BAKERSFIELD, California -- When the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series returns to action this Saturday night, April 30th, at Bakersfield's Mesa Marin Raceway Eric Richardson, and Rick Pak Motorsports, will be fully prepared to "git R done" and keep their present 2005 hot streak going.
In three starts so far this season the popular Bakersfield driver has two feature wins along with three top five finishes and three top tens. He currently leads the NASCAR Late Model standings with 152 points. Right behind him in the standings is veteran Roy Degeer with 144 points, one feature win and three top five and top ten finishes. Cody Pruitt will be looking to upgrade his position in the Late Model ranks going into Saturday. He currently sits third with 129 points, two top fives and three top tens. Not to be overlooked here is the presence of series rookie "Sugar" Ray Robinson who is really starting to impress a lot of Mesa Marin Raceway observers. Robinson is fourth in the Late Model standings with 114 points, one top five and two top tens.
Mesa Marin Raceway's Late Model drivers will be digging hard to make sure they're in the top ten points standings because after race number 13 everything changes and the race for the championship will begin. Using a format introduced by the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series last year, the top ten Late Model drivers will be seperated by three points per position, with only five events left, leading to a season championship shootout.
It's going to take razor sharp, total, team performance to be a contender in Mesa Marin's race for the championship. No one knows this better than Eric Richardson and Rich Pak Motorsports. "You're going to have to be very consistent during the first 13 races and extremely consistent during the final five. One bad race in the final five and you're history," he said.
The Crystal Pools Street Stocks will also be in action this Saturday at Mesa Marin. Randy Tucker, who won the first two feature events of the year, sits on top of the standings with 149 points. But that's only two points ahead of Paul Ebersbacher who scored his first feature win of the season April 23d. The always consistent Howie Smith and "Shooter" Shane Thomas are third and fourth in the standings at 133 and 132 points respectively.
Making their second appearance of 2005 will be Mesa Marin's brand new division: the Havoline American Racing Revoloution Sport Compacts. This group of sub compact race cars made a huge impact, during their April 16th debut, and quickly established themselves as a fan favorite.
