I received the following press release from Scott Ellsworth, director of the ASA Northwest Late Model Tour. The season-opening race fo the Tour is March 28 at Evergreen Speedway.
“As the start of the 2009 season draws near for the American Speed Association (ASA) Northwest Late Model Tour, the list of drivers competing keeps growing.
The season-opening race at Evergreen Speedway will introduce three new drivers to the series and the “Big Track” five-eighths mile oval. It will also be the start of the chase for the coveted series rookie of the year award for all three
Spence Gatrell (Aurora, Ore.), Amanda MacDonald (Ephrata, Wash.) and Joey Tanner (Portland, Ore.) may all 21 years old or younger, but they do not lack in experience. Each has a varying background in racing.
Twenty-One year old Gatrell, a student at the University of Northwestern Ohio, started racing quarter midgets when he was 9. At 16 he moved up to full midgets and became rookie of the year in the Washington Midget Racing Association (WMRA). Two years later he won seven WMRA races and became their 2007 Champion. That year he got his first taste of late-model stock car racing when he had the chance to run one race at South Sound Speedway. In 2008 he moved to road course Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) racing, picking up a pair of wins in an ITE class car. Gatrell is bringing in former ASA Northwest Tour winner Brandon Riehl to assist with his transition to the much heavier stock cars.
Even though MacDonald has spent the past two years racing stock cars, moving to the region’s only late model traveling series will be a big transition. MacDonald, 21, started racing Hornets at Ephrata Speedway when she was 16. She worked her way up through the ranks, with stops in the Hobby Stock and Street Stock divisions, before moving up to the Outlaw Street Stock Series in 2006 and spending some time in a winged sprint car. In 2008 MacDonald raced in the ICAR Series at Stateline Speedway in Post Falls, Idaho, and she ran two INSSA events along with trips to the Idaho 200 and the Fall Classic at Yakima (Wash.) Speedway. MacDonald is a junior at Central Washington University majoring in education.
As with the other two rookies, Joey Tanner started young. He grew up watching his dad (Jody Tanner) race at Portland (Ore.) Speedway and on the Northwest Tour. The 19-year old started racing at dirt tracks locally and nationally in the Dirt Late Model Series when he was just 15. After winning many races on dirt he decided to make the transition to asphalt, and Tanner already has three asphalt races under his belt including a stop at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway earlier this year. Tanner is bringing on board as a mentor 2007 ASA Northwest Tour Champion B.J. Tidrick.
The new ASA Northwest Late Model Tour is a combination of the former 10-year old Late Model Challenge Series and the former 26-year old Northwest Tour. The 11-race schedule in 2009 includes visits to four Northwest states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana) and eight different tracks.
To learn more about the American Speed Association Northwest Late Model Tour visit www.asanorthwestlatemodeltour.com, call the ASA Northwest Late Model Tour office at (360) 659-5910 or e-mail Scott Ellsworth at scott@ASANorthwestLateModelTour.com or Jerry Losch at jerry@ASANorthwestLateModelTour.com.
To learn more of the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association, visit www.asaracing.com.”
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