While it seems like just yesterday, it was about 15 years ago that a small teen showed up at the sign up booth to race a street stock at Perris Auto Speedway. The young driver became an immediate hit with the fans at the track. He went on to become a successful late model racer winning main events around the West Coast. A few years ago, he dropped the cars that had roofs on them to race 410 sprint cars. This Saturday night, for the first time in his career, Tommy “Thunder” Malcolm will enter the pits at the track where it all began as the points leader in the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series.
400615312_24825027323754889_2463003136304762325_n.jpgPhoto of Tommy Malcolm at Perris courtesy of Kenny Lonngren.
The likable driver and his brother Johnny both began their racing careers at Perris. That was natural as their stepfather Dino Napier was one of the top drivers at the track in its early days. Napier captured the championship in the PASSCAR California Champ Truck Series in 2002. The family continued to race at the Riverside County oval until the track dropped the late model class. To continue racing late models, the family team raced up and down the West Coast.
After purchasing a sprint car from David Cardey a few years ago, Malcolm paid his dues getting used to the 1200 pound, 900 horsepower open wheel racecar. Never giving up, he came close to victories several times. However, it seems like each time the jaws of defeat would snatch his initial sprint car win away. The most heartbreaking came two years ago at the Bakersfield Speedway. Malcolm was leading the 30-lap main event. During a yellow flag period late in the race, a flat tire sent him to the work area and the back of the pack for the restart.
“You would be hard-pressed to find a nicer driver than Tommy,” Perris Auto Speedway promoter Don Kazarian said. “He was a nice, respectful teen when he first came to race with us and nothing has changed. He is just as nice today as he was at 15. There is no ego there at all. He lets his driving do the talking and it speaks in volumes.”
“In the street stocks, he quickly got up to speed and had a big fan following. The same when he jumped up to late models. As soon as he switched to a sprint car, you could tell he was going to be okay. He finally got some wins last season. They were a long time coming and very well deserved. Now he is a contender each time he comes onto the track. He will surely be one of the favorites coming into this Saturday’s race.”
The wait for Malcolm to win his first sprint car race ended at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare on May 20th, 2023. The time gap for his second win was not a long one. In fact, he won the prestigious Salute to Indy seven days later at Perris. Malcolm backed those triumphs up with a victory in the Glen Howard Classic at Perris on September 23rd.
A third-place finish at Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway three weeks ago propelled the Yucaipa, California driver into the 2024 USAC/CRA point lead. Coming into Saturday’s race, he has a one-point lead over Santa Barbara, California’s David Gasper. Laveen, Arizona’s RJ Johnson, Logan Williams of Yorba Linda, California, and Camarillo’s Ricky Lewis round out the top five. Amazingly first to fifth is only separated by 20 points. All but Lewis, who spends the regular season in the Midwest, will be on hand this Saturday night.
Besides the third-place finish, thus far in 2024, Malcolm, who was married last year, has two sixth-place results and a seventh. So far this season, he has yet to finish in a position worse than where he started in the four USAC/CRA main events to date. On opening night at Perris, he started 14th and finished sixth. At the second race of the year, which was also at Perris, he began in 11th and placed sixth again. In March at Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway in a race that was cut short 10 laps early due to rain, he started and finished seventh. In his third-place finish at Mohave, he started in 10th.
That one-point lead in the championship standings could be larger if Malcolm had some better luck in qualifying. With the exception of Cocopah where he was fast qualifier, he has timed in at 15th, 16th, and 12th this season. All of which means he has had to start mid-pack and weave his way through the traffic in three of the four races.
In addition to Malcolm and the USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, the GAS Chassis Young Gun Sprints, PAS Senior Sprints, and the PASSCAR Super Stocks and American Factory Stocks will also be in action on Saturday. Spectator gates will open at 5:00 p.m. and the first race will take the green flag at 7:00. Adult tickets for the night of exciting dirt track racing action and clean family fun are $30.00. Seniors 65 and over get in for $25.00. For kids 6-12 it is only $5.00, and children 5 and under are admitted free. Advance tickets are available online at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/pas/7. They can also be ordered by phone at 1-800-595-4849. For fans who do not wish to purchase tickets in advance, we will have plenty available at the ticket window on Saturday. The fairgrounds charge $10.00 for parking.
To keep up with everything going on at The PAS please visit our social media on Facebook and Instagram and visit the website at perrisautospeedway.com.
Perris Auto Speedway is conveniently located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (home of the Southern California Fair), one hour east of Los Angeles and one hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, exit on the Ramona Expressway, and go three miles east to the fairgrounds. For directions online, the address to enter is: 18700 Lake Perris Drive and the zip code is 92571.
2024 Perris Auto Speedway Schedule
April 27th AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR SPRINTS, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUN SERIES AND PASSCAR SUPER AND FACTORY STOCKS
May 4th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8’S, TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS
May 25th “SALUTE TO INDY” AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR SPRINTS, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUN SERIES AND PASSCAR SUPER AND STREET STOCKS
June 1st LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8’S, TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS
June 22nd AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR SPRINTS, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUN SERIES AND PASSCAR STREET AND FACTORY STOCKS
July 4th “FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR AND SKY CONCERT” (TENTATIVE)
LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8'S, TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERSJuly 13th AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUNS SERIES, AND PASSCAR SUPER AND FACTORY STOCKS
August 10th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8’S, TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS
August 17th CALIFORNIA RACER’S HALL OF FAME NIGHT, AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUNS SERIES AND PASSCAR SUPER AND STREET STOCKS
September 7th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8’S, TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS
September 21st AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS Senior Sprints, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUNS SERIES AND PASSCAR SUPER AND FACTORY STOCKS
October 26th LKQ Pick Your Part Presents NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION: DEMO CROSS, FIGURE 8’S, TRAILER FIGURE 8’S, MINI STOCKS AND DOUBLE DECKERS
November 8th 27TH RUNNING OF THE OVAL NATIONALS Featuring AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR SPRINTS, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUN SERIES AND PASSCAR SUPER, STREET AND FACTORY STOCKS
November 9th 27TH RUNNING OF THE OVAL NATIONALS Featuring AVANTI USAC/CRA SPRINT CARS, PAS SENIOR SPRINTS, GAS CHASSIS YOUNG GUN SERIES – JERRY DODD CHAMPIONS NIGHT, PASSCAR SUPER, STREET AND FACTORY STOCKS
THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
USAC/CRA races from Perris Auto Speedway are not streamed online.
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, Battery Systems, Bud’s Tire, Tire Choice Auto Service, Chris’ Hauling, City of Perris, Communication Innovations, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, GAS Chassis, HD Industries, Heimark/Anheuser Busch, Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging, Living Water’s Hospice, LKQ Pick Your Part, Luke’s Transmission, Marjon RV, Pepsi-Cola, Performance Online, Pole Position Raceway, PrintItNow.com, Rainbow Bolt & Supply, Rene’s Bar & Grill, Rugged Radios, Shaver Specialties, Square H, Sunoco Race Fuels, Trench Shoring, Upland Rock, Varner Construction and Vista Paint.
For information on 2024 billboard advertising at The PAS, please call 951-940-0134 and ask for Charlie Watson.
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:[email protected] is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment.
PAS PR
