September 20, 2003 It was an action packed Championship night at South Sound Speedway on Saturday night, September 20th. The NWSST, Late Model Super Stocks, FSCRA and MMRA Mini-Cup Open Division and Future Stars all crowned Champions for the 2003 season.
Willy Thom had an excellent night in the Northwest Street Stock Tour. Thom qualified fastest with a 15.91 second lap and won the dash. The NWSST had a 25 lap Summer Heat Shootout on Saturday. Willy Thom and his wife CJ, of Finish Line Industries, sponsored the race with $500 for 1st through 3rd. Martin Stanwood, of B&M Engine Service, added another $100 for 4th and 5th. Twelve cars started the race in the grid pulled out of a hat by a race fan. The cars eligible were all previous heat race winners throughout the season. Shawn Aubrey led the first two laps before Brad Stanwood took over. Dustin Wilkinson moved into second and Chris Schlaht into third. On lap 10, while trying to make a move into third, Willy Thom spun and was sent to the back. Schlaht later began to have problems and left the track on lap 18. Grant Baker moved into third and Willy Thom moved back up into fourth. After 25 laps Brad Stanwood won taking home $250, Dustin Wilkinson in second took $150, and Grant Baker took $100 in third. The $50 for fourth went to Willy Thom while Dave Cannon picked up $50 for fifth.
Later in the evening Brad Nusom, George Guiberson, and Willy Thom all won heat races. The main event was set to run for 50 laps with CJ Thom and Grant Baker starting on the front row. Before a lap could even be completed, Steve Canham hit the front stretch wall and skidded into turn one. He was done for the evening. Things got back rolling and it was eight laps before another yellow came. This time it was for Chris Schlaht who spun. Randy Cardwell was given a mechanical flag at the same time for a fuel leak. He fixed the problem and didnt lose a lap during the yellow. Two laps later another caution was thrown for Susan Nelson who spun. She sat and lost a lap during the caution. Dustin Wilkinson left the track during the caution. Grant Baker had led the first eight laps of the race but Mike Aubrey took over on lap nine. Baker took back the lead on lap 17. Aubrey lost three positions as Willy Thom and Brad Stanwood took second and third. Willy Thom took the lead on lap 28 with Baker in second and Stanwood in third. The race ran green for the laps 40 laps. Willy Thom was the winner with Grant Baker in second and Brad Stanwood in third. Mike Aubrey and Curt Nusom finished the top five. Brian Overturf, who finished sixth, was crowned the NWSST 2003 Season Champion.
Nick Behn led the point standings by 36 points over Eric Tibbitts coming into Saturday nights race for the Late Model Super Stocks. Tibbitts clocked in fastest, making up six of those points, going into the main event. Behn won the dash early in the night. In the 100-lap main event, Troy Eaton and Jimmy Clair got together before a lap was complete. Eaton exited but returned seven laps later. Nick Behn led the first two laps before Eric Tibbitts took over. Chad Hinkle was in third right behind Behn and Tim Gosch was fourth. A caution came out on lap 13 when Jerry Clark and Michael Short got together. Short lost two laps and Clark lost three laps in the incident. Lap 21 brought another caution, this one for Jimmy Clair who spun and lost a lap. Clair spun again on lap 35 and lost two laps but did not bring out the caution. Lap 40 was the next caution for Curtis Zelmer and Wade Bland. Bland got into Zelmer and the two spun. Zelmer was done for the night and Bland got a black flag and lost three laps in the pits. On lap 49 a caution came out for Sue LaFratta who broke a lower A arm. She was also done for the night. The sixth caution was for the second and third place cars spinning. Chad Hinkle got into the rear of Nick Behn and spun him. Behn was put to the back without losing a lap but Hinkle got the black flag and was penalized one lap. After that incident, Dan Rhodes moved into second with Bob Presley in third, Wes Rhodes in fourth and Angela Cope in fifth. Tim Gosch had to take his car off for a flat tire on lap 66 but was back three laps later. The final caution came on lap 89 when Michael Short spun. After 100 laps Eric Tibbitts was the winner. Dan Rhodes was second with Wes Rhodes in third. Bob Presley was fourth followed by Angela Cope, Amber Cope and Nick Behn in seventh. Jeff Walcker finished eighth and was the last car on the lead lap. Nick Behn won his second consecutive Late Model Super Stock Championship at South Sound Speedway.
Scott Tiplady led by one point over Jerry Koepping in the FSCRA coming into Saturday night. Jim McKay qualified fastest with a 15.55 lap. Richard Dionne won the dash over Terry Rennick, McKay and Mike Courage. Keith VanDyne won the B heat race with Dionne taking the A heat race. In the main event Craig Derksen took the lead for the first three laps. On the third lap a caution was thrown when Keith VanDyne slid into the wall in turn one and was done for the night. Terry Rennick got the lead from Derksen after the restart and Jim McKay moved into second. Earl Williamson was moving his way up and was in third by lap six. Another caution came on lap 15 for Derksen spinning on the restart Mike Courage got into Bob Quarterman. Courage lost a lap due to a black flag. On lap 20 came another caution with Courage spun around. Ron Stocker brought out a caution on lap 23 when he spun. The final caution came on lap 34 for debris on the track. Earl Williamson left the track, from third place, on lap 35 with a mechanical problem. After 40 laps Terry Rennick was the winner with Jim McKay in second and Jerry Koepping in third. Jerry Koepping was crowned the 2003 Foreign Stock Car Racing Association Champion.
