Zampa Cashes $25K At Wenatchee

Dylan Zampas’ first trip to Wenatchee started off on the wrong foot.  Zampa and the crew struggled through practice on Friday to figure out the ¼ Wenatchee Valley Super Oval.  Going into Saturday morning, the team was scratching their head to come up with a plan of attack.  They got that in final practice, carrying momentum into a Top 5 qualifying effort.  Once the Plumb Perfect Wenatchee 200 main event started, Zampa quickly worked his way to the front, dodging a big wreck on lap 24 that took out several cars expected to compete for the win, including Haeden Plybon, Owen Riddle, Ethan Ebert and Taylor Mayhew, among several others.  Zampa then settled into that second position behind pole-sitter Kole Raz for most of the first half.  Zampa took a turn out front as Raz rode behind, getting the lead back on a second half restart.  Zampa got the lead back on a 3 wide restart with Raz and Vito Cancilla and looked to pull away. The 14 year old Cancilla kept Zampa honest though, even taking the lead himself on a restart and looked to be in the drivers seat for the win.  A late caution brought Zampa back to the outside of Cancilla, and he took advantage.  Making it back around and never looking back, holding off a charge from point leader Jace Hanson, who worked his way past Cancilla, to grab the win and the $25,000 payday.  It was the first major victory for Zampa, and his crew was ecstatic in victory lane.  For Hanson, the 2^nd place finish felt like a victory in its own.  Just prior to the halfway break, Zampa broke an axle, and just barely managed to limp his P1 Chassis to the halfway point.  That was when the Peltier crew went to work.  Owen Riddles car, another P1, was already loaded up in the trailer.  The team made the call to get the car out, grab the rear axle out of the 10, and swap it into the 08.  The team accomplished this in just 10 minutes, and Hanson did the work from there to get the team back on the podium.  Cancilla finished 3^rd, his 2^nd straight podium at WVSO, while his teammates Keelan and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5.  

(Zampa crossing the finish line Saturday night, Photo by David Nelson)

The race was certainly one of attrition.  A spicy opening 18 laps before a red flag/moment of silence in memory of Kyle Busch set the tone for the night.  The big one at lap 24 started with contact between Plybon and Kevin Harvick while racing for 2^nd.  Another driver that was caught up in that was Kasey Kleyn, driving for Anthony Campi Racing.  Kleyn managed to get back out with repairs, before contact near the end of the first half with both Harvicks saw Kleyn once again on pit road for repairs.  Kleyn managed to work his way as high as 2^nd at one point before having to once again rally back.  His night ultimately came to and end in another big wreck that also marked the end of the night for pole sitter Kole Raz, Glenn Knutson and Jason O’ Neil.  This was the final caution of the night, but not the end of the battles, as Evan Goetz and Kevin Harvick exchanged holiday recipes late in the going as well in the battle for 5^th.  The Spears Cars Tour West Super Late Models  now heads to Tri City Raceway next month for a 4^th of July Celebration for 150 laps.

The Super Lates wasn’t the only class in action, as the Dicks Heating/AC Thunder Cars opened the night.  That race was just as dicey as the Supers.  A lot of contact early on saw a couple yellows, but the race stayed green early until a spin by Darren Goetz brought out the caution. Unfortunately, Tony Daggett and Doug Fife got collected in that same incident that saw the end of the day for both of them.  A few more cautions saw the race get shortened from 40 to 30 laps.  Choices on the cone played a roll in this one, as Josh Ingram and Jeremy Smith both made the outside work to find themselves 1^st and 2^nd.  On the final restart, Josh Musgrove suffered a mechanical issue that saw his day come to an end, putting Ellie Dunseith in 3^rd.  That’s how they ended up.  The win was especially emotional for Ingram, carrying the Plumb Perfect colors to Victory Lane on their night, in memory of Matt Bruggman. Dunseith was equally emotional, her first podium finish since losing her grandfather over the off-season, and first ever podium in the United States.

The Franks Radio Legends ran both nights, and saw a familiar face to Wenatchee fans in Victory Lane, as Cole Dasenbrock, the defending Track Champion, swept the weekend, becoming the 2^nd driver to do so this season, after Kaleb Keck did it in April.  Dasenbrock has been touring the country driving legend cars for multiple teams on both coasts, but this was the first time he ran his family owned car this season.  He didn’t disappoint, setting a new track record on Friday and snagging both main event wins.  Pyper Alton and Kaylee Decker podiumed on Friday, while Keck and Dylan Wolf, who dueled with Dasenbrock for the title last year, took it on Saturday.  This puts Dasenbrock and Keck tied with 2 wins each as they head to the next race.

As mentioned, the SPEARS Cars Tour West Super Late Models head to Tri City Raceway next month on 4^th of  July.  The Northwest Pro Late Models return to action on Saturday, June 13^th at Mode Stadium Stateline Speedway for their first ever visit to Idaho.  Wenatchee Valley Super Oval takes the week off as both Stateline and Tri City feature big nights.  For Stateline, a 100 lap Hobby Stock Shootout as part of the brand new Hoosier Tire West NW Bullring Hobby Stock Challenge, a 2 race series featuring one race at Stateline, this weekend, and the other being August 1^st at Wenatchee. Both of these race will pay $1750 to win.  Tri City will host the ARCA Menards Series West for the Greg Biffle Memorial, a 150 lap showcase of stars from all up and down the West Coast.  Wenatchee will come back to life on June 13^th with a Night of Destruction.

(Zampa leading the field, Photo by David Nelson)