From Lonnie Wheatley
Little Rock, AR — (October 23, 2012) — Add another past event winner to the list as the entry count for this weekend’s 25th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway has grown to 95.
Tim Crawley is among the latest entries, bringing the number of past STN winner entered for this week’s $15,000-to-win, $2,500-to-start event to nine.
The week’s festivities get under way Wednesday evening with a Test ‘N Tune session atop the high-banked, ¼-mile clay oval from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Two full qualifying nights of action including heat races, qualifying races, “B” Mains and “A” Main follow on Thursday and Friday before concluding with Saturday night’s STN Championship slate of feature events.
Crawley, who lives just a few mere miles from the famed I-30 Speedway oval, earned his Short Track Nationals crown in 1998. Close on several other occasions along the way, Crawley goes for a second STN title this weekend. Crawley has made the cut for 17 STN championship feature event, tied at the top of that list with four-time event winner Gary Wright.
Crawley joins a list of past STN champions set for action this weekend that includes Wright, defending race winner Sammy Swindell, Tony Bruce, Jr., Jason Johnson, Paul McMahan, Jason Sides, Wayne Johnson and Terry Gray.
Fans can still save $10 by purchasing tickets in advance by calling 501-455-4567. Advance tickets, available through Wednesday, are just $45 for all three nights of wild racing action. Tickets at the gate are $15 on both Thursday and Friday and then just $25 on Saturday.
While the grandstands will be packed each night at the high-banked, ¼-mile clay oval, the event will also be available at home worldwide via Pay-Per-View at www.shorttracknationals.com. Check the site for details and ordering info.
The Pertinent Info:
The What: 25th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires.
The Where: I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR). I-30 Speedway is located seven miles southwest of Little Rock off I-30 Exit 126 (Alexander Road).
The When: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 25-27, 2012. $15,000 to win the STN finale on October 27 with $2,500 to start the STN championship feature. Race time is 7:30 p.m. each night. Rain date is November 1-3. Test ‘N Tune session on Wednesday night, October 24.
The Past Winners: Sammy Swindell (2011 and 1990), Brad Sweet (2010), Tony Bruce, Jr. (2009 and 2008), Jason Meyers (2007), Jason Johnson (2006), Tim Montgomery (2005), Gary Wright (2004, 2003, 1999 and 1995), Paul McMahan (2002), Jason Sides (2001), Mike Ward (2000), Tim Crawley (1998), Wayne Johnson (1997), Pete Butler (1996), Terry Gray (1994), John Gerloff (1993), Steve Kinser (1991, ’89 and ‘88). 1992 finale was rained out.
The Entries: While the pre-entry discount deadline of October 17 has come and gone, post-entries for the 25th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires may still be filed for $250 by calling the track at 501-455-4567 or at http://www.i-30speedway.com/
#0m Andy McElhannon (Hernando, MS)
#0s Glenn Styres (Ohsweken, ONT)
#01m Paul McMahan (Elk Grove, CA)
#01n Jeremy Newkirk (Roland, AR)
#1h Nic Jenkins (Bryant, AR)
#1m Danny Lasoski (Higginsville, MO)
#1p Curtis Evans (Norborne, MO)
#1s Sammy Swindell (Germantown, TN)
#2 Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK)
#2x Patrick Moore (Moline, IL)
#3g Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK)
#3h Brandon Hanks (Burlison, TN)
#3n Nate Van Haaften (Otley, IA)
#3r AG Rains (West Memphis, AR)
#4j John James (Iowa Park, TX)
#4s Tommy Snellgrove (Little Rock, AR)
#05 Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, MO)
#5 Joe Bob Lee (Cache, OK)
#5k Jerry Kamer (Jacksonville, AR)
#6b Ryan Beechler (McKinney, TX)
#6s Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (Olive Branch, MS)
#6t Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA)
#7 Darren Long (Elida, OH)
#7s Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN)
#09 Timmy Thrash (Gulfport, MS)
#9jr Derek Hagar (Marion, AR)
#9k Kyle Sager (Alto, NM)
#9$ Kyle Clark (Sapulpa, OK)
#9w Gary Wright (Hooks, TX)
#10 Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN)
#11c Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)
#11m Justin Melton (Flower Mound, TX)
#11p Preston Peebles II (Lubbock, TX)
#11s Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK)
#12h Jerrod Hull (Sikeston, MO)
#12m Kyle McCutcheon (Alamogordo, NM)
#13 Triston Tidmore (Hernando, MS)
#14k Kyle Bellm (Nixa, MO)
#14m Jordon Mallett (Greenbrier, AR)
#14z Zach Pringle (Benton, AR)
#15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX)
#17b Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD)
#17g Cody Gardner (Benton, AR)
#17j Josh Baughman (Odessa, TX)
#17r Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX)
#17t Bruce Griffith, Jr. (Island, TX)
#17w Cole Wood (Auburn, CA)
#18 Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS)
#19 Klint Angelette (Thibodaux, LA)
#w20 Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH)
#21b Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO)
#21k Ryan Kitchen (Weston, NE)
#21t Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe, TX)
#21tx Brandon Schure (El Paso, TX)
#22h Randy Hannagan (San Jose, CA)
#23b Brian Bell (Somerville, TN)
#23s Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA)
#26m Marshall Skinner (West Memphis, AR)
#26s Jon Stinson (Walls, MS)
