AUSTIN WILLIAMS GOES WIRE-TO-WIRE AT PETALUMA
PETALUMA, CA – SEPTEMBER 7, 2021… Leading all 30-laps, “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba, CA) earned his second AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car victory of the year at Petaluma Speedway. Driving the Tom and Laurie Sertich owned #92 Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror DRC, Williams scored the rare Monday night victory ahead of hard charger Chase Johnson, “The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa, “The Demon” Damion Gardner, and “The Cadillac” Cody Williams.
Williams opened the night at the Sonoma-Maria Fairgrounds by qualifying seventh overall out of the fifteen cars in attendance. “The Big Game Hunter” finished third in his heat race and would start on the outside of the front row in the main event. After scoring his eleventh career victory, Austin moved up to sixth on the winner’s list and heads to Perris Auto Speedway ranked third in points.
After fifteen cars took to the track in Woodland Auto Display Qualifying, young Daniel Whitley (Ferndale, CA) took top honors by posting a time of 14.148. Racing Ted Finkenbinder’s #3F Western Industrial X-Ray Eagle with a 360 engine, Whitley placed seventh in his heat race and ran fifth in the main event. In limited starts, the Spec Sprint regular sits thirty-first in the point standings.
“The Pride of Garden Grove” Brody Roa (Riverside, CA) drive to victory in the 10-lap Flowdynamics Incorporated First Heat Race. Piloting the BR Performance / HD Industries Eagle, Roa was ninth fast in time trials and charged to third in the feature after starting ninth. The 2019 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Champion is second in the point chase, just 44 points behind Damion Gardner.
After winning the finale of the “Louie Vermeil Classic” at Chico the previous night, “The Demon” Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) won the 10-lap Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror Second Heat Race. Driving Mark Alexander’s #1 PerformanceOnline.com / Carman Trucking Spike, Gardner qualified second overall and placed fourth in the main event at Petaluma.
Chase Johnson (Penngrove, CA) earned the night’s In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner Hard Charger Award with a second place run from eighth. Racing the May Motorsports’ #8M Fastenal / Coopers Propane Maxim with a 360 engine, Johnson was fourth fast in qualifying and ran fifth in his heat race. In limited starts, the versatile driver has climbed to seventeenth in championship points.
By virtue of his thirteenth place finish, Logan Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) earned the Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Award. Driving John McCarthy’s #5W Flowdynamics Incorporated / Drinkpak DRC, Williams qualified sixth overall and finished thirteenth in the main event. Logan left the Petaluma Speedway ranked eleventh in the point standings.
The USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will take a break before returning to action at Perris Auto Speedway (Perris, CA) on September 25th for the “Glenn Howard Classic.”
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, BillsJerky.com, Component Repair Company, Factory Wraps, Flowdynamics, The Gardner Family (In Memory of Jim & Chet Gardner), Hoosier Racing Tires, Huntington Beach Glass and Mirror, Woodland Auto Display, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Loudpedal Productions, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Sway-A-Way Torsion Bars, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, and Wilwood Disc Brakes for their support.
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AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 6, 2021 – Petaluma Speedway – Petaluma, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Daniel Whitley, 3F, Finkenbinder-14.148; 2. Damion Gardner, 1, Alexander-14.191; 3. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-14.277; 4. Chase Johnson, 8M, May-14.321; 5. Charles Davis Jr., 47, Davis-14,415; 6. Logan Williams, 5W, McCarthy-14.420; 7. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-14.446; 8. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-14.503; 9. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-14.574; 10. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-14.635; 11. Verne Sweeney, 98, Sweeney-14.722; 12. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.923; 13. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-14.963; 14. Austin Grabowski, 72, Grabowski-15.070; 15. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.190.
FLOWDYNAMICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Roa, 2. C.Williams, 3. A.Williams, 4. Davis, 5. Malcolm, 6. Gansen, 7. Whitley, 8. Sweeney. NT.
HUNTINGTON BEACH GLASS & MIRROR SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Tafoya, 3. L.Williams, 4. McCarthy, 5. Johnson, 6. Grabowski, 7. Timmons. NT.
FEATURE: (30 laps, With Starting Positions) 1. Austin Williams (2), 2. Chase Johnson (8), 3. Brody Roa (9), 4. Damion Gardner (6), 5. Daniel Whitley (7), 6. Cody Williams (5), 7. Charles Davis Jr. (4), 8. Tommy Malcolm (13), 9. Matt McCarthy (1), 10. Chris Gansen (15), 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (12), 12. Austin Grabowski (14), 13. Logan Williams (3), 14. Ryan Timmons (10). NT.
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**Verne Sweeney did not start feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 A.Williams
IN MEMORY OF JIM & CHET GARDNER HARD CHARGER: Chase Johnson (8th to 2nd)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Logan Williams
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Damion Gardner-936, 2-Brody Roa-892, 3-Austin Williams-783, 4-Chris Gansen-725, 5-Cody Williams-696, 6-Tommy Malcolm-640, 7-Charles Davis Jr.-519, 8-Danny Faria Jr.-473, 9-Matt McCarthy-464, 10-Verne Sweeney-443.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: September 25 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – “Glenn Howard Classic”