Southwest Tour Drivers to Continue Heated Duel for Points Title at Saugus

The tightest race in NASCAR Southwest Tour history blazes into the Santa Clarita Valley for the Miller Genuine Draft 100 at 7 tonight at Saugus Speedway.

Several former Saugus standouts will return to the speedway, among them championship contenders Ron Hornaday Jr. of Palmdale, M. K. Kanke of Granada Hills and Ray Hooper Jr. of Palmdale. Their target is Doug George of Atwater, Calif., who narrowly regained the points lead from Kanke last week at San Bernardino.

George led the standings until Aug. 18, when Kanke edged past him in the standings with a second-place finish at Silver State Raceway in Carson City, Nev. George since has reclaimed first with 1,923 points. Kanke is second with 1,898, and Hornaday is third (1,853).

The standings are so cramped that even the seventh-place driver, Danny Crafton of Tulare (1,712), has a legitimate shot at the points championship.

The one-third-mile paved oval at Saugus is the latest in a string of short tracks for the Southwest Tour drivers, who have spent the past three races on either one-quarter-mile or one-third-mile tracks.

Despite the jockeying for points among the top drivers, a dark horse in tonight’s race is another former Saugus driver--Dan Press of Frazier Park. Press, the defending Southwest Tour champion who has cut down on tour events this year to concentrate on his automotive business, won the Miller 100 at Saugus on May 5. He has won the past three tour events at Saugus.