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Saturday Night Racer >> SATURDAY NIGHT RACER >> Sport Modifieds Part Of Exciting Lineup At Orland Raceway
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Message started by C.W. on 07/26/18 at 10:55pm

Title: Sport Modifieds Part Of Exciting Lineup At Orland Raceway
Post by C.W. on 07/26/18 at 10:55pm

Sport Modifieds Part Of Exciting Lineup At Orland Raceway

Orland, CA...Orland Raceway has an exciting night planned for this Saturday. The popular Sport Modified division will be back for their second appearance. Also in the lineup will be the Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Trucks and 250 Micro Sprints.

They call him Mr Controversy, but Jerry Bartlett has been doing everything he can to help get support for this weekend's Sport Mod race. Bartlett is a past Pure Stock champion at Orland, and he considers this to be his home track. The last time the Sport Modifieds were here a little over a month ago, there were a dozen cars. Local hero Jake Van Tol scored the popular win, but his return to defend that victory is still in question.

The drivers will be competing for $350 to win, and purse money continues to increase as various people have chipped in to ensure a better payout throughout the field. Bartlett has confirmed that he will be there as well as Sean Hulsey and Chris Sieweke. After paying a visit to Southern Oregon Speedway last week and scoring an impressive win, Tyler Rogers plans to be there as well.

Last time out, we saw all three Merritt family Sport Modifieds, which included current Marysville point leader Damian Merritt, fourth-ranked Mike Merritt and rookie Hunter Merritt. Hunter is a multi time Mini Stock feature winner at Orland in recent years. The Sport Modifieds put on a crowd-pleasing show last time, and Saturday night should be no different.

The Pure Stock championship battle continues to be close between 2015 champion Paul Stevens and reigning champion Jeremy Langenderfer. Less than 20 points separate Stevens from second place Langenderfer. Stevens has been the model of consistency this season with six Top 3 finishes in seven starts. Langenderfer actually has four wins, but bad finishes in the third and fourth races are what's keeping him out of the lead. He won last time out in a good race with Stevens. Third ranked Steve Martin had the lead in that race, only to suffer a mechanical problem and come to a stop in Turn 2. Martin is in a good battle with Amanda McAbel for third, and there are less than ten points between them. Other drivers to watch for this week include John Camper, Jason Matlock, Thomas Pavlik and Marysville point leader Shannon Collins.

We are five races into the Mini Stock season, and three-time winner Barbara Crain sits atop the point standings by nine tallies ahead of the tied Sean Perry and Tom Davis. Perry is still looking for his first win of the season, but the reigning champion Davis has one victory. Both drivers are fast, but Crain has been just a bit faster this year. Other drivers to watch for this week include Jason Libbee, two-time champion John Kirkpatrick, one-time feature winner Paul Stevens and Scott Camper.

With a pair of victories, reigning Mini Truck champion Keith Ross continues to increase his lead as he attempts to defend his spot atop the Mini Truck point list. The consistent William Fogle is in a good battle with Justin Vance for second in the standings. Vance gained the position with a season-best second place finish last time out, but it's still close between the two. Other drivers to watch for include Kevin Kvalik, Rocky Wagner and two-time feature winner Dan Webster.

Rounding out the program will be the 250 Micro Sprint division. James Barnes and Pax Gonzalez are having a nip and tuck battle at the top of the point list. Gonzalez has been doing it with consistency while Barnes is a two-time feature winner. Other drivers to watch for this week include Michael McCarthy, one-time winner Alex Fowler, Ronnie Heyer and Zack Webster.

It's going to be a great night of racing in Orland this Saturday night. The track also has some big events coming as the season enters its stretch run. For further information, look for the Orland Raceway another site page.