Lakewood, CA., March 13 -- Garden Grove's
Tony Jones looks to repeat as the
winner of the Gary Sokola Classic when the NAPA Auto Parts / Auto Trader
Magazines SCRA sprint car series heads to Manzanita Speedway (Phoenix, AZ) for
two days of racing this Friday & Saturday nights (March 15th-16th).
Last year, Jones led all but two laps of the 40 lap main event en route to his
first win at Keith Hall's famed 1/2 mile dirt track. With lap money, he
earned nearly $8,000 for winning the inaugural Sokola Classic. Fresh off
earning his 11th career SCRA win last Saturday at the Perris Auto Speedway
(CA), Jones enters this weekend as the SCRA point leader.
Three-time SCRA Champion (1998-00) Richard Griffin (Silver City, NM) finished
sixth last week and trails Jones by only two points (178 to 176). Ojai's
Troy Rutherford sits one point behind Griffin in third. Kokomo,
Indiana's Tony Elliott is expected to compete this weekend along with Mike
Kirby (Lomita), Rip Williams (Yorba Linda), Levi Jones (Olney, IL), John Scott
(Hesperia), Mike English (Norwalk), Jay Drake (Val Verde), J.J. Yeley
(Phoenix, AZ) and Western World Champion Jeremy Sherman (Phoenix, AZ).
With the Indy Racing League (IRL) in town, this weekend was once again
selected to honor Gary Sokola who served as the president and race director of
the California Racing Association (CRA) from 1977 to 1987 before accepting a
position with USAC. Sokola passed away at the age of 59 on November 8,
2000 in a hospital in Wichita, Kansas.
