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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

THOMAS TAKES OVAL NATIONALS; WINDOM IS USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CHAMP

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Perris, California.....November 11, 2017 - Kevin Thomas, Jr. unloaded his racecar from his hauler last Wednesday night as the man to beat when practice began for the Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction.

When the time came to roll his car back into the hauler following Saturday night's 40-lap main event, the Cullman, Alabama was a richer man - by $25,000 - and had the hardware to show for it after scoring the victory in the 22nd annual event at Perris Auto Speedway.

Meanwhile, Chris Windom emerged as USAC's newest AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion, defeating Justin Grant by a mere six points to earn his first series title just one year after capturing the Silver Crown championship. It was in late August that Windom found himself trailing Grant by 93 points and firmly believed his championship dreams had been dashed.

"Two months ago, when we got knocked out of the race at Kokomo, I thought our season was over," Windom said. "This means everything. Derek (Claxton), Billy (Grace) and I fought hard all year long for this. With Margo and Kenny Baldwin, we almost did this back in 2011. They've done so much for my career. I can't be any happier doing it for them."

Kevin Thomas, Jr. celebrates his win in Saturday night's 'Oval Nationals' at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.
(Mike Grosswendt Photo)

Coming into this weekend, Thomas himself was a major player in the points race and was lurking in third, ready to pounce if either Windom or Grant faltered in any form or fashion during the three nights of racing at Perris. The championship wasn't in the cards this time around for Thomas, but, after being absent for the opening two races of the year, then constructing his own race team in the middle of the season, an "Oval Nationals" eagle trophy on his mantle sure is a shining testament to how strong he and his KT Motorsports/Jeff's Jam-It-In Storage - Abreu Vineyards/DRC/Speedway Chevy were down the stretch.

"This is the top of the line right here," Thomas exclaimed. "This is everything you could ever want. You run all year to get your team ready and prepped, wanting to tweak on your cars and try to get faster each and every week, then cap it all off with an 'Oval Nationals' win. That's what our goals are. It's remarkable what our team's been able to do. I'm speechless. I don't even know what to do."

Thursday night winner Chase Stockon began the race from the outside of the front row and took the high side around Grant en route to the lead on the opening lap of the 40-lap A-Main where he would remain for the first 17 circuits.

Meanwhile, eyes were also affixed to the "race-within-a-race" scenario unfolding behind the leader in which Windom entered the event just 12 points ahead of Grant in the series standings. Inside the top-ten, each spot is worth three points and Windom had to remain within at least four positions behind Grant to maintain his grip atop the leaderboard.

By lap seven, fourth-starting Thomas had cleared Grant with a turn four maneuver to slide into second. At the same time, Windom dropped back a spot to fifth after Friday night winner Brody Roa took away the fourth spot.

As most of the field ringed around the topside, Thomas found a bit lower line to his liking between turns one and two as he began to hunt down Stockon for the race lead.

"It was definitely something I was thinking about earlier when I watched the B-mains," Thomas acknowledged. "I watched R.J. Johnson roll through the middle and turn some pretty good lap times. The Yamaha cars went out there with their skinny tires and I knew that would create a little more moisture in the middle of the track. I thought I could use it to my advantage until it wore out. When I got the lead, I was using it. I was almost worried that I just didn't know when it was going to go away. I felt myself slowing up just a little bit, then I got slid, then I had to start racing a little bit harder."

Stockon was able to answer each slider cast by Thomas, but just as Thomas put the move on him between turns three and four, the yellow flag flew for the sideways machines of Tommy Malcolm and Jace Vander Weerd that came to a rest on the front straightaway.

It took just a couple laps for Thomas to be in position for another crack at Stockon, which he made stick on the 18th lap with a turn three slider to assume the race lead. Just two laps later, Grant followed suit into second past Stockon for the runner-up spot at the halfway mark.

Grant seemed to come alive in the second-half and, when Thomas began to get hung up in lapped traffic, Grant was nearly in position to take advantage. However, with traffic running high and low, the exit ramp was blocked for both and Thomas was able to maintain his advantage.

2017 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion Chris Windom and his Baldwin Brothers Racing crew.
(Rich Forman Photo)

With 10 laps remaining, the table was cleared for a mono y mono shootout between Thomas and Grant sans traffic with a clear track lying ahead of them following Max Adams' misfortune into the back straightaway wall on lap 31. With Windom laying in wait in fourth, Grant found himself in the midst of two separate races, but with the single goal of winning on his mind to maximize points.

Grant stuck right on Thomas' tail and was able to slide into the lead in turn three with eight laps remaining. One lap later, Thomas employed the same tactic, but Grant countered underneath Thomas off turn four to lead at the stripe by a half-car length. Grant slid up to the cushion in turn one with Thomas just inches behind. The two made slight bumper-to-bumper contact up top. The déjà vu scene repeated itself on lap 34 when Thomas dove to the bottom of the third turn, slid up and ripped the lead back away from Grant.

