American Sprint Car Series

ASCS News / Reports 2007 / 2008   ASCS News / Reports 2009

ASCS 2008 - Reaching New Heights

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (November 24, 2008) - The American Sprint Car Series staggering growth and popularity continued as the sanctioning body set new marks over the course of 2008, its 17th year of activity.

With a dozen Regional series in addition to the O'Reilly ASCoT National Tour, the ASCS logged a record total of 205 nights of competition into the books in 2008 with an additional 37 nights lost to inclement weather.

A total of 963 different drivers, another record setting mark, competed in at least one ASCS event in 2008 as the series contested events at 88 tracks throughout 26 different states as well as the Canadian province of Ontario.

Reeling in the lion's share of victory loot and headlines was Louisiana's Jason Johnson, who picked off eleven National Tour wins en route to his first $50,000 ASCS National championship.

"The Ragin' Cajun" picked off a half dozen ASCS Gulf South feature wins as well to run his overall ASCS win total for 2008 to 17, matching the win total he posted in both 2006 and 2007, extending his number of ASCS wins over the past three seasons to 51 triumphs.

In addition to his 17 ASCS scores, Johnson also won Knoxville Raceway's Brodix Tournament of Champions as well as two of the three $6,000-to-win legs of the Ollie's Challenge. After topping the Eldora portion of the Ollie's Challenge, a Williams Grove score in the third and final leg netted a $50,000 bonus.

After dethroning four-time ASCS National champion Gary Wright, Johnson is set to defend his crown aboard Lanny Row's The Shop Motorsports No. 41 with a $250,000 point fund and a dozen or so televised events on the VERSUS Network among the highlights of the much-anticipated 2009 season for the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters.

Johnson topped a list of 87 different overall feature winners in 2008, with a dozen drivers joining him among the ranks of ASCS champions for the season.

Four drivers repeated as Regional champions this year including Jeremy Sherman (Canyon), Brandon Berryman (Gulf South), Lee Grosz (Northern Plains) and Brian McClelland (Sooner).

Another half dozen drivers captured their first ASCS Regional titles including Don Young (Coastal), Jack Dover (Midwest), Bryan Howland (Patriots), Kenny Adams (Rebel) Derrik Ortega (Rocky Mountain) and Brett Mann (Sprints on Dirt), while Jayme Barnes (Northwest) and Rick Ziehl (Southwest) claimed inaugural Regional championships.


O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National Series

Gary Wright opened the season looking for an unprecedented fifth consecutive ASCS National championship.

But, after consecutive runner-up points finishes in 2006 and 2007, Jason Johnson had other ideas. "The Ragin' Cajun" kicked off the season with a $10,000 score at East Bay Raceway Park's Winter Nationals, only to spot his rivals an advantage when he missed the feature cut on the opening night of the Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals.

Johnson clawed back into contention and broke open a tight battle with Wright and Wayne Johnson with a strong Speedweek performance. Not only was the performance strong enough to launch Johnson to his second Speedweek title, it ultimately propelled him to the $50,000 series crown.

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National Feature Winners (15 winners in 34 features): Jason Johnson 11, Gary Wright 5, Tony Bruce Jr. 3, Wayne Johnson 3, Gary Taylor 2, Kenny Adams 1, Aaron Berryhill 1, Brian Brown 1, Tim Crawley 1, Jack Dover 1, Danny Lasoski 1, Terry McCarl 1, Gavin Punch 1, Nick Smith 1, Skip Wilson 1.

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 3,943, 2. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 3,876, 3. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 3,765, 4. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 3,656, 5. Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 3,431, 6. Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 3,285, 7. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 3,165, 8. Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) 2,958, 9. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 2,897, 10. Gary Taylor (Sapulpa, OK) 2,715, 11. Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) 2,410, 12. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 2,389, 13. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 1,829, 14. Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 1,721, 15. Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) 1,609.

Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region

It's hard enough to beat a guy in a points race when he reaches victory lane 14 times in 27 attempts. And it's about impossible when that guy never finishes any worse than ninth over the course of the year. Which is exactly what Jeremy Sherman did in wingless ASCS action in Arizona, racking up 14 wins, 24 top-fives and 27 top-tens en route to his second consecutive Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region championship.

Sherman outdistanced "Chargin'" Charles Davis, Jr., a winner of five feature events, by 212 markers for the crown, while Missouri invader Jesse Hockett swept all three nights of the season-ending Western World Championships at Manzanita.

ASCS Canyon Region Feature Winners (7 winners in 27 features): Jeremy Sherman 14, Charles Davis Jr. 5, Jesse Hockett 3, Casey Shuman 2, R.J. Johnson 1, Bob Ream, Jr. 1, Andrew Reinbold 1.

ASCS Canyon Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jeremy Sherman (Surprise, AZ) 3,950, 2. Charles Davis, Jr. (Buckeye, AZ) 3,738, 3. Nathan High (Goodyear, AZ) 3,642, 4. Mike Martin (Yuma, AZ) 3,577, 5. R.J. Johnson (Phoenix, AZ) 3,561, 6. Andrew Reinbold (Chandler, AZ) 3,531, 7. Mike Leslie (Litchfield Park, AZ) 3,494, 8. Josh Pelkey (Peoria, AZ) 3,050, 9. Jeremy Reagles (Mesa, AZ) 2,793, 10. Thomas Ogle (Goodyear, AZ) 2,666.


ASCS Coastal Region

Memphis-area racer Don Young, who celebrated his 20th birthday last week, captured an abbreviated Coastal crown with a win versus Rebel competition in Baker, FL, along the way.

ASCS Coastal Region Feature Winners * (4 winners in 5 features): Kenny Adams 2, Brad Bowden 1, Channin Tankersley 1, Don Young 1.

* - Includes 3 events co-sanctioned with ASCS Rebel Region and 1 event co-sanctioned with ASCS Gulf South Region.

ASCS Coastal Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Don Young (Bartlett, TN) 696, 2. Lane Whittington (Denham Springs, LA) 662, 3. Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL) 572, 4. Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL) 568, 5. Bryn Gohn (Malabar, FL) 540, 6. Klint Angelette (Thibodaux, LA) 447, 7. Red Stauffer (Winter Park, FL) 416, 8. Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA) 398, 9. Michael Miller (Ocean Springs, MS) 384, 10. Gavin Thomas (Jacksonville, FL) 382.


ASCS Gulf South Region

A blown engine in hot laps on the third night of the season nearly wiped out Brandon Berryman's hopes of a second straight Gulf South title. But the 28-year-old from Missouri City, TX, battled back, picking off feature wins at Houston Raceway Park and 105 Speedway along the way, and snared the championship by just nine points over Greg Rilat with Gary Watson another nine points back.

The nine-point margin, closest in Gulf South history, marked the fifth time in six years that the Gulf South title has been decided by 32 points or less. And Greg Rilat, who has competed in an ASCS Regional record 104 consecutive Gulf South events, finished in the runner-up position in Gulf South points for the fourth time.

ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners * (12 winners in 20 features): Jason Johnson 6, Channin Tankersley 3, Brandon Berryman 2, Tommy Bryant 1, Jack Dover 1, Michael Dupuy 1, Bryn Gohn 1, Ryan Hall 1, Greg Rilat 1, Chris Sweeney 1, Kolt Walker 1, Gary Watson 1.

* - Includes 1 event co-sanctioned with Coastal Region (won by Channin Tankersley).

ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Brandon Berryman (Missouri City, TX) 2,668, 2. Greg Rilat (Texas City, TX) 2,659, 3. Gary Watson (Beaumont, TX) 2,650, 4. Tommy Bryant (Conroe, TX) 2,552, 5. Travis Elliott (Alvin, TX) 2,477, 6. Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX) 2,369, 7. (tie) Brandon Corn (Hearne, TX) and Chris Sweeney (Channelview, TX) 2,170, 9. Travis Knighton (Danbury, TX) 1,910, 10. Michael McNeil (Alvin, TX) 1,761.


ASCS Midwest Region

Eighteen-year-old Jack Dover decimated the Midwest Region, stretching out an advantage of 120 points in just seven events. Dover didn't confine his mastery to the Midwest however, also adding wins in Northern Plains, Gulf South and Rocky Mountain action along with a National score in Oklahoma.

ASCS Midwest Region Feature Winners * (4 winners in 7 features): Jack Dover 4, Brian Brown 1, Jason Johnson 1, Wayne Johnson 1.

* - Includes 2 events co-sanctioned with ASCoT National series (won by Jason Johnson and Wayne Johnson) and 2 events co-sanctioned with Northern Plains Region (both won by Jack Dover)

ASCS Midwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 1,026, 2. Mike Boston (Crete, NE) 906, 3. Bobby Becker (Denton, NE) 845, 4. Billy Alley (Lincoln, NE) 814, 5. Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 808, 6. Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 712, 7. Jay Russell (Elwood, KS) 613, 8. Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 548, 9. Ryan Anderson (Charter Oak, IA) 483, 10. Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND) 432.
 

ASCS Northern Plains Region

Twenty-year-old Lee Grosz added his second Northern Plains title by outdueling Eric Lutz for the crown. Grosz and car owner/grandfather Doug Howells have missed just one Northern Plains event in three seasons, falling one short of Northern Plains Iron Man Eric Lutz, who has competed in all 45 series events since 2006.

ASCS Northern Plains Region Feature Winners * (8 winners in 10 features): Jack Dover 3, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Lee Grosz 1, Jason Johnson 1, Joseph Kouba 1, Eric Lutz 1, Wade Nygaard 1, Jake Peters 1.

* - Includes 2 events co-sanctioned with ASCoT National series (won by Tony Bruce, Jr., and Jason Johnson) and 2 events co-sanctioned with Midwest Region (both won by Jack Dover).

ASCS Northern Plains Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND) 1,406, 2. Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD) 1,378, 3. Dave Glennon (Casselton, ND) 831, 4. Jody Rosenboom (Rock Rapids, IA) 627, 5. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 596, 6. Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD) 564, 7. Sye Anderson (Brainerd, MN) 514, 8. Jason Tostenson (Gaylord, MN) 510, 9. Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD) 430, 10. Curt Lund (Redwood Falls, MN) 422.


ASCS Northwest Region

Jayme Barnes emerged atop a torrid battle for the inaugural ASCS Northwest crown, edging out Jared Ridge by 30 markers for the top position. Barnes and Ridge ranked as the only two drivers to earn starting berths in all 13 events over the course of a rugged campaign, with a pair of podium finishes by Barnes during a championship weekend double in Yakima enough to seal the deal.

In a hole from the outset, Roger Crockett battled back into title contention on the strength of five wins and the ASCS Northwest Speedweek title along the way before settling for third in points after a Yakima skirmish.

ASCS Northwest Region Feature Winners (8 winners in 13 features): Roger Crockett 5, Shane Stewart 2, Jonathan Allard 1, Jayme Barnes 1, Seth Bergman 1, Danny Lasoski 1, Brock Lemley 1, Jason Solwold 1.

ASCS Northwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jayme Barnes (Marysville, WA) 1,754, 2. Jared Ridge (Snohomish, WA) 1,724, 3. Roger Crockett (Medford, OR) 1,710, 4. Jay Cole (Shelton, WA) 1,620, 5. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 1,612, 6. Brock Lemley (Bellingham, WA) 1,608, 7. Jared Peterson (Stanwood, WA) 1,499, 8. Henry VanDam (Enumclaw, WA) 1,476, 9. Chad Groves (Bend, OR) 1,422, 10. Rob Held (Sutherlin, OR) 1,249.
 

ASCS Patriot Region

After a hit-and-miss schedule in 2007, "Flyin" Bryan Howland returned to the Patriot scene full-time in 2008. And, he came away with the series title, his first under the ASCS banner and second overall Patriot championship after taking the top spot in 2005.

Howland outlasted Jared Zimbardi for the crown, with Zimbardi settling for runner-up honors for the second year in a row as 17 feature wins were spread amongst a dozen drivers in the most competitive Patriot season to date.

Don Adamczyk's stretch of never missing an ASCS Patriots points race ended at 102 when a July 4 crash at Ohsweken's ASCS Northern Nationals forced the Williamsville racer to the sidelines for several events.

ASCS Patriots Feature Winners* (12 winners in 17 features): Bryan Howland 3, Chuck Hebing 3, Gordy Button 2, Justin Barger 1, Jason Barney 1, Blake Breen 1, Bobby Breen 1, Wayne Johnson 1, Trevor Lewis 1, Donny Schatz 1, John Schuyler 1, George Suprick 1.

* - Includes 3 events co-sanctioned with ASCS Sprints on Dirt and the Sharon Speedway leg of the Ollie's Challenge.

ASCS Patriots Points (Top Ten): 1. Bryan Howland (Auburn, NY) 2,412, 2. Jared Zimbardi (Salamanca, NY) 2,318, 3. Chris Muhleisen (Arkport, NY) 2,114, 4. Scott Kreutter (Alden, NY) 1,891, 5. Blake Breen (Savannah, NY) 1,851, 6. (tie) Bubba Broderick (Brookfield, CT) and Bobby Breen (Savannah, NY) 1,837, 8. Kyle Moffit (South Dayton, NY) 1,787, 9. Don Adamczyk (Williamsville, NY) 1,536, 10. Jared Fink (Germantown, NY) 1,466.


ASCS Rebel Region

"The Malabar Missile", Kenny Adams, picked off his first ASCS championship by reeling off six Rebel wins and never finishing outside the top ten in 16 events. In fact, a pair of sixth-place finishes were Adams' only forays outside of the top five as he outdistanced Daytona shoe Matt Tiffany, stepson Bryn Gohn and Washington-native Samantha Taylor for the title. Red Stauffer called it a career after finishing out the season sixth in points.

ASCS Rebel Region Feature Winners * (9 winners in 16 features): Kenny Adams 6, Danny Martin, Jr. 2, Matt Tiffany 2, Sport Allen 1, Tyler Godwin1, Bryn Gohn 1, Matt Linder 1, Michael Miller 1, Don Young 1.

* - Includes 3 events co-sanctioned with Coastal Region (2 wins by Kenny Adams and 1 win by Don Young).

ASCS Rebel Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL) 2,328, 2. Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL) 2,258, 3. Bryn Gohn (Malabar, FL) 2,139, 4. Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA) 2,126, 5. Gavin Thomas (Jacksonville, FL) 2,008, 6. Red Stauffer (Winter Park, FL) 1,785, 7. Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL) 1,588, 8. Michael Miller (Ocean Springs, MS) 1,492, 9. Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL) 1,150, 10. Matt Kurtz (Jacksonville, FL) 1,115.


ASCS Rocky Mountain Region

The Rocky Mountain Region had plenty of Albuquerque influence in 2008. While Johnny Herrera won seven times in seven series stops in New Mexico, denying Aztec bounty hunters in the process, fellow Albuquerque shoe Derrik Ortega earned the series crown by 290 points, the most lopsided ASCS title chase of the year.

Ortega picked up three wins of his own and posted 15 top-tens in 15 features en route to becoming the youngest champion in ASCS history at just 17 years of age, leading a Rocky Mountain youth movement that included five teenaged drivers among the top ten (Ortega, Colt Treharn, Chad Corken, Danielle Ossenfort and Jake Ossenfort).

ASCS Rocky Mountain Region Feature Winners (7 winners in 15 features): Johnny Herrera 7, Derrik Ortega 3, Patrick Bourke 1, Jack Dover 1, Joe Ramaker 1, Keith Rauch 1, Bob Schaeffer 1.

ASCS Rocky Mountain Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Derrik Ortega (Albuquerque, NM) 2,150, 2. Jeremy McCune (Billings, MT) 1,860, 3. Colt Treharn (Los Lunas, NM) 1,854, 4. Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO) 1,853, 5. Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO) 1,844, 6. Danielle Ossenfort (Rapid City, SD) 1,761, 7. Jake Ossenfort (Rapid City, SD) 1,752, 8. Dustin Hall (West Valley City, UT) 1,622, 9. Justin Wolf Medlock (Colorado Springs, CO) 1,375, 10. Mark Sweet (Rock Springs, WY) 1,357.


American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region

Brian McClelland emerged atop the tightest ASCS championship battle of 2008, edging out Kermit, TX, native Kolt Walker for the Sooner crown by just seven markers for his second consecutive title.

The younger of the McClelland brothers, Brian battled back from an early-season crash at Lawton and then held off Walker as the pair diced for position, and the championship, in the season finale at Cowtown.

Joe Wood, Jr., finished just 77 points out of the lead in third after spotting his rivals a full night by missing the season opener.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Feature Winners (9 winners in 17 features): Gary Taylor 4, Joe Wood, Jr. 3, Brian McClelland 2, Sean McClelland 2, Nick Smith 2, Travis Rilat 1, Robert Sellers 1, Justin Spoerl 1, Brad Welborn 1.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Brian McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 2,527, 2. Kolt Walker (Graham, TX) 2,520, 3. Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK) 2,450, 4. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 2,402, 5. Justin Melton (Flower Mound, TX) 2,100, 6. Michael Brown (Lawton, OK) 2,058, 7. Gary Taylor (Sapulpa, OK) 2,038, 8. Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 1,657, 9. Sherman Davis (Sand Springs, OK) 1,543, 10. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 1,372.


ASCS Southwest Region

A Ben Gregg disqualification in September opened the door for Rick Ziehl, who edged Shawn Sander for the inaugural ASCS Southwest Region championship. Ziehl scored one series win along the way, as he added more championship hardware to a mantel that already included USA Race Park honors in 2007 among others.

Tucson teen Cody Cambensy, who finished third in points, was the only driver to finish among the top ten in all 13 feature events.

ASCS Southwest Region Feature Winners (5 winners in 13 features): Ben Gregg 8, Johnny Herrera 2, Don Grable 1, Shawn Sander 1, Rick Ziehl 1.

ASCS Southwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Rick Ziehl (Las Cruces, NM) 1,842, 2. Shawn Sander (El Paso, TX) 1,820, 3. Cody Cambensy (Tucson, AZ) 1,760, 4. Ben Gregg (Glendale, AZ) 1,742, 5. Ronnie Clark (Tucson, AZ) 1,722, 6. Joshua Williams (Glendale, AZ) 1,716, 7. Jessica Van Dyke (Tucson, AZ) 1,661, 8. Mike Rux, Jr. (Mesa, AZ) 1,660, 9. John Gaston (Peoria, AZ), 10. Steve Lohn (Tucson, AZ) 1,441.


Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by Victor Reinz

Brett Mann added his name to the lengthy list of Sprints on Dirt series champions by outlasting Ben Rutan for top honors. Mann turned up the heat when it counted, picking off two of his three wins on the season over the series final four races including a King of Michigan triumph at Hartford.

Dustin Daggett continued his climb toward the top of the career SOD win charts with eight victories in 15 starts, running his career total to 54. Daggett is now third overall behind Hank Lower (71) and Gary Fedewa (68).

ASCS Sprints on Dirt Feature Winners * (9 winners in 20 features): Dustin Daggett 8, Brett Mann 3, Darren Long 2, Ben Rutan 2, Gregg Dalman 1, Bryan Howland 1, Wayne Johnson 1, Ryan Grubaugh 1, Tim Norman 1.

* - Includes 3 events co-sanctioned with ASCS Patriots.

ASCS Sprints on Dirt Points (Top Ten): 1. Brett Mann (Goshen, IN) 2,754, 2. Ben Rutan (Jerome, MI) 2,716, 3. Dain Naida (Belleville, MI) 2,656, 4. Tim Norman (Warsaw, IN) 2,586, 5. Ryan Grubaugh (St. Johns, MI) 2,579, 6. Gregg Dalman (Grand Ledge, MI) 2,316, 7. Joe Bares (Traverse City, MI) 2,289, 8. Louie Carufel (Port Huron, MI) 2,164, 9. Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI) 2,094, 10. Gary Fast (Kalkaska, MI) 1,915.


Overall 2008 ASCS Feature Wins:

17 - Jason Johnson
14 - Jeremy Sherman
9 - Johnny Herrera
8 - Dustin Daggett, Jack Dover and Ben Gregg
7 - Kenny Adams
6 - Gary Taylor
5 - Roger Crockett, Charles Davis, Jr., and Gary Wright
4 - Wayne Johnson 4

3 - Tony Bruce, Jr., Chuck Hebing, Jesse Hockett, Bryan Howland, Brett Mann, Derrik Ortega, Nick Smith, Channin Tankersley, and Joe Wood, Jr.

2 - Brandon Berryman, Brian Brown, Gordy Button, Bryn Gohn, Danny Lasoski, Darren Long, Danny Martin, Jr., Brian McClelland, Sean McClelland, Ben Rutan, Casey Shuman, Shane Stewart and Matt Tiffany

1 - Jonathan Allard, Sport Allen, Justin Barger, Jayme Barnes, Jason Barney, Seth Bergman, Aaron Berryhill, Patrick Bourke, Brad Bowden, Blake Breen, Bobby Breen, Tommy Bryant, Tim Crawley, Gregg Dalman, Michael Dupuy, Tyler Godwin, Don Grable, Lee Grosz, Ryan Grubaugh, Ryan Hall, R.J. Johnson, Joseph Kouba, Brock Lemley, Trevor Lewis, Matt Linder, Eric Lutz, Terry McCarl, Michael Miller, Tim Norman, Wade Nygaard, Jake Peters, Gavin Punch, Joe Ramaker, Keith Rauch, Bob Ream, Jr., Andrew Reinbold, Greg Rilat, Travis Rilat, Shawn Sander, Bob Schaeffer, Donny Schatz, John Schuyler, Robert Sellers, Jason Solwold, Justin Spoerl, George Suprick, Chris Sweeney, Kolt Walker, Gary Watson, Brad Welborn, Skip Wilson, Don Young and Rick Ziehl
 

Wayne Johnson Wins 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 2, 2008) - Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson left the Marion County Fairgrounds $10,000 wealthier after winning Saturday night's 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals 25-lap championship feature event atop the famed ½-mile Knoxville Raceway clay oval.

Johnson, now residing in Knoxville, IA, took the lead away from Jason Johnson on the seventh circuit and led the rest of the distance aboard Mike and Tim Hammers' Fisher-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Maxim to collect his second ASCS Knoxville Nationals championship after posting his first event win in 2000.

"I kept watching the board to see who was behind me and if anyone was close," the 2000 O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National champion explained afterward. "There didn't seem to be anybody right on me so I just kept trying to run my race."

Ultimately taking the checkered flag with a healthy 3.772-second advantage, Johnson had little to worry about over the final circuits. Aside from a turn two hole that nearly collected him on at least a couple of occasions, that is.

"That hole in turn two about ate me up a couple of times," Johnson relayed. "I got where I was just trying to ride through it, and that actually made it a little worse I think. We survived it though."

Johnson gridded the 24-car feature field outside the second row, with current O'Reilly ASCoT points leader Jason Johnson and reigning series champion Gary Wright on the front row. The trio then offered up a high-speed version of the three-wide salute as they charged in formation off of turn two on the opening round in a scramble for the lead.

Jason Johnson won the drag race into turn three, but it was Wright sliding in front off the exit of turn four to lead the opening round in front of Jason Johnson.

"The Texan" and "The Ragin' Cajun" dueled for the lead over the next several laps, with Wright running the low line and Johnson up top as Billy Alley made his way around Wayne Johnson for third on the second circuit.

Jason Johnson finally edged ahead of Wright for the lead on the fifth circuit and took the top side of the track away, with Wayne Johnson taking third back away from Alley by the time the caution flew after six laps for Scott Winters, who encountered turn two trouble.

The complexion of the race changed dramatically under the caution period when Wright retired to the pit area with a broken wing mount on the frame, handing the second position over to Wayne Johnson.

Wayne wasted little time disposing of the unrelated Jason Johnson for the lead on the restart, motoring into the lead in less than a lap and then gradually checked out on the rest of the field. Not even a lap nine bobble after hitting a hole on the turn two cushion allowed any challengers to close the gap.

Johnson rode the rim the rest of the way to take his third ASCS National Tour win of the season and 26th of his career. "It means the world to me to win this race," the elated victor told the crowd from victory lane.

Behind the Oklahoma racer, the action was heated throughout with Brian Brown taking his share of the spotlight with a drive from 19th that culminated with a runner-up finish.

While Jason Johnson, Billy Alley and Brooke Tatnell diced for position behind Wayne Johnson, Brown was on the move in short order by reaching the seventh position after just eight rounds.

The Grain Valley, MO, racer put Tim and Gina Doogs' Wesmar-powered Super Clean No. 21 Maxim in the top five by the midway point and took fourth from Jason Johnson soon after. Brown slid past Tatnell for third on the 22nd lap and then made a last-corner pass of Alley to take runner-up honors.

Two-time ASCS Knoxville Nationals champ Alley of Lincoln, NE, settled for the show position, with Australian Brooke Tatnell bringing Bobby Sparks' Wells-powered RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle to the checkered flag in fourth.

California's Tyler Walker rounded out the top five, with Texas shoe Travis Rilat in sixth. Missouri's Jesse Hockett was seventh, with Knoxville regulars Bronson Maeschen and Jesse Giannetto next across the stripe. Chico, California's Jonathan Allard completed the top ten.

After running among the top five most of the way, Jason Johnson cut a left rear tire on the final lap and fell to 12th in the final run down behind Skip Jackson, who was subbing for Terry McCarl.

North Dakota's Natalie Sather opened the evening with a late move around Cody Petersen to win the 8-lap "E" Main, then charged to a fifth-place transfer position in the 10-lap "D" Main won by Oklahoma's Trey Robb.

After a great "C" Main start by Sather was wiped out by a caution, she climbed a wheel on the second try and flipped to bring an early end to her alphabet run.

Ohio's Lee Jacobs went on to win the "C" Main in front of Florida's Matt Tiffany, who took the second and final transfer.

Brian Brown took the lead away from Garry Lee Maier four laps into the 15-lap "B" Main and led the rest of the way, with Maier, Matt Moro and Scott Winters earning the final four starting berths into the 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals championship main event.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Saturday Championship Feature Results:

"E" Main - Top 12 Advance to "D" Main:

E Feature (8 Laps): 1. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND), 2. 16p-Cody Petersen (Hermosa, SD), 3. 2h-Jason Eckard (Okoboji, IA), 4. 71-R.J. Johnson (Tampa, FL), 5. 2k-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD), 6. 15-Jack Potter (Pleasant Hill, MO), 7. 34-Josh Padellford (Pleasantville, IA), 8. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon (Alamogordo, NM), 9. 24J-Justin Carver (Memphis, TN), 10. 8k-Butch Hanssen (Sioux Falls, SD), 11. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 12. 2w-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK), 13. 4b-Bryn Gohn (Malabar, FL), 14. 33-Alan Zoutte (Knoxville, IA), 15. 9p-Jared Peterson (Stanwood, WA), 16. 1p-Curtis Evans (Norburne, MO), 17. 21b-D.J. Brink (Sturgis, SD), 18. 31p-Travis Porter (Rock Island, IL), 19. 9*-Brian Parker (Midlothian, TX).

"D" Main - Top 6 Advance to "C" Main:

D Feature (10 Laps): 1. 1s-Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK), 2. 98r-Joe Ramaker (Choteau, MT), 3. 98-J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS), 4. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN), 5. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND), 6. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 7. 22n-Nate Mosher (Prairie City, IA), 8. k9-Tim Sernett (Burnsville, MN), 9. 15-Jack Potter (Pleasant Hill, MO), 10. 2w-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK), 11. 9s-Scott Lehman (Hutchinson, KS), 12. 6-Danny Heskin (St. Michael, MN), 13. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon (Alamogordo, NM), 14. 5L-Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD), 15. 71-R.J. Johnson (Tampa, FL), 16. 24J-Justin Carver (Memphis, TN), 17. 2k-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD), 18. 2h-Jason Eckard (Okoboji, IA), 19. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 20. 8k-Butch Hanssen (Sioux Falls, SD), 21. 34-Josh Padellford (Pleasantville, IA), 22. 16p-Cody Petersen (Hermosa, SD).

"C" Main - Top 2 Advance to "B" Main:

C Feature (12 Laps): 1. 86-Lee Jacobs (Dalton, OH), 2. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 3. 5-Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, SD), 4. 4-Jon Agan (Knoxville, IA), 5. 2mx-Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI), 6. 18-Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE), 7. 95-Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK), 8. 35-Ron Blair (Troy, OH), 9. 00m-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 10. 51-Dave Hall (Des Moines, IA), 11. 1s-Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK), 12. 1-Pete Crall (Desoto, KS), 13. 4L-Brock Lemley (Bellingham, WA), 14. 03-Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK), 15. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 16. 98r-Joe Ramaker (Choteau, MT), 17. 98-J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS), 18. 10x-George White (Fort Worth, TX), 19. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN), 20. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND). DNS: 7m-Chad Meyer (Sioux Falls, SD), 43-A.J. Selenke (Wichita, KS).

"B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main:

B Feature (15 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO), 2. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 3. 2m-Matt Moro (Ankeny, IA), 4. 23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN), 5. 39c-Jason Solwold (Burlington, WA), 6. 29-Russ Hall (Des Moines, IA), 7. 14-Randy Martin (California, MO), 8. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 9. 57x-Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD), 10. 27-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 11. 15s-Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK), 12. 12J-Jared Ridge (Snohomish, WA), 13. 53-Joe Beaver (Knoxville, IA), 14. 86-Lee Jacobs (Dalton, OH), 15. 9m-Ricky Montgomery (Lakewood, CO), 16. 4J-Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND), 17. 7a-J.J. Hickle (Quilcene, WA), 18. 7-Dustin Selvage (Indianola, IA), 19. 72-Glenn Borden (Raymond, WA), 20. 51s-Lee Sowell (Nesbit, MS), 21. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 22. 15b-Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS).

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals "A" Main

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 2. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO), 3. 22-Billy Alley (Lincoln, NE), 4. Brooke Tatnell (Sydney, AUS), 5. 24T-Tyler Walker (Los Angeles, CA), 6. 29T-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 7. 75J-Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO), 8. 96-Bronson Maeschen (Knoxville, IA), 9. d1-Jesse Giannetto (Cedar Rapids, IA), 10. 0-Jonathan Allard (Chico, CA), 11. 1m-Skip Jackson (Sydney, AUS), 12. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 13. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 14. 40-Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD), 15. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 16. 7n-Roger Crockett (Medford, OR), 17. 2m-Matt Moro (Ankeny, IA), 18. 23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN), 19. 28-Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO), 20. 5*-Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA), 21. 11x-Gregg Bakker (Sioux Falls, SD), 22. 53d-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 23. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 24. 9w-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX).

Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-4, Jason Johnson 5-6, Wayne Johnson 7-25.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Jason Johnson 3,259, 2. Gary Wright 3,168, 3. Wayne Johnson 3,119, 4. Zach Chappell 3,089, 5. Garry Lee Maier 2,878, 6. Eric Baldaccini 2,685, 7. Nick Smith 2,584, 8. Kenneth Walker 2,373, 9. Travis Rilat 2,275, 10. Gary Taylor 2,152, 11. Kathryne Minter 2,010, 12. Jack Dover 1,798, 13. Matt Covington 1,473, 14. Aaron Berryhill 1,174, 15. Jason Sides 1,130.
 

Wayne Johnson Tops ASCS Knoxville Nationals Friday Prelim

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 1, 2008) - A second night of 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals preliminary action found another Johnson in victory lane, as past O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National champion Wayne Johnson raced to victory lane in Friday night's 20-lap feature atop Knoxville Raceway's ½-mile clay oval.

Johnson emerged from a three-car battle for the lead at the midway point, taking the lead away from Jesse Giannetto on the 12th round before scampering away to the checkered flag with a 3.865-second advantage over Gary Wright, with Giannetto, Brooke Tatnell and Jesse Hockett rounding out the top five.

While Nebraska's Jack Dover and Oregon's Roger Crockett led the 24-car feature field to the green flag, it was second row starters Giannetto and Johnson quickly taking over the top two positions after the initial start was waved off for Brad Bowden's disable machine.

