Bacon and Clauson take Western World Opener

Bryan Hulbert – Peoria, Arizona (November 15, 2012) The 45th annual FVP Western World Championships presented by Sands Chevrolet opened with Bryan Clauson grabbing the ASCS Canyon Region A-Feature and Brady Bacon taking his eighth win of the 2012 season with the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV.

(Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV)

It was a track just like Brady Bacon likes; technical, “It was just our kind of racetrack. Kind of heavy around the bottom and we just had a good car that would rotate around the bottom” commented Bacon. “We ran second both night’s here in the spring and ran good here tonight. We should be good in the Non-Wing car tomorrow so it looks like we could have a really good weekend”

Earning the pole through his accumulated passing points from his Heat Race and Qualifier, the “Broken Arrow Bandit” took little time running away from fellow front row starter Kyle Hirst.

Flying into slower traffic, Bacon kept his distance while the battle on the track picked up for fourth as Wayne Johnson worked on getting around Logan Forler. Finally clearing the No. 2L on lap seven, Johnson began running down Hirst before the caution flew as Aaron Reutzel slowed with a shredded left rear tire on lap ten.

The No. 1x would rejoin the field while at the same time contact from a lapped car would end the night of two drivers as Dustin Morgan found the front suspension knocked out of his Ark Wrecking No. 2, leaving Travis Rilat with nowhere to hide as the No. 39c plowed the back of Morgan. The drivers were running fifth and sixth at the time.

Back under green, Johnson would take a shot at second but to no avail. Taking advantage of a great restart, the Vacuworx Global No. 05 of Brad Loyet would shoot into the top five on lap eleven. Battling with Logan Forler for fourth, the race would be stopped on lap nineteen as John Carney II ended going end over end after contact from a slower car. Carney showed his displeasure with the Joshua Williams for the incident; having to eventually be drug out of Williams’ car.

Cleared of the accident, the race resumed with Brady Bacon going unchallenged for the reminder of the feature. Kyle Hirst held of a last lap attempt by Wayne Johnson for second. Johnson settle for third with Brad Loyet getting into fourth on lap twenty leaving Logan Forler to round out the top five. Henry VanDam grabbed sixth with Donny Schatz, and Jayme Barnes rounding out the final transfer spots into Saturday’s A-Feature. Aaron Reutzel and J.J. Hickle made up the top ten.

Qualifier wins belonged to Dustin Morgan and Kyle Hirst while Heat Races were claimed by Donny Schatz, Aaron Reutzel, and Wayne Johnson.

45th FVP Western World presented by Sands Chevrolet
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV
Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, Arizona
November 15, 2012

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 15C-Donny Schatz[1]; 2. 99-Brady Bacon[6]; 3. 3-J.J. Hickle[2]; DNF 17J-Jayme Barnes[4]; DNF 11C-Matt Covington[3]; DNF 41W-Joshua Williams[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1X-Aaron Reutzel[2]; 2. 5H-Kyle Hirst[3]; 3. 39C-Travis Rilat[7]; 4. 224-John Carney II[5]; 5. 53-Jack Dover[6]; 6. 77-Dalten Gabbard[4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 77X-Wayne Johnson[1]; 2. 2L-Logan Forler[3]; 3. 22-Jesse Baker[2]; 4. 2-Dustin Morgan[6]; 5. 05-Brad Loyet[4]; 6. 33V-Henry VanDam[5]

Qualifier #1 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Dustin Morgan[1]; 2. 99-Brady Bacon[4]; 3. 39C-Travis Rilat[2]; 4. 15C-Donny Schatz[3]; 5. 33V-Henry VanDam[9]; 6. 53-Jack Dover[7]; 7. 17J-Jayme Barnes[6]; 8. 3-J.J. Hickle[5]

Qualifier #2 (8 Laps): 1. 5H-Kyle Hirst[1]; 2. 2L-Logan Forler[2]; 3. 77X-Wayne Johnson[3]; 4. 1X-Aaron Reutzel[4]; 5. 224-John Carney II[6]; 6. 05-Brad Loyet[7]; 7. 77-Dalten Gabbard[9]; 8. 22-Jesse Baker[5]; 9. 41W-Joshua Williams[8]

