Lucas Oil ASCS – A Look Ahead…
BY: Lonnie Wheatley
WHEATLAND, MO (September 15, 2010) – With the initial 20
nights of competition in the books, the stretch drive for the $60,000 Lucas
Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National championship essentially begins
when the series takes to Lucas Oil Speedway, “The Diamond of Dirt Tracks”,
in Wheatland, MO, next Saturday night, September 25.
Action at Lucas Oil
Speedway will mark the first of two consecutive weekends under the lights of
the VERSUS television cameras, with the following weekend’s Rock ‘N Roll 50
at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, AR, taped for later broadcast on
VERSUS as well.
The series final
televised events of 2010 will be I-30 Speedway’s 23rd Annual
Short Track Nationals in Little Rock, AR, the $15,000-to-win blockbuster
event set for October 28-30.
And, with the
$250,000 points fund hanging in the balance, there is plenty more to be
settled over the final scheduled 15 nights of action.
Fifteen nights for
Jason Johnson to prove that his recent run of Regional mastery can carry
over to the National scene and net a second series title to go along with
the one earned in 2008.
Fifteen nights for
Shane Stewart to rally from a 90 point deficit to successfully defend his
2009 championship.
Fifteen nights for
20-year-old wingless convert Brady Bacon to pull off the upset championship
bid.
Fifteen nights for
the likes of a Jack Dover, Tim Crawley or someone else to catch a hot hand
and make a potential run for that top spot.
Fifteen nights for
Kyle Hirst and Matt Covington to finish out the battle for Brodix Rookie of
the Year honors, with Dustin Morgan, Channin Tankersley and Justyn Cox
keeping them on their toes all the way.
Fifteen nights for
Zach Chappell, Tony Bruce, Jr., Danny Wood, Ricky Logan and Darren Long to
slug it out for their portion of the $250,000 point fund.
Fifteen nights to
settle it all. Plain and simple, October and November are gonna get hairy.
The Events:
Lucas Oil Speedway
(Wheatland, MO) – September 25. The stretch drive kicks off at “The Diamond
of Dirt Tracks” where Jason Johnson and Shane Stewart picked off feature
wins en route to ASCS National championships in 2008 and 2009,
respectively.
Riverside
International Speedway (West Memphis, AR) – October 1-2. Postponed from
April by rain, the Second Annual Rock ‘N Roll 50 could be just what the
doctor ordered to get Tim Crawley in the thick of the title hunt. Crawley
swept both nights of the event last year. Get advance tickets for the
series only 50-lapper of the year at
http://www.tbjpromotions.com/events/?i=1112.
Devil’s Bowl
Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – October 15-16. It’s back to the hallowed clay of
“Da Bowl” for the 37th edition of the Winter Nationals, an event
in which Jason Johnson uncharacteristically struggled last year and
surrendered the points lead to Shane Stewart. Fort Worth’s Kevin Ramey is
the defending Winter Nationals champion.
I-30 Speedway
(Little Rock, AR) – October 28-30. The 23rd Annual COMP Cams
Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires will be taped for broadcast
on VERSUS for the first time. Two-time and defending STN champion Tony
Bruce, Jr., tries for three in a row in the $15,000-to-win, $2,300-to-start
crown jewel event. Entry forms and info are at
http://www.i-30speedway.com/2010stnflyer.pdf.
Southern New Mexico
Speedway (Las Cruces, NM) – November 12-13. The “King of the Outlaws”,
Steve Kinser, will be tested by the best of the Lucas Oil ASCS in the first
series event at Las Cruces since 1997. Tickets for this one are already on
sale as well, check out the info at
http://www.snmspeedway.com/.
USA Raceway
(Tucson, AZ) – November 18-20. Another $15,000 winner’s share is up for
grabs at the 43rd Annual Western World Championships. Sammy
Swindell is the reigning Western World champ, while Brady Bacon topped the
wingless ASCS Canyon Region portion worth $5,000. A total of 133
competitors took in last year’s Western World. WWC entry forms are
available at
http://www.usaraceway.net/Uploads/WesternWorldEntryForm.pdf.
Las Vegas Motor
Speedway (Las Vegas, NV) – November 26-27. The final bids for the series
championship will be issued in the series Vegas debut with the Las Vegas
Sprint Car Super Nationals presented by K&N Filters on Thanksgiving
weekend. More event info is at
http://www.lvms.com/dirt/media/news/576214.html.
Lucas Oil ASCS
Notes…
Headliners – While
Jason Johnson has hogged Regional headlines in recent weeks, pushing his
overall ASCS win total for 2010 to 15, “The Ragin’ Cajun” has shared equal
time in National headlines with Shane Stewart and Brady Bacon, who have
matched his four National wins.
While Johnson,
Stewart and Bacon, who have each enjoyed rare three-race win streaks, have
combined for a dozen wins, a total of ten different drivers have reached
victory lane through the opening 20 nights of competition. Other feature
winners include Zach Chappell, who has reached victory lane twice, with
single scores posted by Brian Brown, Matt Covington, Tim Crawley, Jerrod
Hull, Sammy Swindell, Danny Wood.
The Deficit – Brady
Bacon trails Jason Johnson by 72 points in the $60,000 title chase entering
the September 25 card at Lucas Oil Speedway, with Shane Stewart 90 markers
off Johnson’s lead pace. With a 25-point differential between a first and
fifth-place feature finish, a 40-point differential between first and
tenth-place and a 64-point differential between first and 24th,
just one bad night or two for Johnson can shake things up in short order.
