Friday, September 30, 2016

Pit Stops - Jefferson Edition

Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion
Can Be Heard HERE 

DCRR Racing Radio Show
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Pit Stops - Jefferson Edition
 
Southern Oregon Speedway and Siskiyou Motor Speedway brought the curtain down on their respective seasons last Saturday night.  For Southern Oregon Speedway, it was the first year under the promotion of Mike McCann.  It's definitely been a roller coaster ride this year, but things are being assessed for ideas on where to proceed in 2017.  The curtain came down on the season with Hays Oil Championship Night.  It might have been a night to be a little bit worried as the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars headlined the show along with Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks, Mini Stocks and Super 4's.

The Sprint Car division has been struggling.  Medford are race fans do want to see this class, but they want to see cars.  Considering where attendance had been for the previous few years, it might have been a risk even starting this class, and more so when the local drivers didn't get a "to win" total they found to their liking.  The cars of such area racers as Garen Linder, Chadd Noland, Brent McGrath and Jared Ridge, among others, never showed for a regular race.  McCann was hoping for Winged 360 Sprint Car support and made the strategic choice of booking on Extreme Sprint Car nights at Cottage Grove, rather than nights in which that track had 360's.  This made it more difficult for Extreme Sprint Car support, and the 360's never really came.  Also, a couple of the season's young guns skipped out on the Medford effort, though one of them returned.

The nervousness came as there were a whole lot of question marks considering who might support the finale. Back in action once again was Jake Wheeler as he wrapped up his championship season. When the Winged 360 drivers met and decided not to support the effort at the urging of a prominent Sprint Car figure, the Wheeler team caught their ire when Jake and his father Vern Wheeler Jr. supported the first two races.  Vern won both races and announced his decision to retire after his second win.  Optimism was that the count was ready to hit eight cars for the third race.  However, the decision of Camden Robustelli to leave the effort, Jeffrey Hudosn and Todd Whipple's absence and Vern's retirement kept the count at four on what was the worst night for the track all season.

Eight drivers supported this final race as the track is said to be looking at Extreme Sprint Car rules next year with a eye towards making it possible for Winged 360 Sprint Car support with a few adjustments.  This is because of drivers like Wheeler, Wayne Kniffen, Todd Whipple and Jeremy Lowe, who have supported the effort and understand it's going to take some time to grow things at the track.  There is a definite movement to start Extreme Sprint Cars as David and his son Bailey Hibbard, Robustelli and Hudson have cars.  Merissa Henson has a car, and Outlaw Kart stars Braden Cory and Tanner Holmes are said to be looking in this direction.  The timing seems to be right as fans want Sprint Cars, but they also want to see a division that gets some support.

In the finale, two drivers had their opportunity to shine.  The first was Kniffen, who won his first Sprint Car heat race and Trophy Dash.  He had the fastest lap in the Main Event, but Hudson beat him at the start for the lead.  From there, the talented 15 year old leadfoot drove to his first feature win in this class, wrapping up second and "Rookie Of The Year" status in the process.  For Kniffen, third in the standings was something to be proud of.  Neither of these drivers could challenge Jake Wheeler, who only needed to take a green flag to win it all.  With one win, three seconds and two Trophy Dash victories, Jake has much to be proud of.

Past Extreme Sprint Car champion Raquel Ivie was a welcome edition to the roster in the finale, and she finished a solid third ahead of Jeremy Lowe, who looked good in running all the way to the checkered flag.  Ivie was coming off of her second at the Extreme Sprint Car "audition" race a few weeks earlier.  Unfortunately, the driver who finished third in that race, Cooper Desbiens, blew a motor in hot laps.  Ivie's third place finish last Saturday came behind Rowdy McClennon.  McClennon did all he could to reel in a big Hudson lead, but he still had to settle for second in the Mark Michelet owned car.

As of now, there will be Sprint Cars next season, but all of the details will be forthcoming.  There is also some concern over The Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks, but it can be said that Pro Stocks will be a part of the 2017 schedule at the track.  This division is an important part of the roster.  On Saturday night, they fielded 15 cars.  There was a date booked at Yreka two weeks prior that was removed from the schedule, though not much was said about it.  Some drivers were said not to be happy with racing conditions there, but other drivers are said to be interested in racing there next season depending on what happens with the Outlaw Pro Stock Association.  They met on Thursday to discuss club matters.

Despite all of his dominance as a seven time winner, including the Haudenshild Honors Race and Billy Geyer Memorial Race, Steve Borror came close to losing the lead to Scott Flowers.  There weren't enough positions for Flowers to overtake Borror, who was eliminated in a crash as he slowed to avoid Miles Deubert on the back stretch and was hit.  However, S. Flowers set a good pace on the restart following that wreck and led until his son James Flowers' car caught fire for a red flag.  When Scott's car broke in Turn 2, he was hit by wife Ginny Flowers.  Rocky Nash took over and wrapped up a clean sweep performance to overtake another Flowers, Julia Flowers, for fifth in the standings.  Scott would have to settle for second for the third straight year, and Matt Harlow's second place finish kept him third in the final rundown ahead of James Flowers.

The ultimate goal in the disarray of the association is to keep it all together, but there is also a faction of racers who just want to race.  They enjoy doing it at the Medford track.  Hopefully, this will be done in a way that keeps the majority racing at one track, rather than dividing the cars between Medford and Yreka.  Yreka very well could welcome even a six car field at this point.  If it can remain an association that races at both tracks, that would keep the continuity going.  Pro Stocks were Medford's thing until management pretty much forced the formation of this association in order for the class to survive in 2012.

There were lots of unknowns going into the season for McCann.  However, there was optimism that the Mini Stock division was on the upswing.  On multiple occasions this year, car count reached 16, which was a good sign of progress.  The experience factor kept the Main Event wins going to Bob Burkett, Gary Anderson and the returning David Steele.  Steele was at a bit of an advantage as he came back to race and not worry about points after missing three events.  Still, David won six times and only lost third in the standings by two points.  It took some impressive driving by Andrew Hall in those last two races to hold Steele off, but Hall was up to the task as he drove his Pinto Wagon to back to back second place finishes.

For Bob Burkett, it was about time for him to win his first championship.  With many victories in his career, he had finished second in the standings four times.  Burkett had three wins this year as well as six Trophy Dash wins.  His worst Main Event finish was the fourth place finish he had in the final race.  A hot lap crash early in the season ended the title hopes for Gary Anderson, but he still used two wins to maintain second in the standings.  All in all, it was a good season for both drivers.

One might wonder about parity in this division.  It should be pointed out that most of the drivers in this class didn't have more than two years of experience, making even a heat race win a daunting task for all of them.  Fifth ranked Merissa Henson, Hall and Kristopher Mix all had heat race wins, but Henson even had two Trophy Dash victories.  Everything else was won by either Burkett, Anderson or Steele.  A lot of rumors have persisted concerning rule changes in the class, but at this point, there are just adjustments being looked at to try to make things a little more competitive.  Management knows that big rule changes are not what's needed to grow the class as this division seems to be the closest to B Main territory.

In the case of the Super 4's, the only thing management had to go on was this used to be a popular division at the track and several drivers wanted to come back after being away for a couple of seasons.  Eight dates were booked, and the final two saw ten cars compete in each event.  This division has turned into the pleasant surprise of the season, and it sounds like more cars are coming next year.  With five wins, including his victory in the season finale, Lee Doty is the champion.  He proved to be almost impossible to beat.  John Barger had his rough moments, but he still held on for second, while Charlie Eaton used his second straight Trophy Dash win and season best second place finish in the finale to hold off Bill Spencer for third in the standings.

The good news is this division will be back next year and is an option as a place to go for Mini Stock drivers.  The Hadley team made their presence known in the last two races.  Past division championship runnerup Terry Hadley had a second place finish two weeks ago.  Last week, his wife Krista finished third for the third time this season.  Dan Prewitt had a night to shine earlier this season as the driver to keep Doty from winning six Main Events in a row.

The track had already crowned Mark Wauge as IMCA Modified champion two weeks ago by only two points as James Welshonse won the last race in a clean sweep.  Duane Orsburn is third in the final rundown.  Wauge's two wins opened the season, and his performance in the Haudenshild Tsribute race was seen by many as the drive of the season.  Meanwhile, Mike Medel is the IMCA Sport Modified champion ahead of "Rookie of The Year" David Marble.  With four wins, Jorddon Braaten finished third but he also won the Oregon State and Northwest Sport Modified Challenge Series championship.   For IMCA enthusiasts, both divisions will remain a part of the program next year.

The Hornet division entered its third season at the speedway with optimism of a breakout season. That didn't quite materialize, but car count matched the season ending record from last year at six cars twice and average was up.  Tim Hedges used consistency to beat two time winner Derrel Nelson Jr. by a slim margin in the end.  Four time winner Joby Shields overtook John Hoult in the finale to rank third in the standings.  Hedges intends to field three cars next year, and Nelson is said to be returning next year as well.

The Open Stock division was an attempt to see what fendered Stock Cars were out there that didn't fit into the rules of the Pro Stock class.  Late Model drivers answered the call, including Bob Dees and his sons John and Garrett Dees.  Mike Linder won the first two races, but a big night by Bob Dees in the finale tipped the championship in his favor in the end.  John Dees was third.  This is still a work in progress, but it is said that more cars are in the works for next season.

The OTRO Hardtops made five appearances during the year, though they did not run for points.  Had they run for points, four time winner Trevor Thomason would have been the champion.  Bill Trotter made things interesting with two second place finishes, and Mark Minter drove Bill's car to the other feature win.  Five different drivers won Trophy Dashes, including Wylie Powell in B. Trotter's car, and Winnemuca, Nevada visitor Rhett Lange finished second twice to one second for Jimmy Del Castille.  It is unknown what the club's plans are, but they are certainly a welcome addition on any night.

The Dwarf Cars put on some of the closest, side by side racing you will find at the track as two time champion Josh King, Chad Cardoza, Camden Robustelli and Brock Peters were feature winners in the regular SODCA events.  In the end, Peters won the championship in a good  battle with Robustelli and Kalvin Morton, who won all three Yreka races.  Cody Peters finally joined his four time Medford feature winning father Brock by winning the preliminary Sportsman feature on Nationals Weekend.  Cody won both Sportsman features last week at Marysville.  The SODCA Dwarf Cars were down just a bit in car count from 2015, but the outlook is good for next season.

Meanwhile, Siskiyou Motor Speedway ended their season with the annual Rod Restad Memorial race, paying $3000 to the IMCA Modified winner.  Car count has been an issue for the division, but just like in the case of the Wild West Speedweek and John Arnberg Memorial races, the divers turned out for this one.  In this case, there were 18 drivers.  The bad news for the rest of the competition was that one of those drivers was Bobby Hogge IV.  In his 20 years of racing an IMCA Modified, Bobby had never competed at this race track, but the team made a decision to make the trip this time.  Luck of the draw put Bobby on the pole for this race, and he held off the efforts of Alex Stanford to pocket the winner's check.

Stanford still got second, which was good enough for a $2000 payday.  Arnberg Memorial winner Ryan McDaniel grabbed third, which earned him $1000.  The race was also the ninth point event of the season.  Interestingly enough, there were nine different winners during the season.  Duane Orsburn wasn't one of them, but he carried a five point lead love Albert Gill heading into the last race.  Gill made a late season decision to make a run at the points, and he finished eighth in the finale.  Gill had won the previous race, and the two time Medford champion emerged with the Yreka championship after Orsburn was eliminated in a first lap crash.

The IMCA Sport Modifieds had a pretty good season this year in which over a dozen different divers won Main Events.  On Saturday night, it was yet another new winner in Rich McCoy.  McCoy's Lightning McQueen painted car held off Kalvin Morton for the victory.  Morton had won the race before as the Dwarf Car ace looks to make a move up in divisions next season.  The week before, Jimmy Lipke's car took heavy damage in a race ending crash.  He had it back together to finish off his championship winning effort by finishing eighth in the Main Event.  Garrett Hamilton will rank second in the IMCA point race ahead of Doug Franklin.  Interestingly enough, Hamilton will win the SCMA championship as Lipke never joined.  Indications are that this division is poised for an even bigger season next year.

For years, Marilyn Yawnick has usually been somewhere in the Top 5 in the McDonald's Mini Stock standings, but she took it up a notch this season with a career best effort.  Marilyn won four Main Events.  What makes them noteworthy is that all four wins came ahead of 2015 champion, David Steele.  Marilyn could not contain her excitement after win #4 petty much assured her of the championship going into the finale.  Young Ethan Killingsworth served notice to Marilyn and the rest of the competition with his second win that he could be the driver to beat next season.  After flipping his truck in July, past champion Terry Kendrick never quite recovered and settled for third in the standings.  The flip pretty much ended his title hopes.

There will be some questions for next season, but the Mini Stocks and Sport Modifieds aren't two of them.   Both divisions will remain fixtures at the speedway.  Of concern will be the IMCA Modifieds as there were nights when no cars were there.  SODCA Dwarf Cars and Outlaw Pro Stocks delivered cars on the nights they were booked, so seeing both classes back won't be a surprise.  Then, there's a the case of the Outlaw Kart Track.  The new one had its first race a few weeks ago to positive reviews.  Indications are that this track will attract more racers in the coming season.  The best news is that racing continues at Siskiyou Motor Speedway, and October will be a time to celebrate as the awards banquet takes place.

