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Sprint Cars, Late Models Cap Double Header Weekend
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White
City, Oregon...Another two night racing weekend is on tap at Southern
Oregon Speedway. Following last week's big Hall Of Fame night, this
Saturday's night show offers the high powered Kendall Oil Winged Sprint
Cars and Late Models along with Mini Stocks, OTRO Hardtops and Pro
Stocks. There is also a full program of Outlaw Karts at the one-eighth
mile dirt oval next to the big track on Friday night.
People
are talking about the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car and Late Model
divisions. The track has never had a serious Late Model effort of its
own. You have to go back to the old Medford Speedway to find that. The
Sprint Cars have had over a dozen championship seasons, but the
division fell off after 2010. Promoter Mike McCann made a commitment to
establish both of these divisions at the track when he took over this
year, and the numbers are up for both.
The Kendall Oil
Winged Sprint Cars had a ten car field last time and a dozen cars at the
previous race. There have been four different winners in seven races.
Reigning champion Jake Wheeler was back to win his first Main Event
last time and deny Kyler Barraza his fourth win. Kyler's three wins and
two seconds have given him a commanding point lead. In fact, he could
actually clinch the championship with a good enough finish this week.
Barraza may have taken a couple of seasons off since his back to back
Southern Oregon Sprint Tour championships, but he's picked up right
where he left off.
The battle is between past Cottage
Grove champion David Hibbard, impressive rookie Merissa Henson and two
time winner Bailey Hibbard for second, and just seven points separate
the three. Though three time feature runnnerup D. Hibbard and his son
Bailey have had better finishes than Henson, she has done a slightly
better job of getting to the finish line and has finished as high as
third. B. Hibbard is coming off of back to back non finishes, and he's
looking to turn his luck around this week. Whatever happens in the
championship battle, it looks like the race for second will go down to
the final checkered flag next month.
The Sprint Cars
are gaining more interest every week. Outlaw Kart stars Tanner Holmes
and Mike Wheeler have both joined the division in recent weeks. Holmes
has taken two checkered flags with a fifth place finish in his first
start. Young rookie Enrique Jaime finished fourth last time as he is
now fifth in points. The division has several young competitors, which
bodes well for the future. We've also seen the return of 1998 Cottage
Grove champion Hedge Carter after an eight year absence. People are
talking about Southern Oregon Speedway's Sprint Car effort, and
indications are that we will keep seeing new additions to the roster in
the days ahead.
By far the most exciting driver to
watch in Late Models is Dustin Knight. He leads Nathan Augustine in a
close championship battle, and he likes to run right on the edge.
Knight delighted the crowd last week with a last lap pass from third to
first to win the Trophy Dash. He then had the lead, lost it and
regained it in traffic to win his second Main Event. Knight now has two
wins and three seconds in the Main Event. Augustine has a win and
chased Knight twice for second place finishes. He also has three Trophy
Dash wins. Both drivers are fast, and you get contrasting driving
styles from the more aggressive Knight to the more patient Augustine.
This is a battle that could go down to the season finale.
Reigning
champion Bob Dees just gained third by a point over Kristy Grout. Dees
finished third last week, while Grout ran further back. She was
fortunate to be back after her rollover a few weeks ago bent her frame.
Tim Grout found a new chassis and spent the off week getting it ready
for Kristy to come back. Dave Foote and Mike Linder have both had their
moments this year with recent Top 4 finishes. We saw the return of Don
Garrett and the debut of Chris Biggs last week. Drivers are watching
this class and looking to join the action. In fact, Top 3 Antioch
Speedway competitor David Newquist and Mike Hynes are planning to visit
the speedway this week. It's looking like Saturday's race could even
offer a season high car count on the heels of last week's ten car field.
Mini
Stocks were added with a point race this week to make up for an earlier
rainout. The point battle is so close that just 11 points separate 16
year old Dillen Lausen, Kristopher Mix, 15 year old Michael Johnson and
past champions Steve Goetz and Gary Anderson. Johnson won his first
race at his home track last time out, joining Goetz, Anderson and David
Steele on the winner's list. Most of the drivers in the field have a
legitimate chance to win. Though Andrew Hall has struggled a bit in his
Pinto Wagon, he's due for a big night.
OTRO Hardtops
make their final appearance of the season, and Mark Minter and Jamie
Britton have divided the wins among each other with two each. Bruce
Wilkerson was racing hard to get a win for car owner Vic Bridges last
time, but front end damage ended his race early. Staunch OTRO supporter
Bill Trotter, who fields two cars, was the fourth different Trophy Dash
winner last time. He too will be racing hard for a feature win. OTRO
has had fun putting on a show for the fans with their old Coupe and
Sedan race cars, and indications are that a few drivers missing in
recent visits will be back this week.
The Pro Stocks
have struggled to get cars under the track's banner, which is raising
speculation about the future of the division that has been a part of the
roster since the track opened. Dr. Scott Lenz won the most recent
race, which was his third victory of the season. A family commitment
will keep him out of the action this week, which opens the door for one
time winner Jeffrey Hudson and rookie Dean Hackworth to make a big leap
in points. Josh Kralicek and Darron Arnold are both anticipated this
week, and there's word of Miles Deubert possibly racing in a different
car. We may also see the debut of past Top 5 Mini Stock racer Mike
Cloud.
