By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (January 21, 2011) – The duo of Jesse Hockett and Daniel McMillin will be long remembered by countless race fans from throughout their native Missouri and well beyond. So, it’s only fitting that the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks”, Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO, host the annual Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial in 2011 and beyond.
A staple on the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters championship trail with a single-night event in recent years, this year’s stop atop the 3/8-mile Lucas Oil Speedway will be a multi-night affair in remembrance of Jesse Hockett and crew chiefing cousin Daniel McMillin.
“It is truly an honor and a pleasure to host this event in 2011 and beyond,” stated Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager Dan Robinson
After a practice session on Thursday night, September 22, two full nights of Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National competition will ensue on Friday and Saturday, September 23-24.
Just a half hour or so from the heart of the Hockett Nation, Warsaw, MO, Wheatland’s Lucas Oil Speedway has been the site of some classic Lucas Oil ASCS tilts in recent years with Tim Crawley making a late move this past September to join past “Diamond of Dirt Tracks” Lucas Oil ASCS winners Shane Stewart (2009), Jason Johnson (2008) and Brian Brown (2006). The Lucas Oil Speedway event scheduled for 2007 fell victim to rain.
While this year’s Hockett/McMillin Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway will be a multi-night event for the first time, four previous versions of the event have taken place as single-night cards at other tracks.
California, Missouri’s Double X Raceway hosted the inaugural Daniel McMillin Memorial in 2007 before the event shifted to Lake Ozark Speedway for the next three years. The event became the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial for the first time in 2010 after Hockett’s tragic passing earlier in the year.
Reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National champion Jason Johnson topped the initial three editions of the Memorial event, with 2001 series champ Zach Chappell winning the 2010 event.
Lucas Oil Speedway, “The Diamond of Dirt Tracks”, is a semi-banked, 3/8-mile clay oval located in Wheatland, MO, 0.2 miles south of US 54 of SR 83. For more information, contact the track at 417-282-5984.
Coming off a banner 2010 season, the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National Series is currently slated for 39 nights of racing action at 18 different tracks throughout the nation with several other dates under negotiation. The country’s top Sprint Car drivers, led by two-time and reigning series champion Jason Johnson of Eunice, LA, are set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund, with $60,000 going to the 2011 champion.
In its 20th 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.