From Lonnie Wheatley
Little Rock, AR — (October 21, 2013) — The countdown has dwindled down to the final days, with the hours now being impatiently counted away until the green flag flies on the 26th rendition of I-30 Speedway’s COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires.
With the entry count up to 94 with more expected before Thursday’s first official STN green flag of 2013 opens the chase to the $15,000 jackpot, festivities get under way one night earlier with Wednesday’s $2,500-to-win Inaugural Short Track Nationals Open.
Wednesday’s card, which will offer a provisional starting position to Saturday’s STN finale for the highest finisher among the top four unable to race their way into the event, will be bolstered by the running of the Ralph Henson Memorial feature event that was rained out several weeks ago.
Among the latest to enter is 2012 STN runner-up Christopher Bell of Norman, OK. In his rookie outing at the prestigious event, the young shoe led much of the way before surrendering the point to eventual winner Paul McMahan in the latter stages.
Just 18 years old, Bell has racked up 16 overall wins in 2013 in a varied assortment of Winged 410’s and 360’s, Wingless 410’s, 305’s and Midgets and sits atop the USAC National Midget point charts.
With the addition of Bell to the entry list, 16 of last year’s STN championship feature starters are among the 94 entries with the yet to enter Jack Dover and Travis Rilat both verifying their intentions to pursue the STN crown which would bring the total to 18.
The pre-entry discount of $150 expired with entries filed or postmarked by October 17, with post-entries for the 26th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires filed for $250 by calling the track at 501-455-4567 or at http://www.i-30speedway.com/flyers/stn_flyer2013.pdf.
Fans can purchase advance tickets by calling 501-455-4567. Advance tickets are just $51 for all three nights of STN action of $61 for all four nights that also includes Wednesday night’s Inaugural Short Track Nationals Open. And, those unable to make the trip to Little Rock can still catch every lap of action as it happens live on Pay-Per-View. PPV details and pricing are available at www.shorttracknationals.com.
The list of qualifying night assignments is as follows, with late entries assigned as needed.
Thursday
#0 Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX)
#0m Andy McElhannon (Hernando, MS)
#1 Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK)
#1j Nic Jenkins (Benton, AR)
#1s Sammy Swindell (Germantown, TN)
#1tx TBA
#2s Lee Sowell (Nesbit, MS)
#3 A.G. Rains (West Memphis, AR)
#3h Brandon Hanks (Burlison, TN)
#4am Mike Goodman (Broken Arrow, OK)
#05 Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, MO)
#5x Tyson Hall (Longview, TX)
#6 Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA)
#6T Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA)
#7 Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN)
#9jr Derek Hagar (Marion, AR)
#9p Parker Price-Miller (Kokomo, IN)
#12d Dalton Davis (Millington, TN)
#13 Todd Fayard (Saucier, MS)
#13TT Triston Tidmore (Hernando, MS)
#14k Kyle Bellm (Nixa, MO)
#14z Zach Pringle (Benton, AR)
#17g Cody Gardner (Benton, AR)
#17h Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)
#17w Harli White (Lindsay, OK)
#19 Klint Angelette (Thibodaux, LA)
#21b Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO)
#21T Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe, TX)
#21tx Brandon Schure (El Paso, TX)
#21x Joey Moughan (Springfield, IL)
#22h Randy Hannagan (San Jose, CA)
#23 Howard Moore (Memphis, TN)
#23b Brian Bell (Gallaway, TN)
#23x Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA)
#31b Christopher Bell (Norman, OK)
#31g Johnny Gardner (Benton, AR)
#38 Rick Pringle (Benton, AR)
#40dd Caleb Griffith (Sandusky, OH)
#41 Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA)
#57 Kyle Chady (Benton, IL)
#69 Larry Howery (Hearne, TX)
#77x Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)
#81 Danny Wood (Norman, OK)
#81a Chris Morgan (Independence, MO)
#91 Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, SD)
#93 Chris Sweeney (Houston, TX)
#94 Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN)
#95 Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)
Friday
#01 Roger Crockett (Medford, OR)
#1h Kyle Hirst (Loomis, CA)
#1m Danny Lasoski (Dover, MO)
#2J Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA)
#03 Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK)
#3g Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK)
#3n Nate Van Haaften (Otley, IA)
#4pm Whit Gastineau (Moore, OK)
#5r Jerod Roller (Olive Branch, MS)
#5s Tyler Smith (Olive Branch, MS)
#6b Ryan Beechler (McKinney, TX)
#6s Chad Kemenah (Findlay, OH)
#8 Alex Sewell (Broken Arrow, OK)
#10 Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN)
#11s Patrick Stasa (Kingman, KS)
#12 Jerrod Hull (Sikeston, MO)
#12m Kolt Walker (Graham, TX)
#12s Adam Schmidt (Haubstadt, IN)
#13T Taylor Tidmore (Hernando, MS)
#15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX)
#16 Anthony Nicholson (Millington, TN)
#17b Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD)
#17m Austin Brown (Millstadt, IL)
#18 Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS)
#w20 Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH)
#21k Ryan Kitchen (Weston, NE)
#26 Marshall Skinner (West Memphis, AR)
#27 Beau Stewart (Xenia, OH)
#29 Brandon Hahn (Tulsa, OK)
#31 Brandon Berryman (Missouri City, TX)
#36 Jonathan Beason (Broken Arrow, OK)
#39 Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS)
#42 Henry Gustavus (Olive Branch, MS)
#45p J.P. Bailey (Ft. Worth, TX)
#45x Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM)
#49 Shawn Dancer (Delphos, OH)
#51 Matt Ward (Glenpool, OK)
#71 Kevin Swindell (Germantown, TN)
#74 Claud Estes (Godley, TX)
#82 David Gravel (Watertown, CT)
#87b Jason Barney (Brewerton, NY)
#87r Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX)
#88 Tim Crawley (Benton, AR)
#88m Scottie McDonald (New Caney, TX)
#99 Blake Jenkins (Benton, AR)
#X Charlie Louden (Camden, AR)
The Pertinent Info:
The What: 26th 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 24-26, 2013. $15,000 to win the STN finale on October 26 with $2,500 to start the STN championship feature. Race time is 7:30 p.m. each night. Rain date is October 31, November 1 & November 2. The $2,500 to win and $200 to start Inaugural Short Track Nationals Open kicks off all the action on Wednesday, October 23, at 7:30 p.m.
