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New Era Set To Begin At Siskiyou Golden Speedway
This Saturday Night
Yreka, CA...A new era is set to begin at Siskiyou Golden Speedway this Saturday night. The track is in the midst of a long and continuous run of seasons that began back in 1992. Kevin Barba is taking the helm as the promoter, and he's been working very hard behind the scenes for the past several weeks to make sure everything is in place to make this the best season people have seen at the Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds based facility in recent years.
Barba and his crew have been working to make the clay oval dirt track racier and safer, and several improvements have been made to the facility itself. The key is getting the fans to come back out to enjoy good old-fashioned Saturday night racing, and Barba is working on making each race special. The goal is to increase the attendance numbers at the speedway, and there will be several things done to make that a reality.
Fan friendliness is the plan. There will be special promotions throughout the season that are geared towards making the older and younger fans want to come back to the speedway. One upcoming event will be on April 20th Little League Night, which will feature an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids in the infield before the races. They will also be raffling of two bikes for the kids.
From a racing perspective, there will be several marquee events on the calendar, including the annual Billy Geyer Memorial Pro Stock race on May 4th, Mike Caveye Memorial Mini Stock Blowout on May 18th, the Bo Hittson and Memorial IMCA Sport Modified race on May 25th, John Arnberg Memorial IMCA Modified race on May 26th and the Rod Restad Memorial IMCA Modified and Sport Modified race on September 21st. There will also be a new special race paying tribute to the father of the promoter. The Rod Barba Memorial Sport Modified race will happen on August 31st.
The track will be offering the divisions you're used to seeing along with some very special appearances from the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, BCRA Midgets, Focus Midgets, Iron Giant Street Stocks and the Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars. This Saturday night, an action-packed lineup will include the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks and Mini Stocks.
For fans wanting to see lots of race cars at the facility, this Saturday's season opener will be your chance. Barba is hoping to rebuild the interest in the popular IMCA Modified division, which has waned in recent years. With neighboring Southern Oregon Speedway not opening for a few weeks, it's hoped that a few drivers venture south to do some racing. Barba has made every effort to not book on top of the Medford IMCA Modified show.
Last season, Ryan McDaniel was the IMCA Modified champion. Drivers such as two-time champion Albert Gill, Jeremy Ohlde, Dan Thomas, John Toolanen, Duane Orsburn, 2017 champion Nick Trenchard and Mark Wauge are among those who have been willing to support the Modified show in recent years. It is hoped that the local effort will regain momentum in this class, and it's been confirmed that 2016 IMCA Sport Modified champion Jimmy Lipke and Justin Foux are moving up.
The Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks will be calling Siskiyou Golden Speedway their home track this year. Last year, the track had a special point race, and it turned out that series champion Dr Scott Lenz won the track championship as well. Lenz enters the season as the driver to beat and he has won the lion's share of races for the group in Yreka these past two seasons. However, he knows he can expect some stiff competition from 2016 champion Steve Borror, long time division competitor Scott Flowers and son James Flowers, Bryan Hammond, Jeff Haudenshild and Matt Harlow. The Pro Stocks always put on a good show when they are in town.
The IMCA Sport Modified division has sort of taken the reigns as the top class at the speedway. This has been the place where young drivers have come in and made a name for themselves. The latest young gun to keep an eye on is Mini Stock graduate Ethan Killingsworth, who may be prepared to make a serious challenge at the championship. To get to that, however, he'll have to beat reigning champion Trevor Tiffee. Tiffee has a new car this year as he hopes to contend for more wins.
Among the many talented local competitors are Ryder Boswell, Colter Boswell, Randy Wright, Gary Foster, Colton Cheffey and Doug Franklin. Word is that car owner Donny Bottoms will be teaming up with Medford Sprint Car star Merissa Henson behind the wheel this year. Henson will be piloting the car driven to the 2017 championship by Donny's son, DJ Bottoms.
Last but certainly not least are the Mini Stocks. The entry point into racing at Siskiyou Speedway has had some great battles through the years, and it continues to come down to three-time reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick, two-time champion "Magic" Mike Whitaker and multi-division champion Terry Kendrick as to who will win the honors. The trio comes in as heavy favorites, but there are some new drivers poised to make a challenge.
Last season, Darek Alford was a Main Event winner, but he was unable to overtake Zac McMurray for top rookie honors. Both drivers will be looking to make a run for the money, and others to watch for include Jason Frost, Aaron Jorgensen, Tiffany Cobb and Mike Frost. It's possible that we will see 2015 champion David Steele and others from Medford this weekend as well.
The season opener is just the beginning of a great schedule of racing that we will be seeing from now through October. It's a race you won't want to miss as there should be a full pit area of race cars on hand to put on a show for the fans. For further information, go to www.siskiyougoldenspeedway.com or check out the Siskiyou Golden Speedway Facebook page.
We are pleased to welcome Daren Ricks Campbell to the Jefferson Racing blog as our contributing Coos Bays Speedway writer.
Season Opener on Tap Saturday Night on the NASCAR Oval
By Daren Ricks Campbell - DRC Motorsports Media - Website drcmotorsportsmedia.com/
As Coos Bay Speedway draws closer to Saturday night’s 46th season opener, excitement is building in anticipation of the upcoming season. A seven division program is on the card this Saturday night, featuring the America’s Mattress Super Late Models, Winged Sprints, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Hornets and Jr Stingers.
Brody Montgomery will be back this season to defend his America’s Mattress Super Late Model title. The Bandon native was dominant this past season, racking up 9 wins across his 15 starts. One competitor looking to dethrone Montgomery is Coos Bay’s own Preston Luckman. Luckman is coming off a career year that saw him win 7 races en route to the Cottage Grove Speedway Late Model track championship. Luckman will be joined by a host of others looking to unseat Montgomery in 2019.
The word on the street is that defending Sportsman Late Model champ Dyllan Siewell is likely to only run a partial schedule this upcoming season. Siewell’s absence could possibly leave the door open for someone like Mike Taylor or Tom Williams to take over the reigns of the division.Taylor picked up the car that Wayne Butler piloted in 2018. Butler was able to take that car to 9 wins and was within 14 points of the track title. Will Taylor find the same success? Williams was also quite consistent this past season, finishing in the Top 5 in all but one race.
Ken Fox returns looking to repeat as Street Stock champion this season. Fox looked to be in a league of his own for most of last season, picking 9 feature victories and winning the championship by almost 100 points. Coquille’s Steve Dubisar was easily Fox’s biggest threat in 2018. Dubisar was only able to make 12 starts last year, but picked up 7 wins in his limited races. Should Dubisar make a run at the title this season, these two could steal the show night in and night out.
The Winged Sprints return to Coos Bay Speedway in 2019 after a 5 race slate in 2019. Lawrence VanHoof lead in the win department with 2, while Dave May, Aaron Miller and Ian Bandey all came away with a singular victory. Brett Hulsey was the most consistent of the bunch though, accumulating the most points over the 5 races held.
The Hornet division looks to bring another healthy car count to the track this season. Leading the charge will be defending champion Tyler Tullos. Tullos took home 8 wins last year on the way to winning the track title by over 100 points. Should they both make a run at the track championship Braden Fugate and Hannah Robison could be in the thick of the title chase. These two drivers combined for 9 wins on the season, but neither was able to race the full season to make a serious charge at Tullos.
The Mini Outlaws return this year, and Sam Talon will be looking for a repeat of 2018. Talon took home the track championship by an overwhelming margin, picking up 12 victories along the way. Street Stock champ Ken Fox was also very fast in his limited starts last season, posting 4 wins in 7 races. As the season develops we’ll see if a serious contender emerges for Talon’s title.
Griff Smith was an unstoppable force in the Jr Stingers class this past season. Smith went undefeated in 2018, winning all 7 of his starts. Bandon’s Alex Butler made all but one race this past season, and is hoping to reach victory lane for the first time in 2019.
Make sure you don’t miss Saturday’s action! The Grandstands open at 4 P.M, with racing beginning at 6:30.
