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Southern Oregon Speedway Makes More Progress
During 2018 Season
White City, Oregon...There was good news at Southern Oregon Speedway in 2018. In his third year as promoter of the 23 year old speedway, Mike McCann of KJE Enterprises had people talking. By season's end, people were talking about how there hadn't been that many cars seen at the speedway in several years. People were noticing. The turnaround effort of McCann and his staff is still very much a work-in-progress, but you can't help but notice the progress that has been made in three years.
The Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car division continues to grow as several talented young drivers make their first laps in a Sprint Car. The IMCA Sport Modified division is beginning to deliver the numbers people have been saying they were capable of. The IMCA Modifieds quietly had their best season in three years. The Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association also had its best year in three seasons. The fact is, there was something to brag about for every division at the track this past season.
The speedway continues to offer up some big races, and the car count seen at the second annual R Charles Snyder Salute was the biggest in a decade at over 130 cars. Earlier in the season, the Roger Haudenshild Tribute Race set the initial high mark with nearly 100 cars. The schedule offered a little something for everybody throughout the course of the season. When the finale was run, there were enough cars in both the Sprint Car and Sport Modified divisions to necessitate a B Main. This was the first time that two divisions needed B Mains at the speedway for a regular show in several years. People are getting excited about coming back to Southern Oregon Speedway again.
David Hibbard set out to win his first local track championship. He put up numbers throughout the season that left little doubt that he would be the champion. He won five of the first seven races of the season and finished second the other two times. By then, there was little doubt that he would win the championship. Despite blowing a motor at the Iron Head Nationals, David secured his championship by merely starting the second to last race of the season. His third place finish in the finale was his eighth Top 3 finish of the year, winning him the championship by a wide margin ahead of Jeffrey Hudson.
Hudson found himself in a good battle with Bailey Hibbard and rookie Blaine Cory for second in the standings. By season's end, only 19 points separated Hudson from fourth place Cory. After missing most of the previous season with a blown motor, Hudson had a solid season with two season-high seconds and two thirds as well as one Scramble win. He proved how versatile he is when he took his wing off and finished second in the Wingless Sprint Car Challenge race, presented by Herz Precision Parts. Though the feature win eluded him, Hudson improved noticeably throughout the year and continues to evolve as one of the rising young stars of Oregon racing.
2018 wasn't the best of seasons for Bailey Hibbard, but he won the second race of the season. His second place finish at the first September race netted him third in the standings. It was the only other Top 3 finish he had for the season. He also picked up a pair of wins in the first two Scrambles of the season. Cory hit his stride midway though the season with two seconds and two thirds. In doing so, he became a threat to Hudson for second in the standings. Unfortunately, a late season flip derailed that effort, but as the fourth ranked driver, he was also this season's top rookie.
The driver who had everybody talking at season's end was rising young star Tanner Holmes. Holmes opted to travel around the state, but he was fast when he ran at his home track. After two second place finishes during the season, Holmes ended things with a pair of feature wins. His season finale win was most impressive as he went from fifth to first in the final seven laps. Tanner also had a win in the Scramble and just managed to pass Aaron Miller and Enrique Jaime at the finale to finish fifth in the standings. Jaime had his two third-place finishes in the first three races, but a blown motor forced him to miss races and settle for seventh in the standings. Miller made every race and kept coming back even when his luck wasn't with him. A heat race win during the year was among his season highlights along with a pair of sevenths and two eighth place finishes in the Main Event.
Summer Series Sprint Car star Garen Linder returned to his home track and teamed up with TJ Winningham to grab the $2,000 prize in the Iron Head Nationals ahead of the impressive Holmes. A week earlier, 2016 champion Jake Wheeler was victorious. Mike Wheeler had a season-best second place in the finale, a race he led up until the last lap. Season best third place finishes were turned in by Washington visitor Eric Turner and Hedge Carter. Linder also had one third place finish. 2017 champion Kyler Barraza, Winningham, Charlie Thompson and Mike Wheeler each had a win in the Scramble.
With $3,500 on the line in the Herz Precision Parts Cascade Wingless Sprint Car Challenge, Californian Geoff Ensign teamed up with Ted Finkenbinder to defend his race win of the previous season. Hudson was an impressive second ahead of Oregon Wingless Sprint star Lindsay Barney.
In the IMCA Modified championship battle, Nick Trenchard got off to a very strong start, while the steady Albert Gill and the much improved Zach Fettinger also presented a challenge. When Mark Wauge opened the season with a feature win, it looked as if he might be a threat to win his unprecedented eighth Modified championship at his home track. Unfortunately, he blew a motor at the next race, and he seemed to struggle with bad luck throughout the season. Three of Trenchard's five Top 5 finishes happened in the first five races, including a second and his first of two feature wins. However, his absence from a race elevated Gill and Fettinger in this battle.
Fettinger had everybody taking notice when he won three races in a four race span, but his absence from the Speedweek race impacted his championship hopes. Meanwhile, Gill earned three second place finishes and a pair of thirds along with an impressive four Trophy Dash wins. It still came down to the prestigious R Charles Snyder Salute, where the high number of stars from out of town meant just making it into the Main Event would be a chore. Gill made the most of his front row start in his B Main to punch his ticket into the big show.
Fettinger, Meanwhile, found himself stuck at the back of the pack in a B Main that was destined to go non stop. He drove hard and got all the way to the third position in a race that would only transfer two. This put Gill in a position where he merely needed to start the season finale to clinch his third championship in five years. For Fettinger, second was still a career-best ranking for him as many people are calling him the most improved driver of the season.
The steady David Satterfield competed in all of the races and did well enough to drop Trenchard to fourth in the final point run down. Despite totaling a race car during the season in an unfortunate restart situation, Jantzen Knips got another car and managed to finish the season in fifth in the points. Knips had a fourth and a fifth as his season best efforts, while Satterfield had three sixth place finishes.
It was Collen Winebarger winning the Speedweek race while CJ Putnam won a good battle with Bobby Hogge IV to win the invitational feature on the R Charles Snyder Salute weekend. Hogge claimed the $5,000 first prize in the R Charles Snyder Salute ahead of Merced Speedway champion Darrell Hughes II and Oregon State champion Bricen James. The season ended with Preston Jones winning a thrilling battle with Putnam for his first career win. Putnam had a pair of seconds during the course of the year, and Duane Orsburn also had a season-high second. 2017 champion Jesse Bailey, Dave Duste Jr and Willamette champion Grey Ferrando each had a third place finish. Duste and Andy Freeman each won a Trophy Dash. Trenchard's first feature win of the season was notable in that it once again came in the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race.
The third season of The Late Model revival at Southern Oregon Speedway featured a close championship battle between reigning champion Nathan Augustine, the rapidly improving John Dees and rookie Miles Deubert. Augustine had a new car for his title defense, and he kicked off the season with a second and a first. When a lapped car crashed him on the back straightaway of the third event of the season, Augustine was left scrambling for a new ride. Somehow, he managed to hold on to his lead and won his second Main Event of the season. This was followed by a third place finish. The one-time Trophy Dash winner was in a position to play defense at the season finale and cling to the championship, but a blown motor while running in the Top 3 ended those hopes.
It was John Dees who would get the job done in a rather impressive season. Dees scored four second place finishes and two thirds in the first seven events, but his absence from a race to attend a wedding forced him to play catch-up. Dees won his first Main Event at his home track at the sixth event of the season, but it was his division-leading fifth second place finish at the finale that clinched his first career championship. He also led the division with three Trophy Dash wins. His championship margin was just four points ahead of Augustine.
Rookie Miles Deubert surprised everybody by winning the season opener and grabbed his lone Trophy Dash win at the third event before finishing second in the feature that night. However, Miles made different adjustments to his chassis in an effort to get quicker. It seemed to be a step backwards, but his first, second and third place finishes in the final three races guaranteed him third in the final rundown. Perhaps the most improved driver in the group this past season was Coos Bay based competitor Dave Foote. Dave picked up two feature wins during the season and also had a pair of Trophy Dash wins to notch fourth in the final standings.
2016 champion Bob Dees notched three season best third place finishes along with one Trophy Dash win to lay claim to fifth in the standings. Making lone appearances, Darren Coffel and Trent Elliott each won Main Events. Other season highlights included Mike Linder with one second place finish and Brian Bowman and Josh Sim each with one third place effort. Car count continues to progress as the Late Models are established as one of the featured divisions in Medford.
Speaking of establishing divisions, the best car counts of any of the track's regular divisions were had by the IMCA Sport Modifieds. Drivers flocked to this division, and the competition was tougher than ever. To illustrate just how tough it was, the only driver to get more than one Main Event win during the year was Chico, California star Tyler Rodgers. With two-time champion Mike Medel following two-time champion Jorddon Braaten up the road on several occasions, it was time for somebody else to step up and claim the track title. Past Mini Stock champion David Marble, rookie Branden Wilson, relative newcomer Tony Duste and Willie McFall were among the stars vying for supremacy.
Marble entered the season with the goal of earning Top 5 Main Event finishes and winning the championship. Throughout the first half of the season, he accomplished the first goal. He made his biggest statement at the opener with an impressive feature win and had earned his three Top 3 finishes in the first five events. This gave him a good lead in the championship race as they entered the stretch run. David essentially had the championship clinched just by just starting the season finale. Perhaps the surprise of the field was rookie Branden Wilson. Wilson surprised past Yreka champion Jimmy Lipke at the fifth event by making his move into the lead late and claiming the victory. This also helped move him into second in the championship chase.
