Engines roared to life, with the 2015 racing season beginning at Grays Harbor Raceway Saturday night, with over 80 cars in the pit area between all classes of cars. The 360 Sprint Cars, Shipwreck Bead's Modifieds, Cut Rate Auto Parts Street Stocks, Northwest Focus Midget Series, and Outlaw Tuners were on hand to bring the excitement of dirt track racing to the 3/8's banked clay oval.
Cut Rate Auto Parts Street Stocks
Defending champion Jack Parshall of Hoquiam was looking to begin the 2015 season with a visit to victory lane. Parshall who was victorious eight times last season, would start on the outside front row with Aberdeen driver Austin Kerrigan. As the green flag would fall on the 20 lap feature, Kerrigan would lead them down into turn one, and taking the early lead. Shelton's Brenton Schnitzer would move past Parshall for second. It wouldn't take long for Parshall to work his way back up to race with Schnitzer, as both drivers were right on the back bumper of Kerrigan. Schnitzer would run the high side of the raceway trying to find momentum to make a pass on Kerrigan. Quickly lap traffic became a factor for Kerrigan, as Schnitzer would take the lead down the backstretch, but the yellow would soon come out for Shane Kerrigan and Cory Sweatman together who would get together in turn one.
Schnitzer would lead the field down on the restart, with Kerrigan, and Parshall in chase, Kerrigan would use the low side of the raceway to make a run at taking the lead from Schnitzer. Both drivers would race side by side, battling for position, allowing Tom Hecker of Spanaway to join in on the battle, as he would get by Parshall and Aberdeen's Jason Tole. Schnitzer would hit lap traffic with Kerrigan side by side with him multiple times, making no room for mistakes with Hecker, Parshall, and Tole on their back bumpers. Kerrigan would take the lead from Schnitzer, and Parshall would move into the second position. The yellow flag would come out once again, this time for Jason Tole who would come to a stop in turn three after contact a lap earlier with Hecker.
Kerrigan would lead the field down on the restart, with Parshall, Hecker, Schnitzer, and Mike Knox of Tacoma, Kerrigan would pull away slightly, but it didn't take long before the yellow would come out once again, this time for Sweatman, who was involved in an earlier incident. He would come to a stop in turn four. Kerrigan who's car would work best on the bottom of the raceway, would lead the field down again on the restart, with Parshall and Hecker battling for the second position. Parshall would maintain the second position from Hecker for a handful a laps, until the caution would fly again for Sweatman who would stop once again in turn four. The final restart of the evening would be a green, white, checkered restart, with Kerrigan leading the field to the green flag. Parshall and Hecker would once again battle for the second position, this time Hecker moving into second, and setting his sights on Kerrigan. Hecker would try a outside pass on Kerrigan in turn two, but Kerrigan would continue to lead, and go on to pick up his first win of 2015. Hecker, Parshall, Kelly Fugate, and Schnitzer would round out the top five. Heat race winners were Tole and Schnitzer with Parshall picking up fast time.
Shipwreck Bead's Modifieds:
Vancouver's Kenny Miller and Kris Asche of Shelton would lead the field down in the 25 lap feature for the Shipwreck Bead's Modifieds. Asche would take the lead on the green flag, but the yellow would quickly come out for Shelton's Jason St. Paul who would spin in turn one. With no laps in the books, the field would have a complete restart, with Asche and Miller leading them down, racing side by side down the front stretch. Shelton's Scott Miller, would also join in on the battle for the lead. The yellow flag would fly for Joe German of Wishkah who would spin on the backstretch. On the restart, Asche would lead the field, down, with Scott Miller taking over the second position from Kenny Miller. The battle for the lead between Asche and Scott Miller would get exciting for the fans, as Miller would look to the inside of Asche in turn three. Miller would take the lead from Asche, but the yellow would come out once again, this time for Cosmopolis driver Tom Sweatman, as he would spin to a stop in turn one.
