By Dick Jordan
Saturday’s night’s “Sprinting for the Cure” racing program at the Tulare (Calif.) Thunderbowl Raceway benefits breast cancer research and concludes the 2010 series.
Drivers Craig Stidham and Davey Pombo will battle for the series championship Saturday, then the series will compete at Giant Speedway in Hanford, Calif. October 16 in a special “non-points” event.
Stidham has a 26-point lead over Pombo entering Saturday’s race. A total of 74 points are available, so Saturday’s feature performance is pivotal.
Stidham won back-to-back feature events at Tulare in April but his car was disqualified after finishing fourth there in May. He also was second to Dean Alexander in a March race at Tulare. Pombo has had a second, fourth and eighth in three Tulare starts this season.
Bud Kaeding won the last Tulare 360 Sprint race, in May, and BK currently leads the USAC Silver Crown standings.
USAC WEST COAST 360 SPRINT SERIES POINT STANDINGS
1-Craig Stidham-1,096, 2-Davey Pombo-1,070, 3-T.J. Smith-1,019, 4-Justyne Hamblin-908, 5-Danny Faria Jr.-801, 6-Peter Murphy-784, 7-Richard VanderWeerd-758, 8-Rusty Carlile-724, 9-Jace VanderWeerd-675, 10-Wes Gutierrez-575.