By Lonnie Wheatley
TULSA, Okla. (September 20, 2011) – A quick statistical breakdown of the 2011 Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National series is in order as the series gears up for its only Show Me State appearance of the year with this weekend’s Jesse Hockett / Daniel McMillin Memorial at “The Diamond of Dirt Tracks”, Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO.
While numbers can be broken down in any variety of ways, the one stat that ultimately counts is championship points. And, while Shane Stewart still holds the top spot in the driver point charts, his lead is little more than half of what it was prior to last month’s Jackson Nationals where Johnny Herrera cut the lead from 142 points to just 78.
In the Jackson Nationals finale, Stewart suffered his first DNF of the year in Lucas Oil Sprint Car action aboard Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered No. 57 Rockstar Energy Drink/Makita No. A.R.T., putting an end to a run of 21 consecutive top-ten feature finishes dating back to last year.
With Stewart’s top-ten run cut short, Jeff Swindell now holds the longest active streak with five in a row dating back to the eventful July 30 Placerville Speedway Bullring Nationals finale. The series record is 44 consecutive top-tens established by Jason Johnson over the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Stewart and Swindell rank as the only two drivers to start all 18 features thus far in 2011, with Stewart starting 24 in a row dating back to last year. Brady Bacon had a run of 44 feature starts cut when he missed the feature field in Knoxville preliminary action. Gary Wright holds the record of 200 consecutive feature starts spanning a time frame from 2003 to 2009.
Wright also holds the record for 228 consecutive events competed-in. The current longest active streak belongs to Tim Crawley at 73 in a row. Crawley and Tony Bruce, Jr., shared the longest active streak until Bruce, Jr., sat out the final night of the ASCS Knoxville Nationals with a depleted supply of powerplants.
Johnny Herrera has been strong in the early portion of the night with a series’ best six heat race wins, but it’s Jason Johnson that has parked it in victory lane the most times with five feature wins.
While he’s won the most, “The Ragin’ Cajun” is second to Wayne Johnson in feature laps led while Stewart has passed the most cars in feature action this season.
In career stats, Tim Crawley moved into a tie for second with Terry Gray in career top-fives when he notched his 174th with a runner-up finish in the Jackson Nationals finale. Crawley and Gray at 174 are still short of Wright’s 309. Jason Johnson is next behind those three with 158.
When Zach Chappell started the Jackson Nationals finale, he took over sole possession of third in career feature starts with 320, breaking a tie with Travis Rilat. Chappell trails only Gary Wright at 420 and Tim Crawley at 341.
And, entering this weekend with 198 career top-ten ASCS National feature finishes, Jason Johnson could become just the eighth driver in series history to reach the 200 top-ten mark. It’s an elite group of veteran ASCS shoes that includes Gary Wright (364), Tim Crawley (251), Terry Gray (246), Travis Rilat (228), Garry Lee Maier (225), Zach Chappell (216) and Wayne Johnson (205).
Now, for a detailed look at some 2011 specifics…
Lucas Oil ASCS – 2011 Stats:
Race Nights: 19
Feature Winners: 12
Average Car Count per Event: 44.91
Drivers Competing in at Least One Event: 268
Drivers with at Least One “A” Main Feature Start: 141
Drivers Making First Career Lucas Oil ASCS “A” Main Start: 35
Drivers with at Least One Top-Ten “A” Main Feature Finish: 60
Drivers with at Least One Top-Five “A” Main Feature Finish: 30
Heat Race Wins (50 winners in 82 Heat Races): Johnny Herrera 6, Seth Bergman 5, Tim Crawley 5, Shane Stewart 5, Logan Forler 3, Aaron Reutzel 3, Danny Wood 3, Gary Wright 3, Brady Bacon 2, Jordan Boston 2, Zach Chappell 2, Matt Covington 2, Jason Johnson 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Colby Wiesz 2, Jon Agan 1, Jonathan Allard 1, Gregg Bakker 1, Eric Baldaccini 1, Brad Bowden 1, Brian Brown 1, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Roger Crockett 1, Greg DeCaires 1, Bryan Dobesh 1, Michael Dupuy 1, Cody Gardner 1, Andy Gregg 1, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1, Rob Held 1, Jerrod Hull 1, Bud Kaeding 1, Tim Kaeding 1, Calvin Landis 1, Mason Moore 1, Dustin Morgan 1, Jake Peters 1, Tasker Phillips 1, Daryn Pittman 1, Zach Pringle 1, Tony Shilling 1, Trey Starks 1, Jeff Swindell 1, Brooke Tatnell 1, Steven Tiner 1, Jake Waddell 1, Kolt Walker 1, Scott Winters 1, Jessica Zemken 1, Rick Ziehl 1.
