I am going to make a bold prediction here and say the fans will be the big winner. I think this will be one of the most competitive sprint weeks in history. So many great drivers and teams that we can enjoy watching. Qualifying will be big and the draw will be huge. I can't hardly wait to see the guys up on the wheel.

Jesse will be competing with ASCS National tour, which will put him in South Dakota on 7/11, then in Elma, WA on 7/17 and 7/18....probably won't catch The Rocket for this years ISW Good Luck JESSE! My pick for ISW would be BC or DD.

"Grip it and Rip it, just don't Flip it!"

Tbird

Wow, that is really surprising he will not be running sprintweek. I thought he was going to try and win the USAC championship this year. He is running 3rd and not that far out so I thought for sure he would be a threat for the sprintweek title and the USAC title this year.

I think DD will go on a winning streak during ISW, Susan will be there cheering him on; my second and third picks would be Jerry Coon Jr. and Chad Boat respectively.

Patti

Yes, I am surprised also. Wonder why he would leave Indiana when he is contending for the USAC title? And a real contender for Indiana Sprint Week. Gotta say I am disappointed.

Bc

If the past couple of years are any indication it will be a battle between Levi, Darland and Stanbrough. I'm guessing Levi will win. He's already won at Haubstadt, Terre Haute and Bloomington this year and the lone USAC shows at Gas City and Lawrenceburg he was 2nd both races.

His focus all along was to run for the ASCS National title. ASCS was rained out a ton early on, which allowed him to run whenever and wherever (including a bunch of nonwing races). If the entire USAC sprint schedule was on dirt, the Rocket would no doubt be one of the top contenders for the title... but he doesn't have the pavement thing figured out yet. We'll see how he does the next three ASCS shows. If he struggles, I would think it would make more sense to stay closer to home and do ISW, as opposed to going 2,000 in the opposite direction! We'll see though...

Brady Short may be the hottest driver coming into Indiana Sprint Week, racking up quite a few wins and running really strong when he hasn't won. If he's within striking distance or has the lead when they roll into Haubstadt, you won't get me to bet against him.

Bryan Clauson has either won, almost won or finished well at every track, except Kamp this year. Plus, he's fresh off winning Midget Week. And hopefully he used his allotment of bad luck, early in the season. You'd better bring your work boots if you plan to out-strategize, out-think and then out-drive Bryan and Tim over a 7 race span.

Not only is Jerry Coons, Jr. the defending national sprint champion, he showed last year that he's capable of going on a tear and winning a bunch of races in a row. Even in this piranha tank of a series.

Levi Jones is one of the most consistent sprint car drivers of all time. Other competitors know that it's unlikely you'll beat Levi if you have even one bad finish in this series. Two mistakes and you're toast. Plus, he owns Terre Haute and has a lien on Haubstadt.

Dave Darland has represented excellence for so many years. Almost every start ends up being either a win or a quality finish. Competitors know that if they beat DD, they're going to have to earn it. Laying back, waiting for him to make a mistake is a losing strategy. Especially when he's driving a car that Benic's prepared.

Cole Whitt drives like he's 30. And he's done so, since he was like 15. He's Levi Jones-type consistent and way beyond his years in poise and ability. And this year, he's demonstrated more of a killer instinct. I wouldn't be surprised at all, if Cole wins Sprint Week.

When everything is in place and working well, Jon Stanbrough is the biggest fish of them all. Shane Cottle is right there in the same league as the biggest fish. We'll all benefit if those two teams hit their stride, over the next several weeks.

Plus, we have great drivers like Chad Boat, Brad Sweet, Robert Ballou, Jeff Bland Jr, Bill Puterbaugh, Damion Gardner, Nic Fass, Casey Shuman, Hunter Schurenberg, Shane Hmeil, Blake Fitzpatrick and Kurt Gross lining up at all of these venues to get their chance to prove that they're every bit as good as the guys mentioned above.

Who's gonna win this thing? I agree with Mike. All of us. Everyone that gets to go see the World Series of Sprint Car Racing.

Jerry

Well now, there, then........since Jerry Shaw has already picked everyone else , I guess I'll go with Gordy Lee while choosing Duke Cook as my long shot possibility.