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Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
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Topic: NSCS prepares for historic first season
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andrewkunas
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February 01, 2007 at 12:50:07 PM
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NSCS prepares for historic first season
Andrew Kunas, NSCS Publicist

BURLINGTON, Wash. - The new Northwest Sprint Challenge Series has unveiled its finalized 2007 schedule and preparations are well underway for the historic first season.

The NSCS is a new winged 360 sprint car venture spearheaded by former sprint car champion Shawna Wilskey and her father, Washington open wheel legend Dick Wilskey. This comes in the wake of the tragic death of well-respected promoter Fred Brownfield and the subsequent ending of the NSCS's predecessor, the Northern Sprint Tour.

For Dick Wilskey, it's an opportunity to give back to the Northwest racing community.

"It is an honor to be a part of this series. I feel privileged to be able to give something back to the sport that has been such a huge part of my life for the last 40 years," said Wilskey, a former champion at the late Sky Valley Speedway. "The people involved in sprint car racing are some of the most passionate and wonderful to be around and I feel like they are part of my extended family. Shawna has done a fantastic job of putting this series together and we look forward to making 2007 one of the best ever. I can't wait to get started."

The schedule consists of 20 events at six different dirt tracks in Washington and Oregon, ranging in size from as little as the ΒΌ-mile long Cottage Grove Speedway to as large as the nearly 4/10-mile dirt track at the Central Washington State Fairgrounds. The highlight of the schedule will be Northwest Speed Week, where five different tracks will host seven race events over a nine-day period in late July.

There is also an increased purse for normal race events in 2007. Single-day events will award $2,000 to win while two-day events at the same track will pay $1,200 to win on the first night and $2,500 to the winner on the final night.

"This has all of us excited," former Northern Sprint Tour champion Bill Nutter of Central Point, Ore. said. Nutter, who owns all of his equipment, will be one of the many owners and teams who will benefit from the extra purse money.

"With twenty events, some new rules and the increased purse, a lot of us are pretty eager for the season to start," Nutter continued. "I really can't wait myself."

Brownfield's track, Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. will have the honor of playing host to the NSCS first as it opens the season with a two-night event on Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28. With the track itself enlarged to a full 3/8-mile, high-banked clay oval prior to the 2004 race season, the facility in general has undergone a major facelift in the last four years. The "House that Fred built" has become one of the top dirt track facilities in the western United States.

Grays Harbor Raceway will host an NSCS-high five events total, its next being held on Saturday, June 30. Its biggest event is the 11th Annual Evergreen State Sprint Challenge, which will be held Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21 as the first leg of Speed Week. Many-time track champion Jay Cole was the big winner last year, taking home $5,000 for his efforts.

The NSCS will make three multi-race trips to Oregon in 2007, the first being the traditional three-race Memorial Weekend. Friday, May 25, Willamette Speedway will host its first of four NSCS events. The next night Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, just outside of Medford, will host its first of two NSCS events. The NSCS will then cap off the weekend with a Sunday show at Cottage Grove Speedway, located a just a short drive south of Eugene.

Southern Oregon Speedway, under new manager Rick Rapp, will host its second and final NSCS event of the season when it hosts the second leg and first Oregon event of Speed Week on Monday, July 23. The 1/3-mile, semi-banked clay oval is site of one of the warmest races of the season every July, as the toasty Medford area often reaches triple-digit temperatures at that time. Last year, Danny Horner won his first Northern Sprint Tour main event at Southern Oregon Speedway during Speed Week and used it as a launch pad to eventually capture the championship.

Bob and Russell Leach's Cottage Grove Speedway will host three NSCS events. After its traditional Memorial Sunday race, "The Grove -West" will again host the Tuesday race and third leg of Speed Week on July 24. One of the fastest dirt tracks of its size in the country and considered a popular favorite by many west coast fans, the competitive little track will host Oregon's final NSCS event of the season on Saturday, September 8. Victorious in events at Cottage Grove last year were Horner again during Speed Week and Seth Bergman, who won his first career event at Cottage Grove last September.

In addition to the Northern Sprint Tour championship, Horner also won the 360 sprint car track championship at Cottage Grove Speedway, located in his own hometown.

Bill and Clair Arnold's Willamette Speedway is a tight 3/10-mile oval where racing is tough and patience by drivers is a bit more required than at most other places. Hosting four events itself, Willamette will welcome the NSCS again on Friday, June 29 and Friday, September 7. The fourth leg and final Oregon event of Speed Week will happen Wednesday, July 25.

Willamette lost two races to rain last year, including its final event in September. The former NST opened its season in Lebanon last April, and it was Nutter who took the checkers. National sprint car star Jason Sides won the Wednesday night Speed Week race in July.

The final leg of Speed Week is the 18th Annual Bob's Burgers and Brew 360 Nationals at Steve Beitler's Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. Travis Rutz of British Columbia finally won the "big one" when he took the checkered flag in last year's event, which was unsanctioned. This year's event will be Friday and Saturday, July 27 and 28 and will be the biggest payday for a race winner on the NSCS schedule as Saturday's event will pay $10,000 to the big winner.

Skagit, considered by many as one of the top sprint car tracks in the country, is a 3/10-mile, high-banked bull-ring that has a large field of local 360 sprint cars. Two and a half months before the 360 Nationals, Skagit Speedway will be host to another two-day event on Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12.

Fans that have a particular liking to a certain thing will likely enjoy seeing races at Skagit and Willamette, as they are the only two tracks on the NSCS circuit where race teams still pit inside the track instead of outside. This allows fans to watch the race teams work on their race cars up close, seeing what it takes to maintain these mud slinging machines,
sometimes in more frantic situations as well.

With seven races, which includes two of the Northwest's biggest and highest paying 360 sprint car events happening only a week apart, Northwest Speed Week is drawing interest from race teams all over the Northwest and beyond. It is anyone's guess how many teams will take part in the increasingly popular event.

"Speed Week is on track to be the biggest ever," Shawna Wilskey said. "Many teams from all over the west coast have contacted us to participate in the week-long event."


Arguably the most popular show of the year for Washington or Oregon-based race teams and fans is the two-day event at Yakima's dirt track, officially known as Central Washington State Fair Raceway, during the fair in September. Many teams enjoy what's left of the year's warm weather in the Pacific Northwest and also take time to enjoy the Central Washington State Fair.

With fair admission also getting you into the races, the sprint car races in the past several years have been a major attraction to curious fairgoers, and every year they get thrilled by the action on the track. The grandstands are almost completely filled for both nights every year.

Last year, Roger Crockett won the Saturday finale in Yakima but lost the championship to Danny Horner by only five points. This year's season finale for the new Northwest Sprint Challenge Series will be Friday and Saturday, September 21 and 22.

Speedmart Inc. in Burlington, Wash. will host a customer appreciation day this Saturday, February 3, the same day as Skagit Speedway's swap meet at nearby Burlington-Edison High School. NSCS staff members will be on hand to help with NSCS memberships and registration. Speedmart is located at 304 Lila Lane in Burlington. Information on Speedmart can be found online at www.speedmartinc.com.

For more information on the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series including rules and sponsors, it can be found at its website at www.racenscs.com.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2007 NSCS Schedule

April 27 - Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, Washington
April 28 - Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, Washington
May 11 - Skagit Speedway - Alger, Washington
May 12 - Skagit Speedway - Alger, Washington
May 25 - Willamette Speedway - Lebanon, Oregon
May 26 - Southern Oregon Speedway - White City, Oregon
May 27 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, Oregon
June 29 - Willamette Speedway - Lebanon, Oregon
June 30 - Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, Washington

- -

NORTHWEST SPEED WEEK


Evergreen State Sprint Challenge
July 20 - Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, Washington
July 21 - Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, Washington ($5,000 to win)

July 23 - Southern Oregon Speedway - White City, Oregon
July 24 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, Oregon
July 25 - Willamette Speedway - Lebanon, Oregon

Bob's Burgers & Brew 360 Nationals
July 27 - Skagit Speedway - Alger, Washington
July 28 - Skagit Speedway - Alger, Washington ($10,000 to win)

- -

September 7 - Willamette Speedway - Lebanon, Oregon
September 8 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, Oregon
September 21 - Central Washington State Fair Raceway - Yakima, Washington
September 22 - Central Washington State Fair Raceway - Yakima, Washington

NSCS - Northwest Sprint Challenge Series
www.racenscs.com



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