Against All Odds -- Bruce Goes Back-to-Back in Short Track Nationals!
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (November 7, 2009) -- Tony Bruce, Jr., of Liberal, KS,
overcame all variety of odds to pocket the hefty $15,000 winner's share
in Saturday night's 22nd Annual O'Reilly Short Track Nationals presented
by Hoosier Tires 40-lap championship finale atop I-30 Speedway's
high-banked, 0x00bc-mile clay oval.
Bruce survived some unpredictable opening laps that had the capacity
crowd abuzz, took command on the fifth round and then worked traffic to
perfection in the final stages to secure his first Lucas Oil Sprint Car
Series presented by K&N Filters triumph of the season.
The driver of the Rider-powered No. 18 Maxim beat Wayne Johnson, Shane
Stewart, Travis Rilat and a rallying Sammy Swindell to the stripe to
become just the third repeat winner in the history of the prestigious
event, joining the elite ranks of four-time STN winner Gary Wright and
three-time STN champ Steve Kinser.
Bruce also became just the third back-to-back winner of the Short
Track Nationals, a feat previously accomplished only by Kinser in the
inaugural two editions two decades ago (1988 and 1989) and most recently
by Wright in 2003 and 2004.
"I don't think anybody picked us to win this thing, they all thought
last year was a fluke," an enthused Bruce commented in victory lane. "We
showed 'em though, the No. 18 is for real."
While the stellar 101-car field of entries from throughout the nation as
well as Mexico would have seemingly been enough to deal with, the Bruce
team faced another major obstacle after a hot-lapping incident set them
into scramble mode.
"It tore out the entire rear end, driveline, you name it," Bruce
commented of the pre-race hot lap troubles. "My guys did a great job
just getting everything back to together and the car was still great
after that, I just had to drive the wheels off of it."
Which is exactly what Bruce did after a fifth-place finish in the Odus
Pack Building Materials Dash for Cash landed him inside the third row of
the $78,950 feature event that included a minimum of $2,200 for each of
the 22 starters.
Sammy Swindell earned the pole position for the main event by winning
that Dash, with Oklahoma's Danny Wood running second to earn the front
row starting position. Along with those one-two Dash finishes came the
opportunity to take the COMP Cams Gambler's Challenge that would result
in a starting position of fourth, sixth, eighth or tenth depending upon
the card drawn, which would have upped the winner's share to $20,000
upon acceptance.
Swindell wasted little time offering up a response of "No", preferring
to keep the pole starting position although he would soon be faced with
an even bigger, unanticipated challenge. Given the same offer, Wood
kidded, "Should I take the challenge or keep my job, I think I'll keep
my job," in reference to Wayne Johnson's acceptance of the Challenge
last year and subsequent dismissal.
As the green flag flew on the feature field with Swindell and Wood
leading the way, the veteran duo battled through the opening circuit
with Wood edging into the lead upon the completion of the first round.
After a Tommy Worley, Jr., spin in turn four after two laps, Sammy
Swindell battled into the top position on the third round before another
caution flew when fourth-starter Tim Crawley biked it and bounced to a
stop in turn four.
Among the pre-race favorites, Crawley was towed to the pit area with
apparent race-ending front-end damage.
But, as the field paced under the caution laps, Swindell's left rear
tire began losing air pressure. And, when action resumed, Swindell
struggled in turns one and two with Wood pouncing into the lead on the
low side as Swindell wrestled his machine. The ensuing chaos sent 2006
event winner Jason Johnson tumbling off the turn two embankment as he
tried to navigate around the jumbled cars of Swindell, Wayne Johnson and
Tony Bruce, Jr.
While Swindell made a quick trip to the work area to reinflate the left
rear tire and remove the faulty bleeder that could have cost him the
$15,000 winner's share before rejoining the fray, Crawley was able to
rejoin the action as well.