#27 Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK)
#28 Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO)
#29 Brandon Hahn (Tulsa, OK)
#31 Brandon Berryman (Missouri City, TX)
#35 Jimmy Hurley (Springfield, IL)
#36b Jonathan Beason (Broken Arrow, OK)
#36 Robert Sellers (Mustang, OK)
#38 Rick Pringle (Benton, AR)
#39 Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS)
#39c Travis Rilat (Forney, TX)
#39s Kevin Swindell (Germantown, TN)
#40b Christopher Bell (Norman, OK)
#41 Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA)
#44c Ronny Howard (Nesbit, MS)
#45x Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM)
#46 Jan Howard (Byhalia, MS)
#47 Dale Howard (Byhalia, MS)
#48 Jake Martens (Fairview, OK)
#49 Shawn Dancer (Delphos, OH)
#52 Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)
#57c Kyle Chady (Benton, IL)
#58f Gary Floyd (San Angelo, TX)
#58w Wade Oliver (Southaven, MS)
#64 Scotty Thiel (Sheboygan, WI)
#66 Geoff Dodge (Colorado Springs, CO)
#74e Claud Estes (Godley, TX)
#76 John Ricketts (Burleson, TX)
#77x Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)
#81 Danny Wood (Norman, OK)
#82 Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, SD)
#88 Tim Crawley (Benton, AR)
#92h Richie Harris (Ward, AR)
#93 Chris Sweeney (Channelview, TX)
#94 Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN)
#99 Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)
#X Charlie Louden (Camden, AR)
Past STN Feature Starts: Tim Crawley 17, Gary Wright 17, Terry Gray 15, Wayne Johnson 14, Sammy Swindell 9, Travis Rilat 8, Jason Sides 8, Shane Stewart 8, Dale Howard 7, Jan Howard 7, Jason Johnson 6, Brian Brown 5, A.G. Rains 5, Marshall Skinner 5, Jeff Swindell 5, Danny Wood 5, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 4, Jerrod Hull 4, Tim Shaffer 4, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 4, Brady Bacon 3, Paul McMahan 3, Tony Bruce, Jr. 2, Cody Gardner 2, Danny Lasoski 2, Dustin Morgan 2, Wade Oliver 2, Zach Pringle 2, Kevin Swindell 2, Greg Wilson 2, Seth Bergman 1, Matt Covington 1, Claud Estes 1, Derek Hagar 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Ray Allen Kulhanek 1, Aaron Reutzel 1, Joe Wood, Jr. 1.
STN Rookie Contenders: Josh Baughman, Christopher Bell, Kyle Chady, Kyle Clark, Shawn Dancer, Geoff Dodge, Blake Hahn, Brandon Hahn, Brandon Hanks, Richie Harris, Justin Henderson, Joe Bob Lee, Jake Martens, Kyle McCutcheon, Patrick Moore, Glenn Styres, Triston Tidmore, Timmy Thrash, Cole Wood.
The States: Texas 17, Oklahoma 16, Arkansas 14, Mississippi 10, Missouri 7, Tennessee 7, California 3, Illinois 3, New Mexico 3, Ohio 3, Louisiana 2, South Dakota 2, Colorado 1, Iowa 1, Kansas 1, Nebraska 1, Ontario (CAN) 1, Pennsylvania 1, Washington 1, Wisconsin 1.
The Format: The format introduced last year will once again be in effect. Approximately half the field will take to the track in the Thursday night qualifying event, with the other half in Friday’s qualifying event. The top three from each night will be locked into Saturday night’s $15,000-to-win, $2,500-to-start STN Championship Finale. Those six drivers will battle it out in Saturday’s Dash for Cash to determine the alignment of the front three rows of the championship main event.
Beyond that, drivers will be lined up on Saturday night in twin “B” Mains, twin “C” Mains, twin “D” Mains, twin “E” Mains and “F” Mains if necessary. Four drivers will transfer from each “F” to “E”, “E” to “D”, “D” to “C” and “C” to “B”, with seven advancing from each “B” Main to form the 20-car STN championship main event field.
The popular format of heats and qualifying races will once again be in place on qualifying nights. The top 14 in cumulative points from heats and qualifiers will be locked into that night’s main event, with two or three “B” Mains depending upon car count contested to fill out the qualifying night feature field.
Points earned in qualifying night heat races, qualifiers and features will set Saturday night’s feature lineups.
The Tickets: Advance tickets are on sale through Wednesday, October 24, no advance sales after that. Tickets ordered in advance are just $45 for all three nights. Day of show prices are $15 on Thursday and Friday and $25 on Saturday. To order tickets in advance or for more information, call the track at 501-455-4567 or e-mail orders to racing@I-30speedway.com. Children’s tickets will be available at the event for just $2 on both Thursday and Friday and then $5 on Saturday. There is a $1 per ticket surcharge for orders placed via credit/debit cards. Pit passes are $30 on both Thursday and Friday and $35 on Saturday.
The PPV: Can’t make your way to Little Rock, AR, for this prestigious event? For the first time ever, this year you can still catch every lap of the action on your computer via live Pay-Per-View. Just check out www.shorttracknationals.com for pricing and ordering information. Orders are being taken now.
The Trade Show & Midway: This year’s rendition of the Short Track Nationals will also include the Eighth Annual Short Track Nationals Trade Show & Midway. Fans, drivers & crews will have the opportunity to visit vendor displays, which opens at noon on Thursday and then at 9 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday. The deadline for guaranteed vendor space is Monday, October 22. Inquiries regarding vendor space should be directed to dssm93@msn.com.
For more information regarding the 25th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires, contact I-30 Speedway at 501-455-4567.