TULARE HOSTS 29TH ANNUAL COTTON CLASSIC THIS SATURDAY By Lance Jennings PHOENIX, AZ – OCTOBER 8, 2014... This Saturday, October 11th, the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series will make their fifth and final appearance of the year at the Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California. Originally scheduled at Hanford’s Kings Speedway, the non-point “29th Annual Cotton Classic” will also feature the winged King of the West 410 Sprint Cars and Legends of Kearney Bowl Super Modifieds. The Spectator Gates will open at 4:00pm, Hot Laps will begin at 5:00pm, Time Trials at 6:00pm, and Racing is set for 7:00pm. For more event information, visit the track’s website at www.tularethunderbowl.com or call 559.688.0909. NOTICE TO RACERS: Saturday’s race at Tulare will be run under the USAC West Coast Rule Book and a $35 entry fee will be collected. The Hoosier 105/16 Medium is the ONLY legal right rear tire and all four corners must be Hoosier. Cockpit adjustable shocks are NOT allowed and engine restrictor rules are 1-7/8” with open heads and 2-3/16” with ASCS cylinder heads. The weight rule is 1,475 lbs. with driver. Thunderbowl Raceway has 95db at 100 feet state mandated sound rule and the USAC West Coast Sprint Car Rule Book can be found online at westcoastsprintcars.com and www.usacracing.com. Since March 2010, twenty-one USAC West Coast Sprint Car races have been held at the Tulare County Fairgrounds. Ryan Bernal leads all drivers with seven Tulare wins and holds the 1-lap qualifying track record of 15.158, set on October 8, 2011. This season, Dennis Howell claimed his first series win on March 14th and Bernal has won the last three appearances at Thunderbowl Raceway. “The Bakersfield Bullet” Rusty Carlile earned the Cotton Classic victory in 2009, as Terry Schank Jr., Peter Murphy, Ryan Bernal, and Richard Vander Weerd have also won the prestigious race. After the Watsonville-Chowchilla doubleheader with the USAC Western Classic Sprints, Matt Mitchell of Yorba Linda, California has taken over the point lead. Racing his #37 Campbell Bros. Storage / Pit Boss Maxim, Mitchell earned his first series win at Ocean Speedway on August 8th and currently holds a 28-point advantage. In addition, the 2-time USAC/CRA “Salute to Indy” winner has three heat race victories, one Competition Suspension Inc. / Rod End Supply Semi-Main win, two Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Awards, eleven top-10 finishes, and 30 feature laps led to his credit. Matt will be looking for his first win at Thunderbowl Raceway and add the Cotton Classic trophy to his collection. After leading the points for most of the season, Rauma, Finland’s Markus Niemela is second in the point standings. Driving Keith Ford’s #73 Berry Pack / King Racing Products Spike, Niemela was seventh in the series debut at Chowchilla. To date, last season’s USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year has two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, one heat race victory, eleven top-10 finishes, and 12 feature laps led on the year. At press time, the Josh Ford Motorsports Team has announced that Trey Marcham of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will be at the helm of the Berry Park #73. Richard Vander Weerd of Visalia, California sits third in the USAC West Coast point chase. Piloting the family owned #10 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Vander Weerd placed fifth in the Chowchilla main event. Currently, the 2011 Champion has one feature win, seven heat race victories, one Keizer Wheels / Racing Optics Hard Charger Award, ten top-10 finishes, and 16 feature laps led in 2014. Richard will be looking for his fourth Tulare triumph and sixteenth career series win on Saturday. Visalia, California’s Jace Vander Weerd ranks fourth in the championship points. Racing the family owned #88 Vander Weerd Construction / Battery Worx Maxim, Vander Weerd ran sixth at Chowchilla on August 9th. To date, the 2010 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year has one feature win, two Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, two