Levi Jones named Non-Winged Sprint Car DoY

LEVI JONES NAMED NORTH AMERICAN NON-WINGED SPRINT CAR POLL "DRIVER OF THE YEAR" FOR 2005

KNOXVILLE, IOWA (December 1, 2005) - Levi Jones of Olney, Illinois, was voted the 2005 "Driver of the Year" by the North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll voting panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers. The United States Auto Club (USAC) point champion earned eight (8) of the fifteen (15) first place ballots cast in the year-end poll. His car owner, Scott Benic, also received the 2005 "Team of the Year" award for the first time.

Those drivers ranked second through fifth, respectively, are USAC-California Racing Association (CRA) point champion Damion Gardner of California, Dave Darland of Indiana, 2001 "Driver of the Year" Cory Kruseman of California, and defending "Driver of the Year" Jay Drake of California. Rounding out the 'top ten' are Rip Williams, Brandon "Bud" Kaeding, Josh Wise, Dickie Gaines, and Shane Cottle, respectively.

In addition to Jones, others receiving first place votes were Gardner (three), Darland (three), and Kruseman. Pat Sullivan of Sprint Car & Midget magazine received the North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll's "Media Member of the Year" award. Emmett Hahn, founder of the Sprint Bandits in its first year as a non-winged sprint car sanction, received the "Promoter of the Year" honors. Brady Short of Indiana received the "Rookie of the Year" title for 2005 from the North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll voting panel. And for his exciting sprint car performances this year, Damion Gardner of California, also known as 'the Demon', received the "Wild Card Award". Keith Kunz of Bullet Chassis received the "Builder/Manufacturer of the Year" honors for the first time.

The North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll is an annual awards program of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation, Inc., of Knoxville, Iowa. All awards will be distributed in the spring of 2006 at tracks throughout North America.

FINAL 2005 NORTH AMERICAN NON-WINGED SPRINT CAR POLL

rank, driver (first place votes), hometown, state, points
1., Levi Jones (8), Olney, IL, 1050
2., Damion Gardner (3), Concord, CA, 750
3., Dave Darland (3), Walton, IN, 710
4., Cory Kruseman (1), Ventura, CA, 470
5., Jay Drake, Val Verde, CA, 240
6., Rip Williams, Yorba Linda, CA, 232
7., Brandon "Bud" Kaeding, Campbell, CA, 180
8., Josh Wise, Riverside, CA, 132
9., Dickie Gaines, Mitchell, IN, 113
10., Shane Cottle, Kokomo, IN, 97
11., Jerry Coons, Jr., Tucson, AZ, 87
12., Mat Neely, Robinson, IL, 71
13., Mike Kirby, Torrance, CA, 55
14., Brandon Petty, Alexandria, IN, 50
15., Mike Spencer, Temecula, CA, 43
16., Darren Hagen, Riverside, CA, 29
17., Rob Chaney, Wooster, OH, 25
18., John Wolfe, Parker City, IN, 20
19., Kody Swanson, Kingsburg, CA, 19
20., Jeremy Sherman, Phoenix, AZ, 17
21., Jon Stanbrough, Jamestown, IN, 16
22., Rickie Gaunt, Torrance, CA, 11
23., Kevin Briscoe, Mitchell, IN, 10
24., Chad Boespflug, Hanford, CA, 8
25., Charles Davis, Jr., Buckeye, AZ, 6
tie, Eric Gordon, Indianapolis, IN, 6