CROCKETT WINS AGAIN AT ELMA

Source: Jack Fordyce
Date: 08/27/2007

Roger Crockett of Medford, OR. has won six of the thirteen feature races in the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series this year, and three of them have come at the three races held so far this year at the Elma, WA. track.

Crocket led from green flag to the checkered flag as he was never seriously challenged in the thirty-lap feature race.

The crowd got an unexpected bonus at the Elma track as Enumclaw’s Kasey Kahne, who finished second in the NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Bristol TN. on Saturday, after winning the NASCAR Busch series race the night before, along with former NASCAR Winston Cup series champion Tony Stewart who finished fourth in the cup race Saturday were at the wheels of the “360 Sprint” instead of their regular NASCAR rides for the night.

If that wasn’t enough distraction for the night for Crockett he also had to contend with World of Outlaws drivers, Jason Solwold of Mt Vernon, WA. who was at the wheel of Enumclaw’s Henry Vandal’s car and Jason Sides of Bartlett TN who rolled out his “360 Sprint “ for the night. Van Dam was injured earlier this season in an NSCS race at Cottage Grove, Or.

Kahne and Solwold are no strangers to the Elma track as both have raced here before in the Northern Sprint Tour before moving on, Kahne to NASCAR and Solwold now a full time driver with the World of Outlaws. This was the first time for Stewart at Elma, although he has raced sprint cars at Skagit speedway.

Crockett was up to the challenge though and he proved again why he is a four time NST champion and is leading the points in the newly formed NSCS series.

He used a little bit of luck though earlier in the evening, he only timed in tenth best and wasn’t even slated for the trophy dash, but four of the top five drivers during time trials failed to finish in the top four in their heat races and there for didn’t get to race in the trophy dash. The trophy dash is considered the second most important race of the night because how you finish the dash determines your starting position in the first three rows of the feature race. His luck continued in the pill draw to determine starting position for the dash and he drew the outside of the front row and the rest is history. Crockett won the dash giving him the pole for the feature with sixteen-year old Jared Peterson of Stanwood finishing second.

The feature race got off to a rough start when Kahne and Glenn Borden Jr. of Raymond got tangled up coming out of turn two on the start and both were finished for the night.

When things got going for good though it was apparent though that Crockett was the top of the class as he quickly set the pace, followed by Peterson, Jay Cole of Shelton, Shawn Rice of Tacoma, John Farrell of Lynwood and Mitch Olson of Tacoma.

Crockett survived a yellow flag restarts on lap-three when Jayme Barnes of Everett went dead on the back-stretch, again when Brad Holmes of Cosmopolis and Travis Rutz of Langley, B. C. got tangled up on lap sixteen. A red flag restart on lap-seventeen when Cory Chamberlain of Coquitlam, B. C. lost a wheel and rolled his car and a final yellow flag restart when Jason Sides went dead on the backstretch with just three laps left in the race.

Crockett took the checkered flag, followed by Peterson, Cole, Rice, While Shane Stewart edged Olson for fifth.

Olson led from green to checkered flag in the accident marred B Main to earn his way into the feature race along with Rick Fauver of Everett, J. J. Hickle of Quilcene and Rob Held of Sutherlin ,OR.

Robby Vaughn and Derek Ingalls of Snohomish were the top two in the C Main and advanced to the B Main.

Stewart had mechanical problems in his heat race and ended up finishing up ninth and was relegated to the B Main. He was offered a provisional starting spot in the feature, but turned it down, saying he wanted to race his way in. Unfortunately he was unable to do so.

Kahne fared better as he finished second in his heat and was in the feature.

The World of Outlaws run Monday night at Elma. Gates open at 5:00 P.M. with time trails around 6:30 P.M. and racing around 8:00 P.M.

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