Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (April 28, 2008) – Coming off a weekend that featured a pair of first-time winners for the year, the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series takes to the scenic surroundings of Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon, MO, this Saturday night.
With eight different winners through the opening ten O'Reilly ASCoT National events of 2008, Saturday's card marks the first series stop atop the high-banked, 1/3-mile Lake Ozark Speedway dirt oval since 2005.
Four-time and reigning series champion Gary Wright of Hooks, TX, leads the contingent of 13 full-time ASCoT competitors into Saturday's event, which should include forty or more entries as the series takes on the Winged Outlaw Warriors for the second time in three weeks.
Vying for an unprecedented fifth consecutive series title, Wright holds a 50-point advantage on the strength of top-ten runs in all ten feature events thus far in 2008, including his 120th career series feature win in the Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals finale on March 15.
Wright enters the event ahead of Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson, the 2000 ASCS National champion. Johnson, a third-place finisher in last year's points, is still vying for his first series win of 2008.
Just eight more points back in third is Eunice, Louisiana's Jason Johnson, the only driver to capture more than one ASCoT feature win in 2008. Johnson picked off East Bay Raceway Park's $10,000 top prize on February 2 and since has added wins at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway Spring Nationals finale on March 22 and then at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO, on April 19.
Back on Tour full-time for the first time in several years, 1992 National champion Garry Lee Maier of Cimarron, KS, is off to a strong start by sitting fourth in points, with 2001 National champion Zach Chappell of Talala, OK, just eight points behind him in fifth.
Forney, TX, ace Travis Rilat, the 2003 ASCS National champ, is sixth in points, just ahead of Tennessee's Jason Sides, with 2006 Rookie of the Year Nick Smith of Broken Arrow, OK, tenth in points after his first National win of the season this past weekend.
Twenty-year-old Eric Baldaccini of Keller, TX, enters Saturday's event ranked eighth and tops amongst the Brodix Rookie of the Year crop that also includes Nebraska's Don Droud, Jr. (ninth), Oklahoma's Kenneth Walker (11th) and Gary Taylor (12th), and Texas racers Kathryne Minter (13th) and Chris Tarrant (16th).
Three-time Winged Outlaw Warriors champion Randy Martin of California, MO, leads a healthy contingent of WOW forces into Saturday night's showdown.
This weekend marks the third of four consecutive weekends of racing action for the O'Reilly ASCoT National series. The series wraps up the pivotal month-long stretch of action at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway and then Devil's Bowl Speedway near Dallas, TX, on May 9-10.
The Series:
O’Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour (ASCoT)
When & Where:
Saturday night, May 3 – Lake Ozark Speedway (7:00 p.m.)
Track Information:
Lake Ozark Speedway (Eldon, MO) – 1/3-mile high-banked dirt oval located south of Eldon on US 54 to SR 52, then 0.1 mile east on SR 52, then 0.5 mile north on Twiggy Lane (frontage road). For more information, contact the track at 573-392-9977.
O’Reilly ASCoT Lake Ozark Speedway History:
The O'Reilly ASCoT National series returns to Lake Ozark Speedway for the first time since 2005, when Missouri hero Jesse Hockett completed a sweep of the Lake Ozark Nationals while Gary Wright exited via the hook.
Lake Ozark Speedway ASCS National winners include: Jesse Hockett 2, Shane Stewart 2.
Lake Ozark Speedway O'Reilly ASCoT Race-by-race Winners: Shane Stewart (9/4/04), Shane Stewart (9/5/04), Jesse Hockett (9/3/05), Jesse Hockett (9/4/05).
Current O’Reilly ASCoT Points (After 10 of 42 Nights):
Top Fifteen: 1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,131, 2. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,081, 3. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 1,073, 4. Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS) 997, 5. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 989, 6. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 950, 7. Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN) 888, 8. Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 860, 9. Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 827, 10. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 822, 11. Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) 782, 12. Gary Taylor (Sapulpa, OK) 699, 13. Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) 673, 14. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 613, 15. Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 593.
2008 O’Reilly ASCoT Feature Winners:
Jason Johnson 3, Kenny Adams 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Danny Lasoski 1, Terry McCarl 1, Nick Smith 1, Skip Wilson 1, Gary Wright 1.
