Local sprint season heats up next week

Published 9:00 pm Friday, August 18, 2006

ALGER – While this weekend may be a relatively slow one for Northwest race fans, it’s only a warm-up for what will be an exciting two weeks beginning next week.

On Aug. 25-26, the top sprint car racers in the country will be in Washington. Unfortunately for race fans, they’ll have to make a choice, as the World of Outlaws tour will compete at Skagit Speedway and the National Sprint Tour will be at Grays Harbor Raceway Park. Then on Aug. 26, Evergreen Speedway will play host to the Figure Eight Nationals while also holding Super Stocks and Bombers races.

While the weekend presents a “can’t lose” scenario for fans, it will be an emotional one for the drivers, particularly those based at Skagit. On the one hand, the World of Outlaws stop is one of the two biggest weekends on the calendar for Skagit. On the other, the NST is the baby of Snohomish promoter Fred Brownfield, who was killed at Grays Harbor in June. The event is being run by Brownfield’s wife Debbie, and many of the Skagit-based drivers have close relationships with the Brownfield family.

The weekend marks the only time this season the competing series will run in the same location on the same nights.

The conflict is a result of the offseason formation of the National Sprint Tour by Brownfield, a former World of Outlaws driver. The split caused many drivers to make difficult choices as to which tour to support, and it will come to a head at Skagit and Grays Harbor.

The World of Outlaws event will include Joey Saldana, who will be racing the No. 9 Curb Records/Mopar car of NASCAR star Kasey Kahne. Points leader Donny Schatz, who won the Knoxville Nationals this season, will also compete, and it’s possible 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser will also be there. NASCAR star Tony Stewart is also expected to have a team there and they will take on some of Skagit’s top racers including points leader Travis Jacobson and defending 410 champ Barry Martinez.

Grays Harbor, though, will have the advantage of emotion, as Brownfield was killed just two months ago during a race at his home track. The event was the biggest planned by Brownfield and is being promoted as a chance to give him one final big goodbye.

Among the top drivers expected to be at Grays Harbor are Danny Lasoski, Jason Meyers, Jason Solwold, Tim Kaeding and Shane Stewart.

Kahne event sold out: The Aug. 30 Kasey Kahne foundation event at Skagit Speedway has sold out. The event, with proceeds going to the foundation of the former Skagit driver, will feature races in which Kahne and current Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart will compete in.

This week at Skagit: Skagit will play host to Scout Night today, with all youth wearing their scout uniform tops getting in for free. The 410s, Sportsman Springs, Outlaw Hornets and the Pacific Coast Fastrak Series Late Models will compete.

Jacobson leads Martinez in the 410 points standings by 76, with Brad Pritchard 97 points out.

Harding continues to surge: Defending Super Stocks champion Shane Harding of Langley, British Columbia, continued to make a run at a repeat as he won his seventh race last week to move within eight points of leader Rob Touchette of Lake Stevens. John Burtsche trails Touchette by four points and Doug Davidson, the points leader for most of the season, trails by 12 with three races left.

The Bombers division is about as close, as leader Duane Schosboek leads Steve Ptacek by 27 points, and James Mugge is 28 points back. Darin Stordahl entered last week in second but mechanical problems caused him to finish 18th and he fell to 33 points out. Schosboek is seeking his first Bombers championship but his 11th overall title at Evergreen.

Evergreen will take a week off from its weekly racing this weekend as it will play host to the Need for Speed Formula D Drifting Tour beginning at noon.

Emotional Bombers win: Craig Rowalt’s first Bombers win of the season last weekend at Evergreen was an emotional one. Rowalt is the brother of Steve McElroy, a Bombers driver who was killed just before the start of the season in a car crash.

“I want to thank all the drivers and crews for their support during a tough time coping with the untimely death of my brother Steve,” Rowalt told the crowd after the win.