LAS VEGAS — California driver Tony Hunt enters this year’s Only Bulls Open Wheel Showdown with extreme confidence.
He will be competing in the $10,000-to-win Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Non-Wing Sprint Car event at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway November 4-7.
Hunt has been the winningest non-winged pavement sprint car driver in the U.S. the past two seasons with 12 feature victories. In addition, he just claimed his second consecutive NCMA series title.
The NCMA is a California based non-wing pavement sprint car series. Based on his stats, it would be hard to bet against him in Las Vegas in less than two weeks.
The 55-year-old Los Angeles, California driver will be behind the wheel of the Mike Phulps’ No. 51 Beast chassis that was last driven by Logan Seavey at this year’s Little 500.
The car was involved in an accident late in the race. The team has just recently completed the rebuild in time for the Open Wheel Showdown.
“We were very interested in competing in the event the minute Davey Hamilton Jr. announced his was adding non-winged sprint cars,” explained Hunt. ”Las Vegas is on the west side of the country. It’s more feasible for us to compete. It’s a big race and our season’s over for us. The timing of it is good as well.
“We needed some time to get our car put back together from the Little 500. It literally got destroyed,” Hunt continued. “It’s kind of a brand new rebuild on that car. It gave us some time to do that throughout the year while still racing with NCMA. We felt like this is a great opportunity to run our Little 500 package, meaning the engine and chassis, more than just at the Little 500.”
Hunt returns to the Bullring for the first time since October 16, 2004. He competed in the last non-winged sprint car event at the track until this year’s return on non-winged sprint cars. He is one of a handful of drivers who will be competing in this year’s return who also competed in that USAC Western States Sprint Car Series event 22 years ago.
He also set the current Bullring non-winged sprint car track record on that day at 13.985 seconds. He is officially the only non-winged sprint car driver to have officially turned a 13-second lap at the Bullring to date.
He was asked if he thinks his current track record will stand or be lowered since the track was just recently repaved.
“It’s gonna change dramatically. For one thing it was a 360 event, and we ran on the harder Hoosier 55 compound back then. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see low 13-second laps at least,” Hunt said.
“I do have confidence, in a way, entering this event. I haven’t run this Hoosier Tire package in a long time. We run on the American Racer tires out here, and it’s a different compound and tire construction,” he noted. “We’re crossing our fingers that the tire program will be dialed in and we’ll be able to adapt to that change. We have to make sure our notes from all the previous years that we’ve ever done anything on that tire compound will click and we can fire off right out of the box.”
Hunt takes confidence into the event.
“We’ve got all the right equipment and resources to compete in Las Vegas. I feel like I know these cars,” Hunt said. “I feel like I can adapt even know it’s been a couple of decades. I feel like we’re a top five car. We’re gonna have a special Las Vegas livery that we’re gonna reveal when we get out there. That’s gonna be fun and we’re gonna have some Las Vegas merchandise to coincide with our special Las Vegas scheme. Can’t wait to get there.”
