Points tight as LMS season gears for finish

The NDRA GM Performance Late Models headline action at Lancaster Motor Speedway.

Johnny Sims

Timbo Mangum and Brandy Baker race side by side during the NDRA Dirt Wars last week at Lancaster Motor Speedway.

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A week ago, Ron “Tha Bull” Parker came away with the NDRA Dirt Wars win and the $3,000 payday. Local track standout Steve Banal was second.

Banal will be a favorite to capture the checkered flag this week.

Timbo Mangum will also be in the mix to win. Mangum had a dominating victory two weeks ago at LMS.

“The Gambler,” Brandy Baker will be seeking to keep his points lead over Mangum this Saturday as Mangum trails by 156 points.

Fan favorite Gib Gibbons will also be making his LMS return Saturday. Gibbons captured a popular victory a couple of weeks ago at LMS.

Legendary driver Buddy Smith will be making his return to LMS this week. Smith was here a couple of weeks ago and made his presence known. Smith will be driving the No. 409 owned by Scott Gordon.

Ronnie Mosley, who returned to LMS last week for the NDRA Dirt Wars, will be seeking to return to victory lane.

Other drivers to watch are “Downtown” Michael Brown, Travis Steele, Andy Hodges, Donnie Austin, Johnathan Edwards, Mike Huey, Derrick Williams and Whitney Long.

u In the Super Street Division, Jody Bigham captured a very popular first win on the 2011 season. Bigham, the points leader, has seen his share of bad luck this year while either leading, or in contention for the win.

Brandy Baker, or Jeff Knight will be in “The Gambler” Super Street car as both drivers have spent time behind the wheel of The Gambler machine. Baker and Knight will be in contention for the win.

Local fan favorite Brent Hodges will be seeking to capture another victory this week.

Hodges gave Bigham a run for the lead in the closing laps last Saturday only to come up short.

Rusty Robinson is making his LMS return Saturday. Each time Robinson rolls through the LMS gates he is a factor for the win. Other drivers to watch are Johnny Starkey, Mike Emerson Jr., Joey Engelbrecht, Kevin Godbee, Justin Rollins, Mike Carnevale and Andy King.

u In LMS’s most popular division, the Crate Sportsman Division saw one of the most popular wins last week as 13-year-old Hank Taylor won his first career race.

Taylor, a LMS fan favorite, beat some of the best drivers in the business last Saturday night and will be a factor again this week in quest of his second win.

Timbo Mangum appeared to have the race locked up last week until he pitted with something going wrong on his No. 5 machine.

Another young gun in the Crate Sportsman Division is points leader Dillon Crook, a Buford High junior who will be seeking to add to his win total this Saturday night and pad his points lead.

Travis Payne will be seeking to add to his win total as well.

Payne, who has seen his share of bad luck this season, reeled off two straight wins a couple of weeks ago. Dustin Sweatt has seen his share of wins this year as well, and will be seeking to add to that total.

Brandy Baker also made an appearance in the Crate Sportsman Division.

Other drivers to watch are Kevin Blackwell, Jacob “Smooth” Catoe, Matt Cauthen, Mitchell Massey, Landon Carson, James Kirk and Brad Broome.

u In the Pure Street Division, points leader “Burn ’em Down” Steve Hinson returned to victory lane last week to collect the $500 payday. Hinson has been dominating the Pure Street Division this year along with Pebo Johnson.

Johnson, who reeled off three straight wins before last Saturday’s NDRA Dirt Wars, will be starting from the rear of the field.

Johnson will be seeking to make it four straight wins on regular LMS Saturday night shows.

Jesse Carson will be seeking to return his No. 14 machine to victory lane as well. Carson is always a factor at LMS. Jerry Sexton, in his Red No. 21 Camaro, will be seeking to return to victory lane as well.

“The Buford Bandit,” Kevin Blackwell will be seeking another trip to victory lane.

Blackwell captured a win earlier this year after a long winless streak in his career.

Other drivers to watch will be James Marion, Ryan Whitaker, Alex Wiseman, Super Truck driver Matt Harris, Chuck Jones, Paul Irby, Dwayne Ray, David Price, Aaron Hemby and Josh Klimczak.

u In the Stock 4 Division, Wes Helms picked up the win two weeks ago and ended the Jeffrey McGuirt winning streak at three in a row. Helms will be seeking to make his own win streak Saturday night.

McGuirt, who has been dominating the Stock 4 Division since his return to LMS, will be seeking to close out the season on a big note.

Points leader Ray T. Adams will be seeking a return to victory lane this week and add to his points lead.

Michael Chaney, second in points, will be seeking to capture his first career win and gain some ground on Adams in the points.

Other drivers to keep an eye on will be Chase Wilson, “The Outlaw” Jesse James, Mike “Wormy” Snipes, Tyler Funderburk, Michael Ott, Rocky Phillps, Colton Haire and Thomas Boatwright.

u In the Vintage Division, Marty Spittle captured the win in his Purple No. 45 Mustang.

Spittle, a fan favorite at LMS because of the speeds he gets going down the straightaways, is always a factor at the track.

The points leader is “The Big Show,” Kenneth Deese with a 83-point lead over “Screamin” Ben Helms.

The points battle will come down to the last race of the season between these two ace drivers.

Deese and Helms are front runners in the Vintage Division every Saturday night.

Both drivers have seen their share of wins this year as well. Chris Fincher will be a factor for the win this week. Others to keep an eye on will be Steve Helms, Mike Helms, Brian Crump, James Crump, Don Burns, Steve Davis and Brad Price.

u In the Young Guns V8 Division the closest LMS points battle is going down to the wire between points leader Andrew Baker and Brandan Blackmon. Baker has a slim five-point lead over second-place Blackmon.

Both of these great young drivers are factors to win each week.

If Brandan Blackmon wins this Saturday and Andrew Baker finishes second, then both drivers will be tied for the points lead entering the last points race of the season Sept. 24.

Other drivers to keep an eye on this week are multiple winner Josh Langley, the improving John Gordon and Brady Kirk.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m., with the grandstands at 5 p.m. Pits admission is $20 and $10 for the stands.

If you missed any of the action last Saturday night, or from any race this year, Jackie Sims will have DVDs for sale in the pits and stands for $10. Jackie Sims will always have end-of-the-year DVDs for sale as well for $15.

Johnny Sims will have victory lane pictures and on-track action pictures for sale as well.

 For details on LMS, visit the track website www.lancasterspeedway.net,