NWRACER.COM - NSRA Sprint Car 2007 Season Results

#76 Andy Alberding setting fast time again with a 12.631 second lap around the fast 4/10th mile asphalt oval of Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Oregon

A Dash Notes- Tony Thomas jumped out to the early lead and looked to pull away for the win going through turn 4 the engine went up in smoke
A Dash -1st #4 Greg Middendorf, 2nd #91 Bryan Warf, 3rd Todd Coleman, 4th Tony Thomas

B Dash- 1st lap going into turn 3 #98H Matt Hein lost the steering and climbed the wall came back down and came to a stop in the infield, so that will restart the dash and bring out the alternate #17 Justin Mack.

B Dash - 1st #36 Scott Adams, 2nd #76 Andy Alberding, 3rd #99D Rick Brown, 4th Justin Mack

Todd Coleman coming to a stop on his side after getting tangled up on the 2nd lap of the main.

#25 Sierra Jackson with heavy damaged after being involved in a wreck on the backstretch of Lap 2.

Main Event- At the drop of the green #4 Greg Middendorf takes off from the pole with the early lead and just seconds later on Lap 2 on the back stretch #44 Todd Coleman and #25 Sierra Jackson get together and Coleman got airborne and ended up on his side coming to a stop. Both drivers ok and the cars towed to the pits with both of them looking like they are done for the night. Red Flag the line up is Middendorf, 2nd 57 Tony Thomas, 3rd 77 Mike Sullivan, 4th 91 Bryan Warf, 5th 76 Andy Albering, 6th 51 Jake Mann, 7th 49 Pat Bliss, 8th 87 Kyler Barrazza, 9th 17 Justin Mack, 10th 2 Ray Douglas.
So under yellow restarting on lap 1 again -

A Main Finish Unofficial Finish- 1st #76 Andy Alberding, 2nd #51 Jake Mann, 3rd #98H Matt Hein,4th #57 Tony Thomas, 5th 91 Bryan Warf, 6th #17 Justin Mack, 7th # 87 Kyler Barraza, 8th #77 Mike Sullivan, 9th #4 Greg Middendorf, 10th #36 Scott Adams, 11th #2 Ray Douglas, 12th #25 Monte Zema Jr., 13th #46 Larry Davies, 14th #49 Pat Bliss, 15th #77 Matt Elliott DNF, 16th #44 Todd Coleman DNF, 17th #25 Sierra Jackson, 18th #80 Frank Volz Sr., DNS 82 Ray Jones (Canada), 99 Rick Brown (Blown Motor)DNS

Brown wins in NSRA’s debut at Spokane July 7th

By Andrew Kunas

(July 7th, 2007) SPOKANE, WA – Rick Brown became the first repeat winner of the 2007 season in ASA Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association competition when he took the checkered flags Saturday night before Spokane Raceway Park’s largest crowd of the season

Saturday’s event for the NSRA was its first ever at the ½-mile, high-banked asphalt oval located just west of Washington’s No. 2 city, and it was the first open wheel event at Spokane Raceway Park since a USAC super modified race in 1986. Brown, the five-time former NSRA champion out of Springfield, Ore., will go into the record books as the first winner of such an event since then.

Brown started the 30-lap feature event outside the third row and needed only six laps to make his way up to second place aboard the Jim Diemert-owned No. 99 Chevy-powered Doemolt. The 14-time open wheel champion soon found himself behind leader Jake Mann of Monroe, Wash. Brown, however, had to wait until lap 24 to finally get around Mann, who had worn down his tires trying to stay ahead.

Mann, who won his first career NSRA event two weeks ago at South Sound Speedway in western Washington, had held the top spot since taking it from outside pole-sitter and initial leader Robert Beck on lap five. Mann was stronger on the south end of the track in turns one and two, but turns three and four on the north end was Brown’s strong area and that was where he got around Mann with just over six laps remaining.

“That old guy was fast” Mann jokingly said about his failed efforts to hold off the 53-year-old Brown, “I think the right front tire wore down. It was brand new before the race.”

“Jake was fast in (turns) one and two,” Brown commented. “The only place I’d get in on him was in three and four. I was able to get under him there and pass him. I enjoyed (the racing), and he seemed to like it too.”

