Tight points races highlight Saturday Nights action at Yakima Speedway

YAKIMA, Wash. (June 21, 2012)-With five division's of racing action on tap this weekend at the famed Yakima Speedway all eyes will be on the H&H Furniture Pure Stock division as Rob Allen and Chris Marang renew their battle for the 2012 championship.

Allen bounced back from hard luck one race prior to pick-up a win over Marang with a lap race pass in the classes most recent main event held June 9. Marang had been running for his third consecutive victory only to be stopped by Allen. Only those two hot shoes have picked up checkered flags in the division’s four main events setting the table for a spirited chase for glory this weekend.

With the runs Marang has put together he leads Allen by 22 points with a total of 59 markers separating the top-5 drivers.

Also in the mix in the Pure Stock division will be Tim Hitchcock who will look to bounce back from an incident in the June 9 race that left his race team with lots of repairs over the off weekend. Fellow rookie contender Jeff Wilkinson, who was also involved in the Hitchcock incident, will be out to get his season back on track.

Buck Noel Jr. returned to victory lane as he bested young gun Garrett Sisk and 2011 Burger Ranch Sportsman Rookie of the Year, Lucas Valdez, in the division's most recent main event. Noel brings a 50-point spread over Kyler Conduff and Valdez with the weekend's race on the horizon. Valdez has had the hot hand in June with a win in Spokane to start the month and his first top-3 finish of the season at his home track of Yakima Speedway on June 9.

Terry Cook (-66 of Noel) and Morgan Morrison (-75) round out the top-5 in the Sportsman championship standings.

In the Sea Galley Bump-to-Pass division everyone will be out to stop Josh Aguirre who has won all four of the season's main events including two-in-a-row on last lap passes for the lead and eventual victory. Aguirre maintains a 29-point lead on Joe Stevens for the 2012 championship with Todd Nunn, Dennis Clouse and Wes Heigh rounding out the top-5.

Cody Denton has been the man of consistency in the Speedway Mini-Stock class as he has finished in the top-5 running order in each of his four starts this season. Denton leads Josh Henne by 43 points as the two will battle down to the wire for the first ever Mini-Stock championship.

Casey Chambers, George Jankowics and Adam Bryan hold down positions three through five in the standings as the class nears the halfway point of the season.

Jeff Ball has been on fire in the CWI Security/EZ Credit Auto Sales Hornet class but is the quiet performance of Micheal Beck that has gotten the attention of his fellow racers. Beck has led laps and finished in the top-5 running order in every main event this season and finds himself 24 points out of first place in the standings with only Casey Chambers between himself and the points lead.

For fast and furious racing action fans will want to be sure to be at Yakima Speedway Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. as admission gates will be open with qualifying set for 5 followed by racing at 6. To learn more about this weekend's Federated Auto Parts Night at the Races presented by Wix Filters log onto www.yakimaspeedway.us find Yakima Speedway on Facebook or call (509) 248-0647.