American Sprint Car Series - Northwest Region
Northwest Speedweek will be busy and fast
By ASCS Northwest Region Media
The inaugural ASCS Northwest Region season has been somewhat slow in getting
started.
That changes soon.
The American Sprint Car Series Northwest Region kicks into high gear with
Northwest Speedweek July 14-19.
Over the span of six nights, the top 360 Sprint car drivers in the Northwest
will be racing six nights.
In the past, Speedweek included a night off for teams to regroup. But not
this year.
Teams started the season with a May 24-25 Memorial Day weekend doubleheader
at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
The next weekend of racing, an Oregon doubleheader June 6-7 in Lebanon and
Cottage Grove, was rained out.
Speedweek will allow teams to make up for the lack of action.
The racing kicks off Monday, July 14 at Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford.
The event marks the first of four straight nights of racing at different
Oregon tracks.
Next up on the docket is a tilt on Tuesday, July 15 at the picturesque
Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove.
From there, drivers and teams make the haul to Willamette Speedway in
Lebanon for a race on Wednesday, July 16.
With the week halfway done, the series wraps up the Oregon portion Thursday,
July 17 at Sunset Speedway in Banks.
After four nights at four Oregon tracks, Speedweek crosses over the
Washington border and concludes with a two-night show at Grays Harbor
Raceway, regarded as one of the top dirt tracks in the country following an
extensive renovation by former track promoter Fred Brownfield for the 2004
season.
The Evergreen State Sprint Challenge runs Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July
19. The weekend marks the second of four times the series races in Elma in
2008.
Following Speedweek, ASCS Northwest Region teams compete in a non-points
event at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa.
The 2008 season ends with five more points events: Aug. 31 in Elma, the Fred
Brownfield Memorial Sept. 19-20 in Elma and then championship weekend Sept.
26-27 in Yakima, Wash.
Heading into Speedweek, Seth Bergman leads the points with 292 markers.
Henry Van Dam, returning from a frightening wreck suffered last year, is
just four points behind in second. Jayme Barnes, who won the prestigious Jim
Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway June 21, is third with 286
points.
Rounding out the top-10 in points are Rob Held, Jared Ridge, Jared Peterson,
Brendan Boyce, Jonathan Allard, Mitch Olson and Todd Zeitler.
Barnes won the season-opener on May 24, while Bergman parlayed a win May 25
into the points lead.
For more information on the ASCS Northwest Region, please visit
www.ascsnorthwest.com.
ASCS Northwest Region set to launch
(May 20, 2008) – Memorial Day weekend is traditionally a big one for auto
racing.
That will indeed be the case this weekend in places like Indianapolis and
Charlotte.
Not to mention Elma, Wash.
The ASCS Northwest Region launches its inaugural campaign this Saturday and
Sunday at the famed 3/8-mile speed plant known as Grays Harbor Raceway in
Elma.
The track, rebuilt by the late Fred Brownfield for 2004, has been hailed as
one of the top dirt tracks in the country, and is the fitting track to kick
off the newest of the 14 American Sprint Car Series regions.
Until his tragic death in 2006, Brownfield ran the Northern Sprint Tour for
360 Sprint cars in the Northwest, the spiritual predecessor to the new
Northwest Region.
George Wade, the Northwest Region director, is thrilled to be associated
with the series started by Emmett Hahn.
“I think it’s a huge honor,” Wade said. “It’s the biggest Sprint car
association in the country. It’s huge. Emmett Hahn had a vision, Fred had a
vision, and I think both are right on track.”
The ASCS Northwest Region finalizes the vision Brownfield had for his
series.
“Fred saw how well the ASCS worked, and that was his ultimate goal,” Wade
said.
That vision is seen most notably in regards to engine and tire rules.
Starting a series under the ASCS banner means the cars that will race this
year in Washington and Oregon match those racing under the ASCS flag around
the country.
“To me, it makes sense,” Wade said. “It unites everybody. You can take a car
from Grays Harbor and go to Knoxville, or any other ASCS region. You run the
same tire and engine. It puts everyone on the same playing field with the
engines. It’s pretty clear cut what you can and can’t do.”
Even with the new banner, the series will feature many drivers and teams
familiar to Northwest racing fans.
“It’s the same drivers, and we’re back to the old Northern Sprint Tour
officials,” Wade said.
With the exception of Evan Funk, who is currently a crew member at Tony
Stewart Racing, the top drivers from a year ago will be back. The list is
headed by Roger Crockett, who won the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series
title last year to go along with his four NST titles.
Other top drivers back include Mitch Olson, Travis Rutz, Seth Bergman, Robby
Vaughn, Jay Cole, Rob Held, Shane Forte’ and J.J. Dishneau.
Races on both Saturday and Sunday in Elma are scheduled to start at 6:30
p.m., and are the opening weekend of a 15-race schedule.
The ASCS Northwest Region makes its Oregon debut two weeks later with
another doubleheader, this time at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. on
Saturday June 6, followed by Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore.
on Sunday June 7.
The drivers and teams get some time off after that, which will be needed to
get machines ready for Northwest Speedweek, featuring six races in as many
nights.
Speedweek starts Monday, July 14 at Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford,
Ore. The next three nights are in Oregon as well: Cottage Grove July 15,
Willamette Speedway July 16 and Sunset Speedway in Banks, Ore. July 17.
The week concludes in Elma with another two-night show July 18 and 19 with
the Evergreen State Sprint Challenge.
ASCS Northwest Region competitors travel to Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville,
Iowa for a non-point Brodix Tournament of Champions invitational Aug. 3.
Teams return to Elma Aug. 31, running the night before the World of Outlaws
Sprint Car Series takes to the GHR clay.
Elma hosts one more ASCS Northwest Region weekend Sept. 19-20 with the
second Fred Brownfield Memorial Sprint Challenge. In honor of Brownfield, a
former racer who ran No. 92, the Sept. 20 main event pays $10,092 to win.
The ASCS Northwest Region championship weekend is another two-day show,
taking place Sept. 26-27 at the Central Washington State Fair Raceway in
Yakima, Wash.
Tickets for this weekend’s doubleheader are $15 per night for adults, $5 per
night for juniors (ages 5-14) and free for children 5 and under. A family
pack of two adult tickets and four junior tickets is $35 per night, while
premium seats are available for $22 per night.
For more information, visit
www.ascsnorthwest.com or
www.graysharborraceway.net, or call 360-482-4374.
Wade is expecting upwards of 30 cars for the first weekend, and can’t wait
for the dirt to be kicked up.
“I really look forward to it,” he said. “Everyone’s worked hard to put the
program together.”
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