The 2000 stock car racing season at Fairgrounds Speedway in Cortez came to a close on Aug. 25.

However, several local drivers are still going to take the cars down to Aztec, N.M., and up to Thunder Mountain Speedway at Olathe for a few more meets. A few drivers will head to Arizona, California and Texas tracks later this fall.

The final Season Champion Races were on tap at Speedway concluded a long season that was beset with several shows being cancelled because of nearby fires. The Montezuma County Fairgrounds was used as a staging area for wildfire fighters for both the Bircher and Pony fires.

Marvin Cramer of Cortez captured the main event in the Hobby Stock Class and increased his lead in the final points standing to captured the track championship. Cramer finished with 428 points. He easily outdistanced Jason Duggins of Farmington who finished second in the standings with 400. Cody DuFrene of Cortez finished third with 378, Michelle McDonald of Cortez fourth 323, and Iley Jackson fifth at 318. Rounding out the top 10 were Ron Leonard 316, Jack Semler 278, Wayne O’Dell 265, Virginia Semler 256, and Ronnie Cook 243. A total of 31 drivers raced in that classification throughout the season.

In the Modified Class, Dennis Rieb of Cortez won the track title with 411 points. Danny Bradford of Kirtland, N.M., came in second in the standings with 404. Jay Kibel of Cortez came in third with 393, J.J. Harpole of Farmington took fourth with 392 and Rick Hobbs of Cortez fifth at 380.

Vern Hisel came in sixth at 322. Defending champ Aaron Spangler of Dove Creek won the main event, for the third straight week, but he struggled at several other nights and finished seventh with 295. Regan Tafoya placed eighth with 244, Russ Hammell ninth at 238 and David Joy 10th at 193. Incidentally, Hobbs won Rookie of the Year honors in the Mountain Region for his efforts. A total of 39 drivers competed in the Modifieds Class.

Gary Smouse of Cortez won the Street Stock points title with 414. He also placed in every show. Ryan Neely of Dove Creek came in second with 403 while Max Ksiazkiewicz of Monticello, Utah, came in third with 369. Ralph Klemish and David Higgins rounded out the top five placers with 224 and 202, respectively. Paul Milliano 166, Jim Montgomery 143, Buck Knipp 137, Jesse Baldwin 110, and Danny Stevenson 108 completed the top 10. A total of 27 drove in that class throughout the season.

The Mini Class was interesting. Young Levi Hill, who is a student at Montezuma-Cortez High School, won the class with 498 points. He won points in every race during the 14 dates of the season which started back on May 26 and ended Aug. 25. Steve McDaniel came in second with 490 while Steve Blair of Cortez took third at 488, Clyde Dattage fourth 426, and Kent Galyon of Mancos fifth 419. A total of 18 drivers competed throughout the season.