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Christopher Bell Runs Away With ASCS Southwest Copper Classic Opener
Posted by: | CommentsChristopher Bell Runs Away With ASCS Southwest Copper Classic Opener
QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (November 24, 2017) Victorious at the 77th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix in USAC National Midget competition just 24-hours prior to strapping into the Berryman Motorsports No. 31 at Queen Creek's Arizona Speedway with the ASCS Southwest Region, Oklahoma's Christopher Bell added another win to his weekend with a $2,000 score to open up the second annual Copper Classic.
Earning the pole in Friday's preliminary A-Feature, the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion slid to the lead ahead of Billy Chester as the pair dashed into the opening turns. Working to a comfortable advantage just as traffic came into play on Lap 4, the advantage over Chester faded quickly but a caution on Lap 6 ended the run for the No. 2b as Nick Parker rolled to a stop.
Pulling away once more, the race paused on Lap 13 when Rick Ziehl and J.T. Imperial crashed in turn-two. Ziehl smashed through the wall that lines the track. Both drivers were unharmed.
Back underway, Bell again ran away as the race for second began going slide for slide between Billy Chester and Colton Hardy with the No. 2b able to hold as California's Justin Sanders came into the mix as well, dropping Hardy back to fourth.
Back into traffic with five laps to run, Bell enjoyed a straightaway advantage and continued up to build on it all the way to the drop of the checkered flag despite the engine starting to spew fluid on his legs in the closing laps.
Billy Chester crossed second 4.929 seconds behind Bell with Colby Copeland sneaking through the field in the final laps to take the final podium step. Justin Sanders in fourth is the final driver locked into Saturday's A-Main and was followed to the line by Colton Hardy, who is one stop close to sewing up his first career ASCS Southwest Regional Championship.
From 14th, California's Willie Croft crossed sixth with Giovanni Scelzi hard charging from 17th to seventh with brother, Dominic Scelzi in eighth. Josh Shipley was scored ninth with Washington's Chase Goetz making up the top-ten.
The second annual Copper Classic at Arizona Speedway continues on Saturday, November 25 with things getting underway at 6:30 P.M. (MST). More information can be found online at http://www.arizonaspeedway.net. For fans unable to attend, live PPV will be available at http://www.speedshifttv.com.
For continued updates on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the seven regional tours that make up the over 150 races across the ASCS Nation in 2017, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
Race Results:
ASCS Southwest Region
Arizona Speedway - Queen Creek, Ariz.
2nd annual Copper Classic
Friday, November 24, 2017
Car Count: 29
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 2B-Billy Chester III, [4]; 2. 5V-Dominic Scelzi, [2]; 3. 9R-Reece Goetz, [3]; 4. 29W-Willie Croft, [5]; 5. 1-Giovanni Scelzi, [6]; 6. 77-Colt Treharn, [1]; 7. 71H-Corey Hurley, [7]; 8. (DNS) 99-James Aragon,
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 31-Christopher Bell, [4]; 2. 74-Colton Hardy, [6]; 3. 115-Nick Parker, [3]; 4. 131-Royal Jones, [5]; 5. 14-Cody Sickles, [7]; 6. (DNF) 57-Steve Stone, [1]; 7. (DNF) 83T-Tanner Carrick, [2]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 91C-Chase Goetz, [5]; 2. 01-Josh Shipley, [3]; 3. 8-Justin Sanders, [6]; 4. 90-Lance Norick, [4]; 5. 21-Stevie Sussex III, [1]; 6. 33-Steve Cushman, [2]; 7. (DNF) 7-Mark Clark, [7]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 5C-Colby Copeland, [3]; 2. 91-Dave Darland, [1]; 3. 75X-J.T. Imperial, [5]; 4. 88N-D.J. Netto, [6]; 5. 22-Jesse Baker, [2]; 6. 20Z-Rick Ziehl, [4]; 7. (DNF) 29-Darrell Sickles, [7]
B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 1-Giovanni Scelzi, [2]; 2. 20Z-Rick Ziehl, [5]; 3. 90-Lance Norick, [1]; 4. 83T-Tanner Carrick, [10]; 5. 22-Jesse Baker, [3]; 6. 77-Colt Treharn, [9]; 7. 21-Stevie Sussex III, [4]; 8. 71H-Corey Hurley, [7]; 9. 33-Steve Cushman, [6]; 10. (DNF) 7-Mark Clark, [8]; (DNS) 57-Steve Stone,
A Feature (25 Laps) : 1. 31-Christopher Bell, [1]; 2. 2B-Billy Chester III, [2]; 3. 5C-Colby Copeland, [6]; 4. 8-Justin Sanders, [5]; 5. 74-Colton Hardy, [4]; 6. 29W-Willie Croft, [14]; 7. 1-Giovanni Scelzi, [17]; 8. 5V-Dominic Scelzi, [9]; 9. 01-Josh Shipley, [3]; 10. 91C-Chase Goetz, [7]; 11. 9R-Reece Goetz, [12]; 12. 83T-Tanner Carrick, [20]; 13. 131-Royal Jones, [15]; 14. 91-Dave Darland, [10]; 15. 22-Jesse Baker, [21]; 16. 90-Lance Norick, [19]; 17. (DNF) 75X-J.T. Imperial, [8]; 18. (DNF) 20Z-Rick Ziehl, [18]; 19. (DNF) 88N-D.J. Netto, [11]; 20. (DNF) 14-Cody Sickles, [16]; 21. (DNF) 115-Nick Parker, [13]; 22. (DNF) 77-Colt Treharn, [22]
SUNSHINE FRIES BACON IN VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT SHOWDOWN
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
SUNSHINE FRIES BACON IN VENTURA USAC WEST COAST SPRINT SHOWDOWN
'Sunshine' Tyler Courtney captured the victory in Thursday's 'Turkey Night Grand Prix' USAC West Coast / VRA Sprint Car feature at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway. (Rich Forman Photo)
Ventura, California.....November 23, 2017 - Tyler Courtney worked his way around previous night's winner Brady Bacon with 11 laps remaining to score Thursday's 77th "Turkey Night Grand Prix" USAC West Coast Sprint Car "Special Event" victory at Ventura Raceway co-sanctioned by VRA.
Courtney has now notched wins in five different USAC divisions in 2017 with triumphs in the Silver Crown, AMSOIL National Sprint, National Midget, CRA Sprint and West Coast Sprint divisions.
Behind Courtney at the checkered of the 30-lap feature were Bacon, who led 16 laps before Courtney got by. Chase Briscoe was third ahead of early leader Klint Simpson with Brody Roa rounding out the top-five.
