ELMA, Washington — Jason Solwold of Burlington and Reece Goetz took their brooms to Grays Harbor Raceway this Memorial Day Weekend.
Solwold took both nights of the NW Region American Sprint Car Series races Saturday and Sunday nights.
Goetz followed suit in the Triple X Racing Ford Focus Midgets.
Unlike Saturday night when the races were held up by a four hour rain delay, Sunday night went off smooth as silk, even though it was under cloudy skies.
In the two nights of racing, both drivers had dominating performances on both nights. Solwold led 59 out of the 60 laps of A Main features between the two nights. The only lap he didn’t lead was the first lap on Saturday night.
Not to be outdone by the veteran driver, the young Goetz equaled the feat in the “Midgets.” The only lap that Goetz didn’t lead in the 40 laps was lap-6 of the Sunday night feature when he was passed by Doug Stensgard of Aberdeen on a caution flag restart.
Sprints
Solwold had the advantage of starting on the front row for the second night in the row, and took the lead from pole sitter Garren Linder of Central Point, OR. before the first lap was complete in the 30-lap feature event.
If you left your seat before the race to get a beverage or go to the restroom before the race started, by the time you got back the race was over. The race went green-white checkered and only took 7 minutes and 17 seconds to complete.
With Solwold out in front, it turned into a five car race, with Linder second, Travis Jacobson, Lake Stevens, third, Seth Bergman, Snohomish fourth and Trey Starks of Puyallup fifth for the first 9-laps.
Henry VanDam of Enumclaw edged Starks out of fifth on lap-10, Bergman got by Linder with 5-laps left in the race. Jacobson had to settle for fourth and VanDam rounded out the top five.
Randy VanAagten had the early lead in the 15-lap B Main, before fellow Shelton driver, Jay Cole assumed the lead. Cole was able to hold onto the lead until Goetz (who does double duty in both the “360 Sprints” and the “Midgets) edged Cole out of first with 2-laps left. VanAagten held onto third, and Rick Fauver of Everett finished fourth to take the last transfer spot to the feature race.
Solwold, VanDam and Bergman also picked up wins in heat races earlier in the evening.
Midgets
Goetz came from third to first, passing pole sitter Doug Stensgard and Gaylon Stewart on the first lap.
The race was red flagged when Annika Johanson of Lacey rolled her car over in turn-4. Johanson was checked out by the track safety staff and was unhurt.
Goetz’s only time out of the lead came on a caution flag restart on lap-6 when Stensgard was able to grab the lead, but the Snohomish quickly took it back on the next lap.
Dustin O’Brien of Snohomish got his second spot back from Stensgard on lap-10, but couldn’t catch Goetz.
Defending series champion, Seth Hespe of Snohomish got by Stensgard for third and Gaylon Stewart of Everett made a late move to capture fifth.
The win for Goetz keeps him a perfect four for four in the “Midgets” at Grays Harbor this season.
Stensgard and Stewart picked up heat race wins earlier in the night.
Top Finishers.
Lucas Oil ASCS NW Region “360 Sprints” A Main. 1. Jason Solwold, Burlington. 2. Seth Bergman, Snohomish. 3. Garren Linder, Central Point, OR. 4. Travis Jacobson, Lake Stevens. 5. Henry VanDam, Enumclaw. 6. Trey Starks, Puyallup. 7. Roger Crockett, Medford, OR. 8. Mitch Olson, Puyallup. 9. Johnny Herrera, Albuquerque, NM. 10. Rick Fauver, Everett. B main. 1. Reece Goetz, Snohomish. 2. Jay Cole, Shelton. 3. Randy VanAagten, Shelton. 4. Fauver. 5. Kelsey Carpenter, Burlington. Heat 1. 1. Solwold. 2. Crockett. 3. Starks. 4. JJ Hickle, Quilcene. 5. Jared Peterson, Stanwood. Heat 2. 1. VanDam. 2. Linder. 3. Olson. 4. Josh DeWitt, Mt. Vernon. 5. Jake Waddell, Roseburg, OR. Heat 3. 1. Bergman. 2. Jacobson. 3. Herrera. 4. Chad Groves, Bend, OR. 5. Jason Cocking, Everett.
Triple X Racing Ford Focus “Midgets” A Main. 1. Reece Goetz, Snohomish. 2. Dustin O’Brien, Snohomish. 3. Seth Hespe, Snohomish. 4. Doug Stensgard, Aberdeen. 5. Gaylon Stewart, Everett. 6. Ariel Biggs, Lone Pine, CA. 7. Allison Journey, Springfield, OR. 8. Todd Hartman, Bothell. 9. Jeremy Miller, Montesano. 10. Garrett Thomas, McCleary. Heat 1. 1. Stensgard. 2. Biggs. 3. Journey. 4. Thomas. 5. Hartman. Heat 2. 1. Stewart. 2. Goetz. 3. O’Brien. 4. Hespe. 5. Renee Angel, Woodinville. Top Qualifier: 16.967 79.566 MPH. Top Points. Goetz-1059. Hespe 900.5. Miller-815. Hartman-807.5 Biggs-804.5 Journey-797.5. Thomas-773. Stewart-718. Johanson-693. DeBakker-664.5
