I-30 Spwy.(Little Rock) Short Track Nationals info

[rebelracewriter]

I-30 Speedway's Short Track Nationals Countdown is On!

 

Â

 

Lonnie Wheatley, LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (September 21, 2006) With the 2006 racing season in the home stretch, it can mean only one thing: the nation's top Sprint Car drivers are already making plans for the annual journey to Little Rock's I-30 Speedway for the premier 360-ci Sprint Car event in the nation, The Short Track Nationals.

 

 

And the countdown is on, as the 19th Annual Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires is just over a month away, with preliminary qualifying nights on October 26 and 27 leading into the Saturday night, October 28, STN championship finale.

 

 

While bragging rights for topping the nation's most competitive event, or even making the Saturday night finale for that matter, are priceless, the payout for the STN is a lucrative one as well.

 

 

This year's edition of The Short Track Nationals pays out more than $62,000 in the Saturday night finale alone, with $15,000 earmarked for the winner and a hefty $1,900 just to start championship feature event.

 

 

Last year, Fredericktown, Missouri's Tim Montgomery battled past young gun Kevin Swindell to become the twelfth different winner of the fall classic in Little Rock, besting a talent-laden field of 91 drivers from throughout the country, with Daryn Pittman, Jason Johnson and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., chasing Montgomery and Swindell to the checkered flag.

 

 

Montgomery joined a prestigious list of Short Track Nationals champions, which includes Gary Wright, the only driver to win the STN on more than one occasion since the event became the nation's premier showcase in 1993. Wright scored his first STN victory in 1995, then followed up with a second win in 1999. Wright extended his total of STN triumphs to four with back-to-back victory drives in 2003 and 2004.

 

 

Other past winners include Paul McMahan (2002), Jason Sides (2001), Mike Ward (2000), Tim Crawley (1998), Wayne Johnson (1997), Pete Butler (1996), Terry Gray (1994) and John Gerloff (1993).

 

Steve Kinser (1988, '89 and '91) and Sammy Swindell (1990) claimed early renditions of the Short Track Nationals when it was a 410-ci event. The 1992 finale was rained out.

 

The popular Sprint Bandits format of heat races and qualifying races will be in place once again this year. The top 20 in combined passing points from both heat and qualifying race action will qualify for the preliminary features, with the top three "A" Feature finishers on each night locked into Saturday night's "Pack's Dash for Cash", which will determine their starting position in the $15,000-to-win finale.

 

Aside from the six drivers locked into the finale, all other drivers will battle through a full set of heats, qualifiers and last chance races to acquire one of the 14 remaining starting positions for the October 28 STN main event.

 

ASCS rules will be in effect, with mufflers mandatory (Schoenfeld 112535-no gutting). The weight rule of 1,475 pounds with the driver will be enforced, while the Hoosier medium or hard spec tire must be used on the right rear with any Hoosier tire utilized on the left rear.

 

 

Drivers planning on competing in the 19th Annual Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires are encouraged to submit their entries as soon as possible. Entry fee is $150 if postmarked by October 20. After that date, the entry fee is $250. Entry forms may be obtained at http://www.i-30speedway.com/driverentry.htm or by calling the track at 501-455-4567.