Cress Family Breaks Through at WVSO in the “Neal Newberry 125”

The 2025 Luke Powers Autism Race is Sept. 20 at Northport International Raceway where Richard Davies and his superstock return to defend the title. Richard Davies photo

For Immediate Release: Northwest Super Late Model Series Media Relations

Spokane, WA – After 25 attempts in Super Late Model racing at the Wenatchee Valley Super-Oval (WA), it seemed like Alan Cress was never going to make it to Victory Lane. That all changed for the two-time Northwest Super Late Model Series presented by Knottical Marine winner on Saturday night, in the “Neal Newberry 125” at the ¼-mile asphalt oval. Cress grabbed the lead from Johvan Dillon on 69, when the “Leonard Evans Memorial 150” winner stopped on the back stretch with apparent mechanical issues and soldiered on to score a gratifying $5,000 win.

“I am just sky-high right now”, Cress exclaimed after his victory! “I have been trying for so long. I cannot believe it has finally happened. I felt like it would never come to me here. Thank goodness! I appreciate all the people who have stuck with me forever to help me here. I knew it was going to come one day, I just had to be super patient.”

Cress’ patience was helped by drawing the Pole Position, after qualifying second in the 20-car field. Johvan Dillon scored his first series Fast Time Award and pulled the number three position, as the top eight drivers all drew for position. Championship leader Ryan Phipps would start second with Ethan Ebert fourth. Zach Riehl, Glenn Knutson, Jeff Jefferson, and Bob Presley rounded out the top eight starters.

Cress got the jump at the Troy Blanton green flag, as Dillon charged to second, with Phipps slotted behind Zach Riehl in fourth. Dillon began his charge, pressuring Cress for the lead by the fifth stanza. The pressure paid off for Dillon, as he grabbed the lead on lap 13 with an inside move. Meanwhile, Ebert was trying to recover from a slow start, grabbing sixth from teammate Bryce Bezanson on lap 21. Three laps later, however, Ebert spun with Bezanson unable to avoid contact bringing out the first caution.

The restart saw Dillon continue to lead Cress, with Phipps able to get around Riehl five laps later, as Bezanson went around for the second caution on lap 43. Three laps later, Bezanson’s nightmare evening ended in the Turn 1 wall, after tangling with Dave Garber to bring out the red flag, ending both drivers’ night. The restart saw the field settle in with Dillon leading Cress, Phipps, Jeff Jefferson, and now Bob Presley.

The turning point of the race saw Dillon pull off on the backstretch for a yellow on lap 69, with Cress grabbing the top spot. The Stayton, OR driver was taken by surprise, as he recalled his reaction to the occurrence.

“I didn’t know what was going on and I was a little freaked out. I wasn’t sure if he oiled the track down, or hit the kill switch, or the car just died, or what. It was tough luck for him. I don’t know if I would have got around him. We were about the same speed, and I was saving there until 25 to go or so, then I kind of cracked it open. I just don’t know if I could have got around him.”

Dillon took the blame for the caution, as what he thought was a motor issue ended up being an anaquas problem, that may have cost him the win.

“It just went up in a cloud of smoke, and it was a rookie mistake, as all gauges were fine, and it just must have been a giant piece of rubber that caught on fire”, Dillon admitted. “Something happened and I thought I smelled oil, but it didn’t end up working that way, and I pulled it in. It cost me a bunch of spots. By the end of it, I ended up burning up my stuff trying to get back through.”

The biggest incident of the race came three laps after the caution, as tight racing saw Glenn Knutsen and Terry Halverson making contact,with Halverson defending the third position. Halverson went around in Turn 4 as Knutsen, Phipps, Presley, Nick Gibson, and Jason Robinson were involved in the red. The field went back to green, with Cress leading and Jeff Jefferson up to second, participating in his first race since 2019. Dillon was the man on the move, however, as he dispatched of Ethan Ebert on lap 76 for fourth, and grabbed third from Riehl three laps later. Ebert dropped Riehl to fifth, following Dillon. It took four more laps for Dillon to supplant Jefferson for the runner-up position, as he took up chase of Cress.

Ebert continued his recovery from his earlier spin, challenging his car owner, and teammate Jefferson for third. After several laps of nose to tail action, Ebert grabbed the spot on lap 88. In the meantime, Dillon was reeling in Cress for the lead, cutting the advantage to one second with 15 laps to go.

