Outlaw Pro Stocks, SODCA Dwarf Cars A Part Of
Southern Oregon Speedway In 2016
Since the gates opened for racing at Southern Oregon Speedway back in 1996, Pro Stocks and Dwarf Cars have been a part of the racing program on the fast three-tenths mile clay oval. As the track enters the 2016 season, the Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks and the SODCA Dwarf Cars will remain an important part of the schedule at the speedway.
When it comes to past super stars of the Pro Stock division, it doesn't get any better than Medford racing legend Jim Walker Jr. and Frank Word III Word won an incredible eight championships in a nine year span. In fact, he was so dominant that past division champion Brian Poppa, who had also won a Modified title at the speedway, had to come back to the Pro Stocks to snap Word's title winning streak at four. Word went on to win four more after that to reach his total of eight.
In the modern area, the Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks Association is in their fifth season, and they are coming off of a season that featured an incredible three car battle between Scott Flowers and second generation sensation Jeffrey Hudson. Flowers seemed to have it within his grasp, but it slipped away on the final night as the talented teen Hudson claimed the championship hardware. Scott Flowers settled for second while James Flowers grabbed the final podium position in third.
Two hard chargers of the division that we hope to be seeing out on the track this year along with 2015's top trio are veterans Dave Everson and Ken Irving. Everson wrapped up the 2015 campaign last year with an impressive win at Southern Oregon Speedway, and he was also the champion in 2013. Irving hasn't been outside the Top 5 since the association was founded. He was fourth last year and second to Everson in 2013. However, the highlight for the crafty veteran was his 2012 and 2014 championships.
Sometimes referred to as Limited Late Models at other tracks, the Pro Stocks feature some close Stock Car racing on a budget more reasonable than the Late Models that have met on rough times due to the cost of the cars. Generally, the class brings no less than 12 cars to the track, and they hit the 20's at times last year. The car count and the quality of racer within the ranks makes the Outlaw Pro Stocks very popular with the fans.
John Cobb is anticipated this season. In his initial campaign with the group last season, he finished in a tie with Irving for fourth. Steve Borror was another racer who tasted victory last season, and the Top 10 ranked competitor should be competing this year along with other notables, such as Scott Bennett, Matt Harlow, Rocky Nash and Dave Quick.
As with the Pro Stocks, the SODCA Dwarf Cars do make occasional visits to Yreka and other places, but they call Southern Oregon Speedway their home track. The Dwarf Cars have had some amazing competitors through the years, and it's hard to get much better than past champions like Jon DeBeneditti and Gary Fitzsimmons. DeBeneditti has gone on to be a star of IMCA Modified racing, but there are some incredible racers within the Dwarf Car ranks.
And one reason for these competitors to want to be there is because of the Annual West Coast Dwarf Car Nationals event that SODCA hosts at Southern Oregon Speedway on August 4-6. The very best drivers on the West Coast flock to White City to be a part of this gathering. The locals have to be on their game as the already high talent level gets taken up another notch.
In 2014, Josh King won a grueling battle with Ryan Smith for the SODCA championship. It came down to the final week with King winning by just 17 points. In his bid to repeat, he found the competition just as tough when young Camden Robustelli shadowed him all through the season. King did repeat. Robustelli was a close second on the heels of his fourth place season of 2014. One of Camden's bug moments came two years earlier with a big win in the National event at Santa Maria. This year, he'll also be racing a Sprint Car.
Smith had third for a while last year before falling back to sixth. Third ended up in the hands of another talented racer named Fred Hay. Hay was a feature winner on the circuit last year and ranked fifth a year earlier. He could be the driver to make a bid to thwart King's effort for three in a row, which hasn't been done since DeBenedotti did it in the late 1990's. Calvin Morton is another driver coming off of back to back Top 5 seasons, and he could step it up a notch this year.
Brock Peters was fifth last season and should be another driver to watch in the hunt. There's another rising young star in the group named Kaycee Sheeler. Sheeler improved from tenth to eighth last season and was a threat to win a feature on a few occasions. She just may do it this season. Others to watch for include Rob Gergle, Travis Gergle and Jesse Merriman.
Dwarf Car and Pro Stock racing is alive and well in Southern Oregon, and both classes continue to produce great car counts. Often times, the SODCA Dwarf Cars had the high count at the track last year. It all comes out on the race track where the racing in both divisions is exciting. That should continue to be the case. For further information on the goings on at Southern Oregon Speedway, check the official www.sospeedway.com website.
