Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla.  (August 21, 2007) – With just a handful of events remaining, C.J. Johnson of Quinter, KS, is moving ever closer to becoming the seventh different American Sprint Car Series Rocky Mountain Region champion in as many years.
 
Johnson can move one step closer when the series takes to the semi-banked, 3/8-mile Lincoln County Raceway dirt oval in North Platte, NE, this Friday night for the Second Annual River Valley Sprint Car Nationals.
 
Friday's winner will pocket $2,000, with all feature starters earning at least $350.
 
Through the opening dozen ASCS Rocky Mountain Region events of the season, Johnson has reached victory lane on a pair of occasions to build a 62-point advantage in the championship points chase.
 
Trying to chase Johnson down is 2004 series champion Keith Rauch of Thornton, CO, who has matched Johnson with two ASCS Rocky Mountain Region feature wins this season.  The pair split victory honors in this past weekend's action in Colorado and Wyoming.
 
Entering Friday night's card ranked third is defending series champion Patrick Bourke of Edwards, CO, with 54-year-old Bob Schaeffer of New Castle, CO, just one point ahead of 18-year-old Chad Corken of Highlands Ranch, CO, in the battle for fourth.
 
Veteran Mark Sweet of Rock Springs, WY, enters Friday's event ranked sixth, with 17-year-old Ricky Montgomery, 16-year-old Josh Flood, 2001 series champion Nick Haygood and John Jacob completing the current top ten.
 
Friday's action fires off at 7:00 p.m.
 
Lincoln County Raceway is located on the west edge of North Platte, NE, at the fairgrounds on US 30, then north.  For more information, contact the track at 308-530-0824 or 308-325-4305.
 
The ASCS Rocky Mountain Region 2007 slate consists of 17 nights of action at eleven different tracks throughout Colorado, western Kansas, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska and South Dakota.
 
The 2007 season marks the 16th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series. With a dozen different Regions in addition to the O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series, ASCS will sanction approximately 240 nights of racing at more than 100 different race tracks throughout at least 30 different states and Canada.

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.