150+ cars competing at NW auto racing world in West Richland this weekend
It’s going to be nonstop action at the races this weekend.
Taking a look at the preliminary driver lists for this weekend’s 35th annual Fall Classic presented by Toyota, which will be held for the second straight year at Tri-City Raceway at the Red Mountain Event Center in West Richland, one thought comes to mind.
Where will they park all of these cars?
The preliminary drivers list came out on Tuesday (so more may have already entered since then), and I count 166 driver entries involved in six races.
Now granted, there might be some drivers entered in more than one event.
Still, it’s a great event that kind of wraps up the racing season.
And the fact that it happens at the West Richland facility is pretty cool.
It was a year ago that a group of racing enthusiasts re-opened the track and brought in the Fall Classic, which was otherwise going to die because the Yakima Speedway was shut down.
There were a few growing pains with the 2021 event.
Parking was limited, so many people tried to park on the adjacent highway and ended up with vehicles being towed.
A shuttle was brought in to bring fans from a nearby parking area.
Some of the grandstands have been re-configured for this year, allowing for more people to attend.
What it boils down to is, there is going to be plenty of racing action at the track on both Saturday and Sunday.
Gates will open at 9 a.m. both days, with racing action to begin at 1 p.m. each day.
Over $89,000 in prize money is up for grabs.
Here’s the lineup for Saturday:
On Saturday, there are 41 drivers entered for the 80-lap Pro Late Model event. That includes eight local entries, among them being Kennewick’s Dan Nelson and Mike Zamora.
Both are long-time drivers at Tri-City Raceway from the 1980s, and Zamora is the father of Britney Zamora — who is making her way up the stock car racing ladder in bigger tracks around the country.
Also racing Saturday are the Tri-State Mini Stocks, with a 50-lap final.
There are 18 drivers entered, including Pasco’s Brad Rhoads — another long-time Tri-City Raceway veteran.
Finally, 16 drivers are entered in the 50-lap Vintage Modifieds event.
This is what Sunday’s event looks like:
The headliner is the 125-lap Northwest Super Late Model Series event.
There are, so far, 37 drivers entered. They include seven local competitors, including Kennewick’s BJ Tidrick — who hails from the Yakima area but now lives in Kennewick.
Tidrick won the Montana 200 earlier this year in Spokane.
Other competitors of note are a trio from Naches: Owen and Tayler Riddle, and Jason Jefferson.
Other Sunday races will include the 60-lap Tire Factory Tri-State Hobby Stock/Thunder Car event; and the 50-lap Modifieds Invitational.
Tickets for the event are still available, and must be purchased online at redmountaineventcenter.com.
Baseball
Hanford High graduate Isaac Benard is still plugging away in baseball.
The 26-year-old outfielder went to Mt. Hood Community College after graduating from Hanford.
But after that, Benard turned pro, and has been in the independent Frontier League.
This past season, Benard played for the Gateway Grizzlies. In 90 games, he belted 23 home runs, drove in 66 runs, and had a .316 batting average.
He also has an additional gig. Benard is playing for the Venezuelan National team that is trying to qualify for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Benard qualifies for the Venezuelan team because his father, former San Francisco Giants outfielder Marvin Benard, is from Venezuela.
The Venezuelan team will be involved in qualifying next March in Miami.
▪ Early warning: The Tri-City Dust Devils released their 2023 Northwest League schedule this past week.
The team will open at home on April 6 against the Hillsboro Hops.
The regular season runs through Sept. 10.
Here is the schedule:
APRIL: 6-8, HILLSBORO; 11-16, at Vancouver; 18-23, SPOKANE; 25-30, at Hillsboro.
MAY: 2-7, at Everett; 9-14, EUGENE; 16-21, VANCOUVER; 23-28, at Hillsboro; 30-31, SPOKANE.
JUNE: 1-4, SPOKANE; 6-11, at Eugene; 13-18, EVERETT; 20-25, at Spokane; 28-30, HILLSBORO.
JULY: 1-3, HILLSBORO; 4-9, at Eugene; 14-16, SPOKANE; 18-23, at Everett; 25-30, HILLSBORO.
AUGUST: 1-6, EUGENE; 8-13, at Vancouver; 15-20, at Spokane; 22-27, EVERETT; 29-31, at Eugene.
SEPTEMBER: 1-3, at Eugene; 5-10, VANCOUVER.
College notes
Former Richland standout Jax Lee is playing football for Redlands College in California, where the defensive lineman has 9 tackles (2 for loss) in the three games he’s played in.
Lee is a sophomore at Redlands.
In 2017, as a high school senior, he was named the Mid-Columbia Conference Lineman of the Year while playing for the Bombers.
▪ Josiah Barajas was always one of my favorite MCC linebackers, because he hit hard and did a good job on pass coverage.
So it’s nice to see he’s still doing that at Salt River Junior College in Arizona.
Through four games, Barajas has 31 tackles (7 for loss), 2 quarterback sacks, and two interceptions.
▪ Samantha Hui (Southridge) fired a 68 last week at the Colorado State University Colonel Wallenberg Ram Classic women’s golf tournament in Fort Collins, Colo.
That round tied a University of Wyoming women’s golf team record for best round.
Hui finished the three-day tied for 17th, shooting a 74-68-76 for a 2 over par 218.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