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USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES SPECIAL EVENT RESULTS: November 23, 2017 - Ventura, California - Ventura Raceway - "77th Turkey Night Grand Prix" / "Battle of the Beach Race #4" - co-sanctioned with VRA
EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Carson Macedo (#73 Ford), 2. Jake Swanson (#92 Sertich), 3. Shawn Arriaga (#56J Arriaga), 4. Matt Mitchell (#12 Dale), 5. Brandon Wiley (#33B Team 33), 6. Dave Darland #21K Kruseman), 7. Koen Shaw (#88K Shaw), 8. Albert Pombo (#35 Pombo), 9. Guy Woodward (#24 Woodward) 10. Tyler Wiliams (#5K Kruseman), 11. Austin Ervine (#51 AJ), 12. Dalton Hill (#81D Double D). NT
BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SECOND SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Chase Johnson (#24X Johnson) , 2. Michael Pickens (#81 Watt), 3. Justyn Cox (#31X Cox), 4. Slater Helt (#14 Watt), 5. Kaleb Montgomery (#3K Montgomery), 6. Jeremy Ellertson (#98 Ellertson), 7. Stewart Friesen (#81X Watt), 8. Brent Owens (#71 Martin), 9. Tom Hendricks (#14X Hendricks), 10. Reed Broschart (#93 B&B), 11. Ryan Timmons (#29T Timmons), 12. Sterling Cling (#2K Kruseman), 13. Charlie Butcher (#96 B&B). NT
PYROTECT RACING CELLS THIRD SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Brody Roa (#91BR), 2. Max Adams (#5M Adams), 3. Cory Elliott (#11E Elliott), 4. Tanner Carrick (#83T Carrick), 5. Rick Hendrix (#15 Hendrix), 6. Bruce Douglass (#13 Davis), 7. Steve Hix (#57 Hix), 8. Damian Lopez (#4K Kruseman), 9. Cody Majors (#29 Steele), 10. Geoffrey Strole (#09S Strole), 11. Geoff Ensign (#3F), 12. Kyle Smith (#55 Smith), 13. Matt Rossi (#02 Rossi). NT
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Tyler Courtney (#81m Watt), 2. Brady Bacon (#63 Dooling/Hayward), 3. Chase Briscoe (#5 Briscoe), 4. Klint Simpson (#101 Edison), 5. Brody Roa, 6. Carson Macedo, 7. Colby Copeland (#24c Copeland), 8. Jake Swanson, 9. Michael Pickens, 10. Stevie Sussex (#34 Grau), 11. Tristan Guardino (#15T Guardino), 12. Max Adams, 13. Shawn Arriaga, 14. Cory Elliott, 15. Matt Mitchell, 16. Chase Johnson, 17. Tanner Carrick, 18. Slater Helt, 19. Troy Rutherford (#11 Rutherford), 20. Justyn Cox. NT
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**Rutherford flipped on lap 23 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-3 Simpson, Laps 4-19 Bacon, Laps 20-30 Courtney.
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Brody Roa (11th to 5th)
BELL OUTDUELS LARSON IN “TURKEY NIGHT” THRILLER AT VENTURA
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
BELL OUTDUELS LARSON IN "TURKEY NIGHT" THRILLER AT VENTURA
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Ventura, California....November 23, 2017 - Thanksgiving is the day each year when we take a little extra time to realize how fortunate we are.
For those in attendance at Thursday's "Turkey Night Grand Prix," the realization quickly came to how thankful we are to have witnessed Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson duking it out against each other for 98 laps in USAC Midgets at Ventura Raceway.
The three official lead changes listed in the box score aren't indicative of the back-and-forth battle these two titans waged with sliders being exchanged like currency on both ends of the racetrack.
On the 54th lap, Bell ultimately made the winning pass on Larson with a daring outside move on the front straightaway, but would have to endure the relentless persistence of Larson all the way down to turn one of the final lap when he stifled Larson's slider before it even had time to develop.
Christopher Bell celebrates his victory in Thursday night's 77th 'Turkey Night Grand Prix' at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway. (Rich Forman Photo)
Bell, of Norman, Oklahoma, joined the ranks of two-time "Turkey Night" winners just six days after wrapping up his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title at Homestead (Fla.) Speedway. Though he and Larson have reached success in the NASCAR ranks in recent years, their home lies in the dirt tracks, just like old times when they were regulars on the USAC trail.
"Oh my god, it's so much fun," Bell exclaimed. "I just told Kyle that if he would've beat me, I would've been, maybe not just as happy, but still happy because it was just that much fun. That race was one of the most fun races I've run in a long time."
Straight from the outset, polesitter Larson had the upper hand as inside second row starter Bell followed in his wake on the bottom.
As Larson ringed around the berm lining the bottom of the racing surface, Bell became the first in line to venture to the top on the 12thlap, using a big bite off turn four to pull to a dead-heat at the line alongside Larson before nudging into the lead by a sliver into the first turn.
Bell never wavered in his decision to go top-shelf and it would pay off one lap later when he slipped by Larson off turn four to secure the lead.
"I could tell that the top was going to be good," Bell theorized. "Watching the sprint car feature, we saw that it got pretty good. They tilled the bottom and I could tell it was going to be really good at the beginning. Once it started going away, I tried the top and it was right there."
On lap 40, Brayton Lynch got sideways in a shuffle for position at the exit of turn four. Facing oncoming traffic, Chad Boat met front-bumper to front-bumper with Lynch, melding the noses of each car together as Boat attempted to peel away to no avail. Courtney Crone and newly-crowned five-time USAC Light Up the World Beverages Western States Midget champ Ronnie Gardner were also involved, but would restart.
When racing resumed on lap 52, Larson went to the bottom and slid his teammate Bell to snare the lead. One lap later, Bell returned the favor and slithered by Larson with just inches to spare as he tunneled between Larson's right-side wheels and the front straightaway wall. Larson attacked again into turn one with a slider, but the motion was denied, and Bell cleared away the Tryptophan after the wake-up call and sprinted back into the lead.
'Oh my god, it's so much fun. I just told Kyle (Larson) that if he would've beat me, I would've been, maybe not just as happy, but still happy because it was just that much fun. That race was one of the most fun races I've run in a long time.' - Christopher Bell - (Rich Forman Photo)
Following a lap 57 tangle between the two most recent USAC National Midget feature winners - Brady Bacon and series champion Spencer Bayston - Larson harassed Bell, putting it all on the line in the prestigious race in an attempt to become just the third driver to win the event three times. On lap 66, Larson got on the bike, lifting the left side wheels as he ripped the edge of the turn three cushion in his tireless pursuit.
With three-quarters of the race in the rearview mirror, it was time to turn up the wick. The bottom became just a distant memory as the two were now inside the barrel, riding the wave in turns three and four above the cushion. On lap 80, Larson slid Bell into turn one momentarily. Bell retaliated by crossing underneath Larson off the second turn to recapture the point. In turn three, the second verse played out the same as the first as Larson slid to the lead and Bell, so Allen Iverson-esque, used a killer crossover to bolt back to the front.
"The majority of drivers understand you have to be good at the end of the race to win the race," Bell said. "At the beginning, you're just cruising and making sure you make It to the end of the race. That's the biggest thing. Kyle and I were both rolling around there about quarter-throttle at the beginning, trying to save our tires and kill some laps. It worked out and we were racing our butts off at the end."
Larson, the five-time NASCAR Monster Energy Cup winner, set up another Hail Mary that was denied as Bell wheelied away off the top of turn two to remain in front. Tyler Courtney, the USAC West Coast/VRA Sprint Car feature winner earlier in the night, slowed to a stop in turn one to bring out the yellow and provide a breather for both the drivers and fans alike.
On the ensuing restart, Bell jetted away from Larson and, with ten to go, held a lead of over one second with a full nest of lappers resting in the distance. Just prior to lapped traffic possibly becoming a factor with a mere four laps to go, Holly Shelton and Bacon performed a synchronized spin between turns one and two that brought out the final yellow and one more stanza that Bell had to deal with Larson.
