MONROE, Wash. — Returning to Evergreen Speedway brought back a lot of good memories for Dennis Huth.

“It’s like déjà vu all over again,” said the president of the American Speed Association as he stood in front of the ASA trailer on pit road.

Huth was in Monroe to watch the Northwest Tour, which is sanctioned by his organization, take part in Saturday’s annual Washington 500 by running in the Evergreen State Fair 150.

Huth’s relationship with Evergreen Speedway goes back more than 25 years. In 1985 he helped found the NASCAR Northwest Tour, which raced at the speedway.

That same year he convinced then-promoter Bob Beadle to affiliate Evergreen with NASCAR.

“Right before he signed the papers, he paused and said he wanted just one thing,” Huth said, remembering the moment. “I thought, ‘Oh, no, now what?’ But all he wanted was his picture on the cover of the NASCAR Times magazine.”

Beadle got his picture in the magazine and Evergreen has been a NASCAR Home Track ever since.

Huth also helped create the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, which raced at Evergreen from 1995-99.

As he surveyed the Northwest Tour cars lining the backstretch of the speedway’s three-eighths mile track — set up as pit road for the late-model series — Huth spoke of the important role traveling racing groups serve.

“It’s an important stepping stone for a driver,” Huth said. “You have to show you’re better at more than just one track.”

A regional series also gives drivers the chance to showcase their talents, either to land a sponsor or a contract with a team at a higher level of racing. Drivers “have to show their wares … (teams and sponsors) have to know what you’re made of,” Huth said.

Huth said he was pleased with the job director Ron Bennett had done bringing the Northwest Tour back into being after NASCAR decided after the 2006 season to end its support for all regional series nationwide.

Bennett, the promoter at Yakima Speedway, worked with race teams and promoters throughout the Northwest to put together a touring series for the 2007 season.

Although it struggled in the early going, the Northwest Tour affiliated with ASA and gained momentum as the season went on.

“Ron and (media coordinator) Scott (Ellsworth) are doing a great job,” Huth said. “This area was hurting for a traveling series, and they gave drivers someplace to go … to have fun and try different racetracks.”

ASA sanctions racing series throughout the country, and as president Huth has had the opportunity to visit many local tracks. He said despite the weakening economy, he has seen an upswing in attendance.

“A lot of folks are staying local,” Huth said. “They’re having those, what do you call them? Stay-cations.”

Huth added that one of the biggest challenges faced by traveling racing series around the country is the rising costs of moving from track to track.

“You’ve got the cost of towing, including fuel over $4 a gallon, and hotels,” he said.

That’s an issue, Huth added, that was especially true in this region where the tracks that the Northwest Tour races at are spread so far apart.

Regardless of the reason, Huth said he was glad to see fans enjoying the racing that can be found at their local tracks. He said the sight of parents sitting in the grandstands with their children — as they had with their parents — was something special and unique about local racing.

“It just gets into the bloodline,” Huth said with a smile.