Lonnie Wheatley, LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (September 29, 2022) – The lights are set to go out for the final time at the storied I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas.
But the track that has been in operation at its current location since 1959 won’t go away quietly.
Three final nights of Sprint Car racing action beginning tonight (Thursday, September 29) will bring the curtains down at I-30 Speedway before the gates are shuttered for the final time after Saturday’s 35th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires finale.
Tonight’s ASCS Mid-South Region 15th Annual “Ralph Henson Tribute” that offers $5,646-to-win serves as an appetizer to the final Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway that takes place on Friday and Saturday. The Friday prelim climaxes with a pair of $1,500-to-win “Twin 20s” that locks two drivers from each into Saturday’s $15,041-to-win, $1,100-to-start STN championship finale.
The balance of Saturday’s 41-lap championship event sanctioned by the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour will be set by Saturday night heat races that will add points to Friday preliminary point totals to set feature lineups.
And that will be all she wrote at I-30 Speedway that is pending sale for non-racing use after 35 years of ownership by the Clay family, first under Joe with Tracey at the reins in recent years.
The Short Track Nationals has not only been a staple on the I-30 Speedway slate of events since 1988, but also developed into one of the nation’s marquis events for Winged 360-ci Sprint Cars.
As such, the event has attracted the nation’s top racers over the years including the likes of current NASCAR stars Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, the latter of which enjoyed STN glory in 2014.
The Short Track Nationals has offered up numerous epic battles over the years, thus building the lore of the event. Not the least of which was last year’s late-race move by Blake Hahn around Jordon Mallett to secure his third STN title in the last four years.
That $15,041 winner’s share is certainly appealing enough to push those throttles to the max.
But the chance to win the final Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway may be even more added incentive this time around.
The Pertinent Info:
The What: 35th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires.
The Where: I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR). I-30 Speedway is located seven miles southwest of Little Rock off I-30 Exit 126 (Alexander Road).
The When: September 29 through October 1, 2022.
Thursday, September 29 – $5,646-to-win ASCS Mid-South sanctioned “15th Annual Ralph Henson Tribute”
Friday, September 30 – 35th Annual Short Track preliminary that culminates with $1,500-to-win “Twin 20’s” with top two from each feature locking into the STN finale.
Saturday, October 1 – 35th Annual Short Track Nationals $15,041-to-win championship finale.
The Entries: As of Tuesday, there were 60 entries from 14 different states as well as the Canadian province of Ontario with the number expected to climb to the 70 to 80 range by Friday night.
The current entry list is as follows:
0 Eric Baldaccini (Cypress, TX)
1jr Steven Russell (Russellville, MO)
1x Tim Crawley (Benton, AR)
2c Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)
3 Howard Moore (Memphis, TN)
4x Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS)
5L Dusty Young (Benton, AR)
5T Ryan Timms (Wheatland, OK)
8m Kade Morton (Coweta, OK)
8r Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX)
9jr Derek Hagar (Marion, AR)
10 Landon Britt (Memphis, TN)
10k Dewayne White (Byhalia, MS)
10p Dylan Postier (Stillwater, OK)
12h Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS)
13 Chase Howard (Nesbit, MS)
13m Chance McCrary (Farmersville, TX)
14 Jordon Mallett (Greenbrier, AR)
15h Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX)
15J Jeremy Middleton (N. Little Rock, AR)
16 Steven Howell (Byhalia, MS)
16c Tylar Rankin (Angola, IN)
17 Ryan Bickett (Sioux Falls, SD)
17J Jerry Brey (Billings, MT)
17F Chad Frewaldt (Kansas City, KS)
17 Alex Lyles (Memphis, TN)
17 Alex Sewell (Broken Arrow, OK)
21 Spencer Meredith (Hernando, MS)
21k Kevin Hinkle (Austin, AR)
22 Riley Goodno (Knoxville, IA)
22k Kaleb Poe (Scott, AR)
24 Jeffrey West (Atoka, TN)
26 Marshall Skinner (W. Memphis, AR)
27J Joseph Poe, Jr. (Scott, AR)
30 Joseph Miller (Cover, AR)
37 Ayden Gatewood (Caruthersville, MO)
38 Rick Pringle (Benton, AR)
39 Justin Sanders (Aromas, CA)
41 Colton Hardy (Phoenix, AZ)
42p Preston Perlmutter (San Antonio, TX)
45x Kyler Johnson (Quinter, KS)
47 Dale Howard (Byhalia, MS)
47x Dylan Westbrook (Scotland, ONT)
48 Wade Buttrey (Fairview, TX)
52 Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)
55 Brandon Anderson (Glenpool, OK)
55 Donnie Howard (Nesbit, MS)
63 Chris Williams (Forney, TX)
67 Hayden Martin (Byhalia, MS)
69 Jamey Mooney (Heber Springs, AR)
71 Bradyn Baker (Benton, AR)
72 Jason Howell (Fort Worth, TX)
72p Gary Floyd (San Angelo, TX)
85 Josh McCord (Bossier City, LA)
87J Jace Park (Overland Park, KS)
91 Michael Day (Farmersville, TX)
91a Ernie Ainsworth (Bartlett, TN)
93 Chris Sweeney (Houston, TX)
95 Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)
132 Jamie Manley (Memphis, TN)
Among the current entries are the following:
Past STN Wins: Blake Hahn 3, Tony Bruce, Jr, 2, Tim Crawley 1, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 1, Wayne Johnson 1.