General Admission prices are as follows:
Adults $10
Seniors & Kids (7-17) $8
Children 6 & Under FREE
Family Pass (2 Adults & 3 Kids) $25
It’s easy to join the Coos Bay Speedway text service! Fans can text CBSPEED to 84483 to receive fan information. Message and data rates apply. Updates are also available by calling Coos Bay Speedway at 541-269-2474.
Coos Bay Speedway is located in Coos Bay, OR a short jump off Hwy 101 then two & a half miles east on Hwy 42. The facility currently houses a 3/8-mile NASCAR dirt track, 1/8 mile NHRA drag strip, and hosts yearly Mud Drag events. For breaking news and updates on the 2019 season, visit our website www.coosbayspeedway.us and like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/coosbayspeedway
Racing And An Easter Egg Hunt Planned
For Mountain Valley Raceway Opener Saturday Night
Hayfork, CA...The sound that people may have heard echoing from around the Trinity County Fairgrounds last Saturday was the sound of race cars turning laps at Mountain Valley Raceway. After two previous practice day attempts were called off due to bad weather, the racers got the go ahead to come practice. Notable stars such as past champion Josh Smith, Russ "The Newmanator" Newman and Larry Richardson showed up to test their cars.
This Saturday night, the curtain comes up on a new season of racing. The popular Hobby Stocks will be in action along with the Mini Stocks, the wild and crazy Enduros and the B Modifieds. In addition to the racing action, the speedway will celebrate Easter a bit early. There will be an Easter Egg Hunt in the infield for kids 7 and under and for the older kids. It's going to be a great night of family entertainment.
It's hard to ignore the popularity of the IMCA Sport Modifieds as this class is featured at several racing venues across the United States. Tressen Smith was one of the first drivers to come on board to help build this open wheel Stock Car class in Hayfork. Joe Short was among the drivers testing his B Modified last Saturday. Track officials are hoping that this division can take root and grow in the weeks ahead.
The Hobby Stocks have been at the speedway since it opened in 2011, and Josh Smith was one of the first big stars and champions of the division. Between his own racing and his efforts getting his young son Chayce Smith started in Outlaw Karts at various tracks in California and Oregon, Josh keeps very busy. He is hoping to race more at his home track this year, and some of the stars in recent events include Newman, 2017 champion William Kasper and Burl Richardson.
The Mini Stocks have continued to grow their car count. Last season, Larry Richardson emerged as one of the stars of the entry evel, four cylinder class. Others, such as young up and comer Ian Thulin, Andy Blackburn and Jack Turner have put on some great races in the past. Much like the Hobby Stock division, this class sees visitors from Orland when that track isn't running, which is the case this weekend.
William Young has raced in both the Mini Stocks and the Enduro class. The Enduros seem to be the most unpredictable and exciting class at the track. Drivers are competing in just about anything with four wheels. The track is wet down before the races and the competitors are turned loose to do battle. You'll see close racing and slam-bang action in this race. This class produces some of the biggest car counts with drivers like Bryan Gummeras, Kevin Kasper and Rich Stewart among its ranks.
General Admission on Saturday is $10 with Seniors 62 and older $8. Youth 17 and younger are $5 with children 5 and under free. It's going to be a great night at the track that you won't want to miss. For further information, check out the Mountain Valley Raceway page on Facebook.
Cox, Morgan Win Sprint Car Features At Placerville Speedway
Placerville, CA...April 6...Justyn "Indiana" Cox won the 25 lap Thompson's Family Of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event on Law Enforcement Night at Placerville Speedway. Cox had the lead from the start and withstood a challenge from Tony Gualda for the victory. Cox led early ahead of Sean Becker and reigning champion Andy Forsberg. Gualda slipped past Forsberg for third on lap seven. Cox and Becker had a good battle going out front when a lap 15 yellow flag bunched the field. Gualda took second from Becker on the restart, and the final caution flag of the race flew on lap 23. However, Cox withstood some serious pressure from Gualda on the final two laps for the impressive win. Becker settled for third, followed by Justin Sanders, Kalib Henry, Forsberg, Colby Copeland, Colby Johnson, Bobby McMahan and Jessie Love.
There were an impressive 26 cars on hand for the Winged 360 Sprint Car show, and Gualda set the fast time standard on the quarter-mile clay oval of 10.722. Sanders was second quick at 10.832. The first of four eight lap heat race wins went to Gualda ahead of Blake Carrick. Becker won the second heat in front of Shane Hopkins, and the third heat race win went to Johnson in front of Chris Masters after a last-lap pass. Cox won the final heat in front of Copeland. The 13 lap B Main win went to Zane Blanchard ahead of Love, Shawn McMahan, Justin Johnson and Bradley Dillard.
Jake Morgan kicked off the 10th season for the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Tour with a thrilling 25 lap Main Event victory ahead of reigning series champion Shawn Jones. Morgan raced into the lead at the start ahead of Cody Spencer and Billy Aton. A red flag waved on lap two, and Morgan continued to lead Spencer and Shayna Sylvia on the restart. Sylvia gained second on a lap seven restart with Jones settling into third. Jones took second from Sylvia on a lap 11 restart and gained the lead on lap 13. The battle was close between Jones and Morgan with Morgan regaining first on lap 18. Jones kept the pressure on in the waning laps, however he was unable to make the move as Morgan won ahead of Jones, DJ Johnson, Troy DeGaton, Alan Miranda, Bryan Grier, Boy Moniz, Scott Chapeta, Angelique Bell and Ryon Siverling.
Billy Aton had the quickest lap of 12.498, to beat the 12.583 effort of Sylvia. The 21 competitors were divided into three eight lap heat races with Morgan winning the first one ahead of Moniz. The second heat race win was scored by DeGaton in front of Sylvia, and the final heat race victory went to Spencer ahead of Johnson in a very close battle.
2016 champion Nick Baldwin won the 20 lap Jay's Mobile Welding Pure Stock Main Event. Dave Silva led the first three laps before being passed by Kevin Jinkerson on lap four. Jinkerson only held the point for one lap before being overtaken by Baldwin. Baldwin led from there through two yellow flags to score the victory. Jinkerson settled for second ahead of Silva, three-time reigning champion Scott Grunert, Mel Beyers, Lonnie Leonard, Jessie Bryant, Jason Palmer, Jason Leonard and Matthew Chacon. Baldwin won his eight lap heat race ahead of Grunert, and the second heat race win was collected by Jinkerson over Chacon.
Tom Stanwood won the 20 lap Little Truck Main Event. Reigning champion John Littlejohn led the first three laps before encountering problems for a red flag that ended his race. Russ Murphy had the lead at that point in front of Stanwood and Aaron Rupley. On lap six, Ryan Murphy took the third position from Rupley as Stanwood was challenging Russ Murphy for lead. Stanwood finally made his winning pass on lap 12 and brought it home to victory. Russ Murphy settled for second, followed by Ryan Murphy, Thomas Jensen, Rupley and Littlejohn. The eight lap heat race win went to Littlejohn.
Racing resumes on April 20th with the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Limited Late Models, Pure Stocks, BCRA Midget Lites and California Hardtops making this an action-packed program. For further information, go to www.placervillespeedway.com.
Ing Scores Third Straight Victory At Marysville Raceway
Marysville, CA...April 6...Michael Ing continues to be the dominant force in Winged 360 Sprint Cars at Marysville Raceway. Driving the David Ing owned entry, Michael Ing led from the start to win the 25 lap Main Event. Reigning champion Mike Monahan ran in pursuit of Ing in the early stages, only to be passed by reigning Petaluma champion Jake Haulot for second on lap four. Haulot pressured Ing for a while, but a lap 14 yellow flag waved for Kevin Lovell in Turn 3. Three-time champion Coby Wiesz settled into second behind Ing on the restart with Haulot still holding onto third. However, nobody was going to challenge Ing as he maintained his advantage over Wiesz to the checkered flag. Brent Bjork made a lap 18 pass on Haulot to claim the third position all the way to the checkered flag. Haulot settled for fourth, followed by Monahan, Korey Lovell, John Clark, Eli Deshaies, Justin Henry and Jimmy Steward. Haulot once again set the fast time of 12.220, beating the 12.279 of Korey Lovell. Brent Bjork outran Wiesz to win his eight lap heat race, while Clark outran Ing to win the other heat.
