By: Fast Time Media
11/9/23... Somerton, Arizona: Friday & Saturday Night, AJ Bender was in action with the USAC CRA Sprint Cars. It would be the second to last weekend of the 2023 race season as he took on the Western World Championships at Cocopah Speedway.
He would begin Friday with time trials. AJ would end up laying down a pretty good lap before timing in 15th quickest. That would line AJ up in the 3rd spot for the heat race, where he'd go on to finish 6th. AJ now had to go to the B-main. He'd start 5th but got spun early & went on to finish 8th & miss the feature.
Fortunately, they'd use a provisional to get into the feature & AJ would roll off from 23rd. Going green, the track quickly took rubber which made it hard to move towards the front. However, AJ would still be able to gain nine spots & finish the feature event in the 14th position.
"On Friday I qualified 15th & struggled in the heat race. Had to run the B-main but I got spun out on the first lap & wasn't able to get to a transfer spot. We were able to take a provisional. Sadly the track took rubber second lap in the main. Starting in the back wasn’t ideal, but was able to go forward & I think I finished 14th."
Going into Saturday, AJ would look to have improve from Friday's finish. Once again, AJ would lay down a solid lap during time trials. He'd time in similarly to how he did on Friday, just a few spots behind this time in 18th.
They would end up battling some issues between qualifying & the heat race. They'd replace some fuel lines, but one exploded & he wouldn't be able to make the heat race. He'd go out for the B-main where he started 4th but quickly moved forward. While trying to pass for the lead, he'd make contact with the leader before getting hit from behind.
AJ was forced to take another provisional & once again started deep in the field. This time he started 21st & once again he'd move forward. He'd only be able to get to 17th during Saturday's feature & that is where he'd finish his Western World Championships.
"Started Saturday with qualifying & wasn’t great as the motor wasn't running right. Thought we found the issue and replaced some fuel lines but when we pushed off for the heat race, a fuel line exploded so didn’t even start. In the B-main we were fast & passing for the lead until the leader checked up a lot & I ran into the back of him & got hit by a car in the back of the pack. I thought the car was a better but didn’t get many laps during night so we were just trying things. We were again able to go forward a little bit but it wasn’t anything impressive & finished 17th."
It wasn't the weekend that AJ wanted, but they still showed speed on both Friday & Saturday Night. They just had some bad luck that put them behind the 8-ball on both nights. AJ will be in action this weekend for the final USAC CRA race of the season at Perris Auto Speedway.
AJ would like to thank his team & all of his supporters.
Next Race: TBA
2023 season stats: 29 events, 25 features, 1 win, 8 top-5's, 15 top-10's
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