Flips mar Perris oval nationals

The 11th annual Budweiser Oval Nationals kicked off Thursday night at the Perris Auto Speedway with Temecula’s Mike Spencer winning the 25-lap preliminary race over some of the biggest names in sprint car racing.

“This one’s for the West Coast guys,” Spencer said after the first USAC National win of his career. “I start getting excited for this race around May and it’s great to be able to win with all the out-of-town guys here.”

A pair of past Oval Nationals winners shared the front row for the start of the feature race with Campbell’s Bud Kaeding beating Dave Darland of Kokomo, Ind., into the first turn. Spencer started third in his Hal Engstrom No. 44 and took the lead on the third lap.

Indiana’s Jon Stanbrough chased Spencer in the closing laps, but in the end had to settle for second place. Current USAC/CRA point leader Cory Kruseman of Ventura passed Kaeding on the 18th lap for an eventual third-place finish. Kaeding and Darland finished fourth and fifth respectively.

The night was marred by a USAC record number of flips. In all, 12 flips made for a tough night for many of the 74 cars that were on hand, including pre-race favorite Tony Jones of Norco, who flipped hard on the second lap after tangling with another car.

Defending USAC/CRA champion Damion Gardner of Concord also had problems. Gardner was running seventh when his car suddenly slowed on the 13th lap in front of Darren Hagen of Riverside.

Hagen, who won the opening night race of the Oval Nationals last year, flipped after climbing Gardner’s rear tire.

Riverside’s Josh Wise started the evening as the USAC National sprint car points leader. After turning the fastest qualifying time in his Tony Stewart-owned sprinter, Wise was up to fourth in the feature race and looking to pad his point lead over teammate Levi Jones when he bicycled and flipped through the first turn. Fortunately, all of the drivers that flipped were able to walk away from their accidents.

Preliminary racing continues tonight, which will help set the lineup for Saturday’s 40-lap championship race that will pay $30,000 to the winner.