By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (September 19, 2011) – With the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National championship points race tightening up, the series ventures to Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO, for the Jesse Hockett / Daniel McMillin Memorial event this weekend.
And, for the first time, this year’s Hockett / McMillin Memorial is a two-night event at the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks” with a full slate of action on both Friday night and Saturday night following a Thursday practice session from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
This weekend’s action marks the first time for the Hockett / McMillin Memorial to be hosted by Lucas Oil Speedway. Jason Johnson topped the initial three Daniel McMillin Memorial features from 2007 to 2009 before Zach Chappell won last year’s Hocktt / McMillin main event at Lake Ozark Speedway.
While the Memorial event shifts to Lucas Oil Speedway for the first time, the palace of dirt tracks has hosted the Lucas Oil ASCS National series annually since 2006 with Tim Crawley cracking victory lane last September.
Leading the way into the weekend is Bixby, OK, native Shane Stewart, though his substantial lead shriveled drastically during the series most recent action at Minnesota’s Jackson Nationals on August 19-20. While the 2009 series champion had held a 142-point lead, a rough weekend that included his first DNF of the year allowed Albuquerque’s Johnny Herrera to cut the gap to just 78 points. Stewart’s DNF in the Jackson Nationals finale ended a run of 21 consecutive Lucas Oil Sprint Car top-ten feature finishes dating back to last year.
While Stewart spent this past weekend in Canada trying to defend his Canadian Sprint Car Nationals title, Herrera has spent the past two weekends abusing the ASCS Southwest forces with wins at Canyon Speedway Park and USA Raceway. Tucson’s USA Raceway will be the site of the season-ending Lucas Oil Sprint Car event, the Western World Championships, on November 17-19.
While Herrera is 78 points behind Stewart in the title chase, he is also 78 points ahead of third-ranked Jeff Swindell of Bartlett, TX, with Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Brady Bacon up to fourth in points and Hooks, TX, ace Gary Wright rounding out the current top five.
The balance of the current top ten in Lucas Oil Sprint Car points includes last year’s Lucas Oil Speedway feature winner Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA), leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX), Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) and Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA). Just outside the top ten is Talala, Oklahoma’s Zach Chappell, last year’s Hockett / Memorial feature event winner.
While Jason Johnson is tenth in driver points, his JJR No. 41 entry holds an 86-point edge over the Shane Stewart-driven Paul Silva No. 57 in the owner’s portion of the $60,000 championship points chase. After having Kyle Larson and Jack Dover fill in for the initial four events of the season as Johnson finished off Australian duties, “The Ragin’ Cajun” has risen to the top of the win charts with five National wins.
This weekend’s action also awards Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior points on both nights. Currently, 23-year-old Brad Loyet of Sunset Hills, MO, holds the Warrior lead in his rookie Sprint Car campaign. Loyet holds a 227-point advantage over four-time Warrior champ Randy Martin of California, MO, with the rest of the Warrior top ten including Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO), Kyle Bellm (Nixa, MO), Mark Shirshekan (Farmington, MO), Cody Baker (Lone Jack, MO), Josh Stephens (Buckner, MO), Tyler Blank (California, MO), Austin Alumbaugh (Higginsville, MO) and Miranda Arnold (Sedalia, MO).
This weekend’s Hockett / McMillin Memorial will mark just the second time for Sprint Cars to hit the semi-banked, 3/8-mile Lucas Oil Speedway dirt oval this year after Grain Valley, Missouri’s Brian Brown rallied from 18th to win a spirited ASCS Warrior main event in June.
The Series:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters with the Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region
When & Where:
Thursday night, September 22 at 6:00 p.m. – Practice from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Friday night, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. – Lucas Oil Speedway
Saturday night, September 24 at 6:30 p.m. – Lucas Oil Speedway
Track Information:
Lucas Oil Speedway (Wheatland, MO) – 3/8-mile semi-banked clay oval located 0.2 miles south of US 54 of SR 83. Track phone: 417-282-5984.
Lucas Oil ASCS Lucas Oil Speedway History:
The Lucas Oil Sprint Cars first took to the “Diamond of Dirt Tracks” in September of 2006 with return visits over each of the past three years after the 2007 event fell victim to rain. Brian Brown defended the Missouri turf in the series 2006 debut at Lucas Oil Speedway, with Jason Johnson and Shane Stewart taking Lucas Oil Speedway wins en route to Lucas Oil ASCS National titles in 2008 and 2009 before Tim Crawley won last year.
