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NST drivers roar into Speedway By DON HUNT Just because Shawna Wilskey hadn't won a race in nearly 10 months on the Northern Sprint Tour didn't mean anything was wrong with the standout race car driver. And she proved it last weekend when she vaulted into the winner's circle on back-to-back nights in Yakima, Wash., and Portland. The suddenly white-hot Wilskey of Lake Stevens, Wash., and the rest of the popular NST drivers will make the first of two season appearances at the Southern Oregon Speedway on Saturday night. Gates open at 4 p.m. with racing scheduled for 6 at the White City track. The NST drivers compete at Lebanon on Friday. NST Tour WHAT: Northern Sprint Tour racing. WHEN, WHERE: Saturday, gates open at 4 p.m. with racing scheduled for 6 p.m., Southern Oregon Speedway, White City. OF NOTE: Shawna Wilskey has won the NST points title three times and is currently in first place this season after back-to-back victories last week. Wilskey, 29, has won the NST points title three times and could be headed for a fourth - her back-to-back victories last week moved her past Jayme Barnes and into first place. "I was placing in the top five every week but just couldn't get over the hump," Wilskey says. Wilskey and her crew chief, Ben Curtis, began experimenting with the 750-horsepower Shark engine in her 1997 Rocket chassis. They switched cams, changed fuel settings and rearranged the fuel mixture until everything clicked at Yakima, where Wilskey set the fast time, won the trophy dash and then dominated the main event. "We finally found the combination that worked," she says. Wilskey has had to work extra hard this season to fend off Barnes of Everett, Wash., and Roger Crockett of Burlington, Calif. The current point totals are anything but conclusive: Wilskey with 513, Barnes with 502 and Crockett with 498. "The point totals could change drastically in one race," Wilskey says. "Those guys are both very good drivers." Barnes, 23, bagged a victory at the Portland Speedway on May 12. He also has one second- and two third-place finishes to his credit this season. Barnes' ascent in the point standings can be mostly attributed to one thing - making it to the checkered flag. "I haven't been crashing as much," says Barnes, who was seventh in NST points a year ago. "I'm driving a little smarter and staying more focused." Barnes is a third-generation driver. His father, Jay, continues to compete intermittently. His grandfather, Barney, raced modified cars in the 1950s and 60s. "They put me on a 3-wheeler when I was 4 years old," Jayme Barnes says. "And I was in a sprint car at 16." Barnes didn't compete on the NST circuit until three years ago, when he picked up enough sponsorship to make it affordable. Crockett, meanwhile, has yet to taste victory but came close last Saturday in Portland, where he finished second to Wilskey. Local favorite Dan Menne of Fort Jones, Calif., should also be in the running. Menne has not raced on a regular basis this season but took third at an NST race in Portland earlier this season. Menne finished fourth in the point standings last year and was third in 1999. Joining the sprint cars Saturday will be the mini stocks and the thrill cars. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.