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Iron Giant Street Stock Series Comes
To Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...Southern Oregon Speedway fans rarely get an opportunity to check out some great Street Stock racing, but Saturday night will be the exception. The Iron Giant Street Stock Series rolls into town for the Third Annual Disorder On The Southern Border 50 lap event. The race will pay $1,000 to win. Also on the jam-packed schedule will be the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars, Valley Store All Late Model Lites and OTRO Hardtops.
The Iron Giant Street Stock Series was put together by Chris Sine and James Whitehouse two years ago to offer race fans some of the best Street Stock racing they will find anywhere on the West Coast. The inaugural event of 2017 took place at Southern Oregon Speedway with Donald Schott picking up the win. There was a ten car field that year, but it doubled to over 20 last year in a race that was won by Andrew Langan.
Drivers come from several other Oregon venues to do battle in these long-distance events, and last season saw seven different winners on the competitive tour. Aided by his win at St Helens, David Cronk would win last season's championship. Andrew Langan won the Southern Oregon Speedway race, but a crash not long after that forced him to miss a race and derailed his effort just a little bit. He still ended up second in the standings ahead of Schott, Josh Sheller and Coos Bay winner Brian Cronk.
The one thing about the Iron Giant Street Stock Series is they bring a loaded field of talented racers, and it's no exaggeration to say that most of the drivers have a legitimate shot at winning on any given week. Street Stock racing is something that hasn't been seen very much at Southern Oregon Speedway since it opened in 1996, and this will be a race you won't want to miss.
The IMCA Modifieds always bring the speed and excitement when they are in town. The season-opening race was an exciting battle early on before Jeffrey Hudson gained the lead. Mark Wauge managed to work his way into second, only to run out of time in his quest to reel in Hudson. However, he was gaining on him, and he will be hungry to get his 50th career feature win at his home track this week.
Albert Gill will have his mechanical issues sorted out this week as he tries to get into the win column. The three-time reigning champion was running strong at the season opener, but his mechanical issues sent him to the pits early in the race. There are some talented racers vying for the victory this week, and other drivers to watch for include Preston Jones, Nick Trenchard, Zach Fettinger and Jeremy Ohlde.
The most exciting race at the season opener took place in the IMCA Sport Modified division. It required the computerized scoring to determine that Matt Sanders beat race long leader Justin McCreadie back to the line by mere inches. These two drivers looked very strong at the opener, which was a race that only needed two yellow flags. Another driver looking good was two-time champion Jorddon Braaten, who managed to take third from Rich McCoy late in the race but ran out of time before getting an opportunity to mix it up with the leaders.
A flat tire in the early goings of the race kept two-time champion Mike Medel from mounting a serious challenge. He diagnosed that problem later in the race, but he never had the chance to go get the tire changed and come back at it again. There are some good drivers to keep an eye on this week in their quest for victory, and some of the ones to watch for include two-time champion Dwayne Melvin, last year's top rookie Branden Wilson, Willie McFall and Doug Coffman.
The Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars put on the race of the night two weeks ago, and a battle between eventual winner Camden Robustelli, three-time reigning champion Josh King and two-time title winner Brock Peters took place. All three drivers led the race. Peters led most of the distance, but Robustelli led the all-important final lap. These three top the list of drivers to watch for this week, but others hoping to stake their claim on the victory include ageless veteran Fred Hay, Mason Lewman, Chad Cardoza, Jesse Lorentz and Kalvin Morton.
Charlie Eaton opened the season with a win in the Valley Store All Late Model Lites season opener. His top rival from last season, Greg Arnold, gave it a good run before settling for second. These two drivers will be battling it out at the front of the pack, and others to watch for this week include Pete Bowne, Mike Cloud, Ross Payant and the husband and wife team of Terry and Krista Hadley.
Rounding out the field are the nostalgic OTRO Hardtops. They bring a fun style of racing with their vintage Coup and Sedan race cars. Last season, Mark Minter led the win column in the Minter family entry. This car has its origins dating back to the founding of OTRO back in the 1980s and was built by Mark's grandfather, Harold Minter. Other drivers to watch for this week include Bill Trotter, Dusty Trotter, Chris Mehrer, Jay Smith and Matt Butler.
Just For The Iron Giant Street Stocks and IMCA Modifieds alone, Saturday night will be an exciting program. It will be nonstop action. Gates open at 5 pm with the first race starting at 7 pm. General Admission prices are $15 for adults and $10 for Seniors, Veterans and Juniors 7 to 12. Children 6 and under are free. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Two Big Races On Memorial Day Weekend
At Siskiyou Speedway
Yreka, CA...This weekend will be a special time for Siskiyou Golden Speedway. It's the annual Memorial Day Weekend show, meaning two nights of racing. On Saturday night, the IMCA Sport Modifieds will be running the Bo Hittson Memorial race, honoring the past racer and local police officer who was killed in the line of duty. Joining the Sport Modifieds will be the Mini Stocks. If that's not exciting enough for you, Sunday night promises to be even bigger.