Coos Bay Speedway is set to run their Lucas Oil Late Model Open Show this Saturday night.  It has become a tradition at the track to close the season with a special Late Model race.  In this case, it pays $2000 to win, $1500 for second and $1000 for the third.  The track is also running a combined Sportsman/Street Stock show that night.  Coos Bay has crowned its Les Schwab Racing Series champions for the year in Dave May (Sprint Cars), Nathan Augustine (Late Models), Wayne Butler (Sportsman), Daniel Land (Street Stocks), Jeremiah Reiber (Hornets) and Ryder Johnson (Mini Outlaws).

Orland Raceway made it through their ten race season with a hint of optimism in the air.  the track went from being doomed to having five champions in Steve Martin (Pure Stocks), Dan Webster (Mini Trucks), John Kirkpatrick (Mini Stocks), Jeremie Crismon (600 Micros) and Jesse Love (250 Micros).  Promoter Rich Hood has elected to add at least two more races this year, the first of which is set for this weekend.  It will be the regular divisions in a non point event.  On October 15th, there will be an Enduro, a combined Mini Stock/Mini Truck race and Micros.  There could be a race on the last Saturday of the month, though nothing has been announced.  It's unknown what sort of Enduro turnout there will be, but the West Coast Enduro group is trying to drum up support.

Placerville Speedway has a big racing weekend set for October 14-15 that will feature Winged 360 Sprint Car and Wingless Spec Sprint Racing, among other classes.  It's the inaugural NorCal Posse Shoot Out.  Notable on the weekend agenda is a $3000 to win Winged 360 Sprint Car race on Friday and a $7000 to win Winged Sprint Car race on Saturday.  Wingless Spec Sprints make a rare appearance for a $1200 to win Friday night race that will also see the Top 3 finishers receive special gold coins.  The track has already crowned its champions, which include Mason Moore (Thompson Auto Winged 360 Sprint Cars), Eddie Gardner (DOMCO Plumbing Limited Late Models), Nick Baldwin (Jay's Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks) and Brian Cooper (IMCA Sport Modifieds).  The track also held a special four race, extra money point series.  It was the Placerville Posse Series, and Andy Forsberg (Winged 360 Sprint Cars), Ray Trimble (Limited Late Models) and Scott Grunert (Pure Stocks) won those respective championships.

In a final note, Steve Kerstulovich has announced that after two years, he is dropping the North West Modified Cup.  The Modified drivers competed for over $4000 in point fund money, plus contingency prizes this past season thanks to various sponsors.  He is, however, bringing back the Northwest Sport Modified Challenge for a second season and looking to expand further into California with North and South divisions.  Steve is involving all of the racers in the discussion of how to proceed.  As the season is over, he has announced the top drivers in the standings and their winnings.

North West Modified Cup

Collen Winebarger $1500 - Wrap from DFG - $325 off a body install from MD Designs from Matthew Drager- 100 hero cards from Colville Printing Tiana Berkeley 100 min massage from Jetstream Aqua Massage Cory Penfold.

Mark Carrell - $750 - 50 hero cards from Colville Printing. 60 min massage from Jetstream Aqua Massage

John Campos - $500 - 50% off a fuel cell from Superior Fuel Cell by Paul Culp given from Lawrence O'Connor.

Jesse Williamson - $350 - Custom hood from Poverty Bay Bumper by Kelly Martin given from Lawrence O'Connor

Mark Wauge - $250 - Finishline SF15 Gloves from Ronda Ardell Rowe le-vel.com from Bill Rowe.

Craig Hanson - $200

Curtis Towns - $175

Kyle Yeack - $150

Steven Sturdevant - $125

Matthew Drager - $100 - Mulit Tool from Point S Springfield from Steven Sturdevant .

North West Sport Modified Challenge

Pay Out for 2016

1st $600 - Jorddon Braaten
2nd $350 - Jimmy Lipke
3rd $250 - John Henry
4th $200 - Mike Medel
5th $100 - Garrett Hamilton

Monday, September 26, 2016

Hudson, Nash, Doty, Steele Southern Oregon Speedway Winners, Hogge Wins at Yreka

Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion
Can Be Heard HERE


Hudson Wins First Pennzoil Sprint Car Feature 
 At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...September 24...Hays Oil Championship Night at Southern Oregon Speedway was a night of firsts for the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car division.  The night included first time Main Event and Trophy Dash winners and a first time champion.  Taking full advantage of his front row start, 15 year old Jeffrey Hudson won the 25 lap Main Event.  It was the first Sprint Car win for Husdon, who was the 2015 Outlaw Pro Stock champion.  Hudson needed to come up big to hold off Wayne Kniffen for second in the standings after Kniffen won his first career Trophy Dash.  Hudson was also the only driver with a shot at the championship, but Jake Wheeler wrapped that up when he finished second to Kniffen in their heat race.

The night started with a Trophy Dash, and Kniffen held off previous Trophy Dash winner Rowdy McClennon for his first win in a Sprint Car.  Kniffen followed that up by holding off new champion Wheeler to win his heat race.  Hudson scratched from the Trophy Dash but returned to win his heat race ahead of Todd Whipple.  Extreme Sprint Car and Wingless Sprint Car ace Cooper Desbiens blew a motor in hot laps to scratch for the night.  Hudson and Kniffen brought the field down for the Main Event green flag, and Hudson raced into the lead.  After one lap, Whipple broke a driveline and coasted to a stop in Turn 2.  Hudson continued to lead Kniffen and McClennon on the restart.  Wheeler was battling Ivie for fourth when he lost power in Turn 4 for the final yellow flag on lap eight.  Hudson continued to lead as Kniffen tried to find a line that could get him past Hudson.  However, Hudson was setting a good pace as McClennon moved in to battle Kniffen for second.  An inside move on the front stretch gained McClennon second from Kniffen on lap 12, but at that point Hudson led by a straightaway.  Kniffen brushed the back wall on lap 14 and headed for the pits as Ivie was now third ahead of Jeremy Lowe.  McClennon found a good groove on the bottom and steadily gained ground on the leader aboard the Mark Michelet owned mount.  However, time ran out as Hudson scored an impressive victory ahead of McClennon, Ivie and Lowe.

Race Results
Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car
Heat 1-Wayne Kniffen, Jake Wheeler, Rowdy McClennon, Cooper Desbiens (DNS).  Heat 2-Jeffrey Hudson, Todd Whipple, Raquel Ivie, Jeremy Lowe.  Trophy Dash-Wayne Kniffen, Rowdy McClennon, Jeffrey Hudson (DNS).  Main Event-Jeffrey Hudson, Rowdy McClennon, Raquel Ivie, Jeremy Lowe, Wayne Kniffen, Jake Wheeler, Todd Whipple, Cooper Desbiens (DNS).


Luck Aids Nash In Pro Stock Clean Sweep
At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...September 24...Gaining the lead after leader Scott Flowers broke on a late race restart, Rocky Nash scored his second Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stock Main Event victory Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway.  Nash had won a duel with Flowers earlier in the evening for the Trophy Dash win and then won his heat race to make it a clean sweep performance.  With Steve Borror eliminated early, S. Flowers was doing everything he could to try to grab the championship, but his night ended in a disappointing ninth place finish and third straight runnerup season.  Matt Harlow drove another great race to finish a season best second.  Despite finishing last, Steve Borror's winning ways of 2016 carried him to the championship.

Much like the four lap Trophy Dash in their last appearance, Nash and Flowers battled fiercely at the front, but it was Nash prevailing on this occasion.  Nash then took the lead on lap three and won his heat race ahead of previous Main Event winner Miles Deubert.  S. Flowers held off rival Borror to win his heat race.  Flowers and Nash started back in the fourth row for the Main Event, and James Flowers charged from the second row to lead early ahead of two time champion Ken Irving and Ginny Flowers.  James Flowers had finally put a new motor in his car in the hopes of grabbing third in the final standings.  Nash made an inside move on the back stretch to take third from G. Flowers on lap two.  A back stretch pass on lap six gained Nash second from Irving as S. Flowers followed closely into third.  On lap eight, Deubert suddenly slowed right in front of Borror, who slowed to avoid a crash.  G. Flowers made contact with Borror for a yellow flag, and the race was over for Deubert and Borror.  James Flowers pitted with a flat, and Scott Flowers raced into the lead on the restart ahead of Nash and Harlow.  S. Flowers hadn't won all season or the year before, but he looked like he was headed for victory before a lap 18 red flag flew for a fire under the hood of son James Flowers' car.  On the fateful restart lap, S. Flowers broke in Turn 2, collecting wife G. Flowers as Scott Bennett and new "Rookie Of The Year" Julia Flowers tangled behind them.  With S. Flowers now sidelined, Nash beat Harlow on the restart and led rest of the way in victory.  Harlow used his season best second place finish to maintain third in the final standings.  John Bowers had a season best third place finish.  Roy Bain made a last turn pass on Irving to finish fourth as Ginny Flowers, Julia Flowers and Rick Lukens rounded out the Top 8.

Race Results
Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks
Heat 1-Rocky Nash, Miles Deubert, James Flowers, Ken Irving, Roy Bain.  Heat 2-Scott Flowers, Steve Borror, Matt Harlow, Ginny Flowers, Scott Bennett.  Trophy Dash-Rocky Nash, Scott Flowers, Miles Deubert, James Flowers.  Main Event-Rocky Nash, Matt Harlow, John Bowers, Roy Bain, Ken Irving, Ginny Flowes, Julia Flowers, Rick Lukens, Scott Flowers, Scott Bennett, James Flowers, Miles Deubert, Steve Borror, Lloyd Speer (DNS), Derrel Nelson Jr. (DNS).

Steele Steals The Show At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...September 24...David Steele's fellow competitors may be thankful that his Mini Stock return at Southern Oregon Speedway didn't happen until four weeks into the season.  As it is, the 2015 Yreka champion had five wins going into Saturday night and was only four points behind Andrew Hall in the battle for third in the standings.  Steele did everything he could do as he led the 20 lap feature from start to finish.  However, Hall continued to have things dialed in as he scored his third second place finish of the season to cling to a two point advantage for third by the end of the night.  Bob Burkett had a rare non Top 3 finish, but the new track champion did win his sixth Trophy Dash of the season.  Dillen Lausen gave a glimpse of things to come when he finished a season best third in the Main Event.

Burkett started his night off with his sixth four lap Trophy Dash win ahead of his closest point rival, Gary Anderson.  Merissa Henson impressed with her six lap heat race win ahead of Anderson.  In the other heat race, Steele and Hall battled fiercely for the lead, but Steele made a last lap pass for the victory.  Steele and Henson shared the front row for the Main Event, and Steele raced into the lead ahead of Hall and Burkett.  A yellow flag flew after four laps for debris on the track.  Steele continued to set the pace on the restart ahead of Hall and Burkett.  Henson and Anderson were locked in a close battle for fourth, and Lausen made it a three car battle by lap eight.  Lausen gained fifth on lap nine and slipped past Henson for fourth a lap later.  Garrett Fredrickson spun in Turn 4 for the final caution flag on lap 12.  Steele continued to lead Hall on the restart, and a low move in Turn 4 gained Lausen third from Burkett before the lap was completed.  Steele pulled away by a few car lengths as the Pinto Wagon of Hall had his hands full with Lausen.  Lausen was making the inside groove work and actually made a pass for second in Turn 2 of the 19th lap.  However, Hall held the position by the completion of the lap.  Steele brought it home to a satisfying victory, while Hall managed to win the battle with Lausen for second.  Burkett settled for fourth ahead of Kristopher Mix, Henson, Devon Weiser and Anderson.

Race Results
Mini Stock
Heat 1-Merissa Henson, Gary Anderson, Mikey Johnson, Kristopher Mix, Eric Hanson.  Heat 2-David Steele, Andrew Hall, Devon Weiser, Bob Burkett, Dillen Lausen.  Trophy Dash-Bob Burkett, Gary Anderson, Andrew Hall, David Steele.  Main Event-David Steele, Andrew Hall, Dillen Lausen, Bob Burkett, Kristopher Mix, Merissa Henson, Devon Weiser, Gary Anderson, Mikey Johnson, Eric Hanson, Garrett Fredrickson, Randy Simmons (DNS).


Doty Delivers Fifth Super 4's Victory
At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...September 24...This has certainly been a year for Super 4's competitors to be proud of at Southern Oregon Speedway.  After being absent from the roster for two years, the racers got the division back to the speedway and delivered 13 total cars during the course of the season with the promise of more to come next year.  As the season went on, Lee Doty got faster and faster.  On Saturday night, Doty sped to his championship clinching fifth 25 lap Main Event victory of the season.  With his second place finish, Charlie Eaton managed to finish third in the standings, while fourth place finisher John Barger will finish second in points.

