http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2003217946&slug=evergreen23n&date=20060823

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 - 12:00 AM

Shane Harding

 

Rob Touchette

Snohomish County sports
Drivers in tight race for superstock crown

By Jim Riley
Special to The Seattle Times

With only three races to go, little has been decided in the NASCAR superstock division at Evergreen Speedway.

After 11 races, four drivers are within 12 points, and any could be crowned track champion after the final race of the season Sept. 16.

With the Evergreen State Fair starting this week, the largest crowds of the season will see a heated drive toward the championship over the next two Saturday nights at the Monroe-area track.

Rob Touchette of Lake Stevens has earned 472 points and leads John Burtsche of Bellevue by four points. Defending champion Shane Harding of Surrey, B.C., is third, eight points out of the lead, and Doug Davidson of Monroe is still in the running with 460 points.

Touchette, who blew a motor during a qualifying run July 28 and immediately purchased a car from former track champion John Zaretzke, is confident he can maintain his slim lead.

"We're getting the car figured out, and we're going to make a few more changes to give us that last little bit," Touchette said. "It's a great car, or I wouldn't have bought it, but there are a lot of adjustments you need to make with a different driver."

Touchette has only two wins this year but has been in the top three seven times.

"We thought we'd have a few more wins by now, but we're leading the points, and you can't ask for much more than that," Touchette said.

Harding has won seven times this year but missed one race because of a conflict with his Northwest Tour schedule. That caused him to drop in the standings.

No bonus points are awarded for winning in the superstock series. The point structure is 50 points for a win and only two points less for each place after that.

Finances have forced Harding to abandon the final two tour races, and he'll concentrate on trying to defend his track championship.

"It's important. I never had sponsors until I started winning, and getting Ed's Transmission to come on board had a lot to do with winning the title last year," Harding said. "Whether we can win it again this year will have a lot to do with our racing next year."

Even with a sponsor, Harding is winning with a motor made up of spare parts.

"We put my motor from last year in my tour car," Harding said. "No one ever believes me, but we only thought we'd only run a couple of races at Evergreen this year, so we made the motor out of old spare parts. It's way down on horsepower, but the car handles great."

Harding will run the spare-parts motor for the next two races but will then have a decision to make before the final race on the big track.

"It would only take about four hours to change it out, but we've been winning with that motor, so we're not sure what we'll do," Harding said. "No matter what, we'll just go out and try to win and let the points fall where they may."

Harding said all the drivers enjoy racing in front of big crowds during the fair.

"There are always a lot of kids, and the autograph sessions are always fun," he said. "Plus, if we have some time, we can always go over and check out the fair and get some good food."

In addition to the superstocks, figure-eight nationals and bomber races will also be held. Combination tickets for the fair and the races are $20 for adults 19-61, $15 for ages 12-18 and for 62 and over, and $8 for children 6-11.

Jim Riley