Landis Lands First ASCS Southwest Score!

Calvin Landis snared his first career ASCS victory by topping Saturday night's ASCS Southwest main event at Tucson's USA Raceway. (Dennis Brownfield photo)

Lonnie Wheatley, TUCSON, Ariz. (April 2, 2011) – Calvin Landis nabbed his first career American Sprint Car Series feature win by topping Saturday night’s 25-lap Sunoco Fuel ASCS Southwest Region main event atop the 3/8-mile USA Raceway clay oval.

 

The Knoxville, IA, resident by way of native Arizona advanced from the fifth starting position to take his first series win aboard Gary Williams’ Borello-powered Diamond Mechanical/Bandit Racing No. 79 Maxim.

 

Landis beat three-time and defending ASCS Southwest champion Rick Ziehl to the stripe, with current points leader Joshua Hodges, John Carney II and Joshua Williams rounding out the top five.

 

John Van Horn and Williams won Saturday night’s heat races. 

 

Sunoco Fuel ASCS Southwest Region Results from USA Raceway:

 

Heat One (8 Laps):  1. 5az-John Van Horn, 2. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 3. 79-Calvin Landis, 4. 90-Lance Norick, 5. 57x-Steve Stone, 6. 27-Perry McMillan, 7. 5h-Josh Pelkey.

 

Heat Two (8 Laps):  1. 41w-Joshua Williams, 2. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 3. 77-Dalten Gabbard, 4. 8-John Carney II, 5. 15c-Joey Chester, 6. 55-Brent McKee, 7. 5-Kyle McCutcheon.

 

 “A” Feature (25 Laps):  1. 79-Calvin Landis, 2. 20z-Rick Ziehl, 3. 74x-Joshua Hodges, 4. 8-John Carney II, 5. 41w-Joshua Williams, 6. 77-Dalten Gabbard, 7. 5h-Josh Pelkey, 8. 90-Lance Norick, 9. 15c-Joey Chester, 10. 27-Perry McMillan, 11. 57x-Steve Stone, 12. 5az-John Van Horn, 13. 55-Brent McKee, 14. 5-Kyle McCutcheon.

 

ASCS Southwest Points (Top 10):  1. Joshua Hodges 427, 2. Rick Ziehl 422, 3. John Carney II 407, 4. Calvin Landis 387, 5. Joshua Williams 363, 6. Lance Norick 360, 7. Dalten Gabbard 352, 8. Kyle McCutcheon 342, 9. Joey Chester 284, 10. John Van Horn 281.

Wright Holds on to ASCS Gulf South Win at Speedarama

Lonnie Wheatley, LUFKIN, Texas (April 2, 2011) – Gary Wright picked up his second overall American Sprint Car Series Regional feature win of the year by limping to the checkered flag in Saturday night’s 25-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region main event at the Speedarama Raceway.

 

Working forward from the ninth starting position in his familiar No. 9, Wright raced into the lead on the 15^th circuit and then slipped across the finish line in command moments after a piston failure in his powerplant.

 

Wright claimed the victory just in front of eleventh-starter Jason Johnson, who charged past George White in the final corner for runner-up honors.  With a broken steering box, White tagged the wall and flipped across the finish line to claim the show position and assume the ASCS Gulf South points lead.

 

With the red flag flying with checkered as White flipped, the balance of the field was scored on the previous lap with Scottie McDonald in fourth and Jeffrey Newell posting his first career top-five ASCS finish by rounding out the top five.

 

Tommy Bryant was sixth, with defending series champion Ray Allen Kulhanek, 15^th-starter Travis Rilat, Brandon Berryman and pole starter Chris Sweeney completing the top ten.

 

Aaron Reutzel, Bryant, McDonald and Newell topped heat race action, with Travis Rilat winning the “B” Main.

 

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Speedarama Raceway:

 

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 3-Gary Watson, 6. 51s-Beau Smith, 7. 17-Channin Tankersley, 8. 7w-Dustin Welch.

 

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 2. 35-Greg Rilat, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 6. 19-Klint Angelette, 7. 69-Larry Howery. DNS: 64j-Johnny Miller.

 

Third Heat (8 Laps):  1. 88-Scottie McDonald, 2. 5c-Chris Coker, 3. 10-George White, 4. 93-Chris Sweeney, 5. 54-Evan Pardo, 6. 28-James Cooper, 7. 25h-Trey Schmidt, 8. 17c-Greg Coleman.

 

Fourth Heat (8 Laps):  1. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 2. 15T-Travis Elliott, 3. 25m-Michael McNeil, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 40-Junior Jenkins, 6. 2-Wes Miller, 7. 2s-Steve Hubbard.

