Jun. 23—ALGER — After a one-year hiatus because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup is ready for a return that is likely to feature warm weather and a large field of drivers.
Skagit Speedway’s crown jewel event is set to kick off Thursday, and track owner Steve Beitler said the sprint car field is looking like it may be one of the biggest in years, with more than 50 drivers signed up and indications the field may top 60.
“The popularity has grown over the years. Everyone wants to come and try to win. And the weather’s nice this year. That always helps when you have a solid forecast. People know they can travel 10 to 15 hours, and there’ll be great weather,” he said.
In addition to the sprint car field, the event will also include the midget class, which Beitler said will also have a robust field likely north of 35 competitors.
The speedway is allowed 50% capacity in the grandstands, which Beitler said will allow for plenty of fans for all three days. He said the speedway and fans will need to follow safety guidelines.
With the temperate forecast to be in the 80s or 90s, Beitler has another type of safety in mind, and hopes fans will, too.
“The biggest thing we’ll push this weekend is to stay hydrated, sunscreen … Things like that will be important,” he said.
Fans out at the speedway this weekend will see a sprint car field topped with American Sprint Car Series drivers, as well as Skagit Speedway drivers and competitors from far-flung locations such as New Zealand, Texas and Oklahoma.
The field is expected to include a familiar face to Skagit Speedway fans: J.J. Hickle, a Pacific Northwest-based driver who has raced at the speedway before and is coming off a win at the Fred Brownfield Classic in Grays Harbor.
Hickle earned one of the more startling Skagit Speedway wins in recent years with a victory at the 2019 Summer Nationals, blasting past several competitors for the win.
He’s currently the ASCS circuit points leader with three feature wins and 10 finishes in the top 10.
Hickle will face a stacked group of competitors, not just in fellow ASCS drivers but in local stalwarts such as Cam Smith, who is coming off a 360 track championship in 2019 and has three feature wins this season.
Smith finished atop the ASCS-heavy field Saturday at the Fred Brownfield Classic before a flip on Sunday that caused him and his crew to have a busy week heading into Dirt Cup.
“We won Saturday night and then crashed and destroyed the car on Sunday. Now we’re building a brand-new race car this weekend,” Smith said. “We hope it’s close to what we’ve had all year …. We should be close enough to be competitive.”
If Smith is close to previous performances, he should be a tough competitor. Not only did he have a sterling performance in Grays Harbor, but he led wire-to-wire to win a feature race the previous week at Skagit Speedway.
“We wanted to be really good for when Dirt Cup and the Fred Brownfield came around. We spent a lot of time working on that this offseason,” he said of himself and his crew.
Smith said, “Dirt Cup is always unique. I grew up as a kid watching it. Now to get to race in it over the years is very cool. The format, the competition level from the guys across the country makes it a marquee event. We want to defend hometown turf when these guys come to town.”
Anyone who can’t attend in person can stream the event at skagitspeedway.tv.
— Reporter Trevor Pyle: 360-416-2156, tpyle@skagitpublishing.com, Twitter: @goskagit, Facebook.com/bytrevorpyle