Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Abreu Vineyards releases 2017 rule book and format
Tour officials also announced
By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA – February 1, 2017…The Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Abreu Vineyards is pleased to announce that it has released the rule book and format for the inaugural season of competition in 2017.
With the rule book being released the tour would also like to introduce and welcome long time Sprint Car driver Kevin Urton as the Director of Competition, as well as veteran official Ed Kinkle as Head Official for the upcoming campaign.
As a driver Urton claimed the Placerville Speedway track title in 1993, along with a pair of traveling Winged 360 Sprint Car championships, plus two titles with the USAC Western States Sprint Cars. “I’ve definitely been really excited about the Sprint Car Challenge Tour ever since the first time I had heard about it,” Urton said. “I’m looking forward to manning the Director of Competition role and working with all the race teams. This is an exciting time for Sprint Car racing in California and I’m glad to be a part of the inaugural SCCT season.”
Kinkle has spent a number of years working events throughout California as an official in various capacities and brings a wealth of knowledge to the tour. He will also handle the extensive contingency program that the tour has in place. Both Urton and Kinkle will work in unison to make sure that races run smoothly and in a timely fashion each night.
“We’re happy to have Kevin Urton and Ed Kinkle head up our officials team with the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Abreu Vineyards in 2017,” said Scott Russell of SCCT. “Both have been around the sport for many years and will do a great job for us. We feel that Kevin has the right personality and demeanor for the DOC position and all the racers have known Ed with his numerous seasons of experience as an official throughout the Golden State. With the kind of car counts we’re expecting, we know that having our shows run smooth and on time is going to be important. That’s something we’re very cognizant of.”
The nightly format will be somewhat unique to California sprint car racing, as drivers qualify against those that will compete in their respective heat race. It is looked upon by series officials as a way to limit changing track conditions from having a major impact on the outcome of qualifying. Each heat race will feature an invert of four, with the top-two finishers and the two fastest qualifiers from overall time trials that advance to the A-main, becoming eligible for dash consideration.
Of those 10 dash eligible drivers (in a four heat format), the eight fastest drivers from overall qualifying will then take part and draw for starting positions in the event. The two slowest of the dash eligible cars automatically start ninth and 10th in the A-main. The other heat race transfers that don’t make the dash will be lined straight up in the A-main based off the overall qualifying times. The full format is detailed in the rule book, including versions predicated on car count.
“We believe this format will play out as fair as possible for the teams and make it more entertaining for the fans as well,” commented Scott Hall of SCCT. “We’ve seen split qualifying used a lot in recent years and this basically takes it one step further to truly minimize the impact of changing conditions in qualifying. It will certainly shake things up and we look forward to seeing how it works out. We’re happy to have the schedule complete and the rule book out. Now it’s time to put the finishing touches on everything as we get closer to the season.”
To view the rule book visit http://www.sprintcarchallengetour.com/rules
The Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Abreu Vineyards will kick-off its inaugural season on Saturday April 1 at the Antioch Speedway in Antioch, CA. It will mark the first California-based traveling Winged Sprint Car series event at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds facility since 2013.
The Sprint Car Challenge Tour is proudly sponsored by Elk Grove Ford, Abreu Vineyards, Bianchi Farms, All Star Performance, ART, BR Motorsports, Bullard Construction, Garth Moore Insurance and Financial Services, Jocko’s Sprint Parts, King Racing Products, LRB Inc, MW Metal Works, Pit Stop USA, RacePartsTrader.com, CRV Carbon Solutions, Chris Kenner Racing Specialties/ Security Race Products, Auto Meter, Sellers Race Wings, Naake Suspension and PT Shocks.
More information on the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Abreu Vineyards can be found at our official website www.sprintcarchallengetour.com – Be sure to also like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sprintcarchallengetour and follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/360SCCT for the latest breaking news regarding SCCT.
Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour Presented by Abreu Vineyards 2017 Schedule
Saturday April 1: Antioch Speedway
Saturday April 15: Placerville Speedway
Friday April 21: Thunderbowl Raceway (4th annual Peter Murphy Classic)
Saturday April 29: Petaluma Speedway
Saturday May 27: Stockton Dirt Track
Saturday June 17: Antioch Speedway
Saturday June 24: Calistoga Speedway (Wine Country Classic)
Sunday July 2: Stockton Dirt Track (Jimmy Sills Classic)
Monday July 3: Petaluma Speedway
Saturday July 29: Fernley 95A Speedway
Friday August 25: Placerville Speedway
Saturday August 26: Stockton Dirt Track (Salute to LeRoy Van Conett)
Saturday November 4: Stockton Dirt Track (34th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson)
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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