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Doug Jenkins: Fri Part 2 – 2010 USAC “NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP” ANNOUNCED
Feb 5th
2010 USAC “NATIONAL DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP” ANNOUNCED
The United States Auto Club announced today a new “National Drivers Championship” which will recognize extraordinary performance in 2010 for drivers competing in USAC Racing’s National Silver Crown, Sprint Car and Midget Championships.
The new National Driving Championship is being instilled to complement the tradition of awarding Championships in each of USAC’s three pillar series. For 2010, the “National Drivers Championship” will calculate points earned based on performance in all three National Series combined. Of the eighty-eight potential races between the three national series (Silver Crown, Sprints & Midgets), USAC will tally points for the best 25 finishes of competitors for recognizing the new overall National Driving Champion.
Doug Jenkins
The National Drivers Champion will be awarded with a year-end payout of $40,000 for the first place alone. A large fund has been established for the top 10 finishing competitors of the National Driving Championship.
The total point fund for the three National series combined is being increased by 35% in 2010, with the increase benefitting both car owners and drivers with USAC’s 50/50 points fund structure. “The new National Drivers Championship has been established to bring fan focus to our top drivers and allow for expanded marketing efforts,” stated Kevin Miller, CEO of USAC Racing. “During 2009, we ran a parallel points structure which proved to have a close top 10 race and dramatic finish for the season.
This will now allow a competitor with just a dirt sprint car or midget, or one with a pavement concentration, to compete for a USAC Championship.” Also for 2010, along with the overall National Sprint Car and Midget Championships, USAC will recognize dirt and pavement points leader car entrants in each of these series at their annual “Night of Champions” banquet scheduled for December 3 at the eloquent Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis. USAC Championships have a storied past and are recognized among the sports most iconic thresholds. Past USAC National Champions include Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Al and Bobby Unser, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne.
USAC: Zach Daum, USAC Midget Rookie of the YEAR
Dec 31st
SWANSON, CLARKE, DAUM GARNER NATIONAL ROOKIE HONORS
RAMOS, SCHUTTE, WILLIAMS, SIMPSON, FRANKOSKI, DANIELS, ROMANO, DODENHOFF ALSO CITED
“Rookies of the Year” for USAC’s 2009 racing season were selected today and will be honored at seasonal awards banquets in January.
Kody Swanson, Henry Clarke and Zach Daum earned National recognition and will be honored at the January 8 USAC “Night of Champions” National Awards Dinner in downtown Indianapolis, Ind.
Swanson, of Kingsburg, Calif., was recognized for his exploits in the K & N Silver Crown Series, where he finished fifth in the standings. His best finishes were a second at Phoenix International Raceway and a third at Iowa Speedway. Kody won USAC’s w005 Western Sprint Car Championship and was also the “Rookie of the Year” in USAC’s Western Sprint Car Series in 2005. He posted four wins in USAC’s 2009 Western Sprint Car Series.
Clarke, of Villa Park, Calif., posted seven “top-10” finishes on his way to 12th place in the final National Sprint Car Series point standings. He also added three “top-10” finishes in 17 USAC National Midget starts and ended up 14th in that series final standings. Among his season highlights was his impressive drive at the Belleville Midget Nationals where he nearly won the championship.
Daum, of Pocahontas, Ill. ranked 10th in the Mopar National Midget points on the strength of four “top-10” finishes. He matched that effort in USAC’s K & N Silver Crown Series as well, also finishing 10th in that series standings. He exhibited his versatility near the end of the season with back-to-back eighth-place finishes in the Midgets at the “4-Crown Nationals” on dirt at Rossburg, Ohio and the “Copper World Classic” on the pavement at Phoenix, Ariz.
Other “Rookies of the Year” include Luis Ramos III, Austin Williams, Alex Schutte, Jimmy Simpson, Jeremy Frankoski, Austin Luttmer, Nik Romano and Sean-Mikael Dodenhoff.
Ramos, of Clovis, Calif., was 15th in the Western Sprint Car Series, while Williams, a son of former USAC/CRA Sprint Champion Rip Williams of Yorba Linda, Calif., was 13th in the final Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint points. Schutte, of Redding, Calif., actually challenged for the Western Midget title at times and was third in the final standings. Simpson, of Indianapolis, Ind., finished second in both the Midwest and UMARA Focus standings, while Frankoski, of Huntersville, N.C., claimed the Carolina Ford Focus title as a neophyte. Luttmer, of West Jordan, Utah, finished third in the Utah Ford Focus Series and Romano, of Atherton, Calif., emerged as the California Pavement Ford Focus Champ. Dodenhoff, of Bakersfield, Calif., finished third in the California Dirt Ford Focus standings