Giannetto charged past the front row starters exiting turn two on the opening circuit with Johnson hot on his heels. And with Giannetto and Johnson pacing the early rounds, Gary Wright was on the move from his eighth starting position after besting the 61-car field in qualifying with a lap of 16.656 seconds.

Wright picked off three positions on the opening lap to crack the top five, took fourth from Dover a lap later and then took third away from Crockett on the seventh circuit.

As the leaders approached the tail of the field, Johnson moved in to challenge Giannetto for the point entering turn three on the ninth lap. Giannetto fought off the bid, with Wright moving in to take second from Johnson a lap later.

Johnson battled right back, reclaiming second from Wright and then sliding past Giannetto for the lead as the trio battled through heavy traffic to complete the 12th round.

"I saw ol' GW (Gary Wright) there on the bottom and knew he'd found something, he's always the first to find the fastest part of the track," Johnson explained in victory lane. "He went back to the top after he got around me, I knew I had to get to the bottom and stay there."

Which is exactly what the 2000 ASCS National champion did after splitting a pair of lapped cars to establish some breathing room. Johnson raced through traffic over the final rounds to secure his second O'Reilly ASCoT National win of the season aboard Mike and Tim Hammers' Fisher-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Maxim.

Wright took over second on the 14th round and kept the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim in the runner-up slot until the checkered flag flew, with 2006 ASCS Knoxville Nationals champ Giannetto settling for show honors.

Making his first start aboard Bobby Sparks' Wells-powered RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle, Australian Brooke Tatnell timed in second-quick on the night and then earned a fourth-place finish in the feature.

Missouri's Jesse Hockett rounded out the top five after taking over the position in the final handful of laps, with ASCS Northwest Speedweek champion Crockett in sixth. Current ASCS Rebel Region points leader Kenny Adams was seventh, with Gregg Bakker, Brian Brown and Clint Garner completing the top ten.

After Wright set quick time, heat races were won by Johnson, Tim Crawley, Jared Ridge, Matt Covington and Brown.

Chad Corken took the lead away from Josh Padellford on the fourth round en route to winning the 10-lap "C" Main, while Nick Smith picked up the 12-lap "B" Main victory when Dave Hall popped a left rear tire less than a lap from the finish.

After Nate Van Haaften flipped on the initial "B" Main start, the second start featured a wild five-car flip in turn one including Ryan Anderson, Stephen Lines, Josh Higday, Natalie Sather and Chad Corken. Everyone walked away from the carnage uninjured, with Sather the only one able to rejoin the racing action.

A total of 111 different drivers competed over the two preliminary nights of the 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals, setting Saturday night's championship feature lineups.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Friday Night Preliminary Results:

Qualifying:

1. 9w-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 16.656, 2. 91s-Brooke Tatnell (Sydney, NSW) 16.722, 3. 11x-Gregg Bakker (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.764, 4. 86-Lee Jacobs (Dalton, OH) 16.767, 5. 75J-Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) 16.775, 6. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 16.796, 7. D1-Jesse Giannetto (Cedar Rapids, IA) 16.850, 8. 7n-Roger Crockett (Medford, OR) 16.863, 9. 53d-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 16.870, 10. 18-Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE) 16.884, 11. 15b-Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS) 16.893, 12. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 16.935, 13. 2m-Matt Moro (Des Moines, IA) 16.937, 14. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL) 16.985, 15. 40-Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.009, 16. 51-Dave Hall (Des Moines, IA) 17.028, 17. 71r-Ryan Anderson (Charter Oak, IA) 17.043, 18. 23-Stephen Lines (Melbourne, AUS) 17.078, 19. 03-Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK) 17.110, 20. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 17.140, 21. 27-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 17.143, 22. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 17.147, 23. 15s-Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 17.156, 24. 43-A.J. Selenke (Wichita, KS) 17.174, 25. 22b-Ben Gregg (Phoenix, AZ) 17.176, 26. 35-Ron Blair (Troy, OH) 17.235, 27. 7m-Chad Meyer (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.238, 28. 12J-Jared Ridge (Snohomish, WA) 17.244, 29. 95-Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 17.299, 30. 1-Pete Crall (Desoto, KS) 17.332, 31. 98-J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS) 17.336, 32. 1s-Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK) 17.343, 33. 5-Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.346, 34. 24-Josh Higday (Des Moines, IA) 17.357, 35. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe (Rock Rapids, IA) 17.358, 36. 11-Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO) 17.420, 37. 3-Nate Van Haaften (Otley, IA) 17.421, 38. 34-Josh Padellford (Pleasantville, IA) 17.440, 39. 2mx-Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI) 17.458, 40. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 17.461, 41. 5L-Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.472, 42. 12-Rod Richards (Des Moines, IA) 17.489, 43. 15-Jack Potter (Kansas City, MO) 17.538, 44. 8k-Butch Hanssen (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.577, 45. 7L-Darren Long (Elida, OH) 17.583, 46. 34h-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH) 17.642, 47. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA) 17.683, 48. 54-Brett Mather (Ames, IA) 17.689, 49. 71-R.J. Johnson (Tampa, FL) 17.693, 50. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 17.698, 51. 20au-Troy Little (Sydney, NSW) 17.703, 52. 48-Tyler Thompson (Des Moines, IA) 17.745, 53. 4b-Bryn Gohn (Malabar, FL) 17.768, 54. 2-Luke Dollansky (Elk River, MN) 17.888, 55. 33-Alan Zoutte (Knoxville, IA) 17.915, 56. 1p-Curtis Evans (Norburne, MO) 17.938, 57. 5x-Dave Glennon (Casselton, ND) 17.994, 58. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) 18.214, 59. 2w-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) 18.270, 60. 31p-Travis Porter (Rock Island, IL) 18.523, 61. 9*-Brian Parker (Dallas, TX) 19.137.


Heat Races (Top 4 Advance to "A" Main; Positions 5-8 to "B" Main; Positions 9-10 to "C" Main)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 35-Ron Blair, 3. 9w-Gary Wright, 4. 27-Don Droud, Jr., 5. 15b-Brad Bowden, 6. 51-Dave Hall, 7. 5L-Eric Lutz, 8. 98-J.D. Johnson, 9. 11-Chad Corken, 10. 34h-Luke Hall.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley, 2. 91s-Brooke Tatnell, 3. d1-Jesse Giannetto, 4. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier, 5. 3-Nate Van Haaften, 6. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 7. 1s-Trey Robb, 8. 7m-Chad Meyer, 9. 17-Samantha Taylor, 10. 12-Rod Richards.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 12J-Jared Ridge, 2. 2m-Matt Moro, 3. 7n-Roger Crockett, 4. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 5. 15s-Nick Smith, 6. 5-Justin Henderson, 7. 53-Brett Mather, 8. 23-Stephen Lines, 9. 15-Jack Potter, 10. 34-Josh Padellford.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, 2. 4a-Kenny Adams, 3. 53d-Jack Dover, 4. 2mx-Dustin Daggett, 5. 86-Lee Jacobs, 6. 24-Josh Higday, 7. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 8. 43-A.J. Selenke, 9. 71-R.J. Johnson, 10. 8k-Butch Hanssen.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 40-Clint Garner, 3. 1-Pete Crall, 4. 75J-Jesse Hockett, 5. 18-Ryan Newman, 6. 22b-Ben Gregg, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 94s-Natalie Sather, 9. 7L-Darren Long, 10. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe.

"C" Main - Top 2 Advance to "B" Main

"C" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 11-Chad Corken, 2. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe, 3. 71-R.J. Johnson, 4. 34-Josh Padellford, 5. 34h-Luke Hall, 6. 5x-Dave Glennon, 7. 20au-Troy Little, 8. 8k-Butch Hanssen, 9. 17-Samantha Taylor, 10. 48-Tyler Thompson, 11. 15-Jack Potter, 12. 1p-Curtis Evans, 13. 33-Alan Zoutte, 14. 12-Rod Richards, 15. 4b-Bryn Gohn, 16. 9*-Brian Parker, 17. 31p-Travis Porter, 18. 13-Kathryne Minter, 19. 2w-Kenneth Walker, 20. 2-Luke Dollansky, 21. 7L-Darren Long.

"B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main

"B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 5-Justin Henderson, 3. 7m-Chad Meyer, 4. 15b-Brad Bowden, 5. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 6. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 1s-Trey Robb, 8. 54-Brett Mather, 9. 94s-Natalie Sather, 10. 43-A.J. Selenke, 11. 5L-Eric Lutz, 12. 98-J.D. Johnson, 13. 18-Ryan Roberts, 14. 51-Dave Hall, 15. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe, 16. 86-Lee Jacobs, 17. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 18. 23-Stephen Lines, 19. 24-Josh Higday, 20. 11-Chad Corken, 21. 3-Nate Van Haaften. DNS: 22b-Ben Gregg.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Friday Preliminary "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (20 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 9w-Gary Wright, 3. d1-Jesse Giannetto, 4. 91s-Brooke Tatnell, 5. 75J-Jesse Hockett, 6. 7n-Roger Crockett, 7. 4a-Kenny Adams, 8. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 9. 21-Brian Brown, 10. 40-Clint Garner, 11. 88-Tim Crawley, 12. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier, 13. 27-Don Droud, Jr., 14. 53d-Jack Dover, 15. 5-Justin Henderson, 16. 2m-Matt Moro, 17. 15s-Nick Smith, 18. 2mx-Dustin Daggett, 19. 12J-Jared Ridge, 20. 1-Pete Crall, 21. 7m-Chad Meyer, 22. 95-Matt Covington, 23. 35-Ron Blair, 24. 15b-Brad Bowden.

Lap Leaders: Jesse Giannetto 1-11, Wayne Johnson 12-20.
 

Jason Johnson Tops ASCS Knoxville Nationals Opener

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (July 31, 2008) - Louisiana's Jason Johnson opened up the 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals in familiar fashion by racing to victory lane in Thursday night's 20-lap preliminary feature event atop the ½-mile Knoxville Raceway clay oval.

Starting from the second row outside, the current O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National points leader muscled into the lead on the opening circuit and paced the field throughout en route to his tenth series win of the season, with Billy Alley, Travis Rilat, Tyler Walker and Zach Chappell rounding out the top five.

"We were standing right here about a month ago," Johnson explained in reference to his ASCS National Tour triumph at Knoxville Raceway on June 20. "And this is where we want to be Saturday night," as Johnson guns for his the top prize in Saturday night's $10,000 to win ASCS Knoxville Nationals finale.

While 20-year-old Missouri shoe Jonathan Cornell and two-time ASCS Knoxville Nationals champion Billy Alley of Lincoln, NE, led the 24-car feature field to the green flag, it was Jason Johnson making it a three-wide race off of turn two on the opening round for the lead.

Alley led the way down the backstretch, but "The Ragin' Cajun" slid ahead of Alley exiting turn four to take command for keeps aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle.

Johnson stretched out a half straightaway advantage over the initial handful of laps and maintained his advantage as lapped traffic came into play at the midway point.

"The main thing I was concerned about was making sure I didn't get my left rear tire too hot and blister it," Johnson explained.

The fast-paced affair was interrupted just once, with the caution flying three laps shy of the checkered flag when Bronson Maeschen came to stop on the frontstretch minus a right rear tire. Maeschen had a perfect night in progress before the feature started after setting a quick time of 16.320 seconds among the 50-car field and then winning his heat race.

Johnson broke away from the field on the final restart, charging to the checkered flag with a 1.707-second advantage.

"My crew is doing such a great job right now, they're making my job awful easy," Johnson commented.

Climbing from fifth, Travis Rilat took second away from Billy Alley on the fifth lap and tried unsuccessfully to chase down the leader. Rilat held the position until the final corner, when Alley slid back around the Texas racer to snare runner-up honors with Rilat settling for third.

Cornell held down the fourth position until the experienced trio of Tyler Walker, Terry McCarl and Zach Chappell go the better of him on the lap 18 restart. Walker crossed the stripe in the fourth position, while Chappell battled past McCarl on the final lap to round out the top five.

McCarl was sixth, with Cornell, Jonathan Allard, 24th-starter Scott Winters and 17th-starter Jake Peters completing the top ten.

Maeschen set quick time and then won the opening heat with ensuing heat races won by Cornell, Lee Sowell, Rilat and Johnson.

Cody Petersen won the "C" Main, with Gary Taylor prevailing in an early duel with Ricky Montgomery to win the 12-lap "B" Main.

Washington's Jared Petersen flipped during his qualifying effort and was done for the night.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Thursday Night Preliminary Results:

Qualifying:

1. 96-Bronson Maeschen (Pleasantville, IA) 16.320, 2. 24T-Tyler Walker (Los Angeles, CA) 16.341, 3. 0-Jonathan Allard (Chico, CA) 16.362, 4. 29T-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 16.393, 5. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 16.422, 6. 5*-Gary Taylor (Sapulpa, OK) 16.472, 7. 9m-Ricky Montgomery (Lakewood, CO) 16.477, 8. 29n-Larry Neighbors (Oklahoma City, OK) 16.560, 9. 10x-George White (Fort Worth, TX) 16.588, 10. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) 16.599, 11. 22-Billy Alley (Lincoln, NE) 16.609, 12. 28-Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO) 16.647, 13. 53-Joe Beaver (Knoxville, IA) 16.648, 14. 39c-Jason Solwold (Burlington, WA) 16.684, 15. 00m-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL) 16.689, 16. 14-Randy Martin (California, MO) 16.707, 17. 23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN) 16.735, 18. 4-Jon Agan (Knoxville, IA) 16.748, 19. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 16.764, 20. 4J-Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND) 16.781, 21. 4L-Brock Lemley (Bellingham, WA) 16.784, 22. 72-Glenn Borden (Raymond, WA) 16.786, 23. 51s-Lee Sowell (Nesbit, MS) 16.789, 24. 29-Russ Hall (Des Moines, IA) 16.799, 25. 11L-Larry Pinegar (Des Moines, IA) 16.799, 26. 7-Dustin Selvage (Indianola, IA) 16.809, 27. 57x-Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.865, 28. 7a-J.J. Hickle (Quilcene, WA) 16.870, 29. k9-Tim Sernett (Burnsville, MN) 16.877, 30. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL) 16.893, 31. Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr. (Des Moines, IA) 16.896, 32. 98r-Joe Ramaker (Choteau, MT) 16.897, 33. 22n-Nate Mosher (Prairie City, IA) 16.906, 34. 16p-Cody Petersen (Hermosa, SD) 16.911, 35. 26J-Jon Corbin (Kansas City, MO) 16.947, 36. 91-Derek Ingalls (Snohomish, WA) 16.965, 37. 9s-Scott Lehman (Hutchinson, KS) 16.997, 38. 10-Jeff Mitrisin (Oskaloosa, IA) 16.998, 39. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar (Worthington, MN) 17.050, 40. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN) 17.069, 41. 6-Danny Heskin (St. Michael, MN) 17.075, 42. 21b-D.J. Brink (Sturgis, SD) 17.184, 43. 85-Jerry Bell (Garland, TX) 17.189, 44. 2k-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD) 17.353, 45. 24J-Justin Carver (Memphis, TN) 17.890, 46. 5ma-Mallory Armfield (St. Joseph, MO) 18.626, 47. 9p-Jared Peterson (Stanwood, WA) NT. Disqualified (Illegal tire): 9a-Steve Dyer (Vancouver, BC) 17.195, 2h-Jason Eckard (Okoboji, IA) 17.406, 5k-Kyle McCutcheon (Alamogordo, NM).


Heat Races (Top 4 Advance to "A" Main; Positions 5-8 to "B" Main; Positions 9-10 to "C" Main)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 96-Bronson Maeschen, 2. 22-Billy Alley, 3. 7-Dustin Selvage, 4. 14-Randy Martin, 5. 5*-Gary Taylor, 6. 4L-Brock Lemley, 7. 91-Derek Ingalls, 8. 6-Danny Heskin, 9. 5ma-Mallory Armfield. DNS: Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 2. 57x-Jake Peters, 3. 24T-Tyler Walker, 4. 72-Glenn Borden, 5. 23w-Scott Winters, 6. 98r-Joe Ramaker, 7. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 8. 9s-Scott Lehman. DNS: 21b-D.J. Brink, 9p-Jared Peterson.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 51s-Lee Sowell, 2. 53-Joe Beaver, 3. 7a-J.J. Hickle, 4. 0-Jonathan Allard, 5. 4-Jon Agan, 6. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 7. 22n-Nate Mosher, 8. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 9. 85-Jerry Bell, 10. 9a-Steve Dyer.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 29T-Travis Rilat, 2. 50z-Zach Chappell, 3. 29-Russ Hall, 4. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar, 5. 10x-George White, 6. 39c-Jason Solwold, 7. k9-Tim Sernett, 8. 2h-Jason Eckard, 9. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 10. 16p-Cody Petersen.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 4J-Lee Grosz, 3. 1m-Terry McCarl, 4. 19T-Matt Tiffany, 5. 26J-Jon Corbin, 6. 11L-Larry Pinegar, 7. 00m-Danny Martin, Jr., 8. 75-Don Young, 9. 24J-Justin Carver, 10. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon.

"C" Main - Top 2 Advance to "B" Main

"C" Feature (8 Laps): 1. 16p-Cody Petersen, 2. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 3. 85-Jerry Bell, 4. 24J-Justin Carver, 5. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon, 6. 9a-Steve Dyer, 7. 5ma-Mallory Armfield, 8. 21b-D.J. Brink. DNS: Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr., 9p-Jared Peterson.

"B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main

"B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 5*-Gary Taylor, 2. 39c-Jason Solwold, 3. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 4. 23w-Scott Winters, 5. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 6. 00m-Danny Martin, Jr., 7. 4-Jon Agan, 8. 4L-Brock Lemley, 9. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 10. 75-Don Young, 11. 26J-Jon Corbin, 12. 11L-Larry Pinegar, 13. 91-Derek Ingalls, 14. 98r-Joe Ramaker, 15. 6-Danny Heskin, 16. 22n-Nate Mosher, 17. k9-Tim Sernett, 18. 9s-Scott Lehman, 19. 2h-Jason Eckard, 20. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 21. 16p-Cody Petersen, 22. 10x-George White.

18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Thursday Preliminary "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (20 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 22-Billy Alley, 3. 29T-Travis Rilat, 4. 24T-Tyler Walker, 5. 50z-Zach Chappell, 6. 1m-Terry McCarl, 7. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 8. 0-Jonathan Allard, 9. 23w-Scott Winters, 10. 57x-Jake Peters, 11. 39c-Jason Solwold, 12. 14-Randy Martin, 13. 5*-Gary Taylor, 14. 7a-J.J. Hickle, 15. 29-Russ Hall, 16. 19T-Matt Tiffany, 17. 4J-Lee Grosz, 18. 7-Dustin Selvage, 19. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar, 20. 72-Glenn Borden, 21. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 22. 51s-Lee Sowell, 23. 53-Joe Beaver, 24. 96-Bronson Maeschen.

Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson 1-20.
 

Wayne Johnson Snaps ASCoT Slump with Lakeside Fireworks!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (July 4, 2008)  Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson snapped a victory drought spanning more than a year's length in O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National action by wiring the field in Friday night's 25-lap main event atop the ½-mile Lakeside Speedway clay oval.

The 2000 ASCS National champion muscled past Natalie Sather for the lead on the opening circuit and never looked back en route to his first ASCoT checkered flag since June 20 of last year in Brainerd, MN.

"It's about time," a relieved Johnson commented in victory lane. "It sure didn't hurt starting near the front either."

Moments after Johnson flashed underneath the checkered flag in Mike and Tim Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises/Pearson Farms No. 94 Maxim, Jesse Hockett got a head start on the night's fireworks by plowing into the frontstretch wall exiting turn four while trying to dodge a disabled lapped car. Hockett climbed from his mangled and charred mount uninjured.

Still carrying 2008 ASCoT title aspirations, Johnson gridded the feature field inside the second row as reigning ASCS Midwest Region champion Sather led the way to the green flag with Chris Walker alongside on the front row.

While Sather gunned into the lead in the opening pair of corners, Johnson wasted no time making his move. First, Johnson disposed of Walker for second in turn one. Then, Johnson pounced on the 23-year-old Fargo lass, diving to the low side of turn three to take command on the opening round.

Setting a rapid tempo in front of Sather, Walker and Zach Chappell, who rocketed from ninth to fourth in the opening circuits, Johnson's pace was interrupted after five rounds when fifth-runner Garry Lee Maier coasted to a stop in turn two with terminal problems.

On the restart, Chappell wasted no time blasting past Walker and Sather to take over second, setting his sights on Johnson in the process. Eighth-starter Jack Dover followed suit by climbing to third by the eighth round, with eighth-row starter Jason Johnson up to fourth by the time the red flag flew after nine laps for Jonathan Cornell's turn two flip. The current Winged Outlaw Warriors point leader walked away from his twisted machine unharmed.

With the final 16 circuits run in non-stop fashion, Johnson simply checked out on the field. Slicing through lapped traffic over the final ten rounds, Johnson lapped all the way up to eighth by the time he took the checkered flag with nearly a straightaway advantage.

In Johnson's wake, the battle for runner-up honors was a furious one between the threesome of Chappell, Dover and Jason Johnson.

Chappell ultimately topped the scrum for second place in the Legend's Bar-B-Que & Steakhouse No. 50z Maxim, with "The Ragin' Cajun's" drive from 16th culminating with a third-place showing aboard Lanny Row's The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle.

Dover settled for fourth aboard the Eckley-powered 3D Auto Transport No. 53 Eagle, while Gary Wright maintained an 18-point lead over Jason Johnson in the series $50,000 championship points chase by racing from 15th to round out the top five.

Current ASCS Midwest Region points leader Brian Brown was credited with sixth in the final run-down, with leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Eric Baldaccini in seventh.

On the charge from 18th, Hockett was trying to make a move around Wright for fifth in the final pair of corners. But when Curtis Evans clipped an infield tire and skittered to the topside exiting the final corner with a broken front end, Hockett ran out of real estate and slammed into the frontstretch wall in wide-open fashion. Hockett was scored as the final car on the lead lap in eighth.

Sather crossed the stripe ninth, with Jon Corbin completing the top ten.

Jack Potter, Mike Boston, Chris Walker, Sather, Wayne Johnson and Chappell topped heat race action for the rugged 53-car field.

Jay Russell fought off Randy Martin to win the first "B" Main, with Hockett surviving a close call with a lapped car to win the second "B" Main. Don Droud, Jr., wasn't as fortune, getting collected by the same car and then spinning while running second with just two laps to go.

O'Reilly ASCoT Results from Lakeside Speedway:

Heat Races (Top 16 in Passing Points to "A" Main; Balance to Two "B" Mains):

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 15-Jack Potter, 2. 4J-Jon Corbin, 3. 86-Don Droud, Jr., 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 8-Jeff Wingate, 7. 9c-Tony Crank, 8. 51x-Mike Peters, 9. 97-Aaron Berryhill.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 51-Mike Boston, 2. 22-Billy Alley, 3. 53-Jack Dover, 4. 14-Randy Martin, 5. 1m-Terry McCarl, 6. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 7. 19s-Steven Cross, 8. 8b-Bobby Becker, 9. 14k-Kyle Bellm.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 18w-Chris Walker, 2. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 3. 76-Jay Russell, 4. 1p-Curtis Evans, 5. 32L-David Langford, 6. 72-Curtis Boyer, 7. 7J-J.D. Black, 8. 9m-Dale McCarty. DNS: 18-Tim Newman.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 94s-Natalie Sather, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 75-Jesse Hockett, 4. 00-Brad Foster, 5. 5*-Gary Taylor, 6. 33a-Austin Alumbaugh, 7. a12-John Pate, 8. 5ma-Mallory Armfield. DNS: 7c-Chris Morgan.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 3. 21L-Mike Lefholz, 4. 21h-Terry Hinck, 5. 15s-Nick Smith, 6. 86x-Josh Fisher, 7. 48-David Brown, 8. 91-Donnie Ray Crawford, 9. 43-Frank Brown.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 23F-Matt Fox, 6. 2d-Stu Snyder, 7. d12-Doc Sloan, 8. 13-Kathryne Minter.



"B" Mains - Top 3 From Each to "A" Main:

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 76-Jay Russell, 2. 14-Randy Martin, 3. 1m-Terry McCarl, 4. 1p-Curtis Evans, 5. 5*-Gary Taylor, 6. 21L-Mike Lefholz, 7. 51x-Mike Peters, 8. 1k-Kim Kennedy, 9. 19s-Steven Cross, 10. 48-David Brown, 11. 43-Frank Brown, 12. 32L-David Langford, 13. 72-Curtis Boyer. DNS: 2d-Stu Snyder, 5ma-Mallory Armfield, 97-Aaron Berryhill, 33a-Austin Alumbaugh, 91-Donnie Ray Crawford, 33a-Austin Alumbaugh.

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 75-Jesse Hockett, 2. 15s-Nick Smith, 3. 86x-Josh Fisher, 4. 2-Kenneth Walker, 5. 21h-Terry Hinck, 6. 00-Brad Foster, 7. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 8. 23F-Matt Fox, 9. 8b-Bobby Becker, 10. 86-Don Droud, Jr., 11. 13-Kathryne Minter, 12. 7c-Chris Morgan, 13. 9c-Tony Crank, 14. 8-Jeff Wingate, 15. 9m-Dale McCarty, 16. d12-Doc Sloan. DNS: a12-John Pate, 7J-J.D. Black.

 

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 50z-Zach Chappell, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 53-Jack Dover, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 21-Brian Brown, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 75-Jesse Hockett, 9. 94s-Natalie Sather, 10. 4J-Jon Corbin, 11. 76-Jay Russell, 12. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 13. 22-Billy Alley, 14. 51-Mike Boston, 15. 14-Randy Martin, 16. 1p-Curtis Evans, 17. 15-Jack Potter, 18. 2-Kenneth Walker, 19. 1m-Terry McCarl, 20. 18w-Chris Walker, 21. 15s-Nick Smith, 22. 28-Jonathan Cornell, 23. 86x-Josh Fisher, 24. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 25. 13-Kathryne Minter.

Lap Leaders: Wayne Johnson 1-25.

Note: Kenneth Walker and Kathryne Minter utilized ASCoT provisionals and Curtis Evans utilized a WOW provisional to start the "A" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 2,109, 2. Jason Johnson 2,091, 3. Wayne Johnson 2,033, 4. Zach Chappell 1,969, 5. Garry Lee Maier 1,860, 6. Eric Baldaccini 1,713, 7. Nick Smith 1,591, 8. Jack Dover 1,506, 9. Kenneth Walker 1,491, 10. Travis Rilat 1,364, 11. Kathryne Minter 1,266, 12. Jason Sides 1,130, 13. Gary Taylor 1,117, 14. Aaron Berryhill 1,054, 15. Don Droud, Jr. 902.

ASCS Midwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Brian Brown 446, 2. Jack Dover 426, 3. Natalie Sather 420, 4. Billy Alley 400, 5. Mike Boston 396, 6. Bobby Becker 378, 7. Jay Russell 284, 8. Gregg Bakker 274, 9. Don Droud, Jr. 270, 10. Ryan Anderson 262.
 

Late Move Nets Jason Johnson ASCoT Loot at Huron!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

HURON, S.D. (June 28, 2008) - The annual ASCS Northern Swing ended in spectacular fashion on Saturday night as Jason Johnson nabbed his sixth O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National victory of the year with a late move in traffic to top the 25-lap feature event at Dakota State Fair Speedway.

Johnson snared the point from race-long leader Garry Lee Maier on the 23rd lap and then fought off Maier as well as Wayne Johnson over the final two circuits to claim his 34th career ASCS National Tour feature win aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle.

Maier and Jason Johnson led the feature field to the green flag, with Maier gunning into the early lead and pacing the early rounds aboard Scott Brown's ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service No. 11x Maxim.

The initial ASCS National champion never could rest easy though, as Jason Johnson kept the pressure on throughout. In fact, Johnson briefly took the lead away from Maier on the ninth lap when he slid into the top spot in turns one and two. Maier wasted little time returning the favor however, racing back into the lead a half lap later in turns three and four.

While Maier and Jason Johnson diced for the point, Wayne Johnson was on the move from the eighth position in Mike Hammers' H&H Enterprises No. 94 Maxim. The 2000 ASCS National champion needed just two laps to climb to fourth and had taken third from 2001 champ Zach Chappell by the time the race's final caution flew with eleven laps in the books.

With Maier setting the pace ahead of the pair of unrelated Johnson's, action simmered to a boil as lapped traffic once again became a factor over the final seven circuits.

The slightest of hesitations in traffic by Maier on the 23rd lap was all Jason Johnson needed to scoot into the lead. But with a pair of lapped cars directly in front of the battling lead trio as the white flag flew, the victory wasn't in the bag yet.

With Maier and Wayne Johnson side-by-side and right on Jason Johnson's tailtank exiting turn two on the final lap, "The Ragin' Cajun" split the pair of lapped cars in a mad dash down the backstretch and into the final pair of corners to essentially put the win away.

Jason Johnson flashed under the checkered flag with a two car-length advantage for his second ASCoT win in as many tries at Dakota State Fair Speedway, as Maier nipped Wayne Johnson at the line for runner-up honors. Wayne Johnson settled for show honors, with four-time and reigning series champion Gary Wright climbing from 12th to finish fourth in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim. Wright escaped the Northern Swing with a 22-point advantage over Jason Johnson in the series $50,000 championship chase.

Leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Eric Baldaccini posted his second fifth-place finish in as many South Dakota starts over the week in the Smiley's Race Products No. B4 Maxim, with Zach Chappell next across the stripe in sixth. Minnesota's Gordy Vogelaar claimed seventh, with Jody Rosenboom, Chad Meyer and Kenneth Walker completing the top ten.

After holding down the fifth position over the first half of the race, Jack Dover retired to the infield with mechanical woes after 14 laps. The Dover team had already changed engines following a second-place heat race finish.

After coming to a stop with one lap in the books, Shawn Van Wyhe exited four laps later to become the race's first casualty.

The second and final caution flew after eleven laps when Dave Glennon's mount went up in smoke. Kathryne Minter and Chuck Swenson retired to the pit area under the ensuing caution period. Earlier, Swenson had surrendered his seventh starting position when he required a second push as the feature field aligned.

Wayne Johnson, Chappell and Jason Johnson topped Saturday night's heat race action.

O'Reilly ASCoT Results from Dakota State Fair Speedway:

Heat Races:

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 7m-Chad Meyer, 3. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. 2i-Kevin Ingle, 6. 15s-Nick Smith, 7. 30-Ron Rosenboom, 8. 76-Dustin Evink.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. X-Chuck Swenson, 3. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 4. 27-Jody Rosenboom, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 5-Eric Lutz, 7. 13x-Jordan Martens. DNS: XXX-Ricky Sammons.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 53-Jack Dover, 3. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe, 4. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar, 5. 4J-Lee Grosz, 6. 13-Kathryne Minter, 7. 2k-Chad Chenoweth, 8. 5x-Dave Glennon.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 3. 94-Wayne Johnson, 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 50z-Zach Chappell, 7. 99v-Gordy Vogelaar, 8. 27-Jody Rosenboom, 9. 7m-Chad Meyer, 10. 2-Kenneth Walker, 11. 4J-Lee Grosz, 12. 15s-Nick Smith, 13. 30-Ron Rosenboom, 14. 5-Eric Lutz, 15. 13x-Jordan Martens, 16. 76-Dustin Evink, 17. 2k-Chad Chenoweth, 18. 2i-Kevin Ingle, 19. 53-Jack Dover, 20. X-Chuck Swenson, 21. 13-Kathryne Minter, 22. 5x-Dave Glennon, 23. 99-Shawn Van Wyhe. DNS: XXX-Ricky Sammons.