After a series of yellow flags, the race was very exciting as Asche and Kenny Miller would battle for second, with Port Hardy, British Columbia driver Graham Cook right there to take an advantage of their mistakes. Cook would get by Asche, and look to track down the top two cars. The battle for the fifth position between German, who was involved in an early incident, and Bremerton's James Wolfard, would see both drivers race hard for position. German would get by Wolfard for fifth while Scott Miller would pull away from the field to almost a straightaway lead, but the battle for second would heat up between Kenny Miller and Cook, as they both would race side by side down the back stretch, Cook would get the spot from Miller out of turn four. Scott MIller would hit lap traffic, allowing Cook to close in quickly setting up a battle between both drivers. Scott Miller would run the lower side of the raceway, looking very smooth, with Cook looking to make his move to take the lead. Kenny Miller would also join in on the battle, as he would get to the back bumper of Cook.
Lap traffic would get heavier for Scott Miller, allowing Cook to very close to his back bumper, even giving a few bumps to it, as both drivers would maneuver through the traffic. Miller would continue to lead, as Cook would look to the high side to try and make a pass. The yellow flag would come out, which would put an end to the long green flag run, as Brandon Nutter of Sedro Woolley would spin in turn four. This would bunch the field back up, allowing Cook, Kenny Miller, and German, a shot at Scott Miller. Miller would lead them down, with Kenny Miller working his way back into the second position, and trying to make a bid for the lead on Scott Miller. Miller would get to the back bumper of Scott MIller, and try to make a run in turn three, but at the end of the 25 lap feature, Scott Miller would pick up the win, Kenny Miller, Cook, Sweatman, and German, who both rebounded from earlier incidents would round out the top five. Heat race winners earlier in the evening went to Scott Miller and Cook.
Northwest Focus Midget Series:
The Northwest Focus Midget Series would take to the 3/8's banked clay oval for their first race of the season at Grays Harbor Raceway. The Northwest Focus Midget Series has had one race this year already up at Deming Speedway where Michael Vollbrecht picked up his first career win. The crowd got a bit of a treat, Lucas Oil ASCS National Series driver, and 2010 Grays Harbor Raceway 360 Sprint Car track champion Seth Bergman would join the field, as he had an off weekend from the ASCS National Series. In the 20 lap feature, McCleary's Garrett Thomas and Seth Bergman would lead the field down to the green flag, Thomas would take the lead for a moment, but Bergman would get by him in turn three. Bergman would pull away as the battle to watch was between McCleary driver Ariel Biggs, and Vollbrecht, who would battle for the fourth and fifth position. Bergman who would continue to lead, as Garrett Thomas, and Burlington's Tristin Thomas, who would battle for third with Nik Larson of Lake Steven's looking to chase him down. The yellow would come out for Nick Evans, as he would come to a stop near the track exit.
Bergman would get a great restart, with both Garrett Thomas and Tristin Thomas in chase, Larson would momentarily get by Tristin Thomas for third, but Thomas would get the position back. Garrett Thomas would be on the back bumper of Bergman for a handful of laps, trying to find the line to make a move on the Snohomish driver. Bergman would pull away slightly as the laps would go by, meanwhile Tristin Thomas would set his sights on Garrett Thomas for the second position, getting very close to the back bumper. The yellow flag would come out again, this time for Kenzi Thomas of Bellingham who would stop on the backstretch, but not only that, contact between Larson, and Auburn's Ray Stebbins, would see Larson spin after the contact.
On the restart, Bergman would once again lead the field down, as Biggs, Vollbrecht and Tristin Thomas would battle for the third, fourth and fifth position. This would allow Bergman and Garrett Thomas to pull away from the field, and Thomas would close in on Bergman for the lead. Tristin Thomas who slipped back to fifth, would get by Vollbrecht for the fourth position, and try to run down Biggs for third. Bergman would take the checkered flag, but was 2 pounds light at the scales, and did not pass post race tech. Garrett Thomas would pick up his first win of 2015, with Biggs, Tristin Thomas, Vollbrecht, and Hannah Lindquist rounding out the top five. Heat race winners were Tristin Thomas, and Garrett Thomas, with Tristin Thomas picking up fast time, and a new track record.
