by Lonnie Wheatley
LITTLE ROCK, AR | Oct. 26, 2013 – A total of 105 competitors from 21 different states have battled it out atop I-30 Speedway’s ¼-mile clay oval over two qualifying nights to set the stage for Saturday night’s 26th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires championship slate of feature events.
Six drivers have already made their way into the $15,000-to-win, $2,500-to-start STN finale with the remaining 99 set to battle it out for the remaining 14 starting positions in the crown jewel Sprint Car racing event.
Among those already in the STN finale are Memphis area drivers Sammy Swindell and Anthony Nicholson, both of whom picked off preliminary feature wins. Two-time STN champion Swindell locked into his 11th career STN finale with a Thursday night score while darkhorse Nicholson secured his first career STN championship feature starting berth with Friday night’s win.
Also earning starting spots are prelim runner-ups Tyler Thomas (Collinsville, OK) and Kevin Swindell (Germantown, TN) along with third-place finishers Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe, TX) and Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM).
Celebrating his 58th birthday on Saturday, Sammy Swindell is the only one of seven past STN champions competing this year to already lock into the finale. His son, Kevin Swindell, is second on the seniority charts among the six already locked in with three previous STN championship feature starts.
Kulhanek and Herrera will both start their second career STN finale, while it’s a first for both Nicholson and event rookie Thomas. Kulhanek’s previous start came in 2011 while Herrera’s last STN feature start was in 1990.
Those six drivers will battle it out the Dash for Cash to determine the alignment of the front three rows of the main event that will pay out a minimum of $79,175. The Dash lineup will be determined by a Cheater’s Day style draw.
The balance of the 20-car feature field will be filled by the top seven finishers from the Twin “B” Mains. A 21st starting position is reserved for I-30 Speedway track champion A.G. Rains should he not race his way into the feature field, which would push the feature total alone to $81,675. Rains is slated to start seventh in the Second “D” Main.
A 22nd starting position is available to the top finisher among Wednesday night’s STN Open top four that doesn’t race into the feature tomorrow night. With Wednesday runner-up Herrera racing into the show with a third-place run on Friday, STN Open winner Danny Lasoski, third-place Christopher Bell and fourth-runner Tim Crawley are eligible in that order.
Lasoski starts fifth in Saturday’s First “B” Main that takes seven transfers, Bell starts fifth in the Second “B” Main and Crawley starts 12th in the Second “C” Main. If the STN Open Provisional is utilized, Saturday’s feature payout alone with climb to $82,175
Saturday’s racing action gets under way with hot laps at 6:00 p.m. Tickets for Saturday’s card are just $26. For more information, contact the track at 501-455-4567.
Those unable to be on hand for all the action in person can still catch every lap live via Pay-Per-View. Just checkwww.shorttracknationals.com for details and pricing information.
The lineups…
Locked into “A” Main:
1s Sammy Swindell (Germantown, TN), 16 Anthony Nicholson (Millington, TN), 87T Tyler Thomas (Collinsville, OK) 71 Kevin Swindell (Germantown, TX), 21T Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe, TX) and 45x Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM).