The night started off with Eaton winning his second straight four lap Trophy Dash ahead of Krista Hadley.  Doty made a thrilling last lap pass on Eaton to win their six lap heat race, while K. Hadley continued a good night with her first heat win of the season ahead of Barger.  Seventeen year old Outlaw Kart graduate Dusty Aos was a Main Event scratch.  Doty shared the Main Event front row with K. Hadley and raced into the lead at the start.  A low move in Turn 2 of the fifth lap gained Eaton second, and Barger spun in Turn 1 in his bid for third for a yellow flag.  Doty led Eaton and K. Hadley on the restart.  Running in the top 5, Bill Spencer got out of shape and fell back several spots as Terry Hadley and Eric Aos ran in the Top 5.  Barger grabbed fifth from E. Aos on lap nine and worked his way up to battle the Hadley cars for third.  Meanwhile, Doty had a comfortable lead over Eaton.  Doty grabbed the checkered flag by a straightaway ahead of Eaton.  Barger made a move around T. Hadley for fourth on lap 20, but his last lap pass attempt on K. Hadley fell short.  K. Hadley enjoyed her third third place finish ahead of Barger, T. Hadley, E. Aos, Spencer, Mike Cloud and Dan Prewitt.

Race Results
Super 4's
Heat 1-Krista Hadley, John Barger, Bill Spencer, Mike Cloud, Terry Hadley (DNS).  Heat 2-Lee Doty, Charlie Eaton, Eric Aos, Dan Prewitt (DNS), Dusty Aos (DNS).  Trophy Dash-Charlie Eaton, Krista Hadley, Lee Doty, Terry Hadley.  Main Event-Lee Doty, Charlie Eaton, Krista Hadley, John Barger, Terry Hadley, Eric Aos, Bill Spencer, Mike Cloud, Dan Prewitt, Dusty Aos (DNS).


Hogge Battles Stanford For Restad Memorial Race Victory 
At Siskiyou Motor Speedway

Yreka, CA...September 24...Siskiyou Motor Speedway saved the best for last Saturday night with the annual running of the Rod Restad Memorial IMCA Modified race.  Some of the top drivers on the West Coast came to make a run at the $3,000 first prize, and Bobby Hogge IV scored the victory in the 30 lap race ahead of Alex Stanford.  Rich McCoy made an appearance and won the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified feature while Ethan Killingsworth captured his second 20 lap McDonald's Mini Stock Main Event victory.

Bobby Hogge IV has won many championships and big races in his career.  A two time NASCAR Regional champion, Hogge won the $5000 first prize a few weeks earlier in Medford.  Hogge's win ahead of Ryan McDaniel in the eight lap heat race was a sign of things to come.  Luck of the draw gave Hogge the pole for the big money Main Event, and he raced into the lead at the start.  Soon, Hogge was joined by 2014 Wild West Speedweek champion Alex Stanford in a battle up front.  Try as he might, however, Stanford was unable to make a move around the flying Hogge.  Hogge's win was worth $3000, but Stanford pocketed $2000 for second.  Many time Chico champion Ryan McDaniel finished a $1000 third ahead of Jeremy Richey, Medford champion Mark Wauge, Zach Fettinger, Monte Bischoff, Albert Gill, 2015 champion Nick Trenchard and past Yreka champion Lenny Toolanen.

The IMCA Modified championship came down to the final night, and a crash on the opening lap eliminated incoming point leader Duane Orsburn.  With his eighth place finish, two time Medford champion Albert Gill was able to add the 2016 Yreka championship trophy to his mantle place.  Stanford won his heat race ahead of Tom Berry Jr., while Adam Walters won the other eight lap heat over Wauge.  Wauge claimed for lap Trophy Dash honors ahead of Stanford.

Two Medford stars left the speedway with most of the wins in the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified portion of the program. Rich McCoy's clean sweep performance started when he won his eight lap heat race ahead of Ryder Boswell.  He continued that momentum with a six lap Trophy Dash win ahead of rising Medford racing star Kalvin Morton.  Morton won the previous week's Main Event, and he won his heat race ahead of reigning IMCA Modified champion Colter Boswell.

The Main Event was at times not pretty, but the #95 Lightning McQueen Car car of McCoy looked good at the front of the pack.  McCoy grabbed the win with Morton second.  R. Boswell had one of his best finishes of the year in third, followed by Garrett Hamilton, Buddy McHargue, C. Boswell, Alan Furuta, Jimmy Lipke, Jack Waldon III and Gavin Gonzales.  With his eighth place finish, Lipke won the IMCA Sport Modified championship.  Waldon won the other heat race in front of McHargue.

With a pair of victories in the final three McDonald's Mini Stock 20 lap features, teen leadfoot Ethan Killingsworth strengthened his hold on second in the point standings.  Killingsworth won the Main Event by a straightaway in front of Terry Kendrick.  Dennis Jorgensen finished in third, just ahead of Aaron Jorgensen, Ron Morris, Mike Whitaker and Marilyn Yawnick.

Coming off of her impressive fourth win of the season last week, Yawnick needed just to take the green flag to wrap up her first career track championship.  Yawnick finished second in her heat race behind Kendrick and was second in the four lap Trophy Dash as A. Jorgensen won for the second straight week.  D. Jorgensen beat A. Jorgensen to win their eight lap heat race.


May, Montgomery, McIntyre, Lauver Win Coos Bay Features

Coos Bay, Oregon...September 24...Dave May won the 25 lap Sprint Car Main Event on Les Schwab Series Championship night at Coos Bay Speedway.  May picked up the win with his closest point rival, Scott Fox, not too far behind him in second.  Duke Johnson was a solid third ahead of Ken Fox and final lead lap finisher Steve Smith as Erin Lyons and Ryan Kingrey rounded out the finishing order.  S. Fox set the fast time of the night at 13.736, beating the 13.926 lap of May.  Johnson won the four lap Trophy Dash, just ahead of S. Fox, while Kingrey won the eight lap heat race in front of Johnson.

Brody Montgomery added his name to the Sportsman Main Event winner's list with his victory in the 25 lapper.  Montgomery won by nearly a lap over the truck of Street Stock competitor Michael Land.  Repeat track champion Wayne Butler and Jeff Thurman rounded out the lead lap finishers.  Jeff Chamberlain finished fourth ahead of Josh Kralichek, Justin Ryker, Dylan Siewell and Tim Young.  Championship runnerup Siewell set the fast time of 15.766 as Butler's 15.869 was the only other 15 second time.  Butler won the four lap Trophy dash ahead of Ryker, and Ryker came back to win his heat race ahead of Siewell.  Butler won his eight lap heat race in dominating fashion ahead of Thurman.

Toby McIntyre won the 25 lap Late Model Main Event.  The 2015 champion won by a half lap ahead of new champion Nathan Augustine.  Championship runnerup Thor Kristenson and Kristy Grout rounded out the finishing order.  McIntyre set the fast time of 14.736, but he settled for second behind Augustine in the four lap Trophy Dash.  Augustine managed to hold off McIntyre in a close race for the eight lap heat race victory.

The potent VW Beatle of Rob Lauver was back and dominating the 25 lap Mini Outlaw Main Event once again.  Lauver won the Main Event by over half a lap ahead of 2015 champion Samuel Talon.  New champion Ryder Johnson was right behind Talon for the third place finish as John Henry, Mike Smith, Carl Johnson and Jamie Daniels rounded out the finishing order.  R. Johnson set the fast time of 18.225 to beat the 18.456 of Henry.  Talon won the four lap Trophy Dash in front of Henry.  Lauver scored the eight lap heat race victory ahead of C. Johnson.

Ryan Siewell grabbed the victory in the 25 lap Hornet Main Event.  Siewell set a good pace out front to win the race by a straightaway ahead of a season best second place finish for Hannah Robinson.  Jake Siewell was a close third ahead of Braden Fouge as championship runnerup Jeremy Beard rounded out the Top 5.  Bart Pulse was scored sixth, followed by Sam Taylor, Matt Butler and Jason Greer.  Taylor claimed four lap Trophy Dash honors over J. Siewell, and Siewell also finished a close second to Fouge in the first eight lap heat race.  Beard won the second heat ahead of Taylor.  Jeremiah Reiber was a no show, but he had already clinched the division championship prior to the evening

Friday, September 23, 2016

Southern Oregon Speedway, Siskiyou Motor Speedway Previews And Jefferson Pit Stops


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Four Division Program Closes Season 
At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...The 2016 season comes to a close this Saturday night with a four division racing program on the 3/10 mile clay oval track.  Hays Oil Championship Night at the races will feature the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars, Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks, Mini Stocks and Super 4's.  All season long, the Pro Stocks and Mini Stocks have been two of the best supported divisions by the racers.

In the Sprint Car division, Jake Wheeler appears to be headed for his first track championship on the strength of one win and three second place finishes.  Jake's father, Vern Wheeler Jr., opened the season with two wins before announcing his retirement from driving.  Jake has led the battle since then.  After collecting his second third place finish in the most recent point race, rookie Jeffrey Hudson is the only driver with a chance to overtake Wheeler in the championship battle.

Hudson won the Outlaw Pro Stock championship at 15 years old last year and has looked good in his first season in a Sprint car.  The second generation racer won his first heat race this year.  Another second generation racer is ten points behind Hudson in the battle for second.  Wayne Kniffin has finished as high as second this year and is hoping to win his first Sprint Car race this week.  As the third and fourth place finishers last time, Hudson and Kniffen will share the front row of this week's Trophy Dash.

Yet another second generation racer, Aaron Miller, won his first Main Event last time out in a rather emotional moment that he got to share with his father in front of his home crowd.  Other drivers anticipated this week include past Wingless Sprint champion Rowdy McClennon, past Cottage Grove champion Raquel Ivie and Todd Whipple.  Ivie had a second place finish a couple weeks ago in the Extreme Sprint Car Main Event

In his ten year career in Mini Stocks, Bob Burkett has won many races and finished as high as second in the standings four times.  As a three time winner who has not finished outside the Top 3 in ten races this year, Burkett has already clinched the track championship.  In fact, 2014 champion Gary Anderson has used his two wins to help him lock up second in the standings.  The battle is for third as Andrew Hall leads the tied Merissa Henson and five time winner David Steele by just four points.  Hall chased Steele last time out with a career best second, while Henson won her second Trophy Dash earlier in the evening.

Steve Borror has won seven Outlaw Pro Stock features this year, including the $2500 to win Billy Geyer Memorial and the $1000 to win Roger Haudenshild Honors race.  At this point, he is headed for the championship.  With seven Top 3 finishes and an impressive Trophy Dash win last time out, Scott Flowers seems headed for his third consecutive runnerup point season.  Up for grabs now is third place as Scott's son James Flowers and Matt Harlow have a good battle going. 

James Flowers finished a strong second last time behind the flying Miles Deubert.  The win was Deubert's second of the year.  Fifth ranked rookie Julia Flowers will fight to hold off one time winner Rocky Nash for fifth in the standings as a field of over a dozen competitors is anticipated, including two time champion Ken Iving, Roy Bain, Scott Bennett and Rick Lukens.

Lee Doty finally overtook John Barger for the Super 4's point lead after his dominant performance last week.  Doty now has four wins.  Barring any major mechanical issues, Doty may be headed for the championship.  As the 2013 champion, Barger will give it a good effort this week.  Behind the lead duo, Charlie Eaton and Bill Spencer battle closely for third with Eaton holding a one point advantage.  Eaton scored an impressive Trophy Dash win last week.  The husband and wife team of Terry and Krista Hadley were back last week and finished second and third, respectively.

Gates open at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday with the Trophy Dashes starting the program at 7:00 p.m.  Adult tickets are $12.00 with Seniors and Juniors $6.00 and children 5 and under free.  This will be the last chance this year to check out racing at the 20 year old racing facility.  For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.

Point Standings

Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars

Jake Wheeler   140 
Jeffrey Hudson   108 
Wayne Kniffen   98 
Bill Hopper   77 
Vern Wheeler Jr. 74 
Aaron Miller  60 
Camden Robustelli  57 
Todd Whipple   46 
Rowdy McClennon 37 
David Hibbard  34

Mini Stock 
Bob Burkett   350
Gary Anderson  300 
Andrew Hall   250 
Merissa Henson   246 
David Steele  246 
Kristopher Mix   210 
Eric Hanson   159 
Dillen Lausen   153 
Ethan Killingsworth  139 
Mike Cloud   124

Outlaw Pro Stocks 
Steve Borror   496 
Scott Flowers   449 
Matt Harlow   371 
James Flowers   362 
Julia Flowers   340 
Rocky Nash   311 
Roy Bain   272 
Ken Irving   267 
Scott Bennett   262 
Rick Lukens   252

Super 4's
Lee Doty   181 
John Barger   167 
Charlie Eaton  150 
Bill Spencer   149 
Dan Prewitt  123
Terry Hadley  90 
Krista Hadley  89
Eric Oahs  72
Steve Thompson  40
Joby Shields 15

$3000 To Win Rod Restad Memorial Race Closes Season 
At Siskiyou Motor Speedway



Yreka, CA...Saturday night's race at Siskiyou Motor Speedway is an event that some of the best IMCA Modified racers mark on their calender.  This is the annual Rod Restad Memorial Race, paying tribute to the well known and respected Yreka racing promoter.  It's also a race that will pay $3000 to win, $2000 for second and $1000 for third.  Joining the IMCA Modifieds for this program will be the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks.



The Rod Restad Memorial is one of the biggest paying races of the year in California for the IMCA Modifieds, and that draws some of the best drivers to make a run for the money.  It's anybody's guess who will win the big prize.  Only 2015 track champion Nick Trenchard has won this race twice in the last seven years.  It was Nevada leadfoot Jake Holland snapping Trenchard's two race winning streak last year as he held off 2010 winner Travis Peery and Monte Bischoff.

