Billy Tanner; Stott Classic Racing Robbed Of Good Springfield Finish

Topics:  Billy Tanner, Allen Crowe 100

Chris Knight
Stott Classic Racing
August 22, 2007

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (August 22, 2007) - - Billy Tanner was feeling very good about his debut in the dirt this past weekend at Illinois State Fairgrounds, but unfortunately, the team’s finish did not state the type of improvement, consistency and threat they were in the Allen Crowe 100.

Tanner, driving the No. 07 CheapCaribbean.com Pontiac Grand Prix for Stott Classic Racing is a well-known dirt racer from Pennsylvania , but at the conclusion of the delayed practice session, the 25 year-old had a different feel with a 3400 pound-stock car.

“I’ve raced on a lot on dirt, but this is very different, it’s nothing like my late model,” said Tanner. “I know our practice times (36th) don’t show anything positive, but I was just getting warmed up, we’ll be fine for the race, I guarantee that.”

With Mother Nature reeking havoc at Illinois State Fairgrounds, ARCA officials were forced to cancel qualifying and the start the field by points. Tanner would line up 35th.

At the start of the event, Tanner took off like a rocket. Threading the needle through the race traffic, he had worked himself into the 25th position when the first caution flag waived on lap 10.

The Stott Classic Racing team opted to bring their rookie driver to pit road. Crew chief and car owner Corrie Stott elected to do a gas-and-go, sending Tanner back into the hunt.

On the restart, Tanner’s old days in Pennsylvania flashed before his eyes as began to out master several of his competitors while on the march towards the front.

When the caution flag waived on lap 31, Tanner was sitting in the 10th position, his first time this year holding the honor of sitting in the top-10.

Throughout the next twenty-five laps, Tanner would hover strong inside the top-12, but on lap 61, contact with the No. 90 car would send Tanner around for a spin.

Luckily, the spin itself didn’t produce any damage, but then came Mark Littleton, who was riding comfortably inside the top-20 before slamming into the No. 07 causing heavy damage to both cars.

Tanner would bring his battered machine to pit road, where the Stott Classic Racing team would bang out the fenders and send Tanner back into the event.

For the remainder of the event, Tanner would continue to maneuver his way around the one-mile track. Out of the hunt, he salvaged the best finish he could, crossing the line 26th.

“I don’t know what we need to do to get a break,” said Tanner. “We had a great car, I mean a great car and I don’t know what happened with the No. 90 again. That’s not the first time she has gotten into me. I’m just frustrated. We were racing towards a top-10 and it easily could have came at Springfield . Now we’ll have to try and fix the car and head to The Milwaukee Mile.”

He continued, “I’m telling you, I just don’t know what to say. It’s frustrating. We’ve had good cars all year and just plump bad luck has kept us from showing our true potential. I would do anything for a good run on Sunday (at The Milwaukee Mile).”

“We’ll pick up the pieces like we always do. I sincerely appreciate everything hat Corrie and the team do for me and hopefully a good run at The Milwaukee Mile will make up for everything.”

Next up for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is a showdown at The Milwaukee Mile. The Governors Cup 200 weekend is set to start with practice and ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying Saturday. The event is scheduled to roll off at 1:00pm EST Sunday with live coverage on SPEED.

For more on Classic Stott Racing and driver Billy Tanner please visit StottClassicRacing.com

About CheapCaribbean.com and COMM Group:

CheapCaribbean.com is owned by COMM Group, Inc (Customer Oriented Marketing and Management Group) which provides wholesale and direct to consumer distribution of vacation packages, resort reservations, and cruises worldwide to Bermuda, the Caribbean, and Mexico , servicing over 250,000 passengers per year.

About Billy Tanner:

A fourth generation driver, Billy Tanner IV, 25, hails from Newtown , PA. A veteran dirt specialist, Tanner won several events in 2006 including at Bridgeport and on his home track of New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, New Jersey . Tanner finished last year sixth in the Race of Champions (ROC) North series, seventh in ROC South, seventh in ROC combined, seventh at New Egypt Speedway, and eighth at Bridgeport . Tanner will run more than a dozen ARCA races in 2007 in hopes of a full season campaign in 2008.

About Stott Classic Racing:

Stott Classic Racing has over 50 years of racing heritage and success. Started in 1955, Ramo Stott was an ARCA champ in 1970 and 1971 along with USAC champ in 1975. His sons Corrie and Lance carried on the tradition, with Corrie having 20 years of NASCAR experience. Successfully starting and operating various NASCAR teams, Corrie was a Crew member for Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte and Crew Chief for Sterling Marlin and Jimmy Spencer. Corrie has spent the past 12 years in management positions with Hendrick Motorsports, SABCO, and PPI Motorsports.

MEDIA CONTACT

NAME: Chris Knight, Stott Classic Racing
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: knight849@aol.com