The racing season has finally kicked off at Grays Harbor Raceway, after a delay in the season due to Covid-19, and a few rain-outs. Mother nature tried to ruin the night, but the Wingless Sprint Series, Dwarf Cars, and Super Stocks put on a great evening of racing.

Dwarf Cars

Over 20 Dwarf Cars took to the 3/8-mile banked clay oval, running twin 25 features. Anthony Pope of Roseburg, Ore., took the lead in the first 25 lap feature as Shane Youngren of Tigard, Ore., moved into the second spot. Unfortunately, Youngren’s night ended early with mechanical issues on lap 2, bringing out the first caution. Ryan Martinez of Portland, Ore., looked to make a move on the high side to take the lead on the restart, moving Pope back to second. Pope looked to the low side a handful of times to try and take the position back. Both drivers raced side by side until Pope retained the lead. Martinez looked to capitalize as lapped traffic quickly became a factor early on. Sandy, Ore., driver Justin DeMars moved into the third spot battling with Tanner Curr of Albany, Ore. Contact between John Chrisman of Albany, Ore., saw Curr spin to a stop, bringing out the caution on lap 7. Chrisman saw a battle with Mollala, Ore., driver Henry Corbin III for a handful of laps, until the caution flag flew for Dave Brune, losing a wheel in turn four. Martinez and Chrisman battled for the second position, moving Chrisman into second as Pope continued to pull away. In a caution-filled feature, Pope picked up the win over Chrisman, Martinez, Curr, while Teagan Fischer of St. Helens, Ore., rounded out the top five.

The second 25-lap feature saw Pope once again take the early lead as Martinez and Chrisman battled for second. Curr and Erin Morgenstern of Roseberg, Ore., battled for the fourth position with Curr taking the spot. Pope continued to look strong out front. Chrisman and Martinez continued to battle for the second spot racing side by side. Chrisman took over the second position looking to track down Pope for the lead. Lap 10 saw Chrisman spin to infield after contact with a lap car, bringing out the caution. At the time, a heavy mist came down ending the feature on lap 10 with Pope picking up the win over Martinez, Curr, DeMars and Corbin III. Heat race winners earlier in the evening were Pope, Teagan Fischer and Scappoose, Ore., driver Jake VanOrtwick

Wingless Sprint Series

Bert Johnson of Graham and Canby, Ore., driver Gene Cannon set the front row of the 30-lap Wingless Sprint Series feature, after a jumped start. It was Johnson taking the lead early. Cannon moved into the second spot. Eagle Creek, Ore., driver Lindsay Barney worked her way quickly to the front taking over second from Cannon. The battle for third was the race to watch as Michael Millard of Elma and Tahuya driver Nate Geister battled for position. Sherwood, Ore., driver Rob Lindsey stayed close to both Millard and Geister but saw mechanical issues and slowing to a stop on lap 7 ending his evening. Johnson led the field to the green on the restart, as Barney looked to chase him down. Millard moved into third getting around Geister. Tim Alberding of Salem, Ore., was within striking distance of Geister. Lapped traffic became a factor for Johnson as he worked his way through, allowing Barney to gain closer to the back bumper. Lap 26 saw Barney make the move to take over the lead in heavy lapped traffic in turn one. Johnson looked low off of turn four a lap later, but it was Barney picking up her first career Grays Harbor Raceway feature event for the traveling series. Johnson, Millard, Alberding and Geister rounded out the top five. Heat race winners were Barney and Millard, with Rob Lindsey setting quick time.

