NASCAR Racing Program On Tap
As Coos Bay Speedway Season Begins

Coos Bay, Oregon...A full program of NASCAR racing is on tap as Coos Bay Speedway opens the 2018 season this Saturday night. Weather permitting, Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Hornets and Humboldt Motorsports Side by Sides will all be competing. If that's not enough, the track's Winged Sprint Car division will also be in action.

Lawrence Van Hoof is the reigning Sprint Car champion, beating two-time champion Dave May for last year's title. The duo is anticipated when the Sprint Cars compete this week, and others to watch for include Casey Sabin, Brett Hulsey and Ryan Kingery. The Sprint Cars always put on a good show for the fans.

Last season, the NASCAR prize was over $6,000 for champion Mike George. George put on a rather dominant performance with ten Main Event victories, but the consistent Toby McIntyre still finished within 36 points of the lead. McIntyre won the 2015 championship, and he'll be out to recapture the crown. Late Models have been a staple division at the speedway in recent seasons, and other competitors anticipated include Chris Ray, Thor Kristensen, Brody Montgomery, Jared Bemetz, Kristy Grout and past champion Trina Post.

Montgomery made his move up to Super Late Models last season while in the midst of an impressive Sportsman Late Model season. Montgomery won an amazing 14 Sportsman Main Events in 19 starts, but he still only beat two-time champion Wayne Butler by 24 points. Butler actually had more Top 5 finishes than Montgomery as he won four Main Events. Charlie Withers, Dyllan Siewell, Devin Brown and Troy Chamberlain are some of the competitors anticipated this weekend.

Given the increase in car count as last season progressed, optimism is high for the Street Stock division. Justin Krossman was one of only two drivers to make every race, and Krossman used his five feature wins last year to easily hold off Ken Fox for the title. However, Steve Dubisar, Daniel Land and Jeff Thurman became more active as the season progressed and won the lion's share of the features during the second half of the season. All totaled, Dubisar had eight wins and is seen as the driver to beat going into this season.

Sam Talon recaptured the Mini Outlaw championship last season on the strength of eight wins. However, the competition in this division remains tough. A five time winner last season, Rob Lauver is a perennial championship contender, while Dan Daniels, Jason Kallum, Alyssa Johnson, John Henry and Ken Fox are other drivers to watch this season.

The biggest car counts at the speedway can be found in the Hornet division. Ryan Siewell has been one of the big stars of the class during the past two years and used an impressive 12 feature victories to cruise to last season's championship. Two potential title contenders, Sam Taylor and Hannah Robison, had a good battle for second last season, and both will be looking for their first feature wins this year. Jeremiah Reber, April Warmack, Tom Williams, Patrick Nagel and Braden Fugate will help make this a very exciting season for the Hornet division.

Promoter Drake Nelsen continues to work hard to fine tune the racing program on the oval track. The Humboldt Motorsports Side by Sides were introduced last season, but driver concern over too many dates led to a decline in entries as last season wore on. With seven events for the class on the schedule, it's hoped that there will be bigger support this season. Eric Tackett won three races last year to top the point list over Justin Barron and Shannon Krohn.

It's an exciting racing program that will be offering a little something for everybody this Saturday night. After the cold and wet winter, the competitors are chomping at the bit to get back out on the oval track once again. This will be a show that you won't want to miss. For further information, go to www.coosbayspeedway.us.