A pit full of legendary old-school unlimited hydroplanes like the Miss Bardahl and Miss Wahoo are generally visitors to Mahogany & Merlot. Mahogany & Merlot photo

Mahogany & Merlot Invades Chelan, Oct 3-5

CHELAN, Wash. — Imagine a dozen big unlimited hydroplanes thundering through the waters, recreating the action of earlier years. We are talking about boats like Miss Wahoo, Miss Budweiser, Miss Burien, Miss Thriftway, Atlas Van Lines, Pay ‘n Pak and Notre Dame!  These same raceboats, now beautifully restored and preserved, will return to Lake Chelan Oct. 3-5.

Hydro exhibition races will begin early Friday morning (weather permitting!) and continue on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

You will also have the opportunity to purchase a “Pit Pass” to enter Thunder Alley presented by the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum so you can get up close to the boats and talk to the crews!

On Saturday only, Mahogany & Merlot will once again continue along ‘Mahogany Row’ at Don Morse Park & Marina on beautiful Lake Chelan.  Presented by the PNW Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society, meticulously restored Antique & Classic Mahogany Chris-Crafts, Centurys, Gar Woods and other makes from a bygone era will line the docks for your viewing and voting pleasure.

Saturday Night we will host a “Pizza Party in the Pits” - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!  Purchase a Pizza Dinner*, dance or sing along to Live Music by The Superchargers and enjoy beverages from our Waterfront Beer & Wine Garden*!  (additional fees apply)

In between looking at all the hydroplanes and boats, browse through our Vendor Village presented by The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, with vendors offering an array of art, crafts, local produce, gifts, clothing, one of a kind items, vintage goodies and more.  Don’t forget - you can also enjoy all the action from our beautiful Lakefront Beer & Wine Garden! 

There is so much to do at Mahogany & Merlot! Make plans now to come and enjoy a perfect weekend with the perfect entertainment!
Visit: www.mahoganyandmerlot.com.

38th Fall Classic set for Tri-City Raceway Oct. 3-5

NW Motorsports News Service

WEST RICHLAND, Wash. — The purse and prestige have drawn another stellar field of super late model drivers to West Richland, Wash. for the 38th annual “Fall Classic 200” on the half-mile Tri-oval at Tri City Raceway, Oct. 3-5.

Kasey Kleyn drove to victory in the 37th Annual “Fall Classic 200” presented by Desert Food Mart, taking home the $10,000 prize and in the process also became the 2024 Northwest Super Late Model Series champion.
While Klein (7th/184 points) will seek to become a rare repeat FC winner, he’ll face a challenge in catching current point leader, rookie Ryan Phipps (248) to reclaim the NWSLM championship.
Ken Bonney (240), Johvan Dillon (223) and Chris Kalsch (213) are among the teams within better striking distance.

The Fall Classic began in 1988 at Yakima Speedway where Pete Harding took the initial checkered flag. Harding would go on to win three more times in succession (1997-1999) as the race survived both COVID and the closure of Yakima Speedway and relocation to Tri City in 2021.

Other former champs in the field include B.J. Tidrick (2006), Naima Lang (2011, 2012 & 2020) and Donnie Wendt (2022) in the field released by the NWSLM.

The race weekend included feature events for other divisions, including Vintage Modifieds, Modifieds, Pro Late Models, Mini Stocks, and Hobby Stocks. 
Full event information can be found by visiting www.tricityraceway.com.

Fall Classic Winners (thru 2024)
At Yakima Speedway
Year Driver
1988 Pete Harding
1989 Ron Eaton
1990 Chris Hart
1991 Martin Rosler
1992 Ron Eaton
1993 Rick Schultz
1994 Garrett Evans
1995 Kelly Tanner
1996 Ron Eaton
1997 Pete Harding
1998 Pete Harding
1999 Pete Harding
2000 Garrett Evans
2001 John Bender
2002 Garrett Evans
2003 Ken Kaltschmidt
2004 John Zaretzke
2005 Jeff Barkshire
2006 B.J. Tidrick*
2007 Erick Hargraves
2008 Mike Longton
2009 Joey Tanner
2010 Shane Harding
2011 Naima Lang*
2012 Naima Lang*
2013 Cameron Haley
2014 Cameron Haley
2015  Tayler Riddle
2016  Jason Jefferson
2017  Owen Riddle
2018 Jason Fraser
2019  Randy Marshall Jr.
2020 Naima Lang*
At Tri City Raceway
2021 Jason Fraser
2022  Donnie Wenat*
2023 Evan Goetz
2024 Kasey Kleyn*

*in 2025 field

Opportunistic Chase Elliott steals a NASCAR Cup Playoff win at Kansas

Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (September 28, 2025) — In the last few feet of race track in the second overtime Sunday afternoon, Chase Elliott came from oblivion to steal the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET and earn a berth in the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

As his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sped wide open through the final corner on Lap 273 at Kansas Speedway, Elliott’s car bounced off the side of Denny Hamlin’s Toyota on the way to the finish line.
Elliott, who restarted eighth for the final two-lap shootout, got to the stripe 0.069 seconds ahead of Hamlin, who led 159 laps and drove the final stretch of the second Round of 12 Playoff race without benefit of power steering.

“Everything worked out perfect for me,” said Elliott, who picked up his second win of the season, his second at Kansas and the 21st of his career. “Had a great push through (Turns) 1 and 2. That kind of all started with the 6 (Brad Keselowski). Big run off of 2. Seas kind of parted and just was able to keep my momentum up. That was really it…

Hamlin was spent after man-handling his car around the 1.5-mile track in the closing laps of the race.
“Just super disappointing,” said Hamlin, who swept the first and second stages. “I wanted it bad. It would have been 60 (career victories) for me. The team just did an amazing job with the car, just really, really fast.
“Gave me everything I needed. Got the restart I needed. Just couldn’t finish it there on the last corner.”
The good news for Hamlin is that he increased his margin over the current Playoff cut line to 48 points entering next Sunday’s Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. Barring disaster, Hamlin is all but assured of advancing to the Round of 8.

Christopher Bell finished third, followed by pole winner Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace, who led the field to green for the final overtime restart but faded to fifth after battling side-by-side with Hamlin on the final lap.
Despite the fifth-place finish, Wallace leaves Kansas 10th in the standings, 26 points below the elimination line for the next round.

He was tantalizingly close to his second win of the season before John Hunter Nemechek knocked the Ford of Zane Smith into the outside wall in Turn 3 in the first overtime.

Playoff drivers Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick ran sixth and seventh on Sunday but head to Charlotte in very different positions. Larson is 54 points ahead of ninth-place Ross Chastain, while Reddick is 11th in the standings, 29 points below the cut line.