This year's feel-good story at Tri-State
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Friday, May 09, 2008
While the standings haven't been completely updated over at Tri-State Dragway, I can tell you this: Dan Stidham is off to a good start.
The pre-May 4 standings for the Pro category (no electronics on the car) have the Middletown driver 25 points ahead of Hamilton's Wayne Adams and Fairfield's Wayne Bevins.
Extras
According to Tri-State's Bob Martin, Stidham's early run is the feel-good story of the season so far.
"He's a lineman for the electric company and was severely burned near the end of last season," Martin said. "He missed the Rainbow Classic, but the guys found a racer for his car and had him there in spirit. He's doing fine now."
Somerville's Wes Marcum (35 points back) and Amelia's Jason Bishop (40) round out the top-5 in the Pro category.
A week ago, Junior Hobbs of Independence, Ky., rode his 1969 Chevy Camaro to a series of wheelstanding starts to win the Super Pro division crown and the $1,000 that went to the event winner.
He or runner-up Randy Leach of Oxford are nowhere to be found on the points charts. Officially, Covington's Wendall Barger leads the division by 10 points over Dayton hotshoe Tim Louderback.
On a normal weekend, an event winner can rack up 45 points on a race weekend. Just double that for the double-points and you've got an idea of just how important those double points weekends happen to be.
Hamilton's Brian Hendrickson beat West Chester's Rob Nixon in the Pro finale on May 4, and neither driver is listed in the points charts. Maybe there's some kind of a contingency plan where a driver's accumulated points don't count unless they pay into the pot. Not sure.
Either way, Hendrickson's not listed on the Tri-State charts at this point.
Martin says defending Amsoil Street division champion Jeff Seither of Fairfield "has picked up where he left off" this season.
Not counting last week, Seither led Trenton driver Lester Johnson by 10 points, with Hamilton's Ken Barton, Norwood's Dave Jennings and Cincinnatian Kenny Brocker rounding out the top-5.
Mason's A. J. Sliger won the Street title last week. He's not mentioned in the points either.
(Do you see a pattern here?)
That's why I really like Blaine Brown of Marysville. He entered last week's races with a hefty 15-point lead over Olivia Voges of Erlanger, Ky., and he stayed there! Last week, Brown beat West Chester's Zach Deaton in the Jr. Dragster final.
In a bizarre twist, Megan and Sandra Koch of Hamilton both lost in the Jr. dragster semifinals.
High school happenings
The May date for the High School division gets started on Sunday at Tri-State.
Added to the track's regular schedule, Street stock and modified cars that can run elapsed times in the 12-19.99 second range on the quarter-mile are eligible, but electronic delay boxes are prohibited in the High School bracket. Trophies go to the winners.
This is the first date of High School division action this season.
Got a racing story or a cool photo you'd like to share? Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.