"The track was so technical," Bell explained. "It was all about hitting your marks and minimizing mistakes because you weren't going to make a mistake-free lap tonight. You just had to make sure when you made a mistake that you could recover from it. Once I got going on those green flag runs, I could get my momentum built up and make good, competitive laps. But after the yellow flags, it was tough to pick your rhythm back up. I knew I was a sitting duck their leading on the restarts. On the final one, Kyle got one last bomb on me and I was able to get him back."
Larson's first lob of a bomb was a success in turn one on the lap 95 restart as he scraped across the surface to snag the race lead from Bell. Bell counter-punched and ripped away the lead back away from Larson with a slider into turn three. Entering turn one with two laps remaining, wheels banged and nerf bars clanged as Larson shot to the lead past Bell once again.
As a uncertain as a game of tug-of-war teetering on a see-saw, Bell launched like a missile on a hellbound train to slide across the nose of Larson and into the lead between turns three and four to capture the lead for good. Larson threw a haymaker entering turn three coming to the white flag, pulling side-by-side with Bell at the exit of four where it momentarily became three-wide with Shane Golobic arriving seemingly out of the clear blue sky to mount a challenge for the lead.
Larson tried once more on the final lap, but Bell savagely, and wisely, took a lower entrance into turn one, thus preventing a final pull of the pin from Larson. Bell carried on with a 0.193 second lead across the finish line as Larson blasted off the top of the final corner to nip Golobic by a wheel at the line for the runner-up spot. Past "Turkey Night" winner Tanner Thorson was fourth and Don Basile "Rookie of the Race" Zeb Wise was fifth in his second-career USAC National Midget start.
Bell was 4 for 7 in USAC National Midget feature appearances in 2017 for a .571 batting average. His 21st career series victory tied him with Steve Cannon, Jimmy Caruthers, Rex Easton and Ken Schrader for 27th all-time.
The fourth-straight "Turkey Night" win for the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team began with Bell's victory in 2014. Firsts are always special in any circumstance, but this one has even more meaning for the 22-year-old, 2013 USAC National Midget titlist.
"I definitely had to work harder for this one. This one was even more fun and more special."
Contingency award winners Thursday night at Ventura Raceway were Kyle Larson (ProSource/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier), Kevin Thomas, Jr. (Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers 1st Qualifier Winner & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Chad Boat (Competition Suspension, Inc./Brown & Miller Racing Solutions 2nd Qualifier Winner), Zeb Wise (Chalk Stix/Keizer Aluminum Wheels/Saldana Racing Products/Indy Race Parts Last Chance Winner) and Ryan Robinson (KSE Racing Products/Esslinger Engineering Hard Charger).
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USAC NATIONAL & LIGHT UP THE WORLD BEVERAGES WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: November 23, 2017 - Ventura Raceway - Ventura, California - 77th "Turkey Night Grand Prix"
PROSOURCE/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: (Top-12 locked into the Feature) 1. Kyle Larson, 1, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.888; 2. Jake Swanson, 73, Ford-11.909; 3. Christopher Bell, 21, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.933; 4. Shane Golobic, 17w, Clauson-Marshall/Wood-12.060; 5. Justin Grant, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.081; 6. Brayton Lynch, 1K, RKR-12.119; 7. Logan Seavey, 4A, RAMS-12.200; 8. Spencer Bayston, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.210; 9. Tanner Thorson, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.238; 10. Michael Faccinto, 9D, Dodenhoff-12.249; 11. Brady Bacon, 76m, FMR-12.266; 12. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Klaasmeyer-12.269; 13. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 25, Petry/Goff-12.274; 14. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-12.276; 15. Brad Sweet, 63x, Dooling/Hayward-12.282; 16. Michael Pickens, 25x, Rodela-12.290; 17. Holly Shelton, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.326; 18. Courtney Crone, 25, Rodela-12.342; 19. Zeb Wise, 39, Clauson/Marshall-12.391; 20. Chase Briscoe, 5, Briscoe-12.393; 21. Carson Macedo, 73x, Ford-12.460; 22. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-12.471; 23. Frankie Guerrini, 63, Guerrini-12.490; 24. Cory Elliott, 11E, Elliott-12.505; 25. Clayton Ruston, 7R, CR-12.512; 26. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-12.520; 27. Tyler Nelson, 47, Mason-12.535; 28. Dustin Golobic, 17G, Wood-12.593; 29. Danny Stratton, 98, Blondel-12.605; 30. David Prickett, 22Q, Neverlift-12.608; 31. Cody Swanson, 17, Swanson-12.680; 32. Ryan Robinson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.696; 33. Robert Dalby, 4D, Dalby-12.702; 34. Dave Darland, 73T, Ford-12.729; 35. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.745; 36. Colton Heath, 99, Heath-12.802; 37. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.820; 38. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-12.847; 39. Daniel Robinson, 56, Fifty6x-12.872; 40. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols-12.878; 41. Carson Garrett, 15G, Garrett-12.882; 42. Tyler Edwards, 2JD, Shenanigans/Neverlift-12.894; 43. Mack DeMan, 9E, Dodenhoff-12.924; 44. Jake Vermeer, 87JR, Vermeer-12.938; 45. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-12.972; 46. Kyle Beilman, 31, Beilman-13.020; 47. Kyle Smith, 55, Smith-13.113; 48. Bryan Drollinger, 71x, Drollinger-13.385; 49. Matt Mitchell, 75, Miller-15.658; 50. Robby Josett, 2, Josett-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST QUALIFIER: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the Feature, 5-12 transfer to Last Chance Race) 1. Thomas, 2. Wise, 3. Macedo, 4. Sweet, 5. Shelton, 6. C. Swanson, 7. Stratton, 8. Courtney, 9. Ruston, 10. Dalby, 11. Carrick, 12. Nelson, 13. D. Robinson, 14. Smith, 15. DeMan, 16. Garrett, 17. Hazelton, 18. Guerrini. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI)/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SECOND QUALIFIER: (12 laps, top-4 transfer to the Feature, 5-12 transfer to Last Chance) 1. Boat, 2. Pickens, 3. Crone, 4. Elliott, 5. Gardner, 6. Briscoe, 7. Cofer, 8. D. Golobic, 9. R. Robinson, 10. Edwards, 11. Pankratz, 12. Heath, 13. Nichols, 14. Prickett, 15. Darland, 16. Beilman, 17. Vermeer, 18. Drollinger. NT
CHALK STIX/KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS/INDY RACE PARTS LAST CHANCE RACE: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Shelton, 2. Gardner, 3. Courtney, 4. Briscoe, 5. R. Robinson, 6. Edwards, 7. Heath, 8. Ruston, 9. Dalby, 10. Carrick, 11. Cofer, 12. Pankratz, 13. Stratton, 14. Nelson, 15. D. Golobic, 16. C. Swanson. NT
FEATURE: (98 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Christopher Bell (3), 2. Kyle Larson (1), 3. Shane Golobic (4), 4. Tanner Thorson (9), 5. Zeb Wise (15), 6. Carson Macedo (17), 7. Justin Grant (5), 8. Ryan Robinson (25), 9. Brad Sweet (19), 10. Michael Faccinto (10), 11. Tanner Carrick (27), 12. Brady Bacon (11), 13. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (13), 14. Holly Shelton (21), 15. Logan Seavey (7), 16. Spencer Bayston (8), 17. David Prickett (29), 18. Ronnie Gardner (22), 19. Jake Swanson (2), 20. Courtney Crone (18), 21. Chase Briscoe (24), 22. Tyler Courtney (23), 23. Chad Boat (14), 24. Brayton Lynch (6), 25. Tucker Klaasmeyer (12), 26. Tyler Edwards (26), 27. Cory Elliott (20), 28. Frankie Guerrini (28), 29. Michael Pickens (16). NT
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**C. Swanson flipped during the Last Chance Race.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-12 Larson, Laps 13-52 Bell, Lap 53 Larson, Lap 54-98 Bell.
