Early Entries for Wenatchee 200 Arrive

SPOKANE-WA: Since returning to the Northwest calendar in 2023, the Plumb Perfect Wenatchee 200 has become a staple on Super Late Model schedules throughout the region. The $25,000 payday (20K in 2023) has drawn drivers from all across the West Coast and beyond. This year for the first time, the event will be sanctioned as part of a Series, as the SPEARS Cars Tour West Super Late Models will oversee the festivities. So far, the early entries have been no exception to the past, as the first four announced drivers hail from four different states. Former NASCAR Cup Series and Daytona 500 Champion Kevin Harvick from Bakersfield, California was announced earlier this year as making his debut at the ¼ mile oval. Now as official entries have opened, Oregon, Montana and Washington itself have officially been announced as represented in the first 200 lap event of the season.

(Photo of Alan Cress during the TreeTop 150, Photo by Amber Taylor)

The first official entry announced was the most recent Late Model winner at the track, Stayton, OR’s Alan Cress. The Treetop 150: Leonard Evans Memorial was the 2nd consecutive victory for Cress, having also won the Neal Newberry 125 last September. Entering the big race, Cress will continue to look to build on the success at his “home track” to march towards a $25K payday. “The previous wins give our team that extra

motivation to put in the extra work to make it the absolute best it can be. Combine that with the help from Trevor Cristiani, it makes us really excited for the 200.” As far as what he’s looking forward to for the weekend, Cress was “Just looking forward to getting back to the track. I really like these longer races. A lot more goes into them Having a good car is just one part of it. Strategy plays a role as well. Knowing when to push or when to back off and save a little. Also the adjustments at the break and positioning yourself for the

final laps.” Cress has a best finish of 4th in the 200, and no doubt is licking his chops entering with momentum. With no races on the calendar till then, the team is able to pour effort into the Super Late, but also keeping an eye on what's next, getting the Pro Late ready for the next CTNW race at Stateline

The first former Champion of the event to enter was 2024 victor Evan Goetz. The 18 year old from Okanogan, WA was buzzing about not only the event itself, but what it does for the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval itself. “This race is especially important to me because I think it is great for WVSO to have such a big race there, and being a 3 rd generation driver to be racing at Wenatchee, the track itself has a special place for

my family. We think its very important to keep racing in the Northwest growing, and WVSO doing this event plays a huge part.” As a former champion, Goetz knows as well as anyone what it takes to compete at this level, while trying not to overthink. “Just going over the entire car and pit box, making sure we have everything tight and all the tools are in line. When we get to the track we like to have fun and not be too serious, just enjoy the environment as much as possible.” The Okanogan HS senior has completed the trifecta

at WVSO, having won the Leonard Evans Memorial, Neal Newberry 125, and most recently the Wenatchee 200, while also scoring a Fall Classic win in 2023.

Entries are being announced daily at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval’s social media sites. Stay tuned there for driver announcements and here for dive-ins on the field as the entry list comes together.

Wenatchee 200 Weekend - May 29th (Practice day) and May 30th (Raceday)