Ray holds points lead going into fifth race of drag series
Sharon Shelly Ray has all the guys chasing after her – on the racetrack, that is.
With a win and a runner-up finish in two previous races, Ray takes the lead in points into Saturday’s Spokane Pro Association race at Spokane Raceway Park. She holds a 47-point margin over Chris White as the group runs the fifth of its six races.
The season finale for the cars that run 10.90 and quicker elapsed times will be Sept. 16 at SRP.
Also on the quarter-mile this weekend at SRP are regular bracket drags and imports. The Dave Rogers Memorial race and Muscle Car Drags concludes the weekend events on Sunday where racing gets under way at 10:30 a.m.
The SRP oval track will also be running under the lights on Saturday with a visit from the Northwest Modifieds. Coeur d’Alene’s Blaine Sneva holds a 17-point lead over Mark Weaver from Colville going into the race. Time trials begin at 3:30 with racing at 7 on both tracks.
INSSA races to finish
The Inland Northwest Superstocks begin the last third of their season on Saturday night at Stateline Speedway with a three-way battle shaping up for the championship.
Dan Garber leads a tight pack of racers that includes Mike Behar and Andy Brown. They are separated by 44 points with three races to go.
Garber is the only INSSA driver to win multiple main events this season. Both Behar and Brown also have victories.
Early Stocks and Street Stocks complete this week’s program that begins with time trials at 6 p.m.
Change at Northport
It’s not often that racers tire of doing what they love, but apparently that’s the case at Northport International Raceway.
This Sunday’s race has been canceled, with the next event scheduled for Sept. 3.
“The cancellation was made on a vote with the drivers,” reported spokesperson Brenda Robbins. “The drivers wanted a break from that this weekend.”
To fit in a special visit of the WESCO sprint cars last week, the track had scheduled back-to-back races. Had this week’s scheduled race not been changed, it would have meant dirt trackers would have run three straight weeks.
Thompson claims win
Shelby Thompson of Spokane drove around Olympia’s Jason Hedrick on lap 94 and cruised to his first career Late Model Challenge Series victory Saturday in a 150-lap race at the Wenatchee Super Oval.
Thompson finished ahead of Bothell’s Billy Coates and Wes Rhodes of Olympia. Kameron McKeehan of Lewiston, Idaho, (ninth) was the only other area driver in the top 10.
“I have never had such a great-handling car. It was easy,” Thompson said. “I am glad to finally get that first win.”
He attributed the win to the setup provided by his crew chief Brian Quisinberry.
With the win, Thompson closed to within five points of LMCS leader Troy Conrad of Tacoma, who was seventh. Conrad had a flat tire in the late going.
Pit stops
Extreme Motorcross track at the Motorsports Complex in Airway Heights has the Hammer & Tongs vintage motocross racing on its schedule this weekend.
The event is devoted to vintage motocross racing. The track will be open for vintage only practice from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday and open for competition at 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Hammer & Tongs caters to “incredibly cool, cheap, easy racing for vintage and evolution bikes,” according to the group’s Web site. Info: www.extmotorsports.com.
•Spokane Valley resident Andrew Zimmer just returned from a “Stars of Karting” race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., where he had a top-10 finish in the Junior ICA Go Kart Class.
Out of the 30 entries, Zimmer ran the seventh-best lap time in the finals on Sunday. Zimmer will travel in September to Toronto, where the Stars series will host the North American Championship.
Zimmer races for the Italian Motors Race Team out of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Streaks and stats
Kevin Richards of Newman Lake made it two straight late model wins at Spokane Raceway Park, claiming the 75-lap Center Target Sports Late Model Challenge last Saturday. Darren Shaw of Milwaukee, Ore., was second and Dan Garber of Spokane Valley placed third. … Buff Kobs of Coeur d’Alene rode his 1995 Kawasaki to a runner-up finish in the Motorcycle Bracket at a NHRA Division Six race in Acton, Mont., Sunday afternoon. Kobs turned a 7.660-second elapsed time at 165.97-mph run, but he was unable to catch Jeff Havens of Yakima, who enjoyed a three-tenths of a second head start and ran an 8.343, 152 mph. … Joe Kopp finished seventh last Saturday in an AMA Flat Track Singles race at Peoria, Ill., but maintained second place in series points heading into the last two races of the season over Labor Day at Springfield, Ill. Kopp trails Jacob Johnson by 11 points.