Wood found himself out front again after all the early dramatics in
front of 1997 STN king Wayne Johnson and Bruce. Wood wasn't there for
long though, as Bruce needed little more than a lap to charge by both
Sooner State reps on the high side for the lead.
After a Ricky Logan spin in turn four with five rounds in the record
books, Bruce and Wood battled for the point over the next several laps
as eighth-starter Shane Stewart soon battled into third only to lose
several positions when he did a quick 360-degree spin in turn two after
trying to squeeze underneath Wood.
Another four laps later, the red lights flickered when Paul McMahan
launched off of turn two in wild fashion after contact with Jonathan
Allard. McMahan endo'd over the retaining fence off the backstretch
and landed against the nose of Wayne Johnson's tow rig, walking away
uninjured.
The frenzied opening 15 circuits were followed by 25 non-stop green flag
laps. Bruce held off Wood on the lap 16 restart, with Wayne Johnson,
ninth-starter Travis Rilat and a resurgent Stewart moving past Wood by
the 20th round as Swindell sliced through the field, even bouncing off
brother Jeff at one point along the way in turn two.
Into traffic by the 22nd circuit, Bruce was flawless over the final
rounds, never allowing Johnson the opportunity to close the narrow gap
and mount a serious challenge.
Bruce took the checkered flag a half dozen car-lengths ahead of
Johnson's Fisher-powered Fattfro Motorsports No. 14aj Maxim mount,
with current Lucas Oil Sprint Car points leader Stewart battling back
into the show position aboard Paul Silva's Wesmar-powered ProBilt
Construction No. 57 A.R.T. in the final circuits.
Rilat crossed the stripe fourth in the Shark-powered F&J Construction
No. 29 Triple-X, with Swindell rallying from the tail of the field to
round out the top five in the Parker-powered Tom Rolfe Trucking No. 10.
Allard earned STN Rookie of the Year honors by racing from 13th to sixth
in the Bobby Sparks No. 91 Eagle, with Wood slipping to seventh in the
H&H Enterprises No. 94 over the final half of the race.
After losing an engine on his qualifying night, Jesse Hockett charged
from 20th to eighth in the Tom Buch/VKCC Motorsports No. 13 JEI, with
fellow Show-Me Stater Jerrod Hull in ninth. Making his first STN
appearance since 1989, Indiana's Danny Smith completed the top ten
aboard one of two Doc Sloan entries.
Four drivers made their first career STN championship feature start
including event rookies Allard and Donnie Ray Crawford (15th) along with
Nebraska's Jack Dover (16th) and Mexico's Don Grable, whose number was
drawn among the non-qualifiers for the 22nd starting position. Grable
was credited with a 21st place finish after an early exit followed a lap
three spin.
Marshall Skinner battled amongst the top five much of the way before
clipping an infield tire in the closing laps and pulling to the infield.
After battling from deep in the field after heat race action to earn an
eleventh place finish on his qualifying night, Derek Hagar was awarded
the Shed Road Auto Parts Josh Howard Determination Award.
A 14th-place finisher in his first STN championship feature start since
1999, Ricky Logan's number was drawn to receive a lightened Dart engine
block from Wells Racing Engines, an award worth approximately $4,000.
After 17 top-ten finishes in 17 previous STN championship feature
events, four-time event winner Gary Wright missed the cut for the main
event.J"The Texan" was the only driver ranked among the current top ten
in Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters points to not
make it into Saturday night's main event.
With the top three finishers from both the Thursday and Friday night
preliminary feature events locked into Saturday night's main event,
92 drivers returned to battle for the remaining positions through a
series of ten heat races and eight qualifying races. Double passing
points were added to preliminary night point totals with the top six in
total points earning positions 7-12 in the main event (McMahan, Stewart,
Rilat, Skinner, Crawford and D. Smith) and the balance lined up in eight
Last Chance Qualifying Races with the winners advancing to the finale.