DON BASILE ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Zeb Wise
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/ESSLINGER ENGINEERING HARD CHARGER: Ryan Robinson (25th to 8th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Kevin Thomas, Jr.
FINAL USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Bayston-1472, 2-S. Golobic-1416, 3-Bacon-1413, 4-Thorson-1392, 5-Grant-1316, 6-Courtney-1290, 7-Boat-1154, 8-Shelton-1055, 9-Carrick-995, 10-Jerry Coons, Jr.-849.
FINAL USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Gardner-810, 2-Guerrini-693, 3-Prickett-665, 4-Elliott-632, 5-Dalby-580, 6-Crone-562, 7-Faccinto-547. 8-Pankratz-427, 9-Shannon McQueen-424, 10-S. Golobic-416.
HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS
Posted by: | CommentsHamlin, PA - Hamlin Speedway Honors 2017 Champions And Place Winners At 12th Annual Awards Party Celebration
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
The 2017 Hamlin Speedway racing season officially came to a close on Saturday evening as a packed house of more than 225 people gathered together to celebrate the Hamlin racing season and to honor all of the 2017 seasonal speedway champions and place winners in a special evening of friendship and camaraderie. The S&S Speedway complex, located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania provided the backdrop for a gracious and a fun filled evening in which the Smith Family completed their twelfth successful season of promoting the Hamlin facility, a closed speedway they took over the reigns of in 2006. The S&S Speedway Complex, a great place to party and have fun, allowed the young racers a great opportunity to go head to head with their rivals on the tricky D-shaped speedway and enjoy some great fun as well as take part in the awards ceremony.
The popular multi-division speedway, located in the heart of the Pocono Mountains, enjoyed an 18 event season in 2017 season with great results as the driving stars at the speedway rose to the occasion to shine brightly for the great racing fans who came out to witness the thrill a second excitement....Hamlin Style! The fabulous seven division weekly show proved to be over the top in racing excitement as more and more driving stars etched their names into the Hamlin Speedway record books. The thrill and excitement to compete at Hamlin brought many new faces and talented drivers to the forefront at the speedway including many drivers who transitioned from one division to another for the 2017 season. The solid family oriented atmosphere at Hamlin has placed the speedway in a league of it's own for small division racing with the Smith Family making a commitment to make their thirteenth season in 2018 an even greater experience.
After a fun-filled three hour afternoon period of allowing the drivers to trade paint and laughs on the S&S Speedway racetrack, a happy hour followed and a sumptuous buffet meal from Cook Corners was enjoyed by everyone. Banquet Emcee and Speedway Announcer Steve Pados took to the stage to announce the award festivities. First and foremost, the success of any speedway promotion is determined by a loyal and hard working track staff and Pados was on-point to recognize the great work staff at Hamlin for their total work ethic and dedication to the speedway. Promoters Randy and Denise Smith, Allesson Rode, Olivia Mease, Becky Otto, Ron and Lori Brown, Russ Furry, Sara Silfee and the Concession Staff of Michelle Thoman, Trina Bechtold, Alex Thoman, Kira Serfass and Lisa Mills, Dale Kober, Billy Shepps, Shane Potonsky, Dave Bechtold, Jill Brink, Linda Macomber, Sam and Scott Neary, Tim Krysiuk, Barry Boyd and Steve Pados and the ERT Staff headed up by Tom Rode, Kyle Rode, Joe & Brandy Brown, Shawn Eckhoff, Andrew Frailey, Eric Freldman, Ryan Mathieson and Will Vitulli were recognized and thanked for helping make the Hamlin Speedway the most diversified racing facility in the country today. A special thanks to Don Andreas for supplying the sound equipment for the event. Each division was introduced by Pados with each individual recognized for his performance and awards for the champions and place winners included Champion Jackets, Trophies, Gift Certificates, Cash Awards and Photography.
The "Stars of Tomorrow" from the talented Junior Slingshot division were honored first with Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania talent "Lil Miss" Shelby McLaughlin claiming the track title at Hamlin in a landslide performance. Place winners included Accord Speedway champion "The Cold Spring Kid" Jake Mason, John Kendall, Tyler Banks, Adam Buchel, Abby Yates, James Benz, Joey Kalafut, "Junior Excitement" JJ Rice, James Hendricks and James Costlow. 31 Junior Slingshot drivers were in competition during the season that produced eight different feature event winners.
The next division honored was the JPA Masonry Rookie Wingless 600 Sprints and claiming the title in 2017 was Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania driving talent "The Big Show" Joey Amantea. Amantea made the successful transition out of the quarter midget ranks to claim five wins on his way to the title. Additional award winners for the fast growing division included Ryan Lacoe, Paul Richards Jr, Tony Parlanti, Tyler Lindsay, Carmen Leggio Sr, Macy Litchauer, Noah Zielinski, Chloe Andreas, Justin Mills and Damon Paul. A total of 55 drivers made up the Rookie 600 Sprint roster with twelve different feature winners in 2017.
"The Oxford Express" Dale Kober captured the Super Slinger track championship by a runaway margin on the basis of a nine win season. The highly competitive Super Slingshot division was filled with jam-packed action throughout as 23 drivers and four different feature winners provided for a great season in the over 35 years of age division. Mike Taylor, Jim Conroy, Wes Hearn were additional place winners honored for their efforts.
A new champion emerged in the Wingless 270 Sprint division as "Deuce" Glenn Macomber utilized a six win season to go on and capture the title. Twenty drivers were in competition with five different feature winners during the season. Additional place winners included the runner-up Alex Reinsmith and Connecticut's Kyle Ferrucci.
A new champion was crowned for the JPA Masonry Wingless 600 Sprint division as the long travel paid off for Taunton, Massachusetts hot-shoe "The Travelin Man" Mick D'Agostino. The two wins and over the top consistency paid huge dividends for the new champion. Former champion, "The Electric Man" Colin White scored runner-up honors. Additional place winners included "The Gingerbread Man" Damon Paul, "The Nickel Man" Joel Smith, 2016 Champion "Bad" Chad Sandt, "The Little Ice Man" Jacob Balliet, "The Mack Attack" Mack Brink and Justin Mills. The season had 71 competitors and eleven different winners.
"The Captain" Cody Kline captured the All Star Slingshot championship at Hamlin, making him a two time champion at the speedway. Kline also won in 2011 and used his first ever win at Hamlin to capture the big Hamlin 100 in July. The spectacular racing division saw 64 drivers test their skills at the speedway with twelve drivers finding sweet success in victory lane. Additional place winners included runner-up "The Tornado" Tyler Peet, Jared Silfee, "The Bloomingburg Bullet" Taylor Mills, "The Oxford Express" Dale Kober, Austin Silfee, Tess Horvath, Samantha Muller, Amanda Buchel, "Magic Shoes" Mike McLaughlin, Mike Taylor, Wes Hearn, and Emily Fleming.
