Document text
Woman driver proves pedal mettle Shawna Wilskey, who will race here tonight, has has won Northern Sprint Tour points titles two of the past four years. By DON HUNT Shawna Wilskey feels as though she's ready to compete in the World of Outlaws, and who could argue? In the four-year history of the Northern Sprint Tour, the Lake Stevens, Wash., resident has won two points titles, was runner-up once and third once. The NST is a minor league of sorts to the World of Outlaws, a sprint car circuit that packs tracks with fans throughout the country. If Wilskey were playing baseball, she would have two MVPs on her minor league resume and would surely get a call from a major league club. But in the world of racing, sponsorship is every bit as important as a driver's ability. "It's going to take somebody wanting to put myself and my crew chief (Ben Curtis) out on the tour -- it's going to take someone putting up a sponsorship," Wilskey says. "I'm hopeful that will happen at some point during my career." Until it does, Wilskey, 28, will bide her time on the Northern Sprint Tour, which will make an appearance today at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City. Wilskey is the only female on the NST but gained almost instant credibility during the circuit's first season in 1996 with her ability to outfinesse the other drivers. "She's one of the smoothest drivers you'll ever see," Curtis says. "She has better throttle control than most of the guys. She takes calculated chances but rarely gets herself in bad positions. "Shawna doesn't get into very many wrecks." Wilskey's father, Richard, served as her crew chief during her early years on the track, but the two went their separate ways three years ago, mostly because Richard was reluctant to set the car up to go its fastest for fear his daughter would get into a bad wreck. "You can't tell your kid, `Do whatever you have to do to win, don't be afraid to kill yourself,"' Wilskey says. "By the same token, you need an aggressive attitude out there. To some degree, you're always on the edge, and my father didn't want to feel responsible if something happened to me." Wilskey heads into her third season with Curtis, who is not only her crew chief but also her employer. Curtis builds sprint cars -- he owns Rocket Chassis in Everett, Wash. -- and Wilskey helps put the cars together. Even so, Wilskey dumps every spare dollar into her car, which has cost about $35,000 counting the 360-cubic-inch, 700-horsepower Shark engine that powers it. A typical sprint car weighs less than 1,400 pounds and can reach speeds of nearly 100 mph on the straightaways. Most of the premier sprint car drivers in the Pacific Northwest are expected to compete today, including Central Point's Bill Nutter and Dan Menne of Fort Jones, Calif. Menne finished third in the NST points race last season. Top drivers from Oregon include Cottage Grove residents Mike Morelock and brothers Dale and Marvin Smith; Bryon Harvey of Umpqua; Jeff Thompson of Junction City; Kevin Journey and Richard Brown of Springfield; Jeremy Cooper of Creswell; and 1999 rookie of the year Chad Baurer of Brookings. Washington standouts include Jay Cole, a three-time Grays Harbor Raceway Park champion; Jay Smith of Arlington; Rick Fauver and Jayme Barnes of Everett; Jim Kirkham and Glenn Borden of Seattle; Gary Taylor of Snohomish; and Rick Smith of Mount Vernon. Total purse money is expected to be about $21,000, with $1,750 going to the winner. Wilskey, meanwhile, doesn't make an issue of being the only female on the NST, but says she welcomes any extra publicity she can give to that circuit and hopefully someday to the World of Outlaws. "I've always been approachable to the fans (in the pits)," Wilskey says. "I seem to relate well to families and kids." Wilskey says her chances of landing a World of Outlaws sponsor would be greatly enhanced if she moved to the Midwest, where most of the races are held. "If I were 18 years old again, I'd be gone in a heartbeat," she says. "And even now I'm not ruling it out." AUTO EXTRAS: This season, the NST has added tracks in Portland, Yakima, Wash., and Billings, Mont., to go with ovals in White City, Lebanon, Cottage Grove and Elma, Wash. Northwest Speedweek will again be a part of the NST. From July 17-22, drivers will race in six races at five tracks, starting with the Southern Oregon Speedway on July 17. Dave Duste Sr. got off to a triumphant start during last week's season-opening modified race. Duste appeared destined for a runner-up finish behind Brian Poppa, but Poppa got tangled up with a lapped car four laps from the finish and Duste went on to the win. "Call it luck, fate, experience -- whatever you like -- but I went the right way and he (Poppa) went the wrong way," Duste said. ``Brian was running strong and very likely would have won the race had he not collided with that lapped car. "But that's racing. You take the good with the bad." Duste walked off with $500 in first-place money and another $200 for passing the most cars during the modified main. The bonus money is being put up each week by Timberwolf Tobacco Co. Poppa, who was making his debut in the modified class after winning the pro stock division last year, wound up fourth, and that was a feat in itself. He had to go to the back of the pack after the mishap because all of the other drivers passed him, but he roared past nine cars over the final four laps and was closing in on Duste when the checkered flag appeared. "He's a good shoe," Duste said. "He's going to win a lot of modified races before he's through." Defending modified points champion Dan Estremado got off to a rough start on opening night. A big puff of blue smoke billowed out of his car during a heat race, causing Estremado and his crew to fear the worst: a blown engine. Crew chief Bert Beck changed the car's fluids and made some adjustments -- the engine wasn't blown -- and Estremado was able enter the main event. But on the fifth lap, rookie Mike Goodson spun out in front of him, a collision ensued and Estremado was done for the night. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA