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Clair Cup: A History

Clair Cup: A History
By Ben Deatherage
Lebanon, Oregon- The Willamette Speedway will have quite a busy weekend coming up with the annual Clair Cup on Friday, May 25th, and Saturday, the 26th. It is the first time since 2015 since the event has been ran during the months of May. This race is special to everyone at Willamette Speedway as it pays tribute to one of the Pacific Northwest's racing pioneers.

Ran in honor of longtime Willamette Speedway owner/operator Clair Arnold it has become one of the crown jewel Dirt Late Model events of the Western United States producing very large car counts and great racing. The event won the “First Class Promotion Award” at the annual Western Auto Racing Promoters Association workshop in November of 2012.

Although the first Clair Cup was contested in July of 2010 as the first tribute race in honor of Clair Arnold was actually held on Saturday, April 25th shortly after his passing. Taking the lead on lap ten Justin Cady would show the way the rest of the distance at the historic 1/3-mile clay oval. Putting a clinic on the high side of the race track, Cady would win the race by half a lap. It would mark the first win at Willamette for both Justin and his car owners at the time Tom and Sherry Points.

“That night I missed the trophy dash and I remember Rob Mayea doing a Polish victory lap in honor of Clair,” commented Cady, “that meant a lot to us drivers. I also remember sitting in staging for the main event and thought how cool it would be to win my first race on that night. The week before Russ Sell and I had a great battle for twenty laps and Russ won. I remember Clair coming up to me and saying how he wished I would have won. I told him I’d do it next week. And I did.”

In 2010 some big money was put on the line for the winner of the feature and was billed as the Clair H. Arnold Memorial. The race would have a wild finish as on the last lap of the eighty-one-lap main event a crash would take out some top contenders in the backstretch. Three-time track champion and veteran Russ Sell would win the event when it was all said and done.

“That was a cool deal,” said Sell afterward, “That was probably the biggest win of my career. I remember that race was pretty exciting in the end. Clair was a big part of what made Willamette and I feel honored to have won a race in his memory.”

The 2011 edition would see another wild installment with several lead changes taking place. Lompoc, California's Mike Johnson, driving for Rob Mayea, would recover from an early race spin to get the lead around lap fifty-nine. Jeremy Shank would make the pass on lap sixty-five only to lose the lead to Johnson three laps later and Johnson going on to win the race.

2012 saw the race format change up a little bit as well as the name of the event which it is now known as, the Clair Cup. The racing had two separate shows with a bonus being offered up to a driver up to the challenge of winning both nights. The first night witnessed two heavy hitters duel one another for the win. Greg Walters and Rob Mayea put on a fantastic performance in front of a packed house with Mayea earning the triumph.

The next night 2010 winner Russ Sell would take the lead early but had some fast cars hot on his heels. A long green flag run put lapped traffic into the picture and gave an opportunity for both Jeremy Shank and Terry Ferrando to challenge for the lead. Sell would keep the challengers behind and would become the first, and thus far only, driver to win the final night more than once.

Unfortunately, the 2013 edition was completely rained out. It is still the only time that a whole weekend has been washed away.

But both nights would be completed in 2014. Leading the entire distance of the first night was Scio veteran Steve Moore. There were several drivers trying to track down Moore for the lead but none of them could quite make enough of a challenge to make a pass. Moore was able to hold all challengers off and visit victory lane for the first time in Late Model competition at Willamette since September of 2011 at the Mick Gray Memorial.

Covering the field on night two was Portland’s Joey Tanner. After destroying a car the week before, Tanner, managed to take full advantage of his front row starting position to finally conquer the Clair Cup after coming so close in 2011.

2015 would see the first time ever a driver swept the Clair Cup weekend. Brian Cronk would take the lead on lap eleven in the first night and held on to win the feature. He would back it up the following night in exciting fashion after getting to the front in the closing stages of the main.

2016 had Rob Mayea best the field in the preliminary night. Despite not running a full-time schedule Salem chauffeur Jeremy Shank would rise to the occasion in the final night of competition. It is the first time Shank has won the Clair Cup after finishing runner-up in 2012 and posting a second-place finish in the prelim night.

Last year the race would go from to a two-day to a single-night affair. Veteran driver Darren Coffell would add his name to the prestigious list of former winners of this event.

