Kennewick’s Brittney Zamora races to points title

Brittney Zamora knew she had the points title won when she drove across the starting line Sept. 27 at the Wenatchee Valley Super Oval, but that didn’t stop her from wanting more.

Zamora, who graduated from Kennewick High School in June, wove her way through the 21-car field until she caught leader Joe Constance with 25 laps remaining in the Neal Newberry 125.

Zamora passed Constance on lap 123, and held on for her second checkered flag of the year, and her first Northwest Super Late Model Series championship.

“I had a 23-point lead going into the race, and I qualified first, so I got another five points,” said Zamora, the first woman, and the youngest driver, to win a Northwest Super Late Model touring series. “All I had to do was start the race to win. At that point, there was no pressure. I could use my time, move wisely and relax in the car.”

According to 51’s TheThirdTurn.com, Zamora’s title made her just the second female driver in the country to win any Super Late Model touring series title. Shannon Mensch was the first when she won the Westcar Late Model Series in 2006.

The race win put $3,000 in Zamora’s pocket, and series title brought in just under $7,000 and a giant trophy. But don’t think she’s going on a shopping spree. Every penny goes back into her black and green No. 52.

“My whole team is ecstatic right now,” she said. “They have been in racing a long time.”

Zamora, 18, finished the season with two wins and topped the points standing with 380, holding off Jan Evans of Wenatchee (346) and Mitch Kleyn of Quincy (343). Ed Thomsem of Kennewick (301) was fifth.

Zamora was back on the track for the Fall Classic in Yakima last weekend. She started fourth in the 200-lap main event, and was running fifth at the mid-race break, but engine trouble had her finishing 13th.

It wasn’t the first time car troubles derailed her on the track this season.

In early September, she was at a race at the Rocky Mountain Raceway in West Valley City, Utah, when a broken axle with 11 laps remaining forced her to stop for a replacement. She fell from sixth to 11th.

On July 29 at the Park Model Homes 125 in Spokane, Zamora’s front left tire blew on lap 54 and sent her into the wall. She didn’t finish.

“We’ve had our ups and downs,” she said. “But we got through it.”

Zamora raced the last month of the NWSLMS schedule while attending Washington State University Tri-Cities, where she is studying elementary education.

“It was hard missing classes and making up exams,” she said. “I told them I had sports events and they worked with me. On the road I try to focus on my homework and getting it done.”

Zamora made headlines June 17 when she won the Home Insulation Battle of the Burg 125 race at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore.

Zamora’s win in Roseburg was the first ever race win by a female in the series, and at the time, was the first female to lead the points standings.

While Zamora’s long-term goal is to drive on the NASCAR circuit, she said she will continue to drive in some Northwest Super Late Model Series races, and also will add some bigger races to her schedule.

She will race in Las Vegas on Oct. 21 in the Senator’s Cup Fall Classic, then has plans for the 2018 Montana 200 in Kalispell, and the 2018 Summer Showdown in Monroe.

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Kennewick’s Brittney Zamora races to points title."