Damion Gardner Wins USAC/CRA Battle at Bakersfield
BAKERSFIELD, CA – MAY 11, 2019… Taking the lead from Troy Rutherford on lap five, “The Demon” Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) scored the $3,000 victory at Bakersfield Speedway. Racing Mark Alexander’s #4 Trench Shoring / All Coast Construction Spike, Gardner became the sixth different winner in as many races with the AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series. Damion’s 30-lap triumph was the eighty-first series win of his career as he was followed by Rutherford, fast qualifier Jake Swanson, “The Cadillac” Cody Williams, and Trent Carter.
James Herrera earned the night’s Specialty Fasteners Hard Charger Award with a seventeenth to ninth place run. “The Rickster” Ricky Kirkbride scored the Wilwood Disc Brakes “Lucky 13 Award” with a thirteenth place finish in the main event.
Swanson posted his 17th career Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award over the 17-car field with a time of 12.636.
The night’s 10-lap heat race victories went to “The Demon” Damion Gardner (Extreme Mufflers First Heat) and Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm (Circle Track Performance / Ultra Shield Race Products Second Heat).
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Cars are back in action on Saturday, May 25th, at Perris Auto Speedway for the annual “Salute to Indy.”
The AMSOIL USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series thanks All Coast Construction, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Circle Track Performance, Competition Suspension Incorporated, Extreme Mufflers, Five Star Grafix, Flowdynamics, Hoosier Racing Tire, Loudpedal Productions, Pyrotect Racing Cells, Saldana Racing Products, Specialty Fasteners, surfnsprint.com, Ultra Shield Race Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Woodland Auto Display for their support.
For more information on the series, visit usacracing.com and the social media for USAC Racing. You can also find exclusive content on the USAC/CRA Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: May 11, 2019 – Bakersfield Speedway – Bakersfield, California
WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Jake Swanson, 42, Cheney-12.636; 2. Trent Carter, 13, Carter-12.747; 3. Austin Williams, 92, Sertich-12.762; 4. Brody Roa, 91R, BR-12.783; 5. Damion Gardner, 4, Alexander-12.820; 6. Matt McCarthy, 28M, McCarthy-12.913; 7. Troy Rutherford, 11, Rutherford-12.919; 8. Cody Williams, 44, Williams-12.956; 9. Eddie Tafoya Jr., 51T, Tafoya-12.963; 10. Steve Hix, 57, Hix-12.993; 11. Chris Gansen, 4G, Gansen-13.024; 12. Tommy Malcolm, 5X, Napier-13.027; 13. Austin Ervine, 51, AJ-13.102; 14. Ricky Kirkbride, 87, Kirkbride-13.120; 15. Joel Rayborne, 12B, Blair-13.268; 16. A.J. Bender, 21, Bender-13.581; 17. James Herrera, 5J, Herrera-14.154.
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Gardner, 2. Gansen, 3. Swanson, 4. Rutherford, 5. A.Williams, 6. Ervine, 7. Rayborne, 8. Tafoya, 9. Herrera. NT
CIRCLE TRACK PERFORMANCE / ULTRA SHIELD RACE PRODUCTS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps) 1. Malcolm, 2. Hix, 3. Roa, 4. Carter, 5. McCarthy, 6. Kirkbride, 7. C.Williams, 8. Bender. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, with starting positions) 1. Damion Gardner (3), 2. Troy Rutherford (2), 3. Jake Swanson (6), 4. Cody Williams (9), 5. Trent Carter (5), 6. Eddie Tafoya Jr. (10), 7. Steve Hix (1), 8. Chris Gansen (11), 9. James Herrera (17), 10. Joel Rayborne (15), 11. Austin Williams (7), 12. Tommy Malcolm (12), 13. Ricky Kirkbride (14), 14. Brody Roa (4), 15. Matt McCarthy (8), 16. A.J. Bender (16), 17. Austin Ervine (13). NT
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**A.Williams flipped on lap 24 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Rutherford, Laps 5-30 Gardner.
SPECIALTY FASTENERS HARD CHARGER: James Herrera (17th to 9th)
WILWOOD DISC BRAKES LUCKY 13 AWARD: Ricky Kirkbride
NEW AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Gardner-417, 2-Roa-397, 3-A.Williams-363, 4-R.J. Johnson-262, 5-Gansen-256, 6-Swanson-255, 7-Malcolm-254, 8-Bender-199, 9-McCarthy-194, 10-Charles Davis Jr.-187.
NEXT AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CAR RACE: May 25 – Perris Auto Speedway – Perris, California – “Salute to Indy”
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Sources: Richie Murray/USAC PR