C.J. Leary was back in third, anticipating his next maneuver in this sprint car chess match, biding his time before sliding past Grant into second in turn one with five laps to go. Grant came right back at Leary into turn three with a slider. The two ran out of room up against the outside turn four wall with Leary kissing the concrete twice, resulting in damage on the right front.

With four to go on the ensuing restart, Thomas was merely a sitting duck fully aware what Grant's next move was going to be. Yet, Thomas felt he had a way to retain control of his own destiny on the first and second turn end of the half-mile oval.

"The only time I think that I had an advantage is I could kind of manipulate when Justin was going to slide me," Thomas explained. "If he slid me in three and four, it was so slick down there, you couldn't cross under. If I could manipulate where he slid me in one and two, I could get the cross under and get him going down the back straightaway. As much as I wanted to race in front of me, I was still racing behind me. They say that's a big no-no, but these guys are aggressive."

As Grant slid past Thomas into one, Thomas did exactly that and turned underneath off turn two to pull even with Grant on the back straightaway. In turn three, Thomas slid evenly with Grant up to the cushion. Grant snagged the curb just enough to hinder his progress and Thomas raced away to a ten car-length lead.

Seemingly, throughout the race, each time Grant was able to pick up a spot, Windom was a like a hawk, swooping in to take another spot and get those precious three points back instantly. When one dropped a spot, the other seemed to fall back. With Grant in second and Windom third on the final lap, Windom had some breathing room to spare as Chad Boespflug slipped by for third on the back straight and Windom slotted into fourth.

Up front, though, Thomas finished off the biggest payday of his career, winning by a second with Grant, hard charger Boespflug (from 13th), Windom and Robert Ballou rounding out the top-five.

"You see the white flag and you're leading the 'Oval Nationals,' you think 'don't screw up,' Thomas said. "Don't get white flag fever. I usually never even think about it. On this night, I did. I'm just glad that it all worked out. There's a lot of great teams out here. To be able to top all of them is pretty special."

On the final laps, Windom admitted to tiptoeing around the cushion, hoping to avoid a costly mistake. Like a bend, but don't break defense, every time Grant made a move to pick up a position, Windom seemingly had an answer. Windom knew where he had to be and what it was going to take to secure the title.

Many racers such as Windom seem to have an aura that make them seem like superheroes to the average person, as if they have ice water in their veins. However, as Windom admits, a championship on the line can put a racer on edge, amplifying the meaning of a seemingly ordinary task (to them).

"I was so nervous today, I don't think I sat still for two seconds," Windom admitted. "I didn't know how good the 11 car was going to be. I just knew where I needed to finish. Starting behind him, I knew where I needed to stay. I got to fourth and I just kind of hung out there until Justin and C.J. got into each other and I got to third. I wanted no part of that battle for the lead. You want to win the 'Oval Nationals,' but I wanted to win a USAC championship. I've won the 'Oval Nationals' before. I was here to win a USAC national championship. And we did it."

"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Windom continued. "I think tomorrow it will feel a little better. I've been so antsy and anxious this whole past week, coming here, taking the point lead and trying to maintain it. Once you get there, it's nerve-wracking. I can't be any happier than I am for this team. I know they wanted this just as much as I did. It just means so much."

Contingency award winners Saturday night at Arizona Speedway included Damion Gardner (ProSource/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier & Competition Suspension, Inc. 1st Semi Winner), Mike Spencer (Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers 1st Heat Winner), Chad Boespflug (Competition Suspension, Inc./Brown & Miller Racing Solutions 2nd Heat Winner & KSE Racing Products/Saldana Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger), Richard Vander Weerd (Chalk Stix/Circle Track Performance 3rd Heat Winner), Logan Williams (Indy Race Parts/Keizer Aluminum Wheels 4th Heat Winner), Justin Grant (Keizer Aluminum Wheels Super 6 Dash Winners), R.J. Johnson (Competition Suspension, Inc. 2nd Semi Winner & (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 11, 2017 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 22nd Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction

PROSOURCE/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Damion Gardner, 4, Alexander-16.550; 2. Thomas Meseraull, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.570; 3. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-16.690; 4. Jake Swanson, 92, Sertich-16.700; 5. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.736; 6. Chad Boespflug, 69, Dynamics-16.800; 7. Brady Bacon, 63, Dooling/Hayward-16.852; 8. Logan Williams, 5J, Jory-16.856; 9. Mike Spencer, 4s, Gansen-16.873; 10. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-16.920; 11. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.942; 12. Austin Liggett, 56, Phulps-16.973; 13. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-16.995; 14. Max Adams, 5m, Adams-17.043; 15. Hunter Schuerenberg, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-17.080; 16. Danny Faria, Jr., 17GP, Dutcher-17.102; 17. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.127; 18. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-17.135; 19. Dave Darland, 21K, Kruseman-17.148; 20. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.203; 21. Michael Pickens, 81, Watt-17.230; 22. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.262; 23. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-17.276; 24. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-17.285; 25. Tyler Courtney, 23c, TOPP-17.294; 26. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.300; 27. Randy Waitman, 90, Waitman-17.364; 28. Dennis Gile, 13, Gile-17.370; 29. Jeremy Ellertson, 98, Ellertson-17.414; 30. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-17.452; 31. Verne Sweeney, 98v, Tracy-17.478; 32. Trent Williams, 52v, Williams-17.511; 33. Gary Marshall, Jr., 72, Marshall-18.108.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer) 1. Spencer, 2. Ballou, 3. Gardner, 4. A. Williams, 5. Gansen, 6. Malcolm, 7. Chapple, 8. Edwards. 2:52.06

