Skagit Speedway
The 45th Annual Jim Raper Dirt Cup Recap
By Adam J. Ulrey
www.nwsprintcarhistory.com
When you say Dirt Cup in the Pacific Northwest, it means the biggest race in this part of the country and a race that drivers from all over the country hope one day to add to their resume. Dirt Cup is like a religious experience for all who come this 3-day race that is so much more than a race. There are all the campers, the partying, the music where it seems at times like your at a festival. People plan every year to be here and some have made all 45. As soon as the race ends you can't wait until it comes back the following year. For the first 43 years it was the biggest 410 sprint car race west of the Mississippi along with the Gold Cup in California. It has for many years, paid between 20,000 and 25,000 to win and 1,000 to start. Its a 3 day race with points accumulated over the first two days and then all mains on Saturday. In the early days it was not unusual to have anywhere from 80-100 cars show up to win the Dirt Cup. Its the who's who of Sprint Car racing who come to this race and who have won it. To win the Dirt Cup especially on the west coast is one of those races every driver strives to achieve. You have had Doug Wolfgang, Jimmy Boyd, Tim Green, Brent Kaeding, Jonathan Allard, Randy Hannagan, Kasey Kahne, LeLand McSpadded, Jan Opperman, Gary Patterson, Jonathan Allard and Shane Stewart all win this race along with many more. The biggest race here is when a local can win as its happened very rarely. In 1991 Bobby Burrow the all-time wins leader at Skagit Speedway pulled off the biggest win to date as over 11,000 fans were here screaming and over joyed when he crossed the finish line. It was a party that you could probably have heard in another county as it didn't stop till the next morning. Jayme Barnes a local driver pulled off probably the biggest upset when he won in back-to-back years in 2008 and 2009 as no one saw that coming. Last year because of the decline of the 410's in both Washington and California it was changed to a 360 sprint car race and an ASCS National race. Still with the same format except no qualifying as its set up like a standard ASCS format with no qualifying. This year for the first time in the history of the race you would see heat races on the final night.
Thursday the skies just opened and rained all day and night and in the past they would have run two shows the next day to make up. Now that its an ASCS race it now became a two-day standard ASCS National show with the top four from Fridays A main in the redraw after all the heats and qualifiers were run on Saturday. After talking to many of the locals who have been coming to the race for a long time what they would see on Saturday night in the A Main would go down as one of the greatest features anyone has every seen. Here is the recap of the races......as Sam Hafertepe Jr. would get his biggest win of his young career.
On Friday night the drivers would have to cowboy up as Steve Beitler the owner of Skagit Speedway did the best he and his crew could do to get the track in shape after all the rain. What looked like a good track when you walked in turned a little as in both turn one and coming out of turn four a rut would be created and the drivers would have to figure out how to get around it and many this night didn't learn as there were cars flipping all over the track. The carnage was bad but not one driver I
talked to complained as they said the same thing you have to just cowboy up and get through it. No one did it better than the Canadian Marc Duperron who had never one at Skagit where he has be coming for years. What makes his win so stunning is this was the first time in a car in over 9 months and he became the first Canadian to win a feature of any kind at Dirt Cup. The Heat races started the night off and in the ASCS format its all based on passing points and points for where you finished. Eric Fisher took heat number one with Travis Rilat getting the most points after coming from 7th to 2nd. In Heat #2 Skylar Gee would take off from the pole and win with Wayne Johnson and Matt Covington each moving up three spots to get those precious passing points. In Heat #3 the defending champion Jason Solwold would take the win to get his night off to a great start holding off the hard charging Jared Peterson. The carnage would start and become a theme in Heat race #4 where on Lap one the 2014 champion Brock Lemley would spin and start a four car pile up. When they got back going there would only be 4 cars left and the nights winner Duperron would use a last lap pass to get the heat win. It would take until the last heat of the night for an ASCS National driver to get the win and it would go to local on the tour Seth Bergman. Aaron Reutzel was the big mover going from 5th to 2nd. After the heat races they add up all the points and the top 30 in points come out for qualifiers to gain more points and set the field for the first 16 cars in the feature. In the first qualifier Wayne Johnson would leave the field in the dust getting the win followed by Rilat, Fisher, Reutzel and Colton Heath. In the 2nd qualifier Hafertepe Jr. would start on the pole and was never threatened for the win, Duperron was the big mover going from 6th to 3rd and it would get him the pole for the A Main. In the final qualifier Blake Hahn would win from the outside of the front row and the ruts were getting worse and many were trying to do everything they could to hold on to the wild horse they were driving. With the top 16 locked in for the main there would be two B mains where the top three would make up the back rows. In the first B Main it didn't take long for the flipping to begin with Daniel Anderson getting up on his lid on lap 2. After the restart the car on the move was Trey Starks who started ninth and was flying and by the end would pass Lance Sargent to get the last transfer spot along with winner Johnny Herrera and Justin Youngquist. The last B Main we would have to rename the Travis Jacobson spin and crash fest. After Jason Reed flipped on his lid to start the B main off Jacobson began what seemed like a comedy routine as the poor guy just couldn't get his car to perform, first spinning out on lap two and then again on the restart, so on lap 9 after being all over the race track just parked it hard in to the front stretch wall and his night would be done. Steve Reeves would pick up the win with Chase Goetz getting second and the final spot would go to Jake Helsel. This is where the fun would start.
