By: Kevin Ramsell
West Salem, WI – Coming into the Thunderstruck 93 ASA Midwest Tour event at Elko Speedway this past Saturday night, two-time defending series champion Gabe Sommers had a 16-point lead over three-time champion Casey Johnson.
After the checkered flag with Johnson finishing third and Sommers finishing tenth, Sommers will head into the Oktoberfest 200 finale with just a three-point lead over Johnson.
The championship will be decided during the 56th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI on Sunday, October 5th.
Sommers took over the point lead after his victory in the Jim Sauter Classic at Dells Raceway Park back on August 30th after Johnson fell out early with engine issues.
At Elko, Sommers had a coil wire issue that relegated him to lose 13 points to Johnson.
Levon Van Der Geest is mathematically still in the hunt, only 51 points behind Sommers.
Sommers knows that he will have a battle ahead of him.
“I know that coming into it. Just me and Casey, we both run pretty good there and the points are going to be super close. So anything’s possible,” Sommers said. “We gotta qualify really good and probably finish top three, I think, to have a chance at it. So hopefully we can do it three years in a row. It’s just going to be really tough this year, a lot tougher than it has been the last couple of years.”
Johnson reminds himself and everyone that the key is to be there at the end to challenge for the victory.
“I like to get decent track position and then, you know, just kind of try to find a spot to ride and keep yourself cool and underneath you for the longest time,” Johnson explained. “Once you take tires, you know, you want to make sure you’re in the top five as well, and then there are usually a few restarts towards the end, so you’ve got to have something to get going and if we do we’re going!”
The Oktoberfest 200 season finale caps off the four days of racing at the 56th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI.
Tickets are on sale now at oktoberfestraceweekend.com
