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Boen Closes in on Third NCRA Crown
PARK CITY, Kan. (Aug. 23) – With just a handful of races left, it’s coming down to the wire in the O’Reilly NCRA Late Model Series, presented by ICM/Ethanol. And Kelly Boen is again the man to beat for the crown.
Boen, from Henderson, Colo., is racing towards a third straight championship. With 12 shows in the books through Aug. 4, he has five wins and 11 finishes of third or better.
John Anderson sits in second with enviable numbers as well. The Omaha, Neb., driver won back-to-back features the last two nights of Speedweek and moved from third to first in points. He has three wins and 11 top four finishes.
Boen recaptured the point lead from Anderson with a victory on July 27. With two more wins in the last three shows, Boen has built his lead to 150 points.
Kyle Berck is a distant third behind Anderson. Hailing from Marquette, Neb., Berck has one win, five top fives, and 10 top 10s. The 2002 series champion has been in the top five in points all season.
Mike Wiarda is a ways behind Berck in fourth. Still looking for his first series win, the Aurora, Neb., driver has two top fives and seven top 10s.
In fifth is Delbert Smith, 10 points behind Wiarda. Smith won two of the first three races this year and took the point lead but has struggled since. The 2001 series champ from Wichita, Kan., has two wins, three top fives, and six top 10s on the season.
Al Purkey and Boen have each broken the series’ all-time wins mark this year. Purkey entered the season tied with the late Larry Phillips for the top spot. Purkey broke the tie with his 25th career win on May 27. With five wins in the last nine races, Boen now has 26 victories to replace Purkey at the top. The record setter was Aug. 4 at Junction Motor Speedway.
For more information about the series, either visit the NCRA Web site at www.ncraracing.org or call the NCRA office at (316) 755-1781.
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