Jeremy Blackshere scored the victory in the 20 lap NorCal Dwarf Car Main Event. The rapidly run race had just one yellow flag slow down. Blackshere was leading Michael "Spanky" Grenert on lap 12. Ben Wiesz made a move on Grenert for the second position, but his hopes ended in a yellow flag in Turn 4 on lap 18. Blackshere continued to lead Grenert on the restart, but Grenert was passed by Kevin Bender. However, nobody was passing Blackshere as he won ahead of Bender, Grenert, Mike Reeder, Ryan Plexico, Shawn Whitney, Tim Fitzpatrick, Jeff Fitch, Ben Wiesz and Robert Johnson. Ben Wiesz beat Ryan Winter to win the first eight lap heat race. Reeder won the second heat in front of Grenert, and the final heat race victory went to Blackshere over Fitzpatrick.
Placerville champion Matt Micheli went flag-to-flag to win the 20 lap Super Stock Main Event. The race had three yellow flags, but each time Micheli moved ahead and was never seriously threatened in winning by over half a lap in front of Brent Lawrence. The battle was for second, held by past Marysville champion Jerry Bartlett until his run ended in Turn 2 on lap 11. At that point, Eddie Gardner held the runner-up position ahead of Lawrence. However, Lawrence made the move around Gardner for second on lap 18 to finish there behind the flying Micheli. Mike Learn grabbed third with past Marysville champion George Magenheimer following him into fourth on the last lap. Gardner settled for fifth, followed by Richard Vander Ploeg, Tucker Garcia, multi-time champion James Castleberry, Bartlett and Kyle Cheney. Micheli won his heat race in front of Vander Ploeg, while Bartlett outran Learn to win the other eight lap race.
Racing returns on April 20th with Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Dwarf Cars and Hobby Stocks. For further information, go to www.marysvilleraceway.com.
IMCA Modifieds Back For 24th Season
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...Racing season is just around the corner at Southern Oregon Speedway. The 24th season of racing on the 1/3 mile clay oval will kick off on May 4th, and the IMCA Modifieds will be a part of the show. The Modifieds have been a featured division at the speedway since it opened in 1996.
Many great competitors have come through the gates. Some of the early greats of Modified racing include two-time champion Tom Glover, Dennis Silva, Jay Hinton Jr and Don Estremado. When it came to setting the bar on Main Event wins, Estremado was the man. The 1999 champion racked up some 27 feature wins in his time during the early years of Southern Oregon Speedway, which included an impressive 14 wins in one season.
The Modified career win record stayed in place until Mark Wauge began to hit his stride. Wauge has won some 50 Main Events in his career at Southern Oregon Speedway, and he has racked up an impressive seven Modified championships along the way. Anytime there's a big race on the schedule at Southern Oregon Speedway, Wauge's name comes up as one of the top local drivers who should contend for the win.
There are many big events sprinkled throughout the season at Southern Oregon Speedway, but the Modifieds will continue to offer up some of the showcase events, which will include the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race on June 1st, the annual Wild West Speedweek visit on June 22nd and the Third Annual R Charles Snyder Salute on August 31st and September 1st. All three events pay bigger purses than normal, and the win in the Snyder Memorial will net somebody $5,000.
Wauge had people talking during the offseason when he put his race car and trailer up for sale. He hinted at the possibility that if everything sold he would be giving Late Models a try. Recently, Mark has declared his intent to compete for an unprecedented eighth career Southern Oregon Speedway IMCA Modified championship. This would also match him with Speedway all-time Pro Stock feature win leader Frank Word III as an eight-time champion if he could accomplish it.
There was speculation heading into last season that Mark would be the driver to beat in the championship chase. When he won the season opener, people were talking. Unfortunately, his luck went downhill from there after blowing a motor in the second race. Mark has put everything in place in the hopes that he can bring the championship trophy back home this year.
The championship trophy in three of the past five years has had the same address. That would be the home of Albert Gill. Gill was involved in a very close battle for the championship last season, but he used consistency to get the job done. He finished as high as second on multiple occasions, but he is hoping to return to the Main Event Winners Circle for the first time since 2017.
Zach Fettinger had the opportunity to buy the Monte Bischoff car prior to last season, and it's a purchase that enabled him to step up his game. Fettinger scored three feature wins during the year and made himself a serious title contender. It's just possible that had he not missed the Speedweek race, Zach would have won the title. Anybody who thinks he can't win the championship this year may be in for a surprise.
The bounty hunter of the field is Nick Trenchard. Nick has won some of the biggest Modified races ever at Southern Oregon Speedway, but the lure of the big prize money being offered at other tracks sometimes takes him out of the field. Trenchard has certainly shown that he has what it takes. He's a championship contender if he wants that, and he is certainly a threat to win on any given night in which he appears. He also has a brand new car for this season.
Jantzen Knips and David Satterfield are two drivers who did well in the standings last season. Both were Top 5 ranked, and Satterfield, who is a past Pro Stock competitor, was the top rookie. Not wanting to lose his point status, Knips was left scrambling after a hard crash destroyed his car, but he came back with another car to keep things going. Both of these drivers have been working hard to get faster, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them score wins at some point during the season.
The Duste family has been a part of Southern Oregon racing for many decades, and last season saw Dave Duste Jr make several appearances. He is a past feature winner and championship runner-up who reportedly will be in a newer car this season. You would have to consider him to be one of the contenders to win on any given race date.
Jesse Bailey and Preston Jones are two others to contend with. Bailey may have been a surprise in 2017 when he notched his first career championship with a very consistent season. He is certainly a driver to watch anytime he's there. Jones finally stepped up and showed everybody last season what he can do. He's done well in Sprint Cars and Late Model Lites in the past, but he won a crowd pleasing battle to win the season finale last season.
"Cowboy" Duane Orsburn has worked very hard to a step up his racing program, and the two-time Street Stock champion will be a threat anytime he's in town. Among the many talented racers to watch for during the course of the season are Jeremy Ohlde, Andy Freeman, Brett Provost, Ray Kniffen Jr, Stan Gunderson, Bo Shields, Jon DeBenedetti and division rookies Jimmy Lipke and Justin Foux.
Car count wise, the numbers were up last year over the proceeding few seasons, and there is a buzz within the community that Southern Oregon Speedway is the place to be to race IMCA Modifieds this year. The speedway continues to reaffirm its commitment to close, competitive racing under IMCA sanctioning. You definitely won't want to miss the show anytime these fast, open-wheel Stock Cars are in action. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
