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Short Track Nationals Begins Today – A Look at the Field!

Lonnie Wheatley, LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (October 22, 2014) – The time has come. Four nights of action atop Little Rock’s high-banked, ¼-mile clay oval gets under way with tonight’s Second Annual Short Track Nationals Open.

And then it really picks up, with the 27th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires officially getting under way with the first of two qualifying nights on Thursday, building up to Saturday night’s $15,000-to-win, $2,500-to-start STN championship finale.

While Wednesday night’s $2,000-to-win event is open to all comers, the Thursday and Friday qualifying events will split the STN field in half each night to set the stage for Saturday’s slate of championship events that includes the introduction of Saturday Night STN Showdowns along with the Dash, “C” and “B” Mains before the 40-lap finale.

With 71 entries already submitted and more on the way, here is a look at this year’s Short Track Nationals field…

Past Champs: A handful of past winners are entered with the most recent among the bunch being Liberal, KS, native Tony Bruce, Jr., who went back-to-back in 2008 and 2009. TBJ has only made the finale twice in ten tries and won them both. So, if he can make it to his first finale in five years, win number three is a definite possibility.

Jason Johnson is the only other driver to win in this millennium with a triumph in 2006 and a victory this weekend would remarkably be his first ASCS National triumph of the year.

Winners from the 1990’s yet still among event favorites include Tim Crawley (1998), Wayne Johnson (1997) and Terry Gray (1994).

So Close…: With five past winners among the current entries, another four drivers have missed the top step of the podium by just one spot including Christopher Bell, Kevin Swindell, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., and Brian Brown.

Bell has taken runner-up honors over each of the past two years in his only STN outings with Hafertepe settling for second in 2010. The best of Brown’s three top-four runs was his runner-up finish in 2006, with “Blackjack” trying to make his first finale since 2010.

A runner-up in 2005, Kevin Swindell teams with three-time car-owner winner Donnie Cooper after spinning from lead contention in last year’s finale.

STN Championship Feature Experience: The three 90’s winners of STN are the elder statesmen of the event, easily racking up the most Saturday night championship finale feature starts with Crawley leading the way at 18 in front of Gray with 15 and Wayne Johnson with 14. It drops all the way off to seven starts for Jason Johnson next on the list.

Crawley had a stretch of five consecutive starts interrupted last year while Wayne Johnson shoots for his first championship start since 2011 and Gray tries for his first finale since 2008.

Washington’s Seth Bergman brings the longest active streak of Saturday night STN feature starts among current entrants into the event by making the grade over each of the three past years. Thirty of the current entrants have reached the finale on at least one occasion.

Career STN feature starts: Tim Crawley 18, Terry Gray 15, Wayne Johnson 14, Jason Johnson 7, A.G. Rains 6, Marshall Skinner 6, Jeff Swindell 6, Brian Brown 5, Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 4, Jerrod Hull 4, Kevin Swindell 4, Ernie Ainsworth 3, Seth Bergman 3, Cody Gardner 3, Johnny Gardner 3, Derek Hagar 3, Christopher Bell 2, Tony Bruce, Jr. 2, Johnny Herrera 2, Ray Allen Kulhanek 2, Zach Pringle 2, Joe Wood, Jr. 2, Matt Covington 1, Claud Estes 1, Brandon Hanks 1, Sean McClelland 1, Anthony Nicholson 1, Aaron Reutzel 1, Stevie Smith 1, Channin Tankersley 1.

Batting 1.000: Only three drivers among the current entries have successfully raced into the STN championship finale in every attempt. Kevin Swindell leads the way by going four-for-four with Christopher Bell two-for-two. “Posse” shoe Stevie Smith posted a sixth-place run in his only previous STN outing in 2011.

Habitual Winners: A handful of the current entries have reached double-digits in the win column in 2014. Making a habit of winning is a good thing, especially with $15,000 on the line. Leading the way is 19-year-old Christopher Bell with 22 triumphs in an assortment of Midgets, winged and non-wing Sprint Car and even an asphalt late model.

The pride of Marion, AR, is next with Derek Hagar racking up 15 wins, with Missouri’s Brian Brown at an even dozen wins. I-30 master Tim Crawley has eleven wins while Washington shoe Seth Bergman has parked it ten times.

The Rookies: At least 15 STN rookies are set to battle it out this weekend with a number of likely contenders including Knoxville shoe Dusty Zomer (aboard the Buffalo Wild Wings car that David Gravel drove into the STN feature last year), Canadian Mitch Brown (second in both Southern Ontario Sprints and Ohsweken points), A.J. Bruns (third in MOWA 410 points), Morgan Turpen (the lady racer ranked second in USCS with three wins), Ryan Bowers (second in Upper Midwest points), Dane Lorenc (seventh in Patriot points) and the brothers Morton (Chase and Kade from Oklahoma-based OCRS two-barrel action) among others. Toss in Cali hotshoe Shane Golobic reportedly in the Bobby Sparks entry yet not officially entered, and the rookie race should be a wild one.

The rookies: Matthew Bauldwin, Ryan Bowers, Mitch Brown, A.J. Bruns, Brandon Hinkle, Kevin Hinkle, Jason Keith, Dane Lorenc, Jeremy Middleton, Chance Morton, Kade Morton, Lance Moss, Morgan Turpen, Dale Wester, Dusty Zomer.

