Rob Held ready for Northwest Speed Week
ALK Promotions, July 9
After a short layoff, Sutherlin, Ore. driver Rob Held will return to action this coming week when the new ASCS Northwest Region continues the tradition started by its predecessors and race across Oregon and Washington in the annual Northwest Speed Week.
Held, driving the Rob Held Racing No. 68 J&J sponsored by John Carroll Construction, Double R Powder Coating, Powell Plastering, FK Rod Ends, Ringer Gloves and Bell Helmets, currently sits tied for fourth in the ASCS Northwest Region point standings after a pair of top ten finishes in the tour’s only two events run this season, coming at Grays Harbor Raceway in Washington on Memorial Weekend. The ASCS Northwest Region was to race twice in Oregon last month, but was rained out.
Since then, Rob raced at Southern Oregon Speedway near Medford on June 14 and finished second behind Dan Menne in weekly competition. The next week he crewed for friend Matt Hein at an NSRA pavement sprint car event at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg. Held was going to race at the 1/3-mile clay oval again two weeks later, but inclement weather in the area knocked out power to the facility, making racing at night impossible.
Now Rob is anxious to get back behind the wheel, set to race on six straight nights at four Oregon tracks and one in Washington. He will return to Southern Oregon Speedway on Monday, July 14 where Northwest Speed Week has almost always started since its inception by the old Northern Sprint Tour in 1998.
Tuesday, July 15 the tour moves north to Cottage Grove Speedway, where Held has won before in weekly competition. Last September with the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series, finished ninth in the A-Main but how he got there was most remarkable. Held did not qualify after crashing in his hot lap session. His car still bent up badly and functioning nowhere near the way it should, Held tagged the back of the B-Main and still transferred to make the A-Main field. He spun out once, yet still drove his out-of-shape car to a top-ten finish. Held hopes for another strong outing at Cottage Grove, preferably with a properly working car this time.
Wednesday will see Held return to Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. Three years ago, when Held was still driving a limited sprint car, he pleasantly surprised the crowd by holding off the superior 360ci-powered car of Wayne Williams for the last transfer out of their heat race to the A-Main event. At Willamette last September with the NSCS, Held started the A-Main 13th and raced his was to a fifth place finish.
Thursday night will see Held, and virtually everyone else as well, on unfamiliar grounds as Sunset Speedway Park in Banks, Ore. for the first time will host the Northwest’s major touring winged 360 sprint car series. Sunset, a small ¼-mile clay oval located about a half-hour west of Portland, will become the eighth different track to be a part of Northwest Speed Week, joining Cottage Grove, Willamette, Southern Oregon, Grays Harbor, the now closed Portland Speedway, Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. and Central Washington State Fair Raceway in Yakima. Like several other drivers on the tour, Held has never even laid eyes upon Sunset Speedway Park, and Held is anxious to get out on the track and try it out.
After four nights of racing in Oregon, there is no rest for Held and the rest of the ASCS Northwest Region teams as they cross the Columbia River and venture back to Grays Harbor for two nights of racing in the Evergreen State Sprint Challenge, which is back after a year’s absence. In May, Held had finishes of ninth and tenth at Elma. At last year’s Fred Brownfield Memorial Sprint Challenge, which saw 54 cars in attendance, Held qualified for the A-Main event and finished 15th.
Though Northwest Speed Week has seen six races in as many nights before, it’s only been done three times in ten years (2000, 2001, 2002 with the Northern Sprint Tour) as Thursday has usually been a traditional day off between the Oregon races and the week-closing races at either Elma or Skagit. Thanks to Banks filling the Thursday date, this year’s Northwest Speed Week will be a long one for all racers and officials, as well as the many fans who will be following the entire week from the Medford area to Elma.
Rob Held, 26, is one of the up and coming sprint car racers in the Pacific Northwest and is looking for additional sponsorship for Northwest Speed Week and the rest of the season. More information on Rob can be found online at
http://www.robheldracing.com.
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ASCS Northwest Region - 11th Annual Northwest Speed Week
Monday, July 14 - Southern Oregon Speedway - White City, OR
Tuesday, July 15 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR
Wednesday, July 16 - Willamette Speedway - Lebanon, OR
Thursday, July 17 - Sunset Speedway Park - Banks, OR
Friday, July 18 - Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, WA (Evergreen State Sprint Challenge)
Saturday, July 19 - Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, WA (Evergreen State Sprint Challenge)
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ASCS Northwest Region - Top 5 points
1. Seth Bergman, 292
2. Henry Van Dam, 288
3. Jayme Barnes, 286
4. ROB HELD, 262
(tie) Jared Ridge, 262
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Rob Held’s sponsors
John Carroll Construction
Powell Plastering
Double R Powdercoating
PDM² Machine Works
FK Rod Ends
Bell
Ringers Gloves
Yarbrough Ranch
CARS (Custom Automotive Reconditioning Services)
Taco Bell of Sutherlin and Roseburg
Oregon Aero Inc.
NAPA Auto Parts of Sutherlin
Independent Motor Rebuilders
Murphy Plywood
Barnes Fuel Oil
Chris Pattenaude Racing
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Rob Held Racing:
http://www.robheldracing.comASCS Northwest Region:
http://www.ascsnorthwest.comAmerican Sprint Car Series:
http://www.ascsracing.comSouthern Oregon Speedway - White City, OR:
http://www.sospeedway.comCottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR:
http://www.cottagegrovespeedway.comWillamette Speedway - Lebanon, OR:
http://www.trophymotorsports.comSunset Speedway Park - Banks, OR:
http://www.sunsetspeedwaypark.comGrays Harbor Raceway - Elma, WA:
http://www.graysharborraceway.net