Wilson still had to contend with the trio of Duste, McFall and Tony Bartell nipping at his heels. McFall entered the year hoping to contend for the championship, but his luck took a nosedive after his season-best second place finish in the season opener. He did pick up two Trophy Dash wins, but his Main Event luck seemed to go from bad to worse. Duste was fast, but as this was still his rookie season, he made mistakes along the way. Duste beat McFall by just eight points in the race for third as Bartell was five points behind McFall. Duste had a season high third place finish at the opener. Though Bartell didn't get any Top 3 finishes, he managed a season best fifth.
The Sport Modified battle was so wide open that you really never knew who was going to win on any given week. With big money on the line at the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race, past California State champion Fred Ryland swept in and claimed the prize ahead of Jimmy Ford and the first of two season-best third place finishes for two-time champion Mike Medel. It was another Californian, Guy Ahlwardt, impressively claiming the $2,000 prize in the R Charles Snyder Salute ahead of Cottage Grove and Willamette champion Jorddon Braaten and Daniel Ray. Tyler Rodgers won the R Charles Snyder Invitational Race and another feature two months earlier to be the only two-time winner of the group.
Other feature winners for the year were teammates Braxton Possinger and Justin McCreadie, Matt Sanders and Doug Coffman. Rich McCoy, Lipke and Ford each had a pair of second place finishes for their season best efforts while Californian Brent Curran also had one second place finish. Marble's one second and one third place finish came during the first five races. Interestingly enough, Medel was the only driver with two third place finishes as Duste, McCoy, Coffman, Rodgers, Sanders, Ray and McCreadie each had a third place finish. Joining McFall on the Trophy Dash winner's list were Duste, Marble, Rodgers and McCoy.
The Bobbio's Pizza Mini Stock division didn't have much of a championship battle at all. David Steele carried a big advantage over the rest of the pack going into the season. He was the most experienced competitor in the field, and he had enough bad luck the year before for two seasons. It seemed that when something went wrong with his car last season, it usually happened at a time when he could deal with it and make it right for the next race. Steele won an impressive nine Main Events with two second place finishes in his 11 starts. He also won five Trophy Dashes. He clinched his championship with two races left to go. Along the way, he took his spot atop the track's all time Mini Stock Main Event win leader's list. As one of the most respected and liked competitors at the speedway, Steele's long deserved championship was well-received.
The incoming reigning champion, Kristopher Mix was hoping to step up his game. As a proud new father, however, he also found himself working on race day and showing up during hot laps most of the time. He didn't miss a race, but he struggled at times to get to the finish line. Mix had one second and four third place finishes, but his season highlight came when he passed Steele to win his first career Main Event. Unfortunately, bad luck in the final three races dropped Mix back to fourth in the final standings. Second-year competitor Hunter Magnan was much improved with four season-high second place finishes and three thirds. He also had two Trophy Dash wins, meaning he had second place in the standings clinched going into the finale.
Past champion Steve Goetz had a mixed bag of results during the season. After a hard crash that left him with severe front end damage early in the year and destroyed the Pinto Wagon owned by Andrew Hall, Goetz regrouped and came back. He had three second place finishes and three third place finishes to go with two Trophy Dash wins. Goetz was able to overtake Mix for third at the final race. Garrett Fredrickson had his breakout season with two fourths and one fifth place finish, which enabled him to hold off rookie Michael McLeod by just 13 points in the race for fifth. After a late start, Ashtin Hedges did everything he could to catch McLeod, but he fell 12 points short. Hedges scored four fourth place finishes and three fifths, while McLeod had one fourth and three fifths.
Past champion Gary Anderson had one season-high second place finish and was also a Trophy Dash winner once, but his season nearly ended after a hard crash into the wall exiting Turn 4 during his heat race. Past champion David Marble also made a couple of surprise visits, getting a third place finish and outrunning Steele to win the season finale.
The JOAT Labs Hornets division was a wide-open battle throughout the season. Reigning champion Jason Stoutenburgh and second-year competitor Brandyn Wonsyld led the charge early on. Stoutenburgh had second and third place finishes before getting his feature and Trophy Dash wins at the third event. Unfortunately, motor issues derailed his effort. Wonsyld, meanwhile, was the dominant force in the division and the surprise early point leader. Another surprise was the strong start for second-year racer Ashtin Hedges. However, after two wins and a third to go with his one Trophy Dash win, Ashtin parked to focus on his Mini Stock effort. Wonsyld also skipped a pair of races to fall from the lead.
This opened the door for unlikely championship contender and top rookie Bree Tritchler to do battle with 2016 champion Tim Hedges. Hedges remained perhaps the staunchest supporter of this division as his team fielded as many has four cars sometimes. He had one feature win during the season and a pair of seconds. He also won a pair of Trophy Dashes. Despite some bad luck, he managed to lead the point standings for a few weeks. Consistency was on Tritchler's side. She picked up one feature win and an impressive five second place finishes. She also had a third. She needed her fifth second place finish in the finale to lay claim to the championship. Tim Hedges merely limped around the track that night to secure second in the standings by just one point.
Without a doubt, the championship was Wonsyld's to win. The four-time feature winner and five-time feature runner-up won the final two races in dominant fashion to secure third in the standings. He also had a pair of Trophy Dash wins. Rookie Chris Boynton managed to hold off Dylan Irving by just three points for fourth in the standings. Boynton won a pair of Main Events and had one third place finish. Irving recovered from a horrendous start and notched three third-place finishes before finally getting his first career feature win. He also led the division with five Trophy Dash wins.
Dylan Sauer got off to a late start, but his second and third place finishes in the final two races secured him a Top 10 point position. Other season best efforts included season-high third place finishes for both Jenna Hedges and Jeremy Mayfield.
With previous champion Lee Doty and Bob Burkett not making a run at the points, the Valley Store All Late Model Lites championship battle had a different look to it. Charlie Eaton was poised to make a title run, but he could expect some stiff competition from past truck champion Greg Arnold.
However, Eaton remained as consistent as ever. Having shown his knack for getting The 3 finishes over these past two seasons, Eaton took it up a notch by scoring his three feature wins during the first five races. He was particularly impressive in the July race that saw him win a close battle between himself, Doty and Burkett. With an additional three seconds and two thirds to go with his two Dash wins, Charlie never failed to finish inside the Top 3. He had built a nice lead when Arnold missed a race due to work obligations. Eaton wasn't threatened after that as he rolled to the championship.
Arnold had an impressive season as well with a win, two seconds and a third to go with his one Dash win. He ended up a solid second in the standings. Father Eric Aos outran his son Dusty Aos by nine points to claim third in the standings. Eric also matched Eaton with three feature wins. Dusty Aos had a challenging season with his two third place finishes happening during the first two races. We did see Doty turn in a dominant performance in winning the sixth race of the season. Doty also had a second and a third and three Dash wins. Burkett showed up to pick up a pair of second place finishes and a Dash win. When the points were tallied, Doty managed to claim fifth in the standings ahead of Burkett. Danny Prewitt had a pair of third place finishes in the former Bill Spencer car.
The Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association ran most of their races in Medford, and car count was strong. The competition level was also very strong as there were about a half-dozen drivers with a shot at the championship going into the finale. Once again, two-time champions Brock Peters and Josh King were in the hunt as was Camden Robustelli, Chad Cardoza and Kalvin Morton. There were seven different winners in the 11 races held at Southern Oregon Speedway.
The excitement was at the season finale. With two wins, a second and two thirds, Robustelli was in a position to win the championship, but misfortune struck him in the final race. After a tangle while running well enough to win it all, Robustelli found himself having to charge through the pack. Some bad luck during the year hurt Brock Peters. His second win came in the finale as he also had one second place finish and one third. However, his strong season ending performance wasn't good enough. With his second place finish, King claimed his third championship. King picked up two wins and a second as well.
King's championship came just three points ahead of the tied Cardoza, Peters and Robustelli. Cardoza had one win, two seconds and one third. Robustelli's highlights also included two wins in Yreka. This was the closest championship battle in club history. Even fifth-ranked Morton was only four points out of the lead. He had two wins, one second and a third in the finale. To make the final race, he had to borrow the Bud Lorentz car. The great championship battle and strong car counts made the Dwarf Cars a highlight of the season.
Other impressive numbers included visitor Guy Tow winning the second race of the season ahead of a season-high second place finish for Mason Lewman. Cody Peters also scored a win and a second. Ageless veteran Fred Hay had a season-high second and a pair of thirds. Nevada visitor Tim Fitzpatrick came late in the season for a second place finish. The ever-present Ryan Smith had a pair of third place finishes with Mac Marmon and Jesse Lorentz also finishing third once each. A Dash winners included Brock Peters three times, Morton and King twice and Smith and Cody Peters once.
