Lonnie Wheatley
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (February 18, 2016) – The time has come to put the finishing touches on travel plans to Little Rock, Arkansas, for next month’s 28th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires atop the ¼-mile I-30 Speedway clay oval.
Among those items to check off the list for the March 10-12 event is tickets. And you can now get your tickets in advance online by visiting the Short Track Nationals page at http://www.i-30speedway.com/shorttracknationals.html.
Advance tickets for all three nights of the $15,000-to-win Sprint Car spectacular are just $60. Individual night tickets may be purchased as well for $20 on Thursday only, $20 on Friday only and $28 on Saturday only.
The 28th edition of the Short Track Nationals is already shaping up to be among the most exciting in the history of the prestigious event with an exciting format that ensures edge-of-your-seat racing action every time the cars hit the track over the course of three nights after Wednesday’s practice session.
All cars will compete during each night, with the familiar heat race and qualifying race format in effect for the Thursday and Friday qualifying events.
While the top three from each qualifying night will lock into Saturday’s $15,000-to-win and $2,000-to-start STN championship feature event, points will be accumulated in each race on Thursday and Friday to set the balance of the Saturday lineups.
Saturday will feature heat races seeded according to accumulated points with an invert of six in each heat race. With more points tallied in Saturday heat race, eight more drivers will lock into the main event with point totals setting the lineups for Saturday’s twin “C” and “B” Mains that will set the field.
Defending STN champion Christopher Bell is among those already setting their sights on the $15,000 winner’s share at I-30 Speedway on March 10-12.
Entry forms are available at http://www.i-30speedway.com/flyers/STNFlyer_March2016.pdf. Entries are just $150 if postmarked by March 4, with entries after that $250.
The original attempt at the 28th Short Track Nationals in October was reduced from four nights to just one due to inclement weather. That card on the final Thursday of October did more than live up to billing though, with Aaron Reutzel rallying from seven rows deep to make a late move on the high side around Jac Haudenschild for the win. Reutzel and Haudenschild earned provisional starting positions in the March 12 STN finale by virtue of finishing first and second.
Bell became the 17th different winner of the event in October of 2014 and youngest thus far on a star-studded list that includes Sammy Swindell, Paul McMahan, Brad Sweet, Tony Bruce, Jr., Jason Meyers, Jason Johnson, Tim Montgomery, Gary Wright, Jason Sides, Mike Ward, Tim Crawley, Wayne Johnson, Pete Butler, Terry Gray, John Gerloff and Steve Kinser.
For more information regarding I-30 Speedway’s Short Track Nationals, check at www.i-30speedway.com or call the track at 501-455-4567.
Detailed 28th Annual STN Format Information is as follows:
Thursday & Friday – All Cars Eligible to Run Each Night
Bandit (Heat & Qualifier Format)
Heat Races (8 laps) – 7-9 cars per heat, passing/finishing points in effect, lined up according to pill draw. Top 40 in passing points to Four Qualifying Races, balance to two “C” Mains.
Four Qualifying Races (10 laps) – 10 cars each, lined up according to heat race finishing/passing points, invert of six in each race (24 total invert). Passing/finishing points again in effect.
Top 14 in combined finishing/passing points from heat races and qualifying races to “A” Main; balance to 2 12-lap “B” Mains. Top 3 from each “C” Main advance to respective “B” Main with top 3 from each “B” Main advancing to “A” Main.
Top 3 finishers in each “A” Main lock into Saturday’s STN Championship feature event.
Points for each race to be awarded as follows:
Heats – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Qualifiers – 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
“C” Main Non-Transfers (4th on back) – 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
“B” Main Non-Transfers (4-16) – 50, 48, 46, 44, 42, 40, 38, 36, 34, 32, 30, 28, 26
“A” Main (4th on back) – 100, 95, 91, 88, 85, 82, 79, 76, 73, 70, 68, 66, 64, 62, 60, 58, 56
Saturday
Six lock-ins to the Dash that determines front three rows of STN Championship Feature.
Balance of field seeded into heat races (8-10 cars per heat) based upon total points from Thursday and Friday qualifying nights (any ties in points broken by cumulative passing point totals from Thursday and Friday heats and qualifiers). Invert of six. Thus, top point earner not locked-in starts sixth in Saturday Heat 1, second point earner starts sixth in Saturday Heat 2, third point earner starts sixth in Saturday Heat 3, etc.
Points awarded in Saturday heats – 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10
Points added to Thursday & Friday point totals to determine feature lineups. Top 8 in total points (lock-ins not included in point totals) to positions 7-14 of STN championship feature. Those 9-32 in points after Saturday heats to two “B” Mains, 33rd on back to two “C” Mains. Top 4 advance from each “C” Main to fill out the two 16-car “B” Mains. Top 3 advance from each “B” Main to set 20-car STN Championship feature grid.
Provisionals added as needed.