Monday, September 11, 2017

Schlick Claims Civil War Victory



For Immediate Release: Northwest Super Late Model Series Media Relations
Contact: Shari Garber (509) 230-9803
northwestsuperlatemodels@gmail.com

For the first time ever, the Northwest Super Late Model Series Inc. (NWSLMS) and the Spears SRL Series (SRL) met at Rocky Mountain Raceway (West Valley, UT) for a west coast challenge.  With $10,000 on the line to the winner, the best of the best showed up to do battle in the Retro Custom Metals 150 lap West Coast Super Late Model “Civil War.”

Ricky Schlick, from Claremont, California, who qualified 3rd behind Bakersfield, California’s Derek Thorn and new track record holder Dominic Ursetta, took the lead from Thorn on lap 142 and cruised to his first SRL victory.  In victory circle, Schlick noted his crew told him to keep his tires and keep the car in one piece, so he’d have tires at the end when everyone else was worn out.  That did the job, as Schlick followed Thorn, who was the leader from lap 14, until the end and when he made the pass to the checkers.  “It was pretty great to race with 3-time winner Derek Thorn.  He is real,” said Schlick. Thorn, who led more than 125 laps, noted in victory lane that he was grateful it was over. “We had a great car all night, but something went wrong, it just wasn’t the same car we had all week.  We’ll just take it back to the shop, tear it down and find out what went wrong.”

Woodland, Washington’s Brooke Schimmel will be credited with another win for the NWSLMS.  The 16-year old Jefferson Pitts Rookie of the Year Contender, started in the 10th position, the fastest qualifier of the NWSLMS entrees.  Finishing 9th overall, as well as first for the series will make her the only 2-time winner of the season. 

After the start, Schimmel dropped down as far as 19th position with a tight racecar, and had worked her way back to 10th by the halfway point.  Schimmel maintained the 10th position when with about 15 to go, Eric Schmidt lost a motor resulting in a small but bright fire.  Schimmel got stopped in time, despite oil on the track, but track officials mistakenly thought her car had been on fire as well.   The officials got as far as taking the hood off, before Schimmel stopped them.  Struggling to get the hood back on with some slight front end damage, Schimmel and her team were worried she’d have to pit and lose track position, but luckily NWSLMS official Troy Blanton was able to get her back in business.  Schimmel moved into the 9th position where she crossed the checkered.  Jim Schimmel, Brooke’s dad and the team will be sending their winnings to a friend in Rockport, Texas who is helping with disaster relief after Hurricane Harvey. 

Boise, Idaho’s Dylan Caldwell will be credited with 2nd place overall for the NWLSMS.  Caldwell started 19th in the field and worked his way to a 10th place finish, the highest gaining NWSLMS driver of the race.  Caldwell and his crew worked hard on the car leading in to the race, noted that it felt like a win to bring it home in the 10th spot.

NWSLMS Point’s leader Brittney Zamora had a great showing against the SRL’s elite.  With about 15 laps to go, while running in the 6th position, Zamora broke an axel which sent her to the pits thinking her night was finished.  The next lap saw Schmidt’s fire, and an opportunity for Zamora’s crew to get her back on track with the lengthy delay.  When Zamora came back on track, she had only lost the 1 lap when the axel broke, helping her to finish in the 13th position.  She showed strength early on, but not the finish she’d hoped for.

Caught up in the Schmidt incident were also John Newhouse and Jefferson Pitts Rookie of the Year point leader Jan Evans.  Both cars received damage, however were able to continue for 4th and 5th place finished.  Ed Thomsen, also caught up in the Schmidt incident was unable to continue afterward.  Thomsen held on for a 15th place over all finish, 6th for the series.  Thomsen is a native of Utah with family in the area, and got his start in the Ogden area racing motorcycles.

Mitch Kleyn, series 2nd place holder, was involved in a single car incident on lap 72 when his throttle stuck going into turn 1.  While Kleyn was thankfully uninjured, the car may have to be retired for the season.

