Fan Appreciation Night Gets Completed In Front Of Large Crowd At SSP

By Ben Deatherage, Banks, Oregon- The Sunset Speedway Park, despite a week that saw some terrible weather managed to complete their scheduled Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday June 9th.  A large crowd was on hand for the event that allowed spectators to get up close and personal with their favorite drivers as the track was shut down after qualifying and the track was full of drivers with their cars for autographs.  A full card of classes was on hand also which included the Northwest Extreme Sprint Car Series, the Northwest Wingless Tour, USRA Modifieds, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, 4-Bees, and the Womens divisions.  Very special thanks go out to Wendy Dursham for helping out the new scoring team and uploading the complete results onto the internet,

In the third Northwest Extreme Sprint Car Series feature of the inaugural 2012 season another winner appeared in victory lane.  Sammy Wright would be the winner earning the victory, his first in a Sprint Car, by running a smooth and fast race to lead every lap.

Ricky Ashley would finish in second place while Theo McCarty finished in the third position.  Fourth place would be credited to Ariel Biggs and fifth to Ryan Bothwell.  Qualifications were not implemented for the winged Sprints but Ryan Bothwell won the heat race and Theo McCarty was the victor in the dash.

Theo McCarty became the fourth different winner in the four events in 2012 with the Northwest Wingless Tour.  Running a crate engine McCarty would secure the race lead and pace the field for the entire distance to win the feature.

Bill Winsley would finish in the runner-up position and Sterling Kane would finish in third.  The balance of the top five consisted of Ryan Bothwell in fourth and Jacob Gillman in fifth place.   Ariel Biggs was fast time of the night at 15.332 second, heat races were won by Colby Weedman and Sammy Wright, and the trophy dash was won by Chris Peterson.

Doug Davenport became the newest USRA Modified feature winner in 2012 becoming the third different winner in the classification.  Davenport led the entire feature despite a nasty wreck and the end of the race.

Chris Quinn would finish in the runner-up position and credited with third place would be Mark Reser.  Robert Jenner finished fourth and Scott Lenz completed the top five in fifth.  Lenz was quick time at 14.793 seconds, heat race winners were Doug Davenport, Jenner, and Reser, and Shawn Dorie was the trophy dash winner.

Jeff Lovell was the newest feature winner to join the victor’s roll by holding off defending champion Craig Loomis.  Getting the lead in the early goings was the key for Lovell’s success and getting the win.

Craig Loomis would come across the stripe in second place and behind him finishing in third would be Tony Catalano.  Marc Farrar would finish in fourth while Andrew Olsen completed the top five in fifth place.  Craig Loomis was quickest in qualifications at a time of 15.218 second, heat race winners were Jeff Lovell and Jacob Myers, and the trophy dash was won by Farrar.

In the Pure Stock feature it was Joey Tardio earning his second race of the feature leading from lap four until the checker.  Despite leading much of the race Shawn Long put him under considerable pressure but fell short of the victory as Tardio stayed out in front.

Shawna Long would finish in second and Robert Summerhalder was the third place finisher.  John Henry and Phillip Johnson would finish in fourth and fifth place positions.  Summerhalder was the quick clocker at 16.553 seconds, heat race winners were Joey Tardio and Henry, and the trophy dash was won by Long.

In 4-Bees action for the second time this season Johnny Adams crossed the checkers first.   Adams again led the entire distance in route to the victory.  Mike Mastrangelo was the second place finisher and third across the stripe was John Gartner.  Barry Lampert and Theresa Gartner were the rest of the top five finishers in fourth and fifth.  Fast time in the class was Lampert at a time of 17.211 seconds while Mastrangelo won the heat and Johnny Adams won the trophy dash.

In the final class of the season Jamie Walters overtook the lead a couple into the Womens feature.  Walters held on to the lead with Andrea Tardio chasing her down but Walters was able to outlast Tardio for the win.

Andrea Tardio was the next driver to cross the line with Freya Smith finishing in third.  The fourth place finish was given to Gabrielle Hollinger and Amanda Clarke in fifth.  Smith was fastest in time-ins at 16.886 seconds with Tardio won the heat race and Jamie Walters the trophy dash.