B Main Wins (25 winners in 29 “B” Mains): Tony Bruce, Jr. 3, Jason Johnson 2, Aaron Reutzel 2, Brady Bacon 1, Larry Ball, Jr. 1, Jayme Barnes 1, Seth Bergman 1, John Carney II 1, Tim Crawley 1, Willie Croft 1, Bryan Dobesh 1, Jack Dover 1, Logan Forler 1, Andy Forsberg 1, Clint Garner 1, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Lou Kennedy, Jr. 1, Thomas Kennedy 1, Dustin Morgan 1, Zach Pringle 1, Travis Rilat 1, Trey Starks 1, Channin Tankersley 1, Danny Wood 1.
A Main Starts: Shane Stewart 18, Jeff Swindell 18, Tim Crawley 17, Brady Bacon 16, Seth Bergman 16, Johnny Herrera 16, Gary Wright 16, Tony Bruce, Jr., 15, Aaron Reutzel 15, Zach Chappell 14, Jason Johnson 14, Wayne Johnson 11, Logan Forler 9, Mason Moore 7, Danny Wood 7, 126 drivers with 6 or less.
A Main Wins (12 winners in 19 “A” Mains including twin prelim features at Knoxville): 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.
A Main Top-Fives: Shane Stewart 13, Jason Johnson 10, Johnny Herrera 7, Jeff Swindell 7, Wayne Johnson 6, Brady Bacon 5, Jack Dover 4, Gary Wright 4, Tim Crawley 3, Roger Crockett 3, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 3, Tim Kaeding, 3, Aaron Reutzel 3, Seth Bergman 2, Kyle Larson 2, Sammy Swindell 2, Davey Heskin 2, Danny Lasoski 2, Tommy Tarlton 2, Billy Alley 2, 10 drivers tied with 1.
A Main Top-Tens: Shane Stewart 17, Johnny Herrera 13, Jeff Swindell 12, Gary Wright 11, Jason Johnson 10, Brady Bacon 10, Wayne Johnson 8, Seth Bergman 7, Tim Crawley 7, Tim Kaeding 6, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 5, Aaron Reutzel 5, Roger Crockett 4, Jack Dover 4, Kyle Larson 4, Danny Wood 4, Tony Bruce, Jr. 3, Zach Chappell 3, 15 drivers with 2 and 27 drivers with 1.
A Main Laps Led (540 “A” Feature Laps Completed): Wayne Johnson 93, Jason Johnson 64, Johnny Herrera 57, Jeff Swindell 50, Shane Stewart 43, Kyle Larson 30, Gary Wright 29, Jordan Boston 27, Jack Dover 25, Tim Crawley 23, Lee Grosz 20, Brad Bowden 18, Tim Kaeding 18, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 16, Brian Brown 14, Sammy Swindell 9, Eric Baldaccini 2, Jonathan Allard 1, Bryan Dobesh 1.
A Main Positions Gained: Shane Stewart 98, Brady Bacon 68, Tony Bruce, Jr. 61, Tim Crawley 51, Johnny Herrera 50, Zach Chappell 47, Gary Wright 47, Jason Johnson 44, Kyle Larson 38, Seth Bergman 32, Jeff Swindell 31, Tim Kaeding 30, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 28, Aaron Reutzel 27, Logan Forler 24, Brooke Tatnell 24, Tommy Tarlton 23, Dustin Morgan 22, Danny Wood 22, Daryn Pittman 21, Trey Starks 21, Billy Alley 19, Terry McCarl 19, Jack Dover 17, Danny Lasoski 17, Roger Crockett 15, Wayne Johnson 15, C.J. Humphreys 15, Stephen Allard 14, Mason Moore 12. Another 52 drivers have gained 11 or fewer positions.
2011 Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National Driver Points (Top 15)
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.
2011 Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National 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.
Provisionals Used:
Aaron Reutzel 4, Tony Bruce, Jr. 3, Zach Chappell 3, Tim Crawley 2, Logan Forler 2, Shane Stewart 2, Brady Bacon 1, Seth Bergman 1, Jason Johnson 1, Mark Shirshekan 1, Jeff Swindell 1, Gary Wright 1
Provisionals Available:
Herrera / Main 45x (Johnny Herrera); 4 (2 full-points and 2 partial-points)
Wright 9 (Gary Wright); 3 (1 full-points and 2 partial-points)
Petersen 23 (Seth Bergman); 3 (1 full-points and 2 partial-points)
Swindell Group 28 (Jeff Swindell); 3 (1 full-points and 2 partial-points)
JJR 41 (Jason Johnson); 3 (1 full-points and 2 partial-points)
Bacon/Tel-Star 99 (Brady Bacon); 3 (1 full-points and 2 partial-points)
Silva 57 (Shane Stewart); 2 (1 full-points and 1 partial-points)
Ward 88 (Tim Crawley); 2 (1 full-points and 1 partial-points)
Washburn 0 (Zach Chappell); 1 (1 full-points)
Bruce 18 (Tony Bruce, Jr.); 1 (1 partial-points)
The Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters is currently 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 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.