Lap Leaders: Garry Lee Maier 1-22, Jason Johnson 23-25.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 1,969, 2. Jason Johnson 1,947, 3. Wayne Johnson 1,883, 4. Zach Chappell 1,823, 5. Garry Lee Maier 1,754, 6. Eric Baldaccini 1,577, 7. Nick Smith 1,479, 8. Kenneth Walker 1,416, 9. (tie) Travis Rilat and Jack Dover 1,364, 11. Kathryne Minter 1,191, 12. Jason Sides 1,130, 13. Gary Taylor 1,042, 14. Aaron Berryhill 979, 15. Chris Tarrant 861.

ASCS Northern Plains Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Lee Grosz 414, 2. Eric Lutz 408, 3. Wade Nygaard 292, 4. Chad Meyer 284, 5. Jody Rosenboom 280, 6. Gordy Vogelaar 276, 7. Chuck Swenson 270, 8. Natalie Sather 260, 9. Jason Tostenson 258, 10. Kevin Ingle 256.
 

O'Reilly ASCoT Stats

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (May 8, 2008) - With the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series set to put the wraps on four consecutive weekends of racing action with this weekend's Red River Shootout at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway on Friday night and then Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, on Saturday night, a look at the season's driver stats through 11 nights of action is in order.

Nine different drivers have already reached O'Reilly ASCoT victory lane through the series initial eleven features of 2008, with 49 different drivers taking at least one checkered flag in some form of heat or feature action.

A total of 171 drivers have competed in at least one O'Reilly ASCoT National event thus far in 2008, with the series averaging 46.4 cars per night.

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour 2008 Stats:

Heat Race Winners (41 winners in 62 Heat Races): Jack Dover 5, Zach Chappell 3, Garry Lee Maier 3, Kenny Adams 2, Eric Baldaccini 2, Brian Brown 2, Dave Calaman 2, Tim Crawley 2, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 2, Jason Johnson 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Danny Lasoski 2, Dustin Morgan 2, Jason Sides 2, Nick Smith 2, Don Young 2, Koby Barksdale 1, Aaron Berryhill 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Matt Covington 1, Don Droud, Jr. 1, Terry Gray 1, Josh Higday 1, J. Kinder 1, Greg Leonard 1, Eric Lutz 1, Danny Martin, Jr. 1, Kathryne Minter 1, Daryn Pittman 1, Kevin Ramey 1, Travis Rilat 1, Trey Robb 1, Ryan Roberts 1, Joey Saldana 1, Brian Smith 1, Danny (IN) Smith 1, Gary Taylor 1, Kenneth Walker 1, Scott Winters 1, Gary Wright 1, Joe Young 1.

B Feature Winners (22 Winners in 26 "B" Mains): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 2, Jason Johnson 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Greg Leonard 2, Aaron Berryhill 1, Brian Brown 1, Zach Chappell 1, Don Droud, Jr. 1, Lewis Jenkins, Jr. 1, Randy Martin 1, Dustin Morgan 1, Daryn Pittman 1, Kevin Ramey 1, Travis Rilat 1, Robert Sellers 1, Tim Shaffer 1, Jason Sides 1, Marshall Skinner 1, Chuck Swenson 1, Scott Winters 1, Gary Wright 1, Don Young 1.

A Feature Winners (9 Winners in 11 "A" Mains): Jason Johnson 3, Kenny Adams 1, Aaron Berryhill 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Danny Lasoski 1, Terry McCarl 1, Nick Smith 1, Skip Wilson 1, Gary Wright 1

A Feature Lap Leaders (300 Feature Laps Completed): Jason Johnson 108, Tony Bruce Jr. 41, Gary Wright 29, Skip Wilson 25, Danny Lasoski 23, Nick Smith 23, Terry McCarl 18, Brian Brown 11, Kenneth Walker 7, Kenny Adams 4, Aaron Berryhill 3, Daryn Pittman 3, Trey Robb 3, Garry Lee Maier 2.

A Feature Positions Gained (Top 20): Wayne Johnson 78, Jason Johnson 63, Zach Chappell 47, Gary Wright 41, Travis Rilat 37, Don Droud, Jr. 36, Jason Sides 33, Garry Lee Maier 30, Terry McCarl 26, Eric Baldaccini 21, Kenneth Walker 20, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 18, Greg Leonard 18, Daryn Pittman 18, Aaron Berryhill 13, Andy Shouse 13, Sport Allen 12, Tim Montgomery 12, Nick Smith 12, Tim Shaffer 11.

2008 O'Reilly ASCoT National Points (Top 20 Drivers):

1. 9 / 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,277
2. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,221
3. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 1,271
4. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 1,131
5. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 1,084
6. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 1,072
7. B4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 980
8. 15s-Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 948
9. 2-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) 904
10. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN) 888
11. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 827
12. 53-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 751
13. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) 748
14. 5*-Gary Taylor (Sapulpa, OK) 699
15. 71-Chris Tarrant (Greenville, TX) 641
16. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 593
17. 97-Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) 560
18. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX) 522
19. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN) 463
20. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 459

2008 O'Reilly ASCoT National Points (Top 20 Car Owners):

1. Wright-Cooper Motorsports 9 / 01 - 1,277
2. Mike Hammers 94 - 1,221
3. Lanny Row 41 - 1,217
4. David Chappell 50z - 1,131
5. Travis Rilat 29 - 1,084
6. Scott Brown 11x - 1,072
7. Harry Baldaccini B4 - 980
8. Bobby Sparks 91 - 963
9. Kip Smith 15s - 948
10. Sandra Walker 2 - 904
11. Sides Motorsports 7s - 888
12. Lori Dover 53 - 751
13. Tracy Minter 13 - 748
14. Mike Eubanks 5* - 699
15. Scotty Dobbs 71 - 641
16. Aaron Berryhill 97 - 635
17. Tim & Gina Doogs 21 - 593
18. Sam Hafertepe 15 - 522
19. Cliff Young 75 - 463
20. Brad Sather 94s - 459

The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series is currently slated for 42 nights of racing action at 22 different tracks throughout a dozen different states, with more than $1,000,000 in purse money and point fund to be distributed during the 2008 season.

The nation's most prominent Sprint Car sanctioning body with a dozen different Regions throughout the United States in addition to the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, the American Sprint Car Series' (ASCS) 17th year of activity will include approximately 250 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout 28 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at http://www.ascsracing.com/.
 

Crawford Lands ASCoT Ride; Makes First Start Friday in OKC

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (May 7, 2008) - There will be a new face in the pit area when the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series rolls into Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway this Friday night for the opening leg of the Red River Shootout, as third-generation racer Donnie Ray Crawford has been named the new driver of the Bobby Sparks No. 91 entry.

Following Friday night's card, the Broken Arrow, OK, racer will follow the series to Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, on Saturday night before finishing out the balance of the season with Sparks on the ASCS National Tour.

The 20-year-old Crawford joins a stellar core group of 13 full-time travelers on the O'Reilly ASCoT National series that includes past champions Gary Wright, Travis Rilat, Zach Chappell, Wayne Johnson and Garry Lee Maier, along with two-time series runner-up Jason Johnson and 2006 Brodix Rookie of the Year Nick Smith. Crawford joins a rookie crop that includes Eric Baldaccini, Kenneth Walker, Gary Taylor, Kathryne Minter and Chris Tarrant.

Taking over the ride currently ranked eighth in ASCoT owner points, Crawford surrenders the ASCS2 Micro Sprint points lead in both the Multi and Non-Wing classes.

Taking top honors in Micro Sprint action at the Tulsa Shootout on a number of occasions in recent years, including besting fields of over 100 entries in both "A" Class and Non-Wing action in 2007, Crawford notched a top-five finish in the 2007 edition of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in his Midget racing debut.

Crawford went on to rank second in 2007 SMRS Midget points, picking off his first feature win along the way at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, MO, on May 28.

This year, Crawford has jumped out to the early ASCS2 points lead in both the Multi and Non-Wing Micro Sprint classes, also adding an SMRS Midget win at Minneapolis (KS) Raceway last Friday night, May 2. Crawford's Midget win came aboard a Midget owned by Mike and Megan Eubanks, who also field Gary Taylor's ASCoT mount.

Crawford got his feet wet in the Sprint Car ranks with three starts in the latter portion of the 2006 season, making an ASCS Sooner Region feature start at Mid-America Speedway before taking in both nights of the Devil's Bowl Speedway Winter Nationals.

Crawford takes the wheel of the Wells-powered Sparks Construction/RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle that has been piloted over the past several years by Darren Stewart.

Sparks opened the season with Nebraska's Don Droud, Jr., at the helm. But after just one top-ten finish through the opening ten nights of action, the team parted ways prior to last Saturday night's event at Lake Ozark Speedway, where Missouri racer Tim Montgomery filled in for the night by charging from 19th to seventh.

Friday night's O'Reilly ASCoT action at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway fires off at 7:30 p.m., with Saturday's second leg of the Red River Shootout at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX, going green at 8:00 p.m.

The semi-banked, 3/8-mile State Fair Speedway clay oval is located on the Oklahoma State Fair Grounds near the intersection of N.W. 10th and May Avenue. For more information, contact the track at 405-948-6796.

The high-banked, ½-mile Devil's Bowl Speedway clay oval is located six miles east of Dallas' Loop I-635 on US 80, then three miles south on Lawson Road. For more information, contact the track at 972-222-2421.

The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series is currently slated for 42 nights of racing action at 22 different tracks throughout a dozen different states, with more than $1,000,000 in purse money and point fund to be distributed during the 2008 season.

The nation's most prominent Sprint Car sanctioning body with a dozen different Regions throughout the United States in addition to the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, the American Sprint Car Series' (ASCS) 17th year of activity will include approximately 250 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout 28 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
 

Nick Smith Captures Classic I-30 Speedway ASCoT Win

By Lonnie Wheatley,

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 26, 2008) - Oklahoma racer Nick Smith broke into O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National victory lane for the first time this season by emerging atop a classic I-30 Speedway duel on Saturday night.

Smith and Kenneth Walker traded the lead several times over the first half of the 30-lapper atop the ¼-mile clay oval before Smith took command for keeps on the 16th circuit, ultimately beating tenth-starter Tim Crawley and eighth-starter Gary Taylor to the checkered flag in Kip Smith's Wesmar-powered Sooner Network Solutions No. 15s J&J.

But, until the race's only caution flew after 26 laps, Smith rarely held an advantage of more than a couple of car lengths over a host of pursuers that included Wayne Johnson, Crawley, Kenneth Walker, Taylor and Garry Lee Maier.

After drawing the pole position for the feature, Walker outgunned Joe Young for the point at the drop of the green flag and led the opening circuit. Fourth-starter Smith was on the move on the top side of the track though, charging past Walker for the lead upon the completion of the second lap.

With Walker, third-starter Wayne Johnson and Maier in tow, Smith soon reached lapped traffic. And when he slipped off the backstretch exiting turn two on the tenth lap, Walker charged back into the lead.

"We were in traffic and I kept telling myself to hit my marks, hit my marks," Smith recalled afterward. "Then that lap I just slipped up a little too high and dropped right off the track."

Smith gathered it back up in time to retain second as he assumed the rule of chaser while Walker vied for his first career ASCS National Tour win aboard Sandra Walker's Wesmar-powered Action Auto Collision No. 2 J&J.

Dicing through heavy traffic, Smith closed in and slid back around Walker for the lead on the 16th lap with Wayne Johnson working past Walker for second three laps later.

Meanwhile, Crawley cracked the top five aboard Mike Ward's McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim soon after the midway point. And with Taylor on his tailtank, the duo advanced past Maier for fourth and fifth, respectively, on the 20th lap.

Crawley continued marching, battling past Walker for third and setting his sights on the lead duo of Smith and Johnson.

With Smith holding a slim lead, Crawley pulled to Johnson's inside as the duo charged down the backstretch on the 27th lap. Johnson tried to close the door through turns three and four, spinning to a halt in turn four after the resulting contact and collecting fourth-runner Walker and rookie shoe Kathryne Minter in the mix. Johnson rejoined the chase at the tail while Walker's strong run came to a premature end.

With clear track ahead on the restart, the series 2006 Rookie of the Year slipped away and cruised over the final four laps to his third career ASCS National Tour feature win with Crawley settling for second.

"We could have done without that yellow," Crawley surmised. "I think we could have got that one more spot if we'd stayed in traffic."

Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Taylor posted his best career ASCS National Tour finish by claiming the show position aboard Mike and Megan Eubanks' Wesmar-powered Tel-Star Communications No. 5* Triple-X, with Maier fourth in Scott Brown's ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Max Jantz Excavating No. 11x Maxim.

Zach Chappell rounded out the top five in the Legend's Bar-B-Que No. 50z Maxim, making a late pass of current series points leader Gary Wright, who settled for sixth. Jason Johnson climbed from 14th to finish seventh, with Travis Rilat, Jason Sides and Brad Bowden completing the top ten.

Young, Maier, Chappell and Wayne Johnson topped heat race action for the 34-car field, with Lewis Jenkins, Jr., and Marshall Skinner winning the twin "B" Mains.

Wade Oliver escaped injury after tumbling off the turn two banking in the second "B" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT I-30 Speedway Results:

Heat Races (Top 14 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to 2 "B" Mains)

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 12T-Joe Young, 2. 2-Kenneth Walker, 3. 9x-Justin Sturch, 4. 15-Brad Bowden, 5. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 6. 38-Rick Pringle, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 8x-Chris Williams, 9. 13-Kathryne Minter.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 6. 51-Lee Sowell, 7. 95-Matt Covington, 8. 75-Don Young, 9. 5k-Jerry Kamer.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell, 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 7s-Jason Sides, 4. 7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr., 5. 26-Marshall Skinner, 6. 8z-Zach Pringle, 7. 1g-Cody Gardner, 8. 71-Chris Tarrant.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 15s-Nick Smith, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 4-Tommy Snellgrove, 5. 01-Jeremy Newkirk, 6. 1-Andy McElhannon, 7. 58-Wade Oliver, 8. 11c-Dave Speer.

"B" Mains - Top 4 From Each Advance to ?A? Main

First "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr., 2. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 3. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 4. 1g-Cody Gardner, 5. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 71-Chris Tarrant, 7. 13-Kathryne Minter, 8. 8x-Chris Williams, 9. 01-Jeremy Newkirk, 10. 51-Lee Sowell.

Second "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 26-Marshall Skinner, 2. 8z-Zach Pringle, 3. 4-Tommy Snellgrove, 4. 95-Matt Covington, 5. 38-Rick Pringle, 6. 1-Andy McElhannon, 7. 5k-Jerry Kamer, 8. 75-Don Young, 9. 11c-Dave Speer, 10. 58-Wade Oliver.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15s-Nick Smith, 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 5. 50z-Zach Chappell, 6. 9-Gary Wright, 7. 41-Jason Johnson, 8. 29-Travis Rilat, 9. 7s-Jason Sides, 10. 15-Brad Bowden, 11. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 12. 7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr., 13. 26-Marshall Skinner, 14. 94-Wayne Johnson, 15. 9x-Justin Sturch, 16. 12T-Joe Young, 17. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 18. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 19. 1g-Cody Gardner, 20. 13-Kathryne Minter, 21. 95-Matt Covington, 22. 2-Kenneth Walker, 23. 8z-Zach Pringle, 24. 4-Tommy Snellgrove.

Lap Leaders: Kenneth Walker 1, Nick Smith 2-9, Walker 10-15, Smith 16-30.

Note: Eric Baldaccini and Kathryne Minter utilized O'Reilly ASCOT provisionals to start the "A" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 1,131, 2. Wayne Johnson 1,081, 3. Jason Johnson 1,073, 4. Garry Lee Maier 997, 5. Zach Chappell 989, 6. Travis Rilat 950, 7. Jason Sides 888, 8. Eric Baldaccini 860, 9. Don Droud, Jr. 827, 10. Nick Smith 822, 11. Kenneth Walker 782, 12. Gary Taylor 699, 13. Kathryne Minter 673, 14. Jack Dover 613, 15. Brian Brown 593.
 

Skip Wilson Pulls Off O'Reilly ASCoT Surprise at Paris!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

PARIS, Texas (April 25, 2008) - Skip Wilson pulled off what ranks as perhaps one of the biggest upset wins in recent years of O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National competition by topping Friday night's 25-lap main event at Paris Motor Speedway.

Wilson survived some tense moments in lapped traffic to take his first career series win aboard J.B. Cook's Speed Specialties/Bubba's Plumbing No. 65 Avenger just ahead of past ASCS National champions Wayne Johnson and Tim Crawley.

And the win occurred in an event that nearly never happened, as torrential rains drenched much of North Texas in the late afternoon. While the storms narrowly missed Paris Motor Speedway, several teams turned back towards home certain of a rainout.

"We almost didn't come," Wilson explained of the last minute decision. "I'm glad we did though."

A second place heat race finish put Wilson seventh in passing points and into the redraw. And by the time his turn to draw came around, two pills remained: the one and the two. Wilson drew the pole position, with Wayne Johnson slotted into the front row outside.

Twenty-five lightning fast laps later, the Mesquite, TX, veteran racer was standing in victory lane, commenting that, "I'm just kind of amazed right now."

While Wilson led all 25 laps, he had to work for it as several of the nation's top Sprint Car shoes nipped at his heels all the while.

The initial attempt to start the feature was waved off when top heat race passing points earner Don Young bicycled off the top of turn one from his eighth starting slot. Young exited to the pit area before the green flag flew again.

And when the green flag reappeared, it was non-stop for 25 laps.

"My arms were getting awful heavy there at the end, I was getting tired," Wilson explains.

Jumping into the lead at the outset in front of Johnson and fourth-starter Crawley, Wilson set a quick pace and reached traffic just prior to the midway point. And when he got to Justin Sturch in the latter stages, Johnson and Crawley sensed opportunity and moved in for the kill.

"I got hung up there a little, he was just racing his race," Wilson stated. "I thought I saw someone's nose under me in that one corner, then I got around him and I really felt like I got a little faster those last few laps."

And that was the case, as Johnson poked his nose underneath Wilson in the final handful of laps. But when Wilson got around the lapped car, he broke away to a six car-length advantage that he held to the checkered flag as he raced in open track over the final circuits.

After swapping a hurt Fisher powerplant for a healthy Wesmar after heat race action, Johnson took runner-up honors in Mike and Tim Hammers' H&H Enterprises/Pearson Farms No. 94 Maxim, with Crawley right on his tailtank in third aboard Mike Ward's McCarver-powered Boater Sports No. 88 Maxim.

Jason Johnson battled past Gary Wright for fourth on the 19th lap and kept Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle there the rest of the way, with Wright maintaining his current series points lead by rounding out the top five in the Wright-Cooper Motorsports Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim.

Travis Rilat crossed the stripe sixth, wit Nick Smith, Garry Lee Maier, Zach Chappell and Kenneth Walker completing the top ten.

Young, Jason Johnson and Maier topped heat race action.

John Ricketts flipped in the second heat, but was able to return for the feature event.

O'Reilly ASCoT Paris Motor Speedway Results:

Heat Races:

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 75-Don Young, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 50z-Zach Chappell, 5. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 71-Chris Tarrant.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 65-Skip Wilson, 3. 94-Wayne Johnson, 4. 15s-Nick Smith, 5. 9x-Justin Sturch, 6. 76-John Ricketts.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 2-Kenneth Walker, 5. 13-Kathryne Minter, 6. 91-Don Droud, Jr.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 65-Skip Wilson, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 88-Tim Crawley, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 29-Travis Rilat, 7. 15s-Nick Smith, 8. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 9. 50z-Zach Chappell, 10. 2-Kenneth Walker, 11. 5*-Gary Taylor, 12. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 13. 9x-Justin Sturch, 14. 13-Kathryne Minter, 15. 76-John Ricketts, 16. 75-Don Young, 17. 71-Chris Tarrant. DNS: 91-Don Droud, Jr.

Lap Leaders: Skip Wilson 1-25.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 993, 2. Wayne Johnson 959, 3. Jason Johnson 937, 4. Garry Lee Maier 855, 5. Zach Chappell 849, 6. Travis Rilat 816, 7. Eric Baldaccini 785, 8. Jason Sides 756, 9. Don Droud, Jr. 699, 10. Nick Smith and Kenneth Walker 672, 12. Jack Dover 613, 13. Kathryne Minter 598, 14. Brian Brown 593, 15. Gary Taylor 555.
 

Shuman Snags ASCS Canyon Region Loot on Last Lap

By Lonnie Wheatley,

PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 22, 2008) - Casey Shuman captured his first career Discount Tire Co. American Sprint Car Series Canyon Region feature win by topping Saturday night's 30-lap feature atop Manzanita Speedway's 1/3-mile clay oval.

And he did in spectacular fashion by wrestling the lead away from 19-year-old Jeremy Reagles on the final lap.

Shuman started the feature from the front row outside, but it was Reagles racing into the lead in short order after staring in the third row as he pursued his first career ASCS feature win after ranking as the top rookie with the ASCS Canyon Region in 2007.

But Shuman had other ideas, charging into the lead on the checkered flag lap to take the win. Reagles settled for second, with Josh Pelkey taking the show position. Nathan High advanced from a mid-pack starting position to snare fourth, with Charles Davis, Jr., rounding out the top five.

Defending series champion and current point leader Jeremy Sherman was sixth, with Shon Deskins, R.J. Johnson, Bernie Smith and Thomas Ogle completing the top ten.

Bob Ream, Jr. earned Hard Charger honors by racing from 23rd to 12th.

Johnson, Pelkey and Reagles topped heat race action, with Justin Fisher winning the "B" Main. High won the Trophy Dash.

Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region Results from Manzanita Speedway:

Heat One: 1. 15-R.J. Johnson, 2. 62-Jeff Henry, 3. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 4. 77-Jeremy Sherman, 5. 29-Mike Bonneau, 6. 16-Mike Martin, 7. 2-Mike Colegrove, 8. 78-Chris Bonneau, 9. 7-Steve Tellas.

Heat Two: 1. 34-Josh Pelkey, 2. 76-Mike Leslie, 3. 32-Casey Shuman, 4. 48-Thomas Ogle, 5. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 6. 61-Justin Fisher, 7. 14-Bernie Smith, 8. 9-Ryan Linder.

Heat Three: 1. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 2. 97-Brandon Lane, 3. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 4. 20-Shon Deskins, 5. 12-Nathan High, 6. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 7. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 8. 8-Bob Ream, Jr.

Trophy Dash: 1. 12-Nathan High, 2. 15-R.J. Johnson, 3. 78-Chris Bonneau. DNS: 77-Jeremy Sherman.

"B" Feature: 1. 61-Justin Fisher, 2. 78-Chris Bonneau, 3. 14-Bernie Smith, 4. 2-Mike Colegrove, 5. 26az-Bobby Taylor, 6. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 7. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 8. 9-Ryan Linder, 9. 7-Steve Tellas.

"A" Feature: 1. 32-Casey Shuman, 2. 44-Jeremy Reagles, 3. 34-Josh Pelkey, 4. 12-Nathan High, 5. 50-Charles Davis, Jr., 6. 77-Jeremy Sherman, 7. 20-Shon Deskins, 8. 15-R.J. Johnson, 9. 14-Bernie Smith, 10. 48-Thomas Ogle, 11. 62-Jeff Henry, 12. 8-Bob Ream, Jr., 13. 61-Justin Fisher, 14. 16-Mike Martin, 15. 78-Chris Bonneau, 16. 2-Mike Colegrove, 17. 9-Ryan Linder, 18. 27n-Nick Aiuto, 19. 29-Mike Bonneau, 20. 76-Mike Leslie, 21. 19-Andrew Reinbold, 22. 11-Seainn Hendricsen, 23. 97-Brandon Lane, 24. 26az-Bobby Taylor.

Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Jeremy Sherman 288, 2. Nathan High 284, 3. R.J. Johnson 278, 4. (tie) Shon Deskins and Jeremy Reagles 268, 6. Bob Ream, Jr. 262, 7. (tie) Bernie Smith and Thomas Ogle 260, 9. (tie) Josh Pelkey, Justin Fisher and Chris Bonneau 258.
 

Grable is Able in ASCS Southwest Opener

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TUCSON, Ariz. (March 22, 2008) - Don Grable captured the inaugural American Sprint Car Series Southwest Region feature win as the series contested its first event at USA Race Park on Saturday night.

Grable took command when early pacesetter Rick Ziehl was forced pitside with engine woes and charged to the checkered flag in the 25-lapper aboard the Casey Minks-owned No. 29x entry.

The El Paso racer was chased to the line by Ronnie Clark, with Steve Martin, Mike Rux, Jr., and Hawaii's Dennis Krob rounding out the top five.

Ohio's Rich Boughan was sixth, with Ben Gregg rebounding from a heat race flip to snare seventh. Cody Cambensy crossed the line eighth, with Joshua Williams and Bobby Marcum completing the top ten.

John Gaston got upside down to bring out an early red flag in the feature, with Shawn Sander eliminated in the incident as well.

Sander, Marcum and Martin topped heat race action.

ASCS Southwest Region Results from USA Race Park:

Heat One: 1. 48-Shawn Sander, 2. 29x-Don Grable, 3. 33-Rick Ziehl, 4. 5az-John Van Horn, 5. 22b-Ben Gregg, 6. 41-Joshua Williams.

Heat Two: 1. 85-Bobby Marcum, 2. 22J-John Gaston, 3. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 4. 5h-Dennis Krob, 5. 66-Jessica Van Dyke, 6. 57-Steve Stone.

Heat Three: 1. 20az-Steve Martin, 2. 94-Ronnie Clark, 3. 4c-Billy Chester III, 4. 42-Rick Boughan, 5. 94T-Cody Cambensy, 6. 55-R.C. Whitwell.

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 29x-Don Grable, 2. 94-Ronnie Clark, 3. 20az-Steve Martin, 4. 22-Mike Rux, Jr., 5. 5h-Dennis Krob, 6. 42-Rick Boughan, 7. 22b-Ben Gregg, 8. 94T-Cody Cambensy, 9. 41-Joshua Williams, 10. 85-Bobby Marcum, 11. 33-Rick Ziehl, 12. 66-Jessica Van Dyke, 13. 4c-Billy Chester III, 14. 48-Shawn Sander, 15. 22J-John Gaston, 16. 57-Steve Stone. DNS: 55-R.C. Whitwell, 5az-John Van Horn.

ASCS Southwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Don Grable 150, 2. Ronnie Clark 146, 3. Steve Martin 144, 4. Mike Rux, Jr. 142, 5. Dennis Krob 140, 6. Rick Boughan 138, 7. Ben Gregg 136, 8. Cody Cambensy 134, 9. Joshua Williams 132, 10. Bobby Marcum 130.
 

Lasoski Edges Maier for First ASCoT Win in OKC Opener

By Lonnie Wheatley,

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (March 21, 2008) - Danny Lasoski emerged from a wild scramble through lapped traffic in the closing laps to win Friday night's 25-lap O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series feature event on the opening night of State Fair Speedway's Spring Nationals.

In the process, he denied Garry Lee Maier his 38th career ASCS National Tour feature win after the series' initial champion battled into the lead with just three laps to go, only to get bottled up behind a lapped car with the white flag in sight.

Lasoski took quick advantage and recaptured the point to secure his first career ASCS National Tour feature win aboard the Kistler-powered American Compressed Steel No. 5 JEI. Maier settled for second, with Daryn Pittman in third. Jason Johnson rallied from the tail of the field to snare the fourth and final transfer to Saturday night's Spring Nationals finale.

Friday's 25-lap feature distance ran in non-stop fashion once it finally got under way. It just took a couple of extra tries to get things going.

On the initial start, Chris Lloyd looped his machine harmlessly in turn one. But as the leaders raced into turn three at the same time, polesitter Dustin Morgan hooked the cushion and flipped wildly. Maier assumed the pole position and outgunned fellow front row starter Lasoski for the lead on the restart, only to have the caution fly when Jamie Passmore spun to a stop in turn three.

The next try went red as well when Sam Hafertepe, Jr., got upside down entering turn one. There were no injuries, with only Morgan and Hafertepe done for the night.

With the initial carnage out of the way, Lasoski gunned into the lead and paced the early rounds in front of Maier and Jack Dover, with Pittman battling past Eric Baldaccini and Brian Brown to take over fourth by the fifth lap.

Lapped traffic came into play in short order, as Lasoski reached the tail of the field by the sixth lap. Maier kept "The Dude" in sight all the way and closed in on Lasoski's tailtank at the halfway point.

Lasoski never could break away from Maier by more than a few car-lengths and when a gaggle of lapped cars appeared before the leaders in the final handful of laps, Maier moved in on his prey and found the opening he needed when Lasoski bicycled in turn three on the 22nd lap.

Maier motored to the low side and beat Lasoski into turn one to take command aboard the ASI-powered Lubbock Wrecker Service/Max Jantz Excavating No. 11x Maxim. But a lapped car would prove costly for the Kansas shoe, as Maier's command lasted only a lap and a half before he ran afoul of Eric Badaccini entering turn three as the leaders approached the white flag.

A solid tap of Baldaccini's tailtank from Maier's front bumper slowed the leader's progress just enough to allow Lasoski to sneak back by. Lasoski then held off Maier over the final round to secure the win as Maier settled for runner-up honors.

Dover, the 18-year-old from Nebraska, held down the third position for 15 laps until losing three positions in the final rounds. Pittman took over third on the 16th lap and held the position the rest of the way aboard the Titan Racing No. 21 Maxim.

After winning the night's second "B" Main, Jason Johnson gridded the field fourth aboard Lanny Row's The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle. But after making a trip to the work area after one of the waved off starts, "The Ragin' Cajun" tagged the field and proceeded to turn in the drive of the night.

Johnson was ninth by the tenth lap and then sixth by the 15th round. When Dover nearly dumped it in turn three on the 20th lap, Johnson scooted by both Gary Wright and Dover to take over the fourth and final lock-in to Saturday night's feature.

Wright picked off a handful of positions to round out the top five aboard the Wright-Cooper Motorsports Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim, extending his record streak of top-five finishes in ASCS National Tour action to 19 in a row.

Dover settled for sixth, with 20th-starter Wayne Johnson, Brian Brown, Andy Shouse and Eric Baldaccini completing the top ten.

Baldaccini, Pittman, Brown, Lasoski, Dover and Morgan topped heat race action for the 52-car field, with Robert Sellers, Jason Johnson and Sam Hafertepe, Jr., winning the "B" Mains.

Eric VanderPloeg flipped in turn one on the opening lap of the sixth heat and was able to return for "B" Main competition.


O'Reilly ASCoT State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals Preliminary Event Results:

Heat Races (Top 14 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to 3 "B" Mains)

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 86-Josh Fisher, 3. 5*-Gary Taylor, 4. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 5. 94-Wayne Johnson, 6. 29-Travis Rilat, 7. 51-Foster Landon, 8. 95-Matt Covington, 9. 13-Kathryne Minter.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 21T-Daryn Pittman, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 24-Terry McCarl, 5. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 6. 50z-Zach Chappell, 7. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr., 8. 2x-Josh Higday, 9. 81au-Gavin Punch.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 4. 94s-Natalie Sather, 5. 22-Billy Alley, 6. 20s-Sheldon Barksdale, 7. 77-Colt Treharn, 8. 15s-Nick Smith, 9. 71-Chris Tarrant.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 5-Danny Lasoski, 2. 2-Kenneth Walker, 3. 5$-Danny Smith, 4. 4J-Jamie Passmore, 5. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 6. 7s-Jason Sides, 7. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 9. 26-Dalton Steed.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 61J-Danny Jennings, 3. 28-Chris Lloyd, 4. 25-Robert Sellers, 5. 43x-Brent Swift, 6. 59-Dex Eaton, 7. 11F-Darrell Fletcher, 8. 01-Brandon Jennings.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 8h-Dustin Morgan, 2. 87-Brian McClelland, 3. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 4. 1-Derek Drown, 5. 43-A.J. Selenke, 6. 15k-Kerry McAlister, 7. 23F-Matt Fox, 8. 10-Eric VanderPloeg.