2019 Southern Oregon Speedway IMCA Modified Schedule
April 13 - Playday
April 27 - Playday
May 4
May 25
June 1 - Roger Haudenshild Tribute
June 15
June 22 - Wild West Speedweek
July 20
August 10
August 17 - Hall Off Fame Night
August 31 - R Charles Snyder Salute
September 1 - R Charles Snyder Salute
September 14
2018 IMCA Modifieds Points
89 Albert Gill 299
88 Zach Fettinger 275
211 David Satterfield 256
54n Nick Trenchard 251
7 Jantzen Knips 248
1m Mark Wauge 215
0 Duane Orsburn 193
73m Dave Duste Jr. 187
68 Jesse Bailey 181
21 Jeremy Ohlde 165
Past IMCA Modified Champions
1996 Tom Glover
1997 Dennis Silva
1998 Tom Glover
1999 Don Estramado
2000 Mark Wauge
2001 Jay Hinton Jr.
2002 Jon DeBenedetti
2003 Jeremy Richey
2004 Brad Alfrey
2005 Mark Wauge
2006 Brian Poppa
2007 Mark Wauge
2008 Justin Holt
2009 Mark Wauge
2010 Travis Peery
2011 Mark Wauge
2012 Mark Wauge
2013 Dustin Knight
2014 Albert Gill
2015 Albert Gill
2016 Mark Wauge
2017 Jesse Bailey
2018 Albert Gill
Southern Oregon Speedway Modified All Time Win List
Mark Wauge 49
Dan Estremado 27
Brian Poppa 23
Dave Duste Sr. 21
Scott Lenz 18
Tom Glover 16
Dennis Silva 14
Jon DeBenedetti 12
Nick Trenchard 11
Bobby Hogge IV 10
Albert Gill 9
Dave Duste Jr. 9
Travis Peery 8
Matt Duste 7
Jeremy Richey 7
Bruce Rayburn Sr. 7
Jesse Williamson 6
Brad Alfrey 6
Justin Holt 5
Ken Scales 5
Monte Bischoff 4
Rich McCoy 4
Richard Papenhausen 4
Markey James 4
Kevin Hewitt 4
Jesse Bailey 3
Jay Hinton Jr. 3
Bud Walberg 3
Zach Fettinger 3
C.J. Putnam 3
Dustin Jenks 2
Scott Weldon 2
Dane Smith 2
Collen Winebarger 2
Duane Orsburn 1
Preston Jones 1
Travis Holt 1
Steve Aprin 1
Jerry Severson 1
Lenny Toolanen 1
Derek Nance 1
Kevin Putnam 1
Justin Estremado 1
Dustin Knight 1
Anthony Restad 1
Tom Berry Jr. 1
B.J. Wild 1
Andy Freeman 1
Kellen Chadwick 1
Ryan Scott Gaylord 1
James Welshonse 1
Danny Lauer 1
Zach Fettinger 1
Troy Foulger 1
Chris Biggs 1
Roger Lorenzini 1
Steven Croucher 1
Rob Gavin 1
Mike Phillips 1
Late Models Offering Bigger And Better Things
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...For many years, Late Models ruled the racing scene in Medford. At the old Posse Grounds race track, some big-name drivers and big events made a night at that historic venue something people didn't want to miss. Sadly, the gates closed for the final time in 1989. When Southern Oregon Speedway opened in 1996, the Late Models were a surprising omission from the regular schedule.
While the speedway has offered some big Late Model races through the years, there hasn't really been much of a commitment from track management to cultivate a division of their own. Though the track did have a couple of champions in the later part of the last decade, it wasn't until Mike McCann of KJE Enterprises stepped into the picture that a new commitment was made. The Open Stock division was added in 2016.
When the drivers overwhelmingly threw their support behind the Late Model idea, the Open Stock class became Late Models in 2017, and the division has begun to pick up momentum since then. Management has taken notice, which has led to the addition of the $4,000 to win Cottonwood Classic event, set for August 24th. This race has gotten so much attention that drivers from Northern Oregon all the way down through California have expressed interest in supporting the show.
Some things are still in the works for the Late Model division in 2019, which will include an increased purse from last season. Other announcements regarding the division will be forthcoming very soon, but the word in Medford is that drivers are wanting to support this division in the coming season. Oregon has a thriving Late Model division, and it's high time that Southern Oregon Speedway takes its seat at the table.
One of the drivers leading the charge into 2019 will be 2018 champion Nathan Augustine. Augustine has not committed to point racing at this moment, but he plans to start things off and see where it goes. After winning the Coos Bay championship in 2016, he won the championship here a year later. Nathan was on his way to getting it done again last year when an unfortunate crash left him scrambling to get a new race car. If not for blowing his motor in the season finale, the championship could very well have been his. Nathan is a threat to win Main Events whenever he's there, and he's certainly a championship contender if he chooses to be.
The man who surprised everybody last year to win the title is second-generation racer John Dees. Dees improved quite a bit in his second full year of competing in this class, and this included five second-place finishes and his first career wins at both Sunset Speedway and Southern Oregon Speedway. Word is that John may be looking to race up north as he has moved there, so we're not certain how much will be seeing the #16 car.
Not only do we know that we're going to see the #38 car of Miles Deubert, we know that the 2018 "Rookie Of The Year" and two-time feature winner has a new ride after purchasing the former Bill Egleston car from California. Racing Late Models has been a dream come true for the 2014 Street Stock champion, and he would love to be able to make a challenge for another division championship. To do that, he knew he had to step up his game.
Two drivers who have fought hard to establish Late Models again in Medford are 2016 Open Stock champion Bob Dees and Mike Linder. Though Bob's two sons may not be seen around the speedway as much this year, it's likely that we'll see him competing for victories in the #6 car. Linder, however, has sold his car to Chris Biggs. Biggs raced a couple of years ago, and he's looking to come back again. Furthermore, another car is being prepared by the team for the return of 2010 champion Jeremy Richey. Richey's return will certainly make things more interesting in the battle for victories.
Since moving to Oregon as one of the top Nevada Street Stock racers, James Welshonse has competed in Mini Stocks, Sport Modifieds and Modifieds and has been fast in all three classes. Welshonse is preparing to take on the next challenge as he has purchased the former Deubert car to make his Late Model debut this season. If his history is any indication, you can expect James to be a quick study and become one of the faster drivers in the field.
Two drivers with new cars this year are Eric Massey and John David Duffie. Massey ran about half the season last year before a change in location took him out of the field. He has a new car this year. Duffie has won many Pro Stock races through the years at Southern Oregon Speedway and has been putting together a Late Model for a move up. Past Pro Stock champion Dave Everson moved up last season, and word is that he is stepping up his game to try and be more competitive this year.
Two drivers who showed up and scored feature victories last season, Trent Elliott and Darren Coffel, are reportedly planning to do more racing at Southern Oregon Speedway this year. In the event that either one of these drivers makes a full-time commitment, they could very well be the drivers to beat for the championship. Both drivers scored their victories in very impressive fashion last season.
One racer who could answer that call and challenge the fast guys from up north is Dustin Knight. Reportedly, the Rapp Racing Team has picked up a pair of Late Models, and one of those cars would be driven by the past Southern Oregon Speedway Modified and Pro Stock champion Knight. When he ran Late Models two years ago, at times he was very dominant. It all depends on what the team decides to do with these cars, but Knight certainly becomes a threat to win anytime he's in the race.
We heard that California-based racer Paul Guglielmoni will be bringing multiple cars to Southern Oregon Speedway, and this isn't just about the Cottonwood Classic. He's hoping to work the track into his schedule several times. Paul is a two-time Petaluma Speedway champion. It's possible that there will be other teams from California coming on various nights as well. Though we've heard that Dave Foote will be racing closer to his Coos Bay home, we hope to see the two-time 2018 feature winner on some occasions this year. longtime Southern Oregon competitor Don Garrett Jr is selling his car, but he'll likely be out there racing until it sells. It's likely that we'll see Brian Bowman and Garrett Dees at least a time or two.
We've also recently heard that 2018 Late Model Lites runner-up Greg Arnold will be moving up to the Late Model class. Arnold is also a past Southern Oregon Speedway Truck champion.
