SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Event Preview: Labor Day Special at Tri-City Raceway
BROADCAST INFO: FloRacing
(7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026)
Track: Tri-City Raceway
Location: West Richland, Washington
Length: 0.500-mile paved oval
Laps: 125 (Pro Late Model)
SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Models return to Tri-City Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 5, for the penultimate round of the inaugural 2026 season, with a tight championship battle taking center stage at the half-mile tri-oval.
Andrew Riehl enters the weekend atop the standings with 247 points, eight ahead of Ethan Ebert and 15 ahead of Haeden Plybon. Zach Riehl sits fourth, 23 points behind the leader, while Wyatt Gardner rounds out the top five, 34 points back with two races remaining.
Riehl has used consistency to move to the top of the standings, recording three top-five finishes and six top-10s through seven races this season. The Corbett, Ore., driver has an average finish of 6.4 as he continues to search for his first SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model victory.
Ebert and Plybon return to a track where both were contenders for the victory during the inaugural SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model event in April.
Ebert took the lead on Lap 4 and paced a race-high 82 laps before contact with Keelan Harvick while battling for the lead with 30 laps remaining. Ebert recovered to finish fifth.
Plybon also spent much of the afternoon battling near the front before finishing second to Thomas Stanford.
Several other drivers entered for Saturday also recorded top-10 finishes during the inaugural Tri-City event. Wyatt Gardner finished fourth, Logan Cole sixth, Andrew Riehl eighth and Ken Bonney in ninth.
The series' most recent winner will also be part of Saturday's field.
Turner Brown returns after winning in his SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model debut at Evergreen Speedway on Aug. 14. Brown overcame a Lap 2 spin, charged from the rear of the 26-car field and passed Kevin Harvick with 34 laps remaining before pulling away for his first career Pro Late Model victory.
Brown is among 17 drivers entered for Saturday's Labor Day Special, which will serve as the final race before the inaugural SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model championship is decided Sept. 19 at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval.
PRO LATE MODEL NOTES
CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE: Andrew Riehl leads the SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model standings with 247 points, eight ahead of Ebert and 15 ahead of Plybon. Zach Riehl remains in the hunt in fourth, 23 points behind the leader entering the penultimate round of the season.
RIEHL'S CONSISTENCY: Riehl has finished inside the top 10 in six of the first seven SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model races this season, with an average finish of 6.4. The Corbett, Ore., driver has three top-five finishes and enters Tri-City seeking his first victory of the season.
TRI-CITY SUCCESS: Ebert returns to a track where he has found plenty of success in 2026. Ebert won the 57th annual Apple Cup in April before leading a race-high 82 laps in the inaugural SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model event later that weekend, recovering from late contact to finish fifth. He returned July 4 and led 138 of 150 laps from the pole to earn his first career SPEARS CARS Tour West Super Late Model victory. Ebert enters Saturday second in the Northwest Pro Late Model standings, eight points behind Riehl.
PLYBON IN PURSUIT: Plybon enters the penultimate round 15 points behind Riehl in the championship standings. The Spokane, Wash., driver finished second when the Pro Late Model division visited Tri-City in April and has four top-five finishes through six SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model starts this season.
BROWN BREAKS THROUGH: Brown made his first career Pro Late Model start one to remember at Evergreen. After spinning on Lap 2, the Alamo, Calif., driver charged through the field and passed Kevin Harvick with 34 laps remaining before leading the rest of the way to earn his first career Pro Late Model victory.
GARDNER ON THE PODIUM: Chase Gardner enters Tri-City coming off his best finish of the season. The Snohomish, Wash., driver finished third at Evergreen on Aug. 14 for his first top-five finish of the SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model season.
THOMPSON AT HOME: Kennewick, Wash., driver Trace Thompson returns to Tri-City after a pair of strong recent performances. Thompson finished seventh in the SPEARS CARS Tour West Super Late Model Freedom 250 at Tri-City on July 4 before finishing sixth in the most recent SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model event at Evergreen.
BACK WHERE IT BEGAN: Saturday marks the second visit to Tri-City Raceway for the SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Models. The division held its inaugural event at the track April 11, with Stanford taking the victory over Plybon. Sixteen of the 18 drivers on Saturday's entry list also competed in the inaugural event.
LABOR DAY SPECIAL PURSE: A $54,000 purse will be on the line for the SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Models at Tri-City Raceway. Saturday's winner will take home $7,500, with $5,000 going to second and $2,500 to third. The event will pay a minimum of $1,500 to start.
SPEARS CARS TOUR WEST TO STREAM ALL SEASON LONG ON FLORACING
FloRacing will continue to serve as the broadcast home of the SPEARS CARS Tour West in 2026 as part of its extended partnership with the series.
Saturday's coverage from Tri-City Raceway begins at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET, with the 125-lap SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model Labor Day Special scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT.
SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model race: 8 of 9
Pro Late Model Entry List (17 cars): No. 3K Ken Bonney, No. 3G Wyatt Gardner, No. 3C Logan Cole, No. 5P Ryan Phipps, No. 7R Zach Riehl, No. 9 Ethan Ebert, No. 11 Johvan Dillon, No. 16 Casey Jeske, No. 27 Sydney Hamlin, No. 32 Chase Gardner, No. 48 Turner Brown, No. 54 Trace Thompson, No. 55 Haeden Plybon, No. 57 Brad Clarke, No. 69 Andrew Riehl, No. 81 Ray Clever, No. 021 Todd Connell.
2026 SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model winners: Kevin Harvick (3), Thomas Stanford (1), Alan Cress (1), Keelan Harvick (1), Turner Brown (1).
SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Model driver points
Andrew Riehl — 247
Ethan Ebert — 239 (-8)
Haeden Plybon — 232 (-15)
Zach Riehl — 224 (-23)
Wyatt Gardner — 213 (-34)
REMAINING 2026 SCHEDULE
SPEARS CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Models: Tri-City Raceway (Sept. 5), Wenatchee Valley Super Oval (Sept. 19).
Be sure to stay active and social with the tour by following @CARSTourWest on Instagram and X, liking SPEARS CARS Tour West on Facebook and subscribing to the SPEARS CARS Tour West YouTube channel.
Founded in 2024, the SPEARS CARS Tour West is the premier stock car series on the West Coast. Under the ownership of California natives Tim Huddleston and Kevin Harvick, the series aims to create an organized, structured and competitive place for racers on the West Coast. Competing at the best tracks on the West Coast, the SPEARS CARS Tour West provides the space and platform to crown champions and elevate West Coast racing to the top levels of motorsports.