The Hampton RV and Trailer sponsored Stage One Modifieds completed their sixth season at the speedway and produced some memorable feature events throughout the season. Headed up by Northeast Modified legend "Rapid" Richie Smith, the sharp looking and quick throttled race cars were loaded with driving talent and the racers put it all on the speedway clay when in competition. Former Track Champion "The Nickel Man" Joel Smith put all of the pieces together and carved out an eight feature win season to capture the track title. A rookie in the division, "The Jersey Force" Anthony Recchio" captured runner-up honors. Cody Motto was another newcomer to the division and finished a solid third place in the final standings. "Mighty" Mike Samony, John Mirabelli, Evan Civick, Jasper Ziegafuse, Joel Price and Mark Corna also earned awards.
A great raffle period closed the show with many prizes available and many people walking out of the arena with their arms filled with some great prizes.
Keep in touch with all of the latest updates of the Hamlin Speedway by visiting their website often. All of the news regarding the new 2018 racing season and some special events will follow in a timely manner. The Smith Family would like to thank all of the drivers, owners, staff and the loyal band of race fans who have helped make the Hamlin Speedway the finest well-rounded small car division racing facility in the country.
Drivers please make sure you support the Eleventh Annual Dirt Track Heroes Show that will be taking place from March 4th to the 10th, 2018 at the Phillipsburg Mall located in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The event provides a great opportunity to show your race car and to profile yourself and your sponsors to the more than 77,000 visitors who attended the show in 2017. Hamlin Speedway announcer Steve Pados and his brother Ed, along with Bobby Stull, Justin Beltrame and Alex Greenzweig will once again host the nightly shows at the event.
Please support the many great sponsors who assist in working and sponsoring the season long events at the speedway. S&S Speedways, JPA Masonry, Tilcon, Yankowski Enterprises, Ron Brown Hauling and RockAuto.com are all part of the advertising family at the speedway and we graciously thank them for their support.
Hamlin Speedway is seeking additional marketing sponsors to join the speedway team for the 2018 racing season. For more information, contact Steve Pados at: 484-784-7756 or through email at: steveswp@ptd.net or Denise Smith at S&S Speedways at: 570-420-5500 or at: www.SSSpeedways.com or on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SSSpeedways/ or www.HamlinSpeed.com or facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/HamlinSpeed
For photos of the great racing action at Hamlin, please contact Tim Krysiuk at: https://strictlydirtphotography.smugmug.com/
Visit us often for a great night of racing action as.........................
The Hamlin Speedway Is The "Pearl" Of The Poconos
BACON A BLUR EN ROUTE TO BAKERSFIELD MIDGET TRIUMPH
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
BACON A BLUR EN ROUTE TO BAKERSFIELD MIDGET TRIUMPH
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Bakersfield, California....November 18, 2017 - With one of the busiest racing schedules of any driver in the United States, Brady Bacon annually competes in excess of 100 events a year on tracks from coast-to-coast.
In Saturday night's "November Classic," it might've appeared the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native had been an experienced master of Bakersfield Speedway. But, wouldn't you know it? Saturday night was the first time Bacon had even laid eyes on the track.
Bacon, originally lining up seventh on the grid, worked the outside line to climb to the lead on lap seven. It was a lead he would never relinquish as he picked up his third USAC National Midget victory of the year in his FMR Racing/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions - Black Watch Farms/Beast/Toyota in the National series' first stop at Bakersfield in 17 years.
"At the start, I was on the inside and I saw the outside got a pretty good run," Bacon observed. "The bottom was kind of glazed over from the moisture in the air or something. I knew it would eventually move back down there, but I figured I'd try to make the moves while I could. I went to the top and it worked out. We were the first ones in the front to do it and had a clear lane to the front."
The beginning was tumultuous as Light Up the World Beverages USAC Western States Midget regular Michael Faccinto stepped out to the lead from the outside of the front row on the initial start. Meanwhile, pole sitter Michael Pickens slotted into second. While riding the high side in turn three, contact was made between he and Holly Shelton. As Pickens sat sideways in the middle of the track, he was slammed into by Shannon McQueen, who had nowhere to go. Frankie Guerrini and Dustin Golobic also became involved, but would restart along with Pickens. McQueen headed back to the hauler earlier than she had planned with a hurt racecar.
The ensuing restart would only get back on track for a pair of laps before fifth-running Shelton got the back end loose in turn three. As she slid sideways, Zeb Wise, making his USAC debut, careened in while Ryan Robinson took evasive action to avoid the melee and climbed the outside wall before coming to a stop. Shelton's night was finished, but Wise and Robinson would restart.
Once the race got back on the rails, Faccinto led the way on the bottom with series point leader Spencer Bayston just behind. Glancing behind Bayston, one could see Bacon running a slightly higher line than those he trailed, which took him to second around the outside of Bayston off turn two on the fourth lap. Bayston scrapped back, but Bacon had enough of a head of steam off turns two and four to clamp down on the top spot.
As Bacon and Bayston tussled for the runner-up position, both simultaneously chipped away at Faccinto's lead. Quickly, it became a three-car race for the lead with the top-three appearing in Blue Angels formation exiting turn two. On lap seven, Bacon surged ahead of Faccinto midway down the back straightaway to secure the lead and instantly constructed a one-second gap over Faccinto and Bayston. With an open highway comfort cruise lying in front of him, Bacon was free to run his race as he pleased.
"I ran the middle in (turns) one and two a lot," Bacon explained. "I diamonded three and four and came off as straight as I could. It was really heavy, so it was easy to get pointed in the wrong direction. I just thought it was going to be too far around the top and my car was pretty good on the bottom and in the middle, so I stuck with it. I started feeling a little less grip in one and two, but I moved around and pedaled it a little more."
With Bacon pulling away, Bayston fought Faccinto for second throughout the next four laps until clearing him on lap 12. Bayston would receive a reprieve two laps later when new five-time USAC Western States Midget champion Ronnie Gardner slid sideways to a stop on the front straightaway to bring out the caution. With the substantial lead erased, Bacon would have to get back on the saddle once again. On the first try, Bacon stumbled and Bayston was able to hang in contention. Yet, when Cory Elliott slowed to bring out the yellow moments later, Bacon would get a reprieve and another shot at that restart.
When that chance arrived on lap 14 restart version two, Bacon left Bayston on his own and instantly spurted away to a ten car-length lead that wouldn't get any closer despite Bacon having to fight through traffic in the final five laps. Bacon would race away to his sixth career series victory over two seconds ahead of Bayston, Tanner Thorson, Tyler Courtney and Justin Grant.
In an odd circumstance, following the checkered flag, Courtney found himself on his side in Tommy Tipover fashion in turn two. He was uninjured.
Despite finishing one spot behind Bacon at the finish line at Bakersfield, Bayston extended his USAC National Midget point lead by one to 67 in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/IWX - Curb Records - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota. All the Lebanon, Indiana driver has left to do to clinch his first title is to simply sign-in at this Thursday's season-finale at Ventura (Calif.) Raceway's "Turkey Night Grand Prix."
