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scra: Perris opener preview

(LAKE PERRIS, CA - FEBRUARY 3, 2002) Cory Kruseman and JJ Yeley, the 2001 Champions of the nations top non wing Sprint Car organizations, will square off this Saturday afternoon, February 9th, when Vista Paint presents the SCRA Sprint Cars at the ...

(LAKE PERRIS, CA - FEBRUARY 3, 2002) Cory Kruseman and JJ Yeley, the 2001 Champions of the nations top non wing Sprint Car organizations, will square off this Saturday afternoon, February 9th, when Vista Paint presents the SCRA Sprint Cars at the 2002 Perris Auto Speedway season opener.

Saturday's opener will be the first Sprint Car race under the sun at The PAS. Since the track opened in March of 1996, it has hosted more than 120 Sprint Car events and all of them have been under the track's daytime bright lighting system. Racing under the sun presents a challenge for all the drivers and crews, as they have to take a different approach to the racing - especially when it comes to tire management in the 30-lap A Main event.

Kruseman, who walked away with last year's SCRA crown, and Yeley, who sewed up the USAC title late in the 2001 season, have both played significant rolls in the track's history. Yeley, 25, from Phoenix, Arizona, won the tracks first ever Sprint Car race and held the track record for more than four years. Kruseman, 31, of Ventura, is second on the track's all-time victory list behind Rip Williams.

On his way to the 2002 SCRA Championship, Kruseman became the first driver in SCRA history to lead the point race from the first race of the season to the last. He set a single season SCRA record of 15 main event wins. Incredibly, he finished in the top five in 35 of 43 races. In compiling such an impressive record, the media voted Kruseman "National Non Wing Sprint Car Driver of The Year" in a poll conducted by the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa.

Once Kruseman is through racing at The PAS on Saturday afternoon, he will be on his way to Las Vegas, Nevada. Next Monday, he will take an Indy Racing League Rookie Test for PDM Racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In addition to racing with SCRA this year and taking his IRL drivers test, Kruseman, who operates a Sprint Car driving school at the Ventura Raceway, will be driving in the USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown Series for noted car owners Skip Matczak of Ellington Connecticut and Ron Mucci from Syracuse, New York.

Yeley will be in the beautiful #21J car owned by Dwight Chaney at The PAS on Saturday. Prior to Saturday's race, the second generation driver who finished ninth in the 1998 Indianapolis 500, will drive the "Indy Experience" two-seater at the IRL Test in the West at the California Speedway on Tuesday.

Like Kruseman, Yeley's plate will be full in 2002. On March 17th, Yeley will compete in two classes at the annual Copper World Classic on the one-mile paved Phoenix International Raceway oval. He will drive the Zarounian Motorsports #67 in the Silver Crown Series and Steve Lewis #91 in the USAC Midget event. On the same weekend, he will be behind the wheel of the ABC Sand and Rock Sprint Car at the SCRA races at Manzanita Speedway.

In addition to Kruseman and Yeley, a full field of top stars will be in action on Saturday afternoon including Yorba Linda's Rip Williams, two-time SCRA Champion Richard "The Gassman" Griffin from Silver City, New Mexico, Hesperia's John Scott, Mike Kirby of Lomita, Corona's Tony Jones, Arizona's Charles Davis Jr. & Jeremy Sherman and many more.

The spectator gates will open at 11:00 AM and the first race will be at 1:30. The pit gate will open at 9:00 AM.

After this weekend's race, The PAS will be in action every Saturday night through November 16th (Easter weekend is set aside as a rain date). On February 16th, two brand new classes make their debuts at The PAS. The new PASSCAR Super Stocks and the Temecula Valley Pipe and Supply Street Stocks will share the spotlight with the California Champ Trucks and the Pick-A-Part Cruisers. On February 23rd, the Pennzoil World of Outlaws will be making their only Southern California appearance of 2002.

Advance tickets for all Perris Auto Speedway events are on sale now by calling (909) 940-0134 or by going to www.perrisautospeedway.com and clicking on the online ticket icon.

Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds approximately one hour East of Los Angeles. Take the 215 Freeway, exit at the Ramona Expressway and go east two miles to the fairgrounds.

-scra/pas-

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