Perris Auto Speedway
18700 Lake Perris Drive
Perris, CA 92571
(951) 940-0134
http://perrisautospeedway.com/

For further information contact Scott Daloisio (909) 226-7768 or mailto:racesatthepas@aol.com

For Immediate Release

DAMION GARDNER TALKS ABOUT THIS WEEK’S OVAL NATIONALS AT PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY!

(Perris, CA, November 4, 2014) Heading into this week’s 19th Annual Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All Coast Construction at Perris Auto Speedway, make no mistake about who is the favorite heading into the prestigious event. Most insiders are tabbing Concord, California sprint car superstar Damion Gardner as the man who will drive home with the $20,000.00 paycheck on Saturday night.

The reason most racing pundits are picking the driver, who is known as “The Demon,” to win the biggest traditional race in the country is quite simple. He has dominated the action in 2014. The slender star is about to sew up his second USAC/CRA title in a row and his third of all-time. Heading into the big race, he is 253-points ahead of second place Mike Spencer in the championship standings. He has won 11 of the 18 main events this year. He also tops the charts in the series in fast times and heat race wins. In addition, the Mark Alexander owned #4 that he drives performs almost flawlessly every time it is on the track.

With the race looming only a few days away, the fiery driver took the time to answer some questions on Monday afternoon.

The PAS: The USAC/CRA Series has had a long time off since the last race. Nearly two months. How have you and the team been getting ready and have you done anything special?

Gardner: No, not really done anything special. We have had a long time off. I don’t think anyone wishes for this long of a time off, but I guess that is what USAC wants so that is what we got. We have not really done much. Polishing everything I guess. We will shake the rust off a bit and get going.

The PAS: Are you guys bringing two cars down?

Gardner: No. What do you mean? One car. We have three cars, but we are only going to race one.

The PAS: I mean you are hauling back up cars with you in case of an emergency?

Gardiner: Oh yeah! These guys have plenty of spares. They are ready to go.

The PAS: You have won the Oval Nationals two-times. In your mind, how big of a race is it compared to other big races around the country?

Gardner: Oh, I think it is the biggest race in the non-wing world. I don’t know if there is any bigger one. You can argue about bigger sprint car races, but there not any bigger non wing races. Thanks to Mike and All Coast Construction they got the purse back up to what it needs to be. It has been kind of down for a while and now it is back to what a purse for something called the Oval Nationals needs to be. They have got the money back and it is kind of got to be a big event again. I think you can feel it from the competitors to the fans getting excited about it again. Hopefully we can all learn something from that. You put more in, you get more back. Hopefully we can keep rolling and make this thing bigger every year.

The PAS: You just talked about the prestige of the Oval Nationals. So, what is more important to you? Winning the Oval Nationals or the size of the paycheck?

Gardner: Oh, I don’t know. I have always been a guy who just races to win. I know a lot of guys say that, but that is not true. I have always figured if you win races the money just comes whether it is a little bit or a lot. There have been races I won and been cruising around toward victory lane when I am thinking how cool it is just to win and then, holy moly, it pays this much money. That is a sweet bonus. So to stack another trophy and get another Oval Nationals win and be one of the guys who wins a lot of them that would mean a lot to me. And, to be a west coast guy who wins it, that is another big thing. The money is just a bonus.

The PAS: You are racing two nights against the best competition you will race all year. You have all of the regular stars from out here against all of the top guys from the Midwest. Does that make your approach any different for this race?

Gardner: Fortunately, I think I am in a good point’s position. You are going to race to win it. You are going to race hard to win the Oval Nationals and you are going to race hard to show you are the best. I take a little pride in showing those guys in the Midwest that we are as good as them. That goes back and forth through the years. There was a time in the SCRA days when the west coast guys were probably better than the Midwest guys. It goes back and forth so there is bragging rights. Sometimes I don’t think our guys take that serious enough, but we should. If you can just step up your game or go a little extra, you should. This is the race to do it at.

The PAS: You are going to win the USAC/CRA championship this year. You have won over half the main events. Had the most fast qualifying times and won the most heat races. You also met your goal of going more than 200-MPH in a sprint car. So, if you do not win the Oval Nationals will that have an effect on how you will look back on this season years from now?

Gardner: Not at all. The only time a race will affect me is when I have not done my homework or have not prepared well for it. That is from the car, to me mentally and to correcting the errors I have made in the past. If I have not done that, then I would feel bad about losing the Oval Nationals. As long as me and the crew do all of our work and do our best, then I am all right with that. I have been in a lot of Oval Nationals and I did not win a lot of them. And, there is a lot of them I should have won, but I didn’t. You never know how it is going to play out. You just give it your all, your best and hopefully you can do it.

The PAS: Win, lose or draw at the Oval Nationals, there will be an after the race party in your pit with a DJ and a film crew to shoot scenes for the documentary “The World’s Fastest Sprint Car” on Saturday.

Gardner: Yeah, we are looking forward to that. Mike from All Coast Construction is throwing a little party there and wants to film. You know for the fans to come down and enjoy it after the big race. If we can go to victory lane, we will have a couple things to celebrate. If not, we will have other things to celebrate. It should be a good time,

Camping for the 19th Oval Nationals will be on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds. The campground will open at noon on Wednesday and the fee is $25.00 per night.

For more information on The PAS call: (951) 940-0134.

Perris Auto Speedway wants to thank its corporate sponsors for the 2014 season. 1-800LoanMart, 777 Racecars, All Coast Construction, Amsoil, Ayers Hotel and Spa, BlueLine Rental, Budweiser, CamGuard, Champion Towing, City of Perris, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Edelbrok, Engine Pro, HD Industries, Hoosier Tires, K&N Engineering, Marjon RV, Pacific Coach Works, Pep Boys, P.I.P.E., Pepsi-Cola, Pick-A-Part Auto Salvage, Running Waters Hospice, Scott Sales, Shaver Racing Engines, Sherwin-Williams, Sprint Car Driving Experience, Square H, Swedish Speed, Town and Country Golf Carts, Trench Shoring, United States Army, US Foods and Valley Auto Salvage.

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Video and DVD productions of all racing 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 web site LoudPedal Productions

Perris Auto Speedway is 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, exit on the Ramona Expressway and go three miles east to the fairgrounds.

racesatthepas@aol.com is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment.

OVAL NATIONALS CHAMPIONS
1996 - Jimmy Sills
1997 - Rip Williams
1998 - Rodney Argo
1999 - Rickie Gaunt
2000 - Tony Jones
2001 - Bud Kaeding
2002 - Bud Kaeding
2003 - Cory Kruseman
2004 - Cory Kruseman
2005 - Dave Darland
2006 - Dave Darland
2007 - Bud Kaeding
2008 - Jesse Hockett
2009 - Damion Gardner
2010 - Chris Windom
2011 - Damion Gardner
2012 – Mike Spencer
2013 - Dave Darland