For more info, please visit DIRT and Canandaigua Speedway .
Canandaigua, NY - April 27, 2006 - By Tom Skibinski, DIRT NorthEast PR Director
The party is about to begin as Canandaigua Speedway joins the United States Auto
Club in celebration of it's 'Golden Anniversary' by hosting USAC's first-ever visit
to the Ontario County Fairgrounds on May 6. Canandaigua is set to stage round number
eight ---concluding with a $4,000-to-win 30-lapper--- in the current 2006 USAC
National Sprint Car Series schedule currently inked from April through November.
Joining the wingless USAC Sprint Cars at the "Land of Legends" will be a DIRT
doubleheader featuring a full show of big-block Modified and Sportsman action. Adult
general admission tickets for the national points event are $25 each with $27
reserved seats also available by contacting the DIRT MotorSports NorthEast office at
315/834-6606. Gates open at 5 p.m., Sprint Car time trials start at 6:15 and racing
begins promptly at 7 o'clock. In addition, fans can join in a special Meet & Greet
session with USAC drivers scheduled for 5:30 p.m. behind the main grandstand.
"It's certainly fitting that Canandaigua will be part of USAC's 50th Anniversary
festivities as both share a great amount of racing history in New York State," said
track GM Jeff Farney. Canandaigua Speedway has been active almost every year since
first opening in 1953 while USAC was established in 1956. The NYS Fairgrounds staged
the initial USAC Championship event in the Empire State that same year and
Canandaigua will be the 16th track in New York to host a USAC race in the past
half-century. The last appearance came in 1978 when Greg Leffler won a 40-lap
feature event at the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg.
The list of USAC winners in New York reads like a who's who of sprint car racing:
A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Jim Hurtubise, Mike Mosley, Sammy Sessions, Johnny
Capels, Gary Bettenhausen, Bill Puterbaugh, Rollie Beale, Tommy Astone and Leffler.
The USAC Sprint division has also helped to develop the racing careers of current
NASCAR stars Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and J.J. Yeley.
Stewart was the first driver in USAC history to win championships in all three of
USAC's three main divisions ---Midget, Sprint, Silver Crown--- in the same year.
The USAC Sprint Car Series encompasses 44 races, with 37 offering points.
Canandaigua's inaugural event runs in conjunction with a rare USAC appearance at
Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. on May 5. Levi Jones from Olney, Ill. is the
defending National Champion and this season he will be a teammate of USAC Midget
Champion Josh Wise of Riverside, Calif., with both drivers competing in open-cockpit
entries fielded by former USAC Triple Crown and two-time Nextel Cup points champion
Stewart.
Wise and Jones currently run one-two in USAC Sprint Car points heading to Gas City
(Ind.) I-69 Speedway on April 28, followed by Jay Drake, Bud Kaeding, Tracy Hines,
Bryan Clauson, Dave Darland, Mat Neely, Dave Steele and Jerry Coons Jr.
Date Track/Winner
April 1 Eldora (Oh.) Speedway/Jerry Coons, Jr.
April 9 Anderson (Ind.) Speedway/Dave Darland
April 22 Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway/Jon Stanbrough
April 23 Winchester (Ind.) Speedway/Bryan Clauson
April 28 Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway
April 29 Eldora (Oh.) Speedway
May 5 Lernerville (Pa.) Speedway
May 6 Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SERIES
CURRENT ENTRY LIST - CANANDAIGUA SPEEDWAY, MAY 6
CAR # DRIVER/HOMETOWN ENTRANT/SPONSOR/CHASSIS/ENGINE
2B BUD KAEDING/Campbell, CA...2B Racing/Lucas Oil - Karavan Trailer/Maxim/Gaerte
3T TONY BEABER/Gibsonburg, OH...Alan Toth Motorsports/Hank & Associates -
Title Search Consultants/Beaberbuilt/Hampshire
10 MAT NEELY/Robinson, IL...R & B Racing/Truckers 24 Hour - Jockish
Flowers/Twister/Gaerte
10T TBA ...R & B Racing/Truckers 24 Hour - Jockish Flowers/Twister/Gaerte
11 DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN...Walker-Guiducci Racing/Hoosier Race Tires -
Weld Wheels/Bullet/Claxton
11x DEREK O'DELL/East Alton, IL...Bob Farmer/Simmons Cooper - Farmer's
Fiberglass/Maxim/Foxco
12 JUSTIN MARVEL/Pittsboro, IN...R&B Racing/Truckers 24 Hour - Jockish
Flowers/Competition Welding/Gaerte
20 JOSH WISE/Riverside, CA...Tony Stewart Racing/Mopar - Bass Pro
Shops/Maxim/Mopar
21 LEVI JONES/Olney, IL...Tony Stewart Racing/Mopar - Bass Pro
Shops/Maxim/Mopar
22w SCOTTY WEIR/Marion, IN...James Weir/Industrial Maintenance
Specialists - Wike Equipment/Maxim/Gaerte
29 KYLE NICHOLAS/Naples, FL...Tony Stewart Racing/Mopar - Bass Pro
Shops/Maxim/Mopar
36 BRADY SHORT/Bedford, IN...Don Short/Indiana Stoneworks - Short
Trucking/Maxim/Gaerte
57B JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA...Tom Burkey/Superior Tank &
Trailer/F-5/Fisher Chevy
62 JAY DRAKE/Brownsburg, IN...BWB Racing/Hannig Construction - First
Financial Bank/F-5/Foxco
63 REX NORRIS III/Knightstown, IN...Rex Norris III/Rex Norris Co. - Frosty's
Wind Break Tires/Kunz/Mopar
67 BRYAN CLAUSON/Noblesville, IN...Keith Kunz Motorsports/Advanced Racing -
Dodge/Bullet/Dodge
67k CORY KRUSEMAN/Ventura, CA...Keith Kunz Motorsports/Kwik Change - Hoosier
Tire/Bullet/Mopar
69 JERRY COONS JR./Tucson, AZ...Dynamics, Inc./Kroger-Tide -
Bounty-Pringles/F-5/Mopar
71 DARREN HAGEN/Riverside, CA...Darren Hagen/Massey Truck Repair -
Southwest Crane/Bullet/Chevy
92 DARON CLAYTON/Sikeston, MO Clayton Motorsports/Clayton Fabrication -
Weld Racing/DRC/Foxco
Canandaigua Speedway is located on County Road10 at the Ontario County Fairgrounds,
just 1-1/2-miles north of Routes 5&20, and is easily accessible from the NYS Thruway
(I-90), taking Exit 43 from the west or Exit 44 from the east. Additional
information can be obtained by calling 585/394-0961 on raceday or during the week by
dialing General Manager Jeff Farney (jefffarney@hotmail.com) at the track office
315/730-4345. Log into www.canandaiguaspeedway.com on the internet any time for the
most updated rosters, results, point standings and race reports as the season swings
into high gear.
The DIRT MotorSportsT Advance Auto Parts Modified Series is brought to fans across
the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance
Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include
AMB i.t., F.X. Caprara Car Companies and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the
contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein
Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, DART Machinery, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra
Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Miller Electric Manufacturing Company, Penske Shocks and
Wrisco Industries.