PERRIS, Calif. — Defending series champion Cory Kruseman ended the Lucas Oil USAC-CRA Sprint Car season in dramatic fashion Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway, nipping Mike Spencer by just .005 second to win the 12th-annual Jack Kindoll Classic.
Kruseman was not the only one celebrating after the 40-lap race. Tony Jones and his car owner Mark Alexander were all smiles after claiming their first USAC-CRA championships.
Despite not running the entire USAC-CRA schedule, Kruseman ended the season with five victories, tying him with Jones and Spencer for the most wins of the year.
Kruseman started on the pole in his Sander Engineering No. 21k Bullet next to Levi Jones. Even though the newly crowned USAC National Sprint Car Series champion beat him into the first turn, Kruseman was able to emerge from the fourth corner with the lead.
Spencer showed his strength early and moved Ron Chaffin’s Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply No. 50 Maxim from eighth starting spot to second in just 17 laps.  
On the 18th lap, Spencer took the lead from Kruseman.  
Using the cushion Kruseman closed the gap during the closing laps. Spencer accepted the final white flag of the season with Kruseman only a few feet behind him.
Spencer skated ever so slightly off the bottom of turn-three giving the “rim-riding” Kruseman a chance to make a run exiting turn four.
Carrying more momentum, Kruseman somehow squeezed his car between Spencer and the front-straight wall and was able to win the race to the checkered flag by the narrowest of margins.
“We were too tight at the beginning of the race and it was one of those deals where our car kept getting better as the race went on.
“I was able to start rolling the cushion and I think he missed it a little in (turns) three and four, and I just went where he wasn’t to give us a shot at the win,” Kruseman explained.
Damion Gardner, R.J. Johnson and Chris Windom rounded out the top five.
The summary:
Qualifications: 1. Michael Trimble, Kruseman 21t, 16.774; 2. Mike Spencer, Chaffin 50, 16.807; 3. Tony Jones, Alexander 4, 16.862; 4. Alan Ballard, Wilkerson 11, 16.866; 5. Rickie Gaunt, Gardner 94, 16.906; 6. Josh Ford, Ford 73, 16.921; 7. R.J. Johnson, Martin 15, 16.995; 8. Chris Windom, Windom 17x, 16.996; 9. Damion Gardner, Leffler 71, 17.000; 10. Levi Jones, Crossno 38x, 17.062; 11. Cory Kruseman, Kruseman 21k 17.068; 12. Jimmy Crawford, Crawford 51, 17.087; 13. Alex Schutte, Kruseman 41, 17.122; 14. Davey Pombo, Crossno 38s, 17.125; 15. Darren Hagen, Priestley 7, 17.171; 16. Danny Sheridan, Kittle 18, 17.179; 17. Eric Severson, Cherry 11x, 17.193; 18. Scotty Weir, Crossno 38, 17.199; 19. Jon Stanbrough, Crossno 97x, 17.254; 20. Blake Miller, Gardner 93, 17.256; 21. Luis Espinosa, Sertich 92, 17.404; 22. Jonny Bates, Bates 33, 17.458; 23. Jordan Hermansader, Springstead 36, 17.485; 24. Brad Kuhn, Sala 19s, 17.500; 25. Rip Williams, Jory 3, 17.542; 26. Cole Whitt, Kunz 67x, 17.609; 27. Brady Bacon, Cheney 42, 17.627; 28. Cody Swanson, Stansberry 75, 17.716; 29. Royal Adderson, Adderson 40, 17.724; 30. Nadine Gardner, Gardner 16, 17.754; 31. Kyle Bates, Sick Fast 397, 17.774; 32. Tony Everhart, Everhart 55, 17.926; 33. Cole Carter, Carter 77, 18.055; 34. Mike Martin, Martin 16m, 18.443; 35. J. Hicks, Miller 66, 20.078; 36. Ed McWilliams, McWilliams 27, 20.704; 37. John Butler, Butler 54, 22.484; 38. David Cardey, Crossno 83, no time.
Dash: (3 laps): T. Jones, Ballard, Spencer, Trimble.
First Heat (10 laps): Williams, Espinosa, Severson, D. Gardner, Trimble, Gaunt, Schutte, Carter, Butler, Adderson.
Second Heat (10 laps): Spencer, Whitt, L. Jones, Ford, Pombo, Cardey, Martin, N. Gardner, Weir.
Third Heat (10 laps): Bacon, Kruseman, Stanbrough, T. Jones, Hagen, Hermansader, K. Bates, Johnson, Hicks.
Fourth Heat (10 laps): Crawford, Miller, Windom, Ballard, Swanson, Everhart, McWilliams, Kuhn, Sheridan.
Semi (12 laps): Gaunt, Trimble, Johnson, Hagen, Schutte, Pombo, Cardey, Kuhn, Hermansader, Carter, Swanson, Martin, Sheridan, K. Bates, N. Gardner, Everhart, Butler.
Feature (40 laps): Kruseman, Spencer, D. Gardner, Johnson, Windom, T. Jones, L. Jones, Ford, Hagen, Gaunt, Stanbrough, Miller, Whitt, Crawford, Cardey, Severson, Espinosa, Williams, Sheridan, Schutte, Ballard, Trimble, Bacon.