Tice finds much to do at Spokane Raceway Park
When J.R. Tice took the general manager job at Spokane Raceway Park less than two weeks ago, he knew he’d likely have to have a good pair of running shoes. Hip waders, however, were not on the wardrobe list.
“I figured it was going to be bad,” Tice said. “I just never knew how bad.”
Following a June 1 decision that removed Orville Moe, SRP’s original GM, Tice was installed by a court-appointed receiver to reopen the facility and salvage what he could of the 2006 schedule.
When asked about his time on the job so far, Tice said, “I’m not sure. I had two rainouts in seven days and still put in 90 hours.”
He said he has a crew out “sprucing up the grounds.”
Tice admits he’s more familiar with running a drag strip. Tice is a longtime fixture in both local and national drag racing. He grew up with the sport through his father, the late Jim Tice, founder of the American Hot Rod Association.
“It’s still the basic stuff. A lot carries over between the different types of racing,” Tice said.
This weekend the schedule will once again be drag racing only with both high school drags and Friday Night Street Racing kicking off the activities on Friday. Regular bracket drags take over the track Saturday.
The first major schedule change will likely involve SRP’s “Fox Hunt.” Originally set for July 1, the 25th edition of one of the track’s biggest events will probably move back a week to July 8.
“We’re concerned because of the holiday weekend that we wouldn’t have much of a fan base,” Tice reasoned.
Another event that will get some retooling is what was once the AHRA World Finals, this year scheduled for Aug. 4-6. “We’ll probably stick with the date and do the same type of show, just with different names,” he said.
While the concentration is on the drag strip right now, it’s not because “we did not like stock cars,” Tice said. There’s just less work that has to be done on the drag strip.
There are both major safety issues and the need to rebuild interest in racing classes that need to be addressed before the oval track will reopen, Tice said.
Pro 4s meet at Stateline
One of the largest four-cylinder late-model competitions to be held in the Inland Northwest will take place Saturday at Stateline Speedway.
The inaugural Pro 4 Nationals will combine cars from five Western states in a 50-lap shootout, dubbed a race to for the title of “King of the Northwest” Pro 4 scene.
The competition of four-cylinder powered late models will combine the Foreign Stock Car Racing Association (FSCRA,) and ASA Intermountain Pro 4 Challenge Series with drivers from as far away as California chasing the crown.
Boise’s Kenny Chandler, a 16-time Pro 4 champion, will drive a 2.0-litre Chevy Corvette. Also running will be John Jackson of Lewiston, the defending Northwest Late Model 4s champion before the group disbanded following the 2005 season
The event will also feature the Limited Late Models of the newly formed ICAR Series competing in only their second race of the season.
Pit stops
After a rare rainout two weeks ago, racing returns to Northport International Raceway Sunday. … The limited hydroplane scene shifts to Eastern Washington this weekend when the Stateline Outboard Racing Association stages its annual Banks Lake Regatta at Sunbanks Resort. Racing will consist of outboard, inboard and flatbottom race boats. … Sunset Speedway will stage its fifth points race of the season for Speedway Karts on Saturday at the Spokane Motorsports Complex. … The NASCAR Northwest Series will run a makeup of a rained-out race at Yakima Speedway on Saturday. Area racers Darren Rupinski, (Rathdrum), Matt Hall (Spokane), and Michael Merry (Spokane) will be competing.
Streaks and stats
The battle for Fever 4 points is close between Josh Godes (135 points) and Steve Zuber (132) as Northport returns to action Sunday. In other classes, Modified driver Gord Zaitsoff (123) leads Dallas Wise (115). Pat Bradeen (153) holds a substantial lead over Steve Anderson (102) in Street Stocks. … Burt Gasaway remained undefeated in Region Six Gold Cup kart racing with another win last weekend in Spokane. … Spokane Valley racer Andrew Zimmer returned from the “Stars of Karting” Race in Las Vegas, where he qualified third and finished eighth in a junior field of 33 of the best racers in North America. Zimmer’s next Stars race is in Sonoma, Calif., in August, followed by Toronto in September.