Knecht’s Auto Parts Fan Appreciation Night A Good One At SSP
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Steve Veltman)
Spectators were treated to some great racing at the Sunset Speedway Park on Saturday June 15th. The Banks bullring had a full card of competition for Fan Appreciation Night presented by Knecht’s Auto Parts. Classifications on hand included the Northwest Extreme Late Model Series, Northwest Extreme Modifieds, Northwest Extreme Sprints, 4-Bees, and the Womens division.
Corbett’s Collen Winebarger has simply been the man to beat lately in the Northwest Extreme Late Model Series. Heading into the night with two consecutive wins with the series Winebarger was looking to pull off the hat trick on Saturday night.
Young Brad Martin of Warren would set the pace early in his Reser’s Fine Foods/Wayne Martin Floor Covering #99 MasterSbilt after starting on the outside pole. Martin would keep all challengers back until two-time Northwest Extreme Late Model Series champ Greg Walters made the pass for the lead. Walters, from Banks, would put his T&G Trucking/American Landscaping #97 Victory Circle up front on lap seven.
From there it looked like Walters was on his way to his third win of 2013 but a few cautions would bunch the field up bringing the rest of the field right back on his heels. A restart just past the halfway point had Walters get the field back under way but he would shortly have his hands full with the Discount Race Car Parts/All In Property Investments #1 MasterSbilt of Collen Winebarger.
Winebarger worked the inside line for several laps trying to get underneath Walters but Walters kept him in check. That is until lap number twenty-eight when Winebarger utilized the high side and made the pass around Walters for the lead. Winebarger would stay out in front for the rest of the distance to win his third consecutive Northwest Extreme Late Model Series featureof 2013.
Greg Walters would cross the line in second place followed by Collen’s father Scott Winebarger, also from Corbett, in third driving the Discount Race Car Parts/All In Property Investments #6 MasterSbilt. Completing the top five finishers were Jason Johnson of Gresham in his Jackhammer Trucking/T&G Trucking #76 Rayburn in fourth and Brad Martin in fifth.
Setting fast time of the night in qualifying was Collen Winebarger with a time of 14.148 seconds. Greg Walters was the heat race winner as well as the victor in the evening’s trophy dash.
With the Northwest Extreme Sprints back in action the question on everyone’s mind was if Mitch Hoffses would continue his dominating ways. The All In Property Investments/1-800-SELL-NOW/Hollywood Signs and Graphics #67 Zeitler of Gresham driver Dave Walters was the early race leader and seeking his first win of the season. As the laps would click away Walters would continue to set the pace but eventually would have a quick Mitch Hoffses reeling him in.
Hoffses, of Beaverton, would keep trying to find a way around Walters for the lead in the Schram Brothers Excavating #5 Rocket. Eventually disaster would strike for both Walters and Hoffses and the two would get together resulting in Hoffses violently crashing on the race track. Walters would also be out of commission with too much damage sustained to his mount. This would give the lead to the Maverick Welding Supply #11X Maxim of Jake Gilman from Forest Grove who would go on to win the race and become the second different winner in the division so far this year.
Second place would go to Oregon City driver Ryan Bothwell in the BDR Racing #19 Avenger while third was Dave Walters. Mitch Hoffses would complete the finishing order in fourth. Action earlier in the evening would see Mitch Hoffses earn the heat race victory while Dave Walters was the winner in the trophy dash.
In the ranks of the Northwest Extreme Modifieds Portland chauffeur Brandon Penney was the early contender for the win. With class having their largest car count of the season Penney, in the Advocare/The Sign Shop #00, was the car to beat in the first stages. Fellow Portland driver Rick Graham chased him down though and would close the gap. The Perfection Automotive/Sweere Trucking #18X of Graham would seize the lead on lap ten. He would stretch his lead out to a healthy margin and ended up winning his fourth main event in five starts.
