USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT CARS RETURN TO VENTURA SATURDAY
By Lance Jennings
SEPTEMBER 12, 2023... After a break in the schedule, the USAC West Coast Sprint Cars will return to Ventura Raceway this Saturday, September 16th. Promoted by Jim Naylor, the championship point race will also feature the VRA Dwarf Cars, WMR Midgets, VRA Hobby Stocks, IMCA Sport Compacts, and VRA Junior Classes. Located at the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California, the Pit Gates will open at noon, the Front Gates open at 3:00pm, with Racing scheduled for 5:30pm at “The Best Little Dirt Track in America.” For more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.
NOTICE TO RACERS:
- MEMBERSHIPS / TEMPORARY PERMITS: All USAC racers MUST PURCHASE their USAC license / membership or temporary permit online PRIOR TO THE EVENT at usaclicense.com or usacracing.com.
- ENTRY FEE: There is an entry fee due at registration / pill pick.
- TRANSPONDERS: Transponders ARE MANDATORY and will be available to rent.
- APPROVED/LEGAL TIRES: Due to current shortages, ANY Hoosier Right Rear Tire is legal for competition until further notice. All four corners must be Hoosier.
- APPROVED/LEGAL MUFFLERS: EXTREME: 6014-3535, 3615-3535, SCHOENFELD: 14272535, 14272735-78, FLOWMASTER: 53545-10, 13516100, 13516101, COAST FABRICATION: 350x625x17-2S, B&B: FRAC-0375S, SPINTECH: 1545P SUPER STOCK. P1 AUSTRALIA: SSM5C. *Failure to comply with the muffler rule will risk disqualification from the event.
- ONE WAY RADIOS / RACECEIVERS: One way radios ARE MANDATORY.
- FRONT AXLE TETHER SYSTEMS: Front axle tether systems (2-Chassis, 1-King Pin to King Pin) ARE MANDATORY.
- FULL CONTAINMENT SEATS: Full containment seats ARE MANDATORY.
- COCKPIT ADJUSTABLE SHOCKS: Cockpit adjustable shocks ARE ALLOWED.
- RULE BOOK: The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series Rule Book can be found online at usacracing.com.
In addition to championship points, each night will award points for the season-long Woodland Auto Display Top Qualifier Standings, Sammy Bahr & Ray Stansberry Feature Points, and Passing Master Standings. The top drivers in Woodland TQ points will take home $500-for-1st, $300-for-2nd, and $200-for-3rd. The winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet following the “George Snider Classic / Championship Night” on October 7th at The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park.
Since April 4, 2009, the Ventura County Fairgrounds has held twenty-six West Coast 360 events and eighteen different drivers have claimed victory. Rookie contender David Gasper took the checkered flags in just the second start of his career on May 13th and Jake Andreotti led all 30-laps to add his name to the winner’s list on June 17th. Former VRA Champion, Troy Rutherford established the 1-lap track record of 11.941 on June 4, 2022 and the complete Ventura winner’s list is at the end of the release.
After running fifth at Ventura on June 17th, Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, California) has extended his point lead to 52 markers over the competition. Driving the family owned #29T Red Line Oil / Evergood Fine Foods Maxim, Timmons has two feature wins, one heat race victory, four top-10 finishes, and 14 feature laps led on the season. The 2016 Rookie of the Year is tied with Chase Johnson for twelfth on the win list and will be looking for his eighth career victory this Saturday night.
Ron LaPlant (Oroville, California) is second in the USAC West Coast point standings. Racing his #69 RJL Truck & Tractor Painting / Feather Falls Casino Eagle, LaPlant earned the Hard Charger / “Best Passing Job” honors at Ventura with a ninth place run eighteenth. At press time, the leading rookie contender has two BR Motorsports / Rod End Supply Hard Charger Awards, four top-ten finishes, and 18 feature laps led to his credit. Ron will have his sights on the first victory of his career at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
Kyle Edwards (Fountain Valley, California) sits third in the chase for the championship. Piloting the family owned #39 Safehouse Security / Van Dyne Engineering Triple X, Edwards charged from ninth to fourth in the July 17th main event. To date, the third generation driver has posted two heat race victories, three top-10 finishes, and 6 feature laps led in the campaign. Kyle will be looking for the first series win of his career at Ventura Raceway.