Friday Night Karts bring down the curtain on
their season this Friday night. Two of the more interesting battles are
for the Beginners Box Stock and Box Stock championships. Following his
runaway second Main Event victory last Friday, Malachi Johnson holds a
five point lead over Kiley Grimes in the Beginners class. Trevor Grimes
has won most of the Box Stock races and he's looking for his third
straight championship. He lost last week's race to a late pass by first
time winner Keaton Augustine. Augustine trails by 17 points in that
battle. Grimes was leading the 250 Kart point race, but he surrendered
the lead to three time winner Carley Holmes by 15 points after failing
to start the Main Event last week. All three championships are still up
for grabs this week.
The gates open for both events at
5:00 PM with the first race at 7:00 PM. Friday's General Admission is
$10.00 with Children 6 and under $5.00. This gives you access to the
pits. Saturday's prices are $12.00 for General Admission, $6.00 for
Children (6-12), Seniors and Veterans and Children 5 and under are
free. For further information go to
www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Sprint Cars, Late Models Headline Show
At Coos Bay Speedway
Coos
Bay, Oregon...After two weeks without oval track racing, Coos Bay
Speedway roars back into action with the Open Wheel Extravaganza. The
Winged Sprint Cars are back this week along with the NASCAR Whelen All
American Series Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks,
Mini Outlaws and Hornets. It's going to be another exciting night of
racing in Coos Bay.
After five races, Lawrence Van Hoof
is on a pace to win his first Sprint Car championship. Van Hoof has
all Top 5 finishes so far. He won his second Main Event last time out
to maintain a 20 point lead over reigning champion Dave May. As good as
May has been over the past two seasons, Van Hoof will have to continue
to bring his A game. May doesn't have a comfortable hold on second. He
leads Ryan Kingrey by two points and Casey Sabin by eight. This also
means that only 28 points separate the Top 4 in the standings. Other
drivers to watch for this week include Bret Hulsey, Christon Beaird and
Scott Walling.
With the "Rookie Of The Year" and State
championship money factored in, the Coos Bay NASCAR Super Late Model
championship could be worth as much as $6,000. Mike George and Toby
McIntyre are the only two serious players in this game. George was
coming off of a Top 5 finish in the Tidal Wave 50 last time, but he has
won seven of the ten Main Events this year and never failed to earn a
Top 5 finish. With that kind of consistency for George, McIntyre can
count himself lucky to only be 30 points out of the lead. McIntyre, who
is the 2015 champion, is a one time winner with eight Top 5's this
season. He needs a second win to make a challenge to George. Chris
Ray, Jared Bemetz, Trina Post and Thor Kristensen are other drivers to
watch for this week.
The Sportsman Late Models have
been run 15 times this year in their $1,000 championship battle, but
only Brody Montgomery and two time reigning champion Wayne Butler have
been to all of the races. Both have yet to finish outside the top 5,
but Montgomery has racked up amazing 12 feature victories. However, his
lead over two time winner Butler is still just 22 points. Butler knows
he needs to start winning now. Dyllan Siewell is holding down third by
a comfortable margin over Charlie Withers, and he's a one time winner
this season. Jeff Krossman, Deven Brown and Troy Chamberlain are other
drivers to watch for this week.
It's also possible that
Steve Dubisar might run both the Sportsman and Street Stock races as he
has done three times this year. Dubisar is off to a late start, and
that means that five time winner Justin Krossman is headed for the
Street Stock championship unless something really bad happens, Dubisar
is a seven time winner, but he's a distant fourth in points behind
second ranked Ken Fox and third ranked Jeff Thurman, who is a two time
winner this season. Dubisar may be the top local competitor in next
week's (August 26th) Battle At The Beach, which will see some top
drivers come in from up north as part of their Road To The Iron Giant
Series. Dubisar will be looking for his eighth win this week, but
reigning champion Daniel Land, Josh Bearden and Dustin Hitner are others
who could be there this week to make things interesting.
The
Mini Outlaw championship appears to be under the control of 2015
champion Sam Talon at this point. Talon is a six time winner so far.
Five of the Top 6 drivers have won at least once this season. Fourth
ranked Rob Lauver is a five time winner, but he's been out with a blown
motor in recent weeks. Third ranked Jason Kallam, Ken Fox and John
Henry each have one win. Only second ranked Dan Daniels is without a
win after 14 races. With Alyssa Johnson, Jamie Daniels and Jason
Berrier also on the roster, it's been a competitive class this season.
Ryan
Siewell has had an amazing season in the Hornets division. Siewell has
racked up ten feature victories and 13 Top 5's in 16 starts, and this
has given him a 76 point lead over Sam Taylor. Taylor has ten Top 5's,
but he is still without a feature triumph. He may need one with
reigning champion Jeremiah Reiber and Hannah Robison both 20 points
behind him. Siewell, like fifth ranked Tom Williams, is a two time
winner this season. There are other drivers in the pack looking for
their first wins, and leading that charge will be April Warmack, Patrick
Nagel, Jeremy Beard, Tim Young and Matt Butler. The Hornets are the
strongest supported division at the track this year.
