Stock cars return to Salem on Saturday

SALEM — On Saturday, the Lucas Oil Super Stocks and Dave & Deb’s Winner’s Circle Street Stocks converge on Salem Speedway for the 19th annual Six Sigma Championship Night, marking the final points race of the season for both divisions.

Third-generation driver Frank Kimmel II of Borden holds a 22-point advantage (779-757) over defending series champion, Skeeter Crum of Jeffersonville in the Lucas Oil Super Stock standings.

Kimmel is attempting to become the first driver to win Street Stock and Super Stock titles in consecutive years at Salem.

Kimmel, a freshman at UNC Charlotte who has three wins and six top-five finishes in eight Super Stock races this season, had his title hopes bolstered when Chris French missed the last race due to a family emergency. 

French, the 2007 Super Stock champion from Vine Grove, Ky., entered the Sept. 12 race trailing Kimmel by just five points in the standings.

Two-time Lucas Oil Super Stock champion Todd Kempf jumped up three places in the season standings after posting a fourth-place finish on Sept. 12. Kempf, from Huntingburg, heads to Championship Night third in points, 12 behind Crum.

Teammates Shawn Smith and Mike Sharp round out the top five in points. Smith of Louisville leads Sharp of Coxs Creek, Ky., by two points (735-733) with one race remaining.

Tony Conway, French, Jason Basham, Tony Johnson and Justin “Bubba” Trinkle make up the second five in that order.

Brian Bayer and Papa John’s Rookie of the Year candidate Winston Wood have battled it out for the top spot in the Dave & Deb’s Winner’s Circle Street Stock standings for most of the 2009 season.

Bayer of Birdseye has opened up a 19-point advantage (692-673) thanks to three straight second-place finishes in the last three races. Wood of Bloomington, who finds himself tied with former track champion Casey Heavrin for second place in the standings, finished in fifth place twice and fourth once during that same stretch.

Heavrin, thanks to strong finishes in the past four races, has been climbing steadily in the standings. The Jeffersonville driver has recorded four top-three finishes, including two wins, in the last four races.

Veteran Brent Gardiner of Louisville and Papa John’s Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Bayens, also of Louisville, are locked in a tight battle for fourth place in the standings. Gardiner leads Bayens by six points (640-634).

Todd Harrison, Brandon Deckard, Howard Lee Haynes, Beau Hendrich and David Bayens round out the second five.

Spectator gates open at 3:30 p.m., with practice at 4 p.m., qualifications at 5:45 p.m. and the first race scheduled for 7 p.m.