FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series CORY KRUSEMAN STORMS TO “DOUG FORT MEMORIAL” WIN AT SANTA MARIA by Lance Jennings SANTA MARIA, CA – JULY 7, 2013... Taking the lead from Bud Kaeding on lap six, “The Kruser” Cory Kruseman of Ventura added Santa Maria’s “5th Annual Doug Fort Memorial” to his win list. The $1,500 USAC West Coast Sprint Car triumph was Kruseman’s third career victory with the series and his second “Fort Memorial” win. “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr., Kaeding, Troy Rutherford, and Markus Niemela followed Cory to the checkered flags. Piloting his #21K Lucas Oil / Sander Engineering Eagle, Cory Kruseman withstood several challenges from Kaeding as multiple caution flags plagued the event. “The Kruser” was flawless on every restart and negotiated traffic with ease despite losing an engine cylinder. Making his second start of the campaign, Cory was fifth quick in time trials, second in his heat race, and fourth in the dash. In limited appearances, the veteran driver left Santa Maria twenty-fourth in the point chase. Tipton’s “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. used slower traffic to his advantage during the closing laps to slip by Kaeding for second. Driving his #17V Johnston Calf Pens / DeBoer & Sons Trucking Spike, Faria qualified third, ran second in his heat race, and was sixth in the dash. Currently third in points, “Hollywood” has one Weld Racing Fast Time Award, four heat race victories, one Woodland Auto Display Dash win, one BR Motorsports / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 22 feature laps led to his credit. Bud Kaeding of Campbell led the first five laps before falling to Kruseman. Racing Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Bullet, Bud looked to challenge Cory on the restarts and placed third in the 30-lap main event. The 2012 Champion was fourth fast in time trials, second in his heat race, and won his second Woodland Auto Display Dash of the campaign. To date, Kaeding is fourth in the standings with two heat race victories, eleven top-10 finishes, and 7 feature laps led on the season. Ojai’s Troy Rutherford made his first start of the season and placed fourth in the “Doug Fort Memorial.” Piloting his #11 Amsoil / Trench Shoring TCR, Rutherford earned his first Weld Racing Fast Time Award over the twenty-two cars in the pit area. In addition, Troy ran fourth in his heat race and scored eighth in the dash after an early tangle knocked him out of the event. The former VRA Sprint Car Champion left Santa Maria twenty-fifth in the USAC West Coast point chase. Rauma, Finland’s Markus Niemela scored fifth in the Santa Maria main event. Racing Steve Watt’s #81 Christian Stover Foundation / Lost Reality Maxim, Niemela took the lead on the initial green flag before a flip by Ryan Bernal in a borrowed car erased the start. Earlier in the program, the hard charger qualified eighth, won the DJ Safety Heat Race #2, and was second in the dash. To date, Markus has climbed to fifth in points with one Weld Racing Fast Time Award, three heat race victories, one Woodland Auto Display Dash win, one BR Motorsports / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, seven top-10 finishes, and 25 feature laps led. Kolby Araki of Clovis earned his first BR Motorsports / Racing Optics “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a ninth place run after starting twenty-first. Driving his #30K PKS Kart Supplies / Graphix Plus Stinger, the veteran go-kart racer was twenty-second fast in qualifications and eighth in his heat race. Gaining valuable experience, Araki is eighteenth in the standings with two top-10 finishes in the campaign. “The Bakersfield Bullet” Rusty Carlile raced to victory in the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. Piloting his #51 SouthWest Contractors / N.T.S. Incorporated Bullet, Carlile qualified thirteenth, ran fifth in the dash, and scored eighth in the feature. To date, the former Cotton Classic winner is seventh in the points with one BR Motorsports / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, eighth top-10 finishes, and 13 feature laps led on the year. Jay Waugh of Canberra, Australia won the Saldana Racing Products / Keizer Wheels Heat Race #3. Racing the Kruseman Motorsports #89K Lucas Oil / BMRS Eagle, Waugh was eighteenth quick in time trails and ran seventh in the feature after starting thirteenth. Also making his first start with the USAC West Coast Sprints, Jay left Santa Maria tied for twenty-ninth in championship points. On Saturday, July 20th, the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series will travel to Scott Woodhouse’s Kings Speedway in Hanford. The event will also showcase the winged Rebel Cup Sprints, Hobby Stocks, IMCA Modifieds, and IMCA Stock Cars. Located on the Kings County Fairgrounds at 801 South 10th Avenue, more event information can be found at www.kingsspeedway.net or calling (559) 584-RACE (7223). The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series would like to thank Southwest Contractors, Hoosier Tire, Amsoil, BR Motorsports, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Inc., DJ Safety, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Kaeding Performance, Keizer Wheels, King Racing Products, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, SBI Fuel Systems, Saldana Racing Products, Weld Racing, and Woodland Auto Display for their support. If you or your company would like to become part of the series, email PR Director Lance Jennings at [email protected]. For more information on the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series, visit westcoastsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, or follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/#!