2019 CRA & Southwest Sprint Cars at Arizona Speedway

Arizona Hosts USAC Hall Of Fame Classic

The Sands Chevrolet USAC SouthWest Sprint Cars return to action this Saturday (Sept. 28) at Arizona Speedway.

Sep 27, 2019 by Richie Murray

The Sands Chevrolet USAC SouthWest Sprint Cars return to action this Saturday (Sept. 28) at Arizona Speedway.

To date, there have been 40 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car races at the fast 1/3-mile clay oval. Since April 13, 2013, 10 different drivers claimed victory, led by R.J. Johnson with 18 of those wins. Logan Seavey set the 1-lap track record of 14.714 on April 20th and the track’s series win list is at the end of this release.

Entering the 11th point race, there have been 10 different winners. Point leader Brody Roa leads all drivers with two feature victories. Damion Gardner, Josh Hodges, R.J. Johnson, C.J. Leary, Martin, Hunter Schuerenberg, Logan Seavey, Jake Swanson, and Stevie Sussex have one win on the season.

Heading to the “Hall of Fame Classic,” Roa (Garden Grove, CA) holds a 32-point lead over the competition.Switching to Tanner Grau’s #34 Western Premier Hauling / Westin Diversified Maxim, Roa topped the September 14th “Southwest Championships” at Canyon Speedway Park. The 2016 USAC West Coast champion has two feature wins, one Beaver Stripes Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, two Saldana Racing Products Hard Charger Awards, ten top-10 finishes, and 103 feature laps led to his credit. Currently ranked third in USAC/CRA points, Roa is tied with Dave Darland and Matt Rossi with four SouthWest wins as he looks to add the “Hall of Fame Classic” to his resume.

R.J. Johnson (Laveen, AZ) is second in the chase for the USAC SouthWest crown and ran second to Roa at the “Southwest Championships.” To date, the five-time champion has one feature win, four heat race victories, one Saldana Racing Products Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 26 feature laps led on the season. Sitting 13th in USAC/CRA points, Johnson has 56 USAC SouthWest victories and will look to add his third “Hall of Fame Classic” victory.

Stevie Sussex (Tempe, AZ) ranks third in the USAC SouthWest point standings and placed sixth in the Canyon Speedway Park main event. The 2017 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has one feature win, two heat race victories, one Saldana Racing Products Hard Charger Award, 10 top-10 finishes and 32 feature laps led on the year. Currently ranked 19th in USAC/CRA standings, Stevie has 13 SouthWest victories and will be looking to win the “Hall of Fame Classic" for the first time.

Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, AZ) sits fourth in the championship point chase with a fifth place finish at Canyon’s “Southwest Championships" on his resumé. He is also the defending champion along with having one Beaver Stripes Fast Time Award, six heat race victories, seven top-10 finishes, and 11 feature laps led in the campaign. Currently sitting in eighth in USAC/CRA points, Davis has claimed 30 USAC SouthWest wins in his career and will have his sights on his first victory of the year.

Mike Martin (Yuma, AZ) ranks fifth in the chase for the championship and comes in with and 8th place finish in the “Southwest Championships” under his belt. The 2012 “Hall of Fame Classic” winner has one feature win, one heat race victory, one Saldana Racing Products Hard Charger Award, eight top-10 finishes, and four feature laps led on the year. Coming in with a raking of 15 in USAC/CRA standings, Martin has seven SouthWest wins and will be looking to claim another victory at Arizona Speedway.

Currently ranked 22nd in points, Stephen Sanchez (Flagstaff, AZ) leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Ryan Cully (Alger, WA), Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, CA), and Jeff Dyer (Bermuda Dunes, CA) are also in contention.

Other drivers expected to be in action:

Jake Swanson

Matt Lundy

Matt Rossi

Chris Bonneau

Michael Curtis

Austin Williams

Damion Gardner

Jonas Reynolds

Dennis Gile

Daylin Perreira

Tommy Malcolm

Matt McCarthy

Justin Kierce

Gardner (Concord, CA) leads a strong contingent with the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. Williams, Roa, Swanson, Chris Gansen, Tommy Malcolm, Matt McCarthy, Davis Jr., Danny Faria Jr., and Eddie Tafoya Jr. round out the top-10 drivers.

