This Friday and Saturday (March 6th & 7th), Canyon Speedway Park in Peoria, Arizona will be the place to be as the AMSOIL USAC/CRA and Sands Chevrolet USAC Southwest Sprint Cars will clash on the 1/3-mile oval.

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Promoted by Doug Gabbard, the two-night “3rd Annual Spring Showcase” opens the seventeenth campaign for USAC/CRA’s non-winged 410 sprint cars. The events will also feature the Arizona Differential Modifieds, Askrens Trucking / Flexi Flyer Sport Mods, Allscapes Sport Mods, and non-winged Micro Sprints.

The Friday spectator gates will open at 5:00pm, racing is scheduled to begin at 7:30pm. On Saturday, the front gates will open at 5:00pm and racing will start at 7:00pm. For more event and ticket information, visit canyonspeedwaypark.com or call 602.258.RACE (7223). The festivities will start on Thursday, March 5th at 6:30pm with an open practice for all divisions. 

Canyon Speedway Park has hosted eighteen USAC/CRA Sprint Car events. Missouri’s Hunter Schuerenberg won last year’s event and New Mexico’s Josh Hodges won the preliminary night. Bryan Clauson leads the series with five triumphs and “The People’s Champion” Dave Darland set the 1-lap track record of 13.072 on November 15, 2014. The Peoria win list is at the end of this release.  

When the checkered flags flew at San Tan Valley, Arizona on November 16th, “The Demon” Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) claimed his seventh consecutive (eighth overall) AMSOIL USAC/CRA title. Piloting  Mark Alexander’s #4 Trench Shoring / All Coast Construction Spike, Gardner posted three feature wins, ten Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, eight heat race victories, one semi-main win, eighteen top-10 finishes, and 86 feature laps led in 2018 “The Demon” leads all drivers with 83 feature wins and will be looking to add another “Spring Showcase” to his resume. 

Watch USAC CRA/SW Sprints LIVE!

“The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) finished second in the USAC/CRA point standings. Driving Tom and Laurie Sertich’s #92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror / Lucas Oil DRC, Williams had two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, one semi-main win, one hard charger award, twenty top-10 finishes, and 31 feature laps led to his credit. “The Big Game Hunter” has nine career series wins and will have his sights on his first victory at Canyon Speedway Park.

Brody Roa (Garden Grove, CA) placed third in the chase for the championship. Driving the BR Performance #91R HD Industries / Burris Racing Maxim, Roa had two feature wins, three heat race victories, one hard charger award, fifteen top-10 finishes, and 105 feature laps led on the year. Brody has eight career series wins and will be looking for his first USAC/CRA triumph at Canyon Speedway Park. 

Jake Swanson (Anaheim, CA) ranked fourth in the championship point standings. Racing John Grau and Mike Burkhart’s #34AZ Stratis Construction / KSE Custom Drywall DRC, Swanson finished the year with two feature wins, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one dash win, six heat race victories, thirteen top-10 finishes, and 59 feature laps led on the season. With four career USAC/CRA wins, the USAC SouthWest point leader will have his sights on sweeping the “Spring Showcase.” 

Chris Gansen (Verdemont Heights, CA) placed fifth in the USAC/CRA Sprint Car point chase. Racing the family owned #4G Trench Shoring / Circle Track Performance Maxim, Gansen recorded two Wilwood Disc Brakes Lucky 13 Awards, seven top-10 finishes, and 15 feature laps led in the campaign. The veteran driver will be looking to earn his first USAC/CRA feature wins at the “Spring Showcase.”

Watch USAC CRA/SW Sprints LIVE!

Eddie Tafoya Jr. (Chino Hills, CA) earned Rookie of the Year honors with both the USAC/CRA and USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series. Racing the family owned #51T Specialty Fasteners / System One 777, Tafoya ran ninth in the USAC/CRA point chase on the strength of one heat race victory and four top-10 finishes on the season. The young driver will have his sights on his first feature win at Canyon Speedway Park.

“Thunder” Tommy Malcolm, “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., R.J. Johnson, Eddie Tafoya Jr., Richard Vander Weerd, Matt McCarthy, “Speedy” Stevie Sussex, Steve Hix, “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr., “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, Austin Liggett, “The Magic Man” Mike Martin, Jace Vander Weerd, Verne Sweeney, and Jason McDougal rounded out the top-20 in last year’s point standings.

Entering Friday’s event, Jake Swanson (Anaheim, CA) leads the Sands Chevrolet USAC SouthWest point chase. “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr., R.J. Johnson, “Speedy” Stevie Sussex, “The Big Game Hunter” Austin Williams, Kyle Shipley, Michael Curtis, Stephen Sanchez, and Dustin Burkhart round out the field.