12-6-11 2011 Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Year in Review

By Lance Jennings

SANTA MARIA, CA – DECEMBER 6, 2011... For the fourth consecutive year, Temecula's Mike Spencer won the driver's championship with the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. During the 2011 campaign, the traditional 410s showcased twenty-two events in California and Arizona with 150 different drivers taking the green flag. Twelve of those drivers scored feature wins as the group registered an average car count of thirty-two.

Piloting Ron Chaffin's famed red #50 Madera Produce / Grubstake Mini Storage Maxim, Spencer served early notice to the competition by winning the first three races of the year. After briefly losing the point lead to Matt Mitchell, the Bruce Bromme Jr. led team rebounded and scored three more victories, including the "Firecracker 30" at Perris and Calistoga's "Louie Vermeil Classic." In all, Mike led the series with six feature wins, five Sander Engineering Fast Time Awards (tied), four Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main wins, nineteen top-10 finishes, and 146 feature laps led. In addition to having seven heat race victories, Spencer won Santa Maria's Last Man Standing Dash on August 13th and the $10,000 "Legends of Ascot Match Race" at Perris on November 5th. For Chaffin, the 2011 USAC/CRA Championship is his fifth owner's title in the eight year history of the series.

Nic Faas of Huntington Beach finished second in the championship point chase. In his first year behind the wheel of Mark Alexander's silver #4 Scott Sales Company / VP Racing Fuels Spike, Faas won three features in a row at Perris, including the "Glenn Howard Memorial" and the first night of the Oval Nationals. The 2008 Rookie of the Year won two Last Man Standing Dashes, first coming at Santa Maria on June 18th, and the "Walt James Dash" at Perris on July 30th. Faas tied Spencer for the series lead with five Sander Engineering Fast Time Awards and set the 1-lap track records at Victorville and Peoria, AZ. Nic had seven heat race victories on the year with three Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Awards, seventeen top-10 finishes, and 64 feature laps led.

Yorba Linda's Matt Mitchell had a solid season and claimed third in the final point standings. The pilot of J.W. Mitchell Motorsports' #37 Mancha Realtors / Sierra Springs Maxim briefly led the points early in the year and claimed two feature wins at Perris, including the "Salute To Indy" on May 28th. The former USAC Western Midget Series Rookie of the Year led all drivers with nine heat race victories and four Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Awards on the season. In addition, the championship contender had seventeen top-10 finishes and 49 feature laps led in 2011.

Austin Williams of Yorba Linda placed fourth in the hunt for the championship. Driving Jack Jory's #2 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Viper, Williams won his first career USAC/CRA feature at Santa Maria on August 13th. The 2009 Rookie of the Year and son of Hall of Fame driver "The Ripper" Rip Williams closed out the season with three heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, one Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and thirty feature laps led to his credit.

Scoring fifth in the final standings is Visalia's Greg Bragg. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich's #92 Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror / Pacific Business Machine Buckley, Bragg did not win a main event but was a factor in many of the races. The 3-Time California Lightning Sprint Champion had his best finish of the year with a second place run in the May 28th "Salute To Indy" at Perris. Greg and the Moose Racing Team ended their 2011 campaign with three heat race victories, two Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Awards, eleven top-10 finishes, and fourteen feature laps led.

"Cadillac" Cody Williams of Yorba Linda finished sixth in the championship points. The driver of Jack Jory's #44 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Viper did not win a feature, but raced towards the front on many occasions. Last season's Victorville Sprint Car Champion had his best finish of the year with a sixth place showing on July 30th at Perris Auto Speedway. The oldest son of Hall of Fame driver "The Ripper" Rip Williams recorded five heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels Hard Charger Award, and eight top-10 finishes in 2011.

Santa Maria's "Showtime" Danny Sheridan had a tough year and claimed seventh in the standings. Splitting time with the USAC West Coast 360s, the pilot of the Kittle Motorsports' #18 Pace Lighting / PIPE Sherman did not score a feature win with the club, but continued to live up to his nickname. The former Bandit Sprint Car Champion recorded two runner-up finishes in 2011, first at his hometown track on August 13th and at Calistoga on September 3rd. "Showtime" registered three heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main win, eight top-10 finishes, and fifteen feature laps led on the year.