Pro Stock Champions
1996 Scott Lenz
1997 Jim Walker Jr.
1998 Jim Walker Jr.
1999 Brian Poppa
2000 Brad Alfrey
2001 Jim Walker Jr.
2002 Frank Word III
2003 Frank Word III
2004 Frank Word III
2005 Frank Word III
2006 Brian Poppa
2007 Frank Word III
2008 Frank Word III
2009 Frank Word III
2010 Frank Word III
2011 Dustin Knight
2013 Dave Everson
2012 Ken Irving
2013 Dave Everson
2014 Ken Irving
2015 Jeffrey Hudson
Dwarf Car Champions
1998 Jon DeBenedetti
1999 Jon DeBenedetti
2000 Jon DeBenedetti
2001 Gary Fitzsimmons
2002 Gary Fitzsimmons
2003 Dan Van Acker
2004 Crash Jackson
2005 Jerry Apland
2006 Tom Palazollo
2007 Jim Harsha
2008 Kelly Gutches
2009 Greg Denton
2010 Kelly Gutches
2011 R.J. McGahuey
2012 R.J. McGahuey
2013 C.J. Puttnam
2014 John King
2015 Josh King
Hornets To Swarm Southern Oregon Speedway In 2016
In auto racing, you have to start some place, and the easiest place to start at Southern Oregon Speedway is the Hornet division. This season, it will be the third classification of Four Cylinder Stock Car racing at the speedway. The Hornets, sometimes referred to as Four Bangers at other race tracks, began at the three-tenth mile clay oval track in 2014.
The concept of the entry level division is nothing new. Decades ago, many tracks only ran one class of race car and could pack the pits with cars. Hardtops, Midgets and Super Modifieds ruled the speedways. Eventually, the early Model Stock Car was born as a second, entry level division at many tracks, and it evolved into the Late Model through the years as Street Stocks and then Hobby Stocks became the favorite entry level class of speedways everywhere.
Over the past decade or two, more race tracks started to see what others saw in Mini Stock racing. Southern Oregon Speedway opened its gates in 1996 and included a Mini Stock division as part of the program. They continue to be a part of the program 21 years later. Heading into the 2014 season, it was decided that an even cheaper, "bare bones" Mini Stock class was needed, and that was the Hornet class.
A line in the original rule book that sums up the philosophy of the Hornet division reads, "Cars must remain Factory Stock. These are intended to be cars that we race, not race cars."
These are Four Cylinder vehicles. Cars are to be no more than 104 wheel base. Trucks to be no bigger than 108 wheel base. They must be stock frame, body, engine and suspension to the make and model of the vehicle. No alterations, modifications or additions allowed. This is a class designed for the novice to get into racing and learn a little without breaking the bank to do it.
During that first season, about a half dozen cars were built and competed at various times. Robert Jones, Dale Tarp and Tyler Womack divided the wins amongst themselves. Womack was a winner late in the season. Tarp grabbed three wins, and the dominant Jones had six victories. Not surprisingly, Jones left with the championship hardware.
It seemed like last season saw the division sort of fly in under the radar, but there were actually ten different cars to compete and six car fields were reached on multiple occasion after a slow start. Drew Fielder won three times, but the points were at least a little closer as second place Mikey Johnson came on strong at the end. There were more winners as Lon Fox, Jason Peeble and Brian Dickens each got a win of their own.
Promoter Mike McCann is hoping to see this division have a breakout year with more drivers joining the competition. To meet that end, a more relaxed schedule of six race dates was created to make it easier for more racers to support the races. It also allows the track to rotate other Mini Stock classes to give all of the racers a chance to recover and prepare for the next race.
The first race is scheduled for May 14 with other dates booked on June 4, June 18, July 30, August 20 and September 17. Optimism is high for a good season for this division and more new cars on the race track. For further information on this division and other happenings at Southern Oregon Speedway, check the official website at www.sospeedway.com.
Hornets 2015
Drew Fielder 281 (3)
Mikey Johnson 202
Neal Coaty 159
Jason Peeble 113 (1)
Garrett Fredrickson 94
Lon Fox 66 (1)
Brian Dickens 59 (1)
Bob Burkett 56
Heathen Menze1 53
Devin Weiser 52
Hornets 2014
Robbie Jones 418 (6)
Dale Tarp 294 (3)
Tyler Womack 267 (1)
Dale Tarp 114
Elizabeth Shaylor 58
Tanton Swaim 58
Arien Heath 54
Robbie Jones 53
Alan Danielson 52
Hornet Schedule
May 14
June 4
June 18
July 30
August 20
September 17
