One year later, the Hurricane found himself at the famous track in Knoxville, Iowa, and set fast time and took home Rookie of the Year honors. Hannagan continued to tear up the World of Outlaws until 1996 when his success stumbled a bit with the yet-to-be-proven Chrysler Mopar sprinter. He went back to racing with the NARC series and his success followed him. Not only was Hannagan named "King of California" during his time away from the Outlaws, he was named champion of the Australian Speed Weeks.
More wins "Down Under" brought the 35-year-old Hurricane back to the 2002 World of Outlaws season ready to mix it up in the K&C Drywall/Sander Engineering sprinter.
Up and Comers
Close on Hannagan's heels are two young guns from California racing with the Outlaws. Brad Furr, from Pleasanton, California, is the 25-year-old driver of the No. 2F Sanmina-sponsored Eagle. Jason Meyers, of Clovis, California, drives the DOCC Motorsports No. 20.
Furr started his racing career 10 years ago running micro-midgets and was named the 125cc Rookie of the Year in 1992. His first shot in a sprint car came in 1997 when he began racing with the Northern Auto Racing Club. The Oklahoma native, who moved to California in 1986, made an impression on the veterans of the World of Outlaws when he finished third behind Hannagan and Mark Kinser in the Trophy Cup in 1997. Furr again challenged Hannagan in Australia when the two drivers tied for the 19th Annual Australian Speed Weeks Championship prior to the start of the 2000 season.
That championship started a season to remember for Furr. Though he didn't win the two biggest races of the Outlaws schedule held at Eldora Speedway, Furr finished a respectable third in both the 2000 King's Royal and the Historical Big One. The young gun passed 17 cars in his quest for the $50,000-to-win King's Royal. Though Furr spent the majority of the 2000 season with the World of Outlaws Gumout Series, he recorded three Top-10 finishes, including one in the Top 5, in 27 starts with the higher series.
Jason Meyers raced along with Furr in the inaugural World of Outlaws Gumout Series and took home the Rookie of the Year award.
Meyers, 23, began his racing career at age four on BMX bicycles and was riding three-wheel ATVs at age two. At an age when most kids worried about learning multiplication tables, he was competing full time in go-karts. Like Furr and Hannagan before him, he made the move to micro-midgets. In 1993 he earned the championship by winning 25 of the 36 races.
At age 17 Jason was competing with the NARC in 410 sprinters throughout Northern California. It was in 1999 that Meyers' racing career would get the jolt it needed. The family-owned team brought on Preston Cross as crew chief and, with his help, Meyers won a feature within the first eight races of the season. He ended the season with a total of five victories and a second-place finish in the NARC championship, and a third-place finish in the Golden State Challenge points race.
The team went on the road with the Outlaws support series in 2000 and came away with an impressive two victories and Rookie of the Year honors at the Knoxville Nationals. That winter Meyers and his crew followed Furr and Hannagan to Australia and ended up with an A Main feature win during the Australian Speed Weeks Championship.