The other highlight for the Dwarf Cars was the annual Dwarf Car Nationals event. Ryan Diatte won both of the Pro features during the weekend, beating NorCal champion Danny Wagner on both occasions. Marmon was third in the feature, while Darren Brown was third in the preliminary. For the Veterans division, Fitzpatrick won both nights, beating Kevin Bender and Fred Hay in the preliminary and Mike Reeder and Bender in the feature. In the Sportsman division, local star Bret James won the feature ahead of Michael Johnson and Joe Sanders for a local sweep. Shawn Whitney won the preliminary ahead of Sanders and Johnson. The Fast Dash wins went to Mark Hanson in the Pros, Reeder in the Veterans and Whitney in the Sportsmans.
The speedway also hosted the OTRO Hardtops on six different occasions. The old time racers run for fun and trophies, but not points. Group president Mark Minter won three Main Events and finished third once. Bill Trotter, who fields two cars, won a pair of features and finished second and third once each. Bill's son Dusty Trotter won the opener. Driving Trotter's truck, Jay Smith scored a pair of season-high second place finishes and won two Trophy Dashes. Dean Cast had a pair of seconds and one third for his best efforts, while Justin Krossman had one second and a pair of Dash wins. Roseburg 2016 champion Greg Hickman made an appearance for a third place finish and Dilllon Rourke also had a third. Chris Mehrer won the Trophy Dash at the final event.
The Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks were included at the Roger Haudenshild Tribute and the R Charles Snyder Salute. Dr Scott Lenz won the Haudenshild race ahead of Jeffrey Hudson and Steve Borror. The R Charles Salute turned out to be a disastrous, crash shortened event, won by Dave Quick ahead of Dan Randall and Chico competitor Gary Newman. The group was added to the season finale, and a much better race was won by Lenz ahead of Borror and Scott Flowers. Lenz was the association champion and also won the Dash at the finale.
At the end of May, the Northwest Focus Midgets brought 30 cars for their Salute To Indy, and Jonathan Jorgenson won that race ahead of Tristan Thomas and Garrett Thomas. Matt Loving won the A Dash. The Pro 4 Modifieds made a visit as well, and Rick Wagner won that race ahead of Barry Lampert and Thomas Ferrando. The Iron Giant Street Stocks returned for Disorder On The Southern Border 2. They brought over 20 cars, and Andrew Langan won the race ahead of Shannon Horn and Brian Cronk. Jesse Yankee won the Scramble.
2018 was the most exciting season at the speedway in recent years. There were many great moments to be had which simply can't be included in this limited column, including the return of the Malicious Monster Truck Tour. Thanks to the support of Dave's Carpet and Vinyl, that show went on under less-than-ideal conditions to a packed grandstand. The Monster Trucks, most of the great things featured this past season and some new surprises are on tap for the coming season. It's certainly a work in progress, but things continue to get better at Southern Oregon Speedway.
2018 Southern Oregon Speedway Point Standings
2018 IMCA Modifieds
1 Albert Gill 299
2 Zach Fettinger 275
3 David Satterfield 256
4 Nick Trenchard 251
5 Jantzen Knips 248
6 Mark Wauge 215
7 Duane Orsburn 193
8 Dave Duste Jr. 187
9 Jesse Bailey 181
10 Jeremy Ohlde 165
Rookie Of The Year - David Satterfield
2018 IMCA Sport Modifieds
1 David Marble 295
2 Branden Wilson 280
3 Tony Duste 269
4 Willie McFall 261
5 Tony Bartell 256
6 Jimmy Lipke 199
7 Mike Medel 193
8 Danny Rule 186
9 Billy Richey 184
10 Braxton Possinger 182
Rookie Of The Year - Branden Wilson
2018 Kendall Oil Sprint Cars
1 David Hibbard 285
2 Jeffrey Hudson 228
3 Bailey Hibbard 222
4 Blaine Cory 209
5 Tanner Holmes 134
6 Aaron Miller 129
7 Enrique Jaime 128
8 Merissa Henson 120
9 Charlie Thompson 108
10 Todd Whipple 80
Rookie Of The Year - Blaine Cory
2018 Late Models
1 John Dees 274
2` Nathan Augustine 270
3 Miles Deubert 263
4 Dave Foote 250
5 Bob Dees 226
6 Mike Linder 132
7 Don Garrett 99
8 Garrett Dees 83
9 Eric Massey 76
10 Dave Everson 47
Rookie Of The Year - Miles Deubert
2018 Valley Store All Late Model Lites
1 Charlie Eaton 273
2 Greg Arnold 216
3 Eric Aos 190
4 Dusty Aos 181
5 Lee Doty 132
6 Bob Burkett 93
7 Danny Prewitt 63
8 Jim Cunningham 25
9 Terry Hadley 24
10 Krista Hadley 24
2018 Bobbio’s Pizza Mini Stocks
1 David Steele 412
2 Hunter Magnan 337
3 Steve Goetz 283
4 Kristopher Mix 263
5 Garrett Fredrickson 204
6 Michael McLeod 191
7 Ashtin Hedges 179
8 Gary Anderson 171
9 David Marble 65
10 Marilyn Yawnick 39
Rookie Of The Year - Michael McLeod
2018 JOAT Labs Hornets
1 Bree Tritchler 352
2 Tim Hedges 330
3 Brandyn Wonsyld 329
4 Chris Boynton 298
5 Dylan Irving 295
6 Jenna Hedges 231
7 Dylan Sauer 170
8 Ashtin Hedges 160
9 Zach Nelson 150
10 Jason Stoutenburgh 139
Rookie Of The Year - Bree Tritchler
SODCA Dwarf Cars
Josh King 878
Chad Cadoza 875
Brock Peters 875
Camden Robustelli 875
Kalvin Morton 874
Cody Peters 860
Ryan Smith 844
Fred Hay 830
Joe Sanders 800
Randy Slater 792
Rookie Of The Year - Michael Johnson
The Show Went On At Siskiyou Speedway In 2018
Yreka, CA...It wasn't the best of circumstances when 2018 rolled around in Yreka. Due to some inner turmoil within the SCMA, there was some concern as to whether they could make things happen. However, a new board was elected, the schedule was put together and the show went on. Things didn't get much easier from there. Two nights that had good turnouts saw rain come in during the shows to cancel the events. The big annual Sprint Car Speedweek visit was cancelled due to fires in the area.
However, the rest of the season went on as scheduled. The track continued to feature IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks at most events with special appearances by the Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stock Association, IMCA Modifieds and Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars. There were many things to be proud of in 2018, and the fact that the show went on and continues to carry momentum into 2019 is a good thing.
The IMCA Sport Modified division continued to be a wide-open race for the championship. Some of the top name drivers anticipated to be among the front of the pack either didn't show or didn't race very often. This opened the door wide for some new stars to emerge. Among them were Trevor Tiffee and second generation competitor Ryder Boswell. Both drivers got their taste of Main Event glory, but as the case was the year before, there were many different drivers to gain victories during the course of the season.
When the season started, the absence of a few of the stars was noticeable, but Medford racer Rich McCoy was there to make an apparent run at the championship. McCoy scored four of his Top 5 finishes in the first four races including two seconds. He emerged with the point lead, but when he skipped the fifth race, he gave indication that he wasn't going to race for points after all. The winner that night for the first time was Trevor Tiffee. He soon gained the point lead with Ryder Boswell in close pursuit. Boswell had finished second that night, but when he skipped a race later in the season, Tiffee only needed to hit his marks the rest of the way to grab his first championship in the race car that he nicknamed Eleanor.
In 12 starts, Tiffee had racked up nine Top 5 finishes, including his feature win. He also won a Trophy Dash. For Boswell, he continued to struggle to get his first career win. He had four Top 5 finishes before finally winning his first career Main Event in the second to last race of the season. He ended with his sixth Top 5 finish of the season and secured second in the final standings. The season opened with eight different winners in the first eight races before 2016 champion Jimmy Lipke won his second feature of the season. Lipke made a move up into the IMCA Modified class at the Rod Restad Memorial Race, but he still held off Ethan Killingsworth by just one point for third in the standings.
After impressively running in the Top 5 in Mini Stock points in the previous few seasons, Killingsworth made his IMCA Sport Modified debut late in the season. He had four straight second place finishes at one point and used that to end up fourth in the standings. The consistent Randy Wright was only three points behind Killingsworth in fifth. Wright enjoyed two season-high third place finishes to maintain his Top 5 status from the previous season.
It was two-time Medford champ and reigning Cottage Grove champion Jorddon Braaten outrunning Justin McCreadie to win the season opener. Justin Foux, incoming champion DJ Bottoms, Chowchilla visitor Tim Elias, Matt Sanders, Keith Brown Jr, Jimmy Ford and Rich McCoy were the other Main Event winners. Sanders picked up a pair of feature wins to join Lipke on the two-time winner's list. Elias outrun past California State champion Brian Cooper to win the prestigious Bo Hittson Memorial Race at the end of May. There were some very close battles throughout the season, which included an impressive win by Sanders over Braxton Possinger in June. The extra money on the line in the Rod Restad Memorial finale was won by McCoy ahead of Braaten.
Other notable season-best performances were turned in by Corey Biggs and Antioch area visitor Brent Curran with third place finishes. Doug Franklin, Kenny Neu and Gary Foster had season best fourth place finishes. McCoy, Ford and Matt Sanders each won two Trophy Dashes. Other Dash wins were picked up by Tiffee, Daniel Ray, Brown, Lipke, Foster and Cooper.
