2006 ASCS winds down

[rebelracewriter]

Huge 2006 Season for ASCS Winds Down

 

 

Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (October 18, 2006) – When the American Sprint Car Series took its first steps in 1992, few could have envisioned the extent to which Emmett Hahn's creation would grow in the ensuing years.

 

 

 

From those formative stages, the ASCS has evolved into the nation's most prominent Sprint Car sanctioning body, establishing new benchmarks of every form and fashion in 2006.

 

 

 

This year, the ASCS has already completed 156 feature events at 84 different tracks throughout 26 different states and Canada, with 74 different drivers recording at least one feature win along the way. A total of 843 different drivers have competed in at least one ASCS-sanctioned event in 2006. The final ASCS event of the 2006 season will be the World Short Track Championships at Lowe's Motor Speedway for the Heintz Performance ASCS Southern Tour on November 3-4.

 

 

 

Throw in the O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless series, the wingless 410-ci cousin to the ASCS, and add another nine races under the ASCS umbrella with seven different drivers picking off wins in the TNT events. Only Missouri's Jesse Hockett enjoyed victory lane in both winged ASCS action and TNT Bandits competition.

 

 

 

Louisiana's Jason Johnson was the most frequent ASCS victory lane visitor in 2006, scoring 17 overall wins including nine in National Tour competition and eight in a variety of Regional events.

 

 

 

Fort Worth's Kevin Ramey was next on the overall ASCS win list with seven triumphs, including three National wins, with ASCS Patriot Sprint Group champion Chuck Hebing also posting seven wins. Northern Plains champion Chuck Swenson scored a half dozen feature wins, with Travis Rilat,(Tx.) Nick Smith, Brian Brown and Sprints on Dirt Champion Kevin Mackey each notching a handful of wins.

 

 

 

While Gary Wright(Hooks, Tx.) captured his third O'Reilly ASCS National championship, eight Regional champions have been crowned as well, including Sam Hafertepe, Jr.(Sunnyvale, Tx.) (Sooner), Gary Watson (Beaumont, Tx.) (Gulf South), Patrick Bourke (Rocky Mountain), Toby Chapman (Midwest), Ken Mackey (Sprints on Dirt), Chuck Hebing (Patriot Sprint Group), Chuck Swenson (Northern Plains) and Darren Stewart (Mid-South).

 

 

 

Coby Adams holds a slim 13 points lead over Johnny Bridges heading into the November 3-4 ASCS Southern Tour season championship finale at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

 

 

 

With 165 features logged into the record books, including nine TNT events, another 15 events were washed out by rain over the course of the 2006 season, leading to a total of 180 scheduled nights of ASCS-sanctioned action. And 2007 promises to be even bigger.

 

 

 

With the National Tour set to double the number of events next year, along with the addition of the Coastal and Mid-Atlantic Regions, the ASCS will sanction well over 225 events in 2007.