 

“B” Main (12 Laps):  1. 29-Travis Rilat, 2. 54-Evan Pardo, 3. 51s-Beau Smith, 4. 31-Brandon Berryman, 5. 17-Channin Tankersley, 6. 3-Gary Watson, 7. 40-Junior Jenkins, 8. 51-Jimmy Brooks, 9. 19-Klint Angelette, 10. 28-James Cooper, 11. 69-Larry Howery, 12. 2-Wes Miller, 13. 17c-Greg Coleman, 14. 25h-Trey Schmidt, 15. 2s-Steve Hubbard, 16. 7w-Dustin Welch. DNS: 64j-Johnny Miller.

 

"A" Feature (25 Laps):  1. 9-Gary Wright, 2. 41-Jason Johnson, 3. 10-George White, 4. 88-Scottie McDonald, 5. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 6. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 7. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 8. 29-Travis Rilat, 9. 31-Brandon Berryman, 10. 93-Chris Sweeney, 11. 15T-Travis Elliott, 12. 25m-Michael McNeil, 13. 35-Greg Rilat, 14. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 15. 54-Evan Pardo, 16. 51s-Beau Smith, 17. 17-Channin Tankersley, 18. 5c-Chris Coker, 19. 3-Gary Watson, 20. 87-Aaron Reutzel.

 

 

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten):  1. George White 389, 2. Aaron Reutzel 353, 3. Brandon Berryman 351, 4. Tommy Bryant 338, 5. Greg Rilat 312, 6. Ray Allen Kulhanek 309, 7. Jeffrey Newell 290, 8. Michael McNeil 287, 9. Chris Sweeney 285, 10. Channin Tankersley 282.

Reutzel Rules ASCS Gulf South at Heart O’ Texas!

Lonnie Wheatley, WACO, Texas (April 1, 2011) – Leading Brodix Rookie of the Year contender Aaron Reutzel took full advantage of an idle weekend for the Lucas Oil ASCS National series by racing to victory lane in Friday night’s 30-lap Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region main event at Heart O’ Texas Speedway.

 

The 20-year-old from Clute, TX, made a late-race move around Brandon Berryman for the lead to claim his second career ASCS Gulf South triumph aboard Kenny Reutzel’s Simpson Race Products No. 87 Triple-X, this one worth $3,000.

 

While 2009 Gulf South champ Reutzel took the green flag from the sixth starting position, it was two-time series champ Brandon Berryman leading most of the way after starting from the pole.  Berryman briefly surrendered the lead on the seventh lap to Jason Johnson, who then jumped the cushion and spun to a stop.

 

As the laps wound down, Reutzel and Channin Tankersley battled past Berryman on the 22^nd circuit only to have Tankersley tangle with a lapped car and get upside down.

 

With Berryman back up front on the restart, Reutzel kept the pressure on until taking command with just three rounds to go.  Reutzel raced on to the checkered flag in front of Berryman, with George White racing into the show position after starting 12^th.

 

Reigning Lucas Oil ASCS National champion Jason Johnson rebounded from his early miscue to salvage fourth, with defending ASCS Gulf South champion Ray Allen Kulhanek rounding out the top five.  Claud Estes was sixth, with Martin Edwards, Chris Coker, Gary Watson and Tommy Bryant completing the top ten.

 

Johnson, Tankersley, Ryan Hall, Berryman and Watson topped heat race action for the 37-car field, with Evan Pardo and Bryant winning the “B” Mains.

 

After turning over in heat race action, Travis Rilat fell one spot short of a transfer in “B” Main action.

 

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Results from Heart O’ Texas Speedway:

 

First Heat (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson, 2. 28-James Cooper, 3. 40-Junior Jenkins, 4. 76-John Ricketts, 5. 54-Evan Pardo, 6. 2s-Steve Hubbard, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr. DNS: 17c-Greg Coleman.

 

Second Heat (8 Laps):  1. 71-Channin Tankersley, 2. 5c-Chris Coker, 3. 15T-Travis Elliott, 4. 74e-Claud Estes, 5. 9-Brian Parker, 6. 93-Chris Sweeney, 7. 11x-Justin Melton, 8. 8-Bruce Crockett.

 

Third Heat (8 Laps):  1. 79-Ryan Hall, 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 3. 2-Wes Miller, 4. 19-Klint Angelette, 5. 64j-Johnny Miller, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 14b-Robert Byrom.

 

Fourth Heat (8 Laps):  1. 31-Brandon Berryman, 2. 10-George White, 3. 25m-Michael McNeil, 4. 51-Beau Smith, 5. 35-Greg Rilat, 6. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 7. 29-Travis Rilat.

