It's Gardner
again at Perris - HD Staff - Perris, CA. - 09/16/06 - USAC
CRA sprint car series points leader Damion Gardner won the 30-lap feature
Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway. In a race that saw five flips,
Gardner was followed across the finish line by Rip Williams, Tony Jones,
Josh Ford, and Blake Miller. (Summary)
Gardner
extends points lead with Perris CRA win - HD Staff - Perris, CA.
August 19, 2006 - Concord, CA driver Damion Gardner lengthened his
lead in the USAC-CRA point standings with a win Saturday night at Perris
Auto Speedway. (Summary)
Gardner
again in USAC-CRA at Manzanita - HD Staff - May 20, 2006 - Phoenix,
AZ. ...Damion Gardner continued his dominance of the USAC-CRA Sprint
Car Series with a 30-lap win at Manzanita Speedway Saturday night. Cory
Kruseman was second followed by Johnny Rodriguez, Charles Davis Jr., and
Rickie Gaunt. (Summary)
Damion tough
in Tucson USAC-CRA - HD Staff - April 8, 2006 - Tucson, AZ.
...Damion Gardner of Concord, CA won the USAC-CRA sprint car feature event
Saturday night at Tucson USA Race Park. Gardner took the lead from eventual
runner-up Charles Davis Jr. on lap 23 of 30. Points leader Cory Kruseman
finished third and also notched fast time. It was the first time in 2006
someone other than Gardner scored quick-time. Tony Jones was fourth in
the feature followed by David Cardey who gained his first top-five finish
of the season. (Summary)
Gardner
best again in USAC/CRA - By Robert Mayson - Perris, CA – March
25, 2006 – Defending USAC / CRA Champion Damion Gardner, Concord,
Calif. served notice Saturday night at the Perris Auto Speedway that he
is the man to beat for the 2006 driving title. Five races into the 2006
campaign, Gardner has piloted the Ron Chaffin / Temecula Valley Pipe &
Supply #50 Eagle to the fastest lap in time trials every race, and has
two wins and two runner-up finishes in the last four events. Cory Kruseman,
Ventura, Calif., led the first 18 laps of the 30-lap main event before
giving way to Gardner and went on to finish second ahead of Buckeye, Arizona’s
Charles Davis, Jr. Rip Williams, Yorba Linda, Calif., and Tony Jones,
Norco, Calif., rounded-out the top-five. (Summary)
Gardner
doubles at Skagit - By Ken Wagner - July 29-30 - Alger, WA.
- Damion Gardner, of Concord, California, won his third Valvoline USAC/CRA
race in a row, and swept two nights at Skagit Speedway this past weekend.
Damion set his 15th fast time of the year, plus a new track record on
Friday night, and went on to win his ninth race. On Saturday, driving
the Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply, Arizona Race Mart, Eagle, Shaver #50
he passed early leader, Cory Kruseman on lap two and ran away with his
10th big win in the series. Damion has now won three in a row for the
second time this year and is on another hot streak as he pulled to within
50 points of the point leader Rip Williams in the championship race. Cory
Kruseman was second on the preliminary night followed by Tony Jones, Rip
Williams, Bud Kaeding and hard charger Mike Kirby. On Saturday, Kirby
followed Damion in the 40 lap finali with Bud Kaeding, Mike Spencer and
hard charger Danny Sheridan behind him in that order. Outstanding racing
at an awesome little track in Washington made for a trip well worth it.
(More)
Gardner
hops in midget, wins USAC Western go at Bakersfield Speedway
- HD Staff - Oildale, CA. 07/09/05 - Damion Gardner has limited
experience driving a midget but that didn't matter Saturday night at Bakersfield
Speedway. The Concord, CA. driving ace won the 30-lap USAC Western Midget
feature event on the 1/3-mile high banked clay oval. Jerome Rodela finished
as runner-up. The top five was filled out by Robby Flock, Stephen Graves,
and Dallen McKenney. (Summary)
Make it
official. Gardner is hot! - HD Staff - 05/14/05 - Perris, CA.
- Damion Gardner is in a groove like no one in the brief history of the
USAC/CRA sprint car series has ever been in. Saturday night at Perris
Auto Speedway, Gardner won his third straight series feature event behind
the wheel of the Ron Chaffin #50. Cory Kruseman, Charles Davis Jr., Mike
Kirby, and Danny Sheridan completed the top-five in the 30-lap feature.
(Summary)
Hot Gardner
sizzles at Ventura in USAC/CRA action - By Ken Wagner – 5/8/05
- Ventura, CA. Damion Gardner, from Concord, California won his fourth
Valvoline USAC/CRA main event win of the season in his Temecula Valley
Pipe & Supply, Arizona Race Mart, Eagle, Shaver powered # 50 sprinter.