There's been lots of talk about Late Model racing at Southern Oregon Speedway, and for good reason. There are some big things on the horizon and more exciting news to be announced very soon. There's nothing quite like watching Late Models go side-by-side around the 1/3 mile clay oval, and it's a show that the hardcore Late Model fans do not want to miss. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
2019 Southern Oregon Speedway Late Model Schedule
April 13 - Playday
April 27 - Playday
May 11
May 18
June 1 - Roger Haudenshild Tribute
June 15
July 6
July 20
August 3
August 17 - Hall Of Fame Night
August 24 - $4,000 To Win Cottonwood Classic
September 7
2018 Late Model Points
16 John Dees 274
24 Nathan Augustine 270
38 Miles Deubert 263
75 Dave Foote 250
6 Bob Dees 226
22 Mike Linder 132
05 Don Garrett 99
66 Garrett Dees 83
7 Eric Massey 76
40 Dave Everson 47
Past Late Model Champions
2008 Chris Salyer and Roger Lorenzini Jr.
2009 Andy Freeman
2010 Jeremy Richey
2016 Bob Dees
2017 Nathan Augustine
2018 John Dees
All Time Late Model Winners
Nathan Augustine 5
Dustin Knight 4
Trevor Glaser 4
Rob Mayea 4
Chris Salyer 3
Richard Papenhausen 3
Bob Boyd 3
Darren Coffell 3
Bob Dees 2
Trent Elliott 2
Clay Daly 2
Jon DeBenedetti 2
Mike Linder 2
Jeremy Richey 2
Mikes Deubert 2
Dave Foote 2
Jason Wines 2
John Dees 1
Casey Vitale 1
Steve Croucher 1
John Silva 1
Bill Pearson 1
Steve Moore 1
Ron Haggard 1
Jeremy Shank 1
Dane Smith 1
Jim Whisler 1
Pit Stops
There's a Garth Brooks song about unanswered prayers. You may not have been asking for what happened, but it turns out it's a good thing. Southern Oregon Speedway Mini Stock racer Kristopher Mix was going into the 2016 season with high hopes when he took his car down to Yreka for a practice event. Unfortunately, that was the last time he drove that particular car. Chris was sharing a memory on social media recently regarding the crashing of that car.
But as his father, Keith Mix, pointed out, it turned out to be a good thing. He was left scrambling, but he got himself a newer and better car. He had a good season that year, and he followed that up with the championship the next year. Last year, though he had his share of bad luck, Mix also got his first career win. Kris has been very blessed in recent years as he and Carrie Weiser are expecting their second son this year, life has been good to them, the race car is ready and racing season is only a few short weeks away.
The Annual Pear Blossom Parade is coming up on the 13th, and Tony Incerty of the Southern Oregon Speedway safety crew has been organizing all of the drivers who will be a part of the parade. They will be showing off their cars to people who in some cases are not even aware that Southern Oregon Speedway exists. It's great exposure for the track and it also shows speedway support for the community at large.
The grounds of Southern Oregon Speedway are looking better than they have at this time of the year in many years. This is because Matt Butler and Kelly Minter have been working very hard at trimming the trees, reducing the blackberry bushes, keeping the grass trimmed, landscaping and just whatever they can do to make things more pleasing to the eyes. Their work also helps in the efforts to dry the pits should weather cooperate. Matt and Kelly have even put a new shade of blue on the handicap parking curb.
All that is needed now is dry enough weather during the week to allow for the pit area to be accessible, and then the cars could return to the 3/10 mile clay oval as well as the 1/8 mile dirt oval that the Karts will be racing on eight times this year. The inaugural playday that is scheduled for April 13th isn't looking so good right now, though it's too early to tell. The track had considered a practice on April 20th, but as it's Easter Weekend, this was decided against. Optimism is high that if the weather doesn't allow the first playday, the one on April 27th will happen. Stay tuned for news on that.
The Little Southern Oregon Speedway track gets eight races this year. All of the usual Kart classes are scheduled, which will include the 500 Open, 250s, Box Stock and Beginners Box Stock divisions as well as UAS Speedway Karts. Management is working on establishing a program for both Flat Track Motorcycles and Quads as a way to get more vehicles onto the track. Promoter Mike McCann will continue to oversee things on the little track.
Another point of concern surrounds the JOAT Labs Hornets division. Last season, there was some discussion about cars being too dominant in the field and the need to adjust rules. Initially, management took the PSI Rule and dropped it down to 160. However, this has been raised to 185 after further discussion and review of notes. What seems to be a concern is that the division does not get out of hand and it remains an entry-level point for drivers to get into racing without spending too much money.
In the old rulebook, prior to KJE Enterprises taking over Southern Oregon Speedway and growing this class, it was pointed out that these aren't race cars but rather cars that the drivers race. Consider that statement and what it means. Yes, drivers are racing around the track in these cars, but when you start putting more money into performance things on these cars, the costs go up. One way we gain new drivers into the field at Southern Oregon Speedway is to have a good entry-level division that doesn't require a big budget to maintain.
The Hornets division has a growing, dedicated group of competitors, and we are starting to see more drivers venturing into other divisions from here. For instance, after a rather dominant performance in 2016 and early 2017, Joby Shields went Sport Modified racing. After last season, we have seen both Ashtin Hedges and Dylan Irving make the move up to the Mini Stock division.
Longtime Mini Stock supporter and reigning champion David Steele has expressed his thoughts in the past about whether the Hornet division might be affecting numbers in the Mini Stock class. The Mini Stocks left alone would be the entry-level division, though now drivers have a division that allows you to do less and might be just a little bit cheaper on the wallet. This isn't to suggest that the Mini Stock division is getting too expensive, which it really isn't. However, it is hoped that more drivers get a year or two of experience in the Hornet class and give Mini Stock racing a chance. As drivers can do just a little bit more with their Mini Stocks, the racing its just that much more competitive.
Of course, the pinnacle of 4 Cylinder racing at Southern Oregon Speedway is the Valley Store All Late Model Lites division. Recently, we got word that 2018 runner up Greg Arnold was preparing to make a move up to the Late Model division. Arnold would be taking the car he has and putting a Late Model motor in it. We were wondering what this might do for car count, but we know of two drivers that were not mentioned in our recent season preview article who are going Late Model Lites racing this year.
One such driver is Jim Cunningham. Jim took the wheel of the #99 car last season and did well enough to become one of the Top 10 drivers in the standings. He has gotten his hands on a rather competitive car. This would be the #40 car that both Randy Hansen and Late Model Lites legend Andy Westcott had driven to victories in 2017. Cunningham becomes a driver to watch in the race for victories this season.
Mike Cloud has had his frustrations with rules. He had wanted to return to Mini Stock racing, only to find that the rules no longer involved the inclusion of Mini Trucks. After running his truck with the Late Model Lites a time or two, he went out and got himself another car to run with the Late Model Lites. Mike has done well in Mini Stocks in the past and felt that this was the right challenge for him. We're happy to see that he will be joining the Valley Store All Late Model Lites division the season.
Through the years, Late Model Lites racing has been pretty exciting when there have been enough cars on the track. The fans have seen great racing from the likes of Brian Johnsen, Terry Hadley and Parker Jones, and now we've got another great crop of racers that will include stars such as Eric Aos, Ross Payant, Dusty Aos and reigning champion Charlie Eaton. These cars are fast, and there are some good drivers to entertain the fans this season.
Entertainment will be the order of the day for the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars. The banner race for the division is the $2,000 to win Ironhead Nationals on August 10th, but there are plenty of other racing opportunities. We've been a little concerned where the car count might be as drivers like Jeffrey Hudson, Blaine Cory, Enrique Jaime and Merissa Henson may not be on hand when the season opens on May 4th.
However, the roster is growing with new drivers. We had reported in the recent season preview of the addition of past 500 Open Kart champion Johnny Burke to the roster along with reigning IMCA Sport Modified and past Mini Stock champion David Marble. We've also heard about the addition of California racer Anissa Curtice and Jared Hood of the famous Hood family. Don Hood is a Southern Oregon Racing Hall of Famer, inducted in 2017. Jared will be continuing the family tradition. Curtice has been racing 500 Open Karts in California as she hails from Eureka.
We have continued to hear rumblings of other drivers putting cars together, but as we haven't seen names, it's difficult to say anything else. We're hopeful that there will be some surprises in the field. Southern Oregon Speedway has made a commitment to Sprint Car racing, and this has led to more variety for the fans to enjoy on any given week when they are there.
Not to be forgotten in the discussion are the Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars. The group will once again be doing a barbecue, car show, fan meet-and-greet at Granger's Accounting on April 20th. Some fans may not be familiar with this group of racers, but they are some of the nicest people you'd want to meet. This will be an opportunity for everybody to get an up-close-and-personal look at the race cars and get to talk with the people who drive them.
