Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (June 29, 2009) – Fifty laps. It's a distance that none can recall in any past ASCS National event.
But, if all goes according to plan, that's what is in store as the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters makes its grand return to Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, AR, with this weekend's Rock 'N Roll 50.
Two full nights of the nation's most intense Sprint Car racing, both to be taped for later broadcast on VERSUS, will culminate with Saturday night's $6,000 to win Rock 'N Roll 50 championship feature event. The fop four finishers from Friday night's preliminary main event will lock into Saturday night's six-car feature redraw.
"It's going to be interesting, that's for sure," event promoter and Lucas Oil ASCS contender Tony Bruce, Jr., commented. "There are so many things than can change in those last 10 or 20 laps, I think the fans are really going to be in for a great show."
The two-night stand atop the storied ¼-mile gumbo clay oval marks the series first Riverside stop since 2005. A tour staple from 1995 to 2005, the entire facility has been revamped in the past couple of years with a racing surface conducive to top-flight Sprint Car racing reportedly the norm thus far in 2009.
While a stellar field of drivers will vie for Rock 'N Roll 50 bragging rights atop the Mid-South oval, the two nights will play a major role in the series championship points chase. A $60,000 share of the $250,000 point fund awaits the champion at year's end.
Defending series champion Jason Johnson of Eunice, LA, and Bixby, OK, native Shane Stewart enters the weekend's action deadlocked atop the series point charts, with four-time series champion Gary Wright of Hooks, TX, just ten points back in third.
Johnson is the only repeat winner in Lucas Oil ASCS action this year, adding this past weekend's Daniel McMillin Memorial triumph at Missouri's Lake Ozark Speedway to a Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals victory in March.
Stewart earned a Devil's Bowl Spring Nationals prelim win in March, while Gary Wright picked off a non-points win in ASCS Speedweek action.
The lead trio of Johnson, Stewart and Wright have opened up a bit of a gap over the rest of the Lucas Oil ASCS pack, with California native Paul McMahan 76 points off the lead pace in fourth.
McMahan, also leading the Brodix Rookie of the Year chase, is just seven points ahead of fellow rookie contender Jack Dover, the 19-year-old hailing from Springfield, NE, that topped the Steve King Memorial in Jetmore, KS, on Memorial Day weekend.
Ranked sixth, just one point behind Dover, is Norman, OK, veteran shoe Danny Wood, with Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's Nick Smith and Forney, Texas' Travis Rilat close behind as only eleven points separate the five drivers ranking fourth through eighth (McMahan, Dover, Wood, Smith and Rilat).
ASCS Speedweek champion Tim Crawley of Benton, AR, and Liberal, KS, ace Tony Bruce, Jr., are tied for ninth entering the weekend. Wingless convert Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, OK, is just outside the top ten in eleventh, with Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK), Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO), Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK) and Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) rounding out the top 15 as 26 different entries have competed in all five points-paying events thus far.
Others trying to crack the top 15 in points include recent Riverside winner Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA), Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK), Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX), Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK), Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA), Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK), Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR), Darren Long (Elida, OH), Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO), Donnie Ray Crawford (Tulsa, OK) and the No. 85 combo in which Tommy Bryant (Conroe, TX) successfully filled in for Jerry Bell (Garland, TX) this past weekend.
Averaging 55.6 cars per event thus far in 2009, this weekend marks the second of five consecutive weekends of series competition. Following Riverside's Rock 'N Roll 50, the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters moves on to South Dakota's I-90 Speedway on July 11, Washington's Grays Harbor Raceway Park on July 17-18 and then Oregon's Cottage Grove Speedway on July 24-25.
The Series:
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters
When & Where:
Friday night, July 3 at 7:00 p.m. – Riverside Speedway
Saturday night, July 4 at 7:00 p.m. – Riverside Speedway
Track Information:
Riverside Speedway (West Memphis, AR) - 1/4-mile semi-banked gumbo clay oval located west of Memphis, TN, on I-55 to Exit 4 in Arkansas, then 0.3 miles south, then 0.2 miles east on Broadway, then south on Legion Road. For more information, contact the track at 901-508-6200. Event information also available at http://www.tonybrucejr.com/rnr2.html or http://www.riversideinternationalspeedway.com/.