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer) 1. Boespflug, 2. Adams, 3. Martin, 4. Darland, 5. Sweeney, 6. Waitman, 7. C. Williams, 8. Meseraull. NT

CHALK STIX/CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE THIRD HEAT (10 laps, top-2 transfer) 1. R. Vander Weerd, 2. Faria, 3. Johnson, 4. Bacon, 5. McCarthy, 6. T. Williams, 7. J. Vander Weerd, 8. Gile. 2:49.64

INDY RACE PARTS/KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS: FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-2 transfer) 1. L. Williams, 2. Courtney, 3. Swanson, 4. Liggett, 5. Pickens, 6. Ellertson, 7. Marshall. 2:53.67

KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS SUPER 6 DASH: (6 laps) 1. Justin Grant (#11 McGhee), 2. Chase Stockon (#32 32 TBI), 3. Chris Windom (#5 Baldwin), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (#9K KT), 5. C.J. Leary (#30 Leary), 6. Brody Roa (#91R BR). 1:41.87

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) FIRST SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer) 1. Gardner, 2. Swanson, 3. Martin, 4. Gile, 5. Bacon, 6. McCarthy, 7. Darland, 8. Ellertson, 9. Waitman, 10. Liggett, 11. T. Williams. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer) 1. Johnson, 2. Chapple, 3. C. Williams, 4. J. Vander Weerd, 5. Malcolm, 6. A. Williams, 7. Pickens, 8. Gansen, 9. Sweeney, 10. Marshall. 3:29.10

FEATURE: (40 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 2. Justin Grant (1), 3. Chad Boespflug (13), 4. Chris Windom (3), 5. Robert Ballou (7), 6. Brody Roa (6), 7. Chase Stockon (2), 8. Damion Gardner (15), 9. Tyler Courtney (8), 10. Logan Williams (14), 11. Mike Spencer (10), 12. Austin Williams (25), 13. R.J. Johnson (16), 14. Cody Williams (20), 15. Jake Swanson (17), 16. Danny Faria, Jr. (11), 17. Isaac Chapple (18), 18. Mike Martin (19), 19. Chris Gansen (26), 20. Dennis Gile (21), 21. C.J. Leary (5), 22. Brady Bacon (23), 23. Max Adams (12), 24. Jace Vander Weerd (22), 25. Tommy Malcolm (24), 26. Richard Vander Weerd (9). NT
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**Meseraull flipped during the second heat.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Stockon, Laps 18-31 Thomas, Laps 32-33 Grant, Laps 34-40 Thomas.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Chad Boespflug (13th to 3rd)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: R.J. Johnson

FINAL USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Windom-2290, 2-Grant-2284, 3-Thomas-2232; 4-Courtney-2166, 5-Stockon-2052, 6-Boespflug-1974, 7-Leary-1869; 8-Ballou-1820, 9-Bacon-1765, 10-Darland-1492.

FINAL USAC AMSOIL CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-D. Gardner-1547, 2-Roa-1475, 3-Swanson-1376, 4-Spencer-1212, 5-A. Williams-1058, 6-C. Williams-960, 7-L. Williams-874, 8-Adams-799, 9-Gansen-768, 10-Thomas-756.

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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

ROA RACKS WIN #1 ON "OVAL NATIONALS" NIGHT 2

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Perris, California....November 10, 2017 - Following his career-best third-place finish the previous night, Brody Roa stated that, just a year and a half ago, he would've been laughing had you told him he was going to be on the podium at the "Oval Nationals."

One night later, the question had to be asked. Who's laughing now?

"I'm still laughing, just for a different reason," Roa exclaimed. "This is, by far, the biggest one. To do it at Perris, a track I grew up at and have always wanted to win at, and to do it during 'Oval Nationals' weekend, even if it's on a prelim night, it's against all the same guys we're running against tomorrow."

The Garden Grove, California native led all 30 laps Friday night to capture his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature victory on night two of the Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction. In doing so, he became the first driver to break into the win column for the first time in his career during the 2017 season, the latest in the year the series has had a first-time winner emerge.

