by Lance Jennings
CALISTOGA, CA – SEPTEMBER 3, 2013... After competing in Atlanta the day before with the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Elk Grove’s Kyle Larson led the final two laps to claim the “6th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic.” Sunday’s $10,000 USAC Western Classic and Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car triumph at Calistoga Speedway was Larson’s third career WCRS victory. Bud Kaeding, Austin Williams, fast qualifier Mike Spencer, and Bradley Terrell rounded out the top five drivers.
Taking the lead from Mike Spencer on lap twenty eight, Kyle Larson raced to a popular victory at the Napa County Fairgrounds after starting eighth. Piloting Keith Ford’s #73X Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Larson qualified eighth out of 34 cars and won the SBI Fuel Systems Heat Race #4 in his first start of the campaign.
After winning the previous night, Bud Kaeding of Campbell raced from tenth to finish second in the “Louie Vermeil Classic.” Driving Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Maxim, the 3-time Oval Nationals Champion was tenth fast in time trials and ran second in his heat race. Bud left Calistoga eighth in WCRS points with two feature wins, four top-10 finishes, one Kaeding Performance / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, and 32 feature laps led to his credit.
Yorba Linda’s Austin Williams had a strong finish with a late race charge to claim third at the checkered flags. Racing Jack Jory’s #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Spike, Williams qualified fourth and claimed second in his heat race. The former USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year has one Saldana Racing Products / Rod End Supply Fast Time Award and two top-10 finishes in Western Classic competition.
Mike Spencer of Temecula ran fourth in the Sunday finale after leading twenty-one laps. Piloting Ron Chaffin’s #50 Grubstake Mini Storage / Madera Produce Maxim, the five-time USAC/CRA champion took command from leading rookie contender D.J. Johnson on lap eight. Earlier in the night, Spencer earned his second Saldana Racing Products / Rod End Supply Fast Time Award and won the Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. Currently, Mike is third in the USAC/CRA point chase with one heat race victory and two top-10 finishes with the WCRS.
For the second straight night, Sebastopol’s Bradley Terrell earned the Kaeding Performance / Racing Optics “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a fifth place run from twenty-first. Driving the family owned #43 Millhouse Glass / Papa Enterprises A.R.T., Terrell was twenty-first quick in time trials and was second to Mike Spencer in his heat race. In addition, the Petaluma veteran driver earned his second $1,000 bonus for having the highest finishing 360 at Calistoga.
“The Demon” Damion Gardner of Concord won the program’s 8-lap DJ Safety Heat Race #2. Racing Mark Alexander’s #4A Scott Sales Company / Advanced Racing Suspension Spike, the USAC/CRA point leader qualified fourteenth and was penalized for missing the scales after the main event, resulting in a twenty-third place finish. “The Demon” has one feature win, one Saldana Racing Products / Rod End Supply Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, two top-10 finishes, and 16 feature laps led on the season.
For the second night in a row, Galt’s Matt Streeter won an 8-lap event at Calistoga, this time claiming the Competition Suspension Inc. / Keizer Wheels Heat Race #3. Piloting his #14JR T&T Trucking / Simpson Racing Products Maxim, the former BCRA Midget Champion was nineteenth fast and scored sixteenth in the main event.
Nic Faas of Huntington Beach won his first 12-lap Rod End Supply Semi-Main of 2013. Driving Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / Competition Suspension Inc. Spike, the former USAC Western Midget Champion qualified second and placed fifth in his heat race. Nic left Calistoga second in USAC/CRA points, but has three top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led with the WCRS.
On Thursday, September 5th, the USAC Western Classic Sprint Cars will compete in their season finale at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway during the “60th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions.” The “Cavalcade of Gold Cup Memories” will also showcase the Honda USAC Western and Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) Midgets, Dwarf Cars, and Vintage Cars. Located on the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds at 2357 Fair Street in Chico, reserved tickets are $30 and for more information, visit www.silverdollarspeedway.com or call (530) 350-7275.
The USAC Western Classic Racing Series would like to thank Amsoil, Hoosier Tire, BR Motorsports, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, King Racing Products, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, SBI Fuel Systems, and Saldana Racing Products for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.
For more information on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series, visit www.usacracing.com or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/WesternClassicSprints) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/#!/USAC_WCRS).
