Johnson Wins After Yeley DQ at Central Arizona

Winner R.J. Johnson. (Ben Thrasher Photo) Richie Murray - USAC Media September 26, 2026 Casa Grande, Arizona (September 30, 2026)………R.J. Johnson was declared the winner of Saturday night’s USAC Avanti Windows & Doors Southwest Sprint Car feature at Casa Grande’s Central Arizona Raceway. Johnson (Laveen, Arizona) was credited with the victory after apparent winner J.J. Yeley and his Yeley Racing No. 2y were disqualified in post-race technical inspection due to the use of a non-approved right rear tire during the feature event. Initially finishing second in the feature, Johnson and his Petty Performance Racing No. 33p were then elevated to the victory for the third time with the series this season and the record-extending 53rd time in his USAC Southwest Sprint Car career. Following Johnson to the finish line were runner-up Charles Davis in second, Koen Crawford in third, Dayton Shelton in fourth, and Elijah Gile in fifth. As it turned out, it was a complete sweep of the night for Johnson who set quick time in qualifying with a lap of 15.598, then went on to win his heat race, and the 30-lap feature. Yeley and Gile also captured heat race victories. Originally, Yeley charged into the lead from his seventh starting position on the fourth lap after Davis led the opening three circuits. Yeley then led the remaining 27 laps on the way to the finish line. In the reshuffled lap leader order, Davis is now credited with leading the first 16 laps before Johnson took over on lap 17 and paced the field for the final 14 laps.   USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: September 26, 2026 – Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, Arizona QUALIFYING: 1. R.J. Johnson, 33p, Petty-15.598; 2. Koen Crawford, 48, Crawford-15.653; 3. Elijah Gile, 13p, Petty-15.689; 4. Bryan Ledbetter Jr., 7OH, Ledbetter-16.121; 5. Charles Davis Jr., 11c, Turner/Wheeler-16.143; 6. Daylin Perreira, 21p, Perreira-16.163; 7. A.J. Hernandez, 72, Hernandez-16.265; 8. Brody Wake, 78w, Wake-16.344; 9. Dylan Schaadt, 88G, Schaadt-16.374; 10. Bruce St. James, 1AZ, St. James-16.376; 11. Chris Bonneau, 78, Bonneau-16.383; 12. Dayton Shelton, 4D, Shelton-16.429; 13. Nathan High, 01, Whitcher-16.432; 14. Jonas Reynolds, 0, Reynolds-16.639; 15. Austin Ervine, 21, AJ-17.054; 16. Chloe High, 01AZ, Whitcher-17.058; 17. J.J. Yeley, 2y, Yeley-17.073; 18. Rickey Kinney Jr., 81K, Kinney-17.680; 19. Lonnie Oliver, 11, Oliver-18.437; 20. Elijah Loper, 43x, Loper-18.776; 21. Joshua Shipley, 2, Shipley-18.776. FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. R.J. Johnson (6), 2. Bruce St. James (3), 3. A.J. Hernandez (4), 4. Bryan Ledbetter Jr (5), 5. Lonnie Oliver (7), 6. Chloe High (1), 7. Nathan High (2). NT SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. J.J. Yeley (1), 2. Brody Wake (4), 3. Charles Davis Jr. (5), 4. Koen Crawford (6), 5. Jonas Reynolds (2), 6. Chris Bonneau (3), 7. Elijah Loper (7). NT THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Elijah Gile (6), 2. Dayton Shelton (3), 3. Daylin Perreira (5), 4. Rickey Kinney Jr (1), 5. Austin Ervine (2), 6. Dylan Schaadt (4). NT FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. R.J. Johnson (6), 2. Charles Davis Jr. (2), 3. Koen Crawford (5), 4. Dayton Shelton (13), 5. Elijah Gile (4), 6. Brody Wake (9), 7. Bruce St. James (11), 8. Lonnie Oliver (19), 9. A.J. Hernandez (8), 10. Elijah Loper (20), 11. Chris Bonneau (12), 12. Rickey Kinney Jr. (18), 13. Jonas Reynolds (15), 14. Daylin Perreira (1), 15. Bryan Ledbetter Jr. (3), 16. Dylan Schaadt (10), 17. Austin Ervine (16), DQ. J.J. Yeley (7). NT FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-16 Charles Davis Jr., Laps 17-30 R.J. Johnson. USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-R.J. Johnson-810, 2-Stevie Sussex-676, 3-Koen Crawford-664, 4-Daylin Perreira-648, 5-Dayton Shelton-641, 6-Bruce St. James-613, 7-A.J. Hernandez-583, 8-Jordan Stetson-493, 9-Connor Lundy-491, 10-Charles Davis Jr.-430. NEXT USAC AVANTI WINDOWS & DOORS SOUTHWEST SPRINT CAR RACES: October 22-23-24, 2026 – Central Arizona Raceway – Casa Grande, Arizona – 59th Western World Championships     ‍