The wait is almost over as the 900+ horsepower open wheel racing machines of the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series journey north for the Fastest Five Days in Motorsports. During a quick 120-hour span, the series will feature five races at five different racetracks across Oregon and Washington in five nights. For many of the tracks, it is their only 410 cubic inch Sprint Car race of the year.

The racing extravaganza will kick off on Wednesday, June 12, at Southern Oregon Speedway before moving northward to the Douglas County Dirt Track in Roseburg on Thursday, the 13. Friday, June 14 will see the newly added Cottage Grove Speedway as a part of the mix and will be the first 410 race at the historic ¼-mile clay oval since 2014. Willamette Speedway is back with their Saturday date on June 15. All roads will come to a head at Elma, Washington’s Grays Harbor Raceway, on Sunday, June 16, for a Father’s Day fireworks-spectacular special, the Timber Cup.

“I think that the Oregon/Washington Speedweek is an awesome trip,” said current NARC standings leader Cole Macedo from Lemoore. “I know I had a lot of fun last year, and I’m super excited to run those tracks because they can get super slick and have some character.”

With six races down in the 65th anniversary season, there have been super exciting events coming down to the last few laps, and there’s no doubt that this trend will continue.

The Fastest Five Days in Motorsports started in 2019 as the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports in California. However, that all changed in 2022 when it was redirected to the Pacific Northwest. The 2023 edition was an uninterrupted string of events that led up to the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway.

Support classes for the first four nights will be the Northwest Focus Midget Series. Saturday night, the Iron Head Sprint Series will join the card. Sunday’s bout will feature IMCA Modifieds and PHRA Dwarf Cars.

Each night will pay a stout $5,000 to win and $600 to start the A-main. Another perk up for grabs is a $5,000 point fund for the top eight teams in the Fastest Five Days in Motorsports points, courtesy of Roth Motorsports and Winters Performance. The overall champion will also receive a commemorative collectable trophy at the year-end championship awards banquet.

Some extra money will be on the line Thursday night at the Douglas County Dirtrack. Shane DeWald Trucking is offering a $500 bonus for the fast timer, and Topp It Express will kick in another $500 in cash for the evening’s hard charger.

NARC 410 Sprint Car Series Championship Chase

With five straight nights of action on tap, the King of the West championship title could very well be determined during the Fastest Five Days in Motorsports. Last year, eventual NARC champion Corey Day created a massive buffer over the rest of the competition that helped him lock up the title.

Lemoore’s Cole Macedo has stayed up in the first position in the championship standings for the entire 2024 campaign. Still, the Tarlton Motorsports #21 car enters the week with a slim two-point advantage. Even though last year was Macedo’s first foray into several Pacific Northwest tracks, he managed to win the Willamette leg of the journey. He broke up Day’s ability to sweep all four nights. So far, this team has had two NARC wins this season.

“With the amount of racing that I’ve been running this year and seeing all these different tracks, I think I’ll be in good shape,” Macedo continued. “Drew Warner (crew chief) and the boys have been working hard, and I’m almost fully recovered from my rib injury early in the season, so our team is ready.”

As the 2024 season continues, Justin Sanders keeps getting faster and faster. The Mittry Motorsports #2X team has been excellent this year. They were outside the top five in points a few weeks ago. Now, they sit a close second after scoring a season-leading three victories. The Aromas pilot accomplished those three wins in the last four rounds, including the most recent event at Placerville.

2017 NARC champion Bud Kaeding goes into the FFDM with some of the most experience at many of the tracks including Southern Oregon, Cottage Grove, and Willamette Speedways. 2024 has treated the Campbell veteran well. The team has had a lot of consistent speed. They are fourth in the title fight and trail Macedo by thirty-one points. They managed to post a pair of top five runs, including a fourth at Antioch in May.

Fifth in series points, Dylan Bloomfield, had an impressive run last year in his Northwest debut. The Oakley teenager, racing for the Vertullo Racing #83V, had some solid runs, including a fourth-place finish at Southern Oregon after setting a quick time. His best NARC run of the current season was a third at Antioch.

Who To Watch

In 2022, Dominic Scelzi emerged as the champion of what was then called the Faster Four Days in Motorsports. Coming off a third-place result at the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial, the Fresno driver has only one NARC triumph at the five tracks on the five-night swing. That came at Southern Oregon Speedway two years ago. In 2021 and 2022, he won the FFDM and NARC series championships.

