Maybe it is the rivalry that has developed between many of the competitors and maybe it is the involvement and sponsorship of the Championship but, WOW, what a strange season it has been.

Whatever the reason, it is perfectly clear that this year the stakes are higher than ever. It has definitely been a crazy year with a lot of great racing. It's going to be a good fight, as we enter into the final stages of the season, in a sense, it is our season chase to put a cap on reaching the top ten in points.

I have a great team and I know we have what it takes to win this thing. Right now all eyes are on the leaders, I can't wait to get to Columbus this weekend, for NHRA Jegs Northern SportsNationals.

Topping the charts heading into Columbus is two-time winner, Ricky Adkins. Ironically, in a field set on qualifying, Adkins has not qualified first all season long, but an incredible string of great finishes places him first on the ladder. All other competitors are now trying to improve on first round loses.

Things are heating up in a hurry with the last few races, we have 4-final races, and we have won at each of the tracks, so its time to get with it! We have 10 drivers all within reach of the Championship. That's awfully intense.

Hopefully our Jasper Engines Pontiac will continue to perform flawlessly once action commences on the drag strip located outside of Columbus. We've been running well, just not having the lucky breaks. the car is good, driver has been good, just need a little bit of that good ole racing luck.

Our car has been going down the track consistently, and that is what we need to have happen if we're going to win another title for our great supporters!

The SportNationals at Columbus, will be the first of our final four events for the DART / Top-Sportsman Drag Racing Series. The tour will also move to Louisville, Ky., Reynolds, Ga., & Reading, Pa. if needed

We're at crunch time. This is an especially tough stretch for us. We better be on our game from this point forward or we'll be exiting the championship hunt pretty quickly.

I certainly have fond memories of each of the remaining events, and have won all of our three Championships just like this, in final Races! I love going to wire, Obviously, and the track where you won your last event is your favorite, that would be "Ohio Valley Dragway" Louisville, Oct .3-4

Jasper Motorsports / Mitchell Smith Racing partners with high-quality and high-performance companies:

Laser Electric, Valvoline Oil, Jegs, Reher-Morrison Racing Engines, SpeedTech Nitrous, RacePak, Hoosier Racing Tire, Fel-Pro Gaskets, DART Machinery, Automatic Trans Design, Autolite Spark Plugs, Mallory Ignition, Comp Cams, VP-Racing Fuel, Aeromotive Fuel Systems, Lamb Components, Moroso, Diamond Pistons, Donovan Blocks, Lindy's Downtown Grocery, Jasper Engines & Transmissions.