Biffle throws weight behind Oregon crate series
NASCAR driver Greg Biffle has never forgotten his early days of racing across the Northwest, where the path to NASCAR is bumpy at best. In a nod to his roots, Biffle announced Feb. 26 that he has become part owner of an Oregon dirt track and has formed a Dirt Late Model series to help budding racers across the region.
“It’s more about bringing some recognition to these racetracks and kind of giving back to that series and providing a good platform for guys to come out and race on Friday and Saturday night,” Biffle said of his new ventures. “Both of the racetracks I won championships at are gone now. Portland Speedway and Tri Cities Raceway are both extinct.”
Biffle is now part owner of Sunset Speedway in Banks, Ore., a quarter-mile oval outside Portland. The track will host 35 events this season, which begins April 10. He also announced the formation of the DAA Crate Late Model Series presented by Sherwin Williams, which will run 22 events on six tracks with a $25,000 season points fund.
“A lot of great things are happening for the guys out in the Northwest,” said Biffle, whose brother Jeff competes in Dirt Late Model racing. “I really felt like I wanted to get involved in grassroots racing and it’s important because that’s where all of our feeder guys come from — mechanics and drivers — for the Camping World Truck, Nationwide and Cup Series. It was important for me to get back to where I grew up and support this series.”
Biffle joins Tony Stewart, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace as track promoters, and had discussions with all of them in the year he’s been working on putting the deals together.
Stewart, who owns famed Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, praised Biffle for committing to help local racers.
“It’s pretty cool to see another guy giving back to his roots and supporting an area he’s very familiar with,” Stewart said. “It’s always a challenge. If it was easy, every promoter in the country would never have any worries. But the good thing is somebody like Greg is committed to making it work. We’ve had conversations for over a year now that he was interested in doing it, so it’s something he’s passionate about and that’s half the battle.”
The new series is sponsored by DAA Northwest, a wholesale auto auction in Spokane, Wash., and Sherwin Williams.