Brody Roa captured his first career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature victory Friday night at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway on night two of the 'Oval Nationals.' (Rich Forman Photo)

An all CRA front row held down the front row when the green flag waved for the start of the 30-lap feature in memory of Evelyn Pratt. Roa wasn't content to bide his time and fall into line. He went on the attack, first sliding the now six-time CRA champ Damion Gardner for the advantage in turn one. Gardner quickly countered underneath Roa off turn two to retake the lead momentarily as Roa reached into his back pocket, pulled out the slingshot, and aimed his BR Performance/HD Industries - Burris Racing/Maxim/Shaver Chevy to the bottom of three before sliding back into the top spot.

By the fifth lap, Roa ran the fastest lap of the race on his way to constructing a half-straightaway lead over new second-place combatant Chad Boespflug. Roa's lead continued to grow ever larger to three-quarters of a straightaway when, on lap 13, Logan Williams climbed the turn two wall before coming back to earth on all four wheels to bring out the race's first caution.

From that point, Roa was in the midst of stop signs and red lights at seemingly every corner with a succession of incidents disrupting the rhythm of the race just on the other side of the halfway mark.

Stevie Sussex got upside down on lap 16, Austin Liggett found himself backward against the wall on lap 19, then ninth-running R.J. Johnson tagged the turn four wall with his right rear tire and tumbled over as Justin Grant, involved in a tight USAC National Sprint Car points race, barely escaped trouble. All drivers were uninjured.

On the restart with ten laps remaining, it became a battle between the green of Roa and the Mean Green of Boespflug. On prior restarts, Boespflug tested the waters with attempted sliders tossed at Roa to no avail as Roa kept his right foot glued to the throttle and powered away on the razor's edge of a cushion.

"On that first restart, I got a good enough start to where Chad showed me a nose, but he could never get there," Roa recalled. "I just kept trying to do the same thing over-and-over again. I knew our car had good forward bite and I could get down to turn one quickly. I just had to get to the center quick enough to where they couldn't slide me."

"I put it on the cushion getting into turn one on the restarts," Roa continued. "I think I had my left eye closed. If a slider was coming, I wasn't going to lift. I was going to drive around it. I didn't want to see it coming and screw up all my momentum. I tried not to look down the whole race. I just tried to keep my eye on my line and running the cushion around it. It was tough tonight, especially at the end, when it started taking rubber, I think. It started getting a little left rear tight on the cushion. A couple times off turn four, I jumped over it and I was just waiting for it coming down into one and it never happened."

'This is, by far, the biggest one. To do it at Perris, a track I grew up at and have always wanted to win at, and to do it during 'Oval Nationals' weekend, even if it's on a prelim night, it's against all the same guys we're running against tomorrow.' (Mike Grosswendt Photo)

Boespflug's Timehop revealed that it had been one year to the day since he scored an "Oval Nationals" prelim victory. On this night, it appeared that a repeat performance could be in the cards for Boespflug if there was any slip-up that Roa endured. On the 21st lap, that slip-up occurred, but, instead, it was Boespflug who became entangled in the ensuing web of misfortune.

Roa entered turn three and bounced his right rear rubber off the concrete. As he fought to regain control atop the cush, second-running Boespflug mimicked the same slap of the wall, but the result was much more intense. Boespflug climbed the wall, nearly flipping, before coming to a rest on the track. In the resulting madness, several cars became involved as they scrambled for safety, including top-ten runners Damion Gardner, Dave Darland and Chase Stockon. Robert Ballou was miraculously able to escape to daylight between the wall and the three sprinters that formed an auto blockade.

The high line between turns three and four represented a figurative tightrope that drivers had to balance down the stretch. Navigating it required precise detail and poise to the utmost degree.

"It was about six inches of solid dirt against the K-Rail. It wasn't very forgiving," Roa noted. "I could drive to it and try to connect the dots. I would get in, drive it to the next point and keep the car rolling somewhat straight around it, but on the throttle enough that it wouldn't get tight. I got the thing rolling straight down the straightaway and I knew we had good forward bite even if I drove off it, which I started doing a little bit in turn two toward the end of the race. Turning down off and just getting it rolling straight down the hill, I just gave the wall a little kiss halfway down the back straightaway to get it to stop sliding and get into three. I never saw a nose. And honestly, I wasn't even looking for the nose. We were going to win it or wear it tonight."

Roa wore leftover remnants of white wall dust, but was no worse for the wear as he was in a class of his own for 30-straight laps. Even Thomas, arguably the most consistently fast driver of late, couldn't do much with Roa on the final restart. Roa was downright surgical down the stretch as he stitched this deal up on his way to what would also be the third USAC/CRA Sprint Car win of his career and first at Perris ahead of Thomas, Windom, Grant and Ballou.

Roa's performance over the two preliminary nights locked him into a guaranteed spot in Saturday's A-Main along with Windom, Leary, Grant, Stockon and Thomas. Though there was a big cause for celebration in the wee hours of Friday night/Saturday morning, Roa had plans to get some rest and be fresh for the following day with his mind set on the biggest prize - Saturday night's $25,000-to-win finale.

