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USAC/CRA
SPRINT CARS FINALLY RETURN TO PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY
THIS SATURDAY NIGHT
By
Scott Daloisio
(Perris, CA,
April 21, 2021) A delay that has seemed
like an eternity to Southern California sprint car
fans, teams, and officials, will come to an end
this Saturday night, April 24th, at the Sokola
Shootout featuring the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars
and PAS Senior Sprints at Perris Auto Speedway. It
will be the first appearance for sprint cars on
the famous Riverside County half-mile clay oval
since the November 2019 Oval Nationals. Spectator
gates will open at 5:00 p.m. with racing at 7. Due
to COVID mandates, tickets are only available
online at tix.com/ticket-sales/pas/7. They will be
obtainable until 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night.
There will be no walkup ticket sales for this
event.
Arch-rivals Damion
Gardner and Brody Roa will renew their rivalry
this Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway. Doug Allen
photo.
After a visit during
the track’s first season, Stock Car Racing
Magazine editor and longtime tv racing personality
Dick Berggren dubbed the track, “Sprint Car
Heaven.” That was not long after the track’s Grand
Opening in March of 1996. Sprint car racing has
always been a staple at The PAS, and it is the
racing the track is most widely known for. The
17-month sprint car void that will come to an end
on Saturday more than quadruples the longest the
track has ever gone without a sprint race.
“It has been a
longtime since we have hosted sprint cars,”
promoter Don Kazarian said. “To say the fans,
drivers and officials are ready for this Saturday
is an understatement. We thought we would only be
down for a few weeks when COVID reared its ugly
head last March, but it ended up being more than
13-months. Last year we only got one event in and
that was the first week of March with a Night of
Destruction. Needless to say, we were looking
forward to opening again and we did last Saturday
with our PASSCAR Stock Car Series and the IMCA
Modifieds. Now we get to see the sprint cars this
weekend. Everybody is excited.”
Last Saturday’s
PASSCAR/IMCA program drew a nice, enthusiastic
crowd in the grandstands and a large car count in
the pit area. It was also the first event the
track has been opened with COVID mandates in
place.
“Like last week, we
will have to comply with COVID mandates on
Saturday,” Kazarian stated on Tuesday. “Face
coverings and social distancing from other groups
in the grandstands will be in effect until we are
told otherwise. The same for concessions. We still
must sell the concessions through a food app
(FanFood). There were issues with the app last
week, and we apologize for them. We have taken
some steps and hopefully, those issues will be
averted this Saturday. We look forward to when
everything will be back to normal in the near
future.”
The “FanFood” app
Kazarian referred to is a free download from the
app store. Fans will place their order and pay for
it from their seats. When the order is ready, they
will receive a text to pick it up from a station
closest to where they are seated.
Saturday’s race honors
the memory of Gary Sokola. Initially, a car owner,
the fiery Michigan native guided the original
California Racing Association through one of its
finest eras from 1978 through 1987. The club
flourished under Sokola who ruled with an iron
fist, but who was respected by everyone. His main
focus was driver safety, and he was well known for
telling teams to get their car safe or load it up
and take it home. After his tenure with CRA, he
moved on to work for USAC before eventually
relocating to Kansas to oversee the construction
and run the Dodge City Raceway Park. He was still
working for the track when he passed away in 2000.
Twelve years later he received sprint car racing’s
highest honor when he was inducted into the
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville,
Iowa.
“The Sokola Shootout
was the first sprint car race scheduled for 2020,
and needless to say, we were forced to cancel it,”
Kazarian said. “It will be great to see it happen
again. Gary Sokola was a no-nonsense guy at the
track, but he was in it for the good of the sport.
He took the original CRA to a new level that
benefited not only its members, but to sprint car
drivers and fans around the nation. It will be an
honor to be able to host his race again this
Saturday.”
Adult tickets are
$30.00. Seniors 65 and over get in for $25.00.
Kids 6-12 are $5.00 and children 5 and under are
free. The fairgrounds charges $10.00 for parking.
Camping on the fairgrounds is available for $25.00
per night beginning at noon on Friday.
Online tickets for
2021 Perris Auto Speedway races are on sale at
tix.com/ticket-sales/pas/7.
Fans can stay up to
date on track and driver news on The PAS social
media efforts at the links below.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Perris-Auto-Speedway/113876798686480?ref=hl
Twitter: Perris Auto
Speedway on Twitter.
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/perrisautospeedway/
Website:
http://perrisautospeedway.com/
Perris Auto Speedway
is conveniently located on the SoCal Fair and
Event Center (home of October’s Southern
California Fair), approximately one-hour east of
Los Angeles and one-hour North of San Diego. To
get to the track, take the 215 freeway, on the
Ramona Expressway and go three miles east to the
fairgrounds. For directions on MapQuest, the
address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and
the zip code is 92571.
Perris Auto Speedway
wants to thank the following corporate partners.
