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HUNT WORKING ON USAC TITLES SEVEN
AND EIGHT IN 2011
LINCOLN,
CALIFORNIA (July 22, 2011) – Tony Hunt of Lincoln, CA is well on his way to a
drive for seven career USAC titles, and may even claim his eighth title as
well, as the six-time champion leads both the USAC Western Classic Racing
Series and USAC Western Sprint Car Series standings as both series near their
halfway points.
Hunt
drives the #56 Metal Works sprint car on dirt and pavement, with his pavement
car powered by a Schwanke spec-engine and his dirt car powered by a Wesmar
360. His three wins this season bring
him to 55 career USAC victories along with 66 career USAC poles.
The 2010
USAC Western Sprint Car Series champion has had a prolific season in the
pavement touring series to this point.
Hunt came out of the box swinging with a victory at Madera on April 2 and a second place
finish at All American Speedway on May 14.
His
Western Sprint Car Series championship efforts were disrupted when he was
forced to miss the Rocky Mountain Raceways event on Memorial Day due to a rain
delay in the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway.
Hunt made the most of his 2011 Little 500 appearance, challenging for
the win early in the event before a pit stop error relegated the team to an
eighth place finish out of the 33 starters.
Hunt
quickly made up points in the series, winning at Madera in June then taking home a fifth
place run in the July 2 race at RockyMountain.
The recent trip to Meridian, ID (outside Boise) boosted Hunt even more. Hunt topped a strong field on the flat
quarter-mile oval to win Friday’s feature before officially taking the points
lead on a fourth place finish on Saturday.
“Although
we had hoped for a better result at this year’s Little 500 our season has been
great,” Hunt said. “We experienced some
recent misfortunes and a brake failure late in the feature at Stockton but have
been able to rebound with solid finishes.
With the
USAC Western Sprint Car Series taking a few weeks off until Irwindale on August
27, Hunt’s focus is solely on the upcoming dirt weekend for the USAC Western
Classic Racing Series. The USAC Western
Classic Racing Series is a brand-new series which encompasses eight California pavement races that are part of
the USAC Western Sprint Car Series, while also including eight dirt races.
Hunt’s
limited dirt experience has not slowed him down as he recovered from a DNF due
to a engine issue in the season opener at Chico to be the second highest
finishing Western Classic car on June 17 at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway. Hunt added a fifth place run amongst the
Western Classic entries at Santa Maria to give himself a commanding 65
point lead in the series.
“I look
forward to building our momentum in the remaining events while we challenge for
the championship,” Hunt said. “Getting
back on dirt has been a big learning curve and our ability to test has been
limited. Each race we’re gaining more confidence. It’s been fun.”
Nine
races remain in the USAC Western Classic Racing Series schedule, with Silver
Dollar Speedway on August 5 and Placerville Speedway on August 6. Four of the nine races are also USAC Western
Sprint Car Series events as well.
Race fans
can learn more about Tony Hunt at www.tonyhunt.com
Tony
Hunt Motorsports Marketing partners include the following: MW Metal Works, Thompson’s
Toyota, eBay Motors, Paul Oil, Redline Oil, Earl's, Intercomp, GoPro, Hoosier,
MPD, Justice Brothers, Racing Electronics, Eibach Springs, Wilwood, Simpson, JB
Racing Products, Mr. Espresso, Lajoie of Seating, K&N Filters, Hunt's Race
World, Carmichael Auto Service, Mettec, Outlaw Graphics, Permatex, Gold's Gym
of Lincoln, Meguiar's, Oakley, Scribner Plastics., Flowmaster, Fuel Safe, Star
Racing Supply and Blakesley Sports Media.
-end-
www.stevenblakesley.com
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