Other winners in recent years include Roger Lorenzini in 2012 and Brian Poppa, who won a thrilling battle with Kurt Lorenzini in 2011.  2009 and 2004 winner Scott Lenz is reportedly going to take the wheel of the Ray Kniffen Jr. car this week.  Lenz drove the Kniffen car to a third place finish at Medford last week.  Kniffen had been planning to drive before breaking his arm in the recent Lon Skinner Memorial race in Medford.  Knowing that he had a competitive car, Kniffen enlisted past Medford Pro Stock champion Lenz to take the wheel.

Trenchard, Lorenzini, Poppa, Lenz and Bischoff are only a few of the top drivers anticipated this Saturday.  Medford champion Mark Wauge will come to make a run at the money along with two time Medford champion Albert Gill, Susanville champion Chris Olexiewicz, Kyle Casson, Dan Thomas and Zach Fettinger.  A story within the story will take place as Duane Orsburn holds a slim five point lead over Gill in the championship battle.  The track has had eight different winners in eight races as Gill won the most recent race to position himself for a shot at Orsburn.

When young Kalvin Morton scored his first win in only his third start in an O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified last week, it made him the 13th different winner of the season.  Colton Cheffey seemed ready for a clean sweep after winning his heat races and Trophy Dash, but he settled for second.  Though he is fifth in the points, Cheffey would have to be considered a favorite to win on Saturday and a driver to watch in the 2017 championship battle.  Despite a crash that left his car damaged, Jimmy Lipke hopes to be back this week to finish out his 2016 championship season.  He holds a good lead over Garrett Hamilton, who will win the SCMA championship.  Morton, Cheffey, Lipke and Hamilton should be joined by such hard chargers as Doug Franklin, Jack Waldon III, D.J. Bottoms, Randy Wright and reigning champion Colter Boswell.

Having been a staunch supporter of the McDonald's Mini Stocks through the years, "Big Mac" Marilyn Yawnick hopes to wrap up her first career championship following her fourth feature win last week.  Marilyn knew she took a big step towards her goal with that victory and emerged from her car quite jubilant.  Following a disappointing Main Event that ended early for him, past champion Terry Kendrick will probably settle for third behind young Ethan Killingswoth in the battle for second.  The three drivers are at the top of the list of contenders for this week's win along with 2014 champion  "Magic" Mike Whitaker, Mike Colson, Mike Frost, Dennis Jorgensen and last week's Trophy Dash winner, Aaron Jorgensen.

All three divisions should include some talented racers ready to do battle and put on a great show for the fans.  The big money is on the line for the IMCA Modifieds in the Rod Restad Memorial Race.  There is also a bike race on the night's schedule.  Gates open at 5:00 p.m. with the fist race starting at 7:00 p.m.  Adult tickets are $12.00 with Seniors/Veterans $10.00 and children 6-12 $7.00.  children 5 and under are free.  For further information, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com.

Siskiyou Motor Speedway Points

McDonalds's Mini Stocks
Marilyn Yawnick 708
Ethan Killingsworth 678
Terry Kendrick 650
David Steele 640
Mike Whitaker 626

O'Reilly Auto Parts 
IMCA Sport Modified
James Lipke 443
Garrett Hamilton 423
Doug Franklin 358
Jack III Waldon 350
Colton Cheffey 320

SCMA Sport Modified
Garrett Hamilton 457
Doug Franklin 396
Jack Waldon III 383
Colton Cheffey 359
Coltder Boswell 312

IMCA Modified
Duane Orsburn 132
Albert Gill 127
Nick Trenchard 97
James Welshonse 68
Mark Wauge 67
 



Pit Stops - Jefferson Edition

The end of September signals the end of racing season in the Northern Jefferson area as the rainy season is fast approaching.  In fact, there has been some rain in Southern Oregon and Yreka.  It won't be enough to stop the races from happening at either track, but it is the warning that there's not much racing left.  While Southern Oregon Speedway will hold a four division show, headlined by the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars, Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks, Mini Stocks and Super 4's, Siskiyou Motor Speedway will hold the annual Rod Restad Memorial race for IMCA Modifieds with the support of IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks.  Fans wanting one more race will have that opportunity a week later with the Lucas Oil Late Model Open at Coos Bay Speedway.

As for Yreka, the real concern this year has been the fading of the IMCA Modified car count.  Numbers were declining last year, but this year was even more of a reason to be concerned.  There were a pair of three car shows, a night when only Duane Orsburn showed and nights when nobody came to race.  However, the support for the Speedweek race and the Arnberg Memorial Race shows that there are racers willing to race in Yreka.  With $3000 on the line to win, $2000 for second and $1000 for third, there's no reason to believe there won't be support this week as well.  Will the car count reach the 32 car mark as it did last year?  That remains to be seen.

The bigger question remains whether or not there will be a class next year and what drivers will support it.  Two drivers in the area are point leader Duane Orsburn and Kyle Casson.  Orsburn is the point leader, but Casson has only run a limited schedule anywhere.  The Lorenzini team had fielded two cars in the past, but Kurt Lorenzini is racing Sport Modifieds when he races.  Roger Lorenzini Jr. has raced and won this year.  Stan Gunderson has also supported, and past champion John "Pudge' Toolanen showed for the Speedweek race.  Recent season competors Jim Berry, Pablo Duran and teammates Josh and Chris Cullen have not been seen this season.

The concern over car count led to the O'Reilly Auto Parts sponsorship being shifted to the Sport Modifieds.  The fact that the numbers have been where they are has caused some concern.  What is the future of the division in Yreka?  Drivers supported the two specials, but support for the regular shows is needed to keep the show going.  If it doesn't happen, the division may not be able to continue.  The Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks will continue, but other divisions are needed to round out the program.

There hasn't been much chatter on social media regarding support for this weekend's race, despite the fact that it is only beat by Watsonville as the highest paying race by $3 more to win.  Medford support has always been a key factor in making any division pop in Yreka, and you can count on seeing some of these drivers come race.  This will include Mark Wauge, Monte Bischoff, Scott Lenz in the Ray Kniffen Jr. car, James Welshonse and possibly Brian Poppa.  Nick Trenchard, Zach Fettinger and Dan Thomas are anticipated from Klamath Falls and some Susanville support may come from the likes of Chris Olexiewicz and Riley Simmons. 

The drivers who do show are sure to put on a good show for the fans, and good support is also anticipated for the Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks.  A few drivers will leave with some good prize money.  A win in a race like this is what people sometimes refer to as a season maker as there aren't many tracks paying $3000 to win or even $2000 all season, and point funds don't even go that high at most places.  So, a $3000 winner's prize is a nice way to end the season.  While Trenchard, Wauge, Bischoff and Lenz may go to the top of the list of favorites to win, there will likely be some drivers coming up from the south or elsewhere to stake a claim on that prize.  Last year, that included the man who won.  Nevada's Jake Holland won the $4000 first prize in last year's race and snapped Trenchard's win streak at two in a row.

Trenchard is also the 2015 track champion, but after winning the $1000 prize in the opener, Nick bowed out of the point race.  At the moment, Orsburn leads two time Medford champion Albert Gill by just five points, and Gill is reportedly going for this championship. 

Jimmy Lipke has had a great season as one of the Top 3 drivers in the Northwest Sport Mod Challenge Series and is the Yreka IMCA Sport Modified point leader.  He damaged his car a bit in a race ending crash last week, but he wll be ready to finish off his championship season this week.  Because Lipke did not choose to join the SCMA, Garrett Hamilton is set to win their championship in addition to his second place ranking.  These two drivers are part of an amazing 13 driver win list in this class that has only seen Oregon State point leader Jorddon Braaten and young gun Colton Cheffey win more than once.  Braaten and rival Mike Medel might have been in town for this race, but they have an IMCA State point race on their agenda in Banks, Oregon this Saturday night

This Sport Modified race is basically for a regular purse, but Medford's Mike Johnson and Kalvin Morton have formed a group called Random Acts of Kindness Enterprises to help promote the sport.  They have added more money into the purse.  Morton made only his third start in the class last week and won his first Main Event.  Johnson's 14 year old son Michael Johnson won his first ever Mini Stock heat race.  Both drivers are expected this Saturday night, but young Johnson may have a ways to go to challenge point leader Marilyn Yawnick for the victory.

Yawnick won her fourth Main Event of the season last week ahead of reigning champion David Steele.  Interestingly enough, Steele finished second to Yawnick in all four of her wins.  Yawnick has been a fixture in this division and a big booster of the track with her McDonald's franchises in Yreka and Weed.   Though she has won Main Events in the past, this would be her first career championship.  Marilyn has driven well all season and earned it, but she will be out to make sure she doesn't stumble this week.  A big enough issue for her would open the door for another talented teen, Ethan Killingsworth, to walk through the door and steal a championship.  As it is, Killingsworth has finished second three times and won one Main Event.  Killingsworth isn't too far ahead of Terry Kendrick in the race for third.  As with the other divisions, the Mini Stocks always put on a good show at Yreka.

Southern Oregon Speedway held their point finale for both the IMCA Modifieds and Sport Modifieds last week with some interesting storylines playing out in both divisions.  At the top of the list was the IMCA Modified division, where James Welshonse came into the night trailing Mark Wauge by nine points.  Car count didn't pop as was hoped, but ten drivers still showed.  This meant it was still possible for Welshonse to tie or beat Wauge for the championship in the unlikelihood that he could win his first Main Event and Wauge either didn't start the Main Event or finished last.  It nearly happened.

Welshonse has developed a knack for winning Trophy Dashes as he started the night off with his third win.  He continued a breakout night by winning his heat race.  After breaking his arm on preliminary night of the Lon Skinner Memorial, Ray Kniffen Jr. put past Skinner Memorial winner and Pro Stock champion Scott Lenz behind the wheel for the Sunday show.  Kniffen figured Lenz would give the team a shot at a win last Saturday, and he most certainly did.  Lenz raced into the lead ahead of Wauge.  Meanwhile, Welshonse discovered the outside groove to his liking and started passing people on his way up to third. 

Newcomer Chris Silva had been running along at the back of the pack before retiring just before the incident that shook up the race.  Had he continued, it may have had a major impact on things.  When Wauge and Lenz got together in Turn 2 on lap 21, it changed the complexion of the race.  Wauge had to make a pit stop as he had suffered damage to his car.  Though he ran the rest of the race, he was no longer competitive with anybody.  Silva's exit meant Wauge would stlll finish ninth.  This turned out to be a good thing as Welshonse took the lead on the restart and scored his first career feature win.  He lost by a point in the end, but he still won "Rookie Of The Year" honors.  Jesse Bailey finished second in the race to grab fifth from Nick Trenchard in the standings.  A disappointed Lenz settled for third.

In the Sport Modified division, Jorddon Braaten's departure to Boone, Iowa for the Nationals handed the point lead to Mike Medel and second to "Rookie Of The Year" David Marble.  However, Braaten's success in Cottage Grove had him so far in front that he still had a 13 point lead in the Oregon State race going into the second to last weekend.  Despite suffering a broken wrist in Boone, Braaten made the decision to come back out and take a green flag in the Main Event.  Basically, he made it known that if his friend and rival Medel was going to win the State again, he would have to take it from him.  Braaten finished fifth, while Medel was a strong third behind Dwayne Melvin and Marble.  The final state point race is in Banks on Saturday, and Braaten leads Medel by 11 points.  Both drivers are planning to compete.

Persistent rumors abound that Southern Oregon Speedway is dropping its affiliation with IMCA.  However, these rumors have no basis in fact.  Management has not made any such declaration.  Both divisions figure into the plans for the 2017 season, despite the fact that driver support was a bit sluggish at times.  However, the buzz about the Hornet class going IMCA is very unlikely to happen.  The track already has a sensible set of rules and has gone so far as to pay this division a purse for every race despite car count never rising above the two year old record of six cars.

There was a championship battle between Tim Hedges and Derrel Nelson Jr.  Hedges has been slightly more consistent all season long and scored a season high second the week before the finale.  Nelson had two wins this year, but he had timing issues with his motor that went unresolved leading into the race on September 10th.  The motor didn't seem to be any better last week, and Hedges used the occasion to win his second Trophy Dash.  Going into the Main Event, Tim knew he could win if he stayed behind Nelson and let no more than one car come between them.  He finished fifth to Nelson's fourth, and Hedges is the new champion.  Word from both teams is that they will field new cars in 2017, and Hedges plans to have three cars as part of his team.

Joby Shields became so dominant in this division that he managed to overtake John Hoult for third in the standings despite  missing the first race.  A longer season would surely have favored the driver of the #555 car.  As it was, he won the finale, which was his fourth win of the season.  He also had two Trophy Dash wins this year.  What his 2017 plans are at the moment are unclear, but it's interesting that he ran with the Super 4's last week, raising some eye brows in the process.  Behind Shields in the Main Event was Milt Carter in the Jesse Merriman car and Hayfork Speedway competitor Andy Blackburn.  The Merriman car is up for sale for $1300.  Blackburn recently won the Trophy Dash and Main Event at Hayfork Speedway.