 

Fifth Heat (8 Laps):  1. 3-Gary Watson, 2. 45-Martin Edwards, 3. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 4. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 5. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 6. 7w-Dustin Welch, 7. 52-Roger Oakes.

 

First “B” Main (12 Laps):  1. 54-Evan Pardo, 2. 2-Wes Miller, 3. 35-Greg Rilat, 4. 51-Beau Smith, 5. 12b-Logan Bledsoe, 6. 69-Larry Howery, 7. 17-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 8. 52-Roger Oakes, 9. 11-Jeffrey Newell, 10. 2s-Steve Hubbard. DNS: 25m-Michael McNeil, 17c-Greg Coleman.

 

Second “B” Main (12 Laps):  1. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 2. 64j-Johnny Miller, 3. 76-John Ricketts, 4. 29-Travis Rilat, 5. 11x-Justin Melton, 6. 19-Klint Angelette, 7. 93-Chris Sweeney, 8. 14b-Robert Byrom, 9. 9-Brian Parker, 10. 7w-Dustin Welch. DNS: 8-Bruce Crockett.

 

"A" Feature (30 Laps):  1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 2. 31-Brandon Berryman, 3. 10-George White, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 21T-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 6. 74e-Claud Estes, 7. 45-Martin Edwards, 8. 5c-Chris Coker, 9. 3-Gary Watson, 10. 14e-Tommy Bryant, 11. 15T-Travis Elliott, 12. 64j-Johnny Miller, 13. 54-Evan Pardo, 14. 40-Junior Jenkins, 15. 35-Greg Rilat, 16. 79-Ryan Hall, 17. 71-Channin Tankersley, 18. 2-Wes Miller, 19. 28-James Cooper, 20. 76-John Ricketts.

 

 

Smiley’s Racing Products ASCS Gulf South Region Points (Top Ten):  1. Aaron Reutzel 263, 2. George White 254, 3. Brandon Berryman 238, 4. Tommy Bryant 216, 5. Greg Rilat 208, 6. Wes Miller 198, 7. Ray Allen Kulhanek 190, 8. Channin Tankersley 186, 9. (tie) Michael McNeil and Chris Coker 181.

Saturday’s ASCS Sooner Opener Washed Out; Reset for May 21

TULSA, Okla. (April 1, 2011) – One final rain shower on early Friday morning proved too much, with wet grounds at Mid-America Speedway in South Coffeyville, OK, forcing the postponement of Saturday night’s scheduled American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region season opening event.

 

The card atop the 3/10-mile, semi-banked Mid-America Speedway dirt oval has been reset for Saturday night, May 21.

 

With Saturday’s postponement, the ASCS Sooner Region will now kick off a 15-night slate of events on Saturday, May 7, with a $2,000-to-win tilt versus the ASCS Lone Star Region at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX.

 

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

ASCS Sprints on Dirt MAHLE/Clevite Short Track Challenge Announced

TULSA, Okla. (March 31, 2011) - The Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt Presented by ARP is excited to announce that the MAHLE/Clevite Short Track Challenge is scheduled again for 2011.

The challenge will consist of a total of eight races that drivers will be able to earn extra winnings as they compete in these select events. This point fund is an addition to the standard race purse each event pays out and the season long championship point fund that Engine Pro and ARP support as title sponsors.

The Short Track Challenge will be held at six different Michigan speedways giving race fans the opportunity to see the best winged sprint car drivers in the state do battle for this championship race within the championship chase. The events that will be a part of this exciting chase will be on the following dates: Saturday April 30 Crystal Motor Speedway, June 17 Cherry Raceway, July 8 Mt. Pleasant Speedway, July 29 Winston Speedway, August 12 Cherry Raceway, August 27 Owendale Speedway, September 3 Crystal Motor Speedway and September 24 at I-96 Speedway on the 3/8 oval.

If all eight events are completed the driver earning the most points will be awarded a $1,000 payment as the winner of the MAHLE/Clevite Short Track Challenge. Point fund monies will be available for the top ten in the 2011 MAHLE/Clevite Short Track Challenge.

MAHLE Original engine parts take the heritage of quality synonymous with both Clevite and MAHLE and bring it to an even higher level. MAHLE Original is the perfect complement to an engine parts line already featuring superior brands like Clevite, Victor Reinz and Perfect Circle. MAHLE Original is now an exclusive NASCAR performance brand, for more information visit MAHLE Clevite Inc. online.

The 2011 Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt Presented by ARP will begin Saturday April 30 at the Crystal Motor Speedway in Crystal, MI. For more information please visit www.ascsracing.com.

