By David Smith Jr.
Hutchinson, Kansas – August 7, 2010 – Danny Jennings of Norman, Oklahoma led from the start and was never headed as he picked up his second career Hutchinson Grand Nationals victory as he took home the twenty lap O’Reilly/NCRA sprint car championship feature event to close out the 54th running of the annual Kansas State Fairgrounds event in Hutchinson, Kansas Saturday night.
Jennings, aboard the Goodyear sponsored/Wesmar powered Maxim chassis earned the pole position from his previous victory during the first night of the Hutchinson Grand Nationals back over the Fourth of July weekend and was never seriously threatened as he maintained a ten to twelve car length lead over Liberal, Kansas driver Jason Martin.
However, about midway through the event, mechanical gremlins forced Martin pit side with defending series champion Garry Lee Maier of Cimarron, Kansas taking over the runner up position. Maier, whose primary ride aboard the Ochs Brothers Racing #1x was destroyed in a previous accident at Dodge City Raceway Park back in mid July, was aboard a sprinter owned by his former car owner Scott Brown out of Amarillo, Texas.
But Maier was no match for Jennings as the 1994 Nationals champion claimed the victory. Sherman Davis of Collinsville, Oklahoma, who has one series victory on the season, came home third with former series champion Mike Peters of Wichita, Kansas and Oklahoma City driver Whit Gastineau rounding out the top five.
Heat races for the eighteen car field were won by former Hutchinson Nationals champion Jon Freeman and Maier.
The next event and continuing battle for the O’Reilly/NCRA sprint car division championship will take place on Saturday night, August 21st, for their annual appearance at Mid-Nebraska Speedway in Doniphan, Nebraska.
The O’Reilly/NCRA sprint car series is entering its 21st consecutive season while the series itself is in the midst of their 40th season of sanctioning dirt track races throughout the Plains.
The series would like to thank the following for their partnership with the O’Reilly/NCRA sprint car series for the 2010 race season.
2010 NCRA sprint car sponsors: O’Reilly Auto Parts, Hoosier Race Tires, Sunoco Race Fuels
2010 NCRA sprint car contingency partners: Arizona Sports Shirts, Airflow Racing Products, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Hooker Harness, Keizer Racing Wheels, Pro Shocks, Racing Optics, Rod End Supply, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Super Shox, Taylor Cable Products, The Joie of Seating, Ultra-Shield Race Products, Vertex Magnetos and Winters Performance Parts
ARP Hard Luck:
Saldana Racing Products 2nd Place: Maier
The Joie of Seating 2nd Place= Maier
Rod End Supply 3rd Place= Davis
Super Shox 5th Place= Gastineau
HEAT 1 – 1, Jon Freeman. 2, Jeremy Campbell. 3, Mike Peters. 4, Sherman Davis. 5, Koby Barksdale. 6, Aaron Berryhill. 7, Jordan Whitehead. 8, Jason Martin. 9, Taylor Velasquez.
HEAT 2 – 1, Garry Lee Maier. 2, J.D. Johnson. 3, Whit Gastineau. 4, Cody Forshee. 5, Tanny Mullens. 6, Luke Cranston. 7, A.J. Selenke. 8, Gavin Punch.
A FEATURE – 1, Danny Jennings. 2, Garry Lee Maier. 3, Sherman Davis. 4, Mike Peters. 5, Whit Gastineau. 6, Jeremy Campbell. 7, Gavin Punch. 8, Jon Freeman. 9, Luke Cranston. 10, Tanner Mullens. 11, Jordan Whitehead. 12, Taylor Velasquez. 13, Cody Forshee. 14, Koby Barksdale. 15, A.J. Selenke. 16, Jason Martin. 17, J.D. Johnson. 18, Aaron Berryhill