SCR’s Late Model division kicks off

The Late Model division at Spokane County Raceway kicks off this weekend with the promise of a talented field and a big crowd.

In 2011 the track emerged as the place to be for elite racers of the region with its purse structure offering a minimum of $3,000 for a main event win. Capacity crowds filled SCR in hopes of catching champion drivers such as Erick Hargraves, Mike Longton, Gary Lewis, Garrett Evans, Jeff Jefferson and Ryan Wells do battle with local favorites David Garber, Braeden Havens, Shelby Thompson and Blake Williams.

Much of the credit for the popularity with fans and racers goes to the new general manager, Brycen Tarr, the youngest race track general manager in the country. The 2011 business major at Washington State University served as the oval’s assistant general manager before moving to GM during the offseason. Tarr’s dream is to bring SCR’s oval to the top of the regional racing ladder.

This weekend’s entry list features three drivers with seven NASCAR championships between them (Pete Harding, Lewis and Evans), regional touring champions (Garber, Williams), and drivers who have captured championships at Yakima Speedway (Longton, Owen Riddle), Montana Raceway Park (Wells) and Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval (Shane Mitchell). There is also a host of young talent set to tame the veterans in the 100-lap main event.

With all the talent gaining attention, the most important driver on the grid will be Hargraves, who won the first SCR Late Model championship last season and will be out to defend the home track.

“I spent countless hours in January and February talking to drivers to ensure that our first (Late Model) race would be huge,” Tarr said. “This will be the best field that SCR has ever seen. We’re offering discount tickets on the track’s website and expect another sell-out crowd for this weekend’s race.”

Tarr is excited about the changes in the facility that will improve the experience of the drivers and the fans.

“We have put a (retaining) wall all the way around the racetrack, something that has never been done before,” Tarr said. “We added six new concession buildings to make sure that the lines move as fast as possible and we added the pressed asphalt last season to make sure Late Model drivers did not have to park in the dirt. More upgrades are coming during this season including a scoreboard, the first at the oval.”

Berry returns

After taking nearly two years off to complete a college education and get married, past Inland Northwest Sprint Car Series Association Tony Berry returns to the track this weekend with the B&B Motorsports team in the WESCO Sprint Car touring series.

WESCO features cast-iron engine packages bolted to an elite sprint car chassis. Berry will be part of a seven-race three-state schedule that kicks off with Saturday’s season-opener in Wenatchee and includes two stops at Stateline Speedway this season (June 30 and Sept. 8).

Berry said his sprint car features a new look from well-known designers DeYoung Inc. of Snohomish, Wash.

“After having the car sit in the shop for two years, we needed something new,” Berry said. “It looks pretty awesome and I think it will be a crowd favorite at each stop on the WESCO tour.”