ASA NorthWest Late Model Tour

COTTAGE GROVE, Oregon — It was a slim margin going it to the night but he had the advantage, although the team was coming off a DNF the week before at the Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval.  Joey Tanner of Portland OR, in the Jody’s Bar & Grill #36 Asphalt Late Model, headed into Yakima Speedway with a two point lead over Alan Cress of  Albany OR in the Port City Racecar's Rookie Challenge for the iRacing.com American Speed Association (ASA) Northwest Late Model Tour.

The night started for the Better All Auto Sales 150 with Tanner earning the tenth starting position after qualifications were over. In the opening laps of the race Tanner ran well running in the top ten then eventually in the top five for some time. Tragedy would strike late in the race with the brake problems occurring resulting in the loss of several positions. Tanner was not going to let the night end on a sore note whatsoever.

Coming from the back of the field in the last forty laps he was able to get back into the top ten and would eventually finish eleventh. Not too bad of a run considering the night seemed to be on track to disaster.

The overall night ended on a positive note as he was able to secure the title for the Port City Racecars Rookie of the Year and finishing fourth overall in the series’ Championship Standings. Tanner ended the season with the tour with two top-five and four top-tens in his first full season in asphalt late models.

SNOHOMISH, Wash. (September 23, 2009)-Growing up watching races at Evergreen Speedway, Gary Lewis dreamed of someday competing against the best late model drivers the Northwest has to offer and someday winning races and championships over those competitors.

After a strong performance last Saturday night at Yakima Speedway on the ASA Northwest Late Model Tour, Lewis has eclipsed Ron Eaton (three) in regional championships and matched another great with title number four.

“When I was younger I dreamed of the day I could even be on the same track as Garrett Evans (who like Lewis has four regional touring championships), Eaton or Tobey Butler and now here we are coming off a strong run in Yakima and capturing our fourth championship,” Lewis said.

“It’s so tough to win a championship these days especially when there are only 10 races in a season (like 2009). You just have one DNF (did not finish) and you’re almost totally out of the picture. We had our fair share of problems this year but we were able to push through and still get some good finishes. Our season and this race team are not done yet and there is still more to strive for going forward.”

Marysville, WA (September 22, 2009): The 2009 iRacing.com American Speed Association Northwest Late Model Tour season has ended with Gary Lewis (Snohomish, WA) edging out Brent Harris (E. Wenatchee, WA) for the championship. The coveted Port City Racecars ‘Rookie Challenge’ goes to Joey Tanner (Portland, OR). The super late model stock car traveling series did what it set out to do; have as many cars run with the traveling core group wherever the series appeared at in 2009. It is evident that goal was reached with 72 drivers taking points during the season.

Lewis won the championship by a mere 9-points. He had to win the finale at Yakima Speedway to do it. Lewis now adds to his many titles. The ASA NWLMT title will be added to his NASCAR and ARCA West titles. No other driver in the Northwest has ever accomplished what Lewis has in the past 6 years. Besides the three major sanctioning bodies titles he has won three back to back to back Montana and Idaho 200’s in the last three seasons.

Rookie Tanner who is only 19-years old made the transition to asphalt racing from the dirt where he had success. Competing in his first season with a major touring division had its hurdles for the youngster. It took a hard fought 11th place finish at the season’s final race to win the $3000.00 new Port City Racecars chassis, courtesy of Chuck Carruthers Industries, by 2-points.

The new series in 2009 after the melding of the former Late Model Challenge Series and the Northwest Tour brought the best super late model stock car racers together providing the tracks and fans with the best racing entertainment. The series was innovative this first season to liven up the entertainment by instituting the commit cone restarts and the free pass.

The series had a women driver (Amanda MacDonald - Ephrata, WA) compete for rookie honors and the championship for the first time in the history of the two former touring series.

The touring division held point’s events in Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington State during the busy 2009 season. The series originally scheduled 11-races but a washout of the opener in March forced the officials to cut back to 10 events.

ASA NWLMT management is already in the process of working on the entire package for 2010 from scheduling, rules, sponsorships and more innovative enhancements to the program.

Series management wants to thank everyone involved in the great beginning of a new era in super late model racing in the Northwest. Thank you to the teams that traveled to the far reaches of the Northwest and supported the series by being at every race. The officials that had to make adjustments at each track to accommodate all the racers that wanted to be a part of the inaugural season. Big thanks go to the tracks and their respective promoters for believing that the series was viable and worth the gamble.