The next event for the NWSLMS is the championship event at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval on September 23, 2017. www.wvso.com

This week’s contingency prizes were awarded to the following drivers:
KRC Steering Award - $50 Gift Certificate to Mitch Kleyn
Longacre Racing Products Longest Tow - $50 Gift Certificate to Brooke Schimmel
Longacre Racing Products Hard Charger - $50 Gift Certificate to Dylan Caldwell
Wheel Chill $25 Gift Certificate off Driver Cool Box – Jan Evans
Wheel Chill $25 Gift Certificate off Retail Grill Chill – Ed Thomsen
Frank’s Radio Gift Certificate $100, $75, $50 – Schimmel, Caldwell, Zamora
The Ti Company “Move of the Race” –  Brooke Schimmel

SLM Civil War Official Results
Rocky Mountain Raceway (UT) – September 2, 2017
Pos
Str
#
Driver
Division
Laps
1
6
48
Ricky Schlick
SRL
150
2
5
43
Derek Thorn
SRL
150
3
1
51
Carlos Vieira
SRL
150
4
8
22E
Chris Eggleston
SRL
150
5
18
2
Craig Raudman
SRL
150
6
4
22G
Jonathon Gomez
SRL
150
7
9
19
Eddy McKean
SRL
150
8
7
21
Blaine Rocha
SRL
150
9
10
33
Brooke Schimmel
NWSLM
149
10
19
17
Dylan Caldwell
NWSLM
149
11
13
52
Brittney Zamora
NWSLM
149
12
15
26
John Newhouse
NWSLM
149
13
16
64
Jan Evans
NWSLM
149
14
22
24
Scott Sanchez
SRL
146
15
14
11T
Ed Thomsen
NWSLM
145
16
2
5
Eric Schmidt
SRL
144
17
21
37
Keith Spangler
SRL
134
18
20
1
Mitch Kleyn
NWSLM
72
19
17
11D
John Dillon
SRL
64
20
11
89
Bobby Hodges
SRL
58
21
3
6
Dominic Ursetta
SRL
26
22
12
16
Jacob Gomes
SRL
26
The NWLSMS Points after RMR are:

Car#
Driver Name
Total Points
Wins
Pos
Car#
Driver Name
Total Points
Wins
1
52
Brittney Zamora
325
1
30
75
Jeremy Doss
45
2
1K
Mitch Kleyn
302
1
31
90
Molly Helmuth
45
3
64J
Jan Evans
297
32
7
Kurt Meyer
43
4
33
Brooke Schimmel
293
2
33
91X
Mike Sackett
42
5
11
Ed Thomsen
268
34
2
Tommy Elstoen
40
6
91
Alan Cress
234
35
11w
Riley Watson
40
7
51
Glen Knutson
134
36
88
Dave Thomasson
40
8
99
Shane Mitchell
132
1
37
9
Josh Roberts
39
9
1R
Christian Roeder
125
38
10
Justin Ellis
39
10
83
Braeden Havens
125
39
55
Rod Schultz Sr
37
11
64S
Stephanie Evans
106
40
36
Jesse Iwuji
37
12
64
Garrett Evans
96
1
41
24
Tim Babcock
37
13
93
Dave Garber
92
42
93
Karl Smith
36
14
24
Joey Bird
91
43
30
Jeremy Richardson
35
15
26
John Newhouse
87
44
28
Wade Koens
34
16
29
Jason O'Neil
86
45
6
Dan Lowther
34
17
72
Kameron McKeehan
85
46
8
Anthony Pope
33
18
89
Doni Wanat
84
47
29
Jeff Wade
33
19
40
Dylan Caldwell
84
48
22
Byron Goetz
32
20
14
Brandon Carlson
81
49
31
Chad Holaday
31
21
39
Pete Harding
81
50
60
Scott Graff
30
22
89
Patrick Hinkle
63
51
81
Darrell Midgley
29
23
25
Zach Beaman
53
52
66
Jeff Bischofberger
29
24
10
Owen Riddle
53
1
53
83
Tom Berrow
26
25
15
Tayler Riddle
53
54
20
Andy Sole
25
26
23
Brandon Ash
51
55
95
Buck Noel Jr.
20
27
23
Chris Fenton
51
54
20
Andy Sole
25
28
38
Chad Hinkle
48
55
95
Buck Noel Jr.
20
29
17
Bob Pressley
47

In their fourth season, the Northwest Super Late Model Series Inc. is the premier regional touring Super Late Model series in the Pacific Northwest. The series has many valued marketing partner including Hoosier Racing Tire, McGunegill Engine Performance, AR Bodies, Accelerated Graphics, Five Star Bodies, Longacre Racing Products, KRC Power Steering, Franks Racing Radio, Jefferson Pitts Racing, Bassett Wheels, TI Company, Child Haven Learning Center, Pacific Steel Structures, LLC and Racing Dynamiks. For more information on the series visit www.nwslmseries.com or on Social Media, Facebook (NWSLMS) or Twitter (@nw_latemodels).