The O’Reilly NCRA Late Model Series, presented by ICM/Ethanol, has raced just twice so far in 2007. That will change dramatically this weekend as they dial it up a notch with five shows in six days during Speed Week.
The first two shows are in Nebraska, kicking off Friday, June 29, at Lincoln County Raceway in North Platte. Then they make their customary summer holiday stops at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction on Saturday, June 30, and at the famed Belleville (Kan. ) High Banks on Sunday, July 1.
After an off day Monday, July 2, the series continues south for a special show Tuesday night, July 3, show at Enid (Okla. ) Speedway Park. Then back to Kansas where the five-day odyssey concludes with a show Wednesday night, July 4, at 81 Speedway in Park City.
Early in the season, there is the typical logjam at the top as only 65 points separate the first six drivers. Going a bit deeper, the top 12 drivers are only 95 points apart.
Delbert Smith, the 2001 series champion out of Wichita, Kan., won the opener. Two-time series champion Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan., took the checker on the second night, setting a record for the most NCRA career feature wins.
Smith and Omaha’s John Anderson are deadlocked for the top spot in the standings. Two other series champions, Kyle Berck and Kelly Boen, are close behind. Berck, of Marquette, Neb., won the crown in 2002. He is in third, 30 points out of first, and holds a five-point margin over Boen, the two-time defending champion.
Boen is still trying to shake off the affects of a nasty crash in a non-NCRA show April 28. The Henderson, Colo., driver got the “good to go” from his doctor just two days before the NCRA season opener. He ran a strong second to Smith but a racing incident relegated him to 21st in the second show.
The upcoming events may be just what the doctor ordered for Boen. All five of his wins last year came at three of the Speed Week tracks. He won two of three at Belleville, both races at Junction Motor Speedway, and their only visit to 81 Speedway. This is the first time the series has ever been to Lincoln County Raceway and Enid Speedway Park.
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