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Skagit to host four NSCS events
Andrew Kunas, NSCS Publicist
ALGER, Wash. – Skagit Speedway, considered by many to be one of the top dirt sprint car tracks in the country, will be hosting a traveling 360 sprint car series for the first time since 2002 as the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series will visit in 2007.
Former World of Outlaws driver Steve Beitler’s track, a high-banked, 3/10-mile bowl-shaped oval located just a very short drive north of the northern Washington city of Burlington, will host four nights of NSCS action. All four events will likely see Skagit’s infield pit area full of winged 360 sprint cars. Skagit already has a large field of sprint cars for its weekly program, and the visiting stars of the NSCS will only add to it.
When the former Northern Sprint Tour visited in May 2002, a series record 62 cars were on hand. Strong car counts can be expected again this year when the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series visits. The NSCS will be at Skagit for two-day events, the first being on May 11 and 12 and the other scheduled for the end of July as the final leg of Northwest Speed Week.
The Bob’s Burgers & Brew Skagit 360 Nationals will be on a touring series’ schedule for the first time ever in its history, as the NSCS teams will compete in the $10,000-to-win event on Friday and Saturday, July 27 and 28. After two races in Elma, Wash. and three races in Oregon over the prior seven days, fleets of sprint cars will descend upon Skagit Speedway for the two-day spectacle. With the biggest pay day up on the NSCS schedule up for grabs, the record 62-car count from the May 2002 show may be in jeopardy.
Winning Northern Sprint Tour races at Skagit in 2002 were two drivers who only race occasionally in the Northwest now. Former NST champion Jason Solwold, who won the Friday show, is now on the road with the World of Outlaws, and Kasey Kahne, who won a thrilling Saturday show, is now enjoying superstardom in NASCAR.
As a non-sanctioned event, Skagit’s 360 Nationals have been won by many drivers since its inception in 1990. Teenager Travis Rutz of Langley, British Columbia finally won the “big one” when he flat out dominated last year’s event, coming up easily from the sixth-starting position, and NST Rookie of the Year Seth Bergman of Snohomish, Wash. came home a very strong second. In 2005 Northwest racing legend Marc Huson won his second 360 Nationals, fifteen years after winning the very first 360 Nationals in 1990.
Steve Kent won consecutive 360 Nationals in 2003 and 2004 to back up his 1999 win. Solwold won his third 360 Nationals in 2002 and Chad Hillier, also on the World of Outlaws trail himself now, picked up the win in 2001. Jay Smith spoiled Kent’s bid at a repeat in 2000 when he won his first and only Skagit 360 Nationals with a late race pass.
With its pit area inside the track, Skagit Speedway is one of only two such tracks the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series will visit. Fans are given an increasingly rare opportunity to see the race teams in action, right in front of them, and sometimes in more frantic situations. Skagit Speedway has also undergone some changes in the past few years. The track was re-configured after the 2004 season, changed from an egg shaped oval to a true oval, with the most noticeable difference being the pushed out third turn.
Adult admission for the May shows is $12 on Friday the 11th and $15 on Saturday the 12th. For the Bob’s Burgers & Brew Skagit 360 Nationals, tickets for adults on Friday, July 27 are $15 and for Saturday, July 28 it is $20. More information on the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series can be found online at http://www.racenscs.com and information on Skagit Speedway can be at its website at http://www.skagitspeedway.com.
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NSCS events at Skagit Speedway
Friday – May 11
Saturday – May 12
Friday – July 27 (Bob’s Burgers & Brew Skagit 360 Nationals)
Saturday – July 28 (Bob’s Burgers & Brew Skagit 360 Nationals)
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NSCS: The Northwest Sprint Challenge Series
http://www.racenscs.com
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