Mike Griffith: Saturday night's all right for Hobby Stock title fight
| Wednesday, Sep 23 2009 08:51 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Sep 23 2009 11:01 PM
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Kevin Johnson poses in victory lane after winning the Hobby Stock main event
Saturday, June 20, 2009 at Bakersfield Speedway.
After 16 races and hundreds of laps, the battle for the Bakersfield Speedway Hobby Stock championship comes down to one final showdown on Saturday night.
In one corner is Kevin Johnson, whose consistent high finishes through most of the season had him seemingly on track for a waltz to the championship.
In the other is Devan Jones, whose steady performances finally paid off when Johnson had a couple of hiccups in recent weeks.
Jones, who has two runner-up finishes and a victory in his last four races, now holds a four-point edge over Johnson.
After racing to his second win of the season on Aug. 8, Johnson enjoyed a 52-point advantage over Jones with just four races remaining.
But then Johnson hit a two-race skid. He finished 14th in his next outing but not a lot of damage was done as Jones finished eighth. The turning point came on Aug. 29 when Johnson went out early and finished 20th while Jones went on to a second-place finish.
That put Jones within striking distance. With two races left, he trailed Johnson by four points.
Jones raced to victory on Sept. 12, Johnson finished fifth and what was a four-point deficit turned into a four-point advantage.
Now it all comes down to the final heat races, potentially a B-main and the main event to determine the track champion.
Not much separates these two in a tale of the tape as both have two wins and 10 top-five finishes through 16 races.
Three others divisions also wrap up the championship season Saturday night -- IMCA Modifieds, American Stock and Mini Stock -- but there is little doubt over who will emerge with two of those titles.
Gary Dutton is poised to win his third straight IMCA championships and can do so by finishing 19th or better.
Steven Johnson needs only to show up on Saturday to claim the American Stock title as he has had a dominating season -- four wins, five seconds, and four thirds.
Jacob Shepherd has yet to win a Mini Stock feature, but leads the division by 20 points and needs just a top-10 finish to lock out three-time winner Brock Crawford.
Racing starts at 6.
Several of the top flat track motorcycle racers in the nation will be competing in the 5th Annual Digger Helm Short Track National Saturday night at the Kern County Fairgrounds.
Heading the list of racers scheduled to take part in the event is Jared Mees of Clio, Mich. Mees is the current American Motorcycling Association point leader and won last year's race in Bakersfield. The pro race features a purse of more than $12,000.
Competition will also take place in a wide range of amateur classes. Racing starts at 6 and admission to the grandstand arena is free with a fair entry.
