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 photo by - LW Speedway Promotions, LLC. | August,16th 2023 During Labor Day weekend, most of the Northwest's Speedways take the weekend off for the last weekend of summer. For the Hermiston Raceway, the facility will become the Northwest's Racing Capitol ! September 2nd & 3rd. This Labor Day Spectacular presented by IBEW 112 will not only be the largest race in the northwest for the weekend, it's also the Championship Night for several Divisions! "The Labor Day Spectacular is projected to be the largest event we've seen over the last 5 years" says project manager Greg Walden. The event will attract over 130 different race teams from the Northwest between the two days, filling up the hotels and restaurants in Hermiston. "The economic impact to the Hermiston area will be well over $500,000" , said Walden. Over $ 80,000 Will be paid out between the two nights of racing, 7 Track Champion Titles will be named with 4 touring divisions, & a Regional Qualifying/ Championship Event, Thousands are expected over the two day, action packed event! Saturday Night | September, 2nd Bettarel 75- Power City Prolate Model Championship NW Mini Stock- Championship Hermiston Hornets- Championship Street Stock Championship Elite 5 Modified Challenge Series NW Tour Truck Series Sunday Night | September, 3rd NWSLMS- Labor Day Spectacular 125 Midway Legends Championship & Regional Qualifier Bettarel Hobby Stock Championship Hermiston Bomber Championship Washington Midget Racing Association  Photo by Shari Garber | 2022 Labor Day Spectacular  Season Review - 2023 Track Championships by: Greg Rentz As stated above, the Championship battles for all seven local classes are on the line after a very competitive 2023 season for the local Hometown Heroes. One of the most entertaining classes not just at Hermiston, but in the Northwest as a whole, have been the Hornets. Often referred to as the "bread and butter" of any local racetrack, the 4 cylinder cars have put on spectacular racing as they head into Championship night with a very tight points battle. Kyle Suchy holds a 2 point lead over defending champion David Knowles. Suchy won his lone main event in the second race of the season back in April, while Knowles has found himself in the mix thanks to consistent finishes all year, despite not finding victory lane yet in 2023. Lurking in 3rd, just 19 points out of the lead, sits Kyle Franklin. The driver of the #88 leads the division with two wins, the only driver to win multiple main events this year. Should something happen to either Suchy or Knowles, watch for Franklin to try and capitalize and move up one or both spots and steal the championship. The Mini Stock class features a similarly close points battle. This class also runs 4 cylinder cars like the hornets but utilizes rules that allow and encourage more racing orientated modifications for higher speeds. These are purpose built race cars that utilize the stock frame, while the hornets are street cars with the glass removed and a roll cage built in. While defending champion Mike Savage of Kennewick looks to defend his title and keep the Championship in the Columbia Basin, he only holds a 3 point lead over Spokane's Casey Jeske. Casey is not the only Jeske looking to pounce, as older brother Cameron sits just 6 points further back, well within striking distance. The Betteral Hobby Stocks has also produced a very surprising points battle. All marking their first season in V8 competition, the top 3 in the championship hunt are teenage rookies. JJ Mullins leads after having a spectacular rookie season, scoring two wins on the year, plus success at other tracks in the Northwest. Hayden Tidrick sits 2nd in points, settling in nicely to move to within 13 points of the fellow Yakima native Mullins. For Tidrick, this race will be special, as its marks an opportunity to race against both his father, Darrell, and grandfather, Brad. This will be the first time the 3 generations of Tidrick will race against each other. 33 markers out of the lead, sits another Yakima native rookie, Tyler Huffines, who sits at a comfortable 3rd. A strong start to the season by Huffines has unfortunately seen mechanical woes drop him to an outside chance of capturing the Championship, but 33 points is not impossible to overcome with some "racers luck" as its called in the pits. The Midway Legends have come down to 9 points between two drivers for the championship battle. 2019 Track Champion Kellen Dean and 2nd year legend driver Marcus Maggard have battled all season. Dean's two wins at the beginning of the season have proven to be the difference so far, but Maggard's win in the most recent outing has tightened things up. Watch for qualifying points to play a key role in how this one unfolds. The Bomber points battle sees Shade Coe finding himself primed to grab the championship. Up by 51 points over Ron Wilbur, the driver of the black and gold #22 needs only to post a qualifying time and to start the feature event to win the championship, although he COULD clinch it in qualifying should he post a faster time than Wilbur. For Coe, the championship would be the icing on the cake for his breakout 2023 season, which has seen him win 3 main events, his first in his own equipment. Coe co-drove with Jeremy Erb for several years in Erb's #123 entry, before going out in his own car last season. With a second-year championship in his sights, Coe will look to just keep his nose clean in practice. In Street Stocks, the focus is not so much on the points battle, but in the rebirth of the class as a whole. This series has averaged two, sometimes three cars a night for the last two seasons. Suddenly at the halfway point of this season, it was like a switch flipped, as car counts have grown to averaging 7 cars per night. A couple more teams have talked about coming over for Labor Day as well, so look for the Street Stocks to possibly have their biggest count in several years for the finale. The Power City Pro Late Model points battle is the closest one on the docket. Defending track champion, Nick Gibson out of Boise, holds a one point lead over West Richland's Trace Thompson heading into Championship night. Gibson has won the previous two races at the 3/8 mile oval, while Thompson has scored two second place finishes, including the most recent outing on 4th of July weekend. Don't look now though, because Pasco's Mike Zamora is within striking distance as well, sitting 20 points out of the lead. All it would take is one problem for either Gibson or Thompson and car #57 could pounce and rip the title away. The largest car count of the year is expected for what should be an action-packed final race.
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