R.J. JOHNSON ADDS CASA GRANDE’S “HALLOWEEN HAVOC” TO WIN LIST
Taking the lead from Indiana visitor C.J. Leary on lap ten, R.J. Johnson (Tempe, Arizona) claimed last Saturday’s “Halloween Havoc” at Central Arizona Speedway. For Johnson, the $1,500 USAC SouthWest Sprint Car triumph at Casa Grande was his twelfth win of the year. Leary, hard charger Brady Short, “The Bull” Tye Mihocko, and Dennis Gile rounded out the top-five drivers.
Racing Bill Michael’s #77M Kodiak Products / Beal’s Auto Body Sherman, R.J. Johnson started sixth in the main event and charged to his 44th career SouthWest triumph. Setting a new track record in time trials, the three-time champion also won the night’s first heat race. At press time, Johnson heads to the Western World Championships with a 121-point lead with two fast time awards, ten heat race victories, six top-qualifier awards, twenty-six top-10 finishes, and 281 feature laps led.
C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Indiana) led the first nine laps before scoring second at the checkered flags. Piloting the family owned #30 Leary Construction Company / Tnemec Paints Maxim, Leary qualified sixth out of nineteen drivers and ran second to “Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. in his heat race. Ranked thirty-second in points, the veteran racer has his eyes on the Western World Championships at Arizona Speedway.
Brady Short (Bedford, Indiana) earned the night’s “Hard Charger / Best Passing Job” honors with a third place run from fifteenth. Driving Todd Underwood’s #19S AME Electrical / Ross Equipment Rental machine, Short was fifteenth quick in time trials and scored tenth in his heat race. The Indiana native sits thirty-seventh in points heading to Queen Creek.
“The Bull” Tye Mihocko (Peoria, Arizona) stormed from sixteenth to fourth at Central Arizona Speedway. Racing the family owned #5 Property Solutions / Beaver Stripes Spike, Mihocko qualified sixteenth overall and placed seventh in his heat race. To date, the young driver is fifth in the point standings with one top-qualifier award, one hard charger award, and sixteen top-10 finishes in the campaign.
Dennis Gile (Phoenix, Arizona) claimed fifth at the Pinal County Fairgrounds. Piloting the family owned #13 Quarterback Academy / Bobby Q Ellis, Gile was fifth fast in time trials and placed fourth in his heat race. Last season’s Rookie of the Year is currently sixth in points with six heat race victories, three top-qualifier awards, one semi-main win, two hard charger awards, nineteen top-10 finishes, and 51 feature laps led to his credit.
“Chargin” Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Arizona) raced to victory in the night’s second 8-lap heat race. Driving the Massey Motorsports’ #50 RSS Industries / Rod End Supply RSS, Davis qualified second overall and scored ninth in the main event. To date, the five-time Arizona Champion is second in points with one feature win, thirteen heat race victories, four top-qualifier awards, one hard charger award, twenty-six top-10 finishes, and 47 feature laps led on the year.
**LANCE JENNINGS – USAC MEDIA
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USAC SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: October 29, 2016 – Casa Grande, Arizona – Central Arizona Speedway – “Halloween Havoc”
QUALIFICATIONS: 1. R.J. Johnson, 77M, Michael-15.058 (New Track Record); 2. Charles Davis Jr., 50, Massey-15.249; 3. Mike Martin, 16, Martin-15.264; 4. Matt Rossi, 02, Rossi-15.317; 5. Dennis Gile, 13, Gile-15.325; 6. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-15.405; 7. Landon Cling, 54, Cling-15.516; 8. Stevie Sussex, 21AZ, Burkhart-15.613; 9. Aaron Farney, 17GP, Dutcher-15.645; 10. Chris Bonneau, 78, Bonneau-15.704; 11. Bruce St. James, 7K, St. James-15.787; 12. Brian Hosford, 22B, Weber-15.845; 13. Andy Reinbold, 19, Underwood-15.865; 14. Michael Curtis, 11C, Turner/Wheeler-15.921; 15. Brady Short, 19S, Underwood-15.964; 16. Tye Mihocko, 5, Mihocko-15.979; 17. Matt Lundy, 98, Lundy-16.016; 18. Corey Hurley, 71H, Hurley-16.685; 19. Lealand Fuller, 3, Fuller-16.791.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Johnson, 2. Martin, 3. Farney, 4. Gile, 5. Cling, 6. Reinbold, 7. St. James, 8. Fuller, 9. Lundy, 10. Short. NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Davis, 2. Leary, 3. Sussex, 4. Rossi, 5. Bonneau, 6. Curtis, 7. Mihocko, 8. Hurley, 9. Hosford. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. R.J. Johnson, 2. C.J. Leary, 3. Brady Short, 4. Tye Mihocko, 5. Dennis Gile, 6. Brian Hosford, 7. Bruce St. James, 8. Matt Lundy, 9. Charles Davis Jr., 10. Aaron Farney, 11. Michael Curtis, 12. Landon Cling, 13. Andy Reinbold, 14. Mike Martin, 15. Chris Bonneau, 16. Stevie Sussex, 17. Lealand Fuller, 18. Corey Hurley, 19. Matt Rossi. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Leary, Laps 10-30 Johnson.
HARD CHARGER: Brady Short (15th to 3rd)
NEW SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Johnson-1,355, 2-Davis-1,234, 3-Martin-1,055, 4-Rossi-1,029; 5-Mihocko-933, 6-Gile-902, 7-Sussex-822, 8-Hosford-734, 9-Bonneau-728, 10-Cling-701.
NEXT SOUTHWEST SPRINT RACE: November 4-5 – Queen Creek, AZ –Arizona Speedway – 49th Western World Championships”