360 Sprint Cars:
Burlington's Eric Fisher, and the 2014 Summer Thunder Sprint Series champion Colton Heath would lead the field to the green flag in the 25 lap 360 Sprint Car feature. Fisher would get the lead from Heath, but the red flag would come out for JJ Hickle and Logan Forler who both would get upside down in turn two. Both drivers would walk away with no injuries. On the restart, Fisher, Heath, and Puyallup driver Trey Starks would try to make it three wide down the front stretch. Fisher would continue to lead, with Heath, and Starks in chase. Fisher would pull away slightly, running the high side of the raceway, but it didn't take long for Heath to try and chase down Fisher. Just as lap traffic would look to be a factor, the yellow flag would come out for Devin Madonia of Lake Stevens, who would spin to a stop in turn two.
Fisher would lead the field down to the green for the restart, and continuing his lead, but the red flag would come out once again, this time for 2014 Northwest Focus Midget Series track champion Chase Goetz, as he would get upside down in turn one, also involved was Jason Reed of Elma. Goetz would be ok, and would continue to run the feature, with top wing damage. Fisher would once again lead the field down on the restart, with Heath, Starks, and Mill Creek driver Cam Smith in chase. Fisher would once again pull away slightly from Heath, but a handful of cautions would allow restarts that would bunch up the field, allowing Heath multiple chances to take the lead from Fisher. Once again Fisher and Heath would catch lap traffic, allowing Heath to make his move for the lead. While the leaders were trying to put Chase Goetz a lap down, both Fisher and Heath made contact, Fisher would spin, collecting Heath, and Starks, Fisher and Heath would stop, and Starks would continue on with minimal damage.
Starks would lead the field down, as Heath and Fisher both went to the pit area, after the incident that brought out the yellow. Enumclaw's Henry Van Dam, Tyler Anderson of Everett, and Cobble Hill, British Columbia's Robbie Price would try and chase down Starks, but the yellow would come out once again, this time for Anderson who would spin in turn one on the restart. Starks would lead Van Dam, Price, and Smith to the green flag, and take the lead. The battle to watch on the raceway would be between Smith, and Price for the third position, as Smith would move into the spot. Trey Starks would pick up the win, Van Dam, Smith, Price, and Nick Thornhill would round out the top five. Heat race winners were Smith, Thornhill and Hickle, with Forler picking up fast time.
Outlaw Tuners:
Willie Wright of Aberdeen, had 2 wins last season in the Outlaw Tuners, and Saturday night was looking to pick up his first win of 2015. Wright who started third in the 12 lap feature wouldn't take long to get the lead. Wright would lead Wishkah's Don Briggs Sr, who was looking to capitalize on any mistakes that Wright would have during the race. While Wright would lead the feature, one of the battles to watch was between Elisabeth Knox of Spanaway, Aberdeen's Jason Valentine, and Cody Scouller of Woodland, as they would battle for position.
The Outlaw Tuner feature would go caution free with Willie Wright picking up the win, Don Briggs Sr, George Lovell, Jason Valentine, and Cody Scouller would round out the top five. Not only was Wright victorious in the feature, but he was also the heat race winner.