heat race victories, eleven top-10 finishes, and 20 feature laps led. Jace will have his sights on his fifth career series win by adding Tulare to his win list. Ryan Bernal of Hollister, California has climbed to fifth in the USAC West Coast standings. Driving Mike Phulps #56 Mandarin Tri-L Ranch / Core Power ART, Bernal scored fourteenth at Chowchilla after an early exit. Currently, the recently crowned 2-time USAC Western Classic Champion has five feature wins, four Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Awards, three heat race victories, ten top-10 finishes, and 101 feature laps led on the season. Ryan will have his sights on tying the series record of six victories in a season, held by Bryan Clauson (2013), Peter Murphy (2009), and Richard Vander Weerd (2013). Currently seventeenth in points, Trent Carter of Terra Bella, California leads the chase for Rookie of the Year honors. Garrett Long, Connor Kassik, and Robert Nuckles are also in contention. Among the other drivers expected to be in action are “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr., Austin Liggett, “Shifter” Landon Hurst, Marty Hawkins, Kevin Barnes, Jeff Sibley, Bud Kaeding, “The Wild Child” Chris Ennis, Matt Day, Max Adams, T.J. Smith, Jake Swanson, Jonathan Logan, Scott Hall, and more. Tulare’s Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway is located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds at the corner of Bardsley and K Streets. Reserved tickets are $25 and General Admission seats are $20. Advance tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling the track office at 559.688.0909. For more event information, visit the track’s website at www.tularethunderbowl.com. The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks Amsoil, Hoosier Tire, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Inc., Deist Safety, Engler Machine & Tool, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Keizer Wheels, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Rugged Radios, Saldana Racing Products, SouthWest Contractors, VanLare Steering Repair, 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, visit westcoastsprintcars.com, www.usacracing.com, follow the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/#!/pages/USAC-West-Coast-Sprint-Car-Series/369549755817), or Twitter (www.twitter.com/USACwc360). ----------------------------------------------- NON-WINGED 360 SPRINT COTTON CLASSIC WINNERS: 2009-Rusty Carlile, 2010-Terry Schank Jr., 2011-Peter Murphy, 2012-Ryan Bernal, 2013-Richard Vander Weerd. 2014 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 5-Ryan Bernal, 3-Dave Darland, 1-Brady Bacon, 1-Colby Copeland, 1-Nic Faas, 1-Dennis Howell, 1-Austin Liggett, 1-Matt Mitchell, 1-Troy Rutherford, 1-Jake Swanson, 1-Jace Vander Weerd, 1-Richard Vander Weerd. TULARE USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR WINS: 7-Ryan Bernal, 4-Bud Kaeding, 3-Richard Vander Weerd, 2-Kyle Larson, 2-Craig Stidham, 1-Dean Alexander, 1-Dennis Howell, 1-Peter Murphy. TULARE USAC WEST COAST 1-LAP QUALIFYING RECORD: Ryan Bernal – 15.158 (10/08/11) USAC WEST COAST SPRINT POINT STANDINGS: 1. Matt Mitchell-659, 2. Markus Niemela-631, 3. Richard Vander Weerd-546, 4. Jace Vander Weerd-530, 5. Ryan Bernal-512, 6. Danny Faria Jr.-500, --Troy Rutherford-500, 8. Austin Liggett-490, 9. Nic Faas-465, 10. Dennis Howell-399, 11. Landon Hurst-344, 12. Marty Hawkins-269, 13. Kevin Barnes-244, 14. Brody Roa-207, 15. Jeff Sibley-205, 16. Bud Kaeding-180, 17. Trent Carter-159, 18. Chris Ennis-154, 19. Garrett Long-153, 20. Michael Pickens-150. 2014 USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SCHEDULE DATE - TRACK - LOCATION October 11: Thunderbowl Raceway – Tulare, CA (Cotton Classic / Non-Points) November 6: *Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, CA (Oval Nationals / $2,500-to-Win / Grudge Series) November 20: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points) November 21: *Canyon Speedway Park - Peoria, AZ (Western World Championships / Non-Points) November 22: *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.