Gary Wright Named North American 360 Sprint Car Poll “Driver of the Year” for 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
GARY WRIGHT NAMED NORTH AMERICAN 360 SPRINT CAR POLL “DRIVER OF THE YEAR” FOR 2007
KNOXVILLE, IOWA (December 11, 2007) - For the fourth time, Gary Wright of Hooks, Texas, was voted the 2007 “Driver of the Year” by the North American 360 Sprint Car Poll voting panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers. Wright, who clinched the American Sprint Cars on Tour (ASCoT) national title, earned thirteen (13) of the eighteen (18) first place ballots cast in the year-end poll. Gary Wright also received the 2007 “Team of the Year” award for the third time.
Those drivers ranked second through fifth, respectively, are ASCoT runner-up and defending “Driver of the Year” Jason Johnson of Louisiana, Knoxville 360 Nationals winner Shane Stewart of Oklahoma, ASCoT third-place point finisher Wayne Johnson of Oklahoma, and ASCS Patriot Region point champion Chuck Hebing of New York. Rounding out the ‘top ten’ for the season are United Sprint Car Series (USCS) champion Terry Gray, Northwest Sprint Challenge Series (NSCS) champion Roger Crockett, United Racing Company (URC) champion Curt Michael, Travis Rilat, and Tim Crawley, respectively. In addition to Wright, others receiving first place votes were Jason Johnson, Shane Stewart (two), Terry Gray, and California Civil War Series champion Andy Forsberg.
Winged Outlaw Warriors (WOW) feature winner and point title runner-up Josh Fisher of Missouri earned the “Rookie of the Year” title. Due to a tie in the voting, Glenn Styres of the Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario, Canada, and Dick and Shawna Wilskey of the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series (NSCS) will share the “Promoter of the Year” honors for 2007. Chuck Merrill of Maxim Chassis will receive the 2007 “Builder/Manufacturer of the Year” plaque. Lonnie Wheatley of the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) earned the “Media Member of the Year” award for the first time ever due to his hard work covering all of their regional and national tours. Tim Crawley of Arkansas claimed the “Wild Card Award” for his exciting sprint car performances in 2007.
The North American 360 Sprint Car Poll is an annual awards program of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation, Inc., of Knoxville, Iowa. All awards will be distributed in the spring of 2008 at tracks throughout North America.
Final 2007 North American 360 Sprint Car Poll
rank, driver (first place votes), hometown, state, points
1., Gary Wright (13), Hooks, TX, 1365
2., Jason Johnson (1), Eunice, LA, 690
3., Shane Stewart (2), Bixby, OK, 420
4., Wayne Johnson, Mustang, OK, 380
5., Chuck Hebing, Ontario, NY, 266
6., Terry Gray (1), Bartlett, TN, 198
7., Roger Crockett, Rio Linda, CA, 154
tie, Curt Michael, Ocean View, DE, 154
9., Travis Rilat, Texas City, TX, 148
10., Tim Crawley, Little Rock, AR, 132
11., Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL, 121
12., Steve Poirier, St. Mathieu de Beloeil, PQ, CAN, 107
13., Kenny Adams, Malabar, FL, 97
14., Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA, 86
15., Andy Forsberg (1), Auburn, CA, 85
16., Garry Lee Maier, Cimarron, KS, 60
17., Brian Brown, Higginsville, MO, 52
18., Tim Norman, Warsaw, IN, 50
19., Phil Gressman, Helena, OH, 28
20., Darren Stewart, Bixby, OK, 27
21., C.J. Johnson, Quinter, KS, 22
22., Natalie Sather, Fargo, ND, 18
23., Randy Martin, California, MO, 17
24., Dustin Daggett, Eagle, MI, 10
tie, Michael Dupuy, Amite, LA, 10
Also receiving multiple votes: Michael Carber, Greg DeCaires, Bryan Dobesh, Kevin Ramey, Marshall Skinner, Jeff Swindell, Colby Weisz.
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