The 4th Annual Dennis Smitham Memorial presented by Tire Dogs will be held at South Sound Speedway this Labor Day weekend. Qualifying and qualifier heats will run Saturday, September 4th and the last chance qualifier race, dashes and main event will run Sunday, September 5th.
Drivers from all over Washington will be in attendance for this 100-lap event, as the Smitham Memorial race offers one of the largest purses for Street Stock racers. Also this year, the South Sound Speedway Street Stocks will earn 50 points for attempting the race.
Dennis Smitham was the long-time owner of Nu-Tread tires and big supporter of Street Stock racing in the Northwest. Dennis passed away over Labor Day weekend in 2007. Pat Boman and Mike Saylors organized and Tire Dogs presented the 1st Annual Dennis Smitham Memorial race the following weekend. Bob Griener was the winner of the inaugural race. Mike Easley won in 2008 and Dave Lund in 2009.
The Smitham Memorial offers fans and racers an opportunity to sponsor individual laps for $25 and receive 1 free adult admission per lap sponsored. The monies are added to the base purse of $5000. If all 100 laps are sponsored, the main-event winner could take home up to $1600. In 2009, the Smitham Memorial race was the highest paying event for Street Stocks in the Northwest. As of August 30th, 43 laps have been sponsored.
Integrity Automotive will sponsor $200 to the fast qualifier; Badrods Fast #5 will sponsor $100 to the 5th fastest qualifier; Larry Cox Motorsports and 98 Towing will sponsor $150 for 1st, $75 for 2nd and $25 for 3rd in the two heat races; and Julie Smitham will sponsor a “Dash for Cash” with $250 going to each winner of the two dashes.
For information regarding the race-day events and rules, please contact South Sound Speedway at 360-858-1464. For information about sponsoring a lap, please contact Brian Boman at 425-531-0604 or boman98@comcast.net
The Dennis Smitham Memorial is a time to remember a true fan of Northwest racing. It is also a time to have fun watching and racing in the sport that Dennis enjoyed being a part of.
