Lucas Oil ASCS – A New Look at I-30 on Saturday Night!

[NickHolt]

Lucas Oil ASCS – A New Look at I-30 on Saturday Night!

 

by Lonnie Wheatley

 

TULSA, Okla. (April 14, 2009) – It will be a new look American Sprint Car Series when the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters invades Little Rock's high-banked, ¼-mile clay oval this Saturday night.

 

True, ASCS has frequented the cozy confines of I-30 Speedway for many a year now. In fact, the track hosted the first officially dubbed ASCS National Tour event back in 1993.

 

But, with few exceptions, the thousands of fans that flock to I-30 Speedway haven't seen the latest rendition of the premier ASCS series, the one bolstered by Lucas Oil and K&N Filters.

 

This year's Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Series will feature a loaded field of entries battling it out for Saturday night's $6,000-to-win share, with $500 just to start the feature.

 

Saturday night's card atop the I-30 clay also marks Round Three in the $60,000 Lucas Oil ASCS Championship points chase, with $250,000 to be distributed among the series top 15 in final points at season's end.

 

With 30-plus drivers announcing title run intentions, Shane Stewart and Jason Johnson broke out of the gates with wins at the Devil's Bowl Speedway Spring Nationals on March 20-21. The following weekend's scheduled double at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway fell victim to winter weather.

 

While Stewart holds a slight two-point lead over defending series champion Johnson, four-time ASCS king Gary Wright is just six points out of the lead in third.

 

Wright's son-in-law Nick Smith, who took top ASCS honors at I-30 Speedway last April, enters Saturday's card tied for fifth in points with three-time series points runner-up Danny Wood.

 

Others escaping the Devil's Bowl opener among the top ten in points include Paul McMahan, Brian Brown, Eric Baldaccini and Michael Dupuy.

 

Saturday's racing action goes green at 7:30 p.m.

 

The Series:

Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters

 

When & Where:

Saturday night, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. – I-30 Speedway

 

Track Information:

I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR) – ¼-mile high-banked clay oval located seven miles southwest of Little Rock off I-30 Exit 126 (Alexander Rd.), then south to frontage road, then east. For more information, contact the track at 501-455-4567.

 

Lucas Oil ASCS I-30 Speedway History:

A staple of the ASCS National Tour, I-30 Speedway hosted the first official ASCS National Tour event on May 15, 1993, with Memphis shoe Mike Ward dropping in on victory lane. Since that time, 16 different drivers have posted at least one ASCS National Tour feature win in the 41 events contested at I-30.

 

Gary Wright has enjoyed the most success at I-30 with a dozen triumphs, including a Speedweek and Short Track Nationals preliminary victory last year. Tim Crawley snapped a series victory drought with an STN prelim win, Tony Bruce, Jr., posted his first I-30 triumph with a $15,000 STN victory and Nick Smith topped last April's series stop at I-30 Speedway.

 

I-30 Speedway ASCS National winners include: Gary Wright 12, Tim Crawley 4, Garry Lee Maier 4, Terry Gray 3, Mike Ward 3, Jason Johnson 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Travis Rilat 2, Shane Stewart 2, Tony Bruce, Jr. 1, Pete Butler 1, Ricky Logan 1, Jason Meyers 1, Eric Sandage 1, Tim Shaffer 1, Nick Smith 1.

 

I-30 Speedway Lucas Oil ASCS Race-by-Race Winners: Mike Ward (5/15/93), Tim Crawley (6/24/93), Terry Gray (7/17/93), Garry Lee Maier (6/18/94), Garry Lee Maier (8/13/94), Terry Gray (5/20/95), Ricky Logan (6/24/95), Gary Wright (7/15/95), Mike Ward (5/18/96), Garry Lee Maier (6/15/96), Garry Lee Maier (8/3/96), Mike Ward (5/17/97), Gary Wright (6/14/97), Wayne Johnson (9/26/97), Wayne Johnson (9/27/97), Gary Wright (5/16/98), Terry Gray (6/13/98), Eric Sandage (8/25/01), Pete Butler (6/22/02), Gary Wright (7/13/02), Gary Wright (9/21/02), Gary Wright (6/21/03), Tim Crawley (7/12/03), Shane Stewart (9/6/03), Gary Wright (6/5/04), Travis Rilat (7/10/04), Gary Wright (8/28/04), Tim Crawley (6/11/05), Gary Wright (7/9/05), Travis Rilat (10/1/05), Jason Johnson (7/29/06), Jason Johnson (4/28/07), Gary Wright (7/14/07), Shane Stewart (10/25/07), Tim Shaffer (10/26/07), Jason Meyers (10/27/07), Nick Smith (4/26/08), Gary Wright (7/12/08), Gary Wright (10/23/08), Tim Crawley (10/24/08), Tony Bruce, Jr. (10/25/08).

 

Current Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters Points:

 

Top Twenty: 1. Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 296, 2. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 294, 3. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 290, 4. Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM) 282, 5. (tie) Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) and Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 260, 7. Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TX) 258, 8. (tie) Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) and Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 248, 10. Michael Dupuy (Amite, LA) 240, 11. Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 238, 12. Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 232, 13. Mike Chadd (Lincoln, NE) 226, 14. Dustin Morgan (Collinsville, OK) 222, 15. Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 215, 16. Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK) 211, 17. (tie) Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) and Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 209, 19. (tie) Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) and Trevor Lewis (Upper Black Eddy, PA) 205.

 

Brodix Rookie of the Year Points (Top Five): 1. Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN) 258, 2. Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 248, 3. Dustin Morgan (Collinsville, OK) 222, 4. Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 209, 5. Trevor Lewis (Upper Black Eddy, PA) 205.

 

2009 Lucas Oil ASCS Feature Winners:

 

Jason Johnson 1, Shane Stewart 1.

 

Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters – A Look Ahead:

May 1 – Tri-City Speedway (Granite City, IL)

May 23-24 – Jetmore Motorplex (Jetmore, KS)

 

Lucas Oil ASCS on the Web:

 

Official results, championship point updates, photos and race notes will be available at www.ascsracing.com.

 

The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters is currently slated for approximately 35 nights of racing action at 17 different tracks throughout the nation, with the country's top Sprint Car drivers set to battle it out for their share of the $250,000 points fund.

 

The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.

 

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.