ONA, WV-After a spring and summer of racing, the battle for the 2022 Ona Speedway track championships will all come down to the Season Championship this Friday and Saturday, September 9th and 10th. This will be the final points race of the season (still 3 more non-points races after this weekend) as this weekend will feature 10 big championship races. In addition to it being the championship races for the Ona Speedway divisions, it will also be the championship race for the CRS Super Truck Series in it’s only visit to Ona this season.
Friday, September 9th Preview
The Friday racing card will feature championship races for the Keaton’s Collision Center Late Models, McCam Builders Modifieds, McCam Builders Classic Cars, Southern Ohio Speed INEX Legends Car Pro, and Snap Lawn & Handyman Crazy Compacts. Let’s take a look at the championship scenarios in each class:
Keaton’s Collision Center Late Models
Jake Keaton comes into the Season Championship’s with a 9 point lead over second place Gregg Carby. Keaton will clinch his second Late Model track championship in a row by finishing 9th or better. Carby must win and hope that Keaton finishes 10th or worse to take the track championship. Based on season car count trends, Keaton may be in a position to clinch the track championship just by starting the feature. Another exciting points battle to watch for the class is the one for third between Kenny Parsons and Mike Burcham. The two drivers are tied for third in points as whoever finishes ahead of the other driver on Friday will get the third place points position.
McCam Builders Modifieds
The dramatic, three wide pass for the win that Jeremy Cooper made on August 20th had major points implications. Cooper now comes into Friday with an 8 point lead on Booten. All Cooper has to do to clinch the track championship is finish 8th or better in the feature. With season car count trends, Cooper will likely be able to clinch the track championship just by starting the feature. Just like with the Late Models, the battle for third place in points is a close one as Jason Garrett currently holds a 4 point lead over Wes Smith.
McCam Builders Classic Cars
With a 15 point lead and season car count trends, all Cam McKinney will need to do on Friday is start the 20 lap feature to claim his second track championship in three years. McKinney has won every race in the class this year and will look to go out with the track championship with a feature win. Rick Keaton currently sits second with Mark Cazad third. Both Keaton and Cazad will clinch their points positions by starting the feature.
Southern Ohio Speed INEX Legends Car Pro
One of the closest championship battles in all classes comes in the Southern Ohio Speed INEX Legends Car Semi-Pro class. Steve Swann and Tyler Martin are currently tied for the points lead with Jake Keaton one point back in third and Matthew Martin 8 points back in fourth. All four drivers could walk away with the track championship on Friday. For Swann to clinch, he has to finish ahead of Tyler Martin and Jake Keaton and finish no more than 8 spots behind Matthew Martin. For Tyler Martin to clinich, he has to finish ahead of Steve Swann and Jake Keaton and finish no more than 8 spots behind Matthew Martin. For Jake Keaton to clinch, he has to finish one position ahead of Swann and Martin (he holds the tiebreaker over both drivers) and no more than 7 spots behind Matthew Martin. For Matthew Martin to clinch, he has to win and have Swann and Tyler Martin finish 9th or worse and Keaton finish 8th or worse.
Snap Lawn & Handyman Crazy Compacts
With a big win back on August 20th, Stacie Watson comes into Friday with a 1 point lead over Evan Proctor and a 12 point lead over Bradly Workman. Watson will clinch the track championship by finishing ahead of Proctor. Proctor will clinch the track championship by finishing 2 spots ahead of Watson (Watson holds the tiebreaker). Workman can clinch by winning and Watson finishing 12th or worse and Proctor finishing 11th or worse. Based on season car count trends, Workman could be eliminated from championship contention at the start of the feature depending on how many cars start.
Saturday, September 10th Preview
Saturday’s big show will feature the Season Championship race for the CRS Super Truck Series in a big 50 lap feature as well as championship races for the Bumper Pounding Street Stocks, Greg Chandler Frame & Body Sport Mods, Contempo Trophy & Awards UCAR’s, and Geer Brother’s Body Shop INEX Legends Car Semi-Pro. Having the CRS Super Trucks in for a 50 lap show adds to what was already set to be an ultra exciting night of racing. The CRS Super Trucks have always put on a great show at Ona in the past and are coming off of a landmark season that has seen them average over 12 Trucks per race. Here are the championship scenarios in each of the Ona classes:
Bumper Pounding Street Stocks
Chris Jividen comes into Saturday with a 5 point lead over Brett Carey. Jividen can clinch his first track championship by finishing 4th or better. Carey can clinch the track championship by winning and Jividen finishing 6th or worse. A crazy scenario could happen if Carey were to win the race and Jividen finished 5th. In that scenario, the two drivers would be tied for point and come down to a tiebreaker. Tiebreakers are broken in the order of wins, then top 3’s, then top 5’s, then top 10’s, then average finish. However, the two drivers would be tied in each of those categories as well. Tommy Rowe sits third in points, 13 points back, and will likely be eliminated from championship contention at the start of the race based on car count. Rowe is in an intense battle for third though with Kenny Chapman as he only holds a 2 point lead over Chapman.
Greg Chandler Frame & Body Sport Mods
Tyler Brown’s last lap for the win back on August 20th all but seals the deal for him clinching his first career track championship. Brown holds a 9 point lead over Rick Watson. Brown will need to finish 9th or better to clinch the track championship. Based on car count trends, Brown will likely clinch the track championship by starting the feature. Watson will likely clinch second by starting while Brad Cooper currently has a 5 point lead over J. R. Adkins in the battle for third in points.
Contempo Trophy & Awards UCAR’s
5 drivers are still mathematically alive in the battle for the Contempo Trophy & Awards UCAR track championship. Chris Deskins currently holds a 9 point lead over Nick Fowler in second, 10 points over Tim Cassidy in third, 12 points over Keith Watson in fourth, and 16 points over Joe Workman in fifth. Deskins will clinch the track championship by finishing 9th or better. Fowler will clinch the track championship by winning and Deskins finishing 10th or worse. Cassidy will clinch the track championship by winning and Deskins finishing 11th or worse. Watson will clinch the track championship by winning and Deskins finishing 13th or worse. Workman will clinch the track championship by winning and Deskins finishing 17th or worse. While it will likely take problems for Deskins for any of the other four drivers to win the track championship, the battles will be intense to see who will earn a prestigious top three points finish and get the awards at the banquet.
Geer Brother’s Body Shop INEX Legends Car Semi-Pro
Dale Garrett comes into Saturday with a 4 point lead over Adam Jeffrey and a 10 point lead over Jeremy Dosier. Garrett can clinch the track championship by finishing fourth or better. Jeffrey can clinch the track championship by winning and Garrett finishing 5th or worse. Dosier can clinch the track championship by winning and Garrett finishing 11th or worse. If Garrett were to win the track championship, him and brother Jason Garrett could perhaps be the only brother’s to ever win an Ona Speedway track championship.
Times and Admission Prices
Pit gates will open at 2:00 pm with general admission gates opening at 5:00 pm and racing starting at 7:00 pm each day. Friday, adult general admission is only $10 for ages 15 and up, $5 for ages 11-14, and free for ages 10 and under. Saturday, adult general admission is only $15 for ages 15 and up, $10 for ages 11-14, and free for ages 10 and under. All access pit passes each night are $30 for ages 15 and up, $15 for ages 11-14, and free for ages 10 and under.