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Family Fireworks Night at the Races Saturday night at Manzanita Speedway
by Windy McDonald
OCTOBER 21, 2008 --- The final regular season race for the Discount Tires American Sprint Car Series headline the Saturday night "Family Fireworks Night" presented by The Parker Store at Manzanita Speedway. The race does not mark the end of their season as the ASCS will run all three nights in the NAPA/Budweiser/Parker Store Western World Championships at Manzy November 6-8. Even though he has a commanding lead Jeremy Sherman is not yet ready to pop the cork on a bottle of bubbly. As he says, "Anything can happen in the final four races."
Charles Davis, Jr. finished second again to Sherman in last week’s Buddy Taylor Memorial after a slower car that was being lapped pushed him wide getting into the first turn following a yellow flag and Sherman slipped past and then took the lead when Nathan High pushed wide and dropped back to fourth with only two laps remaining.
Sherman admitted that luck played a part in his 13th win as he said that nobody was going to catch Casey Shuman who led the first 23 laps and turned the fasted laps ever recorded by the 360 sprints on the half mile track. He was consistently in the 18.70-18.80 bracket but the Rex Foster Chevy had a mechanical problem that kept him from winning his third main event of the year at Manzy competing on a very limited schedule.
Shuman may be back at the wheel Saturday night to see if he can again be the fastest car on the track, this time on the one third mile oval.
The SCRA Factory Stock race could steal the show as two time champion Bobby Taylor and Ron Poe battle for the 2008 driving championship in their final race of the year. Poe picked up 14 points on Taylor by scoring a clean sweep winning the trophy dash, his heat and his sixth feature win of the year last Friday night. He now trails by only 13 points. He will be in the trophy dash where a win would cut the margin to nine points. A win in his heat race could cut the deficit more unless Taylor also wins his heat. Should the margin remains constant Taylor would need to finish within six positions behind Poe to garner his third driving title.
The Dwarf Cars have their final points race of the year and Chris Snyder, the defending champion, is in the drivers seat with a 78 point lead over JJ LeMoine. Each of them have scored four feature wins this year. LeMoine must go all out for the win while Snyder can play it safe and try for a top five.
The Arizona Midget Racing Association will put the wrap on their season which has been marked by short fields. The midgets are hopeful that several mini sprint drivers will be moving up to the midget class for the 2009 season. The final feature of the year may well be a battle between R.J. Johnson and Nathan High.
In addition to a dazzling fireworks show several other special events especially for the children will be part of the Family Fireworks Night. There will be free face painting, an early Halloween costume contests that will have winners in the eight and under age and also from nine to sixteen. Five bicycles will also be given away on lucky ticket drawings. As always, children under 12 will be admitted free when accompanied by an adult.
The gates will open at 5:30 and competitive race will be green flagged at 7:00.
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