Saturday will be a fun and exciting night of racing with lots of variety for the fans to enjoy. For further information, go to
www.coosbayspeedway.us.
Drivers Lining Up To Compete In $3,000 To Win Cascade Wingless Sprint Car Challenge At Southern Oregon Speedway
White
City, Oregon...We're less than two weeks away from the Cascade Wingless
360 Sprint Car Challenge, presented by Herz Precision Parts, and there
are already some top notch competitors planning to come to Southern
Oregon Speedway for a run at the $3,000 top prize being offered. The
race happens on August 26th at the fast three-tenth mile clay oval,
located in White City, Oregon at the Jackson Sports Park. The track has
held some big Winged Sprint Car races through the years, but this is
the biggest Wingless Sprint race ever held here. Promoter Mike McCann
intends to make this an annual event.
It's just been
confirmed that "The Human Highlight Reel" Geoff Ensign will be behind
the wheel of the Ted Finkenbinder owned Sprinter. Ted may field a
second car, but the #3f car will be driven by the third generation racer
Ensign. Geoff has won many Wingless Spec Sprint and 360 Sprint Car
races, including USAC wins in Finkenbinder's cars. This year, Geoff has
excelled at winged racing as the point leader at both Petaluma and
Watsonville and second in points in the Civil War Series. The Cascade
Sprint Car Challenge offers Geoff an opportunity to indulge in his love
of Wingless Sprint Car racing and make a run at the big prize being
offered. He may be the driver to beat.
We're still
waiting on word from Kyle Miller, who has won some big Wingless Sprint
Car races in Oregon through the years. However, two other big stars
from the state are confirmed. Tim Alberding and Lance Hallmark are
coming to make a run at the money. Alberding is a multi time Wingless
Sprint Car champion and currently second on the NWWT circuit this
season. Hallmark is in the midst of his second straight Top 5 point
season with the NWWT Sprint Series. He's still looking for his first
win of the season, but he won twice last year, including a $2,000 payday
at Coos Bay.
Another Californian coming up for the big
show will be Rowdy McClennon. McClennon was one of the stars on the
Wingless Spec Sprint circuit during the the past seven years and is the
2012-2013 Chico champion. He's been running winged races recently. He
had a Trophy Dash win at Southern Oregon Speedway last year and won a
410 Sprint Car race at Marysville a couple seasons ago. McClennon is
coming to make a run at what could potentially be his biggest wingless
win, and he would have to be considered a serious contender.
2014
NWWT point runnerup Mike Romig is on the list of about a dozen racers
who has said they are planning to come race so far. The Vancouver, WA
resident, who hasn't been running the NWWT series regularly since 2014,
finished sixth at Willamette behind past top 5 ranked NWWT racer Mark
Herz last week. Herz is a staunch supporter of Wingless Sprint Car
racing in Oregon and has sponsored several races, including the Cascade
Sprint Car Challenge. Steve Hix is a regular with the USAC West Coast
360 Sprint Car Tour. He's currently contending for a Top 10 point
position there. He has family near Southern Oregon Speedway and is
looking forward to a visit.
Kyler Barraza could clinch
the track's Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car Series championship with a
good finish on August 19th. He's already a two time Southern Oregon
Sprint Tour champion with multiple Coos Bay championships, and he's won
wingless races in the past. Kyler was at Willamette for a wingless show
last week. He hasn't run without a wing in a few years, but he won the
Trophy Dash. He's a bit more familiar with Southern Oregon Speedway.
Whether with wings or without, Barraza will be tough to beat at his home
track.
The Cascade Sprint Car Challenge is offering a
nice payday. No Main Event starter makes less than $250. After $3,000
to win, the $1,500 prize for second and $1,000 for third are still
pretty nice. There are some good racers already committed to the show,
and whoever wins will have to bring their A game. It's all happening on
August 26th at Southern Oregon Speedway. Race information can be
found,
www.southernoregonspeedway.com/cascade.pdf, and the track web page is
www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Pit Stops
Hall
Of Fame Night produced one of the better car counts of the season last
week at Southern Oregon Speedway. The IMCA Modifieds were back in
action without their point leader. Just a race after declaring his
intent to win his third championship in the last four seasons, Albert
Gill saw a family commitment keep him out of the field. Jesse Bailey
had missed a race earlier this year, but he was back last week to try to
take advantage of the absence of Gill. He would leave the night with a
slim point lead.
Bailey was part of a four car battle
at the front of the pack last week when he spun to avoid a crash with a
lapped car that nearly got leader Zach Fettinger. When the yellow flag
flew, track officials assigned the blame to the slower car and put
Bailey back to third. He made a late pass to take second from Mark
Wauge. It was his best finish since winning the 2015 season opener.
Bailey now leads Gill by just three points with just the R. Charles
Snyder Salute on September 2-3 and the September 16th finale remaining
in the schedule.