The Sunday race will include the 38 lap John Arnberg Memorial race for the IMCA Modifieds. Arnberg was a past champion at both Yreka and Medford who died in a tragic boating accident. Also on the card will be the Iron Giant Street Stock Series. For fans of Street Stock racing, this is a big show that you won't want to miss. The Iron Giant Series is the best thing going for the division on the West Coast. The IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks will also be on the card to make it a double race weekend for them.
After three races for the IMCA Sport Modifieds, three drivers have taken the glory. Matt Sanders was the winner of the first race, Jason Ferguson won the next show and Matt's brother Isaac Sanders won a thrilling race last Saturday night. The win came ahead of Ethan Killingsworth, who is off to a strong start this year in his quest to win the championship. Killingsworth led most of the race last week before settling for second ahead of Steven Sanders and Ryder Boswell.
Three races in, it looks like Killingsworth, Ryder Boswell and brother Colt Boswell are the big players in the championship race, and all three of them would love to win the extra money affair on Saturday. The race has been advertised to pay a minimum of $500 to the winner. With the increased purse money being offered, it's not just local competitors such as Gary Foster, Randy Wright, Jack Walden III and Donovan Rogers you'll need to watch out for. There is expected to be some top drivers coming from out of town to make a run at the money.
The Bo Hittson Memorial started out as a Street Stock race and ran that way for many years before being switched over to the IMCA Sport Modified class in 2014. Current Oregon State IMCA champion Jorddon Braaten has won three of the five Sport Modified shows. 2016 California State IMCA champion Brian Cooper and Chowchilla racer Tim Elias are the other two winners with Elias grabbing the win last year.
The IMCA Modified drivers love coming to Yreka when extra money is on the line. With a $1,000 payday slated for Sunday, you can expect some top name racers to be on hand. Only one driver has more than one John Arnberg Memorial race victory in the last ten years, and that is seven-time Medford champion Mark Wauge. In a race that saw heavy attrition take its toll on the field last year, Wauge won with a busted A-frame.
Reigning Yreka champion Ryan McDaniel, himself the winner of the 2016 Arnberg Memorial race, has made plans to come to town for this race. Currently, the third-generation racer is the Limited Late Model point leader at Placerville Speedway.
2014 Arnberg winner Riley Simmons won the first race of the season in impressive fashion, and 2017 winner Nick Trenchard finished third in that race. Trenchard has announced plans to be there n Sunday. Other drivers to watch for include three-time reigning Medford champion Albert Gill, Duane Orsburn, Jimmy Ohlde and rookies Justin Foux and Jimmy Lipke.
Chris Sine and James Whitehouse love the Street Stock division. Prior to the 2017 season, the duo put together the Iron Giant Street Stock Series, which put the division at eight different Oregon tracks for one race each..The series is built around the Iron Giant race on Labor Day weekend at Willamette. The best drivers Oregon has to offer have made this a show that generally produces 20 or more cars and is so competitive that you never know who might win on any given week.
With the series starting in Medford for the past two seasons, it was decided to add a Sunday race in Yreka to give them a two-race weekend. David Cronk and Kyle Yaeck are the two series champions, and both are anticipated for the opener. Sine and Whitehouse are hoping the addition of Yreka to the schedule will attract some Californians into the series, which also has races in Washington this year. Among the racers to watch for this week will be Andrew Langan, Josh Sheller, Daniel Land, Brian Cronk, Donald Schott, Shannon Horn and Bob "Smitty" Smith.
On Saturday night, the Mini Stocks were a last minute addition to the program as Barba decided to remove the IMCA Modifieds from the schedule to allow the drivers to support the Medford show that night. The Mini Stocks have had an interesting race so far. 2015 champion David Steele won the season opener and last week's Mike Caveye Memorial race, but he's not pursuing points in Yreka this year.
Terry Kendrick, who won the second race this season, is chasing points. He is a past Mini Stock and Street Stock champion at the speedway who's hoping to return to the top of the point list this year. If he's going to do that, he knows he's going to have to keep his car near the front of the pack every week. Two-time champion Mike Whitaker and three-time reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick are always tough to beat. Terry is fielding two cars with Mike Kendrick in the other car, and the Alford racing team is now three cars strong. As Medford doesn't have a race for the class this Saturday, there could be some drivers coming south to support the show.
