Wright not retired; finishes 5th
Wright not retired; finishes 5th

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By Jason Kersey

Published: March 22, 2008

To quell any rumors: Gary Wright never considered retiring after his 13-win American Sprint Car Series national championship season in 2007.

Wright, who is the four-time defending ASCS champion, has spent the last few months combating suggestions that he was calling it a career after he sold some equipment in a January auction in Tulsa.

"I just sold part of my stuff,” Wright said. "I down-sized my operation, but I never said I was retiring. I just couldn't find a sponsor.”

Last May, Wright told The Oklahoman that he wanted to concentrate on his motocross track and "my race team has been for sale since last winter. If someone were to walk up to me at the races this weekend and offer to buy my trailer and three sprint cars, I would be done for good.”

Anyone can have a change of heart, and Wright apparently has — which is probably not good news for fellow ASCS drivers.

With his fifth-place finish Friday night during the ASCS National Tour stop at State Fair Speedway, Wright extended his series record for top five finishes in national points features to 19.

The Hooks, Texas, driver is the all-time ASCS career wins leader, and it's not even close. Wright has 120 career victories, and the next highest win total is Garry Lee Maier's 37. Wright earned his first A feature victory of 2008 last weekend in Mesquite, Texas.

Wright and other ASCS drivers will race again at State Fair at 7 tonight.

After he failed to find a sponsor for this season, Wright teamed with longtime colleague Donnie Cooper of Missouri. Cooper provided Wright with a car and equipment.

Wright will race Cooper's car (No. 01) part of the time this season — and race his own car (No. 9) the rest of the time. In Oklahoma City this weekend, Wright is using the No. 9 car, which has become familiar to ASCS fans.

"It's a combined effort,” Wright said. "No matter which car I'm driving, I will get the points.”

•Spare tires: It took three tries for the ASCS A feature to get started on Friday. In three-straight opening laps, there were wrecks that stopped the race from officially starting.

Oklahoma City's Wayne Johnson was the beneficiary of Danny Smith's misfortune. Smith, of Sand Springs, was in second place in the third ASCS B feature, which would have gotten him into the A feature had he finished there. But Smith had car problems on the 10th of 12 laps and was forced to leave the race, moving Johnson into second place and the A feature.

The top four finishers in Friday night's ASCS A feature automatically qualified for tonight's A feature. They are Danny Lasoski, Garry Lee Maier, Daryn Pittman and Jason Johnson.