Wauge returned with his old car. He
and his crew had lots of work to do to get it fixed after a hard crash
in Willamette during Speedweek. Mark does have a new car coming, but he
decided to get the other one fixed so he could get back out there and
race. His decision to change numbers might have been inspired in part
as a way to change his luck. This hasn't been the best season for the
seven time reigning champion, but he was all over the back bumper of
Zach Fettinger for most of the race last week before finishing third.
It's a clear indication that the car is running fine, and Mark will be
out to get another win before the season ends.
The last
time out, Fettinger had a third place finish, and there had been a
little bit of talk before the last race that it might be his turn to win
this week. There have been 14 different winners in the last 15 races.
The only repeat winner in that time is Wauge. Zach took the lead from
Preston Jones, who is another driver who could score a win at any time.
Once Fettinger got the lead, he had Wauge, Bailey and Matt Duste
chasing him closely the rest of the way. However, he wasn't letting
this one get away. He drove one of his best races for an impressive
win.
Ray Kniffen Jr. didn't have his best Main Event
of the year, but the second generation racer did have something to smile
about. Ray kicked off the night with his first Trophy Dash victory.
He's also working on his best point effort in the division as he ranks
fourth, followed closely by rookie Shane Everson. He's still within 19
points of Wauge for third. "Cowboy" Duane Orsburn had some nice
graphics on his black #0 car. It's a new car for Duane, who is hoping
to be a bit more competitive. Duane was third in points last season and
is a two time Street Stock champion at the speedway. He drove to a
respectable fifth place finish last week, followed by rookie Jantzen
Knips. This is the second lead lap checkered flag finish for the 500
Open Kart graduate Knips, who seems to be handling the move up in
divisions well.
The IMCA Sport Modified championship
battle is just as close. Rich McCoy is giving it everything he has in
an effort to reel in Mike Medel and Willie McFall. McCoy started out
the season with a hot laps crash that ended his night prematurely.
Since then, he's been working his way back into contention. Rich scored
a clean sweep victory last week, which was also his second straight
feature win and fourth straight Top 3 finish. He still finds himself 17
points back, but the R. Charles Snyder Salute is coming September 2-3.
With an increased car count anticipated, those points could be made up
in one race. All McCoy can do now is just try to win and let the points
fall where they will. He's looked impressive lately.
Willie
McFall knew he needed to step up and have a big night last week, and
that's exactly what he did. McFall couldn't catch McCoy, but he still
drove a great race to finish second ahead of the resurgent David
Marble. McFall has been quietly having the best season of his career,
and he's keeping the pressure on Medel. However, Willie knows a win
right now might be just what it takes to get his first division
championship. Don't count him out. McFall did notch his third career
Trophy Dash win at the previous race. Medel certainly knows McFall is
there now.
Medel was actually lucky to be there last
week. The reigning champion's start this year was impressive. He had
back to back second place finishes, followed by a Main Event victory.
Medel had to battle at the previous race just to hold off McFall for
third. Then, it got worse. Getting ready to come out last week, Mike
found that he had a blown motor. It was fortunate for him that Don
Braaten still had the Street Stock motor that Jorddon ran a few years
ago. Mike worked hard to get the motor in the car, and then he started
having transmission issues. By the time he got that fixed and made it to
the track, he didn't care where he started. He was just grateful to be
there. Mike had a battle with Braaten for fifth. He settled for
sixth, but that still kept him in the point lead. Like McFall, Mike has
to be concerned with that "Lightning McQueen" #95 car of McCoy and
keeping him out of the winner's circle at the R. Charles Snyder Salute.
It should be good racing on Labor Day Weekend.
Last
week saw an incredible 18 Sport Modified racers signed in to go racing.
This included Cottage Grove Speedway competitor Jayson Nelson. Nelson
is the Oregon State point leader, and he's not about to let that
championship get away from him. Nelson is racing hard to win the
Cottage Grove championship. He trails Buddy McHargue by just three
points, and there are only five points separating the Top 4 drivers in
the standings. Rookie Dave Rule was also back last week, and he got it
to the checkered flag in eighth, followed by fellow rookie Tony Duste.
The team cars of Matt Sanders and Isaac Sanders were both there. Matt
purchased the #18 car from Kalvin Morton and changed the number to 8.
Unfortunately, the teammates crashed on the first lap and did not
finish. It is nice to see these new drivers getting out there to help
build the class.
The SODCA Dwarf Car point sheet is
still only updated to July on their official website, but you can almost
set your watch to the fact that reigning champion Brock Peters is the
point leader. Brock has mastered Southern Oregon Speedway with four
wins this year, but the talk was all about his son Cody. Cody is behind
the wheel of Brock's old M&M Chassis as Brock got a new M&M
Chassis this year. It's helped them as they can set them up similarly
and run the same parts. Brock was more proud of Cody's accomplishment
in winning the Pro Dwarf Car feature at the Nationals than his most
recent win. He also knows that Cody may be a future SODCA champion.
With Ryan Smith, Chad Cardoza and Cody lurking in contention, Brock
isn't taking anything for granted. He knows he has to finish this
season off.
Camden Robustelli has pretty much dropped
his bid for a Dwarf Car championship and has ran his Sprint Car a little
bit more, earning a Top 3 finish recently at Southern Oregon Speedway.
