By: Fast Time Media
7/18/23… Perris, California: Saturday Night, AJ Bender was back in action at Perris Auto Speedway with the USAC CRA Sprint Cars. He would put together his best night of the season with the USAC CRA Sprint Cars within a runner up finish.
He started the night with time trials. AJ would go out & lay down a pretty good time. A time of 16.852 would put the driver of the 21 9th quickest overall out of the 25 USAC CRA Sprint Cars in attendance at Perris Auto Speedway.
“Qualified 9th which isn’t great but we were fighting a stumble in the motor. But I was really happy with how the car felt.“
That lined AJ up on the outside of the second row in the 4th spot for his heat race. He would quickly grab the lead after a few laps. Despite battling some more motor issues, AJ went on to grab the heat race win from 4th.
“In the heat race I started 4th and got to the lead after a couple of laps. Again the car just felt really good and racey but still had a little issue with the motor. But I was feeling comfortable and ready to do 30 laps.”
AJ rolled off from the 9th spot for the 30 lap feature event. He quickly gained a few spots before going on a long green flag run. After trading sliders & moving forward he found himself 3rd on a late race restart. On the restart, the 2nd place car made a mistake which would give AJ 2nd. He tried to run down the leader but the track laid rubber & AJ would finish 2nd.
“Had a good start and picked up a few spots off the start. We had a long run of green flag laps and I just got into a really good rythme and started getting by some really good car. At one point RJ and Cody and I were sliding each other in lap traffic. Had a late restart and was on the back of Malcom until he made a mistake handing me 2nd. Roa and I seemed to have the same speed at the end and the track started to take rubber so I had to settle for 2nd.“
It was an impressive night for AJ in the family car at Perris Auto Speedway. Despite starting mid pack in both the heat race & the feature, AJ would race his way forward in both & grabbed another podium finish.
AJ would like to thank his sponsors!
Next Race: TBA
2023 season stats: 22 events, 20 features, 1 win, 8 top-5's, 15 top-10's
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