Bayston's teammate, Thorson, of Minden, Nevada set the tone by recording the ProSource/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifying time before going on to finish third in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota.
Two USAC National Midget track records were broken at Bakersfield. Jimmy Christian's 8-lap mark set in 2000 was surpassed by Shane Golobic in heat race two. The late Kevin Doty's 12-lap record from 1998 was passed by Brady Bacon during the semi-feature.
Contingency award winners Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway include Tanner Thorson (ProSource/Woodland Auto Display Fast Qualifier), Chad Boat (Simpson Race Products/Extreme Mufflers 1st Heat Winner), Shane Golobic (Competition Suspension, Inc./Brown & Miller Racing Solutions 2nd Heat Winner & KSE Racing Products/Esslinger Engineering Hard Charger), Zeb Wise (Chalk Stix/Keizer Aluminum Wheels/Saldana Racing Products 3rd Heat Winner), David Prickett (Indy Race Parts/Pyrotect Racing Cells 4th Heat Winner), Brady Bacon (Competition Suspension, Inc. Semi Winner) and Courtney Crone (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).
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USAC NATIONAL & LIGHT UP THE WORLD BEVERAGES WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE RESULTS: November 18, 2017 - Bakersfield Speedway - Bakersfield California - "November Classic"
PROSOURCE/WOODLAND AUTO DISPLAY QUALIFYING: 1. Tanner Thorson, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.849; 2. Spencer Bayston, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.912; 3. Holly Shelton, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.933; 4. Brady Bacon, 76m, FMR-12.973; 5. Ryan Robinson, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.035; 6. Alex Schutte, 28, Schutte/McElwee-13.037; 7. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-13.043; 8. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.059; 9. Michael Faccinto, 9D, Dodenhoff-13.103; 10. Michael Pickens, 25x, Rodela-13.103; 11. D.J. Netto, 88N, Netto-13.181; 12. Courtney Crone, 25, Rodela-13.192; 13. Frankie Guerrini, 63, Guerrini-13.219; 14. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Six8-13.225; 15. Justin Grant, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.230; 16. Cory Elliott, 11E, Elliott-13.253; 17. Maria Cofer, 57, Cofer-13.272; 18. Shane Golobic, 17w, Clauson-Marshall/Wood-13.311; 19. Zeb Wise, 39, Clauson/Marshall-13.344; 20. David Prickett, 22Q, Neverlift-13.357; 21. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-13.368; 22. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.376; 23. Matt Mitchell, 75, Miller-13.400; 24. Dustin Golobic, 17G, Wood-13.460; 25. Mason Daniel, 33m, Daniel-13.559; 26. Terry Nichols, 1p, Nichols-13.587; 27. Robert Dalby, 4D, Dalby-13.591; 28. Scott Pierovich, 35, Pierovich-13.676; 29. Kyle Beilman, 31, Beilman-14.193; 30. Ron Hazelton, 15, Hazelton-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/EXTREME MUFFLERS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Boat, 2. Faccinto, 3. Guerrini, 4. Thorson, 5. Robinson, 6. Daniel, 7. Cofer, 8. Beilman. 1:45.13
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI)/BROWN & MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. S. Golobic, 2. Pickens, 3. Bayston, 4. Carrick, 5. Gardner, 6. Schutte, 7. Nichols, 8. Hazelton. 1:44.14 (New Track Record)
CHALK STIX/KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS/SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Wise, 2. Mitchell, 3. Grant, 4. Shelton, 5. McQueen, 6. Dalby, 7. Netto. 1:44.78
INDY RACE PARTS/PYROTECT RACING CELLS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. Prickett, 2. D. Golobic, 3. Courtney, 4. Elliott, 5. Bacon, 6. Crone, 7. Pierovich. 1:46.51
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Bacon, 2. Robinson, 3. Schutte, 4. McQueen, 5. Crone, 6. Gardner, 7. Netto, 8. Dalby, 9. Daniel, 10. Pierovich, 11. Cofer, 12. Nichols, 13. Hazelton, 14. Beilman. 2:35.69 (New Track Record)
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Brady Bacon (7), 2. Spencer Bayston (5), 3. Tanner Thorson (6), 4. Tyler Courtney (3), 5. Justin Grant (14), 6. Shane Golobic (16), 7. Ryan Robinson (8), 8. Alex Schutte (9), 9. Michael Faccinto (2), 10. Tanner Carrick (20), 11. Frankie Guerrini (12), 12. Chad Boat (19), 13. Courtney Crone (11), 14. Matt Mitchell (21), 15. David Prickett (18), 16. Ronnie Gardner (13), 17. Michael Pickens (1), 18. Cory Elliott (15), 19. Zeb Wise (17), 20. Robert Dalby (23), 21. Mason Daniel (24), 22. Holly Shelton (4), 23. Dustin Golobic (22), 24. Shannon McQueen (10). NT
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**Courtney flipped after the checkered flag.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Faccinto, Laps 7-30 Bacon.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/ESSLINGER ENGINEERING HARD CHARGER: Shane Golobic (16th to 6th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Courtney Crone
NEW USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Bayston-1441, 2-Bacon-1374, 3-S. Golobic-1349, 4-Thorson-1331, 5-Courtney-1267, 6-Grant-1262, 7-Boat-1131, 8-Shelton-1020, 9-Carrick-954, 10-Jerry Coons, Jr.-849.
NEW USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET POINTS: 1-Gardner-783, 2-Guerrini-670, 3-Prickett-636, 4-Elliott-609, 5-Dalby-570, 6-Crone-539, 7-Faccinto-504. 8-McQueen-424, 9-Randi Pankratz-417, 10-Daniel-393.
NEXT USAC NATIONAL & WESTERN STATES MIDGET RACE: November 23 - Ventura Raceway - Ventura, California - 77th "Turkey Night Grand Prix"
KYLE LARSON LOOKS TO GO BACK-TO-BACK AT TURKEY NIGHT NOV. 23RD
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
KYLE LARSON LOOKS TO GO BACK-TO-BACK AT TURKEY NIGHT NOV. 23RD
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Ventura, California.........The number 1 is an apt number for Kyle Larson to carry on his USAC Midget's tail tank in this year's 77th running of the "Turkey Night Grand Prix." After all, number 1 is the finishing result we've become accustomed to in practically every racecar we've seen him strap into, whether it's Monday, Friday, Sunday or any day of the week that ends in the letter "y" for that matter.
Twice over the last five seasons late in the month of November, Thursday night has been kind to Yung Money's racing career. More on the point, a Thanksgiving night spent at a racetrack has served the Elk Grove, California native well.
As Larson steps into the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports No. 1 on Thanksgiving night 2017, Nov. 23rd, at California's Ventura Raceway, the 2012 and 2016 race winner has an opportunity to be included on a few exclusive lists that not even some of the best USAC and AAA Midget drivers of their era can boast about.
With another win in the TNGP featuring USAC's National and Light Up the World Beverages Western States Midgets, Larson would become just the third driver to win at least three Turkey Night midget races in his career. It's something that's only been accomplished twice over the 76 runnings of the prestigious event, first by Ron Shuman, whose incomparable record at Turkey Night includes eight wins in a 15-year span between 1979 and 1993. Billy Boat was the last to do so when he won his third in three years in 1997, the last of which, coincidentally enough, came at Ventura.
