MORIARITY & ZARETZKE AGAIN

Source: Evergreen Speedway
Date: 06/16/2003

The track time record was broken not once but twice on June 14. Travis Bennett of Ellensburg briefly held the new record of 22.65 until Tom Moriarity of Monroe felt compelled to take the honor for himself with a 22.598 finish. “The fastest I’ve ever gone is a 23.1,” Moriarity said, “So this was beyond my expectations.”

Notable on the victory stage Saturday was World XCF8 Championship winner Perry Huffman. John Zaretzke and Tom Moriarity split a pair of wins in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series Super Stock Twin 35 Lap features.

A friendly rivalry has been brewing in the Super Stocks pits at Evergreen, and it’s one that fans have been watching with interest. Defending track champion Tom Moriarity and points leader John Zaretzke have been trading bumps and hair color since the beginning of the season. Zaretzke won the first of the two 35 lap features on the 5/8 oval in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series Super Stock feature this week. Zaretzke led from the beginning but had Matt Murphy in his rear view for the entire race. A late race yellow for Brice Christiansen hitting the front stretch wall set up a green and white then checkered finish as Zaretzke held off Murphy with Moriarity placing third with Travis Bennett and Mike Longton taking fourth and fifth.

The second Super Stock feature ran without incident. Tom Moriarity moved up steadily until he took the lead at Lap 16. He pulled ahead and maintained the lead for the win with no serious competition. Zaretzke moved into second place by Lap 17, his position hotly disputed by Travis Bennett who stayed breathing down Zaretzke’s neck for third place. Mike Longton and Matt Murphy finished in fourth and fifth respectively.

Fans cheered wildly as the World XCF8 Championship got underway. FEAR crowd favorite Steve Peters had the early lead but after a collision in Lap 4, Peter’s Battlewagon had to leave on a hook. It was just the first of many intersection smash-ups. Noah Chandler held the lead through most of the first half of the feature but was bumped out of the way by Kim Huffman. Huffman and had a hard crash with Dave Sawin in the 38th bringing all racing to a halt and emergency vehicles onto the track. Perry Huffman won the race with Noah Chandler and Troy Simianer in second and third.

There were three dash races during the evening. The winner of the Super Stocks dash was Matt Murphy of Lynnwood. Track Driver of the Week Troy Simianer of Bothell took the XCF8 dash. The Hertz Equipment Rental Hornets dash feature took Mark Orgill of Snohomish to the victory stage.

The swarm returned to Evergreen on Saturday. The Hertz Hornets burst out of the hive for three features. In the first race, 20+ vehicles stirred the Track Dry into a cloud that almost obscured the track and no doubt contributed to the multiple spins and collisions. Kevin Hager of Duval took the win for the first race with Chris Record in second. The second Hornet race had far less contact and relatively smooth running. Bill Taylor won with Tony Baxter following close behind. Race three saw the rubbing and bumping return. Dash winner Mark Orgill led throughout the race for the win with Ken Corbin as a close second.

The Three Car Train event went once again to Gordy Severson’s team who managed to weave through the insanity unscathed. The infamous Gauntlet race pits a small bus full of garbage pitching riders against a fleet of chase cars. This year the chase cars quickly turned the Gauntlet bus on its side bringing jeers and cheers from spectators. What better event to have at the World XCF8 Championship than a School Bus F8 feature? There were no good bus manners in this extreme contact event. Tim Bergstrom held on for the win. A Rollover feature ended the evening with Kurt Mantegna. winning once again.

Next weekend it’s Goodyear NASCAR Mid-Season Championship Presented By Glidden featuring the NASCAR Bombers, Mini Stocks, the FEAR Super F8s, Xtreme Contact F8s and the Hertz Hornets.

Fast Time

Tom Moriarity 22.598 New Track Record

Trophy Dash

Matt Murphy, Travis Bennett, Mike Longton, Moriarity

1st Main

John Zaretzke, Murphy, Moriarity, Travis Bennett, Longton, Kelly Mann, Shane Biles, Doug Davidson, Joey Decker, Ron Fritzley, Tom Matthew, Angela Cope, Amber Cope, Shane Landry, Eric Harvey

2nd Main

Moriarity, Zaretzke, Travis Bennett, Longton, Murphy, Biles, Mann, Harold Raczynski, Matthew, Angela Cope, Decker, Landry, Harvey, Davidson, Amber Cope

Fast Time

Troy Simianer

Trophy Dash

Noah Chandler, Jody Brooks, Simianer, Kim Huffman

Main Event

Perry Huffman, Noah Chandler, Jason Britton, Don Teel, Scott Betras, John Carlson, Steve Woehl, Simianer, Merlin Cook, Freddy Kapp, Kim Huffman, Bobby Schukar, Dave Sawin, Nick Niesen, Brooks, Robert Schukar, Adam Hinds, Kenny Schukar, Jennifer Houghtling, Billy Decker, Ben Raynes, Jason Holton, Steve Peters

Trophy Dash

Mark Orgill, John Crofoot Sr, Tony McAuliffe, Robert Robinson, Dan Boudrieau

Heat 1

Orgill, Naima Lang, Craig Jantz, Ken Corbin

Heat 2

McAuliffe, Keith Hager, #878, Brain Cornell

Heat 3

Robinson, Dave Stewart, David Dixon, Vincent Viceu

Heat 4

Boudrieau, Royce Johannes, Jonathan Roberts, James Bevis

Heat 5

Bill Wade, Crofoot Sr, Ray Johnson, Rod Helmuth

Main 1

Kevin Hager, Chris Record, #70, Bill Hill

Main 2

Dole Taylor, Tony Baxter, Craig Szweda, # 73

Main 3

Mark Orgill, Ken Corbin, Tony McAuliffe, Bill Wade

See Also .:

• Evergreen Speedway Track Page

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