(July 1, 2011, Montclair, CA) When he was growing up, few people could argue that Oil Twins Amsoil sponsored driver Zach Zauss would one day drive a racecar. After all, the first year California Lightning Sprint Car Series driver's mom did some Indy style racing in Nevada, his grandfather raced Sprint Cars and his dad currently races Stocks Cars in Nevada and Northern California. This Saturday night, July 2nd, Zauss will be flying the Oil Twins Amsoil logo at "The Southern California Home to Major League Sprint Car Racing," Perris Auto Speedway.
Before 2011, Zauss, who was born and raised in Reno, Nevada, got in one race in a Lightning Sprint Car and one in a Super Stock. However, involvement with another sport is what finally pushed Zauss into the seat of a racecar. Bowling! Zauss is an accomplished bowler who has bowled in some PBA tournaments and he coaches kids every day. Last year, one of the young kegler's he was coaching was Hemet, California teenager Alexander Bissett, who was a rookie in the California Lightning Sprint Car Series. "Alexander told me to come out to the racetrack one night, so I came out and helped him work on the car," Zauss said by phone on Thursday afternoon. "The Bissett family asked me to come out and help at every race after that. I tinkered around with their car and helped them with the set up with some of the tricks of the trade my grandfather taught me. I then decided to get one of my own."
The plan was for Zauss to race the entire season with the CLS, but a little bump came up in the road after two races. "The Thursday night before one of our races, I was admitted into the local Rancho Springs Medical Hospital," Zauss stated. "I was then shipped off Kaiser in Riverside. I had a heart issue where my heart would shut off."
At first, it looked the personable racer was going to miss the balance of the season. However, the doctor recently cleared him for all normal activities. "I am taking medication for it and it is under control now. I have no problems."
When it appeared that Zauss was going to be out of his racecar for a while, CLS officials quickly offered him a job as a race night official. He accepted that position and now intends race some nights and officiate on others. "I still am kind of an official," he said while laughing. "I believe I am only going to race at the Perris races and as we travel to other tracks, I am going to be an official."
There is no hiding the Murrieta, California resident's zest to start racing again on Saturday night. "I am so excited to get back in the car," he enthused. "Ever since I got home from Vegas (Zauss was in Las Vegas last weekend coaching a huge kid's tournament) the mindset has changed from bowling to racing. The car is shining. I think it is cleaner than before I took it out for the first race. I have had an ear to ear grin every day this week. I wake up, sit in the garage and say, 'I am going to race my car again, hallelujah.'"
The 23-year-old met up with Andy Jones of the Oil Twins at an open practice session at Perris Auto Speedway in March. "Andy was getting some stickers ready to put on the "Red Hot Racing Grandma's" (fellow Oil Twins Amsoil driver Ronnie Everhart) car and I nudged Andy and said, "Hey, how about we get some Amsoil stickers up on this ride?' He said, 'absolutely.' He hung out with me and I went to some trade shows with him and at the Night of Destruction show at The PAS a few weeks ago, I signed on and became a dealer with Amsoil."
One of the reason's Zauss decided to become an Amsoil dealer was the quality of the product. "I used to run another product, but when I put Amsoil in, I noticed a significant change," he said. "The biggest change I noticed was in my tow rig. I drive a 1996 GMC 1500. I put the fuel injector cleaner into my truck and got six more miles to the gallon. I swear by the Amsoil product. I own six vehicles and every one of them has Amsoil running in it. In my tow rig and my racecar, every fluid and every grease product that I can get has the Amsoil label."
You can watch Zauss race live on Saturday night at: http://www.pasvideo.com/
Highlights of last Saturday's racing is available from Raceway Video. http://racewayvideo.com/
For more information or to order quality Amsoil Products from the Montclair, California based Oil Twins, please visit their website at www.oiltwins.com or give them a call at 888-OIL-TWINS.
For the upcoming Perris Auto Speedway race schedule or up to date news on the track, please visit: http://www.perrisautospeedway.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perris-Auto-Speedway/113876798686480
This piece was produced by Scott Daloisio Sports: (909) 226-7768, mailto:sdaloisiosports@aol.com or http://twitter.com/ - !/search/sprintcarpr. Be sure to keep an eye out for news on our other racing clients. Perris Auto Speedway, David Cardey Racing, California Lightning Sprint Car Series, Greg Alexander Racing and Justin Marvel in the RB Motorsports #1B.
