MONROE, Washington -- For the fifth week in succession weather was involved in Evergreen Speedway’s racing program. After a great afternoon and early evening a weather front moved into the area forcing speedway officials to scramble to run the NASCAR Speedway Chevrolet Super Stock 50-lap main out of sequence. At the end of the 50-lap main Shane Harding was the winner a seasons first. A dry track was not the fate for the remaining six divisions. The NASCAR Mini-Stocks fought wet and dry conditions. Tony Bunkleman took home the first place trophy. The NASCAR Les Schwab Tires Bombers raced on an extremely wet track as the heavy rain caused many cars to hydroplane. Jim Foti won his fourth main in the last two seasons all in the rain. Northwest Legend driver Matt Barrett won the 30-lap main. Three figure eight divisions sloshed through the maze with Steve Peters winning the Super Main, Noah Chandler the Extreme Contact main and Greg Estes the Stinger 8 main. The night ended with an Auto Bowling event and Cody Koroshes knocked over five of seven pins for a win.
The Super Stock main was briefly delayed when a rain shower slightly wet the track. The track dried quickly and the green flag started the 50-lap main event. Jason Fraser held the lead until there were 5-laps remaining. The relentless pressure from Shane Harding forced Fraser into his only mistake. In turns three and four Fraser got out of shape and the groove with Harding taking immediate advantage to gain his first win of the young season. Fraser held onto second his best ever finish and John Zaretzke winner of the first race of the Super Stock Series finished third.
NASCAR’s Mini-Stocks contended with a wet track to begin the 30-lap main then the track went dry only to have it get wet again at the finish. Tony Bunkleman used these conditions to garner a win, a first for the season. It was not an easy win for Bunkleman with Jamie Richardson, Dave Ramey and Nat Barber all waiting to pounce if he made a mistake. Bunkleman was undaunted. Richardson was second and Ramey third. Defending division champion with one win this season Nat Barber fell back to finish a disappointing seventh.
Bomber driver Jim Foti had three wins last season all on wet tracks. Again this season he showed his driving prowess in adverse conditions. The rain storm got serious at the beginning of the divisions 30-lap main and did not let up. Cars were running side by side with rooster tails as they slid slipped and hydroplaned their way around the banked 3/8-mile oval. Foti led from start to finish and cruised to an easy victory as if driving in the rain was easy. Travis Blackwood survived a mid-race skirmish which peeled back much of the right side sheet metal to finish a distant second. Last week’s winner Darin Stordahl was third.
The Northwest Legend Series made up for a tame season with many spectacular crashes. Matt Barrett recovered from an early race spin having to restart the wet 30-lap main from the rear of the 21 car pack. Barrett made a late race pass to gain a second win in four starts keeping the Pro Division’s point lead. Garrett Haxby made his season debut finishing second and Tom Matheson finished third
Figure Eight racing on a wet race track is a bit dicey. The heavier car of Steve Peters proved to be the right set up for the Super Figure Eight 40-lap main. With the race in its final 10-laps the two leaders Brandon Lindberg and Rich Groshong got tangled in lapped traffic. This was the opportunity that Peters needed and he took advantage to pass on the inside putting the remaining cars in his wake. Harry Clements was second and Groshong third.
Extreme Contact was the proper name for this figure eight division. There was only one car that avoided all the crashing and banging. Noah Chandler grabbed another rain dampened main. Benny Raynes survived many a skirmish to finish second and Josh Beckel was third.
Greg Estes who mastered the Stinger 8 Division early last season has started this season the same way with a winner’s trophy. Running fourth with a half lap remaining in the 15-lap main Estes threaded his way through the congested and dreaded X when the leaders did not. Scott Broshes took home the second place trophy and Steve Baumgartner third place.
Next up at Evergreen Speedway is the Snap-On Tools 60 Minutes of Fear for the Figure Eights. The grueling 60-minute event tests the stamina and bravery of the drivers. The NASCAR Speedway Chevrolet Super Stocks, NASCAR Les Schwab Tires Bombers and Hertz Equipment Rental Hornets round out a full night of racing.
Qualifying will be at 3:45pm, heat races are at 5pm and main events begin at 7pm. Adults $15.50, Jr/Sr & Military $9.50, Children (6-11) $4.50, Family Pass 2-Adults and up to 4-Children $40.00
Pre-Race tickets are available on the Speedway’s Web Page www.evergreenspeedway.com or call the office Tuesday through Saturday at 360 805-6100.
