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Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (October 8, 2007) –
Few events in this country
are as rich in tradition as Devil's Bowl Speedway's Winter Nationals. That
tradition lives on this weekend, with the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on
Tour National series headlining the 34th edition of the Devil's Bowl Winter
Nationals in Mesquite, TX, on Friday and Saturday.
Last year, Travis Rilat of Forney, TX, bested a field of nearly 50 entries
to add his name to the prestigious list of Devil's Bowl Winter Nationals
winners, a list that is highlighted by the likes of Opperman, Kinser, Swindell and
Wolfgang among other top drivers in Sprint Car racing history.
Rilat, currently ranked fourth in O'Reilly ASCoT National points, will be
back to defend his Winter Nationals crown along with a stout field of cars
expected to be bolstered by the running of the ASCS/Wesmar Challenge.
The ASCS/Wesmar Challenge, an invitational event that includes the top
National contenders along with two invitees from each ASCS Region, will be run in
two segments on Friday night and then the final segment on Saturday night.
The top point earner over the three segments will walk away with a new Wesmar
Racing Engine, with the balance of the 26-car field all earning prizes,
ranging from chassis to cylinder heads to shocks to wheels and more.
Gary Wright, with Winter Nationals triumphs in 2004 and 2005 among his
numerous event wins, leads the way into the weekend with a 68-point lead over
Oklahoma City's Wayne Johnson in the series $50,000 championship points chase.
Louisiana's Jason Johnson, a winner in last year's Winter Nationals
preliminary, enters the weekend 114 points off Wright's pace in third, with just I-30
Speedway's $20,000-to-win Short Track Nationals remaining for the ASCS
National Tour after this weekend.
In pursuit of his fourth consecutive ASCS National championship, Wright has
captured 13 O'Reilly ASCS National Tour feature wins this season. "The
Texan" is just two wins shy of the series record of 15 National wins in one season
that he established in 2003.
Foster Landon of Collinsville, OK, enters the weekend ranked fifth and has a
virtual lock on Brodix Rookie of the Year honors.
The balance of the current top ten in O'Reilly ASCoT National points
includes Darren Stewart, Nick Smith, Eric Baldaccini, Andy Shouse and Kenneth
Walker.
The O'Reilly ASCoT regulars will face all variety of strong competition from
throughout the nation over the weekend. The top four in Friday night's
feature are locked into Saturday night's finale, which offers up $5,000 to win.
The Series:
O’Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour (ASCoT)
When & Where:
Friday, October 12 – Devil's Bowl Speedway (8:00 p.m.)
Saturday, October 13 – Devil's Bowl Speedway (8:00 p.m.)
Track Information:
Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX) – ½-mile high-banked clay oval located
six miles east of Dallas’ Loop I-635 on US 80, then three miles south on
Lawson Road. Track phone: 972-222-2421.
O’Reilly ASCoT Devil’s Bowl History:
Devil’s Bowl Speedway has been hosting the O’Reilly ASCS National Tour
since 1994, with 19 different drivers scoring at least one victory in 48 feature
events. Gary Wright has claimed 16 of his 119 career ASCS National wins at
Devil’s Bowl.
Wayne Johnson claimed this year's Spring Nationals preliminary feature win
to run his ASCS National win total at "Da Bowl" to four, next on the charts
after Wright's 15 wins. With three wins apiece are Danny Jennings, who reeled
off his wins in '05, and Kevin Ramey, who doubled up with Spring and Summer
Nationals wins last year.
Devil’s Bowl ASCS National winners include: Gary Wright 16, Wayne Johnson
4, Danny Jennings 3, Kevin Ramey 3, Shane Carson 2, Terry Gray 2, Jason
Johnson 2, Garry Lee Maier 2, Mike Peters 2, Travis Rilat 2, Sammy Swindell 2, Tim
Crawley 1, Edd French 1, Johnny Herrera 1, Larry Neighbors 1, Alan Payne 1,
Jake Peters 1, Shane Stewart 1, Mike Ward 1.
