MOTOR SPORTS / BRYAN RODGERS : Hooper Pointing Toward Fast Finish on Southwest Tour

The stage is set for Southwest Tour driver Lance Hooper and he couldn’t have asked for a better situation.

Hooper, points leader in the Southwest Tour standings, heads into the season’s final stretch with consecutive tour victories under his belt.

The Palmdale resident also has a chance to break several Southwest Tour records when the circuit visits Colorado National Speedway in Dacono, Colo., for a 125-lap feature Saturday night.

Hooper will be trying to win his third consecutive feature race, which would be a record, and claim the most pole positions in a season with eight. Hooper and Rick Carelli are tied, each with seven poles.

Hooper holds the track’s single-lap qualifying record with a time of 16.219 seconds and he has won the last three pole positions in Southwest Tour races.

However Carelli, a local favorite at Dacono, stands in the way of what could be a memorable weekend for Hooper.

Carelli will be competing in his first Southwest Tour since a victory in the season finale at Phoenix International Raceway last year.

The war of words between the drivers has already started.

“We’re going to get the record and we’re going to do it on Carelli’s home turf,� Hooper said.

Because Carelli, a Denver resident, has been competing in the NASCAR SuperTruck series most of this season, his Southwest Tour debut comes late in the season but it hasn’t hurt his confidence.

Carelli estimates that his laps at Dacono “number in the thousands.� In 1992 he won the inaugural feature race at his home track.

“When you start driving cars again, you kind of get daring,� Carelli said. “The guys are pumped for this one.�

Hooper, meanwhile, is hoping to improve on last year’s main event finish.

A flat tire forced Hooper to make a pit stop while battling Dale Williams for the lead, and he finished at the rear of the field.

“I’m going to treat this race like any other one,� Hooper said. “I just hope we can get the job finished this time and let the records will fall where they fall.�

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Billy Boat extended his record winning streak in USAC Midget races to nine when he took the checkered flag in last Saturday’s 40-lap feature at Ventura Raceway.

“Ventura is a hard place to win at because it’s unpredictable,� Boat said.

“Dealing with lapped traffic can be a problem here.�

Boat, who is from Phoenix, was annoyed by perceptions that his feat wasn’t meaningful because it came in a regional series.

“After going back to Kansas [where Boat posted his ninth victory] we definitely felt there was something to prove.�

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After spending more than a month at the Sherman Oaks Burn Center, Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills was released from the hospital late last week.

Joanides suffered third-degree burns to both hands in a five-car accident during a Sportsman Model feature at Mesa Marin Speedway in July.

“It’s nice to finally get out of there,� Joanides said.

“My recovery has gone well and I hope to be back at Bakersfield in October.�

Joanides underwent four surgeries while hospitalized and has to wear gloves on his hands, keeping them out of sunlight until the skin graft heals.

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If Bob Lyon of Agua Dulce can qualify for the Southwest Tour main at Dacono he will break the tour’s record for most career appearances with 125.

Lyon is tied with Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale.

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Kern County Raceway will be running a special race card will be run tonight in conjunction with the Antelope Valley Fair.

Dwarf cars and legend cars will be competing at the fair grounds and there will be no racing at Kern County on Saturday night. Regular racing resumes at Kern next week.

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Contributing: Darin Esper.