Justyn Cox will be among the plethora of drivers to watch when he and the Bates-Hamilton Racing #42X entry migrate north. The Roseville racer has spent much of his career racing and winning in the Pacific Northwest. He will be looking to score his second career NARC win during this string of events.

Chase Johnson competed in Oregon and Washington last year for Josh Ford Motorsports, but this year, he will be using his own equipment. Not long after the 2023 Northwest swing, the Penngrove pilot returned to his winning ways after an incredibly emotional victory at his home track Petaluma Speedway. He’s already notched a pair of Top 5s in 2024 with NARC, including a runner-up result at Chico’s Mini Gold Cup.

Reigning NARC rookie Nick Parker is ready for another run in the Pacific Northwest. The Vail, Arizona native, now residing in Chico, spent a lot of time adapting to many new facilities. Still, Parker is a quick learner, and once he’s run somewhere, it takes little time for him to be really fast there.

Billy Aton is no stranger to Oregon and Washington over the years. Making the haul from Benecia, Aton has shown promise in the current campaign and was a few laps away from winning the Salute to LeRoy Van Conett last month in Stockton.

In 2023, Jarrett Soares went to Oregon for the first time to run some local winged and non-winged shows. The Gilroy gasser will be looking to capitalize on that knowledge.

Tanner Carrick has been a phenomenal addition to the NARC 410 Sprint Series, putting up several top five finishes. This swing will be an extensive learning experience as the venues will be places the Lincoln native has had little to no exposure.

Jessie Attard is excited to be back stateside to take on the best drivers on the west coast. The Landilo, New South Welshman, will represent his home nation of Australia. Last year, he had an impressive tenth-place result at Southern Oregon.

Other drivers scheduled to make the trip are Ashton Torgerson from Glendale, Arizona, Sacramento’s Angelique Bell, and more!

Rookie Race

The NARC Rookie of the Year race is also a tight-knit battle between some promising young stars.

Caeden Steele has been impressive during the current NARC campaign, posting a pair of podium finishes. The only track of the five which he has seen live is Grays Harbor Raceway, where he made one start last July. The Easton teenager enters the FFDM with a four-marker advantage over the current runner-up.

From Lemoore, Gauge Garcia has gotten into a good groove in the last few events with the NARC 410 Sprint Series. Bouncing back from a hard crash at Antioch in May, the Keller Motorsport team had a phenomenal run at the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial on June 1st, leading many laps and posting a second-place finish.

Not to be forgotten is Dominic Gorden of Clovis. What’s unique about this young man is that even though he’s never raced at 410 at any of the upcoming tracks, he did a lot of racing at Elma, Cottage Grove, Roseburg, and Southern Oregon last July and August. There’s no doubt some of the successes that he’s had at those venues will translate over to the 410 as he enters the week third in the rookie race.

Northwest Home Stand

Jacksonville, Oregon’s Tanner Holmes is excited to defend his home turf. After spending the late winter and early spring chasing the High Limit and World of Outlaws groups, the YouTube sensation returned west to compete with NARC during the last few weeks. Finishing second at Skagit Speedway on June 1st, Holmes managed to win at four tracks on the FFDM schedule in local competition and was third at last year’s Timber Cup.

Many regard Puyallup, Washington’s Trey Starks as the Pacific Northwest man to beat. Second at last year’s Timber Cup and the winner of the 2022 edition, Starks is phenomenal in the Northwest and is the two-time defending champion Skagit Speedway 410 champion. In fact, he’s already hit pay dirt three times at the 3/10-mile clay oval that will host the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup.

Canadian Robbie Price is expected to make the entire swing racing for Rob and Lee Leighton. Currently second in Skagit Speedway points, the Cobble Hill, British Columbia driver spent all of 2023 competing full-time with the World of Outlaws racing for Sides Motorsports and has spent lots of time running at places such as Grays Harbor and Cottage Grove.

Tyler Thompson is not to be discounted in his native Oregon. Thompson has traveled throughout Oregon, California, and Montana already this year and will look to defend his home track, Cottage Grove Speedway, where he’s the three-time defending track champion. The Harrisburg racer has posted wins at Elma and Grove in local competitions while has come close to being triumphant at Rosburg and Willamette.

