(Perris, CA, September 21, 2021) The Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars and The PAS Senior Sprint Cars return to “The Southern California Home of Major League Sprint Car Racing,” Perris Auto Speedway, this Saturday night for the “13th Annual Glennn Howard Memorial.” Spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m. with racing at 7:00. Be sure to load up all the neighborhood kids and bring them to Saturday’s event. At intermission, all the drivers will bring their cars to the front straightaway for the on track autograph session. In addition, they will be passing out free candy to all the kids in attendance.
The race honors Howard, who passed away in 2007. In his decades on the Southern California racing scene, Howard was a driver, car owner, racing dad, entrepreneur, fabricator and official. Even though it has been 14-years since he passed away, his fingerprint is still on the sport in Southern California today. Through his So Cal Performance company which supplied drivers with everything they needed to compete, he virtually knew everyone in the sport. He was free with his knowledge of car setups, driving and race strategy to anyone who asked. That made him a mentor to everyone and perhaps more important, he was everyone’s friend. That is what makes this race very special to all the competitors.
It was obvious that Howard had a lifelong love affair with the sport, and he wanted it to succeed. In 1993, with the original CRA having issues, Howard and others founded another group named SCRA that fortunately kept traditional 410 sprint car racing alive in the west. He was the original President of the new group and was instrumental when the current USAC/CRA was formed a little over a decade later in 2004.
“Glenn was a great man, who did everything he could to help anyone and everyone when it came to sprint car racing,” Perris Auto Speedway promoter Don Kazarian said. “If anyone ever needed advice whether it was a driver, crew chief, race official or promoter, you could always go to Glenn and get his opinion on what one should do. That made him respected by everyone to this day. The sport sorely misses him and all that he offered.”
All 12 running’s of the “Glenn Howard” have taken place on the famous Perris Auto Speedway clay surface. However, like nearly everything else, the race was canceled due to COVID in 2020. When last contested in 2019, Austin Williams won the race for the second time. Recently, the Corona, California driver won the last race in the USAC/CRA Series on September 6 at the Petaluma Speedway. He comes into Saturday night third in the USAC/CRA standings. Concord, California’s Damion Gardner leads all drivers with four “Glenn Howard” wins. The only other driver with more than one win in the event is Nic Faas, who currently has put his racing career on pause.
Another driver among the favorites for the win on Saturday is Garden Grove, California’s Brody Roa. The veteran driver has already won two prestigious races at The PAS this year – the “Salute To Indy” and “California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night” – and comes into Saturday second in the standings, 44-points behind seven-time series champion Gardner. The longtime rivalry between Roa and Gardner is legendary around the sport, and it reached the boiling point once again after the finale at the “Louie Vermeil Classic” at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico on September 6th.
“Rivalries have been a part of racing since the beginning,” Kazarian stated. “They always have been and always will be a part of the sport. In the case of Damion Gardner and Brody Roa, it is the familiar rivalry in racing when two top drivers meet. They are both very good drivers. While the personalities of the two are polar opposites, they are both extremely competitive. They each have good equipment and a tremendous will to win races and championships. A few things have happened between them over the years and every so often it boils over. Situations like this are inevitable when you have the competitive nature of sprint car racing. They both have a lot of fans that think their guy wears the white hat while the other guy wears a black hat. Rivalries keep things interesting.”
In addition to the USAC/CRA portion of the show, The PAS Senior Sprint Series will be contesting it’s next to last race of the 2021 season. El Segundo’s Tyler Hatzikian has a narrow six-point advantage over Ed Schwarz of Santa Fe Springs heading into Saturday’s race. Anaheim’s Dale Gamer is third and is followed by Greg Badgwell of Tustin and Arizona’s Richard McCormick.
Adult tickets are $30.00. For seniors 65 and over it is $25.00. Kids 6-12 get in for just $5.00 and children five and under are free. There will be plenty of tickets available at the ticket window on Saturday. We will not sellout. For fans who wish, advance tickets are available at www.tix.com
The Fairgrounds charges $10.00 for parking.
Camping at the fairgrounds on the grassy area outside of turn four will begin at noon on Friday. The cost is $25.00 per night.
Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (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 online, the address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and the zip code is 92571.
Advance tickets for all other races on the 2021 schedule are also available at www.tix.com
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 wants to thank the following corporate partners. Ahern Equipment Rentals, All Coast Construction, Anderson Chevrolet, Battery Systems, Bud’s Tire Pro, Chris’ Hauling, City of Perris, Communication Innovations, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, HD Industries, Heimark/Anheuser Busch, Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, Living Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part, Luke’s Transmission, Moose Racing, Pepsi-Cola, Performance Online, 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
September 25th – “GLENN HOWARD CLASSIC” AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints
October 16th – PASSCAR SERIES – “FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT” Super Stocks, Street Stocks, American Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
October 9th – WTP Motorsports $50K Best Whip Pro Invitational
October 23rd – AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints
October 30th – LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTIONVII – Demo Cross, Figure 8’s, Trailer Figure 8’s, Mini Stocks and Double Deckers
November 3rd – 25TH ANNUAL HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH OVAL NATIONALS Presented by ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION – Practice Night
November 4th – 25TH ANNUAL HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH ANNUAL OVAL NATIONALS Presented by ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION AMSOIL USAC National and USAC/CRA Sprint Cars
November 5th – 25TH ANNUAL HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH OVAL NATIONALS Presented by ALL COAST CONSTRUCTION AMSOIL USAC National and USAC/CRA Sprint Cars
November 6th – 25TH ANNUAL HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH 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
November 20th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION V – Demo Cross, Figure 8’s, Trailer Figure 8’s, Mini Stocks and Double Deckers
NOTE: SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE COVID 19 LEVELS AND MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED REOPENING.
