SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Things will get wild and western for the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series as it embarks on a four event open-wheel racing extravaganza from June 15-18.
The Fastest Four Days In Motorsports is a stretch of four races, in four nights, at four different race tracks in Oregon and Washington. This adventure erupts at Southern Oregon Speedway, in White City, Oregon on June 15 for the opening leg of the tour.
From there, the series heads north to the Douglas County Dirtrack for a Friday Night Frenzy event. The Roseburg racetrack was a paved track for several decades before a dirt racing surface was installed last fall.
Willamette Speedway will be stop three on the journey with the “Sprint Car Invasion” on June 17. Last year, the all-time track record was shattered multiple times at the Lebanon, Ore. track, producing an incredible race. The stint wraps up at Grays Harbor Raceway on June 18, when the Elma, Washington speed factory hosts the Timber Cup on Father’s Day.
Championship Chase
The incredible NARC 410 Sprint Car Series championship points battle will be turned up several degrees as this stretch of events could quite possibly determine who will earn the King of the West title. Clovis teenager Corey Day, in the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14, has maintained the top spot in the standings since the first race on April 8. However, he enters Thursday night’s contest with a razor-thin eight-point difference over Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi. Â
“I really like racing up there,” stated Scelzi, the two-time and defending NARC series champion. “I’ve only been there a couple of times, but the race tracks are a little different from California.  I’m looking forward to going back to Southern Oregon Speedway, obviously, because we won there last year. Every place we’re going to, we’ve run either first or second, whether it’s been a NARC race or another kind of series.
“I’ve got high expectations,” continued Scelzi, “and I hope we can have good speed and be consistent every night. I think for the championship points, it’s going to be very telling on the outcome of the year with how these four races go.”
Day is visiting Southern Oregon Speedway for the first time in his career, while Scelzi is looking to rack up his second straight win. Scelzi was the runner-up at Willamette Speedway last year, with Day’s only visit coming in 2021 in the 360 competition and posting a fourth-place run. The only time Day went to Grays Harbor Raceway was the previous year when he scored an impressive eighth place finish against the World Of Outlaws.
Scelzi, who was runner-up at the 2022 Timber Cup, has won the last two Fastest Four Days in Motorsports titles.
Californians Invade
Aromas racer Justin Sanders anticipates returning to racing in the Pacific Northwest with the Demo Mittry No. 2X team. Sanders is hungry for a NARC 410 Sprint Car Series win, and he will undoubtedly be the guy to beat at the Douglas County Dirtrack as he won a 360 Sprint feature there during Memorial Day Weekend. He’s the only driver among the incoming group to earn a victory at the new facility. He has six career wins in Oregon but has yet to open up his winning account in the Evergreen State.
Oregon has historically been very good to Roseville’s Justyn Cox. Piloting the Bates-Hamilton Racing No. 42X machine, he has won a Speedweek Northwest title and earned a hefty payday at Cottage Grove Speedway in 2019, all in 360 sprint car.
Bud Kaeding represents another strong runner of the California contingent. The Campbell chauffeur was fifth at Willamette a year ago and fourth at Southern Oregon. An exciting thing about Kaeding is that he has won at Elma. That was back in 1998, but he etched his name in history as the first-ever 360 Speedweek Northwest champion.
Penngrove’s Chase Johnson has only been to the Pacific Northwest once in his career. That was in 2014 when he finished ninth at Southern Oregon and seventh at Willamette in a 360 sprint car. He will be in the Josh Ford Motorsports No. 73 ride on this trip.
Other NARC 410 Sprint Car regulars include the Dave Vertullo No. 83V piloted by Oakely teenager Dylan Bloomfield, Arizona driver Nick Parker, Billy Aton of Benicia, Sebastopol sensation Joel Myers Jr., Cole Macedo of Lemoore, and Campbell driver Burt Foland Jr. Â
A pair of Australians drivers have joined the NARC tour for this stretch of races, including Jessie Attard, representing Landilo, New South Wales, and Karl Hoffman.
Protecting Home Turf
The Emperor of the North in 2022 was Trey Starks, and he is undoubtedly still a threat to win wherever he rolls into town. The Puyallup, Washington phenom dominated the Grays Harbor Raceway bout to win the Timber Cup. Starks also is undefeated in Skagit Speedway 410 action and is a perfect three-for-three.
“It will be cool to be battling some of the California and Oregon guys on some middle ground at some tracks we only get to run on sometimes,” said Starks. “To finish it off at Grays Harbor is going to be exciting. I love racing there in a 410.”
Tanner Holmes wants to make a significant defensive stand against the invading competition. The defending Western Sprint Tour 360 champion already has some wins in his native state. The Jacksonville, Oregon jockey achieved all his successes in 360 action at Cottage Grove Speedway. He was sixth when the nights concluded at Southern Oregon and Willamette in 2022.
Tyler Thompson also will be hoping to represent his home region vigorously. The Harrisburg, Oregon driver had a fantastic run at Grays Harbor, earning his only career NARC Top five result with a fourth-place finish. He also did well at the track closest to his hometown, where he was eighth in Lebanon. Thompson has two wins at Cottage Grove Speedway in 360 Sprint competition.