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA & WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
September 1, 2013 – Calistoga, California – Calistoga Speedway – “6th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic”
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / ROD END SUPPLY TIME TRIALS:
1. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-19.504; 2. Nic Faas, 4, Alexander-19.598; 3. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-19.831; 4. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-20.085; 5. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-20.109; 6. Geoff Ensign, 5V, VanLare-20.113; 7. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-20.138; 8. Kyle Larson, 73X, Ford-20.241; 9. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-20.352; 10. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-20.359; 11. Kyle Hirst, 83, Tiner-20.370; 12. Andy Forsberg, 7C, Geaney-20.426; 13. Ronnie Gardner, 93, Gardner-20.526; 14. Damion Gardner, 4A, Alexander-20.535; 15. Tim Barber, 3F, Finkenbinder-20.535; 16. Bryan Clauson, 16B, Martin-20.577; 17. Colby Copeland, 23, Melgoza-20.643; 18. Chad Boespflug, 14, Pierson/Vertullo-20.766; 19. Matt Streeter, 14JR, Streeter-20.865; 20. Terry Schank Jr., 1, Gleeson-21.040; 21. Bradley Terrell, 43, Terrell-21.060; 22. Tony Hunt, 56, Phulps-21.062; 23. James Sweeney, 11, Lewis-21.411; 24. Klint Simpson, 84, Simpson-21.473; 25. Evan Pardo, 21, Spear-21.618; 26. Scott Hall, 56K, Hall-21.757; 27. Trevor Schmid, 2X, Schmid-21.847; 28. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-21.948; 29. Shauna Hogg, 5, Hogg-21.959; 30. Tim Sherman Jr., 1JR, Sherman-21.998; 31. Jim Richardson, 8, Richardson-22.290; 32. Sparky Howard, 5D, VanLare-22.439; 33. Tom Baker, 3T, Baker-23.282; 34. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (8 laps)
1. Mike Spencer, 2. Bradley Terrell, 3. Cody Williams, 4. Matt Mitchell, 5. Colby Copeland, 6. Shauna Hogg, 7. Evan Pardo, 8. Ronnie Gardner, 9. Tom Baker. NT
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (8 laps)
1. Damion Gardner, 2. Bud Kaeding, 3. Tony Hunt, 4. Geoff Ensign, 5. Nic Faas, 6. Chad Boespflug, 7. Scott Hall, 8. Tim Sherman Jr. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / KEIZER WHEELS HEAT RACE 3: (8 laps)
1. Matt Streeter, 2. Brody Roa, 3. D.J. Johnson, 4. Kyle Hirst, 5. James Sweeney, 6. Trevor Schmid, 7. Tim Barber, 8. Jim Richardson. NT
SBI FUEL SYSTEMS HEAT RACE 4: (8 laps)
1. Kyle Larson, 2. Austin Williams, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Andy Forsberg, 5. Mike Martin, 6. Terry Schank Jr., 7. Klint Simpson, 8. Sparky Howard. NT
ROD END SUPPLY SEMI-MAIN: (12 laps)
1. Nic Faas, 2. Ronnie Gardner, 3. Chad Boespflug, 4. Colby Copeland, 5. Terry Schank Jr., 6. Tim Barber, 7. Mike Martin, 8. Klint Simpson, 9. Tim Sherman Jr., 10. Evan Pardo, 11. Trevor Schmid, 12. James Sweeney, 13. Scott Hall, 14. Jim Richardson, 15. Shauna Hogg, 16. Sparky Howard, 17. Tim Barber. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Kyle Larson (8th), 2. Bud Kaeding (10th), 3. Austin Williams (4th), 4. Mike Spencer (6th), 5. Bradley Terrell (21st), 6. Geoff Ensign (2nd), 7. Bryan Clauson (16th), 8. Nic Faas (7th), 9. Matt Mitchell (3rd), 10. Brody Roa (5th), 11. Colby Copeland (17th), 12. Chad Boespflug (18th), 13. Andy Forsberg (12th), 14. Cody Williams (9th), 15. Ronnie Gardner (13th), 16. Matt Streeter (19th), 17. Terry Schank Jr. (20th), 18. Tony Hunt (22nd), 19. Tim Barber (15th), 20. D.J. Johnson (1st), 21. Kyle Hirst (11th), 22. Damion Gardner (14th). NT
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**Scott Hall flipped during the semi.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 D.J. Johnson, Laps 8-28 Mike Spencer, Laps 29-30 Kyle Larson.
KAEDING PERFORMANCE / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Bradley Terrell (21st to 5th)
USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT CAR STANDINGS:
1-Ryan Bernal-470, 2-Shauna Hogg-456, 3-D.J. Johnson-380, 4-Tony Hunt-355, 5-Landon Hurst-113, 6-Gordon Rodgers-94, 7-Marty Hawkins-86, 8-Bud Kaeding-73, 9-Geoff Ensign-71, 10-Richard Vander Weerd-68.
