Bakersfield, California (September 28, 2024)………Cody Williams had to borrow an engine from a fellow competitor just to be able to compete in Saturday night’s Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car Series feature at The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
By the end of the night, the Corona, Calif. native owned his second feature victory of the season, and the fifth of his USAC CRA career at the Bakersfield, Calif. dirt oval.
Utilizing a powerplant from Verne Sweeney under the hood of his own No. 44, the sixth place starting Williams took over the top spot from racelong leader David Gasper on lap 20 of the 30-lap feature. From there, Williams paced the final 12 laps to score the win.
To kick off the evening, Williams earned his 20th career Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier award, which now ranks him fourth all-time in series history, and one behind Jake Swanson for third on the list.
Furthermore, in addition to the $3,500 winner’s share, Williams earned an extra $500 cash bonus from Avanti Windows & Doors for his efforts.
Making just his second USAC CRA appearance of the year, hometown hero Brody Fuson (Bakersfield, Calif.) charged from his 11th starting spot to finish second with a 360 cubic inch engine between the frame rails. Steve Lafond awarded Fuson, the 2023 USAC Western States Midget champion, with a $100 hard charger bonus.
It was a big night for R.J. Johnson (Laveen, Ariz.) as he separated himself from Tommy Malcolm in the 2024 USAC CRA championship race. Johnson used a third-place result to dramatically increase his series point lead from three to 41. Tommy Malcolm was plagued by mechanical issues and pulled off before the start of the feature with a 16th place finish.
Rookie David Gasper (Goleta, Calif.) led a race-high 19 laps to finish fourth while Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Ariz.) rounded out the top-five.
Fuson won the FlowDynamics Incorporated / BillsJerky.net / In Honor of Wiley Miller Sr and Wiley Miller II First Heat Race. Verne Sweeney (Lomita, Calif.) won the In Memory of Jim and Chet Gardner / WC Friend Company / Sexton Fire Protection / Factory Wraps Second Heat Race.
AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 28, 2024 – The Dirt Track at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway – Bakersfield, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.771; 2. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-14.864; 3. R.J. Johnson, 51, Johnson-14.913; 4. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-15.033; 5. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-15.110; 6. David Gasper, 18, Kittle/Gasper-15.117; 7. Austin Williams, 17w, Dunkel-15.122; 8. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-15.134; 9. Logan Williams, 5w, McCarthy-15.139; 10. Verne Sweeney, 98, Guerrero-15.180; 11. Brody Fuson, 51B, Van Meter-15.293; 12. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-15.295; 13. Blake Bower, 17, Dunkel-15.360; 14. Tanner Boul, 99T, Boul-15.971; 15. Elexa Herrera, 5E, Herrera-16.291; 16. Aaron Altaffer, 84, Altaffer-16.478.
FLOWDYNAMICS INCORPORATED / BILLSJERKY.NET / IN HONOR OF WILEY MILLER SR. & WILEY MILLER II FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Brody Fuson, 2. R.J. Johnson, 3. Charles Davis Jr., 4. Cody Williams, 5. Austin Williams, 6. Blake Bower, 7. Elexa Herrera, 8. Logan Williams. NT
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER / WC FRIEND COMPANY / SEXTON FIRE PROTECTION / FACTORY WRAPS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Verne Sweeney, 2. Ryan Timmons, 3. David Gasper, 4. A.J. Bender, 5. Austin Grabowski, 6. Tanner Boul, 7. Aaron Altaffer, 8. Tommy Malcolm. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Cody Williams (6), 2. Brody Fuson (11), 3. R.J. Johnson (5), 4. David Gasper (2), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (3), 6. A.J. Bender (12), 7. Austin Williams (1), 8. Verne Sweeney (10), 9. Ryan Timmons (4), 10. Logan Wiliams (9), 11. Austin Grabowski (8), 12. Tanner Boul (14), 13. Blake Bower (13), 14. Elexa Herrera (15), 15. Aaron Altaffer (16), 16. Tommy Malcolm (7). NT
**Aaron Altaffer flipped on lap 22 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 David Gasper, Laps 20-30 Cody Williams.
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Brody Fuson (11th to 2nd)
AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-R.J. Johnson-1073, 2-Tommy Malcolm-1032, 3-Austin Williams-971, 4-A.J. Bender-929, 5-Logan Williams-913, 6-David Gasper-888, 7-Cody Williams-867, 8-Verne Sweeney-708, 9-Austin Grabowski-691, 10-Charles Davis Jr.-642.
NEXT AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS USAC CRA SPRINT CAR RACES: October 12, 2024 – Mohave Valley Raceway – Mohave Valley, Arizona
