Behar to test with Rev Racing
The honors continue to roll in for Otis Orchards driving sensation, Nicole Behar, as NASCAR announced Thursday that the newly crowned HyDrive Late Model champion has been selected to take part in its Drive for Diversity program.
As one of 20 drivers taking part in the three-day test session held in front of officials with Rev Racing – the team that enters the selected winners in series such as the K&N Pro Series and Whelen All-American division – the 15-year-old Behar has an opportunity to showcase her talents on and off the track.
Behar is one of three drivers from the Northwest to be chosen, joining Idaho’s Hannah Newhouse and Vancouver’s Sam Wright in the sport’s program aimed at giving young women and minorities entries into stock car racing at the highest levels.
Past Drive for Diversity drivers include reigning NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion and current Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year points leader, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch Racing’s Truck Series driver Darrell Wallace Jr., and Sergio Pena, who has raced in both of NASCAR’s K&N coastal divisions.
Scheduled to take place at Langley Speedway in Virginia, Behar and the selected participants will demonstrate their abilities on the track, with Rev Racing’s crew and during interview sessions with various NASCAR and other racing executives.
Behar brings a background in go-karts, Baby Grands and Late Models, as well as selected starts in the Northwest Modified Series to the tryout process.
“I am coming off a great season and am hoping to go there and do my best. I would like to stand out among the drivers and believe this is a great opportunity to learn and hopefully succeed in my racing career,” she said.
Late Model racing in the Northwest wraps up this weekend with the running of the Yakima Speedway Fall Classic, a race which has one Spokane winner (Rick Schultz) and is hotly contested among the best short-track drivers in the region.
Leading the Inland Empire charge at the chance to grab Fall Classic checkers will be multi-time Inland Northwest Super Stock Association champion Dave Garber.
Garber has had a strong 2013 season with a main-event victory and a sixth-place finish in the Late Model division championship standings at Montana Raceway Park, a top-three finish in this year’s Idaho 200 and a top-10 finish in this summer’s Montana 200.
Also scheduled to be part of the weekend’s racing action will be championship races for the West Coast Street Stock Series and the Northwest Pro 4 Alliance along with a 50-lap Hobby Stock main event. More information: yakimaspeedway.us
Little enjoys success
Jesse Little leaves the NASCAR K&N Pro Series September schedule in the rearview with plenty of success heading into the season finale at Road Atlanta on Oct. 18.
Averaging a top-10 finish in his last eight series starts, the third-generation NASCAR driver and son of Spokane native Chad Little has tied Gray Gaulding for the Rookie of the Year points lead along with positioning himself solidly inside the top-10 in the drivers championship standings.
Little, 16, plans to close out the 2013 season with the Georgia road race, compete in the K&N Pro Series West season finale at Phoenix in November then focus on the opportunity to compete in selected NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next year.
Little also plans to run a full season on the K&N Pro Series in 2014.
Follow all of the region’s racing news at www.spokesman.com/blogs /keepingpace. To reach Doug Pace, email him at racingnewssource@ gmail.com