It's coming down to that time. Sure, the series heads to Phoenix this week, but next weekend, It's showtime. The Cracker Barrel 200 at Atlanta. 200 laps around Atlanta's high-banked 1 mile oval to decide who will be crowned Season 3 Champion. But of course, before we get to that moment, we need to sped back and look at the points standings... as of now, Kevin Conway has a 56 point lead over Jacob Sampson, and 61 points over last week's winner John Hooper, Jr. A decent lead, but as we have seen from Zach Holcombe's and Sean Bretherick's recent drops, far from insurmountable. In fact, the top 12 have a decent shot at gaining spots before Atlanta, even taking over the lead if Conway has a problem-filled race at Phoenix. Here are the top 12 and how far back they sit from the lead:
. | Pos. | # | Driver | Points | From Leader |
. | 1 | 20 | Kevin Conway | 1282 | 0 |
. | 2 | _07 | Jacob Sampson | 1226 | -56 |
. | 3 | 88 | John Hooper, Jr. (R) | 1221 | -61 |
. | 4 | 1 | Elliott Henderson | 1206 | -76 |
. | 5 | 10 | Kylee Stockton (R) | 1165 | -117 |
. | 6 | 33 | Sean Bretherick | 1165 | -117 |
. | 7 | 77 | Tyler Newitt (R) | 1150 | -132 |
. | 8 | 91 | John Gamboa (R) | 1140 | -142 |
. | 9 | 82 | Jake Keel | 1139 | -143 |
. | 10 | 41 | Daniel Ruppel | 1132 | -150 |
. | 11 | 13 | Zach Holcombe | 1131 | -151 |
. | 12 | 15 | Tim Kunkel | 1121 | -161 |
While it seems that 7th on back are completely out of it, we have to remember that as many as 9 positions can be gained or lost after a race. Drivers like Holcombe and Kunkel, all they need is a bad race by the guys in front and a 2 solid top 10 runs, and they can grab the title from behind. Phoenix will be a very interesting race to watch in terms of who can remain in the title hunt and who watches their chances fade away.