"B" Mains - Top 2 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 25-Robert Sellers, 2. 28-Chris Lloyd, 3. 22-Billy Alley, 4. 91-Don Droud, Jr., 5. 15k-Kerry McAlister, 6. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 7. 43-A.J. Selenke, 8. 10-Eric VanderPloeg, 9. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr., 10. 2x-Josh Higday, 11. 71-Chris Tarrant. DNS: 5*-Gary Taylor, 23F-Matt Fox.

Second "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 24-Terry McCarl, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 94s-Natalie Sather, 5. 1-Derek Drown, 6. 95-Matt Covington, 7. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 8. 59-Dex Eaton, 9. 77-Colt Treharn, 10. 13-Kathryne Minter, 11. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 12. 50z-Zach Chappell. DNS: 26-Dalton Steed.

Third "B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 7s-Jason Sides, 4. 51-Foster Landon, 5. 81au-Gavin Punch, 6. 5$-Danny Smith, 7. 15s-Nick Smith, 8. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 9. 43x-Brent Swift, 10. 20s-Sheldon Barksdale, 11. 01-Brandon Jennings. DNS: 11F-Darrell Fletcher.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 5-Danny Lasoski, 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 3. 21T-Daryn Pittman, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 53-Jack Dover, 7. 94-Wayne Johnson, 8. 21-Brian Brown, 9. 27-Andy Shouse, 10. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 11. 7s-Jason Sides, 12. 50z-Zach Chappell, 13. 2-Kenneth Walker, 14. 86-Josh Fisher, 15. 28-Chris Lloyd, 16. 4J-Jamie Passmore, 17. 61J-Danny Jennings, 18. 87-Brian McClelland, 19. 24-Terry McCarl, 20. 25-Robert Sellers, 21. 8h-Dustin Morgan, 22. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr.

Lap Leaders: Danny Lasoski 1-21, Garry Lee Maier 22-23, Danny Lasoski 24-25.

Note: Jason Sides and Zach Chappell utilized provisionals to start the "A" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 579, 2. Wayne Johnson 547, 3. Jason Johnson 495, 4. Jason Sides 474, 5. Garry Lee Maier 457, 6. Zach Chappell 451, 7. Eric Baldaccini 448, 8. Travis Rilat 420, 9. Don Droud, Jr. 382, 10. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 380, 11. Jack Dover 347, 12. Nick Smith 341, 13. Kenneth Walker 333, 14. Brian Brown 319, 15. Tony Bruce, Jr. 296.
 

"Ragin' Cajun" Crowned King of the 360's at East Bay

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TAMPA, Fla. (February 2, 2008) - Following on the heels of runner-up finishes in O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National points over each of the past two years, Jason Johnson kicked off his pursuit of the series' 2008 championship with a resonant victory in the Tenth Annual "King of the 360's" Nationals finale at East Bay Raceway Park's 32nd Annual Winter Nationals.

Hailing from Eunice, LA, "The Ragin' Cajun" paced all 40 laps of Saturday night's Ronald Laney Memorial to notch the $10,500 triumph, with the posted $10,000 winner's share bolstered by a $500 bonus from C&B Mushroom Farms.

"I'm proud of this win, this is one of the big races," Johnson commented after the victory aboard Lanny Row's The Shop Diesel Service/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle. "Lapped traffic was my biggest worry there for a while, you just never how close someone is behind you."

After finishes of sixth on Thursday and then second in Friday night's preliminary action, Johnson gridded Saturday night's feature field outside the front row alongside reigning O'Reilly ASCoT National champion and defending race winner Gary Wright.

"We changed the car every time we hit the track this weekend, we kept adjusting on it and never had the same setup twice," Johnson explained. "It was about perfect for the feature."

Johnson outgunned Wright for the lead at the drop of the green flag, only to have action interrupted after two laps when Greg Leonard spun in turn one and collected Matt Tiffany. Both drivers were done for the night.

The yellow lights flickered again a lap later when Don Droud, Jr., came to a stop on the frontstretch. Droud made a quick trip to the work area before returning to action, while Joey Saldana also ducked into the work area to replace a flat left rear tire.

Leading Wright and Friday night winner Terry McCarl on the lap four restart, Johnson set sail, opening up a half straightaway lead by the time he reached lapped traffic on the ninth lap. Navigating heavy traffic masterfully, Johnson stretched his lead to a full straightaway by the midway point.

While the battles for position raged in his wake, Johnson finally cleared traffic on the 30th lap and found himself with open track, only to have the caution fly when Garry Lee Maier spun to a stop in turn two.

"In Australia, they take the lapped cars out on restarts, so I kinda had to stop and remind myself where I was at under that yellow," Johnson commented after his first weekend of action back in the United States after spending the past several months "Down Under". "This is one of those times I was glad we leave the lapped cars in place here."

With four lapped cars separating the leader from his rivals on the final restart, there was no match for Johnson as he charged to the checkered flag to capture his 29th career ASCS National Tour feature win.

After starting from the pole position, four-time ASCS National champion Gary Wright held second until Terry McCarl slipped by on the fifth lap. Wright battled back around McCarl on the 12th circuit and fought off the Iowa shoe the rest of the way to snare runner-up honors aboard the Wright-Cooper Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Carry All Services No. 01 Maxim.

Wright's runner-up finish along with second and third-place finishes on Thursday and Friday extended his streak of ASCS National Tour top-five feature runs to 16 in a row (tying the series record) and allowed him to escape the East Bay triple with a mere one-point lead over Jason Johnson.

Crossing the stripe on Wright's rear nerf bar, McCarl settled for show honors aboard Mark Burch's Engler Tool & Machine No. 1m Wolfweld.

Just as Wright and McCarl battled for runner-up honors throughout, second-row starters Travis Rilat and Kenny Adams diced for fourth position all the way in the 40-lapper. Rilat finally took the position for keeps in the final laps aboard the F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X, with Adams settling for fifth in the Don Ott-powered C&B Mushrooms/B&W Trucking No. 4a Shaw.

Zach Chappell advanced from tenth to finish sixth, with Jason Sides racing from 13th to seventh. Maier was the final car on the lead lap in eighth, with 17th-starter Daryn Pittman and 23rd-starter Wayne Johnson completing the top ten.

Greg Leonard, Don Young, Chappell, Sides and Dave Calaman topped Saturday night's heat race action, with Chuck Swenson and Tim Shaffer winning the 12-lap "B" Mains.

The night's only red flag flew in the second "B" Main when Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Eric Baldaccini tangled with a lapped car while contending for a transfer position and tipped over in turn four. Baldaccini's mount was reduced to scrap metal moments later when tagged by Canada's Michael Parent. There were no injuries.


O'Reilly ASCoT East Bay Raceway Park "King of the 360's" Nationals Ronald Laney Memorial Results:

Locked in from Thursday and Friday Preliminaries (Top Six in Total Points):

01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR).

Heat Races (Top 12 in passing points to ?A? Main; Balance to 2 "B" Mains)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 2. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 3. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 4. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 5. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 6. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 7. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 8. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI). DNS: 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN).

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN), 2. 02-Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL), 3. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 4. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 5. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 6. 3bx-Danny Biasi (Mary D, PA), 7. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI), 8. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO), 9. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA).

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 3. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 4. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 5. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 6. 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 7. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 8. 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL), 9. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI).

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 2. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 3. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 4. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT), 5. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 6. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 7. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN), 8. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN).

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 2. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 3. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 4. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 5. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 6. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 7. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 8. 00T-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL).

"B" Mains - Top 3 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 2. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 3. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 4. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT), 5. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 6. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 7. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 8. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 9. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 10. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN), 11. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 12. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 13. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 14. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO), 15. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA). DNS: 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN).

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 2. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 3. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 4. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 5. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 6. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 7. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 8. 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 9. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI), 10. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI), 11. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI), 12. 00T-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL), 13. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 14. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN). DNS: 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL).

Prevatt Farms Strawberry Dash:

Strawberry Dash (4 Laps): 1. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 2. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 3. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI), 4. 00T-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL).
 

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event - $10,000 to win Ronald Laney Memorial:

"A" Feature (40 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 2. 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 3. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 4. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 5. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 6. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 7. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 8. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 9. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 10. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 11. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN), 12. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 13. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 14. 02-Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL), 15. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 16. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 17. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 18. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 19. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 20. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 21. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 22. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 23. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 24. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL).

Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson 1-40.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 143, 2. Jason Johnson 142, 3. Terry McCarl 139, 4. Travis Rilat 138, 5. Kenny Adams 132, 6. Wayne Johnson 127, 7. Daryn Pittman 121, 8. (tie) Don Droud, Jr., Tim Crawley and Garry Lee Maier 114, 11. Jason Sides 111, 12. Tim Shaffer 109, 13. Greg Leonard 103, 14. Matt Tiffany 100, 15. Zach Chappell 98.
 

McCarl the Master in Friday ASCS Prelim at East Bay

By Lonnie Wheatley, TAMPA, Fla. (February 1, 2008) - Iowa's Terry McCarl put himself in a strong position to capture a second "King of the 360's" Nationals crown by racing to victory lane in Friday night's 25-lap O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour Nationals series preliminary feature event at East Bay Raceway Park's 32nd Annual Winter Nationals.

Starting from the eleventh position, the 2006 event winner needed just eight laps to overtake early pacesetter Gary Wright before racing on to victory lane aboard Mark Burch's Engler Machine & Tool No. 1m Wolfweld.

With his sixth career ASCS National Tour feature win, McCarl climbed to fifth in points accumulated over the two preliminary events to lock himself into Saturday night's $10,000 to win Ronald Laney Memorial along with top point earner Gary Wright, Jason Johnson (second), Travis Rilat (third), Kenny Adams (fourth) and Tim Crawley (sixth).

The balance of the 55-car field will start from scratch, battling it out through a full card of heat races and "B" Mains to fill out Saturday night's 24-car starting field.

After accumulating the most passing points in heat race action, defending race winner Wright drew the pole position for the feature and led the field to the green flag with Nebraskan Don Droud, Jr., alongside.

Wright jumped into the lead at the drop of the green and led the opening lap in front of fourth-starter Travis Rilat, third-starter Garry Lee Maier, ninth-starter Wayne Johnson and Droud, with the red flag flying moments later when Terry Gray flipped in turn one. Gray was uninjured, but done for the night.

Picking off four positions on the opening circuit, McCarl was seventh on the restart and immediately began working forward as the final 24 circuits ran off in non-stop fashion.

McCarl battled past Jason Johnson and Droud for fifth on the second lap, and had made his way around Wayne Johnson and Maier to take over third by the fourth round.

Two laps later, McCarl disposed of Rilat for second and set his sights on Wright, who was running the low side of the clay oval. Working perfectly a couple of car-widths off the bottom groove, McCarl charged past Wright in turns one and two on the eighth lap and never looked back.

With McCarl working through lapped traffic most of the way, Jason Johnson began advancing through the field and was challenging Wright for second at the midway point. Johnson slipped around Wright for second on the 15th lap and closed in on McCarl on several occasions.

But on each occasion, McCarl made a timely move through lapped traffic to open up some breathing room, ultimately taking the checkered flag four car-lengths ahead of Johnson, who settled for second aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle.

Wright held the show position aboard the Wright-Cooper Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction No. 01 Maxim, with Wayne Johnson picking off a handful of positions to claim fourth aboard the Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Maxim.

Rilat rounded out the top five aboard the F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X, with Tim Crawley and Garry Lee Maier next across the line in seventh and eighth, respectively. Droud was ninth at the stripe, with 18-year-old Matt Tiffany completing the top ten.

Droud, Brian Smith, Crawley, Kenny Adams, Rilat, Joey Saldana and Maier topped heat race action for Friday night's 53-car field, with Daryn Pittman, Jason Sides and Greg Leonard victorious in "B" Main action.

O'Reilly ASCoT East Bay Raceway Park "King of the 360's" Nationals Preliminary Night Two Results:

Heat Races (Top 18 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to 3 "B" Mains)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 2. 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 3. 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 4. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 5. 20-Frank Carlsson (Oxford, FL), 6. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 7. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 8. 00T-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL).

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 2. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 3. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 4. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 5. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 6. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 7. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO), 8. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT).

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 2. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 3. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA), 4. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 5. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 6. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN), 7. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 8. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN).

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 2. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 3. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 4. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 5. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 6. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI), 7. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI), 8. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI).

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 2. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 3. 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN), 4. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 5. 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), 6. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 7. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA).

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 2. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 3. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 4. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 5. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN). DNS: 3b-Brad Greer (Coultierville, IL), 02-Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL).

Heat Seven (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 2. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 3. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 4. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN), 5. 18-Shane Butler (Bushnell, FL), 6 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 7. 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL).

"B" Mains - Top 2 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 2. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 3. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 4. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN), 5. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 6. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 7. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 8. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 9. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 10. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT). DNS: 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 3b-Brad Greer (Coultierville, IL).

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 2. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA), 3. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 4. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN), 5. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 6. 20-Frank Carlsson (Oxford, FL), 7. 18-Shane Butler (Bushnell, FL), 8. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 9. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 10. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO). DNS: 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL).

Third "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 2. 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), 3. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 4. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 5. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN), 6. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI), 7. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 8. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 9. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI), 10. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI), 11. OOT-Thomas Selhorst (Clearwater, FL).

Strawberry Dash:

Strawberry Dash (10 Laps): 1. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 2. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 3. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN), 4. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL), 5. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI), 6. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 7. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 8. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 9. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT), 10. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY).

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

 

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 2. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 3. 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 4. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 5. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 6. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 7. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 8. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 9. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 10. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 11. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 12. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 13. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 14. 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), 15. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 16. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 17. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 18. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 19. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 20. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA), 21. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 22. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 23. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 24. 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN).

Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-7, Terry McCarl 8-25.

Locked into Saturday night's feature (Top six in accumulated heat and feature points from Thursday and Friday): 1. Gary Wright 513.0, 2. Jason Johnson 498.0, 3. Travis Rilat 495.0, 4. Kenny Adams 486.0, 5. Terry McCarl 485.5, 6. Tim Crawley 482.0. Balance of the top 20 (start from scratch on Saturday night): 7. Wayne Johnson 480.5, 8. Danny Smith 470.5, 9. Daryn Pittman 469.5, 10. Don Droud, Jr. 466.0, 11. Matt Tiffany 462.0, 12. Garry Lee Maier 461.0, 13. Tim Shaffer 460.5, 14. Greg Leonard 451.0, 15. Jason Sides 448.5, 16. Josh Weller 437.0, 17. Chuck Swenson 432.0, 18. Joey Saldana 427.5, 19. Danny Martin, Jr. 422.0, 20. Terry Gray 420.0.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Ten): 1. Gary Wright 95, 2. (tie) Jason Johnson, Terry McCarl and Travis Rilat 92, 5. (tie) Wayne Johnson and Kenny Adams 92, 7. Tim Crawley 84, 8. Danny Smith 82, 9. Daryn Pittman 80, 10. Don Droud, Jr. 79.

 

Adams Aces O'Reilly ASCoT Opening Night at East Bay

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TAMPA, Fla. (January 31, 2008) - Florida ace Kenny Adams made a late move around four-time and reigning O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National champion Gary Wright to kick off East Bay Raceway Park's 32nd Annual Winter Nationals in dramatic fashion with a win in Thursday night's 25-lap "King of the 360's" Nationals preliminary feature event.

Adams rallied from the ninth starting position and made the big slide around Wright for the lead upon the completion of the 22nd lap as the O'Reilly ASCoT National series kicked off its season-opening three-night stand at East Bay Raceway Park, which culminates with Saturday night's $10,000 to win Ronald Laney Memorial.

Recording what unofficially ranks as his 200th career Sprint Car feature win, Adams scurried to the line over the final three circuits to post his second career ASCS National Tour victory aboard the Don Ott-powered C&B Mushrooms/B&W Trucking/Goodson Farms No. 4a Shaw, while Wright held off fellow Texas racer Travis Rilat for runner-up honors. Indiana's Danny Smith claimed fourth, with Oklahoma native Daryn Pittman rounding out the top five.

"When the race started, I really didn't think we could win from the fifth row," Adams explained afterward. "That caution (after 18 laps) probably helped us, that gave us some open track where we could put that slide on when we needed to without lapped cars in the way."

After winning his heat race from the pole position, Adams just missed the cut for the redraw by ranking ninth in passing points. Wright, the night's top points earner in heat race action, drew the front row outside while eighth point-earner Garry Lee Maier drew the pole position.

After a pair of attempted starts were waved off, including one that eliminated second-row starter Terry Gray and Gene Lasker, Wright got the jump on Maier and set sail around the Tampa clay in his first outing aboard the Wright-Cooper Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Carry All Services No. 01 Maxim.

Maier, fourth-starter Danny Smith and fifth-starter Dave Calaman chased Wright in the early rounds, while Adams cracked the top five after just three laps.

Lapped traffic came into play after just eight laps, with Maier moving in to challenge Wright for the lead on the tenth circuit. But Wright navigated his way around a pair of lapped cars to slip away from Maier as Adams battled with Smith for third at the midway point.

After making his way past Smith, Adams went to work on Maier for second and slid past the first ASCS National champion in turns three and four on the 14th lap, setting his sights on the fleet Wright, who had slipped away to nearly a half straightaway advantage.

But after Maier ran afoul of a lapped car and brushed the turn three wall on the 17th lap, he was forced to a stop with a broken front axle a lap later to bring out the race's only interruption.

With the lapped car of 2003 "King of the 360's" Nationals champion Sport Allen separating Wright from Adams on the restart, Wright set sail once again. Adams made quick work of Allen and reeled in the leader.

Adams executed the perfect slide job through turns three and four on the 22nd lap and went on to record the win, with Wright fending off Rilat for the runner-up position.

"We cut the right rear on something, it just had four pounds of the air at the finish so it was getting awful tight at the end," Wright commented.

Charging from 16th, Rilat cracked the top ten by the fifth round, was fifth at the 15-lap mark and was in third by the time the caution flew after 18 laps. Rilat challenged Wright on the final lap before settling for third aboard the F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X.

Indiana shoe Danny Smith raced among the top-five all the way and took the checkered flag fourth aboard the Doug Williams Trucking No. 4, with Pittman climbing from eighth to round out the top five in the Titan Racing No. 21 entry.

Two-time ASCS National Tour points runner-up Jason Johnson climbed from 12th to sixth, with local shoe Greg Leonard charging from 21st to seventh. Terry McCarl, the 2006 "King of the 360's" Nationals winner, raced from 22nd to eighth, with 20th-starter Wayne Johnson and Tim Crawley completing the top ten.

Terry Gray, Wright, D. Smith, Adams, Danny Martin, Jr., Crawley and Calaman topped heat race action for the 55-car field, with Dustin Morgan, W. Johnson and Leonard winning the 12-lap "B" Mains.

Canadian Michael Parent turned over in turn three on the opening lap of the seventh heat race, but was able to return for "B" Main action. New York's Adam Gordon got turned upside down as the green flag flew on the third "B" Main, escaping injury as well.

Don Young checked out in the Strawberry Dash for Cash, leading a Memphis one-two sweep in front of Chris Williams.

Action at the Tenth Annual "King of the 360's" Nationals at East Bay Raceway Park's 32nd Annual Winter Nationals resumes on Friday night for the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series. The top six in combined points from Thursday and Friday night's preliminary action will be locked into Saturday night's $10,000-to-win Ronald Laney Memorial.


O'Reilly ASCoT East Bay Raceway Park "King of the 360's" Nationals Preliminary Night One Results:

Heat Races (Top 18 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to 3 "B" Mains)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN), 2. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 3. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 4. 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI), 5. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 6. 00T-Doug Day (Winder, GA), 7. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO), 8. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT).

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 2. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 3. 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL), 4. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 5. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 6. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 7. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO), 8. w20-Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH).

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), 2. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA), 3. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 4. 6-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 5. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 6. 20-Frank Carlsson (Oxford, CA), 7. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN), 8. 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY).

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 2. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 3. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 4. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 5. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 6. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 7. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 8. 18-Shane Butler (Bushnell, FL).

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 2. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 3. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 4. 02-Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL), 5. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN), 6. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 7. 3b-Brad Greer (Coultierville, IL), 8. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI).

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 2. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 3. 8h-Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK), 4. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 5. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 6. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 7. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL). DNS: 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI).

Heat Seven (8 Laps): 1. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 3. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 4. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 5. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 6. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 7. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN).

"B" Mains - Top 2 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 8h-Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK), 2. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 3. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN), 4. 17b-Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD), 5. 3x-Brian Maddox (Brandon, FL), 6. 93-Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, OK), 7. 12-Tim Kelly (Dundee, NY), 8. 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 9. 25-Michael Parent (Quebec, CAN), 10. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 11. 6s-Mike Schroeder (Southwest Ranches, FL), 12. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI). DNS: 21T-T.J. Luedke (Plymouth, WI).

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 2. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 3. 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL), 4. 2-Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN), 5. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 6. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN), 7. 29T-Leigh Thomas (Duluth, MN), 8. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO), 9. 15c-Anthony Cain (Fairfax, VT), 10. 20-Frank Carlsson (Oxford, FL), 11. 3bx-Joey Biasi (Mary D, PA), 12. 18-Shane Butler (Bushnell, FL).

Third "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 2. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 3. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 4. 11s-Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC), 5. w20-Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH), 6. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 7. 51-John Sauermilch (Elkhart Lake, WI), 8. 3b-Brad Greer (Coultierville, IL), 9. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 10. 18x-Adam Gordon (Suffern, NY), 11. 79-Dakotah Stephens (Brandon, FL). DNS: 00T-Doug Day (Winder, GA).

Strawberry Dash:

Strawberry Dash (10 Laps): 1. 75-Don Young (Memphis, TN), 2. 8x-Chris Williams (Memphis, TN), 3. 14-Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY), 4. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH), 5. 20-Frank Carlsson (Oxford, FL), 6. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 7. 18-Shane Butler (Bushnell, FL), 8. 97-Aaron Schipper (Plymouth, WI), 9. 13-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), 10. 4c-Tyler Godwin (Lutz, FL).
 

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 2. 01-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX), 3. 29-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 4. 4-Danny Smith (Danville, IN), 5. 21-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK), 6. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 7. 6-Greg Leonard (Apollo Beach, FL), 8. 1m-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA), 9. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 10. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 11. 7s-Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN), 12. 91-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 13. 00-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 14. 63-Josh Weller (Mertztown, PA), 15. a12-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA), 16. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 17. 8h-Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK), 18. 3-Sport Allen (Pinellas Park, FL), 19. 5-Dave Calaman (Carlisle, PA), 20. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD), 21. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 22. 11x-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 23. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK), 24. 10-Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN), 25. 02-Gene Lasker (Tampa, FL).

Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-21, Kenny Adams 22-25.

Note: Eric Baldaccini utilized a provisional starting position for the "A" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Ten): 1. Kenny Adams 50, 2. Gary Wright 48, 3. Travis Rilat 47, 4. Danny Smith 46, 5. Daryn Pittman 45, 6. Jason Johnson 44, 7. Greg Leonard 43, 8. Terry McCarl 42, 9. Wayne Johnson 41, 10. Tim Crawley 40.
 

Gary Wright - Selling Out but Not Done Yet

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (December 17, 2007) - Following on the heels of his fourth consecutive O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National championship, once again worth a cool $50 grand, there has been much speculation regarding the racing future of Hooks, TX, hotshoe Gary Wright.

And while reports that "The Texan" will sell all of his equipment are accurate, fellow competitors on the rugged National series can't rest easy yet, as Wright will still keep his helmet, gloves and related driving gear. And he'll put it to plenty of good use as well.

It's just that Wright will no longer fall under the title of car owner after auctioning off all the equipment he owns, including truck, trailer, chassis, engines and more on the final day of the 22nd Annual Dodge Chili Bowl Nationals, January 12, 2008, in Tulsa, OK.

Wright has reached an agreement with Missouri car owner Donnie Cooper to pilot his potent equipment for the 2008 season. Cooper utilizes the same Maxim chassis, Wesmar engine combination that Wright has used so successfully in recent years. The exact extent to which the team will race is not exactly clear yet, but indications are that Wright won't surrender his post as ASCS king without a fight.

"I've got a deal with Donnie (Cooper) and basically we'll run as much as I want to," Wright commented. "There's a real good chance we could run the full ASCS National Tour, we're just gonna wait and see exactly what the schedule looks like when it comes out."

Wright went on to say, "If Jason (Johnson) or Wayne (Johnson) or one of those other guys wants the title, I want to make 'em work for it, I don't want to just hand it over to them."

All the equipment that Wright currently owns and utilized to rack up another 13 ASCS National Tour wins in 2007 will be auctioned off at noon on Saturday, January 12, at the Tulsa Racer's Auction on the Tulsa State Fairgrounds. Equipment up for auction includes his truck, trailer, three 360-ci engines, three 410-ci engines and all other parts and equipment.

"It's all good stuff, anybody that buys it could go out and contend for the ASCS National championship," Wright explained. "The 410-ci engines would be perfect for wingless Sprint Cars and with about all the wingless guys in the country in Tulsa for the Chili Bowl, it's the perfect place to do this."

Wright ran his career ASCS National Tour win total to 119 in 2007 with thirteen triumphs, posting 33 top-fives in 35 feature events to claim the championship by 102 points over Louisiana's Jason Johnson, with Oklahoma's Wayne Johnson another six points back in third. Wright was recently awarded National Driver of the Year honors for the fourth time by the National Hall of Fame's North American 360 Sprint Car Poll voting panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers.

"And it probably should have been five championships in a row," Wright quipped. "We missed that one race because of a highway wreck in 2003 and lost by something like twelve points, if we would have made that one race we probably would have won that year too with room to spare."

The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series kicks off the 17th year of competition for the American Sprint Car Series with East Bay Raceway Park's $10,000-to-win "King of the 360's" Nationals in Tampa, FL, on January 31, February 1 and February 2. Wright is the defending champion of the opening leg of 360-ci Sprint Car racing's triple crown, with ensuing legs including Knoxville's 360 Nationals and I-30 Speedway's Short Track Nationals.

Including the National Tour and its twelve Regions, the American Sprint Car Series sanctioned 189 nights of racing at 90 different tracks throughout 25 different states and Canada in 2007, with 866 different drivers competing in at least one event.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
 

ASCS Patriots and Mid-Atlantic's Best to be Honored This Saturday

By Rich Vleck,

TULSA, Okla. (November 26, 2007) - This Saturday Night, all the records will be broken at what should be a fantastic way to cap the 2007 season for the two Northeast Regions of the American Sprint Car Series.

Twenty competitors will receive awards this Saturday, December 1, at the all-new Holiday Inn in Henrietta, NY, just south of Rochester. A capacity crowd of 125 has already punched their ticket to the awards banquet, which will fill the room with the excitement of the season.

Chuck Hebing, of Ontario, NY, and Tim Hogue, of Medford, NJ, will be honored as Champions of the Patriot and Mid-Atlantic Regions, respectively. They will headline a class of top competitors that will together walk away with over $35,000 in cash and prizes.

Hebing won 12 ASCS races en route to his second consecutive Patriot Region Champion, the first driver to win multiple championships in the five-year history of the series. It is the first championship for Hogue, due in large part to 2007 being the inaugural season for the ASCS Mid-Atlantic Region.

With point funds being paid for Patriot Region, the Mid-Atlantic Region, the A-Verdi King of CNY Series and the Gater Racing News Hard Charger of the Season Award presented by Red Bear Hand Cleaner, the cash prizes will be plentiful to go around.

Each competitor will have a video montage of the year, along with still shots of the season. There are a slew of special awards also to distribute, including perfect attendance, best appearing car, Patriot of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved, and many more.

The Awards Banquet will kick off at 6:00 p.m. with a cocktail hour. Chuck Hebing will be getting everyone started by buying the first round. At 7:00 p.m., dinner will be served, with the awards presentation getting underway immediately after.

While the banquet is sold out, any and all competitors are welcome to attend the free rules meeting at 4:00 p.m. Details on the 2008 season, including scheduled events, rules alterations, and technical specifications, are expected to be discussed.

For more information, please visit www.ASCSracing.com.
 

Wright Wrangles 13th O'Reilly ASCoT Win of 2007 with West Plains Triumph

By Lonnie Wheatley,

WEST PLAINS, Mo. (September 29, 2007) - With the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series resuming action on Saturday night, it was the most familiar of faces reaching victory lane as Gary Wright captured his 13th series win of the year in the 25-lap feature at West Plains Motor Speedway.

Wright emerged from a torrid three-way duel for the lead with Brian Brown and Marshall Skinner over the first half of the race before ultimately taking the checkered flag in front of Tim Crawley in the non-stop feature event that took just under eight minutes to complete.

With his 119th career ASCS National win, "The Texan" moved one step closer to a fourth consecutive series title by extending his points lead to 68 markers over Wayne Johnson with just two weekends of action, including the Devil's Bowl Speedway Winter Nationals on October 12-13 and I-30 Speedway's Short Track Nationals on October 25-27, remaining on the 2007 slate.

Wright gridded the feature field third aboard the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Southwest Express/Whiteco Commercial Funding No. 9 Maxim with Pole Dash winner Brown and Skinner leading the way to the green flag.

Brown gunned into the early lead, but the race was soon on as Skinner and Wright began challenging for the lead. Brown catfished his way around the bottom in the early going while Skinner worked the high side to surge into the lead upon the completion of the fifth lap with Wright nipping on the lead duo's heels.

Brown edged back into the lead the next time by, only to have Skinner return the favor the next lap as the trio sliced and diced in three-wide formation over much of the opening dozen rounds.

Into lapped traffic by the tenth round, the frenzied pace soon worked to Wright's advantage as he took command on the 14th circuit and never looked back.

While Brown began to fade in the final half of the race, it was seventh-starter Tim Crawley on the move in Mike Ward's CnB Mushroom Farms No. 88 Maxim. Crawley, a two-time O'Reilly ASCoT winner at West Plains, took third from Brown by the 16th round and then snuck around Skinner on the white flag lap to take runner-up honors.

Skinner settled for the show position aboard the CnB Mushroom Farms No. 26 J&J.

Making his first career O'Reilly ASCoT National feature start, 16-year-old Derek Hagar raced among the top five all the way and made a late move around Brown to snare fourth aboard the Dynotech-powered Motorstands.com #9JR entry.

Brown rounded out the top five aboard Tim and Gina Doogs' Ostrich-powered Ditzfield Transfer No. 21 Maxim with past ASCS National champions Wayne Johnson and Zach Chappell in sixth and seventh, respectively. While it was Chappell's 246th career O'Reilly ASCoT National feature start, it was his first of 2007.

Jason Johnson, the 2006 National Driver of the Year, climbed from 13th to eighth, with Jerrod Hull and 20-year-old Brad Bowden completing the top ten.

Travis Rilat, who along with Jason Johnson made the 12-hour trek from Friday night's ASCS Gulf South event in Beaumont, TX, was eleventh. Sean McClelland passed the most cars in the feature event by racing from 21st to 13th with Nick Smith advancing seven positions by climbing from 19th to 12th.

Twenty-two of the 24 starters took the checkered flag in the non-stop event, with only Kaley Gharst and leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Foster Landon pulling to the infield along the way.

Forrest Sutherland tagged the turn three wall on the opening round of the first heat race and scratched for the balance of the program.

Jesse Hockett grenaded an engine in his heat race but was able to return for feature action after swapping out powerplants.

O'Reilly ASCoT Results from West Plains Motor Speedway:

Heat Races:

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 3. 12-Jerrod Hull, 4. 1p-Curtis Evans, 5. 41-Jason Johnson, 6. 04-Brad Graham, 7. 19s-Steven Cross, 8. 22-Dustin Barks, 9. 85-Forrest Sutherland.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 26-Marshall Skinner, 2. 14c-Mike Trent, 3. 88-Mike Ward, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson, 5. 3*-Kaley Gharst, 6. 86-Josh Fisher, 7. 16-Dewayne Prince, 8. 75-Jesse Hockett.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 92-Zach Chappell, 2. 15-Brad Bowden, 3. 21-Brian Brown, 4. 11F-Foster Landon, 5. 29-Travis Rilat, 6. 15s-Nick Smith, 7. 1-Sean McClelland, 8. 2-Kenneth Walker.