The Sunset Speedway Park returns to action this Saturday June 16th for their next installment in the 2012 season.  Classes on hand will be the DAA Extreme Late Model Series presented by Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, PHRA Dwarf Cars, Street Stocks, and 4-Bees.  On Wednesday June 19th the Wild Wild West Modified Shootout will return for what is scheduled to be the fifth round of seven for the 2012 edition and will feature Kenny Schrader racing alongside the USRA Modifieds.  For more information log on to the official track website at www.sunsetspeedwaypark.com.

Race Results

Fan Appreciation Night
Saturday June 9th, 2012
Sunset Speedway Park
Banks, Oregon

Northwest Extreme Sprint Car Series

6 Cars

Heat Race Winner: Ryan Bothwell (1)

Trophy Dash: Theo McCarty

A-Feature: 1. Sammy Wright, 2. Ricky Ashley, 3. Theo McCarty, 4. Ariel Biggs, 5. Ryan Bothwell, DNS Raquel Ivie

Northwest Wingless Tour

22 Cars

Fast Time: Ariel Biggs 15.332

Heat Race Winners: Colby Weedman (1), Sammy Wright (2)

Trophy Dash: Chris Peterson

B-Feature: 1. Ricky Ashley, 2. Rob Lindsey, 3. Andrew Reitmann, 4. Colby Weedman, 5. Darren Rothe, 6. Josh Horner, 7. Brad Rhodes, 8. Sammy Wright, DNS Raquel Ivie, DNS Travis Tomlinson, DNS Justen McConnville

A-Feature: 1. Theo McCarty, 2. Bill Winsley, 3. Sterling Kane, 4. Ryan Bothwell, 5. Jacob Gillman, 6. Ariel Biggs, 7. Ted Elfving, 8. Ricky Ashley, 9. Guy Weedman, 10. Rob Lindsey, 11. Tommy Moreno, 12. Colby Weedman, 13. Andrew Reitmann, 14. Darren Rother, 15. Sammy Wright, 16. Chris Peterson

USRA Modifieds

16 Cars

Fast Time: Scott Lenz 14.793

Heat Race Winners: Doug Davenport (1), Robert Jenner (2), Mark Reser (3)

Trophy Dash: Shawn Dorie

A-Feature: 1. Doug Davenport, 2. Chris Quinn, 3. Mark Reser, 4. Robert Jenner, 5. Scott Lenz, 6. Rayun McMichael, 7. Chris Hallberg, 8. Sean Fox, 9. Sonny Sayre, 10. David Day, 11. Don Schott, 12. Pam Graham, 13. Rob Ireland, 14. Brett Eakins, 15. Brandon Penney, 16. Shawn Dorie

Street Stocks

11 Cars

Fast Time: Craig Loomis 15.218

Heat Race Winners: Jeff Lovell (1), Jacob Myers (2)

Trophy Dash: Marc Farrar

A-Feature: 1. Jeff Lovell, 2. Craig Loomis, 3. Tony Catalano, 4. Marc Farrar, 5, Andrew Olsen, 6. Ron Jermann, 7. Jacob Myers, 8. Tanner Baldwin, 9. Jordan Robinson, 10. Rob Ireland, 11. Benny Sauter

Pure Stocks

12 Cars

Fast Time: Robert Summhalder 16.553

Heat Race Winners: Joey Tardio (1), John Henry (2)

Trophy Dash: Shawna Long

A-Feature: 1. Joey Tardio, 2. Shawna Long, 3. Robert Summerhalder, 4. John Henry, 5. Phillip Johnson, 6. Bob McGrotty, 7. Mike Jermann, 8. Zack Milne, 9. Ken Kaiser, 10. Ron Provost, 11. Dan Sheller, 12. Bert Pegg

4-Bees

7 Cars

Fast Time: Barry Lampert 17.211

Heat Race Winner: Mike Mastrangelo

Trophy Dash: Johnny Adams

A-Feature: 1. Johnny Adams, 2. Mike Mastrangelo, 3. John Gartner, 4. Barry Lampert, 5. Theresa Gartner, 6. Cody Jones, 7. Jason Blythe

Womens

6 Cars

Fast Time: Freya Smith 16.886

Heat Race Winner: Andrea Tardio

Trophy Dash: Jamie Walters

A-Feature: 1. Jamie Walters, 2. Andrea Tardio, 3. Freya Smith, 4. Gabrielle Hollinger, 5. Amanda Clarke, 6. Cori Vandercoevering