|
ASCS Sooner Points Battle Shifts to Lawton on Saturday
TULSA, Okla. (September 4, 2007) – After a rugged weekend of battle with the American Sprint Car Series Gulf South Region, a three-way dogfight for the American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region championship has only intensified.
And with just six points separating the top three drivers in ASCS Sooner Region points, what better place to take the fight to than the unofficial capital of the Sooner Region, Lawton Speedway's ¼-mile red clay oval.
The series is set to take to the Lawton oval for the first time this season on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. Both previous tries at Lawton were rained out.
Cody Branchcomb, the former ASCS National Tour Rookie of the Year from Sapulpa, OK, leads the way into Saturday night's card. But not by very much.
After trading the points lead with Tulsa's Brian McClelland on successive nights this past weekend, Branchcomb now holds a five-point lead over two-time ASCS Sooner Region king Kevin Ramey of Fort Worth, TX. McClelland is just one more point back in third.
Although denied victory lane thus far, the 21-year-old Branchcomb has finished among the top ten in six of eight feature events to hold a narrow series points lead.
A winner of two ASCS Sooner Region features this year and an all-time series best 16 wins, Ramey has scratched his way back into contention after missing the feature cut at one event earlier this season with a half dozen top-five runs in seven feature starts including a pair of third-place showings this past weekend.
Bidding for a first ASCS title, McClelland notched his first career ASCS Sooner Region earlier this season.
Next on the point charts behind the three primary title contenders is Gavin Punch of Collinsville, OK, with Lawton's Michael Brown rounding out the current top five.
The balance of the current top ten includes Ray Allen Kulhanek (Conroe, TX), 2001 series champion J.P. Bailey (Fort Worth, TX), Derek Cottrell (Fletcher, OK), Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK) and Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX).
Lawton Speedway has hosted 18 American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region events since 2001, with Ramey topping four of the eleven events over the past five seasons. Ramey has one ASCS Sooner Region triumph at Lawton over each of the past two years, with Sean McClelland winning the other three events in the past two seasons at Lawton.
In addition to Ramey (4 wins) and Sean McClelland (3 wins), other past ASCS Sooner Region winners at Lawton Speedway include Danny Jennings (3), Danny Wood (2), Travis Rilat (1), Nick Smith (1), Zach Chappell (1), Foster Landon (1), Robert Sellers (1) and Travis Scott (1).
Lawton Speedway is located in Lawton, OK, off I-44 Exit 36, then 2.5 miles west on Lee Boulevard, then 1.4 miles south on Sheridan Road. For more information, contact the track at 580-355-6417.
Following eight early-season rainouts, the 2007 schedule for the American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region is now composed of 14 events at seven different tracks throughout Oklahoma and Texas.
The 2007 season marks the 16th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series. With a dozen different Regions in addition to the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, ASCS will sanction approximately 240 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout at least 30 different states and Canada.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
|
