PETERSEN MEDIA- Young Ryan Bernal continued to impress on lookers as he picked up his first career midget win in Chico, CA on Friday before heading all the way down to Bakersfield, CA on Saturday where he charged from 16th to third aboard the Josh Ford Motorsports entry.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to compete with the USAC Western States Midgets on Friday, Bernal hopped in the seat of the Dodenhoff Motorsports and proceeded to make a late race move to grab the lead on the slicked off track.
Once in the lead, Bernal showed a high racing IQ at such a young age as he managed his tires enough to fend off Cole Carter as the duo brought the crowd to their feet with a photo finish, with Bernal picking up the win.
“I cant say enough about these guys, and am very appreciative for the chance to run this car on Friday,” said Bernal. “The track wasn’t very good but the two leaders got into each other, and I happened to be there at the right time to take the lead and pick up the win.”
Saturday night saw Bernal make the long haul down to Bakersfield, CA for the season opening event for the USAC West Coast 360 series.
Piloting the Josh Ford Motorsports No. 73, Bernal timed in with the second fastest lap of the 27 cars entered in the event.
A sixth place finish in his heat put Bernal deep in the line up for the feature event as he would line his King Racing Products/Berry Pack/A&A Perision machine up in the 16th spot.
With a very racy track, Bernal was able to claw his way through thick traffic as he was able to use the cushion to get around cars, and also used the low side of the speedway to get up inside the top five.
A late restart with three laps to go, lined Bernal up right on the bumper of second running Matt Mitchell.
Over the final three laps, Bernal pressured Mitchell for second as they both pressured, race leader, Bud Kaeding, but as the race ended, Bernal was solidly in the third spot as the nights hard charger.
“We definitely had a car that could of won the race tonight,” said Bernal. “Unfortunately when you start that far back, you usually don’t win many races, but luckily we ended up getting a great finish out of it.”
Aside from Josh Ford and the Dodenhoff Motorsports sponsors, Bernal would like to thank Butlerbuilt, Hinchman Indy, Stida.com, GoPro, Keizer Wheels, FK Rod Ends, Willwood Brakes, and Dean Dealy Motorsports for their support in 2012.
ON TAP: Bernal will continue to stay busy as he will now return to action on Saturday night at the Perris Auto Speedway as he will climb aboard the Kittles Motorsports No.18 machine, the car he will compete with at all USAC/CRA events in 2012.
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- Petersen Media on Mar 27, 2012
- Article Date: 3/27/2012