Trent Beckinger of Evansville, Ind., has a commanding 680-point lead over Joe B. Miller of Millersville, Mo., for the championship in the POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series going into the Sept. 9 event at Wayne County (Ill.) Speedway.
Beckinger boosted his advantage with back-to-back victories in the past two features at Macon (Ill.) Speedway on Aug. 19 and Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway on Aug. 20. He has a series-leading four victories plus five second-place finishes and two thirds in 16 events. Beckinger’s worst finish is eighth. He hasn’t mathematically clinched his first POWRi title, but he’s in a strong position with five events remaining.
POWRi’s scoring system requires drivers to drop their two lowest point races of the year. Beckinger didn’t enter the season-opening event at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, which is eligible to be one of his dropped events. He’s raced in the 16 events since then. POWRi awards 200 points to the feature winner and it descends by 10 points per finishing position to 10 points for 20th place and below.
“This has been a dream season and we want to keep it going to the end,” Beckinger said.
The POWRi Micros follow Wayne County with events in Illinois at Coles County Speedway in Mattoon on Sept. 10, Jacksonville Speedway on Sept. 16, Macon Speedway on Sept. 24 and Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville on Oct. 1.
Miller has one victory and 13 top-seven finishes in 15 features. Andrew Felker of Carl Junction, Mo., is third in the championship, 720 points behind Beckinger. Felker has three victories and a total of nine top-fives in 17 features, but six finishes of 16th or worse have cost him considerable points. Jacob Patton of Bethalto, Ill., is fourth, 855 points behind Beckinger, and has been eliminated from championship contention. Patton has two wins and a total of 10 top-10s this season.
POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series top-10 points standings after 17 of 22 events: 1. Trent Beckinger 2,880, 2. Joe B. Miller 2,200; 3. Andrew Felker 2,160; 4. Jacob Patton 1,925, 5. Dereck King 1,820, 6. J.B. Gilbert 1,665, 7. Paul Nienhiser 1,480, 8. Ryan Guyett 1,395, 9. Jordan Campbell 1,385, 10. Natasha Cox 1,105.
POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series 2011 race winners: Du Quoin, Ill.–Ryan Langston; Belleville, Ill.–Aaron Andruskevitch; Wayne County, Ill.–Dereck King; Brownstown, Ill.–Trent Beckinger; Peoria, Ill.-Andrew Felker; West Plains, Mo.–Triston Tidmore; Springfield, Mo.–Trent Beckinger; Lincoln, Ill.—Mike Hudson; Marion, Ill.—Jacob Patton; Marion, Ill.—Christopher Bell; Belleville, Ill.—Kara King; Belleville, Ill.—Andrew Felker; Macon, Ill.—Andrew Felker; Washington, Mo.—Jacob Patton; Belleville, Ill.—Joe B. Miller; Macon, Ill.—Trent Beckinger; Lincoln, Ill.—Trent Beckinger.
For more information on POWRi Racing, go to www.POWRi.com.