6/12/2011
Sprint Source
HUNT TAKES OVER USAC POINTS LEAD WITH VICTORY AT MADERA
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA (June 12, 2011) – Tony Hunt made it 2-for-2 in races at Madera in 2011 by winning the “Al Pombo Classic” on Saturday night at Madera Speedway to take over the USAC Western Classic Racing Series points lead.
With the convincing victory, Hunt is the first repeat winner in the new series that saw Indiana’s Bill Rose win the “John Padjen Classic” at Chico while Scott Pierovich won the “Larry Burton Classic” at Roseville.
16 USAC Sprint Cars filled the pit area at Madera for the 50 lap contest on the one-third mile pavement oval. Hunt got his evening off to a good start when he set fast-time at 13.764 seconds around the speedway in his #56 Metal Works entry. Audra Sasselli qualified second while incoming points leader Pierovich was third.
Fresno’s Tim Skoglund led from outside pole with Pierovich and Hunt moving into second and third respectively by lap five. The top ten cars ran under a blanket with Hunt going to work on the outside of Pierovich on lap eight.
Hunt and Pierovich traded blows for several laps in a battle reminiscent of their memorable duel in April, with Hunt taking over second on lap 15. Brian McClish followed Hunt past Pierovich, with Sasselli locking horns with Pierovich over the next couple of circuits.
Skoglund, Hunt, and McClish raced in a tight battle for the lead past the halfway point with McClish making several bids on the outside through lapped traffic. Finally on lap 29, Hunt broke through by passing Skoglund for the lead on the inside.
Idaho’s Johnny Giesler began moving forward by passing Sasselli and challenging Pierovich. After a three-wide battle, Giesler moved into fourth in his debut appearance at Madera. Sasselli began to gain momentum when she passed Pierovich and Giesler through lap 38.
The first caution of the race finally flew on lap 40 when Marvin Mitchell made contact with the wall in turn two. Sasselli used the restart to pass Skoglund for third while Tim Barber passed Pierovich for sixth.
A late caution on lap 49 came out when Cody Gerhardt spun in turn two. A dramatic battle ensued on the one-lap restart when Sasselli challenged McClish, but Mcclish won the war.
Hunt cruised to victory with a good restart to take the win over McClish, Sasselli, Skoglund, and Giesler. Incoming USAC Western Sprint Car Series points leader Luis Ramos III finished ninth while incoming USAC Western Classic Series points leader Pierovich finished seventh.
Kaeding Performance Awards went to Sasselli and Barber. Heat race wins went to Shauna Hogg and Ramos.
With the victory, Hunt takes over the points lead in the Classic Series by 13 markers over Pierovich as the series moves on to the dirt in a pair of races co-sanctioned by USAC/CRA. Friday June 17 will see USAC hit the quarter-mile Ocean Speedway and the series will visit Chris Kerns’ Santa Maria Speedway on Saturday June 18.
More information on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series is available on Facebook at keywords “USAC Western Classic Racing Series”. The United States Auto Club is online at www.usacracing.com The USAC Western States is available at www.usacwesternstates.com with contact information and the latest news.
The USAC Western Classic Racing Series is brought to you by: Amsoil, Hoosier Tires West, and Kaeding Performance.
AMSOIL USAC WESTERN/WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT RACE RESULTS: June 11, 2011 – Madera, California – Madera Speedway – “Al Pombo Classic”
QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Tony Hunt, 56, Phulps-13.764; 2. Audra Sasselli, 77, Sasselli-13.779; 3. Scott Pierovich, 14, Pierson-13.888; 4. Cody Gerhardt, 40, Western Speed-13.933; 5. Tim Skoglund, 60, Western Speed-13.933; 6. Brian McClish, 69, Kaiser-13.950; 7. Johnny Giesler, 12x, Bard-13.977; 8. Shauna Hogg, 5, Hogg-14.016; 9. Tim Barber, 3T, Finkenbinder-14.026; 10. 94 Gordon Rodgers, 94, Dusin-14.176; 11. Luis Ramos III, 21, Kaplan/Gennuso-14.204; 12. Geoff Ensign, 3F, Finkenbinder-14.375; 13. Jerry Kobza, 93, Kobza-14.981; 14. Don Emory, 50x, Emory-15.342 ; 15. Marvin Mitchell, 68, Mitchell-NT; 16. Bill Logan, 98, Logan-NT.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Hogg, 2. Gerhardt, 3. Ensign, 4. McClish, 5. Sasselli, 6. Rodgers, 7. Emery, 8. Mitchell. 1:55.52
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Ramos, 2. Barber, 3. Pierovich, 4. Skoglund, 5. Hunt, 6. Giesler, 7. Kobza. 1:53.81
FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Tony Hunt, 2. Brian McClish, 3. Audra Sasselli, 4. Tim Skoglund, 5. Johnny Giesler, 6. Tim Barber, 7. Scott Pierovich, 8. Shauna Hogg, 9. Luis Ramos III, 10. Cody Gerhardt, 11. Geoff Ensign, 12. Gordon Rodgers, 13. Jerry Kobza, 14. Don Emery, 15. Marvin Mitchell. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-28 Skoglund, Laps 29-50 Hunt.
NEW AMSOIL WESTERN SPRINT POINTS: 1-Sasselli-237; 2-Ramos-222; 3-Hunt-213; 4-Skoglund-203; 5-Gerhardt-197; 6-Pierovich-171; 7-McClish-160; 8-Ensign-142; 9-Hogg-126; 10-Rodgers-114.
NEW WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT POINTS: 1-Hunt-229; 2-Pierovich-216; 3-Sasselli-182; 4-McClish-160; 5-Hogg-160; 6-Ramos-160; 7-Ensign-160; 8-Barber-153; 9-Kobza-153; 10-Gerhardt-151.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC SPRINT RACE: July 2 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rocky Mountain Raceways
NEXT USAC WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT RACE: June 17 – Watsonville, CA – Ocean Speedway
Article Credit: Steven Blakesley / Blakesley Sports Media
Submitted By: Steven Blakesley