Jerry & Brenda Losch and Scott Ellsworth managers/owners of the iRacing.com ASA Northwest Late Model Tour wish everyone well during the off season.

Top 20 in 2009 Points (72 drivers received points):

Pos / Car# / Name / Pts / Hometown

1 73 Gary Lewis 1179                       Snohomish, WA

2 0 Brent Harris 1170                       E. Wenatchee, WA

3 9m Kelly Mann 1081                     Monroe, WA

4 36* Joey Tanner 1019                  Portland, OR

 5 91* Alan Cress 980                     Albany, OR

6 20s Brad Stanwood 956                Portland, OR

 7 20 Jay Sauls 954                        Puyallup, WA

 8 76* Amanda MacDonald 948        Ephrata, WA

9 37 Mike Longton 800                   Moxee, WA

10 7 Mark Sundberg 716                 Seattle, WA

 11 21 Jared Vorse 618                   Olympia, WA

 12 51 Erick Hargraves 521              Toppenish, WA

 13 39 Pete Harding 516                 Surrey, B.C.

14 86 Harold Raczynski 491            Duvall, WA

15 15 Don Vickery 482                   Seattle, WA

16 9r Dan Rhodes 415                   Yelm, WA

17 3 Shelby Thompson 398            Spokane, WA

 18 64 Garrett Evans 358                E. Wenatchee, WA

19 9 Josh Roberts 306                   Ephrata, WA      

20 10 Owen Riddle 304                  Naches, WA

*Denotes Port City Racecars ‘Rookie Challenge’ Competitor

Final Standing for Port City Racecars ‘Rookie Challenge’ winner receives a $3000.00 Chassis from Port City and Chuck Carruthers Industries:

Pos / Car# / Name / Pts / Hometown

1 36 Joey Tanner 284                    Portland, OR

2 91 Alan Cress 282                      Albany, OR         

 3 76 Amanda MacDonald 274        Ephrata, WA

Yakima, WA (September 20, 2009): Gary Lewis (Snohomish, WA) won the iRacing.com American Speed Association Northwest Late Model Tour 2009 Season Championship and the Better All Auto Sales 150 at Yakima Speedway. Second place in the race went to Jared Vorse (Olympia, WA) on the podium for the first time this season. Garret Evans finished third.

The 2009 championship point’s chase closed to within one point before the start of the 150 lap feature. Brent Harris (E. Wenatchee, WA) gained one point by being the fastest qualifier. During the race Harris started behind Lewis and it looked like it would go right down the checkers for the championship. Lewis took the lead on a restart late in the race and Harris fell back out of contention.

Lewis, by virtue of the championship, now has an ASA banner to go with his prior NASCAR and ARCA West banners. His family, friends, and team celebrated their victory with flowing champagne in the winner’s circle.

The official finish: iRacing.com ASA Northwest Late Model Tour Championship 150

Yakima Speedway – Yakima, WA. September 19, 2009

Pos      Laps    Name   Hometown      Nat/State

1          150      Gary Lewis                 Snohomish WA

2          150      Jared Vorse                 Lacey WA

3          150      Garrett Evans              E. Wenatchee  WA

4          150      Brent Harris                E. Wenatchee  WA

5          150      Owen Riddle              Naches WA

6          150      Jeff Jefferson              Yakima WA

7          150      Jay Sauls                     Puyallup WA

8          150      Mike Longton             Moxee WA

9          150      Mark Sundberg           Seattle WA

10        150      James Mugge              Everett WA

11        150      Joey Tanner                 Portland OR

12        149      Chris Kalsch                Hillsboro OR

13        147      Martin Stanwood        Portland OR

14        146      Harold Raczynski       Everett WA

15        143      Amanda MacDonald  Ephrata WA

16        131      Kelly Mann                 Monroe WA

17        131      Brad Stanwood           Portland OR

18        131      Alan Cress                   Albany OR

19        128      Erick Hargraves          Yakima WA

20        126      Chris Hart                   Yakima WA

21        119      Zach Niessner             Royal City WA

22        116      Pete Harding               Surrey  BC

23        110      Shelby Thompson       Spokane WA