Eight drivers have gone back-to-back at "Turkey Night." Just four years into its beginning, Ronney Householder became the first to do the deed in 1936-37 at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles, now the home to CBS Television City where such shows at the Price is Right is filmed. Roy Russing repeated the roar at Gilmore in 1940-41. It would be another 20 years before A.J. Foyt christened the new Ascot Park with victories in 1960-61.
Ron Shuman was Grover Cleveland-esque in his dominance for a decade-in-a-half beginning in the late-70s and running through the early-to-mid-nineties, serving two distinct, non-consecutive terms as the man in charge. The "Flying Shu" from Tempe, Arizona won four-straight from 1979-82, picked up two more wins in 1984 and 1987, then put together another two-straight years of victories for his final two in 1992-93.
Chuck Gurney was the first of two drivers to win consecutively near the turn of the decade to the 1990s. Gurney, of Livermore, California, won in 1988-89. Janesville, Wisconsin's Stan Fox closed out Ascot in grand style by winning the finale in 1990, then dominated Saugus Speedway one year later in 1991 to become the first and only driver thus far to win consecutively on dirt and pavement surfaces. Phoenix, Arizona's Billy Boat, whose son Chad will be competing at Turkey Night this year, is the only driver to win consecutively at three different venues: Bakersfield, Perris and Ventura. Bryan Clauson, of Noblesville, Indiana was the last to get the job done in 2009 and 2010.
In 2016, Larson, the reigning winner of the 98-lap race, became the sixth driver to win the TNGP at two different venues following his 2012 score at Perris Auto Speedway, joining the ranks of Mel Kenyon (Ascot & 605), Stan Fox (Ascot & Saugus), Ron Shuman (Ascot & Bakersfield) and Dave Darland (Irwindale & Perris). No one has touched Billy Boat's record of three-straight at three different tracks between 1995 and 1997 (Bakersfield, Perris & Ventura).
Despite a limited USAC Midget schedule over the past few years due to his regular duties as one of Chip Ganassi's top NASCAR pilots, Larson always takes to the dirt like a duck to water when he jumps behind the wheel of a midget. Though he lacks a tally in the USAC win column for 2017, he was the ProSource Fast Qualifier at both of his appearances this season during the first two rounds of Indiana Midget Week at Montpelier and Gas City. He was in contention to win both, finishing 3rd at Montpelier and battling for the lead at Gas City when he spun with 10 laps remaining, ultimately finishing 18th.
The November 23rd "Turkey Night Grand Prix" will be streamed LIVE on http://www.SpeedShiftTV.com/. Watch it again a day later, on-demand, at http://www.Loudpedal.TV/.
2017 "TURKEY NIGHT GRAND PRIX" ENTRY LIST
CAR# / DRIVER / HOMETOWN / ENTRANT / SPONSOR / CHASSIS / ENGINE
1 KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA
Keith Kunz Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Walker Filtration Systems/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota
® 1K BRAYTON LYNCH/Springfield, IL
Rusty Kunz Racing/Adam Lopez Country Financil - Snap Fitness/Spike/Stanton SR-11
® 1p TERRY NICHOLS/Delano, CA
Terry Nichols/BSC - Masters Design & Construction/Spike/Chevy
2 ROBBY JOSETT/Santa Clarita, CA
Robby Josett/RL & Sons Construction - JHC Heating & Air/Spike/Esslinger
® 2JD TYLER EDWARDS/Salina, OK
Shenanigans-Neverlift Motorsports/Shenanigans Bar & Grill - Western Performance Parts/Spike/AMS Chevy
® 3F GEOFF ENSIGN/Sebastopol, CA
Ted Finkenbinder/Western Industrial X-Ray/ Bullet/Warrior
® 4A LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA
RAMS Racing/Rockwell Security/BOSS/Speedway Toyota
4D ROBERT DALBY/Anaheim, CA
Ken Dalby/R-D Spring & Stamping - Monster Seal/Spike/Esslinger
® 5 CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN
Chase Briscoe/Big Tine - Tex-a-Con Cut Stone/Spike/Honda
® 7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN
Clauson-Marshall Racing/Driven 2 Save Lives - Indiana Donor Network/Spike/Stanton SR-11
® 7R CLAYTON RUSTON/Upland, CA
CR Motorsports/S & J Service Inc. - Alumin/Spike/Esslinger
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA
Wally Pankratz/HASA Pool Products - Trench Shoring/Edmunds/Fontana
9D MICHAEL FACCINTO/Hanford, CA
Sean Dodenhoff/Torco Oil - Rocket Sports & Entertainment/Spike/Fontana
® 9E MACK DeMAN/Mississauga, ON
Sean Dodenhoff/Torco Oil - Rocket Sports & Entertainment l/Spike/Fontana
11E CORY ELLIOTT/Bakersfield, CA
Mitch Elliott/Capital E Trucking - FK Indy/Spike/Esslinger
17 CODY SWANSON/Covina, CA
Swanson Family/West Evans Motorsports - Lucas Oil/Spike/Esslinger
17w SHANE GOLOBIC/Fremont, CA
Clauson-Marshall-Matt Wood Racing/Elk Grove Ford - Driven 2 Save Lives/Spike/Stanton SR-11
® 20AZ SHON DESKINS/Waddell, AZ
Shon Deskins Racing/Performance Plus Engines - Simpson Racing/Spike/Chevy
21 CHRISTOPHER BELL/Norman, OK
Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/DeWalt - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota
22Q DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA
Neverlift Motorsports/Crysalli Artesian Water - Mt. Rose Cocktail Mixes/Spike/AMS Chevy
25 KEVIN THOMAS, JR./Cullman, AL
Petry-Goff Motorsports/Petry Excavating - Gray Auto/Spike/Stanton Toyota
25c COURTNEY CRONE/Corona, CA
Jerome Rodela/Trench Shoring - Ed Pink Racing Engines/Breka/Ed Pink Toyota
25x MICHAEL PICKENS/Auckland, NZ
Jerome Rodela/Trench Shoring - Ed Pink Racing Engines/King/Ed Pink Toyota
27 TUCKER KLAASMEYER/Paola, KS
Dale Klaasmeyer/WCI - Boss Chassis/Boss/Speedway Toyota
® 31 KYLE BEILMAN/Santa Monica, CA
Bill Beilman/Stong Surety/Beast/Mopar
® 33m MASON DANIEL/Visalia, CA
Scott Daniel/Young's Racing - Dylon Risk Management/Spike/Esslinger
® 39 ZEB WISE/Angola, IN
Clauson-Marshall Racing/ Driven 2 Save Lives - Priority AviationSpike/Stanton SR-11
® 39BC JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA
Clauson-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy - Driven 2 Save Lives/Spike/Stanton SR-11
® 47 TYLER NELSON/Kansas City, KS
Cappy Mason/IMM - Wilwood Disc Brakes/Spike/Mopar
® 55 TONY EVERHART/El Cajon, CA
Tony Everhart/Everhart Construction/Ellis/Ford
® 56 DANIEL ROBINSON/Wayne City, IL
Fifty6x Racing/Automatic Garage Door, Inc. - Precision Driveline & Fabrication/Boss/Fontana
® 56x MARK CHISHOLM/Cheyenne, WY
Fifty6x Racing/Automatic Garage Door, Inc. - Precision Driveline & Fabrication/Boss/Stanton Toyota
57 MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA
Johnny Cofer/Tule Vista Ranches - Edmunds Auto Research/Spike/Esslinger
63 BRAD SWEET/Grass Valley, CA
Dooling-Hayward Motorsports/Dooling Machine/Spike/Stanton SR-11
63x FRANKIE GUERRINI/San Rafael, CA
Frank Guerrini/F & F Racing - Davis Motorsports/Spike/Esslinger
67 TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV
Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota
67K HOLLY SHELTON/Sacramento, CA
Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Black & Decker - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota
68 RONNIE GARDNER/Riverside, CA
Six8 Motorsports/PAC Springs - Wilwood Brakes/Stewart/Esslinger
71 RYAN ROBINSON/Foresthill, CA
Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Abreu Vineyards - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota
® 71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA
Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Spike Chassis - CVC Concrete/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota
® 71x BRYAN DROLLINGER/Lomita, CA
Drollinger Bros. Racing/Simpson Race Products - Walker Air Filtration/Stealth/Arias
73 JAKE SWANSON/Anaheim, CA
Keith Ford/Walker Filtration Systems - King Racing Products/TCR/Esslinger
73T CARSON MACEDO/Lemoore, CA
Keith Ford/Walker Filtration Systems - King Racing Products/TCR/Esslinger
73x DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN
Keith Ford/Walker Filtration Systems - King Racing Products/TCR/Esslinger
75 MATT MITCHELL/Yorba Linda, CA
Wiley Miller/Roy Miller Freight Lines - Campbell Bros. Storage/TCR/Esslinger
76m BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK
FMR Racing/Brown & Miller Racing Solutions - Black Watch Farms/Beast/Toyota
84 CHAD BOAT/Phoenix, AZ
Tucker-Boat Motorsports/PristineAuction.com - K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota
® 87 JAKE VERMEER/Bakersfield, CA
Johnny Vermeer/Richmar Farms - Mobile AG/TCR/Esslinger
97 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN
Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/Curb Records - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota
98 DANNY STRATTON/Riverside, CA
Ron Blondel/American Motorsports - Orange County Muffler/Edmunds/Fontana
SPRINT CAR STAR RYAN SMITH READY TO CHALLENGE INDOOR DIRT RACING AT TRENTON, NJ DEC.1-2
Posted by: | CommentsNEWS FROM LEN SAMMONS PRODUCTIONS
2018 INDOOR AUTO RACING CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES FUELED BY VP RACING FUELS
INDOOR AUTO RACING EVENTS AT TRENTON, ALLENTOWN, ATLANTIC CITY AND ALBANY
PROMOTER: Len Sammons (609)888-3618 - MEDIA CONTACT: Ernie Saxton Communications, Inc.
Esaxton144@aol.com – EMAIL ---- 267.934.7286 – Ernie’s CELL PHONE
Release created by Steve Barrick
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SPRINT CAR ACE RYAN SMITH GEARS UP FOR EAST COAST MICRO DIRT NATIONALS; CALIFORNIAN DANNY STRATTON ALSO FILES ENTRY
TRENTON, NJ NOVEMBER 16, 2017 . . . Ryan Smith, who ranked second in the 2017 All Star Circuit Of Champions 410 Sprint Car circuit, has filed an entry to compete in the first East Coast Dirt Nationals coming up in two weeks at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J. on Friday and Saturday, December 1st and 2nd.
The ‘Kunkletown Kid’ for his lifelong residency in the small Pennsylvania hamlet, Smith enjoyed a breakout season with the All Stars, winning three races and outpointing almost 300 other drivers from across the country except Ohio’s Chad Kemenah, the circuit champion.
As a third generation race driver - his father Randy and grandfather Roy preceded him in racing - Smith understands how important it is to be able to connect and communicate with his crew as well as his fans.
Smith’s Sprint Car prowess was recognized in consecutive years at Williams Grove Speedway where he earned Most Improved Driver accolades.
Indoor Auto Racing Series competition will be nothing new to Smith. In fact, he has one of the most consistent performance records of any driver in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
Beginning in 2009 through 2013, Smith authored top five finishes in A-Main events, all the while driving a Micro 600cc Sprint against the heavily favored asphalt TQ Midgets.
Smith will be back in his element in the CURE Insurance Arena driving indoors once more in a Micro 600cc Sprint. Joel Smith (his cousin) owns the car which will carry the family’s iconic No. 555 on the tail.
Native Californian Danny Stratton, who has spent most of 2017 racing in the Midwest on the POWRi Midget circuit, has also entered the event.
Though Stratton has run Sprint Cars with considerable success, his forte has been in Midgets, He owns two career USAC National Midget wins and eight USAC Western States Midget checkereds.
In 2016, Stratton ran most of the USAC/ARDC circuit, finishing ninth in points with a top finish of second at Lebanon, Pa.’s Linda’s Speedway on July 1.
Several drivers have entered the East Coast Micro Dirt Nationals who are experienced in Len Sammons Motorsports Productions TQ Midget competition. The list includes multi-time Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Gamblers Classic winner Anthony Sesely, past ATQMRA driving champion Matt Janisch, Kutztown SpeedSTR reigning champion Tim Buckwalter, 2016 TQ Turkey Derby race winner Matt Roselli, and tested tough drivers Brandon Azzalina and Pat Bealer.
Smith, Stratton and the Indoor TQ crossover drivers join six time Lincoln Speedway 410 Sprint champion Brian Montieth, noted Sprint Car driving brothers Michael and Brian Carber, past ARDC Midget car driving champions Alex Bright, Trevor Kobylarz, and the Buckwalter cousins, Steve and Tim, as racers with rich pedigrees in the ranks.
New York state 360 Sprint car drivers Scott Kreutter and Joe Trenca have also expressed their intention to compete.
The field also includes the best drivers and teams from Micro Sprint racing. In fact, one Micro Sprint car owner is so sure one of the division regulars will win the event, he’s willing to put his money on it. Should any non-regular of 600cc Micro Sprint racing win Saturday’s feature event the car owner will add a $500 bonus to the win total.
Though the East Coast Indoor Nationals is a new attraction, the CURE Insurance Arena (formerly Sun National Bank Center), has hosted TQ Midget racing for the past four years on the arena’s concrete floor.
The racing schedule will tentatively call for heat races with passing points and four A-qualifier feature races on Friday night. On Saturday it will be “alphabet mains,” with racers having the opportunity to advance from twin F, E, D, C and B-mains to the 40 lap “A” feature.
The agenda calls for racing to start at 7 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Oliver Communication Group (OCG) of Bordentown, N.J. has signed on as an associate sponsor of the event. Other sponsorship packages remain.
Tickets for both days of the event are available at the CURE Insurance Arena Box Office or by phone at 800-298-4200. Further information is available at indoorautoracing.com, email to motorsports@aarn.com or by calling 609-888-3618.
The East Coast Micro Dirt Nationals is the first of four Indoor Auto Racing Series races planned for the busy off-season.
Three TQ Midget Indoor Auto Racing Series events held on the concrete floors at Allentown (PA), Atlantic City (NJ) and Albany (NY).
For more information visit www.indoorautoracing.com, e-mail motorsports@aarn.com or call 609-888-3618 during normal business hours
