Sprint Car Bandits Series Close Out Exciting & Successful Inaugural Season
Mesquite, TX (10/11/16) by DarinShort.com. 42 sprint car teams from four states competed in the inaugural season for the Milestone Electric Sprint Car Bandits® (SCB) Series. The 2016 season has now concluded and Michael Lang of Mesquite, Texas earned the SCB series points championship.
Both Michael Lang and Dustin Gates of Haughton, Louisiana would earn two series wins in 2016; and Gates' wins would help propel him to 3rd place in final series standings. And who could forget Gates' epic battle with John Carney II at LoneStar Speedway in June (click https://youtu.be/uSKquiMnceU for a refresher).
Flower Mound Texas driver Justin Melton and Mickey Walker of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma would also pick up series feature wins. Mother Nature would be the leader in the total wins department - claiming more 'wins' than all SCB drivers combined...as rainouts wreaked havoc with tracks, not only in the SCB, but across the nation in 2016.
Junior Jenkins of Greenville, Texas earned 2nd place in final SCB points after consistent runs night after night. The SCB is especially proud of his feat, as it proves the mission of this series - which is that you don't necessarily have to be a 'big budget team' to be able to compete in this series.
For those of you that are still unfamiliar with the Sprint Car Bandits series, it is dedicated to help bringing back some of the old-time fun of sprint car racing, yet incorporating some much-needed basic adjustments that help the teams stay on track with their budget - and fans not having to pay excessively high ticket prices to enjoy watching them. A great mix of young and veteran drivers competed with the Sprint Car Bandits in 2016.
The SCB series has a unique rules package that allows teams to use their current equipment (especially in the engine compartment), yet curbing nightly tire expense...which helps equalize the competition, with teams of varying budget sizes.
Between the lower operating cost of the SCB series and the injection of series sponsor funds into nightly purses, it allowed more area race tracks to book events - which all translated into DFW area fans getting to see quality, high-speed sprint car races at a lower grandstand ticket price.
When you combine those components with lower nightly competitor operating purses, it all equals one thing: the new Sprint Car Bandits series!
Rounding out the top five in SCB points are Colton Goodwin of Greenville, Texas and 'The Ambassador' Claud Estes III of Godley, Texas. Similar to Junior, both of these drivers used consistent finishes to keep them in the hunt for top series honors.
So, what do the drivers think about the new SCB series? We suggest that the next time you see one of the drivers on our points list (below), that you ask them directly. We're very confident that the series is on the right track, as the drivers who have actually raced in the series comment to us that they're really enjoying it. No substantial rules changes are in the works for the 2017 season.
Fan comments have been consistent with driver comments, and have been extremely supportive.
Series tracks have also been pleased with the lower booking costs and solid competitor purses. In 2016 the SCB series brought sponsor money to every single event through its solid series sponsors. This enabled the tracks to 'sell' a larger event to the fans and race teams - without any of them having to 'pay' more for it.
The SCB would like to thank the sponsors of the Sprint Car Bandits series: Milestone Electric, B-Tactical, AlphaGraphics, Rodd Hanna's Air Performance, A&M Glass Service, MalloryPrint.com and Palm Harbor Homes.
After several 'rained out attempts', the DarinShort.com 'Free Pass to the Feature' award was finally able to be utilized at LoneStar Speedway on October 1st; which added a 21st place full-paying starting position to the A-feature. Austin Mundie of Combine, Texas would receive the special award - and would make full use of this opportunity, advancing all the way to a 4th place finishing position. Great job to Austin on an exciting performance.
If your business is interested in getting involved with the SCB series, please contact Steve Lang directly at: [email protected] or by calling 469-474-8234. There are effective programs available for all sizes of budgets.
Sprint Car Bandits - Final Top 20 Points (as of 10/3/16)
|
Position
|
Points
|
Driver
|
City, State
|
Car#
|
1
|
814
|
Michael Lang
|
Mesquite, TX
|
14
|
2
|
694
|
Junior Jenkins
|
Greenville, TX
|
23
|
3
|
630
|
Dustin Gates
|
Haughton, LA
|
6
|
4
|
624
|
Colton Goodwin
|
Greenville, TX
|
5C
|
5
|
511
|
Claud Estes III
|
Godley, TX
|
74E
|
6
|
440
|
Ryan Hall
|
Midlothian, TX
|
79V
|
7
|
434
|
Justin Melton
|
Flower Mound, TX
|
11
|
8
|
426
|
Brandie Jass
|
Bryan, TX
|
24
|
9
|
425
|
Charlie McDonald
|
Jefferson, TX
|
79
|
10
|
348
|
Larry Howery
|
Hearne, TX
|
17G
|
11
|
340
|
Gary Floyd
|
San Angelo, TX
|
58
|
12
|
327
|
Bruce Griffith
|
Highlands, TX
|
17
|
13
|
267
|
Brandon Long
|
Wichita Falls, TX
|
02
|
14
|
265
|
Brad Welborn
|
Princeton, TX
|
17W
|
15
|
264
|
Tucker Doughty
|
Heath, TX
|
2X
|
16
|
260
|
Zane Lawrence
|
Lillian, TX
|
76
|
T17
|
246
|
Dale Wester
|
Ovilla, TX
|
12W
|
T17
|
246
|
Raven Culp
|
Seagoville, TX
|
3
|
18
|
244
|
Johnny Miller
|
Burleson, TX
|
64J
|
19
|
235
|
Robert Vetter
|
Wolfe City, TX
|
V8
|
20
|
233
|
Austin Mundie
|
Combine, TX
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click www.SprintCarBandits.com for the latest in series news and THANK YOU to everyone's support of the Sprint Car Bandits in 2016, and we're looking forward to more great events in 2017...stay tuned!
Here's your 2016 Sprint Car Bandits series champion, Michael Lang in the www.Lang14.com Gen-Tech sprint car:
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