Last week, Camden was working on a clean sweep performance with wins in
his heat race and the A Dash, but his bid for his first local Main
Event win since the opener was thwarted by B. Peters. Camden settled
for a strong second. Camden has won Main Events with SODCA at Coos Bay
and Yreka this year in addition to his home track. There will be more
money on the line for the Dwarf Cars on Labor Day Weekend, and you
shouldn't count out Robustelli as a threat to grab the big $1,000
prize. Word is that there will be visitors from the North West Dwarf
Car group and the PHRA, which will make this a true Oregon State Shoot
Out event.
The WSDCA Nationals is the biggest event on
the SODCA calendar, and SODCA is the proud host of the Southern Oregon
Speedway event. Of course, it takes lots of effort to put on one of
these events, and club president Randy Slater works hard from the
planning all the way to the race itself. His wife and family are there
with him helping make it all happen. Randy is a man who puts his own
ego on the back burner to do what he can to make this a success, so his
own racing suffers just a bit that weekend. However, you can see the
improvement in Slater's performance at the regular shows. Last week,
Randy raced past Cody Peters for a season best third place finish.
Looking like this, you have to believe that a Main Event win is in the
future for Slater.
Kalvin Morton has returned to the
Dwarf Cars after selling his Sport Modified. The multi time Top 5
competitor had an amazing season last year that saw him come within a
few points of the championship. He won several times at other venues,
but the home track win continued to elude him. He's hoping to change
that in the remaining races this season. Kalvin had a solid fifth place
showing last week, followed by Ryan Smith and Rob Gergel. There were
14 cars in action last week, and SODCA put on another good show for the
fans.
Late Models are generating lots of buzz among the
racers and fans. New cars are in the works, and some really nice cars
have been there so far this season. We're also seeing some good battles
taking shape in the point standings. At the moment, Dustin Knight and
Nathan Augustine are racing hard for the championship, while reigning
champion Bob Dees is battling Kristy Grout for third. Knight had the
crowd on the edge of their seats all night last week. His move from
third to first on the last lap of the Trophy Dash may have been the best
pass of the season so far. In the feature, Knight was flirting with
the 12 second bracket with laps in the 13.2's. He's definitely getting
everything he can out of the white #77 car, and the new shocks he just
got helped with the handle of the race car last week.
Nathan
Augustine is not just cruising around the track. The third generation
racer is out there focusing on hitting his marks and trying to get the
car to the front. When Knight raced into the lead last week, Augustine
might have appeared to be racing for second, but he was working on his
fastest line. Gradually, he reeled in Knight and surprised him by
making the pass for the lead. Knight actually fell back a bit trying to
get past Augustine. It was traffic that was Augustine's undoing.
Ironically, traffic is what helped Augustine beat Knight in the season
opener, but Knight went by Augustine and the slower cars and sped to his
second win of the season last week. Augustine settled for second.
Their battle continues this week.
Meanwhile, Kristy
Grout was all smiles before the races. She was back after her rollover
crash into the front wall bent her frame. Husband Tim Grout put the car
together with a chassis they got from Collen Winebarger, and Kristy was
able to keep her point effort going. Bob Dees was coming off of his
impressive first win and trying to keep the momentum going. He won his
heat race and finished a solid third in the Main Event. Grout ended up
ninth in the feature, and Dees now holds a one point lead over her in
the third place battle. Mike Linder had the Pro Stock of Scott Lenz
chasing him down the stretch, but he wasn't about to let go of his
fourth place finish.
Dave Foote finished sixth last
week to keep his fifth spot in the standings. However, Linder is
staying in the hunt as he trails by 14 points. This is pretty much the
rookie season for Garrett Dees, and that means there will be ups and
downs. Garrett's race ended early last week in last, but he'll be back
going for another good effort this week. Chris Biggs made his division
debut as scheduled and grabbed a checkered flag in seventh. He didn't
have a number on the car as the team had been working to make sure it
was ready to go. Chris is excited about Late Model racing and has
indicated that the team has another chassis that could end up being a
car next season. The driver could end up being Justin McCreadie, who
has done a great job in the Sport Modifieds and finished fourth in that
division's Main Event last week.
There's a battle going
on for the JOAT Labs Hornets point lead, and the leaders have had their
drama. Three races ago, Jason Stoutenburg fell back to second in
points when he couldn't seem to keep the air in his right front tire all
night. Reigning champion Tim Hedges won his second straight Main Event
that night and seemed like he was hitting his stride. However, the
tables have turned in the last two races. Stoutenburgh has won the last
two races and clean swept last week. Hedges has been shut out of the
Top 3. Stoutenburgh is feeling enough confidence that he's headed for
Willamette this week for a shot at the big $700 prize being offered to
the Hornet Main Event winner. It will feature some of the best racers
in the state.
