MARYSVILLE, Washington -- As the start of the 2009 season draws near for the American Speed Association (ASA) Northwest Late Model Tour the list of drivers competing keeps growing. The opening race at Evergreen Speedway will introduce three new drivers to the series and the monster .646 mile oval. It will also be the start of the chase for the coveted Rookie of the Year Award for all three
Spence Gatrell (Aurora, OR), Amanda MacDonald (Ephrata, WA) and Joey Tanner (Portland, OR) are 21 years old or younger. Even though they are young they do not lack in experience. Each has a varying background in racing.
Twenty-One year old Gatrell a student at the University of Northwestern Ohio, started racing Quarter Midgets when he was 9-years old. At the age of 16 he moved up to the full midgets and became rookie of the year in the Washington Midget Racing Association (WMRA). Two years later he won seven WMRA races and became their 2007 Champion. That year he got his first taste of Late Model Stock Car racing when he had the chance to run at South Sound Speedway for one race. In 2008 he moved to road course SCCA racing picking up 2-wins in an ITE class car. Gatrell is bringing in, former winner on the ASA Northwest Tour Series, Brandon Riehl to assist with his transition to the much heavier stock car.
Even though she has spent the last two years racing stock cars this will be a major transition moving to the Northwest’s only Super Late Model traveling series. Starting at age 16 driving a Hornet car at Ephrata Speedway, MacDonald (21-years old) has worked her way up through the ranks, with stops in the Hobby Stock and Street Stock divisions. In 2006 she moved up to the Outlaw Street Stock Series and spent some time in a winged sprint car. 2008 brought another change as she took on a new style of car. The year had her racing with the ICAR series at Stateline Speedway in Post Falls, Idaho. She also ran two INSSA events along with trips to the Idaho 200 and the Fall Classic at Yakima Speedway in Yakima, Washington. MacDonald is a junior at Central Washington University majoring in Education.
As with the other two Joey Tanner started young. He grew up watching his dad (Jody Tanner) race at Portland Speedway in Portland, Oregon and on the Northwest Tour. The 19-year old started racing at dirt tracks locally and nationally in the Dirt Late Model Series when he was only 15-years old. Going on to win many races he has decided to make the transition to asphalt. Tanner has three asphalt races under his belt including a stop at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California earlier this year. Tanner is bringing on board, as a mentor, the 2007 ASA Northwest Tour Champion B.J. Tidrick
The new ASA Northwest Late Model Tour is a compilation of the former 10-year old Late Model Challenge Series and the former 26-year old Northwest Tour. The eleven race series in 2009 has the new era of traveling Super Late Model Stock Car racing visiting four northwest states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana). With the series traveling to eight different tracks during the season even the toughest of veteran racers are challenged. These three drivers are raring and ready to take on the challenge with youth on their side.