Brown’s other victory came at his home track in Roseburg, Ore. on April 28. Brown had begun driving for Jim Diemert last season after winning the NSRA championship the previous two years for Eddie Isackson. Brown these days is pleased with the car supplied to him by Diemert.

“The car was good hot lapping, and then I messed it up qualifying. (Diemert) fixed it and away we were,” Brown said.

The fourth-starting Mann and Brown jumped to second and third respectively on the initial start. After the feature event’s only caution on lap two, Mann passed Beck, out of Redmond, Wash., on the high side of the track exiting turn two on lap five after Beck had held the lead by the nose of his car on the prior lap. The next lap, Brown passed Beck in the exact same manner.

Mann would handle slower cars without much trouble, not allowing Brown to get any closer until Brown overtook him in the latter third of the race. Despite losing the top spot, Mann was happy with his second place finish, which was also his third podium finish in as many appearances with the NSRA in the Waller & Son Motorsports No. 51 Don Ott-powered Lejeune this season.

“It’s just like two weeks ago,” Mann said about his night. “None of this we knew what we were doing with. We’ve just rolled the dice and have gotten lucky and I’m thrilled.”

The two drivers have apparent differences of opinion regarding tire wear, but both liked the track at Spokane Raceway Park.

“I think everybody liked it. Nobody had a negative thing to say,” Mann said. “You can run two, three wide here.”

“It’s not abrasive to tires,” Brown said. “For a big track, it’s a safe track.”

Beck would run third in the Millennium Motorsports No. 3 Shark-powered Stealth until being passed by Meridian, Idaho’s Bryan Warf on the final lap. Warf’s No. 91 Chevy-powered Eagle was able to appear on the front stretch for trophy presentations despite catching fire in turn four during the cool down lap. Beck finished fourth, followed by Kevin Burck in the Perkins No. 65 Cope Bros. Chevy-powered Gambler.

NSRA point leader Andy Alberding of Roseburg, who earlier set the all-time track record in qualifying, started the feature tenth and picked off three cars on the first lap. Alberding, however, contended with fellow Roseburg driver Matt Hein for much of the race before making a bonzai move for sixth late in the contest. Unable to move up further, Alberding settled for sixth aboard the Dar-Dan Racing No. 76 Chevy-powered Stealth.

Alberding, contending for his first career NSRA championship, entered the event with a 31-point advantage over Monte Zema Jr. of Colville, Wash. Zema finished eighth in his own No. 25 Montgomery-powered Lejeune, Alberding unofficially tacked on eight more points to his lead.

Hein finished seventh in the Hein Racing No. 98h Shaver-powered Beast. Third place points man Justin Mack of Benton City, Wash. finished ninth and Wes Helgeson of Otis Orchards, Wash. rounded out the top ten.

Inside pole-sitter Todd Coleman of Lynnwood, Wash. ran in the top ten until pulling off the track on lap 18 when his No. 44 J&J overheated, resulting in an 11th place finish. Brown’s former car owner Isackson, who won last year’s WESCO championship, finished 13th after also pulling off the track with motor problems.

The prior all-time track record at Spokane was reportedly a 15.52-second lap by a super modified in the mid 1980’s. Alberding broke it on his first qualifying lap, a time of 15.472 seconds before lowering it further with a time of 15.433 seconds on his second lap. Alberding, who has the all-time track record at three other tracks, had an average speed of 150.694 miles per hour on his second trip around the track.

Alberding was to start the feature 12th originally as the result of the invert card he drew, but moved up one row while a couple of teams with ill-handling cars elected to start at the back of the field.

Hein, Burck and Zema all ran in the 15-second range as well during their qualifying runs. Brown was fifth quick, just missing the 15-second range himself. Burck won the four-lap A-Dash event, which featured the four fastest qualifiers, over Alberding, Zema and Hein. Mack and Coleman each won an eight-lap heat race.

The NSRA’s next scheduled event is its second and final appearance of the year at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore later this month. The series will also make its only appearance at eastern Washington’s Ephrata Raceway Park for the Rebel Jackson Memorial on August 4. On August 25, the series visits Western Speedway in Victoria, Brit. Col. for the historic Daffodil Cup race.

