By Ben Deatherage
Cottage Grove, Oregon- Wednesday, July 10th would be a wild and crazy day but an incredible second night of racing for Speedweek Northwest presented by the Western Sprint Tour. The race, originally scheduled for Willamette Speedway, was canceled due to rain but Cottage Grove Speedway offered to pick up the race and run it at that facility instead. It is the first time such a thing has happened in the twenty-two history of Speedweek history. A total of twenty-one cars were in attendance representing the states of Oregon, Washington, California, and Oklahoma as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Come feature time Justin Sanders showed the field how to tame the historic ¼-mile clay oval. The Aromas, California pilot set a blistering pace and fully used his edge over the field by starting on the inside front row. The main event witnessed six stoppages which for the most part were evenly spread out. It took lapped traffic factor mostly out of the equation until the final restart.
Sanders did receive a brief challenge late in the race from Rocklin, California’s Colby Copeland, racing for Santa Rosa-based car owners Jim and Annette Van Lare, but Sanders was quick to keep him behind. Justin led all thirty laps to collect his first career Speedweek Northwest win in only his second start with the series. Sanders is, overall, the fortieth different winner since 1998 with the tour and is the sixth different driver to score their first career series triumph at CGS.
Colby Copeland finished second over third finishing Tyler Thompson, of Harrisburg. Mitchell Faccinto, from Hanford, California and driving for car owner Stan Greenberg, placed fourth while Central Point’s Jake Wheeler completed the top five in fifth.
Tyler Thompson set fast time of the night while heat race wins went to Castro Valley, California teenager Emily Williams, Foresthill native Ryan Robinson in the Vern Morrison entry, and Devon Borden the youngster out of Raymond, Washington. Justin Sanders won the trophy dash to earn the right to start on the inside front row position in the main event.
Speedweek Northwest returns to racing on Thursday, July 11th at Sunset Speedway Park in Banks. Tickets are $16.00 for Adults and Seniors/Military/Juniors (13-17) $13.00, Youths (6-12) $8.00, and Children (5 & Under) are FREE. A Family Pass (Two Adults and up to four Youths (6-12)) is offered for $55.00 while Premium Seats are available for $35.00 each. Pit Gates open at 2:00 PM, Front Gates 4:00, with Racing kicking off at 6:00.
If you can only make a race or two don’t worry as we have you covered with live streaming lap to lap coverage courtesy of Dirt Oval TV. As in the previous four Speedweeks, it will be once again sanctioned by the Western Sprint Tour. For the latest news and information be sure and either visit the Western Sprint Tour Facebook page or the series website at http://www.cottagegrovespeedway.com/western-sprint-tour .
2019 Speedweek Northwest Schedule
Monday, July 8th-Siskiyou Golden Speedway-Yreka, California (Mitchell Faccinto)
Tuesday, July 9th-Coos Bay Speedway-Coos Bay, Oregon (Rained Out)
Wednesday, July 10th- Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, Oregon (Justin Sanders)
Thursday, July 11th-Sunset Speedway Park-Banks, Oregon
Friday, July 12th-Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, Oregon
Saturday, July 13th-Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, Oregon
Race Results
Speedweek Northwest Round #2
Wednesday, July 10th, 2019
Cottage Grove Speedway
Cottage Grove, Oregon
Quick Time: Tyler Thompson
Heat Race Winners: Emily Williams (1), Ryan Robinson (2), Devon Borden (3)
Trophy Dash Winner: Justin Sanders
A-Feature: 1. Justin Sanders; 2. Colby Copeland; 3. Tyler Thompson; 4. Mitchell Faccinto; 5. Jake Wheeler; 6. Kyle Miller; 7. Seth Bergman; 8. Tanner Holmes; 9. Jesse Love; 10. Justyn Cox; 11. Devon Borden; 12. John Clark; 13. Matt Hein; 14. Emily Williams; 15. Steven Snawder; 16. Jake Haulot; 17. Nate Schank; 18. Corbyn Fauver; 19. Tony Gualda; 20. Steven Tiner; 21. Ryan Robinson