NSRA Trip to the Big Island Saturday June 9th 2001 at Western Speedway in Victoria, BC
From left to right #33 Rick Brown of Springfield, Oregon, #98 Brett Marquardt of Boring, Oregon, #17 Trevor Montgomery of Victoria,BC , making his rookie debut in the with the NSRA Trevor's brother #33J Jeff Montgomery of Victoria,BC , back behind Jeff on his right with the gray hair and orange and white suit Alan Goetz of Snohomish, Wa, and on the far right the current points leader as of June 9th driving the #79 Dubois Construction Sprint Car Randy Dubois of Polsbo, Wa
By Sharie Epp
June 9th 2001 6:15pm Western Speedway
Times Colonist sports staff
Last month, Victoria's Trevor Montgomery went so fast he could feel his helmet lifting off his head. That was at Tri-Cities Raceway in Richland,Wash., in the second race of the Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association.
Montgomery broke the track record on the banked 1/2-mile track at Tri-Cities. A police radar gun caught him going up to 145 m.p.h. down the straightaway, with an average speed of 124 m.p.h.
The 26 sprintcars (16 NSRA entries plus several Island cars from the Wilroc Series) lined up for the Strawberry Cup on Saturday night weren't expected to top those speeds, but there was no doubt the more than 3,000 fans would see drivers pushing the limits of gravity on the flat 4/10-mile oval at Western Speedway.
Every year the fast cars get faster Montgomery also broke the track record in Vernon two weeks ago. NSRA president Mike Sullivan Sr. said the increase is a combination of equipment, drivers and tires. Most of the cars, which often used to switch back and forth between dirt tracks and pavement are now specifically designed for asphalt.
Carrying about 680 to 720 horsepower, they range in cost from $15,000 at the entry level to $50,000 for the top of the line models. Shock absorbers that used to run around $50, now cost $600, and the engines alone go up to $30,000.
Controlling that power only the huge wing or spoiler attached to the top of the cars keeps them on the track takes a certain kind of person behind the wheel.
You have to have a peculiar personality. My experience with all of them is you have to check their pulse, until they get into a race car, said Sullivan, whose son and daughter both race sprint cars, although they weren't driving on Saturday. Despite his involvement in racing, Sullivan can't wait for the last lap when his kids are on the track.
There's no doubt it's dangerous, Sullivan said of the open wheeled speedsters. These guys can't touch each other. A touched wheel will launch them.
Neil Montgomery, Trevor's dad and part owner of Lemonty Racing with Russell Lejeune, said Trevor, the four-time NSRA champion, is so comfortable with the car and his crew he appears to drive without fear. He also seems to have the sixth sense of an athlete.
"He seems to have that kind of a zone", Neil said. He's so aware of what's going on around him, he can race the whole race, and tell you lap for lap what happens. He has an excellent feel for the car, and Russell adjusts the car to how Trevor thinks it should feel.
Trevor Montgomery clocked the fast time in each of the first three races of the 12-race NSRA season, and won the main event in Tri-Cities. A flat tire and broken shock marred the other two feature races, which were won by Rick Brown of Springfield, Ore., and Mike Newman of Maple Valley, Wash.
What's left of the broken rear axle from Randy Vincent's car
Notes: Victoriaıs Randy Vincent broke a rear axle and hit the wall in practice on Friday. It took 20 men to lift what was left of his car on a trailer to tow it home, but they were ready to race on Saturday. S The track record of 13.26 seconds, set by NSRA driver Craig Deaver of Sumner, Wash., at the Daffodil Cup last year, held up through Saturdayıs qualifying. S Jeff Montgomery, Trevorıs brother, recently traded his Sportsman Series stock car to Bart Smith for a sprint car. The younger Montgomery started off the evening on Saturday by winning the B trophy dash. S The Strawberry Cup, an immense, five-foot high trophy donated by Geoff Vantreight, was first awarded to Billy Foster in 1964. S The sprint cars return to Western Speedway for the Daffodil Cup on Aug. 25.
Brett Marquardt from Boring, Oregon
#79 Current Points Leader Randy Dubois and #4a Harold Anderson in that nice looking Beast Chassis/Gearte power car
Todd Coleman and crew before practice Saturday Afternoon, Brad on the left relaxing and Chris in the middle and Todd Coleman on the right
Fast Time went to Craig Deaver who set a new track record in 2000 at Western Speedway and set fast time again June 9th with a 13.84
Above whats left of Jeff Montgomery's wild ride on the start of the 3rd heat race when the car of JP Benoit stalled in front of him sending Jeff into the wall flipping several time down the front stretch, when Jeff came to a stop close to turn he got out ok a little unhappy about the car being torn up but walked away from the wreck
Pieces of bright red sprint car were strewn all over the front straightaway, and 3,500 people held their breaths to see if the roll cage had saved Jeff Montgomery at Western Speedway on Saturday night. The Victoria racer was one of 26 drivers at the track for the Times Colonist Strawberry Cup sprintcar race, featuring Island cars and the powerful little winged machines belonging to the Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association.
Montgomery had just reacted to the green flag of a heat race, when the engine on the car in front of him died. The driver, J.P. Benoit of Tacoma, turned toward Montgomery who got jammed between Benoit and the wall. Montgomery's car shot nearly 20 feet in the air, and took out the lightbar just under the feet of the flagmen standing high up in the flag stand. It cartwheeled three times along the front stretch wall, leaving twisted chunks of car body in its wake, before winding up in a mangled heap near the first turn.
Trevor Montgomery, whose vehicle was also clipped in the melee, jumped out of his car and ran to check on the condition of his brother, but amazingly, Jeff was OK, just disappointed, he said.
I had nowhere to go, said Montgomery, who was more worried bout his wife watching from the grandstand than he was about himself. It felt like I was riding the zipper at the fair
As it turned out, Montgomery wasn't the only one disappointed on Saturday, as the rain, threatening all evening, finally closed the show before the Strawberry Cup could be run.
Officials for the sprintcars and the IMCA modifieds, which were also out for the open-wheeled event, shuffled things most of the night trying to get in as many races as possible between showers.
Twenty 20 race support vehicles and modified cars spent an hour driving lap after lap around the track trying to dry it out, but the rain just wouldn't cooperate and the track became too wet for the safety of the cars, which are on the edge of stability at the best of times.
Jeff Montgomery taking the Trophy Dash Win over Mike Newman
In races that beat the rain on Saturday, Jeff Montgomery won the trophy dash, and Allen Goetz of Snohomish, Wash., Rick Brown of Springfield, Ore., and Trevor Montgomery won the heat races for the sprint cars. Craig Deaver of Sumner, Wash., who broke Trevor Montgomeryıs track record last year in a time of 13.26, had the fast time of 13.84 in qualifying.
In modifieds, Ryan Flesh took the trophy dash, and Dirk Zeinstra won both a trophy dash and the heat race.
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