps, Temecula’s Mike Spencer battled back and forth with C.J. Leary to keep the top spot before finishing second. Driving Ron Chaffin’s #50 Grubstake Mini Storage / Madera Produce Maxim, Spencer was second in the “Super 6 Dash” before joining his crew to honor Bruce Bromme Jr.’s memory as the event’s Grand Marshall. The five-time USAC/CRA Champion left Perris ranked second in USAC/CRA points with one feature win, five Woodland Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, sixteen top-10 finishes, and 108 feature laps led.

Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana raced from seventh to claim third in the Oval Nationals. Piloting the Tony Stewart Racing / Curb-Agajanian #20 Chevy Performance entry, Clauson qualified nineteenth overall and ran second to Tracy Hines in his heat race. Bryan currently sits second in the USAC National point chase.

Lincoln, Indiana’s “The People’s Champion” Dave Darland challenged the leaders before running fourth in the finale. Racing the Phillips Motorsports #71P Racers Advantage Store / Jockish Flowers DRC, Darland won the 6-lap Weld Racing “Super 6 Dash” and is third in the USAC National Series heading to Canyon Speedway Park.

Ryan Bernal of Hollister charged to fifth in the Oval Nationals after starting tenth. Driving Mike Phulps’ #56 Tri-L Mandarin Ranch / Core Power ART, Bernal was twelfth quick in time trials and was second in his heat race. The two-time USAC Western Classic Sprint Champion is tenth in USAC/CRA standings with four heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, six top-10 finishes, and 26 feature laps led.

Plainfield, Indiana’s Chad Boespflug earned the night’s Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics "Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a tenth place finish from twenty-second. Piloting the Baldwin Bros. Racing #5B Fox Paving / Kercher Engines Maxim, the Central California native qualified eighteenth overall, ran sixth in his heat race, and placed fourth in his semi-main.

“The Demon” Damion Gardner of Concord recorded his sixty-second career Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award. Racing Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / J&D Performance Spike, Gardner won the night’s Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1 and finished eighth in the feature after starting fourteenth. “The Demon” clinched his third USAC/CRA Championship with eleven feature wins, nine Woodland Fast Time Awards, fifteenth heat race victories, nineteen top-10 finishes, and 205 feature laps led on the season.

Wilkinson, Indiana’s Tracy Hines won the 10-lap DJ Safety Heat Race #2. Driving his #4X Carolina Nut Company / Hansen’s Welding entry, Hines was fourteenth fast in time trials and ran seventeenth in the main event. Heading to the “Hall of Fame Classic,” Tracy is sixth in the National standings.

Austin Williams of Yorba Linda drove to victory in the 10-lap Saldana Racing Products Heat Race #3. Piloting Jack Jory’s #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Spike, Williams qualified seventh overall and took fifteenth in the 40-lap main event. To date, Austin is fifth in the USAC/CRA point chase with one feature win, two heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, eight top-10 finishes, and 51 feature laps led.

Visalia’s Richard Vander Weerd took the checkered flags in the Circle Track Performance Heat Race #4. Racing the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Richard was eighth fast in time trials and took seventh in the feature and making his way to third. Despite missing some races, Vander Weerd sits eighth in the USAC/CRA point chase with one feature win, five heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, eleven top-10 finishes, and 10 feature laps led in 2014.

Josh Pelkey of Peoria, Arizona won the 12-lap Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main #1. Driving Robbie and Gaye Allen’s #12 ABC Body Shop / Napa Auto Parts Maxim, Pelkey qualified twentieth overall, ran third in his heat race, and scored twenty-first in the Oval Nationals. In limited action, the 1997 ASCA Champion is tied for twenty-seventh in USAC/CRA points with two heat race victories and two top-10 finishes.

Tipton’s “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. won the 12-lap Rod End Supply Semi-Main #2. Piloting Junior Bowman’s #2F Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / DeBoer & Sons Trucking Spike, Faria was seventeenth fast in time trials, took sixth in his heat race, and ran sixteenth in the main event. The 2013 USAC West Coast Champion sits forty-first in USAC/CRA standings with one top-10 finish in limited appearances.

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

USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS
November 8, 2014 - Perris, California - Perris Auto Speedway - 19th "Budweiser Oval Nationals" - Presented by All-Coast Construction
 
