[Kevin Montgomery]

ASCS Season Wraps Up in Style with Western World Championships!


Lucas Oil Sprint Car Champion Among Titles to be Determined


Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (November 16, 2009) – It's difficult to fathom a better way to wrap up the 2009 Sprint Car racing season. With an anticipated total of 130 or so cars, perhaps more, and of both the winged and wingless variety, it's an open wheel racing fan's dream.



And, that's exactly how the American Sprint Car Series will conclude its 18th season of competition with this weekend's 42nd Annual Kronik Energy Western World Championships presented by Old Tucson Studios at Tucson's USA Raceway, with three full nights of wild racing action (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) to follow Wednesday night's practice session.



Approximately 80 cars from throughout the nation are expected to vie for the $15,000 Lucas Oil Sprint Car presented by K&N Filters winner's share, with another 50 or so shooting it out for the $5,000-to-win Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region winner's share in the wingless portion of the weekend's action.



The final three ASCS championships will be determined over the course of the weekend as well, including the lucrative Lucas Oil Sprint Car title that Shane Stewart nearly has within his grasp. Stewart carries a 24-point advantage over 2008 series champion Jason Johnson into the weekend.



Also to be determined will be winged ASCS Southwest Region title and the wingless Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region championships. Rick Ziehl holds a slim 12-point edge over Ben Gregg in the Southwest championship chase, while "Chargin'" Charles Davis, Jr., is 40 points ahead of R.J. Johnson in the Canyon points battle.



The blockbuster weekend event will conclude on Sunday afternoon with the 18th Annual ASCS Awards Banquet presented by Brodix at Old Tucson Studios.



This weekend's Western World will put an exclamation point on what has already ranked as a banner season for the American Sprint Car Series, which has featured a total of 893 different competitors over the course of the season, a total that is sure to top the 900 mark over the weekend.



With 78 different drivers posting at least one feature win in the 168 ASCS-sanctioned main events completed thus far in 2009, only Mother Nature has been able to slow the series with more than 30 nights falling victim to inclement weather.


The 2009 WWC Entries:



There are currently 75 Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series entries for the $15,000-to-win winged portion and 50 Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region entries for the $5,000-to-win wingless portion, with more expected over the next week to battle it out for the overall purse that is well in excess of $100,000.



Lucas Oil Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters Entries:



Thursday:



1 Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK)

1p Curtis Evans (Norburne, MO)

2m Mike Melwicks (Richmond, BC, CAN)

3d Paul McMahan (Hendersonville, TN)

3s John Carney II (El Paso, TX)

5az John Van Horn (Tucson, AZ)

6 Ronnie Clark (Tucson, AZ)

7 Darren Long (Elida, OH)

9 Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA)

9x Gary Wright (Hooks, TX)

10 Sammy Swindell (Germantown, TN)

10a Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR)

13 Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO)

14aj Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)

15 Bud Goodwin (Albuquerque, NM)

15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX)

20ks Kyle Sager (Alto, NM)

22 Jesse Baker (Grants, NM)

22b Ben Gregg (Phoenix, AZ)

22j John Gaston (Phoenix, AZ)

23 Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA)

41w Joshua Williams (Glendale, AZ)

44k Koty McGullam (Marana, AZ)

45 Martin Edwards (Mesquite, TX)

45x Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM)

53 Jack Dover (Springfield, NE)

57 Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK)

57x Lucas Wolfe (Lemogne, PA)

66 Jessica Van Dyke (Tucson, AZ)

71 Bob Schaeffer (New Castle, CO)

77m Billy Chester III (Chino Valley, AZ)

93 Dustin Morgan (Collinsville, OK)

93k Brent Kronfuss (Bozeman, MT)

94 Danny Wood (Norman, OK)

94z Zach Zimmerly (West Linn, OR)

99 Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)

99j Jake Ossenfort (Rapid City, SD)





Friday:



01 Kaylene Verville (Avondale, AZ)

1x J.T. Imperial (Mesa, AZ)

2 Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK)

