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TOMMY MALCOLM
BRINGS USAC/CRA POINT LEAD HOME TO PERRIS
AUTO SPEEDWAY
By Scott Daloisio
(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.
Photo of Tommy Malcolm at Perris courtesy
of Kenny Lonngren.
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
fairgrounds. For directions online, the
address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris
Drive and the zip code is 92571.
2024 Perris Auto Speedway Schedule
April 27th AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS,
PAS SENIOR SPRINTS, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUN
SERIES AND PASSCAR SUPER AND FACTORY
STOCKS
May 4th LKQ Pick Your Part
Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS,
FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI
STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS
May 25th
"SALUTE TO INDY" AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT
CARS, PAS SENIOR SPRINTS, GAS CHASSIS
YOUNG GUN SERIES AND PASSCAR SUPER AND
STREET STOCKS
June 1st LKQ Pick
Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION:
DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE
8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS
June 22nd AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS,
PAS SENIOR SPRINTS, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUN
SERIES AND PASSCAR STREET AND FACTORY
STOCKS
July 4th “FIREWORKS
SPECTACULAR AND SKY CONCERT” (TENTATIVE)
LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF
DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S,
TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE
DECKERS
July 13th AVANTI USAC/CRA
SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints, GAS
CHASSIS YOUNG GUNS SERIES, AND PASSCAR
SUPER AND FACTORY STOCKS
August
10th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF
DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S,
TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE
DECKERS
August 17th CALIFORNIA
RACER’S HALL OF FAME NIGHT, AVANTI
USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints,
GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUNS SERIES AND PASSCAR
SUPER AND STREET STOCKS
September
7th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF
DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S,
TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE
DECKERS
September 21st AVANTI
USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints,
GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUNS SERIES AND PASSCAR
SUPER AND FACTORY STOCKS
October
26th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF
DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S,
TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE
DECKERS
November 8th 27TH RUNNING
OF THE OVAL NATIONALS Featuring AVANTI
USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR SPRINTS,
GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUN SERIES AND PASSCAR
SUPER, STREET AND FACTORY STOCKS
November 9th 27TH RUNNING OF THE OVAL
NATIONALS Featuring AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT
CARS, PAS SENIOR SPRINTS, GAS CHASSIS
YOUNG GUN SERIES – JERRY DODD CHAMPIONS
NIGHT, PASSCAR SUPER, STREET AND FACTORY
STOCKS
THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO
CHANGE.
USAC/CRA races from Perris
Auto Speedway are not streamed online.
Fans can stay up to date on track and
driver news on The PAS social media
efforts at the links below.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Perris-Auto-Speedway/113876798686480?ref=hl
Twitter: Perris Auto Speedway on
Twitter
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/perrisautospeedway/
Website:
http://perrisautospeedway.com/
Perris Auto Speedway wants to
thank the following corporate partners.
Ahern Equipment Rentals, Battery Systems,
Bud’s Tire, Tire Choice Auto Service,
Chris’ Hauling, City of Perris,
Communication Innovations, Daytona Boat &
RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof
Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, GAS Chassis, HD
Industries, Heimark/Anheuser Busch,
Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, Living
Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part,
Luke’s Transmission, Marjon RV,
Pepsi-Cola, Performance Online, Pole
Position Raceway, PrintItNow.com, Rainbow
Bolt & Supply, Rene’s Bar & Grill, Rugged
Radios, Shaver Specialties, Square H,
Sunoco Race Fuels, Trench Shoring, Upland
Rock, Varner Construction and Vista Paint.
For information on 2024 billboard
advertising at The PAS, please call
951-940-0134 and ask for Charlie Watson.
DVDs of all the PASSCAR/IMCA racing
and Nights of Destruction at The PAS are
available from Fourvideos. For more
information call (714) 225-9500.
mailto:perrisautospeedway1@gmail.com is
the only authorized Internet address to
issue official media news released from
The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval
Entertainment.
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