Shane Stewart of Oklahoma picked up his second Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup win
ALGER – Shane Stewart further embedded his name into Skagit Speedway lore, winning his second Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway. After starting from the pole, Stewart claimed the lead when race leader Jonathan Allard made contact with a lapped car, spinning himself out. Stewart had faded back to third, but reclaimed his second position just the lap before Allard’s spin, as youngster Zach Zimmerly was giving Shane everything he could handle in traffic. After assuming the lead, Stewart was too strong in clean air, as he raced on to win his second Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup in the Danny Kirkpatrick owned #7k ART. The race win paid Stewart $25,000. Zimmerly ran second all three nights of the Dirt Cup in his DWT #94 ART. Two time and defending Dirt Cup Champion Jayme Barnes was the highest finishing local, piloting the Mt Baker Landscaping #33 XXX to third place. Tommy Tarlton won the qualifying challenge, pocketing an extra $1,000 on the evening. Trey Starks won the C Scramble. Travis Jacobson won the B Scramble. Stewart took the A Scramble. Danielle Huson won the C Feature. Kyle Hirst topped the B Main event.
During the race evening, Skagit Speedway promoter Steve Beitler made two major announcements. The first announcement was the return of Kasey Kahne to Skagit Speedway, as Friday August 27th will feature Kasey Kahne taking on the Skagit Speedway 360 Sprints in an event to benefit the Kasey Kahne Foundation. Announcement number two was regarding next year’s 40th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup. The 40 lap A feature on the 40th anniversary race will pay a whopping $40,000 to the winner, making the main event the second largest non-sanctioned race in terms of payout in the USA.
The Washington State Racing Series Ford Focus Midgets were the companion class for Dirt Cup Saturday night, and when the dust settled, Rece Goetz was the main event winner. Goetz took the lead on lap 9 and cruised on to victory ahead of Dustin O’Brien and Derek Holmwood. Heat race wins went to Jeff Bell and Seth Hespe.
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