Golly Wally: Coveted trophy on line for drag racers at SCR
The coveted NHRA Wally trophy is on the line at Spokane County Raceway this weekend.
The track wraps up its 2013 drag racing season with the National Dragster King of the Track event. It features seven divisions of racing and gives local drivers a shot at the Wally handed out to each winner.
Super Pro Darrel Pasher comes in as the Summit Series champion. He scored top points in two events this season and held off Dale Hornby and Chris White for the title.
Other title winners at SCR this year include Jake Nickerson (Jr. Dragster), Jessica Rieken (High School), Caleb Dahl (Bike/Sled), DJ Olen (Sportsman) and James Hornby (Pro).
Nickerson won the Land of Leaders NHRA series, followed by Shanya Nickerson and Collin Thomas.
More than 100 drivers scored points at SCR this season as the drag strip continued to be one of the strengths of the facility.
King of the Track competition starts Saturday with time trials at noon followed by elimination rounds throughout the afternoon.
Stateline lineup
Stateline Speedway hosts the Hobby Stock, Figure 8 and HyDrive Late Model championship races on Saturday.
Vance Reynolds has a 16-point margin over Aaron Nevers in the Hobby Stock class. Reynolds’ lead has been built on consistent finishes through the season, but Nevers never let him out of sight. The two drivers finished one-two on several occasions.
In Figure 8, Butch Hegel leads the championship standings by 62 points over Donald Hegel.
HyDrive Late Model action was rained out on Sept. 7. Many of the drivers who’d turned out for the race are expected back, including points leader Nicole Behar and rookie of the year contender Justin Popple.
Todd Havens has a prior commitment scheduled and turns to past ARCA West Rookie of the Year and 2011 Spokane 200 winner, Shelby Thompson, to take over the driving duties of his Chevrolet.
Thompson has not made a start this season and ran a limited schedule last year in Don Williams’ Late Model, scoring a top-five finish in the Montana 200. Making infrequent starts, Thompson is eager to get behind the wheel of Havens’ car.
“I’m going to try and get as much practice as I can to get the seat, mirror and a few other things how I like them,” said Thompson. “We’ll work on the handling of the car to get it to my liking and then just adapt from there. Of course, you always want to win, and if all the cards fall right and I’m in the right spot at the end there is no doubt I’m going for the win.”