Ellensburg , Wa . – Yakima 's Erick Hargraves competed at his local track, ASA sanctioned Yakima Speedway , on Saturday night in an effort to collect a bounty, put up by the owner of the facility, to anyone that could beat hot shoe, Mike Longton. Hargraves, can collect the bounty, a free set of tires, at the next Late Model race scheduled for July 12th.
The temperature was near 100 degrees when B.J. Tidrick set fast time of 19.021 sec. When main event time came the track was still very hot as was the action. Bakersfield, California resident, Eric Richardson took the early lead, driving the Short Track Enterprises car. Richardson , held the point for 51 of the scheduled 75 lap distance. An exciting battle was going on between Hargraves, Longton and Owen Riddle. Longton and Hargraves exchanged positions regularly until Hargraves finally made the pass and took off after the leader. Hargraves made an outside pass on lap 52 and never looked back. B.J. Tidrick suffered rearend problems and his night ended early. Chris Walters from Wenatchee made his first appearance at the historic ½ mile track. Walters had mechanical problems during practice and was unable to get much practice time. His team worked hard and repaired the car and Chris had a good run during the main event. Defending Late Model Champ, Owen Riddle finished a strong 3rd with Longton , Mike Zamora rounding out the top five.
The Super Stock class was low on cars but not low on excitement. Buck Noel Jr. set fast time and won the 25 lap main. The popular driver the entire race but was under extreme pressure from the father son combo of Mike and Brian Pepper. Most of the race had them under a blanket, with Noel holding a steady groove and the Peppers trying to find a way around. The outside groove did not work well and frustration set in with the younger Pepper. Noel drove his usual race to gain the win.
The large crowd was again treated to great racing in the Hobby Sportsman class. Barry Mueller grabbed the lead at the start but was passed by Jeff Stevenson.Stevenson remained in the top spot until lap 23 of the 30 lap event. Points leader, Mel Patnode took over and led the rest of the way. Randy Marshall Jr. passed Stevenson on the final lap to score second place in an exciting photo finish.
Jason Trujillo, coming back for his first race in years, won the Bump to Pass class over 11 competitors. James "Snowflake" Norman won the Hornet class that featured a "B" main. And Jacob Little was victorious in the Youth Hornets. Young Jacob Little scored a clean sweep with fast time, dash and main event victories.
Next event at the speedway will be the demolition derby and Hornet race set for July 4th. The Late Models will return on July 12th.