Racing will continue next Saturday night at Grays Harbor Raceway with the Sportsman Sprints, Shipwreck Beads Modifieds, Cut Rate Auto Parts Street Stocks, and the Outlaw Tuners, gates open at 5:30 PM, racing starts at 7PM. For more info, go to www.graysharborraceway.com
Grays Harbor Raceway
April 25, 2015
Cut Rate Auto Parts Street Stocks:
Fast Time: 9 Jack Parshall
Heat 1:
- 34 Jason Tole, 2. 9 Jack Parshall, 3. 43 Shane Kerrigan, 4. 97 Eddie Blood, 5. 13XXX Don Briggs Jr., 6. 40 Mike Knox Jr, 7. 87W Tyler Walker, 8. 11 Cory Sweatman, 9. 78 Josh Anthony
Heat 2:
- 87 Brenton Schnitzer, 2. AK47 Austin Kerrigan, 3. 5 Tom Hecker, 4. 99 Matt Babcock, 5. 11X Ross Watkins, 6. 14 Jeff Daniel, 7. 91 Mike Clingen, 8. 22X Kelly Fugate
A-Main:
- Austin Kerrigan, 2. Hecker, 3. Parshall, 4. Fugate, 5. Schnitzer, 6. Blood, 7. Shane Kerrigan, 8. Briggs Jr, 9. Watkins, 10. Daniel, 11. Clingen, 12. Anthony, 13. Babcock, 14. Walker, 15. Tole, 16. Miller, 17. Sweatman
Shipwreck Bead's Modifieds:
Heat 1:
- 26 Scott Miller, 2. 50K Kris Asche, 3. 11 Tom Sweatman, 4. 22M Mel Decker, 5. 58 James Wolfard, 6. 17 Brian Izzi, 7. 67 Arnold Norton, 8. 8S Cameron Sanders, 9. AK47 Austin Kerrigan, 10. 34X Jason St. Paul
Heat 2:
- 75C Graham Cook, 2. 57 Kenny Miller, 3. 47 Steve Signal, 4. 43K Shane Kerrigan, 5. 34 Gene Miller, 6. 55 Carl Larson, 7. 4R Bill Rowe, 8. 95N Brandon Nutter, 9. 44 Del Schnitzer, 10. Joe German
A-Main:
- Scott Miller, 2. Kenny Miller, 3. Cook, 4. Sweatman, 5. German, 6. Wolfard, 7. Asche, 8. Decker, 9. Izzi, 10. Larson, 11. Carlisle, 12. Rowe, 13. Signal, 14. Norton, 15. Sanders, 16. Shane Kerrigan, 17. Nutter, 18. St. Paul
Northwest Focus Midget Series:
Fast Time: 9T Tristin Thomas - NEW TRACK RECORD
Heat 1:
- 9T Tristin Thomas, 2. 99 Seth Bergman, 3. 4 Michael Vollbrecht, 4. 3H Hannah Lindquist, 5. 2A Renee Angel, 6. 19 Thomas Walker, 7. 98 Ray Stebbins
Heat 2:
- 14 Garrett Thomas, 2. 16 Nick Larson, 3. 2 Ariel Biggs, 4. 43 Lee St. Paul, 5. 24 Nick Evans, 6. 21 Kensey Thomas, 7. 14D Doug Davidson
A-Main:
- Garrett Thomas, 2. Biggs, 3. Tristin Thomas, 4. Vollbrecht, 5. Lindquist, 6. St. Paul, 7. Angel, 8. Walker, 9. Stebbins, 10. Davidson, 11. Larson, 12. Kensey Thomas, 13. Evans, 14. Bergman
360 Sprint Cars:
Fast Time: 2L Logan Forler
Heat 1:
- 17 Cam Smith, 2. 5R Steve Reeves, 3. 2L Logan Forler, 4. 44H Eric Fisher, 5. 9R Reece Goetz, 6. 24 Tyler Anderson, 7. 97R Jason Reed
Heat 2:
- 12 Nick Thornhill, 2. 33V Henry Van Dam, 3. 21 Robbie Price, 4. 42 Devin Madonia, 5. 96 Greg Hamilton
Heat 3:
- 3 JJ Hickle, 2. 91 Chase Goetz, 3. 33 Colton Heath, 4. 55 Trey Starks, 5. 0J Jay Cole, 6. 15 Dan Dunlap
A-Main:
- Starks, 2. Van Dam, 3. Smith, 4. Price, 5. Thornhill, 6. Cole, 7. Hamilton, 8. Madonia, 9. Chase Goetz, 10. Dunlap, 11. Fisher, 12. Heath, 13. Anderson, 14. Reeves, 15. Reed, 16. Forler, 17. Ridge, 18, Reece Goetz, 19. Hickle
Outlaw Tuners:
Heat Race:
17 Willie Wright
A-Main:
- 17 Willie Wright, 2. 13 Don Briggs Sr. 3. 96 George Lovell, 4. 7 Jason Valentine, 5. 11X Cody Scouller, 6. 40 Elisabeth Knox, 7. 33 Ron Vassar
- Steve Beitler on Apr 27, 2015
- Article Date: 4/27/2015 by Aaron Reed