WESTCAR Late Models return to Champion Speedway

Round two of the Desert Rose Series for WESTCAR Late Model touring cars will be staged tonight at Champion Speedway.

Steve Gannon, who won the first Desert Rose race on May 21 at Champion, and Byron Gonzales, the current points leader in the WESTCAR Late Model Series standings, will be among the drivers to watch in the 100-lap feature race on a program that will also include Legends and Hornets division competition.

Grandstand gates open at 5 p.m., qualifying starts at 6 and racing at 7. Admission prices for the special show are $1 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for juniors 13 to 17 years of age, $5 for children 6 to 12, and children 5-and-under are admitted free.

"It's going to be 100 laps of green flag racing and it should be a good race," Champion general manager Les Kynett said.

Gonzales finished second behind Gannon at Champion on May 21 then came back two weeks ago to win the 100-lap WESTCAR feature race at All-American Speedway in Roseville, Calif.

Meanwhile, the Legends will resume what has developed into a highly competitive season race tonight. Four different drivers have combined to win five main events so far this season and seven drivers are within 22 points of each other in the season standings.

Terry Madjeski of Incline Village leads with 176, just ahead of Mackenna Bell and Gary Hale tied for second-place with 170 each, Jack Randall with 158, Chris Handley with 155 and Fred Handley with 154.

In the Hornet division, the Marine Corps car driven by Staff Sgt. Shawn Chaufty will be on the track racing for the first time this season driving in a donated car that was driven by Bill Bernard last year.

Chaufty is still waiting for the completion of work on a car Dean Heller donated that was driven in the Hornet class last year by his son, Harris Heller.

Other contributions have been made to get the Marines on the track. Among those, Kim Robbins, the division's current points leader and her "Bad Girls Racing" team are contributing their mechanical services to keep the car on the track.

Of course, the car will feature the Marine Corps colors - red and gold.

This will be Chaufty's first experience driving at Champion, although he raced mini outlaws as a youth at Shasta Raceway in his hometown Redding, Calif.

Notes: Robert Humphreys won last week's main event - his first since he began racing at the Carson City track in the 1980s -thanks in part to help with the setup from the team of Michael Hubert III after winning the Bay Cities Racing Association Midgets feature race at Champion on May 28. ... Next Saturday's program at Champion will be headlined by the Western Modifieds Twin 50s race. The Firecracker 100 will be held on July 2, featuring California Sprintcars.