Bakersfield Speedway
Kirkpatrick wins finale as Shannon wraps up title
From series reports
Kirkpatrick won his fifth series race of 2008. (photofinishphotos.com)
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Sept. 20) — Starting outside the front row, A.J. Kirkpatrick of Castroville, Calif., raced to victory at Bakersfield Speedway for his third victory in the last five races on the Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series. Kirkpatrick's fifth victory of the season, worth $2,000, wasn't enough, however, to deny Chris Shannon of Merced, Calif., his first series championship. | Shannon closes in on first championship | Slideshow
The polesitting Shannon settled for second in the feature event while Steve Drake of San Luis Obispo, Calif., was third in the final Western Allstars points race of the season. Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas, Calif., finished fourth and multitime track champion Dick Shepherd of Bakersfield rounded out the top five.
Notes: Hogge's 12.653-second lap in time trials lowered Bakersfield's Late Model track record. ... Steve Drake outran Chris Shannon in the third heat, but he was disqualified for failing to scale after the race. ... While the points season has wrapped up, the Western Allstars have two more non-points events Oct. 10-11 at Bakersfield. The weekend finale is scheduled to pay $5,000 to the winner.
Western Allstars @ Bakersfield: (1) A.J. Kirkpatrick, (2) Chris Shannon, (3) Steve Drake, (4) Bobby Hogge IV, (5) Dick Shepherd, (6) Andy Obertello, (7) Robert Sanders, (8) Zack Forster, (9) John Lowrey, (10) Ron Bartels, (11) John Piker, (12) Jason Selvidge, (13) Dino Napier, (14) Nick Bartels, (15) Johnny Cardoza, (16) Doug Thompson, (17) Donnie McGowan, (18) David Childress, (19) Anthony Barkett. Fast qualifier (among 19 cars): Hogge, 12.653 seconds. Dash winner: Shannon. Heat race winners: Shepherd, Kirkpatrick, Shannon.