Pole Dash (Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of "A" Main):

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown, 2. 26-Marshall Skinner, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 5. 92-Zach Chappell, 6. 12-Jerrod Hull.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Results from West Plains Motor Speedway:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 88-Tim Crawley, 3. 26-Marshall Skinner, 4. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 5. 21-Brian Brown, 6. 94-Wayne Johnson, 7. 92-Zach Chappell, 8. 41-Jason Johnson, 9. 12-Jerrod Hull, 10. 15-Brad Bowden, 11. 29-Travis Rilat, 12. 15s-Nick Smith, 13. 1-Sean McClelland, 14. 86-Josh Fisher, 15. 14c-Mike Trent, 16. 04-Brad Graham, 17. 2-Kenneth Walker, 18. 75-Jesse Hockett, 19. 1p-Curtis Evans, 20. 16-Dewayne Prince, 21. 22-Dustin Barks, 22. 19s-Steven Cross, 23. 11F-Foster Landon, 24. 3*-Kaley Gharst. DNS: 85-Forrest Sutherland.

Lap Leaders: Brian Brown 1-4, Marshall Skinner 5, Brian Brown 6, Marshall Skinner 7-13, Gary Wright 14-25.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Twenty): 1. Gary Wright 3,990, 2. Wayne Johnson 3,922, 3. Jason Johnson 3,876, 4. Travis Rilat 3,712, 5. Foster Landon 3,280, 6. Darren Stewart 2,512, 7. Nick Smith 2,008, 8. Eric Baldaccini 1,701, 9. Andy Shouse 1,559, 10. Kenneth Walker 1,485.
 

Shane Stewart Captures ASCS Knoxville Nationals Crown!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 4, 2007) - Bixby, Oklahoma native Shane Stewart pocketed a cool $10,000 by winning Saturday night's 17th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals 25-lap finale at the famed Knoxville Raceway on the Marion County Fairgrounds.

Stewart and Gary Wright traded the lead during the middle portion of the race before Stewart took over for keeps on the 14th circuit aboard the Shaver-powered Doyle's Harley Davidson No. 1hd Maxim.

Surviving a caution that flew on the white flag lap, Stewart took the checkered flag with a 0.840 second advantage over fellow Oklahoma shoe Wayne Johnson, who raced around Gary Wright for the runner-up position in the final corner.

After winning Friday night's preliminary feature, Stewart gridded the feature on the front row outside with Higday leading the way to the green flag from the pole position. Stewart gunned into the lead on the initial start with fourth-starting Wright shooting into second in the opening pair of corners only to have the start waved off when New York's Bryan Howland took a hard tumble in turn three. Howland was uninjured but done for the night.

Stewart repeated his initial start by once again charging into the lead when action resumed. But this time it took Wright a bit more than the first two corners to climb into second, as it was the second time around the track before he took the second position from Higday.

With Stewart running the top side around the ½-mile clay oval, Wright worked the low line and began reeling in the leader. Wright closed in on the sixth round and was just a half car-length out of the lead as the duo completed the lap.

Stewart fought off Wright's bid, holding a two car-length advantage when the caution flew after nine laps for Justin Barger's stalled mount. Barger rejoined the field at the tail, with the caution flying again one lap later for debris in turn four.

Back under way, Stewart changed lines and ran the low side of turns one and two. Wright wasted no time moving to the top and charged into the lead as they raced off turn two and down the backstretch.

Stewart kept "The Texan" in his sights and reeled him back in on the 14th lap, regaining the lead on the inside as the pair exited turn four.

Stewart held strong up front and was less than a lap away from securing the triumph when the race's final caution flew for Brian Brown, who came to a stop in turn four with a blown engine after charging from 18th to fifth.

Set for a green-white-checkered dash to the stripe, Stewart executed a pair of flawless laps to collect his 14th career O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series feature win.

After starting ninth, Wayne Johnson had climbed to third by the eleventh lap and took advantage of the late caution to surge past Wright in the final corner to snare runner-up honors aboard Tim and Mike Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Eagle.

Wright settled for the show position in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Whiteco Commercial Funding No. 9, with Jason Johnson taking the fourth position in Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports No. 41 Eagle. Thursday night preliminary feature winner Kaley Gharst rounded out the top five in the Wesmar-powered Phillips' Floors No. 3* Maxim.

Higday crossed the stripe sixth, with Travis Rilat in seventh. Scott Winters charged from 20th to eighth, with Matt Moro and 24th-starter Jonathan Allard completing the top ten.

Darren Stewart was unable to make the call for the feature after encountering mechanical woes in hot laps and watched his older brother race to victory lane.

Jonathan Cornell kicked off the evening by establishing a new 8-lap track record of 2:13.6 while winning the "E" Main.

Eric Baldaccini made a last-lap pass of Forrest Sutherland to win the 10-lap "D" Main, with J.D. Johnson racing around Jack Potter on the second lap en route to topping the 12-lap "C" Main.

Barger posted a strong victory drive in the 15-lap "B" Main, with Larry Neighbors, Garry Lee Maier and Allard taking the final transfer positions to the championship main event.
 

17th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Saturday Championship Feature Results:

"E" Main - Top 7 Advance to "D" Main:

E Feature (8 Laps): 1. 28x-Jonathan Cornell, 2. 5L-Eric Lutz, 3. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 4. 31p-Travis Porter, 5. 7s-Jordan St. Arnold, 6. 46-Gary Moyer, 7. 5x-Dave Glennon, 8. 00-Lauren Densley, 9. 22b-Ben Gregg. DNS: 67-Brian Thomas.


"D" Main - Top 6 Advance to "C" Main:

D Feature (10 Laps): 1. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 85s-Forrest Sutherland, 3. 28x-Jonathan Cornell, 4. 43-A.J. Selenke, 5. 04-Frankie Heimbaugh, 6. 11F-Foster Landon, 7. 33-Alan Zoutte, 8. 5L-Eric Lutz, 9. 4r-Robbie Vaughn, 10. 7s-Jordan St. Arnold, 11. 5x-Dave Glennon, 12. 53h-Matt Harms, 13. 86J-Josh Fisher, 14. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 15. 48-Tyler Thompson, 16. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 17. 31p-Travis Porter, 18. 46-Gary Moyer, 19. 84-Toby Chapman, 20. 1x-Matt Linder, 21. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 22. 15s-Nick Smith.


"C" Main - Top 4 Advance to "B" Main:

C Feature (12 Laps): 1. 98-J.D. Johnson, 2. 51s-Lee Sowell, 3. 26-Tayler Malsam, 4. 15-Jack Potter, 5. 2d-Bryan Dobesh, 6. 44-Larry Pinegar II, 7. 23a-Seth Bergman, 8. 35a-Brad Sweet, 9. 1-Pete Crall, 10. 98r-Joe Ramaker, 11. 27-Don Droud, Jr., 12. 3-Nate VanHaaften, 13. 28x-Jonathan Cornell, 14. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 15. 91x-Derek Ingalls, 16. 11F-Foster Landon, 17. Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr., 18. 85s-Forrest Sutherland, 19. 04-Frankie Heimbaugh, 20. 11T-T.J. Winegardner, 21. 43-A.J. Selenke, 22. 4-Mike Chadd.


"B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main:

B Feature (15 Laps): 1. 32-Justin Barger, 2. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 3. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier, 4. 0-Jonathan Allard, 5. 4x-Jan Howard, 6. 53-Joe Beaver, 7. 29-Russ Hall, 8. 7m-Chad Meyer, 9. 5-Rick Ideus, 10. 94s-Natalie Sather, 11. 35r-Ron Blair, 12. 34-Luke Hall, 13. 4J-Lee Grosz, 14. 15-Jack Potter, 15. 51s-Lee Sowell, 16. 7-Dustin Selvage, 17. 26-Tayler Malsam, 18. 98-J.D. Johnson, 19. X-Chuck Swenson, 20. 24-Jarod Smith, 21. 86-John Kearney, 22. 5g-Brett Golik.


17th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals "A" Main

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 1hd-Shane Stewart, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 3*-Kaley Gharst, 6. 2x-Josh Higday, 7. 29T-Travis Rilat, 8. R19-Scott Winters, 9. 2m-Matt Moro, 10. 0-Jonathan Allard, 11. 6b-Dale Blaney, 12. 54-Brett Mather, 13. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 14. 7L-Darren Long, 15. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 16. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier, 17. 75-Don Young, 18. 21-Brian Brown, 19. 45-Chuck Hebing, 20. 32-Justin Barger, 21. 1m-Skip Jackson, 22. 7a-Johnny Anderson, 23. 51h-Bryan Howland. DNS: 91-Darren Stewart.

Lap Leaders: Shane Stewart 1-10, Gary Wright 11-14, Shane Stewart 15-25.


O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Twenty): 1. Gary Wright 3,840, 2. Wayne Johnson 3,784, 3. Jason Johnson 3,742, 4. Travis Rilat 3,584, 5. Foster Landon 3,176, 6. Darren Stewart 2,512, 7. Nick Smith 1,882, 8. Eric Baldaccini 1,701, 9. Andy Shouse 1,559, 10. Chris Schmelzle 1,559, 11. Johnny Miller 1,427, 12. Kenneth Walker 1,369, 13. Chuck Swenson 1,292, 14. Kevin Ramey 1,263, 15. Danny Jennings 1,214, 16. Aaron Berryhill 1,079, 17. Natalie Sather 1,073, 18. Coleman Gulick 1,042, 19. Joe Wood, Jr. 1,020, 20. Tim Crawley 982.
 

Shane Shines on ASCS Knoxville Nationals Night Two

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 3, 2007) - Bixby, Oklahoma's Shane Stewart has enjoyed past success with both the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series as well as at the famed Knoxville Raceway.

On Friday night, it all came together with Stewart racing to victory lane in the 20-lap feature event that put the wraps on the second night of action for the 17th Annual American Sprint Car Series Knoxville Nationals. With the victory, Stewart has unofficially earned the pole position for Saturday night's $10,000 to win ASCS Knoxville Nationals finale pending a final audit of the points accumulated over the two qualifying nights.

Stewart battled past California's Jonathan Allard for the lead upon the completion of the eighth round and ultimately took the checkered flag with a comfortable 3.681 second advantage over Louisiana's Jason Johnson, who picked up the runner-up slot when apparent second-place finisher Clint Garner was disqualified after his car failed post-race technical inspection.

The victory marked Stewart's 13th career O'Reilly ASCoT National feature win and first since winning the Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals in 2004 and was his third career triumph at Knoxville Raceway, with his last win at the Marion County Fairgrounds facility coming during Knoxville Nationals preliminary action in 2005.

While Stewart gridded the feature field fifth aboard the Shaver-powered Doyle's Harley Davidson No. 1hd Maxim, it was Brett Mather and Ron Blair leading the way to the green flag. Mather led through the opening pair of corners, only to have third-starting Allard shoot into the lead as the pack exited turn two.

Climbing to fourth on the opening round, Stewart raced past both Blair and Mather to take over second on the second lap and set his sights on Allard. Stewart reeled in the leader and ducked to Allard's inside to edge into the lead as the pair raced off turn four to complete the eighth lap.

Once in front, Stewart immediately began to check out as Allard soon had his hands full with Wayne Johnson, who had worked forward from his sixth starting position.

Working through lapped traffic on a track that was conducive to slide jobs, Johnson put a slider on Allard in turns one and two on the 12th round that came up short. Johnson tagged Allard's left rear, with Allard getting upside down to bring out the red flag. Allard was uninjured but done for the night, while Johnson rejoined the field after quick repairs and climbed back up to 14th by race's end.

Stewart led the way on the restart with Clint Garner and Jason Johnson on his tailtank. Garner put a big slide on Stewart for the lead in turns one and two, but Stewart was up to the task and powered off the turn two cushion to retain command.

Stewart slipped away from his rivals and despite reaching lapped traffic over the final rounds, he managed to cruise to the checkered flag unabated.

Garner crossed the line 1.352 seconds behind Stewart, but Johnson took runner-up honors following Garner's disqualification. After starting eighth, current Knoxville Raceway points leader Josh Higday took the show position, accumulating enough points to earn the front row ouside starting position for Saturday night's finale.

Mather crossed the stripe fourth, with tenth-starter Darren Stewart rounding out the top five.

Gregg Bakker raced from 13th to claim sixth, with 12th-starter Chad Meyer, Skip Jackson, 15th-starter Garry Lee Maier and 16th-starter Joe Beaver completing the top ten.

New York's Chuck Hebing kicked off the night by touring the ½-mile clay oval at 16.179 seconds in his first visit to the track, besting Friday's field of 61 entries.

Dustin Selvage, Bakker, Maier, Wayne Johnson and Garner topped heat race action. Eric Baldaccini won the 10-lap "C" Main, with Darren Long winning the 12-lap "B" Main.

The night featured several wild rides, the first of which came in the opening corner of the fourth heat when Chris Morgan climbed a right rear tire and destroyed his machine in the resulting wild flip.

Ryan Roberts took a nasty ride down the backstretch on the first attempt to start the "B" Main. The second start had a multi-car tangle in turn four with both John Hall and Mike Houseman, Jr., getting upside down. On the third try to start the "B" Main, an errant car clipped Eric Lutz on the backstretch and sent him into the inside barrier.

There were no injuries.

A total of 112 entries competed over the two preliminary nights of the 17th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals.

17th Annual O'Reilly ASCS Knoxville Nationals Friday Preliminary Results:

Qualifying:

1. 45-Chuck Hebing (Ontario, NY) 16.179, 2. 2x-Josh Higday (Des Moines, IA) 16.183, 3. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 16.216, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 16.245, 5. 1hd-Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 16.269, 6. 32-Justin Barger (Montrose, NY) 16.269, 7. 1m-Skip Jackson (Sydney, AUS) 16.432, 8. 7L-Darren Long (Elida, OH) 16.445, 9. 4-Mike Chadd (Lincoln, NE) 16.460, 10. 26-Tayler Malsam (Seattle, WA) 16.462, 11. 0-Jonathan Allard (Chico, CA) 16.512, 12. 35-Ron Blair (Troy, OH) 16.564, 13. 54-Brett Mather (Ames, IA) 16.573, 14. 7c-Chris Morgan (Topeka, KS) 16.579, 15. 40-Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.594, 16. 91-Darren Stewart (Bixby, OK) 16.603, 17. 5-Rick Ideus (Silver City, IA) 16.620, 18. Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr. (Norwalk, IA) 16.643, 19. 5g-Brett Golik (Newton, IA) 16.645, 20. 86x-Jesse Giannetto (Palo, IA) 16.650, 21. 7m-Chad Meyer (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.660, 22. 11T-T.J. Winegardner (Pierson, FL) 16.691, 23. 11x-Gregg Bakker (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.707, 24. 13-Jordan Martens (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.758, 25. 28-Mitch Runge (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.758, 26. 7-Dustin Selvage (Indianola, IA) 16.763, 27. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 16.773, 28. 53-Joe Beaver (Knoxville, IA) 16.799, 29. 98-J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS) 16.801, 30. 4x-Jan Howard (Byhalia, MS) 16.805, 31. 1x-Matt Linder (Hoschton, GA) 16.831, 32. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 16.834, 33. 2-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD) 16.860, 34. 2d-Bryan Dobesh (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.896, 35. 3g-Tim Norman (Warsaw, IN) 16.927, 36. 85s-Forrest Sutherland (Cherryvale, KS) 16.966, 37. 7i-Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR) 16.971, 38. 51-Dave Hall (Des Moines, IA) 16.979, 39. 84-Toby Chapman (Lincoln, NE) 17.027, 40. 35a-Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, CA) 17.028, 41. 11-Tim Allison (Lima, OH) 17.076, 42. 86J-Josh Fisher (Smithton, MO) 17.128, 43. 38m-Nick Mulheim (Navarre, OH) 17.131, 44. 7h-John Hall (Marion, IA) 17.133, 45. 28x-Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO) 17.136, 46. 15s-Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 17.140, 47. 18r-Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE) 17.158, 48. 7s-Jordan St. Arnold (Des Moines, IA) 17.176, 49. 5L-Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD) 17.232, 50. 22n-Nate Mosher (Prairie City, IA) 17.234, 51. 41k-Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe, TX) 17.427, 52. 22b-Ben Gregg (Glendale, AZ) 17.429, 53. 46-Gary Moyer (Des Moines, IA) 17.515, 54. 5x-Dave Glennon (Casselton, ND) 17.570, 55. Y5-C.J. Houseman (Norwalk, IA) 17.690, 56. 57-Stu Snyder (Waverly, NE) 17.730, 57. 82-Jason Danley (Lincoln, NE) 17.741, 58. 00-Lauren Densley (Melbourne, AUS) 18.296, 59. 1a-Ryan Yeager (Ringstead, IA) 18.328. Illegal tire in qualifying: 14p-Rager Phillips (Pleasantville, IA) and 5ma-Mallory Armfield (St. Joseph, MO).


Heat Races (Top 4 Advance to "A" Main; Positions 5-8 to "B" Main; Positions 9-10 to "C" Main)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 7-Dustin Selvage, 2. 91-Darren Stewart, 3. 0-Jonathan Allard, 4. 11-Tim Allison, 5. 45-Chuck Hebing, 6. 32-Justin Barger, 7. 15s-Nick Smith, 8. 85s-Forrest Sutherland, 9. 1x-Matt Linder, 10. 11-Tim Allison.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier, 2. 2x-Josh Higday, 3. 1m-Skip Jackson, 4. 35-Ron Blair, 5. 11T-T.J. Winegardner, 6. 18r-Ryan Roberts, 7. 7i-Ricky Logan, 8. 5-Rick Ideus, 9. 86J-Josh Fisher, 10. b4-Eric Baldaccini.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 2. 53-Joe Beaver, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 54-Brett Mather, 5. Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr., 6. 51-Dave Hall, 7. 7L-Darren Long, 8. 38m-Nick Mulheim, 9. 2-Kevin Ingle, 10. 7s-Jordan St. Arnold.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 98-J.D. Johnson, 3. 5g-Brett Golik, 4. 2d-Bryan Dobesh, 5. 7h-John Hall, 6. 4-Mike Chadd, 7. 5L-Eric Lutz, 8. 84-Toby Chapman, 9. 13-Jordan Martens, 10. 7c-Chris Morgan.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 40-Clint Garner, 2. 1hd-Shane Stewart, 3. 4x-Jan Howard, 4. 35a-Brad Sweet, 5. 26-Tayler Malsam, 6. 22n-Nate Mosher, 7. 28-Mitch Runge, 8. 28x-Jonathan Cornell, 9. 86x-Jesse Giannetto, 10. 3g-Tim Norman.


"C" Main - Top 2 Advance to "B" Main

"C" Feature (10 Laps): 1. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 2. 86J-Josh Fisher, 3. 57-Stu Snyder, 4. 1x-Matt Linder, 5. 22b-Ben Gregg, 6. 5x-Dave Glennon, 7. 14p-Rager Phillips, 8. 7s-Jordan St. Arnold, 9. Y5-C.J. Houseman, 10. 46-Gary Moyer, 11. 5ma-Mallory Armfield, 12. 82-Jason Danley, 13. 1a- Ryan Yeager, 14. 41k-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 15. 2-Kevin Ingle, 16. 00-Lauren Densley. DNS: 7c-Chris Morgan, 86x-Jesse Giannetto, 13-Jordan Martens, 3g-Tim Norman, 11-Tim Allison.


"B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main

"B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 7L-Darren Long, 2. 32-Justin Barger, 3. 45-Chuck Hebing, 4. 5-Rick Ideus, 5. 7i-Ricky Logan, 6. 86J-Josh Fisher, 7. 26-Tayler Malsam, 8. 22n-Nate Mosher, 9. 84-Toby Chapman, 10. 11T-T.J. Winegardner, 11. 85s-Forrest Sutherland, 12. 51-Dave Hall, 13. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 14. 4-Mike Chadd, 15. 15s-Nick Smith, 16. 38m-Nick Mulheim, 17. 5L-Eric Lutz, 18. Y2-Mike Houseman, Jr., 19. 7h-John Hall, 20. 28x-Jonathan Cornell, 21. 18r-Ryan Roberts. DNS: 28-Mitch Runge.


O'Reilly ASCS Knoxville Nationals Friday Preliminary "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (20 Laps): 1. 1hd-Shane Stewart, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 2x-Josh Higday, 4. 54-Brett Mather, 5. 91-Darren Stewart, 6. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 7. 7m-Chad Meyer, 8. 1m-Skip Jackson, 9. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier, 10. 53-Joe Beaver, 11. 35a-Brad Sweet, 12. 4x-Jan Howard, 13. 7L-Darren Long, 14. 94-Wayne Johnson, 15. 2d-Bryan Dobesh, 16. 35-Ron Blair, 17. 5-Rick Ideus, 18. 32-Justin Barger, 19. 98-J.D. Johnson, 20. 7-Dustin Selvage, 21. 0-Jonathan Allard, 22. 45-Chuck Hebing, 23. 5g-Brett Golik. Disqualified: 40-Clint Garner (failed to pass post-race technical inspection).

Lap Leaders: Jonathan Allard 1-7, Shane Stewart 8-20.
 

Gharst Garners ASCS Knoxville Nationals Prelim Win on Thursday

By Lonnie Wheatley,

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 2, 2007) - Kaley Gharst was presented with a golden opportunity on Thursday night as the 17th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals kicked off at the Marion County Fairgrounds' Knoxville Raceway.

And the young Illinois racer took full advantage by collecting his first career O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour feature win in the 20-lap main event and put himself in a solid position for Saturday night's $10,000 to win ASCS Knoxville Nationals finale.

For most of the distance in Thursday night's feature, it looked as though Missouri's Randy Martin was about to snare his first Knoxville Raceway triumph in nearly two years, with his last Knoxville score coming on August 6, 2005.

But Martin's run was cut short when a poorly executed slide job was attempted by Brian Brown on the 18th lap, sending both cars flipping in turn four in wild fashion.

Gharst assumed the point on the restart and held off 21st-starter Gary Wright over the final three rounds to secure the win aboard the Phillips' Floors No. 3* Maxim, powered by the same Wesmar powerplant that propelled Billy Alley to consecutive ASCS Knoxville Nationals triumphs in 2004 and 2005.

After qualifying 19th-quick among the 51-car field, Martin found himself on the pole for the feature event when eleven of the top 18 timers failed to finish among the top four in heat race action.

With the eight-car inversion, Martin started on the pole alongside Johnny Anderson, an ASCS Knoxville Nationals preliminary feature winner last year.

Martin gunned into the lead at the drop of the green flag and paced the early rounds in front of Anderson and Matt Moro, with fifth-starter Gharst, Brown and Travis Rilat dicing for position behind the lead trio.

Following a pair of early cautions, including one after four laps for George White's turn four spin and then another four laps later when Billy Alley came to a stop in turn four, Martin set sail while Gharst took to the extreme topside and charged by Moro and Anderson to take second on the ninth lap.

A lap later, at the midway point, Brown made his way past Moro and Anderson as well to take over the third position.

While the lead trio of Martin, Gharst and Brown led the way, current O'Reilly ASCoT National series points leader Gary Wright was on the move after starting 21st. Wright had picked off ten positions to climb to eleventh by the time the race's second caution appeared after eight laps, then had climbed to seventh by the 12th circuit.

As the leaders reached lapped traffic in the final handful of laps, Gharst and Brown closed in on Martin while Wright cracked the top five on the 15th lap.

Brown slid past Gharst for second in turns one and two on the 18th lap and set his sights on Martin. Martin rode the high line into turns three and four, while Brown drove in on the low side and tried to execute a slide job that had no chance of succeeding from the outset.

The resulting contact sent Martin's Diamond Pet Foods airborne and headlong into the turn four retaining barrier with Brown tumbling as well. Both drivers walked away from the melee, with a somewhat sore Martin later commenting that, "I never saw him coming, once I kind of regained my senses after a couple of minutes I asked one of the track officials who it was that just ran over me."

Gharst assumed the point on the restart, with Wright on his tailtank. Setting a slow pace approaching the green flag, Gharst got the jump and Wright was unable to mount a serious bid for the win, with Gharst taking the checkered flag with a 0.622-second advantage.

"If I would have just stayed on the bottom, I may have been able to get by him," Wright explained after his runner-up finish in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Whiteco Commercial Funding/Southwest Express No. 9 Maxim. "But I wasn't going to take any chances, I know finishing either first or second puts us in a good position for Saturday night."

Moro took the show position, with 15th-starter Russ Hall and Anderson rounding out the top five.

Dale Blaney raced from 22nd to finish sixth, with Scott Winters, Rilat, Bryan Howland and Jarod Smith completing the top ten.

Jon Corbin kicked off the night by setting a fast time of 16.226 seconds on the ½-mile clay oval. Corbin brushed the wall in his heat and retired pitside for the balance of the night. The second, third and fourth qualifiers (Wright, John Kearney and Blaney) also failed to advance from heat race action and had to race through the "B" Main to tag the feature event.

Natalie Sather, Moro, Larry Neighbors, Winters and Luke Hall topped heat races. Frankie Heimbaugh posted a half-lap victory in the 8-lap "C" Main, with Wright winning the "B" Main.

The start of the third heat quickly went red for a multi-car tangle that sent Jeff Mitrisin upside down. Mitrisin returned for "B" Main action.

The red flag also flew on the opening lap of the "B" Main when Derek Hagar looped his mount in turn two and was hit by Brian Thomas, with both cars flipping. Thomas was uninjured but done for the night, while Hagar continued on.


O'Reilly ASCS Knoxville Nationals Thursday Preliminary Results:

Qualifying:

1. 4c-Jon Corbin (Carrolton, MO) 16.226, 2. 9-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 16.236, 3. 86-John Kearney (Valley Falls, KS) 16.263, 4. 6b-Dale Blaney (Fowler, OH) 16.302, 5. 51h-Bryan Howland (Auburn, NY) 16.307, 6. 29T-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 16.309, 7. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 16.311, 8. 55-Billy Alley (Lincoln, NE) 16.321, 9. 3*-Kaley Gharst (Decatur, IL) 16.322, 10. X-Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 16.384, 11. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN) 16.386, 12. 2m-Matt Moro (Ankeny, IA) 16.410, 13. 12c-Fred Cade (Niagara Fall, ONT) 16.429, 14. 51s-Lee Sowell (Nesbit, MS) 16.434, 15. 7a-Johnny Anderson (Indianola, IA) 16.438, 16. 44-Larry Pinegar II (Des Moines, IA) 16.441, 17. 57c-Chris Schmelzle (Victoria, BC) 16.469, 18. 10-Jeff Mitrisin (Oskaloosa, IA) 16.469, 19. 14-Randy Martin (California, MO) 16.504, 20. 27-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 16.513, 21. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 16.526, 22. 24-Jarod Smith (Pleasant Hill, IA) 16.552, 23. 29n-Larry Neighbors (Oklahoma City, OK) 16.561, 24. R19-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN) 16.572, 25. 34-Luke Hall (Ludlow Falls, OH) 16.613, 26. 1s-George White (Fort Worth, TX) 16.625, 27. 29-Russ Hall (Des Moines, IA) 16.648, 28. 23a-Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 16.662, 29. 4J-Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND) 16.670, 30. 15-Jack Potter (Raymore, MO) 16.756, 31. 43-A.J. Selenke (Wichita, KS) 16.763, 32. 3-Nate Van Haaften (Otley, IA) 16.771, 33. 1-Pete Crall (Desoto, KS) 16.772, 34. 91x-Derek Ingalls (Snohomish, WA) 16.793, 35. 53h-Matt Harms (Chillicothe, IL) 16.807, 36. 33-Alan Zoutte (Knoxville, IA) 16.820, 37. 4r-Robbie Vaughn (Snohomish, WA) 16.838, 38. 04-Frankie Heimbaugh (Indianola, IA) 16.903, 39. 75c-Casey Heser (Jackson, MN) 16.904, 40. d12-Doc Sloan (Imperial, MO) 16.913, 41. 9JR-Derek Hagar (Marion, AR) 16.966, 42. 11F-Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK) 16.987, 43. 98R-Joe Ramaker (Boise, ID) 17.018, 44. 61J-Danny Jennings (Norman, OK) 17.044, 45. 48-Tyler Thompson (Des Moines, IA) 17.062, 46. 13m-Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) 17.083, 47. 31p-Travis Porter (Rock Islands, IL) 18.084, 48. 17-Jared Horstman (Cloverdale, OH) 18.350, 49. 67-Brian Thomas (Pendergrass, GA) 17.006 (moved to tail for use of illegal right rear tire), 50. 7c-Dave Becker (Belle Plaine, MN) NT, 51. 99-Korey Weyant (Springfield, IL) NT.


Heat Races (Top 4 Advance to "A" Main; Positions 5-8 to "B" Main; Positions 9-10 to "C" Main)

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 94-Natalie Sather, 2. 29T-Travis Rilat, 3. 75-Don Young, 4. 1s-George White, 5. 44-Larry Pinegar II, 6. 33-Alan Zoutte, 7. 43-A.J. Selenke, 8. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 9. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 10. 4c-Jon Corbin. DNS: 99-Korey Weyant.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 2m-Matt Moro, 2. 21-Brian Brown, 3. 29-Russ Hall, 4. 24-Jarod Smith, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 3-Nate Van Haaften, 7. 11F-Foster Landon, 8. 4R-Robbie Vaughn, 9. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 10. 31p-Travis Porter.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 2. 98R-Joe Ramaker, 3. 1-Pete Crall, 4. 23a-Seth Bergman, 5. 55-Billy Alley, 6. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 7. 86-John Kearney, 8. 12c-Fred Cade, 9. 04-Frankie Heimbaugh. DNS: 17-Jared Horstman.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. R19-Scott Winters, 2. 3*-Kaley Gharst, 3. 4J-Lee Grosz, 4. 14-Randy Martin, 5. 51s-Lee Sowell, 6. 6b-Dale Blaney, 7. 91s-Derek Ingalls, 8. 61J-Danny Jennings, 9. 67-Brian Thomas, 10. 75c-Casey Heser.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 34-Luke Hall, 2. 7a-Johnny Anderson, 3. 15-Jack Potter, 4. 51h-Bryan Howland, 5. 27-Don Droud, Jr., 6. X-Chuck Swenson, 7. 48-Tyler Thompson, 8. 53h-Matt Harms, 9. d12-Doc Sloan. DNS: 7c-Dave Becker.


"C" Main - Top 2 Advance to "B" Main

"C" Feature (8 Laps): 1. 04-Frankie Heimbaugh, 2. 67-Brian Thomas, 3. 31p-Travis Porter, 4. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 5. 75c-Casey Heser, 6. 13m-Kathryne Minter. DNS: 4c-Jon Corbin, d12-Doc Sloan, 17-Jared Horstman, 7c-Dave Becker, 99-Korey Weyant.


"B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main

"B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 6b-Dale Blaney, 3. 86-John Kearney, 4. 55-Billy Alley, 5. X-Chuck Swenson, 6. 27-Don Droud, Jr., 7. 44-Larry Pinegar II, 8. 51s-Lee Sowell, 9. 48-Tyler Thompson, 10. 91x-Derek Ingalls, 11. 61J-Danny Jennings, 12. 33-Alan Zoutte, 13. 9JR-Derek Hagar, 14. 3-Nate Van Haaften, 15. 04-Frankie Heimbaugh, 16. 53h-Matt Harms, 17. 11F-Foster Landon, 18. 4r-Robbie Vaughn, 19. 12c-Fred Cade, 20. 43-A.J. Selenke, 21. 10-Jeff Mitrisin, 22. 67-Brian Thomas.
 

