2012 All HammerDown! Team – December 31, 2012.  Rocklin, CA. ….HammerDownUSA.com today named the 2012 All-HammerDown! Team. Led by Racer’s Racing Series Champion, Donny Schatz – the 40 driver “team” includes those who performed best at the highest paying and most prestigious American, grass roots, open-wheel events.

 

“The All-HammerDown! Team is our way to show respect to the drivers who are getting it done on a national stage,” said Bobby Gerould – editor of HammerDownUSA.com. “We keep a points tally for 60 of the biggest events on USA soil. At the end of the season the top 40 in points make the cut.”

 

Eight drivers continued their streak of making the All-HammerDown! Team in each of the ten years since the honor was created in 2003. The talented eight are: Dave Darland, Tim Kaeding, Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski, Jason Meyers, Daryn Pittman, Joey Saldana, and Donny Schatz.  Four drivers made the team in 2012 for the first time in their career. Veteran pilot Greg Wilson, joined youngsters, David Gravel, Danny Holtgraver, and Chase Stockon as drivers being recognized for their fantastic national performances this season.

 

The tenth annual All-HammerDown! Team in alphabetical order:

 

·         Dale Blaney – Hartford, OH. – Age 48. Dale Blaney won three Racer’s Racing Series feature events in 2012; none bigger than the Speed televised, World Finals, at the Dirt Track at Charlotte. Blaney also won a pair of $10,000 to-win features in All-Stars competition at Fremont Speedway (Fremont, OH.). He was victorious in May, as well as winning the Ohio Sprint Week finale in June.

·         Brian Brown – Grain Valley, MO. – Age 34. Brown came within a fraction of a second of winning the Knoxville Nationals, highlighting another terrific, ten-win year behind the wheel. The Nationals second place finish paid $75,000! Brown also had top Racer’s Racing Series runs in the Western World Championships (Peoria, AZ.), and the Kasey Kahne Challenge (Sedalia, MO.).

·         Bryan Clauson – Noblesville, IN. – Age 23. Clauson put together another spectacular season in 2012, winning the USAC National Sprint Car championship while continuing to prove he is a versatile driver that rarely, if ever, finishes outside the top-ten (31 of 34 in top ten in USAC National Sprint Car). Clauson won 21 features in 2012 including the Sprint Car Smackdown at Kokomo Speedway (Kokomo, IN.), as well as the Silver Crown portion of the Four Crown Nationals (Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, OH.). He finished fifth at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals (Tulsa, OK.).

·         Jerry Coons Jr. – Tucson AZ. – Age 40. Coons won the Hoosier Hundred (Indianapolis, IN.) and the Belleville Midget Nationals (Belleville, KS.), to highlight another super season behind the wheel. He started strongly by finishing eighth at the Chili Bowl, and continued to prove he is a force in a midget with runner-up runs at both the Gold Grown Midget Nationals (Pontoon Beach, IL.), and Turkey Night (Perris, CA.).

·         Dave Darland – Lincoln, IN. – Age 46. Darland won the Eldora Summer Shootout, and was runner-up in the Ultimate Challenge (Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA.). He posted top-five runs in several BIG races including Kokomo’s Sprint Car Smackdown, the Haubstadt Hustler (Haubstadt, IN.), and the Perris Oval Nationals (Perris, CA.). Darland finished fourth in Indiana Sprint Week points.

·         Cody Darrah – Red Lion, PA. – Age 23. Cody drove for Kasey Kahne Racing again in 2012. He scored a huge win in the Williams Grove Summer Nationals (Mechanicsburg, PA.) to highlight his season. He backed up his Summer Nationals win with a third place finish in the National Open at “The Grove”.  Darrah’s seventh place standing in the final World of Outlaws points was a career best as well.   

·         Lance Dewease – Fayetteville, PA. – Age 46. Dewease returned from a broken neck to have yet another outstanding racing season and earn his sixth All-HammerDown! Team honor. Dewease finished eighth in the Knoxville Nationals (Knoxville, IA.), and second in the Gettysburg Clash at Lincoln Speedway (Abbottstown, PA.) on his way to finishing 22nd in the final Racer’s Racing Series point standings.  

·         Craig Dollansky – Elk River, MN. – Age 46. Dollansky won nine World of Outlaws features on his way to his ninth All-HammerDown! Team selection. The “Crowd Pleaser” won two RRS points earning main events in 2012: the World of Outlaws finale at Volusia Speedway Park (Barberville, FL.) and the Iron Man 55 (Pevely, MO.). Dollansky’s biggest payday came with a third place run at the Knoxville Nationals.