"The Ripper" Rip Williams of Yorba Linda finished eighth in the point chase. Driving Jack Jory's famed black #3 John Jory Corporation / AMA Plastics Viper, the 2004 USAC/CRA Champion did not win a main event but remained a force to be reckoned with in 2011. The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Driver placed second in the July 2nd "Firecracker 30" at Perris and continues to mentor sons Cody and Austin. "The Ripper" closed out his campaign with four heat race victories, six top-10 finishes, and six feature laps led.

Finishing ninth in the championship points is "Super" Rickie Gaunt of Torrance. Piloting David Miller's #66 Tom Roberts Design / Barnes Systems Inc. Eagle, Gaunt had a tough season and did not claim a feature win. Always running towards the front, the 2004 SCRA Champion's best finish of the year was second place run at Perris during the Southern California Fair on October 8th. The veteran driver had one heat race victory, two Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main wins, six top-10 finishes, and twenty-three feature laps led in 2011.

"The Demon" Damion Gardner of Concord finished tenth in USAC/CRA standings. Now racing primarily in the Midwest, the 2005 Champion made several guest appearances in Dwight Cheney's #42 machine and lost to Mike Spencer at the last corner of the March 12th Perris season opener. Racing his DG Racing #71 Pace Lighting Eagle, Gardner won his second Perris Oval Nationals on November 5th and had two Sander Engineering Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, nine top-10 finishes, and sixty-three feature laps led on the year.

Bryan Clauson, "The Kruser" Cory Kruseman, Robert Ballou, Levi Jones, Bud Kaeding, Kyle Larson, and Chris Windom also scored feature wins in 2011. Clauson swept the October 28th & 29th "Hall of Fame Classic" at Peoria, Arizona's Canyon Speedway Park. Racing his CTR-BCI-Curb/Agajanian #7 Curb Records Spike, Clauson finished 20th in points. Kruseman won two co-sanctioned races with the new USAC Western Classic Racing Series, first at Watsonville on July 17th and the next night at Santa Maria. Splitting time between his #21K Lucas Oil Eagle and Mark Priestley's #7 Roy Miller Freightlines Maxim, the 2006 Champion claimed twelfth in points.

Ballou flew in from Indiana and won the "Louie Vermeil Classic" preliminary feature at Calistoga on September 3rd. Driving Keith Ford's #72 Berry Pack Ellis, "The Rocklin Rocket" finished 19th in series points. Levi Jones capped off his championship season with the USAC National Sprint Cars by winning "The Finals" at Hanford on November 12th. Piloting the Tony Stewart Racing #20 GM Performance Parts Eagle, Jones placed fourteenth in USAC/CRA points.

Kaeding won the shootout at Hanford on May 7th behind the wheel of Junior Bowman's #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises Maxim. The 3-time USAC Silver Crown Champion also drove his #29 BK Motorsports Maxim, set a new Hanford 1-lap record on November 12th, and tied for twenty-third in the point chase. Kyle Larson scored the September 8th "Tiner Family Classic" victory at Chico from fourteenth in Brent Kaeding's #99 Stadelhofer Construction Maxim. Larson also drove for Junior Bowman and claimed thirty-fourth in the final standings. Chris Windom won the "makeup" preliminary feature of the Oval Nationals at Perris on November 5th. Driving the Baldwin Brothers Racing #5X Fox Paving Maxim, Windom tied for seventeenth in USAC/CRA points.

The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series would like to thank Hoosier Tire, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Donovan Engineering, Electro Tech Powder Coating, Extreme Mufflers, Hilborn Fuel Injection, Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror, Keizer Wheels, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sander Engineering, and So-Cal Performance for their support.

For more information on the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series, please visit www.usacracing.com/cra or follow the series on facebook.