by Kelly Hart
With two Play Days successfully in the books ASA Member
track Skagit Speedway turns its attention to the 2012 Foothills Toyota Tundra
Racing Series season opener next weekend. Over the two practice weekends Skagit
Speedway hosted 60 cars with 12 brand new drivers making their debut.
There were 30 cars at each Play Day and the grandstands were
populated with plenty of spectators getting their fill of fresh air, sunshine,
souvenirs, concessions and the smell of methanol. Track crews got into their
rhythm and even the boss, Steve Beitler took a turn in the flag stand waving
the hankies for a few sessions of hot laps.
Making their debuts included Jeff Westergard in this #9
Simmons Motorsports 360 Sprint, Liam Ryan in the #87 410 sprint car. Shane
Valiant and Matt Jensen took to the track as rookies in their 360 sprinters.
Mike Melwicks returns to the 410 division and Zach McCabe looked sharp in his
new Sportsman sprint. Justin Youngquist brought out a new 360 sprint and set
fast time for the weekends of all the 360 sprints in attendance. Play Days also
saw Trevor Turnbull and Kenny Rutz in the Doug Rutz prepared cars. The track
also saw a slew of new Outlaw Hornets.
“From what we saw over the two weekends and all the
excitement we are feeling at Skagit Speedway, 2012 looks like it’s going to be
a great year,” said track owner Steve Beitler. “Very pleased to see all the new
talent, new equipment and overall enthusiasm in the pit area to get things
started.”
The 58th racing season at Skagit Speedway starts
Saturday April 21st at 7:00 p.m. Spectator gates will open at 5:00
p.m. and the pit gates will open early at 3:30 p.m. Reserved seat tickets for
all the signature events such as Dirt Cup, 360 Nationals and the World of
Outlaws are available by calling the Speedway office 360.724.3567 and more
details are on the website www.SkagitSpeedway.com.