Lane Whittington, Gary Taylor, Kevin Ramey, Donovan Peterson, McMahan,
Ray Allen Kulhanek, Matt Covington, Hagar, Stewart and Jeff Swindell won
Saturday night's heat races, with Claud Estes, Brandon Moseley, Mark
Shirshekan and Kaley Gharst all getting upside down without injury.
Jeff Swindell, Tommy Worley, Jr., Allard, Hull, Logan, Hockett, Dover
and A.G. Rains all won Qualifying Races to advance to the main event.
The first Qualifying Race got off to a brutal start with at least two
cars tumbling down the frontstretch in a melee that eliminated Anthony
Nicholson, Garry Bell and Lewis Jenkins, Jr. Clipped in the right
shoulder by part of another car, Jenkins had to be cut out of his car
and transported to a local hospital where he underwent successful
surgery for a damaged deltoid muscle.
With 18 states and Mexico represented among this year's 101-car field,
more than $107,000 in cash was paid out over the course of the 22nd
Annual O'Reilly Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires.
22nd Annual O'Reilly Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires
Championship Finale Results:
Locked in from Preliminary Features: 14aj-Wayne Johnson, 41-Jason
Johnson, 10s-Sammy Swindell, 88T-Tim Crawley, 18-Tony Bruce, Jr.,
94-Danny Wood.
Heat Races -- Double Passing/Finishing Points (Top Six in Combined
Points from Qualifying Night and Saturday Night Heat Race Transfer to
Positions 7-12 of "A" Main; Balance Lined Straight Up According to Point
Totals in 8 Last Chance Qualifying Races):
First Heat (10 Laps): 1. 9w-Lane Whittington, 2. 27-Andy Shouse, 3.
28-Jonathan Cornell, 4. 91a-Jonathan Allard, 5. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 6.
7s-Paul Sides, 7. 88b-Mike Boston, 8. 8m-Mike Wells, 9. 5k-Jerry Kamer,
10. 19-Jay Adams.
Second Heat (10 Laps): 1. 61a-Gary Taylor, 2. 32-Garry Bell, 3. 13-Jesse
Hockett, 4. 1m-Sean McClelland, 5. 87r-Aaron Reutzel, 6. 7L-Darren
Long, 7. 16p-Dewayne Prince, 8. w20-Greg Wilson, 9. 9x-Gary Wright, 10.
87x-Billy Melton.
Third Heat (10 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 1g-Cody Gardner, 3. 3a-A.G .
Rains, 4. 10a-Ricky Logan, 5. 29r-Travis Rilat, 6. 5L-Eric Lutz, 7 .
16n-Anthony Nicholson, 8. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 9. 1jm-Jim Moughan .
Fourth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 11xs-Donovan Peterson, 2. 03-Joe Wood, Jr.,
3. 1xp-Chad Pitts, 4. 86-Josh Fisher, 5. 8xx-Don Grable, 6. 31-Brandon
Berryman, 7. 91m-Marty Stanford, 8. 87b-Kent Buckley, 9. 74e-Claud
Estes.
Fifth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 3d-Paul McMahan, 2. 40a-Ernie Ainsworth, 3.
14T-Tyler Brown, 4. 39-Brad Bowden, 5. 8s-Steve Short, 6. 71-Channin
Tankersley, 7. 29h-Lyle Howey III, 8. 17g-Bruce Griffith, Jr., 9.
165-Haley Arnold.
Sixth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 17c-Ray Allen Kulhanek, 2. 75-Don Young, 3.
87m-Brian McClelland, 4. 55-Donnie Ray Crawford, 5. 74c-Brandon Corn, 6.
11c-Chad Corken, 7. 2a-Randy Hibbs, 8. 11m-Brandon Moseley. DNS: 77-Kyle
Larson.
Seventh Heat (10 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3.
26m-Marshall Skinner, 4. 12h-Jerrod Hull, 5. 93-Dustin Morgan, 6. 4x-Jan
Howard, 7. 23-Seth Bergman, 8. 40r-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 9. 10h-Josh
Higday.