T. Hedges is going back to the drawing
board. He's had his work cut out for him trying to maintain four cars
and found a problem with his championship car that kept it out of the
field last week. They also had to fix the steering issues on his son
Ashton's car. Tim has felt like the white #14t that he's been driving
was down on horsepower and suspected the motor might have been ready to
blow. It hasn't yet, but it needs work. Tim has decided after last
week's disappointing fifth place finish that he will be going back to
the #4t car and working on the other car during the offseason. He's now
trailing Stoutenburgh by eight points. Wife Jenna Hedges seems to be
having her best luck lately. She won her first heat race and Trophy
Dash two races ago, and she won her heat race again last week. Jenna is
still in title contention, 21 points behind Stoutenburgh.
Meanwhile,
Derrel Nelson Jr. earned his third Top 3 finish last week. This keeps
him within 11 points of fifth place Dylan Irving and six points behind
Brandon Wonsyld. Derrel has been sharing the driving duties with son
Zach, so we'll see if fifth in points is something he will pursue. The
Nelson team is working on more cars to debut in the future. Irving is
doing a good job after a late start to his season, and it won't be a big
surprise to see the second generation racer pick up a win before
season's end.
Dr. Scott Lenz is on fire. It's almost
as if when you see the #51l car show up, you know you are racing for
second. Lenz has been racing going back to the old Medford Speedway,
where he was a Street Stock champion. He's also a Pro Stock champion at
Southern Oregon Speedway and winner of some big races as a multi time
Top 5 IMCA Modified racer. Lenz is leading both the Southern Oregon
Speedway and Outlaw Pro Stock Association points, and his clean sweep
last week did nothing to change any of that. After his performance in
the Pro Stock feature, Lenz started back in last in the Late Model Main
Event and finished fifth. He was closing in on fourth place Mike Linder
before he ran out of time. The points could be shaken up this week as
Lenz will miss the show due to a family commitment.
This
would open the door for 2015 Outlaw Pro Stock champion Jeffrey Hudson
to gain the lead. Hudson has a feature win this year and finished
fourth after coming from the back twice last week. He moved four points
ahead of rookie Dean Hackworth in the battle for second. Josh Kralicek
is 15 points behind Hackworth. Hackworth and Kralicek may be there
this week, and there's rumors of Miles Deubert coming back this week in
another ride. Darron Arnold was absent last week, but we may see him
this week. There's rumors of the possible division debut of past Top 5
Mini Stock racer Mike Cloud. Beyond that is just speculation that we
won't make. Southern Oregon Speedway is offering the only Pro Stock
race in the area this week.
The Outlaw Karts held their
fourth event of the season last week as the strength of the Cage Kart
show remains the Box Stock and Beginners Box Stock classes while count
struggles in the other two divisions. On Thursday night, word got out
through the Fuller Racing Team that the Speedway Kart racers wanted to
race. They brought 12 Karts last Friday, which included six each for
the 4 Cycle and UAS divisions. The Fuller's were offering up this race
in support of the track and asked for nothing in return. They just
wanted to have a chance to show what they could do. The Fuller's run
Speed City, the QRC dealer in Medford.
One of the names
in the UAS Speedway Kart class may be a familiar one to longtime
Petaluma Speedway IMCA Modified fans. He's Ron Bolles, and he was one
of the first drivers to build a car when Promoter John P. Soares brought
the division to California in 1987. Bolles handled his Speedway Kart
pretty well with a heat race win to start his night, and he finished
third in the Main Event. It was Kenny Boardman looking impressive in
winning the Main Event ahead of heat race winner Larry Fuller. Boardman
has raced 500 Open Karts for several years, and he did a great job in
the Speedway Kart last Friday night. Young Brionna Fuller did a good
job of holding off 2016 Yreka champion Ed Grubb for a fourth place
finish.
Steve Rambo is a name familiar to people at
Southern Oregon Speedway. He's an avid Kart supporter, and he's helped
out the track with photography and even using the RaceCeiver to
communicate to the Dwarf Car drivers during the races. Steve is in a 4
Cycle Speedway Kart. He fields multiple Karts, but unfortunately his
teammate Johnny Hoult didn't have much luck last week. Rambo, however,
had a great night as he won both the Main Event and one of his heat
races. Rambo beat the guy he beat in his heat race, Michael Vickers,
while Lori Fuller finished a strong third. This group of open cockpit
Kart racers is very enthusiastic and did a great job of putting on a
show for the fans.
Young Malachi Johnson is knocking on
the door to the Beginners Box Stock championship. He has won the last
two Main Events, but he knows he shouldn't assume it's over just yet.
Malachi blew a motor in the season opener, so he knows he has to get out
there and finish the job. Young Kiley Grimes is just five points
behind Johnson in the closest championship battle at the track. She was
part of the "nose to tail" battle for second last week involving Mason
King and Uriah Sanders. The kids are still learning, and nobody wanted
to risk a wreck trying to make the pass. The important thing is they
all got laps as King finished second ahead of Sanders and Grimes. Young
Carson Henson wanted to get some time by himself in his beautiful red
#11 kart, so he got his first seat time after the races were done.
Ryan
Hirschbock returned for the first time this season and looked very
impressive in winning his heat race ahead of fellow heat winner Trevor
Grimes in the Box Stock division. Grimes appears to be headed for his
third straight championship, and he led the Main Event from the start.
