Evergreen Speedway Super Speedway of the West! – Northwest's Destination for Motorsports!
Evergreen Speedway held their 2017 Night of Champions Banquet on Saturday in the Gary D. Wiekel Event Center at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. This year’s event boasted the largest attendance in the history of Evergreen Speedway banquets.
Many special awards were presented during the evening. One of the many honors went to Carl Zimmerman as the 2017 Evergreen Speedway Volunteer of the Year for his hours of dedication along with his passion for the track. Zimmerman is a retired military man who makes weekly trips to the Speedway office to spoil our staff with baked goods. He also volunteers on race nights and during special events.
One of the scariest incidents of the 2017 race season was a wreck during the August 12th race. It was Tyler Tanner’s quick thinking that had him pull fellow Super Late Model racer, Jeff Knight from his fiery car during the accident. Knight Presented Tanner with the “Selfless Act of Courage Award” for his show of courage, heroism, and bravery.
The night also witnessed two new members inducted into the Evergreen Speedway John Gay Fred Butler Hall of Fame. The late Wayne Crum was inducted as a three-time Figure 8 champion who made massive contributions off the track as well. Rob Holden was the second inductee as a four-time champion of Evergreen Speedway and one of best drivers during his era.
It was Brian Little who took home the 2017 “Sportsman of the Year” honor. Molly Helmuth won the “Most Popular NASCAR Driver” award once again, while Tyler West took home “Most Popular Drifter”. The “Best Crew Chief/Mechanic” honors were given to Jim Heald as he helped win a Pro-Am Drift and Mini Stock Championship in the same year.
Ten new champions were crowned for 2017 with Trenton Moriarity taking home the hardware for the Speedway Chevrolet NASCAR Super Late Models along with winning the Bud Crown Series. In the Outlaw Figure 8 division it was Chris Curtis on the top spot. The “One-Armed Bandit” Quenton Borreson took home his fourth consecutive Monroe Grocery Outlet Super Stock Figure 8 Championship. Borreson was also inducted into the F.E.A.R. Hall of Fame alongside car owner Dave Brandenburg for their amazing streak.
The winningest driver at Evergreen Speedway over the last six seasons has been Roger Drake, and he added his fourth championship in five years in the Les Schwab Tires Street Stocks. It was young gun Dawson Cox taking home his second straight Interstate Batteries Hornet Championship.
The domination of the Buzz Inn Steakhouse Stinger 8 division was capped off with a championship by Cody Hoopes. The tightly contested battles in the Foster Press Mini Stock culminated with Brad Thomas taking the championship by one point. The Pro-4 Trucks crowned Pete Brady their champion for 2017.
In the Bardahl Pro-Am Drift division it was Patrick Heald taking home the championship and Formula Drift Pro 2 license. Matt Rusicki took home the top honors in the Grassroots division.
The countdown to the 2018 Evergreen Speedway season opener on March 31st is on as the track will celebrate the 64th year of operation. For more information on Evergreen Speedway or for tickets visit www.evergreenspeedway.com
