Soderberg Memorial Championship Night Saturday at Dodge City

[NickHolt]

Soderberg Memorial Championship Night Saturday at DCRP 

by Lonnie Wheatley

 DODGE CITY, Kan. (September 12, 2017) – It all comes down to Saturday night as Dodge City Raceway Park finishes up the 2017 regular season with the Fifth Annual Jerry Soderberg Memorial Championship event at the state-of-the-art 3/8-mile clay oval in southwest Kansas.

 Saturday’s card that fires off at 7:00 p.m. features a full slate of Precise Racing Products DCRP Sprint Cars vs. URSS Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and IMCA Hobby Stocks.

 The DCRP vs. URSS Sprint Car feature will offer up a $750 winner’s share courtesy of Dodge City’s Comfort Suites.

 While the track will crown a handful of champions on Saturday night, one more action-packed weekend of racing at DCRP remains as the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars storm back into town on October 27-28 for the “Boot Hill Showdown”.

 Leading the way into Saturday’s Jerry Soderberg Memorial Championship event are Taylor Velasquez (DCRP Sprint Cars), Clay Sellard (IMCA Modifieds), Jeff Kaup (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Angel Munoz (IMCA Stock Cars) and Reagan Sellard (IMCA Hobby Stocks).

 Clay Sellard, Kaup and Munoz can each seal the deal in their respective division by making an appearance while Velasquez and Reagan Sellard still need to tack on additional points to secure a crown.

 Velasquez can secure his second consecutive DCRP Sprint Car title by earning a spot in the feature event while Reagan Sellard can assure himself of the IMCA Hobby Stock title with a finish of sixth or better.  Lying in wait if either driver falls short are Tyler Knight in the Sprint Car ranks and Duane Wahrman in Hobby Stocks.

 Along with setting his sights on a second consecutive title, Velasquez ranks as just one of two drivers with multiple Jerry Soderberg Memorial Championship events wins to his credit after going back-to-back with wins in 2014 and 2015 before posting a sixth-place finish last year as Jake Bubak took top honors.  Zach Blurton topped the inaugural Soderberg Memorial event in 2013.

 The only other driver with multiple Soderberg Memorial wins is Ron Hartman, who topped the IMCA Stock Car ranks in 2013 and 2014.  Current IMCA Stock Car points leader Angel Munoz of Lamar, CO, claimed the 2015 win before Michael Pepper finished off last year’s championship effort by winning the finale.

 While Clay Sellard looks to finish off his IMCA Modified championship effort, he’ll also look to add his name to a list of Soderberg Memorial winners that includes Cole Traugott, Brendon Gemmill, Jesse Richter and Ryan Heger.

 Poised to claim his third DCRP track title in four years in the IMCA Sport Modified ranks, Woodward’s Jeff Kaup goes after a second consecutive Soderberg Memorial win after last year’s triumph.  Other event winners in the Sport Mods include Jamie French, Nate Ginest and Josh Appel.

 Looking to put the finishing touches on the IMCA Hobby Stock title, Reagan Sellard also tries to add another Soderberg Memorial win to 2015 honors with other Hobby Stock winners including David Berger, Cody Davis and Dan Rogers.

 Past Jerry Soderberg Memorial Championship Winners:

 2016 – Jake Bubak (DCRP vs. URSS Sprint Cars), Cole Traugott (IMCA Modifieds), Jeff Kaup (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Michael Pepper (IMCA Stock Cars), David Berger (IMCA Hobby Stocks).

 2015 – Taylor Velasquez (DCRP vs. URSS Sprint Cars), Brendon Gemmill (IMCA Modifieds), Jamie French (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Angel Munoz (IMCA Stock Cars), Reagan Sellard (IMCA Hobby Stocks).

 2014 – Taylor Velasquez (URSS Sprint Cars), Jesse Richter (IMCA Modifieds), Nate Ginest (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Ron Hartman (IMCA Stock Cars), Cody Davis (Thunder Cars), Jarett Lunow (Hornets).

 2013 – Zach Blurton (URSS Sprint Cars), Ryan Heger (IMCA Modifieds), Josh Appel (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Ron Hartman (IMCA Stock Cars), Dan Rogers (Thunder Cars), James Phelps (Hornets).

 General admission for Saturday night’s Fifth Annual Jerry Soderberg Memorial Championship event are just $20 with children 11 and under admitted free when accompanied by an adult.

 Comfort Suites located at 2700 West Wyatt Earp Boulevard in Dodge City, KS, is the official lodging partner of Dodge City Raceway Park.  The Comfort Suites official internet site is located at https://www.choicehotels.com/kansas/dodge-city/comfort-suites-hotels/ks193.  Those staying at the Comfort Suites will want to request the special DCRP rate for their visit.

 The 2017 season at Dodge City Raceway Park consists of 14 total nights of scheduled racing action, culminating with the return of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car series for the “Boot Hill Showdown” on October 27-28.  The complete 2017 schedule of events at Dodge City Raceway Park is available at http://www.dodgecityraceway.com/schedule/.

 Dodge City Raceway Park is located on the south edge of Dodge City, KS, on US 283, then 0.9 miles west on US 56, then 0.1 miles south.  For more information, contact the track at 620-225-3277 or checkwww.dodgecityraceway.com.