Sprint Week looks to be a wide-open event

By BRETT BOWMAN
Tribune sportswriter

July 08, 2008 11:28 pm

— Sprint car fans from around the Midwest will be treated to the annual midseason right of passage commonly known as Chevy Powers Indiana Sprint Week beginning tonight for the Lucas Oils USAC National Sprint Car Series.
The field looks to be wide open as any of a number of drivers look to replace Kokomo Speedway regular Dave Darland as Sprint Week champion.
Sprint Week competition is as much a battle of endurance as it is speed with eight races taking place in just 10 days. It’s a rigorous stretch that separates the best from the rest.
A short list of favorites includes Hunter Schuerenberg, Damion Gardner, Shane Cottle, Darland, Jon Stanbrough, Cole Whitt, Scotty Weir, Levi Jones and Tracy Hines.
Schuerenberg enters the mini-series as arguably the state’s hottest driver. The Missouri youngster teamed with long-time car owner Jeff Walker early in the season and has been nothing short of spectacular in the last four weeks. He posted a King of Indiana Sprint Series (KISS) win at Kokomo after starting in the seventh row, then found victory lane again at the local oval two weeks later after back-to-back rainouts at the track.
To culminate his torrid mid-June/early July, Schuerenberg picked up the victory Saturday night at the Lawrenceburg Speedway before finishing fifth Sunday at Kokomo. Walker is impressed with his young driver’s work ethic and tenacity and the duo seem to be gelling at just the right time.
Gardner, after struggling in 2007 in his first full campaign in the Midwest, recruited Daryl Saucier and Brian Cripe to turn the wrenches on his Leffler Racing/Pace Electronics No. 71G, which allowed him to concentrate on the driving duties and the results have been stellar.
He kicked the 2008 season off on a strong note, winning the prestigious Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, then won a weekly show early in the season before registering a win at Gas City a couple weeks ago. Sunday night he found the Kokomo track to his liking, topping Weir and Whitt for his first win at the track in two years. Like Schuerenberg, if Gardner qualifies well and stays steady, he too, should be in the hunt.
Since teaming with Larry Contos, Cottle has been a force to be reckoned with.
Not only did he win aboard the No. 4 car on the West Coast early in the season, he also picked up his first career pavement win — the illustrious Little 500 at the Anderson Speedway.
Cottle has already won a USAC event at Gas City this season and has always run well at Lawrenceburg and Kokomo, and with those tracks hosting five legs of the Sprint Week, he should definitely be in the thick of the chase.
There is little that can be said about Darland. The fact is, when there is a big race on the line, it’s hard to bet against the popular veteran, a three-time Sprint Week champion.
Earlier this season he and the Pace Brothers’ No. 44 team elected to go separate ways, which for now, has landed Darland in Scott Benic’s RWB/Benic Enterprises/Maxim No. 2B. Jones captured a Sprint Week title aboard Benic’s ride in 2004 and the car is always among the most potent in any pit in the country. Darland is hopeful he and Benic can stay together throughout the remainder of the season as he chases his second USAC National Sprint Car Series championship.
Stanbrough can never be counted out as once again he is the winningest non-wing driver in the country with 11 feature wins under his belt already this season, coming on the heels of his 30-win campaign a year ago.
Whitt enters his first full season chasing the national points on a roll as well. He’s finished first, second and third at Kokomo in the last three races and has won the last two features at Gas City, one in his family-owned No. 29W and the other in his USAC ride, the Keith Kunz-owned No. 67K. He is in the midst of a tight points battle for the track championship at the local oval and was in the thick of the fight nationally, however due to USAC rules regarding his age, he missed the event at the Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
The Tony Stewart Racing squadron of Jones and Hines is always a threat and this year is no exception, however, unlike year’s past, the TSR team hasn’t been the dominant force.
Of the 11 points races in 2008, the team has managed just four wins, two by each driver. Jones picked up wins at Brownstown and Terre Haute while Hines bagged both of his wins at Eldora.
Despite not compiling huge victory totals, the TSR team sits in first and fourth in the points battle as Jones leads Jerry Coons, Jr. 555-528 heading into tonight’s race. Whitt is third with 523 points despite not being allowed to run at Richmond and Hines is fourth with 495. Kasey Kahne Racing driver Brady Bacon is fifth with 486 points.
Other drivers who could make some noise over the next 10 days could very well be Coons and Cory Kruseman.
Tonight and Thursday the series will be at the newly reconfigured Lawrenceburg Speedway before venturing to Gas City Friday and Saturday. Sunday night the series will be on hand at Kokomo before taking off for three days to allow drivers and crews alike a couple days to recover from the grind.
Upon returning to action, the series will reconvene at the Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell on July 17 then travel to Bloomington Speedway the following night. The new champion will be crowned July 19 at the Tri-States Speedway in Haubstadt.

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