By Lonnie Wheatley (Tulsa, OK) -- The time is here!
Sprint Car racing fans throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas will get their best 2018 dose of “traditional” non-wing Sprint Car racing action with this week’s Sixth Annual USAC Southwest Sprint Cars “Freedom Tour”.
The four-race mini-series takes place over the course of four nights beginning on Wednesday night at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway before moving on to Sapulpa, Oklahoma’s Creek County Speedway on Thursday night and then culminating with two big nights at Park City, Kansas’ 81 Speedway near Wichita on Friday and Saturday.
Plenty of prize money is up for grabs as well with a $2,500 winner’s share hanging in the balance over all four nights along with $250-to-start for each feature event.
Current USAC Southwest Sprint Car points leader Charles Davis, Jr., of Buckeye, AZ, leads the southwest contingent that includes the likes of Mike Martin, Dennis Gile, Stevie Sussex, Shon Deskins, Chris Bonneau, Matt Lundy and Bobby Seals among others.
Best known as “Chargin’ Charles”, Charles Davis, Jr., topped last year’s opening leg at I-30 Speedway before parking it once again at the 81 Speedway beer garden in the Saturday night finale to run his career “Freedom Tour” win total to four triumphs.
The southwest forces will face a stout crop of local contenders at each stop with Tim Crawley leading the I-30 Speedway charge on Wednesday night after a strong runner-up finish in last year’s event.
Sapulpa’s Blake Hahn defended his home turf at Creek County Speedway for the second time in three years last August while Wichita’s Jeremy Campbell sheds his wings to defend his preferred 81 Speedway clay.
Others expected to take on the travelers over at least portions of the week include Sapulpa’s Danny Smith, Andrew Deal, Jonathan Beason, Kyle Clark, Forrest Sutherland, Michelle Decker, Tim Kent, Casey Wills, Anthony Nicholson, David Stephenson and more.
In five previous years of USAC Southwest Sprint Cars “Freedom Tour” competition, nine different drivers have earned feature wins in 19 events. R.J. Johnson leads the way with five triumphs while Charles Davis, Jr., has picked off four wins after taking two-of-four last year. Rick Ziehl, Mike Martin and Blake Hahn have each notched two wins with single “Freedom Tour” triumphs going to Danny Smith, Brady Bacon, Mike Bonneau and Josh Hodges.
2018 USAC Southwest Sprint Cars Sixth Annual “Freedom Tour” Schedule:
Wednesday, August 15 – I-30 Speedway (Little Rock, AR), Racing at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults with children 6-12 just $1 when accompanied by an adult. Past Winners: Charles Davis, Jr. (2017). For more information, check online at https://i-30speedway.com/.
Thursday, August 16 – Creek County Speedway (Sapulpa, OK), Racing at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults with children 11-14 just $10 and kids 10 and under free. Past winners: Danny Smith (2013), Brady Bacon (2014), Blake Hahn (2015), R.J. Johnson (2016), Blake Hahn (2017). For more information, check online at http://www.creekcountyspeedway.co/.
Friday and Saturday, August 17-18 – 81 Speedway (Park City, KS), Racing at 7:00 p.m. on both nights. Tickets are $15 for adults on Friday and $20 on Saturday with children 11 and under free on both nights. Past Winners: Rick Ziehl (2013), Mike Martin (2014), Mike Martin (2015), Mother Nature (2016), R.J. Johnson (2017 Friday night), Charles Davis, Jr. (2017 Saturday night). For more information, check online at http://www.race81speedway.com/.
Additional information regarding the USAC Southwest Sprint Car series is available at http://www.southwestsprintcars.com/.