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The annual double-points Labor Day Weekend drag races at Tri-State Dragway in Ross Twp. should go far toward determining the division track champions.

Heading into then three-day weekend of fun, Middletown hotshoe Dan Stidham leads the Super Pro and Pro division by 20 points over defending track champ Kevin Bishop, of Amelia, and his feisty Mighty Mouse Camaro.

Fairfield's Jeff Seither leads Norwood driver Dave Jennings by some 50 points in the street bracket.

Finally, Trenton junior dragster Kenny Carson Jr. maintains a 55 point edge over Hamilton's Samantha Boitnott.

The winner's purse in the Martin Senour-sponsored Super Pro division and the NAPA-sponsored Pro bracket climb higher with each day of the three-day competition. The winner gets $1,000 on Saturday, $1,500 Sunday and $2,000 on Monday.

Junior bracket racing will run all three days, while street eliminator takes to the track on Sunday only.

Locals in U.S. Nationals

A quick glance at the drag racing entry list for this weekend's NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis shows 17 entrants from Southwest Ohio.

Springboro driver Rick Brown is among the entries in Competition Eliminator, driving his Don Rettich Chevy S-10 race truck.

Brown took home the coveted Wally trophy from the national Comp Eliminator event in Atlanta this past April.

Ken Sharp, of Middletown, has his 1990 Cadillac Eldorado entered in the Super Stock category, Lebanon's Debbi Young returns in the Super Gas division and Franklin's Bill Sempsrott has his '66 Chevy Nova entered in the Stock Eliminator field.

Through Wednesday's second round of qualifying in Stock Eliminator, Sempsrott had qualified 36th in the 128-car field.

Other area Stock division drivers qualified through round two were: Rick Winchester of Cincinnati (34th) and Dave Edwards of Washington Court House (79th).

Rose has hometrack edge

Middletown's Ty Rose will be among the nation's top Bandolero series drivers on hand for the 11th annual Bandolero Nationals, Aug. 29-31 at the Speedrome race track in Indianapolis.

Rose may have a bit of a home track advantage, too. So far this season, Rose has three feature wins, four runner-up finishes and a third-place result at the track.

Got a racing story? Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.