[i Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (October 6, 2009)]
The Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region fires back into action this Saturday night with the Ninth Annual Hall of Fame Classic at Tucson’s USA Raceway.
An event formerly held at the now shuttered Manzanita Speedway, induction ceremonies for the Arizona Motorsports Hall of Fame will take place during the night’s intermission for the five inductees of the Class of 2009.
Those that will be inducted on Saturday night include Harlan File (deceased), Gene Giles, Don Massetto, Hershel McGriff and Joe Dillon (deceased), joining the 79 members of the Hall of Fame that came into existence in 1986.
As is tradition at the Hall of Fame Classic, ten drivers, many of whom are in the Hall of Fame, will be signing autographs on the main concourse starting at 5:00 p.m., when the gate opens. Former Tucson drivers Bob Huebner, Bob Cleberg, Marion Smiley, Carl Trimmer, Benton Burns, Frank McDaniel, Hoot Gibson and Don Sink will be joined at the autograph table by Lealand McSpadden and Billy Shuman.
Saturday’s racing action for the Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region, also the seventh of eight rounds of Discount Tire Co. ASCS Challenge competition, sets the table for the wingless portion of the 42nd Annual Western World Championships presented by Old Tucson Studios, a three-day affair set for November 19-21 with a $5,000 winner’s share up for grabs.
Closing in on his first ASCS title is Buckeye, Arizona’s Charles Davis, Jr., who holds a 46-point advantage over Phoenix shoe R.J. Johnson, with Nathan High, Johnathon Henry and Andrew Reinbold rounding out the current top five in points.
Saturday’s Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region action at USA Raceway is slated to go green at 7:00 p.m.
The 3/8-mile USA Raceway clay oval is located east of Tucson off I-10 Exit 268, then 1.6 mile south on Craycroft Road, which turns into Los Reales. For more information, contact the track at 520-574-8515.
The Discount Tire Co. ASCS Canyon Region is currently slated for eleven nights of competition throughout Arizona and New Mexico in 2009.
The American Sprint Car Series, in its 18th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing events, brings the best of Sprint Car racing to nearly 100 different tracks throughout 25 states and Canada in 2009. Anchored by the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of a dozen different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.