08/06/2024
RPM Speedway
Hays, Kansas
By: Sheldon Wickwar
Race fans it is time to crown track champions in Hays! Saturday night August 10th, your favorite stars battle it out one final time this season during championship night! Championships will be awarded to the five IMCA classes!
A quick refresher on how points work: per the IMCA rulebook, "Weekly ‘A’ Feature win is 40 points, with each subsequent position worth one point less, with 24th position in feature worth 17 points. If more than 24 cars start feature, all positions from 24th back receive 17 points." and further "If less than ten entries for any given night, for each car less than ten, one point fewer than normal is awarded for feature finish. For example, if nine cars entered, feature win would then be worth 39 points; for eight entries, win would be worth 38 points, etc."
There is also a requirement of each class running at least four shows at a certain track to be considered for IMCA points.
The hobby stock top ten in points look like this going into championship night:
Zach Olmstead 157PTS
Morgan Olmstead 145PTS
Jonathan Saliba 145PTS
Trent Matson 138PTS
Tyler Heath 135PTS
Hayden Ogorzolka 121PTS
James Hart 103PTS
Cole Schulte 103PTS
Anna Minks 101PTS
Bret Conness 100PTS
Zach Olmstead has been the dominant force at Hays this year with three wins out of seven appearances, however his championship hopes could be in jeopardy as he was sidelined from the car Monday night after injuring his back. We're hoping for the best for Zach and cannot wait to see him back in the car, get well soon Zach!! Morgan Olmstead has been consistent all year in Hays and has picked up a win, with Zach potentially sidelined Morgan has a great shot to win the track championship. Jonathan Saliba has been solid all year and is currently tied with Morgan for second, giving him a great shot on Saturday as well. Trent Matson and Tyler Heath also have solid opportunities to claim the championship, and young gun Hayden Ogorozlka still has a shot, the new car has been solid for Hayden, is Saturday Night the night some magic occurs, and Hayden steals a championship? Maybe so! James Hart is the first driver mathematically eliminated from championship contention.
The sport compact top ten in points look like this:
Jakob Schwien 152PTS
Rileigh Flohrs 151PTS
Kiowa Higdon 147PTS
Gage Porter 146PTS
Connor Schwien 143PTS
Kyle Mortensen 135PTS
Brock Leibhart 107PTS
Madison Reed 106PTS
Kevin Tremblay 95PTS
Zack Mclaughlin 93PTS
Jakob Schwien has yet to win this season at Hays, but he has been very consistent giving him the one-point advantage, but he cannot ride into Hays nonchalantly as the whole top five is within nine points of him. Rileigh Flohrs has enjoyed a great season, collecting points all over while chasing a state title, can he pick up a track championship Saturday, to cap off a solid year? Last year's defending champion Kiowa Higdon finds himself in third place after a solid year, he would love to see win number two Saturday to propel him to the track championship. The first compact driver mathematically eliminated from championship contention is Brock Leibhart.
The modified top ten in points look like:
Daniel Gottschalk 152PTS
Dakota Sproul 150PTS
Dylan Sherfick 150PTS
Clay Money 140PTS
Kyle Rohleder 136PTS
Dalton Murphy 1117PTS
Jake Nightingale 99PTS
Tim Watts 96PTS
Don Geist 94PTS
Kaid Calhoon 90PTS
Daniel Gottschalk's two-point advantage is courtesy of a win, and five top five finishes in seven events so far, he will look to hold off a fierce field of drivers on Saturday to claim the track championship. Dakota Sproul has three wins in seven events in Hays, yet he still trails Gottschalk by two points going into Saturday's finale, he hopes to do exactly what he needs to do to claim the track championship. Dylan Sherfick has a chance at grabbing the Colby and Hays track championship, he is currently tied for second with Sproul in points at Hays, it will be interesting to see if ole "Dynamite" can break through for two track championships this weekend. The first modified driver that is mathematically eliminated from championship contention is Jake Nightingale.
The top ten in stock car points looks like:
Kyle Pfeifer 144PTS
Tathan Burkhart 142PTS
Garrett Hager 105PTS
Troy Burkhart 104PTS
Josh Hudson 101PTS
Brandon Conkwright 69PTS
Mike Petersillie 65PTS
George Ramey 65PTS
Chris Oliver 33PTS
Shaylon Holloway 33PTS
Using two wins, Kyle Pfeifer finds himself in the points lead at Hays, however it is a tight battle with Tathan Burkhart, the two will continue their awesome battle this weekend, to see who can claim the track title. Josh Hudson is the first stock car driver that is mathematically eliminated from championship contention.
The sport mod top ten in points looks like:
Blaine Walt 155PTS
Brianna Maughlin 145PTS
Ryan Kirchoff 130PTS
Dalton Bell 116PTS
Sage Dinkel 116PTS
Luke Stallbaumer 112PTS
Justin Meserve 108PTS
Tyler Watts 105PTS
Carson Lang 104PTS
Adam Weber 101PTS
Blaine Walt has one win on the season in Hays, along with seven top five finishes in seven events, giving him a semi-comfortable lead over Maughlin. Brianna Maughlin however has been on fire lately, putting very nice runs together, if she can put a solid run together Saturday and finish ahead of Walt, she could storm away with the track championship. Ryan Kirchoff still has a decent shot at the title but would need Walt and Maughlin both to stumble a bit Saturday. Dalton Bell and Sage Dinkel find themselves tied for fourth place currently, with an outside shot at the title. Luke Stallbaumer is the first sport mod driver mathematically eliminated from championship contention.
The cruisers top ten in points looks like:
David Kraus 40PTS
Weston Kraus 39PTS
Madelyn Kraus 38PTS
Dylan Pfeifer 37PTS
Dakota Bliss 36PTS
Shaun Woods 35PTS
Kaleb Pavlu 34PTS
Seth Rupp 33PTS
Chris Lohrey 32PTS
Preston Kennedy 31PTS
Be sure to join us this Saturday in Hays, Kansas at the Rolling Plains Motor Speedway to celebrate the 2024 season and crown our champions! Hot laps at 6:30PM with racing to follow. If you cannot make it to the track, tune into IMCA.TV! IMCATV is the best way and only way to watch all of the action away from the track, and you are supporting the track with every pass bought!
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