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ASA Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association
Spokane Raceway Park
Spokane, WA
July 7, 2007

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

18 cars

Qualifying (No, driver, hometown, owner, time):
1. 76 Andy Alberding – Roseburg, OR; Dar-Dan Racing: 15.433 seconds (150.694 mph average), New all-time track record at Spokane Raceway Park
2. 98h Matt Hein – Roseburg, OR; Hein Racing: 15.549
3. 65 Kevin Burck – Ephrata, WA; Red Perkins: 15.965
4. 25 Monte Zema Jr. – Colville, WA; same: 15.997
5. 99d Rick Brown – Springfield, OR; Jim Diemert: 16.065
6. 17 Justin Mack – Benton City, WA, Mel’s Motorsports: 16.144
7. 51 Jake Mann – Monroe, WA; Waller & Son Motorsports: 16.194
8. 13 Mike Basher – Tacoma, WA; Sonny Basher: 16.201
9. 91 Bryan Warf – Meridian, ID; LaMoyne Warf: 16.504
10. 3 Robert Beck – Redmond, WA; Millennium Motorsports: 16.604
11. 44 Todd Coleman – Lynnwood, WA; TODCO Motorsports: 16.651
12. 1 Eddie Isackson – Gold Bar, WA; same: 17.195
13. 23 Wes Helgeson – Otis Orchards, WA; Dixon Helgeson: 17.485
14. 44t Ron Turner – Spokane, WA; same: 17.928
01 Ken Hamilton – Boise, ID; Butch Freeman: no time
25j Sierra Jackson – Middleton, ID: Mike Jackson: no time
82 R.J. Fronsman – Ephrata, WA: Fronsman Racing: no time
82j Ray Jones – Delta, BC, same: no time

Hamilton, Jackson and Fronsman all lost motors during practice sessions and scratched for the remainder of the program as did Ray Jones who had mechanical problems.

Dash (4 laps): 1. 65 Kevin Burck, 2. 76 Andy Alberding, 3. 25 Monte Zema Jr., 4. 98h Matt Hein.

Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 17 Justin Mack, 2. 98h Matt Hein, 3. 3 Robert Beck, 4. 25 Monte Zema Jr., 5. 13 Mike Basher, 6. 1 Eddie Isackson, 7. 44t Ron Turner.

Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 44 Todd Coleman, 2. 51 Jake Mann, 3. 65 Kevin Burck, 4. 99d Rick Brown, 5. 76 Andy Alberding, 6. 91 Bryan Warf, 7. 23 Wes Helgeson.

Feature (30 laps for 15 miles): 1. 99d Rick Brown, 2. 51 Jake Mann, 3. 91 Bryan Warf, 4. 3 Robert Beck, 5. 65 Kevin Burck, 6. 76 Andy Alberding, 7. 98h Matt Hein, 8. 25 Monte Zema Jr., 9. 17 Justin Mack, 10. 23 Wes Helgeson, 11. 44 Todd Coleman, 12. 13 Mike Basher, 13. 1 Eddie Isackson, 14. 44t Ron Turner.

Lap leaders: Robert Beck 1-4, Jake Mann 5-23, Rick Brown 24-30

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NSRA: Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association
http://www.nsraracing.com

Mann is the NSRA’s man at South Sound
Andrew Kunas

TENINO, Wash. – It was one doozy of a show for fans Saturday night at South Sound Speedway, but at the front of the field it was no contest once Jake Mann took the lead.

This time for Mann, the win counted also.

The Monroe, Wash. star scored his first career ASA-sanctioned Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association event in dominating fashion and following the race he was thrilled to know for sure his car was legal. Two years ago, Mann thought he’d won at Ephrata Raceway Park in eastern Washington only to find out his car was too light at the scales in post-race inspection.

“It’s surreal. I don’t even know what to say,” an ecstatic Mann said at first while he was being congratulated by his fellow drivers. The win came on a good night also, as most of his family was in attendance.

“The whole family was here. To do it front of everyone here was great.”

It was also special for car owner Ken Waller, whose No. 51 Waller & Son Motorsports machine was also driven by Mann that same night at Ephrata when they had a victory taken away. Mann can add his name to the list of drivers who have won races for Waller, a long-time owner who has fielded sprint cars on both dirt and pavement.