QUALIFICATIONS: (Minus top-6 Friday points - no points) 1. Damion Gardner, 4x, Alexander-16.577; 2. Justin Grant, 40, Hery-16.619; 3. Darren Hagen, 17RW, Dutcher-16.687; 4. Nic Faas, 37F, Mitchell-16.813; 5. Jake Swanson, 92, Sertich-16.822; 6. Chase Stockon, 32, 32/TBI-16.828; 7. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-16.838; 8. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.855; 9. Christopher Bell, 51T, Roth-16.923; 10. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 73, Ford-16.954; 11. Geoff Ensign, 3F, Finkenbinder-16.967; 12. Ryan Bernal, 56, Phulps-16.980; 13. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-17.003; 14. Tracy Hines, 4, Hines-17.009; 15. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-17.016; 16. Garrett Hansen, 7, Priestley-17.023; 17. Danny Faria, Jr., 2F, Bowman-17.044; 18. Chad Boespflug, 5B, Baldwin-17.059; 19. Bryan Clauson, 20, Stewart/Curb-Agajanian-17.076; 20. Josh Pelkey, 12, Allen-17.100; 21. David Bezio, 37x, Bezio-17.104; 22. Ronnie Gardner, 93, Gardner-17.122; 23. Rickie Gaunt, 66, Miller-17.240; 24. Max Adams, 5x, Adams-17.244; 25. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-17.245; 26. Matt Rossi, 02, Rossi-17.290; 27. Colby Copeland, 5v, VanLare-17.334; 28. Trent Williams, 52, Williams-17.371; 29. Greg Alexander, 72, Henry-17.381; 30. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-17.413; 31. Corey Ballard, 34, Ballard-17.437; 32. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.456; 33. Austin Liggett, 9s, Hurst-17.496; 34. Logan Williams, 5, Jory-17.501; 35. Terry Schank, Jr., 1, Gleason-17.532; 36. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.557; 37. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-17.633; 38. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.640; 39. Jeremy Ellertson, 98x, Ellertson-17.661; 40. Jeff Sibley, 42N, Sibley-17.714; 41. Johnathon Henry, 17, Henry-17.830; 42. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-17.845; 43. Landon Hurst, 179, Hurst-17.962; 44. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-18.046; 45. Tony Everhart, 55, Everhart-18.521; 46. Michael Curtis, 45c, Turner/Wheeler-18.624; 47. Tobey Sampson, 12B, Blair-18.646;
 
FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. D. Gardner, 2. Bell, 3. Mitchell, 4. Johnson, 5. Swanson, 6. Faria, 7. Alexander, 8. Bezio. NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Hines, 2. Stockon, 3. Grant, 4. R. Gardner, 5. Thomas, 6. Boespflug, 7. Rossi, 8. Andretti. 2:58.72
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. A. Williams, 2. Clauson, 3. C. Williams, 4. Hagen, 5. Ensign, 6. Copeland, 7. Ballard, 8. Gaunt. NT
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. R. Vander Weerd, 2. Bernal, 3. Pelkey, 4. Faas, 5. Adams, 6. Hansen, 7. T. Williams, 8. J. Vander Weerd. NT
"SUPER 6 DASH": (6 laps) 1. Dave Darland (71P, Phillips), 2. Mike Spencer (50, Chaffin), 3. C.J. Leary (30, Leary), 4. Robert Ballou (12x, Ballou), 5. Jon Stanbrough (37RW, Dutcher), 6. Brady Bacon (69, Dynamics). 1:46.20
 
FIRST B MAIN: (12 laps) 1. Pelkey, 2. Johnson, 3. Thomas, 4. Gaunt, 5. Faas, 6. Mitchell, 7. R. Gardner, 8. L. Williams, 9. Bender, 10. Curtis, 11. Sweeney, 12. Ellertson, 13. Liggett, 14. Copeland, 15. Everhart, 16. Henry, 17. Bezio, 18. Sibley. NT
SECOND B MAIN: (12 laps) 1. Faria, 2. Hagen, 3. Grant, 4. Boespflug, 5. Ensign, 6. Rossi, 7. C. Williams, 8. Adams, 9. Andretti, 10. Schank, 11. T. Williams, 12. Hurst, 13. Hansen, 14. Ballard, 15. Edwards, 16. Gansen, 17. Sampson, 18. Swanson. NT
 
FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Mike Spencer, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Dave Darland, 5. Ryan Bernal, 6. Damion Gardner, 7. Richard Vander Weerd, 8. Brady Bacon, 9. Jon Stanbrough, 10. Chad Boespflug, 11. Chase Stockon, 12. Christopher Bell, 13. Darren Hagen, 14. C.J. Leary, 15. Austin Williams, 16. Danny Faria, Jr., 17. Tracy Hines, 18. Cody Williams, 19. Rickie Gaunt, 20. R.J. Johnson, 21. Josh Pelkey, 22. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 23. Garrett Hansen, 24. Geoff Ensign, 25. Nic Faas, 26. Justin Grant. NT

***Henry flipped in the 1st B Main. Copeland flipped in the 1st B Main. Faas flipped on Lap 17. Ensign flipped on Lap 19. Hansen flipped on Lap 23. Thomas, Jr. flipped on Lap 25.
 
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Spencer, Lap 6 Leary, Lap 7 Spencer, Laps 8-19 Leary, Laps 20-30 Spencer, Laps 31-40 Ballou.

