Volz, Sneva show promise

The Northwest Modifieds will try once again to get in a race at Stateline Speedway when the open wheel cars hit the quarter-mile Saturday night.

Early Stocks and Hobby Cars round out the Saturday program that begins with time trials at 6.

Rained out in their season opener three weeks ago at the track, the Mods traveled to Spokane Raceway Park where Frankie Volz Jr. and Blaine Sneva battled through a 35-lap race on the half-mile. Volz ended up winning the race, his second career victory in the series.

While it’s still early, after one series race and an open-comp event at Yakima, Volz and Sneva appear to have singled themselves out as two of the top runners. The talent pool in the series runs much deeper, however.

Dave Weaver, last year’s runner-up in points, Steve Hudson, the third-lace driver in 2004, and the father-son team of Doyle and Jeff Braton will join Volz and Sneva to see who will sit in the champion’s chair vacated by the now-retired two-time defending champ Greg Ochs.

The race should generate a field of around 15 cars.

Behar stays out front

By the result of last Saturday’s opening race of the Inland Northwest Superstock Association, one would never guess that Mike Behar had driven a late-model stock car in just one other race the last five years.

The Spokane driver took over the lead seven laps into the race and never looked back in winning his first INSSA race.

‘Never looking back’ is not entirely true, as Behar held off a second-half challenge from Kevin Richards to claim the win in the 100-lap main event. Defending series champ Dan Garber was third, while Rick Schultz and Brad Allard of Sagle, Idaho, rounded out the top five before a hearty crowd of some 3,000 chilly fans.

It was a good night to be in the lead pack as that was about the only safe place in a race that saw the caution flag fly nearly a dozen times. Most of the yellow flags came as result of spins, bumping and maybe racing reflexes that hadn’t quite returned after a winter off the track.

The race was stopped once by Kameron McKeehan’s hard crash in the back stretch. The Lewiston driver was unhurt.

Twenty-one cars started the race but only 11 were on the track at the end. Dave Garber had some of the most visible damage as practically the entire nose and fender sections were torn from his new car. Garber’s hood once folded in half, obstructing his vision and forcing him to the pit to have the hood removed.

Local race shops will be busy fabricating a lot of new sheet metal before the series resumes racing Wednesday at Wenatchee.

Pit stops

High school drag racing returns to Spokane Raceway Park on Friday night for the first of six races. Gates open at 5 with eliminations at 7. Saturday on the drag strip at SRP, the Spokane Pro Gas Association runs its second race while the oval track features the Northwest Late Models. Gates open at 5 p.m. with racing at 7.

•It’s points race No. 2 for the Spokane Kart Racing Association Saturday at the Spokane Motorsports Complex. Racing begins at noon.

•Also at the Motorsports Complex on Saturday, Sunset Speedway will run its second points race of the season for Speedway Karts. Practice begins at noon, racing at 2 p.m.

•Extreme Motorsports will offer a two-day Pacific Racing Organization motocross event on Saturday and Sunday at the track located in the Spokane Motorsports Complex. Info: 218-2014 or www.extmotorsports.com.

•Sue Thompson , the mother of motorcycle racer Joe Kopp, died Tuesday morning. Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home. Kopp had been preparing to fly out and conduct practice for his next AMA Grand National race in two weeks at Joliet, Ill.

•Veteran race car crewman Gary Moats died recently. The Davenport resident had crewed for Tom Sneva at Indianapolis and more recently worked with a number of teams in the Northwest Modified Series.

Streaks & stats

Weather hasn’t allowed enough racing on Saturday nights at Stateline Speedway to string together any winning streaks. But in the Wednesday Night Fever program, Rich Hatton strung together three straight Road Runner wins before the streak was snapped last week by Terry Aukerman. … Jeff Seehorn of Rockford, Wash., is trying to make a name for himself in Speedway Motorcycles and has been racing this year in both the Oregon and Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association events at Portland International Raceway and Pacific Raceways near Kent, Wash. After failing to crack the top 10 in a handful of races in 2004, Seehorn has finished as high as second in an April 10 race at PIR. … The evening ended early for Spokane’s Jack Morse during last Saturday’s Inland Northwest Superstock opener as his Windermere Chevrolet experienced engine trouble. As consolation, Morse picked up the win in the INSSA Media Challenge event held last Thursday night at Fastkart Indoor Speedway. Organizer Stacy Carman said the INSSA plans another similar event prior to the Idaho 200 in August.