Devil’s Bowl O’Reilly ASCoT Race-by-race Winners: Shane Carson (6/21/94),
Alan Payne (5/12/95), Mike Ward (7/23/95), Mike Peters (9/1/95), Sammy
Swindell (9/2/95), Sammy Swindell (9/3/95), Wayne Johnson (6/18/96), Terry Gray
(7/6/96), Terry Gray (11/1/96), Johnny Herrera (11/2/96), Shane Carson (4/5/97),
Wayne Johnson (6/18/97), Edd French (10/31/97), Mike Peters (11/1/97), Gary
Wright (6/19/98), Gary Wright (10/3/98), Garry Lee Maier (10/4/98), Gary
Wright (7/8/99), Garry Lee Maier (7/30/99), Gary Wright (10/1/99), Gary Wright
(10/2/99), Gary Wright (7/21/00), Gary Wright (10/6/00), Larry Neighbors
(4/20/01), Gary Wright (7/20/01), Gary Wright (10/6/01), Travis Rilat (4/19/02),
Jason Johnson (6/7/02), Wayne Johnson (10/4/02), Gary Wright (10/5/02), Kevin
Ramey (4/18/03), Tim Crawley (10/17/03), Gary Wright (10/18/03), Shane Stewart
(10/23/04), Danny Jennings (3/18/05), Danny Jennings (3/19/05), Danny
Jennings (6/9/05), Gary Wright (10/21/05), Gary Wright (10/22/05), Kevin Ramey
(6/24/06 – Spring Nationals makeup feature), Kevin Ramey (6/24/06 – Summer
Nationals), Gary Wright (7/13/06), Jason Johnson (10/13/06), Travis Rilat
(10/14/06), Wayne Johnson (3/16/07), Jake Peters (3/17/07), Gary Wright (5/12/07),
Gary Wright (7/19/07).
Current O’Reilly ASCoT Points (After 32 of 37 Nights):
Top Twenty: 1. Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 3,990, 2. Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma
City, OK) 3,922, 3. Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 3,876, 4. Travis Rilat (Forney,
TX) 3,712, 5. Foster Landon (Collinsville, OK) 3,280, 6. Darren Stewart
(Bixby, OK) 2,512, 7. Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) 2,008, 8. Eric Baldaccini
(Keller, TX) 1,701, 9. Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,559, 10. Kenneth Walker
(Sapulpa, OK) 1,485, 11. Chris Schmelzle (Victoria, BC) 1,448, 12. Johnny
Miller (Burleson, TX) 1,427, 13. Chuck Swenson (Watertown, SD) 1,292, 14. Kevin
Ramey (Fort Worth, TX) 1,263, 15. Danny Jennings (Norman, OK) 1,214, 16. Tim
Crawley (Benton, AR) 1,128, 17. Aaron Berryhill (Broken Arrow, OK) 1,079,
18. Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND) 1,073, 19. Coleman Gulick (Binghamton, NY)
1,042, 20. Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK) 1,020.
2007 O’Reilly ASCoT Feature Winners:
Gary Wright 13, Jason Johnson 7, Wayne Johnson 3, Travis Rilat 2, Shane
Stewart 2, Kaley Gharst 1, Chuck Hebing 1, Terry McCarl 1, Jake Peters 1, Darren
Stewart 1.
ASCoT – A Look Ahead:
October 25-27 I-30 Speedway's Short Track Nationals (Little Rock, AR)
The O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series is currently
slated for approximately 40 nights of racing action at 22 different tracks
throughout 15 different states, with more than $1,000,000 in purse money and point
fund to be distributed during the 2007 season.
The 2007 season marks the 16th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the
American Sprint Car Series. With 13 different Regions in addition to the
O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, ASCS will sanction
approximately 240 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks
throughout at least 30 different states and Canada.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available
at _www.ascsracing.com_ (http://www.ascsracing.com/) .
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