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SANDS CHEVROLET USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONS: 2013-R.J. Johnson, 2014-R.J. Johnson, 2015-R.J. Johnson, 2016-R.J. Johnson, 2017-R.J. Johnson, 2018-Charles Davis Jr.

HALL OF FAME CLASSIC WINNERS: 2000-Jeremy Sherman, 2001-Tony Jones, 2002-Damion Gardner, 2003-Charles Davis Jr., 2004-Mike Kirby, 2005-Damion Gardner, 2006-Jeremy Sherman, 2007-Danny Sheridan, 2008-Cancelled, 2009-Not Held, 2010-Not Held, 2011-Bryan Clauson, 2012-Mike Martin, 2013-Chase Stockon, 2014-Bryan Clauson, 2015-Mike Spencer, 2016-R.J. Johnson, 2017-R.J. Johnson, 2018-Damion Gardner.

2019 SANDS CHEVROLET USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR WINS: 2-Brody Roa, 1-Damion Gardner, 1-Josh Hodges, 1-R.J. Johnson, 1-C.J. Leary, 1-Mike Martin, 1-Hunter Schuerenberg, 1-Logan Seavey, 1-Stevie Sussex, 1-Jake Swanson.

SAN TAN VALLEY SANDS CHEVROLET USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR WINS: 18-R.J. Johnson, 8-Charles Davis Jr., 4-Stevie Sussex, 3-Brady Bacon, 2-Chris Windom, 1-Mike Martin, 1-Tye Mihocko, 1-Josh Pelkey, 1-Logan Seavey, 1-Jake Swanson.

SANDS CHEVROLET USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Brody Roa-775, 2. R.J. Johnson-743, 3. Stevie Sussex-701, 4. Charles Davis Jr.-658, 5. Mike Martin-613, 6. Jake Swanson-470, 7. Matt Lundy-427, 8. Matt Rossi-413, 9. Chris Bonneau-362, 10. Michael Curtis-357, 11. Austin Williams-324, 12. Damion Gardner-269, 13. Josh Hodges-202, 14. Jonas Reynolds-201, 15. Isaac Chapple-200, 16. Dennis Gile-199, 17. Hunter Schuerenberg-197, 18. Daylin Perreira-194, 19. Tommy Malcolm-190, 20. Matt McCarthy-152.

AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINT STANDINGS: 1. Damion Gardner-1142, 2. Austin Williams-1083, 3. Brody Roa-1063, 4. Jake Swanson-975, 5. Chris Gansen-757, 6. Tommy Malcolm-666, 7. Matt McCarthy-608, 8. Charles Davis Jr.-592, 9. Danny Faria Jr.-583, 10. Eddie Tafoya Jr. ®-549, 11. Richard Vander Weerd-508, 12. Steve Hix ®-505, 13. R.J. Johnson-499, 14. Cody Williams-495, 15. Mike Martin-477, 16. Austin Liggett-453, 17. Verne Sweeney-391, 18. Jace Vander Weerd-351, 19. Stevie Sussex-350, 20. A.J. Bender-307.

2019 SANDS CHEVROLET USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE

DATE – TRACK – LOCATION

March 2: Central Arizona Speedway – Casa Grande, AZ (Winner: C.J. Leary)

March 8: #Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Winner: Josh Hodges)

March 9: #Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Winner: Hunter Schuerenberg)

April 20: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Winner: Logan Seavey)

April 27: Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Winner: Brody Roa)

May 18: Central Arizona Speedway – Casa Grande, AZ (Winner: Stevie Sussex)

June 1: Arizona Speedway – San Tan Valley, AZ (Winner: R.J. Johnson)

June 8: Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, AZ (Winner: Mike Martin)

July 13: #Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Damion Gardner)

August 17: #Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, CA (Winner: Jake Swanson)