Eighth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 9jr-Derek Hagar, 2. d12-Danny Smith, 3.
8x-Chris Williams, 4. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 5. 58-Wade Oliver, 6. 97-Aaron
Berryhill, 7. 12d-Dalton Davis, 8. 40j-Junior Jenkins, 9. 1r-Scott
Reneau.
Ninth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 57-Shane Stewart, 2. 51s-Lee Sowell, 3. 88k-J .
Kinder, 4. 16a-Koty Adams, 5. 2d-Dusty Ballenger, 6. 9s-Justin Sturch, .
7 8z-Zach Pringle, 8. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 9. 3x-Mark Shirshekan .
Tenth Heat (10 Laps): 1. 12s-Jeff Swindell, 2. 53-Jack Dover, 3.
7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr., 4. 2w-Kenneth Walker, 5. a12-Tommy Worley, Jr.,
6. 20-Kyle Sager, 7. 6s-Kaley Gharst, 8. 72-Sherman Davis, 9. 14k-Kyle
Bellm.
Odus Pack Building Materials Dash for Cash - Finishing Order Determines
Front Three Rows of "A" Feature:
Pack's Dash for Cash (6 Laps -- Starting position in parentheses):
1. 10s-Sammy Swindell (1) [$500], 2. 94-Danny Wood (2) [$250], 3.
14aj-Wayne Johnson (4) [$200], 4. 88T-Tim Crawley (3) [$150], 5. 18-Tony
Bruce, Jr. (5) [$125], 6. 41-Jason Johnson (6) [$100].
Last Chance Qualifying Races -- Winner from Each Last Chance Qualifier
Advances to "A" Main, Lined Up by Total Points from Qualifying Night and
Saturday Night Heat Race:
First Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 12s-Jeff Swindell, 2. 61a-Gary Taylor, .
3 95-Matt Covington, 4. 39-Brad Bowden, 5. 31-Brandon Berryman, 6 .
11m-Brandon Moseley, 7. 16n-Anthony Nicholson, 8. 32-Garry Bell, 9 .
7h-Lewis Jenkins, Jr. DNS: 8m-Mike Wells, 2a-Randy Hibbs .
Second Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. a12-Tommy Worley, Jr., 2. 17c-Ray Allen
Kulhanek, 3. 14T-Tyler Brown, 4. 4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 9s-Justin Sturch,
6. 8z-Zach Pringle, 7. 5L-Eric Lutz, 8. 7L-Darren Long, 9. 1xp-Chad
Pitts, 10. 165-Haley Arnold. DNS: 14k-Kyle Bellm.
Third Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 91a-Jonathan Allard, 2. 86-Josh Fisher,
3. 40r-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 4. 93-Dustin Morgan, 5. 58-Wade Oliver, 6.
20-Kyle Sager, 7. 11c-Chad Corken, 8. 74c-Brandon Corn, 9. 91m-Marty
Stanford, 10. 40j-Junior Jenkins, 11. 19-Jay Adams.
Fourth Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 12h-Jerrod Hull, 2. 1g-Cody Gardner, 3.
7m-Kevin Ramey, 4. 2d-Dusty Ballenger, 5. 8s-Steve Short, 6. 97-Aaron
Berryhill, 7. 51s-Lee Sowell, 8. 87a-Andrew Marshala, 9. 17g-Bruce
Griffith, Jr., 10. 5k-Jerry Kamer. DNS: 88b-Mike Boston.
Fifth Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 10a-Ricky Logan, 2. 9jr-Derek Hagar, .
3 w20-Greg Wilson, 4. 71-Channin Tankersley, 5. 28-Jonahan Cornell, .
6 16p-Dewayne Prince, 7. 8x-Chris Williams, 8. 12d-Dalton Davis, 9 .
1r-Scott Reneau, 10. 27-Andy Shouse. DNS: 87b-Kent Buckley .
