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Hix gets off to hot start in dwarf car photo by Joe Mayr By Don Hunt Steve Hix established two goals when the Southern Oregon Speedway got under way this season: be the rookie of the year in the dwarf car division and finish among the top five drivers each week. Then Hix won the main event in Week 2. Already, it was time to re-evaluate his objectives. "I thought, �Hey, there�s no reason I can�t be among the top three each week and maybe challenge for the points title,�" Hix says. Race Facts WHEN, WHERE: Tonight and Saturday at the Southern Oregon Speedway in White City. Gates open at 4 p.m. each day with racing scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ADMISSION PRICES: $5 for adults Friday, $8.50 Saturday. ALSO COMPETING: Mini stocks and super trucks on Friday, winged modifieds and pro stocks on Saturday. No reason, indeed. The Central Point mechanic has been one of the pleasant surprises at the White City track this summer. He led the points race for the first 10 weeks of the season until he crashed and failed to finish on July 29. Although he�s fallen into third place behind Jon DeBenedetti and Gary Fitzsimmons, he�s still in the hunt for the championship. DeBenedetti has 403 points, Fitzsimmons 365 and Hix 363. Hix and the rest of the dwarf car drivers jump into the spotlight this weekend when the West Coast Dwarf Car Nationals hit the one-third-mile clay oval. As many as 100 drivers from throughout the West are expected to participate in the two-day event, which kicks off with a full night of qualifying tonight at 6. The 50-lap main event is slated for Saturday. Hix might be hard-pressed to keep pace with the nation�s top dwarf car drivers, but the 46-year-old racing veteran has held his own against DeBenedetti, the defending national champion from Rogue River. Hix has won only once at White City � on May 14 � but has registered two seconds and five thirds to put himself in position to steal away the points title from DeBenedetti, who has dominated the division since it became a regular part of the speedway two years ago. "Jon has finished ahead of everyone by 300 points the last two years � I�m just trying to put a little heat on him," Hix says. "It�s not over yet." Hix, a mechanic for Timber Products, has used his welding and fabrication skills to build his own car, a 1933 Ford Coupe that features a 1,188 cubic inch Yamaha motorcycle engine. The miniature cars are only 9 feet long, 5 feet wide and stand just 48 inches off the ground. And they weigh just 1,200 pounds. But they zip around the track at more than 70 mph � making them the fastest cars other than the sprints � and their popularity has continued to accelerate. "They�re a fun class to watch and to race," says Hix, who drove a sprint car last year but had to find something else when that class was relegated to just three events in 2000. "I think people enjoy the antique look of the cars, and I think they�re impressed with just how quick these little cars are." Hix uses a somewhat cautious approach on the track, patiently waiting to dart into openings without putting himself or others in peril. That philosophy has won him respect from his fellow drivers. But what really sets him apart is his easygoing personality and his eagerness to help out his peers with equipment or knowledge. "I�m just out here to have a good time," he says with a shrug. "I do the best I can. If I win, great, and if I don�t, well, I�m still going to have fun." Hix helped out 19-year-old Chris Sawyer with his chassis setup last Saturday and Sawyer, a fellow dwarf car rookie, promptly sped to a runner-up finish in the main event. "It�s no fun to come out here and struggle," Hix says. "If I can help a guy out, I�ll do it. Loan him a tire, give a little advice, whatever. And if he goes out and beats me that night, well, more power to him." DeBenedetti, meanwhile, hopes to finish near the front and enhance his chances for a second straight national crown. DeBenedetti won the first leg of the four-race national series in Las Vegas and added a victory in the Fast 10 Dash, a 10-lap matchup of the top 10 cars from Friday qualifying. But DeBenedetti struggled to an 18th-place showing in the second leg at Santa Maria, Calif., where he got into a wreck on the sixth lap, and currently ranks fifth in the national standings. The fourth and final leg will be at Marysville, Calif., Oct. 6-7. Each driver is allowed to discard one of the four races for points purposes; DeBenedetti hopes his throwaway event can be Santa Maria. "My goal Saturday is to be in the top five and to be there when the checkered flag falls," DeBenedetti says. Tonight�s action will feature a 30-lap main event. The top 10 finishers from that race will inherit the top 10 starting positions for Saturday�s 50-lap main. Saturday�s heat races and qualifying race will determine the rest of the field for the grand finale. "Everyone gets two full chances," DeBenedetti says. "You can have terrible luck on Friday and still get the 11th starting spot Saturday." Drivers are expected to come from as far away as Arizona and Canada for the race, including national points leader Howie Ross. 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