Stacy Verrall, TULSA, Okla. (September 20, 2010) – Merely two points separate defending ASCS Northwest Champion Roger Crockett and current points leader Jason Solwold as the northwest’s premier sprint car racing series rolls into Yakima on September 24 & 25 for the final two races of the 2010 season.
It’s been a battle all year long between Crockett and Solwold. Crockett: five wins. Solwold: five hard charger awards. Crockett: almost lapped an entire field of cars in Oregon. Solwold: the only driver this season to make all the feature race events. Crocket: precise. Solwold: fearless. Both racers’ careers are decorated with championships and prestigious trophies. Both love to win. Both hate to lose.
Crockett’s balance of excellence vs Solwold’s undauntedness in the face of adversity. Which side will you be cheering for?
With the festivities of fair food and fun accompanying one of the tightest championship battles in northwest racing history, could it get any better than this? It does.
Not only is the contest for first going to be heated this weekend, but the clash for third should be just as intense. Only 14 points separate Seth Bergman, Mitch Olson and Henry Van Dam leaving the final podium position wide open for the one who has the most desire to claim it.
And keep an eye on our rookies as they too are hoping to walk away with some top dog honors. 14 year old Trey Starks is the current rookie points leader with TJ Hartman and Mack Brown at his heals.
It’s going to be fun, fast and intensely exciting. This is one race weekend you won’t want to miss.
Check out the “Top Twenty Season Recap” below to get you up to speed for the ASCS Northwest’s Championship Weekend.
Information to Assist Your Travel Plans:
Central Washington State Fair Raceway: September 24 & 25, 2010
Map it: 1301 South Fair Avenue, Yakima, WA 98901
(enter through Gate #11 off of 18th Street)
www.fairfun.com
Quick Tips & Information:
~Pit gate opens at noon.
~Grandstands open at 5:00pm.
~Racing starts at 6:00pm.
~Pit pass: $30 for drivers and $40 for spectators.
~Ticket Prices. Admittance to the grandstands is free with fair admission ($12/adult). Please visit www.fairfun.com for special deals and ticket prices. Reserved box seats ($16/seat) are also available on both Friday and Saturday. The price of a reserved seat does NOT include Fair admission. Fair admission is sold separately.
~Camping is available on the fairgrounds (space is limited). For more information on fairground camping, contact Ruth at 509-248-7160 ext# 105.
~Partner hotels for the fairground are listed below. Mention State Fair Park at the time of your reservation to receive a special room rate (note: to get the special room rates you need to call the hotel directly):
- Best Western Ahtanum Inn, 2408 Rudkin Rd, Union Gap, WA (509)-248-9700.
- Howard Johnson, 9 North 9th Street, Yakima, WA, (509) 452-6511
- Ledgestone Hotel, 107 North Fair Avenue, Yakima, WA, (509) 453-3151
- North Park Lodge, 659 North Wenas Road, Selah, WA, (509) 698-6000
- Oxford Inn, 1603 East Yakima Avenue, Yakima, WA, (509) 457-4444
- Oxford Suites, 1701 East Yakima Avenue, Yakima, WA, (509) 457-9000
- Super 8 Motel, 2605 Rudkin Road, Union Gap, WA, (509) 248-8880
Top Twenty Season Recap:
ONE: Henry Van Dam captured his first ASCS win at Coos Bay Speedway in August.
TWO: On the Fourth of July weekend in Cottage Grove, both feature events went green to checker. The first race that weekend would be the fastest 30 lap sprint car race in Cottage Grove’s history timing in at 6 minutes and 45 seconds! Roger Crockett was moving so fast in that race, he lapped everyone except for second place’s Henry Van Dam.
THREE: At Southern Oregon Speedway, Shark Racing Engines dominated all three spots on the podium with Travis Rilat in first, Mitch Olson in second and Kyle Hirst in third.
