FF: Weekly news 2007-06-25

PLYMOUTH & HICKORY HOST FOCUS RACES THIS WEEK; COX, SKOGLUND, IRWIN & RAIN TOP FOCUS FEATURES

USAC Ford Focus races are scheduled this week at Plymouth, Ind. and Hickory, N.C. The Plymouth race is part of the track's "Wednesday Night Thunder" program presented by the Richard Petty Driving Experience, while Hickory will host a pair of 25-lap features on its .363-mile pavement Saturday.

Chett Gehrke of Broken Arrow, Okla. leads the Indiana and Midwest Ford Focus series to Plymouth, while Michael Sboro of Mooresville, N.C. leads the Carolina Series to Hickory. Gehrke's Midwest lead stands at 28 points over James Robertson, while he is 15 ahead of Eric Fehrman in the Indiana points. Sboro has a slim one-point edge over Tanner Swanson in the Carolina points going into the twin-bill at Hickory.

Rain forced postponement of Saturday's USAC/UMARA Focus race at Morris, Ill. and the Grundy County Speedway event has been rescheduled for July 7.

Tim Skoglund of Fresno, Calif., Tyler Irwin of Polson, Mont. and Billy Cox of Herriman, Utah won Ford Focus races in competition last week.

Skoglund passed Mark Atkinson on lap five and led the last 31 of 35 laps to win Saturday's California pavement race at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway. Nic Faas, Atkinson, Beau DeBard and Ian Mille trailed Skoglund's Western Speed & Fuel/Ranchos Auto Repair Gerhardt.

Irwin and his Irwin Racing Beast led the last 20 laps to win Wednesday's 30-lapper at Mount Lawn Speedway in New Castle, Ind., beating Gehrke, Andy Nock, Fehrman and Alison MacLeod. Robby Parish led the first 10 laps but finished sixth.

Cox caught James Powell on the final lap to win Saturday's 20-lap Auto Trader Utah Developmental Ford Focus feature at Rocky Mountain Raceways in Salt Lake City, Utah. Series point leader Tim Savage was second ahead of Powell, who led the first 19 laps, Bob Brewer and Kip Posey.

-credit: usac