By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (November 9, 2010) – For more than four decades, the Western World Championships have been a prime date on any racer or race fan’s calendar. And, 2010 is no exception, as well over 100 Sprint Car teams from throughout the nation will converge upon Tucson’s USA Raceway for the 43rd Annual Kronik Energy Drink Western World Championships.
Set for next weekend, including three full nights of racing action on November 18-20 after a Wednesday night practice session, the Western will again provide the best of both worlds with both the winged and wingless sprint cars tackling the 3/8-mile USA Raceway clay oval.
The Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National series vie for a $15,000 winner’s share, while the wingless ASCS Canyon Region portion of the card offers up a healthy $5,000 winner’s share.
While the winged portion will set ultimately set the stage for the Lucas Oil ASCS season finale the following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the winged ASCS Southwest Region champion will be determined over the course of the Western World as well as the wingless ASCS Canyon Region champion.
Last year, a staggering total of 133 competitors took in the Western World Championships, with Sammy Swindell besting a field of 81 Lucas Oil ASCS National contenders for his third career Western World title and first since 1989 and Brady Bacon topping a field of 52 non-winged ASCS Canyon Region foes.
Swindell and the 20-year-old Bacon, who is in the thick of the $60,000 Lucas Oil ASCS title chase with Jason Johnson and Shane Stewart, will both be back to defend their Western World titles.
With this weekend’s Lucas Oil ASCS National event at Las Cruces’ Southern New Mexico Speedway still on tap, Rick Ziehl will try to close out a third consecutive ASCS Southwest title at the Western World while Charles Davis, Jr., will try to finish off a second ASCS Canyon title run.
Drivers planning on competing in next weekend’s Western World Championships that haven’t filed entries yet are encouraged to do so as soon as possible to set the qualifying night fields. Entry forms are available at http://www.usaraceway.net/Uploads/WesternWorldEntryForm.pdf.
The Series:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters ($15,000-to-win winged portion)
Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region ($5,000-to-win non-wing portion)
When & Where – USA Raceway’s Western World Championships:
Wednesday, November 17, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. – Practice at USA Raceway
Thursday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m. – 43rd Annual Kronik Energy Drink Western World Championships Qualifying Night One
Friday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m. – 43rd Annual Kronik Energy Drink Western World Championships Qualifying Night Two
Saturday, November 20 at 7:00 p.m. – 43rd Annual Kronik Energy Drink Western World Championships feature events
Track Information:
USA Raceway (Tucson, AZ) – 3/8-mile, clay oval located east of Tucson off I-10 Exit 268, then 1.6 mile south on Craycroft Road, which turns into Los Reales. Track phone: 520-574-8515.
Event Format:
Split fields for Thursday and Friday preliminary events (half the winged cars on Thursday, second half on Friday / half the non-wing cars on Thursday and other half of Friday), run under standard ASCS format of heat races with passing/finishing points to determine feature lineups.
Thursday and Friday “A” and “B” Feature finishes determine Saturday night Western World Championships feature lineups.
Past Western World Winners:
Sammy Swindell added a third WWC title last year by topping the winged portion, while Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon became the 26th different winner of the Western World by topping the wingless portion.
Steve Kinser has claimed the most Western World titles with seven triumphs including wingless wins in 1982 and 1983 followed by winged wins in 1985, 1987, 1990, 1992 and 1996.
Ron Shuman is next on the list with five Western World triumphs, all of the wingless variety, with other drivers posting multiple Western World wins including Lealand McSpadden (3), Sammy Swindell (3), Bud Kaeding (2), Mark Kinser (2) and Jan Opperman (2).
Past Western World Championship Winners (Wing / Non-Wing)
2009 – Sammy Swindell (w) / Brady Bacon (nw)
2008 – Kevin Swindell (nw)
2007 – Jerry Coons, Jr. (nw)
2006 – Josh Wise (nw)
2005 – Dave Darland (nw)
2004 – Bud Kaeding (nw)
2003 – Tony Elliott (nw)
2002 – Bud Kaeding (nw)
2001 – Jeremy Sherman (nw)
2000 – Jay Drake (nw)
1999 – Donny Schatz (w)
1998 – Tyler Walker (w)
1997 – Mark Kinser (w)
1996 – Steve Kinser (w)
1995 – Lealand McSpadden (nw)
1994 – Ron Shuman (nw)
1993 – Lealand McSpadden (nw)
1992 – Steve Kinser (w)
1991 – Danny Lasoski (w)
1990 – Steve Kinser (w)
1989 – Sammy Swindell (w)
1988 – Mark Kinser (w)
1987 – Steve Kinser (w)
1986 – Bobby Davis, Jr. (w)
1985 – Steve Kinser (w)
1984 – Ron Shuman (nw)
1983 – Steve Kinser (nw)
1982 – Steve Kinser (nw)
1981 – Ron Shuman (nw)
1980 – Sammy Swindell (nw)
1979 – Tim Green (nw)
1978 – Lealand McSpadden (nw)
1977 – Ron Shuman (nw)
1976 – Bubby Jones (nw)
1975 – Ron Shuman (nw)
1974 – Rick Ferkel (nw)
1973 – Earl Wagner (nw)
1972 – Jan Opperman (nw)
1971 – Jan Opperman (nw)
1970 – Jerry McClung (nw)
1969 – Bob Huebner (nw)
1968 – Bob Cleberg (nw)
Lucas Oil ASCS USA Raceway History:
Last year’s Western World marked the first Lucas Oil ASCS National appearance at USA Raceway. Swindell topped both his preliminary and the finale, with Tim Kaeding topping the other preliminary feature event.
