Series news 2009-07-02

ASCS on the Verge of More Weekend Fireworks!

TULSA, Okla. (July 2, 2009) -- Coming off a weekend that featured nine different winners in ten events throughout the country in which 228 different drivers took part in at least one card, another action-packed slate of American Sprint Car Series competition is on tap for this Fourth of July Holiday weekend.

Headlining this weekend's action is the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters much anticipated return to Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, AR, for the Rock 'N Roll 50, with another half dozen Regional events on the slate as well.

Reigning Lucas Oil Sprint Car champion Jason Johnson of Eunice, LA, topped last weekend's headliner by besting a 53-car field in the Third Annual Daniel McMillin Memorial at Missouri's Lake Ozark Speedway, moving into a tie for the Lucas Oil points lead with event runner-up Shane Stewart in the process.

Gary Wright extended his streak of Lucas Oil ASCS National events competed in to 203 with a sixth-place finish, keeping the lead pair of Johnson and Stewart within ten points while closing in on Toby Brown's record of 212 National events competed-in a row.

Missouri shoes Jesse Hockett and Randy Martin both made their 50th career Lucas Oil ASCS National feature starts Saturday night at Lake Ozark Speedway.

In other action, Dustin Daggett was the only driver to double up last weekend by sweeping the pair of ASCS Sprints on Dirt events in Michigan at Mt. Pleasant and I-96, extending his SOD season win total to seven triumphs in nine starts.

Eric Baldaccini, who has logged the most nights of ASCS competition thus far in 2009 with 24 starts, bested the Lone Star Region at Boyd Raceway on Friday night for his second win of the season after a Gulf South win in May with Kevin Ramey adding his second Lone Star score of the season atop Cowtown Speedway's high-banked clay oval the next night.

The ASCS Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regions squared off at Electric City Speedway in Great Falls, MT, with Jared Ridge snaring his first career series win over Friday night's 29-car field and then Roger Crockett besting Saturday's 30-car field for his second Northwest win of the year.

Chad Humston moved atop the Midwest point charts by topping Friday's Midwest vs. Northern Plains Showdown at South Dakota's I-90 Speedway, Charles Davis, Jr., made it two-for-two in the Discount Tire Co. ASCS Challenge with a Saturday night Canyon Region win at Tucson's USA Raceway and Jared Zimbardi broke back into Patriots victory lane with a late move at Stateline Speedway in Jamestown, NY, on Saturday night.

This weekend marks the second of five consecutive weekends of competition for the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters. Saturday's scheduled 50-lap feature atop the 0x00bc-mile Riverside Speedway gumbo clay oval is believed to be the first in series history. Local ace A.G. Rains took victory honors in the series last visit to West Memphis in September of 2005.

The Midwest Region gets an early jump on the Holiday weekend with a Thursday night outing at Nebraska Raceway Park's I-80 Speedway before moving on to McCool Junction's Junction Motor Speedway on Friday night.

The ASCS Gulf South Region tackles the 5/16-mile Texana Raceway Park in Edna, TX, on Friday and Saturday, the Patriots and Sprints on Dirt collide at Canada's Ohsweken Speedway for the Northern Summer Nationals on Friday night and the Southwest Region fires back to action at Tucson's USA Raceway on Saturday night.

After last weekend's monster weekend of competition, a total of 645 drivers have competed in at least one ASCS event thus far in 2009 with 46 different winners in 75 feature events.

The Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters carries an average of 55.6 cars per event into this weekend's Rock 'N Roll 50.

-credit: ascs