Evergreen Speedway Super Speedway of the West! – Northwest's Destination for Motorsports!
Warm temperatures and sunny skies greeted heroes both in the grandstands and in the pits at Evergreen Speedway Saturday night as Frontier Communication presented Military Appreciation Night at the races.
Representatives from all the branches of the US Military were in attendance, and 5 Speedway Chevrolet Super Late Models showed their appreciation for service to our country by proudly displaying the branches of the military on their cars. (On a personal note, it was truly impressive that each team came up to me to make sure that the branch of service displayed on their car was mentioned first in sponsor introductions!)
The Interstate Battery Hornet division held their annual Hornet Nationals this past Saturday, with 22 cars taking to the track in a 40 lap road course main event. The 88 car of Branden Lindberg led the first 20 laps until the Mike Ridley driven #66 car assumed the lead. Cody Hoopes did a masterful job slicing his way through the field with his 10X PMS Power car with Rookie of the Year candidate Dawson Cox following him. Points leader Mark Hubbard withstood a hard hit into the front stretch wall slowing his progress, but as the race came down to its final laps, Mike Ridley survived a furious charge from Cody Hoopes to win the Hornet Nationals. Dawson Cox finished third.
The Buzz Inn Steakhouse Stinger 8’s put on a great show for the fans. Matt Summerville took his 21 car to the checkered flag in the 30 lap feature. Cody Hoopes warmed up for the Hornet Nationals to finish 2nd on the Figure 8 course with Lance Ograin finishing 3rd.
The Foster Press NASCAR Mini Stocks returned to the track, and as it’s been all season long, Trenton Moriarty dominated the race from the beginning. Moriarty was all business, as was the 41 car of Scott Burby These two are one and two in the season championship chase, and by all appearances are going to be the ones to beat for the title as the season rolls on. Trenton held Scott off his back bumper by 3-4 car lengths all race long to capture the win. Burby finished 2nd with Michael Fritz finishing 3rd.
The Les Schwab NASCAR Street Stocks put 14 cars on the track for their 30 lap main event. 2 time division champion Roger Drake took the lead on the start, with the 12 car of Chad Fitzpatrick following closely in 2nd. Experienced fans of this division expected this to be another run away and hide victory for Drake, but those fans also noticed that Fitzpatrick was sticking close to the rear bumper of Drake. On lap 10, it was as if Chad took a deep breath and went around the #1 Camaro of Drake to take the lead. Fitzpatrick show driving talent beyond his years to hold of his good friend Roger Drake to take his first win of 2015. Drake finished 2nd with Steve Ptacek finishing 3rd.
The Speedway Chevrolet Super Late Models lined up 16 cars for their 75 lap main event to close out the night. Special recognition goes out to Mike Holden representing the US Navy, Doni Wanat with the US Marines, John Boyat representing for Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Scott LaCross with the US Army and Shane Sawin carrying the US Coast Guard logo on his #1 Chevrolet.
Mike Longton made the tow from Yakima to run his #37 car on the 3/8’s. Mike is preparing for the upcoming Tri-Track Super Late Model Series Central Welding 125 race on July 11th and took advantage of the off weekend in his schedule to get some time in on the challenging 3/8’s mile oval. Mike set fast time in qualifying with last season’s champion Mike Holden qualifying 2nd.
The 6 car invert put Doni Wanat on the pole with Brandon Scheiber on the outside front row. Wanat led the first part of the race in his US Marines Chevrolet until Mike Holden got around him in the US Navy car and cruised to a solid victory for his 2nd win in 2015. Jeff Knight continued his fantastic season with a hard fought 2nd, and Doni Wanat brought his car home in 3rd.
Thanks to the staff of Evergreen Speedway for welcoming all the Military past and present that attended the races. Frontier Communications continues to be a fantastic partner to the Super Speedway of the West by providing Family Nights like they did this past Saturday. Thanks as well to the US Navy and National Guard for setting up information tables for the fans, and to the Disabled American Veterans for putting on the 50/50 raffle. Evergreen Speedway recognizes the incredible sacrifices that our men and women who choose to protect our country by offering great entrance deals just by showing military ID at the front entry all season long.
Coming up this Saturday will feature the return of the Rolling Thunder Big Rigs. Rolling Thunder put on a thrilling exhibition Saturday night, and fans are in for a real treat when these monsters take to the asphalt this Saturday. The WESCO Sprint Cars return along with the Outlaw Figure 8’s, the Foster Press Mini Stocks and the NW Pro 4 Trucks. Reserve your favorite seats by getting onto www.evergreenspeedway.com. This is also a great way to have the best seat in the house for the Galloway 150 Shootout coming up on May 23rd. The Tri-Track Super Late Model Series makes its first of two appearances at Evergreen Speedway on that night, so expect to see the best Northwest Super Late Models converge on the longest track in the west for a special event honoring a special young man that we lost way to early, Mark Galloway.
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Steve Mortland