MONROE — The big question heading into Summer Showdown: Can anyone stop Preston Peltier?
Evergreen Speedway’s premier event, Summer Showdown for Super Late Models, takes place Friday and Saturday, and Peltier is seeking his fifth main event victory in the race’s 11th edition.
Peltier, a native of Brighton, Colorado, has dominated Summer Showdown, having won four of the past five main events on Evergreen’s 5/8-mile track, including last year when he outdueled California’s Derek Thorn, who had been his primary challenger in recent years.
Thorn isn’t competing this year. But past champions Tayler and Owen Riddle, as well as 2023 Mark Galloway Shootout champion Kole Raz, will be among those trying to give Peltier a run for the $25,000 first-place check.
“There’s always pressure, especially when you win because there’s only one direction to go and it’s never up,” Peltier said Thursday about being the race favorite. “Once you’re at the top there’s only one direction, and there’s a lot of pressure to stay there, not just from myself but my team, my owners and the people who sponsor us. They have certain expectations and that definitely ratchets it up.”
Tayler Riddle, center, talks with his pit crew during practice for Summer Showdown at Evergreen Speedway on Thursday in Monroe.. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Perhaps the hottest driver coming into the race is Raz. Not only did he claim the checkered flag at the Mark Galloway Shootout for Super Late Models on the 5/8-mile track at Evergreen Speedway on June 24, he also scored an impressive victory at the Wenatchee 200 for Super Late Models on June 3.
“It’s been a really good year, all the races we’ve finished we’ve run either second or first,” said Raz, who’s from Lake Oswego, Oregon.
“We just need to execute the way we have the last few weeks and do what we’ve done all year long,” Raz added about what it will take to unseat Peltier. “We had a close fight with Preston in Tucson back in February and we came up one spot short to him. I look up to him, he’s a great guy, works real hard on his equipment and has worked for everything he’s gotten at this point of his career. I look forward to it, I think it will come down to battling it out with him for sure.”
Peltier is also one of eight drivers who are doing double duty by racing in both the Super Late Model and Pro Late Model races. There’s a $40,000 bonus for any driver who wins both races — the Pro Late Model main is Friday night and the Super Late Model main is Saturday night. However, if the winner of the Pro Late Model race is also racing Super Late Models, then he will have to start from the back in the Super Late Models main.
“It’s a huge motivation,” Peltier said about the $40,000 bonus. “These cars are extremely expensive to run. It takes a lot of resources — financial and personnel — to get up here and make one of these shows happen, not just for our team but all the teams here. It’s a big deal.”
Cars lined up in the pits during practice for Summer Showdown at Evergreen Speedway on Thursday in Monroe. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The 100-lap Pro Late Model main, which is also on the 5/8-mile track, will take place following Friday night’s 6 p.m. opening ceremonies. The 150-lap Super Late Model main is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Saturday. Originally both the Pro Late Model and Super Late Model mains were going to be run on Saturday, but a late schedule change put them on separate nights. A total of 27 Super Late Models and 21 Pro Late Models are entered, with drivers traveling from as far away as Texas to take part.
Other classes scheduled to race this weekend include Legends, Mini Stocks, Street Stocks and NW Pro 4 Trucks. Gates open to spectators at 3 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.
Summer Showdown
What: One of the west coast’s premier short-track races for Super Late Models
Where: Evergreen Speedway, Monroe
When: Friday and Saturday, with gates opening at 3 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday
Past champions in the field: Tayler Riddle (2016) Preston Peltier (2017, 2018, 2019, 2o22), Owen Riddle (2021)
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