ASCS Sprints on Dirt Saturday at I-96!

By Lonnie Wheatley

TULSA, Okla. (May 9, 2011) – Round two of the 2011 Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP title chase is set for Saturday night as the series takes to the ½-mile I-96 Speedway dirt oval in Lake Odessa, MI.

It will mark the series only event of the year on the I-96 ½-mile, as the remaining three Lake Odessa cards are set to be on the 3/8-mile that has been carved inside the bigger oval.

Similar to Crystal Motor Speedway, where he made it nine series wins in a row by topping the season opener on April 30, Dustin Daggett has been a dominant force in recent years at I-96 Speedway with wins in seven of the last eight events at Lake Odessa dating back to 2008.

Daggett had posted five ASCS SOD wins at I-96 until a crash last June paved the way to a Darren Long triumph. Daggett bounced back to win the ensuing two events in August and September.

Daggett is out to the early lead in the ASCS Sprints on Dirt title chase with his season opening win over his father Mike Daggett, with Gregg Dalman, defending series champion Ryan Grubaugh and two-time series champion Brett Mann rounding out the current top five.

The balance of the current top ten includes Jared Horstman, Tim Champlin, Ryan Ruhl, Gary Fast and Joe Bares. While Darren Long is the only driver other than Daggett with ASCS SOD wins at I-96 over the past three years with two triumphs, Gary Fast did post a series win at I-96 in 2007.

Saturday’s action at I-96 Speedway fires off at 7:00 p.m.

I-96 Speedway is located in Lake Odessa, MI, off I-96 Exit 64, then 0.5 miles south, then 0.7 miles west. For more information, contact the track at 616-642-0555.

The 32nd year of competition for the Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP consists of 27 scheduled nights of action at 13 different tracks throughout Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.

The 2011 season marks the 20th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, with approximately 200 nights of competition at tracks throughout the nation and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.