2008 Short Track Nationals & COMP Cams® Gambler's Challenge

[CPG Marketing]

COMP Cams® & I-30 Speedway Gear-up For The Short Track Nationals & The Gambler’s Challenge Promotion

COMP Cams® and I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, AR, are proud to announce the Gambler’s Challenge program for the 21st Annual O’Reilly Short Track Nationals presented By Hoosier Racing Tires, which will be held October 23rd – 25th, 2008.


In 2007, the COMP Cams® Challenge was initiated at the Short Track Nationals, which offered either of the front row starters for Saturday night’s finale a $25,000 bonus if they could start on the back of the field and win. While it was a novel concept, it was just too much of a risk for either of the front row starters to take a chance.

As a result, Chris Douglas, Director of Marketing for COMP Cams®, has come up with the COMP Cams® Gambler’s Challenge for this year’s O’Reilly Short Track Nationals. Douglas comments, “I just felt that with the unbelievable caliber of competition at the Short Track Nationals that no driver would be willing to give up a front row starting spot in the $15,000 to win event. As a result, I’ve come up with this new program to really make drivers think about rolling the dice while taking a reasonable chance to make a nice bonus.”

The COMP Cams® Gambler’s Challenge will offer the pole sitter for the feature event the opportunity to pull a playing card that will grant either he or she a new starting position for the 40 lap feature. If the driver accepts the COMP Cams® Gambler’s Challenge, he or she will have the potential to draw the 4th, 6th, 8th or 10th starting positions. If this driver can win from the starting position that he or she draws, they will receive a $5,000 bonus. If the pole sitter declines to draw a card, the outside front row starter will be presented with the same offer. As a result, a lucky driver now has a chance to win a total of $20,000 in the 21st Annual O’Reilly Short Track Nationals finale ($15,000 to win and $5,000 Gambler’s Challenge Bonus).

The 21st Annual O’Reilly Short Track Nationals gets underway on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 with an open practice. Racing action gets underway on Thursday, October 23rd-25th with qualifying each night and the grand finale on Saturday evening. The 2008 edition of the event now pays a possible $20,000 to win and $2,100 to start.

We invite you to follow along with Power & Performance News coverage of the event to see if your favorite is up to a challenge.

[CPG Marketing]

This year’s Short Track Nationals will also feature the COMP Cams® Engine Builder of the Race Promotion, where the engine builders and drivers finishing first, second and third place will both receive COMP Cams® product certificates of $500, $250 and $100, respectively. To be eligible for all awards, including the COMP Cams® Gambler’s Challenge, racers must run COMP Cams® decals in the A-main with no exceptions. Decals will be available from track officials or from COMP Cams® technicians, who will be on hand at I-30 Speedway’s Short Track Nationals to provide on-site racer support and interaction with the fans.

• Winning engine builder & driver will both receive $500 COMP Cams® product certificate

• Second place engine builder & driver will both receive $250 COMP Cams® product certificate

• Third place engine builder & driver will both receive $100 COMP Cams® product certificate

[CPG Marketing]

Bruce finds fortune in the feature & captures $15,000 win at I-30 Speedway

Once again, I-30 Speedway enjoyed another great year of the O’Reilly Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires, as 95 Sprint Car entries would vie for a chance at a possible $20,000 to win and $2,100 to start Saturday night’s feature. One driver’s bad luck was truly another’s good fortune, as 24-year-old Tony Bruce, Jr. would assume the lead on lap 31 when bad luck struck Tim Crawley with a cut tire. On the restart, Bruce would take a commanding lead over four-time STN winner Gary Wright and go on to become the 2008 Short Track Nationals champion, taking home $15,000 and the biggest triumph of his young career.

"We caught a lucky break with that one, but you've gotta be in position to take advantage of those breaks and we were there," Bruce explained. By winning the 2008 Short Track Nationals, the Liberal, KS, native became the event’s 15th different champion, with runner-up Gary Wright remaining the only driver to capture multiple STN victories since 1993. Missouri’s Brian Brown claimed the show position, with Tim Shaffer and Danny Lasoski rounding out the top five.

After advancing from sixth to finish second in the Pack’s Dash for Cash, Wayne Johnson was offered the COMP Cams® Gambler’s Challenge after pole-sitter Bruce declined the offer of a possible $5,000 bonus. “If you’ll make it $10,000, I’ll do it,” said the Oklahoma City native. Track promoter Tracey Clay was quick to accept, adding a $10,000 bonus to the already $15,000 to win, thus giving Johnson a possible $25,000 winning purse.

With the chances of drawing a card that would start him fourth, sixth, eighth or tenth, the 1997 STN champion drew the number ten card, putting him on the outside fifth row to start the feature. Johnson was up to sixth on the restart when Crawley faced bad luck. While dicing for fourth with Tim Shaffer with five laps to go, Johnson suffered a flat right front tire and retired to the pit area for a 19th-place finish. He would not go home empty handed, however, as he was awarded a $2,000 bonus for accepting the COMP Cams® Gambler’s Challenge.

After having disaster strike on the 31st lap when a cut right rear forced the dominant race leader to a stop in turn one, Crawley became an easy decision for the ARP Wings Hard Luck Award. Ohio’s Greg Wilson earned the Hard Charger Award by racing from the fourteenth starting position to an eighth place finish. The only driver to get upside down over the course of the weekend with a Friday night tumble, Eric Sandage was presented with the Inaugural Josh Howard Determination Award courtesy of COMP Cams® and Smiley’s.

In addition to handing out awards and event bonuses, COMP Cams® also provided on-site technicians for racer assistance and interaction with the fans. For more information about the 2008 Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway or any another COMP Cams® sponsored event, call 1-800-999-0853 or visit us online at www.compcams.com.

Below are photos taken of the intense racing action at I-30 Speedway's 21st Annual Short Track Nationals.

Photos taken by Jack Hedstrom & Joe Orth

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