By Steven Blakesley
ELK GROVE, CA (September 4, 2012) – Mike Spencer utilized strong top-five runs at the Louie Vermeil Classic this weekend in the USAC/CRA to continue his reign on top of the California Sprint & Midget Power Poll for the third straight poll. In 20 starts, Spencer has a remarkable eight wins and 14 top-three finishes against fields that average nearly 30 cars per event.
Kyle Hirst used his Sunday win at the Louie Vermeil Classic, against a 30 car turnout, to move into second in the Power Poll. Hirst carries big momentum into this week’s Gold Cup Race of Champions with his recent success since the beginning of August. The Loomis driver has now accumulated seven wins this season across wings and non-winged competition.
The other big mover in the Power Poll is Tommy Tarlton who has moved into the third position. Tarlton has also claimed seven victories this year and won the $10,000 Johnny Key Classic at Watsonville on August 25 against a 36 car turnout.
Drivers trending downward in the poll include Stephen Allard who narrowly lost the Placerville Speedway championship on Saturday and his brother Jon Allard who continues to lead the King of the West points. JA has had great success in the Northwest World of Outlaws races but those events were not eligible for Power Poll points as they took place outside of California.
With this week’s Gold Cup on tap with five features in four nights at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway, the Power Poll is likely to see a big mixup in the next edition in mid-September.
About the CA Sprint Car & Midget Power Poll:
Eligible drivers come from any injected winged or non-wing Sprint Car division in the state along with full Midgets as well.
The poll includes top-ten lists from various media members including site editor Steven Blakesley, photographer Chris Cleveland, announcers Troy Henning, Ron Lingron, and Bill Sullivan, King of the West PR guru Gary Thomas, and driver PR specialist PJ Petersen. A statistical analysis of California racing stats by Jeff Bye, Jr. is combined with the media poll to create a current picture of the top-10 drivers in the state.
Power polls will be released every first and third Tuesday throughout the racing season until the first week of December, when StevenBlakesley.com will crown a California Sprint & Midget Power Poll” champion for the season.
Full poll results at: http://www.stevenblakesley.com/news/9.4-sprintcarpoll.html