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NARC SPRINT CARS INVADE THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOR THE FASTEST FIVE DAYS IN MOTORSPORTS

2025-06-06 20:32

(June 6, 2025 - Andrew Kunas) Auburn, CA ... One of the best weeks of the year for West Coast sprint car fans is here, as the NARC 410 sprint car series invades the Pacific Northwest for the annual Fastest Five Days in Motorsports, part of the "Road to the Dirt Cup."

Five consecutive nights of action at as many tracks across two states are on tap, gradually moving north up the I-5 corridor. For most of the tracks, it will represent their only 410 sprint car races of the season. All of this is ahead of the $100,026-to-win Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway on June 19th, 20th and 21st.

It all begins Wednesday, June 11th at Southern Oregon Speedway outside of Medford. The next night sees the series visit the Douglas County Dirt Track in Roseburg, followed by a visit to Cottage Grove Speedway, a short drive from Eugene. The final Oregon stop on Saturday, June 14th is Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, near Salem. The final day, Sunday the 15th, sees the NARC sprint cars cross the Columbia River into Washington and head to Elma for the annual Father's Day Timber Cup at Grays Harbor Raceway.

Drivers from up and down the West Coast have committed to running all or at least part of the Fastest Five Days in Motorsports. And many fans will be traveling with them for the ultimate sprint car "road trip."

Dominic Scelzi, the two-time NARC champion from Fresno and one of the most popular with Northwest race fans, is among those expecting to compete the entire week, and hoping for some good luck to come his way after some recent difficulties. Scelzi won last year's Timber Cup at Grays Harbor Raceway, one of his 23 career NARC triumphs, and hopes for more of that in this year's Fastest Five Days aboard the Gary Scelzi Motorsports No. 41.

Reigning NARC champion Justin Sanders of Aromas has had the very meaning of an "up and down" season but has two NARC victories this season and is a still a threat to win on any given night. The 2024 "King of the West" is coming off a recent Top 5 finish at the Dave Bradway Jr Memorial and wants to stay on the "up" side of things aboard the Mittry Motorsports No. 2x during the Fastest Five Days.

Dominic Gorden of Clovis is riding high with momentum himself aboard the Fortitude Driver Development No. 10, coming off a lucrative victory at the Dave Bradway Jr Memorial. The winner of two NARC events in his short sprint car career, the young driver is hoping that momentum from the Bradway continues, and he adds to his win total during the Fastest Five Days.

One big name arriving in the U.S. this week is Australian superstar James McFadden, who will be piloting the Tarlton Motorsports No. 21 entry for the Fastest Five Days and the Dirt Cup at Skagit. McFadden, the winner of 12 World of Outlaws and three High Limit Racing events, was also the winner in January of the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, Australia's largest sprint car race. Having previously won a NARC event; McFadden is anticipated to immediately compete with the Tarlton team. This team has already experienced success this season with Tanner Holmes as the driver, including securing a NARC victory at Thunderbowl Raceway in May.

Many more drivers from California will be making the trip to the Northwest, including former NARC Rookie of the Year Caeden Steele, who recently won his first NARC feature, and 2025 rookie candidate Mariah Ede, both from the Fresno area, along with former NARC champions DJ Netto of Hanford, Bud Kaeding of Campbell, and Sean Becker of Oroville.

Benicia's Billy Aton, winner of one NARC feature in his career, is expected also along with a number of drivers who are strong candidates for their first NARC wins, including Lemoore's Gauge Garcia, Rio Oso's Landon Brooks and Tucson's Nick Parker. Angelique Bell from Sacramento, Redding's Max Mittry, John Clark of Windsor, and Laton's Geoffrey Strole are all also expected to join.

