NO TIMIDNESS IN TIMMONS: HE BECOMES NEW USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CHAMP IN 2023
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (November 29, 2023)………Ryan Timmons has been a stalwart of the USAC West Coast Sprint Car scene dating back to the 2015 season, but this year marked a major breakthrough for the Pleasant Hill, Calif. wheelman.
The 28-year-old racer took third in the series standings for 2018, then followed up with a pair of runner-up finishes in both 2019 and 2021. But as 2023 would ultimately prove, this year was his year.
Timmons struck first and never relented as he led the standings from start to finish through the seven-race schedule in California. Beginning at Bakersfield Speedway in April, Timmons slipped past Tyler Hatzikian on a restart, then fought off reigning champ Trent Carter to lead the final eleven laps and win the opening night in his family-owned No. 29T.
In the return to Bakersfield in June, it was the Ryan Timmons show once again shined late, taking over the lead with three laps remaining to claim his second series victory of the season.
Ventura Raceway’s seaside oval produced back-to-back first USAC West Coast Sprint Car winners in the springtime. Making just his second career series start, teenager David Gasper (Goleta, Calif.) notched win number one in May’s romp. The two-time California Lightning Sprint Car champion powered by Kyle Edwards on the seventh lap and led the rest of the 30-lap distance.
In June, 10-time micro sprint champion Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, Calif.) led all 30 laps to top the Ventura field in his May Motorsports’ No. 8m at the Wagsdash Reunion in Honor of Mrs. Wags. He was stalked by Ventura fixture Troy Rutherford from there on, but despite closing to within striking distance of the lead and Andreotti making contact with a lapped car, Andreotti recovered and fended them all off for win numero uno.
Fresh off winning the previous weekend in a USAC Western States Midget event, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, Calif.) returned to Ventura in September to tally a win in the 250th USAC West Coast Sprint Car event ever held. A caution with six laps to go reset the field, but Andreotti retained command on the restart. However, on the final lap, Fuson charged forward and challenged Andreotti who held a narrow advantage into turns three and four before Fuson surged ahead off the final corner to snag the win.
During the final points race of the year in October at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Chase Johnson (Penngrove, Calif.) reigned triumphant at the George Snider Classic. Initially planning to compete that weekend in the Short Track Nationals in Arkansas, Johnson secured a last-minute ride with Chris Muraoka and took it straight to victory lane after leading all 30 laps.
Two non-point special events were part of the series schedule with a 12-lap Mrs. Wagsdash event being held in June at Ventura and featured a fully inverted six-car field. Kaleb Montgomery (Templeton, Calif.) emerged as the victor and earned an extra $2,500 in the process.
For the second consecutive year, Ryan Timms was the class of the field during November’s USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series portion of the ARP Turkey Night Grand Prix Presented by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. Timms (Oklahoma City, Okla.) led all 30 laps at the the 1/5-mile dirt oval from the pole after also conquering the previous night’s 15-lap dash.
In the final standings, Timmons earned the championship by a 33-point margin of Fuson while Kyle Edwards took third. Ron LaPlant (Oroville, Calif.) earned 2023 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rookie of the Year honors and finished fourth in the overall standings. Twenty-eight points behind LaPlant was fellow Rookie David Gasper.
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2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR STAT LEADERS:
Driver Champion: Ryan Timmons
Rookie of the Year: Ron LaPlant
Most Feature Wins: 2-Ryan Timmons
Laps Led: 49-Jake Andreotti
Top-Fives: 5-Ryan Timmons
Top-Tens: 5-Kyle Edwards, Ron LaPlant & Ryan Timmons
Fast Qualifying Times: 2-Brody Fuson, Troy Rutherford & Ryan Timmons
Heat Race Wins: 4-Brody Fuson
Feature Starts: 6-Kyle Edwards, Brody Fuson, Tyler Hatzikian, Tom Hendricks, Ron LaPlant & Ryan Timmons
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1. 406 Ryan Timmons, Pleasant Hill, Calif.
2. 373 Brody Fuson, Bakersfield, Calif.
3. 359 Kyle Edwards, Fountain Valley, Calif.
4. 343 (R) Ron LaPlant, Oroville, Calif.
