By TERRY PFEIFER

Special to The Hays Daily News

The 2008 United Rebel Sprint Series Season will come to an end this weekend with the National Championship on the line. This weekend's finishes will be crucial for the contenders. The battle for the Regional Championships are still being contested as well look for racers from five states to descend on Dodge City Raceway Park Saturday night and Sunday Afternoon.

The National point leader going into this weekend is Brian Herbert who is hanging on to a slim 20-point margin over Jon Johnson and Ray Seemann who are tied for the runner up spot. URSS Young Gun Taylor Velasquez is in the fourth spot just 50 points behind Herbert. Positions five through ten are equally as close with several of the positions being separated by a handful of points.

The Northern Region is highlighted by a battle between past URSS Champions. 2006 Champion Jon Johnson is the current point leader with 2007 Champion Smokey Fairbank hot on his heels in second. Johnson holds a 74-point lead going into this weekends finals and a bad finish could allow Fairbank to close the gap. The battles for the fourth and fifth spot and the ninth and tenth spots are going to be barnburners as fourth place Darren Berry holds a eight point lead over Willie Wynn, likewise ninth place Cody Salem has a seven point lead over Ray Seemann.

The Southern Region leader Brian Herbert has a comfortable 110-point lead going into this weekend. Second place is being contested by two of the young guns of the URSS as seventeen year old Taylor Velasquez holds a 30-point lead over sixteen year old Taylor Milton. The pair has been locked in a close battle most of the season and they will definitely pull out all the spots to garner as many points this weekend and try to close the gap on Herbert. The battle for the tenth spot between Smokey Fairbank and Kris Moore should be one to watch as the pair are separated by eighteen points going into this weekend.

The Eastern Region point battle is the closet of any of the Regions with Corey Lutters clinging to a thirteen point lead over Cody Salem. The pair have battled each other the past few races with Salem cutting the lead to eight after the Labor Day weekend at Elmwood Park Speedway only to fall back slightly over the next couple of races. All eyes will be on the pair as they race their way into the Features both nights to settle the score once and for all. Positions three through five are up for grabs as Smokey Fairbank, Jon Johnson and Ken Lutters are all within seventy-two points of each other as well as the ninth and tenth position as Willie Wynn and Ray Seemann are tied going into this weekend.

In the Western Region Tim Perkins has a commanding lead over Smokey Fairbank in second. The two-featured battles in this region are between Jon Johnson, Willie Wynn and Ken Lutters who are separated by nine points in the fight for positions three through five. Positions eight through ten are being contested between Garrett Park, Randy Bantam and Bill Hays with only 20 points between the trio of drivers.

The racing action in the Championship Weekend of the United Rebel Sprint Series will be fast and furious at Dodge City Raceway Park will Saturday show beginning at 7:30 pm and Sundays action starting at a special time of 2:00 pm.

For more information on the "Fastest Growing Sprint Car Series in the Nation" visit the URSS website at www.unitedrebelsprintseries.comor contact Rick Salem at 785-475-7010 or by e-mail at rksalem@eaglecom.net.