California’s Derek Thorn Leads the Sunoco Driven Challenge National Standings - Speedway Digest

With the 2012 race season winding down, Derek Thorn of the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series currently leads the Sunoco Driven Challenge national championship. With over sixty drivers scoring Sunoco Driven Challenge points within their respective race series, Thorn currently leads with 95 points over fellow SPEARS Southwest Tour Series driver Jim Pettit who has 66.88, and the ARCA/CRA’s Johnny VanDoorn with 65.00 points.

In its inaugural year, the Sunoco Driven Challenge has created a way to rank the drivers from five of the nation’s top short track series in a national points structure that will award the champion a test with Joe Gibbs Racing. The five participating series for 2012 include; the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series, PASS North, PASS South, ARCA/CRA, and the ASA Midwest Tour Series.

“We’ve had an incredible season,” stated Thorn. “Byron Campbell (team owner) has brought together a great group of people and that’s the basis of our success. We’ve had good speed in the car, but more importantly the car is so meticulously prepared. Mike Keen (crew chief) and everyone on the Four Star Fruit team do such a great job in the shop before the car is put in the hauler for each race. We’ve also had luck on our side so far, as we’ve had no mechanical issues, no problems getting caught up in anything on track and just had things go our way so far this year.” Thorn added.

Thorn, age 26, competes full-time in both the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. In the K&N Pro Series he is fourth in the standings with one win and ten top tens in twelve starts. In the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series, Thorn has been outstanding, with five wins in eight starts and currently leads the series championship over four-time Southwest Tour champion Pettit, and 2009 series champ M.K. Kanke. Thorn also leads in career poles in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series, with five so far in 2012.

“It’s great to see Joe Gibbs Racing and Sunoco bring the national spotlight to these five touring series,” Thorn commented. “No doubt these series are made up of the toughest short track drivers in the nation, and I’m real proud to be part of the Sunoco Driven Challenge and represent the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series in the points each week.”

All participating drivers in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series, PASS North, PASS South, CRA, and the ASA Midwest Tour are evaluated based on a standardized points system with the top 10 drivers in each race, as well as the pole sitter, earning points. Points are accumulated throughout the season and will be standardized based on the total number of races in each series. The driver with the highest average number of points at the end of the season will be named the Sunoco Driven Challenge champion and win the grand prize of a test in with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Thorn and the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series have two races remaining on the 2012 schedule, October 13^th at All-American Speedway in Roseville, CA and the SRL season finale at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on November 17^th.

Sunoco PR

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