·         Bobby East –Brownsburg, IN. Age 28. East used top finishes in the USAC Silver Crown series to make the All HammerDown! Team for the fourth time in his career. The Indiana Pacers fan won the 2012 USAC Silver Crown Championship driving for Tony Stewart Racing. East won twice in the series: on the pavement at Iowa Speedway (Newton, IA.), and on the dirt at Terre Haute, IN.

·         David Gravel – Watertown, CT. – Age 20. David Gravel joins the elite All-HammerDown! Team for the first time in his career.  He had several impressive finishes in 2012 including a runner-up in Port Royal Speedway’s Tuscarora 50 (Port Royal, PA.). Gravel was on the podium with the World of Outlaws at the Brad Doty Classic (Lima, OH.), and also at the WoO Volusia, FL. finale in February.

·         Sam Hafertepe Jr. – Sunnyvale, TX. - Age 27. Among the hardest working racers in the business, Hafertepe traveled all over the USA and Canada in 2012, amassing enough points to make the All-HammerDown! Team for the fifth year in a row. “Sunnyvale Sam” scored eight feature wins, and 28 top fives on the season. His best Racer’s Racing Series finishes were a pair of thirds in the WoO sanctioned Gettysburg Clash (Lincoln Speedway), and in the ASCS event at Gray’s Harbor Raceway (Elma, WA.).

·         Darren Hagen – Riverside, CA. – Age 26. Hagen won the 2012 USAC National Midget championship as well as the Indiana Midget Week title. He started the season by finishing in the top dozen at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals (Tulsa, OK.), then won in a non-wing sprint car (Ocala, FL.). He followed that up with a podium finish in the midget at the Night Before the 500 (Indianapolis, IN.). 2012 marks the sixth time Hagen has been named to the All-HD Team.

·         Tracy Hines – New Castle, IN. – Age 40. Hines scored a huge win in the “Night Before the 500” at Raceway Park, and had two BIG-race runner-up finishes to highlight his 2012. Hines was second in both the Sprint Car Smackdown and the Perris Oval Nationals (Perris, CA.). Hines is on the All HammerDown! Team for the ninth time in his career.

·         Greg Hodnett – Thomasville, PA. – Age 43. Hodnett captured 15 wins and 62 top-tens in 2012. He was the track champion at Williams Grove Speedway, and he represented the Posse well vs. the World of Outlaws with a pair of podium finishes (second in May, third at the WG Summer Nationals). Hodnett won the $12,900 top prize at the Weikert Memorial at Port Royal for his lone Racer’s Racing Series victory.

·         Danny Holtgraver – Pittsburgh, PA. – Age 23.  Danny Holtgraver earned his first All-HammerDown! Team selection in 2012 on the strength of nine feature wins, including a stellar performance versus the World of Outlaws in the nationally televised Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, PA.). Holtgraver finished second in the Bob Weikert Memorial at Port Royal Speedway, and was on the podium in the All-Stars finale at Ocala, FL., and in the Jim Ford Classic (Fremont, OH.).

·         Jason Johnson – Eunice, LA. – Age 36. The “Ragin’ Cajun” won his third career ASCS National championship in 2012. His biggest Racer’s Racing Series moment was a March win in the Devils Bowl Spring Nationals (Mesquite, TX.). The Lone Star state was good to Johnson as well in October as Johnson finished second in the Lone Star Nationals (Kilgore, TX.). Johnson won races in Arizona, Arkansas, Australia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas in his successful season.

·         Levi Jones – Olney, IL. – Age 30. Jones has made the All-HammerDown! Team nine years in a row. In 2012 – despite having his season cut short due to surgery to repair two herniated discs – Jones still managed to do enough to get the nod. He was the champion of Indiana Sprint Week, and he notched podium finishes in the Hoosier Hundred (Indiana State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis), and in the USAC Silver Crown event at Iowa Speedway (Newton, IA.).

·         Tim Kaeding – San Jose, CA. - Age 34. Driving for Roth Motorsports, Tim Kaeding had a fantastic season in 2012. He beat the World of Outlaws twice during their spring, Western swing, with wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Thunderbowl Raceway (Tulare, CA.). When the Outlaws returned to California in late summer, Kaeding beat them with a dramatic last lap, last corner pass at Antioch Speedway. He also won a WoO feature at Cedar Lake Speedway (New Richmond, WI.) in July, and finished ninth in the Knoxville Nationals.