First “B” Main (Top 7 Make Up Inside Rows 4-10 of “A” Main):
6s Chad Kemenah (Alvada, OH) – 82 David Gravel (Watertown, CT)
93m Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK) – 03 Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK)
1m Danny Lasoski (Dover, MO) – 15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX)
6T Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) – 18 Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS)
4am Mike Goodman (Broken Arrow, OK) – 9jr Derek Hagar (Marion, AR)
12d Dalton Davis (Millington, TN) – 3h Brandon Hanks (Burlison, TN)
C Main 1 Transfer 1 – C Main 1 Transfer 2
C Main 1 Transfer 3 – C Main 1 Transfer 4
Second “B” Main (Top 7 Make Up Outside Rows 4-10 of “A” Main):
3g Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) – 23x Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA)
22h Randy Hannagan (San Jose, CA) – 0 Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX)
31b Christopher Bell (Norman, OK) – 17b Ryan Bickett (Ramona, SD)
7s Jason Sides (Bartlett, TN) – 59 Kraig Kinser (Bloomington, IN)
87b Jason Barney (Brewerton, NY) – 10 Terry Gray (Bartlett, TN)
21b Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) – 6 Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa,PA)
C Main 2 Transfer 1 – C Main 2 Transfer 2
C Main 2 Transfer 3 – C Main 2 Transfer 4
First “C” Main (Top 4 Advance to First “B” Main):
95 Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) – 14z Zach Pringle (Benton, AR)
29 Brandon Hahn (Tulsa, OK) – 53 Jack Dover (Springfield, NE)
17g Cody Gardner (Benton, AR) – 21x Joey Moughan (Springfield, IL)
O5 Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, MO) – 9p Parker Price-Miller (Kokomo, IN)
14k Kyle Bellm (Nixa, MO) – 41 Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA)
39 Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS) – 21tx Brandon Schure (El Paso, TX)
D Main 1 Transfer 1 – D Main 1 Transfer 2
D Main 1 Transfer 3 – D Main 1 Transfer 4
Second “C” Main (Top 4 Advance to Second “B” Main):
9 Paul Nienhiser (Chapin, IL) – 17w Harli White (Lindsay, OK)
2j Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) – 1 Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK)
W20 Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH) – 81 Danny Wood (Norman, OK)
1h Kyle Hirst (Loomis, CA) – 17h Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)
26 Marshall Skinner (West Memphis, AR) – 19 Klint Angelette (Thibodaux, LA)
94 Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN) – 88 Tim Crawley (Benton, AR)
D Main 2 Transfer 1 – D Main 2 Transfer 2
D Main 2 Transfer 3 – D Main 2 Transfer 4
First “D” Main (Top 4 Advance to First “C” Main):
49-Shawn Dancer (Delphos, OH) – 57 Kyle Chady (Benton, IL)
8 Alex Sewell (Broken Arrow, OK) – 91 Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, SD)
17x Josh Baughman (Odessa, TX) – 31g Johnny Gardner (Benton, AR)
4pm Whit Gastineau (Moore, OK) – 39c Travis Rilat (Forney, TX)
51 Matt Ward (Glenpool, OK) – 4x Shawn Petersen (Irving, TX)
40dd Caleb Griffith (Sandusky, OH) – 01 Roger Crockett (Medford, OR)
E Main 1 Transfer 1 – E Main 1 Transfer 2
E Main 1 Transfer 3 – E Main 1 Transfer 4
Second “D” Main (Top 4 Advance to Second “C” Main):
11s Patrick Stasa (Kingman, KS) – 45b J.P. Bailey (Fort Worth, TX)
17m Austin Brown (Millstadt, IL) – 74e Claud Estes (Godley, TX)
21k Ryan Kitchen (Weston, NE) – 7m Kevin Ramey (Fort Worth, TX)
3 A.G. Rains (West Memphis, AR) – 27 Beau Stewart (Xenia, OH)
23 Howard Moore (Memphis, TN) – X Charlie Louden (Camden, AR)
36 Jonathan Beason (Broken Arrow, OK) – 5r Jerod Roller (Olive Branch, MS)
E Main 2 Transfer 1 – E Main 2 Transfer 2
E Main 2 Transfer 3 – E Main 2 Transfer 4
First “E” Main (Top 4 Advance to First “D” Main):
27x Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK) – 69 Larry Howery (Hearne, TX)
0m Andy McElhannon (Hernando, MS) – 12m Kolt Walker (Graham, TX)
1j Nic Jenkins (Benton, AR) – 5x Tyson Hall (Longview, TX)
99 Blake Jenkins (Benton, AR) – 93 Chris Sweeney (Houston, TX)
3n Nate Van Haaften (Otley, IA) – 12s Adam Schmidt (Haubstadt, IN)
42 Henry Gustavus (Olive Branch, MS) – 77x Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)
8a Wyatt Burks (Topeka, KS) – 12 Jerrod Hull (Sikeston, MO)
Second “E” Main (Top 4 Advance to Second “D” Main):
12r Nick Roberts (Bloomingburg, OH) – 6b Ryan Beechler (McKinney, TX)
81a Chris Morgan (Independence, MO) – 88m Scottie McDonald (New Caney, TX)
17wx Cole Wood (Elk Grove, CA) – 38 Rick Pringle (Benton, AR)
4j John James (Iowa Park, TX) – 87r Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX)
13TT Triston Tidmore (Hernando, MS) – 13T Taylor Tidmore (Hernando, MS)
13 Todd Fayard (Saucier, MS) – 5s Tyler Smith (Olive Branch, MS)
31 Brandon Berryman (Missouri City, TX)
Lineups subject to change. For more information, contact the track at 501-455-4567.
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