[b ASCS Regions Clash in North Texas This Weekend!]
[i Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (August 31, 2009)]
The American Sprint Car Series Gulf South and Lone Star Regions are ready to try it again.
Just a few weeks ago, after Gulf South shoe Tommy Bryant topped the Challenge event at Waco's Heart O' Texas Speedway, Mother Nature intervened and washed out the scheduled Devil's Bowl card the following night.
Now, the ASCS Gulf South and Lone Star Regions will square off for another pair of $2,000-to-winn events in North Texas this weekend. On Friday night, the North Texas Clash kicks off at the ¼-mile RPM Speedway in Crandall, TX. Then, on Saturday night, it's on to the famed ½-mile Devil's Bowl Speedway clay oval in Mesquite.
Leading the way into the weekend for their respective Regions are Fort Worth's Kevin Ramey and Clute's Aaron Reutzel. Ramey is trying to add the inaugural Lone Star title to a pair of previous ASCS Sooner crowns, while the 19-year-old Reutzel is trying to bag his first Sprint Car title in the form of the ASCS Gulf South championship.
Ramey has extended his lead in the Lone Star title chase to 135 markers despite a Saturday night tumble out of the park at Cowtown Speedway. The battle for second behind him is a close one, as just 13 points separate Brad Welborn (Princeton), Justin Melton and Matt Clevenger (both of Flower Mound). Claud Estes rounds out the current top five in Gulf South points.
To the South, Reutzel holds a 72-point advantage over Conroe's Tommy Bryant, with Channin Tankersley (Highlands), Scottie McDonald (New Caney) and two-time and defending champion Brandon Berryman (Missouri City) rounding out the current top five.
This past weekend, Lucas Oil Sprint Car point leader Jason Johnson added his second Gulf South triumph of the season to become the fourth driver to post multiple Gulf South wins. Bryant and Gary Wright have each claimed three wins, with Johnson joining Ray Allen Kulhanek with two wins. With a dozen different winners in 18 feature events thus far, single wins have been claimed by Reutzel, Berryman, Eric Baldaccini, Travis Rilat, Trey Robb, Ramey, Skip Wilson and George White.
Also this past weekend, Brian McClelland and Travis Rilat ran the number of Lone Star feature winners to nine in a dozen events. Ramey leads the way with three wins, Baldaccini has claimed a pair of triumphs and McClelland and Rilat joined Skip Wilson, Jerry Bell, Nick Smith, Gary Wright and Tommy Bryant as single winners.
Friday's racing action at RPM Speedway is slated to go green at 8:30 p.m., with Saturday's card at Devil's Bowl Speedway firing off at 8:00 p.m.
The semi-banked, ¼-mile RPM Speedway dirt oval is located southeast of Crandall, TX, on US 175 to CR 4106 (Bud Story Road exit) to the intersection of CR 4104. For more information, contact the track at 972-427-6822.
The ½-mile high-banked Devil's Bowl Speedway clay oval is located six miles east of Dallas’ Loop I-635 on US 80, then three miles south on Lawson Road. For more information, contact the track at 972-222-2421.
The ASCS Gulf South Region is set for 27 nights of racing action at ten different tracks throughout Texas in 2009.
The inaugural slate of ASCS Lone Star Region competition consists of 18 events at nine different tracks throughout North Texas in addition to one venture north of the Red River to Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway.
Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at RPM Speedway:
7/10/09 – Kevin Ramey (Lone Star)
Past ASCS Regional Feature Winners at Devil's Bowl Speedway:
5/9/09 – Gary Wright (Lone Star vs. Sooner)
9/27/08 – Justin Spoerl (Sooner)
9/1/07 – Jason Johnson (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
7/22/06 – Larry Neighbors (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
7/16/05 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
10/16/04 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
7/12/03 – Kevin Ramey (Gulf South vs. Sooner)
The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
- Lonnie Wheatley on Sep 01, 2009
- Article Date: 9/1/2009