Season titles on the line at raceway
The Daily Inter Lake
The final race of the 2006 schedule at Montana Raceway Park takes place tonight with several division titles up for grabs as drivers battle for season championships.
All seven divisions - Bandoleros, Hornets, Compacts, Bombers, Hobby Stock, Limited Sportsman and Flathead Legends - will be in action.
Sponsors will also get time on the track in the Bomber sponsor race and a special tribute is planned for the Jesse Carpentier family.
Qualifying is set to begin at 6 p.m. with racing at 7.
In Bandoleros, Jacob Morris leads Giles Thornton in the Bandit division while Jordan Franklin leads Christopher Forrest in the Young Guns.
Josh Davis heads the Hornet division in points, but the battle is on between husband and wife Dirk and Silvia Meyers. Silvia Meyers is leading her husband by only five points.
Bill McCallum has been in the top three among Bombers drivers for years, but he's the points leader for the first time this year. He leads rookie Mike Slough by nine points.
A division that has seen a different winner almost every week is the compacts. For Tim Davis a perennial top three finisher, the championship has always been just a bit out of reach. Only seven points separate Davis and Bill Mitchell.
Defending champion Jed Shue has a comfortable lead in Hobby Stocks as he's up 25 points on Corey Pilsch. Rookie Mike Rowe sits in third.
Limited Sportsman defending champ Micah Sampson holds the lead by 20 points over Alex Lessor, who just took home the championship in the Super Late Model division.
Sampson and Lessor race in both classes and are pulling double duty to keep their cars on the track.
Veteran driver Danny Morris sits in the third place spot, eight points behind Lessor. Zach Havens and John Ellis are tied there with 407 points each.
The Flathead Legends will have the honor of going last.
Jake Grosswiler, who looks to join the Super Late Models in 2007, sits in a comfy spot for the championship, a title that has eluded him for the past few years.
Bryce Hilliard is holding down second place behind Grosswiler, Tyler Corpron is third, 43 points behind. Spike Schultze is fourth overall and leads the Master division. Cliff Nelson is second in masters and Tim Corbett is third.
Rookie Wrango West leads the semi pros and is also first in points for Rookie of the Year honors. Brad Sentell is second and Mark Gallager is in third.
The 16th annual Montana Raceway Park Awards Banquet will be held Oct. 14th.