O'Reilly ASCoT – A Look Ahead:
May 10 Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX)
June 20 Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA)
June 24 I-90 Speedway (Hartford, SD)
June 28 Dakota State Fair Speedway (Huron, SD)
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 14 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.
NCRA Sprint Car 2008 Season Opener at Dodge This Weekend
David Smith, Jr.
(405) 740) 4769
oklahomatidbits@aol.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Park City, Kansas - April 25, 2008 - The 2008 race season for the O'Reilly National Championship Racing Association presented by ICM/Ethanol sprint car series gets set to kick off their nineteenth consecutive season next Saturday night, May 3, at the beautiful three-eighths mile dirt oval of Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kansas.
The event will mark the second night of the tracks season opening Rebein-Bangarter Spring Nationals which will also see IMCA stock cars and Thunder Cars in competition. Pit gates open at 5:00 PM with racing scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM.
Last year saw Cimarron, Kansas sprint car veteran Garry Lee Maier pick up his third consecutive (fourth overall) NCRA sprint car championship and continue to add to his career victory totals as he reached victory lane five times in twelve starts. As we go to press, it is unclear if Garry will attempt a fourth consecutive championship run but rumors abound he will make the short twenty minute drive from his home to compete.
Drivers expected to compete in the series season opener include Kansas veterans Mike Peters, JD Johnson, Stu Snyder, Jon Freeman, A.J. Selenke, C.J. Johnson Marc Robe and Roger Sundquist. Nebraska's Mike Chadd is also expected to compete full-time with the series in 2008 as is Amarillo, Texas driver Derek Drown, who will be piloting the famed Danny King owned sprinter the whole season on the tour. Over thirty cars are expected from at least four states.
An added incentive for sprint car drivers in 2008 comes from three year series presenting sponsor ICM/Ethanol. All drivers competing with a 360 cu. inch motor will earn $400 to start the sprint car feature finale, up from $350 from last season. All 360 drivers not making the "A" feature will earn $150, up from $100 in previous seasons. The extra money provided through the incentive package presented by ICM / Ethanol will not be paid out at each race track, but will be mailed out from the NCRA offices in Park City, Kansas once official results are posted on the O'Reilly/NCRA web site.
The National Championship Racing Association is entering it's 38th season of sanctioning dirt track races, this year in five different states in its sprint car, modified and late model divisions combined. The 2008 race season will see the series' sprint car division compete for the 19th consecutive year. To learn more on the history of NCRA, rules, schedules and more, log on to their official website http://www.ncraracing.org/. To schedule an NCRA event, climb aboard as contingency partner or for any questions concerning the series, contact the office (316) 755-1781.
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (April 28, 2008) – Bidding to become the first undisputed back-to-back champion in American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region history, Brian McClelland was off to a strong start until an April 12 tumble at Lawton Speedway.
Now, McClelland has some ground to make up as the series fires back to life with Saturday night's card atop the semi-banked, 3/10-mile Mid-America Speedway dirt oval in South Coffeyville, OK.
Saturday's event at Mid-America marks the first of four May events for the ASCS Sooner Region, with ensuing events including a first-time stop at Boyd (TX) Raceway on May 16 followed by the series second round at Cowtown Speedway the next night. The series wraps up the month at Little Rock's I-30 Speedway on May 31.
After winning three features, including an October score at Mid-America, en route to the 2007 ASCS Sooner Region title, Tulsa-area racer McClelland opened up the season in strong form with top-five runs in the season-opener at Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, TX, on April 5 and then Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway on April 11.
But after a wild heat race tumble that forced him to miss the April 12 feature at Lawton Speedway, McClelland is now playing a game of catch-up as he is 37 points behind Kolt Walker, who has established himself as the leading Sooner Region title contender through the opening three events of the season.
With the ASCS Sooner Region averaging 35 cars per event over the opening three nights of the season, Walker and Travis Rilat rank as the only two drivers that have made the cut for all three feature events.
With Rilat in National action this weekend, Walker leads the Sooner forces to Mid-America. The 25-year-old hailing from Graham, TX, has posted a pair of top-ten feature finishes in his first full Sooner campaign, including a run from deep in the field to capture fourth in the Cowtown opener.