Both nights the Pit Gates open at 1:00 PM, Front Gates 3:30, and Racing at 6:00. Tickets are $14.00 for Adults, Junior/Military/Senior $10.00, Youth (6-12) $5.00, 5 and Under FREE, and a Family Pass (2 Adults and up to 4 Youths) $35.00. For more information log on to www.trophymotorsports.com.

Past Clair Cup Results:
April 25th, 2009 (Ran In Tribute Of Clair)
A-Feature: 1. Justin Cady, 2. Rick Wyatt, 3. Rob Mayea, 4. Jeremy Shank, 5. Russ Sell, 6. Tory Swayngim, 7. Randy Boyd, 8. Darren Coffell, 9. Brian Cronk, 10. Brett McCutcheon, 11. Brett James, 12. Jason Wines, 13. Rob Campos, 14. Mike Miller, 15. Jimmy Schram, 16. Bruce Hipple

July 24th, 2010
A-Feature: 1. Russ Sell, 2. Brian Cronk, 3. John Duty, 4. Billy Workman, 5. Todd Shandy, 6. Jon Kauffman, 7. Tory Swayngim, 8. Cody Sell, 9. Rob Mayea, 10. Rob Campos, 11. Gary Smith, 12. Jeremy Shank, 13. Randy Boyd, 14. Paul Culp, 15. Rick Wyatt, 16. Trevor Glaser, 17. Greg Walters, 18. Darren Coffell, 19. John Campos, 20. Justin Cady.

July 3rd, 2011
A-Feature: 1. Mike Johnson, 2. Rob Mayea, 3. Billy Workman Jr., 4. Jeremy Shank, 5. Casey Vitale, 6. Clay Daly, 7. John Duty, 8. Jimmy Whisler, 9. John Campos, 10. Russ Sell, 11. Mike George, 12. Tim Goodwin, 13. Tony Brakeall, 14. Rick Wyatt, 15. Steve Moore, 16. Mike Miller, 17. Darren Coffell, 18. Joey Tanner, 19. Rob Campos, 20. Todd Shandy

May 26th, 2012
A-Feature: 1. Rob Mayea, 2. Greg Walters, 3. Brady Sell, 4. Russ Sell, 5. Tim Goodwin, 6. John Duty, 7. Jason Wines, 8. Jeremy Shank, 9. Justin Duty, 10. Jimmy Whisler, 11. Casey Vitale, 12. Jimmy Schram, 13. Rob Ireland, 14. Steve Moore, 15. John Campos, 16. Billy Workman Jr., 17. Terry Ferrando, 18. Collen Winebarger, 19. Trevor Glaser, 20. Rick Wyatt
May 27th, 2012
A-Feature: 1. Russ Sell, 2. Jeremy Shank, 3. Greg Walters, 4. Trevor Glaser, 5. John Duty, 6. Casey Vitale, 7. Jason Wines, 8. Jon Kaufman, 9. Tim Goodwin, 10. Tony Brakeall, 11. Brian Cronk, 12. John Campos, 13. Rob Mayea, 14. Billy Workman Jr., 15. Trent Elliott, 16. Joey Tanner, 17. Terry Ferrando, 18. Collen Winebarger, 19. Mike Miller, 20. Rick Wyatt

May 24th, 2014
A Feature: 1. Steve Moore; 2. Rob Mayea; 3. Collen Winebarger; 4. Darren Coffell; 5. Russ Sell; 6. John Duty; 7. Brian Cronk; 8. Justin Duty; 9. Rick Wyatt; 10. Todd Shandy; 11. Thomas Hunziker; 12. Dan Dieble; 13. Tony Brakeall; 14. Joey Tanner; 15. Preston Luckman; 16. John Campos; 17. Todd Sieg; 18. Brian Smith; 19. Rob Campos; 20. Randy Boyd

May 25th, 2014
A Feature: 1. Joey Tanner; 2. John Campos; 3. Collen Winebarger; 4. Russ Sell; 5. Rob Mayea; 6. Casey Vitale; 7. John Duty; 8. Brian Cronk; 9. Darren Coffell; 10. Rick Wyatt; 11. Brian Smith; 12. Thomas Hunziker; 13. Jimmy Schram; 14. Rob Campos; 15. Mike Graham; 16. Todd Shandy; 17. Josh Sim; 18. Justin Duty; 19. Randy Boyd; 20. Cory Hazen

