Lonnie Wheatley
DODGE CITY, Kan. (July 19, 2016) – Coming off a pair of idle weekends, the 3/8-mile Dodge City Raceway Park clay oval in southwest Kansas fires back to life this Saturday night with a full card of championship chase action.
The Precise Racing Products DCRP Sprint Cars headline Saturday’s action after last competing in the “Boothill Showdown” Steve King Memorial to kick off the month while the track’s other championship chase divisions of IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and IMCA Hobby Stocks hit the track for the first time in nearly a month.
Saturday’s action goes green at 7:30 p.m. It marks the final lead-in to the “Driver Appreciation” Night event on Friday night, July 29, which kicks off the Dodge City Days festival.
Coming off a strong Boothill Showdown performance that included a preliminary night win before a runner-up finish in the finale, defending track champion Luke Cranston has taken the DCRP Sprint Car points lead away from Taylor Velasquez.
With just four nights of competition remaining for the DCRP Sprint Cars, Cranston is only 13 points ahead of Velasquez going into Saturday night with Mike Peters, Brian Herbert and Tyler Knight among the current top five.
Others leading the way into Saturday’s action include Nick Link in IMCA Modifieds, Kevin Tabor in IMCA Sport Modifieds, Michael Pepper in IMCA Stock Cars and Cody Davis in IMCA Hobby Stocks.
And in each case with just four point nights of competition remaining, the chase for the championship is very well much up for grabs.
Lakin’s Pepper holds the most substantial lead at 66 points over Marlin Hogie in the IMCA Stock Car ranks as he vies for a second straight track championship.
Rolla’s Link is just 29 points ahead of Ryan Heger in the IMCA Modified title chase while Dodge City’s Tabor tries to deny Woodward’s Jeff Kaup a fourth consecutive IMCA Sport Modified crown with a 28 point advantage.
The tightest battle going into Saturday’s tilt is in the IMCA Hobby Stock ranks with Bucklin’s Cody Davis just eight points ahead of Laverne, OK, racer Matt O’Hair.
Tickets to Saturday’s DCRP championship chase action are just $15 for adults with children eleven and under admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Pit passes are $30.
The complete 2016 schedule of events at Dodge City Raceway Park is available at http://www.dodgecityraceway.com/schedule/.
Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south. For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or check www.dodgecityraceway.com.