The A main took almost 25 minutes to get the first lap completed with flip after flip from drivers who tried in vain to go through the ruts instead of around and found that was not the answer. The track crew worked on the track but because of the rain there was nothing they could do to get the track smooth. So it was up to the drivers to avoid the ruts and those that didn't paid hard for it. After Bricen James spun out on the first lap then it started with Goetz flipping on the restart bringing out the red. After getting them restarted and the green flag thrown Travis Rilat in 2nd place at the time went not turn one hit the rut and went up and over destroying the car in the process another red and another restart. Then Fisher on the restart spins coming out of three and Bergman had no where to go but into the side of the 59 of Fisher to again bring out the red and now the 4th restart would happen and got through lap one before on lap 2 Helsel would go flipping down the track another red and another restart. Finally they would get going and it would be a great Main with Duperron out in the lead and last years winner Solwold fast on his heels trying everything to get around him but to no avail until lap 12 when it looked like Solwold would get the pass a yellow came out for the last spin of the evening but the scoring would go back to the last completed lap so Duperron was given back the lead and then from that point on it was all Duperron for his first every win at Dirt Cup followed by Solwold, Hahn and Hafertepe Jr. for the top four that were locked into the Saturday night A Main.
With a beautiful sunny day and the tracks prep crew doing a magnificent job the track would be awesome for the final night of Dirt Cup and in over 1000 races that I have attended this would go down as one of the top five A mains I have ever seen and the best track I have ever seen at Skagit Speedway. After the race I didn't meet one driver who wasn't giddy about the race and the track no matter where they finished and for the locals it was the best track in over 10 years. The night got started off with five heat races.
In Heat #1 it was all Seth Bergman starting on the pole and never looking back with both Travis Rilat and Matt Covington both being the big movers picking valuable passing points. In Heat #2 Eric Fisher from the outside of the front row would get the win with Jared Peterson coming from 4th to finish 2nd followed by Greg Hamilton. Trever Kirkland out of Montana would make up the most spots coming from 7th to 4th. It was all Wayne Johnson and Aaron Reutzel in Heat #3 with Johnson holding on for the win. Travis Jacobson after the horrible night on the first night would come back in a different car and get the win in Heat #4 with Johnny Herrera coming from 6th to claim the runner up spot in the heat. With the top four from the previous night locked into the main the qualifiers would then take the next 12 drivers in points to the main. In Qualifier #1 Covington would take off from the pole for the win with Bergman closing in on the last lap to finish second followed by Fisher, Rilat and Goetz. In Qualifier #2 it was all Reutzel starting on the outside of the front row took off and hide with Hamilton taking 2nd followed by Wayne Johnson, Herrera and Skylar Gee. The only flip of this night occurred on lap 4 of the final Qualifier when Steve Reeves coming out of turn three touched the wall and ended up on his lid. Logan Forler would start from the pole and checkout to get the win followed by Cam Smith, Jacobson, Peterson and Ridge round out the top five.
In B Main #1 Rilat would start on the pole and have to do everything he could to hold off the hard charging Chase Goetz to get the win with Goetz and Kirkland passing Ridge with two laps to go to get that coveted last transfer spot into the main. Gee borrowing a motor from the 39c team of Rilats started on the pole and would not be touched onto winning B Main #2. Bricen James would hold on to 2nd with Mack Brown trying to get around him for the spot but settling for 3rd and the final transfer spot into the main.
There are not enough words in the english language to explain how great the Main would be and the smiles all over the speedway after a great race. There were slide jobs and racing at incredible speeds, watching the best go through traffic with precision and guile like I had not seen in a long time. The 45th edition of the Jim Raper Dirt Cup was one that for those that were there will not soon forget for a very long time. For Sam hafertepe Jr. this could be a defining win in his young man's career. He now for the rest of his life gets to be called a Dirt Cup Champion and that in the Pacific Northwest is like winning the King's Royal or the Knoxville Nationals. It might be not as big but in our eyes its that big.
After the fireworks and the three wide salute it was race time and Hafertepe Jr. wasting no time getting out in front with Solwold in hot pursuit looking to become only the 8th driver to win back-to-back Dirt Cups. The ASCS National drivers would slowly start rising to the top with Reutzel, Bergman, and Hahn all getting by Solwold before a caution would come out after 23 laps of the 40 lap Main. The slide jobs during this race were simply epic and the one that Reutzel threw on his buddy Bergman to take over second place should be used as a training tool on how to pull off a slide job. Reutzel started it on the back straight away and threw it in hard all the way into turn four to get by Bergman. He had nothing for Hafertepe Jr. who went through traffic like they were standing still wherever the lappers went Hafertepe Jr. went the other way it was his to win and his driving was a thing of beauty the way he carved up the competition. For Bergman he was so close to winning the race that he grew up watching his whole childhood. He was down after the race only because he knows how hard it is to win this race. Every driver I talked to after the race were just thrilled with the track and couldn't say nicer things about Skagit Speedway and how hard the staff worked to get the track great and put on a good time for all. For those who read this and haven't been to the Dirt Cup its simply Bucket list material. I hope one day this is race you circle and come see, because once your here you'll
never miss another one.