BOAT, FAAS LEADING 2 ROOKIE CATEGORIES

Drivers Chad Boat and Nic Faas are currently forerunners in the battle for two USAC"Rookie of the Year" honors, to be awarded at season's end.

Boat, of Phoenix, Ariz., has more points than any other eligible rookie in the USAC National Sprint Car and Mopar National Midget Series, while Faas, of Huntington Beach, Calif., has more points than any other eligible rookie in the Lucas Oil USAC/CRA Sprint Car and Western Midget Series.

Rookie eligibility is limited to drivers with no more than four previous career starts in a respective series and a panel of officials and racing experts determines the winner based on several factors, including performance on the race track and in the series standings.

Steve Arpin of St. Frances, Ont., Canada is the leading point-scoring rookie in the K & N Silver Crown Series so far, while Porter Smith of Aztec, N.M. has outpointed all other rookie candidates so far in the Western Sprint Car Series.

Battles for"Rookie of the Year" honors continue as the 2008 season heads into late-summer, with numerous challengers for the current leaders. In the K & N Silver Crown Series drivers Jacob Wilson, Michael Annett, Ryan Smith, Shane Hmiel and Patrick Bruns are in the"top-30," while drivers Jeff Bland Jr., Thomas Meseraull, Wilson, Brad Kuhn, Dakoda Armstrong, Bret Mellenberndt and Brian Gingras are in the National Sprint Car"top-30." National Midget hopefuls in the"top-30" include Armstrong, Ricky Ehrgott, Mike Murgoitio, Zach Schiff, Evan Margeson and Brent Beauchamp, while Snake Livernash, Tim Skoglund, John Sarale, Chase Scott, Jimmy Riddell and Hmiel are all in the Western Sprint"top-30." Top 30 hopefuls in the Western Midget Series are Robby Josett, Daniel Bedford, Josh Ford, Steve Mathews, Viktor Sinzig, Shane Golobic, Marco DeGeorge, Chris Gansen and Rob Ely; and Lucas Oil CRA Sprint"top-30" hopefuls include Cody Williams, Cole Whitt, Austin Mero, Henry Clarke and Boat.

Leading"rookie" candidates at present in USAC's Ford Focus series are Kyle Hamilton of Danville, Ind. (Midwest), Alex Bowman of Tucson, Ariz. (California) and Steven Intravaia of Saylorsburg, Pa. (Carolina), while Alison MacLeod of Mississauga, Ont., Canada leads the Regional Midget"rookie" list.