The States: With 71 entries thus far from 18 states ranging from New York to Washington as well as the Canadian province of Ontario, host state Arkansas leads the way with 16 entries followed by Oklahoma with 12 and then Tennessee with nine.

Each state (and province) is represented thus far as follows: Arkansas 16, Oklahoma 12, Tennessee 9, Texas 8, Missouri 4, South Dakota 3, Louisiana 2, Mississippi 2, New York 2, North Carolina 2, Ontario CAN 2, Washington 2, Illinois 1, Indiana 1, Kansas 1, Minnesota 1, New Mexico 1, Ohio 1, Pennsylvania 1.

The current list of qualifying night assignments is as follows, with late entries assigned as needed.

Thursday

#0m Jake Martens (Fairview, OK)
#01 Kevin Swindell (Germantown, TN)
#1m Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK)
#3h Brandon Hanks (Burlison, TN)
#4 Stevie Smith (New Oxford, PA)
#5 Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD)
#7m Chance Morton (Coweta, OK)
#8 Alex Sewell (Broken Arrow, OK)
#9$ Kyle Clark (Tulsa, OK)
#10b Mitch Brown (Brantford, ONT)
#10m Morgan Turpen (Cordova, TN)
#12d Dalton Davis (Rossville, TN)
#14z Zach Pringle (Benton, AR)
#15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX)
#15J Jeremy Middleton (N. Little Rock, AR)
#17 Josh Baughman (Odessa, TX)
#17g Cody Gardner (Benton, AR)
#17T Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX)
#19 Klint Angelette (Thibodaux, LA)
#21 Kevin Hinkle (Cabot, AR)
#21b Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO)
#21T Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe, TX)
#23 Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA)
#23m Lance Moss (Cherryville, NC)
#32b Taylor Tidmore (Hernando, MS)
#33h Mark Huddleston (Genoa, AR)
#43 Matthew Bauldwin (Little Rock, AR)
#49 Shawn Dancer (Delphos, OH)
#74e Claud Estes (Godley, TX)
#87b Jason Barney (Brewerton, NY)
#87r Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX)
#88 Tim Crawley (Benton, AR)
#91a Ernie Ainsworth (Bartlett, TN)
#94 Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN)
#99h Jerrod Hull (Sikeston, MO)
#99J Blake Jenkins (Alexander, AR)
#199 Ryan Bowers (Ham Lake, MN)

Friday

#0 Glenn Styres (Ohsweken, ONT)
#00 Dane Lorenc (Bowmansville, NY)
#03 Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK)
#2 A.J. Bruns (Lincoln, IL)
#3a A.G. Rains (West Memphis, AR)
#4J Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA)
#5r Jerod Roller (Olive Branch, MS)
#8m Kade Morton (Coweta, OK)
#9jr Derek Hagar (Marion, AR)
#9p Parker Price-Miller (Kokomo, IN)
#10g Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN)
#12w Dale Wester (Ovilla, TX)
#14k Kyle Bellm (Nixa, MO)
#14m Jordon Mallett (Greenbrier, AR)
#16 Anthony Nicholson Friday (Bartlett, TN)
#17b Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD)
#17w Harli White (Lindsey, OK)
#18 Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS)
#21bx Brandon Hinkle (Cabot, AR)
#26m Marshall Skinner (West Memphis, AR)
#28 Jason Keith (Fredericktown, MO)
#31b Christopher Bell (Norman, OK)
#31g Johnny Gardner (Benton, AR)
#38 Rick Pringle (Benton, AR)
#40 Howard Moore (Memphis, TN)
#41 Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA)
#45x Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM)
#47 Eric Riggins, Jr. (Charlotte, NC)
#52 Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)
#58 Gary Floyd (San Angelo, TX)
#77x Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)
#82z Dusty Zomer (Brandon, SD)
#95 Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)
#X Charlie Louden (Camden, AR)

The pre-entry discount of $150 expired with entries filed or postmarked by October 14, with post-entries for the 27th 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/stn2014.pdf.

The Pertinent Info:

The What: 27th 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 23-25, 2014. $15,000 to win the STN finale on October 25 with $2,500 to start the STN championship feature. Race time is 7:30 p.m. each night. Rain date is October 30, October 31 & November 1. The $2,000 to win and $200 to start Second Annual Short Track Nationals Open kicks off all the action on Wednesday, October 22, at 7:30 p.m.

The Format: 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 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.

The top three from each qualifying 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.

The balance of the field will redraw on Saturday to set lineups for eight (8) “Saturday Night STN Showdowns”. With double passing points in effect, points will be added to qualifying night point totals (heats, qualifying races and features) with the top eight (8) in total points advancing to STN feature starting positions 7-14.

The next 36 in total points will go to three “B” Mains with the remainder of the field to three “C” Mains. Top finishers from “C” Mains will move on to “B” Main action, with the top two from each “B” Main moving on to the STN finale.

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 qualify 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: Sammy Swindell (2013, 2011 and 1990), Paul McMahan (2012 and 2002), 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 20, 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 $15 on Wednesday, $20 on Thursday and Friday and $28 on Saturday.

Children's tickets will be available at the event only for just $3 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and then $6 on Saturday with a $1 cash discount per ticket.

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 $25 on Wednesday, $30 on both Thursday and Friday and $35 on Saturday.

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 Tenth 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 20. Inquiries regarding vendor space should be directed to dssm93@msn.com.

For more information regarding the 27th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires, contact I-30 Speedway at 501-455-4567 or check online at http://www.i-30speedway.com/shorttracknationals.html.

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