By John Sleeper
Herald Writer
How hot is Kevin Hamlin?
The defending Northwest Series points champion has won two of the season’s first three races and has a 60-point lead. With last Saturday’s victory in the Pepsi 125 at Tenino, the 22-year-old Snohomish High School grad has six wins in the last 14 races, has 13 top-five finishes and 10 top-three finishes in that span.
“I don’t want to see it end,” Hamlin said.
It doesn’t appear it’s going to any time soon.
Starting in eighth position in the Pepsi 125, Hamlin showed he’s learned patience, gradually easing past cars until he took the lead from veteran Garrett Evans with 25 laps remaining. Hamlin fought off Chris Hart in the remaining laps to take the checkered.
Hamlin’s emergence has not gone unnoticed nationally.
Internet reports have linked him to several teams in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the NASCAR Busch Grand national Series.
Hamlin confirmed those reports.
“I’ve had some very informal talks with some owners along the way,” he said. “But I want to stress that they are informal. I’ve made some trips to some races and met some owners. I wanted to find out what they looked for when selecting drivers.”
For now, though, Hamlin wants to stay focused on being the first Northwest Series driver to win back-to-back points titles since Kelly Tanner did it in 1996 and 1997. Already, in just his fourth full season in the series, Hamlin is tied for 10th with Bothell’s Gary Lewis on the series’ career victories list with seven.
The series continues May 25 with the Cellular 125 in East Wenatchee. The series returns to Evergreen Speedway July 13.
Evergreen Speedway: Sixty minutes of figure-eight mayhem heads the docket in Monroe Saturday night, when the Ed Ritchie Memorial 60 Minutes of FEAR returns.
Rules are few and simple. Drivers traverse the figure eight track for 60 minutes. Twenty cars will be on the track at all times. When one can’t move, another rolls onto the track. The driver with the most laps in an hour wins.
Also on the schedule are the super stocks, bombers, mini stocks and a mascot figure eight race featuring the Mariner Moose.
Qualifying heats begin at 5 p.m. Racing starts at 7 p.m.
Lewis at car show: Gary Lewis, the 1998 Northwest Series points champion, will be available to meet fans and sign autographs Sunday at the third-annual Chevrolet Camaro Show at Whisker’s Cafe and Racing Collectibles in La Conner.
Between 50 and 100 cars are expected to be at the show for prizes and public viewing. In addition, children will be allowed to sit in one of Lewis’ racecars.
Judging will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Trophies will be awarded by 3 p.m. The show will go on rain or shine.
Whisker’s Cafe and Racing Collectibles is located at 128 First Street, Pier 7, in La Conner.
Winston West: A NASCAR Winston West race in Roseburg, Ore., has been added to the 2002 schedule. The NAPA Auto Parts 200, set for Sept. 21, will be the first Winston West race to be run at Douglas County Speedway since 1971.
The Roseburg facility recently underwent a facelift worth $400,000. Crews expanded the track from 1/3-mile to nearly 1/2-mile, widened the oval, resurfaced it and added banking in the turns from 9 degrees to 11.
The series comes to Evergreen Speedway June 29.
New kart track to open: A new kart racetrack at Evergreen Speedway is scheduled to open June 9.
The track, to be known as XPLEXseattle, is more than 7/10-miles long and has 25 turns. It will be the home track for the new Seattle Karting Club, whose membership will include discounts, benefits and user privileges, including use at the sister track in Las Vegas and a planned track in Palm Springs, Calif., when it is set to open in 2004.
For more information, call Bill Hettick at 425-921-1130.
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