Cottage Grove Speedway - Welcome Back to ASCS Northwest Speedweek!

from ASCS Northwest, TULSA, Okla. (March 31, 2011) - After a year off, Cottage Grove Speedway will again be part of Northwest Speedweek.  In 2011, the Bully Dog Performance ASCS Northwest Speedweek presented By Contingency Connection will race six straight nights at five different tracks. Race teams will all be looking for their share of the $6,000 point fund for the week of racing from July 11-16.

 

The week will make its traditional Monday night start at Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, OR, on July 11.  Then the series moves on to the Oregon coast on Tuesday night, as Coos Bay Speedway hosts a Speedweek event for the first time.  From Coos Bay, it’s back to I-5 for the Wednesday night welcome back show at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, OR.

 

Thursday night will be at what will likely be a reshaped, newly-lighted Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, OR. After that, the teams will travel up the I-5 and towards the Washington coast to the Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, WA, where they will tangle with the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National series for the two night finale to the Bully Dog Performance ASCS Northwest Speedweek presented by Contingency Connection.

 

Bully Dog ASCS NW Speedweek Presented by Contingency Connection

July 11 Southern Oregon Speedway – Medford, OR

July 12 Coos Bay Speedway - Coos Bay, OR

July 13 Cottage Grove Speedway – Cottage Grove, OR

July 14 Willamette Speedway – Lebanon, OR

July 15 Grays Harbor Raceway – Elma, WA (NW vs. National)

July 16 Grays Harbor Raceway – Elma, WA (NW vs. National)

 

The ASCS Northwest Region is currently slated for 21 nights of competition at seven tracks throughout Washington and Oregon in 2011.

 

The 2011 season marks the 20^th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, with approximately 200 nights of competition at tracks throughout the nation and into Canada.  Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

 

 

 

 

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GRAYS HARBOR RACEWAY AND SKAGIT SPEEDWAY TEAM UP FOR ASCS SEASON OPENER!
 from ASCS Northwest, TULSA, Okla. (March 31, 2011) - Good things often come in pairs; that's exactly what has happened for the ASCS Northwest Regional Tour.  The season opening weekend at Skagit Speedway has now been joined by Grays Harbor Raceway.

 

Promoters Jerry Schram (GHR) and Steve Beitler (Skagit), working with ASCS Northwest Regional Series director Greg Burgess, plan to hold this special event the first weekend in May.  "By adding a second event it will draw more racers to both tracks," commented Beitler.

 

"I am excited about the direction the sprint car racing is going in the northwest," said Schram.

 

In addition to two great nights of racing, a $500 bonus has been added to any driver that can win both main events.  ASCS Northwest director Greg Burgess stated, "It's nice to see the promoters working together to make a great program for the race teams and fans".

 

Grays Harbor will host the Friday, May 6, event and Skagit will follow with the final night on Saturday, May7.  

 

The ASCS Northwest Region is currently slated for 21 nights of competition at seven tracks throughout Washington and Oregon in 2011.

 

The 2011 season marks the 20^th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, with approximately 200 nights of competition at tracks throughout the nation and into Canada.  Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

Lucas Oil ASCS to Sanction 33rd Annual Jackson Nationals!

Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (March 31, 2011) – Yet another marquee event has been added to the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National slate, as the series will invade Minnesota for the 33^rd Annual Jackson Nationals on August 19-20.

 

It will mark the first time for the Lucas Oil ASCS National series to sanction the history-rich event atop the high-banked, ½-mile Jackson Speedway clay oval in Jackson, MN.

 

With the addition of the Jackson Nationals to the slate, the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National series is now slated for 38 nights of competition at 15 different tracks throughout a dozen states.

 

The August venture to Jackson Speedway will be just the second time in Minnesota for the ASCS National forces, with Wayne Johnson winning the only previous feature event in the state at Brainerd in 2007.  Paired with car owner Bryan Sundby for the balance of the Lucas Oil ASCS National slate, Johnson was a Jackson Nationals winner in 2005.

 

The Lucas Oil Sprint Cars have opened the 2011 season in rousing fashion with six different winners in as many events, including Kyle Larson, Tim Kaeding, Johnny Herrera, Shane Stewart, Jason Johnson and Sam Hafertepe, Jr.  This comes off a 2010 season that featured 19 different winners in 35 main events, the most single-season feature winners in modern ASCS history.

 

With $60,000 of the $250,000 points fund earmarked for the top spot, Bixby, OK, native Shane Stewart is out to the early driver points lead with a 57-point advantage over New Mexico’s Johnny Herrera while the JJR No. 41 holds the owner points edge over Paul Silva’s No. 57 by 37 markers. 

 

With last weekend’s 38^th Annual Devil’s Bow Spring Nationals in the books, next up for the Lucas Oil Sprint Cars is a two-night stand atop Little Rock, Arkansas’ high-banked, ¼-mile I-30 Speedway red clay oval on April 15-16.

 

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.