Vollbrecht, Martinez, And Hopkes Get August 1st Wins At SSP
By Ben Deatherage
Sunset Speedway Park would host some fantastic action on Saturday August 1st. In addition to the Northwest Wingless Tour in the house there would also be the Northwest Focus Midgets, Northwest Dwarf Cars, and Pure Stocks. The racing would be very entertaining for the crowd in attendance.
In the Northwest Focus Midgets main event Ariel Biggs, from McCleary, Washington, was the early race leader in her Light House Antiques #2 Stealth. She would remain in that position until lap thirteen. Michael Vollbrecht would make the necessary move to get to the front. The Shoreline, Washington driver would keep the Doug James owned James Racing #4 XXX in front to win the feature.
The Paraiso's Mexican Restaurant/Rob The Handyman/Blue Jay Apparel/AAA Super Clean #24 Stealth of Marysville, Washington's Nick Evans was second followed by Doug Anderson, from Puyallup, Washington and driving his Chaos Graphics #92 XXX, ending the evening in third. The balance of the top five would consist of the Brownfield Gang/Elma Family Dental/Precision Pipe Fabricators/Blood's Old School Autoworks #14 Stealth of Garrett Thomas, from McCleary, Washington, in fourth and Ariel Biggs was fifth.
In the Northwest Dwarf Cars feature Ren Menrose was fast in the early stages. The Campbell River, British Columbia racer, in his Fusion Graphix/Rockstar Energy Drink/Eddie's Automotive/Twisted Metal Transport #09C M&M, would eventually lose the position on lap five to Ryan Martinez. Martinez would take care of business the rest of the distance. It would be the fifth victory for the Portland native and his Auto Truck Wholesale/St. John's Tire Factory/Van Raden Industries #9 M&M team.
Tigard's Shane Youngren would end the night in second, in his Tommy's Transmissions/Home Turf Sport Bar #18 D&R , while the Two Guys Racing #46 M&M of Guy Tow Sr. from Rainier got third. Crossing the line in fourth was the MAPS Auto Center/FinishLine Technologies #2 entry of James Brinster from St. Helens followed by Creswell's Kevin Hicks in his Hicks Family Racing/The Wright Shop/Cindy Sew It/B-Rad Motorsports #78 Philpott.
Last but not least the Pure Stocks would be in action. Hillsboro chauffeur John Henry was quick in his Ernest Racing/Henry Racing/TK's Auto Repair/Joe's Auto Body and Paint #68 Camaro for much of the race. However Henry would lose the lead on lap thirteen to Adam Hopkes. Hopkes, of Tillamook, would stay in the coveted position the rest of the way to put the AB Repair/Burden Muffler And Towing/PAPE John Deere/Peterson Cat #30 Camaro in victory lane for car owner Aaron Blanchard for the second time in 2015.
The DVC Machine/Pure Addiction Diesel Performance/S&R Motorz #7 Camaro , driven by Forest Grove's Trevor LaBarge, was second and in third would be John Henry. Kendall Lee, also of Forest Grove and driving the Lee Racing #66 Camaro, would get fourth while the DVC Machine/Dave's Automotive/Transaction Transmission #02 Camaro of Cornelius' Marcie Treat was fifth.
Sunset Speedway Park returns to racing on Saturday August 8th for Drivers Appreciation Night presented by 98.7 The Bull. This is a really fun race and is the second time we have had such a race. Classes in competition include the Northwest Extreme Late Model Series, Budweiser IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, Northwest Dwarf Cars, 4-Bees, and both classes of Micro Sprints. The race will be main events only.
Pit Gates will open at 2:00 PM, Front Gates open at 4:00, and racing starts at 6:30 each night. Tickets for both events are Adults $13.00, Seniors/Military/Juniors (13-18) $10.00, Youths (Ages 12-6) $5.00, and Children under the age of 5 are FREE and a family pass will be offered for two Adults and up to four Youths for just $35.00. Log on to www.sunsetspeedwaypark.com for the latest news and information about SSP.
Race Summary:
Saturday August 1st, 2015
Sunset Speedway Park
Banks, Oregon
Pure Stocks
A Feature 1: 1. 30-Adam Hopkes; 2. 7-Trevor Labarge; 3. 68-John Henry; 4. 66-Kendall Lee; 5. 02-Marcie Treat; 6. 58-Chris Batalgia
Northwest Dwarf Cars
A Feature 1: 1. 9-Ryan Martinez; 2. 18-Shane Youngren; 3. 46-Guy Tow Sr.; 4. 2-James Brinster; 5. 78-Kevin Hicks; 6. 33-Bill Lamm; 7. 40-Kyle Thompson; 8. 94-Jeremiah Hester; 9. 08-Jake Grabow; 10. 09-Ren Marose; 11. 51-Dan Coutts; 12. 95-Michael Hester
Northwest Focus Midgets
A Feature 1: 1. 4-Michael Vollbrecht; 2. 24-Nick Evans; 3. 92-Doug Anderson; 4. 14-Garrett Thomas; 5. 2-Ariel Biggs; 6. 14D-Doug Davidson; 7. 21J-Ryan Cully; 8. 2A-Renee Angel; 9. 98-Ray Stebbins; 10. 9T-Tristin Thomas; 11. 43-Lee St. Paul; 12. 13A-Aly Pyles; 13. 19-Thomas Walker; 14. 39R-Makenzie Thomas; 15. 16-Nik Larson; 16. 29-Dougie James