By NICK SCHWIEN

nschwien@dailynews.net

Sure, Willie Wynn is ready to run on his hometown track.

But first, there's a little business he hopes to take care of first.

And that involves a Saturday night battle at Jetmore Motorplex.

Wynn, a United Rebel Sprint Series 305 sprint car driver from WaKeeney, will be one of several drivers aiming to qualify for the inaugural race of champions Saturday night. The 20 drivers who won a feature race last year in the URSS circuit automatically are qualified for Saturday's championship feature.

But everyone else, including Wynn, first will battle it out for the final qualifying spots to fill out a 24-car field.

"With the deal with everyone that already has won out of there, it's going to be interesting," said Wynn, who was runner-up to the national rookie of the year in the series a year ago. "I've run up there with those guys all the time, now they're out of the picture. It's just the guys that haven't won yet. You never know what's going to happen."

Saturday's races at Jetmore are the first of back-to-back nights at the motorplex. Races there begin at 7 p.m. both nights and will be run along with the ASCS 360 sprint car Steve King Memorial race that will pay out $10,000 to the 360 winner Sunday night.

But the URSS also will be racing Sunday and Monday nights at WaKeeney Speedway for the track's Memorial Day show.

The winner of Saturday's last-chance qualifier at Jetmore will start on the pole later that night in the race of champions. Feature winners from 2008 will start according to the number of wins they posted last season, with the drivers with the most wins starting farther back in the field.

Wynn hopes that prime starting spot goes to him.

"I'd love to start on the pole in that main feature," he said. "Everyone else who has been kicking my (butt) is starting in the back. I'd love to start up there."

URSS founder Rick Salem of Oberlin first thought of the idea a year ago. When Tony Bruce Jr., the promoter for the ASCS race, contacted him about having his series run during the weekend at Jetmore, Salem thought it was a prime opportunity to showcase the special event.

"I'm real excited about that," he said. "I had the idea last year and wanted to do it in Hays, but things just didn't work out. Then Tony called and wanted to do an invitational. I told him I couldn't do that, but I had a different idea instead with 24 cars."

So was born the race of champions.

"The guy that wins the qualifier will start on the pole," Salem said. "I hope everyone comes out and supports it."

The race of champions already has some heavy hitters, including Quinter's C.J. Johnson and Dodge City's Brian Herbert -- last year's URSS national champ. Both also could run in the 360 show with different cars.

Jon Johnson, Jason Martin and Patrick Bourke are just a few of the other URSS drivers already qualified for the race of champions.

Following Saturday's races, the URSS will have some drivers competing in WaKeeney for two days of action. It will be the first time the series is at WaKeeney Speedway this season.

Monday's races at WaKeeney could feature several cars that also ran both nights at Jetmore, making it one of the largest shows this year. Races both nights at WaKeeney begin at 6 p.m.

"We've only run there about two or three times," Wynn said about his hometown track. "It's going to be fun. It's going to make having my sponsors and family there that much better."