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon[1]; 2. 5H-Kyle Hirst[2]; 3. 77X-Wayne Johnson[5]; 4. 05-Brad Loyet[12]; 5. 2L-Logan Forler[3]; 6. 33V-Henry VanDam[10]; 7. 15C-Donny Schatz[8]; 8. 17J-Jayme Barnes[13]; 9. 1X-Aaron Reutzel[6]; 10. 3-J.J. Hickle[14]; 11. 41W-Joshua Williams[17]; 12. 77-Dalten Gabbard[16]; 13. 11C-Matt Covington[18]; DNF 224-John Carney II[9]; DNF 22-Jesse Baker[15]; DNF 2-Dustin Morgan[4]; DNF 39C-Travis Rilat[7]; DNF 53-Jack Dover[11]; DNS 4-Gary Taylor

Lap Leader(s): Brady Bacon (1-30)
Pitstopusa.com Hard Charger of the Night: Brad Loyet+8
FSR Radiator High Point Driver of the Night: Brady Bacon
Provisional(s): N/A

(ASCS Canyon Region)

Earning the third starting spot in the 25 lap ASCS Canyon Region A-Feature event, Clauson would bolt into the runner up spot as Charles Davis Jr. grabbed the lead from the front row.

“It was really good you know these guys with the Ultimate Off Road No. 16 gave me a good race car and we’re off to a great start this week” commented Clauson following his Arizona triumph. “The Western World is still one of the marque sprint car events and one I haven’t really had the opportunity to win so being in position to win we are really excited going into Saturday. “

Slowing for a caution on the second lap, the race resumed with Davis working the high side. Completing lap three, the inside line would come to live for Clauson who dashed into the lead with Tracy Hines taking a shot for second but coming up short while Josh Pelkey and Jon Stanbrough made up the top five.

With slower traffic quickly become an issue for the race leaders, Clauson seemed to work seamlessly to advance his advantage to nearly two second while Hines worked past Davis for the runner up spot on lap seven.

In and out of slower cars, the battle for the lead never shaped up as Bryan Clauson drove the Mike Martin owned No. 16b to victory. Tracy Hines would hold onto second with Charles Davis Jr. making up the podium. Battle all race long for the fourth spot, Josh Pelkey would finally gain the advantage to hold onto fourth with Jon Stanbrough completing the top five.

Rick Ziehl was sixth with R.J. Johnson coming from fifteenth to claim the final transfer into Saturday’s $5,000 to win feature event. Bob Ream Jr., Matt Rossi, and Joshua Hodges rounded out the top five despite having to bring out a backup car following a crash on Wednesday’s Practice Night.

Heat Race victories belonged to Chris Bonneau, Andrew Reinbold, and Bryan Clauson. Qualifiers were won by Bryan Clauson, Tracy Hines, ad Bob Ream Jr.

45th FVP Western World presented by Sands Chevrolet
ASCS Canyon Region
Canyon Speedway Park – Peoria, Arizona
November 15, 2012

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 78-Chris Bonneau[1]; 2. 12-Josh Pelkey[4]; 3. 21-Jon Stanbrough[6]; 4. 8-Bob Ream Jr[3]; 5. 94-James Aragon[2]; 6. 19R-Ronnie Smith[7]; DNF 74-Colby Copeland[8]; DNS 3-Jake Simmons

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Andrew Reinbold[2]; 2. 50-Charles Davis Jr[6]; 3. 41W-Rick Ziehl[1]; 4. 6H-Tracy Hines[8]; 5. 2R-Matt Rossi[4]; 6. 2AZ-Shane Cockrum[3]; 7. 51-R.J. Johnson[5]; DNS 7K-Bruce St. James

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 16B-Bryan Clauson[1]; 2. 21P-Kevin Thomas Jr[4]; 3. 48-Thomas Ogle[3]; 4. 2-Josh Shipley[6]; 5. 74X-Joshua Hodges[5]; 6. 9-Johnny Shelton Jr[2]; 7. 32B-Brian Hosford[7]

Qualifier #1: 1. 16B-Bryan Clauson[2]; 2. 50-Charles Davis Jr[4]; 3. 74X-Joshua Hodges[5]; 4. 48-Thomas Ogle[1]; 5. 19R-Ronnie Smith[6]; 6. 9-Johnny Shelton Jr[7]; DNF 21P-Kevin Thomas Jr[3]; DNS 3-Jake Simmons

Qualifier #2 (8 Laps): 1. 6H-Tracy Hines[2]; 2. 41W-Rick Ziehl[1]; 3. 21-Jon Stanbrough[3]; 4. 19-Andrew Reinbold[4]; 5. 2R-Matt Rossi[5]; 6. 74-Colby Copeland[6]; 7. 32B-Brian Hosford[7]

