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Posted By: shelly on December 26 2007 at 12:20:28 AM
Drivers I know coming from Cali are:
Dennis Rodriguez in Camarillo #22
Austin Mero in Kruseman Car
Tom Stansberry in own car
Thats all I've heard for now.
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McCLUSKEY CLASSIC SLATED FOR DEC. 29-30
BLANTON NAMED GRAND MARSHALL
Tucson, Ariz….Some of the finest sprint car drivers in the country are set to race on "Arizona's Best 3/8 Clay Oval" on December 29th & 30th for the fourth running of the "Roger McCluskey Classic" at USA Race Park in Tucson, Ariz.
Warsaw, Missouri's Jesse Hockett enters the event as the two-time (2006 & 2007) and defending "Roger McCluskey Classic" Champion. No stranger to victory lane at USA Race Park, "The Rocket" also picked-up a USAC/CRA feature at USA Race Park in 2006.
Local favorite Jerry Coons, Jr., Tucson, Ariz., promises to contend for $5,000 payday that goes with winning the "Roger McCluskey Classic." Fresh off of winning his second straight USAC National Midget title, Coons was recently named to the 2007 All American Auto Racing team. Also a regular on the USAC National Sprint Car tour, Coons finished ninth in series points and ended the season by winning the 40th Annual Western World Championships at Manzanita Speedway (Phoenix, Ariz.). Coons also won the preliminary "Roger McCluskey Classic" feature last year and won the prestigious Belleville (KS) Midget Nationals Champion in 2006.
Perhaps no one in the country had a better non-wing sprint car season than Jon Stanbrough of Jamestown, Indiana. Recently voted the 2007 "Driver of the Year" by the North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll, Stanbrough won 30 sprint car features this year and was the 2007 King of Indiana Sprint Series (KISS) Champion. After taking home the USAC Indiana SprintWeek Title in 2006, Stanbrough finished second in SprintWeek points in 2007. Along the way, he gathered five USAC National Sprint wins, bring his career total to 18.
Ventura, California's Cory Kruseman brings one of the most impressive open-wheel resumes in the country to USA Race Park. In what is arguably the toughest event in the country to make, let alone win, Kruseman has won the famed Chili Bowl Midget Nationals (Tulsa, Okla.) twice (2000 & 2004). He also won back-to-back Oval Nationals titles at the Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway in 2003 & 2004, and won the Indiana SprintWeek Championship in 2002 & 2005. In addition, "The Kruser" was the 2001 Sprint Car Racing Association (SCRA) Champion and the 1999 Non-Wing World Championship (NWWC) Champion.
After winning the 2006 USAC/CRA Championship, Kruseman ran a limited CRA schedule in 2007, but still managed to win five USAC/CRA features, including the Kindoll Classic at the Perris Auto Speedway. 2007 also saw Kruseman win the inaugural ASCS Non-Wing Western World Championship at Manzanita Speedway. In his career, Kruseman has posted 15 USAC National Sprint wins, 23 USAC/CRA Sprint wins and 63 SCRA wins.
Arizona native Casey Shuman, now calling Indianapolis, Indiana home, has proven to be a formidable challenger, particular when driving for car owner Jim Massey. Back in November Shuman was less than a lap away from winning the Oval Nationals before being overtaken by eventual winner Bud Kaeding. Shuman enters the "Roger McCluskey Classic" with Hockett and Charles Davis, Jr., Buckeye, Ariz., as his teammates. Davis, a two-time (1999 & 1996) Arizona Sprint Car Association (ASCA) Champion, captured six American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) Canyon Region feature this year and scored his only USAC/CRA main event of the season back in September at USA Race Park.
Davis's main ASCS rival throughout the season was Jeremy Sherman, Surprise, Ariz., who won an amazing 12 ASCS features including the season finale at USA Race Park. Continuing to build on his legend within the state, Sherman was the 2001 Western World Champion and 2005 ASCA Champion.
Danny Sheridan, Santa Maria, Calif., who has claimed championships in the Bandit Sprint Car (1998) and IMCA Sprint Car (1997) divisions, enters the "Roger McCluskey Classic" looking for his first USA Race Park victory. Back in September, Sheridan finished third the USAC/CRA at USA Race Park. Earlier in the year, Sheridan won his second career USAC/CRA main event and eventually finished third in series points.
The "Roger McCluskey Classic" honors the memory of one of Arizona's greatest, and most versatile, drivers. Remembered as one of the toughest sprint car drivers of all times, McCluskey won the USAC National Sprint Car title in 1963 and 1966, and posted 23 USAC sprint wins. He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993.
McCluskey also competed on the Indy Car circuit, or Championship Cars as they were known then. One of the most popular drivers at the Brickyard, McCluskey started all but one Indianapolis 500 from 1961 to 1979, and enjoyed his best finish, a third, in 1973. During his Champ Car career, McCluskey won five races and was the series champion in 1973.
Simply put, McCluskey was Tony Stewart before Tony Stewart even was born, winning an Indy Car title and two USAC Stock Car titles (1969-70). In 1974, McCluskey represented the USAC series in the International Race of Champions (IROC). McCluskey passed away on August 29 1993, just five days after his 63rd birthday after a long battle with cancer.
Keeping with the spirit and tradition that McCluskey embodied, USA Race Park has proudly named Jimmy Blanton as this year's Grand Marshall for the "Roger McCluskey Classic." Through the years, Blanton has helped countless numbers of racers and is as important to the Arizona racing scene as any driver that has ever strapped on a helmet. Congratulation Jimmy and thank you for everything that you have done for our sport!
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