Like most Pacific Northwest race tracks, Hermiston Raceway had a tough summer, what with COVID shutting the facility down most of the time.
But the racing Waldens — Greg, Laci, Wayne and the rest of the track-promoting family — plan on one final season blowout, set for Oct. 24.
The family put out a recent call on Facebook to see if anyone would be interested in bringing their cars and racing.
They were swamped by resounding positive responses.
Details are still being hammered out, but they’re planning on having almost every division you can think of: Bombers, Hobby Stocks, Hornets, Late Models, Legends, Mini Stocks and Street Stocks.
Ticket sales will start Sunday with only be online sales.
Because of COVID, only the first 250 fans will be able to sit in the stands.
Check the Hermiston Raceway Facebook account for further details.
More racing news
• The Walden family can’t race at the track this coming weekend because they’re already involved in a fundraising event for the Red Mountain Event Center at the old Tri-City Raceway facility in West Richland.
There is a movement for the RMEC to take over the facility to hold all types of events there, including some track racing.
This weekend’s event, “Movies at the Mountain,” includes a drive-in movie theater showing NASCAR-themed flicks.
Playing on Friday, Oct. 16, is “Days of Thunder” with Tom Cruise.
The movie featured on Saturday, Oct. 17, is Will Ferrell’s “Talladega Nights.”
Gates open at 6 p.m., each night, and the movie starts at 7:30.
Go to redmountaineventcenter.com to find tickets to either night. All VIP sales ended on Tuesday, but there should be tickets still available.
• Pasco’s JR Carr sent his Mountain Motor Pro Stock car down the track so fast on Oct. 2, that he had the fastest run in the history of the division.
Carr, who along with his wife Teri used to own the Tri-Cities Fever indoor football franchise, has been a drag racer for several years.
His record run of 6.179 seconds — which translates to 228.23 mph — came at the Mopar ExpressLane NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis.
The 2020 Chevy Camaro’s run is the first sub-6.2 second lap in the division’s history.
Sadly, poor weather made it impossible for the division to finish the weekend.
But Carr has his record.
• Kennewick’s Brittney Zamora finished fourth at the Neal Newberry 125 at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval on Sept. 26.
Gracin Raz of Lake Oswego, Ore., won the race.
Zamora, competing in her Northwest Super Late Model she affectionately dubs “Lucy,” should be done for this pandemic-plague season.
What Brittney and her father and crew chief, Mike Zamora, have planned for Lucy is not clear.
That car has been competitive for 63 races, which is a large number for one race vehicle.
Meanwhile, Zamora has agreed to a two-race deal with Willie Allen Racing and Rackley Roofing Company.
The main draw will be her competing in the 2020 All American 400 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on Nov. 1. The other race will be a local Pro Late Model race on Saturday in Murfreesboro, Tenn., giving her some seat time before the All American 400.
• Nice to see Tri-Citian Brad Rhoads earn a second-place finish Oct. 4 at the Fall Classic in Yakima.
Rhoads placed second to Thomas Stanford in the Mini-Stock final at Yakima Speedway.
Rhoads was a former driver at Tri-City Raceway who had a good Late Model car in the 1990s.
Sports notes
• Some notes from this month’s Tri-City Sports Council meeting: The Richland recreation department re-sodded Columbia Playfield recently, which means the softball fields will be ready to go when the city can host tournaments again. … The Mid-Columbia Conference athletic directors have gone through five drafts of football schedules en route to trying to finalize the season, which is still scheduled to begin in late February with practices. What the postseason will look like is still up in the air. There is a possibility of Eastern Washington championships. But the bottom line is, no classroom attendance, no athletics. … WSU Tri-Cities is looking at starting a tennis club. … Pasco Parks and Recreation will likely make a decision around Nov. 1 on the annual Cable Bridge Run in late December.
• The Frontier Conference announced its preseason all-conference basketball teams, and Sunnyside graduate Emilee Maldonado is on the women’s squad.
Maldonado is a senior at the University of Providence, located in Great Falls, Mont.
Last season, the Argonauts were 21-12 and were headed to the NAIA National Tournament when COVID shut everything down.
Maldonado was a standout for Providence last season. She was the team’s No. 2 scorer at 14.0 points a game. She also led the team in the following categories: assists (4.9 a game), steals (46), minutes per game (35.9), three-point shooting (83 for 201), and free throw shooting (89 for 110 for 80 percent).
The conference’s coaches also announced their preseason coaches poll for the season.
Carroll College of Montana got the nod for the women’s title, with Providence selected second in the six-team conference.
Besides Maldonado, Providence also has two other Mid-Columbia athletes on its women’s team — junior Kenedy Cartwright (a Chiawana grad) and junior Alicia Oatis (Kennewick).
On the men’s side, coaches selected Providence as the preseason favorite, with Carroll picked second.
• Wine Valley Golf Club assistant pro Brady Sharp combined with amateur Tyler Daniels to win the Pacific Northwest Pro-Am Championship at Astoria Country Club on Oct. 8-9.
The tournament featured 52 two-man teams — one pro and one amateur — playing a four-ball format.
Sharp and Daniels fired 65 and 62 for a total of 127, 17-under-par.
Head pro Mike Kasch of Pasco Golfland and amateur Brandon Black shot a 68-65—133 (minus 11) to finish tied for 13th.
Jeff Morrow is the former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
