Hydroplane Races Promise Big Fields

Hydroplane drivers who are coming to this weekend’s American Outboard Federation Short Course Nationals on the Pend Oreille River between Newport, Wash., and Oldtown, Idaho, are going to great lengths to get to the race.

Some teams are coming from as far away as Florida and the Midwest to compete in the first AOF race run west of the Mississippi.

And then there’s Spokane’s Brent Harnack, who is coming out of retirement for the race.

To get on the water, Harnack had to talk Riverbank Restaurant owner Joe Braswell into a loan of his old hydro which had been hanging for the past two years as a decoration above the eatery’s salad bar.

“We asked Joe if we could borrow the boat for the weekend,” Harnack said. “When the race is over, we have to bring it back.”

Harnack has been involved in racing for more than 40 years. He’s a former national champion and hopes to maybe add a trophy or two when he returns the Riverbank’s unique conversation piece.

Race organizer Roy Mackey said he’s looking at a field of close to 100 boats. Some 40 of those will be piloted by local drivers.

Racing takes place both Saturday and Sunday fron noon to 5 p.m. on a three-quarter-mile course upstream from the highway bridge. Admission is free, but there will be a $2 parking charge with those monies going to the Rotary Club to help complete the Oldtown City Park.

Stateline Demo

Stateline Speedway’s biggest event of the season takes place this Saturday when the track hosts its annual Fourth of July Demolition Derby.

Two things are quite traditional with this event. It sells out quickly and it draws a huge field of cars. In the past, the event has drawn competitors from as far away as Los Angeles.

It is more than just a smash-and-bash event where the last man or woman with a car that runs is the winner. Other events generally include a backwards trophy dash and a motorized version of cat and mouse.

Advance tickets are available at Post Falls Trustworthy Hardware. The few remaining tickets will be available at the gate.

Friday’s racing will include Street Stocks, Hobby Cars and Compact Streets. Time trials for both nights start at 6:30.

Northport struts its stuff

Northport International Raceway plays host to its biggest race of the season with the second running of the Liberty 5,000.

The three-day event begins Friday with registration from noon to 6 p.m. Cars will hit the clay oval for time trials and qualifying races on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday’s twin 75-lap races, which pay the winner $1,000, begin about 1 p.m. For information call (509) 684-2601.

Little camp pleased

You’d have thought by the looks of things in the pits that Spokane’s Chad Little had won Sunday’s Winston Cup race at Sears Point Raceway.

“This is exactly what this team needed,” said Little, who had a 37th place provisional start on the 43 car grid.. “I’ll tell you something, when I got out of the car after the race, the way the guys were high-fiving each other, it felt like we got a top-five finish. We overcame a lot today, and to come away with a 16th-place finish is great.”

Little will try to keep his fortunes improving this week with a return to Daytona.

Pit stops

Spokane Raceway Park has two nights of racing scheduled, starting with another installment of the Mountain Dew High School Drag Racing Series on Friday. Saturday is the Canadian Invitational race on the drag strip and the mid-season championships on the half-mile oval. Both programs begin at 7 p.m… . With their original plans tied up by lease problems at Playfair Race Course, flat-track motorcycle racing returns Friday night at West Plains Speedway beginning at 7:30… . The Spokane Kart Racing Association will run a points race and host a racers barbecue Saturday at the Spokane Motorsports Complex. Practice begins at 8 a.m. with time trials at noon… . Wenatchee’s Super Oval will feature Washington State’s only appearance of Super Modifieds this Saturday night… . Mitch Jeske’s Fever Four Hobby win in the last edition of Stateline Speedway’s Wednesday Night Fever ended Scott Perry’s 11-race win streak… . Todd Hoerner’s Top Comp win Sunday was decided at the starting line, where Hoerner grabbed a slim .07-second edge over Gary Olsen. Each driver ran a hundredth of a second off their dial-in at the finish… . Marty Pfaffle won his third Northwest Modified Series race of the season last Saturday at Wenatchee Super Oval. The Moses Lake driver will go for two in a row this Saturday night at Tri-City Raceway as the modifieds race for the third week in a row.

This sidebar appeared with the story: MOTORSPORTS Coming up Friday Drag Racing Spokane Raceway Park: Mountain Dew High School Drags Series; Gates open 5 p.m., racing 7 Motorcycles West Plains Speedway: Flat Track Motorcycle Racing; Racing 7:30 p.m. Stock Cars Northport Intl. Raceway: 2nd Annual Liberty 5,000; Times TBA. Stock Cars Stateline Speedway: Street Stocks, Hobby Cars, Compact Streets; Time trials 6:30 p.m., racing 8

Saturday Drag Racing Spokane Raceway Park: Canadian Invitational Drags; Gates open 3 p.m., racing 7 Go-Karts Spokane Motorsports Complex: SKRA Points Race #5; Practice 8 a.m., time trials noon Stock Cars Northport Intl. Raceway: 2nd Annual Liberty 5,000; Times TBA Spokane Raceway Park: Mid-Season Championships - Fever 4’s, Hobby Compacts, Hobby Stocks, Streets (double points), Gates open 3 p.m., racing 7 Stateline Speedway: Inland Empire Demolition Derby (2nd in a series) plus Fireworks Show. Time trials 6 p.m., racing 7:30

Sunday Stock Cars Northport Intl. Raceway: 2nd Annual Liberty 5,000, Times TBA