When the checkered flag waved at Santa Maria Raceway, “The Demon” Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) emerged victorious and topped the 5-race “California Sprint Week” championship by one point.

Driving Mark Alexander’s #4 Trench Shoring / All Coast Construction Spike car, Gardner took command from Chris Gansen on the tenth lap. Then he went on to record his third AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car win of the campaign (83rd career) over fast qualifier Austin Williams, Jake Swanson, Max Adams, and Charles Davis Jr.

Williams also posted his fifth career Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award with a time of 13.388 over the 19-car field.

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Ryan Bernal earned the Specialty Fasteners Hard Charger Award with a run that took him from eleventh to sixth place. Troy Rutherford claimed the Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13 Award”, and James Herrera scored the USAC 360 Bonus with a fourteenth place finish in the feature. 

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Results

10-lap Heat Winners: 

• Steve Hix (Extreme Mufflers First Heat), 
• Ryan Bernal (Circle Track Performance / Ultra Shield Race Products Second Heat)
• Charles Davis Jr. (Saldana Racing Products / ButlerBuilt Seats Third Heat)

The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Cars will return to Perris Auto Speedway on Saturday, September 21st, for the “Glenn Howard Classic.”

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: 

September 7 – Santa Maria Raceway – Santa Maria, California – “California Sprint Week Finale”

WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-13.388; 2. Jake Swanson, 34AZ, Grau/Burkhart-13.579; 3. Max Adams, 42X, Cheney-13.619; 4. Damion Gardner, 4, Alexander-13.708; 5. Chase Johnson, 68, Thomas-13.761; 6. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-13.809; 7. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-13.831; 8. Danny Faria Jr., 42, Cheney-13.847; 9. Charles Davis Jr., 50, Davis-13.856; 10. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-13.864; 11. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-13.993; 12. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-14.061; 13. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-14.226; 14. Verne Sweeney, 98, Tracy-14.237; 15. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-14.312; 16. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-14.339; 17. Austin Ervine, 51, AJ-14.431; 18. James Herrera, 5J, Herrera-14.487; Brandon Wiley, Team 33-14.445.

EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Hix, 2. Roa, 3. A.Williams, 4. Gardner, 5. C.Williams, 6. Herrera, 7. Martin. NT

CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE / ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Bernal, 2. Johnson, 3. Faria, 4. Swanson, 5. Sweeney. NT

SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / BUTLERBUILT SEATS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Davis, 2. Tafoya, 3. Adams, 4. Gansen, 5. Wiley, 6. Rutherford. NT

FEATURE: (30 laps, with starting positions) 1. Damion Gardner (3), 2. Austin Williams (6), 3. Jake Swanson (5), 4. Max Adams (4), 5. Charles Davis Jr. (9), 6. Ryan Bernal (11), 7. Cody Williams (10), 8. Chase Johnson (2), 9. Chris Gansen (1), 10. Steve Hix (13), 11. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (15), 12. Verne Sweeney (14), 13. Troy Rutherford (12), 14. James Herrera (19), 15. Danny Faria Jr. (8), 16. Brody Roa (7), 17. Mike Martin (16), 18. Brandon Wiley (18), 19. Austin Ervine (17). NT

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**Wiley flipped on lap 5 of the third heat. Faria flipped on lap 26 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Gansen, Laps 10-30 Gardner,

SPECIALTY FASTENERS HARD CHARGER: Ryan Bernal (11th to 6th)

WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Troy Rutherford

USAC 360 BONUS: James Herrera

NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Gardner-1064, 2-A.Williams-1006, 3-Roa-996, 4-Swanson-895, 5-Gansen-699, 6-Malcolm-598, 7-Davis-592, 8-Faria-583, 9-Matt McCarthy-565, 10-Richard Vander Weerd-508.

FINAL CALIFORNIA SPRINT WEEK POINTS: 1-Gardner-328, 2-A.Williams-327, 3-Faria-306, 4-Johnson-306, 5-Swanson-301, 6-Roa-280, 7-Davis-267, 8-Bernal-246, 9-Austin Liggett-223, 10-Gansen-219. 

NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: September 21 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – “Glenn Howard Classic”