The Spring Nationals mini-series is slated to conclude this Memorial Day weekend with four races set to be run on four consecutive nights. Eric Wells enters the final stretch run with 1,132 points with competitors Zach Leonhardi, Aaron Ridley and Casey Roberts all well within striking distance. At the same time, a couple of good runs early in the weekend could also pull the likes of Ryan King and Chicky Barton into the fray. The eventual winner will receive a championship payoff of $5,053 for his efforts over the ten race schedule that ran from late March to this upcoming weekend.
Eric Wells enters the weekend as the Spring Nationals points leader
The four-race run begins on Thursday night at Crossville(TN) Speedway with a $4,000-to-win event. Friday night will see the mini-tour make it way to Ringgold, GA and the Boyd’s Speedway for another $4,000-to-win affair. And finally, the Spring Nationals will end further down in Georgia with a Saturday night show at Dixie Speedway that will pay $5,000 to the victor while Rome Speedway will host the finale on Sunday evening with the feature set to pay out $6,000 to the first driver who crosses the finish line.
With only 66 points separating the top-4 in the standings the potential exists for anyone to come away with the title that has been won by esteemed drivers such as Brandon Overton, Donald McIntosh, Billy Ogle, Jr., and Steve Casebolt. It is worth noting that Maryville, Tenn. based Blount Motorsports owned by Larry Garner and now driven by Casey Roberts has won this series championship three times with drivers Ogle and McIntosh.
In Spring Nationals competition, 200 points is awarded to the winner of each race with the runner-up receiving 196. From there, the drop off is two points per position throughout the remainder of the field. So a good run by any of the drivers mentioned above coupled with bad luck for some or all of his competitors could create a big swing in the standings.
It would seem safe to say that this title will not be decided until the checkered flag falls on the very last feature.
As would be expected, the leader of the series has proven to be the most consistent finisher through the first six races. Wells has scored no worse than a 10th place result while also posting a third, fourth, fifth and pair of sixths. The former regular on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series has shown so far that he knows what it takes to pile up points. If he continues to run as well as he has so far, the other drivers and teams will have their work cut out for them to catch the leader.
Zach Leonhardi
Leonhardi has scored four top-10 finishes in the six races contested so far but has also had a pair of efforts that were outside the top-15. He began the series with two fifth place runs on the familiar turf of his home track in Senoia, Georgia. But he has also scored solid results well away from home with Top-10s in Kentucky at Ponderosa and Florence. The young driver is currently 54 points behind Wells.
Ridley has shown the greatest ability to run near the front with third place efforts at Senoia and Ponderosa. However, two finishes outside the top-15 and another 11th place have hindered his chances and left him 56 markers behind the leader.
Aaron Ridley
Roberts has also been hurt by a couple of poor finishes. A 20th and 21st have held back the four solid top-10 postings made by the No. 101 machine. The Georgia native currently sits 66 points behind the front runner.
One key factor that could go a long way in determining this championship could be the role played by invading drivers. So far, each of the first six contests has been won by a driver who is not running all of the Spring Nationals races. Dale McDowell has scored two wins while Scott Bloomquist, Dakotah Knuckles, Michael Chilton and Devin Gilpin have taken checkered flags home despite not seeking an overall title.
Casey Roberts
And not only could these outsiders take winning trophies, but they could also impact the championship standings by placing themselves between the contending drivers and thus creating greater separations among the championship contenders.
Clearly, the 2018 Spring Nationals are far from decided. Four exciting races on tap at four decidedly different tracks will not only result in four trophies being handed out to the race winners but also in determining this year’s champion of this series.
