RYAN BERNAL RETURNS & SPRINTS TO VICTORY AT TULARE By Lance Jennings JULY 27, 2016... Making his first start of the season, Ryan Bernal (Hollister, California) stormed to last Friday’s USAC West Coast Sprint Car victory at Tulare’s Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway. Taking the lead from point leader Brody Roa on the tenth circuit, Bernal won the $1,500 “3rd Annual Peter Murphy Classic” preliminary feature. Roa, Jace Vander Weerd, Bud Kaeding, and “Showtime” Danny Sheridan rounded out the top-five drivers. Staring fourth, Ryan Bernal nearly swept the program. Racing Mike Phulps’ #56MW Metal Works / Diversified Machine Inc. ART, Bernal earned the night’s Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award over the 29 racers in the pit area. In addition, the 2014 “Peter Murphy Classic” winner scored the 4-lap “Dash for Cash” victory and ran second to D.J. Johnson in his heat race. The triumph at the Tulare County Fairgrounds marked Ryan’s series leading 27th main event win. Brody Roa (Garden Grove, California) led the first nine laps of the main event, but had to settle for second in the Friday night feature. Driving the BR Performance owned #91R HD Industries / Lee & Norma Leonard Maxim, Roa qualified fourth overall and ran second in a photo finish to Bernal in the “Dash for Cash.” In heat race action, the second generation driver finished second to “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. Jace Vander Weerd (Visalia, California) had a solid night and ran third at Tulare after starting sixth. Piloting the family owned #88 Vander Weerd Construction / Stone Gate Development Maxim, the 2010 USAC/CRA Rookie of the Year was seventh quick in time trials and won the 10-lap Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Heat Race #3. Bud Kaeding (Campbell, California) returned to USAC West Coast Sprint Car action and claimed fourth at Tulare. Racing Junior Bowman’s #29 Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / Kaeding Performance Maxim, Kaeding qualified fourteenth overall and ran second to Michael Faccinto in his heat race. “Showtime” Danny Sheridan (Santa Maria, California) placed fifth at Tulare’s checkered flags. Making his first start in Steve Watt’s #81T Maxwell Industries / Steve Watt Enterprises Maxim, Sheridan was fifteenth fast in time trials. The 1998 Bandit Sprint Car Champion ran second to Jace Vander Weerd in his 10-lap heat race. Leading rookie contender Ryan Timmons (Pleasant Hill, California) earned his first career BR Motorsports / King Racing Products “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a thirteenth place run from eighteenth. Driving the family owned #29T YourMauiEscape.com / Evergood Fine Foods Maxim, Timmons qualified sixteenth overall, scored fifth in his heat race, and ran second to Cody Majors in the semi-main. D.J. Johnson (Stockton, California) raced to victory in the 10-lap Extreme Mufflers Heat Race #1. Piloting the family owned #33 Proplant Farm Services / J. Milano Company Eagle, Johnson was thirteenth quick in time trials and scored eighth in the Friday night main event. Michael Faccinto (Hanford, California) made a rare USAC West Coast start and won the night’s 10-lap DJ Safety Heat Race #2. Racing Steve Watt’s #81M Maxwell Industries / Steve Watt Enterprises Maxim, Faccinto qualified tenth overall and claimed seventh in the “Peter Murphy Classic” preliminary feature. “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr. (Tipton, California) won the program’s 10-lap Stand 21 Racer Goes Safer Foundation Heat Race #4. Driving his #17V Buster & Ziggy Enterprises / SurfNSprint Spike, Faria was also twelfth fast in time trials and placed sixth in Tulare’s 30-lap main event. Cody Majors (Simi Valley, California) scored his second checkered flag of the campaign by winning the 12-lap Keizer Aluminum Wheels / Competition Suspension Inc. Semi-Main. Piloting the family owned #54 Next Auto Body / Pit Image Spike, Majors qualified eleventh overall, placed fifth in his heat race, and scored twenty-second in the feature after an early flip ended his night. The USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series thanks Amsoil, Hoosier Tire, BR Motorsports, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Chris Kearns Presents, Competition Suspension Incorporated, DJ Safety, Diversified Machine Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, King Racing Products, Rod End Supply, Stand 21 Racer Goes Safer Foundation, Ultra Shield Race Products, 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, and www.usacracing.com. