Salem, IN (July 25, 2008) – With a weekend off to rest, the CRA Super Series has now reached the halfway point of it’s 2008 season with eight completed events and eight events left to crown the 2008 series Champion. The season has been one of surprises and teams that have shown resurgence in their competition levels lead by current points leader Scott Hantz and the Dick Poe Motorsports team.

Hantz has two series Championships under his belt in 2000 and again in 2006 and a Rookie Of The Year Title, also in 2000. Hantz has always been a competitive driver, but his fellow racers didn’t always see him as a threat to win numerous races in recent seasons. That has all changed so far this season. Hantz came out on fire seeking his record third series championship with back to back wins at the season opener at Winchester Speedway and then again at Baer Field Speedway. Hantz then got two straight third place finishes at Salem Speedway and Anderson Speedway to get a strong hold on the series points. After a seventh place finish at Illiana Motor Speedway Hantz came home to Angola Motor Speedway getting his first win there since the 2004 season. The low point of his 2008 season so far came at Plymouth Speedway with a 15^th place finish after some bad luck, but Hantz didn’t let that hold him back as he came away with the win in the All American 150 last weekend at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville.

Hantz has a 35 point lead over second place Boris Jurkovic, but more importantly he has shown he may be the best racer the CRA Super Series has ever had. Hantz is now tied with Brian Ross with the most series wins ever at 22. Ross is also the only other driver to win two series Championships, which Hantz looks to surpass after the next eight series events. Hantz has also increased his record number of top five and top ten finishes with the series. The only major series record he does not hold is number of Fast Qualifier Awards, he is two behind all-time leader Kenny Tweedy who has 13.

In most season’s Hantz’s remarkable first half run would have produced a huge points lead, but Boris Jurkovic has also had a good first half, and if not for a little more bad luck than Hantz, he could be leading the points. Jurkovic made a late commitment to run for the series Championship, but Jurkovic has produced a great first half of the 2008 season. Jurkovic has gone to victory lane twice this season, first was a dominating performance at Illiana then some wise pit strategy produced a victory at the Plymouth event. 5 top five finishes including a second to Hantz at Angola and two Appleton Rack & Pinion Fast Qualfier Awards have put Jurkovic in a spot to contend for the 2008 series Championship.

Rick Turner has been racing with the CRA Super Series since it’s first event in 1997, but he has never had a first half of a season like the 2008 season has produced. With some help of his teammate Zach Taylor’s Crew Chief Chris Gabehart, last seasons series Champion, and a renewed desire to get up on the wheel the Y-Town Hustler has already been to victory lane at the Anderson event, the Appleton Rack & Pinion Fast Qualifier at Winchester and at Salem and has 5 top five finishes including the win and third place finishes at Illiana and at Nashville, Turner finds himself solidly in third place in series points, 27 behind Jurkovic. After a dismal start in the series season opener at Winchester, were contact from another competitor sent his car hard into the outside then the insidewalls, Turner has comeback strong even after some bad luck in the Plymouth event with contact and a flat tire and is ready to make a run for his first series Championship.

K & N Filters Rookie Of The Year point’s leader Aaron Pierce is in fourth place in series Championship points. Pierce is currently 53 points behind Turner. Pierce is a veteran in open wheel cars, but this is his first season in a stock car for owner Ken Muller, and is begining to show he has the skills to get to the front. Pierce has been the K & N Filters Rookie Of The Race in three events to date with 5 top five finishes including a series best finish of second in the Plymouth event, were he was also the Appleton Rack & Pinion Fast Qualifier. With the legendary Bill Rievley turning the wrenches, Pierce could be in victory lane soon as well as the series top finishing rookie driver.