O'Reilly ASCS Knoxville Nationals Thursday Preliminary "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (20 Laps): 1. 3*-Kaley Gharst, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 2m-Matt Moro, 4. 29-Russ Hall, 5. 7a-Johnny Anderson, 6. 6b-Dale Blaney, 7. R19-Scott Winters, 8. 29T-Travis Rilat, 9. 51h-Bryan Howland, 10. 24-Jarod Smith, 11. 29n-Larry Neighbors, 12. 34-Luke Hall, 13. 4J-Lee Grosz, 14. 75-Don Young, 15. 15-Jack Potter, 16. 23a-Seth Bergman, 17. 94s-Natalie Sather, 18. 1-Pete Crall, 19. 98r-Joe Ramaker, 20. 14-Randy Martin, 21. 21-Brian Brown, 22. 1s-George White, 23. 55-Billy Alley, 24. 86-John Kearney.

Lap Leaders: Randy Martin 1-17, Kaley Gharst 18-20.
 

ASCS / Wesmar Challenge Leader Board

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (August 1, 2007) - With just seven weekends of qualifying events remaining to accumulate points for the ASCS / Wesmar Challenge, American Sprint Car Series teams throughout the nation are keeping a watchful eye on each series podium finishers.

The ASCS / Wesmar Challenge, set to take place during the Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals in Mesquite, TX, on October 13, will pit the top contenders from the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour Nationals series against the top two Challenge points earners from each of the eleven winged Regions.

Thus far in 2007, 50 different drivers have reached ASCS victory lane on at least one occasion in the 103 winged ASCS features throughout the country.

A total of 628 different drivers have competed in at least one of the 103 winged ASCS events through July 31, with the wingless Canyon Region drivers bumping the total to 679.

The ASCS / Wesmar Challenge will be run in two 15-lap segments, with an inversion following the first segment. Passing and finishing points will be in effect for both segments, with the top points earner coming away with a new Wesmar Racing Engine.

Drivers earn points towards the Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge by earning three points for a feature win, two points for a runner-up finish and one point for each third-place feature finish. A driver must compete in at least 60% of a respective Region's events and be a registered member of the American Sprint Car Series to represent that Region in the ASCS / Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge.


Current ASCS / Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge Points:

The only drivers that are listed are those that currently meet eligibility requirements for the ASCS/Wesmar Challenge.

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National:

1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 46
2. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 39
3. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 31
4. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 14
5. Darren Stewart (Bixby, OK) 5
6. Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK) 1

ASCS Coastal Region:

1. Michael Dupuy (Amite, LA) 15
2. Lane Whittington (Denham Springs, LA) 6
3. Michael Herrington (Gonzales, LA) 5
4. Shane Morgan (Biloxi, MS) 3
5. Chris Sweeney (Channelview, TX) 1

ASCS Gulf South Region:

1. Brandon Berryman (Missouri City, TX) 5
2. Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe, TX) 5
3. Johnny Miller (Burleson, TX) 4
4. Skip Wilson (Mesquite, TX) 3
5. Lane Whittington (Denham Springs, LA) 1

ASCS Mid-Atlantic Region:

1. Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL) 4
2. Chuck Hebing (Ontario, NY) 3

ASCS Midwest Region:

1. Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 11
2. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 6
3. Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 3
4. Toby Chapman (Lincoln, NE) 2
5. Jason Danley (Lincoln, NE) 2

ASCS Northern Plains Region:

1. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 12
2. Jody Rosenboom (Rock Rapids, IA) 3
3. Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND) 3
4. Curt Lund (Redwood Falls, MN) 2
5. Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD) 1

ASCS Patriots:

1. Chuck Hebing (Ontario, NY) 19
2. Jared Zimbardi (Salamanca, NY) 12
3. Bryan Howland (Auburn, NY) 6
4. Bobby Breen (Savannah, NY) 3
5. Ray Preston (Romulus, NY) 1

ASCS Rebel Region:

1. Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL) 6
2. T.J. Winegardner (Pierson, FL) 4
3. Matt Linder (Hoschton, GA) 2

ASCS Rocky Mountain Region:

1. C.J. Johnson (Quinter, KS) 6
2. Keith Rauch (Thornton, CO) 5
3. Patrick Bourke (Edwards, CO) 4

ASCS Sooner Region:

1. Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) 8
2. Brian McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 5
3. Cody Branchcomb (Sapulpa, OK) 2
4. Sherman Davis (Sand Springs, OK) 1
5. Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK) 1

ASCS Southern Tour:

1. Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL) 12
2. Johnny Bridges (Cherryville, FL) 10
3. Brian Smith (Mooresville, NC) 10
4. Bryn Gohn (Malabar, FL) 4

ASCS Sprints on Dirt:

1. Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI) 23
2. Tim Norman (Warsaw, IN) 11
3. Gary Fast (Kalkaska, MI) 5
4. Steve Irwin (Columbiaville, MI) 5
5. Ben Rutan (Jerome, MI) 5
6. Brett Mann (Goshen, IN) 4
7. Ryan Grubaugh (St. Johns, MI) 4
8. Dain Naida (Belleville, MI) 1


The 2007 season is the 16th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, with the series set to sanction approximately 240 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout nearly 30 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com
 

Jason Johnson Adds Huron Heroics to ASCoT Win Ledger

By Lonnie Wheatley,

HURON, S.D. (June 23, 2007) - Jason Johnson put the finishing touches on the inaugural ASCS Northern Plains Speedweek by posting his third victory in the four-race set in Saturday night's 25-lap O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National feature at Dakota State Fair Speedway.

Johnson cruised out front much of the way, holding a commanding lead at times aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle.

But a late caution that set up a three-lap charge to the checkered flag gave Wayne Johnson just the chance he was looking for. Wayne Johnson slid in front of Jason Johnson in turns one and two on the lap 23 restart, but Jason Johnson countered by charging back underneath off the corner.

Jason Johnson scampered away to nearly a half straightaway lead over the final two laps to record his sixth ASCS National Tour win of the year and 25th of his career. And at the same time, "The Ragin' Cajun" strengthened his position in the $50,000 championship points chase, closing to within 31 points of current leader Gary Wright, who escaped the Northern Plains with a scant six-point lead over Wayne Johnson.

After a commanding heat race victory, Jason Johnson earned the pole position for the feature with his seventh Pole Dash win in the series most recent eleven events. The Eunice, LA, native took full advantage by gunning into the lead at the outset and immediately distancing himself from fellow front row starter Gregg Bakker and third-starter Travis Rilat.

Johnson held a half straightaway lead when the caution flew after four laps for Chuck Swenson, who came to a stop with driveline woes after racing from 16th to tenth in the opening circuits.

Back under green, Johnson checked out once again on the high side, leaving the rest of the field to battle for position. On the move was Wayne Johnson, who had cracked the top five by the fourth lap after starting eleventh.

Wayne Johnson made quick work of Chad Meyer on the lap five restart, then battled past Rilat for third by the eighth lap. Wayne Johnson went to work on Gregg Bakker for second, but the Sioux Falls shoe held strong to maintain the runner-up slot.

Meanwhile, Jason Johnson had stretched out a full straightaway lead. After racing through lapped traffic for several rounds, Johnson's lead was erased after 15 circuits when Foster Landon spun to a stop in turn three with a cut right rear tire.

Soon after the restart, Wayne Johnson assumed the second position when Bakker's mount inexplicably lost power. And after working his way forward from the sixth row, Wayne Johnson found himself on Jason Johnson's rear bumper when the caution flew after 22 laps for Dave Glennon's disabled mount.

Wayne Johnson made a valiant bid for a second consecutive win in Mike Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Eagle, but Jason Johnson was up to the task by successfully repelling the challenge and charging to the checkered flag.

"The bottom was really good for a while, I was gaining some on him," Wayne Johnson explained. "But I guess a lot of other guys were running the bottom too because it was about worn out at the end, I tried the slide but just couldn't make it stick."

Rilat took the show position in the Motor Mike-powered F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X, while Gary Wright held on to the series point lead by racing from 13th to finish fourth in the Wesmar-powered Whiteco Commercial Funding No. 9 Maxim.

Taking the seat of the Johnson-owned AHT Inc. No. 27 Maxim for the night, Jake Peters raced from 12th to round out the top five, with the balance of the top ten including Chad Meyer, California's Adam Main, 20th-starter Lee Grosz, Scott Butz and 19th-starter Micah Schliemann.

Meyer, Jason Johnson and Scott Butz topped heat race action.

O'Reilly ASCoT Northern Plains Speedweek Round 4 Results from Dakota State Fair Speedway:

Heat Races:

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 7-Chad Meyer, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 35a-Adam Main, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson, 5. 5x-Dave Glennon, 6. 22-Matt Heinzerling, 7. 9L-Micah Schliemann. DNS: 2-Kevin Ingle.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 30-Joe Miller, 3. 5-Eric Lutz, 4. 27-Jake Peters, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. 14m-Austin Monson, 7. 13-Jordan Martens.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 34-Scott Butz, 2. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 3. 11F-Foster Landon, 4. k9-Jody Rosenboom, 5. 0x-Brandon Mills, 6. X-Chuck Swenson. DNS: 4J-Lee Grosz.

Pole Dash (Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of ?A? Main):

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 34-Scott Butz, 5. 30-Joe Miller, 6. 7-Chad Meyer.

O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Results from Dakota State Fair Speedway:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. 27-Jake Peters, 6. 7-Chad Meyer, 7. 35a-Adam Main, 8. 4J-Lee Grosz, 9. 34-Scott Butz, 10. 9L-Micah Schliemann, 11. 13-Jordan Martens, 12. k9-Jody Rosenboom, 13. 14m-Austin Monson, 14. 30-Joe Miller, 15. 5-Eric Lutz, 16. 5x-Dave Glennon, 17. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 18. 11F-Foster Landon, 19. 0x-Brandon Mills, 20. X-Chuck Swenson, 21. 2-Kevin Ingle. DNS: 22-Matt Heinzerling.

Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson 1-25.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Ten): 1. Gary Wright 2,532, 2. Wayne Johnson 2,526, 3. Jason Johnson 2,501, 4. Travis Rilat 2,427, 5. Foster Landon 2,134, 6. Darren Stewart 1,781, 7. Andy Shouse 1,559, 8. Chris Schmelzle 1,318, 9. Chuck Swenson 1,152, 10. Johnny Miller 1,047.

ASCS Northern Plains Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Chuck Swenson 418, 2. Lee Grosz 412, 3. Jody Rosenboom 404, 4. Eric Lutz 374, 5. Dave Glennon 368, 6. Wayne Johnson 296, 7. Jake Peters 288, 8. Scott Winters 284, 9. Clint Garner 282, 10. Wade Nygaard 278.
 

Cajun Rages to O'Reilly ASCoT Victory Lane at Crawford County

By Lonnie Wheatley,

DENISON, Iowa (June 16, 2007) - Louisiana's Jason Johnson kicked off the inaugural ASCS Northern Plains Speedweek with a commanding wire-to-wire victory in Saturday night's 25-lap O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National feature at Crawford County Speedway.

Johnson gunned into the lead from the pole position at the outset and paced the field all the way aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle, ultimately taking the checkered flag with a half straightaway advantage over Travis Rilat to strengthen his position in the series $50,000 championship points race.

After starting fifth, Rilat battled past 22-year-old Natalie Sather for second on the third round and tried to chase down "The Ragin' Cajun". But even when lapped traffic came into play after eleven rounds, Rilat could come no closer than ten car-lengths.

Johnson weathered one caution along the way, a quick yellow for Jason Danley who came to a stop in turn four after 14 laps. It was the only caution of the night in a cleanly executed program.

Johnson set sail on the restart and raced to his fourth ASCS National Tour win of the season and 23rd of his career unabated to close to within 53 points of current leader Gary Wright and 29 points of second-ranked Wayne Johnson.

After making the 26-hour drive from Alger, WA, after Thursday night, Rilat crossed the stripe second in the Motor Mike-powered F&J Construction No. 29 Triple XXX.

Sather held the show position until the final corner, when Wayne Johnson snuck by to snare third in Mike and Tim Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Eagle, with Sather settling for fourth in Brad Sather's Shaver-powered Gateway Chevrolet No. 94s J&J. Sather took over the ASCS Midwest Region points lead with her second top-five National Tour finish of the year.

Three-time series champion Gary Wright rounded out the top five in the Wesmar-powered Whiteco Commercial Funding/Richwood Construction No. 9 Maxim, with reigning ASCS Northern Plains Region champion Chuck Swenson crossing the stripe sixth.

Wade Nygaard, as ASCS Midwest vs. Northern Plains Regional winner at Crawford County last year, slipped around Lee Grosz in the final laps to claim seventh, with 19-year-old Grosz settling for eighth.

Defending ASCS Midwest Region champion Toby Chapman was ninth, with Ryan Anderson advancing a half-dozen positions to complete the top ten.

Jason Johnson, Sather and Swenson each topped heat race action.

The inaugural ASCS Northern Plains Speedweek featuring the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series resumes on Tuesday night at I-90 Speedway in Hartford, SD, before moving on to North Central Speedway in Brainerd, MN, on Wednesday and then concluding next Saturday night at Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron, SD.

O'Reilly ASCoT Northern Plains Speedweek Round 1 Results from Crawford County Speedway:

Heat Races:

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 4J-Lee Grosz, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 11F-Foster Landon, 5. 82-Jason Danley, 6. 71R-Ryan Anderson.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 94s-Natalie Sather, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 9n-Wade Nygaard, 4. 7m-Chad Meyer, 5. 13-Seth Brahmer, 6. 5-Eric Lutz.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. X-Chuck Swenson, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 84-Toby Chapman, 4. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 5. 9L-Micah Schliemann, 6. 30-Joe Miller, 7. 20-Casey Frederickson.

Pole Dash (Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of "A" Main):

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 94s-Natalie Sather, 3. X-Chuck Swenson, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson, 5. 29-Travis Rilat, 6. 9-Gary Wright.


O'Reilly ASCoT "A" Main Results from Crawford County Speedway:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 29-Travis Rilat, 3. 94-Wayne Johnson, 4. 94s-Natalie Sather, 5. 9-Gary Wright, 6. X-Chuck Swenson, 7. 9n-Wade Nygaard, 8. 4J-Lee Grosz, 9. 84-Toby Chapman, 10. 71R-Ryan Anderson, 11. 7m-Chad Meyer, 12. 9L-Micah Schliemann, 13. 11F-Foster Landon, 14. 13-Seth Brahmer, 15. 30-Joe Miller, 16. 5-Eric Lutz, 17. 82-Jason Danley, 18. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 19. 20-Casey Frederickson.

Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson 1-25.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Ten): 1. Gary Wright 2,108, 2. Wayne Johnson 2,084, 3. Jason Johnson 2,055, 4. Travis Rilat 1,997, 5. Foster Landon 1,782, 6. Darren Stewart 1,781, 7. Andy Shouse 1,559, 8. Chris Schmelzle 1,318, 9. Johnny Miller 1,047, 10. Nick Smith 832.

ASCS Midwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Natalie Sather 664, 2. Chuck Swenson 639, 3. Toby Chapman 606, 4. Jason Danley 582, 5. Don Droud, Jr. 538, 6. Brian Brown 528, 7. Rick Ideus 473, 8. Mike Boston 424, 9. Ryan Anderson 414, 10. Mark Pace 401.
 

Emmett Hahn Inducted to National Sprint Car Hall of Fame

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (June 6, 2007) - American Sprint Car Series founder and President Emmett Hahn was among the honorees at the 18th Annual National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Induction banquet held in Knoxville, IA, on Saturday, June 2.

After a stellar driving career that included a pair of NCRA Super Modified championships, a handful of Tulsa Speedway titles and a State Fair Speedway title, Hahn turned to the promotional side of auto racing.

Hahn founded the American Sprint Car Series in 1992. The series has evolved into the nation's most prolific Sprint Car sanctioning body with a dozen Regional series in addition to the National Tour, adding up to approximately 250 ASCS events in 2007 alone.

Hahn and Lanny Edwards also co-promote the wildly successful Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, OK, each January, an event that has grown in national stature and prominence since its inaugural run in 1987.

Hahn joins Edwards, who was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame last year.

Both Hahn and Edwards were inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in Sun Prairie, WI, last year as well.
 

O'Reilly ASCoT Ready for Red River Shootout This Weekend

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (May 7, 2007) - "The Red River Shootout" is more typically associated with the fierce football rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas, but it's a fitting moniker as well for this weekend's pair of O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National events in Oklahoma and Texas.

The series kicks off the weekend on Friday night in the Sooner State with a stop of Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway. Then on Saturday night, the series travels south of the Red River to tackle the famed clay oval of Devil's Bowl Speedway near Dallas.

And leading the way into the weekend is Hooks, TX, ace Gary Wright, who has finished among the top five in all ten feature events this year to amass an early-season advantage of 81 points in the $50,000 championship points race. Shooting for a fourth consecutive ASCS National title, Wright is closing in on his series record of 15 consecutive top-five feature finishes.

Wright has enjoyed his share of success at the State Fair Speedway and Devil's Bowl Speedway ovals, with 23 of his 110 career ASCS National Tour wins coming at this weekend's venues.

While Wright has been virtually flawless early in the season, a ferocious four-way battle for second is under way with just 49 markers separating Oklahoma City's Wayne Johnson, Eunice, LA, shoe Jason Johnson, Bixby, Oklahoma's Darren Stewart and Forney, TX, racer Travis Rilat.

Wayne Johnson has scored two wins this year, including a preliminary triumph during the Devil's Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals and then a victory a week later in State Fair Speedway's Spring Nationals. Both of those events occurred in March.

After racking up a series-best nine National wins last year, Jason Johnson finally broke into victory lane with a weekend sweep of Arkansas events during the series most recent action on April 28-29.

Shut out of victory lane thus far, Stewart could have just as easily swept the Arkansas weekend. Stewart had the Texarkana feature well in hand when a distributor generator failed in the final laps. Then several cautions kept Johnson in open track a night later at Little Rock's I-30 Speedway, denying Stewart the opportunity to make the winning move in lapped traffic.

The only National Tour regular to take in an event this past weekend, Rilat carries some momentum into this weekend's double after posting a $2,500 ASCS Coastal Region score at Mississippi's Pike County Speedway. Rilat's winning share was bolstered by a $1,000 bonus Miller's Machine & Welding, owned by Dodie Miller in Seabrook, TX.

Right behind the top five in points, a stellar battle for Brodix Rookie of the Year honors is shaping up between the Oklahoma duo of Foster Landon and Andy Shouse along with Canadian Chris Schemlzle, with the trio ranked sixth, seventh and tenth, respectively.

Hailing from the Tulsa-area town of Collinsville, Landon is just 21 points ahead of Oklahoma City's Shouse entering this weekend.

Also in the top ten are Johnny "Baja" Miller of Burleson, TX, and past ASCS National champion Garry Lee Maier of Cimarron, TX.

With the O'Reilly ASCoT contenders, which also includes Aaron Berryhill and 2006 Rookie of the Year Nick Smith, joined by a strong contingent of locals and American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region regulars such as two-time champion Kevin Ramey and current Sooner leader Cody Branchcomb, a strong field of cars is expected for both nights of racing action.

The Series:

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour (ASCoT)

When & Where:

Friday night, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. ? State Fair Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK)

Saturday night, May 12 at 8:00 p.m. ? Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX)

Track Information:

State Fair Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK) ? 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval located on the Oklahoma State Fair Grounds near the intersection of N.W. 10th and May Avenue. Track phone: 405-948-6796.

Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) ? ½-mile high-banked clay oval located six miles east of Dallas? Loop I-635 on US 80, then three miles south on Lawson Road. Track phone: 972-222-2421.

O'Reilly ASCoT State Fair Speedway History:

State Fair Speedway has hosted 22 ASCS National Tour events since 1994, with 18 events in Oklahoma City since the track was reconfigured prior to the 2002 season. Gary Wright has won seven of 17 feature events since the reconfiguration, including the opening night of this year's Spring Nationals (denying Natalie Sather's bid to become the first female feature winner in ASCS history) before Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson took top honors the second night.

The last time Gary Wright missed an ASCS National Tour feature event, it was at State Fair Speedway on May 9, 2003, when an accident while en route forced his absence. Since that time, Wright has racked up three series titles and has competed in 141 consecutive ASCS National Tour events as he closes in on Toby Brown's record of 212 consecutive events.

Jason Johnson, winner of the final two ASCoT events in April, topped three of four National Tour events in Oklahoma City last year.

State Fair Speedway ASCS National winners include: Gary Wright 9, Jason Johnson 3, Kevin Ramey 2, Zach Chappell 1, Tommie Estes, Jr. 1, Wayne Johnson 1, Wayne Pennington 1, Travis Rilat 1, Darren Stewart 1, Shane Stewart 1, Danny Wood 1.

State Fair Speedway O'Reilly ASCoT Race-by-race Winners: Gary Wright (10/13/94), Tommie Estes, Jr. (5/26/96), Gary Wright (8/11/96), Zach Chappell (7/21/01), Wayne Pennington (5/17/02), Kevin Ramey (6/28/02), Gary Wright (8/23/02), Travis Rilat (5/9/03), Shane Stewart (6/1/03), Gary Wright (6/27/03), Gary Wright (8/1/03), Danny Wood (6/25/04), Gary Wright (7/30/04), Kevin Ramey (5/20/05), Darren Stewart (6/24/05), Gary Wright (7/29/05), Jason Johnson (3/24/06), Jason Johnson (3/25/06), Gary Wright (6/23/06), Jason Johnson (7/14/06), Gary Wright (3/23/07), Wayne Johnson (3/24/07).

O'Reilly ASCoT Devil's Bowl History:

Devil's Bowl Speedway has been hosting the O?Reilly ASCS National Tour since 1994, with 19 different drivers scoring at least one victory in 46 feature events. Gary Wright has claimed 14 of his 110 career ASCS National wins at Devil?s Bowl, including an ASCS Speedweek win in 2006.

Wayne Johnson claimed this year's Spring Nationals preliminary feature win to run his ASCS National win total at "Da Bowl" to four, next on the charts after Wright's 14 wins. With three wins apiece are Danny Jennings, who reeled off his wins in '05, and Kevin Ramey, who doubled up with Spring and Summer Nationals wins last year.

Devil's Bowl ASCS National winners include: Gary Wright 14, Wayne Johnson 4, Danny Jennings 3, Kevin Ramey 3, Shane Carson 2, Terry Gray 2, Jason Johnson 2, Garry Lee Maier 2, Mike Peters 2, Travis Rilat 2, Sammy Swindell 2, Tim Crawley 1, Edd French 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Larry Neighbors 1, Alan Payne 1, Jake Peters 1, Shane Stewart 1, Mike Ward 1.

Devil's Bowl O'Reilly ASCoT Race-by-race Winners: Shane Carson (6/21/94), Alan Payne (5/12/95), Mike Ward (7/23/95), Mike Peters (9/1/95), Sammy Swindell (9/2/95), Sammy Swindell (9/3/95), Wayne Johnson (6/18/96), Terry Gray (7/6/96), Terry Gray (11/1/96), Johnny Herrera (11/2/96), Shane Carson (4/5/97), Wayne Johnson (6/18/97), Edd French (10/31/97), Mike Peters (11/1/97), Gary Wright (6/19/98), Gary Wright (10/3/98), Garry Lee Maier (10/4/98), Gary Wright (7/8/99), Garry Lee Maier (7/30/99), Gary Wright (10/1/99), Gary Wright (10/2/99), Gary Wright (7/21/00), Gary Wright (10/6/00), Larry Neighbors (4/20/01), Gary Wright (7/20/01), Gary Wright (10/6/01), Travis Rilat (4/19/02), Jason Johnson (6/7/02), Wayne Johnson (10/4/02), Gary Wright (10/5/02), Kevin Ramey (4/18/03), Tim Crawley (10/17/03), Gary Wright (10/18/03), Shane Stewart (10/23/04), Danny Jennings (3/18/05), Danny Jennings (3/19/05), Danny Jennings (6/9/05), Gary Wright (10/21/05), Gary Wright (10/22/05), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 ? Spring Nationals makeup feature), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 ? Summer Nationals), Gary Wright (7/13/06), Jason Johnson (10/13/06), Travis Rilat (10/14/06), Wayne Johnson (3/16/07), Jake Peters (3/17/07).

Current O'Reilly ASCoT Points (After 10 of 46 Nights):

Top Fifteen: 1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,163, 2. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,082, 3. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 1,059, 4. Darren Stewart (Bixby, OK) 1,047, 5. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 1,033, 6. Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK) 919, 7. Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK) 898, 8. Johnny Miller (Burleson, TX) 860, 9. Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 766, 10. Chris Schmelzle (Victoria, BC) 741, 11. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 682, 12. Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) 664, 13. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 654, 14. Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK) 542, 15. Kenneth Walker (Collinsville, OK) 516.

Top Ten Owners Points: 1. Wright #9 - 1,163, 2. H&H Enterprises #94 ? 1,082, 3. Row #41 ? 1,059, 4. Sparks #91 ? 1,047, 5. Rilat #29 ? 1,033, 6. Landon Racing #11F ? 919, 7. Shouse #27 ? 898, 8. Downing #64J ? 860, 9. Lubbock Wrecker Service #11x ? 766, 10. Schmelzle Racing #57c ? 741.

2007 O'Reilly ASCoT Feature Winners:

Gary Wright 4, Jason Johnson 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Terry McCarl 1, Jake Peters 1.

ASCoT - A Look Ahead:

May 18 Black Rock Speedway (Dundee, NY)
May 19 Black Rock Speedway (Dundee, NY)
May 24 Susquehanna Speedway Park (Newberrytown, PA)
May 25 Virginia Motor Speedway (Saluda, VA)
May 26 Virginia Motor Speedway (Saluda, VA)


The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series is currently slated for 46 nights of racing action at 24 different tracks throughout 16 different states, with more than $1,000,000 in purse money and point fund to be distributed during the 2007 season.

The 2007 season marks the 16th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series. With 13 different Regions in addition to the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, ASCS will sanction approximately 240 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout at least 30 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
 

O'Reilly ASCoT - The Month Ahead

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (May 2, 2007) - A busy month of May looms for the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series with a mix of familiar clay along with some new territory for the series as the $50,000 championship points chase unfolds.

After an idle weekend to take in Cinco de Mayo, the series fires back to life over the next three weekends of May with seven nights of action in Oklahoma, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

This month's action starts out on Friday night, May 11, at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway before traveling down the interstate the following night for an event at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX.

From the familiar haunts of State Fair Speedway and Devil's Bowl Speedway, the series regulars hit the long road to Dundee, NY, for Black Rock Speedway's Bully Hill Vineyards New York Sprint Nationals on May 18-19.

The trip to Black Rock Speedway marks the series first National Tour events New York. The series will be joined by the ASCS Patriots and the ASCS Mid-Atlantic Region at Black Rock Speedway.

From Dundee, the series moves on to central Pennsylvania on Thursday night, May 24, for a stop at Susquehanna Speedway Park in Newberrytown. Susquehanna Speedway Park will be the 100th different racetrack to host the ASCS National Tour since its inception in 1992.

After the first ASCS National Tour event in Pennsylvania, the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour move on to Bill Sawyer's Virginia Motor Speedway in Saluda for the East Coast Sprint Car Nationals on May 25-26. The Saturday night finale for the Sprint Car spectacular that also includes the ASCS Southern Tour, ASCS Mid-Atlantic Region and ASCS Patriots, features a $6,000 winner's share.

Through the series opening ten events of the 2007 season, three-time and reigning series champion Gary Wright of Hooks, TX, has proven nearly unstoppable by finishing among the top five in all ten feature events. With ten consecutive top-five feature finishes, Wright is closing in on the series record of 16 straight top-fives that he established in 2005.

Wright has amassed an 81-point lead over Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson in the championship race, with Louisiana's Jason Johnson, Oklahoma's Darren Stewart and Texan Travis Rilat all in close contention as well.

Foster Landon holds a narrow lead over fellow Oklahoma racer Andy Shouse in the Brodix Rookie of the Year chase, with Canadian rookie candidate Chris Schmelzle also among the top ten.

Johnny "Baja" Miller of Burleson, TX, enters the month of May ranked eighth, while past ASCS National champion Garry Lee Maier of Cimarron, KS, has raced his way back into the top ten.

Just outside the top ten is last year's Rookie of the Year, Nick Smith, who is currently ranked eleventh, with Aaron Berryhill slipping to twelfth after missing last Saturday's card at I-30 Speedway.

The Series:

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour (ASCoT)

When & Where:

Friday night, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. - State Fair Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK)

Saturday night, May 12 at 8:00 p.m. - Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX)


Friday night, May 18 at 6:45 p.m. - Black Rock Speedway (Dundee, NY)

Saturday night, May 19 at 7:00 p.m. - Black Rock Speedway (Dundee, NY)


Thursday night, May 24 (Time TBD) - Susquehanna Speedway Park (Newberrytown, PA)

Friday night, May 25 (Time TBD) - Virginia Motor Speedway (Saluda, VA)

Saturday night, May 26 (Time TBD) - Virginia Motor Speedway (Saluda, VA)


Track Information:

State Fair Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK) - 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval located on the Oklahoma State Fair Grounds near the intersection of N.W. 10th and May Avenue. Track phone: 405-948-6796.

Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) - ½-mile high-banked clay oval located six miles east of Dallas? Loop I-635 on US 80, then three miles south on Lawson Road. Track phone: 972-222-2421.

Black Rock Speedway (Dundee, NY) - 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval located on the south edge of Dundee on SR 14-A, then east (at the fairgrounds). Track phone: 607-243-8686.

Susquehanna Speedway Park (Newberrytown, PA) - 4/10-mile semi-banked clay oval located off I-83 Exit 32, then 1.4 miles northwest on SR 382 to York Road, then 1.3 miles south. Track phone: 717-938-9170.

Virginia Motor Speedway (Saluda, VA) - ½-mile semi-banked clay oval located nine miles north of Saluda on State Road 17. Track phone: 804-758-1867.


O'Reilly ASCoT State Fair Speedway History:

State Fair Speedway has hosted 22 ASCS National Tour events since 1994, with 18 events in Oklahoma City since the track was reconfigured prior to the 2002 season. Gary Wright has won seven of 17 feature events since the reconfiguration, including the opening night of this year's Spring Nationals (denying Natalie Sather's bid to become the first female feature winner in ASCS history) before Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson took top honors the second night.

The last time Gary Wright missed an ASCS National Tour feature event, it was at State Fair Speedway on May 9, 2003, when an accident while en route forced his absence. Since that time, Wright has racked up three series titles and has competed in 141 consecutive ASCS National Tour events as he closes in on Toby Brown's record of 212 consecutive events.

Jason Johnson, winner of the final two ASCoT events in April, topped three of four National Tour events in Oklahoma City last year.

State Fair Speedway ASCS National winners include: Gary Wright 9, Jason Johnson 3, Kevin Ramey 2, Zach Chappell 1, Tommie Estes, Jr. 1, Wayne Johnson 1, Wayne Pennington 1, Travis Rilat 1, Darren Stewart 1, Shane Stewart 1, Danny Wood 1.

State Fair Speedway O?Reilly ASCoT Race-by-race Winners: Gary Wright (10/13/94), Tommie Estes, Jr. (5/26/96), Gary Wright (8/11/96), Zach Chappell (7/21/01), Wayne Pennington (5/17/02), Kevin Ramey (6/28/02), Gary Wright (8/23/02), Travis Rilat (5/9/03), Shane Stewart (6/1/03), Gary Wright (6/27/03), Gary Wright (8/1/03), Danny Wood (6/25/04), Gary Wright (7/30/04), Kevin Ramey (5/20/05), Darren Stewart (6/24/05), Gary Wright (7/29/05), Jason Johnson (3/24/06), Jason Johnson (3/25/06), Gary Wright (6/23/06), Jason Johnson (7/14/06), Gary Wright (3/23/07), Wayne Johnson (3/24/07).


O'Reilly ASCoT Devil's Bowl History:

Devil's Bowl Speedway has been hosting the O'Reilly ASCS National Tour since 1994, with 19 different drivers scoring at least one victory in 45 feature events. Gary Wright has claimed 14 of his 110 career ASCS National wins at Devil's Bowl, including an ASCS Speedweek win in 2006.

