NO POINTS, BUT WINS COUNT TO HOUWEN.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Motor Sports

Now that the NASCAR Super Stocks season is over, driver Chris Houwen can relax a little.

The championship was decided a couple of weeks ago, but there is one Irwindale Speedway race left after Saturday's 40-lap open competition.

Houwen, the Canyon Country driver who finished third in points in his first full season racing stock cars, is hoping he can find a way to win a race now that the pressure to earn points is gone.

Despite a strong showing in the season standings, Houwen managed only one third-place finish, his highest of the season.

``Maybe we can actually win one this time,'' Houwen said.

Houwen can't complain too much. After spending nearly a decade away from racing, he posted his share of impressive finishes this season.

Houwen has spent the past 1 1/2 years racing stock cars at Irwindale Speedway. Before that, he was racing sprint cars back in 1994 in places such as Fresno, Santa Maria and Bakersfield.

``We had a couple of good runs, but never won anything,'' Houwen said of his sprint-car days.

About the only thing he has carried over that time was his ability to make a loose car stick on the track. He said there aren't many other similarities between stocks and sprints.

But racing a loose car at Irwindale wasn't such a great idea.

`'I think it was my downfall,'' Houwen said.

As the Super Stocks season progressed, his crew started making adjustments to the car. The handling tightened up, and Houwen became a better racer because of it.

He credits his success to two of his crew members, Keith Kerdel and Harry Brady, both of whom have spent their share of time setting up NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series cars.

``A stock car is a real temperamental thing,'' Houwen said. ``They got me to where I needed to be. It's been an eye-opening experience. It's not all driving fast. It's about being smooth and having a good car under you.''

Without a victory, it would be easy to write off the season as a loss. But Houwen doesn't see it that way. The more races he drives in, the better he will be.

``I lay it all on myself. I need more seat time,'' Houwen said. ``I need to take some pressure off myself and let it flow.''

With no points at stake, Houwen has no excuse to take a relaxed approach, not when he can end his season on a high note.

``It's been a learning experience this year,'' Houwen said.

Ultra Wheel Spec Trucks, West Coast Pro Trucks, NASCAR Grand American Modifieds and Legend Cars also were on Saturday's Irwindale schedule.

--NASCAR Busch Series: Ron Hornaday Jr. is in the middle of one of the closest points battles in NASCAR Busch Series history.

Entering Saturday's race at Dover (Del.) International series, 111 points separate the top-five drivers with eight races to go. David Green leads the series and Hornaday, a former Saugus Speedway champ from Palmdale, is fourth.

Hornaday finished 10th in Dover in the first race of the season at the track.

``I like Dover. It's a cool track,'' said Hornaday, driver of the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevy. ``It has concrete high banks and fast corner speeds. It's one of those tracks that is self-cleaning and it stays consistent all day long. If there is a wreck, everything slides to the bottom. You see someone every year get loose and run up the track, hit the wall and then slide down and collect someone who is right in the racing groove at the bottom.

``But unlike some tracks, it is near impossible to repair a car from a Dover crash. These walls punish the driver and the car. Running up front is once again the key to staying out of trouble.''