Jason Dietsch has competed with the CRA Super Series on and off for several seasons, but this is his first ever full out effort with the series and it has paid off with some great runs in the first half of the season. Dietsch is currently in fifth place, only three points behind Pierce. Dietsch started off the season well with a third at Winchester and a second at Baer Field Speedway. After three straight finishes out of the top ten, Dietsch came back with a third place finish in the Angola event, but has slipped some lately with a 22^nd place finish at Plymouth but bounced back and got 13^th at Nashville. With a little more luck and more consistency Dietsch could be in the hunt for one of the top two point positions during the second half of the season.

Jason Shively is currently in sixth place in series points, only three points behind Dietsch. Shively has been very consistent through out the season with four top ten finishes including a second at the Anderson event, his best ever finish with the series. He was also the Appleton Rack & Pinion Fast Qualifier for that event. Shively has also had a fourth place finish at Angola and came from his 28^th starting position to finish ninth in Nashville last Sunday. Shively’s worst finish to date was 16^th at Salem, which is his only DNF so far this season. Shively also led 44 laps of the Angola event after passing Brian Rievley on the outside, which were his first laps he has ever led with the series.

Terry Fisher Jr. is currently in seventh place in series points, only seven points behind Shively and only thirteen points out of fourth place. Fisher Jr. started off the season with four straight top ten finishes including a seventh and three eighth place finishes. Fisher Jr. slipped a little at Illiana and Angola, but came back to get a season high sixth place finish at Plymouth after starting 23^rd. Fisher Jr. got his first DNF of the season last week at Nashville after parking the car with handling issues on lap 101.

Rookie contender Zach Taylor has seen a couple of different seasons so far in the series first eight events. Taylor was the K & N Filters Rookie of the race in the series first three events with finishes of fifth at Winchester, eighth at Baer Field and a second at Salem Speedway, his best ever finish with the series after leading the first 49 laps and was pacing the K & N Filters Rookie Of The Year points. Then a streak of bad luck started at the Anderson event when Taylor suffered three straight DNF’s, giving the lead in rookie points to Aaron Pierce. Taylor has turned things around with two straight top ten finishes and sits in eighth position in series Championship points for the Great Deals Racing team and is only 20 points behind Pierce in the K & N Filters Rookie Of The Year points. The rookie battle is shaping up to be one of the best ever in the history of the CRA Super Series. The teammate to Rick Turner has greatly benefited from the set-up help and coaching of Crew Chief Chris Gabehart.

Veteran series competitor J.R. Roahrig is tied for eighth place in series Championship points with Taylor. Roahrig has three top ten finishes so far this season including a season best of fourth at the season opener at Winchester Speedway. Roahrig has also had some bad luck with three DNF’s including over heating in last Sunday’s event in Nashville. Roahrig’s son Tyler made his series debut at the Plymouth event and looks to make several more starts during the remaining 2008 season in order to get some experience for the 2009 season.

Tenth place running John VanDoorn to say the least has had a disappointing season after expecting to be contending for the season Championship at this point in the season. The team has suffered horrible luck so far this season along with struggling on getting the right set-ups to get them to the front. VanDoorn has three top ten finishes to date with a season high finish of sixth place at Illiana, coming from his 20^th starting position making several passes late in the event. VanDoorn has also suffered three DNF’s so far this season. This is one team that looks to make up a lot of ground during the second half of the season and get back to victory lane.

Series veteran Kenny Tweedy is currently in 11^th making all the events so far this season. Jeff Lane is in 12^th despite missing the Plymouth event. Lane got the victory at the series Salem event. Sean Matthuis is in 13^th place in points even after not retuning to compete in the Nashville make-up event last week in order to get ready for the second half of the season. Rookie Robert Maynor is in 14^th place in points followed by fellow rookie Adam Purdy in 15^th, both have made every event so far this season.

The second half of the 2008 CRA Super Series season will begin in the Crown Online 100 on Friday, August 1^st at Toledo Speedway. All the top 15 drivers in series points are expected to compete in that event as well as NASCAR competitor David Stremme, a former winner and competitor with the series. More information on that event and on the series is available at www.craracing.net.