Everything going around the community now has been very positive in terms of drivers getting ready. All they're looking for right now is some clear weather and the go-ahead to do some racing. The April 13th practice day might be 50/50, but there should be a better chance of a practice taking place on April 27th. After that, it's time to get down to business on May 4th with a show featuring IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars, Bobbio's Pizza Mini Stocks and JOAT Labs Hornets. Are you ready for racing season to get started?
Placerville Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 6, 2019
Law Enforcement Night
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Justyn Cox
Tony Gualda
Sean Becker
Justin Sanders
Kalib Henry
Andy Forsberg
Colby Copeland
Colby Johnson
Bobby McMahan
Jesse Love
Shane Hopkins
Zane Blanchard
Blake Carrick
Mike Benson
Jimmy Trulli
Jodie Robinson
Chris Masters
DJ Freitas
Shawn McMahan
Justin Johnson
B Main
Zane Blanchard
Jesse Love
Shawn McMahan
Justin Johnson
Brad Dillard
Mike Cook
Steel Powell
Jeff Romo
CJ Humphries
Greg DeCaires
Hunt Wingless Spec Sprints
Jake Morgan
Shawn Jones
DJ Johnson
Troy DeGaton
Alan Miranda
Bryan Grier
Boy Moniz
Scott Chapeta
Angelique Bell
Ryon Siverling
Paul Vandenberg
Scott Clough
Dillon Tucker
Brian Speary
Scott Martin
Billy Aton
Shayna Sylvia
Cody Spencer
Josh Young
Matt Stewart
Tim Sherman Jr
Pure Stocks
Nick Baldwin
Kevin Jinkerson
Dave Silva
Scott Grunert
Mel Byers
Lonnie Lennard
Jesse Bryant
Jason Palmer
Jason Leonard
Matthew Chacon
Tommy Sturgon
Stephanie Hanson
Mini Truck
Tom Stanwood
Russ Murphy
Ryan Murphy
Thomas Jensen
Aaron Rupley
John Littlejohn
Marysville Raceway Unofficial Race Results April 6, 2019
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Michael Ing
Colby Wiesz
Brent Bjork
Jake Haulot
Mike Monahan
Korey Lovell
John Clark
Eli Deshaies
Justin Henry
Jimmy Steward
Pat Harvey Jr
Kevin Lovell
Super Stocks
Matt Micheli
Brent Lawrence
Mike Learn
George Magenheimer
Eddie Gardner
Richard Vander Ploeg
Tucker Garcia
James Castleberry
Jerry Bartlett
Kyle Cheney
NCDCA Dwarf Cars
Jeremy Blackshere
Kevin Bender
Mike Grenert
Mike Reeder
Ryan Plexico
Shawn Whitney
Tim Fitzpatrick
Jeff Fitch
Ben Wiesz
Robert Johnson
Tom Vantuyl
Sam Wren
Michael Williams
Mike Reed
Kenny Cucuk
Colby Wiesz
Josh Wiesz
The Editor's Viewpoint
Since I'm standing here on Wednesday morning waiting for information on something, I decided to cobble together a brief column to add to the Jefferson Racing News post. The weather in Oregon is what it is. You can book races in April, but chances are those races will be rained out. You get points with your racers for at least trying, but that's usually all you end up doing. On those occasions where the weather allows it, you're a hero.
Cottage Grove Speedway booked races going back to the last two weeks of March. They even had a practice day scheduled, but the severe snow that we had saw to it that practice ended up becoming a clean up party. After that, they've been dealing with rain out after rain out. A trip by the track on Tuesday showed that the pits were under quite a bit of water. They're having to deal with the runoff from the mountains, so racing on Saturday doesn't look so good there. It doesn't surprise me. What can you do? Try again next week.
I am delighted to report that Daren Ricks Campbell has agreed to have his columns featured on the Jefferson blog. Daren has been brought in as the official Coos Bay Speedway Publicity Director. For the last three years, since we founded this blog, Coos Bay has been a featured track. I started writing articles just to help spread the word for them and as a favor, not asked for, for Chuck Prather. I wanted to continue Coos Bay being featured here, as I feel it's a cornerstone track for this blog. While I would be willing to continue writing articles, I didn't see a reason to do so if Daren is doing it. I'd rather support him, offer any help he needs and feature him here. I'm grateful that he's agreed and we have scrapped our own Coos Bay preview this week to feature his. Thank you Daren.
Drake Nelson entered the picture at Coos Bay Speedway once again in 2017. He had been involved with the program prior to that, moved out of state and then came back with an eye on that particular track. Drake had seen a few things in his journeys and felt that if he brought the NASCAR sanctioning in and continued the fan friendly practices that the speedway has, it would be a winner. Thusly, the NASCAR Whelen All American Series program got kicked into gear in 2017.
On paper, this is a very attractive thing. You've got point fund money being given to your Top 4 divisions. The Top 5 drivers in each class get some of that cash. When we're talking about the premier Super Late Model division, you factor in the State point fund money as well. The champion stands to bring in over $5,000, as was the case last year with Brody Montgomery and even Mike George the year before. Even the money going to second and third is quite attractive.
The thought was that more Late Model drivers would come to town. Coos Bay itself is known to have over a dozen Super Late Models in various conditions, but Drake still found it a struggle to produce six cars for a race. Because the purse gets adjusted when there are less than six cars, drivers started complaining about payouts, and that has hampered the progress just a little bit. The point fund money at the end of the season goes out as advertised, but for the local drivers or even traveling drivers who don't think they'll get a whiff of that money, knowing there is a guaranteed purse on any given week is what really matters.
During the offseason, we've heard rumblings of the return of Toby McIntyre, a past champion. Also Dave Foote, another past champion. Preston Luckman, who took his show on the road and won the Cottage Grove title last season. Really, what we are hearing suggests that they could have a double-digit car count in this class. Will that happen? My guess is they will get some nights like that, and the opener could be one of them.
The thing that I've learned from local track racing is that you need to start with your local base of drivers. You can't depend on having people travel from out of town all the time to build that base up. Much more than an hour of traveling distance, and the likelihood of seeing that driver is not very good. Add to the fact that half of the base of Coos Bay Speedway is in the ocean, and you're challenged even further. The track does have a respectable roster of available cars across different divisions, but getting them to come support the show on any regular basis can be challenging. This is what Drake Nelson was tasked with.
Coming in with a NASCAR sanctioning made quite a bit of sense. I understand that most of the other Oregon tracks are using IMCA sanctioning, but they also run Modified classes. Coos Bay only gets those cars on special occasions. You have to play to your strengths, and Stock Car racing is the strength of that track. It's doubtful that Drake thought he was going to see instant success. There are going to be racers taking a wait-and-see stance before jumping in. There are racers who don't believe what you're saying. You have to win them over.
Everything I know about Drake suggests that he's a hustler. He is willing to do what it takes to make things happen. Coos Bay isn't some new race track. They've been around before some of the current Oregon tracks even came into existence. Once upon a time, they were a NASCAR track when they were paved. This is before Chuck Prather bought the place and made it a dirt track. Some good races have happened at the speedway in the past, and there were some big events last year as well.
What I'm hearing suggests that there's going to be an increase in support this year. Not sure exactly how much we're talking, but any improvement is better than none. The fan friendliness that they use is a necessity to keep the people coming out there. With the kids ride alongs, Daredevil Mister Dizzy, Monster Trucks and so on, there's plenty of things to interest the fans in wanting to come out and see what's happening. If the weather allows it, Saturday should be a good show.
There's that thought again. If the weather allows it, there will be a race. Siskiyou Golden Speedway has entered a new era. It's been a while since they've had a promoter running the track rather than an association. I'm not taking sides in what is, let's just say, a tense situation. My thought is that I appreciated the association for keeping those gates open, because without that, maybe we're not here now. It may not have been perfect, but at least it was there. It gave Kevin Barba the opportunity to come in, make a proposal and become the new promoter.