5. 315 (R) David Gasper, Goleta, Calif.
6. 260 Tom Hendricks, Simi Valley, Calif.
7. 255 Tyler Hatzikian, Murrieta, Calif.
8. 249 (R) Jon DeWees, Lemoore, Calif.
9. 236 Chris Ennis, Bakersfield, Calif.
10. 224 (R) Adam Christian, Santa Clara, Calif.
11. 197 Cody Majors, Simi Valley, Calif.
12. 187 Camie Bell, Bakersfield, Calif.
13. 184 Elexa Herrera, New Cuyama, Calif.
14. 182 Trent Carter, Torrance, Calif.
15. 175 Logan Calderwood, Goodyear, Ariz.
16. 163 (R) Heath Holdsclaw, Rocklin, Calif.
17. 163 (R) Jake Andreotti, Castro Valley, Calif.
18. 159 (R) Tommy Dunkel, Menifee, Calif.
19. 143 Steve Hix, Ventura, Calif.
20. 133 Hannah Mayhew, Acton, Calif.
21. 125 Troy Rutherford, Ojai, Calif.
22. 114 A.J. Bender, San Diego, Calif.
23. 104 Matt Day, Bakersfield, Calif.
24. 93 James Herrera, New Cuyama, Calif.
25. 79 Chase Johnson, Penngrove, Calif.
26. 72 Tanner Boul, Auberry, Calif.
27. 61 D.J. Johnson, Stockton, Calif.
28. 49 (R) Verne Sweeney, Lomita, Calif.
29. 47 Joey Bishop, Camarillo, Calif.
30. 46 Rick Hendrix, Palmdale, Calif.
31. 45 Aaron Altaffer, Fresno, Calif.
32. 41 Charlie Butcher, Ventura, Calif.
33. 33 (R) Austin Grabowski, Riverside, Calif.
34. 29 (R) Grant Sexton, Lakeside, Calif.
35. 10 (R) Tony Everhart, El Cajon, Calif.
**(R) represents a series Rookie
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINNERS:
Apr 8: Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, CA
WINNER: Ryan Timmons (Dave Timmons #29T)
May 13: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: David Gasper (Gasper Racing-Kittle Motorsports #18)
Jun 3: Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, CA
WINNER: Ryan Timmons (Dave Timmons #29T)
Jun 17: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: Jake Andreotti (May Motorsports #8m)
Sep 16: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: Brody Fuson (Bob & Toni Van Meter #51)
Oct 7: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park - Bakersfield, CA
WINNER: Chase Johnson (Chris Muraoka #25)
Nov 25: (SE) Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA
WINNER: Ryan Timms (Timms Racing #5T)
**(SE) represents a non-points special event
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS:
2-Ryan Timmons (Apr 8 at Bakersfield Speedway & June 3 at Bakersfield Speedway)
1-Jake Andreotti (Jun 17 at Ventura Raceway)
1-Brody Fuson (Sep 16 at Ventura Raceway)
1-David Gasper (May 13 at Ventura Raceway)
1-Chase Johnson (Oct 7 at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park)
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT FEATURE WINS:
1-Ryan Timms (Nov 25 at Ventura Raceway)
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR FEATURE LAPS LED:
49-Jake Andreotti
30-Chase Johnson
24-David Gasper
18-Ron LaPlant
14-Brody Fuson & Ryan Timmons
10-A.J. Bender
9-Trent Carter
6-Kyle Edwards & Cody Majors
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES:
5-Ryan Timmons
3-Kyle Edwards, Brody Fuson & David Gasper
2-Jake Andreotti, Logan Calderwood, Trent Carter, Chris Ennis & Ron LaPlant
1-Tanner Boul, Tyler Hatzikian, Heath Holdsclaw, Chase Johnson, Cody Majors & Troy Rutherford
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES:
5-Kyle Edwards, Ron LaPlant & Ryan Timmons
3-Adam Christian, Jon DeWees, Chris Ennis, Brody Fuson, David Gasper, Tyler Hatzikian, Tom Hendricks & Heath Holdsclaw
