8-31-05
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LABOR DAY 55 THIS FRIDAY NIGHT / POINTS TITLE
CHASE
By: Dave Harclerode
Bedford Speedway's Labor Day 55 has been missing something since
1999, and DKM, Inc. has brought it back in 2005 - a great Super
Late Model payout. The winner this year will receive $5,000, and
last place will be worth $300. Super Late Model drivers welcome
the return of the good purse, and hopefully the big Labor Day race
will once again be a
perennial favorite among regional fans and drivers. Super Late Model
drivers can save $35 by registering early. Call 814-623-0826 by the end
of the working day on Wednesday, August 31st. The winner of this race
will be a guaranteed starter in the Paul Long Memorial $10,000 to win
race at Selinsgrove Sunday, and more details can be found in the article
below entitled "Big Changes to the Labor Day 55 Race". The raindate
for
the event is Monday, Sept. 5th.
The Limited Late Models, Street Stocks, and Cruiser-Hobby Stocks will
also be on hand Friday, and it will be the final points race in all
divisions. Winning a points title carries a lot of weight. Being
crowned champion in any division proves the driver's talent behind the
wheel, it shows that they were the best amidst their peers week in and
week out, and it also engraves their name in history. For example, not
many people would remember that Super Late Model driver Mike Hess won one race
at Bedford in 1988. But many people could tell you that he won the Championship
that year. Thirty years from now, young fans who know nothing about Mike Hess
will know one thing - he was a track champ. Still need an example of the weight
a Championship carries? How about this... The average 30 year old fan probably
has no idea what car # Bob Williamson ran in the 1977 Street Stock division.
But anybody who's browsed through this website could tell you that Bob Williamson
was the Street Stock Champ in '77. If it weren't for that season, many young
race fans would have no idea that such a racer even existed.
This year's point chase is very interesting in 3 of Bedford's
4
divisions. The Super Late Model division already has it's Champion.
Last week's rainout snuffed out any chance Wayne Johnson or Eric
Zembower had of overtaking Scott Rhodes, and Rhodes' 190 point
lead
coming into the final point race is good enough to declare him
the 2005
Super Late Model Champion. Congratulations Scott on your 2nd career
Bedford Speedway Championship. Scott finished third in points last
season, and was the Track Champ in 2003.
The top two contenders in the Limited Late Model division is current
point leader Matt Parks, and second place Craig Perigo. The pair
have
flip flopped the lead several times this season, and Parks is currently
holding on to a slim 30 point lead. Each driver has won one feature
event this season, and both drivers will be up on the wheel this
week
battling for their first ever Limited Late Model Championship.
Two
other drivers still have a shot at the title, but Parks and Perigo
would
have to have some terrible bad luck for either Mike Shoemaker or
Mike
Altobelli, Jr. to win. Shoemaker is 130 points out of first, and
Altobelli is 145 points behind the leader. To be realistic, for
either
of these drivers to have a shot, both Parks and Perigo would have
to
retire for the evening during warmups or in their heat race. Although,
if Parks had a bad night and didn't earn any points, and Shoemaker
performs extremely well and Perigo extremely poor, Shoemaker could
repeat as champion. Anything is possible in dirt track racing.
It seems like every year the Street Stock division comes down
to the
last race, and the points are always tight. This year, Bob Jay
holds a
25 point lead over last year's champ Jim Sayler. Just like the
Limiteds, Jay and Sayler have swapped the point lead more than
once this season, but Jay's slim 25 point lead almost seems unbeatable
with his notable consistency this season. Jay is a two time Street
Stock
Champion, with his last title coming in 2003. It will be interesting
to
see how this pans out. Ashley Barrett still has a slight chance
at the
title, but a 100 point deficit in this division would be nearly
impossible to overcome.
Chuck Weyant, in only his third year of racing, is set to claim
the
Cruiser-Hobby Stock Championship. Chuck has a sizable 110 point
lead
over Brian Weyandt, Jr. An uninformed writer for this website reported
two weeks ago that Chuck's ride was destroyed in a scary frontstretch
accident. This was not the case, and Weyant and his # 88c are as
good
as new and ready to go after the title. Three time 2005 feature
winner
Lincoln Ritchey is 135 points behind. Ritchey is still in the running,
but would need a miracle to pull of the championship. Both Weyant
and
Weyandt, Jr. have won 2 feature events this season, and Chuck has
won an amazing 9 heat races. Nine heat wins equals 270 points,
proving that
heat races do have a valuable purpose in the pill draw / re-draw
lineup
system.. .8-31-05
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