"It's going to be tough, but you have to get some sleep," Roa acknowledges. "But this isn't like a Saturday night win at a normal show. You have to put your head back down 14 hours from now and get after it again. We'll get up in the morning, service the car and go through it. It does take a little bit of stress off tomorrow being locked in. It's a big weekend. The best of the best come out here and bring their A-game, but we brought ours too."

Cullman, Alabama's Thomas was the high-point man for the weekend after finishing second Friday night in his KT Motorsports/Jeff's Jam-It-In Storage - Abreu Vineyards/DRC/Speedway Chevy. Despite the performance, he was not able to gain much ground in the race for the USAC National Sprint Car title with Windom and Grant finishing directly behind him in the running order. Now trailing by 67 points entering the final race and the reality of a 2017 USAC National championship appears to have dissipated.

Windom, of Canton, Illinois, and Grant came into the night's feature separated by just nine markers. With every position on the track worthier than gold at this moment, the fight for third came down to the final corner between the two with Windom besting Grant by a half-car length - and the extra three points - at the line in his Baldwin Brothers Racing/Fox Paving - AMSOIL/DRC/Claxton Mopar.

With a single race left Saturday night at Perris, Windom leads Grant by 12 points (four positions). A maximum of 70 points are available to the driver who wins the event.

Contingency award winners Saturday night at Arizona Speedway included Kevin Thomas, Jr. (ProSource/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier), C.J. Leary (Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers 1st Heat Winner), Danny Faria, Jr. (Competition Suspension, Inc./Brown & Miller Racing Solutions 2nd Heat Winner), Austin Liggett (Chalk Stix/Circle Track Performance 3rd Heat Winner), Robert Ballou (Indy Race Parts/Keizer Aluminum Wheels 4th Heat Winner & KSE Racing Products/Saldana Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger), Logan Williams (Pyrotect Racing Cells 5th Heat Winner) and Max Adams (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 10, 2017 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 22nd Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction

PROSOURCE/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 9K, KT-16.302; 2. Justin Grant, 11, McGhee-16.517; 3. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-16.599; 4. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-16.722; 5. Chad Boespflug, 69, Dynamics-16.738; 6. Dave Darland, 73, Ford-16.778; 7. Damion Gardner, 4, Alexander-16.791; 8. Hunter Schuerenberg, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-16.802; 9. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.814; 10. Jake Swanson, 92, Sertich-16.851; 11. Tyler Courtney, 23c, TOPP-16.870; 12. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-16.878; 13. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-16.883; 14. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-16.936; 15. Stevie Sussex, 42, Cheney-16.941; 16. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-16.956; 17. Brady Bacon, 63, Dooling/Hayward-16.958; 18. Mike Spencer, 4s, Gansen-16.987; 19. Max Adams, 5m, Adams-16.995; 20. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-17.002; 21. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-17.006; 22. Danny Faria, Jr., 17GP, Dutcher-17.028; 23. Austin Liggett, 56, Phulps-17.033; 24. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-17.035; 25. Logan Williams, 5J, Jory-17.045; 26. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-17.070; 27. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-17.113; 28. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.135; 29. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-17.161; 30. Carson Macedo, 73T, Ford-17.169; 31. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.213; 32. Dennis Gile, 13, Gile-17.216; 33. Trent Williams, 52v, Williams-17.243; 34. Michael Pickens, 81, Watt-17.309; 35. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-17.326; 36. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.336; 37. Thomas Meseraull, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-17.383; 38. Jeremy Ellertson, 98, Ellertson-17.441; 39. Verne Sweeney, 98v, Tracy-17.474; 40. Shon Deskins, 42x, Cheney-17.669; 41. Gary Marshall, Jr., 72, Marshall-18.018; 42. Ronnie Gardner, 7K, Kruseman-18.022; 43. Randy Waitman, 90, Waitman-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Leary, 2. Courtney, 3. Thomas, 4. Martin, 5. Malcolm, 6. Darland, 7. J. Vander Weerd, 8. Bender, 9. Marshall. 2:48.26

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Faria, 2. Chapple, 3. D. Gardner, 4. A. Williams, 5. Bacon, 6. Grant, 7. Meseraull, 8. Gile, 9. R. Gardner. 2:50.28

CHALK STIX/CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE THIRD HEAT (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Liggett, 2. Spencer, 3. Stockon, 4. Johnson, 5. Schuerenberg, 6. T. Williams, 7. Gansen, 8. Waitman, 9. Ellertson. 2:51.16

INDY RACE PARTS/KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS: FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Ballou, 2. Adams, 3. Windom, 4. Roa, 5. C. Williams, 6. Pickens, 7. Edwards, 8. Sweeney. 2:50.15