2-Jake Andreotti, Logan Calderwood, Trent Carter, Steve Hix & Cody Majors
1-Tanner Boul, Tom Dunkel, James Herrera, Chase Johnson, D.J. Johnson, Hannah Mayhew, Kaleb Montgomery, Troy Rutherford, Verne Sweeney, Cole Wakim & Bryan Whitley
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR FEATURE STARTS:
6-Kyle Edwards, Brody Fuson, Tyler Hatzikian, Tom Hendricks, Ron LaPlant & Ryan Timmons
5-Camie Bell, Jon DeWees, David Gasper & Elexa Herrera
4-Adam Christian, Tommy Dunkel, Chris Ennis & Cody Majors
3-A.J. Bender, Logan Calderwood, Trent Carter, Matt Day, Steve Hix, Heath Holdsclaw, Hannah Mayhew & Bryan Whitley
2-Jake Andreotti, James Herrera, Troy Rutherford, Chris Wakim & Cole Wakim
1-Aaron Altaffer, Joey Bishop, Tanner Boul, Charlie Butcher, Bruce Douglass, Austin Grabowski, Rick Hendrix, Chase Johnson, D.J. Johnson, Eathon Lanfri, Kaleb Montgomery, Malyssa Perkins, Grant Sexton, T.J. Smith & Gage Stickler
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR FAST QUALIFYING TIMES:
2-Brody Fuson, Troy Rutherford & Ryan Timmons
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR HEAT RACE WINS:
4-Brody Fuson
2-Kyle Edwards
1-Jake Andreotti, Tanner Boul, Charlie Butcher, Trent Carter, Adam Christian, Tommy Dunkel, Tom Hendricks, Steve Hix, Ron LaPlant, Kaleb Montgomery, Troy Rutherford & Ryan Timmons
ALL-TIME USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS: (FULL POINTS EVENTS)
35-Ryan Bernal
15-Richard Vander Weerd
11-Bud Kaeding
10-Danny Faria Jr. & Austin Liggett
8-Troy Rutherford
7-Chase Johnson, Brody Roa & Jace Vander Weerd
6-Tristan Guardino & Jake Swanson
5-Ryan Timmons
4-T.J. Smith & Craig Stidham
3-Brody Fuson
2-Geoff Ensign, Wes Gutierrez, D.J. Johnson, Cory Kruseman, Kyle Larson, Matt Mitchell, Davey Pombo & Danny Sheridan
1-Max Adams, Dean Alexander, Jake Andreotti, Shawn Arriaga, Bryan Clauson, Nic Faas, Cody Fendley, David Gasper, Justin Grant, Justyne Hamblin, Kyle Hirst, Josh Hodges, Dennis Howell, Ricky Kirkbride, Ricky Lewis, Mike Martin, Kaleb Montgomery, Peter Murphy, Stevie Sussex & Daniel Whitley
ALL-TIME USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR FEATURE WINS: (NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENTS)
9-Bryan Clauson
5-Ryan Bernal
3-Brady Bacon & Dave Darland
2-Geoff Ensign, Josh Hodges, R.J. Johnson, Austin Liggett, Mike Spencer, Ryan Timmons, Ryan Timms & Richard Vander Weerd
1-A.J. Bender, Colby Copeland, Tyler Courtney, Charles Davis Jr., Dennis Gile, Tristan Guardino, Chase Johnson, C.J. Leary, Carson Macedo, Peter Murphy, Brody Roa, Matt Rossi & Terry Schank Jr.
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR DRIVER CHAMPIONS:
2010: Craig Stidham
2011: Richard Vander Weerd
2012: Bud Kaeding
2013: Danny Faria Jr.
2014: Matt Mitchell
2015: Danny Faria Jr.
2016: Brody Roa
2017: Jake Swanson
2018: Austin Liggett
2019: Tristan Guardino
2020: None
2021: D.J. Johnson
2022: Trent Carter
2023: Ryan Timmons
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR ROOKIES OF THE YEAR:
2010: Chris Ennis
2011: Ryan Bernal
2012: Austin Liggett
2013: Landon Hurst
2014: Trent Carter & Garrett Long
2015: Trey Marcham
2016: Ryan Timmons
2017: Brandon Wiley
2018: Britton Bock
2019: J.J. Ringo
2020: None
2021: Jarrett Soares
2022: Tyler Hatzikian
2023: Ron LaPlant
