From Bob Baker
KNOXVILLE, IOWA (January 13, 2012) – For the second straight year, Jason Meyers of Clovis, California, was voted the “Driver of the Year” by the North American 410 Sprint Car Poll voting panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers. The 2011 World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series point champion earned twenty-six (26) of the twenty-nine (29) first-place ballots cast in the year-end poll. For the first time, team owners Chris Luck, Jason Meyers and Guy Stockbridge earned 410-cubic-inch sprint car “Team of the Year” honors.
Those drivers ranked second through fifth, respectively, are four-time “Driver of the Year” Donny Schatz of North Dakota, 14-time “Driver of the Year” and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Steve Kinser of Indiana, All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) National, Ohio Region and Great Plains Region champion Tim Shaffer of Ohio, and Craig Dollansky of Minnesota. Rounding out the ‘top ten’ for the season are National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Sammy Swindell, Joey Saldana, Paul McMahan, ASCoC Eastern Region and Williams Grove Speedway champion Lance Dewease, and Speedway Motors Central Pennsylvania Point Series champion Greg Hodnett, respectively. Donny Schatz earned two (2) first-place votes, while Tim Shaffer captured one (1).
Kyle Larson of California will receive the “Wild Card Award” for his exciting ‘410’ sprint car performances in 2011. Incredibly enough, Larson was named to be the recipient of the same award this year from both the North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll and the North American 360 Sprint Car Poll voting panels as well. That has never happened since the polls were split out in the year 2000, although the following three drivers have all won two of the three “Wild Card Awards” in the same season: Kasey Kahne (2000), Erin Crocker (2003), and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (2006).
Dustin Selvage of Iowa, a rookie at the Knoxville Raceway in 2011, has earned the “Rookie of the Year” award in the ‘410’ division of the North American Sprint Car Poll. Ralph Capitani of the same Knoxville Raceway in Iowa will take home the “Promoter of the Year” honors for the twelfth and final time in his career. Steve Kent of KPC Chassis earned the “Builder/Manufacturer of the Year” plaque for the ‘410’ poll. The “Media Member of the Year” honors will posthumously go to the late Jerry Reigle, who wrote for the Area Auto Racing News and passed away in late August after a long bout with cancer.
The North American 410 Sprint Car Poll is an annual awards program of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. All awards will be distributed in the spring of 2012 at tracks throughout North America. The awards were announced on the fourth day of the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Final 2011 North American 410 Sprint Car Poll
rank, driver (first place votes), hometown, state/province, points
1., Jason Meyers (26), Clovis, CA, 2600
2., Donny Schatz (2), Fargo, ND, 1408
3., Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN, 1003
4., Tim Shaffer (1), Aliquippa, PA, 639
5., Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN, 563
6., Sammy Swindell, Memphis, TN, 523
7., Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN, 450
8., Paul McMahan, Elk Grove, CA, 345
9., Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, PA, 285
10., Greg Hodnett, Memphis, TN, 252
11., Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK, 232
12., Dale Blaney, Fowler, OH, 178
13., Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN, 174
14., Tim Kaeding, Campbell, CA, 135
15., Kyle Larson, Sacramento, CA, 101
16., Danny Lasoski, Higginsville, MO, 73
17., Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, PA, 57
18., Brian Montieth, Phoenixville, PA, 53
19., Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA, 42
20., Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Sunnyvale, TX, 36
21., Billy Balog, Fairbanks, AK, 28
22., Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK, 22
23., David Gravel, Watertown, CT, 21
tie, Bryan Sebetto, Fremont, OH, 21
25., Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN, 20
Also receiving multiple votes: Jonathan Allard, Brian Brown, Mark Dobmeier, Kerry Madsen, Terry McCarl, Danny Smith, Stevie Smith, Dusty Zomer.