POINT STANDINGS VERY TIGHT
Story By: REED MILLER / AMERICAN RACE CUP MEDIA
Photos By: DAVE DALESANDRO / RACERSGUIDE.COM
Indiana, PA.- August 30, 2016- The popular American Racer Cup program enters its final week of the 2016 season with great point battles in both the modified and sportsman divisions. The program, in its seventh year, awards points to its members at thirteen different speedways throughout the northeast. The driver’s twelve best finishes are used to determine the champions.
Bonus points are awarded based on the average number of cars starting the races at the participating speedways. The bonus points will be added at the conclusion of this week’s racing action. The final day for racing in the 2016 American Racer Cup will be Monday September 5th. Any races rescheduled after this date will not be counted.
Last season Rick Laubach from Big Diamond Speedway held off Jeff Strunk from Grandview Speedway and Billy Van Pelt from Woodhull to claim the championship in the modified division. Alan Barker came home the winner in the sportsman class.
Weather has certainly been a factor during the 2016 season. Some tracks have been hard pressed to get their twelve races in the books with all the rainouts, while other tracks have had great success getting their races completed. One track suffering through a very disappointing season is Utica Rome with nine programs lost to the weather. The Open Sportsman at Utica Rome are part of the American Racer Cup.
Going into the final weekend of the Racer Cup season, Andy Bachetti from I-88 Speedway has the modified point lead. Bachetti has been red hot at I-88 with nine wins, three seconds, and a third counting towards his total going into the final week. Bachetti is being challenged by Craig Von Doren from the Grandview Speedway. Von Doren will benefit from the bonus points because of the car counts at Grandview weekly. Positions throughout the top ten change weekly with drivers dropping their lowest finish when more races are put onto the books. Annually this last week brings surprises and change throughout the standings.
The sportsman point standings are also too close to call. Andrew Smith from Skyline Raceway Park has lead throughout the year. He is now feeling the challenge of Chris Daugherty from Woodhull Raceway. Daugherty has gone on a hot streak accumulating wins and points. Kyle Rohner from the Five Mile Point Speedway has also had a great season and is also in the mix. Just like in the modified division, bonus points will be the determining factor at the conclusion of the season.
For more information about this year’s American Racer Cup program please visit the program’s website at www.americanracercup.com where all information is listed in detail. You can also contact program administrators Andrew Harpell at (607)775-5555, Reed Miller at (570)499-2595, or Dustin Leverknight at (800)638-7028.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
October 7th & 8th –American Racer Cup Champions Weekend – Five Mile Point Speedway – Tires will be available on site for winners of American Racer Cup tire awards courtesy of Lias Tire. Teams that are not present will still be able to redeem their tire certificates through their dealer or through Lias as they have in the past.
American Racer Cup Champions Dash – there will be a 15 lap dash between the top finisher from each American Racer Cup track that is present at the Champions weekend; the winner of the dash will receive $2,000/$1000 with all other participants winning a tire at no charge.
