While the “National” points races for the area’s sanctioning bodies have already, or will soon come to a close, the battle for the All Iowa Points title in each division will continue until the final race of the 2013 season has been run. And heading into “specials” season several classes are still up for grabs in the point system where drivers do not get a check for their accomplishments, but if used correctly they can parlay it into additional sponsorship money for seasons to come. Plus there is that sense of pride of being the one and only “best” in your division that lasts forever, just ask some of the previous champions.
The Late Model battle has come down to the veteran who has been close so often, but has yet to win a title, and the young driver who is enjoying a breakout year. Todd Cooney holds a slim three point advantage over Justin Kay right now, but with Kay still in the hunt for the Deery title it is likely that he will be doing more racing in September than will Cooney. For either driver it would be their first AIP championship.
Jesse Sobbing will be the first driver to win an All Iowa Points championship in one division and then move to another and win the following year as he appears set to take the Modified championship in his rookie season. This will actually be four straight championships in a row for the western Iowa driver as he was the Limited Modified champion in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Chris Abelson is still within striking distance, but would need to have Sobbing completely shut down over the following two months to catch him.
With no past champions competing full-time in the division this year a new AIP champion was guaranteed in the Limited Modified class and there are still six drivers in contention heading into the specials season. Doug Smith is the current leader and he would become the fourth different Smith brother to win a title if he is able to close it out. Carter VanDenBerg, Joel Rust, Tony Dunker, Brett Lowry and Nick Roberts are all still within striking distance.
Just like Todd Cooney in the Late Models, Damon Murty has been very close to winning an All Iowa Points championship on several occasions in the Stock Car ranks only to come up just short. And unless John Emerson goes on a winning rampage at every points-paying event he can find over the next two months Murty will not come up short again in 2013.
Two drivers who already have more than one AIP title are slugging it out at the top of the Hobby Stock list as Devin Smith now holds a nine point lead over Shannon Anderson. But you can’t yet count out Chris Luloff who might still be able to make a run if he races and wins often during the Fall.
Merv Chandler is well on his way to his second straight All Iowa Points Four Cylinder championship and that will make four state titles overall for the veteran driver who was also the Modified champ in 1984 and 1985.
This is the first season to crown an All Iowa Points champion in the Mod Lites division and it definitely looks like it will be Josh May, while in the Sprint Car divisions it appears that three drivers will add to their number of All Iowa Points titles. In the 410’s either Mark Dobmeier or Terry McCarl will again end up on top. Clint Garner holds the lead in the 360’s and it would be his second championship after winning in 2002 although both Gregg Bakker, Skylar Prochaska and Russ Hall could still track down Garner if he sits idle the remainder of the season. And in the 305’s it looks as though Mike Boston will score his first championship in this division after previously winning in the 360 ranks.
A complete rundown for each division can be found on the Points tab at www.PositivelyRacing.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment