Jim Pancake now has a partner for his first Hemi Challenge trophy, won earlier this year at the JEG's NHRA SPORTSnationals in Columbus, Ohio. Driving his new 1968 426 Hemi Dodge Dart, Pancake powered to his second Hemi Challenge win of the year at the 36th annual Pennsylvania Dutch Classic, held at Maple Grove Raceway over the weekend.

Pancake triumphed in a highly competitive field of 24 Super Stock/A-Hemi (SS/AH) 1968 Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Darts, including past Hemi Challenge winners Bucky Hess and Charlie Westcott Jr. Pancake, an Ohio native and owner of the Carriage Towne Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealership, qualified third in his Dodge Dart, built by John Holt Race Cars and powered by a Mopar Performance Hemi built by Ray Barton. Jim defeated Mark Howes, Joe Teuton and David Barton to set up a final round match against Joey Wilkes and his 1968 Barracuda. Pancake posted a pass of 8.609 at 152.14 mph to Wilkes' 8.713 at 151.87 to claim the victory.

"It was wonderful to have the win," said Pancake. "We worked really hard for it. What really made it special was having the brand-new car. We had hardly any testing in it, and it had been missing [under performing] on us. We decided to take it and try it, and if it was still missing on us we would change to the Barracuda [Pancake's other SS/AH vehicle, which set the current class record for ET earlier in the year]. It was also my biggest win, the biggest prize cash prize I've ever won."

Pancake pocketed the $11,500 winner's payout, including $5,000 courtesy of Mopar. He claimed between $3,000 and $4,000 in contingency awards, including $1,000 from Ray Barton Racing Engines, and certificates for a new set of Holley Carburetors and a new Impact racing helmet. The total cash payout for the field was $21,200, with the total contingency payout at $22,350.

For more info on the Hemi Challenge or Mopar, log on to mopar.com or moparspeed.com.

Joey Saldana and the No. 9 Kasey Kahne Racing team picked up a Top-five and a Top-10 finish in World of Outlaws Sprint Series action over the weekend to maintain their third-place ranking in the series championship as the season finale approaches. Saldana and company earned a win in the second heat race event en route to a fifth-place finish at Manzanita Speedway on October 20. The No. 9 team moved on to USA Raceway Park on October 21, where it earned a sixth-place A-main feature event finish, to wrap up the weekend.

Saldana enters this weekend's series finale ranked third in the World of Outlaws Sprint Series points championship. With seven A-main event victories in 2006, the first-year team has shown potential and marked themselves as contenders throughout the season. The No. 9 team utilizes Speedway Engine Development built Mopar power.

Paul McMahan and the No. 20 Tony Stewart Motorsports team also competed at Manzanita Speedway and USA Race Park over the weekend. McMahan was scored in the 21st position in the A-main event at Manzanita, and finished 10th in the A-main at USA Race Park. McMahan earned a victory at the facility earlier in the season. The No. 20 team has utilized Paul Kistler built Mopar power in both the World of Outlaws Sprint Series and the National Sprint Tour Series competition.

Saldana, McMahan and the rest of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series will resume action on October 27-28 at The Dirt Track @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The season finale will feature a two-day event at the half-mile oval. For more information regarding the World of Outlaws Sprint Series, log on to theworldofoutlaws.com.

Steve Francis and the No. 15 Steve Francis Racing team headed to K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio, last Friday and Saturday, where they competed in the 26th Annual Arizona Sport Shirts Dirt Track World Championship event. Less than an hour from his Ashland, Kentucky, home, Francis was able to return to his roots by competing in the tough as nails Dirt Track World Championship event. Francis, the "Kentucky Colonel," honed his skills at K-C Raceway, before breaking out to become one of the biggest Late Model Racing stars in the country.

Featuring a 100-lap A-main event that paid $50,000 to the winner, the Dirt Track World Championship event A-main field boasted several former event champions and standout competitors. Battling a tough field that included Team Mopar owner Tony Stewart, several World of Outlaws Late Model Series competitors and nine former event champions, Francis started on the front row and led the first 15 laps of the event. He battled near the front of the field throughout the A-main, but the No. 15 machine was a bit too tight in the center of the corners and dropped back in the field, taking the checkered flag in sixth.

Francis won the Dirt Track World Championship in 1999. His sixth-place A-main finish marked the eighth time in nine years that he'd made the A-main field. The No. 15 team finished sixth in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series Championship in 2006, posting six series victories during the season. For more information regarding the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, log on to woolms.com.