“My spotter was keeping me abreast, and our hope was that he was burning his stuff up to get to me”, Cress recalled of the closing Dillon. “As soon as I cleared Jeff (Jefferson) on that last restart, I wanted to get as big as a gap as I could, just in case he could get to me in clear traffic.”

But that was as close as Dillon would get, as he began to fall back into the clutches of Ebert.
“That was all I had”, Dillon recalled. “With about 10 (laps) to go, I ran out of tire. That was probably the hardest I have ever driven, trying to get back up through everybody as quick as I could.”

Ebert reached the back bumper of Dillon on lap 118 and applied heavy pressure, dipping inside the son of former NASCAR Northwest Tour champion John Dillon. On the final lap, Ebert was able to wedge his Super Late Model up to the door of Dillon in Turns 1 and 2. The duo raced side by side down the backstretch and into Turn 3. As the battle exited Turn 4, Ebert pushed a little too hard, getting sideways and spinning across the finish line in dramatic style, finishing third.

At the end of 125 laps, Cress had grabbed his third career NWSLMS victory and first at WVSO. Dillon, who had won the “Leonard Evans Memorial 150” earlier in the season at WVSO, was second. Ethan Ebert continued his improvement behind the wheel of an asphalt Super Late Model, after winning the South Sound Speedway (WA) track championship, was third. Three-time NASCAR Elite Division Northwest Tour champion Jeff Jefferson was fourth and 2025 “Apple Cup 125” and “Montana 200” winner Zach Riehl ended up fifth.

Ethan Ebert, who finished third, had an eventful day. The Tucson, AZ driver was freight trained at the start of the event but drove back into the top half dozen by lap 21. A spin on lap 24, and contact with his teammate, put him a lap down and also with right front damage. He got the Lucky Dog Award, at a later caution, and was back inside the top 10 before lap 60. He had multiple battles getting to the front, including with his car owner Jeff Jefferson.

“It definitely wasn’t our plan, that’s for sure, but we got it done and we were able to still get a top three position”, Ebert stated as to his circuitous route to a podium finish. He continued, recalling his clash and contact with Jeff Jefferson in his battle for third. “That was definitely an accident, but I just try to be careful, and I want to be known as a clean driver. Clean racing is more fun than dirty racing. You don’t want to just dump somebody. We tried to get under him and tried to get under him and finally he let us go, or so it looked like.”

“We just kept hauling from there”, Ebert continued, recalling his final charge to the finish. “Johvan got by us pretty clean and we were hunting him down. The last lap and the last corner there, we tried to pass him, and I couldn’t hold it, and we slid across the finish line. It was a lot of fun, we learned a lot, and we are just getting more experience as we head to Tri-Cities.”

The next event for the Northwest Super Late Model Series will be the $10,000-to-win “Fall Classic 200” at Tri-City Raceway RMEC. The largest field of the season is expected on October 5th. Kasey Kleyn will look to defend his win from 2024, as the NWSLMS completes their 12th season of action.

Results: 1. Alan Cress, 2. Johvan Dillon, 3. Ethan Ebert, 4. Jeff Jefferson, 5. Zach Riehl, 6. Christopher Kalsch, 7. Jason O’Neil, 8. Terry Halverson, 9. Andrew Riehl, 10. Nick Gibson, 11. Ken Bonney, 12. Dan Lowther, 13. Glenn Knutson, 14. Ryan Phipps,. 15. Bob Presley, 16. Jason Robinson, 17. Dave Garber, 18. Bryce Bezanson, 19. Logan Cole, 20. Ray Clever

About the Northwest Super Late Model Series
The Northwest Super Late Model Series is the premier regional touring Super Late Model series in the Northwest. The series has many valued partners including Knottical Marine, RaceCals, Hoosier Racing Tire, McGunegill Engine Performance, AR Bodies, Penske Racing Shocks, Five Star Bodies, AFCO Racing / Longacre Racing Products, Franks Radio Service, Jefferson Racing, Champion Auto Group, Atomic Screen Printing, Zero Handicap, The Lester Brothers, Joes Racing Products, and The Ti Company. For more information on the series visit www.nwslms.com or on Facebook and Twitter.
Story, PC: K. Peters, NWSLMS Media

Luke Powers race aids autism fundraising

Cory Schrader celebrates his modified class win Sept. 20 at Northport International Raceway and its second annual Luke Powers race for autism. Another winner was the effort to raise money to combat autism which earned $1,150 from fans and sponsors, up from $800 in 2024.