PYTROTECT RACING CELLS FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. L. Williams, 2. Sussex, 3. R. Vander Weerd, 4. Boespflug, 5. Swanson, 6. Deskins, 7. McCarthy, 8. Macedo. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Grant, 2. Macedo, 3. Swanson, 4. Darland, 5. Malcolm, 6. Bender, 7. Meseraull, 8. J. Vander Weerd, 9. Gansen, 10. T. Williams, 11. Edwards, 12. Pickens, 13. Gile, 14. Ellertson, 15. Deskins, 16. Sweeney, 17. Waitman, 18. Marshall, 19. C. Williams, 20. Schuerenberg, 21. Bacon, 22. McCarthy. NT

EVELYN PRATT FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brody Roa (1), 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (6), 3. Chris Windom (4), 4. Justin Grant (7), 5. Robert Ballou (23), 6. Tyler Courtney (10), 7. Richard Vander Weerd (16), 8. C.J. Leary (21), 9. Brady Bacon (25), 10. Jake Swanson (9), 11. Mike Spencer (14), 12. Chase Stockon (5), 13. Max Adams (15), 14. Danny Faria, Jr. (18), 15. Damion Gardner (2), 16. Austin Williams (11), 17. Isaac Chapple (22), 18. Austin Liggett (19), 19. Mike Martin (17), 20. Jeremy Ellertson (27), 21. Chad Boespflug (3), 22. Dave Darland (8), 23. R.J. Johnson (12), 24. Stevie Sussex (13), 25. Carson Macedo (24), 26. Logan Williams (20), 27. Cody Williams (26). NT
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**Sussex flipped on lap 16 of the feature. Johnson flipped on lap 21 of the feature.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Roa.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Robert Ballou (23rd to 5th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Max Adams

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Windom-2229, 2-Grant-2217, 3-Thomas-2162; 4-Courtney-2120, 5-Stockon-2000, 6-Boespflug-1910, 7-Leary-1846; 8-Ballou-1762, 9-Bacon-1742, 10-Darland-1482.

NEW USAC AMSOIL CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-D. Gardner-1498, 2-Roa-1420, 3-Swanson-1343, 4-Spencer-1171, 5-A. Williams-1019, 6-C. Williams-925, 7-L. Williams-831, 8-Adams-776, 9-Gansen-743, 10-Thomas-686.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 11 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 22nd Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction

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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com

STOCKON REELS OFF 2ND STRAIGHT WIN ON NIGHT 1 OF "OVAL NATIONALS"

By: Richie Murray - USAC Media

Perris, California....November 9, 2017 - It's almost a shame the racing season is nearing its end. After all, Chase Stockon's season feels like it's just beginning.

After waiting more than 15 months to get his ninth career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory last Saturday night at Arizona Speedway, the Fort Branch, Indiana driver had to wait just five more nights to get his 10th on night one of the Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction at Perris Auto Speedway, tying him with Tony Stewart for 46th on the series' career win list.

Additionally, he's just the third driver in the history of the series to win his first two USAC National Sprint Car features of the season after the month of November, following in the steps of Damion Gardner in 2005 and Kevin Swindell in 2008.

Chase Stockon won his second consecutive USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature Thursday night at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway during night one of the 'Oval Nationals.' (Mike Grosswendt Photo)

Stockon has achieved success when the series has traveled west in prior years, but had not yet tamed Perris where he has a second-place finish to his credit during an "Ovals" prelim in 2013. That was the same era in which the team has based their recent set-ups on over the past month, and by all accounts, appears to be paying large dividends for Stockon and his 32 TBI Racing/Superior Tank & Trailer - Crescent Electric Supply/DRC/Fisher.

"We changed some stuff around in the shock package to get things a little more comfortable for me," Stockon reiterated from his interview following last week's 'Western World' victory. "On our own, with this setup and the rest of the racecar, we went back to four or five years ago and did kind of the same thing with the shock package. We've got something that works really well for us and it seems like we've been trying to hit that all year, but have struggled finding it. I'm trying to stay humble, but we go race-by-race and it can always change tomorrow."

With seemingly a new lease on life in racing terms, Stockon secured the lead at the drop of the green from his outside front row starting position and was quickly able to split to a near half-straight lead while C.J. Leary and Brody Roa worked the bottom to slip underneath pole sitter Danny Faria, Jr. on the ensuing two laps to snag second and third, respectively.

By the 11th lap, Stockon was Neil Diamondesque as he served as a solitary man, all by his lonesome, at the front of the field possessing a 1.7 second advantage. However, Josh Hodges engine began to billow with smoke as he slowed in turn two to bring out the yellow flag, bringing an end to his night and his "Oval Nationals" weekend in one fell swoop.

With the lead now erased, Stockon blasted from the launching pad and quickly constructed a sizable advantage over Leary and Roa yet again. However, soon after the halfway mark, that deficit began to shrink and the tension started to grow as Leary was close enough to duck a nose underneath Stockon in a bid for the lead on lap 19.

One lap later, Leary used a picture-perfect run on the high side of turns three and four to glide around Stockon for the race lead. Undeterred, Stockon fought his way back into the frame to rip the spot away from Leary with a turn three slider on lap 21.

