Lonnie Wheatley, LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (October 8, 2014) – Just two weeks away and the entries are pouring into the I-30 Speedway track office for the 27th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires.
The latest batch of entries for the $15,000-to-win, $2,500-to-start event set for October 23-25 after the $2,000-to-win Short Track Nationals Open on October 22 come from as far away as New York state and Ontario, Canada, to Washington state and a variety of points in between, with one past race winner among those throwing his hat into the ring.
Entry forms for the Short Track Nationals are available at http://www.i-30speedway.com/flyers/stn2014.pdf or by calling 501-455-4567. Entries submitted by October 14 are just $150 with entries after that date at $250.
A few notables among the latest entries include the following:
41 Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) – The 2006 STN king and four-time ASCS National champ, currently ranked second in ASCS National points and atop the Rod End Supply Winged 360 Sprint Car Power Rankings, vies for another STN crown after missing last year’s feature cut. “The Ragin’ Cajun” has seven career STN championship feature starts, tops amongst those entered so far.
23 Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) – Second in Rod End Supply Winged 360 Power Rankings on the strength of ten feature wins this year, the sixth-ranked ASCS National Tour contender has raced into three consecutive STN championship feature events.
9jr Derek Hagar (Marion, AR) – Racking up 15 overall feature wins thus far in 2014, “The Guy” has three career STN champion feature starts to his credit including 14th place runs over each of the past two years.
21t Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe, TX) – The five-time ASCS Gulf South champ has raced into two of the past three STN championship finales including a strong seventh-place finish last year.
1m Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK) and #87r Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) both have one career STN championship feature start to their credit, while #91a Ernie Ainsworth (Bartlett, TN) guns for a fourth career STN feature start in his first STN try since 2011.
87b Jason Barney (Brewerton, NY) – The Empire Super Sprints points runner-up makes the 1,200 mile trek from Upper New York for the second year in a row after narrowly missing the feature cut in his maiden STN voyage last year.
10 Mitch Brown (Brantford, ONT) – Second in both Southern Ontario Sprints and Ohsweken Speedway points, the Canadian will be a strong STN Rookie of the Year contender after a season that included five feature wins.
A few others among the latest entries include Blake Hahn (ninth in ASCS National points), Odessa, TX, shoe Josh Baughman (winner of two ASCS Regional features in 2014), South Dakota’s Ryan Bickett (making his eighth STN start), Taylor Tidmore and Farmington contender Jason Keith, who readies for his first STN.
They join an early group of entries that included the likes of Johnny Herrera, Brandon Hanks, A.G. Rains, Matt Covington, Alex Sewell, Klint Angelette, Howard Moore and many more.
Last October, Sammy Swindell bested a field of 105 competitors for his third STN crown, racing to the checkered flag ahead of up-and-coming Christopher Bell, Anthony Nicholson, Johnny Herrera and Shane Stewart.
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 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.
- Bryan Hulbert on Oct 09, 2014
- Article Date: 10/9/2014