Points chases heat up for last laps

Kart racing takes center stage as Sunset Speedway and the Spokane Kart Racing Association host events throughout the weekend.

Sunset’s Junior II division holds the closest points battle for the season championship heading into to the weekend. Lucas Bird outscored his opponents in the July 9 event and brings a two-point margin over second-place Jared Storer. Past champion Corey McGuire sits 12 markers behind the leader.

Also locked in a tight points battle are Tanner Pugh and Janelle Lang, who are knotted atop the Junior II clone engine class. Jimmy Laswell and Blake Pugh are two points behind the leaders with Bobby Ayala and Abbygail Storer only 17 points out of first place.

Ed Marks hopes to cash in on a solid weekend and gain ground on Adult Clone points leader Dan Watkins. In gaining two more points than Watkins at the July 9 race, Marks has closed the points leader’s gap to 17 with just more than a month’s worth of racing left on the schedule.

Daniel Watkins brings a commanding 171-point lead into his Junior I clone engine weekend of racing. The tightest battle in the division is between second-place Riley Ayala and Haedon Plybon, who are separated by 12 points with four races remaining.

Larry Christen also heads into the weekend with a solid cushion on James Townsend in his chase for the 2011 Adult Modified championship. Townsend led the day at the July 9 event by outscoring Christen 116-107, but the effort only narrowed their gap to 129 points.

Grandstand admission to Saturday night’s racing is free with qualifying set for 6 p.m. and racing to follow at 7. Learn more by logging onto www.sunsetspeedway.org

After nearly a month off, SKRA resumes its racing schedule with a doubleheader weekend of racing. Offering a 10-race season, the track hosts its fourth and fifth points events of the year.

World Formula has been the class with the closest points earning action as Ryan Krasselt leads Ian Hite and former late model star Rick Schultz. With two opportunities to score points over the weekend, this division’s championship chase should tighten considerably.

Others holding SKRA points leads heading into the weekend include Zack Porter (Senior Clone), Taylor Overoff (Junior II Tag), Alex Oakley (Junior II Clone), Louis Palmatier (Junior I Animal), Niki Johnston (Junior I Animal) and Summer Fenton (Kid Karts).

Seating on the main stretch is free to the public all weekend, but entrance to the pits requires a pit pass. Racing gets under way Saturday and Sunday at noon.

Stateline

The ICAR Late Model Series resumes its season Saturday with the Wild West Shootout set for Stateline Speedway.

Last season’s rookie of the year, Blake Williams, has had the hot hand with a pair of victories in the ROC 99 held in June. Holding a seven-point margin over surprising newcomer Eric Hector, Williams aims to win the ICAR and Spokane County Raceway late model championships in the same season. The Newman Lake 16-year-old sits 11 points behind another teenager, Braeden Havens, in the SCR points war.

The Wild West Shootout offers a unique payout and one of the largest car counts in the region for a traveling late model series.

Paying its winner with a bag of cash and other Western-themed items, the race has become a popular staple on the 6-year-old series.

Also racing at Stateline Speedway on Saturday night will be the Street Stocks and Super 4 Modifieds.

Aaron Nevers brings a three-point margin over Ned Pennington in the year-long battle for Street Stock dominance. JC Ward, Will Whitlow and Kip Elliott round out the top five drivers in the season’s points chase.

Lonnie Stocker holds a 24-point gap on Patrick Norris in the Super 4 Modifieds first season-long points chase in many years. The return of the class has been solid with a strong and growing car count from week to week.

Stateline Speedway’s racing program gets under way Saturday night at 6 p.m. For more information, log onto raceidaho.com.