After scoring twelfth at Ventura on June 17th, Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, California) has climbed to fourth in the point chase. Driving Bob & Toni Van Meter’s #51 Race Pa Motorsports / W.E. Spike, Fuson has one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, two heat race victories, one BR Motorsports / Rod End Supply Hard Charger Award, one Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13” Award, one top-10 finish, and 13 feature laps led on the season. Fresh off last Saturday’s USAC Western States Midget win at Ventura, Brody will have his sights on the third USAC 360 win of his career.
Tyler Hatzikian (Murrieta, California) is fifth in the championship standings. The owner / driver of the #27 Tyler Surfboards / Original Roadhouse Bar & Grill Triple X placed seventeenth at the last Ventura visit. At press time, the 2022 Rookie of the Year has three top-10 finishes on the year and will have his sights on his first USAC win at Ventura Raceway.
While Ron LaPlant leads the chase for rookie of the year honors, David Gasper (Goleta, California), Jon DeWees (Lemoore, California), Adam Christian (Santa Clara, California), Bryan Whitley (Oak View, California), Jake Andreotti (Castro Valley, California), Tom Dunkel (Menifee, California), Heath Holdsclaw (Loomis, California), Verne Sweeney (Lomita, California), and “The Gunslinger” Austin Grabowski (Riverside, California) are also in contention.
Among the other drivers expected to be in action are Cody Majors, 2022 Champion Trent Carter, Tom Hendricks, Chris Ennis, Hannah Mayhew, Elexa Herrera, Camie Bell, James Herrera, Tanner Boul, Joey Bishop, and more.
Ventura Raceway is located on the Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Blvd. in Ventura, California. General Admission Adult tickets are $22, General Admission Senior (60 and older), Active Military (ID Required), and Student tickets (with ID) are $18. Kids tickets (12 and under) are FREE. For more event information, visit the track’s website at venturaraceway.com or call 805.648.RACE.
The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks BR Motorsports, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, High Tech Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Steve Lafond / Tear-Off Heaven Fotos, Wagtimers, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email Stephanie Odom at Odom.Stephanie@me.com or Lance Jennings at lwjennings@earthlink.net.
For more information on the series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content at the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2009-Justyne Hamblin, 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-NO AWARD, 2021-D.J. Johnson, 2022-Trent Carter.
VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR TRACK RECORD: Troy Rutherford - 11.941 (06/04/22)
VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: (Includes Non-Point Races) 3-Tristan Guardino, 3-Troy Rutherford, 3-Jake Swanson, 2-Ryan Bernal, 2-Chase Johnson, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-Brady Bacon, 1-A.J. Bender, 1-Tyler Courtney, 1-Geoff Ensign, 1-David Gasper, 1-Johnathon Henry, 1-Austin Liggett, 1-Carson Macedo, 1-Brody Roa, 1-Ryan Timmons, 1-Ryan Timms, 1-Daniel Whitley.
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Ryan Timmons, 1-Jake Andreotti, 1-David Gasper.
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Ryan Timmons-299, 2. Ron LaPlant®-247, 3. Kyle Edwards-241, 4. Brody Fuson-212, 5. Tyler Hatzikian-205, 6. Cody Majors-197, 7. Trent Carter-182, 8. David Gasper®-179, --. Tom Hendricks-179, 10. Chris Ennis-163, 11. Jon DeWees®-153, 12. Steve Hix-143, 13. Hannah Mayhew-133, 14. Troy Rutherford-125, 15. Adam Christian®-124, 16. Elexa Herrera-119, 17. Camie Bell-112, 18. Bryan Whitley®-97, 19. James Herrera-93, 20. Jake Andreotti®-77, 21. Matt Day-76, 22. Tom Dunkel®-75, 23. Tanner Boul-72, 24. Kaleb Montgomery-68, 25. D.J. Johnson-61, 26. Heath Holdsclaw®-55, 27. Verne Sweeney®-49, 28. Joey Bishop-47, 29. A.J. Bender-43, 30. Charlie Butcher-41, 31. Bruce Douglass-40, 32. Logan Calderwood-38, 33. Austin Grabowski®-33, 34. Grant Sexton®-29, 35. Eathon Lanfri®-28, ---. Chris Wakim®-28, 37. Cole Wakim®-24, 38. Malyssa Perkins®-10, ---. Tony Everhart®-10.
