INSSA moves ahead to Stateline

The stars of the Inland Northwest Super Stock Association run their second race in as many weekends, this time on the tricky quarter-mile at Stateline Speedway.

With David Garber having won the May season opener and running top five in last week’s race in Airway Heights, the Spokane native should be a threat to make it two Stateline wins in as many starts.

Hot on Garber’s heels will be Andy Brown, who posted a runner-up finish in the May INSSA opener; defending series champion Kameron McKeehan, who looks to recover from a subpar start to his 2011 season; and Blake Williams, who has had strong runs in the early going of the season.

With the ICAR Late Model Series heading to Ephrata Raceway Park for its second race of the season, the INSSA event should provide fans with an all-Super Late Model affair.

Also running at Stateline this weekend will be the Northwest Early Stocks and the Hobby Stocks. The track is offering a family pass special with information available on their website at raceidaho.com.

Hard work begins to pay off at SCR

Spokane County Raceway looks to make it two exciting weekends in a row with Saturday’s big Monster Truck show sponsored by local Napa Auto Parts stores.

Fresh off a sellout crowd for last weekend’s Sun Drop 100 Late Model event that started more than 30 cars, SCR oval track manager Larry Bertrand sees the reality of months of hard work paying off.

“We do have a list of successes from our first night, but of course we do have some things we want to make improvements on for the fans and the race teams,” Bertrand said.

SCR has reopened before with Bertrand at the helm.

The situation of operational control led to the facility’s closure in 2009, prior to the conclusion of the racing schedule. Bertrand does not see that being the case in 2011.

“We have a good partnership here at the (Spokane County Raceway) Super Oval with myself, Brycen Tarr and Shari Tarr,” he said. “Having that partnership helps to be prepared each weekend instead of when I was here in 2009 and doing much of the work on my own for the operator. Our partnership sees lots of potential with little holding us back.”

With one race under its belt, the impending Monster Truck Show and a full slate of racing through the summer, Bertrand is excited to see where the season takes the revamped oval track.

“(Saturday) night is a big show, of course, then the month of July is going to be spectacular with two more Super Late Model races (July 2 and July 27), and, of course, Military Night on June 17 that allows the service members in for free with their identification shown at the gate,” he said. “We are pumped up for the summer, that’s for sure.”

While last weekend’s Sun Drop event was held with some minor glitches, Bertrand is confident that on-track situations and grandstand challenges can be overcome by the next big Late Model race.

“Much of what we faced with the size of the crowd and car count was a great experience but did present some first-night challenges,” Bertrand said. “We had 100 new employees to get started on their new paths, but with that said, we know we can only improve the next time we run a race on the track.”

Discount tickets for the Monster Truck show are available at area Napa Auto Parts stores.

To learn more about events at Spokane County Raceway log onto spokanecounty raceway.com