Memorial Day Weekend will be an opportunity to check out two great racing events at Siskiyou Golden Speedway. They remember two people who were very special to the Yreka track for years, and the drivers will be competing for increased purse money. For further information, go to www.siskiyougoldenspeedway.com.
John Arnberg Memorial Winners
2005 John Toolanen
2006 Randy McDaniel
2007 Jon DeBenedetti
2008 Travis Peery
2009 Jon DeBenedetti
2010 Vince Bowers
2011 Brian Poppa
2012 Travis Peery
2013 Dave Duste Jr
2014 Riley Simmons
2015 Mark Wauge
2016 Ryan McDaniel
2017 Nick Trenchard
2018 Mark Wauge
Bo Hittson Memorial Winners
2004 Jesse Morton
2005 info not available
2006 Chris Cullen
2007 info not available
2008 Ryan Haines
2009 Tony Morton
2010 Billy Jasmer
2011 Jorddon Braaten
2012 Jesse Morton
2013 Cody Hamilton
2014 Jorddon Braaten *
2015 Jorddon Braaten
2016 Brian Cooper
2017 Jorddon Braaten
2018 Tim Elias
* Moved to the IMCA Sport Modifieds
Steele Wins Fifth Mike Caveye Memorial In Last Six Years
At Siskiyou Speedway
Yreka, CA...David Steele scored another impressive victory in the 32 lap Mike Caveye Memorial Mini Stock Blowout race Saturday night at Siskiyou Golden Speedway. Steele is the 2015 Yreka champion and reigning champ in Medford. This was his fifth win in the last six years in this big race.
Steele battled three-time reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick, Mike Whitaker and point leader Terry Kendrick early on before getting the lead. Once Steele was out in front, he would not relinquish the lead. As he brought it home to victory, Medford star Ashtin Hedges came from the fourth row to eventually take second from Terry Kendrick. Kendrick settled for third, followed by Whitaker, Yawnick, Michael Kendrick, Michael McLeod, Terry Alford Sr, Terry Alford and Darek Alfred. Steele and Whitaker won their respective eight lap heat races, and Steele took advantage of a rare qualifying opportunity to set the fast time of 17.848.
Isaac Sanders won a thrilling late race battle with Ethan Killingsworth for the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified feature win. A lap seven caution flag eliminated recent Medford winner Matt Sanders as championship contender Killingsworth held the lead. Steven Sanders, Ryder Boswell and Isaac Sanders had a good battle going for second when the race continued. Eventually, Isaac Sanders managed to get past Boswell and would also overtake Steven Sanders for second. On the last lap, Isaac Sanders made his winning move around Killingsworth for the well earned victory. Killingsworth settled for second, followed by Stephen Sanders, Ryder Boswell, Colt Boswell, Sean Hulsey, Chad Wormington, Gary Foster, Matt Rue and Matt Sanders. Matt Sanders and Killingsworth won the two eight lap heat races.
Dr. Scott Lenz won his third-straight 20 lap Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stock Main Event. Lenz and fellow heat race winner James Flowers found themselves lined up in the third row for the feature. Outside front row starter Scott Flowers led the early laps, but eventually he would be overtaken by the flying Lenz. As Lenz went on to victory, Scott Flowers held off his son James Flowers for the second place finish. Bryan Hammond finished fourth, followed by Fred LaPlant Jr, Jeff Hudson, Colby Hammond, Dustin Knight, Matt Harlow and Ginny Flowers.
Next weekend is an exciting double-header at the speedway. On Saturday night, the IMCA Sport Modifieds will be running the annual Bo Hittson Memorial race with the Mini Stocks in support. On Saturday night, the IMCA Modifieds will run the 38 lap John Arnberg Memorial. The track will also have the first-ever visit of The Iron Giant Street Stock Series along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds. For further information, go to www.siskiyougoldenspeedway.com.
Kids Penny Gold Rush And NASCAR Racing
At Coos Bay Speedway
Coos Bay, Oregon...After the disappointing rainout took out the Interstate Sprint Car Series race last Saturday night, the NASCAR Whelen All American Series returns to the Coos Bay Speedway oval track this Saturday night. It's also Kid's Penny Gold Rush night at the races, and the makeup night for the Mega Bike Giveaway. Featured divisions include the Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stock, Mini Outlaws, Hornets and the Junior Stingers.
With the NASCAR Super Late Models off two weeks ago, point leader Preston Luckman headed down to Southern Oregon Speedway and left with the first prize money after a flag-to-flag romp to victory. Luckman is the 2018 Cottage Grove champion and is competing for the championship at Coos Bay this year. As a one-time winner, he leads 2015 titlist Toby McIntyre by just six points.