It's not all fun and games, because people are going to have expectations. What are you going to do to make it better than it's been? That is always the question posed to any new promoter that comes to a race track. Kevin wants more butts in the seats watching the show, and he's already devising several fan-friendly things to make that a reality. He understands there's a concern over the safety of the track and is addressing that this year and plans to do more going forward. There's a lot in his game plan, so he's not talking about doing everything overnight. It's a process.
The people have to get on board, and if they are seeing some changes for the better, they become a part of making it happen. I say when you're dealing with a race track that's been down for a few years and had some pretty darn good years a couple of decades ago, you don't come in there and tell the people they're going to get what they had two decades ago. That might be your goal, but you tell them you're going to give them something better than they've seen in recent years. That's achievable, not a gimme, but achievable. It happens though hard work.
It's kind of a catch-22 situation. You want butts in the seats? You need cars in the pits and on that race track. Bottom line is fans are less likely to spend money on tickets if they don't see enough race cars and races. This has contributed to the decline in attendance. Kevin inherited a program with only two regular divisions. IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks were the only two regular track championship divisions. Leading up to the banquet last year, the association decided to honor the top Pro Stock drivers because they visited enough, but that was something they did just prior to the banquet. Don't misunderstand me, it was a good move. The Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stock Association already keeps their own points and has their own banquet.
What Kevin must do to have some kind of longevity as the promoter is add to his roster of divisions. I've been saying this to the association as well. You can't put the pressure on those two divisions and expect car count to be good. You also had issues that were keeping certain drivers in those classes from coming out and supporting as much as they probably could have. Kevin needs to make those divisions as strong as he can, so the trick is making the track appealing enough that these guys want to come back. I think you'll have that at the beginning of the season.
He still needs more divisions. Traveling shows coming to town, such as the popular Winged 360 Sprint Car Speedweek race, The Iron Giant Street Stocks.and the BCRA Midgets, are a good thing. You're giving the fans a taste of things they don't normally see. However, you need to add local divisions that you can call upon during your season at various times. This is what Kevin must do, and he has to look around town and see what he has to work with.
The best building blocks that he has for third, fourth and even fifth divisions, seem to be a Street Stock/Hobby Stock class, Jefferson State Jalopies and IMCA Modifieds. The Modified car count disappeared, and I think the sliding pay scale that didn't even give these guys the money that any other Modified tracks would pay contributed to its current state. But you have to remember, Modifieds have been a crowd favorite in Yreka since the track opened on its current run of successive seasons in 1992.
What I might have been inclined to do is call a special IMCA Modified meeting. There are a dozen or so drivers in the area, so gather them up and see. You want to know who will seriously come out and support. You want honesty. Don't tell me you're coming if it's not something you are prepared to do. What is it that we can do to get you back out there? Those questions haven't been asked and no real meeting has been held with these drivers. I could name you the names, but the people down there know who I'm talking about. Cars are there. Kevin might book creatively when Medford is not running Modifieds to get cars from there, but he also needs to have enough local cars that the pressure isn't on Medford to make the show happen.
He's already put the call out to the Street Stock crowd as to who might be interested in supporting additional dates. The Iron Giant race that's coming on Memorial Day Weekend is huge, and they should deliver a car count in the twenties. My hope would be that any local driver with a car sitting in the field that they can get to run will bring it out there. Will there be six locals? If so, you've got the makings of another division.
One of the things a promoter has to deal with is a bottom line. You need at least so many people in the stands. If you don't get to that number, you're in trouble. You also want so many cars in the pits. This is why tracks will run five divisions, sometimes more. You've got to get your cars somewhere, or you don't pay the bills. You also give the fans more different things to look at. Six cars may not seem like much, and back in the glory days it wasn't. However, six cars is a heat race and Main Event these days. A Trophy Dash if you have one.
I can start doing the car math. I see ten Mini Stocks. I see 12 Sport Modifieds. I see five Jalopies. I see six Street Stocks. I see six or eight Modifieds. A dozen visiting Pro Stocks, maybe the same with visiting Dwarf Cars. I'm talking rough average here.
Okay, now we start looking at numbers and working on the schedule. The Modified division does have a price tag to it that the Street Stocks and Jalopies don't. You need to pay these guys a good purse if you want them to come race for you. When you're not dealing with big budgets, you might look at other things that you can build up without having to spend too much money.
I know Kevin is keen on trying to do something with a 4 Cylinder Modified class. Whether this comes to fruition, I don't know. However, he's been looking at it. No announcement has been made. Speaking of 4 Cylinder cars, a Hornet division could be cultivated pretty quickly. What that means is, maybe you find somebody who can put cages into these cars and get a half a dozen or so produced in a short amount of time. This is your entry point to the speedway.
So, getting a car count is going to be the challenge, but looking at the April 13th opener, I feel as if Kevin is set to have a nice show. He has four divisions booked, and there's no reason to think they couldn't have over 40 cars, and maybe even 50. I don't see that as a given on some nights out there, but it could happen on Saturday night. Because of that, you certainly are wanting to have that race. Kevin and his crew are working hard at the track as I speak, but we'll see what happens.
One thing I would like Kevin to consider is the race date that he has chosen for the Rod Barba Memorial. This was something I brought up to Ryder Boswell last year when he came up for the R Charles Snyder Salute. I totally understand Kevin wanting to have a big show on Labor Day Weekend and honoring his father. Southern Oregon Speedway will have a big field of IMCA Modifieds and Sport Modifieds with the purse they're paying, and Saturday is a crucial day because it qualifies you for the big money show on Sunday.
Kevin has booked the memorial race for his father opposite the opening day of the R Charles Snyder Salute, which I feel is a mistake. It won't really affect Medford at all, because the people are going to come up for the money. He didn't book Modifieds, but he did book Sport Modifieds. However, the Medford weekend pays $2,000 for the Sport Modifieds to win. What can be done if Kevin were to pursue a big race that weekend is a very easy solution. It involves moving the date one day backward to Friday.
Because Southern Oregon Speedway doesn't really believe in having practice days ahead of the big show, there will be no practice on Friday. Drivers will be towing up to Medford and will be filling the pits on Friday. If somebody were to offer a nice purse, even something that's not too big, they could get the cars. What I'm saying is, let's just say he wanted to pay $1,500 to win and have a Modified show on Friday. Add in $750 to win for Sport Modifieds. There's a good chance he's going to get some takers, but such a move would need to be promoted soon as I know there aren't a lot of resources in his budget. Get the word out, take pre sign ups now and make it happen.
Yreka could still have a big Rod Barba Memorial race on August 30th with IMCA Modifieds as part of the show, along with IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks. It's all in what you do. Going head-to-head with Medford is a foolish move. Not because he's going to affect Medford. He probably won't. The reason the association stayed off of that date is because they knew they would lose too many cars. What they didn't consider was if they had run Friday, they may have gotten drivers who are coming up to Medford to come race on Friday. Easy solution.
The important thing is having somebody at the helm of the race track trying to do the things to not only keep the gates open but improve things. With improvement will come more race cars and fans. It's a week-to-week process. One thing I've learned is whether you have a big success or a failure, you don't dwell on it. You learn whatever the lesson is you need to learn from that particular night, keep it in mind and move ahead to have the best show you can next week.
This was the model used in rebuilding the Southern Oregon Speedway program. We're not there yet. We are simply further along down the road from where we came in back in 2016 with a better product heading into 2019. Numbers are up. They aren't where they were in the glory days, but they compare pretty nicely to what's happened out there in the past decade. Mike McCann did what he could to make a better show all around. He knew one thing. Having three core divisions with visiting classes was not going to get the fans the show that he wanted to give them.
The track was running IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks. There were visiting Dwarf Cars and Pro Stocks and a Hornet division there in name only. Absolutely nothing was done to promote that class. We came in there and turned the Hornets into something, added Late Model Lites, added Sprint Cars, added Late Models and several visits from the Hardtops. By having a roster of nine different divisions to rotate, it means you're not putting the pressure on one or two classes. Look at it this way, Southern Oregon Speedway had 18 Cars one night in 2015 with their three primary classes. 18 damn cars. Can you sell tickets to that?
