Big bucks on the line at 10th edition of Summer Showdown

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 21, 2022

MONROE — Summer Showdown is now about more than just the Super Late Models. To earn the big money a driver is going to have to win twice.

The 10th annual Summer Showdown, Evergreen Speedway’s premier race, takes place Friday and Saturday, and for the second straight year there are big bonuses available for drivers who not only finish in the top three of Saturday’s 200-lap main event for Super Late Models, but also finish in the top three of Friday’s 100-lap race for Pro Late Models.

“We are very excited,” track president Doug Hobbs said. “Last year there was uncertainty with tires and where we were going to be in a COVID environment. But this year we have a lot more sponsors and vendors and there’s a lot of buzz about Summer Showdown.”

Part of the buzz surrounds the big bonuses available. Last year Evergreen instituted a bonus if a driver won both the Super Late Model and Pro Late Model races. Eight drivers gave it a try and Colorado’s Preston Peltier, who won Summer Showdown three straight years from 2017-19, came close to earning the bonus as he won the Pro Late Model race and ran as high as second in the Super Late Model race before settling for eighth behind winner Owen Riddle.

This year the winner of the Pro Late Model race earns $10,000, the winner of the Super Late Model race receives $25,000, and if a driver wins both races they receive a $35,000 bonus, meaning a possible total payout of $70,000. In addition, any driver who finishes in the top three of both races gets a $10,000 bonus. But to increase the level of difficulty of the task, a top-three finisher in the Pro Late Model race who also races the Super Late Model race will have to start at the back of Saturday’s main event.

”We were coming off a COVID year and trying to come up with something creative, knowing the drivers had to take 2020 off,” Hobbs said about the inspiration behind adding bonuses for finishing in the top three of both the Pro Late Model and Super Late Model races. “We didn’t know how things were going to work out (heading into last year’s race), so we kind of threw in a little extra drama and enticement to make it happen. It seems like it was really well received.”

So much so that more drivers are going to try for the bonuses this year, as the field of those competing in both classes this year has swelled to 14. In total there are 65 cars entered between the Pro Late Model and Super Late Model races, which is up from 52 last year. Both races will take place on Monroe’s 5/8-mile track. Drivers are coming in from across the western U.S., with former track champion Tyler Tanner traveling the farthest as he hauls all the way from Mooresville, North Carolina.

Among the favorites are Peltier, Riddle and his brother Tayler (who are both past Summer Showdown champions), Tanner, California driver Derek Thorn and northwest racing legend Garrett Evans, who prevailed at June’s Galloway Shootout for Pro Late Models at Evergreen Speedway. Among the locals hoping to make waves are reigning Pro Late Model track champion and current points leader Naima Lang of Snohomish, as well as Northwest Super Late Model Series competitor Trenton Moriarity of Monroe.

“It’s going to be outstanding,” Hobbs said about the caliber of the field. “We have a great mix of drivers from Washington Idaho, Oregon, California — it’s definitely going to have a west-coast flavor. Throw in Peltier from Colorado and others from outside the area and it’s going to be one heck of a two-night event.”

Summer Showdown

What: Evergreen Speedway’s biggest race weekend.

Where: Evergreen Speedway in Monroe.

When: Gates open at 2:15 p.m. Friday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The 200-lap main event for Super Late Models concludes Saturday night’s racing.

Past champions in the field: Tayler Riddle (2016), Preston Peltier (2017, 2018, 2019), Owen Riddle (2021).