Tony Hunt says the experiment that was the United States Auto Club Western Classic Series worked well in 2011 and will be back in 2012.
The Lincoln resident just wishes he had won the championship.
The USAC Western Classic combined eight races on asphalt and eight races on dirt. Points were kept to determine champions of each surface and an overall series champ. Hunt led the overall points chase for much of the season, but engine troubles at Calistoga during the Labor Day weekend and not finishing at Shasta hurt his chances.
Hunt was able to take the asphalt portion after finishing fifth at the annual Turkey Night Grand Prix at the Toyota Speedway in Irwindale last week. It was the seventh USAC title in his career. Hunt finished second on the dirt to Sebastopol's Geoff Ensign, who beat Hunt for the overall title by just nine points.
"That DNF in Shasta just killed us," Hunt said. "But the entire series was received very well from the fans and the drivers."
Hunt said the number of dirt events may increase by as much as 50 percent next season. The series will return to the prestigious Mini-Gold Cup and Gold Cup races at Chico's Silver Dollar Speedway as part of the World of Outlaws annual visits.
Hunt's eighth USAC title came on the same night and in the same race. He started seventh at the Turkey Night Grand Prix and had a great view of a multiple-car crash on the first lap that crushed the championship hopes of Audra Sasselli, the Western Sprint Car Series leader. Sasselli, from Fresno, could not get to the restart and did not finish.
Hunt's fifth-place finish gave him enough points to overtake Sasselli for the title.
"We won four races but missed one in Salt Lake City that forced us to play catch-up there, too," Hunt said. "We went to the Little 500 on Memorial Day weekend in Indiana and missed the (Western Sprint Car Series) race in Salt Lake City. What's worse, the Little 500 was rained out, so the entire weekend was horrible."
Fair Oaks driver Shauna Hogg finished 10th in the Western Sprint Car Series and fifth overall in the Western Classic Series (ninth on asphalt, fourth on dirt).
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Mark Billingsley covers local motor sports for The Bee. Reach him at editorwriter@att.net
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