12/13/2010
ASCS
Jason Johnson Takes Top Lucas Oil ASCS Honors!
[i Baldaccini & McClelland Honored as Well for ASCS Regional Titles]
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (December 12, 2010) – While he’s already busy racing “Down Under”, Jason Johnson and his Jason Johnson Racing team was the top honoree as a healthy $250,000 point fund plus contingencies and other prizes were distributed at the 19th Annual ASCS Awards Banquet presented by Brodix on Sunday afternoon at the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa, OK.
A native of Eunice, LA, Johnson and the Jason Johnson Racing team, formed at the dawn of the 2010 season, reeled in the lion's share of the awards, collecting $60,000 for his second Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National championship after capturing his first title in 2008.
In addition to the 15 Lucas Oil ASCS honorees, the top ten from both the ASCS Lone Star and American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Regions were honored during Sunday's ceremonies, with Eric Baldaccini (Lone Star) and Sean McClelland (Sooner) taking top honors.
The top ten in the three ASCS2 Micro Sprint divisions were recognized as well, with Blake Hahn (Multi), Christopher Bell (Non-Wing) and Karley Kay Dobson (Restricted “A”) the champions.
Picking off a series best five feature wins over the course of the 2010 season aboard the JJR Don Ott-powered Haynes/Pope Transportation No. 41 Maxim, Johnson took the $60,000 title by a 129-point margin over 20-year-old Brady Bacon. Bacon edged 2009 champion Shane Stewart by just five points for runner-up honors.
While Johnson edged both Bacon and Stewart at five-to-four in the win column, his 20 top-fives compared to 14 for Bacon and 13 for both Stewart and Jack Dover proved to be the winning edge for the “Ragin’ Cajun”, who also piled up a dozen ASCS Regional wins in his 2010 spare time.
With Johnson in Australia, crew members Wayne Priddy, Keith Turney and Dustin Pope were on hand to accept the championship hardware and $60,000 champion’s cut, with Richard Strunks addressing the large gathering.
Joining Johnson as Lucas Oil ASCS honorees were runner-up Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK), third-ranked Stewart (Bixby, OK), fourth-ranked Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), fifth-ranked Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), sixth-ranked Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS), seventh-ranked Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), eighth-ranked Kyle Hirst (Loomis, CA), ninth-ranked Ricky Logan (Little Rock, AR), tenth-ranked Danny Wood (Norman, OK), 11th-ranked Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK), 12th-ranked Darren Long (Elida, OH), 13th-ranked Dustin Morgan (Tulsa, OK), 14th-ranked Channin Tankersley (Highlands, TX) and 15th-ranked Gary Wright (Hooks, TX).
Fourteen drivers received awards for Perfect Attendance including Johnson, Bacon, Stewart, Dover, Crawley, Bruce, Jr., Chappell, Hirst, Logan, Wood, Covington, Long, Morgan and Tankersley. Another two teams, including Wright and the Van Dyke No. 5h, missed fewer than a handful of nights of competition.
JJR crew chief Wayne Priddy, who shifted from the Tony Bruce, Jr., camp in June, picked up the Brodix Lee Maier Crew Chief of the Year award.
After ranking 17th in 2009 Lucas Oil ASCS National points in his first full season of winged Sprint Car competition, Brady Bacon contended for the top position throughout 2010 and picked up Most Improved honors with a ranking of second to Johnson in the final rundown.
Bacon also earned the Ronald Laney Hard Charger Award by accumulating the most passing points in heat race action during the 2010 season.
Loomis, California’s Kyle Hirst got the nod in the Brodix Rookie of the Year battle, worth a set of Brodix heads among other items, by besting fellow rookie contenders Covington, Morgan, Tankersley and Justyn Cox.
Lori and Marc Dover, owners of the No. 53 that 20-year-old Jack Dover drove to a fourth-place finish in points, were presented with the Sportsmanship Award for their tireless efforts in furthering the sport of Sprint Car racing and the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series. The Dovers arranged an organized the Jesse Hockett Quilt drawing after Hockett’s tragic passing in May, putting the quilt on display at each event and selling a total of $7,000 worth of tickets throughout the balance of the season. Jesse’s father, Jack Hockett, was on hand and drew a lucky Arizona race fan’s name as the winner of the Quilt.
Twenty-one-year-old Matt Covington of Glenpool, OK, was presented with the Horizon Award, which is annually awarded to a driver who displays promise of glory in future seasons with ASCS.
Nineteen-year-old Highlands, TX, shoe Channin Tankersley was presented the 2010 Young Lion award, which is annually presented to a promising driver under 21 years of age for their support of the American Sprint Car Series. Tankersley also received a set of heads from Brodix as a wildcard award.
Tankersley was also presented with the Lowest Average Draw award, with Tony Bruce, Jr., at the other end of the spectrum with the Highest Average Draw award. Both awards were worth $500 plus a product certificate.
Washington’s Austen Wheatley was named the Newcomer of the Year, an award worth a bare set of Brodix heads.
Tulsa’s Sean McClelland picked off his second American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region championship after taking his first series title in 2006, with other Sooner honorees including Joe Wood, Jr., Kenneth Walker, Andy Shouse, Donnie Ray Crawford, Brian McClelland and Michelle Decker.
Eric Baldaccini of Keller, TX, captured his first series championship by taking top ASCS Lone Star honors, with other Lone Star honorees including Claud Estes, Justin Melton, Brandon Corn, Martin Edwards, John Ricketts, Kolt Walker, Brian McClelland, Preston Peebles II and Scott Reneau.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
Submitted By: Lonnie Wheatley
