TEXARKANA, Ark. — A trio of past Short Track Nationals champions are among the early edition of entries for the upcoming 36th Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires & Ark-La-Tex Lawn and Landscape.
After 35 years of action at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway, the 36th edition of the crown jewel 360-ci Sprint Car event is set for next weekend, October 5-7, at Texarkana 67 Speedway with a $20,000 payday earmarked for the winner of the Saturday, October 7, finale.
The event kicks off with the 16th Annual Ralph Henson Memorial on Thursday, October 5, with the 36th Annual Short Track Nationals officially taking place on Friday and Saturday.
Among the 39 drivers on the early list of STN entries are defending race champion Sam Hafertepe Jr., along with other past winners Blake Hahn and Wayne Johnson.
Sunnyvale, Texas, shoe Hafertepe Jr., scored his second STN triumph in the past three years by topping last season’s final event at I-30 Speedway.  With five STN preliminary feature wins as well, Hafertepe Jr., has posted seven career top-fives and nine top-tens in ten STN championship feature starts.
Sapulpa, Oklahoma’s Hahn went three-for-four from 2018 to 2021 with back-to-back wins in ’18 and ’19 and then a third STN crown in ’21. Hahn finished among the top-five in the STN finale for the fifth year in a row last October.
Oklahoma’s Johnson is seasoned STN veteran with 17 career STN championship feature starts. Johnson added his tenth career top-ten finish with a seventh-place run last year with his lone STN triumph taking place in 1997.
Three other drivers among the current entries have posted wins in STN preliminary feature action including Derek Hagar, Jordon Mallett and Sean McClelland.
Along with Hafertepe Jr., Hahn and Johnson, another eight currently entered drivers raced into last year’s STN finale amongst a field of 87 competitors including current ASCS National Championship points leader Jason Martin (8th), Hagar (9th), Garet Williamson (10th), Matt Covington (12th), Dale Howard (13th), Mallett (14th), Howard Moore (16th), Steven Russell (17th) and Cody Gardner (18th)
The Current Short Track Nationals Entries:
0-Mike Vaculik (Hot Springs, AR)
1-Sean McClelland (Tulsa, OK)
1d-Prestin Dalton (Millington, TN)
1jr-Steven Russell (Rochester, IL)
2-Chase Porter (St. Joseph, MO)
2c-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK)
2T-Todd Bradford (Arlington, TN)
3-Howard Moore (Memphis, TN)
4x-Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS)
6-Koty Adams (Haughton, LA)
G6-Cody Gardner (Benton, AR)
7c-Chris Morgan (Topeka, KS)
9jr-Derek Hagar (Marion, AR)
10-Landon Britt (Memphis, TN)
10-Brock Lemley (Sedro Woolley, WA)
10k-Dewayne White (Byalia, MS)
12-Jeffrey Newell (Tulsa, OK)
12x-Garet Williamson (Columbia, MO)
13-Chase Howard (Nesbit, MS)
14-Jordon Mallett (Greenbrier, AR)
15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX)
22m-Rees Moran (Tulsa, OK)
23w-Conner Wray (Olive Branch, MS)
26-Marshall Skinner (W. Memphis, AR)
36-Jason Martin (Liberal, KS)
43-Mark Smith (Sunbury, PA)
44-Ronny Howard (Nesbit, MS)
44-Jason Howell (Ft. Worth, TX)
45x-Kyler Johnson (Quinter, KS)
47-Dale Howard (Byhalia, MS)
52-Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)
55b-Brandon Anderson (Glenpool, OK)
71b-Brady Baker (Alexander, AR)
79-Gage Montgomery (Fredericktown, MO)
91-Michael Day (Farmersville, TX)
91a-Ernie Ainsworth (Bartlett, TN)
95-Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)
98p-Miles Paulus (Marshall, MO)
938-Bradley Fezard (Bonnderdale, AR)