The Mini Stock division had the familiar names of two-time incoming champion Marilyn Yawnick, two-time champion Mike Whitaker and Terry Kendrick at the top of the list, but there was some exciting new talent helping make things interesting during the year. Yawnick and Whitaker both thought they might have the numbers on their side. While Marilyn was looking for three in a row, Whitaker was hoping the pattern of every four years would work for him. His two championships prior came in 2014 and 2010, respectively. The battle between these three was close all season long.
Medford champion David Steele enjoyed making visits to Yreka at every opportunity and picked up wins in four of the first five races. It was Yawnick winning at the third event, and she added two more wins to that total to go along with three seconds and two thirds. Whitaker's luck in the previous two seasons hadn't been so good, but it was a better year this time around. He ended the season strong with his two wins coming in the last four events. He also notched three second place finishes and three thirds. He hoped that Yawnick might falter in the finale, but her third place finish meant that she would win her unprecedented third championship in a row.
Kendrick found himself in an unusual position. He went without a future win throughout the season. He had a season-high two second place finishes and four third place efforts to have a solid lock on third in the standings. Being the avid supporter of Mini Stock racing, Kendrick helped get other cars to the track, including the division's top rookie, Zac McMurray. McMurray held off a late challenge from Darek Alford to secure fourth in the standings and top rookie honors. McMurray had four season-high fourth place finishes. It was Alford, however, who had people talking when he wrapped up the season with four straight Top 3 finishes. This included his first career win, a second and two third place efforts. He also won two Trophy Dashes during that span, serving notice to everybody that he will be somebody to be reckoned with in 2019.
Though David Steele didn't pursue points, he did win five Main Events to go with his three Trophy Dash triumphs. One of David's feature wins came at the annual Mike Cavaye Memorial Race. Dennis Jorgensen also won a Main Event to go along with a second place finish. Other season-high efforts included second place finishes for David Marble and Steve Goetz. Chris Jorgensen had one third place finish, Mike Frost had two fourth place finishes and sixth ranked point competitor Jason Frost had a pair of fifths. Joining three-time winner Steele on the Trophy Dash winner's list were Kendrick with his three wins, Alford with his two wins and one win each for Chris Jorgensen, Whitaker and Yawnick.
The Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks made nine visits to the speedway, but unfortunately two of those came on nights when the rain forced cancellations during the program. After 2016 champion Steve Borror won the opener and Nevada star Mike Learn won the annual Billy Geyer Memorial Event, Dr. Scott Lenz rattled off five straight feature wins to end the season. In addition to being the runaway champion of the association, SCMA officials put together a championship for the Pro Stocks in Yreka. Lenz won that title as well. He finished out of the running in the opener, but chased Learn in the Geyer Memorial Race with Scott Flowers running third.
The ever-present Flowers, who is the current Pro Stock president, notched two season-high second place finishes and three thirds to end up second in the standings over the consistent Matt Harlow. Harlow only missed the Top 5 in the final race of the season. His best effort was one third place finish. Borror and John David Duffie rounded out the Top 5 in Yreka points. Duffie had one season-high second place finish. Other season best efforts included third place finishes for both James Flowers and Jeff Haudenshild. Ray Kniffen Jr had one fourth place finish and Bryan Hammond had a pair of fourths. Of the six Trophy Dashes held during the year, Lenz had five wins with Borror winning the other.
Though the track wasn't officially keeping points for the IMCA Modified division, the fact that they had four events made this an official point race for IMCA. Unhappy with the scheduling of the Rod Restad Memorial Race, point leader Ryan McDaniel declared that he would not be attending. His objection was the fact that the race was moved to Sunday to accommodate Southern Oregon Speedway. After winning the Southern Oregon Speedway championship the night before, Albert Gill was on the cusp of claiming his third Yreka championship in five years, but he too elected not to race. This meant that McDaniel would win the track championship.
McDaniel won the season opener ahead of John Campos. It was Mark Wauge winning the prestigious John Arnberg Memorial ahead of McDaniel. On a rough track, heavy attrition eliminated several contenders, and Wauge finished with a busted a frame. Nick Trenchard won the Speedweek event in front of Collen Winebarger. Though there was big money on the line for the Restad race, only three competitors elected to race. It was Jon DeBenedetti winning that race ahead of new Modified competitor Jimmy Lipke. Gill and DeBenedetti each won a Trophy Dash.
The speedway welcomed the Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars for a pair of early-season events, both won by Camden Robustelli. New Dwarf Car champion Josh King was second in the first race, while two-time incoming champion Brock Peters was second in the next race ahead of King. Northern Oregon competitors Jake Van Ortwick and Shane Youngren were third and fourth in the opener, while Kalvin Morton outran Ryan Smith to finish fourth in the next race. A Dash wins were recorded by Morton and Brock Peters.
For the past few years, Karl Bernstein and JJ Smith have been building unique race cars called Jalopies. The Jefferson State Jalopies made a few appearances to show off these new cars. The Bernstein/Smith team had four different cars and had different people behind the wheel. Josh Bernstein went on record as winning the first race, which was a $50 to win Dash thanks to sponsorship from Donny Bottoms. Josh Bernstein and JJ Smith won the feature races. It's likely that this division will continue to be included in the scheduling in 2019.
Though the 2018 season may not have been the best at the track, the show went on. There were still some exciting moments throughout the year. The main thing is that racing will continue in Yreka. With Kevin Barba having recently been named as the new promoter, fans can look forward to new and exciting things ahead.
2018 Siskiyou Motor Speedway Point Standings
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Trevor Tiffee 408
Ryder Boswell 369
James Lipke 239
Ethan Killingsworth 238
Randy Wright 235
Matt Sanders 207
Gary Foster 189
Rich McCoy 185
Doug Franklin 137
Isaac Sanders 122
Mini Stocks
Marilyn Yawnick 674
Mike Whitaker 651
Terry Kendrick 585
Zac McMurray 461
Darek Alford 445
Jason Frost 394
David Steele 333
Mike Frost 211
Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks (Yreka)
Scott Lenz 394
Scott Flowers 349
Matt Harlow 329
Steve Borror 308
John David Duffie 280
Bryan Hammond 267
James Flowers 258
Ginny Flowers 257
Johnny Cobb 216
Jeff Haudenshild 205
IMCA Modifieds
Ryan McDaniel 116
Albert Gill 99
Nick Trenchard 78
Bricen James 73
John Campos 72
Grey Ferrando 72
Robert Robles 65
Mark Wauge 62
James Welshonse 62
Kyle Casson 61
Coos Bay Speedway Wraps Up An Exciting Season
Of NASCAR Racing In 2018
Coos Bay, Oregon...Drake Nelson completed his second season as promoter of Coos Bay Speedway. It was also the second year of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series sanctioning that saw four of the sanctioned divisions compete for $15,000 worth of point fund money. The speedway also continued to offer Sprint Car racing, including several big events.
As has been the case at Coos Bay Speedway for the past several seasons, the fans were treated to various special attractions, including Mr Dizzy's Thrill Show and Fireworks Spectacular, Malicious Monster Trucks, Rolling Thunder Big Rigs, kids rides and more. The track hosted special Street Stock and Pro Stock races as well and the return of the IMCA Modified Wild West Speedweek Series. Once again, there was plenty of exciting racing for the fans to enjoy throughout the season.
On the heels of his successful championship bid in the Sportsman Late Model class a year earlier, young Brody Montgomery stepped up his game and made a run at the NASCAR Super Late Model crown. This was never really in doubt after Montgomery won the season opener. Montgomery won an impressive nine Main Events throughout the season and had 15 Top 5 finishes in 15 starts. He won the championship by a wide margin over Thor Kristensen. Kristensen got off to a late start, but he made up ground with 10 Top 5 finishes including four season-high second place finishes. Eventually, he overtook the steady Chris Ray for the second position. Ray enjoyed four Top 5 finishes to have a solid hold on third in the standings.
Wayne Butler did double duty in both the Super and Sportsman Late Model classes. After a late start, he climbed all the way up to fourth in the Super Late Model points on the strength of seven Top 5 finishes. Roseburg star Tom Elam also started late, and he too had seven Top 5 finishes for a fifth place point season. Elam also counted himself among the Main Event winners on one occasion.
Joey Tanner came to town with the money on the line in the second annual Tidal Wave event and picked up the $1,200 first prize. He also won the Main Event on preliminary night and was a three-time winner. Josh Sim and previous champion Mike George also scored Main Event wins.
Coos Bay continued to offer a Winged Sprint Car program. All totaled, there were 10 different Sprint Car events, but only five of them were point events for the regular class. Several of the locals opted to compete in the three Interstate Sprint Car Series events held at the speedway, and the track also hosted one NST Speedweek race and the annual Wingless Sprint Car event.
After both reigning champion Lawrence Van Hoof and multi time champion Dave May got off to bad starts, it was surprising California transplant Kayla Green and Brett Hulsey battling at the front of the point list. Green enjoyed three top three finishes, including two second place efforts. However, her absence from the third event gave Hulsey the lead. Hulsey had one season-high third place in his five top five efforts to win the championship.
