MONROE – Three championships will be decided tonight on Evergreen Speedway’s 5/8-mile track, with the return of Kevin Hamlin highlighting the evening.
The NASCAR Super Stocks, the Late Model Challenge Series and the Northwest Pro 4 Truck Series champions will be decided, with racing starting at 7 p.m.
The second annual Concept Racing Open Competition Street Stocks/Bomber Challenge 50 will also be held.
Just two drivers remain in contention for the Super Stocks title, and it would take a disaster for Surrey, British Columbia’s Shane Harding to not walk away with his first championship. Harding leads Snohomish’s Jason Fraser by 42 points after winning nine times this season. Fraser has only one win this season but he’s consistently run in the top five. Harding can afford to finish 21 spots behind Fraser, at most, to win the title.
But while Harding and Fraser race for the championship, the most entertaining aspect of the Super Stocks race is the return of Hamlin, who will resume a rivalry with defending points champion John Zaretzke.
Hamlin, a Snohomish High graduate who started his racing career at Evergreen when he was 16, now races in the NASCAR Busch Series, driving the Geico Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing. Hamlin won two NASCAR Elite Division Northwest Series points championships in three years of racing before moving to North Carolina.
Hamlin got a ride in a Ken Schrader-owned car, driving in two ARCA races before getting a chance to drive in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, then got his current ride.
The Busch Series is on a break this week, allowing Hamlin, 26, to return home for the first time in nearly a year. Hamlin finished 20th last week in the Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond International Raceway. He’s earned $133,203 this year.
The Late Model Series will hold its championship at Evergreen for the first time in its six-year history. Four drivers still stand a chance of winning the title, led by Kennewick’s Mike Zamora, who will race for the first time at Evergreen. Zamora holds a 49-point lead over Puyallup’s Jay Sauls, who was second in points last season. Seattle’s Mark Sunberg is 75 points back and Richland’s Steve Thompson trails by 79 points. The winner of the main gets 100 points, and the fast qualifier gets five points.
In the truck series, Jason Majors of Puyallup holds a 21-point lead over Everett’s Terry Warren.
Skagit holds championship: Skagit Speedway will hold its final points race of the season today as well, with main events starting at 7:30 p.m.
Both the 410 and 360 Sprints championships are already wrapped up, with Lynnwood’s Barry Martinez ready to claim the 410 title and Brandon Harkness doing the same in the 360s.
The Sportsman Sprints race is still alive. Steve Parker needs to finish no lower than 16th to claim the championship, while Kelsey Carpenter must win the main to earn the title.
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