Alan Cress charges late for first CARS Tour Northwest win at Wenatchee

Alan Cress won the second race of the 2026 CARS Tour Northwest season Saturday night, taking the Treetop 150 Leonard Evans Memorial at Wenatchee Valley Super Oval.

The Stayton, Oregon native charged late to secure his first win in the inaugural season, holding off Vito Cancilla and Kasey Kleyn over the closing laps in a race that featured multiple cautions, red flags and restarts. The event marked the first CARS Tour West or Northwest race held at the quarter-mile track.

“Halfway through the race, I didn’t think we had anything for anybody,” Cress said. “Then it just came to life. Thanks to Trevor Christiani Racing and Mike Barrett for believing in me to race his car.”

In their first race as a team, Cress started tenth and steadily worked his way through the field as the group found victory lane by the time the checkered flag fell.

“I got a phone call one day from Mike Barrett telling me he had a brand new JOES Chassis and asked me if I wanted to drive it,” Cress said. “I said heck yeah, but only if I can get Trevor Christiani on board. Trevor came on board and it all worked out.”

Keelan Harvick earned the pole earlier in the afternoon and led the field of 24 to green, while Kole Raz worked his way into second.

The first caution flew on Lap 13 after Sydney Hamlin spun in Turn 3, one of several early incidents that began to stack up as drivers fought for track position on restarts.

Raz was penalized shortly after for jumping the restart, and more trouble followed as Bob Presley spun from 10th on Lap 15.

On Lap 18, Garrett Evans made contact with Haeden Plybon, giving both cars heavy damage and bringing out a red flag for cleanup after oil was discovered on the racing surface. Plybon entered the race second in points and continued in the race with heavy damage but ultimately finished 16th.

Evan Goetz was later identified as the source for oil after his gear cover came off, ending his night early.

On the Lap 19 restart, Zach Riehl powered around Harvick on the outside to take the lead.

Harvick stayed within reach, closing back in by Lap 41 as Kleyn joined the battle up front as the trio ran nose to tail.

Riehl slipped in oil on Lap 45, allowing Harvick and Kleyn to go three wide briefly, with Harvick emerging with the lead before another caution flew for oil. The race’s second red flag followed after Chase Gardner dropped fluid on the track, ending his evening in 21st.

On the very same lap, Chad Fitzpatrick spun in Gardner’s oil in Turn 4. He had worked his way up to ninth after starting in the rear, transferring into the feature after finishing second to Gardner in the LCQ.

Kleyn took control on Lap 54 with a bump to Harvick off Turn 2, then began to build a gap over the field as the race started to settle into a rhythm.

Trouble struck points leader Thomas Stanford on Lap 72, as engine issues forced him to pit from inside the top five, ending his night early and opening the door in the early-season championship picture.

A competition caution on Lap 90 reset the field, allowing teams to refuel and make adjustments for the run to the finish.

Harvick chose the outside lane on the restart but slipped back to third, while Riehl mounted a challenge to Kleyn for the lead.

By Lap 95, Cress had worked his way into the top three, making slight contact with Harvick while working his way forward.

He moved past Riehl for second by Lap 105 and began closing in on Kleyn for the lead.

A late-race incident on Lap 121 reshuffled everything. After laps of hard racing, Harvick made contact with Ethan Ebert off Turn 2, sending the No. 62 spinning and to the back of the pack.

On the ensuing restart, officials ruled Kleyn jumped the start, sending him back a row and handing the lead to Cress.

Harvick’s night continued to unravel after tagging Ken Bonney in Turn 3, sustaining heavy front end damage that sent the young teenager to the pits, ending his night in 17th after starting on pole.

Bonney found himself in the middle of late-race incidents, getting together with Sydney Hamlin multiple times over the closing laps as both drivers battled for position deeper in the field.

The final caution of the evening occurred on Lap 139 after Bonney and Fitzpatrick made contact off Turn 2, sending Fitzpatrick into the grass.

Cress and Riehl battled side-by-side for the lead on the following restart, with Cress getting clear after the pair raced door to door for multiple laps.

He maintained control on the final restart and pulled away as the field battled behind him.

Cancilla, Riehl and Kleyn fought for the remaining podium spots in the closing laps, with Cancilla barely beating Kleyn at the line for second in a photo finish.

“I love this track,” Cancilla said. “It’s a lot like the tracks we have back home. I’m glad to have a track that I’m familiar with even without ever being here before. I’m really thankful for the Rackley WAR guys, they put this car together, and they made it a hot rod.”

After leading the most laps, Kleyn settled for third after his restart penalty.

“I felt like I was pretty consistent, just really unfortunate that happened,” Kleyn said. “It’s good hard racing, it was fun. We didn’t tear up any cars. We got to battle it out and I love doing it. Congratulations to Alan, he’s one guy who, if I’m out racing, he’s one phone call away if we need help, so he’s just huge. Congrats to him.”

Ethan Ebert finished fourth, while Zach Riehl battled in the closing laps to round out the top five

CARS Tour Northwest Pro Late Models- Treetop 150 Leonard Evans Memorial
Wenatchee Valley Super Oval
April 23, 2026

1. Alan Kress
2. Vito Cancilla
3. Kasey Kleyn
4. Ethan Ebert
5. Zach Riehl
6. Andrew Riehl
7. Wyatt Gardner
8. Kole Raz
9. Michael Knutson
10. Sydney Hamlin
11. Chad Fitzpatrick
12. Logan Cole
13. Ryley Seibert
14. Ken Bonney
15. Terry Halverson
16. Jason O’Neil
17. Keelan Harvick
18. Casey Jeske
19. Haeden Plybon
20. Thomas Stanford
21. Chase Gardner
22. Bob Presley
23. Garrett Evans
24. Evan Goetz