Wayne Johnson claimed this year's Spring Nationals preliminary feature win to run his ASCS National win total to four, next on the charts after Wright's 14 wins. With three wins apiece are Danny Jennings, who reeled off his wins in '05, and Kevin Ramey, who doubled up with Spring and Summer Nationals wins last year.

Devil's Bowl ASCS National winners include: Gary Wright 14, Wayne Johnson 4, Danny Jennings 3, Kevin Ramey 3, Shane Carson 2, Terry Gray 2, Jason Johnson 2, Garry Lee Maier 2, Mike Peters 2, Travis Rilat 2, Sammy Swindell 2, Tim Crawley 1, Edd French 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Larry Neighbors 1, Alan Payne 1, Jake Peters 1, Shane Stewart 1, Mike Ward 1.

Devil's Bowl O'Reilly ASCoT Race-by-race Winners: Shane Carson (6/21/94), Alan Payne (5/12/95), Mike Ward (7/23/95), Mike Peters (9/1/95), Sammy Swindell (9/2/95), Sammy Swindell (9/3/95), Wayne Johnson (6/18/96), Terry Gray (7/6/96), Terry Gray (11/1/96), Johnny Herrera (11/2/96), Shane Carson (4/5/97), Wayne Johnson (6/18/97), Edd French (10/31/97), Mike Peters (11/1/97), Gary Wright (6/19/98), Gary Wright (10/3/98), Garry Lee Maier (10/4/98), Gary Wright (7/8/99), Garry Lee Maier (7/30/99), Gary Wright (10/1/99), Gary Wright (10/2/99), Gary Wright (7/21/00), Gary Wright (10/6/00), Larry Neighbors (4/20/01), Gary Wright (7/20/01), Gary Wright (10/6/01), Travis Rilat (4/19/02), Jason Johnson (6/7/02), Wayne Johnson (10/4/02), Gary Wright (10/5/02), Kevin Ramey (4/18/03), Tim Crawley (10/17/03), Gary Wright (10/18/03), Shane Stewart (10/23/04), Danny Jennings (3/18/05), Danny Jennings (3/19/05), Danny Jennings (6/9/05), Gary Wright (10/21/05), Gary Wright (10/22/05), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 ? Spring Nationals makeup feature), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 ? Summer Nationals), Gary Wright (7/13/06), Jason Johnson (10/13/06), Travis Rilat (10/14/06), Wayne Johnson (3/16/07), Jake Peters (3/17/07).


O'Reilly ASCoT Black Rock Speedway History:

It's new territory for the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour with the series first venture into New York for Black Rock Speedway's Bull Hill Vineyards Sprint Car Nationals. New York will become the 20th different state the ASCS National Tour has competed in.

Black Rock Speedway will be the second of eleven new tracks the series is slated to visit this year. Gary Wright was victorious in last month's first-time visit to Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS. It was the 17th time Wright reached victory lane in the series' first visit to a track.

Last year, Wright was shut out in a handful of first outings at new venues. Nick Smith scored a pair of wins in the series first visits to Poplar Bluff and Virginia Motor Speedway, with Jason Johnson and Pennsylvania shoe Dave Ely also victorious at new sites.

There will be plenty of local and Regional talent to take on the traveling ASCoT troops including the likes of past ASCS Patriot champions Chuck Hebing, Bryan Howland and George Suprick along with a plethora of Patriot and Mid-Atlantic Region contenders.

Black Rock Speedway O'Reilly ASCoT Race-by-Race Winners: None - first event.
 

O'Reilly ASCoT Susquehanna Speedway Park History:

After two nights in New York, it's on to Pennsylvania for the first time in series' history, as Susquehanna Speedway Park becomes the 100th different venue to host the ASCS National Tour since 1992.

Etters, PA, racer Pat Cannon topped the inaugural ASCS Mid-Atlantic Region event on April 22 at Susquehanna Speedway Park, the hub of the all-new ASCS Mid-Atlantic Region, with 20-year-old Lucas Wolfe a winner in Local Mid-Atlantic action a week later.

Jason Johnson returns to the track at which he scored an April 2005 victory as a member of the Pennsylvania Posse before rejoining forces with Texas car owner Lanny Row in 2006 for the opportunity to chase down $50,000 championships with the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour. Last year's effort came up just 30 points short.

Again, the National shoes will be faced with a strong contingent of Mid-Atlantic and Patriot competitors.

Susquehanna Speedway Park O'Reilly ASCoT Race-by-Race Winners: None ? first event.


O'Reilly ASCoT Virginia Motor Speedway History:

Last year, Nick Smith outdueled Jason Johnson and Jesse Hockett en route to victory lane in the series first stop at Bill Sawyer's Virginia Motor Speedway. Smith went on to claim Rookie of the Year honors.

This year, the stakes have been upped with $6,000 on the line for the East Coast Sprint Car Nationals that finds the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series in conjunction with the ASCS Southern Tour, ASCS Mid-Atlantic Region and the ASCS Patriots.

Kenny Adams, who recently tossed his hat into the ring for ASCS Southern Tour championship honors, scored an April 28 win at VMS when the Southern Tour faced off with the Mid-Atlantic Region. The Florida hotshoe is expected to take in the entire swing through the northeast, including the events at Black Rock and Susquehanna that lead into the Virginia Motor Speedway double.

Virginia Motor Speedway ASCS National winners include: Nick Smith 1.

Virginia Motor Speedway O'Reilly ASCoT Race-by-Race Winners: Nick Smith (5/27/06).


Current O'Reilly ASCoT Points (After 10 of 46 Nights):

Top Fifteen: 1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,163, 2. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,082, 3. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 1,059, 4. Darren Stewart (Bixby, OK) 1,047, 5. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 1,033, 6. Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK) 919, 7. Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK) 898, 8. Johnny Miller (Burleson, TX) 860, 9. Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 766, 10. Chris Schmelzle (Victoria, BC) 741, 11. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 682, 12. Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) 664, 13. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 654, 14. Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK) 542, 15. Kenneth Walker (Collinsville, OK) 516.

Top Ten Owners Points: 1. Wright #9 - 1,163, 2. H&H Enterprises #94 - 1,082, 3. Row #41 - 1,059, 4. Sparks #91 - 1,047, 5. Rilat #29 - 1,033, 6. Landon Racing #11F - 919, 7. Shouse #27 - 898, 8. Downing #64J - 860, 9. Lubbock Wrecker Service #11x - 766, 10. Schmelzle Racing #57c - 741.


2007 O'Reilly ASCoT Feature Winners:

Gary Wright 4, Jason Johnson 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Terry McCarl 1, Jake Peters 1.
 

ASCoT in June:

June 16 Crawford County Speedway (Denison, IA)
June 19 I-90 Speedway (Hartford, SD)
June 20 North Central Speedway (Brainerd, MN)
June 23 Dakota State Fair Speedway (Huron, SD)
June 30 Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO)


The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series is currently slated for 46 nights of racing action at 24 different tracks throughout 16 different states, with more than $1,000,000 in purse money and point fund to be distributed during the 2007 season.

The 2007 season marks the 16th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series. With 13 different Regions in addition to the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, ASCS will sanction approximately 240 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout at least 30 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
 

Jason Johnson Completes O'Reilly ASCoT Weekend Sweep with I-30 Score

By Lonnie Wheatley,

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 28, 2007) - A pair of quarter-mile bullrings were just what the doctor ordered for Jason Johnson, as he completed a sweep of the weekend's O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National action in Arkansas with a wire-to-wire victory in Saturday night's 30-lap feature at I-30 Speedway.

Although Johnson led all the way aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle, it was far from easy as he survived some strong bids from Darren Stewart along the way to collect his 21st career ASCS National Tour win.

Johnson's saving grace proved to be some timely cautions along with his abandonment of the cushion following a lap 16 caution for the low side of the track.

"They were telling me to go low, go low, and I thought man are you crazy!" Johnson commented afterward. "It worked though."

After an eventful heat race in which Johnson charged from sixth to first, fell back to fourth after a slider past Ronny Howard nearly led to disaster and then a recovery for a last lap win, Johnson drew the pole position for the Pole Dash in which he emerged victorious after trading a pair of early slidejobs with Tim Crawley.

With a seemingly full night of work already behind him, it had only just begun as Johnson then paced the feature field to the green flag with 30 more laps of labor yet to go. Unlike the Dash though, Johnson clearly gunned ahead of fellow front row starter Crawley to take command from the outset in the feature.

With Johnson leading the way, sixth-starter Stewart battled past Ward for third in the opening laps and set his sights on the lead duo. Lapped traffic came into play on the seventh round, with Crawley making a bid for the lead a lap later.

But it was Stewart on the move in Bobby Sparks' Ostrich-powered Sparks Construction/RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle as heavy traffic became a factor, charging past Crawley for second on the tenth lap and then pulling alongside Johnson in the next pair of corners.

With Stewart working vigorously for the lead, Johnson caught a reprieve moments later when fourth-running Wayne Johnson looped his machine without assistance in turn four. Trailing heavy smoke a few laps later in the race due to a loose oil filter, Wayne Johnson's race ended when he brought out a second caution with a stop on the frontstretch just past the midway point.

Between the Wayne Johnson cautions, Jason Johnson rode the cushion with Darren Stewart trying to set up the winning move. After the lap 16 caution for Wayne Johnson though, Jason Johnson switched tactics and ran the bottom portion of the racetrack the rest of the way.

And with three more cautions over the final 14 circuits, Johnson never wavered with clear track in front of him. Stewart tried the high side following the race's final caution for a turn two spin by Foster Landon that set up a six-lap dash to the stripe, but Johnson slipped away to a half straightaway victory.

Stewart settled for runner-up honors, explaining that, "We needed to get in lapped traffic and we sure didn't need those cautions. We could have been two-for-two this weekend, it just didn't quite work out."

After cutting down a left front tire in an opening lap heat race skirmish, three-time and defending ASCS National champion Gary Wright needed ten of twelve laps just to battle into a transfer position in "B" Main action.

Then after starting 19th, Wright was on the move by climbing to seventh by the tenth lap. Wright picked off four more spots over the next seven rounds and extended his series point lead with a third-place finish in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Whiteco Commercial Funding No. 9 Maxim.

Crawley settled for fourth in the No. 87 Avenger machine, with Kenneth Walker rounding out the top five in the Wesmar-powered No. 2 J&J.

I-30 Speedway regular Zack Pringle crossed the stripe sixth in front of past ASCS National champions Terry Gray and Garry Lee Maier, with Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Andy Shouse and Brian Bell completing the top ten.

Mike Ward, Foster Landon, Crawley, Jason Johnson and Bell topped heat race action for the 39-car field, with Wade Oliver and Travis Rilat splitting victory honors in the twin "B" Mains. Rilat's feature run ended when he suffered front-end damage after sliding off the top of turn two on the 23rd lap.

Joe Young flipped exiting turn two in heat race action, with Tommy Snellgrove taking a wild ride off turn two in the second "B" Main. There were no injuries.


O'Reilly ASCoT I-30 Speedway Results:

Heat Races (Top 16 in passing points to ?A? Main; Balance to Twin "B" Mains)

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 88-Mike Ward, 2. 91-Darren Stewart, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 58-Wade Oliver, 5. 7J-Justin Zimmerman, 6. 66-Kenny Taylor, 7. 4-Tommy Snellgrove, 8. 15-Brad Bowden.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 11F-Foster Landon, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 10-Terry Gray, 4. 21-Nick Smith, 5. 22J-Jasiel Randolph, 6. 47-Dale Howard, 7. 75-Don Young, 8. 5k-Jerry Kamer.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 87-Tim Crawley, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 2-Kenneth Walker, 4. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 5. 4am-Travis Jenkins, 6. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 7. 9-Gary Wright, 8. 13m-Kathryne Minter.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 44-Ronny Howard, 3. 57g-Dude Garrett, 4. 1g-Cody Gardner, 5. 26-Rafe Essary, 6. 41k-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 7. 81au-Gavin Punch, 8. 12T-Joe Young.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 23-Brian Bell, 2. 8-Zack Pringle, 3. 64J-Johnny Miller, 4. 24w-Kenny Coke, 5. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 6. 38-Rick Pringle, 7. 92-Rusty Gallion.

Pole Dash (Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of "A" Main):

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 87-Tim Crawley, 3. 88-Mike Ward, 4. 23-Brian Bell, 5. 11F-Foster Landon, 6. 91-Darren Stewart.

"B" Mains - Top 3 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 58-Wade Oliver, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 66-Kenny Taylor, 4. 47-Dale Howard, 5. 26-Rafe Essary, 6. 75-Don Young, 7. 41k-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 8. 5k-Jerry Kamer, 9. 4am-Travis Jenkins, 10. 92-Rusty Gallion, 11. 24w-Kenny Coke. DNS: 12T-Joe Young.

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 57g-Dude Garrett, 3. 15-Brad Bowden, 4. 7J-Justin Zimmerman, 5. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 6. 38-Rick Pringle, 7. 22J-Jasiel Randolph, 8. 81au-Gavin Punch, 9. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 10. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 11. 4-Tommy Snellgrove.

O'Reilly ASCoT I-30 Speedway "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (30 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 91-Darren Stewart, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 87-Tim Crawley, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 8-Zack Pringle, 7. 10-Terry Gray, 8. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 9. 27-Andy Shouse, 10. 23-Brian Bell, 11. 88-Mike Ward, 12. 1g-Cody Gardner, 13. 66-Kenny Taylor, 14. 64J-Johnny Miller, 15. 11F-Foster Landon, 16. 58-Wade Oliver, 17. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 18. 29-Travis Rilat, 19. 57g-Dude Garrett, 20. 15-Brad Bowden, 21. 94-Wayne Johnson, 22. 44-Ronny Howard, 23. 21-Nick Smith.

Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson 1-30.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 1,163, 2. Wayne Johnson 1,082, 3. Jason Johnson 1,059, 4. Darren Stewart 1,047, 5. Travis Rilat 1,033, 6. Foster Landon 919, 7. Andy Shouse 898, 8. Johnny Miller 860, 9. Garry Lee Maier 766, 10. Chris Schmelzle 741, 11. Nick Smith 682, 12. Aaron Berryhill 664, 13. Chuck Swenson 654, 14. Gavin Punch 542, 15. Kenneth Walker 516.
 

Lady Luck Shines on Johnson in O'Reilly ASCoT Texarkana Go

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TEXARKANA, Ark. (April 27, 2007) - Louisiana's Jason Johnson wasted little time cashing in on a friendly nod from Lady Luck to collect his first O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National feature win of the season with a triumph in Friday night's 30-lapper at Sixty-Seven Speedway.

While Johnson caught the lucky break, it was Darren Stewart on the receiving end of the bad luck as he was forced to surrender the point when his car mysteriously lost power under a late caution after leading the opening 21 circuits in an effort to score his first National win since June of 2005.

With Stewart sidelined, Johnson revved up his pursuit of a first $50,000 ASCoT National championship by setting sail aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle over the final nine laps, beating past National champs Tim Crawley, Wayne Johnson, Gary Wright and Travis Rilat to the checkered flag.

"It's nice to get this first one, it just took way too long," Johnson commented after becoming the series fifth different winner in nine feature events this year. "Darren had us covered though, maybe I could have got him in lapped traffic but on open track we didn't have anything for him."

Rilat and Stewart led the feature field to the green flag with Stewart edging into the early lead after the pair raced in wheel-to-wheel fashion the opening round. After starting fourth, Johnson battled past Rilat for second on the third round and set his sights on Stewart.

But Stewart held a lead of several car-lengths until Johnson was able to close when lapped traffic came into play after six laps. Stewart kept Johnson at bay, with the action interrupted after eight laps when Ronny Howard slid over the top of turn one.

Stewart reestablished an eight car-length lead as action resumed, only to have Johnson close in again when the leaders reached lapped traffic on the 13th round. Stewart made some swift moves though to maintain the lead aboard Bobby Sparks' Ostrich-powered Sparks Construction/RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle until the yellow flew on the 15th lap for Canada's Chris Schmelzle, who spun to a stop in turn two with front end damage.

It was more of the same on the ensuing restart, with Stewart holding strong in front of Johnson, Rilat and Crawley until the yellow lights flickered on the 22nd lap when seventh-runner Ray Allen Kulhanek and Kenneth Walker tangled in turn three. Kulhanek, a past ASCS Gulf South Region champion, was done for the night while Walker returned after a quick trip to the work area.

The caution period proved to be Stewart's undoing when his mount suddenly lost power in turn three as crews worked to separate the Kulhanek and Walker machines. "It just died, we're not sure what happened," Stewart explained afterward.

The following restart was waved off when sixth-runner Sam Hafertepe, Jr., was turned around in turn two by Andy Shouse. Hafertepe earned an express ticket to the pit area for his retaliatory tactics under the caution.

Johnson led the way on the restart in front of Rilat and Crawley. With Johnson riding the rim, Rilat tried the low side to no avail as Crawley moved into second. Wayne Johnson and Wright would soon follow suit.

While Johnson approached the tail of the field in the final two circuits, Crawley tried to close the gap aboard the No. 87 Avenger Chassis entry but it was too little, too late, as Johnson collected his 20th career ASCS National win.

"We were starting to catch him there at the end, just ran out of time," Crawley commented after a runner-up showing in his first O'Reilly ASCoT outing of the year. Wayne Johnson climbed from 12th to take the show position in Mike Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Eagle, with Wright maintaining his series point lead by racing from tenth to fourth in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Whiteco Commercial Funding No. 9 Maxim.

Rilat slipped to fifth in the final rounds aboard the Motor Mike-powered F&J Construction No. 29 Triple-X, with Rookie of the Year contenders Andy Shouse and Foster Landon next across the line. Johnny Miller climbed from 15th eighth, with Terry Gray and 17th-starter Gavin Punch completing the top ten.

Hafertepe, Aaron Berryhill and Jason Johnson topped heat race action, with Punch winning the "B" Main.


O'Reilly ASCoT Sixty-Seven Speedway Results:

Heat Races (Top 16 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to "B" Main)

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 2. 91-Darren Stewart, 3. 10-Terry Gray, 4. 27-Andy Shouse, 5. 94-Wayne Johnson, 6. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 7. 1g-Cody Gardner, 8. 57g-Dude Garrett, 9. 65-Skip Wilson.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 2. 2-Kenneth Walker, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 41k-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 5. 64J-Johnny Miller, 6. 44-Ronny Howard, 7. 75-Don Young, 8. 66-Kenny Taylor, 9. 13m-Kathryne Minter.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 11F-Foster Landon, 3. 87-Tim Crawley, 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 6. 81au-Gavin Punch, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 21-Nick Smith.

Pole Dash (Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of ?A? Main):

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 91-Darren Stewart, 3. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 97-Aaron Berryhill.

"B" Main - Top 6 Advance to ?A? Main


"B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 81au-Gavin Punch, 2. 75-Don Young, 3. 21-Nick Smith, 4. 65-Skip Wilson, 5. 44-Ronny Howard, 6. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 57g-Dude Garrett, 8. 66-Kenny Taylor, 9. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 10. 1g-Cody Gardner.

O'Reilly ASCoT Sixty-Seven Speedway "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (30 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 87-Tim Crawley, 3. 94-Wayne Johnson, 4. 9-Gary Wright, 5. 29-Travis Rilat, 6. 27-Andy Shouse, 7. 11F-Foster Landon, 8. 64J-Johnny Miller, 9. 10-Terry Gray, 10. 81au-Gavin Punch, 11. 2-Kenneth Walker, 12. 75-Don Young, 13. 65-Skip Wilson, 14. 15-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 15. 91-Darren Stewart, 16. 41k-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 17. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 18. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 19. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 20. 21-Nick Smith, 21. 44-Ronny Howard, 22. 97-Aaron Berryhill.

Lap Leaders: Darren Stewart 1-21, Jason Johnson 22-30.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 1,019, 2. Wayne Johnson 972, 3. Travis Rilat 917, 4. Jason Johnson 909, 5. Darren Stewart 901, 6. Foster Landon 799, 7. Andy Shouse 766, 8. Johnny Miller 738, 9. Chris Schmelzle 666, 10. Aaron Berryhill 664, 11. Chuck Swenson 654, 12. Garry Lee Maier 632, 13. Nick Smith 576, 14. Danny Jennings 492, 15. Gavin Punch 467.

 

Wright Rumbles to O'Reilly ASCoT Win at The Mag

By Lonnie Wheatley,

COLUMBUS, Miss. (April 21, 2007) - Three-time and reigning series champion Gary Wright of Hooks, TX, padded his current O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National point lead by racing to victory lane in Saturday night's 30-lap Boll Weevil Rumble at Magnolia Motor Speedway.

Wright chased down early leader Jason Johnson on the 16th round and lapped all the way up to fifth place as he picked off his fourth ASCS National Tour feature win of the year aboard the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Whiteco Commercial Funding No. 9 Maxim.

"This is a really nice place, you can really get around here in a hurry," Wright commented of the ASCS National Tour's first visit to the 3/8-mile clay oval. "There was so much lapped traffic that you really couldn't tell if anybody was close or not so I just had to keep picking 'em off as fast as I could."

While Wright will officially be credited with passing zero cars in his 110th career series win after starting from the pole, "The Texan" actually passed 37 machines including his race-winning pass of Johnson along with eight cars that he lapped once, another eight cars two laps off the pace and one car down three laps along with lapping the only car to drop out of the fast-paced event.

Wright led the feature field to the green flag with young shoe Brad Bowden alongside. But with Wright sticking to the low side on the opening circuit, it was third-starter Johnson moving to the topside of the track exiting turn two and motoring past Wright exiting turn four to lead the opening round.

Gunning for his first ASCS National triumph of the year after nine trips to National Tour victory lane in 2006, Johnson set a scorching pace in the early laps aboard Lanny Row's Wesmar-powered The Shop Motorsports/Custom Equipment Design No. 41 Eagle, reaching lapped traffic by the fifth round.

Johnson sliced through lapped traffic with ease in the early stages, with seven lapped cars and a substantial amount of real estate between himself and Wright by the eighth lap. But Wright soon picked up the pace and began closing the gap as the midway point approached.

Wright had on unobstructed view of Johnson at the lap 15 mark and then charged past "The Ragin' Cajun" exiting turn four on the 16th lap to take command. Once in front, Wright wasted little time stretching his lead out as he continued to put laps on most of his rivals.

But just as Wright took the white flag, the race's only caution appeared when Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Foster Landon came to a stop on the front straightaway with a cut right rear tire, setting up a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. Landon had been running as the sixth and final car on the lead lap when his tire went down, limping around for two laps before finally running out of steam.

With four lapped cars separating Wright from Johnson on the restart and a clear racetrack in front of him, Wright cruised to the checkered flag in easy fashion, with Johnson settling for runner-up honors.

Tenth-starter Travis Rilat and fourth-row starters Wayne Johnson and Darren Stewart diced for the show position much of the way, with Wayne Johnson making a move past Rilat following the lap 28 restart to snare third in Mike Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Eagle.

Rilat crossed the stripe fourth in the Motor Mike-powered F&J Construction No. 29 Triple X, with Stewart rounding out the top five aboard Bobby Sparks' Ostrich-powered RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle.

Bowden claimed sixth in his ASCS National Tour debut, with Aaron Berryhill in seventh. Danny Martin, Jr., was eighth, with Rookie of the Year contender Andy Shouse and 17th-starter Terry Gray completing the top ten.

Another Rookie of the Year contender, Canada's Chris Schmelzle, narrowly missed out on his first career ASCS National Tour top-ten feature finish by crossing the stripe in eleventh.

Current ASCS Coastal Region point leader and 2002 ASCS National Tour runner-up Michael Dupuy advanced the most positions in the feature by climbing from 23rd to twelfth. Dupuy was forced pitside in heat race action when his car jumped out of gear.

Jason Johnson, Landon and Wright each scored heat race victories.

Sixteen-year-old Kathryne Minter of Bedford, TX, scratched from the "A" Main due to mechanical woes, with 22 of the 23 features starters still on track as the checkered flag flew.
 

O'Reilly ASCoT Magnolia Motor Speedway Boll Weevil Rumble Results:


Heat Races

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 94-Wayne Johnson, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 6. 10-Terry Gray, 7. k9-Robert Casada, 8. 86-Buster Dickerson.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 11F-Foster Landon, 2. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 3. 00-Danny Martin, Jr., 4. 64J-Johnny Miller, 5. 93-Chris Sweeney, 6. 1h-Tommy Hall, 7. 2-Todd Fayard, 8. 94c-Stephen Chevallier.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 15-Brad Bowden, 3. 91-Darren Stewart, 4. 01-Shane Morgan, 5. 7-Michael Herrington, 6. 09-Timmy Thrash, 7. 13m-Kathryne Minter, 8. 12-Michael Dupuy.

Pole Dash (Top 6 in Passing Points from Heat Races; Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of ?A? Main):

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 15-Brad Bowden, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 5. 11F-Foster Landon, 6. 00-Danny Martin, Jr.

O-Reilly ASCoT Magnolia Motor Speedway Boll Weevil Rumble "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (30 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 94-Wayne Johnson, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 91-Darren Stewart, 6. 15-Brad Bowden, 7. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 8. 00-Danny Martin, Jr., 9. 27-Andy Shouse, 10. 00-Danny Martin, Jr., 11. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 12. 12-Michael Dupuy, 13. 64J-Johnny Miller, 14. 7-Michael Herrington, 15. 01-Shane Morgan, 16. k9-Robert Casada, 17. 86-Buster Dickerson, 18. 93-Chris Sweeney, 19. 09-Timmy Thrash, 20. 1h-Tommy Hall, 21. 2-Todd Fayard, 22. 94c-Stephen Chevallier, 23. 11F-Foster Landon, 24. 13m-Kathryne Minter.

Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson 1-15, Gary Wright 16-30.


O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 877, 2. Wayne Johnson 828, 3. Darren Stewart 781, 4. Travis Rilat 777, 5. Jason Johnson 759, 6. Foster Landon 663, 7. Chuck Swenson 654, 8. Andy Shouse 628, 9. Johnny Miller 604, 10. Aaron Berryhill 558, 11. Chris Schmelzle 552, 12. Garry Lee Maier 520, 13. Danny Jennings 492, 14. Nick Smith 466, 15. Kevin Ramey 453.


ASCS Coastal Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Michael Dupuy 568, 2. (tie) Robert Casada and Michael Herrington 534, 4. Chris Sweeney 516, 5. Todd Fayard 512, 6. Shane Morgan 502, 7. Timmy Thrash 494, 8. Lane Whittington 335, 9. Michael Miller 326, 10. Hunter Phillips 315.
 

ASCS Patriot Contingency Sponsor List Continues to Build

By Rich Vleck,

TULSA, Okla. (April 19, 2007) - Two months ago, eight sponsors were announced as partners of the ASCS Patriots for the 2007 season; that was already a record total, that number has now doubled.

Here is an alphabetical rundown of the fine companies that have aligned themselves through contingency support programs with the fastest-growing sprint car series in the Northeast. Each of these companies will be contributing to both the nightly awards and the annual awards banquet point fund total.

Engler Machine and Tool- Tim Engler, owner of Engler Machine and Tool, is on board with the ASCS Patriots for the first time, but is no stranger to the sprint car scene. They are one of the leaders at building and keeping engines run at the highest level with their top-of-the-line injection systems. The driver that ends up starting each A-Main in first will receive the Engler Pole Award. Engler will also contribute nicely to the top-10 drivers in the point fund. Visit their website at http://www.englermachine.com/.

Gater Racing News- For the third consecutive year, Gater will present the Hard Charger of the Season Award, this year they will also contribute nightly. The winner of each A-feature will pick up a ½ year subscription to the Gater Racing News. In addition, one fan will also be chosen to receive a ½ year free as well. They are available on the Internet at http://www.gaternews.com/.

ISC Racer's Tape- There is something to be said for drivers that are on time to get on to the track; this year, ISC will reward them for doing such. The first three drivers to line up each night for the hot lap session will pick up a roll of tape for Keeping Things Rolling. Their website is http://www.iscracerstape.com/.

Leaf Racewear and Safety Equipment- Leaf is a long-standing partner with the ASCS Patriots, with the relationship becoming even stronger this year. Two certificates from Leaf will be handed out each night, one for a driver that had a Well-Suited Run, and the other for the 11th place finisher. Leaf Racewear will also have a recognizable presence at the 2007 Awards Banquet. For more information, visit their website at http://www.leafracewear.com/.

M&W Aluminum- In another instance of a fine company aligning with the flourishing ASCS Patriots, M&W, along with Speedway Metals, will contribute to the nightly awards through a certificate program, which will be handed out to a selected competitor in the top-5. M&W Aluminum Products manufacture quality sprint car products right in Central New York and are available on the web at http://www.mwalum.com/.

Mangus Precision Pumps- Mangus is yet another local company that is on board for the first year in 2007. Tim Mangus is "Pumped Up" about teaming with the ASCS Patriots, as will the drivers that receive his award each night. The Mangus Pumped Up Award will go to the highest finisher that has yet to receive a certificate to be used towards the purchase of a pump. Their website is http://www.manguspumps.com/.

Saldana Racing Products- While ASCS Patriot events in 2007 will be 20 laps, Saldana will be rewarding the leader at lap 10 of each race this year. Another newcomer to the tour, Saldana we be a welcomed addition to the racers when it comes to picking up their high-quality products. Their easy-to-remember web address is http://www.saldanaracingproducts.com/.

Ultra-Shield Race Products- Due to alphabetical they are listed last, but should definitely not be considered as such for this year. Robert and Donna Bass' Ultra-Shield Race Products is returning with the ASCS Patriots this season to reward a top-10 finisher at each race this season. A new driver will pick up the certificate each night. For all of that they have to offer, their website is http://www.ultrashieldrace.com/.
 

ASCS / Wesmar Challenge Leader Board

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (April 18, 2007) - With 17 of 238 scheduled events for the 2007 American Sprint Car Series season in the books, it's time for a quick look at the ASCS / Wesmar Challenge Leader Board.

Gary Wright leads the Challenge points in the National ranks, with Regional leaders including Michael Dupuy and Marshall Skinner (Coastal), Jason Johnson (Gulf South), Chuck Swenson (Midwest and Northern Plains), Wade Oliver and Marshall Skinner (Rebel) and Kevin Ramey (Sooner).

The top two drivers in ASCS / Wesmar Challenge points for the National Tour and each of the eleven winged Regions at the September 15 cutoff date will earn invitations to the October 13 ASCS / Wesmar Challenge at the Devil's Bowl Speedway Winter Nationals in Mesquite, TX.

The ASCS / Wesmar Challenge will be run in two 15-lap segments, with an inversion following the first segment. Passing and finishing points will be in effect for both segments, with the top points earner coming away with a new Wesmar Racing Engine.

Drivers earn points towards the Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge by earning three points for a feature win, two points for a runner-up finish and one point for each third-place feature finish. A driver must compete in at least 60% of a respective Region's events and be a registered member of the American Sprint Car Series to represent that Region in the ASCS / Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge.


