CHICO, CA (8-27-10) - It's never quite as easy as it seems to win a track championship. That statement was evident last night at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. Jason York came into the season finale with a 25-point cushion that seemed insurmountable. Yet, this is not the WWE.Things are not scripted and anything can happen in open-wheel dirt track racing.

York started his night by being the second fastest qualifier out of 26 other drivers. He started in the sixth spot of heat race number two. If he finished in the top four of the and earned a transfer into the feature, the championship would be his. As the field roared down for the green flag, cars started crashing and debris went everywhere. Caught up in the accident was York. He was towed to the work area and the road to a championship took a severe turn for the worse. Other team crewmembers started turning wrenches on the #25 and before the restart took place, York fired off and tagged the rear of the field. The race restarted and York was in the hunt for a transfer. During the race he passed the fourth place car and was now in position to transfer. On the white flag lap, York was in fourth. As he headed down the backstretch his mount started to slow. As the leader crossed the finish line the race was over. York limped around turn three and four. His car lost momentum and stopped 20 feet short of the finish line. He lost the transfer spot and at that time might of thought the worst. "I thought we were done," said York in a post main event interview. "The championship dream was over."

Once the car was towed back to the pit area the team discovered that the rear end, driveline and torque tube all failed and needed to be replaced. In a mad scramble they were able to make repairs and just get the car back in time for the 12-lap B main event. Because of his good qualifying effort, York started the race on the pole position. For the next 12-laps I am sure he and his family were on pins and needles hoping that no other problems occurred. York took the lead and never looked back. He led all 12-laps and won the race. Once he took the green flag in the main event, the championship was his.

Tim Kaeding made a rare Chico appearance. Kaeding was coming off back-to-back wins the previous weekend at Ocean Speedway and Placerville Speedway. Tim could be considered the best sprint car driver to ever strap on a helmet at the Silver Dollar Speedway. He is second on the all-time career wins list. He has two track championships and was recently named the driver of the decade at Silver Dollar Speedway. With him starting on the front row most fans had pegged him to win the main event.

Brett Miller is leaving. A few months ago he decided to join the National Guard. He leaves Chico this week and will head to Georgia for four months. In making this selfless decision Miller's last start in a sprint car would be tonight. A few weeks ago Miller made another unselfish decision. He is a firefighter and got the call to help with a fire that needed to be controlled. The problem was this fire was out of town. The other dilemma was he would miss a Friday night point show. At the time he was the top sprint car driver in the standings. Miller had to sit on the sidelines and watch his lead evaporate. To his credit the team came back the next week and finished out the season. By doing so, he was going to finish second in the points. "It was unfortunate that Brett had to miss a race," said York. "He probably should have won this championship but that's racing and I am still grateful to win here tonight."

Brad Bumgarner had experienced the highs and lows of sprint car racing this season. It was always his dream to win a main event at his hometown track. Bumgarner and his family owned #88 had toured the pavement ranks for many seasons before coming back to their roots and racing on dirt racks. Two years ago Bumgarner was in the midst of learning the ropes when a dramatic crash ended his season. After the crash he was left with a broken back that sidelined him for eight months. Fighting back from adversity is what makes him a true warrior. Not only did he get back into the family car but also each week he was more competitive. Coming into this season Bumgarner was geared to win his first main event. After an up and down racing season that brought some highs and lows things boiled over on August 6^th . While running second in the main event Bumgarner slid off the track and took himself out of contention to win.

After the race he was down and out. The word fired was thrown around.

Bumgarner was not sure where he stood with his team. As things often do, once you get removed from the heat of the moment situation and have time to reflect, the family reconciled. Bumgarner was suited back up and ready to race the next Friday night. It was a good decision. On August 13^th Bumgarner drove the race of his life. He had to hold off Sean Becker on numerous late race restarts to win his first main event.

Needless to say, it was a moment in his life and his family's life that they will never forget. Tonight, he had a shot to finish in the top five of the point's standings.

Rookie sensation Kenny Allen is making quite the name for himself around Northern California. Allen came into this season fresh off his triumphs in the 360 divisions. Allen won Rookie of the Year honors at Placerville and in the Civil War Series. This year he stayed closer to home and competed in the 410 ranks at Chico. Up to this point he was fifth in the points. He held a slim 13-point lead over Bumgarner. However, Allen faltered a bit tonight. He did not transfer out of his heat race. In the B main event he brought out a yellow early in the event. Allen would continue the race but came up once spot out of a transfer. It looked as if his top five-point finish was in jeopardy. Since he was the first alternate the team got him ready and he pushed off with the main event cars, hoping that someone could not start. At the time, who could of thought that a driver from Australia, making his first Chico start, would play a role in determining the fifth place spot in the point title. A tire issue sent the 99au of Josh Ruhs to the work area. The team was unable to make the call and Allen was awarded with the 20th starting spot. From there he drove up to a 12th place finish. Allen and his team persevered and were rewarded with a fifth place finish in the point standings and the obvious choice for Rookie of the Year at Chico.

At the drop of the green flag it was Tim Kaeding who stole the show.

Kaeding showed his dominance during the early part of the race. While Kaeding was leading Jason York could breathe a sigh of relief. He was now officially the track champion. It was time for him to now just focus on racing.

Brett Miller should be proud of his final night in a sprint car for 2010. While Miller was holding on to the second spot he was never discouraged by Kaeding's big lead. As the race wore on and Kaeding was dealing with slower cars it soon became apparent that Miller began to close in on the leader. Miller slowly started reeling Kaeding in. With nine laps to go Miller was right on Kaeding's rear bumper. The two battled back and forth. Kaeding was able to get a lapped car in between himself and Miller on lap 21. The race looked to be over when Kaeding was coming down for the white flag. However, just as he crossed the stripe Mark Hall flipped in turn two. The red was waived and the race would go into our version of overtime. Even though lap 24 was on the scoreboard the main event needed to end with a green, white and then checkered finish. Kaeding resumed the race as the leader and was able to hold off Miller for the win. It was Kaeding's 52-career sprint car main event win at Chico, but his first since the 2008 season. Miller finished in the second spot.

Defending champion Bobby McMahan debuted a new car tonight. The family owned #25m looked solid. McMahan set the night's fastest qualifying lap.

He went on to finish second in heat race one. McMahan was competitive in the main event and finished third. His son Sean finished it the eleventh spot. This father son team has big plans for 2011. If things work out and fall into place both drivers will be following the King of California series. It is ambitious to put one car on that traveling circuit. Just think about fielding two cars. They are a great family and hopefully can have a lot of success in 2011.

Chico's Ryan Kaplan finished in the fourth spot. Kaplan moved back to Chico over the winter. Kaplan had much success racing pavement midgets and drove non-wing sprint cars in Indiana in years prior to this season.

It was nice to have the hometown kid back in town. Another kid who returned to his hometown roots was Keith Bloom Jr. Bloom was fresh off his successful Knoxville Nationals weekend in his rookie year. Bloom, like Kaplan previously, had spent time racing non-wing sprint cars in Indiana this summer. Bloom made his first Chico start of the year and finished in the fifth spot.

A total of 27 cars signed into the pit area for the final Feather Falls Casino point championship race. Cody Lamar, Shane Golobic, Mark Hall and Sean McMahan were all winners in their heat race. Now it's on to the Gold Cup. The event kicks off less than two weeks from tonight. For ticket information please call (916) 969-7484.