TOMMY MALCOLM BRINGS USAC/CRA POINT LEAD HOME TO PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY

(Perris, CA, April 23, 2024) While it seems like just yesterday, it was about 15 years ago that a small teen showed up at the sign up booth to race a street stock at Perris Auto Speedway.  The young driver became an immediate hit with the fans at the track.  He went on to become a successful late model racer winning main events around the West Coast. A few years ago, he dropped the cars that had roofs on them to race 410 sprint cars. This Saturday night, for the first time in his career, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm will enter the pits at the track where it all began as the points leader in the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series.

The likable driver and his brother Johnny both began their racing careers at Perris.  That was natural as their stepfather Dino Napier was one of the top drivers at the track in its early days.  Napier captured the championship in the PASSCAR California Champ Truck Series in 2002.  The family continued to race at the Riverside County oval until the track dropped the late model class.  To continue racing late models, the family team raced up and down the West Coast.

After purchasing a sprint car from David Cardey a few years ago, Malcolm paid his dues getting used to the 1200 pound, 900 horsepower open wheel racecar.  Never giving up, he came close to victories several times.  However, it seems like each time the jaws of defeat would snatch his initial sprint car win away.  The most heartbreaking came two years ago at the Bakersfield Speedway.  Malcolm was leading the 30-lap main event.  During a yellow flag period late in the race, a flat tire sent him to the work area and the back of the pack for the restart.

“You would be hard-pressed to find a nicer driver than Tommy,” Perris Auto Speedway promoter Don Kazarian said.  “He was a nice, respectful teen when he first came to race with us and nothing has changed.  He is just as nice today as he was at 15.  There is no ego there at all.  He lets his driving do the talking and it speaks in volumes.”

“In the street stocks, he quickly got up to speed and had a big fan following.  The same when he jumped up to late models.  As soon as he switched to a sprint car, you could tell he was going to be okay.  He finally got some wins last season.  They were a long time coming and very well deserved. Now he is a contender each time he comes onto the track.  He will surely be one of the favorites coming into this Saturday’s race.”

The wait for Malcolm to win his first sprint car race ended at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare on May 20th, 2023.  The time gap for his second win was not a long one.  In fact, he won the prestigious Salute to Indy seven days later at Perris.  Malcolm backed those  triumphs up with a victory in the Glen Howard Classic at Perris on September 23rd. 

A third-place finish at Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway three weeks ago propelled the Yucaipa, California driver into the 2024 USAC/CRA point lead.  Coming into Saturday’s race, he has a one-point lead over Santa Barbara, California’s David Gasper.  Laveen, Arizona’s RJ Johnson, Logan Williams of Yorba Linda, California, and Camarillo’s Ricky Lewis round out the top five.  Amazingly first to fifth is only separated by 20 points.  All but Lewis, who spends the regular season in the Midwest, will be on hand this Saturday night.

Besides the third-place finish, thus far in 2024, Malcolm, who was married last year, has two sixth-place results and a seventh.  So far this season, he has yet to finish in a position worse than where he started in the four USAC/CRA main events to date.  On opening night at Perris, he started 14th and finished sixth.  At the second race of the year, which was also at Perris, he began in 11th and placed sixth again.  In March at Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway in a race that was cut short 10 laps early due to rain, he started and finished seventh.  In his third-place finish at Mohave, he started in 10th. 

That one-point lead in the championship standings could be larger if Malcolm had some better luck in qualifying.  With the exception of Cocopah where he was fast qualifier, he has timed in at 15th, 16th, and 12th this season.  All of which means he has had to start mid-pack and weave his way through the traffic in three of the four races. 

In addition to Malcolm and the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, the GAS Chassis Young Gun Sprints, PAS Senior Sprints, and the PASSCAR Super Stocks and American Factory Stocks will also be in action on Saturday.  Spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m. and the first race will take the green flag at 7:00.  Adult tickets for the night of exciting dirt track racing action and clean family fun are $30.00.  Seniors 65 and over get in for $25.00.  For kids 6-12 it is only $5.00, and children 5 and under are admitted free.  Advance tickets are available online at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/pas/7.  They can also be ordered by phone at 1-800-595-4849.  For fans who do not wish to purchase tickets in advance, we will have plenty available at the ticket window on Saturday.  The fairgrounds charge $10.00 for parking. 

To keep up with everything going on at The PAS please visit our social media on Facebook and Instagram and visit the website at perrisautospeedway.com.

Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (home of the Southern California Fair), one hour east of Los Angeles and one hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, exit on the Ramona Expressway, and go three miles east to the

Natural Bridge Speedway adds The Joie of Seating as sponsor of Sportsman division

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – NATURAL BRIDGE, Va. (April 25, 2024) - Natural Bridge Speedway officials are thrilled to welcome The Joie of Seating as the title sponsor of the Sportsman division.

As part of The Joie of Seating’s partnership with Natural Bridge Speedway, the Sportsman division champion with receive a free diamond seat package courtesy of The Joie of Seating.

In addition, the runner-up finishers in each of the other divisions at Natural Bridge Speedway will receive $300 gift certificates to The Joie of Seating.

“Having the support of a company like The Joie of Seating and a businessman like Randy LaJoie is crucial to what we do at Natural Bridge Speedway,” said Natural Bridge Speedway Promoter Amanda Bradley. “Randy is a fantastic advocate for safety in motorsports and motorsports in general and we’re honored to have him and his company, The Joie of Seating, involved at Natural Bridge.”

Founded by two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Randy LaJoie, The Joie of Seating creates custom molded aluminum fitted seats for some of racing’s best and brightest competitors.

Every seat built in The Joie of Seating shop in Concord, North Carolina, is custom built for the driver and designed to keep them contained and prevent them from moving during impact.

For more information, please visit www.thejoieofseating.com.

“Short-track racing is one of the most important parts of racing in the United States, but it’s also the level where safety is often overlooked by competitors,” said LaJoie, who was selected as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. “My goal has always been to teach racers at places like Natural Bridge the importance of having the right seat to keep them safe when they race.

“I’m thrilled to be able to work with Amanda Bradley and provide a diamond seat package to the champion of the Sportsman division at Natural Bridge. If by doing this I can help prevent one more serious injury, then it will be worth it.”

Natural Bridge Speedway returns to action this Friday and Saturday, April 26-27. Friday’s event features a $1,500-to-win Crate Late Model feature and a Street Stock event alongside practice for the Steel Block Bandits.

Saturday’s event is headlined by the $5,000-to-win Steel Block Bandits event. Also on the card are features for the Sportsman, Little Rascals and Rookies divisions. For more information, visit facebook.com/NaturalBridgeSpeedway.

Huset's Speedway Schedule Showcasing Several Top-Tier Events and Stellar Weekly Competition This Season

Inside Line Promotions - BRANDON, S.D. (April 23, 2024) - The countdown is down to the final month until racing gets underway at Huset's Speedway for the 2024 season.

The weekly program for the Cressman Sanitation 410 Outlaw Sprint Cars, the Wyffels Hybrids RaceSaver Sprint Car Series and the Nordstrom's Automotive Late Model Street Stocks is likely to feature another battle throughout the spring and summer with the championship not being finalized until the final checkered flag is waved.

Meanwhile, six separate nights on this year's slate offer at least $20,000 to win with four being at least $40,000 to the feature winner and two topping six figures.

The $250,000-to-win BillionAuto.com Huset's High Bank Nationals featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series runs June 19-22 with the finale paying a quarter of a million dollars.

Two nights earlier, the inaugural Huset's Hustle offers $100,000 to the winner.

Preliminary nights during the event on June 19 and June 21 are each $20,000 to win.