Labor Day racing set for one night of action at Yakima Speedway YAKIMA, Wash. (August 27, 2012)-Late model racing returns to Yakima Speedway on Saturday as the famed half-mile hosts one action-packed night of racing featuring six divisions with over 200 laps of competition.
What had been billed as two days of racing has been restructured to one night only with the late model division paying $2,500 to win and a guarantee of $400 to start.
Leading the list of drivers expected for the weekend's late model event is four-time NASCAR Northwest Series champion Garrett Evans and
2012 Apple Cup champion, Owen Riddle. Past track champions Christopher Kalsch and Mike Longton will also be part of the star-studded field along with Kennewick's Zach Moran and Wapato's JC Wofford.
Sportsman driver Lucas Valdez will be making his late model debut on Saturday night which is sure to bring plenty of excitement for his DHT Racing Team and Yakima fans.
Also racing this weekend will be the Burger Ranch Sportsman, H&H Furniture Pure Stocks, Speedway Mini-Stocks and the CWI Security/EZ Credit Auto Sales Hornets.
Last weekend Cody Denton was the first of the Speedway's points leaders to lock-up a 2012 championship as he rode to a third-place finish in the Mini-Stock main event that clinch the title. Saturday's race will mark the first night that Denton can go into the race without the pressure of points on the line which should bode well for his chances at a main event victory. Josh Parmentier, who brought out a new car in recent weeks and has earned a main event victory, will be in the hunt Saturday night along with Jon Manka and Joshua Henne.
More champions can be crowned this weekend as Jeff Ball (Hornets) and Buck Noel Jr. (Sportsman) simply need to start their main events to lock up their titles. For Noel the championship will be his second in as many seasons while Ball moves up from last year's runner-up points position to claim the 2012 Hornet crown.
Two championships are still on the line over the season's final two events including the Pure Stock division where Chris Marang has the title in his sights but will need to overcome Rob Allen's recent streak of main event victories to secure the top spot. Also still in the mix is this season's Rookie of the Year points leader, Tim Hitchcock, who needs to start the weekend's main event to claim that title but will need to earn his first win of the season if he is to catch Marang or Allen for the championship.
Also looking to settle a points battle will be Josh Aguirre and Todd Nunn in the Bump-to-Pass class. They return to action on September 15 for their championship race.
For fast and furious racing action, Yakima Speedway has all the Valley's excitement on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. as admission gates will be open with qualifying set for 5 followed by racing at 6. To learn more about this weekend's racing events at Yakima Speedway log onto www.yakimaspeedway.us find Yakima Speedway on Facebook or call
(509) 248-0647.
