By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (May 4, 2011) – True, that little creek sometimes referred to as the Mississippi River has risen a bit in recent days around West Memphis, Arkansas’ Riverside International Speedway.
But, not enough to dampen the spirits of Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters racers and fans set to converge upon the gumbo clay oval for Saturday night’s Third Annual Rock ‘N Roll 50.
The ninth round of the season for the popular touring Sprint Car series is still on as scheduled despite some wild storms over this past weekend and some flooding in the vicinity from record rainfall throughout the region. A full night of action will culminate with the only 50-lap Lucas Oil ASCS feature event of the season.
While the storms did leave some minor damage to the speedway and grounds are soggy, TBJ Promotions and Riverside promoter Clayton Allen have assessed the situation and given the green light for Saturday night’s Rock ‘N Roll 50.
Repairs will be made in short order and several days of clear, sunny skies and temperatures around 70 will aid in the preparation of the track for Saturday’s action.
Tim Crawley of Benton, AR, a three-time ASCS National champion, has topped each of the initial two editions of the Rock ‘N Roll 50 and tries for a third in row this weekend. Currently ranked fourth in Lucas Oil ASCS National points behind Shane Stewart, Johnny Herrera and Jeff Swindell, Crawley will be gunning for his first series win of the year.
Saturday night’s racing action is set to go green at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for Saturday night’s Third Annual Rock ‘N Roll 50 are available by checking www.tbjpromotions.com.
The Series:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters
When & Where:
Saturday night, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. – Riverside International 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. Event information is available at www.tbjpromotions.com or by calling the track at 901-508-6200.
Lucas Oil ASCS Riverside International Speedway History:
After taking to the ¼-mile gumbo clay oval on 24 occasions from 1995 to 2005, the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series returned to West Memphis for the first time in nearly five years with Tim Crawley sweeping both nights of the Inaugural Rock ‘N Roll 50 in July 2009. After being rained out early last year, the event was reset for October with Tim Crawley taking a second consecutive Rock ‘N Roll 50 triumph after Tony Bruce, Jr., won the preliminary feature.
Riverside International Speedway ASCS National winners include: Eddie Gallagher 6, Tim Crawley 4, Terry Gray 3, Gary Wright 3, A.G. Rains 2, Pete Braswell 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Pete Butler 1, Kenny Coke 1, Chad Jones 1, Travis Rilat 1, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 1, Darren Stewart 1, Brooke Tatnell 1, Mike Ward 1.
Riverside International 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), Tim Crawley (7/3/09), Tim Crawley (7/4/09), Tony Bruce, Jr. (10/1/10), Tim Crawley (10/2/10).
Current 2011 Points:
Top 15 Driver Points: 1. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 1,072, 2. Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM) 962, 3. Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN) 956, 4. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 890, 5. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 881, 6. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 854, 7. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 844, 8. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 793, 9. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 790, 10. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 745, 11. Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA) 707, 12. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 690, 13. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX) 544, 14. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 518, 15. Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 454.
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Owner Points (Top 15): 1. Paul Silva #57 – 1,072, 2. Jason Johnson Racing #41 – 1,070, 3. Herrera/Main #45x – 962, 4. Swindell Group #28 – 956, 5. Mike Ward #88 – 890, 6. Bacon/Tel-Star #99 – 854, 7. Petersen Motorsports #23 844, 8. Kenny Reutzel #87 – 793, 9. Bruce Racing #18 – 790, 10. Cooper/Sperry #01/51 – 774, 11. Randy Washburn #0 – 745, 12. Steve Forler #2L – 707, 13. M&M Motorsports #2 – 690 14. Sam Hafertepe #15 – 544, 15. Danny Wood #81 – 454.
Brodix Rookie of the Year Points: 1. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 793, 2. Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA) 707, 3. Justin Carver (Millington, TN) 325.
2011 Feature Winners:
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Jason Johnson 1, Tim Kaeding 1, Kyle Larson 1, Shane Stewart 1, Jeff Swindell 1, Gary Wright 1.
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:
June 4 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR)
June 10 – Eagle Raceway (Eagle, NE) – VERSUS
June 11 – Eagle Raceway (Eagle, NE) – VERSUS
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.
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.
The full schedule of events to be aired on VERSUS and broadcast dates will be released soon.
The events from Thunderbowl Raceway, Kings Speedway and USA Raceway will be aired as follows;
Thunderbowl Raceway (Feb. 9) – 4/23/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Kings Speedway (Feb. 12) – 5/1/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
USA Raceway (Feb. 18) – 5/29/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
USA Raceway (Feb. 19) – 6/5/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for 37 nights of racing action at 15 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 2011 season marks the 20th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, with approximately 200 nights of competition at tracks throughout the nation and into 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.