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Point Races Headline Eldora Story Line
ROSSBURG, OH (May 5) – A pair of tight points races and a new point leader are the story lines going into Saturday’s tripleheader at Eldora Speedway. Although not shown on the originally released slate of events, the May 10 contest is a make-up of the weather cancelled April 5 show that was to have kicked off the 2008 menu on Eldora’s high banked one-half mile clay oval.
Filling the bill will be the non-winged Sprint Cars of the United States Auto Club (USAC), the Moser UMP (United Midwestern Promoters) DIRTCAR Modifieds and Advance Auto Parts Stock Cars.
Every event can be a pivotal point towards capturing a seasonal championship. Defending USAC champion Levi Jones and former champion Dave Darland can testify to that. Going into last weekend’s contest at Brownstown, IN, Darland entered the venue as the series leader, but after a disappointing 18th place feature finish, dropped to 6th in the cumulative points chase, while Jones parlayed his victory into a position atop the points board.
The USAC tour stops at Bloomington, IN on Friday, where Darland won last year. He is hoping a repeat there will put him into a tight battle with Jones for the points lead following Eldora’s Saturday fray. Between them are young Brady Bacon, Jones’ team mate Tracy Hines, Dole Whitt and Darren Hagen.
Eldora’s Modified and Stock Car divisions have tight races early on in the season, with only one point separating the first two positions in each class.
Second generation driver Jon Henry has positioned himself at the driver to beat early in the campaign with back to back wins. He sits above all others with 115 tallies to date, while Jerry Bowersock looms behind by a mere marker. Fifteen points separate them from third-place Lenny Guyton, who sits two points ahead of Todd Sherman and three points ahead of defending champion Scott Orr.
Former champion Mike Dirksen is the early leader among the Stock Car warriors, with a slim one point margin over Earnie Woodard, who is seeking his first-ever Eldora crown. Behind them sits former champions Shawn Phillippi and Barney Craig tied for third, with an impressive Chad Barr holding down fifth.
For the Moser Modifieds and Advance Auto Parts Stock Cars, the season-ending championship is on their mind, but more importantly right now is a position among the top 22 in points. That is the cutoff position for drivers to be eligible to compete on Wednesday night, June 4, as part of the Old Spice Prelude to the Dream.
Saturday’s competition, under the banner of Curb Records, will kick-off at 6:00 with the practice lap sessions and time trial runs for the USAC Sprints, followed by a green flag klickoff at 7:30 for all racing activity.
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