North American 410 Sprint Car Poll Nominees Announced

12/5/2007 - The names of the nominees for the 2007 North American 410 Sprint Car Poll post-season awards were released today by poll founder and coordinator Tom Schmeh. The select 40-member voting panel, representing media members, manufacturers, promoters and sanctioning officials, is currently in the final balloting process, and the names of the seven award recipients will be revealed later this week during the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Orlando, Florida. The nominees for the 2007 North American 410 Sprint Car Poll post-season awards, excluding Driver of the Year, are as follows:

Team of the Year: Danny & Diane Schatz.

Rookie of the Year: Chris Andrews, Kyle Larson.

Builder/Manufacturer of the Year: Brian & Jeannie Butler, Jack Elam, Barry Jackson, Ron Shaver.

Media Member of the Year: Bobby Gerould, Mike Kerchner, Tony Veneziano, Justin Zoch.

Promoter of the Year: Ralph Capitani, John Padjen, Roger Slack, Tony Stewart.

Wild Card Award (for exciting sprint car performances): Chad Blonde, Mark Dobmeier, Tim Kaeding, Brian Montieth, Donny Schatz, Lucas Wolfe.

Outstanding Contribution to the Sport Award: Tom Deery, Glenn Howard (deceased), Dick Jordan, Kasey Kahne, Greg Staab.

According to Schmeh, "I believe this is the first time since the poll's inception in 1985 that only one nominee will appear on the final ballot in a particular award category. Danny and Diane Schatz were the only team owners that received multiple nominations from the voting panel and, thus, the World of Outlaws (WoO) championship sprint car owners from Fargo, North Dakota, will be the only nominees listed in the Team of the Year category on the 2007 North American 410 Sprint Car Poll final ballot. That is quite an accomplishment!"

The North American Sprint Car Poll post-season awards, like the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction awards, are official programs of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation, Inc. The Outstanding Contribution to the Sport Award is the only poll award voted on by members of all three voting panels (‘360’, ‘410’, Non-Winged). Those seeking more information should visit the museum’s web site at www.sprintcarhof.com.