GARDNER NOTCHES RECORD 20TH EARL'S FQ

OCTOBER 24, 2005

             Damion Gardner of Concord, Calif. was the fastest qualifier 
for Saturday night's Valvoline USAC/CRA Sprint car race at Perris (Calif.) 
Speedway. It marked the 20th time he has been the fastest qualifier this 
season, continuing to establish an all-time record for USAC Sprint car FQs 
in a single season. In so doing, he extended his monumental lead in the 
2005 Earl's Fast Qualifier standings, which will be worth a $5,000 cash 
bonus at season's end.

             Tom Bigelow set the previous record of FQs, 13 in 1978, which 
continues to stand as the USAC National Sprint Car record.

             Gardner is five short of the all-time USAC single-season, 
single-series record of 25, set by Jimmy Davies during the 1962 National 
Midget Car Series.

             Earl's points will be up for grabs this week in races at 
Ventura, Calif. (CRA Sprint Cars) and Tucson, Ariz. (Western Midgets).

             Points are awarded at each USAC event based on an 
international system awarding the top-six qualifiers with points in the 
following scale: 1st-9, 2nd-6, 3rd-4, 4th-3, 5th-2, 6th-1. When qualifying 
is not held for Ford Focus events, points are awarded based on a system of 
lineup points earned in the preliminary heats.

             Each USAC National, Western and Ford Focus Midget Car Earl's 
Plumbing FQ Champion will be honored at USAC's Champions Night ceremony in 
Indianapolis. The National and Western FQ champs will receive $5,000 each, 
while the Ford Focus FQ champs will each receive $1,000.

2005 Standings:

Weld Racing Silver Crown: 1-Josh Wise-38; 2-Dave Steele-31; 3-Bobby 
East-27; 4-Tracy Hines-24; 5-Dave Darland-18.

Valvoline National Sprint Car: 1-Levi Jones-71; 2-Jay Drake-58; 3-Bobby 
East-43; 4-Josh Wise-41; 5-Justin Marvel-30.

National Midget Car: 1-Michael Lewis-33; 2-Josh Wise & Jerry Coons Jr.-27; 
4-Billy Wease-25; 5-Bobby East-21.

Valvoline Western Sprint Car: 1-Tony Hunt-44; 2-Kody Swanson-42; 3-Brian 
McClish-38; 4-Mike Murgoitio-34; 5-Tim Barber-27.

Western Midget Car: 1-Jerome Rodela-45; 2-Garrett Hansen-27; 3-Michael 
Lewis & Wally Pankratz-21; 5-Robby Flock-19.

Valvoline CRA Sprint Car: 1-Damion Gardner-209; 2-Rip Williams-72; 
3-Charles Davis, Jr.-66; 4-Cory Kruseman-60; 5-Rickie Gaunt-50.

Midwest Ford Focus: 1-Tate Martz-96; 2-Stephanie Mockler & James 
Robertson-47; 4-Derek Fisher-36; 5-Jordan Noblitt-25.

California Ford Focus: 1-Alex Harris-112; 2-Chase Barber-70; 3-Benny Moon & 
Chris Veach-62; 5-Robbie Whitchurch-61.

Carolina/Virginia Ford Focus: 1-Chase Scott-73; 2-Robbie Ray-44; 3-Aron 
Oakley-26; 4-Michael Sboro-25; 4-Mike Ward-22.

Oklahoma Ford Focus: 1-Jasiel Randolph-18; 2-Dustin Morgan-17; 3-Evan 
Sewell-16; 4-Leon Bacon-15; 5-Chett Gehrke-14.

Northeast Ford Focus: 1-Stephanie Stevens-37; 2-Nick Wean-36; 3-Jeff 
Abold-32; 4-Brit Andersen-25; 5-Ryan Smith-20.