(Photo credit: Tom Santini Photography)
LUCAMA, NC – Southern National Motorsports Park has some seriously close championship battles shaping up as the regular season heads towards the finish line.
Championship races in the Charger, Mini Stock and Legends divisions have narrowed to within five points, and the division titles are very much up for grabs with multiple drivers in the hunt.
The Charger division championship shuffled up dramatically after the most recent race on August 4th when, first Jeremy Bohne, who entered the race with the points lead, and then Brian Obiedzenski had troubles. Bohne was sidelined early in the race due to a broken distributor, which put the points lead well in Obiedzenski’s hands. That was until Obiedzenski spun off the front bumper of Robert Arch in what Obiedzenski said was not an intentional incident for the lead.
Obiedzenski was able to rebound to finish in the third position behind rookie Justin Mitchell and Jonathan Kornegay, but in the process, Kornegay came away with the points lead. However, Kornegay’s lead is slim as he holds just a one point advantage over Obiedzenski. Bohne is four points behind in third and 2015 division champion Michael O’Brien is fourth.
Mini Stock points leader Ronnie “Buckshot” Jones had an uncharacteristic DNF in the most recent Mini Stock race, which allowed P.J. Flowers and Thomas Brander to close in on him in the standings. The radiator fan in Jones’ car quit running, causing his Toyota Celica to overhead and forcing him to retire in the closing laps of the race, while Brander and Flowers went on to finish fifth and sixth respectively.
While the hit in points could have been worse for Jones, he now has a slim four point advantage over both Flowers and Brander who are tied for second. Behind them, Joseph Pittman sits 23 points back and rookie Dylan Newsome sits 28 points back, essentially making the chase for the Mini Stock division championship a three car race.
The Mini Stock championship battle has come down to a two horse race. Chris Floars, who has two wins on the season, holds a two point advantage over defending division champion Chris Stancil. Stancil is winless on the season, but a second place finish to Zach Lightfoot in the most recent race on August 4th allowed him to close in just a little bit more on Floars.
The Pro Late Model division, which headlines Saturday night’s Solid Rock Carriers Fan Appreciation Night presented by Whelen, has only completed one race so far this season. Colt James, who faces a bounty, won that race and holds a one point advantage over Spencer Bayston and a two point advantage over rookie Will Bristle.
In the Late Model Stock Car division, Mason Diaz controls his own destiny with a 17 point advantage over teammate Jonathan Findley and a 23 point advantage over Rusty Daniels. The Late Model Stock Car division will be in action with twin races on Saturday night as well. Meanwhile, in the Bandolero division, the dominant Ethan Johnson holds a 12 point advantage over Cameron Murray.
Saturday night’s Solid Rock Carriers Fan Appreciation Night presented by Whelen Engineering will feature twin races for Pro Late Models and Late Model Stock Cars, as well as races for the Chargers, Mini Stocks, Legends, Bandolero and Any Car divisions. The green flag flies on Saturday night’s races at 7pm.
