YAKIMA, Washington -- The first holiday weekend of 2003 brings a spectacular racing schedule to Yakima Speedway. On Saturday, May 24 three divisions of race cars will take to the track with two drivers eligible for a bonus if they can win their third straight feature event.
Don “Captain Krunch” Klang will attempt to claim the three-in-a-row bonus from EZ Credit Auto Sales if he can win in the Yakima Speedway Hobby Stock division. Klang is the defending series champion and current points leader after three events. Buck Noel Jr. has the only other main event victory of 2003 and trails Klang by six points going into the weekend’s festivities.
Others to watch for in the 35-lap main event include rookie points leader Jeff Mullins, Neal Smith and Don Sowder. Mullins has been on a tear since taking up stock car racing. In three starts he has earned three straight top-10 finishes and trails Klang by 16 points for the Hobby Stock championship.
Also on tap this Saturday night will be the Boomers Roadside Bar & Grill Street Stock division. Richard Cagle picked up his first main event victory of 2003 and leads Harold Seekins by 12 points in the championship points standings.
No Street Stock driver has earned two or more victories this season and Cagle will be looking to be the first when the checkers fall. Ashley Beaman trails Seekins by four points and is making a strong early season run for the points lead.
Terry Cook has quietly put together one of his best seasons and is coming off a top-5 finish on May 17. After a slow start to the season, Andy Beaman and Jack Anderson have moved to within a few points of the top-5 in the standings.
The Boomers Roadside Bar & Grill Street Stock division is one of the most exciting classes at Yakima Speedway and is unpredictable at every corner of racing action.
Scott Walker can earn a $1,000 bonus from Brian Harris Used Cars in Selah, should he capture his third straight victory in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series late model division. A strong field of challengers should make Walker work for every penny this weekend. The Prosser, Wash. native holds an eight-point advantage over Ken Olson in the chase for the late model championship.
While Olson and Walker have garnered much of the late model attention for their top-flight runs this season, Mike Longton, Ron Bemis and Travis Bennett have also had strong runs in the divisions first quarter of the year.
On Sunday, May 25 Yakima Speedway hosts the first of two crowd-pleasing events. Making their first appearance ever at the Speedway will be the exciting Hornet cars, and the always-popular Demolition Derby will be the main event for this special Sunday night event.
For ticket information and a schedule of events at the historic .500-mile paved oval, log onto www.yakimaspeedway.com or call the Speedway offices at (509) 248-0647.
