2004 Southern Thunder Tour Champion Andy Kelly!
Even at 5'6" tall that didn't keep # 11 Andy "Hammer Down" Kelly from standing tall above all the rest of the USA Sprints Stars and Cars as Kelly night in and night out ran in the top 5. Along the way he also Won 3 Feature races. Kelly was rapidly garnering points each and every weekend to take the 2004 USA Sprints Championship with a very impressive string of top finishes, heat race Wins and an excellently prepared race car by Jeff "Super Tech" Gambrell.
"Thunderfoot" Bob Schaeffer from New Castle Colorodo was runner up with a very consistant effort in the Dan Barth owned # 22 J & J Sprinter and 2 Feature Wins. RC Roper "The Racin Cowboy" brought home 3rd place with 1 feature Win. The 2004 USA Sprints Rookie of the Year Mikey "The Kid" Davis from Plant City was outstanding. Mikey drove very smart and stayed out of trouble all year to finish most all of the races he entered. He was challenged by Scott "Rock & Roll" Rocchio from Boyten Beach who also showed great promise towards the tail of the season. David "Skeeter" Kelly who also won once came back strong for a great 4th place tally after a slow start. "Tiny" Tim George who won 1 race from Venice won the 2004 Winternationals and drove to a nice 5th place points finish.The USA Sprints competed at 8 different Race Tracks in 2004 with 16 Races and 12 different Winners.There were several Match races which were a huge success. This was a very competitive season but by no means was this a surprise. The last 3 years have yielded 44 total points races with 33 different Winners. Now that's competition. This is a result of creating an even playing field and a "Fun" atmosphere where most everyone are friends and tough competitors alike. USA Sprints belieee this is a Key factor along with a cost saving set of simple rules that are strictly enforced.There are approximatley 25 events planned at 8-10 Florida Area Race Tracks as well as a couple Non Points USA Races this year which will be out of State. In addition a North /South "Challenge 2" Series is in the works for the Summer of 2005 with the Cajun Sprinters and Florida Sprintcar Association up in the North Florida as well. USA Sprints are expected to run 6 to 10 pavement shows in 2005. There is another exciting new Florida Race Track opening in 2005 and the USA Sprints will be there. The 2005 schedule will be finalized by year end as the details are now being worked out.The USA Sprints are excited about their bright future as the organization continues to grow and expand in 2005. The USA Sprints are a Nationally recognized All-Star Series that has a $40,000 contingency program with National, Local, and Regional Sponsors. Each Race, certificates, cash and or products are given away to the top 12 Drivers and even Crew Members for various finishing positions throughout the field as well as the year end Awards that are held in mid December. Congratulations to 2004 USA Sprints Champion Andy Kelly.
2004 Sticks Pest Control Special Awards
Thunder Mountain Wings Champion- Andy Kelly # 11Ringers Gloves Top Rookie Driver-Mikey Davis # 3bUltrashield Race Products Sportsman of the Year- Sean Namor # 10nQA1 Shocks Most Improved Driver-Scott Rocchio # 16KSE Hard Charger Driver- RC Roper # 92Colley Racing Equipment Mechanic Of The Year- Jeff Gambrell # 11High Performance Coatings Most Popular Driver- Bob Schaeffer # 22