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC West Coast Facebook and Twitter pages. Loudpedal Productions has USAC West Coast Sprint Car DVDs and videos on demand available for purchase at www.loudpedal.tv and 805.407.7229. ----------------------------------------------- USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: July 22, 2016 – Tulare, California – Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway – “3rd Annual Peter Murphy Classic” WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Ryan Bernal, 56MW, Phulps-15.359; 2. Stevie Sussex, 21AZ, Burkhart-15.517; 3. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-15.672; 4. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-15.702; 5. Tristan Guardino, 15T, Guardino-15.734; 6. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-15.785; 7. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-15.820; 8. Joe Stornetta Jr., 3F, Finkenbinder-15.915; 9. Max Adams, 81S, Watt-15.930; 10. Michael Faccinto, 81M, Watt-15.988; 11. Cody Majors, 54, Majors-15.998; 12. Danny Faria Jr., 17V, Faria-16.007; 13. D.J. Johnson, 33, Johnson-16.027; 14. Bud Kaeding, 29, Bowman-16.033; 15. Danny Sheridan, 81T-Watt-16.102; 16. Ryan Timmons, 29T, Timmons-16.231; 17. Carson Macedo, 21, Tarlton-16.261; 18. Shannon McQueen, 7, Van Meter-16.271; 19. Jeff Sibley, 42N, Sibley-16.329; 20. Kyler Shaw, 92, Shaw-16.330; 21. Gary Nelson Jr., 6N, Nelson-16.342; 22. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-16.394; 23. Steven Garris, 58, Garris-16.522; 24. Chris Dyson, 16K, Kruseman-16.770; 25. Ryan Stolz, 56, Stolz-17.307; 26. Eddie Tafoya, 85, Perkins-17.468; 27. Malyssa Perkins, 5X, Perkins-17.564; 28. Kenny Perkins, 0K, Perkins-NT; 29. Matt Day, 97, Day-NT. DASH: (4 laps) 1. Bernal, 2. Roa, 3. Sussex, 4. R.Vander Weerd. NT EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Johnson, 2. Bernal, 3. Macedo, 4. Adams, 5. Nelson, 6. Stolz, 7. Guardino. NT DJ SAFETY SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Faccinto, 2. Kaeding, 3. Rutherford, 4. Liggett, 5. McQueen, 6. Sussex, 7. Tafoya. NT BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS THIRD HEAT: (10 laps) 1. J.Vander Weerd, 2. Sheridan, 3. R.Vander Weerd, 4. Sibley, 5. Majors, 6. Garris, 7. M.Perkins. NT STAND 21 RACER GOES SAFER FOUNDATION FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Faria, 2. Roa, 3. Stornetta, 4. Shaw, 5. Timmons, 6. Dyson, 7. K.Perkins. NT KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS / COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC. SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Majors, 2. Timmons 3. Garris, 4. Nelson, 5. McQueen, 6. K.Perkins, 7. Stolz, 8. Tafoya, 9. Dyson, 10. M.Perkins. NT FEATURE: (30 laps – With Starting Positions) 1. Ryan Bernal (4th), 2. Brody Roa (1st), 3. Jace Vander Weerd (6th), 4. Bud Kaeding (3rd), 5. Danny Sheridan (2nd), 6. Danny Faria Jr. (5th), 7. Michael Faccinto (7th), 8. D.J. Johnson (8th), 9. Richard Vander Weerd (11th), 10. Troy Rutherford (10th), 11. Max Adams (13th), 12. Kyler Shaw (16th), 13. Ryan Timmons (18th), 14. Jeff Sibley (15th), 15. Gary Nelson Jr. (20th), 16. Shannon McQueen (21st), 17. Steven Garris (19th), 18. Joe Stornetta Jr. (12th), 19. Carson Macedo (9th), 20. Austin Liggett (14th), 21. Kenny Perkins (22nd), 22. Cody Majors (17th). NT ------------------------------------ **Sussex flipped during the second heat and was transported to a local hospital for observation.. **Majors, Macedo, and R.VanderWeerd flipped during the feature. FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Roa, Laps 10-30 Bernal BR MOTORSPORTS / KING RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Ryan Timmons (18th to 13th)