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY TOP QUALIFIER POINTS: 1. Ryan Timmons-18, 2. David Gasper®-12, -. Troy Rutherford-12, 4. Brody Fuson-11, 5. Kyle Edwards-10, 6. Cody Majors-9, 7. Kaleb Montgomery-5, 8. Ron LaPlant®-3, 9. Logan Calderwood-2, 10. Tyler Hatzikian-1, --. Chris Ennis-1.
SAMMY BAHR & RAY STANSBERRY FEATURE POINTS: 1. Ryan Timmons-256, 2. Ron LaPlant®-226, 3. Kyle Edwards-209, 4. Tyler Hatzikian-188, 5. Brody Fuson-171, 6. Cody Majors-168, 7. Trent Carter-166, 8. Tom Hendricks-165, 9. Chris Ennis-145, 10. David Gasper®-138, 11. Jon DeWees®-134, 12. Steve Hix-127, 13. Hannah Mayhew-111, 14. Adam Christian®-107, 15. Elexa Herrera-99, 16. Troy Rutherford-98, 17. Camie Bell-91, 18. James Herrera-87, 19. Bryan Whitley-84, 20. Jake Andreotti®-70, 21. Matt Day-68, 22. Tom Dunkel-66, 23. Tanner Boul-64, 24. D.J. Johnson-55, ---. Kaleb Montgomery-55, 26. Heath Holdsclaw®-49, 27. Verne Sweeney®-43, 28. A.J. Bender-37, 29. Bruce Douglass-35, 30. Joey Bishop-34, 31. Charlie Butcher-33, 32. Logan Calderwood-31, 33. Austin Grabowski®-27, ---. Chris Wakim®-27, 35. Eathon Lanfri®-25, 36. Cole Wakim®-23, ---. Grant Sexton®-23.
PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1. 1. Ron LaPlant®-21, 2. Tom Hendricks-19, 3. Jon DeWees®-18, 4. Adam Christian®-12, 5. Elexa Herrera-11, --. Ryan Timmons-11, 7. Hannah Mayhew-10, --. Trent Carter-10, 9. Heath Holdsclaw®-8, 10. Brody Fuson-7, 11. Chris Ennis-6, ---. Bryan Whitley-6, ---. Bruce Douglass-6, 14. D.J. Johnson-5, ---. James Herrera-5, ---. Matt Day-5, ---. Camie Bell-5, ---. Tyler Hatzikian-5, ---. Kyle Edwards-5, 20. Tanner Boul-4, ---. Steve Hix-4, ---. Troy Rutherford-4, 23. Cody Majors-3, ---. Verne Sweeney®-3, 25. David Gasper®-2, ---. Joey Bishop-2, ---. Tom Dunkel-2, 28. Eathon Lanfri®-1, ---. Jake Andreotti®-1, ---. Chris Wakim®-1.
2023 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE
February 25: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (RAIN)
April 8: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
May 13: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: David Gasper)
June 3: Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, CA (Winner: Ryan Timmons)
June 17: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA (Winner: Jake Andreotti)
July 29: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
August 26: Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, CA (CANCELLED)
September 16: Ventura Raceway – Ventura, CA
October 7: The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park – Bakersfield, CA (With USAC Western States Midgets / Championship Night / George Snider Classic / Awards Banquet)
November 24: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
November 25: Ventura Raceway - Ventura, CA (82nd Running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix / SE)
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TBA = To Be Announced.
SE = Special Event / Non-Points.
This schedule is subject to change.
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