"The Blue Mounds Bullet," Parker Jones takes a slim nine point lead into this weekend's Advanced Fastening Supply Badger Midget Auto Racing Association doubleheader. But for Jones it's actually a tripleheader and he's fighting for title rights on another front.
To start his weekend, Friday night, August 16, Jones plans on making the four hour trip to Lincoln Speedway for the MARA show. MARA is the Badger Midget Series sister club with identical rules allowing teams to run either or both groups. MARA substantially races in central and southern Illinois. Jones has had success in MARA and finds himself on top of their points too. With MARA he has a 14 point advantage.
The schedule works out well for Jones who will particularly enjoy the next night, Saturday, August 17, when Badger and MARA will meet in the middle so to speak and run a co-sanctioned show at Sycamore (IL) Speedway. A large car count is expected.
Looking at the point race in Badger, while there may be more that have a mathematical shot at the championship, right now it appears to be a five car race.
The points are as follows: Jones leads Todd Kluever by nine points. Cody Weisensel is 32 behind Jones. Kyle Stark is 49 back and Matt Rechek is 86 out of the top spot.
While the possible combinations of finishes for the rest of the season are mind boggling, to simplify things, just know that a driver who could score a clean sweep, taking FIVEone Motorsports Fast Time, winning a heat and winning the Lyco Manufacturing Feature, will gain no less than 19 points on the field for that event.
The last night of racing on the weekend comes at Angell Park Speedway on Sunday, August 18, where Badger will share the card with the Bumper to Bumper IRA Sprint Cars and Sun Prairie's Sweet Corn Festival. Fans should plan to make a day of it as there is a carnival with all of the trappings that go with a country fair atmosphere. And then there's the famous sweet corn. If you've never experienced the whole event there's no better time than this weekend.
With just six Badger events left the point battle is gearing up to be an exciting and tight race. We hope to see you there.
Article and photo by Bill Blumer Jr.
- William Blumer on Aug 14, 2024
- Article Date: 8/14/2024