The Entries: The entry count has climbed to 86 from 21 different states with several days still remaining to crack the century mark.
Past STN Feature Starts: Tim Crawley 18, Terry Gray 15, Wayne Johnson 14, Sammy Swindell 10, Shane Stewart 9, Jason Sides 8, Jason Johnson 7, Marshall Skinner 6, Jeff Swindell 6, Brian Brown 5, A.G. Rains 5, Tim Shaffer 5, Danny Wood 5, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 4, Jerrod Hull 4, Cody Gardner 3, Johnny Gardner 3, Chad Kemenah 3, Danny Lasoski 3, Kevin Swindell 3, Greg Wilson 3, Seth Bergman 2, Tony Bruce, Jr. 2, Derek Hagar 2, Zach Pringle 2, Matt Covington 1, Claud Estes 1, David Gravel 1, Randy Hannagan 1, Justin Henderson 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Ray Allen Kulhanek 1, Sean McClelland 1, Joey Moughan 1, Aaron Reutzel 1, Joe Wood, Jr. 1.
STN Rookie Contenders: Jason Barney, Austin Brown, Todd Fayard, Whit Gastineau, Caleb Griffith, Tyson Hall, Blake Jenkins, Terry McCarl, Howard Moore, Parker Price-Miller, Adam Schmidt, Alex Sewell, Tyler Smith, Patrick Stasa, Beau Stewart, Taylor Tidmore, Triston Tidmore, Matt Ward, Harli White.
The States: Oklahoma 14, Texas 13, Arkansas 11, Tennessee 10, Mississippi 9, Missouri 6, Ohio 5, Illinois 3, California 2, Indiana 2, Iowa 2, Kansas 2, Louisiana 2, South Dakota 2, Washington 2, Connecticut 1, Nebraska 1, New Mexico 1, New York 1, Oregon 1, Pennsylvania 1.
The Format: The format introduced in 2011 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 the Thursday and Friday 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.
Wednesday’s Short Track Nationals Open will have no impact upon Thursday, Friday or Saturday lineups, with the exception that the top finisher among Wednesday’s top four that is unable to qualifying for Saturday night’s STN finale will be offered a provisional.
Wednesday’s STN Open will include heat races lined up by pill draw with passing points in effect that will set lineups for the “B” Main(s) (multiple “B” Mains if necessary depending upon car count) and “A” Main.
The Past Winners: Paul McMahan (2012 and 2002), 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), 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 Tickets: Advance tickets for either three or four nights are on sale through Monday, October 21, no advance sales after that. Single night tickets are not available in advance. Tickets ordered in advance are just $61 for all four nights (Wednesday through Saturday) or $51 for three nights (Thursday through Saturday) with $1 off if paying cash.
Day of show prices are $16 on Wednesday, $21 on Thursday and Friday and $26 on Saturday with a $1 discount per ticket if paying cash.
Children’s tickets will be available at the event only for just $2 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and then $6 on Saturday.
To order tickets in advance or for more information, call the track at 501-455-4567 or e-mail orders to raceytlc@sbcglobal.net.
Pit passes are $26 on Wednesday, $31 on both Thursday and Friday and $36 on Saturday with a $1 discount per pit pass if paying by cash.
The PPV: Can’t make your way to Little Rock, AR, for this prestigious event? Once again 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 Ninth Annual Short Track Nationals Trade Show & Midway. Fans, drivers & crews will have the opportunity to visit vendor displays, which opens at noon on Wednesday and then at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The deadline for guaranteed vendor space is Monday, October 21. Inquiries regarding vendor space should be directed to dssm93@msn.com.
For more information regarding the 26th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires, contact I-30 Speedway at 501-455-4567.