Van Hoof had two wins out of his four Top 5 finishes, while May had one win out of his three Top 5s. The duo ended up tied for second in the standings as Green and Donovan Prather completed the Top 5. Medford regular Aaron Miller and young Ian Bandy each had one feature win as well. The highlight of the season for May came in the finale at the end of September. A huge turnout of Interstate Sprint Cars made for a very competitive field, and May emerged with the victory ahead of Kinzer Cox and Shane Forte. Fourth place finisher Tyler Thompson ended up winning the ISCS championship. Past track champion Kyler Barraza won the first ISCS race ahead of Thompson and Tyrell Mead.
The ISCS also had their own Week Of Speed in August, and it was Thompson winning the Coos Bay date ahead of Jake Wheeler and Forte. This is not to be confused with the Northern Sprint Tour Speedweek Series, which had their opener at Coos Bay Speedway. It was Willie Croft picking up the win in that race ahead of DJ Netto and John Carney II. Labor Day Weekend was the annual Wingless Sprint Tour visit to Coos Bay, and Lindsay Barney scored a close victory ahead of Series champion Rob Lindsay and Jonathan Jorgenson.
The Sportsman Late Model championship battle continued to involve two-time champion Wayne Butler with Dyllan Siewell stepping up his game. In fact, Siewell got off to a strong enough start to get him into the early lead. Despite the fact that Butler got hot late and chipped away at Siewell's point lead, it was a case of too little too late as Siewell beat him by 14 points. Siewell picked up six wins out of 17 Top 5 finishes, while Butler led the division with nine wins out of 17 Top 5 efforts.
Tom Williams was a solid third with one win out of 13 Top 5 finishes. Charlie Withers scored two of his three season-high second place finishes in June, but the month ended with him being involved in a tangle and pretty much dropping out of contention for the remainder of the season. Regardless, he held on for fourth in the standings ahead of rookie Braden Fugate. Fugate had one win out of five Top 5 finishes.
The track invited the Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stock Series to go head-to-head with the local Sportsman Late Model drivers in August, and the result was a win for Pro Stock Series champion Dr Scott Lenz. He had showed up a weak earlier and won that Main Event, making him a two-time winner. Other winners in the division included the Sport Modified of Keith Brown Jr, winning a head-to-head race with the Sportsman Late Models as they supported the Wild West Speedweek race. After attrition left the division with one car, Street Stock star Steve Dubisar stepped up to give them a race and won that Main Event.
Ken Fox set out to win the Street Stock championship, and that's exactly what he did. He was never really threatened with nine feature wins out of 19 Top 5 finishes. With five season-best second place finishes out of his 16 Top 5 efforts, David Smith was the top rookie and second in the overall standings. After a late start, Jeff Thurman managed to grab third in the standings on the strength of his two seconds and 10 Top 5 finishes. However, it was very close as another late starter, Steve Dubisar, had a division-leading seven wins out of 12 Top 5s to hold down fourth. 2016 champion Daniel Land ended up fifth with two wins.
The marquee race on the Street Stock schedule was the Second Annual Iron Giant Series Battle At The Beach race. It was tour regular Brian Cronk winning that one ahead of Dubisar and Andrew Langan. Other wins were recorded by Troy Chamberlain and Donald Schott, each once.
The Mini Outlaw championship battle wasn't even close. Sam Talon defended his championship on the strength of 12 wins out of 20 Top 5 efforts. Both John Henry and Street Stock champion Ken Fox took turns behind the wheel of the #12 car. Henry ranked second in the standings with two wins out of 12 Top 5s, while Fox had four wins out of seven Top 5s to finish third. Two-time winner Jason Kellam and one-time winner Tom Siewell rounded out the Top 5 in the standings.
The biggest car count on average at the speedway was again had by the Hornets division. Impressive rookie Tyler Tullos withstood the early threats of April Warmack and Hannah Robison to go on to win the championship. Tullos had eight wins out of 19 Top 5 finishes to eventually win the championship by a comfortable margin ahead of Warmack. Warmack had one win out of 12 Top 5s, while third-ranked Robison had four wins out of 13 Top 5 finishes. Chris Parker and Chuck Peck completed the Top 5 in the standings. Braden Fugate was a strong sixth in the standings and was also a five-time winner as he has now moved up to the Sportsman Late Model class. Other winners included Peyton Reigard, Dyllan Siewell, Tom Elam and Trace Fugate each once. The Labor Day event featured an increased purse for the Hornet division with Braden Fugate getting the win.
The track also introduced a Jr Stingers division for driver's 11 to 14 years old in Hornet cars. The division is just getting off the ground, and young Griff Smith dominated things with seven wins out of seven Top 5 finishes. He won by a comfortable margin ahead of Alex Butler as Sebastian Freedle, James Shingleton and Hunter Berrier made up the remainder of the Top 5.
Because of the variety of different special attractions to go along with the multi division format, Coos Bay continued to be a great place for family friendly entertainment in 2018. Nelson and his staff continue to work hard to make the speedway a great place to go to on any given Saturday night, and there are plans to continue featuring all of the great attractions offered last season with a few new twists in 2019.
2018 Coos Bay Speedway Point Standings
Winged Sprints
Brett Hulsey 270
Lawrence Van Hoof 234
Dave May 234
Kayla Green 222
Donovan Prather 220
Mike Crawford 156
Michael Cinollo 150
Ian Bandey 60
Aaron Miller 60
Steven Snawder 58
Super Late Models
Brody Montgomery 872
Thor Kristensen 706
Chris Ray 670
Wayne Butler 538
Tom Elam 414
Kristy Grout 358
Deven Brown 330
Richard Wallace 324
Mike Taylor 160
Chris Kristensen 146
Sportsman Late Models
Dyllan Siewell 1014
Wayne Butler 1000
Tom Williams 764
Charlie Withers 402
Fugate Braden 226
Scott Lenz 120
Justin Krossman 112
Stacey Robison 106
Jeff Krossman 106
Keith Brown Jr. 60
Street Stocks
Ken Fox 1060
David Smith 980
Jeff Thurman 598
Steve Dubisar 584
Daniel Land 294
Josh Bearden 198
Toby McIntyre 174
Troy Chamberlain 172
Donald Schott 114
Michael Hollingsworth 84
Mini Outlaws
Sam Talon 1072
John Henry 578
Ken Fox 414
Jason Kellam 404
Tom Siewell 400
Carl Johnson 290
Jason Berrier 176
Hunter Berrier 108
Gene Gattenby 104
Dan Daniels 58
Hornets
Tyler Tullos 1130
April Warmack 1014
Hannah Robison 832
Kris Parker 646
Chuck Peck 604
Braden Fugate 558
Leroy Rockwell 540
Dusty Shingleton 500
David Pellum 402
Steven Parker 380
JR Stingers
Griff Smith 300
Alex Butler 226
Sebastion Freedle 116
James Shingleton 66
Hunter Berrier 56
2018 Offered A Nice Variety Of Action
At Douglas County Speedway
Roseburg, Oregon...Douglas County Speedway offered a wide variety of PRA racing action and other visiting classes on the paved oval during the 2018 season. Highlights included the annual NSRA Sprint Car Rick Brown Super Shoe race, the Hardtop Can-Am Challenge, the Elevacity Mini Stock Invitational and the Hornet's Nest 50. The speedway also hosted a NASCAR K&N West Series race.
The core divisions continued to be the Hardtops, Street Stocks, Modifieds, Mini Stocks and Hornets. Roseburg is where the Hardtop division launched in Oregon some 30 plus years ago, and it continues to have one of the strongest car counts on the West Coast. 25 different competitors raced at Roseburg in the Hardtop division throughout the season.
Other than the Hornets division, the Hardtops were the strongest car count at the speedway. They had an eight race championship season, but it turned out to be a rather dominant effort for Harlan Cox. Cox had seven wins and one second in his eight starts to win by a decent margin ahead of Kyran Greene. Greene had the other win in the group as well as four second place finishes to maintain a solid grip on second in the final rundown. 2016 champion Greg Hickman used his season-high one second place finish to grab third in the standings ahead of Donni Fain and hard charger Mike Batman. Batman missed a race, but with one second and two thirds, he made a charge to end up fifth in points. One of the wins for Cox during the season was the annual Can-Am Challenge, a show that featured a season-high 16 competitors.
The PRA Street Stocks also had an eight race championship season. The battle was close between Jeff Solberg and Dale Roth. Solberg led the charge in feature wins with five of them, while his worst effort was one third place finish. Roth was a two-time winner with four second place finishes. When the points were tabulated, Solberg won the championship by just 15 points over Roth. John Dumire won the season finale to make it three different feature winners on the season. Bill Stewart was a solid third in the standings with two season-high third place finishes while Chris Lemon and Monique Scevers completed the Top 5 in the standings. Lemon had a season-high second place finish, while Scevers had one season-high third place effort. The dirt stars of The Iron Giant Series paid Roseburg a visit in what was a non point show for the locals. Roth upheld the local honor in that event with his Smackdown 50 lap victory over Iron Giant regulars Don Schott and David Cronk.
PRA still held on to its Modified effort, and there were seven races during the season. Tom Elam held the point lead until skipping out on the final two races to compete in the Late Model class at Coos Bay. At that point, the steady John Harvey took the lead and won the championship on the strength of his two season-high second place and two third place finishes. Elam was a two-time winner with a second and two thirds to nail down second in the standings. Meanwhile, three-time winner Andrew Koens was a solid third in points. Brad Watson and Harlan Cox completed the Top 5 in the standings, and Rob Muller was the only other feature winner for the point season. The speedway also hosted a West Coast Modified Shootout race, and Randy Houston won the 75 lap event ahead of Elam and Koens.
