Kinross ready to restart after washout

The Kinross Speedway is ready to drop the green flag for another night of stock car racing on Friday night.

Rain forced the cancellation of last Friday's show for the first time this season.

The following is a full text release provided by the Kinross Raceway's Gerry Liscumb Jr.:

************************************************************ Kinross falls victim to Mother Nature for the first time in the 2004 season

By Gerry Liscumb Jr.

The 2004 race season has seen the Kinross Speedway feed off increased attendance and driver participation through the first 4 weeks of the season.

Those two factors have allowed the ¼ mile asphalt oval to put on some of the best racing in years and this past Friday night was to be no exception.

With warm, sunny conditions in Kinross and surrounding areas, the pits began to fill for week five.

With hot lap sessions barely underway, the skies began to cloud over and it wasn't long before the rain began to fall on the racing surface.

Track officials cleared the Speedway for the safety of all those involved and began to wait out the conditions.

As time progressed things were not getting any better as the light drizzle had now turned to a heavy downfall.

At approximately 6:15 the decision was made to cancel the nights scheduled events, resulting in the first rainout of the 2004 season.

With that in mind, we now fast forward to this coming Friday, June 25th for the Auto Value Factory Stock Special.

Along with the Factory Stock division, the Speedway will put on a full 4-in-1 show including the Late Models, Pure Stocks and 4-Cylinder divisions.

The night will be capped off with Round II of our Powder Puff races while track promoters will try and secure the Dafter Mud Run exhibition for this night as well.

Time trials start at 6 p.m. with racing action to follow at 7:30 p.m.

For the 2nd consecutive week, Canadian Money will be at par for admission to the main grandstand. Tickets are $8 for Adults, $6 for Students and Seniors while Kids 12 & Under will be admitted FREE.

Entering week #6, Dave Vansloten (33) leads the Late Model division with 341 points. That is good for a 45-point cushion over Sault Ste. Marie, ONTARIO's Nick Guerriero (4) Mark Howland (59) currently holds the final podium position.

Vansloten has two feature wins to his credit thus far while Todd Jackson (21) and Howland (59) have captured the others.

Kevin Johnson (37) finds himself at the top of the highly competitive Factory Stock division thus far into the 2004 campaign, but only by a small margin.

Seven points is all that separates the division leader from your second place runner Jerry Ball (8). Josh Ware (7) sits in third with 293 points.

Johnson and Ball total 3 feature wins so far with Cecil Piche (88) capturing the 4th.

The 2001 division champion is currently riding some consistent performances in the Pure Stock division as Sault Ste. Marie, MICHIGAN's Barry Glenn (55) holds the point lead with 313 points.

Closing in that spot is Ray Golladay Jr., who now sits 49 points out of the top spot. 2nd year driver Randy Miller (73) sits a mere 2 points behind Golladay Jr. in the third position.

Four weeks of racing has seen four different feature winners with Paul Little (24), Larry Young Sr. (26), Bill Cryderman (61) and most recently, Glenn, capturing those honors.

With thirty-one drivers competing in the Four Cylinder division so far this season, being able to be the point's leader has not been an easy task.

Despite the tough competition, John Clawson (35) finds himself leading the pack with 324 points. Chris Brady (17) sits in second 29 points back while Eric Sherlund (79) holds onto the third spot with 280 points.

John Mayer (9) won the opening night feature only to be followed by Gordon Hunt (77), and Clawson (twice).

The final division to show in the standings is the Powder Puff. With 1 of their 3 scheduled events in the books, Shavon Golladay (20) is your leader with 55 points.

Erin Beaudoin (25) sits 4 points back in 2nd with Kelly Nightliner (48) rounds out the top 3 with 47 points.

Golladay was the feature winner in their lone race so far this season.

So with the points battles continuing to heat up as the 2004 season progresses, the road to the track championships in all four divisions appears to be getting tighter.

With eleven nights of racing action left on the schedule plus the 2nd Annual Randy Dewitt Memorial Invitational, there is lots of time for you to get out and watch some great short-track racing here at Kinross.

To get to the track take exit 378 off the I-75 and follow the signs to the Fairgrounds.

Lastly, you can contact the Speedway by phone at 906-647-3405, e-mail at dnyberg@up.net or by visiting us online at www.kinrossspeedway.com.

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PHOTO: File photo provided by Rod Aubertin of www.saultracers.com