·         Chad Kemenah – Findlay, OH. - Age 41. Kemenah earned his eighth career All-HammerDown! Team selection in a year that saw him win two World of Outlaws feature events. Racing a national tour with a limited budget, Kemenah was victorious at Eldora Speedway, and at Lawrenceburg Speedway (Lawrenceburg, IN.) against the best in the world.

·         Kraig Kinser – Bloomington, IN. – Age 28. Kraig Kinser won four World of Outlaws feature events on his way to sixth place in the WoO points in 2012. Driving the Kinser family #11, Kraig won the WoO return to Kokomo Speedway in June, and finished fourth in the Knoxville Nationals. Kraig has made the All-HammerDown! Team seven times in his career.

·         Steve Kinser – Bloomington, IN. – Age 58. The 20-time World of Outlaws champion added to his win list in 2012 – including a Racer’s Racing Series points earning score when the World of Outlaws visited Williams Grove Speedway in May. Kinser won four WoO features in 2012 and finished fifth in the series point standings. He won in New York, Pennsylvania, and Kansas.

·         Kyle Larson – Elk Grove, CA. – Age 20. Larson was the only driver to win five Racer’s Racing Series points earning events in 2012. He won the non-wing sprint car Ultimate Challenge at Southern Iowa Speedway (Oskaloosa, IA.) and followed that up the next night with a winged victory on his preliminary night at the Knoxville Nationals. He dominated the Gold Cup (Chico, CA.), and won two BIG midget races in the Gold Crown Nationals (Pontoon Beach, IL.) and Turkey Night (Perris, CA.). 

·         Danny Lasoski – Dover, MO. – Age 52.  Lasoski started the 2012 season strongly – winning four races in Florida in February. His Racer’s Racing Series points earning victory at Ocala, FL in All-Stars competition, and a runner-up finish at the Devils Bowl Winter Nationals (Mesquite, TX.) were “The Dude’s” high-water marks in events counting toward All-HammerDown! status.

·         Kerry Madsen – Saint Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia. – Age 41. Madsen earned his sixth All-HammerDown! Team honor this season. He “caught fire” in mid-summer, winning World of Outlaws feature events at Belleville, KS., and at Lima, OH – in the Brad Doty Classic.  The highest ranked Australian driver in the final Racer’s Racing Series point standings finished second in the Kings Royal at Eldora.

·         Paul McMahan – Hendersonville, TN. – Age 42. The “hardest working man in sprint car racing”, McMahan won the 2012 Short Track Nationals, capping an impressive second half of his season. McMahan finished fifth in the Williams Grove National Open, and second in the World Finals (Concord, NC.). He won feature events in Arkansas, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

·         Jason Meyers – Clovis, CA. – Age 33. Even with a very limited schedule, Meyers accomplished enough in 2012 to make the All-HammerDown! Team for the tenth year in a row. Meyers finished fifth in the Knoxville Nationals. Additionally – he scored a pair BIG wins for Tarlton Racing with a first place on his Nationals preliminary night, and an October win at the Trophy Cup (Thunderbowl Raceway, Tulare, CA.).

·         Daryn Pittman – Owasso, OK. – Age 34. The always busy Pittman again ran a hefty schedule of races in 2012. His best finish in a Racer’s Racing Series points earning event was a fourth place finish in the Williams Grove National Open (Mechanicsburg, PA.). Pittman won four feature events on the season, including the Front Row Challenge (Southern Iowa Speedway, Oskaloosa, IA.).

·         Joey Saldana – Brownsburg, IN. – Age 40. Saldana finished third in the Racer’s Racing Series points, winning one RRS main event driving for Kasey Kahne. Saldana won the World of Outlaws’ May event at the Dirt Track at Charlotte which was televised by Speed. Along with North Carolina, he also found victory lane in California, Kentucky, Ohio, and Canada.   

·         Donny Schatz – Fargo, ND. – Age 35. Schatz scored more Racer’s Racing Series points than anyone for the sixth time in his Hall of Fame worthy career. Driving for Tony Stewart, Schatz won the World of Outlaws season opener, and proceeded to capture wins in the Knoxville Nationals and the Williams Grove National Open en route to his fifth World of Outlaws championship.   