Provisional Watch –
Jason Johnson is the only driver among the top ten in points with his full
complement of provisionals remaining, including two full-pointers. Bacon
has one full-point and two partial point provisionals remaining, while
Stewart has just two partial-point provisionals remaining.
On the Mend – Prior
to the August 27-28 events at Tri-City Speedway and I-30 Speedway,
Nebraska’s Jack Dover was the only driver among the top ten other than
Johnson to have not used a provisional thus far in 2010. But, still on the
mend from injuries suffered in TNT action at Nebraska Raceway Park’s I-80
Speedway on August 16, discretion dictated a pair of “start-and-park” nights
for the 20-year-old. While both full-point provisionals were used,
point-race damage was minimized and Dover remains fourth by just seven
markers over Tim Crawley. Dover is back up to speed, as evidenced by a
September 4 win at Eagle Raceway and near last-lap pass of Brian Brown in
this past Friday night’s ASCS Midwest debut at Central Missouri Speedway.
300 – Zach
Chappell’s next Lucas Oil ASCS National feature start will mark his 300th
career ASCS National feature event. The 2001 series champion will join a
select group of drivers that includes Gary Wright, Travis Rilat (317), Tim
Crawley (312) and Garry Lee Maier (308). Just 28 years old, the Talala, OK,
racer will be the youngest to reach the 300 mark.
400 – On the topic
of landmarks, Gary Wright is just two feature starts shy of 400 career ASCS
National feature starts after a ninth-place run in his 398th
career start, which took place at I-30 Speedway on August 28. “The Texan”
has picked off at least two ASCS National feature wins for 16 consecutive
years from 1994 through 2009. While he has topped three Regional features
this year, a National win has eluded his grasp thus far in 2010.
310 – The number of
drivers to compete in at least one night of Lucas Oil ASCS National
competition thus far in 2010.
52.1 – The number
of competitors per Lucas Oil ASCS National event thus far in 2010.
15 – The number of
drivers that have competed in every Lucas Oil ASCS National event thus far
in 2010, including Jason Johnson, Brady Bacon, Shane Stewart, Jack Dover,
Tim Crawley, Zach Chappell, Tony Bruce, Jr., Kyle Hirst, Danny Wood, Ricky
Logan, Matt Covington, Darren Long, Dustin Morgan, Channin Tankersley and
Justyn Cox. Washington’s Austen Wheatley has taken in all but the recent
Tri-City Speedway / I-30 Speedway weekend, with Gary Wright missing out on
the five-race North by Northwest Tour through South Dakota, Washington and
Oregon.
5 – The number of
drivers to start 19 of a possible 19 Lucas Oil ASCS National features so far
in 2010 including Jason Johnson, Shane Stewart, Tony Bruce, Jr., Jack Dover
and Danny Wood. Johnson is the only one to do it without the use of a
provisional, Stewart, Dover and Wood have all used two provisionals and
Bruce, Jr., finishes out the year with no provisionals remaining after
using up his fourth and final one at Tri-City Speedway on August 27.
40 – The longest
active streak of consecutive Lucas Oil ASCS National feature starts, shared
by Jason Johnson, Shane Stewart and Danny Wood. Gary Wright holds the
record at 200 feature starts in a row, a streak that ended at the 2009
edition of the ASCS Knoxville Nationals. Zach Chappell is the only other
driver to start 100 or more in a row, starting 101 from 2002 to 2005.
131 – The longest
active streak of Lucas Oil ASCS National events competed in, a mark held by
Jason Johnson. Gary Wright’s record streak of 228 consecutive nights of
ASCS National competition ended when the No. 9x was absent from Hartford,
South Dakota’s I-90 Speedway pit area on July 10.
Rookies –
California’s Kyle Hirst holds a 139-point advantage over Oklahoma’s Matt
Covington in the Brodix Rookie of the Year chase. Oklahoma’s Dustin Morgan,
Texas’ Channin Tankersley and California’s Justyn Cox have all been in
action at each event thus far in 2010 as well. Kyle Hirst is expected to be
back in the GP Development No. 6 at Lucas Oil Speedway after spending a
couple of “off” weekends aboard the Van Dyke No. 5h typically piloted by the
16-year-old Cox.
Points – A total of
$250,000 will be divvied up among the final top 15 in points at year’s end.
The current top 20 entering the stretch drive are as follows.
1. Jason Johnson
(Eunice, LA) 2,281, 2. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 2,209, 3. Shane
Stewart (Bixby, OK) 2,191, 4. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 2,056, 5. Tim
Crawley (Benton, AR) 2,049, 6. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 2,028, 7. Tony
Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 1,999, 8. Kyle Hirst (Loomis, CA) 1,924, 9. Danny
Wood (Norman, OK) 1,899, 10. Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR) 1,859, 11. Matt
Covington (Glenpool, OK) 1,785, 12. Darren Long (Elida, OH) 1,642, 13.
Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 1,638, 14. Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX)
1,570, 15. Justyn Cox (Clarksburg, CA) 1,513, 16. Austen Wheatley (Lake
Stevens, WA) 1,344, 17. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,322, 18. Travis Rilat
(Forney, TX) 1,152, 19. Andrew Marshala (Shawnee, OK) 823, 20. Brian Brown
(Grain Valley, MO) 752.
In its 19th
year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing, the American Sprint Car Series brings
the best of Sprint Car racing to approximately 100 different tracks
throughout 30 states and Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car
Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions
throughout the nation.
Additional
information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at
www.ascsracing.com.
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