OneDirt

Brian Shirley's 3s has seen victory lane 5 times in the 2012 Hell Tour Schedule

The most grueling motorsports schedule out there today is drawing to a close this week, and the last five races are shaping up to have an epic points battle. 39 points -  That’s all that separates 2011 Hell Tour Champion Shannon Babb from this season’s current point leader Brian Shirley.

Shirley is riding the on the strength of five wins to Babb’s two victories. It also appears to be a two dog fight, as both Shirley and Babb have put over 150 points on third place Jason Feger.

“I feel like our cars have been good, we just kind of fly under the radar a lot because of our budget, how we operate,” said Shirley around the midway point of the Hell Tour schedule. “I felt like at the beginning of the year we were pretty strong, had some consistent runs with some wins. I’m not the type of person to talk about myself. I let our performance do the talking. I never underestimated my team or anybody else this year.”

“What matters to me are the paychecks,” said Shirley, who was the runner-up in the 2008 Summer Nationals championship. “I’m out here away from my family and the most important thing to me is to make the money to provide for my family. If I’m going to be away from my family, I need to have a good reason to be away from them.

The series is on its final break tonight, but will kick off its last week of racing at Florence Speedway on July 10th.

Hell Tour Top 5 Point Standings after Clarksville:

1. Brian Shirley 1449
2. Shannon Babb 1415
3. Jason Feger 1274
4. Brandon Sheppard 1245
5. Ryan Unzicker 1127

For start times and more info on the 2012 Hell Tour visit their home on the web at thehelltour.com