Brandon Penney would cross the line in second followed by Banks’ Rob Ireland, driving for car owner Oscar Luckman, in the #96 entry in third. The Transaction Transmissions #04 of Joey Tardio from Banks was fourth and the #12X of Pamela Graham of Vancouver, Washington would end the night in fifth. Rick Graham was the heat race winner while Rob Ireland earned the victory in the trophy dash.
The 4-Bee main event was a good one with Travis Koch and Jason Blythe, also known as the “Boys From Buxton”, putting on a heck of show. The #21 of Koch took advantage of his outside front row starting position to gain the initial race lead. But after a restart on lap four the #12 of Blythe was able to take the top place position. Blythe and Koch would battle hard for several laps before a final twist in the final laps.
The leaders would take evasive action as a lapped car spun out in front of both Koch and Blythe. Blythe managed to stay out in front and go on to win his second main event victory of the season as well as a clean sweep. It would mark his the first time since back in April that he had visited victory lane.
Travis Koch would place in second while third was Rich Gooding of Castle Rock, Washington in his #08 machine. Banks driver Mike Mastrangelo in the #00 was fourth with the top five being completed by the #68 of John Henry from Hillsboro in fifth. Mike Mastrangelo and Jason Blythe were heat race winners with Blythe earning the trophy dash win.
In the Womens division it was no surprise that Freya Smith of McMinnville was the car to beat. Smith wouldn’t lead every single lap as she would have to hunt down and pass Cornelius’ Marcie Treat in the #02 Camaro. Once getting around Treat the Sweere’s Auto Body/Sweere's Trucking/Tire Factory of McMinnville #37 Camaro of Smith pulled away to win for the sixth time in six starts this season.
Marcie Treat would earn a respectable runner-up finish while the All In Property Investments/Duncan Automotive/Avenue Settlement Corporation #60 Camaro of Gabrielle Hollinger from Timber was third. The balance of the top five finishers consisted of Banks pilot Cori Vandercoevering in her #23 Camaro in fourth and the Transaction Transmissions #04 of defending champion Andrea Tardio also from Banks in fifth. Freya Smith was the heat race winner and Hollinger would win the trophy dash.
The Sunset Speedway Park will be in action on Monday June 17th as the Wild Wild West Modified Shootout makes their 2013 visit to the Banks bullring featuring the IMCA Modified drivers on the Pacific Coast. Next Saturday evening SSP will have the Northwest Wingless Tour, Northwest Extreme Modified, Street Stock, and 4-Bee division all on hand. For more information be sure and log on to www.susnsetspeedwaypark.com.
Race Summary:
Knecht's Auto Parts Fan Appreciation Night
Saturday June 15th, 2013
Sunset Speedway Park
Banks, Oregon
Northwest Extreme Late Model Series
10 Entries
A-Feature: 1. Collen Winebarger, 2. Greg Walters, 3. Scott Winebarger, 4. Jason Johnson, 5. Brad Martin, 6. Jacob Myers, 7. John Gamell, 8. Doug Lockwood, 9. Robert Duncan, 10. Kristi Somers
Northwest Extreme Modifieds
8 Entries
A-Feature: 1. Rick Graham, 2. Brandon Penney, 3. Rob Ireland, 4. Joey Tardio, 5. Pamela Graham, 6. Andrew Olsen, 7. Chris Ray, 8. Pat Lechner
Northwest Extreme Sprints
4 Entries
A-Feature: 1. Jake Gilman, 2. Ryan Bothwell, 3. Dave Walters, 4. Mitch Hoffses
4-Bees
13 Entries
A-Feature: 1. Jason Blythe, 2. Travis Koch, 3. Richard Gooding, 4. Mike Mastrangelo, 5. John Henry, 6. Chris Batalgia, 7. Nick Henry, 8. John Gartner, 9. Austin Duyck, 10. Gary Jones, 11. Chris Cannon, 12. Jacob Henry, 13. Cody Jones
Womens
5 Entries
A-Feature: 1. Freya Smith, 2. Marcie Treat, 3. Gabrielle Hollinger, 4. Cori Vandercoevering, 5. Andrea Tardio