scra: 2002 season preview

LAKEWOOD, CA, JANUARY 6, 2001 - Sprint Car Racing Association President Ron Shuman recently released the 2002 SCRA schedule. The first of 45 days of scheduled racing will kickoff in Southern California on February 9th at the Perris Auto Speedway with the first ever scheduled daytime race. Still considered the "Home Track" for the SCRA, Perris has a total of 21 dates slated for 2002.

For the first time in club history, Manzanita Speedway will not host the season opener. Manzy will, however, host the SCRA seven times starting with the two-day Gary Sokola Classic on March 15th & 16th. As it stands now, the Phoenix, Arizona track will crown the 2002 Non-Winged World Champion (NWWC) of sprint car racing on November 9th after three days of competition during the 35th Annual Western World Championships.

The NWWC series, which runs in conjunction with a portion of the SCRA season, will begin August 6th in Oskaloosa, Iowa at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Driver Terry McCarl will promote the event which will pay a record $30,000 to the winner. Two days later, the tour will make it's first ever stop in Ohio with a race at Fremont Speedway. The following day, the SCRA/NWWC series goes to Pennsylvania for the first of three straight nights of racing. The PA swing starts with a Friday night show at the famed Williams Grove Speedway before heading to Lincoln Speedway and Grandview Speedway. These historical visits mark the first time since the 1993 season that the "Wingless Warriors" of the West Coast have been scheduled to race at these three tracks.

Another race will likely be added before the Midwest portion of the NWWC tour concludes in Kansas City, Kansas at Lakeside Speedway on August 16th & 17th. The K.C. finale will be worth $10,000 to the winner. After a brief hibernation, the NWWC series will resume at Perris with the running of the 7th Annual Oval Nationals (Oct. 31st, Nov. 1st & 2nd). Last year's Oval Nationals again paid $25,000 to the winner.

Ventura Raceway, which hosted the very first SCRA race, will once again take its place on the SCRA schedule. In all, Ventura has three dates and their SCRA season will conclude on October 26th after the running of the popular Wagsdash. Another mainstay on the SCRA schedule, Santa Maria Speedway also has three dates for the upcoming season (June 15th, July 20th, & Sept. 21st).

Bakersfield Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway return to the SCRA schedule for the first time since the 1997 season. Bakersfield has two dates (June 1st & Sept. 7th) and Las Vegas returns with a single show on June 29th. Tulare's Thunderbowl Raceway also has a single SCRA date on July 6th. The season will again conclude at Perris with the running of the 7th Annual Jack Kindoll Classic on November 16th.

-scra-