NORTHWEST DRIVERS DEFENDING THEIR TURF

Speaking of Tanner Holmes, the young driver from Jacksonville, Oregon has been looking forward to this stretch of races in his home state and region. After racing for the Tarlton team, Holmes will jump into his family's No. 18T for this week's races and looks to perform well in front of friends and family. Southern Oregon Speedway will always be a special place to Holmes as last year's Fastest Five Days opener saw Holmes win his first NARC race. Holmes has won sprint car features at all four of the Oregon tracks NARC is visiting, including already this season at Cottage Grove, and hopes that it translates to more NARC success.

Tyler Thompson, piloting the Main Motorsports No. 35km, is also racing on home soil this week. The Harrisburg, Oregon driver is a former track champion at Cottage Grove Speedway. Chasing NARC Rookie of the Year honors and sitting third in point standings, Thompson is hoping his familiarity with the Oregon tracks can be a spark, as he is one of the drivers pursuing his first NARC feature victory.

It would also surprise absolutely none of the Oregon sprint car fans if Tyler Thompson and Tanner Holmes wound up racing each other with a victory on the line at any of the four races in the Beaver State. Whether it's in their family cars or racing for others, Thompson and Holmes have always seemed to find themselves racing around each other, going back to their younger days racing limited sprint cars. It's continued in the 410 ranks as the young men have found themselves racing each other for position multiple times in NARC competition this year.

Drivers from Washington state and British Columbia are expected to venture down for all or part of the Fastest Five Days in Motorsports. One will be Cobble Hill, B.C.'s Robbie Price, a former Dirt Cup winner who won his first NARC race at last year's Willamette Speedway event.

Jesse Schlotfeldt of Arlington, Washington will be a driver from the Evergreen State to watch. Schlotfeldt is a 410 winner at Skagit this season and also has wins this spring at both Douglas County Dirt Track and Grays Harbor Raceway in non-NARC competition to his credit. Schlotfeldt had indicated his plan to run the entire week and hopes to be a first-time NARC winner sometime during the week.

Levi Klatt from British Columbia, a former Skagit Speedway track champion, has said he will run at least the first three races in Oregon, and depending on how things go sticking around for the last two races are a possibility for him.

Medford, Oregon's Camden Robustelli, a standout from dwarf cars who has been finding success in limited and 360 sprint cars, has gotten his feet wet in 410 sprint cars and plans to get seat time against the stars of NARC. Robustelli indicated his plans to run at least four Oregon races, but if things go well, he may continue north to Elma for the Timber Cup and to Skagit for Dirt Cup.

Medford's Blaine Cory, who made his NARC debut at April's Mini-Gold Cup, is expected to get more seat time against the best of NARC and run the entire week.

Puyallup, Washington's Trey Starks, twice a NARC winner in the past and a High Limit Racing winner last year, is anticipated to appear at a couple of races towards the end of the week. Starks is a former NARC winner at Grays Harbor Raceway and already has numerous Skagit Speedway wins this season. While regularly racing Skagit Speedway, Starks is usually a contender wherever he goes and same goes for when he shows up at a NARC race.

FAN INFO

Wednesday at Southern Oregon Speedway, the pit gate will open at 3:00 pm with the front gate opening at 5:00 pm. Qualifying is scheduled for 6:00 pm and opening ceremonies at 7:00. Tickets can be purchased on the track's MyRacePass.com page. General admission tickets will be $30, kids ages 6 to 11 are in for $15, or a family pass for two adults and three kids can be purchased for $90.

Southern Oregon Speedway is located at 6900 Kershaw Rd, White City, Oregon 97502. For more information, visit http://www.southernoregonmotorsports.com/ or call 458-220-6272.

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Thursday at the Douglas County Dirt Track, the pit gate opens at 2:00 pm and the front gates at 4:00 pm. Hot laps are at 6:00 pm with racing following at 7:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased on the track's MyRacePass.com page. Adult general admission will be $30, with seniors 55+, military and kids aged 12 to 15 getting in for $25. Kids ages 6 to 11 will be admitted for just $5.