Mann, whose previous career high with the NSRA was a third place effort at Evergreen Speedway in March, seemed to think a win was coming soon.

“I was telling everyone I had this weird feeling before here before the races tonight,” Mann later said. “I had that same feeling at Ephrata.”

Unlike Ephrata, however, Mann didn’t leave the track a disappointed man.

Mann, who was fifth fastest in qualifying, started the 35-lap main event eighth as the result of a 12-car inversion. Including Mann’s run to the front, what race fans saw over the first 21 laps of racing, especially laps 14 through 17, was nothing short of fun.

Behind the early lead cars of Ralph Deaver, Mike Basher and Robert Beck, drivers from the fourth position back to 12th sliced and diced for position around the high-banked, 3/8-mile asphalt oval. On lap 13 the group of cars, including former five-time NSRA champion Rick Brown of Springfield, Ore. and current point leader Andy Alberding of Roseburg, Ore. reached a pair of slower cars, and mayhem ensued over the next few laps.

All eight or so cars raced three-wide, at times maybe less than a foot apart, and slide jobs were being pulled. Brown drove like a man possessed as his left front wheel was lifting high on the Jim Diemert-owner No. 99d. On a least one instance, he looked like he about to lift the front end completely off the ground exiting turn four.

It was virtually impossible to keep track of everything as it happened as cars were passing each other back and forth. Most pleasantly surprising, no accidents occurred despite close quarters and near misses. The only stop to racing came on lap 22 when the yellow flag came out for the stalled car of former NSRA champion Pat Bliss, who sat on the grass just inside of the track in turn one.

The group finally separated to an extent on lap 18. When it was over, seventh starting Brown was running fourth and fourth-starting R.J. Fronsman was shuffled back to ninth. The tenth-starting Matt Hein, who made it to sixth before the scramble, managed to find himself fifth and the 12th-starting Alberding was sixth.

In the meantime, Mann was clearly the fastest car on the track as he had moved up to fourth place on lap eight after passing Fronsman. Three laps later, he got by Basher for third. On lap 13, he passed Beck for the second position on the high side exiting turn two. The very next lap, Mann passed Deaver for the lead in same manner in the same part of the track.

Mann was gone from there, as he was never threatened the top spot the rest of the way. On the lap 22 restart, Mann motored away and cruised to the victory.

“It was unbelievable how well that car ran,” Mann said his winged 360 sprint car. “It was perfect. It ran high. It ran low. It could go anywhere. It was perfect. It was fun.”

Ralph Deaver, out of Edgewood, Wash. and driving his own No. 27, led the first 13 laps before yielding the top spot to Mann. He then lost second place to Beck on the lap 22 restart. Beck, who calls Redmond, Wash. home, was unable to catch Mann, but still posted his best finish of the season aboard the No. 3 Millennium Motorsports entry.

Hein, out of Roseburg, passed Brown for fourth exiting turn two on lap 32 and would finish there ahead of Brown in the Hein Racing No. 98h. Alberding, who came into the evening with a 17-point lead over Coleville, Wash.’s Monte Zema Jr. finished sixth in the Dar-Dan Racing No. 76 and padded his lead as he bested or matched Zema in all points-paying events. Zema experienced apparent brake problems at the end of the feature and finished 11th.

Fronsman, third place points driver Justin Mack, former NSRA champion Craig Deaver and Basher rounded out the top ten. Portland’s Tim Alberding, driving the L&D Racing No. 52, finished 13th with a limited motor after starting on the pole as the result of the invert.

Bliss, who has experienced motor problems throughout the season, did not time in during qualifying and struggled in his heat race before finishing 14th in the feature. Todd Coleman also did not register a time in qualifying as he had issues with a stuck throttle. Still having problems in the feature, Coleman pulled off the track after only a few laps and was credited with 15th.

Alberding thought he didn’t do so well in qualifying and was surprised when he learned he broke his own track record from June 24, 2006 (a run of 11.87 seconds) with a time of 11.798 seconds. Along with Bliss and Coleman, Ray Jones of Delta, Brit. Col. did not post a time as his car spun on the back stretch entering turn three after his top wing collapsed on top of his car. His car also caught fire, and with damage from that his night was over.