The Super 4's had a season high ten car field last week, and word is that this division will be seeing some new drivers next year.  Everybody who has competed in this class deserves a pat on the back for making it happen.  Last week saw the return of Mike Cloud in a pickup truck.  Charlie Eaton won the Trophy Dash and emerged from the evening with a one point lead over  Bill Spencer in the battle for third in the standings.  Eaton finished fourth in the Main Event ahead of one time winner Dan Prewitt and Spencer.

The battle for the championship may not be a battle after all.  Lee Doty was only two points behind John Barger going into the night, but a heat race win and dominant fourth Main Event win of the season moved him into a 14 point lead over Barger.  With four wins now, only a mechanical issue could stop Doty from achieving his championship goal.  If he wins it, he will surely have his hands full trying to defend it next year.  The Husband and wife team of Terry and Krista Hadley returned and finished a lead lap second and third last week.  Terry also won his heat race.  This is no surprise as he is a two time point runnerup in this class.  Even Krista has shined through the years as a past Top 5 point racer.

The Open Stock division was poised for a big show when Coos Bay chimed in with an added date on the night that would prevent Nathan Augustine, Kristy Grout and Tom Parry from coming.  The word was they were trying to get second ranked Thor Kristenson to skip the Coos Bay race and come to Southern Oregon Speedway for the bigger purse money, but Kristenson refused.  Nobody ended up racing at Coos Bay as the race was rained out and canceled late enough that nobody could load up and head for Medford.

Seven drivers did come to race, which included David Schmidt, Dustin Knight and Dustin Comer with sideboards on his car.  Unfortunately, Comer scratched early with motor problems.  Knight was the class of the field with dominant performances in winning his heat race and the Main Event.  This is no surprise as he has been a force in recent years in Super 4's competition.  Word is that there could be some other new cars coming from the shop of Rapp Racing next year.

While Knight was winning, the storyline was Bob Dees, his sons and his championship battle with Mike Linder.  Bob was joined by his son Garrett Dees, who was making his debut with his Street Stock motor under the hood just to get him out there.  John Dees was making his second Medford start.  Mike Linder had suffered a crash at Cottage Grove and was still struggling just a bit.  Ultimately, that cost him the point lead as B. Dees won his heat race and the Trophy Dash before finishing second in the Main Event.  Bob is the Open Stock champion.  Garrett, meanwhile, had a respectable debut in third.

Though there may still be a question as to what the future of Sprint Car racing will be at Southern Oregon Speedway, it is likely that you will continue to see it.  An effort was made to put the word out and get some support for the Hays Oil Championship night, and five drivers have committed with the possibility of two more.  Jake Wheeler has a 32 point lead over Jeffrey Hudson, but there's been no word if Jake will be there this week.  Hudson can take the point lead if Wheeler isn't there.  He could also lose second to Wayne Kniffen, who is planning to be there.  Kniffen is gunning for his first Trophy Dash win and will share the front row in the four lap race with Hudson this week.  Past Cottage Grove champion Raquel Ivie, Todd Whipple, Rowdy McClennon and possibly Jeremy Lowe could there.

There might be concern over the future of the Outlaw Pro Stock group, but there's interest in having the division at the track next season.  It may just be that a change is needed in the group, and the opening is there as Arlen Heath will be stepping down after the season and the banquet are done.  Steve Borror has won just about everything this year and has been unstoppable at times.  He will be going for another win to wrap up his championship, but second ranked Scott Flowers may have other ideas.  Flowers has had three straight second place seasons, and he wants that feature win.  Scott's son James Flowers has a battle on his hands with Matt Harlow for third, while his daughter Julia Flowers is battling NASCAR veteran Rocky Nash for fifth.  Nash is a feature winner, as is two time winner Miles Deubert.  Other drivers to watch for this week include two time champion Ken Irving, Scott Bennett, Roy Bain, Rick Lukens and Johnny Cobb.

With ten Top 3 finishes and three wins, Bob Burkett is the Mini Stock champion.  With two wins, 2014 champion Gary Anderson is second.  Up for gabs is the third point position.  Andrew Hall used his second runnerup finish of the season last time to cling to a four point lead over five time winner David Steele and two time Trophy Dash winner Merissa Henson.  Looking as good as he did last time, Hall has positioned himself as the driver with maybe the best chance of breaking the Steele-Burkett-Anderson strangle hold on the Main Event winner's circle.  There are some talented drivers in this group, including Kristopher Mix, Eric Hanson and Dan Borror and up and coming young talent like Devon Weiser, Dillen Lausen and Garrett Fredrickson.

After the season finale at Coos Bay Speedway this week for the track's regular Late Model, Sprint Car, Sportsman Stock Car and Hornet divisions, there will be money on the line on September 30-October 1 as part of the Lucas Oil Open Show.  The Top 3 in Late  Models will win $2000, $1500 and $1000, while the Top 3 in the Sportsman/Street Stock class gets $750, $500 and $350.  It's also the last race of the season on any of the big tracks in the State of Oregon.



Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car Season Concludes 
Night At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...Southern Oregon Speedway brings the curtain down on the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car season this Saturday night.  It will be the eighth Sprint Car race at the track this year.  When Mike McCann came in as promoter of the three-tenth mile clay oval, be assessed the situation and decided that a Winged Sprint Car division should be rebuilt there.  For over a decade there was a regular division there until the end of the 2010 season.  Open engine rules were used in the division reboot, though the 360 and Limited engine cars were the ones that supported. 

Sprint Car enthusiasts will know McCann's reputation for promoting Sprint Car racing at his race tracks.  He established a Sprint Car division at Riverside Speedway in Cottage Grove, Oregon, began the Winged 360 Sprint Car effort in Marysville, California and founded the Double Shot Series in Northern and Central Oregon, to name a few of his endeavors.  It was almost a given that it would happen at the Medford area track.

The season opened with second and third generation racers Vern Wheeler Jr. and his son Jake Wheeler running 1-2 in the first two Main Events.  Vern was the point leader before making a bombshell announcement that he was retiring to crew chief on son Jake's Reser's Fine Foods sponsored entry.  Jake responded by winning the next race ahead of a career best second place finish for low buck racer Wayne Kniffen.

Kniffen might have been in the title hunt this week, but the fourth event did not go well for him.  After a heat race crash did front end damage to his car, the second generation racer loaded up for the night.  Had he accepted the help offered by his fellow racers, Kniffen would be second in the standings with a shot at the championship going into Saturday.  As it is, he is third with a shot at second.

By this time, local Extreme Sprint Car star David Hibbard and his son Bailey Hibbard had expressed an interest in establishing a regular class at Southern Oregon Speedway for 2017.  Hibbard made an appearance that night.  After J. Wheeler won a heat race and his second Trophy Dash, he had a win snatched from him late in the Main Event thanks to a thrilling pass by D. Hibbard.  B. Hibbard was fourth.  In a rare move, the Hibbard team declined the purse money that night and further offered to put together a race date for their group later in the season.

That night, 15 year old hard charger Jeffery Hudson had an impressive showing with another third place feature finish and a heat race win.  These results moved him into second in the standings and helped give him a shot at the championship on Saturday.  This talented second generation racer won the Outlaw Pro Stock championship last season at 14 years old.

The group has also been supported early on by two-time Orland Wingless Sprint Car champion Bill Hopper, Yreka IMCA Modified star Todd Whipple, Dwarf Car ace Camden Robustelli and Jeremy Lowe.  Unfortunately, Hopper's efforts have been largely frustrating as he blew a tire on the way up to the first race and couldn't get the race car to start when he got there.  Whipple is still basically a rookie and improves with each start.  Robustelli had a third place finish and a win at Cottage Grove.  Lowe has been fighting engine issues.

The ill fated fifth race highlighted the struggle to get this class started as some of the top local teams have not gotten on board with the program.  Only J. Wheeler and Lowe showed for that race.  The next event turned out to be a good night for Aaron Miller.  Miller scored an emotional first career victory ahead of Trophy Dash winner Rowdy McClennon and Kniffen.  McClennon, who is a past Wingless Spec Sprint champion and won a 410 Sprint Car feature at Marysville last season, was driving for Mark Michelet.

During the season, the track hosted the seventh and final race of the Sprint Car Speed Week.  Washington Sprint Car veteran Trey Starks used the occasion to win his first Speedweek Main Event and series championship ahead.  Mitchell Faccinto scored a second place finish, and many time champion Roger Crockett impressed with some late moves for third.

The most recent event was seen as a possible audition for the Extreme Sprint Cars, and ten competitors showed up.  Hibbard put together the three race Triple Crown Series with an extra $1000 for the Series champion thanks to sponsorship from some great businesses, including Dave's Carpet and Vinyl Liquidators.  The consistent Kinzer Cox claimed that prize money, but the Main Event produced lots of excitement.

With a second to Rickey Ashley at Cottage Grove and a photo finish win over Cox at Coos Bay, David Hibbard figured to be the driver to beat.  His heat and Trophy Dash wins did nothing to change that perception.  He was surprised, however, when heat winner Raquel Ivie beat him on the start for the early Main Event lead.  Hibbard was making a run at Ivie when his motor gave up on him on lap 12.  Ivie was running along in the lead when she got slowed by traffic.

This is where David watched proudly as son Bailey Hibbard made an impressive pass on the outside on the back stretch on lap 20 for his first career victory. It was especially sweet as Bailey was beginning to have doubts about his ability.  Those doubts were removed as the young charger won with a season best second for Ivie and a third for Cooper Desbiens.

Could Extreme Sprint Cars be the future of the effot at Southern Oregon Speedway?  Nothing has been announced as of yet.  McCann always maintained that he would assess how things went this year before deciding on what to do next season.  Saturday night is the final round of the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car championship battle, and Jake Wheeler leads Jeffrey Hudson by 32 points.

Hudson can't get too comfortable with Wayne Kniffen only ten points behind him.  As Top 4 finishers last time, Kniffen and Hudson will start the evening in the Trophy Dash.  Other competitors anticipated this week include McClennon, Whipple and Ivie.  It could be that we get yet another new winner Saturday night.  For further information on this and other happenings at the track, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.

Southern Oregon Speedway
Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars
Jake Wheeler      140
Jeffrey Hudson  108
Wayne Kniffen      98
Bill Hopper      77
Vern Wheeler Jr. 74
Aaron Miller     60
Camden Robustelli 57
Todd Whipple      46
Rowdy McClennon    37
David Hibbard     34
Charlie Thompson 31
Bailey Hibbard     26   
Jeremy Lowe    26


Monday, September 19, 2016

Welshonse Wins IMCA Modified Main Event At Southern Oegon Speedway

Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion
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Welshonse Wins IMCA Modified Main Event
Wauge Champion At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...September 17...James Welshonse took advantage of a late race mishap to get the victory in the IMCA Modified Main Event Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway.  It was the first career win for the division's top rookie, and he nearly used it to overtake incoming point leader Mark Wauge.  Welshonse was running right behind leader Scott Lenz and Wauge when the two cars got together, leaving Wauge stuck in Turn 2 for the yellow flag.  Welshonse overtook Lenz on the restart and went on to victory ahead of Jesse Bailey.

Welshonse started what would be a clean sweep performance by winning the four lap Trophy Dash ahead of Wauge, and he continued that momentum with a six lap heat race win ahead of Albert Gill.  Bailey won the other heat race in front of Wauge.  After breaking his arm in a crash on preliminary night at the Lon Skinner Memorial race, Ray Kniffen Jr. put past Pro Stock champion Scott Lenz in his car.  Lenz had a front row start for the Main Event and charged into the lead at the green flag ahead of Scott Crumm and Wauge.  Wauge made a low pass in Turn 4 of the third lap to take over second, and James Welshonse started an impressive outside groove charge to the front from further back in the pack.  An outside pass in Turn 4 of the fourth lap gained Welshonse fifth from Duane Orsburn, and he followed Monte Bischoff past Crumm on lap six.  Welshonse continued to work the outside groove and made a Turn 2 pass on Bischoff for third on lap eight.  Wauge was pressuring Lenz for the lead before Welshonse closed in to make it a close three car battle.  Welshonse got a good run exiting Turn 4 on several occasions, but Wauge made his car wide to prevent the pass.  The complexion of the race changed on lap 19 when Wauge and Lenz got together in Turn 2.  Welshonse made contact with Wauge, but Lenz and Welshonse were able to continue moving.  Wauge made a pit stop and rejoined at the back of the pack with rear end damage.  Welshonse made short work of Lenz as he made an outside pass on the restart.  From there, Welshonse sped to an impressive victoy.  Bailey slipped past Lenz for second on lap 22 and would finish there.  Lenz settled for third ahead of Bischoff, Crumm, Gill, Duane Orsburn, Tyler Smith and final lead lap finisher Wauge.

Race Results
IMCA Modifieds
Trophy Dash-James Welshonse, Mark Wauge, Monte Bischoff, Duane Orsburn.  Heat 1-Jesse Bailey, Mark Wauge, Duane Orsburn, Scott Lenz, Chris Silva.  Heat 2-James Welshonse, Albert Gill, Monte Bischoff, Scott Crumm, Tyler Smith.  Main Event-James Welshonse, Jesse Bailey, Scott Lenz, Monte Bischoff, Scott Crumm, Albert Gill, Duane Orsburn, Tyler Smith, Mark Wauge, Chris Silva.

