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"FAST FIVE
DRIVERS TO WATCH" ON AUGUST 28 WEEKEND
8/27/2010
Here is our weekly look at the five drivers that
RACELINE thinks are the ones to watch over the
weekend.
Josh Brock
– Racing against the tough Roseville Modified
division, Kentucky teenager Josh Brock has had an
excellent season. The rookie driver is third in
the track points and has a perfect record of
top-tens this season. What Brock is missing from
his resume this year is a race win, and the
rapidly improving Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle
team is poised to take Brock to victory. His
teammate Nik Romano has won a pair of races and
Brock finished second back on July 31st.
Saturday night could be the night that Brock gets
it done.
Shane Golobic
–
A few years ago, I named Shane Golobic as the most
promising California driver under 18 years old
after he had several stirring Midget wins for
Bryan Clauson Racing. Now a well-established
winged sprint car threat, Golobic is trying to win
the Placerville Speedway winged 360 title.
Golobic comes into Saturday night’s feature in
third place behind veteran points leader Andy
Forsberg. Only four races of the 11 so far have
been won by drivers in the top-ten of the
speedway’s points, but with the Johnny Key Classic
at
Watsonville
on the same night, expect to see Placerville’s
show come down to a duel of the regulars. If
Golobic can capitalize, he’ll be in the
championship discussion.
Paulie Harraka
- Paulie Harraka of Wayne, NJ, the 2008 All
American Speedway Late Model champion, is
currently third in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
standings driving for Bill McAnally Racing. He is
getting the opportunity to compete in the NASCAR
Nationwide Series this weekend at
Montreal
for Joe Nemechek’s NEMCO Motorsports. Harraka
will drive an Exide-sponsored #87
Toyota
on the road course. Harraka has a second place
finish at Sonoma and a third place effort at
Portland on his resume, so he should do very well
in his Nationwide debut.
Alex Stanford –
We don’t cover a lot of dirt stockcar racing on
RACELINE, just because it’s not something we have
been heavily exposed to. But this weekend’s show
is too big to ignore. With drivers coming from
Oregon, Arizona, and New Mexico, Merced Speedway
points leader Alex Stanford has to defend his turf
in a very competitive weekend on UMP Modified
racing. The UMP Mods will be running Saturday at
Antioch
for $3,500 to win and Sunday at Merced for $3,500
to win. The John Soares-promoted quarter-mile
dirt tracks will be presenting full fields of
Modifieds on both nights and Stanford, along with
Bobby Hogge IV and Kellen Chadwick, hope to keep
the money in California with big wins.
Tommy Tarlton
– On Saturday night, Tommy Tarlton has the chance
to not only take firm control of the Ocean Sprints
presented by Taco Bravo, but also win his second
straight Johnny Key Classic. The 50th
Johnny Key Classic will run 50 laps and pay $5,000
to win (plus lap bonuses). Tarlton is in the
midst of a heavy points fight with newly crowned
“King of California” Kyle Larson, and a win on
Saturday would boost his championship chances. |
