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August
20, 2007 --- Owners, drivers and crews are preparing for the final push to the championship as SCRA’s 360 c.i. non-winged Sprint car series winds down its third season. The tension is mounting as this Saturday, August 25th, back-to-back weekends, in September (8th and 15th) and the season-ending, prestigious Dirt Nationals on the 28th and 29th, will determine “who’s who.” All five events will be staged at Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA.
With a maximum of 400 points still available through qualifying, heat races and main events, the championship is still up for grabs. Currently, Peter Murphy holds a healthy lead over arch rival Davey Pombo, 805 to 725, but that can evaporate with a single bad outing.
Murphy, who originally hails from Australia but now resides in Clovis, has captured a series-high five Main events, one more than Pombo, the all-time leading winner at Kings. Pombo hopes to reverse that statistic, close the gap and regain the point’s lead he enjoyed earlier this season. This dynamic duo has finished one-two five times in 2007, dominating the competition.
However, their past record is just that, past. They still have to square off against Richard Harvey Jr., now in his 25th season of driving and back in the seat of his familiar No. 59 machine, 2006 defending series champion Jonathan Logan, popular Rusty Carlile, Jeff Gardner, and Greg Bragg, who has displayed his talents during the past three outings. These veterans are primed to “unseat” the two point leaders.
In addition to these talented drivers, a host of teenagers, who have shown tremendous improvement in their rookie season, look to break into the win column before the season ends. Sixteen-year-old Justyne Hamblin has captured the last two Trophy Dashes while her male counterpart, 16-year-old Michael Faccinto, who teams with Murphy, looks to improve on his three top-five finishes in only five Sprint car starts. Myles Bishop, an older teenager at 17, captured the season’s non-points feature back in February and recently recorded a top-ten finish in addition to being fast qualifier at Bakersfield three weeks ago. Other teenagers include John Niggli, who has finished in the top-ten on six occasions, and locale area residents Adam Frith-Smith and Brett Lowder. Adding to the list of “teeny boppers” is T. J. Hartman, a 16-year-old from Seattle, WA. Hartman recently recorded a feature win at Madras Speedway in Oregon.
Other veterans seeking to improve their “lot” over the next five weeks include Garrett Ishii, Jim Riddell, Matt Day, Dave Knott, Kevin Barnes, Daniel Hood and Tipton’s “Hollywood” Danny Faria Jr.
For details on starting times and ticket prices, call Kings Speedway at 559/587-1111.
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