Monroe, WA (May 11, 2002) - The NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Super Stocks, presented by Dodge this year, is going to be a very competitive division out here at Evergreen Speedway. And tonight was just a sample of what is to come during the 2002 season. Past champion (1998) John Zaretzke is back and going for the title once again. But then again, so is John Bender, 2000 season champion. Add Tom Moriarity, a real legend when it comes to this speedway, and it all spells excitement and plenty of action.
Tom has 3 Mini Stock Championships under his belt in 1992, 1993, and 1994. To add to those accomplishments, he also has 3 Super Stock championships to his credit in the years 1996, 1999, and 2001. Zaretzke and Bender both left and ran the tour for a year or two and now are back here to battle for the title in 2002. But there are a number of other drivers out there that will give them a run for their money. Rob Touchette is back and ‘hot to trot’. Taking fast time tonight with 16.96, he will be a force to contend with, as well. Add Matt Murphy, Wade Archer, Lex Johnson (past NASCAR Street Stock Bomber champion in 2000), and you will, no doubt, have a very exciting season. As I said earlier, tonight was just a sample.
The lineup with the invert put Tom Moriarity (#5) on the pole with Wade Archer (#16) on the inside. Once Gary Cressey (our long time outstanding announcer) had introduced all the drivers, I moved outside the press box just to hear the deafening roar of all the engines as they started up with that famous announcement; ‘Gentlemen, start your engines’. I was not disappointed as they all took off for a few practice laps before the green. It’s great to be back!
Once the green flag dropped, Moriarity shot out in the lead, with Bender right on his bumper, threatening to take the lead. Moriarity was able to hold him off for a time. On lap 18, Marty Sokulski (#89) and Ryan Erickson (#13) tangled in turn 2. This brought out the first yellow. On the restart, it was still Moriarity in 1st with Bender close in 2nd. Wade Archer (#16) was in the 3rd position with Zaretzke (#51) hanging tight in 4th. Robb Touchette was very close in 5th.
I had spoken to Wade Archer before the race during the time trials and he told me he had already had some problems with accidents this year. I guess there was a doozy last week when there was a full invert! There was a quite the pile up that took out several cars at once. He was involved. He said if he wrecked tonight, he would be out for awhile. (As it turned out, we will see him again….J.
By Lap 11, Zaretzke had moved into 3rd place and was going for more. Touchette was right behind him. Bender finally managed to get past Moriarity on lap 13 and took a commanding lead. Now the battle was for 2nd with Zaretzke threatening at every turn to do just that. The lineup now had Bender in 1st, Moriarity 2nd, with Zaretzke in 3rd, Touchette in 4th and Archer in 5th. Mat Murphy was in 6th. On lap 22, the first red is brought out when the #77 of Marv Christopherson spun out between turns 3 and 4 and Ryan Erickson hits him pretty hard. But all were okay, but the cars were towed off.
The next red came out when Lex Johnson (#22) and Tom Mathew (#38) were between 3 and 4 (again, this curve brought a lot of grief tonight). Seems that Mathew’s car caught Johnson’s somehow and Lex went straight into the wall on turn 4. He hit hard! This took sometime to clean up, but once they got him out, they announced he was awake and talking to the staff. He was transported for observation. (As of press time, I have heard nothing about Lex’s condition, but we are very hopeful, he is doing fine.)
The race for second was now between Moriarity and Touchette, once he got past Zaretzke. But in the end, it was John Bender 1st, Tom Moriarity in 2nd, Robb Touchette in 3rd, John Zaretzke in 4th and rounding out the top five was Wade Archer. NASCAR STREET STOCK BOMBERS Vince Conwell (#72) had the pole position tonight in the A-Main and took the lead right off. But the #11 of Tim Davis was threatening every second to secure that lead position, and finally did on lap 10. I was watching the #10 car of 2-time champion Dave Lund, who had started out in 14th position, so see how long it took him to get to the front. By lap 10, he was in 2nd. Within a few laps, he has managed to acquire the lead position, but it was not without a good battle from Tim Davis. In the end, it was Dave Lund in 1st, Tim Davis in 2nd, Brad Sweeney in 3rd, Jim Foti in 4th and Jim Risher in the 5th spot.
Thank you fans, one and all, for coming out to Evergreen Speedway and supporting our drivers. We look forward to an exciting year in 2001 and hope you will join us each and every week here for all the new, as well as the returning events we have planned for our fans this year.
