Bernal Exaust USAC Field on Flowmaster Night
~~PETALUMA, CA – Oct 4th
A pleasantly warm fall evening found 20 non-winged sprint cars signing in for the USAC Western Classic Points Finale on Flowmaster Night at Petaluma Speedway. A heavy cushion saw Max Adams tour around the fast 3/8ths oval with a 13.998 effort to claim top qualifying honors. Brett Rollag, Ryan Bernal, and Terry Schank Jr. claimed the trio of ten lap heat races. Bernal who had already accumulated enough points to claim the Western Classic title coming into the event chased local drivers Shawn Arriaga and Frankie Guerrini Jr. through the first five laps of the 30-lap finale. Arriaga then abruptly pulled to the infield with an engine vibration. Inheriting the lead was Bernal who had his hands full with the exciting young Guerrini. A Paul Alonso caution interrupted a dynamic battle between Bradley Terrell, Joe Stornetta, and Rollag. The middle ten laps were “go time” for Geoff Ensign as he went from fifth to third on a lap 9 restart. Greg Higginbotham and Eli Deshaies ran out of room in turn one on the 19th circuit. This set up the final run to the checkers Ensign worked hard to get by Guerrini on lap 25 by that time Bernal had a half straightaway lead as he took the Scott Erwin twin-checkers. Second was Ensign, Guerrini’s nice effort yielded third, rounding out the top five were Terrell and Schank. It’s interesting to point out that local Petaluma Speedway drivers took seven out of the top eight positions.
The annual twin 25-lap end of the year dwarf car feature saw a nice field of 27 cars. Danny Wagner, Shawn Jones, and Adam Teves captured the three heat races. The first 25-lap segment was a caution filled affair and ultimately was yellow checkered after 18-laps with Shawn Jones leading the pack. Hard accidents eliminated Josh Williams, Spanky Grenert, and favorites Mark Biscardi and Scooter Gomes. The second 25-lap segment was run much smoother as Jones masterfully dissected lapped traffic and changing track conditions to earn the 43-lap win over the always competitive Mary Weisler, Wagner, Eric Weisler, and Buddy Olschowka.
The 150-lap Enduro saw a dozen competitors click off all the scheduled laps in 1 hour and seven minutes with Ryan Hanskins garnering his first ever Enduro victory by three laps over Jay Cookson, Gene Guinn, Jake Huls, and Lacey Parmeter.
Petaluma Speedway returns to action Saturday Night, October 11th featuring the 3rd Annual Adobe Cup. On tap will be Winged 360’s, the Joe Hunt Wingless Sprint Series vs Pit Stop USA Spec Sprints points’ finale, and a Super Stock Open Comp Show. For more information please go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.
