Tyler Courtney Leads Oval Nationals Practice Night
Perris, California………The top drivers in the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car points recorded the top-two lap times in Wednesday night’s practice session at Perris Auto Speedway in preparation for the 23rd annual Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction this Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, November 8-9-10.
Tyler Courtney, who trails Kevin Thomas, Jr. in the standings by just two points, topped the charts with a lap of 16.419 seconds around the half-mile dirt oval aboard his Clauson Marshall Newman Racing/NOS Energy Drink – Priority Aviation/Spike/Rider Chevy. Thomas was second fastest at 16.435, while Justin Grant, Jason McDougal, and Brady Bacon rounded out the top-five among the 27 cars who took to the track.
Third in the National standings, reigning champ Chris Windom, did not partake in the practice session. He’s 50 points out of the series lead coming into these final three races of the 2018 season.
Meanwhile, a tight USAC/CRA Sprint Car point race will also be decided this week with Damion Gardner holding a nine-point lead over Brody Roa. Gardner is aiming for his sixth-straight series crown and seventh overall, while Roa is gunning for his first. Neither driver participated in Wednesday’s session.
A car count in the mid-40s is expected for the “Oval Nationals,” which has a purse of over $131,000 and a payout of $25,000 to Saturday night’s feature winner.
On Thursday and Friday, the pits open at noon, front gates open at 4 pm, drivers meeting at 4:30 pm and cars on track at 5:30 pm. On Saturday, the pits open at noon, front gates open at 3 pm, autograph session from 3-4pm, drivers meeting at 4:30 pm and cars on track at 5:15 pm.
All three nights will be live on http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/ with live audio also available on the USAC app.
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USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL & CRA SPRINT CAR PRACTICE RESULTS: November 7, 2018 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – 23rd Budweiser “Oval Nationals” presented by All Coast Construction
PRACTICE: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson Marshall Newman-16.419; 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-16.435; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-16.449; 4. Jason McDougal, 19s, Reinbold/Underwood-16.452; 5. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-16.524; 6. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-16.528; 7. Thomas Meseraull, 77m, Michael-16.567; 8. Chase Johnson, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-16.569; 9. R.J. Johnson, 92, Sertich-16.615; 10. Jace Vander Weerd, 88, Vander Weerd-16.718; 11. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-16.726; 12. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-16.734; 13. Richard Vander Weerd, 10, Vander Weerd-16.750; 14. Bud Kaeding, 16, Martin-16.782; 15. Dave Darland, 12, Ballou-16.849; 16. Charles Davis, Jr., 50, Davis-16.912; 17. Austin Liggett, 83, Liggett-16.959; 18. Dennis Gile, 13, Gile-16.967; 19. Matt McCarthy, 28m, McCarthy-17.078; 20. Randy Waitman, 90, Waitman-17.413; 21. Kyle Edwards, 39E, Edwards-17.424; 22. Gary Marshall, Jr., 72, Marshall-18.041; 23. Joel Rayborne, 12B, Blair-18.064; 24. Frank Rodgers, 11, Rodgers-18.764; 25. Danny Faria, Jr., 42, Cheney-19.266; 26. Eric Englert, 35, Englert-21.251; 27. Danny Sheridan, 15, Johnson-NT.
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Sources: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Adam Mollenkopf Photo