'We changed some stuff around in the shock package to get things a little more comfortable for me. On our own, with this setup and the rest of the racecar, we went back to four or five years ago and did kind of the same thing with the shock package. We've got something that works really well for us and it seems like we've been trying to hit that all year, but have struggled finding it. I'm trying to stay humble, but we go race-by-race and it can always change tomorrow.' - Chase Stockon -
(Rich Forman Photo)

Stockon's trusted line of high in turns one and two and on the bottom of three and four became a rug tugged away from him as he entered lapped traffic with Leary in tow throughout the final two-thirds of the 30-lapper. With track conditions everchanging, no piece of real estate was off-limits as the pair searched high, low and middle.

"It was kind of a tough race for me," Stockon explained. "I could feel myself slowing down in (turns) three and four as the bottom started to wear out. With C.J. behind me, I knew he was going to be charging the top. With lapped cars up there, I started moving around down in three and four. I was still able to get above a few of them before they came out to the wall on the front stretch. For the longest time, I thought the lapped cars were helping me out a little bit in that aspect. Then I kept seeing C.J.'s nose. For the whole race, he kept pressuring me and pressuring me, making me drive a little harder."

With three laps remaining, Leary raised the stakes and made his bid for the lead, entering turn one low as Stockon rode high. The two drag-raced side-by-side down the back straight as they followed the lapped car of Austin Liggett into turn three. Stockon lunged ahead entering the third turn while Leary followed him on the cushion. As the two came off four, Leary appeared poised to set up a turn one slider on Stockon. Instead, the caution was displayed for the former CFL quarterback and current Southwest Sprint Car regular Dennis Gile, who slowed to a stop in turn two and bringing an end to his USAC National and CRA Sprint Car debut.

"There at the end, at the point of the race I thought lapped traffic was helping me, from what the guys tell me, it was actually kind of hurting me," Stockon revealed. "I think that caution kind of saved us there at the end. It gave us one last chance to have a clean track for three laps and just run it as hard as we could to the finish."

And that's exactly what Stockon did as he took advantage of the traffic-less expressway that lie ahead of him and never allowed Leary another chance to retaliate, racing to a one-second victory over Leary, Roa, Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Tyler Courtney.

"C.J. and I have always raced hard and clean against each other," Stockon said. "I know there's respect between the two of us. He wants to win just as badly as I do. On that restart, I knew I had to get off four really well and get into one without making a mistake. I feel like I did that and stretched it out on him."

C.J. Leary posted a fine second-place performance in his Leary Racing/Leary Construction - Highsmith Guns/DRC/1-Way Chevy. The 2014 360-Sprint Car "Oval Nationals" champion out of Greenfield, Indiana felt that, without that last caution, this night could've belonged to him.

"It's tough to come up short there at the end," Leary lamented. "I think that if it would've stayed green, I would've had a better shot to win. Chase was pretty good and we set a really fast pace the entire time. At one point, I finally went to the top in three and four and I got by. I just don't know how he got back by us."

Garden Grove, California's Brody Roa was the top of the CRA contingent with a career-best USAC National Sprint finish of third in his BR Performance/HD Industries - Burris Racing/Maxim/Shaver Chevy.

"A year and a half ago, I would've been laughing if you told me I was going to be on the podium on any night of the 'Oval Nationals.' I think we're really getting our stuff together and my confidence is up. Everyone on the team is clicking right now and making good decisions."

Chris Windom hustled his way from 15th to seventh to earn KSE Racing Products/Saldana Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger of the Race honors. But, the seventh-place finish was even more personally rewarding as he extended his lead from three to nine over ninth-place finisher Justin Grant with just two races remaining, Friday and Saturday at Perris, until the championship is settled.

Contingency award winners Saturday night at Arizona Speedway included Kevin Thomas, Jr. (ProSource/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier), Chad Boespflug (Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers 1st Heat Winner), Chris Windom (Competition Suspension, Inc./Brown & Miller Racing Solutions 2nd Heat Winner and KSE Racing Products/Saldana Racing Products/Rod End Supply Hard Charger), R.J. Johnson (Chalk Stix/Circle Track Performance 3rd Heat Winner), Logan Williams (Indy Race Parts/Keizer Aluminum Wheels 4th Heat Winner), Austin Liggett (Pyrotect Racing Cells 5th Heat Winner) and Jake Swanson (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).

