WERA Grand National Finals presented by Parts Unlimited will Crown Champions, Close Season BRASELTON, Ga. Motorcycles will rule Road Atlanta for five days this week during the WERA Grand National Finals presented by Parts Unlimited. The annual season finale begins on Thursday, October 12 and the racing lasts through Sunday the 15th. The busy schedule has something for everyone, including the Michelin National Challenge Series, Bridgestone National Endurance Series, Pirelli Sportsman Series, the Suzuki Cup Series and WERA Vintage. Competition begins as early as Thursday afternoon, when the first of the Sportsman and Vintage finals will be held. The eight-lap sprint races are just the start, and Friday’s schedule includes the tenth and final round of the Bridgestone National Endurance Series. The four-hour race will have some guest riders coming out for a little fun around Road Atlanta’s 2.54-mile road course, but the real story is the teams who have fought all season long toward championships. Vesrah Suzuki can rest easy knowing that they have already tied up the overall championship. Red Star can also relax, since they have wrapped up the Mediumweight Superbike class for their first championship in the series. The other class leaders, though, will still be striving for one last flawless race to sew up their championships. ARNCHU Racing leads the way in Heavyweight Superstock with 41.876 points over championship defenders Team Velocity Racing. Mediumweight Superstock is the closest points chase, with only 27.092 points separating Dalke Motorsports and LOC Endurance. Lightweight Superbike leaders Ghetto Customs also have the advantage, with a margin of more than 100 points over Blue Ridge Performance. Saturday’s racing will include the Pirelli Sportsman finals in a winner-take all format. The top riders from each of five WERA regions will be competing against each other, and the rider who comes out on top takes champion honors. The day will also include qualifying heat races for the Suzuki Cup Series Finals, including the GSX-R600, GSX-R750, GSX-R1000, SV650 and SV1000 classes. Sunday wraps up with the final round of the Michelin National Challenge Series. The ten-lap sprint races cap a season of tough competition, and a lot of championships are still close. Vesrah Suzuki teammates Mark Junge and Lee Acree have long been in contention for the 750 Superstock title, and even after nine rounds they are still separated by just four points, with Junge leading the way. Lightweight Twins Superstock is nearly as close, with Jeff Walker just five points over Chris Parrish. Tray Batey leads Robert Jensen by five points in Open Superstock, but Jensen has the upper hand in Formula 1, where he leads Batey by ten. The Suzuki Cup Series Finals will also be held on Sunday, featuring the top amateur Suzuki riders in the nation. Tickets for the WERA GNF are $45 for the entire event, $35 for Saturday and Sunday, and $25 for Sunday only. Children 12 and under are admitted free. All fans have access to the paddock, where they can see the hundreds of racers and their bikes up close. Camping is also available for the entire event. More information and directions to Road Atlanta can be found at www.RoadAtlanta.com. More information about WERA can be found online at www.WERA.com. More, from a press release issued by LOC Endurance: October 9, 2006 – Louisville, Kentucky: The Mediumweight Superstock WERA/Bridgestone National Endurance Championship is set to conclude this weekend at Road Atlanta during the annual Grand National Finals. In what can only be described as a season-long dogfight, the LOC enters the 10th and final race weekend with nothing to loose and will be pushing for the class win. LOC Endurance currently sits in 2nd place behind Dalke Motorsports, however, after some exceptionally bad luck at Barber Motorsports Park in September, the team cannot guarantee the National Championship with the victory. 48 laps into the 4-hour race at Barber, the LOC was hit from behind and taken out of the race. The team lost several laps repairing the motorcycle before finishing the race off the podium in a disappointing fifth position. This is the first time since Round #2 in April that the team has not finished on the podium. Team members Dan Carr, Joe Hayes, and Jimmy Vanderhaar are all excited about the season they have put together. “We are a first year team, and up until the last round we were right in the hunt for the National Championship,” team captain Hayes relayed. Regarding the teams current situation, Vanderhaar had this to say, “All we can do is go out there and win the race.”