Evergreen Speedway April 23 Results
NASCAR Speedway Chevrolet Super Stocks:
Gem Star Homes $250 Dash for Cash: John Zaretzke
50-Lap Main: 1-Shane Harding; 2-Jason Fraser; 3-Zaretzke; 4-Naima Lang; 5-Gaylon Stewart; 6-Doug Davidson; 7-Dan Beecher; 8-Richard Harriman; 9-John Burtsche; 10-Scott Sarto; 11-Tom Hughes; 12-Joey Decker; 13-Rob Angus; 14-Shane Landry; 15-Ken DeFoe
NASCAR Les Schwab Tires Bombers:
20-Lap B Main: 1-Mike Miller; 2-Dwayne Humenny; 3-Nikki Bristol; 4-Mark Trail; 5-James Mugge; 6-Dave Benson; 7-Rich Brown
30-Lap Main: 1-Jim Foti; 2-Travis Blackwood; 3-Darin Stordahl; 4-Russ Hales; 5-Brad Sweeney; 6-Steve Ptacek; 7-Craig Rowalt; 8-Naima Lang; 9-Darrel Lutovsky; 10 Steve McElroy; 11-Clark Casey; 12-Merlin Cook; 13-Marv Monty; 14-Michael Counihan; 15-Jill Lang; 16-Eric Shover; 17-Brian Cottrell; 18-Tim Davis
NASCAR Mini-Stocks:
25-Lap Main: 1-Tony Bunkleman; 2-Jamie Richardson; 3-Dave Ramey; 4-Chadd Chase; 5-Mark Weedin; 6-Troy Selby; 7-Nat Barber; 8-Travis Bliven; 9-Steve Kelly; 10-Rick Lapinski; 11-John Roberts
Northwest Legends: (P) Pro – (M) Master – (SP) Semi-Pro
30-Lap Main: 1- Matt Barrett(P); 2-Garrett Haxby(P); 3-Tom Matheson(P); 4-Rowan Carey(SP); 5-Jeff Mueller(SP); 6-Joe Martin(P); 7-Robert Hornbeck(M); 8-Mike Gardner(SP); 9-Mel Main(SP); 10-Tracy Titus(SP); 11-Mark Donner(SP); 12-Ty Hunter(SP); 13-Jimmy Landon(SP); 14-Nick Johnson(SP); 15-Chuck Hornbeck(SP); 16-Marc Christopherson; 17-Kennt Makawichuk(SP); 18-Rob Hawton(M); 19-Randy Schaff(SP); 20-Rick McNeil(M); 21-Duane Swanson(P)
Stinger 8’s:
15-Lap Main: 1-Greg Estes; 2-Scott Broshes; 3-Steve Baumgartner; 4-Ben Chandler; 5-Craig Jantz; 6-Jose Fuste; 7-Cody Koroshes; 8-Bill Peterson; 9-Justin Ferguson; 10-Tim Holdon; 11-Jody Brooks
Super Figure Eights:
20-Lap B Main: 1- Tim Bergstrom; 2-Bill Howard; 3-Nick Gunderson; 4-Wendi Boyd; 5-JR Sundholm; 6-Jerry Funden; 7-Earl Rohn; 8-Richard Shaver
40-Lap Main: 1-Steve Peters; 2- Harry Clements; 3-Rich Groshong; 4-John Carlson; 5-Arnold Freshour; 6-JR Sundholm; 7-Brandon Lindberg; 8-Jerry Funden; 9-Doug Wilkinson; 10-Ryan Gunderson; 11-Wendi Boyd; 12-Tony Crenshaw; 13-Nick Gunderson; 14-Don Teel; 15-Don Eslick; 16-Greg Scott
Extreme Contact Figure Eights:
25-Lap Main: 1-Noah Chandler; 2-Benny Raynes; 3-Josh Beckel; 4-Adam Hinds; 5-Jody Brooks; 6-Geoff Chandler; 7-Bruce Wilson; 8-Russ Stotler; 9-Mike Buse; 10-Bill Wade; 11-Joe Smith; 12-Bryce Kolar; 13-Darren Beach; 14-Robert Fuhrman; 15-Nick Niesen
