|
Kevin Kovac
HANFORD, Calif. (October 29) - Bobby Hogge IV is just one green flag away from clinching his coveted first career Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series championship.
By simply starting the tour's season-ending event on Saturday night (Oct. 31) at Kings Speedway, the standout driver from Salinas, Calif., will add a Western Allstars crown to his ever-growing trophy case.
With a commanding 83-point lead over defending champ Chris Shannon of Merced, Calif., the 32-year-old Hogge is so close to the championship that he can taste it. But he won't let loose with his emotions until the points battle is officially decided in his favor.
"Winning the title will mean a lot," said Hogge, who campaigns family-owned equipment on the West Coast's premier dirt Late Model series. "You work so hard all year to finish every feature when you're points racing, so when you can come out on top it shows you've put forth the effort to start something and finish it.
"Hopefully we can sew it up with a win. That would be the perfect way to top of the season."
Hogge enters Saturday's 14th annual 'Western Dirt Nationals' program - a four-division special that has an early-bird starting time of approximately 3 p.m. for qualifying - on a major roll. He's captured the last four Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series features - at four different tracks - to tie the tour's consecutive-win record set in 2007 by Mike Johnson of Lompoc, Calif., who will not be in action on Saturday due to an Achilles tendon injury he suffered last month while playing football.
Overall Hogge has won six of the 11 Western Allstars events contested in 2009. A victory in Saturday's 30-lap, $2,000-to-win A-Main would go alongside his score in the WAS season opener on March 28 at the three-eighths-mile Kings Speedway and push his alltime tour-leading win total to 17.
After finishing second in the 2008 Western Allstars points standings, Hogge is ready to seal the deal this year.
"Last year we were leading the points but made a decision to skip one race (late in the season) and run a big Modified show in Oregon," said Hogge. "It worked out for us because we won the race, but I felt bad about giving up on a chance to win the Western Allstars title. This year we made the commitment to go for the championship and we're close to meeting our goal."
Hogge will face tough competition on Saturday from many of the same drivers he defeated to win the tour's '09 lidlifter, the Gary Jacob Memorial, seven months ago at Kings Speedway.
Shannon, who marched forward from the 17th starting spot to finish third in that event, has a solid hold on second place in the points standings and will be out to grab some glory in the season finale. Rob Sanders of Bakersfield, Calif., and Nick Bartels of El Segundo, Calif., will battle for third place in the final points standings (they're separated by only 12 points), while Matt Micheli of Live Oak, Calif., appears to have a fifth-place points finish in hand.
The 21-year-old Bartels will be shooting for more than a career-high third-place finish in the Western Allstars points standings at Kings. The event will serve as the final points race in the new-for-'09 UMP DIRTcar Racing Pacific Region points standings, which combine drivers' finishes in Western Allstars and Northwest I-5 DIRTcar Late Model Tour events, and Bartels is the points leader.
Officials have extended the UMP DIRTcar Pacific Region points race beyond the official close of the national UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model points season to give Left Coast drivers additional competitive opportunities. The UMP DIRTcar Southwest Region points standings (highlighted by the DIRTcar-sanctioned SWDRA Super Late Model series) also stretch a bit longer than the national UMP DIRTcar points season, ending with the SWDRA finale on Nov. 6-7 at USA Raceway in Tucson, Ariz.
The Pacific and Southwest Region drivers already have their points frozen in the national UMP DIRTcar national Super Late Model standings, which closed the second weekend in October.
Saturday's Western Dirt Nationals, which also includes racing for the West Coast Sprinters, Modifieds and Stock Cars, is one of the best bargains of 2009 for Golden State race fans. Admission to Kings Speedway is just $10, with children 12-and-under admitted free.
Making the Halloween program even more fan-friendly, kids will have a chance to wear their costumes and trick-or-treat with the drivers on the homestretch during a break in the action.
For more information on Kings Speedway, visit www.kingsspeedway.net or call 559-587-1111.
Many Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series drivers will make one more competitive start this season after Saturday's action: the inaugural Silver State DIRTcar Championships on Nov. 20-21 at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The two-day show at the world-class facility in the desert features a $5,000-to-win A-Main for the DIRTcar Late Models and a $2,000-to-win feature for the UMP DIRTcar Modifieds.
Additional info on all of the series, sanctioning and member tracks of DIRTcar Racing is available at www.DIRTcar.com.
Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series Points Standings (after 11 of 12 events):
1. Bobby Hogge IV 1727 (-0)
2, Chris Shannon 1644 (-83)
3. Rob Sanders 1542 (-185)
4. Nick Bartels 1530 (-197)
5. Matt Micheli 1405 (-322)
6. Mike Johnson 1282 (-445)
7. Ron Bartels 1182 (-545)
8. Ken Micheli 1144 (-583)
9. Andy Obertello 1130 (-597)
10. Johnny Malcolm 1067 (-660)
|