May 23rd, 2015
A Feature: 1. Brian Cronk; 2. Justin Duty; 3. Darren Coffell; 4. Preston Luckman; 5. Randy Boyd; 6. Collen Winebarger; 7. Rob Mayea; 8. Mike George; 9. Tony Brakeall; 10. Doug Davenport; 11. Steve Moore; 12. John Duty; 13. Eric Luckman; 14. Thomas Hunziker; 15. Cory Brooks; 16. Josh Sim; 17. Brian Thompson; 18. Trevor Glaser; 19. Len Waterman; 20. Rob Campos

May 24th, 2015
A Feature: 1. Brian Cronk; 2. John Duty; 3. Justin Duty; 4. Rob Mayea; 5. Darren Coffell; 6. Mike George; 7. Len Waterman; 8. Tyler Brooks; 9. Doug Davenport; 10. Trevor Glaser; 11. Thomas Hunziker; 12. Randy Boyd; 13. Steve Moore

July 2nd, 2016
A Feature: 1. 37-Rob Mayea, ; 2. 30-Jeremy Shank, ; 3. 15-Justin Duty, ; 4. S-Collen Winebarger, ; 5. 97-Greg Walters, ; 6. 31B-Kyle Yeack, ; 7. 29-Brian Cronk, ; 8. 91-Tony Toste, ; 9. 32B-Clay Daly, ; 10. 46-Darren Coffell, ; 11. 9-Rob Campos, ; 12. 38-Thomas Hunziker, ; 13. 111-Joey Tanner, ; 14. 08-Kye Frick, ; 15. U2-Bruce Hipple, ; 16. 74-Dan Deibele, ; 17. 42-Paul Culp, ; 18. 4E-Trent Elliott, ; 19. 5-John Duty, ; 20. 16-Casey Vitale

July 3rd, 2016
A Feature: 1. 30-Jeremy Shank, ; 2. 22-Greg Walters, ; 3. 46-Trevor Glaser, ; 4. 29-Brian Cronk, ; 5. S-Collen Winebarger, ; 6. 5-John Duty, ; 7. 15-Justin Duty, ; 8. 32B-Clay Daly, ; 9. 13-Bricen James, ; 10. 111-Joey Tanner, ; 11. 16-Casey Vitale, ; 12. 21-Steve Moore, ; 13. U2-Bruce Hipple, ; 14. 91-Tony Toste, ; 15. 38-Thomas Hunziker, ; 16. 9-David Schmidt, ; 17. 67-Mike George, ; 18. 37-Rob Mayea, ; 19. 20-Matthew Drager, ; 20. 4E-Trent Elliott

July 8th, 2017
A Feature: 1. 46-Darren Coffell, ; 2. 541RC-Casey Vitale, ; 3. 111-Joey Tanner, ; 4. 38-Thomas Hunziker, ; 5. 13-Bricen James, ; 6. 21-Steve Moore, ; 7. 51-Todd Sieg, ; 8. 94-Randy Boyd, ; 9. 71-Bryan Norton, ; 10. 4E-Trent Elliott, ; 11. 61-Jerry Casey, ; 12. 9-Rob Campos, ; 13. 82-Larry Sharp, ; 14. S-Collen Winebarger, ; 15. 27-Jon Kauffman, ; 16. 29-Brian Cronk

2018 Willamette Speedway Supporters:
Buzz Mitchell Farms
Crockers Cars
Les Schwab Tire Centers
Xtreme Motorsports
Pepsi Co.
Scofield’s Karts & Parts
Boulder Falls Inn
Big Sky Landscaping
AAMCO Transmissions and Total Car Care of Corvallis, Newport, and Lebanon
Lassen RV & Chevy
KGAL SmartTalk 1580
James Gang Pizza
Schram Brothers Excavating
Hoosier Racing Tires
DriverWebsites.com
High Octane Diecast
FinishLine Graphics
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Knot Hole Market
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Coors Light Racing
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Albany & Eastern Railroad Company

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