M. Graham And Youngren Earn Sunday Sunset Victories
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Nikki Gamell)
Banks, Oregon- As Sunset Speedway Park would host the first leg of the 2016 Speedweek Northwest on Sunday July 3rd for 360 Sprint Cars the “Banks Bullring” would also have two divisions play the role as the support class. Both the IMCA Sport Mods and Dwarf Cars were in the house and would produce some decent car counts.
The IMCA Sport Mod main event would see two cautions before the completion of the first lap. Once the race got going it would be Springfield’s Daniel Ray taking care of business. But over time Ray would be caught by Mike Graham. Graham, of Portland, made the pass for the top spot on lap five and remained there the rest of the distance to win his first race of 2016 at SSP.
Daniel Ray was second while Hillsboro’s John Henry finished third. Jayson Nelson from Springfield got fourth and Portland’s Pam Graham ended her night in fifth.
Pam and Mike Graham would be the two heat race winners early in the night. Mike Graham managed to finish first in the trophy dash and by winning the main event would complete a clean sweep of the night’s events.
In the Dwarf Cars Ryan Martinez would show the way in the early goings. Martinez, from Portland, would build a decent lead but on a long green flag in the first half of the race would see Shane Youngren creep into the picture. Youngren made the pass around Martinez on lap twelve and pulled away from there. Shane Youngren, hailing from Tigard, finished in first place to win for the fourth time of the current campaign.
Jimmy Brinster of St. Helens would finish second while third went to Ryan Martinez. The balance of the top five was made up of Castle Rock, Washington’s Guy Tow Jr. in fourth and his father Guy Tow Sr., of Rainier, in fifth.
Jimmy Brinster was fast time of the night and Guy Tow Sr. was the winner of the trophy dash. Heat race winners were Brinster, Shane Youngren, and Guy Tow Jr. A consolation feature was also ran and Portland’s Doug McVae finished in first.
Sunset Speedway Park will be in action on Saturday July 9th for the Firecracker 100 presented by Baseline Pawn and 98.7 The Bull. Late Models, Budweiser IMCA Modifieds, Bridgeport Logistics Street Stocks, and 4-Bee’s will all be on the card. To cap the whole night off will be a massive fireworks display.
Tickets are Adults $15.00, Seniors/Juniors (13-17)/Military $13.00, Youths (6-12) $8.00, while Kids (5 and Under) are FREE. A Family Pass (2 Adults and up to 4 Youths) will be $55.00 while Premium Seating is $35.00 per seat. Pit Gates open at 2:00 PM, Front Gates 4:00, and Racing begins around 6:30. For more information, log on to www.sunsetspeedwaypark.com.