SPRINT CARS AND MODIFIEDS IN PERRIS SOKOLA SHOOTOUT SATURDAY By Scott Daloisio (Perris, CA, April 25, 2022) Two popular disciplines of race cars will converge on Perris Auto Speedway for the annual Sokola Shootout this Saturday night, April 30th. The USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, PAS Senior & Young Gun Sprints, and IMCA Modifieds will all be in action. Spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m. and racing will start at 7:00. USAC/CRA stars Charles Davis from Buckeye, AZ and Damion Gardner from Concord, CA battle at The PAS. Kenny Lonngren photo. Saturday’s race honors the memories of Gary and Mark Sokola. Gary began his participation in racing as a car owner in the original CRA. He went on to become the president of the club during what was arguably its most successful era from 1978-87. After leaving CRA, Sokola served as USAC’s Assistant Director of Competition and was the Supervisor for the USAC National Sprint Car Series through 1997. The Livonia, Michigan native moved on to oversee the construction of the Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas before passing away on November 10, 2000. Sokola’s son Mark began racing TQ Midgets in California in 1982. He eventually advanced to the CRA Sprint Car Series where he was voted the club’s Most Improved Driver in 1986. He scored a career-best sprint car third-place finish racing in an SCRA main event at the Santa Maria Speedway in August of 1994. He passed away in his sleep in April of 2003. “It is a big deal for us to honor Gary and Mark Sokola each year at Perris Auto Speedway,” promoter Don Kazarian said. “Gary was a forceful no-nonsense kind of guy and CRA flourished under his leadership. His biggest concern was safety and if he deemed that your car was not safe enough, you did not race. That was it! There was no debating his decision. He took the original CRA to a higher level during his years in charge.” “Mark was born into a racing environment,” Kazarian continued. It was only natural that he would be involved in some way. Being Gary’s son, it was inevitable that he would race sprint cars. He turned into a pretty good driver.” Saturday’s show is the first time The PAS has paired sprint cars with Modifieds in quite a few years. They will race together every month through October. The only exception will be July when the only event during the month will be Night of Destruction on July 2nd. “We think that adding modifieds to the sprint car shows is going to be very good for everyone involved,” Kazarian stated. “It will expose fans from each group to a different discipline of racing than they normally get to see. In USAC/CRA you have the top nonwing sprint group west of the Mississippi. IMCA sanctions several different divisions, and its modified division is the largest in the world. This should work very well for our local IMCA drivers and their sponsors. They will be racing in front of much larger crowds and as USAC/CRA races are usually streamed, they will gain exposure to fans around the world.” Alysa Smith, aka "The Hot Rod Blonde," is one of The PAS favorites in the IMCA Modifieds. Kenny Longren Photo. Concord, California’s Damion Gardner, the nine-time CRA champion, has gotten off to a great start in 2022 winning five of the first seven races on the schedule. That includes the March 26th race at The PAS. Seligman, Arizona’s Richard McCormick and Stevie Rogers of Apple Valley, California won the season-opening main events in The PAS Senior and Young Gun Sprint Car classes on the same night. One week earlier, Bakersfield’s Austin Kiefer won The PAS opening IMCA Modified main of the year on March 19th. All four are expected to be in action on Saturday. In addition to the regular USAC/CRA competitors, Gardner’s archrival Brody Roa of Garden Grove, California is adding his name to the competition on Saturday. A regular in the USAC/CRA Series for more than a decade, the 31-year-old has only competed in the first three races in the series in 2022. This year he is not racing for points. While he will be competing in all the series races at The PAS, he has also been doing some wing races and will hit the trail to South Dakota and Indiana in the month of July. As has become a PAS tradition, all the drivers will park their cars on the front straightaway at intermission. All fans will be let onto the track to meet, take photos, and get autographs from the drivers. In addition, the drivers will all be passing out free candy to the kids. Adult tickets for Saturday are $30.00. Seniors 65 and over get in for $25.00. For kids ages 6-12 it is just $5.00. Children 5 and under are free. There will be plenty of tickets for everyone, this event will not sell out. The fairgrounds charges $10.00 for parking. Advance tickets for all Perris Auto Speedway events including this Saturday are on sale now. Fans can order the tickets online at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/pas/7 or by calling 1-800-595-4849. For fans who do not wish to purchase tickets in advance, there will be plenty of tickets available for everyone at the gate each race night. 