Event: The “Neal Newberry 125 presented Impel Motorsports” at the Wenatchee Valley Super-Oval (WA) will be Round #8 of the Northwest Super Late Model Series presented by RaceCals season, and it will take place on Saturday, September 16th. $5,000 will go to the winner of the tenth annual event. It will be Day #2 of the “End of Year Bash” and will also feature the Pro Late Models (Friday), INEX Legends, Thunder Cars, and Bandoleros.
Long Running: With the 10th anniversary of this event, it is the longest running event in Northwest Super Late Model Series history, having survived the Covid-19 shutdowns. Shelby Thompson was the winner of that first event in 2014. He will look to bookend that victory this weekend.
Entries: 20 Super Late Models are currently entered for this weekend’s “Neal Newberry 125” representing three states; Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. The series is averaging 20.4 Super Late Models per event with a high of 31 at the “Idaho 208” at Meridian Speedway (ID) and a low of 15 at Hermiston Raceway (OR) in the “Oregon 125”. Four of the entries are former NWSLMS winners at WVSO; Tayler Riddle, Shelby Thompson, Haeden Plybon, and Evan Goetz.
Series Winners: There are seven previous winners on the NWSLMS entry this weekend. They include Kasey Klein, Tayler Riddle, Max Schroeder, Evan Goetz, Shelby Thompson, Haeden Plybon, and Alan Cress.
WVSO Round #2: The NWSLMS will return to WVSO for the second time in 2023. Haeden Plybon led a 20-car feature to the checkered flag in May, earning the first of his series leading four wins in 2023. Plybon beat Kole Raz, Evan Goetz, Jan Evans, and Jason O’Neil to the line. WVSO will host the series for the 21st time, the most of any track the series has visited. Gracin Raz lead all drivers with three victories at WVSO. Shane Mitchell, Shelby Thompson, Tayler Riddle, Garrett Evans, Haeden Plybon, and Brittney Zamora have two apiece. Brent Harris, Jeff Jefferson, Owen Riddle, Doni Wanat, and Evan Goetz have one each.
Championship: Haeden Plybon leads the championship standings, having tied the record of Garrett Evans, with four wins in a single season. He currently has 358 championship points ahead of Rookie-of-the-Year leader Zach Riehl (293). Max Schroeder is only two points back (291) with rookies Kasey Kleyn (282) and Wyatt King (274) the top-five. Ken Bonney (250), Christopher Kalsch (242), Dave Garber (224), Andy Beaman (221), and Jonathon Gomez (124) round out the top-10. A maximum of 55 points are available in a weekend.
Season Debut: Tayler Riddle will make his first start of the NWSLMS season. It will be his 27th career start, having five career victories. 65 different drivers have scored championship points in 2023, through seven events.
Double Duty: Seven drivers are scheduled to perform double duty this weekend in both the “Jerry Berschauer 125” for the Pro Late Models on Friday and the “Neal Newberry 125” on Saturday. Those drivers include Kasey Kleyn, Terry Halverson, Ken Bonney,
Evan Goetz, John Newhouse, Alan Cress, and Dave Garber.
Track Champion: Two-time WVSO Pro Late Model Track Champion Glenn Knutson will make his second start of the season with the NWSLMS. Knutson finished fourth in the “Desert Star 80” at Tri-City Raceway at RMEC (WA) in July. It will be Knutson’s 25th start in the series, but the first at his home track since 2017.
“I feel really excited to run a Super Late Model at WVSO”, Knutson stated. “It's been a while, but I feel really good about returning to my hometown track, and I hope I can continue the success I've had there in Pro Late Models and Modifieds as of recent. Plus, I couldn't ask for a better Crew Chief there, having Garrett Evans in my corner. We have got a good notebook to start with, from his win there last year.”
Redemption: Max Schroeder is a big fan of the Wenatchee Valley Super-Oval, but the track has not seemed to be as kind to him. Schroeder has five series starts at the facility, with one top-five and three top-10’s. He hasn’t finished worse than 12th in any of them, but it was the site of a season ending crash in 2022. It occurred in the Pro Late Model portion of this event on Friday,
“I love coming back to WVSO”, Schroeder exclaimed! “I think it is one of the best facilities in the Northwest. We haven’t had the best of luck there, but we are hoping to turn that around this weekend. The car seems to be faster and faster every race, so we are hoping to capitalize on that this weekend.”
Schedule: Fan Gates open at WVSO at 3:30pm on Saturday, September 16th. Group Qualifying for the Bandoleros will be at 3:35pm followed by Single Car Qualifying for the Thunder Cars, Legends and NWSLMS. Opening Ceremonies are scheduled for 5:00pm with Trophy Heats for the Bandoleros and Thunders Cars following. “B”-Mains as needed are next. Main Events are scheduled for 6:00pm for the Bandoleros, Thunder Cars, NW Legend Nationals, and the NWSLMS “Neal Newberry 125”.
Broadcast: For those unable to attend Saturday’s event, the Neal Newberry 125” will be shown LIVE on RacingAmerica.TV.
Pre-Entry: (9/13/2023)
1. 1 Kasey Kleyn Quincy, WA
2. 2 Terry Halverson Wenatchee, WA
3. 3 Andy Beaman Selah, WA
4. 3K Ken Bonney Hermiston, OR
5. 7 Zach Riehl Corbett, OR
6. 13 Matt Doyle Wenatchee, WA
7. 15 Tayler Riddle Naches, WA
8. 16 Glenn Knutson Quincy, WA
9. 17s Max Schroeder Tacoma, WA
10. 17 Robert Presley Olympia, WA
11. 22 Evan Goetz Okanogan, WA
12. 26 John Newhouse Twin Falls, ID
13. 29 Jason O'Neil Spokane, WA
14. 33 Christopher Kalsch Hillsboro, OR
15. 54 Shelby Thompson Spokane, WA
16. 55 Haeden Plybon Spokane, WA
17. 80 Wyatt King Boise, ID
18. 91 Alan Cress Stayton, OR
19. 93 Dave Garber Spokane, WA
20. 94 Ashton Cristiani Boise, ID
ABOUT THE NORTHWEST SUPER LATE MODEL SERIES
The Northwest Super Late Model Series is the premier regional touring Super Late Model series in the Northwest. The series has many valued partners including RaceCals, Hoosier Racing Tire, McGunegill Engine Performance, Gibson Diesel Performance, AR Bodies, Joes Racing Products, Penske Racing Shocks, Five Star Bodies, AFCO/Longacre Racing Products, Atomic Screen Printing and Embroidery, Franks Racing Radio, BLP, Jefferson Racing, Impel Motorsports, and The Ti Company. For more information on the series visit www.nwslms.com or on Facebook and Twitter.
-Story by: Kevin Peters/Northwest Super Late Model Series
