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Mark Nichols ready to take on the NWWT |
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EAGLE CREEK, Ore. - All winter Mark Nichols has waited. Now there is barely a month left before he and several other non-wing sprint car and midget racers take to the track to open up the inaugural season of the NorthWest Wingless Tour at Cottage Grove Speedway. Nichols, out of Eagle Creek, Ore. will pilot his own No. 64 T-Mac-powered Rocket sponsored by Westin Pontiac, Trailer City, Herz Precision Part, Odyssey Batteries and Victory Racing in the NorthWest Wingless Tour’s 360 sprint car division. Mark himself sees nothing but great things coming for the new tour. “This is a great opportunity. This is the start of a new program I think will be around for a while,” Nichols said. “We have a great group of drivers.” Nichols, a former national champion in kart racing, has been involved in several forms of racing over the years, including 3-wheelers, quads, mud bog and sand drags, pro-4 modifieds and even monster trucks. Nichols will now be a mainstay on the new NorthWest Wingless Tour. While most of the tour’s races this first season will be at Cottage Grove Speedway, just south of Eugene, Nichols has eyed the September 5th event at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. It is currently the only Washington race on the schedule. Even more important, Grays Harbor Raceway is in a state dominated by the wings and Nichols hopes to make first night of the track’s annual Big E Weekend the best one. While wingless 360 sprint cars have been somewhat established in Oregon over the last several years, wingless races with any size engines have very few and far between in the Evergreen State. It’s unknown if there has ever been a wingless event at Grays Harbor Raceway. “That is the weekend we are gearing for,” Nichols said, looking at the big picture regarding the establishment of wingless sprint car racing in the Northwest. “It’s a big deal for us to bring the group up there and get us out the “open” more. I think it’ll be an exciting race. I just wish midgets were going with us.” Nichols will also return to Willamette Speedway this season. Last September he took part in the unsanctioned wingless sprint car event many NWWT teams took part in at the speed plant that sits outside Lebanon, Ore. Nichols finished third in the fast heat and was fifth in the main event that night. The NWWT will first visit Willamette Speedway on Friday, June 5th before going to Cottage Grove Speedway the next night. The NWWT is scheduled to close its season at Willamette on October 3rd with the Lebanon Fall Classic. While he hopes to be at least in the top five in points and have his car still intact at the end of the season, Nichols has high hopes for the NorthWest Wingless Tour. “I hope we have an awesome car count, for one. A successful, safe year for everyone and just some good, tight racing.” The NorthWest Wingless Tour opens its season April 25th with the Grove Classic at Cottage Grove. A total of ten races at three different tracks in Oregon and Washington are on the schedule. A standard purse has been established and qualifying will be held at all events. 2009 NorthWest Wingless Tour schedule April 25th - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR (Grove Classic) May 23rd - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR June 5 - Willamette Speedway - Lebanon, OR (Strawberry Cup) June 6 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR June 27 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR July 18 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR August 8 - TBA August 15 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR September 5 - Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, WA (Big E Weekend) September 12 - Cottage Grove Speedway - Cottage Grove, OR October 3 - Willamette Speedway - Lebanon, OR (Lebanon Fall Classic) |
