Posted by Rockford Speedway on 7/14/2005, 11:37 am
Board Administrator

HALFWAY THROUGH THE 58TH SEASON AT ROCKFORD SPEEDWAY By: Kevin Ramsell Wednesday, July 13, 2005 (Loves Park, IL) - The Mid-Season Championships will take place this Saturday night at the Rockford Speedway. So far, the 58th season of racing at the historic facility has shown that no matter what division you look at, the championship could go down to the final week of racing. Ricky Bilderback is gunning for his fifth straight championship. So far, he has been Mr. Consistency in the NASCAR Late Model division. With three feature wins, he currently has a 44 point lead over Jon Reynolds Jr. and a 61 point lead over seven-time champion Bobby Wilberg. Going into the 2005 season, all eyes have been on the Bilderback/Wilberg battle, but Reynolds Jr. has been the surprise and is waiting for his chance to rise to the top. So far, he has six overall feature wins this season. Five of those have been in point paying events. The only problem is that in most of those victories, Bilderback has been a close second or third. Jerry Gille sits in fourth, 97 points back and Bob Kahler rounds out the top five, only 147 points behind. The NASCAR Grand National division currently has the top seven drivers within 97 points for the championship. Prior to this Wednesday night?s racing program, both Matt Lundberg and Fred Nason sit at the top tied with 423 points each. Travis Eldridge, who has been the top driver, had rear end problems last week and lost the lead. But, he didn't go far as he sits in third only 3 points behind the top two. 20 year old driver, Brock Behnke has shown great consistency and so far it has paid off as he sits in fourth only 5 points back. GN veterans Doug Bennett and Darrell Garman currently sit in the 5th and 6th positions only 21 and 41 points behind respectively. Rookie, Dave Behnke sits in seventh only 97 points behind. BJ Sparkman currently sits on top of the mountain in the Budweiser American Short Tracker division. He currently holds a 7 point lead over Jason Evans. Don Russell is currently in third only 26 points behind. Nick Cina Jr and Dave Wagner round out the top five, respectively. They are only 39 and 56 points behind Sparkman. David Lignell currently enjoys an 83 point lead over Dan Carlson in the Coca Cola RoadRunner division. Both have been frequent visitors in victory lane this season. Chad Smith currently rides in the 3rd position only 116 points behind Lignell. Dan Sander is in fourth, 117 points behind and Pat Smith is in fifth and is only 132 points back. Smith currently enjoys a 69 point lead over Jerry Mesch in the RoadRunner Challenge points. Vachenzia Jester and Shonna Frisch are currently the class of the field in the Winged Women on Wheels division. Jester currently has a 28 point lead over Frisch. But Jester has to not only worry about Frisch, because the top five are only separated by 54 points. Jennifer Erickson sits in third only 36 points behind Jester, while Latasha Hillary and Amy Flippo round out the top five. Hillary is only 48 points behind with Flippo 54 behind Jester. Jack Mayberry and Chris Gantz have been class of the field in the National Figure 8 League division. Mayberry currently has a slim 2 point lead over Gantz. Pat Smith, fresh off his first NF8L feature win, sits in third only 23 points behind Gantz. Chad Kiefer consistent finishes has put him on top of the Northwest Bank Hornets division. Kiefer currently has a comfortable 56 point lead over Ben Montemayor. Steve Talley sits in third only 64 points behind. Mark Vincenio is in 4th, 66 points behind while Randy Reynolds rounds out the top five only 68 points behind Kiefer. The Grand Nationals, Coca Cola RoadRunners, Figure 8's, Winged Women on Wheels and Hornets will be in action this Wednesday, July 13, 2005. Along with the regular racing program, their will also be a Stereo Sound Off. The racing action gets underway at 7:07 p.m. This Saturday night (July 16), the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series returns to action as OSF Lifeline and Metro Medical present the Mid-Season Championships. The NASCAR Late Models, Budweiser American Short Trackers, and Coca-Cola RoadRunners will be in action on that night. Practice will begin at 5:00 p.m. At 6:15 p.m. fans will be invited onto the racing surface for autographs and photos with their favorite NASCAR Rockford Speedway competitors. The racing program will begin at 7:07 p.m. And finally, the Figure 8 Train Race will cap off a great night of racing action. Also, don?t miss the extraction demonstration performed by the Harlem/Roscoe Fire Department. It should be a great night of racing, make your plans now. For more information, please contact the track office at (815) 633-1500 or visit the track's website at www.rockfordspeedway.com.