Many times we are reminded how time repeats itself. This fact was definitely in evidence at Sunday’s Les Schwab Tire Centers’ 35th annual Apple Cup as Garret Evans won his second straight Apple Cup at Yakima Speedway.
Picking up where he left off after winning last year’s Fall Classic $55,000 payout at the Speedway and capturing the Raybestos Brakes NW Series (Series) title just a few weeks earlier, Evans is, again, on a roll.
For his third Apple Cup win in the last five years, the all time leading winner on the Series circuit won the pole position with a qualifying time of 19.086, barely edging out Brandon Riehl (19.180).
Under threatening skies, the one-two qualifying team took their starting positions all the way to the checkered flag in the 100-lap main event. Despite a stiff challenge from Riehl, who overtook Evans on lap 35, and held that position for more than 40 laps, Evans was unflappable in his pursuit of victory.
"I knew he was there and I knew he’d be pushing hard," Riehl said of Evans in a post-race interview with Yakima Herald reporter Scott Spruill. "We had a good car today, but they were just a little better."
Besides Riehl, the only other competition Ardenvoir’s favorite son faced was in the form of yellow and red flags. More than five flags dropped, serving to tighten the pack, but once the green fell only Evans and Riehl appeared to be dialed in for the Speedway on Sunday.
"Our set-up was a little off in the first half of the race, and Brandon was running real fast," Evans pointed out to Spruill. "It’s the first race of the season, and we had a lot of new parts on the car. It took a little while to settle in, but at the end the car was better."
Selah’s Ron Dexter, who started seventh, was the only local racer to finish in the top-ten (third), as Both Chris Hart (19.318) and Jason Jefferson (19.213), despite qualifying well, suffered mechanical problems and had to watch the race from behind the pit wall. Dexter ran well and steady and avoided several collisions, but was unable to catch the leaders.
"I’m just amazed — none of us expected top three," he said while joining Evans and Riehl in the post-race winner’s circle. "The car was strong all week and we qualified seventh, so I was thinking the top 10 would be pretty good. But we ran steady and consistent all the way." Ken Kaltschmidt (Auburn) and Portland’s Dan Obrist rounded out the top-five.
Obrist, who qualified for the main event as a result of finishing second in Saturday’s B-Main started the race in 28th place. The veteran racer drove through the many caution flags and around the scattered debris to move up close to the leaders in the latter stages of the race, but couldn’t garner enough "car" to catch the lead pack.
In the Street Stock division, Yakima’s BJ Tidrick should be answering to a new nickname, "The Dominator." Like Evans, the year 2000 was a banner one for the young Yakima Driver. He won 10 out of 19 races on his way to the Yakima Speedway championship in that division, and finished sixth in NASCAR Short-Track standings for the West Coast, in addition to winning last year’s Fall Classic.
Starting in eighth place because of an invert, the top qualifier (21.304) paced himself for several laps before overtaking early leader John Rose. Hoping to win his first Apple Cup, Rose’s chances for victory were short-lived when his car had to enter the pits on lap 20 due to mechanical problems.
With Rose out of the way, Tidrick established the lead, and never looked back, building leads of up to 10 car-lengths. Don Martin (Yakima) drove a hard race in the 50-lap main event, but was black-flagged in mid-race and sent to the rear of the pack. Despite weaving his way through the field and moving up to fifth place within a few laps, Martin ran out of laps and had to settle for that position.
Rounding out the Sunday’s Main Events, the Northwest Late Model 4s brought those in attendance to their feet on several occasions with their speed and driving ability.
As in the other two races of the day, early leads evaporated as eventual winners captured the point and seldom looked back. Despite starting in eighth place, Kevin McKeehan, who was the top qualifier (21.237), overtook pole-sitter Steve Cone within five laps and held that position all the way to Victory Lane. Mark Jones, Chris Yochum, Don Walker, and Bob Winkler finished in the top-five.
Yakima Speedway will take a week off before beginning its 39th year of NASCAR sanctioned racing on April 7 with Late Models, Street Stocks and Bombers. But even though the Speedway will be quiet, many of its Late Model and Street Stock racers will be at Tri-City Raceway this weekend as the State Transmission MidState Series between those two divisions begins.
Visit www.yakimaspeedway.com or call 509-248-0647 for additional information.
Apple Cup Results: (Trophy Dashes were held on Saturday) Sunday’s main events: Late Model (100 laps) — 1. Garrett Evans (Ardenvoir), 2. Brandon Riehl (Boring, Ore.), 3. Ron Dexter (Selah), 4. Ken Kaltschmidt (Auburn), 5. Dan Obrist (Portland), 6. Kendall Thomas (Williams Lake, Idaho), 7. Kelly Mann (Monroe), 8. Mike Olson (Puyallup), 9. Brad Tanner (Portland), 10. Kurt Meyer (Puyallup), 11. Jeff Bailey (Pasco), 12. Mark Owens (Libby, Mont.), 13. Kim Wennerberg (Wenatchee), 14. Dean Owens (Selah), 15. Todd Witham (Veradale), 16. Jody Tanner (Portland), 17. Rick Schultz (Spokane), 18. Luke Ledgerwood (Pomeroy), 19. Shane Harding (Surrey, B.C.), 20. Kelly Wark (Summerland, B.C.), 21. Jeff Zimmerman (Spokane), 22. Mike Dunseith (Pentiction, B.C.), 23. Alden Hamilton (Kennewick), 24. Shane Mitchell (Orondo), 25. Brad Rhoads (Kennewick), 26. Rod Schultz (Woodland), 27. Ed Thomsen (Richland), 28. Craig Doehling, 29. Jason Jefferson (Naches), 30. Jim Dobbs (Yakima), 31. Chris Hart (Yakima), 32. Christen Roeder (Ephrata), 33. Ronald Turner (Spokane). A Trophy Dash: Kaltschmidt, Riehl, Evans, Schultz B Trophy Dash: Olson, Roeder, Thomas, Doehling
Street Stocks (50 laps) — 1. B.J. Tidrick (Yakima), 2, Dan Riehl (Boring, Ore.), 3. Darrell Hanson (Portland), 4. Rod Schultz, Jr. (Woodland), 5. Don Martin (Yakima), 6. Ron Prejost (Hillsboro, Ore.), 7. Mike Gummus (Ridgefield), 8. Tim DeWeese (Selah), 9. Dave Lund (Everett), 10. Brian Lambert (Kennewick), 11. Jerry Markee (Kennewick), 12. Brad Tidrick (Yakima), 13. Paul Douglas (Princeton, B.C.), 14. Dan Schlatter (Bellevue), 15. Tom Kargman (Clackamas, Ore.), 16. John Rose (Yakima). A Trophy Dash: Rose, Tidrick, Schlatter, Riehl B Trophy Dash: Schlaht, Markee, Lambert, Douglas
Northwest Late Model 4s (50 laps) — 1. Kevin McKeehan, 2. Mark Jones, 3. Chris Yochum, 4. Don Walker, 5. Bob Winkler, 6. Cliff Campbell, 7. Jeff Smith, 8. Travis Ulrich, 9. Steve Cone, 10. Tim Corbett, 11. Patrick Norris, 12. Kathy Evans, 13. Joe Ruddach, 14. Larry Mikkelsen, 15. Kameron McKeehan.
A Trophy Dash: Kevin McKeehan, Jones, Walker, Kaufman
B Trophy Dash: Winkler, Cone, Kameron McKeehan, Ruddach
