Stanford, Looking to Keep the Winning Ways Rolling at Wenatchee Valley

The CARS Tour Northwest (CTNW) inaugural season rolls on with round number two, the TreeTop 150 Leonard Evans Memorial. With a sold out crowd expected, the event is expected to be the largest Pro Late Model race in the history of the track.

The season opener and first event CTNW event was won by Wenatchee's very own Thomas Stanford, with a decisive victory over Haeden Plybon and  Ethan Ebert giving him a lead into round number, and all the advantage racing at his home track.

(Thomas Stanford in Victory Lane at the CTNW Season opener at Tri-Cities Raceway, Amber Taylor Photo)

“I get to compete in front of friends and family at a track I grew up around. I always enjoy getting to see everyone after the race that supports me. There’s no place like home.” said Stanford.

With a large field of over 30 cars slated to attempt to make the race, it will be a deep field of drivers. Stanford would seem to be the favorite heading into the event, but there are others close behind. Plybon and Ebert will both still be strong, Kole Raz returns to try his hand at round number two, and Kasey Kleyn looks to rebound after his ICCU 125 ended in the outside wall.

One other driver to note returning inside the car is the No. 64 of Garrett Evans, the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Inductee and legend of the Northwest looks to grab yet another victory in a pro late model in this race dedicated to his father.

The quarter mile bullring in Wenatchee takes center stage for the first time in 2026. The track itself being tight and banked means passing could be hard. There is also no invert in CTNW races meaning a bad qualifying effort could end a racers competitive day before the event starts.

(Wenatchee Valley Super Oval, Photo by David Nelson, 2025)

“Wenatchee is a true bull ring. Elbows will be out and I'm sure some paint will be traded.” said Stanford.

Friday practice will be the first time fans and teams will see what type of speed they brought before the main event Saturday. If you are not making the trek out to Wenatchee the race will be live on FloRacing. For more details you can head to www.carstourwest.com. See below for an expected drivers list.

Expected Driver List:

No. 1 Kasey Kleyn – Quincy, WA

No. 2 Terry Halverson – Wenatchee, WA

No. 3k Ken Bonney – Hermiston, OR

No. 3g Wyatt Gardner – Arlington, WA

No. 3c Logan Cole – Olympia, WA

No. 5 Jess Havens – Spokane, WA

No. 7r Zach Riehl – Corbett, OR

No. 9 Ethan Ebert – Tucson, AZ

No. 12 Chad Fitzpatrick – Lake Stevens, WA

No. 16 Casey Jeske – Spokane, WA

No. 17 Bob Presley – Olympia, WA

No. 19 Thomas Sanford – Wenatchee, WA

No. 22 Evan Goetz – Okanogan, WA

No. 27r Kole Raz – Lake Oswego, OR

No. 27h Sydney Hamlin – Post Falls, ID

No. 27c Vito Cancilla – Martinez, CA

No. 29 Jason O’Neil – Spokane, WA

No. 32 Chase Gardner – Spokane Valley, WA

No. 33 Kyle Lang – Snohomish, WA

No. 51 Michael Knutson – Quincy, WA

No. 55 Haeden Plybon – Spokane Valley, WA

No. 57 Brad Clarke – Calgary, AB

No. 62 Keelan Harvick – Charlotte, NC

No. 64 Garrett Evans – East Wenatchee, WA

No. 67 Billy Coles – Spokane, WA

No. 69r Andrew Riehl – Corbett, OR

No. 69s Trevor Siebert – Penticton, BC

No. 91 Alan Cress – Stayton, OR

No. 021 Todd Connell – Yakima, WA

No. 05 Madex Moran –  Richland, WA

No. 09s Ryley Siebert – Penticton, BC