2013 USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE
DATE - TRACK - LOCATION
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway - Chico, CA (Gold Cup Race of Champions)
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CALISTOGA, CA – SEPTEMBER 3, 2013... After competing in Atlanta the day before with the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Elk Grove’s Kyle Larson led the final two laps to claim the “6th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic.” Sunday’s $10,000 USAC Western Classic and Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car triumph at Calistoga Speedway was Larson’s third career WCRS victory. Bud Kaeding, Austin Williams, fast qualifier Mike Spencer, and Bradley Terrell rounded out the top five drivers.
Taking the lead from Mike Spencer on lap twenty eight, Kyle Larson raced to a popular victory at the Napa County Fairgrounds after starting eighth. Piloting Keith Ford’s #73X Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Larson qualified eighth out of 34 cars and won the SBI Fuel Systems Heat Race #4 in his first start of the campaign.
After winning the previous night, Bud Kaeding of Campbell raced from tenth to finish second in the “Louie Vermeil Classic.” Driving Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Maxim, the 3-time Oval Nationals Champion was tenth fast in time trials and ran second in his heat race. Bud left Calistoga eighth in WCRS points with two feature wins, four top-10 finishes, one Kaeding Performance / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, and 32 feature laps led to his credit.
Yorba Linda’s Austin Williams had a strong finish with a late race charge to claim third at the checkered flags. Racing Jack Jory’s #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Spike, Williams qualified fourth and claimed second in his heat race. The former USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year has one Saldana Racing Products / Rod End Supply Fast Time Award and two top-10 finishes in Western Classic competition.
Mike Spencer of Temecula ran fourth in the Sunday finale after leading twenty-one laps. Piloting Ron Chaffin’s #50 Grubstake Mini Storage / Madera Produce Maxim, the five-time USAC/CRA champion took command from leading rookie contender D.J. Johnson on lap eight. Earlier in the night, Spencer earned his second Saldana Racing Products / Rod End Supply Fast Time Award and won the Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. Currently, Mike is third in the USAC/CRA point chase with one heat race victory and two top-10 finishes with the WCRS.
For the second straight night, Sebastopol’s Bradley Terrell earned the Kaeding Performance / Racing Optics “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a fifth place run from twenty-first. Driving the family owned #43 Millhouse Glass / Papa Enterprises A.R.T., Terrell was twenty-first quick in time trials and was second to Mike Spencer in his heat race. In addition, the Petaluma veteran driver earned his second $1,000 bonus for having the highest finishing 360 at Calistoga.
“The Demon” Damion Gardner of Concord won the program’s 8-lap DJ Safety Heat Race #2. Racing Mark Alexander’s #4A Scott Sales Company / Advanced Racing Suspension Spike, the USAC/CRA point leader qualified fourteenth and was penalized for missing the scales after the main event, resulting in a twenty-third place finish. “The Demon” has one feature win, one Saldana Racing Products / Rod End Supply Fast Time Award, one heat race victory, two top-10 finishes, and 16 feature laps led on the season.
For the second night in a row, Galt’s Matt Streeter won an 8-lap event at Calistoga, this time claiming the Competition Suspension Inc. / Keizer Wheels Heat Race #3. Piloting his #14JR T&T Trucking / Simpson Racing Products Maxim, the former BCRA Midget Champion was nineteenth fast and scored sixteenth in the main event.
Nic Faas of Huntington Beach won his first 12-lap Rod End Supply Semi-Main of 2013. Driving Mark Alexander’s #4 Scott Sales Company / Competition Suspension Inc. Spike, the former USAC Western Midget Champion qualified second and placed fifth in his heat race. Nic left Calistoga second in USAC/CRA points, but has three top-10 finishes, and 21 feature laps led with the WCRS.
On Thursday, September 5th, the USAC Western Classic Sprint Cars will compete in their season finale at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway during the “60th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions.” The “Cavalcade of Gold Cup Memories” will also showcase the Honda USAC Western and Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) Midgets, Dwarf Cars, and Vintage Cars. Located on the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds at 2357 Fair Street in Chico, reserved tickets are $30 and for more information, visit www.silverdollarspeedway.com or call (530) 350-7275.
The USAC Western Classic Racing Series would like to thank Amsoil, Hoosier Tire, BR Motorsports, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, King Racing Products, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, SBI Fuel Systems, and Saldana Racing Products for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.
For more information on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series, visit www.usacracing.com or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/WesternClassicSprints) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/#!/USAC_WCRS).