·         Tim Shaffer – Aliquippa, PA. – Age 45. Shaffer was the 2012 All-Stars points champion. He scored a Racer’s Racing Series points earning win in the Jim Ford Classic, September 15th at Fremont Speedway (Ohio). Other top finishes included a second place run on his Knoxville Nationals preliminary night, and a runner-up finish at the Ohio Speedweek finale at Fremont. Shaffer finished fifth at the Short Track Nationals.

·         Jason Sides – Bartlett, TN. – Age 39. Sides earned his ninth All-HammerDown! Team selection after running a “true-outlaw” schedule in 2012. His best results in Racer’s Racing Series points earning events were a pair of runner-up runs in World of Outlaws races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and at the Williams Grove Summer Nationals.

·         Stevie Smith – New Oxford, PA. - Age 46. Smith won the Mitch Smith Memorial at Williams Grove Speedway but his biggest points score in Racer’s Racing Series action was his seventh place result in the (double-points) Knoxville Nationals. The 2012 All HammerDown! Team honor is the seventh of Stevie’s career.

·         Shane Stewart – Bixby, OK. – Age 36. Stewart scored extra frequent flier miles this season – driving multiple cars in Australia, the USA, and Canada. Stewart won the 360 Nationals (Knoxville, IA.), and finished sixth in the Knoxville Nationals. He won eleven features on American soil in 2012. More importantly – Stewart used his racing celebrity status to promote successful Kick-It for Cancer kickball games that raised money for charity.   

·         Chase Stockon – Sullivan, IN. – Age 24. Stockon made the All-HammerDown! Team for the first time in his career after a breakout season behind the wheel of a non-wing sprint car. His biggest moment was a $10,000 to-win score in the Lawrenceburg Nationals (Lawrenceburg, IN.). He also finished fourth at Eldora’s Summer Shootout.

·         Brad Sweet – Grass Valley, CA. – Age 27. Sweet used his driving versatility to make the All-HammerDown! Team for the sixth time in his career. Supplementing his NASCAR schedule, Sweet finished sixth at the Chili Bowl, and third at the Gold Crown Nationals in a midget. In a winged sprint car – he won his first career World of Outlaws feature in 2012 (Spencer, IA.). and posted a fifth place run with the World of Outlaws at Kokomo Speedway.

·         Kevin Swindell – Germantown, TN. – Age 23. Kevin used his third straight Chili Bowl Midget Nationals victory, and a late season string of winged sprint car top-finishes to make the All-HammerDown! Team for the second time in his career. The young Swindell finished second in the 360 Nationals at Knoxville. Outside of sprint cars, and midgets, Kevin made noise by winning an ARCA race, and showing well in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

·         Sammy Swindell – Germantown, TN. – Age 57. Still winning, Sammy led the World of Outlaws in quick-times, laps led, and feature wins in 2012. His biggest score was the Kings Royal $50,000 check at Eldora in July. During a three-week span from April 20th to May 5th, Swindell won three WoO, RRS points earning main events (Sedalia, MO, Knoxville, IA, Rossburg, OH.). Sammy also continued to excel at the Chili Bowl  where he finished second to his son Kevin.

·         Greg Wilson – Benton Ridge, OH. – Age 37. Greg Wilson earned his first All-HammerDown! Team nod on the strength of his consistent runs in a winged sprint car. His top Racer’s Racing Series finishes were a third place run with the All-Stars at Fremont Speedway in May, and a fourth place finish in the Brad Doty Classic.  Wilson also had a pair of top-ten finishes versus the World of Outlaws at Eldora Speedway.

·         Chris Windom – Canton, IL. – Age 21. Windom made the All-HammerDown! Team for the third consecutive season on the strength of his solid year in a non-wing sprint car. His best finish in a Racer’s Racing Series points earning event was a second place run in the Lawrenceburg Nationals. Windom also squeezed in some ARCA stock car racing to his ever-expanding driving schedule in 2012.  

·         Lucas Wolfe – Mechanicsburg, PA. – Age 26. Wolfe scored his first career World of Outlaws feature win in 2012, picking up the WoO visit to Bloomington Speedway (Bloomington, IN) in early August. Wolfe’s fifth place effort at the Gettysburg Clash in May was his best finish in a Racer’s Racing Series points event. This is the sixth career All-HammerDown! Team honor for Wolfe.

* Stat from SprintCarStats.com **Stat from SprintSource.com

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