The racetrack is located at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Complex at 2110 SW Frear Street, Roseburg, OR 97471. For more information, log on to www.douglascountydt.com.

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Friday at Cottage Grove Speedway, pit gates open at 2:00 pm and front gates at 4:30 pm, with hot laps at 6:00 pm and racing to begin around 7:00 pm. General admission tickets will be $35, while Seniors 62 and older, military, and kids ages 13 to 17 are in for $30. Kids aged 6 to 12 get in for $10, and children five and Under are FREE. Family passes for two adults and four kids can be purchased for $80. Tickets will be sold at the front gate or online on MyRacePass.com.

Cottage Grove Speedway is located at 2150 N Douglas Avenue, Cottage Grove, OR, 97424. For folks with transports, RVs, or camping trailers, please avoid using the railroad trestle bridge on Highway 99, as you will not have enough clearance to navigate underneath it. For more information, visit www.cottagegrovespeedway.com or call 541-942-7561.

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On Saturday at Willamette Speedway, the pit gate will open at 1:00 pm with the grandstands opening at 4:00 pm. Hot laps are scheduled for 4:30 pm with racing at 6:00 pm. Teams are welcome to stay in the pits. Fan camping is permitted on the grounds. Adult tickets will be $45. Seniors, military, and kids ages 13 to 17 will be admitted for $35. Younger kids are in for $20, and a family pass can be purchased for $130. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or on MyRacePass.com.

Willamette Speedway is located at 36606 Airport Dr, Lebanon, Oregon 97355. For more information, visit http://www.trophymotorsports.com/ or send an email to willamettespeedway@hotmail.com.

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Sunday at Grays Harbor Raceway, the pit gate will open at 2:00 pm with grandstands opening at 4:00 pm. Hot laps are scheduled for 5:00 pm with racing following at 6:00 pm. Adult general admission is $28 with seniors, military, and kids ages 7 to 17 in for $24. Kids six and under are in for only $5. Tickets can be purchased at the track or online at MyRacePass.com.

Grays Harbor Raceway is located at 30 Elma McCleary Rd, Elma, Washington 98541. For more information, visit https://www.graysharborraceway.com/ or call 360-482-4374.

Each night features qualifying, up to four 8-lap heat races, a six-lap trophy dash and a main event (30 laps at the four Oregon tracks and 25 at Grays Harbor). The Northwest Focus Midget Series will be NARC's companions at each of the Oregon races, while IMCA modifieds will be the support class at Grays Harbor.

ABOUT NARC

The Northern Auto Racing Club is the premier 410-winged sprint car series in the western United States. Since 1960, the traveling organization has thrilled fans at dirt tracks up and down the West Coast and crowned a "King of the West" champion. For more information on the NARC 410 sprint car series, including race results, points standings, and upcoming events, go to www.narc410.com. You can also follow on various social media platforms.

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 7 - Silver Dollar Speedway - Chico, CA (David Tarter Memorial)

Fastest Five Days in Motorsports
June 11 - Southern Oregon Speedway - Medford, OR
June 12 - Douglas County Dirt Track - Roseburg, OR
June 13 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR
June 14 - Willamette Speedway - Lebanon, OR
June 15 - Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, WA (Father's Day Timber Cup)

June 19, 20 & 21 - Skagit Speedway - Burlington, WA ($100,026-to-win Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup)

NARC 2025 winners
March 8 - D.J. Netto at Stockton Dirt Track (Salute to Leroy Van Conett)
April 12 - Justin Sanders at Silver Dollar Speedway (Mini Gold Cup)
May 10 - D.J. Netto at Antioch Speedway (Contra Costa County Clash)
May 16 - Justin Sanders at Ocean Speedway
May 17 - Tanner Holmes (Race 1) & Caeden Steele (Race 2) at Thunderbowl Raceway (Morrie Williams Memorial)
May 31 - Dominic Gorden at Placerville Speedway (Dave Bradway Jr Memorial)
June 7 - (Pending)