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA & WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
September 1, 2013 – Calistoga, California – Calistoga Speedway – “6th Annual Louie Vermeil Classic”
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / ROD END SUPPLY TIME TRIALS:
1. Mike Spencer, 50, Chaffin-19.504; 2. Nic Faas, 4, Alexander-19.598; 3. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-19.831; 4. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-20.085; 5. Matt Mitchell, 37, Mitchell-20.109; 6. Geoff Ensign, 5V, VanLare-20.113; 7. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-20.138; 8. Kyle Larson, 73X, Ford-20.241; 9. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-20.352; 10. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-20.359; 11. Kyle Hirst, 83, Tiner-20.370; 12. Andy Forsberg, 7C, Geaney-20.426; 13. Ronnie Gardner, 93, Gardner-20.526; 14. Damion Gardner, 4A, Alexander-20.535; 15. Tim Barber, 3F, Finkenbinder-20.535; 16. Bryan Clauson, 16B, Martin-20.577; 17. Colby Copeland, 23, Melgoza-20.643; 18. Chad Boespflug, 14, Pierson/Vertullo-20.766; 19. Matt Streeter, 14JR, Streeter-20.865; 20. Terry Schank Jr., 1, Gleeson-21.040; 21. Bradley Terrell, 43, Terrell-21.060; 22. Tony Hunt, 56, Phulps-21.062; 23. James Sweeney, 11, Lewis-21.411; 24. Klint Simpson, 84, Simpson-21.473; 25. Evan Pardo, 21, Spear-21.618; 26. Scott Hall, 56K, Hall-21.757; 27. Trevor Schmid, 2X, Schmid-21.847; 28. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-21.948; 29. Shauna Hogg, 5, Hogg-21.959; 30. Tim Sherman Jr., 1JR, Sherman-21.998; 31. Jim Richardson, 8, Richardson-22.290; 32. Sparky Howard, 5D, VanLare-22.439; 33. Tom Baker, 3T, Baker-23.282; 34. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-NT.
EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (8 laps)
1. Mike Spencer, 2. Bradley Terrell, 3. Cody Williams, 4. Matt Mitchell, 5. Colby Copeland, 6. Shauna Hogg, 7. Evan Pardo, 8. Ronnie Gardner, 9. Tom Baker. NT
DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (8 laps)
1. Damion Gardner, 2. Bud Kaeding, 3. Tony Hunt, 4. Geoff Ensign, 5. Nic Faas, 6. Chad Boespflug, 7. Scott Hall, 8. Tim Sherman Jr. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. / KEIZER WHEELS HEAT RACE 3: (8 laps)
1. Matt Streeter, 2. Brody Roa, 3. D.J. Johnson, 4. Kyle Hirst, 5. James Sweeney, 6. Trevor Schmid, 7. Tim Barber, 8. Jim Richardson. NT
SBI FUEL SYSTEMS HEAT RACE 4: (8 laps)
1. Kyle Larson, 2. Austin Williams, 3. Bryan Clauson, 4. Andy Forsberg, 5. Mike Martin, 6. Terry Schank Jr., 7. Klint Simpson, 8. Sparky Howard. NT
ROD END SUPPLY SEMI-MAIN: (12 laps)
1. Nic Faas, 2. Ronnie Gardner, 3. Chad Boespflug, 4. Colby Copeland, 5. Terry Schank Jr., 6. Tim Barber, 7. Mike Martin, 8. Klint Simpson, 9. Tim Sherman Jr., 10. Evan Pardo, 11. Trevor Schmid, 12. James Sweeney, 13. Scott Hall, 14. Jim Richardson, 15. Shauna Hogg, 16. Sparky Howard, 17. Tim Barber. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions)
1. Kyle Larson (8th), 2. Bud Kaeding (10th), 3. Austin Williams (4th), 4. Mike Spencer (6th), 5. Bradley Terrell (21st), 6. Geoff Ensign (2nd), 7. Bryan Clauson (16th), 8. Nic Faas (7th), 9. Matt Mitchell (3rd), 10. Brody Roa (5th), 11. Colby Copeland (17th), 12. Chad Boespflug (18th), 13. Andy Forsberg (12th), 14. Cody Williams (9th), 15. Ronnie Gardner (13th), 16. Matt Streeter (19th), 17. Terry Schank Jr. (20th), 18. Tony Hunt (22nd), 19. Tim Barber (15th), 20. D.J. Johnson (1st), 21. Kyle Hirst (11th), 22. Damion Gardner (14th). NT
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**Scott Hall flipped during the semi.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-7 D.J. Johnson, Laps 8-28 Mike Spencer, Laps 29-30 Kyle Larson.
KAEDING PERFORMANCE / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Bradley Terrell (21st to 5th)
USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT CAR STANDINGS:
1-Ryan Bernal-470, 2-Shauna Hogg-456, 3-D.J. Johnson-380, 4-Tony Hunt-355, 5-Landon Hurst-113, 6-Gordon Rodgers-94, 7-Marty Hawkins-86, 8-Bud Kaeding-73, 9-Geoff Ensign-71, 10-Richard Vander Weerd-68.
2013 USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE
DATE - TRACK - LOCATION
September 5: Silver Dollar Speedway - Chico, CA (Gold Cup Race of Champions)
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