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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: November 9, 2017 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 22nd Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction

PROSOURCE/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 9K, KT-16.303; 2. Damion Gardner, 4, Alexander-16.312; 3. Justin Grant, 11, McGhee-16.428; 4. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-16.573; 5. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-16.576; 6. Thomas Meseraull, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-16.633; 7. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.659; 8. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-16.673; 9. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-16.679; 10. Austin Williams, 2, Jory-16.696; 11. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-16.715; 12. Danny Faria, Jr., 17GP, Dutcher-16.718; 13. R.J. Johnson, 51, Martin-16.741; 14. Tyler Courtney, 23c, TOPP-16.744; 15. Jake Swanson, 92, Sertich-16.758; 16. Hunter Schuerenberg, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-16.774; 17. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-16.780; 18. Mike Spencer, 4s, Gansen-16.822; 19. Dave Darland, 73, Ford-16.847; 20. Brady Bacon, 63, Dooling/Hayward-16.909; 21. Michael Pickens, 81, Watt-16.973; 22. Max Adams, 5, Adams-16.999; 23. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-17.044; 24. Cody Williams, 44, Jory-17.047; 25. Austin Liggett, 56, Phulps-17.047; 26. Chad Boespflug, 69, Dynamics-17.066; 27. Tommy Malcolm, 5x, Napier-17.100; 28. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.150; 29. Logan Williams, 5J, Jory-17.169; 30. Dennis Gile, 13, Gile-17.202; 31. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-17.226; 32. Verne Sweeney, 98v, Tracy-17.256; 33. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-17.304; 34. Stevie Sussex, 42, Cheney-17.355; 35. Trent Williams, 52v, Williams-17.387; 36. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-17.478; 37. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-17.499; 38. Jeremy Ellertson, 98, Ellertson-17.550; 39. Ronnie Gardner, 7K, Kruseman-17.551; 40. Randy Waitman, 90, Waitman-17.632; 41. Carson Macedo, 73T, Ford-18.261; 42. Gary Marshall, Jr., 72, Marshall-18.446; 43. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-NT.

SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Boespflug, 2. Schuerenberg, 3. Stockon, 4. Thomas, 5. Gansen, 6. Pickens, 7. Martin, 8. Meseraull, 9. Macedo. 2:55.22

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI)/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Windom, 2. Adams, 3. Faria, 4. Malcolm, 5. R. Vander Weerd, 6. Sweeney, 7. Marshall, 8. D. Gardner. NT

CHALK STIX/CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE THIRD HEAT (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Johnson, 2. Spencer, 3. Chapple, 4. Hodges, 5. Grant, 6. J. Vander Weerd, 7. Ellertson, 8. Edwards. 2:53.36

INDY RACE PARTS/KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS: FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. L. Williams, 2. C. Williams, 3. Courtney, 4. Roa, 5. Darland, 6. Ballou, 7. Sussex, 8. R. Gardner. 2:51.74

PYTROTECT RACING CELLS FIFTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Liggett, 2. Swanson, 3. Leary, 4. Gile, 5. Bacon, 6. T. Williams, 7. A. Williams, 8. Waitman. NT

COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SEMI: (12 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Grant, 2. Ballou, 3. R. Vander Weerd, 4. Meseraull, 5. D. Gardner, 6. A. Williams, 7. Bacon, 8. Darland, 9. Pickens, 10. Martin, 11. T. Williams, 12. J. Vander Weerd, 13. Edwards, 14. Sussex,
15. Macedo, 16. Ellertson, 17. Bender, 18. R. Gardner, 19. Sweeney, 20. Gansen, 21. Waitman, 22. Marshall. 3:26.55

BILL PRATT FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Chase Stockon (2), 2. C.J. Leary (4), 3. Brody Roa (5), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (6), 5. Tyler Courtney (12), 6. Robert Ballou (10), 7. Chris Windom (15), 8. Damion Gardner (26), 9. Justin Grant (7), 10. Thomas Meseraull (8), 11. R.J. Johnson (11), 12. Richard Vander Weerd (9), 13. Jake Swanson (13), 14. Mike Spencer (16), 15. Brady Bacon (25), 16. Danny Faria, Jr. (1), 17. Chad Boespflug (21), 18. Hunter Schuerenberg (14), 19. Cody Williams (19), 20. Austin Liggett (20), 21. Isaac Chapple (18), 22. Tommy Malcolm (22), 23. Logan Williams (23), 24. Max Adams (17), 25. Dennis Gile (24), 26. Austin Williams (27), 27. Josh Hodges (3). NT
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**McCarthy flipped during qualifying.

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-19 Stockon, Lap 20 Leary, Laps 21-30 Stockon.

KSE RACING PRODUCTS/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/ROD END SUPPLY HARD CHARGER: Chris Windom (15th to 7th)

WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Jake Swanson

NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Windom-2156, 2-Grant-2147, 3-Thomas-2083; 4-Courtney-2058, 5-Stockon-1951, 6-Boespflug-1880, 7-Leary-1789; 8-Bacon & Ballou-1696, 10-Darland-1457.

NEW USAC AMSOIL CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-D. Gardner-1459, 2-Roa-1345, 3-Swanson-1298, 4-Spencer-1123, 5-A. Williams-983, 6-C. Williams-902, 7-L. Williams-800, 8-Gansen-733, 9-Adams-732, 10-McCarthy-628.

NEXT USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: November 10-11 - Perris Auto Speedway - Perris, California - 22nd Budweiser "Oval Nationals" presented by All Coast Construction