TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008

With Round-5 officially in the books, the points chase in all three championship classes tighten up with only four events left in the 2008 Battle of the Imports Championship season.

The Pro-Stock class is a battle between Norris Prayoonto (Fairfax, VA), Scott Kelley (Anaheim, CA) and Leslie Armendariz (Huntington Beach, CA). With Prayoonto missing Round-5 in Las Vegas this past weekend, Kelley and Armendariz had a golden opportunity to close the gap and even pass Prayoonto for the points lead going into Round-6. "We had some engine problems in Budds Creek and knew we had less than a week to replace two engines and get on the road heading west," commented Prayoonto. "We were keeping close eye on what was happening in Las Vegas and fortunately for us, we are still in the points lead."

"We knew we had a tremendous opportunity to take the points lead in Las Vegas," commented Kelley. "It was a tough field and we are looking forward to battling it out in Sacramento at the beginning of next month."

In Pro-Import, the competition was tough in Las Vegas with fourteen racers battling it out for one-of-eight coveted spots. "We haven't seen a full field in Pro-Import for a long time let alone a bump of 9.99," commented Kenny Tran (Garland, TX). Tran has his work cut out for him and the Jotech Racing Scion tC as Bryan Jimenez (Houston, TX) piloting the Everyone's Mortgage Chevy Cobalt looks to continue his recent win from Round-5 in Las Vegas. "We have worked hard all year and have always chased Kenny," commented Jimenez. "We are really looking forward to racing on the Westcoast and the rivalry we have with Kenny should elevate the excitement for this class."

Pro-FWD has Ed Bergenholtz sitting at the top of the food chain for now. "We have been fortunate all season long," commented Ed Bergenholtz (Tustin, CA). "With the amount of engine problems we've encountered from the beginning of the season until recently, we are lucky to be sitting in the points lead." Bergenholtz pilots the MAZDASPEED6 and is also looking to defend his recent victory out at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Veteran driver Marty Ladwig (San Antonio, TX) has one thing in his cross hairs - a championship. "The Lucas Oils Chevy Cobalt is ready to go," commented Ladwig. "We missed the Las Vegas event due to sponsor commitments elsewhere but we are ready for the remainder of the season. Mathematically, it is possible for us but we know that the Bergenholtz's pose some stiff competition."

Round-6 of 9 takes us the northern California to Sacramento Raceway located in Sacramento, CA on Saturday evening, August 2nd. Sacramento Raceway is an NHRA member track and is home to events such as the Western States ET Championships and a host of Junior drag racing events.