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, Anderson Chevrolet, Battery Systems, Bud’s Tire Pro, Chris’ Hauling, City of Perris, Communication Innovations, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, HD Industries, Heimark/Anheuser Busch, Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, Living Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part, Luke’s Transmission, Moose Racing, Pepsi-Cola, Performance Online, 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. 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. Perris Auto Speedway 2022 Schedule April 23rd LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION II - DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE 8'S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS April 30th "SOKOLA SHOOTOUT" AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR/YOUNG GUNS SPRINT CARS AND IMCA MODIFIEDS May 14th PASSCAR SERIES - SUPER STOCKS, STREET STOCKS/IMCA STOCK CARS, AMERICAN FACTORY STOCKS AND IMCA SPORT COMPACTS May 21st LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION III DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8’S, TRAILER FIGURE 8'S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS. PLUS “POWER OF PURPLE NIGHT” BENEFITING THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE RIVERSIDE COUNTY EAST DEMOLITION DERBY. AUCTION CARS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR FANS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DERBY! May 28th "SALUTE TO INDY" AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR/YOUNG GUNS SPRINT CARS AND IMCA MODIFIEDS. PLUS “POWER OF PURPLE NIGHT” BENEFITING THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE RIVERSIDE COUNTY EAST June 4th PASSCAR SERIES - SUPER STOCKS, STREET STOCKS/IMCA STOCK CARS, AMERICAN FACTORY STOCKS AND IMCA SPORT COMPACTS June 11th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION IV DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE 8'S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS June 25th “BUBBY JONES / RAY SHEETZ MEMORIAL” AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR/YOUNG GUNS SPRINT CARS AND IMCA MODIFIEDS. PLUS “POWER OF PURPLE NIGHT” BENEFITING THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE RIVERSIDE COUNTY EAST July 2nd FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION V - DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE 8'S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS. PLUS “POWER OF PURPLE NIGHT” BENEFITING THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE RIVERSIDE COUNTY EAST August 13th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION VI DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE 8'S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS August 20th “CALIFORNIA RACERS HALL OF FAME NIGHT" AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR/YOUNG GUNS SPRINT CARS AND IMCA MODIFIEDS AND WRA VINTAGE CARS ON DISPLAY. PLUS “POWER OF PURPLE NIGHT” BENEFITING THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE RIVERSIDE COUNTY EAST August 27th PASSCAR SERIES - SUPER STOCKS, STREET STOCKS/IMCA STOCK CARS, AMERICAN FACTORY STOCKS AND IMCA SPORT COMPACTS September 3rd LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION VII DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE 8'S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS September 10th PASSCAR SERIES - SUPER STOCKS, STREET STOCKS/IMCA STOCK CARS, AMERICAN FACTORY STOCKS AND IMCA SPORT COMPACTS. (Note; No IMCA Points will be awarded for this event due to the IMCA Super Nationals running on this weekend. PASSCAR points will be awarded for this event). September 17th "GLENN HOWARD CLASSIC" AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR/YOUNG GUNS SPRINT CARS, IMCA MODIFIEDS AND Lucas Oil POWRi SOUTHWEST LIGHTNING SPRINT CARS. PLUS “POWER OF PURPLE NIGHT” BENEFITING THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE RIVERSIDE COUNTY EAST September 24th PASSCAR SERIES - SUPER STOCKS, STREET STOCKS/IMCA STOCK CARS, AMERICAN FACTORY STOCKS AND IMCA SPORT COMPACTS October 1st AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR/YOUNG GUNS SPRINT CARS AND IMCA MODIFIEDS October 15th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION VIII DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE 8'S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS October 22nd PASSCAR “CHAMPION’S NIGHT” SUPER STOCKS, STREET STOCKS/IMCA STOCK CARS, AMERICAN FACTORY STOCKS, PAS MODIFIEDS AND PAS SPORT COMPACTS November 2nd 26TH ANNUAL HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS - Practice Night November 3rd 26TH ANNUAL HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH BUDWEISER OVAL NATIONALS - AMSOIL USAC NATIONAL AND AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS November 4th 26TH Annual HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH BUDWEISER Oval NATIONALS - AMSOIL USAC NATIONAL AND AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS November 5th 26TH Annual HEIMARK/ANHEUSER BUSCH BUDWEISEROVAL NATIONALS - AMSOIL USAC NATIONAL AND AMSOIL USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS November 12th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION IX DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE 8'S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.