Super Stocks

The Super Stocks, formerly known as Street Stocks, saw 17 cars sign in for the evening. It was a pair of champions on the front row. Hoquiam’s Jason Tole and 2019 Street Stock champion Scott Fritts of Montesano took the green flag. It was Tole striking first taking the lead. Fritts moved into second as Matt White of Hoquiam and Shelton’s Jared Stevens battle for third. Tole and Fritts quickly put distance between themselves and the rest of the field. The battle for fifth between Rodger Perry of Belfair and Olympia’s Chuck Goodman was one of the races to watch. Austin Kerrigan of Aberdeen quickly joined in on the mix. Positions third through sixth saw a strong battle for position. Tole quickly caught heavy lapped traffic, maneuvering his way through, although this allowed Fritts to get close. The caution flag flew for Hoquiam driver Jack Parshall slowing on the backstretch on lap 8. The restart saw Tole continue to lead. Fritts this time was right on the back bumper. Matt White continued to stay in the third position but saw Jared Stevens and Perry right there to take over third. Jared Stevens top five run quickly came to an end on lap 11 as he slowed on the backstretch. A late race green flag run saw Tole, Fritts and Parshall, who rebounded after a early caution battle for the top spot. Parshall worked his way into second, looking to track down Tole. Parshall looked to the low side a few times for the lead but couldn’t make the pass. A last lap attempt saw Parshall try again racing side by side to the checkers, but it was Tole picking up his first win of the 2020 season. Parshall, Fritts, Matt White and Perry rounded out the top five. Heat race winners were Tole and Fritts.

Grays Harbor Raceway

June 20, 2020

PHRA Dwarf Cars

Heat 1: 1. 88o Anthony Pope, 2. 18o Shane Youngren, 3. 8 William Wolfe, 4. 3K Jim Fischer, 5. 17X Crystal Flath, 6. 54o Dave Brune, 7. 33 Bob McCord.

Heat 2: 1. 5o Teagan Fischer, 2. 00 Jim Pavel, 3. 24 Justin DeMars, 4. 89Z Henry Corbin III, 5. 98 Erin Morgenstern, 6. 333 Jason Fike

Heat 3: 1. 53o Jake VanOrtwick, 2. 9o Ryan Martinez, 3. 00X Doug Pirtle, 4. 43 Tanner Curr, 5. 88s John Chrisman, 6. 90Z Henry Corbin II, 7. 25X Mark Terry

A-Main #1

1. Pope, 2. Chrisman, 3. Martinez, 4. Curr, 5. Teagan Fischer, 6. Corbin III, 7. Corbin II, 8. DeMars, 9. Fike, 10. Pavel, 11. Morgenstern, 12. Pirtle, 13. Jim Fischer, 14. Brune, 15. Terry, 16. VanOrtwick, 17. Wolfe, 18. McCord, 19. Youngren, 20. Flath

A-Main #2 (rain shortened):

1. Pope, 2. Martinez, 3. Curr, 4. DeMars, 5. Corbin III, 6. Morgenstern, 7. Teagan Fischer, 8. Fike, 9. Chrisman, 10. Pirtle, 11. Corbin II, 12. Pavel, 13. Flath, 14. Terry, 15. Wolfe, 15 #I5, 16. McCord

Super Stocks

Heat 1: 1. 34 Jason Tole, 2. 75 Jared Stevens, 3. 5D Chuck Goodman, 4. 9 Jack Parshall, 5. 55 Samantha Stevens, 6. 61 Dave Larson, 7. 90 Brendan White

Heat 2: 1. 42 Scott Fritts, 2. 23B Matt White, 3. 97 Rodger Perry, 4. AK47 Austin Kerrigan, 5. 00 Kirk McGinnis, 6. 914 Tanner Bridges, 7. 51 Tim Martin, 8. 57 Devon Harper

A-Main: 1. Tole, 2. Parshall, 3. Fritts, 4. Matt White, 5. Perry, 6. Martin, 7. Goodman, 8. Samantha Stevens, 9. Bridges, 10. Jared Stevens, 11. McGinnis, 12. Brendan White, 13. Kerrigan

Wingless Sprint Series

Fast Time: 23 Rob Lindsey

Heat 1: 1. 57 Lindsay Barney, 2. 23 Rob Lindsey, 3. 38 Nate Geister, 4. 78 Don Trent, 5. 18 Gene Cannon

Heat 2: 1. 23M Michael Millard, 2. 48 Chad Lindsey, 3. 52 Tim Alberding, 4. 9J Bert Johnson, 5. 26K Tim Kennedy

A-Main: 1. Barney, 2. Johnson, 3. Millard, 4. Alberding, 5. Geister, 6. Chad Lindsey, 7. Trent, 8. Cannon, 9. Kennedy, 10. Rob Lindsey