By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (May 10, 2010) – The battle for top rung on the 2010 American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Regional ladder continues with another pair of events this coming weekend.
On Friday night, the series makes its lone stand-alone stop at Waco’s Heart O’ Texas Speedway. Then, on Saturday night, it’s the third of four scheduled events at Battleground Speedway in Highlands, TX.
While Hooks, TX, ace Gary Wright sits atop the series point charts with the initial four events of the season in the books, defending series champion Aaron Reutzel of Clute, TX, ranks as the top series title contender just 47 points behind Wright.
Reutzel enters the weekend with a three-point edge over Magnoia’s Tommy Bryant, with two-time ASCS Gulf South champ Brandon Berryman of Missouri City and New Caney’s Scottie McDonald rounding out the current top five.
Other ASCS Gulf South Regional contenders entering the weekend include sixth-ranked Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe), Wes Miller (Santa Fe), Chris Sweeney (Channelview), Travis Knighton (Angleton), Jimmy Brooks (College Station), Logan Bledsoe (Richmond), Klint Angelette (Thibodaux, LA) and Greg Rilat (Texas City, TX).
Annually hosting a Lone Star event and a Gulf South event prior to the Lone Star vs. Gulf South Shootout in July, Heart O’ Texas hosts its second Regional event of 2010 after Wayne Johnson bested ASCS Lone Star rivals last month.
Missouri’s Brian Brown topped the return of Sprint Car racing to Battleground after nearly a decade’s absence by topping the March 6 Gulf South event in Highlands, with the April 23 event nixed by Mother Nature.
Friday’s racing action at Heart O’ Texas Speedway goes green at 8:00 p.m., while Saturday’s card at Battleground Speedway fires off at 7:00 p.m.
The high-banked, 1/4-mile Heart O’ Texas Speedway clay oval is located in Waco, TX, off I-35 Exit 343, then 0.6 miles north on east frontage road. For more information, contact the track at 254-829-2294.
Highlands’ high-banked, 3/8-mile Battleground Speedway dirt oval is located east of Houston off I-10 exit 787, then four miles north. For more information, contact the track at 832-421-7223.
The ASCS Gulf South Region is slated for 27 nights of racing action at ten different tracks throughout Texas in 2010.
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 eleven different Regions throughout the nation.
Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at Heart O’ Texas Speedway:
4/16/10 – Wayne Johnson (Lone Star)
7/31/09 – Tommy Bryant (Gulf South vs. Lone Star)
6/5/09 – Trey Robb (Gulf South)
4/3/09 – Skip Wilson (Lone Star)
8/22/08 – Greg Rilat (Gulf South)
5/25/08 – Ryan Hall (Gulf South)
9/14/07 – Kevin Ramey (Sooner)
8/31/07 – Brandon Berryman (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
9/15/06 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South)
7/21/06 – Jason Johnson (Gulf South vs. Sooner Region)
10/15/04 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South)
9/17/04 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South)
6/18/04 – Claud Estes (Gulf South)
Past ASCS Gulf South Region Feature Winners at Battleground Speedway:
3/6/10 – Brian Brown
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.