The "Hy-per-lube Northern Sprint Tour" is geared up for its fifth year of racing as it prepares to roar into the Year 2000 with a schedule of 21 nights of fast paced wheel to wheel racing for the fans of the Great Northwest.

Drivers and crews from California to British Columbia will take their fast paced action to Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, OR for the seasons opening race on Friday, May 5, 2000. After the first night of fire breathing, dirt slinging action, the fans at Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, OR, will be treated to a program of high speed wheel banging action on Saturday the 6th, the second night of the opening weekend.

In 2000, the best dirt tracks in the Northwest will again be hosting the Northwest's finest sprint car drivers in racing's most exciting venue, Sprint Cars on Dirt. Along with their return to Willamette and Southern Oregon Speedways, the hy-per-lube Northern Sprint Tour will again visit Riverside Speedway in Cottage Grove, OR, Grays Harbor Raceway Park in Elma, WA and MagicCity Speedway in Billings, MT.

New tracks joining the tour in 2000 will be Washington state's newest dirt track, State Fair Raceway in Yakima, WA, MetraPark Raceway in Billings, MT and Portland Speedway in Portland, OR, which is converting from asphalt to dirt.These new tracks set new challenges for the drivers while bringing the excitement of dirt racing to an even increasing fan base.

As with any sport, the new year will bring changes as new cars and new drivers join the circuit and some of last years drivers do not return. What will remain the same will be the thrills, spills and fast paced action that the fans have enjoyed in the past.

Returning drivers include two time, 1996 and 1999, hy-per-lube Northern Sprint Tour champion Shawna Wilskey of Lake Stevens, WA, Jay Smith, out of Arlington, WA and Rick Fauver from Everett, WA. Cottage Grove, OR is home to action providers Mike Morelock and hotshoe brothers Dale and Marvin Smith, and Dan Menne of Fort Jones, CA returns to the race for the championship. Young lions like Jayme Barnes of Everett, WA, Redding, CA's Andy Page, Bryon Harvey of Umpqua, OR and 1999 Rookie of the Year Chad Bauer of Brookings, OR are sure to give the veterans a run for the checkered flag in 2000

Other Washington drivers going for a bite of the points fund include three time Grays Harbor Raceway Park champion Jay Cole of Shelton, Stanwood's Jim Kirkham, Glenn Borden, Jr. of Seattle, Snohomish youngster Gary Taylor and Rick Smith of Mt. Vernon, WA. Oregon's field of top drivers this year will be filled out with the likes of Bill Nutter of Central Point, Junction City's Jeff Thompson, Kevin Journey of Springfield, Jeremy Cooper of Creswell and asphalt ace Richard Brown of Springfield.

Northwest Speedweek will again return in 2000. From July 17th through July 22nd the drivers and crews will race every night for six races at five tracks. Starting on Monday at Medford, OR, they will then travel to Cottage Grove, OR, Lebanon, OR and Yakima, WA before wrapping up the week with the Evergreen State Sprint Challenge at Grays Harbor Raceway Park in Elma, WA on Friday and Saturday.

In 1999 nearly $350,000 in purse money was paid out, an average of $21,875 for each of the 16 races run during the season. The points fund added an additional $30,000 plus contingencies for a total of $385,000 making the hy-per-lube Northern Sprint Tour one of the top 360 sprint groups on the west coast. Feature events on a one night show pay $1,750 to win with two day shows paying $1,000 for the qualifying night win and $2,500 to win on the final night.

For 2000, the points fund will pay $35,000 plus contingencies to the top 15 at seasons end. This increase, coupled with the 21 race schedule, will bring the total 2000 season purse to over $494,000, nearly a half million dollarsfor the Northwest's best to race for.

The speed, action and excitement of sprint cars on dirt is growing throughout the country, and the hy-per-lube Northern Sprint Tour is pleased to provide the fans of the Northwest with the best wheel to wheel racing available. As we race into a new century, the hy-per-lube Northern Sprint Tour will continue to be "The Fastest Way to Family Fun".