There are still two Carson City drivers who want to win the championship in their respective divisions at Champion Speedway -- Mark Beck in the non-winged sprints and Chris Betz in the hobby stocks. Both could win or lose it all tonight.
Betz comes into tonight's race five points behind Rocky Boice Jr. With Boice out of the chase, all Betz should have to do is appear and start the main event. Beck is 23 points behind Glenn Hopper, of San Jose, Calif. Beck will need a bit o' the luck on his side and a real good night of racing to take the championship.
"I'm going to do the best I can do and finish the race," Betz said. "Where I end up (in the main) is where I end up.
"All I have to do is show up, have a good qualifying run and I've got five points. Then I'll be tied with Rocky. And if I finish third in my heat, that will give me the one point I'll need to win.
"But me, I'm a racer. I'll race with the best of them. I will try to be a little conservative and try to stay focused on the big picture."
Betz said he is excited about the final race tonight and gives much credit of his success to his crew chief, Bob Shaw, for keeping him calm and setting up a great race car.
In the renewal of the sprint car series, Beck has started all six races and has three top-5 finishes. Hopper has five top-5 finishes.
Beck has already done the math and knows what it will take to win the championship.
"I have to win my heat and the main event and have a good qualifying run to get enough points," Beck said. "And for Glenn, he has to get no points for his heat and finish 11th or worse in the main.
"It's not going to be easy and Glenn has to have extremely bad luck for me to win. But the only thing I have control over is to do the best I can. I'm hoping a bunch of cars show up since Glenn has to start in the back (by virtue of finishing position of last race; the top-4 cars start in the rear) and I have to get past cars quicker than him. Or hope he doesn't get past them at all.
"I'm excited and I hope I do well. It would be great to win the
championship."
Also on tonight's schedule is the bandolero series, which is completing its debut season. Young Bobby Hodges is the winner of the first-time series, with six wins out of seven starts. Bobby's sister Kelley has the second spot and the siblings' father, Henry Hodges Jr., has third.
Two weeks ago, Legends driver Jim Klopp of South Tahoe wrapped up the championship in that series. Rookie Denny Hadler Jr. of Reno is in the second position and Bill Brown of Carson City third. Second and third are not set in stone.
Regardless of the championships being decided or not, each of the four divisions will provide fun and exciting racing for the fans on their closing night. A treat for the fans tonight is "Crazy Tie Night," a way of going out in style. Each adult, male or female, wearing a tie, will get $2 off the adult admission price.
A special raffle will be held for a limousine ride, a bottle of champagne, a $100 gift certificate from Long's Jewelers and a dozen roses will be given away. Tickets are $1 each or 6/$5.
IF YOU GO
What: Final points race and Crazy Tie Night at Champion Speedway
When: 7 p.m. tonight
Where: Champion Speedway, 1210 Race Track Road (off Bigelow via Snyder
Avenue)
Info: 267-0505 or visit championspeedway.com