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
VICTORVILLE’S JEFF DYER TO STEP FROM SPRINT CAR TO CHP CRUISER!
(Perris, CA, July 25, 2016) When the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars return to Perris Auto Speedway this Saturday night, July 30th, veteran California Lightning Sprint Car Series driver Jeff Dyer will be taking his second ever ride in a 410 sprint car. However, next month the Victorville resident, who retired from the United States Army in May, will be switching from a race car to a police cruiser as he begins training at the California Highway Patrol Academy in Sacramento.
Dyer started life in Covina before the family moved to Victorville when he was in the third grade. They then headed to Chino for his high school years. He stayed in Chino until joining the Army in 2003. While growing up he played ice hockey and has raced go karts as an adult, but he always wanted to be a member of the California Highway Patrol. Now the first step in that dream is just a few weeks away.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be Highway Patrolman,” he smiled. “That is one of the reasons I got out (of the Army). They have an age limit to join the Highway Patrol and it is 34-years-old. I am 33. So, it was either I did it now or I did not do it. I went through the process and was accepted and I start the academy in about four weeks.”
After Saturday’s action at The PAS, Dyer will get in a race with the California Lightning Sprint Cars at Ventura on August 3rd before leaving for the academy. It is a live in academy so it is going to put a damper on his racing for the remainder of the year. The academy is 27 weeks in length and racing in 2017 will depend on what schedule he gets.
While he is going to fulfill his lifelong dream, leaving the Army was not easy.
“It was kind of bittersweet getting out and very emotional,” he said. “It was hard to say good-bye. I loved the Army and I loved serving my country. Officially I was in the Army for 12 years and about 8 months. I was in college and a good friend of mine got killed overseas. So, I wanted to do my part. I walked straight out of college and into the recruiting station. I actually started my Army career as a cavalry scout. I did that for about three years total and did a couple of deployments doing that in Iraq. My second time in Iraq, these IED’s (improvised explosive devices) were killing everybody.”
Dyer tore his ACL playing rugby and was assigned to desk duty which bored him to death. He figured there was something else for him in the Army so he started hunting around the internet and he came across the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) information. It sparked his interest that you could be stationed anywhere in the country including “cool places like San Diego” so he sent an E-mail.
“I thought that would be awesome to be stationed in San Diego while in the Army,” he laughed. “So I went through the whole long process. It is a volunteer process. It is the only job in the Army that you can quit anytime you wanted to. They don’t want you there if you don’t want to do it.”
He went to school for the new position and graduated top of his class. Fifty-five people started that class and only five graduated!
“When I graduated I was sent to Fort Lewis in Washington and was immediately deployed to Iraq,” he stated. “I went there as a team leader. We were there for about seven months and in those seven months me and my team disabled about 100 IED’s. I think we destroyed about 10,000 pounds of captured enemy munitions.”
Dyer loved the job! When he got back from Iraq, Afghanistan was “gearing up big,” so he volunteered to go.
“I did another year over there (Afghanistan) and I think we did between 300 and 500 missions.” Dyer remembered. “We blew up about 60 tons of enemy munitions. It is a unique job in the military. It is one of the only jobs in the military where the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force go to the same school. It is a very dangerous job as you only get one chance. People asked me if I was good at my job and I would joke and say, ‘well, I am still here.’”
Dyer is no newcomer when it comes to the sprint car game. His step dad John Nelson owned a sprint car along with John Anderson that they ran from the mid 1980’s to the early 90’s. Nelson drove the car for a bit and then had hired guns behind the wheel including Keith Chrisco, Frank Baldozier and Gary Howard. As a teen, Dyer helped on that car.
Dyer will be racing the Cal Smith owned #39 this Saturday night. That relationship goes back to when he was in high school and he was helping as much as he could as a part of Smith’s pit crew.
Unlike many in racing, Dyer has never had a dream of driving in NASCAR or at Indianapolis. All he has ever daydreamed of racing is a 410 sprint car. Saturday will be his second voyage in such a ride and perhaps there will be more in the future.
“The only thing I have ever wanted to race is a 410 sprint car,” the future officer grinned. “I have been in love with them since I was a kid. When I started racing, 410 sprint cars were my aspiration. If I made it (into a 410) to that, it would be the highlight of my life and I could retire from racing and be satisfied.”
In his first outing in a 410 sprint car at Perris on June 11th, Dyer impressed many longtime fans by keeping his nose clean and finishing 14th in the 22 car main event. Most recently, he won the last California Lightning Sprint Car main event at Ventura on July 9th. It was his first CLS win of the year. He is currently in fourth place in the CLS championship point standings.
