(Bryan Lugo Photography)
Tulsa, OK | December 22, 2017 – Following in the footsteps of previous micro sprint prodigies, Concord, California’s Joey Ancona is arguably the hottest up and comer of his age in the nation. At a mere 13-years old, Ancona concluded his inaugural season of Outlaw competition in the “Golden State” with six victories and a track championship. With a phenomenal year of learning behind him, Ancona has turned his attention to the 33rd annual Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout. A proving ground for several of the sports biggest names, examples of 13-year old’s such as Gio Scelzi (2015) and Brady Bacon (2004), come to mind when you think of young guns excelling at the Tulsa Shootout. Entered for action in three classes, Ancona will pilot his CS9 Chassis No. 88A in the Winged Outlaw, A-Class, and Stock Non-Wing divisions.
“Joey continues to amaze us with his will to win and the dedication that he puts into his racing,” said Ancona’s mother, Shari. “His on track knowledge is quite impressive for his age and he continues to improve each year. We are really excited for this year’s Shootout and I know Joey is looking forward to moving up into Outlaw and Non-Wing for the first time. I’m sure we have the same expectations as everyone else, that being to make the feature in all three classes, but in order to do that you need some luck. Of course our expectations change if he makes the feature and then it becomes about the Golden Driller!”
Making his fourth attempt at the Tulsa Shootout, Ancona has recorded a feature start in the Restricted division in all of his previous appearances. A DNF troubled the team in 2015 as they made their debut with a 21st-place finish. Returning with a vengeance in 2016, Ancona transferred from the B-Main and LCQ before earning hard charger honors with an impressive 18th-to-7th charge in the main event. In his final Restricted race at last year’s Shootout, Ancona continued to improve and earned his best-career result in Tulsa with a podium finish of 3rd-place.
Moving into California’s Super 600 (Outlaw) class this year, Ancona continue to make strides and impress as he took to the next level. Winning six events and scoring the Plaza Park Raceway track championship, he also scored several strong runs in the biggest races in the state. Proving his consistency throughout the year, Ancona also ended the season in second place for the points chase with the USAC National Championship and Lemoore Raceway. Scoring victories at a few big races, Ancona took home the title for the inaugural California North vs. South Series and won the Lonnie Kaiser Memorial at Dixon Speedway.
Exiting the Restricted class and taking on the premier divisions of the Tulsa Shootout, Ancona will have a tough task on his hand, but one he is thrilled to tackle head on. Entered for three classes, the young gun will have a busy schedule at next week’s 33rd annual running of the micro sprint extravaganza. Along with continuing his Winged Outlaw campaign, Ancona will pilot a second entry in the A-Class and Stock Non-Wing divisions.
Beginning on Thursday, December 28th with practice and heat races, the 33rd edition of the Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout will run through Sunday, December 31st when a new batch of Golden Driller winners are crowned. Walkapedia will continue our Tulsa Shootout coverage all week long with countless previews leading up to the race as we highlight this year’s contenders.
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