Qualifier #3 (8 Laps): 1. 8-Bob Ream Jr[1]; 2. 12-Josh Pelkey[4]; 3. 2-Josh Shipley[2]; 4. 51-R.J. Johnson[7]; 5. 78-Chris Bonneau[3]; 6. 2AZ-Shane Cockrum[6]; 7. 94-James Aragon[5]

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 16B-Bryan Clauson[3]; 2. 6H-Tracy Hines[4]; 3. 50-Charles Davis Jr[1]; 4. 12-Josh Pelkey[2]; 5. 21-Jon Stanbrough[5]; 6. 41W-Rick Ziehl[8]; 7. 51-R.J. Johnson[15]; 8. 8-Bob Ream Jr[7]; 9. 2R-Matt Rossi[16]; 10. 74X-Joshua Hodges[11]; 11. 48-Thomas Ogle[12]; 12. 78-Chris Bonneau[10]; 13. 19-Andrew Reinbold[6]; 14. 19R-Ronnie Smith[17]; 15. 2-Josh Shipley[9]; 16. 32B-Brian Hosford[13]; 17. 94-James Aragon[21]; DNF 74-Colby Copeland[19]; DNF 3-Jake Simmons[22]; DNF 9-Johnny Shelton Jr[18]; DNF 2AZ-Shane Cockrum[20]; DNS 21P-Kevin Thomas Jr.

Lap Leader(s): Charles Davis Jr. (1-3), Bryan Clauson (4-25)
Provisional(s): N/A

(Note: Kevin Thomas Jr. was transported to an area hospital following a flip in his Heat Race. Thomas was complaining about pain in his Knees and Neck. His condition was stable but otherwise nothing else is known at the time of this writing.)

The 45th annual FVP Western World Championships presented by Sands Chevrolet continues Friday November 16th starting at 7pm at the Canyon Speedway Park. Live online coverage can be found at www.racinboys.com as well as Live PPV at www.xsan.com.

2012 Lucas Oil ASCS Feature Winners: Jason Johnson-13, Wayne Johnson-9, Brady Bacon-8, Jeff Swindell-4, Tony Bruce Jr.-3, Danny Lasoski-2, Shane Stewart-2, Brian Brown-1, Seth Bergman-1, Jason Martin-1, Dustin Morgan-1, Danny Wood-1, Cody Baker-1, Jordan Boston-1, Brock Lemley-1, Mason Moore-1, Brad Loyet-1, Brooke Tatnell-1, Kevin Swindell-1, Justin Henerson-1, Terry McCarl-1, Jack Dover-1, Paul McMahan-1, Logan Forler-1 , Travis Rilat-1

Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV Points (top 10): 1. Jason Johnson 6,552; 2. Wayne Johnson 6,430; 3. Brady Bacon 6,272; 4. Johnny Herrera 5,962; 5. Tony Bruce Jr. 5,875; 6. Brad Loyet 5,830; 7. Seth Bergman 5,428; 8. Logan Forler 5,428; 9. Dustin Morgan-5,190; 10. Gary Wright-5,189

ASCS Canyon Region Points (top 10): 1. Charles Davis Jr. 2,516; 2. R.J. Johnson 2,368; 3. Rick Ziehl 2,257; 4. Bruce St. James 133; 5. Chris Bonneau 2,025; 6. Dalten Gabbard 1,976; 7. Brian Hossford 1,954; 8. Bob Ream Jr. 1,904; Andrew Reinbold 1,879; Michael Bonneau 1,872

ASCS Southwest Region Points (top 10): 1. Dalten Gabbard 1,835; 2. Rick Ziehl 1,821; 3. Josh Williams 1,730; 4. Lance Norick 1,656; 5. Lance Norick 1,097; 6. Mike Martin 992; 7. J.T. Imperial 885; 8. Billy Chester 642; Bob Ream Jr. 641

The 2012 season marks the 21st year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.

Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. More information can be found on Lucas Oil Products at www.lucasoil.com. MAVTV is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. For information regarding availability and listings in your area log onto www.mavtv.com.

Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MavTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire, Brodix, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, General Tire, K&N Filters, PitstopUSA.com, FSR Radiator and Racing Proucts, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Simpson, Wesmar Racing Engines, and Hilborn Injection Systems.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com as well as Twitter (@LucasOilASCS) and Facebook. News and information can also be sent to you with the ASCS E-News Letter. Sign up with your Cell Phone by texting ASCS to 22828.

Photo Credit: Terry Shaw