FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series
USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series

CANYON SPEEDWAY PARK HOSTS “47TH WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS”
By Lance Jennings

PEORIA, AZ – NOVEMBER 18, 2014... On Thursday, November 20th, Kevin Montgomery’s Canyon Speedway Park will host the “47th Annual Sands Chevrolet Western World Championships.” The three-day co-sanctioned event between the USAC SouthWest and USAC West Coast Sprint Cars will also showcase the Honda USAC National and Western Midget Series. The Front Gates will open at 4:00pm with Racing scheduled to begin at 7:00pm. For more event information, visit www.canyonspeedwaypark.com.

This year, the USAC SouthWest vs. West Coast Sprint Car field will not be split. Every driver will compete on all three nights, culminating with Saturday’s $7,500-to-win main event. While Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda, California has already clinched the USAC West Coast title, the USAC SouthWest champion will be crowned this weekend. Five-time USAC/CRA Champion Mike Spencer, two-time USAC Western Classic Champion Ryan Bernal will join a talented roster for the “Western World Championships.” A pre-entry list is posted at the end of this release and more drivers are expected.

Racing Bill Michaels’ #77M Kodiak Products / Beal’s Auto Body Sherman, R.J. Johnson of Phoenix has a 110-point advantage over the competition. While placing seventh in the November 6th “360 Oval Nationals” at Perris Auto Speedway, Johnson has had another great campaign. To date, the defending champion has earned eleven feature wins, fourteen heat race victories, three hard charger awards, twenty-nine top-10 finishes, and 220 feature laps led. R.J will have his sights on claiming the $7,500 payday and winning the championship.

Peoria’s Josh Pelkey ranks second in the USAC SouthWest point chase. Piloting Robbie and Gaye Allen’s #12 ABC Body Shop / Napa Auto Parts Maxim, Pelkey missed the Perris feature and scored fourth in the second semi-main. Heading to the Western World, the 1997 ASCA Champion has four feature wins, five heat race victories, two hard charger awards, twenty-nine top-10 finishes, and 71 feature laps led. Josh will be looking to add the Western World trophy to his collection.

“Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. of Buckeye sits third in the championship points. Driving the Massey Motorsports’ #50 RSS Industries / MP Environmental RSS, Davis finished eighteenth at the “360 Oval Nationals.” Currently, the five-time Arizona Sprint Car Champion has four feature wins, twelve heat race victories, one semi-main win, two hard charger awards, twenty-five top-10 finishes, and 132 feature laps led to his credit. “Chargin” Charles will have his sights on adding the Western World Championships to his resume.

South Central’s Matt Rossi is fourth in the USAC SouthWest point standings. The pilot of the family owned #02 Apache Scapes / Advanced Engine Components Spike, Rossi did not compete in the Perris “360 Oval Nationals.” To date, the veteran driver has not won a main event in 2014, but has five heat race victories, two hard charger awards, seventeen top-10 finishes, and 28 feature laps led. Matt will have his sights on earning the $7,500 payday at Canyon Speedway Park.

“The Magic Man” Mike Martin of Yuma is fifth in the point chase. Racing his #16 PPG / Boulevard Truck Maxim, Martin charged to fourteenth at Perris after starting twenty-second. As this writing goes to press, “The Magic Man” has one feature win, six heat race victories, two semi-main wins, one hard charger award, twenty top-10 finishes, and 31 feature laps led on the year. Mike will be looking to add his name to the winner’s list of the Western World Championships.

In addition to entries from Arizona and California, drivers from the USAC National Sprint and Midget series are entered in this prestigious race. Bryan Clauson, who earned $20,000 for sweeping last year’s Sprint Car and Midget Features, heads a strong contingent with “The People’s Champion” Dave Darland, Brady Bacon, “The Madman” Robert Ballou, Jon Stanbrough, Kevin Thomas Jr., “The Bear” Chris Windom, and C.J. Leary.

Canyon Speedway Park is located at 9777 West Carefree Highway in Peoria, Arizona. To get to the track, take Lake Pleasant Parkway, then 1.3 miles west on Carefree Highway. Advance three-day, single-day, and VIP Suite tickets are on sale now and for more event information, visit www.canyonspeedwaypark.com or call (602) 258-7223 (RACE).

The USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series thanks Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Tire, Racers Advantage Store, and the Hose Advantage Store for their support. For more information on the group, visit www.southwestsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, or follow the series on another site (another site/SouthwestSprintCars).

