Next-to-last race set at Champion

Western Modified open wheeler racing will make its final appearance at Champion Speedway Saturday night with a "Twin 50s" feature race included on the track's next-to-last show before its gates close for good.

The regular Legends, Late Model Sportsmen and Hornets will also be included on the schedule for the show. Qualifying begins at 6 p.m. and racing at 7:15.

The Western Modifieds will run a 100-lap main event that will be split in half, with the red flag due to drop after 50 laps to allow for refueling of the cars. A field of 15 cars or more is expected, according to track promoter Les Kynett.

"This will be the last time the Modifieds will ever run at Champion, so everyone wants to try and make one last run," Kynett said. "We have 15 or 16 confirmed and we're hoping more will show up."

Among the confirmed entries from California are the father-son duo of Gary and Craig Swim, as well as Jeff Stephans, Mike Regelman, Troy Nogosek, Rick Poppert and Bill Bowerman. Sam Solari, a multiple-race winner at Champion, has also indicated he will race.

Craig Swim, of Elverta, Calif., won the 35-lap Modified main event on Aug. 13 ahead of Carson City's Matt Collier.

Meanwhile, drivers in the Late Model Sportsman and Legends divisions will continue heated races for season championships.

Three drivers are within 15 points of each other in the Sportsman division. Carson City's Al Goss, coming off a win in last week's 50-lap main event, leads with 569 points. Vince Malone of Sparks is second with 559 and Joel Worley of Carson City is third with 554. Chet Danburg holds a 443-428 edge over Ed Goss for fourth-place in the standings.

The Legends division is still a neck-and-neck race in which Terry Madjeski of Incline Village holds a slim 566-552 lead over Carson City teen Mackena Bell.

The race for third-place is also close. Jack Randall is third with 480 points, while father and son Fred and Chris Handley are tied for fourth with 466 each. Fred Handley finished second behind Todd Thompson in last week's main event.

Kim Robbins, with 695 points, has already clinched the Hornets division championship. The race for second-place is very close between Sandy Clark (485), Chris Walton (476), Tiffany Mans (475), Jason Flores (457) and Bill Bernard (441).

Notes ... Tickets will be priced at $12 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for juniors 13-17 years of age and $5 for kids 6-12. Children 5-and-under will be admitted free. ... Champion will host a farewell picnic for all current and past drivers, officials, sponsors and fans next Saturday, Sept. 17, from noon to 3 p.m. in the pit area. The picnic will be free of charge. Hot dogs, sausages and ice cream will be available, though visitors are asked to bring a side dish. The "Old Dog, New Tricks" band will provide live entertainment. ... North State Challenge Series for Super Late Models, which made two stops at Champion this summer, concluded last Saturday night with Dave Miller winning the main event. Mike Doss finished second in the race and wound up with the season championship. ... Carson City's C.J. Bawden posted fifth fast time in qualifying, a time of 12.81 just making the cut for the dash field by .089, according to series publicist Peter W. Moss. Bawden was later knocked out of the main event when he was involved in a pile-up on the first lap. Involved in that same pile-up was Carson City driver Jerry Allec Jr., who experienced hard luck in the series once again. Allec was unable to complete his other two series appearances at Champion due to mechanical difficulties.