Sixth Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 13-Jesse Hockett, 2. 4x-Jan Howard, 3.
23-Seth Bergman, 4. 17b-Ryan Bickett, 5. 8xx-Don Grable, 6. 16a-Koty
Adams, 7. 29h-Lyle Howey Iii, 8. 87x-Billy Melton, 9. 8k-J. Kinder, 10.
75-Don Young, 11. 2w-Kenneth Walker.
Seventh Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 53-Jack Dover, 2. 21T-Tommy Bryant, 3.
9x-Gary Wright, 4. 1jm-Jim Moughan, 5. 40a-Ernie Ainsworth, 6. 87r-Aaron
Reutzel, 7. 11xs-Donovan Peterson, 8. 7s-Paul Sides. DNS: 74e-Claud
Estes, 77-Kyle Larson.
Eighth Qualifier (10 Laps): 1. 3a-A.G. Rains, 2. 99-Brady Bacon, 3.
03-Joe Wood, Jr., 4. 87m-Brian McClelland, 5. 10h-Josh Higday, 6.
72-Sherman Davis, 7. 1m-Sean McClelland, 8. 9w-Lane Whittington. DNS:
6s-Kaley Gharst, 3x-Mark Shirshekan.
Twenty-first starting position awarded to I-30 Speedway track champion
Justin Sturch (track champion provisional), 22nd position awarded to
Don Grable via draw of drivers that competed in both preliminary and
Saturday night competition.
22nd Annual O'Reilly Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires
Championship "A" Feature:
A Feature (40 Laps -- Starting position in parentheses): 1. 18-Tony
Bruce, Jr. (5) [$15,000], 2. 14aj-Wayne Johnson (3) [$10,000], 3.
57-Shane Stewart (8) [$7,500], 4. 29r-Travis Rilat (9) [$5,000], 5.
10s-Sammy Swindell (1) [$2,600], 6. 91a-Jonathan Allard (13) [$2,500],
7. 94-Danny Wood (2) [$2,450], 8. 13-Jesse Hockett (20) [$2,400], 9.
12h-Jerrod Hull (14) [$2,375], 10. d12-Danny Smith (12) [$2,350], 11.
12s-Jeff Swindell (16) [$2,325], 12. 88T-Tim Crawley (4) [$2,300], 13.
9s-Justin Sturch (21) [$2,275], 14. 10a-Ricky Logan (19) [$2,250], 15.
55-Donnie Ray Crawford (11) [$2,225], 16. 53-Jack Dover (15) [$2,200],
17. 26m-Marshall Skinner (10) [$2,200], 18. 3a-A.G. Rains (18) [$2,200],
19. a12-Tommy Worley, Jr. (17) [$2,200], 20. 3d-Paul McMahan (7)
[$2,200], 21. 8xx-Don Grable (22) [$2,200], 22. 41-Jason Johnson (6)
[$2,200].
Lap Leaders: Danny Wood 1-2, Sammy Swindell 3, Wood 4, Tony Bruce, Jr .
5-40 .
Lucas Oil Sprint Car Presented by K&N Filters Points (Top Twenty): 1.
Shane Stewart 2,428, 2. Jason Johnson 2,404, 3. Gary Wright 2,378, 4.
Travis Rilat 2,267, 5. Paul McMahan 2,216, 6. Tim Crawley 2,193, 7.
Danny Wood 2,170, 8. Tony Bruce, Jr. 2,132, 9. Jack Dover 2,113, 10.
Jesse Hockett 2,111, 11. Sean McClelland 1,834, 12. Kenneth Walker
1,768, 13. Darren Long 1,659, 14. Chad Corken 1,627, 15. Gary Taylor
1,611, 16. Seth Bergman 1,537, 17. Brady Bacon 1,355, 18. Gavin Punch
1,344, 19. Wayne Johnson 1,268, 20. Ricky Logan 1,124.
-credit: ascs
