BUZZ SODEMAN MORE COLUMNS BUZZ SODEMAN / SPECIAL TO THE PVT Modifieds compete in one of the racing divisions at the quarter-mile dirt oval at the Pahrump Valley Speedway. Advertisement

After a one week breather, Pahrump Valley participants are looking at a four-week run without a break, unless of course, their cars break down due to attrition.

For whatever reason the car count has shown a propensity to either be high or extremely low. It seems the drivers read this column and then decide to make me out as a liar.

One week there's a nice car count, and then the next race, it's lower. It's either feast or famine when it comes to who's going to show up.

As of May 12, there are a number of very close track championship points races.

In the outlaw karts, it's a dead heat; Shane Nunnally and Matt Talley are deadlocked. Each race, they seem to work the kinks out their karts, only to have the other experience a difficulty or two.

Unfortunately, the perceived boycott, or indifference by area drivers who pilot Nevada Cam Coupes will probably doom the class to the bone yard.

Terry Hiser currently has a three-point lead over Jim Ralleo, but I wouldn't look for any changes in this class.

What has become one of the most enjoyable classes are the bombers, Detroit's answer to passenger cars on steroids. Anthony Finley has put together a couple of feature wins to derail the early season run by current points leader, Wade Pearson.

A large blanket could be thrown over the top five in the class, with Finley just four points behind Pearson in second. Rounding out the top five are J.J. Nunn just five out of first, Jim Sherard and Fred Harding, both 11 points back.

The class that the track has worked the hardest to promote and increase participation has been the super stocks; it also appears the division that suffers the most mechanical failures.

Bryan Wulfenstein, while not a runaway leader, certainly appears headed for the track championship with a 54-point bulge over his closest competitor, Jim McCoy.

The dominance that Wulfenstein has displayed has everybody questioning the legality of his race car. Maybe naysayers should look at the set up of the car and the ability of the young man behind the wheel. I haven't seen this kind of raw talent since the days of Jim Perkins and Jason Pike. Rounding out the top five in the super stocks are Ron Moffatt, Dale Daffern and Jonny Petaros.

Wulfenstein won the pro street class in Tonopah; need I say more about his ability?

Another class that is struggling is the Pro-4's. At the present time, this is the only division that fans of the popular Terri Little can see her race now that she has sold her red Geo to Michael Brown.

Here is another driver who has displayed a talent for having the right set-up, the right line and more than just a casual amount of talent. Little is also a successful businesswoman.

Just one point behind is Cory Little, husband of Terri. The behind the scene crew chief, Cory sets up both Terri's and his cars, evident by the near equality in their performance.

Eric Slusher, who has competed against the Pro-4's with his modified mini stock, is in third, followed by Mike Smith and Rob and Cody Connell, who are tied for fifth.

It wouldn't take a very large blanket to cover the top five in the mini stock class and I'm aware that changes will be apparent to fans of several of the racers.

Jonathan Burch, who has been under the microscope, has an eight-point lead over Chad Broadhead. Right on Broadhead's rear bumper is Tony Martin just two points behind. Anthony Broadhead and Marvin Hatton, fourth and fifth, respectively, are just 17 and 19 points out of first.

The Southwest Mini Modified teams, sporting a new sponsor, Tropical RV, are burning a lot of midnight oil to increase their car count and competitiveness.

As new cars and drivers enter the class, I'm being told that the points will revert back to zero so that everyone will start out on equal footing. Presently, Eric Slusher sits atop the division, one point ahead of last season's mini stock track champion Rick Gast. Tom Buckwalter and Erick Mastin follow Keith Young, who is third.

Despite winning a number of feature races, Dwarf car driver Mark Dillie isn't running away in the chase for the championship. From first to fifth, there's a four-point spread. Mark Ramey is second, Renee Cotrell is third, Bobby Meek is fourth and Scott Kelly is fifth.

Jeff Tooley, a recent feature winner at Tonopah, is clearly running away with the modified division. As his confidence has risen, so has his level of competitiveness.

Chad Farstveet is second and is currently running for points at his home track; it is possible that we'll see him later in the season. Todd Nunnally should pass Farstveet at the next event, as Nunnally is just two points in arrears from second.

Rounding out the top five are Tracy Greenwood and Jeff Talley. Talley will probably surpass Greenwood, who is also competing at her home track.

The story in Friday's Times about the recently run Jim Butler Day races has a number of people asking questions.

The most frequently asked is why there is such a large contingent of local racers making the trek up there when they could be racing here?

You can form your own opinions, I have mine but I'm not willing to speculate at the present time. It would be nice to see Wyatt Ehrp, Dan Snowden and Rick VanBuytene on a weekly basis. Not only would they put more people in the seats, they have many years of racing savvy.

Drivers are always complaining about the inability to get sponsors. If that's your problem, I have some ideas that you might want to ask me about.