Current ASCS / Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge Points:

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National:

1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 13
2. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 8
3. Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) 4
4. Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD) 4
5. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 3
6. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 2
7. Danny Smith (Danville, IN) 2
8. Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 2
9. Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) 2
10. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 1
11. Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK) 1

ASCS Coastal Region:

1. Marshall Skinner (West Memphis, AR) 3
2. Michael Dupuy (Amite, LA) 3
3. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 2
4. Michael Miller (Ocean Springs, MS) 2
5. Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN) 1
6. Chris Sweeney (Channelview, TX) 1

ASCS Gulf South Region:

1. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 3
2. Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN) 2
3. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 1

ASCS Midwest Region:

1. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 4
2. Brian Brown (Higginsville, MO) 3
3. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 3
4. Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 2

ASCS Northern Plains Region:

1. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 4
2. Brian Brown (Higginsville, MO) 3
3. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 3
4. Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 2

ASCS Rebel Region:

1. Marshall Skinner (West Memphis, AR) 3
2. Wade Oliver (Southaven, MS) 3
3. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 2
4. T.J. Winegardner (Pierson, FL) 2
5. Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN) 1
6. Shane Morgan (Biloxi, MS) 1

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region:

1. Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) 3
2. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 2
3. Brad Welborn (Allen, TX) 1

Five additional Regions will have season-opening events in the coming weeks, including this Sunday night's inaugural Mid-Atlantic Region event at Susquehanna Speedway Park. Upcoming season openers include:

Mid-Atlantic - Susquehanna Speedway Park, Newberrytown, PA (April 22)
Southern Tour - Virginia Motor Speedway, Saluda, VA (April 28)
Patriot - Fulton Speedway, Fulton, NY (May 5)
Rocky Mountain - Dodge City Raceway Park, Dodge City, KS (May 5)
Sprints on Dirt - Crystal Motor Speedway, Crystal, MI (May 5)

Next up for the balance of the American Sprint Car Series:

ASCoT National - Magnolia Motor Speedway, Columbus, MS (April 21)
Coastal - Southern Speedway, Hattiesburg, MS (April 20)
Gulf South - Motorama Speedway, Beaumont, TX (May 18)
Midwest - Junction Motor Speedway, McCool Junction, NE (May 25)
Northern Plains - Crawford County Speedway vs. ASCoT, Denison, IA (June 16)
Rebel - Southern Raceway, Milton, FL (May 12)
Sooner - Mid-America Speedway, South Coffeyville, OK (April 20-21)

The 2007 season is the 16th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, with the series set to sanction approximately 240 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout nearly 30 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

 

ASCS / Wesmar Challenge Leader Board

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (April 4, 2007) - In addition to holding down the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series championship points lead, Gary Wright also sits atop the ASCS / Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge leader board on the strength of a half dozen podium finishes through the opening seven events of the year.

While Wright holds the first spot, Wayne Johnson has climbed into the critical second position on the National charts.

In ASCS Regional action, Marshall Skinner and Michael Dupuy lead the way in the Coastal Region with Skinner and Wade Oliver knotted atop the Rebel Region.

The top two drivers in ASCS / Wesmar Challenge points for the National Tour and each of the winged Regions at the September 15 cutoff date will earn invitations to the October 13 ASCS / Wesmar Challenge at the Devil's Bowl Speedways Winter Nationals in Mesquite, TX.

The ASCS / Wesmar Challenge will be run in two 15-lap segments, with an inversion following the first segment. Passing and finishing points will be in effect for both segments, with the top points earner coming away with a new Wesmar Racing Engine.

Drivers earn points towards the Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge by earning three points for a feature win, two points for a runner-up finish and one point for each third-place feature finish. A driver must compete in at least 60% of a respective Region's event to represent that Region in the ASCS / Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge.


Current ASCS / Wesmar Racing Engines Challenge Points:

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National:

1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 13
2. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 8
3. Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) 4
4. Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD) 4
5. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 3
6. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 2
7. Danny Smith (Danville, IN) 2
8. Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 2
9. Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) 2
10. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 1
11. Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK) 1

ASCS Coastal Region:

1. Marshall Skinner (West Memphis, AR) 3
2. Michael Dupuy (Amite, LA) 3
3. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 2
4. Michael Miller (Ocean Springs, MS) 2
5. Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN) 1
6. Chris Sweeney (Channelview, TX) 1

ASCS Rebel Region:

1. Marshall Skinner (West Memphis, AR) 3
2. Wade Oliver (Southaven, MS) 3
3. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 2
4. T.J. Winegardner (Pierson, FL) 2
5. Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN) 1
6. Shane Morgan (Biloxi, MS) 1

Nine additional Regions will have season-opening events in the coming weeks. Upcoming season openers include:

Gulf South - Motorama Speedway, Beaumont, TX (April 6)

Midwest vs. Northern Plains - I-80 Speedway, Greenwood, NE (April 13)

Sooner - Heart O' Texas Speedway, Waco, TX (April 13)

Mid-Atlantic - Susquehanna Speedway Park, Newberrytown, PA (April 15)

Southern Tour - Virginia Motor Speedway, Saluda, VA (April 28)

Patriot - Fulton Speedway, Fulton, NY (May 5)

Rocky Mountain - Dodge City Raceway Park, Dodge City, KS (May 5)

Sprints on Dirt - Crystal Motor Speedway, Crystal, MI (May 5)


The 2007 season is the 16th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, with the series set to sanction approximately 240 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout nearly 30 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
 

O'Reilly ASCoT - The Month Ahead

By Lonnie Wheatley,

TULSA, Okla. (April 3, 2007) - With seven nights of racing in the books, the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series will tack on three more events over the final two weekends of April.

The stars of the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour will take to Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS, for the first time in series history on Saturday night, April 21, before moving on to more familiar territory with 67 Texarkana Speedway and Little Rock's I-30 Speedway on the following weekend, April 27 and 28.

Through the series opening seven nights of racing this year, three-time and defending series champion Gary Wright of Hooks, TX, has bolted into the points lead on the strength of top-five finishes in each feature event, including three wins.

Wright's advantage is currently at 43 points over Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson, who has rejoined the ASCS National Tour and will try to chase down the $50,000 championship to go along with his 2000 title. Johnson topped two of the four March feature events, including a triumph in Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals finale.

South Dakota's Chuck Swenson, the reigning ASCS Northern Plains Region champion, has climbed to third on the strength of three top-five feature runs in March, with 2005 ASCS National Tour runner-up Darren Stewart and 2003 ASCS National champion Travis Rilat rounding out the current top five.

A runner-up finisher in the Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals, Louisiana's Jason Johnson has climbed to sixth in points despite some turbulent luck along the way.

After posting top-five finishes on both nights of State Fair Speedway's Spring Nationals, Foster Landon of Collinsville, OK, is seventh in points and holds the early edge over Canada's Chris Schmelzle in the Brodix Rookie of the Year points race.

After missing the East Bay opener in January, Kansas shoe Garry Lee Maier has moved into eighth in points, with Oklahoma drivers Andy Shouse and Danny Jennings completing the current top ten.

The Series:

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour (ASCoT)

When & Where:

Saturday night, April 21 at 7:00 p.m. - Magnolia Motor Speedway

Friday night, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. - 67 Texarkana Speedway

Saturday night, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. - I-30 Speedway

Track Information:

Magnolia Motor Speedway (Columbus, MS) - 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval located five miles west of Columbus, MS, on US 82, then 0.4 miles south on US 45, then east on SR 182. Track phone: 662-328-0376.

67 Texarkana Speedway (Texarkana, AR) ? ¼-mile semi-banked clay oval located east of Texarkana off I-30 Exit 7, then 0.5 miles southeast on SR 108, then 2.6 miles northeast on US 67. Track phone: 870-773-0029.

I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) ? ¼-mile high-banked clay oval located seven miles southwest of Little Rock off I-30 Exit 126 (County Line Road), then south to frontage road, then east. For more information, contact the track at 501-455-4567.

O'Reilly ASCoT Magnolia Motor Speedway History:

After kicking off the 2007 season atop familiar territory (East Bay, Devil's Bowl and State Fair Speedway), it's time to take on some new venues. Magnolia Motor Speedway's Boll Weevil Rumble will be the first of eleven tracks that the ASCS National Tour will visit for the first time over the course of the 2007 season.

While it is the National Tour's first stop at Magnolia Motor Speedway, the track hosted a pair of Regional events in 2006. Last April, Byhalia, Mississippi's Dale Howard won the first Sprint Car feature in track history by beating younger brother Jan Howard to the line in the annual Boll Weevil Rumble. Dale Howard tried to double up during the Labor Day weekend event, only to have Darren Stewart snare the win with a late pass for the lead after starting deep in the grid.

Magnolia Motor Speedway O'Reilly ASCoT Race-by-Race Winners: None - first event.

O'Reilly ASCoT 67 Texarkana Speedway History:

The series returns to 67 Texarkana Speedway after a year's absence. The bullring has been an annual stop for the series from 1998 to 2005, with the exception of 1999. It marks the first of two ASCS National Tour stops in Texarkana this year, with a Speedweek date on the slate as well.

Residing just 20 miles or so down the road, Hooks, TX, native Gary Wright has reached victory lane in three of seven events at 67 Texarkana. But it was Little Rock-area driver Tim Crawley who won in the series first visit in 1998, then won in the series most recent stop in 2005 with a dramatic drive from 17th in the Speedweek event.

Last year, Jason Johnson took advantage of a late slip by Jason Sides to top an ASCS Regional event at 67 Texarkana.

67 Texarkana Speedway ASCS National winners include: Gary Wright 3, Tim Crawley 2, Travis Rilat 1, Shane Stewart 1.

67 Texarkana Speedway O'Reilly ASCoT Race-by-Race Winners: Tim Crawley (6/17/98), Gary Wright (7/22/00), Gary Wright (5/19/01), Gary Wright (4/12/02), Shane Stewart (5/2/03), Travis Rilat (4/30/04), Tim Crawley (6/10/05).

O'Reilly ASCoT I-30 Speedway History:

A staple of the ASCS National Tour, I-30 Speedway hosted the first official ASCS National Tour event on May 15, 1993, with Memphis shoe Mike Ward dropping in on victory lane. Since that time, a dozen different drivers have posted at least one ASCS National Tour feature win in the 31 events contested at I-30.

Gary Wright has enjoyed the most success at I-30 with nine triumphs, his most recent one coming in July of 2005. Last year, Jason Johnson's magical season included an I-30 triumph.

The April stop at I-30 will serve as an ideal tune-up for the second leg of the 15th Annual ASCS Sizzlin' Summer Speedweek on July and then the 20th Annual Short Track Nationals on October 25-27, worth $20,000 to win.

I-30 Speedway ASCS National winners include: Gary Wright 9, Garry Lee Maier 4, Tim Crawley 3, Terry Gray 3, Mike Ward 3, Wayne Johnson 2, Travis Rilat 2, Pete Butler 1, Jason Johnson 1, Ricky Logan 1, Eric Sandage 1, Shane Stewart 1.

I-30 Speedway O?Reilly ASCoT Race-by-Race Winners: Mike Ward (5/15/93), Tim Crawley (6/24/93), Terry Gray (7/17/93), Garry Lee Maier (6/18/94), Garry Lee Maier (8/13/94), Terry Gray (5/20/95), Ricky Logan (6/24/95), Gary Wright (7/15/95), Mike Ward (5/18/96), Garry Lee Maier (6/15/96), Garry Lee Maier (8/3/96), Mike Ward (5/17/97), Gary Wright (6/14/97), Wayne Johnson (9/26/97), Wayne Johnson (9/27/97), Gary Wright (5/16/98), Terry Gray (6/13/98), Eric Sandage (8/25/01), Pete Butler (6/22/02), Gary Wright (7/13/02), Gary Wright (9/21/02), Gary Wright (6/21/03), Tim Crawley (7/12/03), Shane Stewart (9/6/03), Gary Wright (6/5/04), Travis Rilat (7/10/04), Gary Wright (8/28/04), Tim Crawley (6/11/05), Gary Wright (7/9/05), Travis Rilat (10/1/05), Jason Johnson (7/29/06).


Current O'Reilly ASCoT Points (After 7 of 46 Nights):

Top Fifteen: 1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 727, 2. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 684, 3. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 654, 4. Darren Stewart (Bixby, OK) 641, 5. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 635, 6. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 613, 7. Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK) 559, 8. Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 520, 9. Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK) 496, 10. Danny Jennings (Norman, OK) 492, 11. Johnny Miller (Burleson, TX) 480, 12. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 466, 13. Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) 453, 14. Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 451, 15. Chris Schmelzle (Victoria, BC) 424.


Top Ten Owners Points: 1. Wright #9 727, 2. H&H Enterprises #94 684, 3. Swenson #X 654, 4. Sparks #91 641, 5. Rilat #29 635, 6. Row #41 613, 7. Landon Racing #11F 559, 8. Lubbock Wrecker Service #11x 520, 9. Shouse #27 496, 10. Jennings #61J 492.


2007 O'Reilly ASCoT Feature Winners:

Gary Wright 3, Wayne Johnson 2, Terry McCarl 1, Jake Peters 1.


ASCoT in May:

May 11 State Fair Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK)

May 12 Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX)

May 18 Black Rock Speedway (Dundee, NY)
May 19 Black Rock Speedway (Dundee, NY)

May 24 Susquehanna Speedway Park (Newberrytown, PA)

May 25 Virginia Motor Speedway (Saluda, VA)

May 26 Virginia Motor Speedway (Saluda, VA)


The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series is currently slated for 46 nights of racing action at 24 different tracks throughout 16 different states, with more than $1,000,000 in purse money and point fund to be distributed during the 2007 season.

The 2007 season marks the 16th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series. With 13 different Regions in addition to the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, ASCS will sanction approximately 240 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout at least 30 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
 

Wayne Wires O'Reilly ASCoT in State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals

By Lonnie Wheatley,

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (March 24, 2007) - Wayne Johnson has had few opportunities to race in front of his hometown crowd in recent years, so the Oklahoma City native made the most of State Fair Speedway's Spring Nationals finale by wiring the field in Saturday night's 30-lap O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National feature event.

Johnson outgunned current series point leader Gary Wright for the lead at the outset and raced the entire distance virtually unchallenged aboard Mike and Tim Hammers' Wesmar-powered H&H Enterprises/Pearson Farms No. 94 Eagle.

"Beautiful car tonight guys, absolutely great race car," Johnson exclaimed to his team as he climbed out of the mount in victory lane after his second triumph of the season and 22nd career ASCS National Tour victory. "It wasn't that easy, but these guys gave me a car that made it look that way."

Residing in Knoxville, Iowa over the past several years, Wayne commented that, "I raced here in Oklahoma City every week for a long time back in the '80s and early '90s and one thing hasn't changed, the fans here are still great."

Johnson made his way into the evening's Pole Dash by climbing from sixth to second in Brodix Cylinder Heads heat race number one, earning the second highest passing point total for the night behind Aaron Berryhill.

Johnson drew the number one pill and took full advantage by winning the Pole Dash. And aside from one brief period past the midway point of the feature event when Berryhill and Wright closed in, Johnson had the race well in hand.

While Johnson gunned into the lead at the outset, fourth-starter Berryhill battled past Wright for second on the opening round. Johnson's pace was interrupted after five laps when the caution flew for Jason Johnson, who came to a stop off turn four with a cut right rear tire. Jason Johnson's crew changed the tire in short order, with Shane Stewart making a trip to the work area as well under the caution.

Back under way, Wayne Johnson amassed a half straightaway advantage over Berryhill and Wright by the eighth lap. A handful of laps later, Johnson held nearly a straightaway lead as he reached the tail of the field.

Mired behind lapped traffic though, Berryhill and Wright closed to within four car lengths of Johnson by the 18th lap. Johnson then successfully battled past a lapped car to reestablish some breathing room before finding clear track ahead of him when Danny Jennings, who had been on the move early by charging from 17th to seventh in the opening seven circuits, came to a stop in turn four with 22 laps in the books.

It was clear sailing for Johnson the rest of the way. Even when Jason Johnson stopped in turn two with a flat right rear that was rubbing on a kick rail to set up a two-lap dash to the checkered, there was no match for Wayne Johnson.

Berryhill fought off Wright over the closing rounds to claim runner-up honors aboard the Wesmar-powered Americash Advance No. 97 Eagle, with Wright taking the show position in the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Whiteco Commercial Funding No. 9 Maxim, maintaining a 43-point lead over Wayne Johnson in the series $50,000 championship points race.

After starting eleventh, Brian Brown cracked the top five by the tenth round and made his way around Garry Lee Maier for fourth by the midway point. Brown kept Tim and Gina Doogs' Wesmar-powered No. 21x Maxim in fourth the rest of the way, with Rookie of the Year contender Foster Landon rounding out the top five in the Wells-powered Sooner Surplus Sales No. 11F Maxim.

Travis Rilat turned in the race's Hard Charger performance by racing from 16th to sixth, with Maier, 15th-starter Kevin Ramey, 18th-starter Darren Stewart and 19th-starter Joe Wood, Jr. completing the top ten.

Brown, Maier, Chris Schmelzle, B.J. Fay and Johnny Miller topped heat race action. After collecting his first ASCS National Tour heat race win, Canadian racer Schmelzle was forced to the infield with severe engine problems just three laps into the feature.

After starting sixth, Jennings took over the lead for keeps six laps into the first 12-lap "B" Main, with Darren Stewart leading brother Shane Stewart to the stripe in the second "B" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals Results:

Locked in from Friday's Preliminary Event:

9-Gary Wright, 94s-Natalie Sather, 11F-Foster Landon, X-Chuck Swenson.

Heat Races (Top 12 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to 2 "B" Mains)

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 21x-Brian Brown, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 14x-Shane Stewart, 5. 61J-Danny Jennings, 6. 81au-Gavin Punch, 7. 33-Gary Owens, 8. 25-Derek Cottrell.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 2. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 3. 29-Travis Rilat, 4. 91-Darren Stewart, 5. 2-Kenneth Walker, 6. 83s-Larry Neighbors, 7. 71-Keith Rauch, 8. 20-Dusty Ballenger.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 2. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 3. 15-Jon Corbin, 4. 22-Koby Barksdale, 5. 2x-Whit Gastineau, 6. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 8. 43-A.J. Selenke.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 15x-B.J. Fay, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 4. 87-Brian McClelland, 5. 5$-Danny Smith, 6. 98-J.D. Johnson, 7. 4am-Travis Jenkins, 8. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 64J-Johnny Miller, 2. 21-Nick Smith, 3. 51-Mike Peters, 4. 94x-Cody Branchcomb, 5. 22b-Ben Gregg, 6. 59-Dex Eaton, 7. 93-Bob Schaeffer, 8. 45-Martin Edwards.

Pole Dash (Four Locked in Drivers from Friday Night and Top 2 in Passing Points from Heat Races; Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of ?A? Main):

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 11F-Foster Landon, 4. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 5. 94s-Natalie Sather, 6. X-Chuck Swenson.

"B" Mains - Top 3 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 61J-Danny Jennings, 2. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 3. 2-Kenneth Walker, 4. 15-Jon Corbin, 5. 83s-Larry Neighbors, 6. 98-J.D. Johnson, 7. 20-Dusty Ballenger, 8. 22-Koby Barksdale, 9. 33-Gary Owens, 10. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr., 11. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 12. 93-Bob Schaeffer, 13. 51-Mike Peters. DNS: 71-Keith Rauch.

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 91-Darren Stewart, 2. 14x-Shane Stewart, 3. 87-Brian McClelland, 4. 94x-Cody Branchcomb, 5. 5$-Danny Smith, 6. 2x-Whit Gastineau, 7. 22b-Ben Gregg, 8. 81au-Gavin Punch, 9. 25-Derek Cottrell, 10. 59-Dex Eaton, 11. 4am-Travis Jenkins, 12. 45-Martin Edwards, 13. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 14. 43-A.J. Selenke.

O'Reilly ASCoT State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (30 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson, 2. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 21x-Brian Brown, 5. 11F-Foster Landon, 6. 29-Travis Rilat, 7. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 8. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 9. 91-Darren Stewart, 10. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 11. X-Chuck Swenson, 12. 14x-Shane Stewart, 13. 27-Andy Shouse, 14. 94s-Natalie Sather, 15. 21-Nick Smith, 16. 2-Kenneth Walker, 17. 15x-B.J. Fay, 18. 64J-Johnny Miller, 19. 41-Jason Johnson, 20. 61J-Danny Jennings, 21. 87-Brian McClelland, 22. 57c-Chris Schmelzle.

Lap Leaders: Wayne Johnson 1-30.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 727, 2. Wayne Johnson 684, 3. Chuck Swenson 654, 4. Darren Stewart 641, 5. Travis Rilat 635, 6. Jason Johnson 613, 7. Foster Landon 559, 8. Garry Lee Maier 520, 9. Andy Shouse 496, 10. Danny Jennings 492, 11. Johnny Miller 480, 12. Nick Smith 466, 13. Kevin Ramey 453, 14. Natalie Sather 451, 15. Chris Schmelzle 424.
 

Wright Denies Sather O'Reilly ASCoT Honors in OKC Prelim!

By Lonnie Wheatley,

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (March 23, 2007) - For the longest time in Friday night's State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals preliminary event, it appeared that 22-year-old Natalie Sather would become the first female "A" Feature winner in American Sprint Car Series history.

But three-time and reigning O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National champion Gary Wright of Hooks, TX, had other ideas, sweeping past the spunky North Dakota lass on the 24th round of the 25-lap main event to capture his 109th career series victory and third of the year, padding his current series points lead in the process.

But it wasn't easy for "The Texan", as he had to race from the 14th starting position and spent several late laps struggling to get by South Dakota's Chuck Swenson for second.

"I didn't know if I was gonna get there or not, I knew we were running out of laps," Wright explained after the win aboard the Wesmar-powered Richwood Construction/Whiteco Commercial Funding/Southwest Express No. 9 Maxim. "We were really zipping around the top of turn two good, once I got around Chuck I thought we could get there. I kinda hated to take that away from her, she drove a really good race, probably the best race that she's ever driven, at least feature-wise."

Asked of any disappointment, Sather smiled and shrugged, "Well, sorta," as throngs of fans flocked to the attractive young driver of the Shaver-powered Gateway Chevrolet/Brookings Auto Mall No. 94s J&J seeking autographs after a career-best second place finish.

Sather had kicked off the evening by outgunning Danny Shouse for the point and leading all the way in the opening heat race. After drawing the front row outside for the Pole Dash, Sather got the jump on Swenson at the start and held off both Swenson and Danny Jennings to earn the pole position for the feature event.

Meanwhile, Wright chased Jennings to the stripe in his heat race after starting on the pole and found himself mired outside the seventh row of the 23-car feature grid, with a tough field ahead of him just to get locked into Saturday night's State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals finale.

"The most important thing was to run in the top four and get locked in for tomorrow night, it's so tough against all this competition that if you can get locked in then you don't have to try to fight your way in tomorrow," Wright explained.

Wright and Sather are joined by third-place runner Foster Landon of Collinsville, OK, and Swenson as the four drivers locked into Saturday's 30-lap finale.

At the start of the feature, it was Sather outgunning Swenson for the early lead. Sather's early pace was interrupted after just two laps when Shane Stewart got sideway in turn two and collected Kevin Ramey, who got upside down. Ramey was done for the night, while Stewart would spin on the fourth round and ultimately pull pitside just past the halfway mark.

While Sather paced the opening circuits in front of Swenson, Landon, Darren Stewart and Jennings, Wright had already advanced a half dozen positions to eights by the time the second caution flew for Shane Stewart's turn two spin on the fourth lap.

Back under way, Swenson kept the pressure on Sather as Wright meticulously worked his way forward, cracking the top five by the tenth circuit.

At the same time, Sather was approaching lapped traffic with Swenson sensing an opportunity to pounce upon his first career O'Reilly ASCoT National win as well. And when Sather slipped high exiting turn four on the 12th circuit, Swenson challenged on the low side. The pair raced underneath the flagstand side-by-side, with Sather edging back into the lead as they charged into turn one.

After Wright made his way past Darren Stewart for fourth a lap later, Swenson made one bobble that allowed both Landon and Wright to race by. But a caution would fly for Wayne Johnson's turn two spin as Landon and Wright raced side-by-side on Sather's tailtank, putting Swenson back in second with eleven laps to go.

Back to fourth on the restart, Wright quickly made his way past Landon for third. But Sather continued to drive a nearly flawless race, opening up a three car-length advantage as Swenson fought off Wright for second.

Wright tried the high side of turn two for several rounds only to have Swenson shut the door. But having tipped his hand one too many times with the block, Wright dove to the inside of Swenson exiting turn two on the 21st lap to take over second.

Wright wasted little time reeling in Sather and charged by on the high side of turn two on the white-flag lap to take the lead for keeps, forcing Sather to settle for second. Rookie of the Year hopeful Landon made a late move past Swenson to post a career-best ASCS National Tour feature finish of third aboard the Wells-powered Sooner Surplus Sales No. 11F Maxim, while Swenson took the fourth and final lock-in position in the Fisher-powered K&C Conversions No. X Maxim.

Darren Stewart rounded out the top five in Bobby Sparks' Ostrich-powered RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle, while past ASCS National champion Travis Rilat rallied from 17th to sixth. Jennings, Garry Lee Maier, 21st-starter Jason Johnson and Kenneth Walker completed the top ten.

Sather, Gary Owens, Darren Stewart, Landon, Jennings and Swenson topped heat race action for the 43-car field. Rilat made a last-lap pass of Wayne Johnson to win the first 12-lap "B" Main, with Johnny Miller wiring the field in the second "B" Main.
 

O'Reilly ASCoT State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals Preliminary Results:

Heat Races (Top 16 in passing points to "A" Main; Balance to 2 "B" Mains)

Brodix Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 94s-Natalie Sather, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 83s-Larry Neighbors, 5. 21x-Brian Brown, 6. 4-Jamie Passmore, 7. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 8. 45-Martin Edwards.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 33-Gary Owens, 2. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 3. 2-Kenneth Walker, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 87-Brian McClelland, 6. 2x-Whit Gastineau, 7. 25-Derek Cottrell.

Brodix Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 91-Darren Stewart, 2. 15-Jon Corbin, 3. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 4. 94-Wayne Johnson, 5. 29-Travis Rilat, 6. 21-Nick Smith, 7. 22b-Ben Gregg.

Wesmar-Shaver Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 11F-Foster Landon, 2. 71-Keith Rauch, 3. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 4. 5$-Danny Smith, 5. 43-A.J. Selenke, 6. 98-J.D. Johnson, 7. 93-Bob Schaeffer.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 61J-Danny Jennings, 2. 9-Gary Wright, 3. 59-Dex Eaton, 4. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 5. 15x-B.J. Fay, 6. 17b-Ryan Bickett. DNS: 22-Koby Barksdale.

Heat Six (8 Laps): 1. X-Chuck Swenson, 2. 14x-Shane Stewart, 3. 64J-Johnny Miller, 4. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr., 5. 94x-Cody Branchcomb, 6. 20-Dusty Ballenger, 7. 81au-Gavin Punch.

Pole Dash (Top 6 in Passing Points from Heat Races; Finishing Order Determines Front Three Rows of ?A? Main):

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 94s-Natalie Sather, 2. X-Chuck Swenson, 3. 61J-Danny Jennings, 4. 33-Gary Owens, 5. 11F-Foster Landon. DNS: 91-Darren Stewart.

"B" Mains - Top 3 From Each Advance to "A" Main

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 94-Wayne Johnson, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 59-Dex Eaton, 5. 57c-Chris Schmelzle, 6. 21-Nick Smith, 7. 4-Jamie Passmore, 8. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 9. 43-A.J. Selenke, 10. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 11. 22b-Ben Gregg, 12. 21x-Brian Brown, 13. 81au-Gavin Punch. DNS: 22-Koby Barksdale.

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 64J-Johnny Miller, 2. 87-Brian McClelland, 3. 2x-Whit Gastineau, 4. 83s-Larry Neighbors, 5. 5$-Danny Smith, 6. 94x-Cody Branchcomb, 7. 98-J.D. Johnson, 8. 15x-B.J. Fay, 9. 20-Dusty Ballenger, 10. 93-Bob Schaeffer, 11. 92-Mike Sitzmann, Jr., 12. 45-Martin Edwards. DNS: 25-Derek Cottrell.

O'Reilly ASCoT State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals Preliminary "A" Main Event:

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 94s-Natalie Sather, 3. 11F-Foster Landon, 4. X-Chuck Swenson, 5. 91-Darren Stewart, 6. 29-Travis Rilat, 7. 61J-Danny Jennings, 8. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 9. 41-Jason Johnson, 10. 2-Kenneth Walker, 11. 87-Brian McClelland, 12. 97-Aaron Berryhill, 13. 21-Nick Smith, 14. 94-Wayen Johnson, 15. 64J-Johnny Miller, 16. 03-Joe Wood, Jr., 17. 33-Gary Owens, 18. 71-Keith Rauch, 19. 27-Andy Shouse, 20. 2x-Whit Gastineau, 21. 14x-Shane Stewart, 22. 15-Jon Corbin, 23. 7m-Kevin Ramey.

Lap Leaders: Natalie Sather 1-23, Gary Wright 24-25.

Note: Nick Smith utilized a provisional starting position for the "A" Main.

O'Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Gary Wright 583, 2. Wayne Johnson 534, 3. Chuck Swenson 526, 4. Darren Stewart 509, 5. Jason Johnson 501, 6. Travis Rilat 497, 7. Foster Landon 419, 8. Garry Lee Maier 384, 9. Danny Jennings 382, 10. Andy Shouse 372, 11. Johnny Miller 366, 12. Nick Smith 346, 13. 13. (tie) Natalie Sather and J.D. Johnson 329, 15. Kevin Ramey 319.
 

O'Reilly ASCoT Stats!

TULSA, Okla. (March 22, 2007) - With the opening five nights of 46 scheduled nights of racing action in 2007 in the books for the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour, it's time for a quick look at the early season stats as State Fair Speedway's Spring Nationals in Oklahoma City will shake things up on Friday and Saturday.

O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour 2007 Stats:

Heat Race Winners: Foster Landon 2, Gary Wright 2, Kenny Adams 1, Justin Barger 1, Ryan Bickett 1, Brian Brown 1, Mike Chadd 1, Toby Chapman 1, Doug Emery 1, Davie Franek, Jr. 1, Terry Gray 1, Coleman Gulick 1, Danny Jennings 1, Jason Johnson 1, Wayne Johnson 1, John Karklin 1, Michael Lang 1, Danny Lasoski 1, Garry Lee Maier 1, Terry McCarl 1, Johnny Miller 1, Jamie Passmore 1, Jake Peters 1, Wayne Reutimann, Jr. 1, Travis Rilat 1, Tim Shaffer 1, Jason Sides 1, Darren Stewart 1, Chuck Swenson 1, George White 1.

Pole Dash: Wayne Johnson 1, Jake Peters 1, Nick Smith 1, Gary Wright 1.

B Feature Winners: Chuck Swenson 2, Toby Chapman 1, Doug Emery 1, Wayne Johnson 1, Foster Landon 1, Gene Lasker 1, Danny Martin, Jr. 1, Jason Martin 1, Jeff Mitrisin 1, Travis Rilat 1, Tim Shaffer 1, Andy Shouse 1, Danny Smith 1, Nick Smith 1, Greg Wilson 1.

A Feature Winners: Gary Wright 2, Wayne Johnson 1, Terry McCarl 1, Jake Peters 1.

A Feature Lap Leaders (90 Feature Laps Completed): Gary Wright 73, Jake Peters 22, Wayne Johnson 20, Travis Rilat 14, Terry McCarl 3, Scott Winters 3.

2007 O'Reilly ASCoT National Points (Top 20 Drivers):

9 - Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 433
94 - Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 410
X - Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 384
91 - Darren Stewart (Bixby, OK) 369
41 - Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 369
29 - Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 359
57x - Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD) 294
11F - Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK) 275
21 - Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 271
27 - Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK) 258
98 - J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS) 254
11x - Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 250
84 - Toby Chapman (Lincoln, NE) 248
61J - Danny Jennings (Norman, OK) 246
64J - Johnny Miller (Burleson, TX) 244
57c - Chris Schmelzle (Victoria, BC) 243
83s - Larry Neighbors (Oklahoma City, OK) 215
31c - Matt Clevenger (Flower Mound, TX) 213
7m - Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) 213
35 - Brad Best (Tulsa, OK) 210

2007 O'Reilly ASCoT Owner's Points (Top 10):

Gary Wright 9 - 433
H&H Enterprises 94 - 410
Chuck Swenson X - 384
Bobby Sparks 91 - 369
Lanny Row 41 - 369
Travis Rilat 29 - 359
Jake Peters 57x - 294
Landon Racing 11F - 275
Andy Shouse 27 - 258
A&W Motorsports 21 - 256

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