USA Raceway Lucas Oil ASCS winners include: Sammy Swindell 2, Tim Kaeding 1.
USA Raceway Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-race Winners: Sammy Swindell (11/19/09), Tim Kaeding (11/20/09), Sammy Swindell (11/21/09).
Current Points:
Top Twenty: 1. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 3,019, 2. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 2,947, 3. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 2,880, 4. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 2,743, 5. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 2,722, 6. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 2,673, 7. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 2,604, 8. Kyle Hirst (Loomis, CA) 2,497, 9. Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 2,479, 10. Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR) 2,464, 11. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 2,368, 12. Darren Long (Elida, OH) 2,203, 13. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 2,195, 14. Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX) 2,119, 15. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,790, 16. Justyn Cox (Clarksburg, CA) 1,513, 17. Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 1,390, 18. Austen Wheatley (Lake Stevens, WA) 1,344, 19. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 1,152, 20. Andrew Marshala (Shawnee, OK) 923.
Brodix Rookie of the Year Points: 1. Kyle Hirst (Loomis, CA) 2,497, 2. Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 2,368, 3. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 2,195, 4. Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX) 2,119, 5. Justyn Cox (Clarksburg, CA) 1,513, 6. Austen Wheatley (Lake Stevens, WA) 1,344.
Owner Points (Top Twenty): 1. JJR 41 – 3,019, 2. Tel-Star 99 – 2,947, 3. Silva 57 – 2,880, 4. Ward 88 – 2,743, 5. Dover 53 – 2,722, 6. Bruce Racing 18 – 2,673, 7. Chappell 50z – 2,604, 8. Perkins 6 – 2,497, 9. Hammers 94 – 2,479, 10. Logan 10a – 2,464, 11. Covington 95 – 2,368, 12. Gaerte 3g – 2,203, 13. Morgan 93 – 2,195, 14. Tankersley 71 – 2,119, 15. Brown 9x – 1,790, 16. Van Dyke 5h – 1,766, 17. Brown 21 – 1,390, 18. Wheatley 44w – 1,344, 19. Rilat 29 – 1,252, 20. Marshala 87a – 1,053.
ASCS Southwest Region Driver Points (Top Ten): 1. Rick Ziehl (Las Cruces, NM) 1,600, 2. Calvin Landis (Knoxville, IA) 1,503, 3. John Gaston (Peoria, AZ) 1,448, 4. Joshua Hodges (Tijeras, NM) 1,382, 5. Joshua Williams (Glendale, AZ), 6. Steve Stone (Mesa, AZ) 1,298, 7. Koty McGullam (Marana, AZ) 1,229, 8. J.T. Imperial (Mesa, AZ) 1,071, 9. Lance Norick (Scottsdale, AZ) 970, 10. Mike Rux, Jr. (Mesa, AZ) 912.
ASCS Canyon Region Non-Wing Points (Top Ten): 1. Charles Davis, Jr. (Buckeye, AZ) 2,095, 2. R.J. Johnson (Phoenix, AZ) 1,904, 3. Josh Pelkey (Peoria, AZ) 1,840, 4. Mike Martin (Yuma, AZ) 1,837, 5. Andrew Reinbold (Gilbert, AZ) 1,747, 6. Jeremy Sherman (Surprise, AZ) 1,686, 7. Ronnie Clark (Tucson, AZ) 1,664, 8. Dalten Gabbard (Peoria, AZ) 1,495, 9. Stevie Sussex (Laveen, AZ) 1,433, 10. Brian Hosford (Gilbert, AZ) 1,432.
2010 Feature Winners:
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series: Jason Johnson 5, Brady Bacon 4, Shane Stewart 4, Tim Crawley 3, Zach Chappell 2, Brad Sweet 2, Brian Brown 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Matt Covington 1, Jack Dover 1, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1, Jerrod Hull 1, Sammy Swindell 1, Danny Wood 1.
ASCS Southwest Region: Johnny Herrera 4, Rick Ziehl 3, Dalten Gabbard 1, John Gaston 1, Joshua Hodges 1, Derrik Ortega 1.
Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region Non-Wing: Charles Davis, Jr. 6, R.J. Johnson 5, Jeremy Sherman 2, Dave Darland 1, Mike Martin 1.
Tickets:
Ticket pricing, seating charts and purchasing information can be found online at http://www.usaraceway.net/Uploads/WesternWorldTicketForm.pdf or by calling the USA Raceway office at 520-574-8515.
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:
November 26 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, NV)
November 27 – Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Las Vegas, NV)
Lucas Oil ASCS on the Web:
Those unable to catch all the action in person can listen to every Lucas Oil Sprint Car 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 Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters will be featured in ten one-hour shows broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on the VERSUS Network and MavTV.
Events to be aired on VERSUS and MavTV include the following:
Event Date – Track (Location) – VERSUS Air Date & Time (All Times Eastern & Subject to Change):
March 19 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – 6/6/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
March 20 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – Rained Out
June 11 – Eagle Raceway (Eagle, NE) – 9/4/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
June 12 – Eagle Raceway (Eagle, NE) – 10/3/10 @ 5:00 p.m.
September 25 – Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO) – 11/21/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
October 1 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 11/28/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
October 2 – Riverside Speedway (W. Memphis, AR) – 12/5/10 @ 5:00 p.m.
October 28 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) – 12/5/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
October 29 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) – 12/11/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
October 30 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) – 12/12/10 @ 6:00 p.m.
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for 35 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.
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.