2015 Regional Championship Chase breakdown

Sorry I haven't had a chance to do my yearly Regional Championship breakdown. Better late than never!

With the 2015 racing season winding to a close, there are two regional races left - this weekend's Central Region closer in Noble, Okla., and the Western Region finale in Las Vegas. Here is a breakdown of the regions that are already clinched and which championships are still in play.

EAST

TAD - Duane Shields has locked up the Eastern Region Championship. Mathematically, Rich McPhillips could tie him, but Shields holds a 3-0 head to head advantage in-region.

TAFC - While this one is not clinched, it appears to be 'verbally.' Matt Gill currently holds the lead with 341 points over 6 events, trailed by Todd Veney with 309 over 6 events in second. Reportedly, Jay Blake's Follow A Dream team has stated they will not attend another regional this year. That said, Veney would need to win his next regional to overtake Gill. He could mathematically tie him with a runner-up but would lose the second tiebreaker. He is 1-1 against Gill head to head, but Gill would have more in-region round wins.

NORTH CENTRAL

TAD - This is one of the undecided Championships left. Mia Tedesco holds a 10 point lead over Brandon Booher (309 to 299). Tedesco has ran her full slate of 7 regionals, so she can only block at this point. Booher has one event remaining to claim. He has a semifinal to improve on, so if he makes the final of his next event, presumably Noble, he would clinch the North Central Region. Anything less and Tedesco will be champion.

TAFC - Another championship race going down to the wire is the North Central TAFC crown. Todd Robertson holds the lead with 299 points over 7 events. Ray Drew trails in second with 277 points and has one race left to claim. He would need to make the final round, presumably at Noble, to overtake Robertson. Paul Noakes trails in third place with 256 points over 5 events, so he still has a very real mathematical shot at the title. There are a number of scenarios that could theoretically play out. Basically he needs a win or two runner ups to have a shot. If Noakes were to win Noble and Drew were to runner-up, they would both be tied with 309 points. In that scenario, Drew would win the first tiebreaker due to having a 1-0 advantage on in region head to head matchups. Noakes would then need to win first round in Vegas to regain the lead. We don't know that Noakes will chase the title west, but after qualifying No. 1 in Reading and reaching the finals (just think of the financial windfall that was), they could be loading up the wagon and heading west.

CENTRAL

TAD - This is another championship race that is going down to the wire. Mike Manners is the points leader and odds-on favorite to win the title. He is currently tied with Randy Meyer with 277 points. However, Manners has only attended 4 events, so he will have full points at his next event in Noble. Meyer still has a shot, especially considering how strong that car can run at times. Manners can eliminate Meyer by reaching the final round. Meyer would need to win the race if Manners qualifies, and would need Manners to not win the first round in Noble or Vegas. Meyer could tie Manners with a runner up (assuming Manners did not make it out of the first round at Noble and Vegas), but would lose the head to head tiebreaker. James Thompson still has a mathematical chance. He is in third with 192 points but has only attended 3 events. If he were to pick up a win in Noble, depending on how Manners does, he would have a real shot. Thompson is not normally one to travel, but given a shot at the title and as good as his car has run this year, it would be hard to turn down.

TAFC - John Lombardo currently holds a commanding lead right now, but a certain Swede by the name of Jonnie Lindberg still has a mathematical shot, and the quickest and fastest TAFC on the planet. Lombardo currently leads with 319 points over 5 events. Lindberg could overtake Lombardo with a combination of a win and a runner-up at his next two events, which is certainly not out of the realm of possibility. If Lombardo wins the first round at either Noble or Vegas, Lindberg would need to win both events. Lombardo could clinch by reaching the final or winning first round and Lindberg not winning both events.

WEST

TAD - This race is very interesting as it features the two main contenders for the National Championship - Defending National Champ Chris Demke and Joey Severance. Both drivers have amassed 383 points, which would win any other region by a wide margin. Demke has two events left to claim, while Severance has one. Both drivers need a win to improve their standing, but that could change in Vegas. Both drivers are currently tied 1-1 on head to head match ups, so Severance would get the nod in the second tie breaker (in-region round wins). I'm not 100% on this, but with the first tie-breaker being head to head match ups on 'scored' in region events, if one of them were to runner-up at Vegas (in-region), and were to win a head-to-head match up along the way, it could throw it back to the first tie breaker. Of course, nobody wants to see that. I think everyone wants to see the Vegas final be for all the marbles in the Western Region (except for any other competitor at the Vegas regional).

TAFC - Annie Whiteley is looking very strong to take home the Western Region Championship, but Doug Gordon and Shane Westerfield have mathematical chances. Whiteley currently holds a commanding 95 point lead with 330 points through 5 events. Gordon and Westerfield are tied with 235, Gordon through 5 events, while Westerfield has a full event to claim with 4. Gordon needs to win both Noble and Vegas to catch Whiteley, and needs her to not get out of the first round. Westerfield could catch her with a combination of a win and a runner-up if she does not advance out of the first round in Vegas.

Congrats to those who have already won, and good luck to those in contention!

National points chases next week!

 

update

Here's an update after this past weekend's event in Noble:

NORTH CENTRAL

TAD

Mia Tedesco and Hirata Motorsports clinched the North Central Region Championship when Brandon Booher's transbrake failed after the burnout in the semifinals. Had Booher won that round, he would be the Champ.

TAFC

Ray Drew failed to make the final round, so the only driver remaining that can overtake Todd Robertson is Paul Noakes. Noakes did not attend Noble, so he must win Vegas to win the Region.

CENTRAL

TAD

Mike Manners came into Noble with the points lead but saw Randy Meyer march to the winner's circle and overtake him. Manners needs to win the first round of Vegas to win the Central Region. Anything less and Meyer will be the Champ.

TAFC

John Lombardo still holds the points lead, but Jonnie Lindberg did what he needed to do in Noble by picking up the win. If Lombardo does not make it out of the first round in Vegas, Lindberg needs to make the final to win the region. If Lombardo does win first round, Lindberg must win the race. If Lombardo makes the final round, he will clinch.

WEST

TAFC

Annie Whiteley clinched the Western Region Championship when Doug Gordon and Shane Westerfield did not attend Noble.