For more info, please visit DIRT and Canandaigua Speedway .
Canandaigua, NY - May 2, 2006 - By Tom Skibinski, DIRT NorthEast PR Director
The United States Auto Club has sanctioned 73 races in New York State. USAC's
'Golden Anniversary' celebration, 1956-2006, will continue on May 6 as Canandaigua
Speedway becomes just the fifth track to host a national championship event for its
Sprint Car division.
Joining the wingless USAC Sprint Cars in series race number eight, a $4,000-to-win
30-lapper 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 on Saturday with USAC
drivers scheduled to appear at 5:30 p.m. behind the main grandstand.
While USAC was officially established in 1956, its first organized sprint car event
in New York was staged at Lancaster Speedway four years later. Parnelli Jones
captured the 30-lap feature at the Western N.Y. half-miler that was designated as an
Eastern Sprint Series points race. USAC merged its Eastern and Midwest series to
recognize a single National Sprint Car champion in 1961. Canandaigua's stop will be
the first for sprint cars in NYS since Greg Leffler won at the Erie County
Fairgrounds in Hamburg in 1978, although most recently USAC brought its premier
Champ Car Series to the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse during Super DIRT
Week '03. Along with Lancaster and the Syracuse and Hamburg ovals, Oswego Speedway
is the only other track in the Empire State to promote the USAC Sprinters.
The list of USAC Sprint Car winners in New York is headlined by Mario Andretti (3)
and Gary Bettenhausen (3), followed by Jim Hurtubise (2), A.J. Foyt, Mike Mosley,
Sammy Sessions, Johnny Capels, Bill Puterbaugh, Rollie Beale, Tommy Astone, Jones
and Leffler. Current divisional point leaders ready to gain membership into this
exclusive club are Josh Wise-285, Levi Jones-267, Bud Kaeding-257, Jerry Coons
Jr.-247, Bryan Clauson-241, Mat Neely-221, Jon Stanbrough-217, Jay Drake-206, Darren
Hagen-199 and Dave Darland-193. Jones from Olney, Ill. is the defending National
Champion and is a teammate of USAC Midget Champion 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 Tony Stewart. The youthful cast of players
in the overall point standings includes nine drivers under the age of 24 years.
Date Laps NYS Track/USAC Sprint Car Winner
9/9/60 30 Lancaster Speedway/Parnelli Jones
9/8/61 30 Lancaster Speedway/A.J. Foyt
9/7/62 30 Lancaster Speedway/Jim Hurtubise
6/7/63 30 Lancaster Speedway/Jim Hurtubise
8/28/66 100 Oswego Speedway/Mario Andretti
7/16/67 50 Oswego Speedway/Mario Andretti
7/16/67 50 Oswego Speedway/Mario Andretti
7/15/68 50 Oswego Speedway/Mike Mosley
7/15/68 50 Oswego Speedway/Sammy Sessions
8/24/68 30 Erie County Fairgrounds/Johnny Capels
8/23/69 30 Erie County Fairgrounds/Gary Bettenhausen
10/26/69 50 New York State Fairgrounds/Gary Bettenhausen
10/26/69 50 New York State Fairgrounds/Bill Puterbaugh
8/29/70 40 Erie County Fairgrounds/Rollie Beale
8/27/76 40 Erie County Fairgrounds/Tommy Astone
8/26/77 40 Erie County Fairgrounds/Gary Bettenhausen
8/25/78 40 Erie County Fairgrounds/Greg Leffler
A total of 16 tracks in New York State have already run USAC events since 1956 with
Watkins Glen International topping the list with 19. Current DIRT MotorSports
affiliates Syracuse (18), Cayuga County Fair Speedway (2), Fulton Speedway (2),
Lebanon Valley Speedway, Orange County Fair Speedway and Brewerton Speedway, along
with Erie Co. (6), Oswego (6), Five Mile Point Speedway (6), Lancaster (4), Islip
Speedway (3), Ithaca-Dryden Speedway, Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Airborne Park and
Black Rock Speedway have included Silver Crown, Grand-Am, Formula 2000, Midget,
Sprint Car, Formula 5000, Road Racing and Championship events in their own USAC
specials during the past half-century.
In 2006 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.
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/Shane Cottle
April 29 Eldora (Oh.) Speedway/Rob Chaney
May 5 Lernerville (Pa.) Speedway
May 6 Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway
USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR SERIES
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.