BAKERSFIELD, California -- Mesa Marin Raceway will be debuting their Thursday Night Thunder racing series, May 19th, featuring action from the NASCAR Late Models, Crystal Pools Street Stocks and the Havoline Revoloution Sport Compacts. This will be the first, of three, special Thursday night shows the Bakersfield half mile oval will host this season.
The race will also be featuring Bakersfield's Eric Richardson, and Rick Pak Motorsports, who currently leads the Late Model points standings. Richardson goes into Thursday night's 50 lap main event with 253 points, 2 wins, 5 top five finishes and five top tens is a season that, so far, has been nothing but a picture of consistency. Right behind him is the also consistent Roy Degeer with 242 points, 2 wins along with five top five and tens.
Richardson knows that consistent performanace is a vital key for a 2005 season points championship because after race number 13 everything changes over to Mesa Marin's brand new chase for the championship. The top ten drivers in the standings will be seperated by three points, at race 14, and then race for the championship during the final five events of the season in a format very similiar to what the NASCAR Nextel Cup used last year. In a statement, earlier this year, Richardson said "you have to be consistent during the first 13 races and you have to be very consitent during the final five. One slip up during the final five races and you're history."
Mesa Marin Raceway also launched another very interesting change, prior to their May 7th Late Model event, that impacted the main event starting line ups for the Late Model teams. The drivers are now on a points earned average system which means the more points you have the further you start in a main event field.
In the case of the May 7th event Josh Horn, who had nothing but horrible racing luck the first four events, came to the track 16th in points and found himself starting the main event from the pole posistion due to his points earned average. In direct comparison Eric Richardson, with a very hight points earned average, started the race from the rear of the field and had to work his way to the front. Horn got his first win of the year that night but had to deal with a hard charging Richardson right on his bumper during the final laps of the race. The new line up format at Mesa Marin is definitely going to make for some good racing during the remainder of the year.
While Eric Richardson, and Rich Pak Motorsports, is focused on a Mesa Marin Late Model title in Bakersfield, there is another points race on a national level that he's also in the middle of.
That race is the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series Division Two title. This year NASCAR divided all of their weekly tracks into four different divisions. Championship points are awarded to the drivers based on their finishes from each race with the possibility of bonus points based on the number of cars in the field.
Eric Richardson, and Mesa Marin Raceway, is in Division Two. Going into Thursday night's race, Richardson is third in the national standings. Chris Spieker, from the Adams County Speedway in Iowa, leads the Division Two standings with 318 points. Buster Bennet Jr, from the Concord Motorsports Park in North Carolina, is 30 points behind the leader in second. Richardson is right behind him, four points from taking over second and only 34 points behind the division leader. The Division championships will conclude on September 17th with the winning drivers getting bonus checks worth $25,000.
Consistency is the key for winning the Mesa Marin Late Model title this year and Eric Richardson is loaded with consistency. Don't be too surprised if he captures some Thursday Night Thunder this week at Mesa Marin.