The Mini Stock division also had seven races. Double division competitor Dale Roth found himself in a close battle with Karl Smith and previous champion Chuck Jacobs for the track title. Smith turned in a rather dominant performance with six feature wins, but his absence from one event enabled Roth to gain the lead. Roth was consistent with four second place finishes, and he managed to hold off Smith by just nine points for the championship. Meanwhile, Jacobs was also a one-time winner with a second and a third place finish to have a solid hold on third in the standings ahead of Gary Carnes and Kieri Smith. Smith had finished as high as second once, while Carnes had four third place finishes. The Elevacity Mini Stock Invitational drew a top notch field of competitors from Oregon, Washington and California. When the checkered flag flew on the extra money 60 lap race, it was Brad Rhoads claiming the victory ahead of Terry Armstrong Jr and Josh McMillan.
The workhorse division of the speedway was the Hornet class, which had 10 total races in their championship season. Ron Johnson ran strong during the season with a pair of wins, a pair of seconds and two thirds. However, his two disqualifications ultimately cost him the title to Pete Lemon. Lemon had two season-high second place finishes among his best efforts. Jeremy Simms used a win and a third place finish among his best efforts to lay claim to third in the standings, followed by Jeremy Mayfield and Cherish Wilson. Mayfield had two season-high second place finishes, while Wilson finished as high as third once. The Hornet's Nest 50 was a non point affair that ran for extra money. It was Dave Beals besting the 16 car field for the win, followed by Street Stock champion Jeff Solberg and Joseph Mircle.
One of the highlights of the season was the annual NSRA Rick Brown Super Shoe Sprint Car event. This time around, Matt Hein got the win by a comfortable margin, followed by Jeff Montgomery and Andy Alberding. The West Coast Vintage racers were also there that night with Marty White getting the win in a close battle with Shawn Priest. The Northwest Pro 4 Alliance ran the Kitty Potter Race For A Cure event late in the season, and Steve Thompson just barely beat Brad Morrison back to the line to win the 74 lap race. Rick Thompson was a close third. The NASCAR K&N West Series made their annual trek to Roseburg. On this occasion, young Derek Kraus led most of the way for an impressive victory. Hailie Deegan finished second ahead of Cody Vander Wal.
A long and storied tradition of racing in Roseburg that stretches back several decades will continue in 2019. Track management is looking to add a few things to their roster while most of what everybody saw on the track in 2018 will continue to be a part of the show. Fans were treated to many exciting things throughout the 2018 season, and there's much to look forward to in the future.
2018 Douglas County Speedway Points
PRA Hardtops
Harlon Cox 533
Kyran Greene 474
Greg Hickman 403
Donni Fain 342
Mike Batman 326
Troy Gasner 324
Steve Smith 265
Jamie Britton 204
Travis Lillard 183
Brian Leniahn 181
PRA Hornets
Pete Lemon 491
Ron Johnson 463
Jeremy Simms 424
Jeremy Mayfield 389
Cherish Wilson 371
Bart Pulse 350
Dave Beals 329
Dylan Grichar 276
Bruce McMasters 253
Bob Vancil 199
PRA Mini Stocks
Dale Roth 416
Karl Smith 407
Chuck Jacobs 404
Gary Carnes 330
Kieri Smith 169
Ron Johnson 88
Jimmy Smith 60
Logan Barron 43
PRA Modifieds
John Harvey 387
Tom Elam 315
Andrew Koens 266
Brad Watson 166
Harlon Cox 161
Scott Copley 152
Riley Watson 68
Rob Muller 68
Stuart Campbell 61
Tom Ford 55
PRA Street Stocks
Jeff Solberg 518
Dale Roth 503
Bill Stewart 400
Chris Lemon 320
Monique Scevers 307
John Dumire 118
Neil Pecor 101
Don Livermore 66
Kyle Brown 57
Jim Redd 56
As it was last year, we are sort of forced to be vague on some of the statistics for the drivers at Orland Raceway. This is because the track did not release full finishes on a regular basis. They did finally release a point list that showed how many points the drivers earned each week. Based on the information we had, we attempted to review the 2018 season as best we could. We proudly support Orland Raceway and only wish to see things continue to grow in the future.
Orland Raceway Continues Its Momentum In 2018
Orland, CA...The show continued on at Orland Raceway in 2018. Under the third year of Rich Hood promoting the 1/5 mile dirt oval, they continued to feature the Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and Mini Stocks with several appearances from the Micro Sprints and Wingless Gas Sprints. It's the show the fans have grown accustomed to over the past 20 years, and it's not lost on many people that had it not been for Hood stepping in three years ago, there may be no show at all.
The numbers continued to improve in both the pits and the grandstands. Hood continued to add more touches to the schedule and remained community-oriented. If there was some way he could use the track to help others, he did so. This included the annual Thomas Schmitke Race For A Cure event. The track also offered kids bike race and bike giveaway night, Fan Appreciation Night, which included a meet and greet with the fans and racers before the show, and the second annual Battle Of The Axles events to close the season. There was plenty of reason to go to Orland Raceway and enjoy some great racing competition.
The Pure Stock championship battle was close throughout the season and got just a bit heated at one point between incoming champion Jeremy Langenderfer and longtime competitor and past champion Paul Stephens. Midway through the season, after the two drivers finished 1-2 in the Main Event, both were disqualified after things got a little too heated. Langenderfer enjoyed a championship effort at nearby Silver Dollar Speedway and made a strong bid to repeat at his home track. He topped the Main Event winners list with seven victories. Unfortunately, his bad luck throughout May and early June kept him playing catch up with the consistent Stephens. Stevens won a pair of Main Events and racked up an impressive six second place finishes. In the end, his championship margin over Langenderfer was 22 points.
Past champion Steve Martin went without a feature win during the season but did have a couple of podium finishes. He was a somewhat consistent Top 5 finisher and was a solid third in the standings ahead of the steady Amanda McAbel. After his runner-up season a year earlier, Shannon Collins elected to run for the championship at Marysville and missed three shows. However, he finished as high as second with four podium efforts. His final podium run in the last race enabled him to take fifth from one-time feature winner Thomas Pavalik.
The annual Thomas Schmitke Memorial Race was won by Langenderfer, and he also won the Fan Appreciation Night event. During the fair, it was Richard Vander Ploeg battling teammate and past track champion Jerry Bartlett for a close victory. Placerville star Dan Jinkerson made an appearance during the season for a victory, and he also won the $1,000 prize in the Second Annual Battle Of The Axles race in October. More importantly, car count numbers maintained strong with only two nights in which they didn't hit 10 cars out of their 13 scheduled events.
A very close battle for the championship took place in the Mini Stock division. Reigning champion Tom Davis came in as the man to beat, and he might have been a bit surprised by who his top challenger was. After debuting her new car late in the 2017 season, Barbara Crain was prepared to make a big run. After opening the season with back-to-back wins, Barbara emerged as the early point leader. She picked up two more mid-season victories to strengthen that. Unfortunately, less than stellar runs in the August race and the first event of September put her behind Davis, who scored three of his four feature wins in the final three point races. Despite Crain picking up second in the point finale, Davis was the winner and won the championship by just 10 points.
Sean Perry didn't have quite the season he was hoping for, but he was a consistent Top 5 finisher and notched four podium finishes. Despite that fact, he found himself in a tight battle with the Pinto driving Jason Libbee for third. Perry needed his Top 5 finish in the finale to beat Libbee by just two points for third in the final standings. Libbee had two podium finishes, including the race on Fan Appreciation Night, which he led for several laps before his hood flew up. Scott Camper was a solid fifth in the standings. Pure Stock champion Paul Stephens was the only other driver with a Main Event win and finished seventh in the standings behind rookie Cindy Wagner. Davis won the $500 prize in the Battle Of The Axles finale.
The Mini Truck division didn't have a close battle after past champion Dan Webster missed the second race of the season. Reigning champion Keith Ross turned in a stellar performance by winning six of the point races. Dan Webster was a two-time winner and also won a hastily scheduled nonpoint event in June. Ross missed the finale and still won the championship by 18 points ahead of Webster.
The consistent William Fogle was one of three drivers who made it to every point event during the season. Fogle had mostly Top 5 finishes to finish 12 points ahead of rookie Tony Quinonez. Quinonez did score multiple podium finishes, and another season highlight for him was a feature win in Hayfork. Rocky Wagner finished fifth in the final rundown as Kalvin Kvalvik rounded out the Top 6 with a podium finish to close the season. Jeff Bennett drove the Olin Crain truck to a feature win at the second race of the season. After the Crain truck was out for a few races for repairs, Olin Crain got behind the wheel of it and picked up a win of his own in August. Webster won the special Battle Of The Axles $500 prize to end the year.
In a bid to keep the Wingless Sprint Car race close among the locals, the track adjusted rules so that motors could only run on gasoline. This for the most part prevented drivers from Chico from visiting. After winning two of the first four races, multi-time champion Josh Jacobo sat out the final four races of the season. The battle was between Tanner Thomson and RJ Baker, neither of whom had a win. Baker picked up five podium finishes and managed to finish as high as second. Likewise, Thompson finished as high as second, including a photo finish with winner Josh Tucker at the fair race. Tucker, like Jacobo, was a two-time winner. In the end, the podium finish earned by Thomson in the finale earned him the championship by one point ahead of Baker.