Fan & Competitor Info

On Wednesday at Southern Oregon Speedway, the pit gate will open at 2:00 P.M. with the front gate opening at 5:00 P.M. Qualifying is slated for 6:00 P.M. and opening ceremonies at 7:00 P.M. Teams are welcome to stay in the pits overnight, and fan camping is permitted on the grounds. Adult GA tickets on Thursday will be $30. Seniors (62+), veterans with a valid I.D., and Juniors (ages 6-12) are $20. Family passes for two adults and four kids can be purchased for $100. Kids five and under are free. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or via the Ticket Hoss app.

Southern Oregon Speedway is located at 6900 Kershaw Rd, White City, Oregon 97502. For more information, visit http://www.southernoregonmotorsports.com/ or call 458-220-6272.

On Thursday at the Douglas County Dirt Track, the pit gate opens at 2:00 PM and the front gates at 4:00 PM. Hot Laps kick off around 6:00 PM, followed by Racing at 7:00 PM. Adult GA tickets will be $35. Seniors (55+), Juniors (12-15), and military are $30., and kids (ages 6-11) will be admitted for $5. Tickets will be sold or Get Tickets for Douglas County Dirt Track (myracepass.com).

The racetrack is located at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Complex at 2110 SW Frear Street, Roseburg, OR  97471. For more information, log on to www.douglascountydt.com.

On Friday, Cottage Grove Speedway will open its pit gates at 2:00 PM and front gates at 4:30 PM, with racing to begin around 7:00 PM. Adult GA tickets will be $35, while Seniors (62+), Military, and Students (ages 13-17) are $30. Kids (6-12) are $10, and children 5 and Under are FREE. Family passes for two adults and four kids can be purchased for $80. Tickets will be sold at the front gate or Get Tickets for Cottage Grove Speedway (myracepass.com).

Cottage Grove Speedway is located at 2150 N Douglas Avenue, Cottage Grove, OR, 97424. For folks with transports, RVs, or camping trailers, please avoid using the railroad trestle bridge on Highway 99, as you will not have enough clearance to navigate underneath it. For more information, visit www.cottagegrovespeedway.com or call 541-942-7561.

On Saturday at Willamette Speedway, the pit gate will open at 1:00 P.M. with the grandstands opening at 3:30 P.M. Qualifying is set for 5:00 P.M. with racing at 6:00 P.M. Teams are welcome to stay in the pits. Fan camping is permitted on the grounds. Adult GA tickets will be $45. Seniors, military, and kids (ages 13-17) will be admitted for $30. Kids (6-11) are $12, Children (5 and under) are $10, and a Family Pass is $100. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or Get Tickets for Willamette Speedway (myracepass.com).

Willamette Speedway is located at 36606 Airport Dr, Lebanon, Oregon 97355. For more information, visit http://www.trophymotorsports.com/ or send an email to willamettespeedway@hotmail.com.

On Sunday at Grays Harbor Raceway, the pit gate will open at 2:00 P.M. The remainder of the program will look the same with the drivers meeting scheduled for 4:00 P.M., wheel packing at 4:30 P.M., and racing at 6:00 P.M. Adult GA tickets each night at Grays Harbor will be $28. Seniors, Juniors (ages 7-17), and military with a valid I.D. will be admitted for $22. Children ages 2-6 will be just $5. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or Get Tickets for Grays Harbor Raceway (myracepass.com).

Grays Harbor Raceway is located at 30 Elma McCleary Rd, Elma, Washington 98541. For more information, visit https://www.graysharborraceway.com/ or call 360-482-4374.

The NARC racing format includes qualifying, four 8-lap heat races, an exciting six-lap trophy dash, a 12-lap last chance race, and a 30-lap main event.

The NARC 410 Sprint Series is the leading 410 Sprint Car tour west of the Rocky Mountains. Since 1960, it has enthralled countless thousands of fans from tracks up and down the Pacific Coast. For more information, visit its website at www.narc410.com or social media pages.

The entire Fastest Five Days in Motorsports, along with every NARC 410 Sprint Car Series race, can be viewed live on Floracing.com.

Fastest Five Days in Motorsports Champions

2023 - Corey Day

2022 - Dominic Scelzi

2021 - Dominic Scelzi

2019 - Tim Kaeding