Previewing the Neal Newberry 125 at Wenatchee Valley for NWSLMS

Event: The “Neal Newberry 125 presented by Impel Construction” will take place on September 20th at the Wenatchee Valley Super-Oval (WA). It will be Round #6 of the Northwest Super Late Model Series presented by Knottical Marine season. $5,000 will go to the winner of the 12th annual event. The NWSLMS will be on Day #2 of a big weekend of racing that will also feature the Pro Late Models (Friday), INEX Legends (both days), Bandoleros (both days), Mini Bombers (Friday), and Thunder Cars (Saturday).

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NWSLMS Tradition: This will be the 12th running of the Neal Newberry Memorial event, the longest in Northwest Super Late Model Series history. It was the only such event that survived the Covid-19 shutdowns. Shelby Thompson was the winner of the first event in 2014. Owen Riddle (2 wins), Doni Wanat (1), Brittney Zamora (2), Garrett Evans (2), Gracin Raz (2), and Evan Goetz (1) are also former winners. A new winner will be crowned in 2025.

Entries: 21 Super Late Models are currently entered for this weekend’s “Neal Newberry 125” representing five states; Washington, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, and Oregon. The series is averaging 20.4 Super Late Models per event in 2025 with a high of 28 at the “Summer Showdown 200” at Evergreen Speedway (WA) and a low of 13 at Magic Valley Speedway (ID) in the “Hall of Fame 150”. Johvan Dillon is the only former winner at WVSO on the pre-entry list. Zach Riehl, Johvan Dillon, Jeff Jefferson, and Alan Cress are former winners in the series.

Championship: Ryan Phipps (214 points) enters the penultimate event of the 2025 season as the championship leader and is the fifth different driver to sit atop the standings through five events. Phipps leads Ken Bonney (203) by 11 markers with two races remaining on the schedule. Kasey Kleyn (184) vaulted to third, with his win at Magic Valley Speedway (ID) in Round #5. Christopher Kalsch (171) moved up to fourth with his 50^th consecutive series start, with “Leonard Evans Memorial 150” winner Johvan Dillon (170) one point back, in fifth place. Terry Halverson (147), Haeden Plybon (144), Zach Riehl (140), Jason O’Neil (121), and Bryce Bezanson (116) round out the top 10.

Rookie Chase: Ryan Phipps also leads the Rookie-of-the-Year standings, after his third-place finish at Magic Valley Speedway. Johvan Dillon is second, followed by Terry Halverson, Wyatt Gardner, and Gabe Sessler. The top four in the standings are all entered this weekend.

2024 Review: Owen Riddle was the winner of the 2024 edition of the “Neal Newberry 125”. Andy Beaman led the first three laps before Jan Evans grabbed the top spot on lap number four. Evan Goetz was able to grab the top spot on lap 56, before Riddle took the lead for good on lap 90. Jan Evans crossed the finish line second with Jason O’Neil completing the podium finishers. John Newhouse and Evan Goetz rounded out the top five. Riddle took home $5,000.

WVSO Round #2: The NWSLMS will return to WVSO for the second time in 2025. In April, 19 Super Late Models appeared for the “Leonard Evans Memorial 150”. Johvan Dillon was the winner after Jan Evans led the first 146 laps. A caution on lap 146 set up an epic battle between Evans and Trayton Tarr, which saw the duo swapping positions multiple times over the last four stanzas. The final lap saw Evans and Tarr making contact, with Tarr spinning in Turn 2. Evans would take the checkered first, but was relegated to eighth, the final car on the lead lap. Dillon would go from sixth to first over those final four laps. Ken Bonney was second followed by Jason O’Neil, Zach Riehl, and Ryan Phipps.

Double Duty: Five 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 Ken Bonney, Wyatt Gardner, Zach Riehl, Nick Gibson, and Ray Clever.

Season Debut: Jeff Jefferson, Glenn Knutson, and Jason Robinson will make their first starts of the 2025 NWSLMS season. Jefferson is a three-time NASCAR Elite Division Northwest Tour champion and a former NWSLMS winner. Knutson will make his first start since this event in 2023. It will be his 26^th career appearance, where he has two fourth-place finishes, both at Tri-City Raceway RMEC. He is a multi-time track champion at WVSO. Robinson will make his second career series start, after debuting in 2024 at the “Montana 200” at the Mission Valley Super Oval (MT). 58 different drivers have scored championship points in 2025, through five events.

Returning Legend: Jeff Jefferson is a legend in Pacific Northwest Racing, having earned three championships in the NASCAR Elite Division Northwest Tour, along with 13 wins in that series. Jefferson, the owner of Jefferson Racing, has been busy with car ownership or Crew Chief duties dating back to 2011, winning an ARCA Menards Pro Series West championship in 2012 with Dylan Kwasniewski and Gene Price Motorsports. Jefferson has had limited starts since those days and has not been behind the wheel of a Super Late Model since 2019. That will change this weekend.