Past STN Preliminary Feature Wins: Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 4, Derek Hagar 2, Wayne Johnson 2, Tim Crawley 1, Jordon Mallett 1.
Past STN Championship Feature Starts: Tim Crawley 24, Wayne Johnson 16, Marshall Skinner 11, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 9, Dale Howard 9, Derek Hagar 8, Tony Bruce, Jr., 7, Ernie Ainsworth 5, Howard Moore 5, Matt Covington 4, Blake Hahn 4, Aaron Reutzel 4, Dylan Westbrook 4, Jordon Mallett 3, Alex Sewell 2, Brandon Anderson 1, Eric Baldaccini 1, Hayden Martin 1.
Past STN Preliminary Feature Starts: Tim Crawley 24, Wayne Johnson 17, Tony Bruce, Jr., 14, Marshall Skinner 14, Dale Howard 12, Ernie Ainsworth 11, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 11, Derek Hagar 11, Matt Covington 7, Aaron Reutzel 7, Jordon Mallett 5, Howard Moore 5, Dylan Westbrook 5, Eric Baldaccini 4, Blake Hahn 4, Ryan Bickett 3, Brad Bowden 2, Jeremy Middleton 2, Alex Sewell 2, Brandon Anderson 1, Landon Britt 1, Michael Day 1, Chase Howard 1, Jason Howell 1, Joseph Miller 1, Preston Perlmutter 1, Rick Pringle 1,
The Mufflers: Leave ‘em at home, no mufflers required for this weekend.
The Format: Friday’s preliminary event will be contested under a derivative of the All Star Circuit of Champions format, with group qualifying establishing heat race lineups with an invert of four in each heat race. The Friday preliminary will conclude with “Twin 20’s”, a pair of $1,500-to-win 20-lap “A” Main events.
The top two from each of the “Twin 20’s” will be locked into Saturday night’s “Dash for Cash” and the championship main event.
Friday events points accumulated will be carried over to Saturday night, with another set of heats utilizing passing points added to the Friday total to set the championship feature lineups. The top two in combined points from Friday night and the Saturday heat races with join Friday’s four lock-ins in the Pack Building Materials “Dash for Cash”. The next eight in points will occupy STN championship feature positions 7-14 with the balance of the field in “B” and “C” Mains. Three will transfer from both “B” Mains to set the 20-car feature field. The 21st position is reserved for this year’s I-30 Speedway track champion if necessary.
The Feature Purse:
October 1, STN Finale: 1st – $15,041, 2nd – $7,500, 3rd – $5,000, 4th – $2,500, 5th – $2,000, 6th – $1,700, 7th – $1,600, 8th – $1,500, 9th – $1,450, 10th – $1,400, 11th – $1,350, 12th – $1,300, 13th – $1,200, 14th – $1,150, 15th – $1,100, 16th – $1,100, 17th- $1,100, 18th – $1,100, 19th – $1,100, 20th – $1,100.
September 30 STN Preliminary “Twin 20’s”: 1st – $1,500, 2nd – $750, 3rd – $650, 4th – $625, 5th – $600, 6th – $550, 7th – $525, 8th – $500, 9th – $450, 10th – $400, 11th – $350, 12th – $325, 13th – $300, 14th – $275, 15th – $250, 16th – $250, 17th – $250, 18th – $250, 19th – $250, 20th – $250.
The Past Winners:
2021-Blake Hahn
2020–Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
2019-Blake Hahn
2018-Blake Hahn
2017-Sammy Swindell
2016-Sammy Swindell
2015-Rained Out
2014-Christopher Bell
2013-Sammy Swindell
2012-Paul McMahan
2011-Sammy Swindell
2010-Brad Sweet
2009-Tony Bruce, Jr.
2008-Tony Bruce, Jr.
2007-Jason Meyers
2006-Jason Johnson
2005-Tim Montgomery
2004-Gary Wright
2003-Gary Wright
2002-Paul McMahan
2001-Jason Sides
2000-Mike Ward
1999-Gary Wright
1998-Tim Crawley
1997-Wayne Johnson
1996-Pete Butler
1995-Gary Wright
1994-Terry Gray
1993-John Gerloff
1992-Rained Out
1991-Steve Kinser
1990-Sammy Swindell
1989-Steve Kinser
1988-Steve Kinser
The Tickets: Advance two-day tickets are $45.
Day of show prices are $20 on Friday and $30 on Saturday.
Children under 12 are admitted free on both nights.
To order tickets or for more information, check online at https://www.i-30speedway.com/stn/tickets or call the track at 501-455-4567.
Pit passes are $40 on both Friday and Saturday. Driver pit pass for Friday and Saturday is included in the $100 entry fee if submitted by the deadline.
The Broadcast: If you can’t make it to the STN to catch all the breathtaking action in person, no need to fret as you can catch it all live online at www.floracing.com.
For more information regarding I-30 Speedway’s Short Track Nationals, check at www.i-30speedway.com or call the track at 501-455-4567.