Because those three classes were booked every week, it became harder on a racer's pocketbook. They might want to be there every week, but they couldn't afford it. Or, family came first and they missed that race. When you can rotate divisions and give them nights off, it helps your car count average. So, Southern Oregon Speedway might have averaged 35 or 40 cars per race in 2016, but those numbers have reached into the 50s and 60s. This is called progress.
As a longtime racing fan, I admit it's a bit excruciating. I don't like saying that an eight car division is good because we can divide that into two heat races, a dash in a main. That's where we are now, but back in the day we called eight cars a heat race. I would much rather have two good divisions, a traditional night that goes from qualifying all the way to Main Events, has a car count big enough for B Mains and gives the fans something special. We don't live in the 1970s or 1980s anymore. We have to make what we have work in 2019. Therefore, I'm quite proud of the way things are going at Southern Oregon Speedway. It's getting better, and as long as we stay the course and do the right things, this will continue to be the trend.
Drivers want a practice day, but the weather is saying you will get nothing and like it. That seems to be the trend since Mike got here in 2016. We have yet to have a practice day. I'm more concerned with actual races. Your window in Oregon seems to be from May through about mid September. You can go later. In Medford, there are opportunities to race into October, but people start doing other things. They get out of racing mode. Oregonians know they have a five-month window of racing, and they're okay with that.
There are other Jefferson area race tracks that people might not have thought were still around. We will attempt to cover them all, but that is dependent upon the information that we get. In Cedarville, the race track will now host five races. There is the Gordon Russell Sr Memorial Pro Stock event at the end of June, plus, there are four other races. A local Hobby Stock group will be supporting it, but there will also be Pro Stocks. Not sure what Pro Stocks will support the other four shows as they are not officially association backed dates.
I had heard rumors that the Lakeview Fairgrounds might be a spot where the Hobby Stock drivers would visit a time or two. There has been a rumor for a few years now that the fairgrounds is interested in auto racing. However, in a situation like that, you're faced with the daunting task of building a program from scratch. You have Klamath Falls to draw upon, but as has been pointed out to me, it's easier for those racers to go to Yreka or Medford than to go to Lakeview. I don't know that anything will happen there, and I personally think the tenth outdoor racing venue in Oregon that has the most promise right now would be Worden. Lots of work to be done, but if either Carl decided to reopen the place or sold that property, they could have racing there within a year.
They will have racing at Mountain Valley Raceway in Hayfork. About a dozen or so racers came out to practice last week, and the weather is looking promising. They are in their eighth year of racing there, and they're not making big announcements. There will be no championship point racing as they focus on just building up the program. The popular Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks return.
They are trying to build a B Modified class and really that Enduro race that they have at the end of the night is something to see. All different types of cars get on that track, and it gets wild. I don't think there's a track on the west coast that has something quite like that. If the information comes across my desk, I will do what I can to support this race track.
I would do the same for Cedarville and also for Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville. The Susanville track looked to be closed, but an 11th hour effort to take over the track has been successful. The new promoter is 2018 American Valley Speedway IMCA Modified champion Jeff Olschowka. Jeff isn't reinventing the wheel here. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Strictly Stocks and Mini Stocks will race there, and he has scheduled every race so as not to conflict with American Valley Speedway in Quincy. Through the years, these two tracks have had a good working relationship, and it's my guess that Jeff will try to strengthen that in the future.
I didn't intend to go on as long as I did here. I hope the weather is kind to our tracks this week and we can finally start doing something. Until next time...
This one was already written prior to Daren joining us, so I figured we'd run it here. It's been a fun three years writing Coos Bay articles, but I know Daren will do a great job for the track.
NASCAR Racing Season Ready To Go At Coos Bay Speedway
Coos Bay, Oregon...The curtain is about ready to rise on the 2019 NASCAR Whelen All American Series season at Coos Bay Speedway. Drivers had an opportunity to do some practice laps a couple of weeks ago, but it's time to do it under racing conditions. Promoter Drake Nelson has lined up an exciting season from start to finish, and it begins on Saturday night. Featured divisions include the NASCAR Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Hornets and Junior Stingers. Not to be forgotten in the mix are the popular Winged Sprint Cars.
Two of the biggest stars of Winged Sprint Car racing at Coos Bay in recent years are two-time champion Dave May and 2017 title winner Lawrence Van Hoof. Both drivers were feature winners last season, and May got attention when he won the season finale for the ISCS Series at Coos Bay in September. However, the driver taking home the hardware as champion last season was Bret Hulsey. All three are anticipated this week, and others include Donovan Prather, Kayla Green and Mike Crawford. Plus, you never know who might show up from out of town to take on the locals.
The money is on the line in the NASCAR Super Late Model division. Last season, Brody Montgomery turned in a rather dominant performance at times, and he was awarded $5,500 for his track and State championships. Word is that Montgomery can expect some tough competition for this year's championship. 2015 champion Toby McIntyre, who like Montgomery is also a past Sportsman Late Model champion, is back this year. Word is that another past Late Model champion, Dave Foote, will be returning to race locally this year as well.
The lineup of Late Model racers should also include Roseburg resident Tom Elam, who is wheeling a former Mike George car and was a feature winner last season. Thor Kristensen is coming off of his second runner-up ranking in the last three years and is hoping he can take it up a notch this year. Other drivers to watch for this week include such notables as Chris Ray, Wayne Butler, Richard Wallace, Chuck Bracelin and Deven Brown.
Butler has been racing in the Sportsman Late Model division as well and is coming off of his second straight runner-up ranking after posting back-to-back championships prior to that. Wayne scored a division-leading nine feature wins last season but lost out by 14 points to reigning champion Dyllan Siewell. Drivers who could be joining the action this week include Tom Williams, Charlie Withers, Braden Fugate, Justin Krossman and Stacy Robison.
Ken Fox comes into the season as the reigning Street Stock champion after winning nine times last season. Steve Dubisar's late start may be the only thing that prevented him from mounting a serious challenge to Fox. Dubisar won seven Main Events last season to ranked fourth in the standings ahead have past champion Daniel Land. These two notables should be there this week along with 2018 runner up David Smith, Jeff Thurman and possibly Josh Bearden. Sam Talon has a Monte Carlo for a move up to the Street Stocks this season.
There was never any doubt that Talon would back up his 2017 championship with another Mini Outlaw title as he won 12 times last season. Talon beat John Henry for the honors as late starter Ken Fox picked up four wins to finish third. Double division racing is nothing new at Coos Bay, so Talon and Fox might be seen in both Street Stocks and Mini Outlaws this year. Other notables in the Mini Outlaws include such hard chargers as Jason Kellam, Tom Siewell, division veteran Carl Johnson and Jason Berrier.
The fastest growing division at Coos Bay Speedway is the Hornets class. In an amazing rookie season, Tyler Tullos won an impressive eight Main Events to secure the championship by a wide margin. Two of the popular racers in the field, April Warmack and "Hurricane" Hannah Robison, finished second and third, respectively. All three are anticipated this week. Some of the notables last season to watch for this week include Kris Parker, Chuck Peck, Leroy Rockwell, Dusty Shingleton and David Pellum.
Bringing new and younger racers into the sport is important to Coos Bay Speedway, and the Junior Stringer division was created for just that purpose. This division puts racers in the 11 to 14 year old bracket into Hornet cars to make their first laps. Last season, Griff Smith was rather dominant with seven wins and the inaugural championship. Drivers on last season's roster included Alex Butler, Sebastian Freedle, James Shingleton and Hunter Berrier. New drivers are anticipated this season, and management hopes to see this division grow in the weeks ahead.
Everybody has been eagerly awaiting the kickoff of the new season, and if the weather allows this to happen, Saturday night will offer something that every fan can enjoy. For further information, go to www.coosbayspeedway.us.
