[i Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (September 8, 2009)]
The American Sprint Car Series Midwest Region brings the curtain down on the 2009 season on a high note with a pair of events in Nebraska this weekend, with a potential weekend sweep worth $7,001.
On Friday night, the ASCS Midwest forces invade Rising City's Butler County Motorplex for the $2,001-to-win Tribute to 9/11 "Race to Remember". Then, on Saturday night, the ASCS Midwest season championship finale takes place at Eagle Raceway's $5,000-to-win Nebraska Cup.
The lone ASCS Midwest stop of the year at both tracks, it marks the series return to the Butler County Motorplex for the first time since 2007 after a pair of tries last year were washed out. Springfield, Nebraska's Jack Dover topped last year's edition of Eagle Raceway's Nebraska Cup to put the wraps on the 2008 series title.
While a stellar field of competitors is expected for this weekend's pair of events in Cornhusker territory, Lincoln, Nebraska's Jason Danley will try to put the finishing touches on a second ASCS Regional championship for the 2009 season.
Danley finished off the ASCS Northern Plains slate at the end of July with a 33-point cushion over Sioux Falls racer Eric Lutz and carries a 100-point advantage over Giltner, Nebraska's Chad Humston into the Midwest season-ender.
Danley can safely put away the Midwest title by simply making the feature cut on both nights. However, any stumble against the stout field could open the door for Humston, who celebrates his 23rd birthday this week.
While Danley has built his advantage on the strength of seven top-ten feature runs in eleven events, Humston is one of just two drivers to post two Midwest feature wins this season along with Missouri's Brian Brown.
Humston picked off series wins at Nebraska Raceway Park's I-80 Speedway (May 21) and South Dakota's I-90 Speedway (June 26), while Brown added a win in the series most recent event at Sedalia's State Fair Speedway (August 23) to an earlier score at I-80 (July 2).
While Danley and Humston settle the top spot this weekend, Lutz enters the weekend ranked third in Midwest points with Lucas Oil Sprint Car Rookie of the Year contender Jack Dover in fourth. Two-time ASCS Northern Plains champion Lee Grosz of Harwood, ND, rounds out the current top five in ASCS Midwest points.
Friday's racing action at Butler County Motorplex goes green at 8:00 p.m., while Saturday's Nebraska Cup at Eagle Raceway fires off at 7:00 p.m.
The high-banked, 3/8-mile Butler County Motorplex clay oval is located near Rising City, NE, eight miles south of U.S. 30 on U.S. 81, then two miles east on CR 38, then 0.7 mile south on CR C, then east. For more information, contact the track at 308-940-1970.
The high-banked, 1/3-mile Eagle Raceway clay oval is located in Eagle, NE, off I-80 Exit 420, then eleven miles south on SR 63, then west. For more information, contact the track at 402-781-2243.
This weekend's Nebraska double completes a slate of 15 nights of competition for the ASCS Midwest Region at eight tracks throughout Nebraska and the surrounding areas of Missouri and South Dakota.
Thus far, 125 drivers have competed in at least one ASCS Midwest event in 2009 with nine different drivers reaching victory lane in eleven completed events. While Humston and Brown have each posted two triumphs, single wins have been recorded by Lutz, Jonathan Cornell, Billy Alley, Jesse Hockett, Shane Stewart, Bronson Maeschen and Gary Wright. Two events were rained out.
Past ASCS Midwest Winners at Butler County Motorplex:
6/15/07 – Mike Boston
7/28/06 – Garry Lee Maier
Past ASCS Midwest Winners at Eagle Raceway:
9/7/09 – Jack Dover
7/21/08 – Mike Boston
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 09, 2009
- Article Date: 9/9/2009