From Andrew Kunas
VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Northwest Wingless Tour sprint car series will make its second and final appearance of the 2011 season at Coos Bay Speedway this Saturday night.
Gaston, Oregon’s Corey Esteban carries a 23-point lead over Vancouver, Washington’s Mike Romig going into Saturday’s event. Esteban has been winless on the NWWT trail this year but consistency, which includes three second place finishes, has put him at the top of the standings. Qualifying efforts have been key for Esteban as he has made the trophy dash in every event this season, earning Top 6 starting positions in every main event. Esteban is the only driver to have done that and as a result leads everyone with six Top 10 finishes and is tied for second among all drivers with three Top 5 finishes.
Romig is coming off a struggling performance last Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway, in which he finished outside of the Top 10 for the first time this season, seeing points gap between himself and Esteban grow from nine tallies to 23. Romig, however, remains solidly in second place, 24 points ahead of Creswell, Ore.’s Jesse Thistle.
Gary Davis of Albany, Ore. is coming off his third consecutive Top 5 finish since his big wreck at Coos Bay Speedway on June 4. Since sitting out that main event at Coos Bay, Davis has won two events at Sunset Speedway and with his fifth place finish at Cottage Grove he has climbed back to fourth place in the NWWT point standings and is just three points back of Thistle. With eight races remaining, Davis is 50 points back of Esteban.
Brad Rhodes, the 40-year-old raw sprint car rookie from Aloha, Ore., continues his steady pace as he gets closer to earning NWWT Rookie of the Year honors. Rhodes currently sits seventh in the point standings.
Kirkland, Wash.’s Steve Vague won the NWWT’s inaugural event at Coos Bay Speedway on June 4th.
Gates open at 4:00 with racing scheduled to begin around 6:30. NWWT pit meeting is scheduled for 4:15. Joining the NWWT on the card at Coos Bay Speedway will be mini-outlaws, hornets, street stocks and late models.
More information on the Northwest Wingless Tour sprint car series can be found online at http://www.nwwinglesstour.com