The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks Amsoil, Hoosier Tire, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Inc., Deist Safety, Engler Machine & Tool, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Keizer Wheels, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, Saldana Racing Products, SouthWest Contractors, VanLare Steering Repair, Weld Racing, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. For more information, visit www.westcoastsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, follow the series on another site (another site/#!/pages/USAC-West-Coast-Sprint-Car-Series/369549755817), or Twitter (www.twitter.com/USACwc360).
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WESTERN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WINNERS:
1968-Bob Cleberg (nw); 1969-Bob Huebner (nw); 1970-Jerry McClung (nw); 1971-Jan Opperman (nw); 1972-Jan Opperman (nw); 1973-Earl Wagner (nw); 1974-Rick Ferkel (nw); 1975-Ron Shuman (nw); 1976-Bubby Jones (nw); 1977-Ron Shuman (nw); 1978-Lealand McSpadden (nw); 1979-Tim Green (nw); 1980-Jeff Swindell (nw); 1981-Ron Shuman (nw); 1982-Steve Kinser (nw); 1983-Steve Kinser (nw); 1984-Ron Shuman (nw); 1985-Steve Kinser (w); 1986-Bobby Davis Jr. (w); 1987-Steve Kinser (w); 1988-Mark Kinser (w); 1989-Sammy Swindell (w); 1990-Steve Kinser (w); 1991-Danny Lasoski (w); 1992-Steve Kinser (w); 1993-Lealand McSpadden (nw); 1994-Ron Shuman (nw); 1995-Lealand McSpadden (nw); 1996-Steve Kinser (w); 1997-Mark Kinser (w); 1998-Tyler Walker (w); 1999-Donny Schatz (w); 2000-Jay Drake (nw); 2001-Jeremy Sherman (nw); 2002- Bud Kaeding (nw); 2003-Tony Elliott (nw); 2004-Bud Kaeding (nw); 2005-Dave Darland (nw); 2006-Josh Wise (nw); 2007-Jerry Coons Jr. (nw); 2008-Kevin Swindell (nw); 2009-Sammy Swindell (w)/Brady Bacon (nw); 2010-Donny Schatz (w)/Brady Bacon (nw); 2011-Donny Schatz (w)/Tracy Hines (nw); 2012-Wayne Johnson (w)/Bryan Clauson (nw); 2013-Bryan Clauson (nw)/Bryan Clauson (mid).

2014 USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR WINS:
11-R.J. Johnson, 4- Charles Davis Jr., 4- Josh Pelkey, 3-Dave Darland, 2-Brady Bacon, 1-Mike Bonneau, 1-Colby Copeland, 1-Shon Deskins, 1-C.J. Leary, 1-Austin Liggett, 1-Mike Martin, 1-Stevie Sussex, 1-Richard Vander Weerd.

2014 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS:
6-Ryan Bernal, 3-Dave Darland, 1-Brady Bacon, 1-Colby Copeland, 1-Nic Faas, 1-Dennis Howell, 1-C.J. Leary, 1-Austin Liggett, 1-Matt Mitchell, 1-Troy Rutherford, 1-Jake Swanson, 1-Jace Vander Weerd, 1-Richard Vander Weerd.

2014 WESTERN WORLD SPRINT CAR PRE-ENTRY LIST: (Provided by Lonnie Wheatley & Canyon Speedway Park)
2 Larry Gibson (El Mirage, AZ), 2 Josh Shipley (Peoria, AZ), 02 Matt Rossi (Peoria, AZ), 5 Tye Mihocko (Peoria, AZ), 5v Bradley Terrell (Sebastopol, CA), 7k Bruce St. James (Phoenix, AZ), 7m Mike Spencer (Temecula, CA), 8 Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA), 11c Michael Curtis (Cottonwood, AZ), 12 Josh Pelkey (Peoria, AZ), 12x Robert Ballou (Rocklin, CA), 16 Mike Martin (Yuma, AZ), 17m Michael Colegrove (Peoria, AZ), 17rw Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Cullman, AL), 19 Andrew Reinbold (Chandler, AZ), 20 Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, IN), 20 Shon Deskins (Waddell, AZ), 20s Jon Stanbrough (Avon, IN), 21az Stevie Sussex (Phoenix, AZ), 22b Chris Windom (Canton, IL), 28 Mark Morin (Surprise, AZ), 30 C.J. Leary (Greenfield, IN), 32b Brian Hosford (Gilbert, AZ), 37 Matt Mitchell (Yorba Linda, CA), 48 Thomas Ogle (Surprise, AZ), 50 Charles Davis, Jr. (Buckeye, AZ), 55 Tony Everhart (El Cajon, CA), 56 Ryan Bernal (Hollister, CA), 73 Dave Darland (Lincoln, IN), 74 Colby Copeland (Roseville, CA), 74x Josh Hodges (Tijeras, NM), 75 Casey Shuman (Phoenix, AZ), 77 Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, AZ), 77m R.J. Johnson (Phoenix, AZ), 87 Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX), 92 Jake Swanson (Anaheim, CA), 98 Matt Lundy (Phoenix, AZ), 99 Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)