Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Jonathan Goring, Marco Di Leo and Alexander Rossi will be going wheel to wheel this weekend at Miller Motorsports Park. Last man standing wins the SBN title and its $100,000.
The 2006 season finale of the Skip Barber National Presented by RACER is this weekend, and yet again, nothing’s been decided. This is the fourth consecutive year – and the sixth out of the past seven, the total number of years the National has been in existence – that the championship has come down to the last weekend. This year it’s at Miller Motorsports Park, near Salt Lake City, October 28-29. The top three, Jonathan Goring, Marco Di Leo and Alexander Rossi, are separated by just 34 points: 583, 557 and 549, respectively. With a race win worth 65 points, and drivers scoring their best 12 of the year’s 14 races, and pole positions worth a single point – well, it would take a pretty sophisticated software program to figure out all the possible permutations. Coming in, Goring’s two-worst results are a 15th and an eighth (a total of 45 points); Di Leo’s drops are a 16th (0) and a 14th (15 points); Rossi has two 14ths (30 points). One possibility is either Goring or Di Leo winning both races. If either driver did that, it would clinch the title and its $100,000 bonus, regardless of who earned the pole positions and where the other drivers finished. If Rossi wins two and takes both poles, Goring would have to finish third or worst and Di Leo fourth or worst in both races in order for Rossi to win the championship. Finishing second is worth $20,000, with third, fourth and fifth in the final standings rewarded with $15,000, $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. The bottom line is that one very exciting race weekend is on tap; who the ‘‘champion’’ would/could be will literally change lap to lap. With all three drivers eying Formula Ford 2000, Star Mazda, F3, IRL IPS and Champ Car Atlantic, needless to say a lot is at stake.
Click on this link for a one-page PDF of complete box scores and points standings Rick Roso