Ahern Equipment Rentals, All Coast Construction,
Battery Systems, Budweiser, Bud’s Tire Pro, Chris’
Hauling, City of Perris, Communication
Innovations, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore
Bullet Proof Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, HD
Industries, Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, Living
Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part, Luke’s
Transmission, Moose Racing, Pepsi-Cola, Pole
Position, PrintItNow.com, Rainbow Bolt & Supply,
Rugged Radios, Shaver Specialties, Square H,
Sunoco Race Fuels, Trench Shoring, Upland Rock,
Varner Construction and Vista Paint.
Video and DVD
productions of all racing sprint cars events at
Perris Auto Speedway are available from Loudpedal
Productions. For more information on these
productions you can contact them by calling (805)
844-3854, E-mailing mailto:trtruex@gmail.com or
you can visit the website LoudPedal Productions.
DVDs of all the
PASSCAR/IMCA racing and Nights of Destruction at
The PAS are available from Fourvideos. For more
information call (714) 225-9500.
mailto:perrisautospeedway1@gmail.com is the only
authorized Internet address to issue official
media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway
or Oval Entertainment.
2021 EVENT SCHEDULE -
UPDATED APRIL 2, 2021
April 24th "SOKOLA
SHOOTOUT" AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS and PAS
Senior Sprints
May 1st LKQ Pick Your
Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION III – Demo
Cross, Figure 8's, Trailer Figure 8's, Mini Stocks
and Double Deckers
May 15th PASSCAR
SERIES - Super Stocks, Street Stocks, American
Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
May 22nd "SALUTE TO
INDY" AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior
Sprints
June 5th LKQ Pick Your
Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION IV - Demo
Cross, Figure 8's, Trailer Figure 8's, Mini Stocks
and Double Deckers
June 12th PASSCAR
SERIES - Super Stocks, Street Stocks, American
Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
June 19th AMSOIL
USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints
June 26th PASSCAR
SERIES - Super Stocks, Street Stocks, American
Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
July 4th FIREWORKS
SPECTACULAR LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF
DESTRUCTION V - Demo Cross, Figure 8's, Trailer
Figure 8's, Mini Stocks and Double Deckers
July 10th PASSCAR
SERIES - Super Stocks, Street Stocks, American
Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
July 16th “SUMMER
CAMPFEST” AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior
Sprints and RUSH Western Sprint Car Series
July 17th “SUMMER
CAMPFEST” AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior
Sprints and RUSH Western Sprint Car Series
July 24th PASSCAR
SERIES - Super Stocks, Street Stocks, American
Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
July 31st LKQ Pick
Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION VI - Demo
Cross, Figure 8's, Trailer Figure 8's, Mini Stocks
and Double Deckers
August 14th PASSCAR
SERIES - Super Stocks, Street Stocks, American
Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
August 21st CALIFORNIA
RACERS HALL OF FAME NIGHT" AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT
CARS, PAS Senior Sprints and RUSH Western Sprint
Car Series
August 28th LKQ Pick
Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION VII – Demo
Cross, Figure 8's, Trailer Figure 8's, Mini Stocks
and Double Deckers
September 4th “SUMMER
CAMPFEST II” PASSCAR SERIES - Super Stocks, Street
Stocks, American Factory Stocks, IMCA Modifieds
and RUSH Western Sprint Car Series
September 5th “SUMMER
CAMPFEST II” PASSCAR SERIES - Super Stocks, Street
Stocks, American Factory Stocks, IMCA Modifieds
and RUSH Western Sprint Car Series
September 11th LKQ
Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION VIII
- Demo Cross, Figure 8's, Trailer Figure 8's, Mini
Stocks and Double Deckers
September 18th PASSCAR
SERIES - Super Stocks, Street Stocks, American
Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
September 25th "GLENN
HOWARD CLASSIC" AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS
Senior Sprints, and RUSH Western Sprint Car Series
October 16th PASSCAR
SERIES – “FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT” Super Stocks,
Street Stocks, American Factory Stocks and IMCA
Modifieds
October 23rd AMSOIL
USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints, and RUSH
Western Sprint Car Series
October 30th LKQ Pick
Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION VIIII -
Demo Cross, Figure 8's, Trailer Figure 8's, Mini
Stocks and Double Deckers
November 3rd 25TH
ANNUAL OVAL NATIONALS Presented by ALL COAST
CONSTRUCTION - Practice Night
November 4th 25TH
ANNUAL OVAL NATIONALS Presented by ALL COAST
CONSTRUCTION AMSOIL USAC National and USAC/CRA
Sprint Cars
November 5th 25TH
ANNUAL OVAL NATIONALS Presented by ALL COAST
CONSTRUCTION AMSOIL USAC National and USAC/CRA
Sprint Cars
November 6th 25TH
ANNUAL OVAL NATIONALS Presented by ALL COAST
CONSTRUCTION AMSOIL USAC National and USAC/CRA
Sprint Cars
November 13th PASSCAR
“CHAMPION’S NIGHT” - Super Stocks, Street Stocks,
American Factory Stocks, IMCA Modifieds and RUSH
Western Sprint Car Series
NOTE: SCHEDULE IS
SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE COVID 19 LEVELS AND
MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED REOPENING. |
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