USAC WEST COAST & SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR SPECIAL EVENT RACE RESULTS
November 6, 2014 – Perris, California – Perris Auto Speedway – “360 Oval Nationals”

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-16.416; 2. Jake Swanson, 92, Sertich-16.503; 3. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-16.547; 4. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-16.622; 5. Kevin Thomas Jr., 73X, Ford-16.640; 6. Bryan Clauson, 16B, Martin-16.644; 7. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.682; 8. Colby Copeland, 5V, VanLare-16.683; 9. Robert Ballou, 12X, Ballou-16.704; 10. Danny Faria Jr., 2F, Bowman-16.704; 11. Christopher Bell, 51T, Roth-16.728; 12. Jon Stanbrough, 81M, Watt-16.767; 13. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-16.770; 14. Dave Darland, 4G, Gansen-16.833; 15. Mike Spencer, 7M, Priestley-16.864; 16. Charles Davis Jr., 50, Massey-16.871; 17. Shon Deskins, 20. Deskins-16.880; 18. Darren Hagen, 17RW, Dutcher-16.897; 21. Rick Hendrix, 15X, Hendrix-16.918; 22. Josh Pelkey, 12, Allen-16.968; 23. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-16.994; 24. Johnathon Henry, 17, Henry-17.060; 25. Jeff Sibley, 42N, Sibley-17.098; 26. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-17.146, 27. Markus Niemela, 73, Ford-17.147; 28. Max Adams, 5X, Adams-17.191; 29. Michael Curtis, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-17.228; 30. A.J. Bender, 12B, Bender-17.262; 31. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-17.378; 32. Terry Schank Jr., 3X, Dupont-17.457; 33. Cody Majors, 54, Majors-17.459; 34. Trent Williams, 52, Williams-17.484; 35. Tristan Guardino, 81, Watt-17.510; 36. David Taylor, 74, Taylor-17.608; 37. Tony Everhart, 55, Everhart-17.638; 38. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.783; 39. J.J. Ercse, 15, Boy-17.843; 40. Kyle Smith, 55X, Smith-18.069; 41. Ryan Bernal, 56, Phulps-18.109; 42. George Morris, 3K, Kruseman-18.302; 43. Brian Grosenheider, 25K, Kruseman-18.658; 44. Eddie Tafoya, 51, Perkins-18.877; 45. Ed Schwarz, U47, Schwarz-18.886; 46. Mike Collins, 04, Collins-19.326

FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Johnson, 2. Leary, 3. R.Vander Weerd, 4. Mitchell, 5. Sibley, 6. Edwards, 7. Schank, 8. Tafoya. NT
SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Martin, 2. Darland, 3. Swanson, 4. Majors, 5. Copeland, 6. Hurst, 7. Collins, 8. Ercse. 2:58.42
THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Spencer, 2. Ballou, 3. Liggett, 4. Adams, 5. Hendrix, 6. Smith, 7. Williams, 8. Schwarz. 2:56.44
FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Rutherford, 2. Davis, 3. Bernal, 4. Pelkey, 5. Faria, 6. Curtis, 7. Guardino. 2:59.13
FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Thomas, 2. Bell, 3. Deskins, 4. J.Vander Weerd, 5. Bender, 6. Taylor, 7. Morris. 2:59.20
SIXTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Clauson, 2. Hagen, 3. Stanbrough, 4. Henry, 5. Everhart, 6. Ennis, 7. Grosenheider. 2:58.34

FIRST SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Mitchell, 2. Copeland, 3. Curtis, 4. J.Vander Weerd, 5. Ennis, 6. Hendrix, 7. Everhart, 8. Majors, 9. Morris, 10. Guardino, 11. Ercse, 12. Schwarz, 13. Sibley, 14. Tafoya. NT

SECOND SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Faria, 2. Hurst, 3. Henry, 4. Pelkey, 5. Adams, 6. Williams, 7. Bender, 8. Edwards, 9. Smith, 10. Schank, 11. Collins, 12. Taylor, 13. Grosenheider. 3:40.66

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Bryan Clauson, 3. Jake Swanson, 4. Richard Vander Weerd, 5. Mike Spencer, 6. Matt Mitchell, 7. R.J. Johnson, 8. Darren Hagen, 9. Danny Faria Jr., 10. Kevin Thomas Jr., 11. Johnathon Henry, 12. Landon Hurst, 13. Charles Davis Jr., 14. Mike Martin, 15. Troy Rutherford, 16. Ryan Bernal, 17. Colby Copeland, 18. Shon Deskins, 19. Michael Curtis, 20. Jon Stanbrough, 21. Dave Darland, 22. Austin Liggett, 23. Robert Ballou, 24. Christopher Bell. NT

**Niemela flipped in qualifications. Liggett, Stanbrough, Rutherford, Bernal flipped during the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Thomas, Laps 2-19 Clauson, Laps 20-30 Leary.