FOUR: 4pm was the time when The Passing Point, a LIVE pre-race internet show hosted by series announcer Fred Rannard Jr., was aired before each ASCS Northwest race. However, The Passing Point will be broadcast live at 3pm instead of the usual 4pm this Friday and Saturday from Central Washington State Fair Raceway in Yakima, WA due to an earlier start time for the races. Tune in as Rannard recaps the ASCS Northwest’s season followed by the introduction of two talented young racers, Shane Broers and Logan Forler, to sprint car racing fans across the country. Watch online at www.thepassingpoint.com or http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-passing-point.
FIVE: Five feature race wins have been collected by Roger Crockett so far this season. Five is also the number of Travis Rutz Hard Charger awards Jason Solwold has collected in 2010, which leaves little explanation as to why these two hot shoes are nearly tied for the ASCS Northwest Championship title leading into the final two races of the season in Yakima.
SIX: Geographically, six areas (five states and one province) were represented at the race in Great Falls, Montana, attracting one of Electric City Speedway’s biggest crowds ever!
SEVEN: Going into the weekend, the ASCS Northwest series will have raced at seven different tracks this season across three states (Southern Oregon Speedway, Coos Bay Speedway, Cottage Grove Speedway, Willamette Speedway, Sunset Speedway, Electric City Speedway and Grays Harbor Raceway).
EIGHT: At each race, the top eight positions are decided by a pill draw with the highest in points after the heat races being the first to draw a number. At Coos Bay, the top dog was Mr. Shark, Marc Huson, who had just come out of a four year retirement!
NINE: So far there have been nine different ASCS Northwest feature race winners this season (Crockett, Solwold, Van Dam, Barnes, Rilat, Hirst, Johnson, Bacon, Taylor).
TEN: The Ten Thousand (and ninety-two) Dollars to win at the Fred Brownfield Memorial Race in Elma, WA, was the third highest prize on the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour this year.
ELEVEN: There have been eleven different Travis Rutz Hard Charger Winners so far this season (Solwold, Lemley, Noland, Crockett, Van Dam, VanAagten, Tiner, Bacon, Johnson, Dover, Hirst).
TWELVE: Twelve drivers/owners are still eligible to win the $34,000 Shark Racing Engine. To be entered into the drawing at the 2010 ASCS Northwest Championship Banquet (located this year at The Little Creek Casino in Shelton, WA, on November 6, 2010), competitors had to participate in 100% of the ASCS Northwest’s events this season. Those still eligible to win are Bergman, Broers, Brown, Crockett, DeWitt, Hartman, Linder, Olson, Solwold, Starks, Vague and Van Dam. http://www.sharkracingengines.com/
THIRTEEN: This year Roger Crockett tied Steve Kent’s record for the most Northwest Speedweek feature race wins, each now with thirteen under their belts.
FOUTEEN: 14 year old Trey Starks currently leads TJ Hartman and Mack Brown in the ASCS Northwest Rookie of the Year race.
FIFTEEN: The ASCS Northwest has completed fifteen events so far this season, and Jason Solwold is the only person who has made all fifteen feature races.
SIXTEEN: There were over sixteen thousand dollars in contingency certificates up for grabs during the Oregon race weekend in August!
SEVENTEEN: In today’s economy, attracting seventeen cars to a race would be a decent number. However, double seventeen and you’d just about have the average number of cars that participated this season at ASCS Northwest events. The average car count in 2010 for ASCS Northwest races was between 35 and 36 cars.
EIGHTEEN: Eighteen cars from the ASCS National series made the haul out to the northwest this year to compete in the double header weekends at Grays Harbor Raceway and Cottage Grove Speedway.
NINETEEN: Nineteen races were on the ASCS Northwest schedule this season.
TWENTY: Thanks to Little Creek Casino Resort, the top twenty teams at the end of the ASCS Northwest season will get one FREE room at the resort and three FREE tickets for the championship banquet on November 6th. (Note: the top ten teams get TWO FREE rooms for that night). Join us for a night of festivities and fun with comedian Dax Jordan on hand for part of the evening’s entertainment. http://littlecreek1.reachlocal.net/
ASCS Information:
For more information on the ASCS National series and drivers, check out www.ascsracing.com.
For more information on the ASCS Northwest Regional series and drivers, check out www.ascsnorthwest.com.
- Lonnie Wheatley on Sep 21, 2010
- Article Date: 9/21/2010