In addition to Dyer and the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, the PAS Senior and Young Gun Sprint Cars will also be in action on Saturday. Spectator gates will open at 5:00 PM and the first race will take the green flag at 7:00.
Adult tickets are $25.00. Seniors 65 and older get in for $20.00. Active military members with proper id, teens 13-18 with their school id and kids 6-12 get in for just $5.00. Children 5 and under are admitted free. City of Perris residents can get into this race for only $5.00 by showing a valid driver’s license or a utility bill from Perris with and id. The event will not sell out and there will be plenty of tickets available for everyone at the ticket window on Saturday.
For patrons who wish to purchase tickets in advance, they can do so 24-hours a day by clicking on the following link
http://pas.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=7 or by calling 1-800-595-4849.
Camping is available for $25.00 per night for all PAS events. The campground opens at noon the day before each event. Tailgating in the spectator parking lot will begin at 1:00 PM.
Amsoil USAC/CRA Points
1. Richard Vander Weerd – Visalia, CA - 481
2. Damion Gardner – Concord, CA – 462
3. Brody Roa – Garden Grove, CA – 455
4. Jake Swanson – Anaheim, CA – 452
5. Mike Spencer - Temecula, CA – 429
6. Austin Williams – Yorba Linda, CA – 386
7. Max Adams – Loomis, CA – 291
7. Jeremy Ellertson – Lawndale, CA – 291
9. Chris Gansen – Verdemont Heights, CA - 281
10. Cody Williams - Corona, CA – 279
PAS Senior Sprints
1. Eddie Tafoya – Chino Hills, CA – 291
2. Richard McCormick – Canyon Country, CA – 266
3. Dwayne Marcum – Riverside, CA – 240
4. Steve Brown – Corona, CA – 233
5. Rick Hendrix – Palmdale,, CA – 187
PAS Young Gun Sprints
1. Courtney Crone – Corona, CA – 312
2. Hannah Mayhew – Acton, CA – 238
3. Matt McCarthy – Riverside, CA - 222
4. Daniel Anderson - Venice, CA – 218
5. Timmy Fitch – Lake Elsinore – 155
The complete 2016 Perris Auto Speedway schedule is at the end of this release.
Perris Auto Speedway wants to thank its corporate sponsors. All Coast Construction, All Seasons Tree Repair, Amsoil, Archibald’s Restaurants, Ayers Hotel and Spa, BlueLine Rentals, Budweiser, Bud’s Tire Pro, Center Point Church, Champion Towing, City of Perris, Country Values Magazine, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Edelbrock, Engine Pro, Green Sheet, HD Industries, Hoosier Tires, Horizon Solar, Imola Restaurant & Bar, K&N Engineering, Luke’s Transmission, Paul Oil Company, Pepsi-Cola, Pick-A-Part Auto Salvage, Pizza Factory, Pole Position, PrintItNow.com, R. David Bulen Insurance, Scott Sales, Square H, Sunstate Equipment, Swedish Speed, Original Tommy’s Burgers, Trench Shoring, US Foods, Valley News and Vista Paint.
To keep up with all of the latest Perris Auto Speedway news, photos, gossip and receive special offers, sign up at The PAS Facebook site at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Perri...8686480?ref=hl
You can also keep up with the latest news and receive special offers from The PAS Twitter site: Perris Auto Speedway on Twitter.
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.
July 30th USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, PAS Senior Sprints, PAS Young Guns
August 20th PASSCAR SERIES - Street Stocks, Super Stocks, Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds, CDCRA Dwarf Cars
August 27th "CALIFORNIA RACERS HALL OF FAME NIGHT" USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, PAS Senior Sprints and PAS Young Guns
September 3rd NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION NOD VI - Demo Cross, Figure 8's, Figure 8 Trailer Racing, Figure 8 Chain Racing and Spectator Racing
September 10th PASSCAR SERIES - Street Stocks, Super Stocks, Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds, CDCRA Dwarf Cars
September 17th PASSCAR SERIES - Street Stocks, Super Stocks, Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds, CDCRA Dwarf Cars
September 24th "GLENN HOWARD CLASSIC" USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, PAS Senior Sprints and PAS Young Guns
October 1st - 9th Southern California Fair
October 15th USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, PAS Senior Sprints and PAS Young Guns
October 29th PASSCAR "Champions Night” - Street Stocks, Super Stocks, Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds, CDCRA Dwarf Cars
November 9th Oval Nationals Practice
November 10th Budweiser Oval Nationals "Presented by All Coast Construction"
November 11th Budweiser Oval Nationals "Presented by All Coast Construction"
November 12th Budweiser Oval Nationals “Presented by All Coast Construction"
NOTE; THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
