Southern Ohio Speedway Tri-State Challenge Friday May 1st

WHEELERSBURG, OH-Following an exciting night of racing on April 24th, the Southern Ohio Speedway is set for round #3 of the Southern Ohio Championship Series on Friday, May 1st with the Tri-State Challenge. The exciting racing card will boast nearly $15,000 in total purse money with Late Models-$2,000 to win, Modifieds-$750 to win, Sport Mods-$300 to win, and a $400 to win LM Consolation Feature and $200 to win Modified Consolation Feature as long as 5 or more cars attempt to start those races.

The Tri-State Challenge
Southern Ohio Speedway is located in a dirt track racing hotbed with great drivers from the states of Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia competing at the track week in and week out. Each state has its own group of great drivers. There’s no doubt that fans from each state will say without hesitation the drivers from their state are the best. Because drivers from all three states compete at SOS on a weekly basis, we will find out which state will reign supreme on Friday!

We have put together a scoring system to determine which state will win the Tri-State Challenge on Friday and earn the bragging rights for the entire year! Drivers will have the opportunity to win points for their state all night long. Fans will also have the opportunity to win points for their state. Here is the way the scoring system will work:

The fast qualifier in each division will earn 10 points for their state.
In each dash and heat race, the state who’s driver finishes highest will earn 30 points, the state who’s driver finishes second highest will earn 20 points, and the state who’s driver finishes third highest will earn 10 points.
In each feature, the state who’s driver finishes highest will earn 90 points, the state who’s driver finishes second highest will earn 60 points, and the state who’s driver finishes third highest will earn 30 points.
An example of the way the dash, heat, and feature points system works is if West Virginia drivers finish positions 1-2, a Kentucky driver 3rd, and a Ohio driver 4th, West Virginia would earn first place points, Kentucky second place points, and Ohio third place points.
The fans who make the most noise during intermission can earn a 50 point bonus for their state.
At the end of the night, the state with the most points will win the Tri-State Challenge.
Late Model Preview
The season is off to a great start in the Late Model division with two different winners in two races. Dustin Linville took the Opening Night win while R. J. Conley won last Friday. Each race has seen an exciting battle for the lead. The points race in the Late Model division is just as hot as the action on the track as Jake Keaton and Audie Swartz come into Friday tied for the points lead. Third place points runner Stephen Breeding started on pole Friday and led the first 6 laps before coming home with a strong second place finish.

Lots of drivers are carrying momentum heading into Friday’s races as the competition is wide open. R. J. Conley will be looking for his second win in a row while his brother Rod comes off a strong third place finish last week. Stephen Breeding has been fast both weeks and will look to take his first career SOS win. Jake Keaton and Audie Swartz have been finished back-to-back with each other both weeks and come into Friday in a close points battle. Both drivers are looking for their first SOS track championship. Billy Gullion is carrying lots of momentum into Friday after a strong fourth place feature finish and the $400 Consolation Feature win. Gullion will look to top his best career SOS finish of third. Kenny Howell has been fast both weeks, running in the top five both races before minor mechanical problems hit. Howell will look for the bad luck to turn around Friday.

Modified Preview
Last Friday saw one of the most exciting Modified races we have seen at SOS in a long time as Jeremy Rayburn held off Todd Robinson and Brian Skaggs to take his second feature win in a row. Rayburn, looking for his fourth straight SOS track championship, is off to a perfect start, leading every lap of each feature and taking both feature wins. Rayburn will look to stay perfect on Friday.

Rayburn currently holds a 25 point lead over Brian Wilburn who has started 2015 off strong with two consecutive top five finishes. Wilburn will look to continue the strong start and push towards the points lead. Todd Robinson showed his #39 machine has a lot of speed again this season as he finished second last Friday and was in contention for the win right to the checkered flag. Robinson will be looking for his first SOS win since October of 2013. After having mechanical problems on Opening Night, Brian Skaggs showed he will be a contender again this season as he finished third last Friday. Skaggs has won a feature at SOS in the spring months the past two years in a row and will look to continue that streak on Friday.

Sport Mod Preview
The Sport Mod class has seen incredible competition once again this season with close racing all season long. Last week saw on incredible feature event that saw Eric Dennison, Emily Jordan, and Mitchell Fields all take turns leading laps. Fields added to the list of Sport Mod feature winners by taking an exciting feature win on Friday, his first career win at SOS.

Opening Night winner Emily Jordan suffered a flat tire last Friday but still holds the points lead. Jordan is up by 5 points over rookie driver Billy Baldridge who has been off to an impressive start. Potential championship contender Sam Hobbs also suffered some bad luck last week as something broke in his machine, causing him to go head on into the guardrail. Thankfully, Hobbs was okay. His crew will look to have his car back in action on Friday as he is only 30 points off of the points lead. Brianna Robinson and Dustin Pressler have also been off to great starts as they sit in a three way tie with Hobbs for third in points.

Times and Admission Prices
Gates will open at 4:00 pm on Friday with drivers meeting set for 7:00 pm and hot laps set for 7:30 pm. Admission prices will remain the same as they have been since 2011 for races that boast a purse total as high as this Friday’s races (previously $3,000 to win, LM, $800 to win Mod shows, but now with the money spread more through the field).

General admission will be $15 (ages 17 and up), $5 (ages 13-16), $2 (ages 7-12), and FREE (ages 6 and under). Pit passes will be $30 (ages 13 and up), $20 (ages 7-12), and FREE (ages 6 and under).

For more information visit www.southernohiospeedway.com.