The Mini-Cup Open division had eight cars racing on Saturday night. Tom Phillips qualified fastest with BJ brown winning the dash. Daniel Moore won the heat race with Dan Larson Sr. in second and Brown in third. There were two cautions before the main event even got started. The first was for Josh Stevens whose car died on the backstretch. The second was for Dan Larson Jr. and BJ Brown spinning together. Dave Vanderpol also had to be towed off before the race started. Daniel Moore took the lead once it got to green with Larson Jr. in second and Brown in third. Lap three, a caution was thrown for Brown who spun and on lap five another was thrown for Larson Jr. spinning. After the restart, Moore lost the lead to Dan Larson Sr. and Tom Phillips moved into second. Another caution on lap 13 was for Larson Jr. spinning again. This time he was given the black flag according to the Mini-Cup club rules for causing three yellows in one race. Tom Phillips took over the lead on lap 13 and never looked back. Phillips won the main event and the Championship. Second in the main event was Dan Larson Sr. followed by Daniel Moore and Terryl Dykstra.
Cody Erskine timed in fastest for the Future Stars and Brooke Lefor won the dash. Steven Roberts won the heat race with Erskine in second and Cody Stewart in third. Stewart was leading the points coming into the night. Stewart took the lead in the main event but only held onto it for seven laps before Steven Roberts took over. Cody Erskine moved into second leaving Stewart in third. The Future Stars ran all 15 laps without a caution. Steven Roberts won the main event with Erskine, Stewart, Lefor, JJ Hickle, Austin Thom, Harrison Scherer and Mat Cone behind. Ten-year-old Cody Stewart won the 2003 MMRA Future Star Championship and signed autographs for fans in the grandstands after his main event race.
Once again a big congratulations to the 2003 NWSST Champion Brian Overturf, the Late Model Super Stock Champion Nick Behn, the FSCRA Champion Jerry Koepping, the MMRA Mini-Cup Open Division Champion Tom Phillips and the Future Star Champion Cody Stewart. Next weekend at South Sound Speedway will be another Championship night. The Lucky Eagle Casino will sponsor and it will include the Top Notch Trailers Street Stocks, Hinkle Homes Pure Stocks, Yelm National Auto Parts Bumblebees and the NW Legends. Qualifying will begin at 5:00 with racing at 6:30 pm. Keep an eye on www.southsoundspeedway.com for all your Championship information.
Fast Time: Willy Thom 15.91
Dash: Willy Thom
Summer Heat Shootout: Brad Stanwood, Dustin Wilkinson, Grant Baker, Willy Thom, Dave Cannon, George Guiberson, CJ Thom, Mike Crase, Kevin Martell, Chris Schlaht, Shawn Aubrey, Ken Carver
C Heat: Brad Nusom, Mike Crase, Ken Carver, Dustin Wilkinson, Susan Nelson, Steve Canham, Keith Clevenger
B Heat: George Guiberson, Shawn Aubrey, Curt Nusom, Arnie Case, Dave Canon, Randy Cardwell, Martin Stanwood
A Heat: Willy Thom, Brad Stanwood, Chris Schlaht, CJ Thom, Brian Overturf, Grant Baker, Mike Aubrey
Main: W. Thom, Baker, B. Stanwood, M. Aubrey, C. Nusom, Overturf, Cannon, Guiberson, S. Aubrey, B. Nusom, Case, Crase, Martell, Carver, Nelson, Clevenger, M. Stanwood, C. Thom, Cardwell, Wilkinson, Schlaht, Canham
Fast Time: Eric Tibbitts 14.613
Dash: Nick Behn
Main: Eric Tibbitts, Dan Rhodes, Wes Rhodes, Bob Presley, Angela Cope, Amber Cope, Nick Behn, Jeff Walcker, Chad Hinkle, Randy Dalebout, Jimmy Clair, Tom Gosch, Michael Short, Jerry Clark, Wade Bland, Sue LaFratta, Curtis Zelmer
Fast Time: Jim McKay 15.55
Dash: Richard Dionne
B Heat: Keith VanDyne, Ted Mundy, Dan Hale, Skip Markham, Bob Quarterman, Craig Derksen, Ron Stocker
A Heat: Richard Dionne, Jerry Koepping, Terry Rennick, Mike Courage, Jim McKay, Scott Tiplady, Earl Williamson
Main: Rennick, McKay, Koepping, Hale, Tiplady, Markham, Mundy, Stocker, Derksen, Williamson, Quarterman, Courage, Dionne, VanDyne
Fast Time: Tom Phillips 17.39
Dash: BJ Brown
Heat: Daniel Moore, Dan Larson Sr., BJ Brown, Tom Phillips, Dan Larson Jr., Terryl Dykstra, Josh Stevens, Dave Vanderpol
Main: Phillips, Larson Sr., Moore, Dykstra, Brown, Stevens, Larson Jr., Vanderpol
Fast Time: Cody Erskine 17.94
Dash: Brooke Lefor
Heat: Steven Roberts, Cody Erskine, Cody Stewart, Brooke Lefor, JJ Hickle, Austin Thom, Harrison Scherer, Mat Cone
Main: Roberts, Erskine, Stewart, Lefor, Hickle, Thom, Scherer, Cone