Lucas Oil ASCS Riverside Speedway:
After taking to the ¼-mile gumbo clay oval on 24 occasions from 1995 to 2005, the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series returns to West Memphis for the first time since September of 2005.
Riverside Speedway ASCS National winners include: Eddie Gallagher 6, Terry Gray 3, Gary Wright 3, A.G. Rains 2, Pete Braswell 1, Pete Butler 1, Kenny Coke 1, Tim Crawley 1, Chad Jones 1, Travis Rilat 1, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 1, Darren Stewart 1, Brooke Tatnell 1, Mike Ward 1.
Riverside Speedway Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-Race Winners: Terry Gray (7/8/95), Eddie Gallagher (7/20/96), Pete Braswell (9/14/96), Gary Wright (6/21/97), Brooke Tatnell (9/13/97), Mike Ward (6/20/98), Terry Gray (9/19/98), Chad Jones (6/19/99), Pete Butler (7/24/99), Terry Gray (9/18/99), Kenny Coke (6/24/00), Travis Rilat (7/15/00), Gary Wright (9/16/00), Eddie Gallagher (6/9/01), A.G. Rains (7/14/01), Tim Crawley (9/15/01), Eddie Gallagher (6/1/02), Eddie Gallagher (9/14/02), Eddie Gallagher (5/31/03), Gary Wright (7/19/03), Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (7/17/04), Eddie Gallagher (9/11/04), Darren Stewart (6/4/05), A.G. Rains (9/10/05).
Current Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points:
Top Twenty: 1. (tie) Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) and Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 724, 3. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 714, 4. Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN) 648, 5. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 641, 6. Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 640, 7. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 638, 8. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 637, 9. (tie) Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) and Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 581, 11. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 542, 12. Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 531, 13. Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) 501, 14. Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK) 482, 15. Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) 475, 16. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 469, 17. Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) 453, 18. Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK) 443, 19. Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) 433, 20. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 432.
Brodix Rookie of the Year Points (Top Ten): 1. Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN) 648, 2. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 641, 3. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 542, 4. Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) 475, 5. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 432, 6. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 424, 7. Gavin Punch (Collinsville, OK) 418, 8. Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR) 414, 9. Darren Long (Elida, OH) 408, 10. Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO) 406.
2009 Lucas Oil ASCS Feature Winners:
Jason Johnson 2, Jack Dover 1, Travis Rilat 1, Shane Stewart 1. Non-point feature winners (Speedweek); Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Zach Chappell 1, Tim Crawley 1, Nick Smith 1, Gary Wright 1.
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:
July 11 – I-90 Speedway (Hartford, SD)
July 17/18 – Grays Harbor Raceway Park (Elma, WA)
July 24/25 – Cottage Grove Speedway (Cottage Grove, OR)
Lucas Oil ASCS on the Web:
Those unable to catch all the action in person can listen to every Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters live at www.racinboys.com.
Also, the Lucas Oil ASCS Show airs on www.racinboys.com each Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET, recapping the previous week's events while also previewing upcoming action.
Official results, championship point updates, photos and race notes will be available at www.ascsracing.com.
Lucas Oil ASCS on TV:
The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters will be featured in ten one-hour shows broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on the VERSUS Network
Events to be aired on VERSUS include the following:
The schedule of Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters events to be aired on VERSUS is as follows:
Event Date – Track (Location) – Air Date & Re-Air Date (All Times Eastern)
Mar. 20 – Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – 5/2/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 5/7/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Mar. 21 – Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – 5/23/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 5/27/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
May 23 – Jetmore Motorplex (Jetmore, KS) – 8/1/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 8/5/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
May 24 – Jetmore Motorplex (Jetmore, KS) – 8/1/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 8/6/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
July 3 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 8/8/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 8/13/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
July 4 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 9/20/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 9/24/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Aug. 6 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA) – 10/1/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 10/10/09 @ 3:00 p.m.
Aug. 7 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA) – 10/18/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 10/22/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Aug. 8 – Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, IA) – 11/15/09 @ 5:00 p.m. & 11/19/09 @ 5:00 p.m.
Sept. 26 – Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO) – 11/29/09 @ 4:00 p.m. & 12/3/09 @ 4:00 p.m.
The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for approximately 33 nights of racing action at 17 different tracks throughout the nation, with the country's top Sprint Car drivers set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund.
The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
- Lonnie Wheatley on Jun 30, 2009
- Article Date: 6/30/2009