Points Leader St. Amant Eyeing USAR's Northern Division Title

RADFORD, Va. (July 13) -- With just three races left in the regular season, short track legend Gary St. Amant has his JEGS.com/Speedco Chevrolet in perfect position to earn the two-time ASA world champion his first Sears Auto Center Northern Division title.

Coming off a huge win in Salem, Ind., his first in three years on the USAR Hooter's Pro Cup circuit, St. Amant has finished in the top-five at four of the first five races of the year, adding a pair of third-place podium finishes to his win, as well as a fifth-place result and one 12th-place finish.

"Winning in Salem took a lot of pressure off me," St. Amant said. "It was mostly pressure I was putting on myself, but nevertheless, I really wanted to get one in the books. The JEGS.com/ Speedco Chevy has been awesome all year. We've completed every lap of every race and my dad Bud should get all the credit for that. He's given me a perfect car to race every weekend. The dependability of my car has been the difference and it's all because of Dad."

More than 100 points ahead of his nearest rival, St. Amant will carry all the momentum into this Saturday's tilt, the Kroger 250 presented by Star Country 94.9 at Motor Mile Speedway, a three-eighth mile paved oval just south of Radford, Va.

"We're definitely thinking about the championship points at this juncture," St. Amant said. "If we can record three more top-five finishes, that should be enough to clinch the Northern Division title, which is important for us on a number of levels, not the least of which is the 25-point bonus we'll have heading into the championship series.

"Motor Mile Speedway hasn't been great for us in the past, to be perfectly honest, but we didn't have this racecar and the team we have now. We have never come in here on a roll like this, so we're very optimistic. I said before the last event that we need to race our race and stay out of trouble and let the guys who are pressing to earn points go out there and make the mistakes. You have to be around at the end of the day to have a chance to win. That philosophy has served us well this year."

The Kroger 250 presented by Star Country 94.9 will begin at 7 p.m. Gates open at 2 p.m. with professional qualifying scheduled for 4 p.m. The prerequisite autograph party begins at 5:45 p.m. followed by driver introductions at 6:30 p.m.

"I won two weeks ago and my boss and sponsor Jeg Coughlin Jr. won Pro Stock on the POWERade Drag Racing Series last weekend so Team JEGS is on a roll right now," St. Amant said. "We aim to keep that streak going."

Information regarding JEGS Mail Order can be found at www.jegs.com and for media/fan resources check out www.teamjegs.com.

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