By Ben Deatherage
(6/19/23) Alger, Washington … The tail end of the Pacific Northwest Swing for the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series will take the tour to the historic Skagit Speedway for the 51st Annual Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup for a huge three-day show on June 22-24th. This is the biggest payday weekend on the NARC schedule, as the winner on Saturday night earns a whopping $62,000! It is by far the richest sprint car race on the West Coast and sixth in the entire nation.
“When anyone talks about Skagit Speedway, they automatically think of Dirt Cup,” said Skagit Speedway promoter Peter Murphy. “This race attracts so many good drivers that want to win it so badly, and having the NARC guys added to the mix makes it that much better. Be sure to bring a friend this weekend. You don’t want to miss it.”
Car counts are expected to be in the 45-plus range as teams from all over the Western United States converge on the Alger 3/10-mile clay oval. Thursday and Friday are reserved for preliminary nights to help determine who gets locked into the big dance on Saturday.
The NARC teams will get valuable track time with the Dirt Cup Tune-Up on Tuesday night, June 18th. This will not be a point-paying event for the series, but several drivers will undoubtedly be taking advantage of the opportunity to dial their cars in for the big weekend.
The Northwest Focus Midget Series will be the companion division for the entire weekend.
On Wednesday night (6/21), there will be Super Dirt Cup Scramble Golf Tournament at Avalon Links Golf Club in Burlington. Later that night, Railroad Pub and Pizza will host a pre-race party from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
The Format
The two preliminary nights will emphasize lineup inversions, and accumulated points will establish the final Saturday night lineups. Thursday will be a 30-lap feature, while Friday is a 35-lap contest.
On Thursday and Friday, points will be immediately earned in qualifying. The Fast Qualifier will earn 200 points with a two-point drop for each subsequent position. The heat races will be lined up with an eight-car inversion.
The heat races will award 100 points to the winner, with a three-point drop for each subsequent position. The Top 20 in points after qualifying and heat races will be locked into the prelim features. Those outside the Top 20 will be positioned in the C-main and B-main, with the C sending the Top 4 finishers to the B and the B sending its Top 4 finishers to the feature. The Thursday Feature will invert the Top 16 in points while Friday is the Top 18.
The feature winner will earn 200 points with a two-point drop for each subsequent position. The first criteria tiebreaker is the best finish in the respective main event, the second is rank in qualifying, and the third is the time of the second qualifying lap. Other tiebreaker criteria may be implemented if needed.
The top 18 in overall accumulated points from Thursday and Friday will be locked into Saturday’s feature. The top six of those 18 are locked into the Pole Shuffle. The finish of the Pole Shuffle will set the first three rows of Saturday’s feature. The B-main will line up straight up on points and transfer the Top 6 finishers to the feature. Two cars will be added to the finale via a fan’s and promoter’s choices, totaling 26 cars.
Money, Money, And More Money
On top of already paying a whopping $62,000 to win, drivers will have plenty of other ways to earn stout paydays. The runner-up will collect $26,000, while the third and fourth get paid $18,000 and $11,000, respectively. Fifth place pays $5,000, and simply making Saturday’s main event will be worth $1,000.
Courtesy of generous supporters, each lap in Saturday’s 40-lap main event will award an extra $1,000, paid out $500-$300-$200 to the top three cars on every lap.
Winning a prelim night will be no small payday, as Thursday and Friday are $4,100 to win. $550. will be paid to teams that travel over 250-miles to the event.
Who To Watch
One of the hottest drivers in the county, Corey Day, is coming off an incredible Fastest Four Days In Motorsports run by winning three of the four shows and greatly expanding his point lead in the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series. The Clovis, California chauffeur was sixth in the final night of Dirt Cup last year and is looking to crack into the top five for the first time ever behind the wheel of the Jason Meyers Racing #14.
Dominic Scelzi is always one to be on the lookout for when he rolls into Skagit. The two-time defending series champion from Fresno, California gasser, was third in the finale, but he paced the field for the first twenty-four circuits. Scelzi got the job done in 2021, the event’s last year as a 360 program.
Trey Starks is the defending track champion in 410 Sprints at Skagit Speedway and has yet to be defeated there this year in domestic competition. Capturing last year’s Friday night preliminary feature, the Puyallup, Washington pilot wound up seventh in finishing order on the last night in 2022.
Zeb Wise is undoubtedly a driver looking to bag the $62,000 on Saturday night. The Angola, Indiana driver has two wins in All Star Circuit of Champions competition and is aiming for first place aboard the Rudeen Racing #26 entry on the final night.
