James Hellman is sitting in second place in the Dacotah Speedway's Hobby Stocks points standings.

With one night of racing left on the schedule, it would take something of a miracle for the 18-year-old Mandan resident to pass frontrunner Craig Ohlhauser, who holds a 24-point advantage.

But no matter what happens tonight in the speedway's season championships, 2008 has been quite a year for the rookie driver.

"This is my first year in Hobby Stocks and it's been an exciting one," Hellman said. "I'm in second place in a very competitive class. If I wind up there after Friday, that would still be quite an accomplishment."

Hellman has 556 points going into tonight's action in Mandan. Ohlhauser, a Mandan driver who is seeking his second straight points title, has 580. Hellman would have to finish 25 spots ahead of Ohlhauser to take over first place.

That's a tall order, but not out of the realm of possibility.

"Craig's a good driver and he's got a great car," Hellman said. "But I'm going to try and give him a good run. You never know what will happen.

"And even if I don't win the points title, it would be great to win the season championship," he continued. "That would be a great way to finish off the year."

It's been a year in which Hellman has won four features at Mandan, and has never been lower than third place in points.

"I had a couple of bad nights, but other than that I've been consistent," Hellman said. "It's all what you put into it. Every night we're working on the car, doing things to make sure it's ready."

Hellman's car is racking up points at Dickinson's Southwest Speedway as well. James' 17-year-old brother Geoff races there every Saturday night, and is third in points.

"We picked a good car," James Hellman said. "It's been great at both places."

The Hellman brothers acquired a love for auto racing from their father Brad, and a second-cousin, veteran Mandan driver Darrell Bauer. Brad Hellman was a member of Bauer's pit crew for years.

"We spent a lot of time at the track," James said. "When you're around it, you can't help but like it. It gets in your blood."

The Hellmans started out racing go-karts when James was 10 years old and Geoff was 9. They moved to Thunder 4's two years ago, and James wound up finishing seventh in points in 2006. Last year, he drove a car owned by Terry Davenport of Bismarck, and finished 10th. Geoff finished third in the Hellman car.

Both brothers decided to compete in Hobby Stocks this year. James said the transition was a smooth one.

"It wasn't that hard to adjust to Hobbies," he said. "Actually, it's a lot like racing go-karts. The speed is pretty much the same, it's just that the drivers (in Hobby Stocks) are better and more experienced. My brother and I have learned a lot this year, and we've had a lot of fun. We just want to keep going and improving."

James, a 2008 Mandan High School graduate, won't return to the track in 2009. He plans to take a year off to attend college in Illinois.

Geoff plans to race the car next summer in both Mandan and Dickinson.

"I know Geoff's going to do well. … He's five times better than me," James said. "He has about 200 wins total in go-karts, Thunder 4's and Hobby Stocks. There's just something about him. He's got a great future ahead of him."

In other classes, Spencer Wilson of Minot holds a 28-point lead over Nathan Speten of Wilton in Legends. Marlyn Seidler of Underwood leads defending champion Mark Dahl of Bismarck by 14 points in IMCA Modifieds.

Spencer Johnson of Jamestown has a seven-point lead over Rusty Kollman of Carrington in WISSOTAStreet Stocks. If he hangs on, Johnson will win his first points title at the Mandan track.

In Thunder 4's, defending champion Shawn Volk of Bismarck trails Matt Dosch, also of Bismarck, by seven points. Nick Keena of Baldwin is 10 points out of first place.