Melvin Wins Sport Modified Finale 
At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...September 17...Two time division champion Dwayne Melvin won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified season finale Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway.  Melvin was enjoying a good battle with Rich McCoy during the first half of the Main Event before a stalled race car changed the complexion of the race.  McCoy made contact with the car to end his race.  Melvin led the rest of the way to win ahead of the division's top rookie David Marble.

Marble got things started with his third four lap Trophy Dash victory ahead of Mike Medel.  Medel won a heat race ahead of Willie McFall, while Rich McCoy held off Marble to win their six lap heat race.  Despite a wrist injury suffered in the pits at the IMCA Nationals in Boone, Iowa, Jorddon Braaten was back behind the wheel in an effot to try to preserve his Oregon State point lead.  Braaten sat out the heat race and started last in the Main Event.  A.J. Parker led one lap of the Main Event before spinning in Turn 2.  Melvin led McCoy and Marble on the restart.  The lead duo had a close battle for the lead for several laps until they encountered the stalled McFall car on the back stretch on lap ten.  McCoy made contact with McFall to end his bid for a second win in his "Lightning McQueen" #95 car.  Melvin led Marble and Medel on the restart.  Melvin set a good pace up front.  Though Marble and new track champion Medel were not far behind him, Melvin collected his first win of the season.  Toby Judd finished fourth with Braaten right behind him in fifth.

Race Results
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Trophy Dash-David Marble, Mike Medel, A.J. Parker.  Heat 1-Mike Medel, Willie McFall, A.J. Parker.  Heat 2-Rich McCoy, David Marble, Dwayne Melvin, Toby Judd, Danny Role.  Main Event-Dwayne Melvin, David Marble, Mike Medel, Toby Judd, Jorddon Braaten, A.J. Parker, Danny Role, Willie McFall, Rich McCoy.


Doty Takes Super 4's Point Lead With Victory 
At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...September 17...Setting a blistering pace from his front row start, Lee Doty won the Super 4's Main Event Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway.  It was Doty's fourth win of the season and came by a wide margin as he moved past John Barger and into the point lead.  Terry Hadley returned and enjoyed a season best second place finish.

Charlie Eaton won his first four lap Trophy Dash ahead of Bill Spencer as the two championship contenders got together in the final turn.  A slower car presented Terry Hadley an opportunity to steal a six lap heat race win from Dan Prewitt on the last lap.  Doty won the other heat ahead of Krista Hadley.  T. Hadley and Doty shared the front row of the non stop Main Event, and Doty bolted into the lead at the start ahead of T. Hadley and K. Hadley.  Doty was into lapped traffic by the mid point of the race, and he lapped fourth place Eaton by lap 16.  Doty had a 2/3 lap lead over T. Hadley by the time the checkered flag flew with K. Hadley the final lead lap finisher.  Eaton won a close race with Prewitt for the fourth place finish as Spencer and Barger rounded out the Top 7.

Race Results
Super 4's
Trophy Dash-Charlie Eaton, Bill Spencer, Lee Doty, John Barger.  Heat 1-Terry Hadley, Dan Prewitt, Bill Spencer, John  Barger, Joby Shields.  Heat 2-Lee Doty, Krista Hadley, Charlie Eaton, Mike Cloud, Eric Oahs.  Main Event-Lee Doty, Terry Hadley, Krista Hadley, Charlie Eaton, Dan Prewitt, Bill Spencer, John Barger, Eric Oahs, Joby Shields, Mike Cloud.


Knight Wins Open Stock Finale, Bob Dees Champion 
At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...September 17...Setting a blistering pace from the start in his new Late Model, Dustin Knight won the 20 lap Open Stock Main Event Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway.  Knight was turning the 1/3 mile clay oval with laps in the 12 second bracket as he won by 2/3 of a lap ahead of Bob Dees.  Dees used his finish to take the division championship.

Dustin Comer had motor problems in hot laps to end his evening.  Bob Dees won the four lap Trophy Dash ahead of incoming point leader Mike Linder.  B. Dees continued a good night's effort by winning his six lap heat race ahead of his son John Dees.  Knight won his heat race ahead of the division debut of Garrett Dees.  Knight and B. Dees had the front row for the Main Event, and Knight immediately launched into the lead at the start of another non stop race.  G. Dees settled into third and J. Dees and David Schmidt battled side by side at times for fourth.  Knight had already lapped Linder by lap six and lapped J. Dees and Schmidt in the midst of their side by side battle on lap 15.  Schmidt also passed J. Dees for fourth.  Third place G. Dees was lapped on lap 16, and Knight scored the impresive victory ahead of the season best second place effort for new champion B. Dees.  G. Dees finished third ahead of Schmidt, J. Dees and Linder.

Race Results
Open Stock
Trophy Dash-Bob Dees, Mike Linder, John Dees.  Heat 1-Dustin Knight, Garrett Dees, David Schmidt.  Heat 2-Bob Dees, John Dees, Mike Linder.  Main Event-Dustin Knight, Bob Dees, Garett Dees, David Schmidt, John Dees, Mike Linder, Dustin Comer (DNS).


Shields Closes Season With Third Straight Win, 
Hedges Hornets Champion At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...September 17...Joby Shields brought the curtain down on the third Hornets season at Southern Oregon Speedway with a victory in the 20 lap Main Event Saturday night.  It was his third straight win and fourth of the season.  After winning his second Trophy Dash of the year, Tim Hedges was content to ride around behind rival Derrel Nelson Jr. for a championship clinching fifth place finish as Nelson continued to struggle with motor problems.  For the second time this year, the car count reached a division record of six cars.

Hedges won a thrilling four lap Trophy Dash ahead of Shields.  That was the only race Shields would lose as he won the six lap heat race ahead of Milt Carter in the Jesse Merriman car, which is currently up for sale.  Shields raced into the Main Event lead as Carter and Hayfork Speedway star Andy Blackburn battled for second.  Nelson had been struggling with timing problems the week before, and the two time feature winner still didn't have it all situated as he ran fourth.  Shields lapped John Hoult on lap 12, and Hedges went down a lap on lap 17.  Shields won the race by a half-lap ahead of Carter, Blackburn, Nelson, Hedges and Hoult as all cars finished the non stop race.

Race Results
Hornets
Trophy Dash-Tim Hedges, Joby Shields, Derrel Nelson Jr., John Hoult.  Heat-Joby Shields, Milt Carter, Andy Blackburn, Derrel Nelson Jr., Tim Hedges.  Main Event-Joby Shields, Milt Carter, Andy Blackburn, Derrel Nelson Jr., Tim Hedges, John Hoult.

Morton, Yawnick Score Wins At Siskiyou Motor Speedway

Yreka, CA...September 17......As the season winds down at Siskiyou Motor Speedway, there are still some championships to be decided and racers looking to add their names to the winner's column.  On Saturday night, young Dwarf Car ace Kalvin Morton won his first 25 lap O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified Main Event in only his third start.  In McDonald's Mini Stocks, point leader Marilyn Yawnick served a reminder to the competition that she came to win her first championship as she held off reigning champion David Steele for her fourth victory.

Kalvin Morton's win in the Sport Modified 25 lap Main Event makes him the 13th different winner.  Colton Cheffey had his sights set on win #4 and looked like he was going to make it happen.  To highlight just how good Cheffey is, he won both of his eight lap heat races and the four lap Trophy Dash ahead of reigning champion Colter Boswell in all three races.  It seemed likely that the Main Event would be his as well.  Morton won a heat race ahead of point leader Jimmy Lipke.  Come Main Event time, Morton set a blistering pace and scored the win by half a lap.  Cheffey still finished second ahead of Doug Franklin.  Lipke protected his point lead with a fourth place finish ahead of heat race winner D.J. Bottoms, Randy Wright, Garrett Hamilton, Jack Waldon III, David Henshaw and Colter Boswell.

Marilyn Yawnick's fourth 25 lap Mini Stock Main Event win might have come out of nowhere.  Like the Sport Modifieds, the drivers got to run a pair of eight lap heat races, and this led to four winners, including Mike Colson, Michael Johnson, David Steele and Terry Kendrick.  Aaron Jorgensen won the four lap Trophy Dash.  Yawnick's best preliminary effort of the night was a third in a heat race, but she saved the best for last in the Main Event.  With a driver as fast as Steele on your back bumper, you have to run a smooth race.  Yawnick scored the win, but Steele was a very close second.  It is interesting to note that Yawnick's three previous wins also came with Steele a close second.  Killingsworth maintained his hold on second in the standings with a close third place finish as Aaron Jorgensen was a season best fourth.  Colson continued a solid night with a fifth place finish ahead of Dan Borror, Mike Frost, Randy Simmons, Mike Whitaker and Dennis Jorgensen.

Racing season closes with the big $3000 to win IMCA Modified race this Saturday night.  It is the Rod Restad Memorial race, which honors the beloved former promoter of the track.  O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks are also on the schedule in what should be a great night of racing.  For further information, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Jefferson Pit Stops, Weekend Previews

The DCRR Racing Radio Show
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Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion
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Pit Stops

Racing season is nearing its conclusion at tracks up and down the Jefferson Region, which makes us think about the 2017 season and beyond.  What will be in store next year, and will track unity factor into any of the scheduling decisions?  Obviously, you can't always consider what the other track is doing.  Sometimes, you can't help but book a certain way in the interest of your own track.  Sometimes, there are scheduling decisions that are real head scratchers.  Take for instance the Open Stock division at Southern Oregon Speedway.

On September 17th, the new division, which is an attempt to bring Late Models back to the area, will run their final event of the season.  About a month ago, Coos Bay decided to put a race on the schedule where there was none on September 17th.  Initially, it was even booked as a double point event to make sure the regulars never strayed.  Management has since backed off of the double points aspect, but the date itself remains.  Coos Bay is usually paying $200-$300 to win, depending on car count, while Southern Oregon Speedway is paying $500 regardless of car count.

Word was that a few racers brought up the money difference at Coos Bay, which wasn't received well by the powers that be.  Might that have factored into the hastily scheduled race date?  Whatever the case may be, there were a few teams planning to come to Southern Oregon Speedway that have had to reconsider due to the point racing situation.  Nathan Augustine and Kristy Grout visited Southern Oregon Speedway earlier this season and hoped to make a return on August 20th before that race was canceled due to excessive heat.  It might have been a missed opportunity as support was said to be in the ten car area that weekend. 

Coos Bay added a date that weekend after the cancellation to give the racers a place to go and did pretty well considering the late booking.  It's still a bit disappointing that they went with the September 17th date knowing fully well that Southern Oregon Speedway had a race.  Coos Bay is also hosting the final SODCA Dwarf Car point race that night, making sure they had a division that could match Late Models in car count to go along with all of the other classes.  Southern Oregon Speedway will still go on with the planned race date and anticipates a field of six cars will be there just like last time.

There are some good examples of tracks working together in Jefferson.  Tracks in Chico, Marysville, Placerville and Orland tend to work together.  It does help things that Chico and Marysville have the same management.  When one track has a big race for a certain division, the others tend to leave that date alone if possible.  Ukiah and Lakeport share the same car base and are promoted by Furia Motorsports and NCRA.  They are examples of tracks working together so that everybody wins. 

Then, you have the case of Southern Oregon Speedway and Siskiyou Motor Speedway.  In some circles in the Medford area, the Yreka Fairgrounds facility is seen as mooching off of their car base.  Some see it as another racing opportunity and some see it in a negative light.  Back in the 1980's, Yreka was that option for the disgruntled Medford area racer.  In the late 1980's, it was the only option as The Posse Grounds track closed.  For seven seasons, Yreka was the only game in town, and they did well.

When Southern Oregon Speedway opened, there was a period of about a decade where they were putting out some really good car counts.  Yreka stumbled out of the 1990's, but they had some good seasons as the next decade began.  These days, it is the racer organized SCMA that is promoting the track, which may mean a difference in philosophy from Medford promotions, where it is more of a business.  The prime goal in Yreka is to keep the track alive, while the goal in Medford is to run it like a business.  Keep the track alive, but also make it profitable after years of neglect.  And, make it worthwhile to put forth the effort.  Can the two tracks forge a partnership under these circumstances?

Medford has ten different divisions.  The two tracks share IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks.  The SODCA Dwarf Cars and Outlaw Pro Stocks race at both places.  Medford is doing slightly better in Mini Stocks, Yreka is slightly better in IMCA Sport Modifieds and Medford has the IMCA Modified car base.  If Yreka has success in that class, it's largely due to Medford support.  There are cars in the Yreka area that barely support or don't support.  This needs to be examined.  Can Yreka build this class back up, or is it on it's last legs?  Chico faced a similar decision, and they had more cars before making a decision to drop the class.

The problem is, what do you add to Yreka's roster?  It's obvious that they can use a new division or two to help round out the Sport Modified and Mini Stock shows.  However, what can they add?  Keeping Dwarf Car and Pro Stock visits on the schedule wouldn't hurt.  The track did have a Street Stock effort before that had 6-8 cars showing up.  Even that many cars in Pro Stocks would help.  Two obvious possibilities are a bare bones Hobby Stock or Pure Stock division and Hornets.  A key to this is having somebody in the area who could build some cars, and Hornets might be the quicker route.  The cars are cheaper to build, and you could have somebody build a half dozen of them quickly, possibility with support from an auto wrecker sponsor that could be the title sponsor of the Hornets.

