Stewart Wins 39th Annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup

From Kaleb Hart

Shane Stewart further embedded his name into Skagit Speedway lore, winning his second Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway. After starting from the pole, Stewart claimed the lead when race leader Jonathan Allard made contact with a lapped car, spinning himself out. Stewart had faded back to third, but reclaimed his second position just the lap before Allard’s spin, as youngster Zach Zimmerly was giving Shane everything he could handle in traffic. After assuming the lead, Stewart was too strong in clean air, as he raced on to win his second Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup in the Danny Kirkpatrick owned #7k ART. The race win paid Stewart $25,000. Zimmerly ran second all three nights of the Dirt Cup in his DWT #94 ART. Two time and defending Dirt Cup Champion Jayme Barnes was the highest finishing local, piloting the Mt Baker Landscaping #33 XXX to third place. Tommy Tarlton won the qualifying challenge, pocketing an extra $1,000 on the evening. Trey Starks won the C Scramble. Travis Jacobson won the B Scramble. Stewart took the A Scramble. Danielle Huson won the C Feature. Kyle Hirst topped the B Main event.

During the race evening, Skagit Speedway promoter Steve Beitler made two major announcements. The first announcement was the return of Kasey Kahne to Skagit Speedway, as Friday August 27th will feature Kasey Kahne taking on the Skagit Speedway 360 Sprints in an event to benefit the Kasey Kahne Foundation. Announcement number two was regarding next year’s 40th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup. The 40 lap A feature on the 40th anniversary race will pay a whopping $40,000 to the winner, making the main event the second largest non-sanctioned race in terms of payout in the USA.

The Washington State Racing Series Ford Focus Midgets were the companion class for Dirt Cup Saturday night, and when the dust settled, Rece Goetz was the main event winner. Goetz took the lead on lap 9 and cruised on to victory ahead of Dustin O’Brien and Derek Holmwood. Heat race wins went to Jeff Bell and Seth Hespe.

Qualifying Challenge – Tommy Tarlton, Jayme Barnes
C Scramble – Trey Starks, Kelsey Carpenter, Cam Smith, Jake Mann, Glen Reinstra, Steve Parker
B Scramble – Travis Jacobson, Kyle Hirst, Jesse Whitney, Logan Forler, Henry Van Dam, Chris Schmelzle
A Scramble – Shane Stewart, Jonathan Allard, Zach Zimmerly, Jason Solwold, Colton Heath, Jayme Barnes
C Main – Danielle Huson, Carpenter, C Smith, Starks, Mann, Steve Dyer, Marc Schutte, Reinstra, Clayton Sibley
B Main –Kyle Hirst, Jacobson, Skinny Colson, Forler, Whitney, Van Dam, Borden, Lemley, Huson, Edson Murphy, Bloodgood, Starks, Carpenter, Mann, Cam Smith, Kevin Smith, Schmelzle
A Main- Shane Stewart, Zach Zimmerly, Jayme Barnes, Jason Solwold, Tim Kaeding, Bud Kaeding, Mitch Olsen, Tommy Tarlton, Travis Jacobson, Brent Kaeding, Glenn Borden, Jesse Whitney, Logan Forler, Skinny Colson, Henry Van , Brock Lemley, Kyle Larson, Barry Martinez, Willie Croft, Jonathan Allard, Eric Fisher, Kyle Hirst, Colton Heath, Marc Duperron
Lap Leaders – Allard 1-23 Stewart 24-40

Heat 1 – Jeff Bell, Derek Holmwood, Rece Goetz, Allison Journey, Todd Hartmann, Carla Stewart
Heat 2 – Seth Hespe, Dustin O’Brien, Garrett Johnson, Liam Ryan, Gaylon Stewart
Main – Rece Goetz, O’Brien, Holmwood, Johnson, G Stewart, Ryan, Hespe, Bell, Hartmann, Journey, C Stewart
Lap Leaders – O’Brien 1-8 Goetz 9-20