Oval track racer Zach Bristol of Snohomish gives whoops of joy in September when he won the track’s Hornets class title, which he clinched before ultimately taking national.
Emily Hobbs photo, used with permission from Evergreen Speedway
SNOHOMISH — A local race car driver who grew up racing at Monroe’s Evergreen Speedway has taken home a national championship from the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
Thirty-five-year-old Snohomish native and Snohomish High School alum Zach Bristol won the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Division V national championship after achieving five victories in 15 races over the weekly series season, which for 12 of those 15, he finished in the top-five. In addition to the national title, Bristol also claimed the series’ West region Division V championship.
Bristol is the first driver in Evergreen Speedway’s 70-year history to secure a national title. The championship is decided by who accumulated the most points in local races against the national spread of racers each running their home tracks, and the divisions are broken out by category of car. Bristol races in the Hornets class at Evergreen.
Winning the national title “means the world to me,” Bristol said. “There never really is a national champion on the West Coast, especially in the Northwest, so it feels special. Especially being the first national champ in the 70 years of Evergreen.”
He’s flying to Charlotte for NASCAR’s end-of-season banquet for regional champions Nov. 21.
Bristol has been a fixture as a racer at Evergreen Speedway for 16 years, and off it for longer. Lately it’s been coming up roses. He earned his second consecutive Hornets championship this season.
He grew up watching his grandfather, Paul Townsend, father, Tim Bristol, and sisters Nikki and Breanna race here.
“Our family grew up racing at Evergreen Speedway, and we both found ourselves at the track as newborns. Zach always had an eye for detail, and I always thought he would someday become a racing announcer,” said Bristol’s sister Morgan Brockmann. Eventually, Zach found his way onto the track with Morgan’s help.
“Zach worked hard, and together we built one of his first Hornet cars that was donated to us from a family friend,” Brockmann said.
Brockmann and Bristol’s family always knew he had talent.
“I have always known he had driving talent, from our early days of bike racing in the neighborhood to taking our dad on at the go-kart track, but now he was able to show that talent where it really mattered,” Brockmann said.
Bristol won the Evergreen Hornet championship in 2023, fulfilling a dream for him and his family, who have raced at Evergreen for three generations. This achievement brought new focus to their season as they realized both the national and track championships were within reach. At the season’s last race, he charged to the front. His family was moved to tears when he finished that final lap, making his dream a reality.
“The last race was interesting. We had wrapped up the local championship the week before and thought we were done with the national points. We’re like third or something like that. Came to find out the last race was for national points so went out to run it. It’s a different format with pill drawing instead of qualifying, and we pulled a number that put us pretty far back, but it was also a long race. We slowly made our way to the front,” said Bristol. “Wasn’t sure of the exact finish I needed to win the national title, so was pressing but tried to be patient at the same time. At that time the two leaders got together and we took the lead. Thankfully held off the field and won and got the news after that we had won the national championship,” Bristol said.
“No race season is easy, and watching him overcome obstacles with resilience reminded me of the amazing role model he is for my kids and the next generation of drivers,” Brockmann said.
Bristol is an elevator mechanic for his day job.
More successes:
• Evergreen Speedway Super Stock Figure 8 racer Quenton Borreson won the West region Division IV championship this year. Fellow Evergreen competitors filled the top four in the West region Division IV championship: Sheridan Vincent came second; Mackenzie Deitz, third; and Jeff Talbert, fourth.
They’ll be honored at the speedway’s annual awards banquet Jan. 18.
