Saturday will be season championship night at Flat Rock Speedway for the late model, figure 8 and street stock divisions. Practice begins at 4 p.m., time trials at 5:30 and racing at 7.

Dennis Strickland of Carleton leads the late model points standings with 1230. Steve Cronenwett Jr. is second and defending champion Paul Pelletier is third.

Taylor Ferns had never raced a full-bodied stock car on a one-mile dirt oval prior to last  weekend, In fact, she had raced only once on dirt in any kind of race vehicle, in a Silver Crown machine back in May.

That did not seem to bother the 17-year-old for Shelby Township, who earned a pair of top-10 finishes at the one-mile dirt oval at the Illinois State Fairgrounds last weekend. Ferns finished ninth with the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards in the Allen Crowe 100 and came home 10th in the Tony Bettenhausen 100 with the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series.
“The Springfield Mile is a pretty unique track and I really enjoyed racing there,” Ferns said in a release from her race team. “It was a lot of fun and I think our results showed that. We feel like we are finally getting our luck turned around this year and have had some solid finishes lately. Racing twice definitely helped and both races were just about at the same time each day, so we kind of knew what to expect weather-wise and track condition-wise.”
Ferns took to the mile oval for the Allen Crowe 100 for the ARCA Series on Sunday, Aug. 18, beginning the day with a practice session in the morning, followed by qualifying. She turned the fifth-fastest lap in time trials of the 33 entrants, but had to start the rear of the field following an accident after her qualifying lap, with the team making quick repairs before the drop of the green flag.Starting at the rear of the 33-car field, Ferns quickly began her march forward in the No. 55 Motor City Transport Inc./National Auto Placement Toyota for Venturini Motorsports. She worked her way into the top-20 in the first half of the 100-lap event and found herself among the top 15 as the race wore on. She made a trio of pit stops, with her crew continually making adjustments on her car. Ferns crossed the finish line 11th; following a late race restart that extended the race to 104 laps, and gained two more positions after a couple of drivers were penalized for jumping the final restart. The ninth-place finish matched her best ARCA finish of the season.
Ferns  has a pair of ARCA top-10 finishes this year in a limited number of starts. She is scheduled to compete in three more races with the series this season, including on another one-mile dirt oval, as well as on the pavement at Iowa and Kentucky speedways.
In the Tony Bettenhausen 100 for the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series on Saturday, Ferns lined up 16th and worked her way forward, finishing 10th, earning her second straight top-10 finish with the series.

Jack Roush signs autographs at MIS. Dave Marr photo

Jack Roush has an plan.
But he's not sure he wants NASCAR to follow it.
The owner of Roush Fenway Racing wants the stock-car sanctioning body to inspect and send to a wind tunnel two cars from each manufacturer following each Sprint Cup race.
That way, Roush believes, everyone will know whether Ford, Chevrolet or Toyota has an advantage over the others in important areas like downforce.
"They don't want to introduce a reason why one manufacturer has an advantage," Roush, whose company owns three Ford-backed Sprint Cup teams, said Sunday, explaining why he doesn't think NASCAR will take up his idea.
Competition in Sprint Cup racing is close, Roush said, noting that all three manufacturers placed a car in the front two rows for the start of the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
"I think NASCAR is happy with that," Roush said.
What makes Roush nervous about NASCAR checking out two cars from each manufacturer after each race?
"My fear is that they might do the test and find that Ford is not at a disadvantage," Roush said.

Don't look for new garages to be built at Michigan International Speedway until 2017 or 2018.
That was the word from track president Roger Curtis on Sunday before the running of the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
Curtis said money for track improvements will be poured into an ambitious project at Daytona International Speedway, which like MIS is part of the International Speedway Corporation.
"We're supportive of that," Curtis said.
MIS "will continue to do things," Curtis said.
Curtis said the track will continue to make improvements to the fan transportation system.

Stetson Buescher attended his first NASCAR race Saturday.

