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PERRIS
AUTO SPEEDWAY REMEMBERS LEGENDARY SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA SPRINT CAR OWNER JACK JORY
By Scott
Daloisio
(Perris,
CA, December 22, 2020)
Through its first 24-seasons of operation,
the USAC/CRA and SCRA Sprint Car Series’
have presented Perris Auto Speedway with
several renowned car owners. Perhaps the
biggest of them all is Jack Jory. The
legendary car owner, who teamed with
National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Rip
Williams to dominate the action at the
Riverside County clay oval in the track’s
early seasons, passed away last week at
the age of 82.
Austin Williams and Jack Jory after
winning the 2016 Salute to Indy a The PAS.
Mike Groswend Photo.
Jory, along
with his wife Sharon, owned the black #3
that became one of the most famous and
feared traditional sprint cars with
Williams in the cockpit in the mid-1990s.
Nowhere was their success more evident
than at Perris Auto Speedway. When the
track opened in 1996, the Jory’s and
Williams teamed to win eight main events.
Their best season at the track came the
following year when they dominated the
action with 11 victories. Included on that
tally sheet was the biggest ever win for
the duo when they took home the winner’s
trophy at the 2nd Annual Budweiser Oval
Nationals. All told, in the eight seasons
that SCRA sanctioned sprint car races at
The PAS, they took home the main event
winner’s trophy 40-times.
The
USAC/CRA Series was born in 2004 and
Perris Auto Speedway became its home
track. That year the Jory’s and Williams
scored three wins on the half-mile and
they captured the inaugural USAC/CRA
championship. In the next three years,
they visited victory circle four more
times at the track. All told, they
triumphed 47 times at The PAS and created
an unforgettable impression on local
sprint car fans. Earlier this year,
memories of the team’s Perris domination
propelled Williams to victory in the
“Perris Auto Speedway Fan’s Best Ever
Sprint Car Driver” online poll.
In
his Hall of Fame sprint car career that
began in 1978, Williams won 104 main
events. Sixty-five of those victories came
in the Jory owned black #3.
“Jack
Jory will be sadly missed by everyone in
the sport,” a somber Perris Auto Speedway
promoter Don Kazarian said. “Not only was
he a great car owner, but he was a great
man as well. Total class. Jack and
Sharon’s cars were famous, and they were
always top notch when they showed up at
the track. When Rip Williams was driving
for them, they were the team everyone
strived to be like. They were winners and
they were totally professional. Few teams
will ever be able to emulate the success
they achieved.”
“Jack not only
cared about his own team, but he also
cared about the good of sprint car racing
in general,” Kazarian continued. “The
on-track competition was important to him,
but so was the success and survival of the
sport. He was always interested and
involved in trying to make the sport
better and to help it grow.”
Indeed, Jory wanted to see the sport grow.
He not only owned cars, but he was also a
track sponsor and at times generously
opened his own wallet and added money to
the race purse. In recognition of their
efforts, Kazarian named Jack and Sharon as
Grand Marshals for the Oval Nationals over
a decade ago.
When it was time for
Williams sons, Cody, Austin, and Logan, to
start racing 410 sprint cars, the Jory’s
furnished the cars. Initially it was
oldest son Cody joining Rip on the track.
It turned into a three-car effort when
Williams’ middle son, Austin, joined the
team. When Rip stepped out of the cockpit,
youngest son Logan began racing and three
Jory Motorsports cars graced the tracks
once again. In addition to that 2004
USAC/CRA title, the Jory’s were also car
owner champions when Logan won the first
ever PAS Young Guns title in 2013. As well
as Rip and his sons racing the well-known
black cars, the Jory’s put racing stars
Mike English and Wally Pankratz in a
second car from time to time.
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 is conveniently
located on the SoCal Fair and Event Center
(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,
on the Ramona Expressway and go three
miles east to the fairgrounds. For
directions on MapQuest, the address to
enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and the
zip code is 92571.
Perris Auto
Speedway wants to thank its corporate
partners for the 2019 season. Ahern
Equipment Rentals, All Coast Construction,
Battery Systems, Budweiser, Bud’s Tire
Pro, Chris’ Hauling, City of Perris,
Communication Innovations, Daytona Boat &
RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof
Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, HD Industries,
Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, Living
Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part,
Luke’s Transmission, Moose Racing,
Pepsi-Cola, Pole Position, PrintItNow.com,
Rainbow Bolt & Supply, Rugged Radios,
Shaver Specialties, Square H, Sunoco Race
Fuels, Trench Shoring, Upland Rock, Varner
Construction and Vista Paint.
Video
and DVD productions of all racing sprint
cars 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 website LoudPedal Productions.
DVD’s of all the PASSCAR/IMCA racing
and Nights of Destruction at The PAS are
available from Fourvideos. For more
information call (714) 225-9500.
racesatthepas@aol.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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