He came from the sixth starting spot riding the high groove and taking
the lead with two laps to go from Mike Kirby who had led from the start
in the 30 lap feature at Ventura Raceway. Kirby had been enjoying a nice
lead when a yellow flag flew with five laps to go and Damion in a close
second place. The last restart quickly became a titanic battle for the
lead. Damion passed Kirby twice before it stuck with two laps to go. The
Demon was very patient and said in the winners circle “I was so high up
on the cushion, it didn’t look like I was gaining on them at first, but
then I started reeling them in and we won this one in the end”. He was
followed by Kirby, Cory Kruseman, Blake Miller (the local 360 VRA point
leader) and Mike Spencer, with his best finish of the year so far, across
the stripe. (More)
Provisional
smovisional, Gardner (from 23rd) turns in performance for the ages
- HD Staff - 04/30/05 - Perris, CA. ...Damion Gardner set quick-time
but had heat race and semi-main woes forcing him to use a provisional
starting berth in the 30 lap A-Main at Perris Auto Speedway Saturday night.
Starting 23rd, Gardner passed every car in the feature and left race fans
with their mouths agape. The win for the Concord, CA. driver was his 12th
career USAC/CRA triumph. He also notched quick-time for the eighth time
this season. Cory Kruseman followed Gardner to the checkered flag. Third
through fifth fell to Tony Jones, Mike Kirby and Charles Davis Jr. (More)
Pedregon
Picks Gardner to Drive Midget at Ventura - VENTURA, Calif. (April
13, 2005) – NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon
has picked Damion Gardner to pilot his No. 71C Advance Auto Parts midget
for the upcoming United States Auto Club (USAC) Western States Midget
Series race at Ventura Raceway on April 23. Gardner, of Concord, Calif.,
is an up and coming star within the Western states sprint car ranks. This
season, Gardner, 28, has already posted two USAC/CRA (California Racing
Association) sprint car victories and set fast time at five of the first
six events. Gardner, voted on as the No. 1 non-winged sprint car driver
in the nation during a stretch of the 2003 racing season, is quite accomplished
already in his young career, including runner up in the 2004 USAC/CRA
sprint car points chase. “Damion Gardner is a heck of a driver and a winner,”
Pedregon said. “I’m really excited and happy to provide him with a quality
car. I hand picked him because I really like his style and everything
about the way he handles the car. “I really like that he’s aggressive
and smooth,” Pedregon added. “He’s really calculated in how he approaches
a race. He works on and really understands the race car. He’s one of those
guys that wants to know every detail of how a car is set up and how to
better make that car go as fast as it can. I love that about him. It’s
no accident that he’s won a lot of races.”
Damion dominant
at Perris in USAC/CRA - HD Staff - Perris, CA. March 5, 2005 -
Damion Gardner (Concord, CA.) won his second consecutive USAC/CRA feature
event at Perris Auto Speedway Saturday night. The winningest driver in
the history of the series drove the Ron Chaffin #50 in the 30-lap triumph
on the 1/2-mile dirt oval. Steve Ostling finished second driving the Tony
Smiley #2A. Mike Kirby, Danny Sheridan, and Charles Davis Jr. completed
the top-five. The tough, deep, and experienced roster saw sixth through
tenth fall to Josh Wise, Tony Jones, Rip Williams, Dave Darland, and Cory
Kruseman. (Summary)
Gardner
masters Perris day show - HD Staff - Perris, CA. 02/05/05 ...Damion
Gardner, the career leader in USAC/CRA feature wins, added another one
Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway. Driving the Ron Chaffin #50, Gardner
nearly scored a clean sweep. He set quick-time, and won the trophy dash.
His only "blemish" was a third in his heat race. From Concord,
CA., Gardner was runner-up in the 2004 points chase to Rip Williams. Williams
finished second Saturday. The top-five was completed by Mike Kirby, Bill
Rose, and Seth Wilson. Last week's CRA winner Dave Darland was a non-transfer
out of the B-Main. Flip victims on the day included Tracy Hines, Mike
Spencer, and Tony Jones. 47 cars were on hand, proving the growth of the
non-wing 410 sprint car series. (More)
DAMION GARDNER
PASSES PETER MURPHY LATE TO WIN SEVENTH. - By Ken Wagner – Perris,
CA. 09/18/04 …The 20th Valvoline USAC/CRA event of the season
featured Damion Gardner's last lap pass of Aussie driver, Peter Murphy,
as they went under the white flag exciting the crowd. Peter led 28 laps
before Damion made a very calculated pass for his seventh win of the season.
Gardner said "I knew I was faster than Murphy, but he was running in the
middle of the track, and I had to wait for "my lane" to open up before
I could go for it". (More)
Gardner
loves Skagit, powers to 40-lap USAC / CRA win - By Bobby Gerould
- July 31, 2004 - Alger, WA. ...Even before the weekend started, Damion
"The Demon" Gardner was professing his love for Skagit Speedway.
It is rare that sprint cars race at the 3/10's mile dirt oval without
wings and Gardner seemingly could not wait to run the cushion at the Northwest
speedplant. Saturday night, Gardner defeated a 24 car main-event field
to win the 40-lap USAC / CRA sprint car feature in front of a large audience.
Gardner started on the pole, and led every lap, holding off first Cory
Kruseman, and then series points leader Rip Williams. (More)
