By Jimmy Rouse- Bubba Raceway Park Media

The Top Gun Sprint Car Series arrives for their 1st of 6 races in a Bubba Raceway Park season for the series while the Young Gun Sprints (Part of the Top Gun Sprint Car Series) make their only scheduled appearance of 2011, the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants V-8 Thunderstocks in their 8th race of 2011, Gladiators in their 6th, and the RaceCar Engineering Late Models race twice on the night.

The Top Gun Sprint Car Series has a 6-race season with a points fund and championship. Not only will they be racing to be the best at Bubba Raceway Park, but they have a tight battle for the Top Gun championship as well. Danny Martin, driver of the #24, leads Mark Ruel, Jr. and the 83 team by only 20 points. Ruel will look to gain points, but Terry Witherspoon is close, only 8 behind Ruel. As the top 3 battle, Tim George and Jimmy Ballew, Jr. will search for lost points and put in championship caliber runs with hopes of hoisting the championship trophy at Bubba Raceway Park and in the Top Gun Sprint Car Series.

The Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants V-8 Thunderstocks always make the show exciting and last week certainly showed it. For the first time in 2011 the points lead changed hands as Jason Gamble had held it until the consistent Jonathan Gillette overtook him. Gillette has never won a feature and has reason to win and maintain the points lead. Brian Shea is in the 2nd position and could be breathing down Gillette’s neck, but missed a race for his brother’s wedding. Shea would like to continue his march to the front. Shea’s team-mate, Gordon Cade, has put his 121 in 3rd, but is still searching for that elusive first win on the clay. Cade will have to keep “The Canuck” Tim Mathieu behind him, however, and Mathieu has a win under his belt from last season. In 5th is Chris Watson who is still searching for his 1st win, as are all of the top 5 drivers but Mathieu. These 5 have shown great consistency, but wouldn’t mind taking a win. Please note that the official points for the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants V-8 Thunderstocks and Gladiators were not posted at the time that this article was written.

Steve Cox leads Brandon Haseleu by 39 points in the Gladiators division. Haseleu is still searching for career win #1, but Cox is looking for win #5 of 2011 at Bubba Raceway Park. Cox’s 1.2 average finish in 2011 has kept him out front of the pack. Reid Christensen has come close to a win in 2011, but hasn’t quite reached victory circle yet. Christensen could close that 51 point gap to the leader with a huge win for the young driver. Richard Todd, top rookie in 2011, is 67 points behind Cox, but has made steady progress and could steal a win by the end of the season. Jerry Taylor has driven his Shade Tree/M&M Racing cars to 5th place in the championship standings and will hope to continue to move up the standings. Please note that the official points for the Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants V-8 Thunderstocks and Gladiators were not posted at the time that this article was written.

For the first time in many years at Bubba Raceway Park there will be a division with double features. The RaceCar Engineering Late Models will take to the track twice with the possibility for 100 points to be scored between the 2 features. Ivedent Lloyd, Jr. hasn’t won the Bubba Raceway Park championship since 1993, the year before it was paved, but he currently leads the standings by 12 over Dillon Wood. Wood continues to run up front and is very close to getting that first win. The 2010 champion Mark Whitener and his Big Frog Motorsports team missed a race during the season, but they have clawed their way back into 3rd, 37 points behind Lloyd. “The Locomotive” Johnny Collins and “The Tallahassee Terror” Tyler Ivey are mired in 4th and 5th, respectively. Collins was the runner-up of the Powell Memorial and Ivey was the inaugural winner of the Mike Peters Open, so both can run up front. By the end of the night, up to 8 different drivers could leave with the points lead.

Gates open at 4:30 with racing scheduled for 7. For more information you can check out www.bubbaracewaypark.com or call the Speedway hotline.