Jacobo still managed to finish third in the final standings. After a late start, past Orland champion and reigning Chico champion Tony Richards hit the speedway like a hurricane. Richards made four appearances in the final five shows and won all of them to finish fourth in the standings ahead of Tucker. Richards also scored the $500 win in the Battle off The Axles event. Jake Van Tol won the only Main Event he started with this division in August.
The 250 Micro Sprint championship was earned by Pax Gonzalez by just four tallies ahead of James Barnes. Gonzalez had four podium finishes and was also a feature winner. Barnes was a feature winner as well, but bad luck in the finale cost him the point lead to Gonzales in the end. The steady Ronnie Heyer also had a pair of podium finishes two notch third in the standings ahead of Michael McCarthy and Zack Webster. Other feature winners during the season included Alex Fowler, 2017 champion Jackie Whitson Jr and Kylee Porath. Porath also won the special 250 Micro Sprint race during the Battle of The Axles.
Jake Fernandez won the 600 Micro Sprint championship. To put the icing on the cake, he won the season finale. Past Orland champion BJ Martin scored a pair of victories to finish second in the final rundown. Likewise, Jessica McManus was a feature winner to settle for third in the standings ahead of Jeremy Wilson and Amber Fields. Antonia Boscacci and Cody Gray also won Main Events during the six race season. McManus won the 600 Micro Sprint Main Event during the Battle Of The Axles.
The track hosted two special Sport Modified races, the first of which attracted a dozen competitors. Local standout Jake Van Tol won that race, while past Chico and Marysville champion Philip Shelby won the final visit. After canceling a race earlier in the season due to heat, the California Hardtops were a part of Fan Appreciation Night with Tom Grady winning that race. Hunter Elkin won the season-ending $1,000 first prize in the Battle Of The Axles Destruction Derby.
The schedule lost one race due to the fires in the area. As the Camp Fire raged in Paradise after the season was up, it took a toll on the community. A few competitors lost everything they owned. Dan Webster began to form a plan to do a fundraiser race, and he approached Rich Hood with the idea. After Hood was able to set things up, a date was booked in January. Despite the fact that it was pouring rain, competitors came out anyway and ran mud packing for the crowd who was there in attendance. They raised nearly $5,400 for two charities that were helping the fire victims.
Not long after the January event, the community received bad news when longtime competitor Olin Crain passed away. Olin was somebody who was quick to help his fellow competitors and put other people's efforts in front of his own. He was also known as one of the voices of reason when debate got heated. He will truly be missed by all who knew him.
After the February banquet, word will probably come out about the 2019 schedule. It is anticipated that most of the highlights people enjoyed this past season will continue. There's been talk of a few new additions to the schedule as well. With Hood at the helm of the good ship Orland Raceway, the future looks bright indeed.
Orland Raceway 2018 Points
Pure Stocks
Paul Stephens 568
Jeremy Langenderfer 546
Steve Martin 531
Amanda McAbel 456
Shannon Collins 426
Thomas Pavalik 424
Scott Camper 394
Jason Matlock 331
Richard Vander Ploeg 198
Jerry Bartlett 198
Mini Stocks
Tom Davis 460
Barbara Crain 450
Sean Perry 393
Jason Libbee 391
Scott Camper 344
Cindy Wagner 292
Paul Stephens 265
John Kirkpatrick 250
Dustin Hills 238
Les Fernandez 212
Mini Trucks
Keith Ross 485
Dan Webster 467
William Fogle 453
Tony Quinonez 441
Rocky Wagner 411
Kalvin Kvalvik 401
Justin Vance 314
Jeff Bennett 155
Olin Crain 146
Dani Libbee 118
Wingless Gas Sprints
Tanner Thomson 449
RJ Baker 448
Josh Jacbo 256
Tony Richards 220
Josh Tucker 162
Jeff Crossman 125
Kyle Pendergrass 90
Rob Worthington 89
Nathan Johnson 86
Jake Van Tol 53
250 Micro Sprint
Pax Gonzalez 382
James Barnes 378
Ronnie Heyer 341
Michael McCarthy 329
Zach Webster 237
Kylee Porath 217
Alex Fowler 140
Jackie Whitson Jr 100
Jess Garland 95
Kyle 51
600 Micro Sprints
Jake Fernandez 270
BJ Martin 210
Jessica McMannus 154
Jeremy Wilson 100
Amber Fields 99
Tony Alosi 90
Antonia Boscacci 55
Jeromie Chrisman 52
Cody Gray 51
Koen Shaw 51
The Editor's Viewpoint
I wanted to lead off with my season review articles from the Jefferson race tracks. When I made the move up to Oregon, I debated about what I was going to do with my blog. As you know, the DCRR Racing News blog had been around since 2007 as a continuation of the magazine that I had for several years. My belief was that I needed to do something separate for this particular area.
I knew coming up here that I would be writing articles for Southern Oregon Speedway and Siskiyou Motor Speedway. I had my eye on another track or two, but I wasn't sure what I would be able to fit into my schedule. I ended up adding Coos Bay Speedway immediately and eventually got around to Douglas County Speedway. The oddball track in this equation is Orland Raceway. The boundaries, as my blog has defined them, would be between Roseburg and Roseville. That puts Orland right in the middle of it. Because Orland has been featured on The DCRR blog for so long, I didn't want to move it.
I've given some thought to the idea of whether the Jefferson Racing News blog should continue or if everything should just go on the main blog. The reason I didn't do that initially is because the C in DCRR stood for California. My main tracks for that blog have always been my home tracks, Antioch Speedway and Merced Speedway. Plus, by starting a Jefferson blog, it makes the Medford and Yreka tracks the focal point of their own blog. I also feel that this way here these tracks would not get buried underneath articles about the California tracks and vice versa. But hey, whatever gets the articles posted, right?
It's kind of an interesting thing. My newspaper efforts begin as a way for me to take care of my new home track, Medford, my old home tracks, Antioch and Merced, and I also had Orland and Yreka there from the start. That in itself can get hectic due to the deadlines, and here I was adding more and more tracks. Last season, I covered 10 tracks combined in at least one newspaper in their area. When most of those tracks come up at once for an early Monday deadline, it means I'm not getting much sleep on Sunday. We'll see what I end up covering this year.
Siskiyou Motor Speedway has a new promoter. For about a year, word kept coming back to me that the fairgrounds wanted an actual promoter to run the track, but they weren't having much luck finding one. Because of the revolving-door situation the track had for several years, the association was formed to make sure racing continued. Was it a perfect situation? No. They had their good moments, and they had their bad moments. The most recent bad moment nearly killed things for the track. I don't blame the fairgrounds for at least looking to see what was out there.
As it turns out, recent SCMA President Kevin Barba stepped up to the plate and took on the task of becoming the first individual promoter the track has had in almost 20 years. He comes in at a time when the show has been in decline. Even the fairgrounds made a comment at a meeting late last year that they didn't need racing to make the business work, but they recognized that it was important to the community. However, since this is a business, the fairgrounds is hoping to get some money out of it too.
As a promoter, you're not only trying to keep racing going and give the fans a good show, you are running a business. You're there to try and make some kind of money. You're putting long hours into it and covering many facets of the sport that people don't realize. If you're not successful, you don't stick around for the long haul. This was the problem the track faced after the departure of Southern Oregon Racing Hall Of Famer Rick Hunsley. People lasted a year or two and went. When this happens too many times to a race track, the gates don't end up reopening.
An association is mainly focused on keeping the gates open. That is the priority. One way or the other, the bills have to get paid and that much has to pencil in after the final race. But as far as making a profit, that's not as big a priority as making sure the bills get paid. They did a fairly decent job of that through the years until one particular board member pretty much screwed up the association during the 2017 season. This has happened in the past on one other occasion, but this particular time was nearly devastating. This is another negative side to an association. You have too many hands in the cookie jar. Yes, you have a president, but the president only lasts until the next election. Another year is not guaranteed for that person.
The problem with an association is that you really don't get much of a marketing strategy. There's not much of a business plan as to where the race track is now and where it's going in the future. I look at three examples of that between Roseburg, St Helens and Yreka. While racing goes on at all three places and they have their moments, I can't tell you what is being done to build things up in the future. What are they working on now that they hope will become a real highlight in a few years? That, I can't tell you. I know what's happening at the track closest to Yreka, Medford. I know the work that has been put in towards building a program now with an eye towards having something really special a few years from now.
I'm not knocking the people who ran Yreka. I am saying I appreciate that they made this effort at all. I always say that as long as the gates continue to open, there's a chance for good things to happen. Because I cared about the situation, I was more than happy to volunteer my writing efforts to help spread the word. This was all voluntary. One of the nice things about Yreka is there are two newspapers in the area that are interested in printing articles about the races. The newspapers want to see the track succeed. Therefore, they are willing to spread the word. The main problem is you can write whatever you want, but if the fans come out to the track and don't see what they're hoping to see, no amount of good press is going to help.