Walker and McClelland lead a strong contingent of Sooner forces into Saturday's card that includes the likes of Kerry McAlister (Mustang, OK), Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK), Sherman Davis (Sand Springs, OK), Michael Brown (Lawton, OK) and Justin Melton (Flower Mound, TX) among others.
Saturday's card at Mid-America Speedway goes green at 7:00 p.m.
Mid-America Speedway is located one mile south of the Oklahoma-Kansas state line on US 169, then 0.7 miles west. For more information, contact the track at 918-255-6698.
The American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region is slated for 20 nights of racing action at ten different tracks throughout Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas in 2008.
The nation's most prominent Sprint Car sanctioning body with 14 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.
Past ASCS Sooner Region Feature Winners at Mid-America Speedway:
10/6/07 – Brian Brown
10/5/07 – Brian McClelland
6/9/07 – Kevin Ramey
4/21/07 – Garry Lee Maier
4/20/07 – Garry Lee Maier
10/7/06 – Nick Smith
9/16/06 – Nick Smith
5/13/06 – Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
10/15/05 – Travis Rilat
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (April 28, 2008) – The American Sprint Car Series Southwest Region kicks off a busy month of May action with Saturday night's event atop the Tucson's semi-banked, 3/8-mile United Sports Arizona Race Park clay oval.
Saturday's second round of the inaugural season of ASCS Southwest Region marks the first of four series events in May.
The ASCS Southwest Region is also set to tackle USA Race Park on May 10 and May 24 before invading Show Low's Thunder Speedway for the first time on May 25.
The ASCS Southwest Region kicked off its initial campaign on March 22 with El Paso's Don Grable besting a competitive field of 18 entries.
Piloting the Casey Minks No. 29 entry, Grable was chased to the line in the opener by Ronnie Clark, Steve Martin, Mike Rux, Jr., and Hawaii's Dennis Krob.
Saturday's inaugural American Sprint Car Series Southwest Region event at Tucson's USA Race Park is slated to go green at 6:45 p.m.
United Sports Arizona Race Park is located east of Tucson off I-10 Exit 268, then 1.6 mile south on Craycroft Road, which turns into Los Reales. For more information, contact the track at 520-574-8515.
The ASCS Southwest Region is set for 20 nights of winged Sprint Car racing throughout Arizona in 2008. In addition to events at Tucson's USA Race Park, the series will also be in action at Show Low's Thunder Speedway and Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix.
The nation's most prominent Sprint Car sanctioning body with 14 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.
ASCS Sprints on Dirt Fire Off at Crystal!
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (April 28, 2008) - The Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by Victor Reinz kicks off its 29th year of Sprint Car racing action with Saturday night's season-opening event at Crystal Motor Speedway in Crystal, MI.
Saturday's card marks the first of three series stops atop the semi-banked, 3/8-mile Crystal Motor Speedway clay oval with the series to return for the Mid-Season Championship on July 19 and then again on August 30.
Warsaw, Indiana's Tim Norman opens up his series championship defense after capturing his second ASCS Sprints on Dirt crown in the past three seasons last year. Norman has eight career SOD wins at Crystal Motor Speedway, last reaching Crystal victory lane in 2001.
Last year, Norman outlasted Brett Mann and Ben Rutan in a torrid ASCS Sprints on Dirt championship battle, with Bill Johnson and Gary Fast rounding out the top five. The balance of the top ten in points included Joe Bares, Ryan Ruhl, Ryan Grubaugh, Jake Stebner and Kirk Cheney.
Two-time series champion Dustin Daggett has found Crystal Motor Speedway to his liking, winning the last four series events at Crystal including a sweep of last year's three features. The last driver other than Daggett to top an ASCS Sprints on Dirt feature was Steve Irwin, with a July 2006 score.
Saturday's action at Crystal Motor Speedway is set to go green at 7:30 p.m.
Crystal Motor Speedway is located in Crystal, MI, 5.5 miles north of SR 57 on Crystal Road, then east on Sidney. For more information, contact the track at 989-235-5200.
In its 29th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing, the Engine Pro ASCS Sprints On Dirt presented by Victor Reinz will sanction 26 nights of action at 14 different tracks throughout Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.
The nation's most prominent Sprint Car sanctioning body with 14 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.