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Sprints, mini sprints and fireworks July 4 & 5 at Manzanita Speedway
by Windy McDonald
JULY 1, 2008 --- There will be fireworks in the sky and fireworks on the track this weekend as Manzanita Speedway stages its holiday races. The Discount Tire American Sprint Car Series and the Arizona Mini Sprint Car Association will be providing the on track fireworks while the annual "light up the skies" show will take place during intermission each night.
The Friday night outing will have both divisions running on Manzy’s 1/3 mile track while the Sprint Cars switch to the 1/2 mile oval Saturday night in a race dedicated to one of its greatest and most popular drivers, Lealand McSpadden, who will be grand marshal.
The favorites are easy to spot in both divisions. Although Josh Castro had his three race win streak snapped in the last outing he still managed to drive his way from deep in the field for a strong second place finish that moved him into third in the latest AMSRA points standings. Kiley Fellers won the first three races of the year and then slipped a little but has had six top five finishes in the nine races run to date as does Castro. Two time winner Dennis Carrier is ranked second in the points chase and is 150 points behind Fellers and 140 ahead of Castro.
In the ASCS races it will most probably be another battle between points leader Jeremy Sherman and second ranked Charles Davis, Jr. who have each scored four main event wins. Davis has ten top five finishes and Sherman has nine but Charles has either run near the front or he has failed to finish while Jeremy has finished every race in the top ten. While Sherman’s worst finish has been a ninth, Davis’s DNF left him at 22nd and 18th. Sherman has tied his biggest lead of the year as he holds a 44 point edge over his chief rival, the same that he had after the first race. Since that time they are even in the chase. Sherman has a 3.25 average finish through the first 12 races while Charles averages 5.17.
Statistically they are about as even as you can get with the exception of the DNFs by Davis. Each has four wins and each has four second place finishes. Sherman has finished second to Davis three times and Davis has finished second to Sherman three times.
R.J. Johnson was the hard charger in the last race and has one win so he is always a threat while Mike Martin, who is ranked third, is overdue for a win. With two races this weekend the points could well be shuffled dramatically. It would not be a major upset should Nathan High drive the Robbie Allen car into the winner's circle as he has also been knocking on the door.
The track will offer up a great fireworks show each night which should match the fireworks display that lit up the skies last year and which fans acknowledged was the best ever.
The gates will open at 6:00 Friday night with racing at 7:30. The festivities for "Lealand’s Legacy" kicks off with special events starting at 4:00. A dunk tank will be set up and numerous drivers will be available for dunking. A balloon toss and a sack race are also on the agenda and happy hour at the beer stand begins at 4:00 and runs until 7:00. A misting system will help cool off the area for the fans and the participants.
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