The 3-week-old adopted son of James and Kris Buescher was on hand for his dad's first Camping World Truck Series win of the season.

James Buescher, driver of the No. 31 Chevrolet, is the defending truck series champion.

James Buescher holds his son, Stetson, after winning at MIS. Dave Marr photo

All three manufacturers are represented in the first two rows determined by qualifying for the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Joey Logano put a Ford on the pole position, and Kurt Busch was second-fastest in a Chevrolet.
Jimmie Johnson qualified third in a Chevy, and then Mark Martin put Toyota on the grid with the fourth-fastest qualifying time.
The pole was the first this NASCAR Sprint Cup season for Logano, who drives the No. 22 Fusion.

Joey Logano/Dave Marr photo

Jimmie Johnson's car was damaged in a practice-session crash Saturday.

Jimmie Johnson will start the Pure Michigan 400 from the back of the field Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
Johnson had to go to his backup No. 48 Chevrolet after his primary car spun and hit the wall in turn 4 during NASCAR Sprint Cup practice Saturday.
Johnson has had to start three previous MIS races from the back of the field, including both races in 2012. He finished 10th in August 2005, fifth in June 2012 and 27th in August 2012 after starting at the rear of the field.

Seven Macomb County drivers are on the probable entry list posted by Flat Rock Speedway for the running Saturday of the combined  Joy Fair Memorial-Stan Yee Memorial 150 sponsored by Moran Chevrolet and Diamond Racing Products.

The ARCA Glass City Gold Cup Late Model Series race will go 150 all-green-flag laps for the biggest race of the season at the track.

The ARCA ACME Dismantling Sportsman Division will make its second visit to Flat Rock and compete in a 50 lap feature, while the Parts Galore Figure 8 Division will stage a 20 lap feature on the figure 8 track.

The pit area opens at 1 p.m., front gates open and practice starts at 3, and time trials get under way at 5. Racing starts at 7 p.m.

Eric Lee of Macomb Township, Derrick Sheppard of Mount Clemens, Paul Calo of Sterling Heights, Stan Yee Jr. of Roseville, Frank Jiovani of Harrison Township, Jim Alvis of Chesterfield Township and Terry Bogusz of Shelby Township are listed as probable entries by the speedway Web site.

Jay Sommers of Chesterfield Township and Andrew Wyatt of Richmond are among the drivers entered for the Silver Bullet 100, a JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour super late model race that will be Saturday at Auto City Speedway in Clio.
Sommers drives the No. 98 Chevrolet, and Wyatt drives the No. 64 Chevrolet.
Series points leader Cody Coughlin also is entered in the race.
Qualifying begins at 6 p.m. and racing starts at 7 at Auto City Speedway, a 7/16-mile oval.

Chase Elliott (Chevrolet) and Erik Jones (Toyota) had the fastest and second-fastest times during practice prior to the ARCA Series stock car race at Pocono Raceway on Friday.

Qualifying for the 50-lap ModSpace 125 was canceled because of rain that wiped out practice Thursday. The starting lineup for the race to be run later Friday was set by owner points.

Taylor Ferns of Shelby Township was to start seventh.

Elliott is the son of former NASCAR Cup champion Bill Elliott.

Taylor Ferns on Friday makes her fourth start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards when she competes in the ModSpace 150 at Pocono Raceway.

The Shelby Township resident will drive the No. 55 Motor City Auto Transport Toyota stock car for Venturini Motorsports.

The 17-year-old will become the youngest female driver to start a race in the top ARCA series, according to the VMS Web site.

“My first start on an intermediate track is going to be a learning process,” Ferns said. “I’m so used to the technical aspects of short-track racing. Carrying those high speeds into the corners here at Pocono with the heavier car will be the biggest difference and challenge for me this weekend. However, coming from open wheel I’m prepared and confident for what’s to come.”

The race will be televised at 5:15 p.m. on SPEED television.