Hisrshbock was glued to his rear nerf until he flipped in Turn 2,
handing second to Keaton Augustine, who still has hopes of winning the
championship. Keaton noticed that Grimes had been pushing a bit exiting
Turn 4, so he moved by underneath him when the race resumed. Augustine
scored a popular victory ahead of Grimes and Yreka point leader Taylor
Fuller. Going into the finale, Grimes has a nice 17 point lead over
Augustine.
Grimes had the 250 Kart point lead, but the
unthinkable happened as he strapped into his 250 Kart last week. It
wouldn't start. Carley Holmes went out and won her third Main Event
ahead of Reece Slyter. It was a clean sweep performance for Holmes, who
now leads Grimes by 16 points. Grimes was hoping to go into point lead
protection mode, and had he just started the race, it would have been
difficult for Holmes to overtake him without an increase in car count
this week.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Hudson looked like he
might have had the fastest 500 Open Kart at the track, but mechanical
issues ended his bid to win the first heat race, which was won by Tanner
Holmes. Hudson won the next heat, but he had problems that forced him
to scratch from the Main Event. Point leader Holmes and reigning
champion Johnny Burke had a duel for the lead where they passed each
other every lap all the way to the finish, and Burke picked up the
victory.
Siskiyou Motor Speedway has been silent
during the Siskiyou County Fair, but it's about time to change that.
August 25th will be an Outlaw Kart race, and Saturday, August 26th will
be a loaded program with IMCA Sport Modifieds, Outlaw Pro Stocks,
McDonald's Mini Stocks and IMCA Modifieds. It's about time for the
stretch run as the championships will all be decided at the Rod Restad
Memorial Race on September 23rd.
The IMCA and SCMA
Sport Modifieds points are mirror images at the top with D.J. Bottoms
leading Colton Cheffey by 50 points. This is because the association is
using the IMCA point format for the SCMA point race rather than also
including heat and dash points, which might actually make it closer.
Cheffey had some bad luck to start the season, but he won four Main
Events in a row headed into the month long hiatus. Things were going so
well for the second generation racer that he probably wishes they
didn't have a break. Making up a point deficit is much more difficult
with IMCA and its one point at a time system. It doesn't help that
Bottoms entered the break with back to back Top 3 finishes. D.J. has
done well this season with two wins out of five Top 3 finishes.
The
steady Randy Wright is now two points ahead of Justin Foux in the race
for third. Foux had a pair of early season wins before taking his car
elsewhere. Wright finished second to Foux in one of those races, but
he's still looking for his first win. Second generation racer Ryder
Boswell has gained a five point lead over Jack Waldon III in the race
for fifth in points. Ryder's best finish is a second, while Jack has a
third. There have been seven different winners so far this season as
Justin McCreadie, Cory Biggs and Jordon Braaten each have two and Keith
Brown Jr. also has a win.
Reigning McDonald's Mini
Stock champion Marilyn Yawnick is still leading their point race by 37
ahead of Ethan Kilingsworth and 40 over Mike Whitaker. Marilyn had
three seconds and three thirds heading into the final race before the
break, but she finally got her first win of the year ahead of
Killingsworth that night. Marilyn can't go into protection mode. Four
time winner Killingsworth won three in a row at one point, so she is
well aware of what that talented teen racer is capable of. "Magic" Mike
is enjoying a good season so far, and he is one of the six different
winners so far this season. 2015 champion David Steele has three wins,
while Michael Johnson and Chris Jorgensen each have a win. Mike Frost,
Mike Colson and Amber Waldon are a few of the other racers hoping to get
a win.
Only the non point, big money Billy Geyer
Memorial Race has eluded Dr. Scott Lenz in the Outlaw Pro Stock
division. Lenz has won all six point races in Yreka, leaving the battle
for second. Jeffrey Hudson could very well be second in points right
now, but he missed a race as he was having misfortune with a blown motor
in his lone Sprint Car start at Medford. Jeffrey won the Billy Geyer
Race and has five second place finishes in the six point races held in
Yreka. With three thirds and a second, Scott Flowers is holding onto second in the standings ahead of Johnny Cobb and Hudson, who have a close
battle going for third. Cobb has a pair of third place finishes this
season, while James Flowers was third in the most recent Yreka race. S.
Flowers beat son J. Flowers in the most recent association point race
in Medford, and these two, along with Hudson, may be the best hope of
beating Lenz. A field of a dozen or more cars is anticipated for the
August 26th race.
Yreka has access to all of the IMCA
Modified racers for their next race, but it's anybody's guess who might
come to race. "Cowboy" Duane Orsburn may be anxious to test his new
car, but whether anybody else will come is anybody's guess. The race
you can mark on your calendar is the Rod Restad Memorial on September
30th. The division has had four point races, and Nick Trenchard has won
three of them to hold a 20 point lead over Kyle Casson and Albert Gill
with James Welshonse 22 points back. It's not likely that you will see
Trenchard unless the money is on the line. He's scored big wins at
Yreka, Medford and Elma this year, and all of them were worth more than
$1,000 to win. However, a point race will happen on August 26th if
enough drivers show up to make it happen.
Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars Back
At Southern Oregon Speedway Saturday Night
White
City, Oregon...People are talking about the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint
Car division at Southern Oregon Speedway. The Sprint Cars have had over
a dozen championship seasons, but the division fell off after 2010.
The track didn't crown its own champion until Promoter Mike McCann
brought Sprint Cars back in 2016. McCann's reputation as a Sprint Car
guy is well documented. He started Sprint Car divisions at Cottage
Grove and Marysville that continue to this day.
David
Hibbard has been wanting to come back to his home track, where he has
won his share of Main Events through the years. Hibbard won the Limited
Sprint championship at Cottage Grove in 2014 as well as ten Main Events
there from 2013-2016. He is an advocate for the more affordable rules
set that is being used at Cottage Grove as it allows him to field a
second car for his son Bailey. This year, they added a car for his
father Calvin to the team. David has worked with McCann behind the
scenes to help spark a renewed interest in the Sprint Car effort at
Southern Oregon Speedway, and the numbers are up from last year after
seven races.
The Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars had a
ten car field last time and a dozen cars at the previous race. There
have been four different winners in seven races. Reigning champion Jake
Wheeler was back to win his first Main Event of the season last time.
The Wheeler family has been supporters of the Medford Sprint Car effort
through the years, and both Jake and his father Vern Wheeler Jr. were
winners last season. Jake's first start this year was a mixed bag. He
beat Barraza to win the scramble on his first night back, but he flipped
in the Main Event. His win last time out reminded everybody that he is
the reigning champion. Wheeler was also a Top 5 competitor in this
year's Speedweek Series.
Kyler Barraza's three wins and
two seconds have given him a commanding point lead. In fact, he could
actually clinch the championship with a good enough finish this week.
Barraza may have taken a couple of seasons off since his back to back
Southern Oregon Sprint Tour championships, but he's picked up right
where he left off this season. His only non Top 3 finish came the night
he spun going for the lead in the final turn rather than spinning out
the leader. He enters this week as the driver to beat.
The
battle in points is between David Hibbard, impressive rookie Merissa
Henson and two time winner Bailey Hibbard for second, and just seven
points separate the three. Though three time feature runnerup D.
Hibbard and his son Bailey have had better finishes than Henson, she has
done a slightly better job of getting to the finish line and has
finished as high as third. B. Hibbard is coming off of back to back non
finishes, and he's looking to turn his luck around this week. Whatever
happens in the championship battle, it looks like the race for second
will go down to the final checkered flag next month.
The
Sprint Cars are gaining more interest every week. Outlaw Kart stars
Tanner Holmes and Mike Wheeler have both joined the division in recent
weeks. Holmes has taken two checkered flags with a fifth place finish
in his first start and a lead lap seventh his last time out. Young
rookie Enrique Jaime finished fourth last time as he is now fifth in
points. The division has several young competitors, which bodes well
for the future. With the new rules package, this division is becoming
an intriguing option for the Outlaw Kart racers looking to make a move
up.
We've also seen the return of 1998 Cottage Grove
champion Hedge Carter after an eight year absence. Carter has a third
place finish and a fourth in his two starts. It might have been two
thirds if not for a late pass two races ago by rising young star Camden
Robustelli. Carter will be there this Saturday night, and word is that
Cottage Grove point leader Ricky Ashley and Tyler Thompson are planning
to make their first visits to Southern Oregon Speedway. The division
has gotten the attention of two locally based 360 Sprint Car champions,
Seth Nunes and Charlie Thompson. Thompson recently borrowed Merissa
Henson's motor to make a start at Cottage Grove. Nunes just got a motor
legal for this division.
People are talking about
Southern Oregon Speedway's Sprint Car effort, and indications are that
we will keep seeing new additions to the roster in the days ahead.
Saturday night's show looks like it should be another good one headed
into the August 26th Cascade Wingless 360 Sprint Car Challenge,
presented by Herz Precision Parts. That race will pay $3,000 to win.
The final race for the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car Series will be
September 9th. For further information, go to
www.southernoregonspeedway.com. For further information on the Cascade Wingless Sprint Car Challenge, you can find the flier at
http://www.southernoregonspeedway.com/cascade.pdf.
Point Standings
Kendall Oil Sprint Cars
Kyler Barraza 238
David Hibbard 181
Merissa Henson 176
Bailey Hibbard 174
Enrique Jaime 137
Calvin Hibbard 99
Camden Robustelli 80
Hedge Carter 59
Jake Wheeler 54
Tanner Holmes 45
Schedule
August 19
August 26 Cascade Wingless Sprint Challenge
September 9
Sprint Car Champions
1996 Dan Menne
1997 Bill Nutter
1998 Dan Menne
2001 Chad Bauer
2002 Todd Zeitler
2003 Dan Menne
2004 T.J. Winningham
2005 Dan Menne
2006 Bill Nutter
2007 Randy Rodgers
2008 Randy Rodgers
2009 Charlie Thompson
2010 Chadd Noland
2013 Kyler Barraza *
2014 Kyler Barraza *
2016 Jake Wheeler
* Southern Oregon Sprint Tour
