.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
John has won this event twice. He will be competing on Fri and Sat night. Hope to see you there!
Hutch Nationals This Weekend
By David Smith, Jr.
PARK CITY, Kan (July
21, 2008) -
The weather is the hottest it has been all
year long, it is late July and that only
means one thing for the O'Reilly/NCRA
presented by ICM/Ethanol series teams and
fans - "It's National's Time!" For the 52nd
consecutive year, the 38th year sanctioned
by NCRA, the Hutchinson Nationals takes
place this coming Friday and Saturday night,
July 25-26, as the series modifieds and
sprint car divisions will be in competition
for one last time on the big fairgrounds
half-mile oval, located on the Kansas State
Fairgrounds.
It has been recently announced that the
famed Hutchinson Fairgrounds half mile will
be shortened to a 3/8 mile before next year.
Beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, the
NCRA modifieds will compete in qualifying
heat races while Saturday nights action will
consist of a top "10" dash, followed by
consolation features and the Hutchinson
Grand Nationals feature finale. Second
generation driver Troy Gemmill is the
reigning modified Nationals winner and will
look to be the first repeat winner since
2001. Despite not a single victory on the
tour in 2008, Marc Hurd comes into the
weekend as points leader with a 25 point
advantage over Dan Daniels. So far, twelve
drivers have competed in all five races held
while four drivers have only missed one
event. Five-time and defending NCRA modified champion Brian Franz is the only repeat feature winner with two while Daniels, John Allen and Jeremy Massey have also visited victory lane.
Also on Saturday night, the "Thunder and
Lightning" of the NCRA sprint car series
will take to the track with a full program
of heat races, consolation features and
Grand Nationals feature finale. Last year,
Jon Freeman of Salina, Kansas picked up his
first ever Hutch Nationals victory. Veteran
Mike Peters of Wichita, a 1981 and 1987
Hutch Nationals champion, will go into the
night as points leader. Last Saturday night,
series rookie of the year contender Koby
Barksdale of Norman, Oklahoma picked up his
first career series victory and became the
seventh different feature winner in seven
races held this season.
The Kansas State Fairgrounds is located West
of SR 61 on 17th Ave., then north on Poplar.
For more Hutch Nationals information, call
(316) 755-1781.
An added incentive for sprint car
drivers in 2008 comes from three year
series presenting sponsor ICM/Ethanol.
All drivers competing with a 360 cu.
inch motor, finishing in positions
16-20, will earn $400 to start the
sprint car feature finale, up from $350
from last season. All 360 drivers not
making the "A" feature will earn $150,
up from $100 in previous seasons. The
extra money provided through the
incentive package presented by ICM /
Ethanol will not be paid out at each
race track, but will be mailed out from
the NCRA offices in Park City, Kansas
once official results are posted on the
O'Reilly/NCRA web site.
The
National Championship
Racing Association is
entering it's 38th
season of sanctioning
dirt track races, this
year in five different
states in its sprint
car, modified and late
model divisions
combined. The 2008 race
season will see the
series' sprint car
division compete for the
19th consecutive year.
To learn more on the
history of NCRA, rules,
schedules and more, log
on to their official
website
http://www.ncraracing.org/.
To schedule an NCRA
event, climb aboard as
contingency partner or
for any questions
concerning the series,
contact the office (316)
755-1781.