But, the bigger question is could there be a series worked out between the two tracks or at least something the two tracks could share for a couple of weekends next year?  Might a track go to Friday nights in the interest of making it possible for two track racers to compete?  The only down side to that regarding IMCA is it would not go towards a State point race as the two tacks are in different states.  However, there's no rule that says there couldn't be a two track series that would  involve the three divisions they have in common.  Of course, which track would make the move to Friday?  This is all speculative.  If nothing else, it would not take much work to plan out a little something where both tracks can benefit.

Yreka race fans would probably love to have a taste of Sprint Car racing.  One of the things Medford management is intent on doing is establishing a Sprint Car program.  Through the years, Mike McCann has built up some nice Sprint Car programs.  He established divisions in Marysville and Cottage Grove and had Sprint Cars at Sunset Speedway and Eugene Speedway as well.  Plus, there was the Double Shot Series that he founded.  McCann entered the picture in Medford with the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car class and allowed all Sprint Cars an opportunity to be a part of it. However, he met with resistance from a certain individual who used his influence to keep drivers from supporting.

While there is a desire for Wingless Sprint Car racing and something will happen at some point, the need for a winged division is there.  Two weeks ago, the track welcomed the Extreme Sprint Cars.  There are said to be a half dozen cars in production in the area for next year, and there were ten racers at the track last Saturday for the event that David Hibbard put together.  Odds are petty good that this may be the way the track goes next season, and the good news for those drivers is that the purse paid this season will remain next year.  Therefore, they are getting a raise over the purse they compete for in Cottage Grove.  There will be more news in the weeks ahead.

IMCA Modified and Sport Modified races are also on the schedule this week at Southern Oregon Speedway.  Certainly, Modified drivers would have liked a few more races in 2016, but that could go in their favor next year.  As it is, they have mostly delivered decent car counts on those regular nights, and the fans have seen some good racers such as Mark Wauge, two time reigning champion Albert Gill, rookie James Welshonse, Yreka point leader Duane Orsburn, Monte Bischoff and Ray Kniffen Jr. Wauge has two big wins this year and leads Welshonse by just nine points going into the finale.

The IMCA Sport Modified race was rocked by the dream come true turned nightmare scenario of two time reigning champion Jorddon Braaten.  Braaten went to Boone, Iowa for the IMCA Nationals, and left with a broken wrist suffered in the pits.  Braaten had already decided he was moving up to Modifieds next year and willingly sacrificed his lead in points at the track to reigning Oregon State champion Mike Medel.  However, he still had a shot to win the State this year and will win the $600 prize and trophy in the North West Sport Modified Challenge Series.  As it looks like Braaten will not start this week, Medel is poised to repeat as State champion as well.

Medel celebrated his good fortune with a non point win last week ahead of likely "Rookie Of The Year" David Marble and newcomer Kalvin Morton.  Morton got the ride in the #2 car and hopes to be able to go full time next year.  Last week also saw the season debut of Mini Stock graduate Toby Judd.  The Sport Modifieds don't have the car base that the Modifieds have just yet, but drivers have generally been supportive this season.  It will be interesting to see how they close the season.  As it is, you have to salute such dedicated racers as A.J. Parker, Tony Bartell, Willie McFall and Rich McCoy for being good supporters of the class.

The Open Stocks had six cars the last time they competed, but two of those visitors are tied up in points at Coos Bay and won't be there this week.  Speaking of points, Mike Linder leads Bob Dees going into this race.  These two are staunch supporters of the division.  John Dees is anticipated this week along with the two time Outlaw Pro Stock winner Miles Deubert, who ran the first race with the Open Stock class.  Dustin Comer and a car from the shops of Rapp Racing are also said to be coming, and we'll see how things go.  If this thing can gather some momentum, the Open Stocks could become quite a show to watch in 2017.  The rules allow for Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro Stocks and any fendered Stock Cars to compete.

The Super 4's have now had nine different competitors as the class has returned to Medford after a two year layoff.  They run the final two races of the season and are hoping to end the season on a high note.  After failing to start the season opener, three time winner Lee Doty trails 2013 champion John Barger by only two points.  Doty and Barger are the two drivers leading the crusade to build this class.  Doty has been actively working to get more drivers to join the cause, and next season should be even better.  Doty's teammate Bill Spencer holds a slim lead over one time winner Dan Prewitt in a good race for third.  Add Charlie Eaton, Eric Oahs and hopefully Terry and Krista Hadley to the mix this week, and it should be a good show.

The call has been made to get the Hornets to the track and a purse has been paid, but there is still a struggle to grow the class in what is its third season.  Joby Shields won for the third time last week, but he's not in the championship battle due to missing the opener.  However, with all Top 3 finishes and still no feature wins, Tim Hedges leads a good battle with two time winner Derrel Nelson Jr. and John Hoult.  Who else might show up is still a mystery after the revelation that Mini Stock racer Devon Weiser and his Hornet driving girlfriend Heather Menzel aren't racing anymore this year.  Jesse Merriman raced last week but fell out of second when the battery cable came off.  Word was there might be a new driver or two, but that remains to be seen.  Hedges revealed his intent to build two more cars next season due to the affordability of the class.

Mini Stocks will be back on September 24th.  In terms of dedicated support, this division has gone unmatched this season.  After four second place point seasons, Bob Burkett will be the 2016 champion.  Up until now, he has had three wins and all Top 3 Main Event finishes.  With two wins, 2014 champion Gary Anderson will finish second.  The battle is for third where only four points separate Andrew Hall, two time Trophy Dash winner Merissa Henson and five time Main Event winner David Steele in a good battle for third.  Steele impressed with his most recent victory, but Hall had a strong season best second and Henson finished fifth after earlier winning the Trophy Dash.

Also slated to be on the program for the drivers who have supported the show is a B Dash for non race winners.  This will provide teenagers Dillen Lausen, Mikey Johnson and Garrett Fredrickson a chance to race for a win.  Other drivers eligible include Randy Simmons, Dan Borror, Eric Hanson and Patrick Stringer-Stine.  These drivers have all done a great job of supporting the races this season, and one of them will win a trophy with their first win of the year here.  The question is, who?

The other question is who is the SODCA Dwarf Car point leader.  The official website has no current points, and we have assumed with all of the winning he has been doing that Brock Peters is the leader.  However, we've been informed that there is a two race throwaway rule that will keep multi time feature winners Kalvin Morton and Camden Robustelli in the hunt.  There was word that Morton may not be in this week's finale at Coos Bay, though we will wait and see.  If he's not, he will likely be driving the #2 Sport Modified.  Of course, last week it was Josh King reminding the others who the two time reigning champion is when he won for the third time this year.  Cody Peters led 16 laps of the race and lost second with a final turn spin as Robustelli claimed the finish over Chad Cardoza.  That duo had won the two Main Events a week earlier as part of the Lon Skinner Memorial race weekend.

There is also the matter of the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car point season finale, and Wayne Kniffen might be kicking himself that he had that crash in a race and declined the offer from others to get his car ready for the Main Event.  With those points, he might be in the championship hunt in the September 24th event.  As it is, he feels good about his chances of grabbing a win and has secured the outside front row start for the Trophy Dash.  We anticipate that previous winner Aaron Miller, Rowdy McClennon and title hopeful Jeffrey Hudson will be there.  There's no word on Jake Wheeler, Jeremy Lowe or Todd Whipple, but there could be an Extreme Sprint Car competitor or two in the field.

What you have in the field at Siskiyou Motor Speedway are some talented younger drivers rising up the ladder of success.  Second generation leadfoot Colton Cheffey has surprised the roster in the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified division at the top of the feature winner's list with three victories.  Colton won last week ahead of second ranked Garrett Hamilton. Though it wasn't for regular points due to the fact that IMCA doesn't allow tracks to have points on National's Weekend, he did win the Patriot Series Championship.  The win list is loaded with talent, including IMCA point leader Jimmy Lipke, Randy Wright, Kurt Lorenzini, reigning champion Colter Boswell and Doug Franlkin.  The win list is now up to a dozen drivers, and the list of Trophy Dash winners is nearly as long.  Last week, another second generation star, D.J. Bottoms, grabbed a win in that race.

McDonald's Mini Stocks are always an exciting show to see.  Reigning champion David Steele bowed out of the race to go have some fun at his home track in Medford, leaving the race between "Big Mac" Marilyn Yawnick, "The Holy Terror" Terry Kendrick and young gun Ethan Killingsworth.  Killingsworth had a near perfect weekend last week in winning his first career Main Event ahead of Kendrick.  Kendrick is a past champion in this division.  Killingsworth is currently second in the standings in a close battle with one time winner Kendrick.  Yawnick wasn't lurking too far back in fourth, and the three time winner is just two races away from wrapping up what could be her fist career championship.  Marilyn has been a staunch supporter of this division for several years.  There are some good drivers in this division, including feature winners Brian Jorgensen and "Magic " Mike Whitaker, Mike Frost, Mike Colson and Amber Waldon.  Whitaker is the 2015 runnerup and 2014 champion, but this year has been up and down for him.

The exclamation point on the season comes on September 24th with the Annual Rod Restad Memorial IMCA Modified race.  It will pay $3000 to win, $2000 for second and $1000 for third, making this one of the highest paying races for this division anywhere in California.  Last year, a $4000 prize was claimed by Jake Holland, who recently won $2500 in the Lon Skinner Memorial race at Medford for second.  There were 32 cars last year, and a similar field is anticipated this year.  It should include two time race winner and 2015 champion Nick Trenchard, six time Medford champion Mark Wauge, two time Medford champion Albert Gill, multi division Medford champion  Brian Poppa, point leader Duane Orsburn, hard charger Monte Bischoff and several others.  Add Mini Stocks and Sport Modifieds to the program, and this will be a great race to see.

Up at Douglas County Speedway, they had another show with a variety of divisions.  The track features Hardtop racing, and they were on the card last Saturday night with Harlem Cox winning ahead of Doug Coffman and Greg Hickman.  Noteworthy in the Pro 4 Wedge Car class was Medford Sport Modified racer Rich McCoy finishing second behind Dustin Knight.  Andy Nelson was third.  Daniel Jobe won the Modified feature ahead of Devin LaHourge and Herman Pulyer.  Roseburg does have a Street Stock class, and Matt Klass won the Main Event ahead of Kevin Ballard and Nicholas Hansen.  Not to be forgotten are the Hornets, which usually field the most cars in the PRA events.  That was again the case last week as Pete Lemon won ahead of Bob Vancil and hard charger Neil Pecor.

Hornets were part of the NASCAR West event at the end of August with Roseville racer Keith Hopkinson making the trip north and winning ahead of Donnie Fain and Vancil.  The Modifieds had one of their better turnouts of the year with Kris Price winning ahead of Eric Price and Andrew Koens.

Further south on the dirt of Chico Silver Dollar Speedway, the World of Outlaws stars came to support Gold Cup Weekend.  Rico Abreu walked away with one of his biggest dirt track wins ahead of Daryn Pittman.  Local area star Andy Forsberg, Shane Stewart and Austin Wheatley rounded out the Top 5 in the big event.  The companion IMCA Sport Modified race was won by Marysville champion Todd Cooper ahead of Friday night winner Mark Abouzeid and Yreka point leader Jimmy Lipke.

Back to the pavement, we give shout outs to Chris Paulson for his win at Roseville in the Bomber class ahead of Blake Disoma and Chris Stachniuk.  Roseburg Street Stock Smackdown winner Rich Lavallee won the Street Stock race ahead of Andrew Peeler and Dan Farrington.  Erick Ray won the F4 feature ahead of Travis Lewis and Keith Hopkinson Jr.  Cody Jessop won the NCMA race ahead of Denny Burrell and Jerry Kobza.

At Lakeport, Bob Mook won the Bomber race ahead of Roy Ingalls Jr. and Dave Land III.  Darin Sullivan won the Modified race ahead of veteran Richie Potts and Darrin Knight.  Cameron Austin won the Legends Main Event ahead of Jeremy Doss and Cody Winchel.  Jimmy Badeker won the Pro 4 race ahead of Sami Nuno and Neo Nuno.

This weekend's slate includes an IMCA Modifieds and Sport Modifieds, Super 4's, Open Stocks and Hornets race at Southern Oregon Speedway.  Siskiyou Motor Speedway has O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks.  On Fan Appreciation Night, Orland Raceway wraps up their point season with Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Trucks and Micro Sprints.  It's another opportunity to check out some great racing with some good weather as well.

Welshonse Could End Rookie Season With IMCA Modified Championship At Southern Oregon Speedway

 White City, Oregon...With one race remaining on the schedule for the IMCA Modifieds, the track championship is still up for grabs.  It probably comes as no surprise to find Mark Wauge leading the way in his bid for a seventh division championship.  You may not be surprised to see two time Street Stock champion Duane Orsburn in the mix.  However, it's doubtful anybody anticipated that James Welshonse would be nine points out of the lead going into the final race.

In fact, James wasn't even sure he would be racing an IMCA Modified this year.  He sold his Sport Modified prior to the season.  "We were looking at another Sport Modified, but I was also a bit concerned with car count in the division " said Welshonse.  "The Modifieds had better driver support last season, and the deal for this car was just too good to pass up."

