Dixie season down to two points races
by Chris Byess
cbyess@cherokeetribune.com
August 25, 2012 01:22 AM | 747 views | 0 0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend | print
With only two points races left in the season, fans can expect hard racing tonight at Dixie Speedway.

Last week saw three division leaders increase their lead, while four others saw their leads shrink.

In the Econo Bombers, Shane Smith continued to put distance between himself and Cody Richards by finishing fourth last week, six places higher than Richards.

Smith, who was second a little more than a month ago, now has 320 points, and he saw his points lead over Richards increase to 40 after last Saturday’s race.

Kirk Atkins made it two wins in a row in the Super Bombers and, in the process, widened the gap between himself and Andy Morris, who finished sixth. Atkins now sits at 336 points, while Morris trails with 312.

If there was any doubt that Michael Page’s dominance of the Super Late Models wasn’t complete, it ended last week, as Page (314) finished first to increase his lead to 92 points over Dale Thurman.

Chris Neese finished fourth in the Cruisers last week, only one place in front of leader Jimmy Wilson, and he now trails Wilson (306) by a slim eight-point margin.

Limited Late Model points leader Jake Herrell (306) had a bad race last week and finished 13th, allowing Rucker Orr (254), who finished sixth, to trim Herrell’s lead to 52.

Craig Reece (306) saw his lead over Hunter Jones in the Crate Late Models shortened to 32 after Jones won last Saturday’s race.

Reece crashed during warm-ups and was unable to compete last week, but he remains confident that he can hold on to win the division.

“As long as nothing else breaks, I’m pretty sure that we can win this thing,” Reece said. “We’ve got a pretty good points lead. If we can just finish in the top five the last two races, which we’ve been doing all season, I don’t think we will be beat.”

Pony Stock leader Shannon Etheridge saw his points lead cut almost in half, with him unable to compete.

Etheridge had been protested by other drivers the week before, which led to his engine being taken apart for inspection. Despite the fact that no violations were found, Etheridge wasn’t able to reassemble his engine in time for the race.

Jeremy Millsaps (284) took full advantage, finishing third to cut Etheridge’s lead to 22 points.

Tonight will feature a full facing program, as well as a burnout contest. Admission for adults is $10 for a grandstand seat, $6 for ages 9-17 and free for 8 and under.
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