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CONCORD, NC \u2013 Sept. 5, 2012 \u2013 A pair of New Mexico drivers are locked in a battle for the championship of the inaugural DIRTcar Late Model Tri-Track Challenge.<\/p>\nCONCORD, NC \u2013 Sept. 5, 2012 \u2013 A pair of New Mexico drivers are locked in a battle for the championship of the inaugural DIRTcar Late Model Tri-Track Challenge.<\/p>\n
A new points series designed to provide more opportunities and recognition for DIRTcar Late Model competitors in the New Mexico\/West Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming areas, the Tri-Track Challenge is boiling down to a neighborly struggle between Garrett Alberson and Jimmy Ray, both of Las Cruces, N.M.<\/p>\n
Alberson, 23, has the upper hand following the Labor Day weekend racing activities, leading the standings by 197 points (1,221-1,024) over the 62-year-old Ray. One month of action remains in the Challenge, which is focused on weekly DIRTcar-sanctioned racing at Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, Gillette (Wyo.) Thunder Speedway and I-76 Speedway in Fort Morgan, Colo., and also includes local events run at El Paso (Texas) Speedway Park, Aztec (N.M.) Speedway, Philips County Speedway in Holyoke, Colo., and Casper (Wyo.) Speedway.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe DIRTcar Late Model Tri-Track Challenge is doing exactly what we envisioned \u2013 giving weekly Late Model drivers at tracks like Southern New Mexico Speedway, Gillette Thunder Speedway and I-76 Speedway a chance to race for another DIRTcar points title,\u201d said Chris Morgan, Director of Western Operations for World Racing Group\/DIRTcar. \u201cDIRTcar is committed to building Late Model racing and growing car counts across New Mexico, West Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming, and providing teams another opportunity to compete in a regional points program in 2012 certainly helps move us in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more excitement and financial incentives we can provide the region\u2019s DIRTcar Late Model class, the more likely it is that the division will grow stronger in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tri-Track Challenge makes three separate points races that DIRTcar Late Model drivers in the region can chase in 2012, joining the DIRTcar State and national programs. Currently $1,000 in points-fund cash will be divided by the top-five finishers in the Tri-Track Challenge standings, and those drivers and others can also claim awards from the DIRTcar State ($5,860 total) and national ($65,000-plus) points funds.<\/p>\n
On the strength of a spectacular season, Alberson is in the driver\u2019s seat for the Tri-Track Challenge crown. With drivers\u2019 best 15 finishes\/points nights counting toward their points total, the 2011 Championship Late Model Association DIRTcar Series Rookie of the Year already has 17 top-five finishes in 19 feature starts, highlighted by 11 victories (six at Southern New Mexico, five at El Paso).<\/p>\n
Alberson spent the Labor Day weekend competing in the two-day Floyd Reynolds Memorial at Aztec Speedway. He finished fourth on Sept. 1 and third on Sept 2, continuing his string of solid performances in 2012.<\/p>\n
Ray, meanwhile, also has 15 top-five finishes and hasn\u2019t finished worse than seventh in 18 feature starts, but his win total lags behind Alberson\u2019s. The veteran driver, who co-owns Southern New Mexico Speedway with Royal Jones, owns two checkered flags at El Paso and one at SNMS. He did not compete in a DIRTcar-sanctioned Late Model event last weekend.<\/p>\n
In the bigger DIRTcar Late Model points picture, entering Labor Day weekend Alberson was second in the Western States points standings and 88th<\/sup> in the national rankings. Ray was third and 92nd, respectively, in the pair of points battles.<\/p>\n Another driver from Las Cruces, N.M., Dave Deetz holds the third-place position in the Tri-Track Challenge points standings. While he\u2019s still looking for his first win of \u201912, he has only one finish outside the top 10 in 17 starts \u2013 an 11th<\/sup>-place finish on Sept. 2 at Aztec.<\/p>\n Marty Erivez of Gillette, Wyo., is Gillette Thunder Speedway\u2019s top representative in the Tri-Track Challenge points standings, sitting fourth. He has one win and 10 top-five finishes in 15 starts this season at the three-eighths-mile oval.<\/p>\n Cliff Hansen of El Paso, Texas, rounds out the top five in the Tri-Track Challenge points rankings.<\/p>\n Drivers must own valid DIRTcar licenses to claim points-fund cash at the end of the season.<\/p>\n