Ralph Deaver won the B-Dash over Beck, Basher and Randy Anderson. The four-lap A-Dash, which featured the four fastest drivers in qualifying, was won by Hein over Mack, Andy Alberding, and Zema. Beck and Basher took checkered flags in the two eight-lap heat races.

The next event the ASA Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association is July 7 when the NSRA club makes its first ever visit to Spokane Raceway Park in eastern Washington. That event, it is believed, will be the first competitive open wheel event at the ½-mile asphalt oval since a USAC super modified event in 1986.

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ASA, Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association
South Sound Speedway
Tenino, WA
June 23, 2007

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

17 cars

Qualifying results: (Car number, driver, hometown, owner/team)
1. 76 Andy Alberding, Roseburg, OR; Dar-Dan Racing – 11.798 seconds, New Track Record
2. 25 Monte Zema Jr., Colville, WA; Team Zema Racing – 12.095
3. 98h Matt Hein, Roseburg, OR; Hein Racing – 12.105
4. 17 Justin Mack, Benton City, WA; Mel’s Motorsports – 12.157
5. 51 Jake Mann, Monroe, WA; Waller & Son Motorsports – 12.233
6. 99d Rick Brown, Springfield, OR; Jim Diemert – 12.257
7. 82 R.J. Fronsman, Ephrata, WA; Fronsman Motorsports – 12.295
8. 15 Craig Deaver, Sumner, WA; Deaver Racing – 12.303
9. 13 Mike Basher, Tacoma, WA; Sonny Basher – 12.378
10. 3 Robert Beck, Redmond, WA; Millennium Motorsports – 12.439
11. 27 Ralph Deaver, Edgewood, WA; Ralph Deaver – 12.521
12. 52 Tim Alberding, Portland, OR; L&D Racing – 12.842
13. 7 Randy Anderson, Fife, WA; Ken Martin – 13.442
14. 46 Larry Davies, Burien, WA; Larry Davies – 14.146
44 Todd Coleman, Lynnwood, WA; TODCO Motorsports – No time
49 Pat Bliss, West Linn, OR; Helm Motorsports – No time
82j Ray Jones, Delta, B.C.; Ray Jones – No time

82j Ray Jones scratched for rest of program after qualifying.

Photo By Stormy- June 23rd From South Sound Speedway Lined up for the B Dash

B-Dash (4 laps): 1. 27 Ralph Deaver, 2. 3 Robert Beck, 3. 13 Mike Basher, 4. 7 Randy Anderson.

A-Dash (4 laps): 1. 98h Matt Hein, 2. 17 Justin Mack, 3. 76 Andy Alberding, 4. 25 Monte Zema Jr.

Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 3 Robert Beck, 2. 99d Rick Brown, 3. 25 Monte Zema Jr., 4. 17 Justin Mack, 5. 52 Tim Alberding, 6. 15 Craig Deaver, DNS – 44 Todd Coleman, 46 Larry Davies.

Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 13 Mike Basher, 2. 51 Jake Mann, 3. 76 Andy Alberding, 4. 27 Ralph Deaver, 5. 98h Matt Hein, 6. 82 R.J. Fronsman, 7. 49 Pat Bliss, 8. 7 Randy Anderson.

Feature (35 laps): 1. 51 Jake Mann, 2. 3 Robert Beck, 3. 27 Ralph Deaver, 4. 98h Matt Hein, 5. 99d Rick Brown, 6. 76 Andy Alberding, 7. 82 R.J. Fronsman, 8. 17 Justin Mack, 9. 15 Craig Deaver, 10. 13 Mike Basher, 11. 25 Monte Zema Jr., 12. 7 Randy Anderson, 13. 52 Tim Alberding, 14. 49 Pat Bliss, 15. 44 Todd Coleman, DNS – 46 Larry Davies.

Lap leaders: 1-13 Ralph Deaver, 14-35 Jake Mann.

NSRA: Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association
www.nsraracing.com

1st Place #76 Andy Alberding of Roseburg, Oregon
2nd Place #51 Jake Mann of Monroe, WA	3rd Place Matt Hein of Roseburg, Oregon

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