/pages/USAC-West-Coast-Sprint-Car-Series/369549755817). ----------------------------------------------- USAC WEST COAST SPRINT RACE RESULTS: July 6, 2013 – Santa Maria, California – Santa Maria Speedway – “5th Annual Doug Fort Memorial” WELD RACING TIME TRIALS: 1. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-14.385; 2. Bruce St. James, 7K, St.James-14.542; 3. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-14.557; 4. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-14.561; 5. Cory Kruseman, 21K, Kruseman-14.613; 6. Ryan Bernal, 73, Ford-14.615; 7. Ricky Kirkbride, 87, Van Meter-14.643; 8. Markus Niemela, 81, Watt-14.675; 9. D.J. Netto, 88N, Netto-14.691; 10. Chris Ennis, 86, Ennis-14.709; 11. Kevin Barnes, 36B, Barnes-14.745; 12. Jeff Sibley, 18, Watt-14.843; 13. Rusty Carlile, 51, Carlile-14.872; 14. A.J. Bender, 12, Bender-14.875; 15. Aiden Corish, 3K, Kruseman-15.027; 16. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-15.086; 17. Cotton Farmer, 15, HAL-15.180; 18. Jay Waugh, 89K, Kruseman-15.222; 19. Austin Stone, 29X, Coffman-15.370; 20. Tobey Sampson, 82, Sampson-15.371; 21. Bill Jones, 16, Jones-15.698; 22. Kolby Araki, 30K, Araki-15.819. EXTREME MUFFLERS HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps) 1. Rusty Carlile, 2. Bud Kaeding, 3. Ryan Bernal (#86 Ennis), 4. Troy Rutherford, 5. Chris Gansen, 6. Ricky Kirkbride, 7. Austin Stone, 8. Kolby Araki. NT DJ SAFETY HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps) 1. Markus Niemela, 2. Cory Kruseman, 3. Cotton Farmer, 4. A.J. Bender, 5. Bruce St. James, 6. Kevin Barnes, 7. Tobey Sampson. NT SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS / KEIZER WHEELS HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps) 1. Jay Waugh, 2. Danny Faria Jr., 3. Aiden Corish, 4. Jeff Sibley, 5. Bill Jones, 6. D.J. Netto. NT WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY DASH: (6 laps) 1. Bud Kaeding, 2. Markus Niemela, 3. Bruce St. James, 4. Cory Kruseman, 5. Rusty Carlile, 6. Danny Faria, 7. Jeff Sibley, 8. Troy Rutherford. NT FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions) 1. Cory Kruseman (4th), 2. Danny Faria Jr. (6th), 3. Bud Kaeding (1st), 4. Troy Rutherford (8th), 5. Markus Niemela (2nd), 6. D.J. Netto (17th), 7. Jay Waugh (13th), 8. Rusty Carlile (5th), 9. Kolby Araki (21st), 10. A.J. Bender (9th), 11. Ricky Kirkbride (14th), 12. Jeff Sibley (7th), 13. Austin Stone (19th), 14. Aiden Corish (20th), 15. Chris Gansen (11th), 16. Cotton Farmer (10th), 17. Tobey Sampson (18th), 18. Kevin Barnes (16th), 19. Bill Jones (12th), 20. Bruce St. James (3rd), 21. Ryan Bernal (15th). NT ---------------------------- **Ryan Bernal flipped during the feature. FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Kaeding, Laps 6-30 Kruseman. BR MOTORSPORTS / RACING OPTICS HARD CHARGER: Kolby Araki (21st to 9th) USAC WEST COAST SPRINT POINT STANDINGS: 1-Ryan Bernal-608, 2-Richard Vander Weerd-564, 3-Danny Faria Jr.-546, 4-Bud Kaeding-513, 5-Markus Niemela-464, 6-Jace Vander Weerd-412, 7-Rusty Carlile-404, 8-Ricky Kirkbride-310, 9-Kevin Barnes-284, 10-Landon Hurst-281, 11-Austin Liggett-266, 12-Jeff Sibley-251, 13-Dennis Howell-250, 14-Marty Hawkins-236, 15-Andy Ferris-226, 16-Chris Ennis-215, 17-Matt Day-197, 18-Kolby Araki-149, 19-D.J. Netto-148, 20-Brody Roa-146. 2013 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE DATE - TRACK - LOCATION July 20: Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA August 3: Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA (Jim Evett Memorial) September 7: Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield, CA September 20: Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA (Jim Turner Memorial) September 21: Thunderbowl Raceway - Tulare, CA (John Anthony Sharp Memorial) September 28: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Brawl For It All / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series / Non-Points) October 12: Kings Speedway - Hanford, CA (Cotton Classic) October 31: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Oval Nationals / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series / Non-Points) November 14: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points) November 15: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points) November 16: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / $7,500-to-Win / Non-Points) ----------------------------------------------- * = Co-Sanctioned Event with USAC Southwest Sprints. This schedule is subject to change.