“I was disappointed in our run at Southern National, but pretty happy with a top-10 finish at Texas,” said Scott Hantz. “With the experience I have gained at Southern National, I was hoping for a better run, but the track seemed to change on us. At Thunder Hill, we had a pretty good car, but that place is extremely hard to pass. Finishing ahead of Bobby Gill and Billy Bigley Jr. is a pretty neat deal,” added the 2000 Sunoco Super Series Champion and Rookie of the Year.

At Southern National Speedway, Hantz qualified in 11th position of the 28 cars on hand for the event. The qualifying procedure locked in the top 10 qualifiers that placed Hantz on the pole of the qualifying race. Hantz won his qualifying race while fine-tuning his number 72 machine.

“After winning the qualifying race, I thought we had a good handling car and could challenge for the win. We just didn't have the handle on the track in the feature event. With the race being 250 laps compared to 200 the year before, it seemed like everybody had a good handling car at the beginning, but at the end everyone was just holding on. I was disappointed to finish in eighth after having such a strong run last year. We had about a fourth or fifth place car, but we got spun in the race and lost a lap.”

Last weekend, Hantz and his EMF Corporation Team traveled from their headquarters in Northern Indiana to Texas for the second Annual Big Shot 250 at Thunder Hill Raceway that paid $30,000 to the race winner. After a experiencing his share of bad luck in the 2001 version, Hantz was looking for a strong performance.

“We had a pretty good car, but again we qualified poorly. This time we timed in 18th. I was then forced to race into the event. I finished second in the qualifying heat. I'm glad we lock more than 10 cars in qualifying in the Sunoco Super Series or I would be racing qualifying races all year,” joked Hantz.

After starting deep in the field, Hantz patiently worked his way to the lead pack, finishing in the seventh position, directly ahead of Hooter's ProCup Star Bobby Gill. Hantz battled in the race on several occasions with Billy Bigley Jr. of the All Pro Series and John Wilkinson of the Southern All Star Racing Series.

“It's is extremely hard to pass at Thunder Hill. We had a car capable of winning, but just ran out of laps. I needed 500 laps. They really need to add another lane, because it's a very narrow racetrack. After finishing the Sunoco season at Winchester Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park, it seemed like Southern National and Thunder Hill were pretty small,” added Hantz.

In the 2002 Sunoco Super Series season, Hantz, finished in the third position in the final standings garnering two victories, one Tobacco Depot Pole Award and 11 top-five finishes. His two victories occurred in September at Plymouth Speedway and in October at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

“I needed that win at Indianapolis Raceway Park. I have always run pretty well there. That place is about experience. Every time we go there we get a little bit quicker. With Junior (Hanley) finishing third at IRP, I'm convinced he can win with a poor handling race car at any race,” said Hantz.

In 2003, Hantz is looking to challenge for the Sunoco Super Series Championship. In three full-time years on the tour, “The Hurricane” has finished first, second and third in the final standings.

“We are going to step up our program next season with getting some new cars, doing some testing and buying more tires. The key for us is getting off to a good start. The first three years we have had troubles at Anderson in April. We need to get an early season win and get everything rolling in the right direction. This year we switched to a lot of light weight parts and that caused several dnfs. Next year I want to go back to basics like we did in 2000.”

Hantz began racing in factory stocks in 1985 and has amassed over 100 super late model victories competing in the states of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. He was a regular on the Iceman Circuit in the early 1990s and finished in the seventh position in the final standings. Hantz has a victory in the Florida Pro Series on his resume. In 2000, Hantz set the rookie records at a very high mark in the Sunoco Super Series. He holds rookie records for wins (3), poles (3), top fives (11), top tens (13) and laps led (397) that all contributed to his 2000 series championship and rookie of the year honors. In 2001, Hantz finished second in the point standings. He won four events and led the most laps (671) while posting 10 top-10 finishes.

“I'm really enjoying racing in the Sunoco Super Series. The series management seems to be doing a lot of positive moves that are making this series one of the best in the Midwest. I have worked on late model cars my entire career, so I enjoy the responsibly of setting up my car and racing in the Sunoco Series.”