“I have never driven one of the Port City Phase II cars that I sell”, Jefferson explained, in regard to the reason for his return. “I’m a Port City dealer and everyone likes them. A couple of months ago we had a Wednesday off, and they had an open practice up there. I drove it around a little bit, and I was like “that was a lot of fun.” So, we thought maybe we will do the last race up there (WVSO). Wenatchee has always been so good to me, and one of my favorite places to race. So, we decided to try to make it work.”

Rebound: Ken Bonney entered the last event on the NWSLMS schedule as the championship leader. An early incident left the multi-time Hermiston Raceway (OR) track champion 11 points out of the lead with two events remaining. The Hermiston, OR racer hopes his Super Late Model will perform well after his accident at Magic Valley Speedway and made the trip over to WVSO to get some extra laps around the facility.

“I feel good about Wenatchee, as long as my wrecked car will get around the track fast enough to get my lead back”, Bonney stated in regard to the championship. “I went to Wenatchee last week with my new B-Mod, never having driven one before” Bonney explained. “I had a 10-minute practice session and had to qualify. It went well and we set fast time. I rolled a “10” and it took 30 plus laps to get up to 4th but there was a spin in front of me. I stopped and didn't touch it, but they made me go all the way to the back with 10 to go. But I got some good experience with the track. Hopefully, I can use some of the information to get my Super to the front. The frame is still bent pretty bad and needs a new clip, but it can wait until after the season for now, hopefully it will roll and turn.”

Clean it Up: Off-road racer Ethan Ebert will trade in his Trophy Truck for a Super Late Model this weekend, as he goes from dirt to asphalt. Ebert finished fourth in his NWSLMS debut at Evergreen Speedway (WA) in the “Summer Showdown 200” and followed it up with a Super Late Model win at South Sound Speedway (WA) just a few weeks ago. The Tucson, AZ racer will now return to WVSO, where he finished ninth in the “Wenatchee 200” just a few months ago.

“When I did the 200-lap race in Wenatchee, I had a blast”, Ebert exclaimed! “It was super cool racing in the beautiful mountains and also cool to experience a different type of short track. I think the track has a great flow, and I like how fast the wall on the front stretch comes up. It makes you really have to know the width of your race car. But I'm feeling good for this race. I was able to kind of figure the track out last time. But now I have more confidence that I'll be able to set up a good car with Jeff Jefferson and his team helping me out along the way.”

Neal Newberry: This weekend’s event honors Neal Newberry from Cle Elum, WA. Newberry was elected to the WVSO Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2013, he passed away after a short illness. He was one of the best racers in the Northwest in his day, scoring hundreds of wins and multiple championships at tracks such as Wenatchee, Evergreen, Yakima, Ephrata, and many more. He scored a touring series championship in the NASCAR Winston West Northwest Racing Series (precursor to the NASCAR Northwest Tour) in 1974. He was a champion in the Olympia Challenge Series and the Northwest Super Stock Association. He also scored wins in the now ARCA Menards Pro Series West. It is the 12th season the series and track have honored the Northwest legend.

Saturday Schedule: Fan Gates open at WVSO at 4:30 PM on Saturday, September 20th. Single Car Qualifying for the Thunder Cars will begin at 4:35 PM followed by Group Qualifying for the Bandoleros and Single car qualifying for the Legends. Single Car Qualifying for the NWSLMS rounds out the sessions. Opening Ceremonies are scheduled for 5:45 PM with the Main Event for the Thunder Cars the first racing action at 6:00 PM. The Bandolero’s will run a “B” Main Event if needed followed by their “A” Main. Main Events are then scheduled for the Legends, 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: (9/16/2025)

2 Terry Halverson - Wenatchee, WA
3C Logan Cole - Chelalis, WA
3G Wyatt Gardner - Lake Stevens WA
3K Ken Bonney - Hermiston, OR
5P Ryan Phipps - Heyburn, ID
7R Zach Riehl - Corbett, OR
9 Ethan Ebert - Tucson, AZ
11JoD Johvan Dillon - Meridian, ID
11G Nick Gibson - Nampa, ID
16 Glenn Knutson - Quincy, WA
17P Bob Presley - Olympia, WA
29 Jason O'Neil - Spokane, WA
33 Christopher Kalsch - Hillsboro, OR
42 Jeff Jefferson - Naches, WA
51B Bryce Bezanson - Missoula, MT
63 Dan Lowther - Boise, ID
74 Jason Robinson - Kalispell, MT
77M Scott Murphy - Spokane, WA
81 Ray Clever – Boise, ID
91 Alan Cress - Stayton, OR
93 Dave Garber - Spokane, WA

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 Knottical Marine, RaceCals, Hoosier Racing Tire, McGunegill Engine Performance, AR Bodies, Penske Racing Shocks, Five Star Bodies, AFCO Racing / Longacre Racing Products, Franks Radio Service, Jefferson Racing, Champion Auto Group, Atomic Screen Printing, Zero Handicap, The Lester Brothers, Joes Racing Products, and The Ti Company. For more information on the series visit www.nwslms.com or on Facebook and Twitter.

-Story, Photo Credit: Kevin Peters, NWSLMS Media