Lucas Oil Speedway Lucas Oil ASCS Winners include: Brian Brown 1, Tim Crawley 1, Jason Johnson 1, Shane Stewart 1.
Lucas Oil Speedway Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-Race Winners: Brian Brown (9/30/06), Jason Johnson (4/19/08), Shane Stewart (9/26/09), Tim Crawley (9/25/10).
Jesse Hockett / Daniel McMillin Memorial Event History:
The Inaugural Daniel McMillin Memorial took place in 2007 at California, Missouri’ s Double X Speedway before shifting to Lake Ozark Speedway the following year. Jason Johnson won the initial three McMillin events. Following Jesse Hockett’s passing in May of 2010, the event became the Hockett / McMillin Memorial event last year with Zach Chappell taking the win. This year marks the first time for Lucas Oil Speedway to host the event, now a multi-night affair.
Past Winners:
2007 – Jason Johnson (Double X Speedway)
2008 – Jason Johnson (Lake Ozark Speedway)
2009 – Jason Johnson (Lake Ozark Speedway)
2010 – Zach Chappell (Lake Ozark Speedway)
Current 2011 Points:
Top 15 Driver Points: 1. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 2,132, 2. Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM) 2,054, 3. Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN) 1,976, 4. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 1,935, 5. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 1,863, 6. Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 1,848, 7. Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 1,756, 8. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 1,689, 9. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 1,672, 10. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 1,666, 11. Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 1,510, 12. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,196, 13. Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA) 1,091, 14. Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) 877, 15. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 827.
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Owner Points (Top 15): 1. Jason Johnson Racing #41 – 2,218, 2. Paul Silva #57 – 2,132, 3. Herrera/Main #45x – 2,054, 4. Swindell Group #28 – 1,976, 5. Bacon/Tel-Star #99 – 1,935, 6. Mike Ward #88 – 1,848, 7. Petersen Motorsports #23 1,756, 8. Kenny Reutzel #87 – 1,689, 9. Bruce Racing #18 – 1,672, 10. Randy Washburn #0 – 1,510, 11. Gary Wright #9 – 1,267, 12. Bryan Sundby #38 – 1,196, 13. Steve Forler #2L – 1,091, 14. M&M Motorsports #2 – 877, 15. Cooper/Sperry #01/51 – 872.
Brodix Rookie of the Year Points: 1. Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 1,689, 2. Logan Forler (Eatonville, WA) 1,091.
Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Points (Top 10): 1. Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, MO) 1,897, 2. Randy Martin (California, MO) 1,670, 3. Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO) 1,657, 4. Kyle Bellm (Nixa, MO) 1,626, 5. Mark Shirshekan (Farmington, MO) 1,571, 6. Cody Baker (Lone Jack, MO) 1,509, 7. Josh Stephens (Buckner, MO) 1,382, 8. Tyler Blank (California, MO) 1,229, 9. Austin Alumbaugh (Higginsville, MO) 1,063, 10. Miranda Arnold (Sedalia, MO) 1,010.
2011 Feature Winners:
Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series: Jason Johnson 5, Johnny Herrera 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Shane Stewart 2, Jack Dover 1, Lee Grosz 1, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1, Tim Kaeding 1, Kyle Larson 1, Jeff Swindell 1, Sammy Swindell 1, Gary Wright 1.
Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region: Brad Loyet 3, Brian Brown 2, Jack Dover 2, Danny Lasoski 2, Kyle Bellm 1, Wayne Johnson 1, Brian McClelland 1, Randy Martin 1, Mark Shirshekan 1.
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:
October 13/14/15 – Lone Star Speedway (Lone Star Sprint Nationals)
October 21/22 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals)
October 27/28/29 – I-30 Speedway (24th Annual Short Track Nationals)
November 11/12 – Southern New Mexico Speedway
November 17/18/19 – USA Raceway (44th Annual Western World Championships)
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 nine one-hour shows broadcast on a tape-delayed basis on the VERSUS Network and MavTV.
The full schedule according to www.motorsportshour.com is as follows:
Thunderbowl Raceway (Feb. 9) – 4/23/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Kings Speedway (Feb. 12) – 5/7/11 @ 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
Eagle Raceway (RAINED OUT) – 9/11/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Eagle Raceway (June 11) – 9/18/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Grays Harbor Raceway (RAINED OUT) – 10/30/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Cottage Grove Speedway (July 22) – 11/6/11 @ 6:00 p.m. ET
Cottage Grove Speedway (July 23) – TBA
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is slated for 38 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 scheduled 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.