Alan Cress Claims Emotional Victory in Neal Newberry 125 at Wenatchee Valley

Alan Cress scored a sentimental win on Saturday night, winning the Neal Newberry 125 for the Northwest Super Late Model Series presented by Knottical Marine at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval.

Earning his first Northwest Super Late Model Series victory since 2019, Cress dominated the Neal Newberry 125. It led to an emotional victory lane, with Cress bringing the Ogle family back to Wenatchee Valley's victory lane. Shirel Ogle, a legendary driver in the history of the East Wenatchee, Washington venue, passed away in February.

"Thank you, Jason [Ogle]," said Cress in victory lane. "It means everything. I've been trying so hard forever to get a win here."

Cress started on the pole in the event, and reclaimed the lead on lap 69 when Johvan Dillon slowed off the pace from the top spot, his cockpit filling with smoke. After going to the pits, Dillon rejoined the field in time for the ensuing restart.

Dillon worked his way back through the field to finish second, but the night belonged to Cress.

"The car felt awesome," said Cress. "The crew put in so much work. I just can't thank them enough, especially Trevor Cristiani these past few weeks, all my crew, my wife and my daughter."

Cress wasn't certain he could have passed Dillon if it had not been for his mechanical issue, but knew his car was fast enough to keep pressure on the young driver.

"I would have been close. I could keep pace with him, but I don't know about getting around him."

Dillon rallied for the second-place finish, but knew he had used up too much of his car and tires working his way back through the field to challenge Cress for the win.

"I was just out there hanging out, managing my gap," said Dillon. "Went up in a cloud of smoke and never found anything wrong, so rookie mistake, I guess.

"He was out by himself, hanging out. I burned off my right rear trying to get through the field. That was all I had."

Ethan Ebert overcame adversity of his own, falling off the lead lap and piloting a damaged No. 9 to a third-place finish.

"It was definitely a night, that's for sure," said Ebert. "There was a lot more beating and banging than we probably wanted out there. I mean, we brought it home. We proved you don't need all four fenders on the car, so that's cool. We had a really fast race car all weekend, and I'm glad to put it on the box."

On the restart falling Dillon's issue, multiple cars were involved in a turn-four melee on lap 71. That incident ended the night for several contenders, including Glenn Knutson, Ryan Phipps, Bob Presley and Jason Robinson.

The Northwest Super Late Model Series wraps up its 2025 season on October 5 at Tri-City Raceway in the Fall Classic 200.

-Photo credit: Northwest Super Late Model Series

Neal Newberry 125 Unofficial Results