Champions To Be Crowned In Bobby Watson Memorial On Saturday Night

SWANSBORO, N.C. – Eight drivers will add their names to Carteret County Speedway’s history books in the Bobby Watson Memorial presented by Solid Rock Carriers on Saturday night when they clinch division championships.

While four divisions have essentially been wrapped up, with one already mathematically clinched, the issue is still in doubt in four classes. Mini-Stocks, Champ Karts, Jr. Mini Cups, and Street Stocks will all be decided on the track on Saturday night.

In the ultra-competitive Mini-Stock division, Travis Miller enters the season finale with a one-point lead over Stephen Sanders. With Sanders holding the tiebreaker because he has won twice on the season, the championship will come down to who has the better finish in the 25-lap dash on Saturday. The race will also be the final points race for the Carolina Mini-Stock Challenge series, where Brandon Clements holds a six-point lead over Kris Hetu, who also has an outside shot at the championship in the track’s Mini-Stock division.

Sean Wales has a three-point lead over Lee Ottaway in the equally competitive Champ Kart division. Ottaway can steal the championship away from Wales with a win, thanks to the points structure that awards three bonus points for winning. If neither driver wins, Wales clinches the championship by finishing within two positions of Ottaway. If the points end in a tie, the tiebreaker currently favors Sean Wales with two second-place finishes vs. one for Ottaway. If Ottaway finishes second and the points end in a tie, the tiebreaker scenario would then favor him by virtue of having more third place finishes.

Chase Singletary has dominated in the Jr. Mini Cup division, but the championship situation favors Carmen Odum. Singletary missed the race on August 11th, a race Odum collected 28 points. By virtue of the missed race, and Odum’s consistency, she holds a 10-point advantage over Singletary. If Carmen Odum finishes seventh or better, she will clinch the division championship. An eighth-place finish by Odum and a win for Singletary would set up a tiebreaker scenario which favors Singletary.

The championship also remains in doubt in Street Stocks. Ricky Locklair, Jr. has a 16 point advantage over James Horner and would clinch the championship with a finish of 11th or better. However, Locklair may not be able to make it to Carteret County Speedway because of a race at Dillon Motor Speedway. Locklair’s absence would then put Horner in control of his destiny.

Brandon Clements has mathematically clinched the Late Model division championship, regardless of whether he shows up or not on Saturday night. Adam Resnick and Justin Hall will clinch the championship in U-CAR and Mini Cup respectively simply by starting while Shane Irving will clinch the Legends division championship with a finish of 12th or better.

The champions will be decided in Saturday’s Bobby Watson Memorial which features racing for all eight divisions as well as the Southern Ground Pounders and East Coast Flathead Fords. The champions will all be honored with the trophy presentations during the awards banquet during the winter. A date for the banquet will be announced in the coming weeks.

Festivities will get underway for the Bobby Watson Memorial at 5pm with a pre-race meet-and-greet and concerts by James Carothers and Eric Lee Beddingfield presented by Fit4Life and Harley Davidson of New Bern. Both Carothers and Beddingfield will also hold performances inside the Moonshiner’z Café in the infield. The green flag will fly around 6pm.

For more information about Carteret County Speedway, visit the track’s official website at www.carteretspeedway.com, “like” Carteret County Speedway on Facebook or follow @carteretcoswy on Twitter.

Source: Carteret County Speedway

Photo Credit: Jaden Austin/Race22.com