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Kevin Kovac
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (August 29) - The Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series will return "home" for a holiday showdown.
A special show dubbed the 'Labor Day Classic' is set for Saturday night (Aug. 30) at Bakersfield Speedway, the Golden State track that has hosted more Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series events than any other over the tour's three-year history.
Saturday's $2,000-to-win program will mark the WAS DIRTcar Late Model Series's fifth appearance of 2008 at the high-banked, one-third-mile oval. The track also conducted six WAS events in 2007 and was the site of the tour's entire eight-race inaugural schedule in 2006.
WAS points leader Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas, Calf., has won three of the previous four series features run at Bakersfield this season. A.J. Kirkpatrick of Castroville, Calif., is the only driver to break Hogge's stranglehold on Victory Lane in 2008.
With just Saturday's program and a Sept. 20 date at Bakersfield remaining as points races on the Western Allstars schedule, Hogge sits in the driver's seat for his first career tour title. A winner of six A-Mains overall on the 2008 trail, the 31-year-old West Coast star holds a 94-point advantage (2,474-2,380) over Chris Shannon of Merced, Calif.
Kirkpatrick is third in the points standings, trailing Hogge by 262 points. Completing the top five in the rankings is El Segundo, Calif.'s Ron and Nick Bartels, who will both return to the Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series after missing the last event on Aug. 16 at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., due to a family vacation to Hawaii.
Drivers who will be out to defend their home turf on Saturday include Bakersfield residents Zack Forster, John Piker, Rob 'Sandman' Sanders and David Childress, and Central Coast racers Steve Drake of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Devon Crockett of Arroyo Grande, Calif., are also expected to enter the event.
Bakersfield's pit gates are scheduled to open at 2 p.m. and the spectator gates will be unlocked at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Racing is set to get the green flag at 6 p.m.
For more information on Saturday's 'Labor Day Classic,' visit www.bakersfieldspeedway.com or call the track office at 661-393-3373.
More information on the Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series can be obtained at www.westernallstars.com, and additional info on all of the series, sanctioning and member tracks of DIRTcar Racing is available by logging on to www.DIRTcar.com.
Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series Points Standings (as of Aug. 16):
1. Bobby Hogge IV 2474
2. Chris Shannon 2380
3. A.J. Kirkpatrick 2212
4. Ron Bartels 2010
5. Nick Bartels 1937
6. Zack Forster 1935
7. Chet Buckley 1877
8. Dino Napier 1827
9. Steve Drake 1514
10. John Piker 1481
11. Rob Sanders 1426
12. Mike Johnson 1300
13. David Childress 1062
14. Johnny Malcolm 907
15. Jeff Decker 903
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