Thursday, July 23, 2015

Stephens, Rocha prepare for Bear River Casino Hotel 125

Blaine Rocha tests at Redwood Acres Raceway in preparation for next weekend's
Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series Bear River Casino Hotel 125

By Matthew J. Sullivan

NTS Motorsports drivers Blaine Rocha and Parker Stephens took to the track Wednesday Redwood Acres Raceway. The two drivers were testing in preparation for the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series Bear River Casino Hotel 125 on August 1st.

Stephens hails from Olympia, Washington and is the son of former NASCAR Northwest Tour Series champion, Dirk Stephens. Parker turned 18 in June and won the most recent Tri-Track Super Late Model Series race at Evergreen Speedway on July 11th. Stephens also finished fifth in the Coors Light Summer Showdown at Evergreen which attracted some of the top late model drivers in the country. He is a rookie in the SRL series this year and currently sits 10th in the point standings.

Blaine Rocha is only 17 years old and is an Oakdale, California resident. Rocha put in an impressive performance in the Winter Showdown event at Kern County Raceway with a fourth place effort. Rocha also raced in the Coors Light Summer Showdown but was the victim of a multi-car pileup that ruined his race after only two laps. Rocha is in his second season in the SRL Series and is 11th in the standings.

Greg Voight is teammate to both drivers and currently sits atop the Spears SRL Southwest Tour point standings by 30 markers over rookie, Ryan Cansdale. Eureka driver, Brandon White is third and was the winner of the big Firecracker 100 event at the Acres on July 4th. Tracy Bolin and Jeff Bishofberger round out the top five in SRL standings.

The Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series joins the roadrunners, bombers, mini stocks and Thunder Roadsters for the event on August 1st. Joining Rocha and Stephens will be some of the top super late model drivers on the west coast will in what will be the SRL’s second visit to the track, the first since 2013. A limited amount of pre-sale tickets for the Bear River Casino Hotel 125 can be purchased at Humboldt Motorsports. More information for the race can be found on the track’s official website, www.racingtheacres.com .