Kevin Barbra enters the situation with some serious issues to deal with. Right now, he only has two divisions that are featured classes, the IMCA Sport Modifieds and the Mini Stocks. He also has several dates for the Outlaw Pro Stocks and some visitation from the Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars. Beyond that, Kevin knows he'll need to start building things up. Or, at least I hope he knows. You have to have more divisions. Their neighbor to the north was in a similar position to them four years ago. Car counts were suffering and there weren't that many divisions to choose from. Therefore, you had to book divisions that aren't producing big car counts more often, and the fans don't end up seeing a show.
What Medford did was cultivate eight different in-house divisions along with other visiting classes and special events. Nobody carries a big burden that they have to be the show all the time. Drivers can't afford to run a 20 race schedule anymore. Sure, there are a few, but there are not enough to make the show really pop. Remember that it's 2019, not 1999 or even better, 1989. Times have changed, it's become more expensive and people have other demands on their time and money. Therefore, you need several divisions in your rotation. Medford has been able to have a bit of a turnaround in three years because of employing this philosophy.
Yreka had an IMCA Modified class for several years. Now, it's been reduced to a special events class, and with a big purse being offered to end last season, only three drivers showed up. Can this class be saved? I know there are more drivers in the Yreka area with cars, and a couple of other Sport Modified regulars now have Modifieds. Can it be saved? I know fans want to see Modifieds more than they want to see Sport Modifieds. The cars are faster, handle better and generally put on a better race than their more limited counterparts. One thing that hurt this class in the past few years was the association's insistence that there would be a sliding pay scale. If you didn't produce 12 cars, you weren't getting $500 to win as was the standard at other tracks. Since drivers knew they weren't going to get that car count, they didn't bother.
Obviously, you look at some of the building blocks in the area that were popular in the not-so-distant past. This includes the Modifieds. The Street Stocks would obviously warrant a look. Are there enough cars for this? The Jefferson State Jalopies are a new thing. Though there are five cars right now, it's worth booking them once a month just to get those five cars. You don't want to overdo it as you put a strain on the team that's producing all of those cars, but once a month would probably work. Hornets? Seems like the cheapest division to start. Other touring classes? Booking in a way to get cars to come in from Medford? Friday night racing?
As I'm writing this, I'm not exactly sure what Kevin's plans are, but I know he's got some in mind. I've heard rumors. He has whatever his budget is to get things started. And you should understand that the turnaround will not happen overnight. I tell people that in Medford all the time. The object isn't to make everything as great as it was once upon a time in some short amount time. You won't succeed in that. The object is to make it better than people have seen it in recent years. And yes, Yreka can do that.
It takes honesty from the management letting the people know what's going on and following through on the things you say you're going to do. It takes patience from the racers and understanding that while it may not be 100% what you want, if the effort is being made, you need to give it a chance. Keeping the race track in Yreka going is not a given, so you should understand it can close at anytime.
When I looked back at the 2018 season for my season review, I kept one thing in mind. The association had their backs against the wall. It was ready to fall apart, and they somehow managed to pull it off and have a season. There were a few things that conspired during the year to make it not as good as it could have been. Two nights early in the season when they had bigger than usual car counts, rain came in just as the heat races were starting and wiped both shows out. Plus, fires in the area kept them from having the Sprint Car Speedweek race.
Still, the show went on otherwise. The fact that they managed to do what they did and had some good moments along the way is worthy of respect. I'm sure the association will still be around keeping an eye on things and ready to step in if needed, and I'm also sure that I appreciate the effort they've been making. It's easy to be an armchair quarterback, but it's more challenging to step up and put your money where your mouth is.
As I'm writing this, the Southern Oregon Speedway awards banquet is just around the corner. It happens on Saturday night. It's a time for celebration. KJE Enterprises and Mike McCann stepped into the situation with a lot of optimism and perhaps didn't quite understand fully what they were dealing with. Mike has done an exceptional job under the circumstances, but it's not too surprising. He's had a history of turning around tracks, many of them in Oregon. This is probably the one he will go out on, and the game plan was simple.
He was just trying to give the fans a consistent show. Booking classes and knowing a certain amount of cars would be there. It required some divisions to be added to the roster so the burden wouldn't be put on just a few classes. It required consistency. The guaranteed purse, the way the program would be run, pay off right after the races and all of those things that Mike would call Promoting 101. The result has been a slow, but steady increase in attendance and car count numbers from 2016 to 2018. It has certainly become better than it's been in recent years.
Nobody is doing a victory lap saying it's been turned around completely. However, there is some pride in knowing that things are beginning to happen. It is beginning to get better. Last season saw two of the biggest car counts the track has had in a decade. More people were coming out to watch. The season ended on a regular point race with two divisions needing B Mains. That's the first time this has been the case for a regular show at the speedway in about a decade. The signs are there. It's getting better. The game plan for 2019 is simple. Stay the course, make a few adjustments to make things better and continue to deliver what's expected.
I know Coos Bay Speedway isn't burning up the scene with a huge car count. Drake Nelson gave the drivers a NASCAR sanctioning, and yet I don't believe the locals have gotten on board to support this thing as much as perhaps they should have. Late Models, for instance, had a $5,500 championship last year. I know that the area has at least a dozen cars, but six was the average. The only division delivering more cars was the Hornets. That's the bad news. The good news is Drake has pulled out all the stops. He's continued to offer many of the family-friendly things that Chuck Prather started and a few more. He brings in different special attractions.
Coos Bay Speedway had a good year, all things considered. It looks like they are staying the course and making a few tweaks to make it better. That's all you can do. Given the time that we're in now, having a successful race track is not a slam dunk. It requires serious effort. Oregon has more tracks struggling to really make it pop then they have highly successful ones. News flash people. There are only nine outdoor oval tracks competing during the summer, and every place isn't Cottage Grove Speedway. There are circumstances that have led that track to be what it is, but half of the tracks in the state are just happy to have what they've got. So when you're throwing Cottage Grove in a promoter's face as the mecca, you're not doing much good. They already know what Cottage Grove has and they know what they are dealing with at home. They're doing what they can.
I know we have the rumors of a couple of tracks for sale, which will cause speculation as to whether there could be a 10th or even 11th outdoor oval track in Oregon in the next few years. I don't know. I certainly hope so, which was the inspiration for releasing the article that we did late last year. I do know that things are not a guarantee for the tracks we have. Everybody's doing what they can to give the fans this unique form of entertainment. I salute Coos Bay, Medford, Yreka, Roseburg and all of the tracks that are doing what they can.
I don't want to go on too long here, but I wanted to point out that Orland Raceway did their fundraiser for the victims of the Camp Fire in Paradise. Many people within the community lost their homes aside from the fact that there were a lot of people who lost their homes and many of whom even lost their lives. The fire was devastating. Because of some racers within the community, led by Dan Webster, the idea of doing a race that ended up being held in early January was proposed. Promoter Rich Hood got on board with this. The fairgrounds was in favor of it. Then, the rains came. It was a gully-washer. There was absolutely no way they could have a real race there that day.
Rich was left with a decision to make. First of all, the bills were paid. I believe this was the only time they were going able to take the maximum money that was raised and give it all away. All of the money that came in from the gates went towards raising money. The good news is they raised $5,400 for two charities designed to help the people who were hurt by the fires. That's the good news. The bad news is the track was in no condition to have a race, and yet Rich made the decision to open the gates and give it a try.
The hope was that it would rain, but not so much that they couldn't get things in shape and give the fans some sort of race. That was the hope. The problem was it started to rain, and kept raining and raining and raining. The weather forecast was rain for the next four days, meaning even if you could move the race to the next week, the track conditions wouldn't be so good. And if you didn't get the race in the next week, there are other tracks trying to run the week after that. It was decided that this was the best time to try.
I really hope for the best for the track. Had they pulled off an actual race, the racing community would have looked over at them and the good they did. It would have helped put Orland Raceway on the map within the racing community. Unfortunately, what people saw when video footage was leaked was cars mud bogging around the oval. It became a laughing stock and didn't achieve anything as far as the image of the track. The funds being raised was the main positive to take away. The good news is most of the people who actually wanted to race decided not to come. I say good news because these are the type of people who might have really thrown shade at the track, but they had no reason to.
The better news was there were about 25 to 30 drivers who did come. Several of them did put their cars on the track, despite the fact that they were not going to do any racing. Fans who came out to watch, somewhere in the 50 to 100 range, watched as the cars tried to go a lap without spinning. They were running a few cars at a time, and there was an announcer communicating what was going on. I think the people out there at the time knew what they were getting into, and they were okay with it. So, the people who went had fun, and like I said, they raised money for a good cause.
Orland Raceway is one of those tracks I talk about that could have gone away if it wasn't for a guy like Rich Hood stepping up to the plate and becoming a promoter. I'm sure he would have been happier staying in the Pure Stock division and racing, but he heard the call. There wouldn't have been a track on which to race had somebody not stepped up to promote. He is in his third year, and he's been making progress. I appreciate that. He's also added little touches here and there as he's been able to, and I suspect this year will be the same.
If I had a wish, it would be that Orland would step in and take over the Wingless Spec Sprint division now that the division has been dropped at Chico. They are already getting about a half a dozen cars, and if they open the rules just a tick, I think they could double that and give the fans a nice little added attraction.
Anyway, I think I've said enough. I'll certainly have more to say in the days ahead. We'll be working on more season reviews on the other blog and soon be back in gear for another exciting season. Until next time...