Fremont, CA driver Shane Golobic posted a fourth-place effort and will be back in the Matt Wood Racing #17W entry this weekend. Shane is still looking for his first NARC 410 Sprint Car Series win of 2023. He has been close several times.
The driver with the most laps around Skagit is Jason Solwold, who was fifth last year in the big dance. Once again, aboard the famed Shaylen Raye Motorsports #18, Solwold has won the previous two 360 Sprint titles at the famed 3/10-mile clay oval. The Burlington veteran has been a staple at the facility since the early 1990s. He won the event in 2015, the first time it was a 360 race.
One racer making his Skagit debut is Lemoore, California’s Cole Macedo. Racing the Tarlton Motorsports #21, Macedo had an excellent swing during the Fastest Four Days In Motorsports, including a win and his worst finish was seventh.
D.J. Netto will make the long journey up from Hanford, California. Netto put in a good shift on the Thursday preliminary night by finishing second at the checkered flag. Coming back from a serious collarbone injury at last year’s Trophy Cup, he already has three 360 wins to his name in 2023.
In the Bates-Hamilton Racing #42X, Justyn Cox has only been to Skagit Speedway once in a 410 sprint car. One of the front runners on the NARC tour, the Roseville, California racer, had a healthy amount of top 5 finishes over the last weekend.
Justin Sanders is no driver to discount for this big event either. Racing the Demo Mittry #2X, the Aromas, California-based driver, did not finish outside the Top 10 in both preliminary nights and the finale.
Other California NARC regulars expected to be on hand are Campbell’s Bud Kaeding, Chase Johnson of Penngrove, Willie Croft from Colfax, Rocklin racer Colby Copeland aboard the Larry Antaya #16A entry, Billy Aton representing Benicia, Oakley Teenager Dylan Bloomfield, and Tucson, Arizona transplant Nick Parker.
Other Pacific Northwest drivers to be on the lookout for will be Mill Creek’s Cam Smith, Austen Wheatey from Lake Stevens, Burlington-native Justin Youngquist, Jesse Schlotfeldt of Arlington, Enumclaw youngster Colby Thornhill, and Whannock, British Columbia’s Luke Didiuk. Oregon will be represented by the likes of Tanner Holmes out of Jacksonville and Harrisburg’s Tyler Thompson.
Several foreign competitors from Australia will also be on tap for the three nights of Dirt Cup. They include Karl Hoffmans of Ipswich, Queensland, Penrith, New South Wales traveler Jessie Attard, and Andy Caruana from Melbourne, Victoria.
Fan & Competitor Info
The pit gate will open at 1:00 p.m. each day, with the front gate following at 5:00 P.M., Racing will begin around 7:00 P.M.
On both Thursday and Friday, General Admission tickets will be $40. Juniors, Seniors, and Military will be admitted for $35. Children (ages 3-6) will be admitted for just $10. Saturday General Admission tickets are $50. Juniors, Seniors, and Military will be admitted for $40. Children (ages 3-6) will still be admitted for $10.
Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online via the following link: https://skagitspeedway.showare.com.
Skagit Speedway is located at 4796 Old Highway 99, North Burlington, WA 98233. For more information, visit skagitspeedway.com or call 360-724-3567.
All three nights of the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup can be viewed live on floracing.com, along with the entire NARC 410 Sprint Car Series schedule.
NARC 410 SPRINT CAR SERIES
CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS
(AFTER 12 EVENTS IN 21-RACE SERIES – 6/19/23)
Corey Day, Clovis – 1672
Dominic Scelzi, Fresno – 1627
Justin Sanders, Aromas – 1613
Justyn Cox, Roseville – 1611
Bud Kaeding, Campbell – 1589
Dylan Bloomfield, Oakley – 1542
Billy Aton, Benicia – 1465
Nick Parker, Tucson, AZ (R) – 1465
Chase Johnson, Penngrove – 1461
Tanner Holmes, Central Point, OR – 1183
Joel Myers Jr., Sebastopol – 1165
Cole Macedo, Hanford – 1054
DJ Netto, Hanford – 1021
Burt Foland Jr. (R) – 980
Shane Golobic, Fremont – 938
Joey Ancona, Concord (R) – 892
Kaleb Montgomery, Templeton (R) – 876
Colby Copeland, Roseville – 772
Ryan Bernal, Roseville – 656
Michael Pombo, Easton – 619