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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SWANSON SNARES USAC SPRINT TURKEY NIGHT, HUNT AND ENSIGN CHAMPIONS
IRWINDALE,
CALIFORNIA (November 25, 2011) – Kingsburg’s Tanner Swanson added yet another major event
victory to his growing resume as the 20 year-old former USAC Western Sprint Car
champion won the sprint car portion of the 71st “Turkey Night Grand
Prix” at TOYOTA Speedway on Thursday night.
On the
championship front, Tony Hunt claimed his seventh and eighth career USAC titles
by winning the USAC Western Sprint Car championship and USAC Western Classic
pavement title, while the inaugural USAC Western Classic Racing Series overall championship
went to 21 year-old rookie Geoff Ensign of Sebastopol.
A wild
start to the 40 lap feature punctuated the Western Sprint Car championship
race, as both Tanner and Kody Swanson spun coming to the green flag sparking a
wild crash.18 year-old rookie Cody
Gerhardt ended up on his lid along with incoming Western Sprint Car points
leader Audra Sasselli, while popular national standout Tracy Hines had the
“Tamale Wagon” wedged up against the wall and fast-time qualifier JoJo Helberg
was also heavily damaged.
The
Swansons were able to continue but the other four drivers involved were
eliminated from the race.Gerhardt was
transported to a local hospital for a brief observation but returned to the
speedway in time to watch the 98 lap Midget feature later in the evening.With Sasselli out of the race, Hunt was able
to overtake her for the USAC Western Sprint Car championship but the Classic
title was still yet to be decided.
Because he
stalled, Kody Swanson restarted at the rear of the now 21 car field for a
second try at a start.Tanner Swanson
swept past Meridian, ID’s Mike Murgoitio on the outside
to lead lap one.The feature went
caution-free with Kody Swanson pedaling hard to the front of the pack.Originally slated to start seventh, Hunt
restarted third but fell out of the top-five early on.
Tanner
Swanson drove away to a comfortable lead while Kody Swanson marched his way up
to second place Mike Murgoitio by lap 23.Swanson and Murogitio engaged in a back-and-forth battle for the second
position much to the pleasure of an announced crowd of 3,000 fans.
Kody
Swanson finally cleared Murgoitio for good on lap 37 and younger brother Tanner
brought home a commanding 3.2 second victory.Scott Pierovich was fourth with Hunt defending Aaron Pierce for a
hard-earned fifth place finish.Ensign,
who started 17th, passed Western regulars such as Shauna Hogg and
Luis Ramos in the late stages of the feature for a strong eighth place finish
to seal the USAC Western Classic championship.
Ensign was
the highest finishing Western Classic car in six of the eight dirt races this
year, but the asphalt rookie also managed to finish in the top-five in three of
the eight pavement events held.Ensign
defeated Hunt by nine points despite giving up nearly 100 points during the pavement
portion of the schedule.Pierovich
overcame terrible luck throughout the middle of the season to rally for a third
place finish in the Western Classic overall points.
On the USAC
Western Sprint Car side, Hunt won four times over the 12 race campaign
including sweeping all three Madera races.Hunt topped Sasselli by a scant 15 points
despite Sasselli going winless on the year.Western Speed teammates Tim Skoglund and Gerhardt finished the season
third and fourth respectively with Ramos fifth.
Information
on the 2011 banquet and the 2012 schedule will be announced at a later
date.The United States Auto Club would
like to thank all of the competitors, sponsors, fans, and tracks for their
support of the inaugural 16 round USAC Western Classic Racing Series and plans
are already being made for a great 2012.
More
information on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series is available on Facebook
at keywords “USAC Western Classic Racing Series”.The United States Auto Club is online at www.usacracing.com
www.stevenblakesley.com
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