James has been competitive in several different divisions in his career.  At Reno-Fernley Raceway in Nevada, he just missed winning a very competitive championship and settled for second.  He came to Southern Oregon Speedway a few seasons ago in hopes of running the Street Stock class.  "I was a bit disappointed when only two cars showed up, " he recalled.  "I was used to the full fields we had in Nevada."

Fortunately, the program offered something he could get behind in the Mini Stock division.  He improved from sixth in points in 2013 to fourth a year later.  "I built a car, and we were pretty competitive, but then the car got destroyed at Yreka, " James explained.  "It was a two race weekend.  We won the first one, but got taken out the next night.  That's when I decided to move up."

Welshonse got a good deal on a Sport Modified and split his time racing at Medford and Yreka last year.  When he got a good offer from someone looking to buy the car during the off season, he made the sale.  The opportunity to move up to a full IMCA Modified was too good to pass up.  "These cars are a blast to drive, and I've already learned so much.  I feel like we are pretty competitive already."

James has won two Trophy Dashes at Medford and another one in Yreka, where he lost a close race for a Main Event win.  His real opportunity for a feature win came earlier this season at Southern Oregon Speedway.  After winning the heat race and Trophy Dash, he led most of the Main Event ahead of Orsburn.  Then, it slipped away from him when the yellow flag flew for Daniel Herrera's crash.  "I could feel the handling on the car going away, " said Welshonse.  "but I felt like I could still win the race.  What we didn't need was that yellow flag.  I tried, but I couldn't hold Duane off.  It was disappointing, but we're still having fun."

After the Lon Skinner Memorial, he actually gained more points than either Mark Wauge or Duane Orsburn.  He moved into second in the standings, just nine points behind Wauge and four ahead of Orsburn.  Considering how hard he had to work coming from the C Main to the big 100 lap Main Event, it was a big accomplishment.  "I figured we might have a shot at Rookie Of The Year, " James admitted.  "If we can pull off the championship, that would be nice too.  It's nice just to be in contention."

IMCA Modifieds are only part of this week's show.  Mike Medel is poised to win his first IMCA Sport Modified track championship this week.  The Open Stock Car class will reportedly see some new visitors this week, while Hornets and Super 4's round out a five division program.  Gates open at 5:00 p.m. with the first race starting at 7:00 p.m.  Adult tickets are $12 with Juniors and Seniors $6.00 and children 5 and under free.  For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.

Pit Stops

Mike Medel appeared to be headed for another respectable second place finish in IMCA Sport Modified points when point leader Jorddon Braatten got the offer to load his car with California IMCA State champion Fred Ryland and compete in the big IMCA Nationals event in Boone, Iowa.  There was no way Braaten was passing that up.  Having won the last two track championships, the decision has already been made by Braaten to move up to the IMCA Modifieds in 2017.

Medel and rookie David Marble both moved by Braaten after the two races on Lon Skinner Memorial weekend, though the weekend wasn't the best for either of them.  Medel left little doubt after the points were tallied that he will be the likely champion as long as he takes a green flag in the Main Event this week.  He also stands a good chance of repeating as Oregon State champion.

After gaining the point lead, Mike flew to Iowa to crew for his good friend's racing effort.  Unfortunately for Bratten, an accident in the pits left him with a wrist injury and unable to compete.  Medel caught a flight back in time to race in the non point event last week.

Despite heavy pressure from Marble and Dwarf Car ace Kalvin Morton, Medel won his first Main Event of the season.  "David has done a good job all year and it's been fun racing with him, " said Medel.  "The car was running pretty good, and it feels good to finally get a win here.  Hopefully we can do it again."

While Morton will reportedly be one of the rookies in the class next year, A.J. Parker is a rookie this year.  He nearly pulled off the surprise Trophy Dash win last week before settling for second behind Marble.  Parker has a shot at third in the standings.  "I'm hoping we can get it, " said A.J.  "It would be nice, but it's been a good season either way.  We've had fun, and we're coming back next year with a new car."

The Open Stock division comes back this week with Mike Linder holding a six point lead over Bob Dees.  Linder has two feature wins so far this year.  Both drivers have done some racing at Cottage Grove and Coos Bay this year as they work to spread the word of Late Models returning to Southern Oregon Speedway via the Open Stock class.  Bob's son John Dees made his division debut last time.

The last race was won impressively by Coos Bay point leader Nathan Augustine.  The original plans were for Augustine, Kristy Grout and others to come this week, but those plans have been effected by Coos Bay's addition of another point race for the Late Models this week.  Late Model veteran Dustin Comer is planning to visit, and we've gotten word that two time Outlaw Pro Stock feature winner Miles Deubert is preparing for another visit to shake things down for the September 24th Pro Stock finale.

The Super 4's division continues to gather momentum, and the drivers are hoping to end things on a strong note this week and next week.  With three Top 3 finishes and a Trophy Dash win, John Barger is clinging to a two point lead over Lee Doty. 

If not for the fact that he scratched from the Main Event at the season opener, Doty would be leading the standings now.  He came back in the next race and hit the wall in his heat race.  His night might have ended there if not for the help he had from his fellow competitors getting the car back together for the Main Event.  With three dash wins and three feature wins, Doty is very much the driver to beat.

Of more importance to these competitors is the fact that they are reestablishing a division at the track that was popular and very competitive for years.  After John Barger's 2013 championship run, the class was dropped.  Already nine different drivers have competed this year, and Doty is working to get others out there before season's end.

Doty's teammate, Bill Spencer, has been running on backup power as he holds a three point lead over Dan Prewitt in the race for third.  "Other than the blown motor we had, I've been having a lot of fun racing here this season, " said Spencer, who has one third place finish so far.  "It's great to be able to race here again."

The Hornets have struggled to gain traction at the speedway this season.  Car count average is up, but it was hoped that there would be more of them out there.  Though rumors have circulated to the contrary, Hornets will be back in 2017.  This is good news to Tim Hedges, who just used a second place finish to take the point lead going into this week.  "We're planning to build a couple more cars next year, " Hedges revealed.  "I'm having fun here, and it's affordable enough for us to build a couple more cars and help get things going."

Two time winner Derrel Nelson Jr. had a disappointing night at the back of the pack last week, which cost him the lead to Hedges.  However, the team will be back next year.  In fact, Darrel is also planning to put together a second car.  They may all be chasing Joby Shields, who won his third Main Event last week.  Shields is not in the championship battle due to missing a race, but he is a threat to win any race in which he starts.

Southern Oregon Speedway Points
IMCA Modified

1m      Mark Wauge    203
2g      James Welshonse 194
0      Duane Orsburn      190
89c      Albert Gill     180
54n      Nick Trenchard     150

IMCA Sport Mod

30m      Mike Medel      336
4m      David Marble      322
84      Jorddon Braaten    304
76      A.J. Parker      278
4y      Jimmy Lipke      250

Open Stock

22      Mike Linder     105
6      Bob Dees      99
24     Nathan Augustine     39
3d      Miles Deubert      29
88     Jeffrey Hudson     28

Super 4's
7b      John Barger      146
7     Lee Doty      144
99     Bill Spencer      122
5     Charlie Eaton     119
29     Dan Prewitt     97

Hornets
14      Tim Hedges      165
8g      Derrel Nelson Jr.     160
67      John Hoult      155
555     Joby Shields     142
2h     Heather Menzel     76






Fan Appreciation Night This Saturday At Orland Raceway

Orland, CA...The tenth and final point race of the season is set for this Saturday night at Orland Raceway, and there is news of more races to come next month. But first, it is O'Reilly Auto Parts Fan Appreciation Night this Saturday night with some special things lined up.

In addition to Hobby Stock, Mini Stock, Mini Truck and Micro Sprint racing on the one-fifth mile oval, there will be a meet and greet with the drivers in the grandstand area from 3-5:00 p.m. Saturday night. At that time, the track will be serving free hot dog meals while the fans get a chance to interact with their favorite drivers. Also during the night, the track will be raffling off a patio furniture set along with other prizes for some lucky fans.

After what has been a successful relaunching of the track under the new management team of Rich Hood, the track has added race dates on October 1st and 15th. Planning has already begun for a bigger race on October 29th. Before we get to those dates, there are some new champions to crown in the point series finale this Saturday night.

In the Pure Stock division, two time winner Steve Martin has already secured his second track championship, but there is a battle for second. Two time winner Jeremy Langenderfer has a five point advantage over three time winner Shannon Collins for second in the standings. Despite some bad luck lately, Cody Bundy is still only nine points out of second in the standings.

When two time winner Dan Webster takes the green flag this week, he will secure his first career Mini Truck championship. Reigning champion Keith Ross is a four time winner this year and leads William Fogle by 14 points in a good battle for second. Two time winner Olin Crane was in the battle before putting Jeff Bennett behind the wheel of his truck for a pair of races.

John Kirkpatrick will basically wrap up his second Mini Stock track championship simply by taking a green flag in the Main Event. Since he's finished as high as second this season, John is hoping to get a victory to end the point season. That may be difficult as Tom Davis won for the fifth time in the most recent race. One time winner Robert Hunt currently ranks second in the standings.

Andrew Love will be the 250 Micro Sprint champion while Jeremie Crismon repeats as 600 Micro Sprint champion. Both divisions have still produced several different winners. Kenny Wanderstadt (600's) and Jackie Whitson Jr. (250's) were the respective winners last time as the track focuses on building a Micro Sprint program.

The racers have been putting on a good show all season, and fans can meet them and get pictures and autographs before the races this Saturday night. Plus, the 3-5:00 p.m. gathering offers up free hot dog meals for everybody. It's all part of Fan Appreciation night at the races. Racing starts at 7:00 p.m. General admission is $7.00, children 7-12 are $5.00 and children 6 and under are free. For further information, go to, www.orlandraceway.org.

Orland Raceway Point Standings
Pure Stock
Steve Martin 443
Jeremy Langenderfer 312
Shannon Collins 307
Cody Bundy 303
Earl Adams 272

Mini Trucks
Dan Webster 413
Keith Ross 374
William Fogle 360
Olin Crain 264
Ross Vige 247

Mini Stock
John Kirkpatrick 425
Robert Hunt 396
Tom Davis 324
Donovan Chilton 263
Jeff Bennett 250

250 Micros
Andrew Love 288
Dave McKinnon 151
Ronnie Heyer 144
Jess Garland 140
Jackie Whitson Jr. 110

600 Micros
Jeromie Crismon 367
Skyler Richter 294
Toni Alosi 156
Kyra Michelet 153
Rick Gutzke 106



New Stars Emerging At Siskiyou Motor Speedway

Yreka, CA...Racing continues at Siskiyou Motor Speedway this Saturday night with the IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks both in action.  From 11:00 in the morning to 2:00 in the afternoon, there will also be a playday on the new banked, eighth-mile clay oval Outlaw Kart track.  The smaller track is where the future stars of the bigger track will come from.  Some of those drivers may some day be the ones challenging the stars who are now emerging on the big track.

Last week saw young Colton Cheffey score his third Main Event win of the season in the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds.  Nobody has more wins in this division this season than Cheffey, who also won the Patriot Series championship with his latest victory.  The reality is that the competition in this class is so fierce that there are a dozen different Main Event winners so far.

Another of the up and coming drivers, D.J. Bottoms, gave sign of things to come when he won his first Trophy Dash earlier in the evening.  D.J. will be hoping to challenge for a Main Event victory this Saturday night when point racing resumes.  At the top of the point ladder is Jimmy Lipke, who has been fairly consistent in finishing in the Top 5 this year.  Lipke also got his first win earlier this season as he leads Garrett Hamilton in the IMCA championship battle. 

The SCMA also keeps a point race for it's members, and Hamilton leads last year's association champion, Doug Franklin, in that race.  These three front runners and the two rising young stars could be joined in battle this week by reigning championship Colter Boswell, Jack Waldon Jr., Randy Wright and others.

Another talented teen burning up the scene in McDonald's Mini Stocks is 14 year old Ethan Killingsworth.  After several second and third place finishes, Killingsworth emerged with his first win last week.  Ethan and fellow Mini Truck racer Terry Kendrick are battling fiercely for second in the standings, and the young leadfoot won a heat race and the Trophy Dash last week in a near perfect evening.

Having lurked in the Top 5 in the standings for the past several seasons, Marilyn Yawnick is having her best season yet as the point leader.  Marilyn now has three feature wins and picked up a Top 5 finish last week.  It should be another competitive race this week as these three racers are joined by such hard chargers as reigning champion David Steele, 2014 champion Mike Whitaker, Mike Colson, Mike Frost, Amber Waldon and others.

Fans will want to mark September 24th on their calendar as the Annual Rod Restad Memorial race closes the championship season.  This big race will pay $3000 to win for the IMCA Modifieds and should attract some of the best drivers in the area with that kind of money.  Two time race winner, Nick Trenchard, point leader Duane Orsburn, six time Medford champion Mark Wauge and two time Medford champion Albert Gill are just some of the racers anticipated.  Nevada visitor Jake Holland won the race last season.

In the meantime, it's O'Reilly Auto Parts Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks this week.  The track will be "going gold" in recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.  There will be kids games and prizes during intermission.  Gates open at 5:00 p.m. with the first race starting at 7:00 p.m.  Adult tickets are $9, Seniors and Veterans are $7, Juniors (6-12) are $5 and kids five & under are free.  For further information, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com.