2sb Sean Becker (Carmichael, CA)

4 Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX)

5a Thomas Ogle (Waddell, AZ)

7d William Riley (Sierra Vista, AZ)

7m Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX)

11 Chad Corken (Highlands Ranch, CO)

11c Roger Crockett (Medford, OR)

11T Steve Lohn (Tucson, AZ)

17 Bruce Griffith, Jr. (Highlands, TX)

18 Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS)

20az Steve Martin (Phoenix, AZ)

20L Andrew Reinbold (Gilbert, AZ)

20z Rick Ziehl (Las Cruces, NM)

21 Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO)

22 Mason Moore (Priceton, CA)

23n Stephen Allard (Chico, CA)

25c Chad Groves (Bend, OR)

26b Bobby McMahan (Sacramento, CA)

29 Travis Rilat (Forney, TX)

32 Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ)

33 Danny Lasoski (Higginsville, MO)

34 Calvin Landis (Knoxville, IA)

35a Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN)

41 Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA)

42 Rick Boughan (Lima, OH)

44w Austen Wheatley (Lake Stevens, WA)

55 TBA

71 Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX)

74x Joshua Hodges (Tijeras, NM)

77 Colt Treharn (Los Lunas, NM)

77e William Eggiman (San Ysidro, CA)

88 Tim Crawley (Benton, AR)

94j Charles Davis, Jr. (Buckeye, AZ)

95 Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)

99d Rickey Hood (Millington, TN)





Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region Non-Wing Entries:



Thursday:



1 Jon Stanbrough (Brownsburg, IN)

5d Jerry Johnston (Albuquerque, NM)

6c Rex Calderwood (Phoenix, AZ)

7k Bruce St. James (Phoenix, AZ)

8 Daniel Hutto (Tucson, AZ)

8az Jordan Stetson (Tucson, AZ)

11 Seainn Hendricsen (Glendale, AZ)

16b Robert Ballou (Rocklin, CA)

17 Steve Spiak (Albuquerque, NM)

19 Andrew Reinbold (Gilbert, AZ)

27n Nick Aiuto (Camp Verde, AZ)

29 Travis Rilat (Forney, TX)

32 Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ)

41 Rick Ziehl (Las Cruces, NM)

48T Thomas Ogle (Waddell, AZ)

50 Charles Davis, Jr. (Buckeye, AZ)

51 Cody Cambensy (Tucson, AZ)

52 TBA

52 Stevie Sussex (Waddell, AZ)

74x Joshua Hodges (Tijeras, NM)

77 Dalton Gabbard (Peoria, AZ)

77m R.J. Johnson (Phoenix, AZ)

78 Chris Bonneau (Peoria, AZ)

97 Casey Shuman (Tempe, AZ)





Friday:



2az Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO)

3 Harris Brooks (Phoenix, AZ)

3x Jimmy Crawford (Newberry Park, CA)

5m Brian O'Donnell (Glendale, AZ)

6 Ronnie Clark (Tucson, AZ)

6s Bryan Swinehart (Prescott Valley, AZ)

7 Mike Leslie (Litchfield Park, AZ)

7az Brian Hosford (Gilbert, AZ)

9 Brandon Lane (Gilbert, AZ)

12 Nathan High (Goodyear, AZ)

16 Mike Martin (Yuma, AZ)

19x Chuck Jackson (Albuquerque, NM)

21 Johnathon Henry (Stockton, CA)

26az Bobby Taylor (Oro Valley, AZ)

27h Jeremy Huebner (Tucson, AZ)

36 Dave Darland (Lincoln, IN)

37 David Bezio (El Cajon, CA)

44 Jeremy Sherman (Surprise, AZ)

45x Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM)

55 Tony Everhart (El Cajon, CA)

61x Bo Baker (Grants, NM)

77s Brian Schuler (El Cajon, CA)

82 Sean Teeters (Tucson, AZ)

93 Dustin Morgan (Collinsville, OK)

99 Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)

XXX Zach Sawyers (Gilbert, AZ)