By MATT CALKINS The Press-Enterprise
Norco resident Tony Jones was expecting something from the United States Auto Club and didn't get it. So now the sprint car driver is essentially telling USAC: Don't expect too much out of me. Jones said that last year the former USAC president told him that the champion of the USAC/CRA series would receive $10,000 in bonus money, while other drivers would be given a proportional amount based on how they finished in the points. The money, as Jones understood it, was to be taken out of a $60,000 point fund, which is generally contributed to by the various tracks that host USAC/CRA sprint car events. Kevin Miller has since taken over as CEO and president of USAC. And when Jones, who ended up winning the championship, told Miller of the $10,000 he was owed, Miller wondered how Jones ever thought USAC had that kind of money to give away. Considering that USAC was losing money on the CRA series, which runs on West Coast tracks including Perris Auto Speedway, Miller said he couldn't give him any more than $4,800, and said the point fund was more like $40,000. No matter who or what the source of confusion was, the news irked Jones. And while the sprint car season has been under way for a couple of weeks now, he said he doesn't plan on running a full schedule and will skip some out-of-state races. "The whole West Coast series got shorted," Jones said, pointing out that the point fund has been declining every year. "I mean, if you have a job and your boss tells you that you're going to make $100,000 and at the end of the year you only make $70,000, you're going to be upset." Miller said he feels for the drivers and added that the CRA is extremely important to USAC, which also has a host of national and regional series. And he maintains that he never tried to deceive or shortchange anybody, but that the money just wasn't there. "There is a certain expectation for the point fund, but unfortunately the expectation is different than reality," Miller said, adding that he was unaware of any past agreements Jones had made. "I would love to say, 'Here, for me to make you feel better, here's $20,000.' But that money doesn't exist. We're trying to do whatever we can to put more fans in the seats." Some CRA drivers, such as Rickie Gaunt, have said the CRA doesn't need USAC and can have its own series at Perris. Miller argues that the CRA would have a hard time surviving without USAC, adding that the West Coast series provides an opportunity for a lot of young drivers to develop their talent. Perris had its opening weekend for the sprint car season nearly three weeks ago. Jones was there, as was Temecula resident Mike Spencer, who finished second to Jones last year. Spencer said he's upset with the money situation, as are a lot of drivers. Nevertheless, he plans on running the whole season. "The team I'm running for wants to run all the races. That's kind of been the plan from the beginning," Spencer said. "So that's what we're going to do."