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Championship Night at Chico

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Photo by Steven Cox[/caption]

CHICO, CA (8-24-10) - Where does the season go? This Friday night marks the final Feather Falls Casino / Riebes Auto Parts point race. Championships will be on the line for all four divisions. Looking at the division leaders puts an interesting twist on this season's final event. All four divisions have current point leaders who have won track championships in the past. The 410 winged sprints, dirt modifieds, street stocks and wingless sprints are all set to close out the 2010 with a bang. Also on the line are the big six-foot Pepsi night trophy's given to the main event winners.

Cherry St. Mini Storage is also sponsoring the night to help close out the final race of the year.

Chico's Jason York leads the 410-sprint car charge. York won his only track championship in 2000. Marysville veteran Randy McDaniel has four-track championships in his trophy case at home. However, it's been a few years since the last title. Going into Friday, he holds a 12-point lead over Chico's Darin Ruley. Chico's Heather Bartlett looks to repeat as track champion in the street stock division. Bartlett leads former champion Scott Rogers by 19-points. Another defending champion, Jimmy Pettit, is leading the wingless series. Pettit has the least amount of cushion in the point battle. Only one-point separates Pettit and second place Terry Schank Jr. Add in Brett Youngman, third in the standings and only four-points behind Pettit, this will be the hottest battle of the night.

Front grandstand admission for adults is $12.00. Seniors and juniors are $10.00 with children $5.00. Front grate will open at 6 pm. Sprint car qualifying is set for around 6:30pm. Racing will start around 7pm.

Jason York looks as if he has wrapped up the 2010 title. If York transfers into the main event the championship should be his. However, there is no certainty which driver will finish second. Three drivers still have a shot to finish second. As of now Brett Miller is second.

Tyler Wolf and Mark Hall are tied for third and only six points behind Miller. There is also a battle for the fifth spot. Rookie Kenny Allen leads Brad Bumgarner by 13-points. Tim Kaeding and Jonathan Allard are both expected to attend the final point show. With these heavy weights in the mix, anything can happen and usual does in the sprint car racing.

Jimmy Pettit and Terry Schank Jr. have had an on track rivalry all season. Their battle will continue this Friday night. Both want to win and each are geared to beat the other. Yet, if they get too caught up in their rivalry they might forget about Brett Youngman. Youngman could benefit the most. He is only four points out the lead. If Pettit and Schank Jr. have any on track issues this will open the door for Youngman. Every point will be needed to determine the 2010 champion.

Heather Bartlett is on her way to another title at the speedway. Last year she became the first woman to win a track title at Silver Dollar Speedway. Going into the final race of the year she holds a 19-point advantage over Scott Rogers. Last week it was a good night for Ford fans. Rogers earned his first win of the year and celebrated with fellow Ford fans at the speedway. Bartlett and Phil Marino each are tied with three wins. Kevin Lesch has two wins. The tightest battle is between Matt Magenheimer and Mike Slightom. Magenheimer holds a three-point edge over Slightom.

Randy McDaniel holds a comfortable 12-point lead over Darin Ruley.

McDaniel has three wins. Ruley has more top five main event finished than McDaniel. In all eight starts, Ruley has finished in the top five all eight times. Wade Kennemore is holding down the third spot. Mark Abouzeid came into this year as the defending champion. This year has been sort of a down year for him when you consider just one win and fourth in points. Abouzeid has nothing to lose this Friday and I think is the favorite to win the main event. Obviously, he will have a lot of close competition and things change on any given lap.

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