Third-ranked Deven Brown went to Southern Oregon Speedway, but his night didn't go as well. He is only eight points out of the lead and two in front of Brody Montgomery. After being involved in a tangle at Southern Oregon Speedway early in the race, Montgomery came from the back to finish third and was also a heat race winner. Brody has a new car this year as he knew the competition level would rise and wanted to stay competitive in the title chase.
The old Montgomery car is now owned by two-times Sportsman Late Model champion Wayne Butler, who ranks fifth in the standings and is only 16 points out of the lead. So far, the Super Late Model division is off to a good start, and other drivers to watch for this week include Chris Ray, Thor Kristensen, Tom Elam and Richard Wallace.
In the Sportsman Late Model division, it is Braden Fugate leading the way with two feature wins. He has a four point advantage over Mike Taylor. Fugate has won several Hornet features in the past two years and made his Sportsman Late Model debut last year with a win. Taylor appears to be his closest rival in the chase, but other drivers to watch for include Josh Kralicek, Tom Williams and the steady Charlie Withers. There are still a few drivers to debut this season, and we could see one or two of them this week.
The lightning-fast Steve Dubisar leads the Street Stock championship battle after two races. He has won both races this year and has racked up a total of 17 victories since 2017. However, with Tom Elam finishing behind him in both races, Dubisar only has a four point advantage. A veteran of Late Model and Modified racing, Elam offers Dubisar a good challenge in this battle. Last season's championship runner-up David Smith is only 18 points out of the lead and still on a quest to get his first career win. Other drivers to watch for include reigning champion Ken Fox, rookie Peyton Reigard, Leroy Rockwell and Sam Talon.
Talon will be out to pick up his second straight Mini Outlaw feature victory. He is the two-time reigning champion in the class and holds a two point advantage over Jason Kellam in the point race. Dan Daniels is only four points out. Other drivers to watch for this week include Hunter Berrier, Ken Fox and Jason Berrier. We did see the fast VW Beetle of Rob Lauver at the first race of the season, but mechanical issues ended Lauver's night and actually canceled the race as only Talon was there with him.
Hannah Robison has let the competition know that she means business in the Hornet division. Despite missing her heat race last time out, she started back in 13th, charged into the lead and won by a straightaway over reigning champion Tyler Tullos. She has won both Main Events, but Tullos is just four points behind her so far. Gabrielle Boles has looked good so far and will be looking for her first victory this week. Other drivers to watch for include Ray Marshall, William Hitner, Steven Parker, Jesse McIntyre and Kris Parker.
The 11 to 14 year olds of the Junior Stingers division will be running their third race of the season. After having a stranglehold on the class with seven wins in seven starts last season, Griff Smith finally met his match in the opener with Alex Butler getting the win. Smith won the next race. The division was created last year in the hopes of getting young drivers involved in the sport.
It's always a fun evening at Coos Bay with kid and family-friendly events such as Penny Gold Rush night and the bike giveaway. Add an exciting lineup of NASCAR racing, and this is the place you'll want to be on Saturday night. For further information, go to www.coosbayspeedway.us.
Pit Stops
Not much can be done when the rain comes down. The state of Oregon saw every race except for the events in Hermiston and Madras rained out this past weekend, and several venues in California were awash as well. Sadly, this included the Friday night Kart and Flat Track Motorcycle program at Little Southern Oregon Speedway and the five division program that was to happen at the big track on Saturday.
This Saturday night will be a special six division offering that will be headlined by The Iron Giant Street Stock Series. Street Stocks are something that Southern Oregon racing fans aren't used to seeing these days. At the old Medford Raceway, fans watched stars such as Jimmy Walker Jr, Jay McCleary Dave Duste Sr and Ben Neel battle it out for supremacy.
In the final years of the old track, the Street Stocks had evolved to create a Sportsman class as sort of the in-between division from Street Stocks to the Late Model class. What's interesting was that only the Sportsman division, now called Pro Stocks, made it to Southern Oregon Speedway when it first opened. The Late Models and Street Stocks were both left behind. Other than a brief run from 2010 through 2014, Street Stocks never got much of a chance at Southern Oregon Speedway.
The budding Street Stock effort on rare occasions had as many as 12 competitors on the track, and stars in the division's brief run included two-time champion Duane Orsburn, one-time champions Jorddon Braaten and Miles Deubert, Brett Provost, Garrett Dees, Tyler Lockwood and Darren Arnold. Several racers from Klamath Falls were a part of the early effort, including Scott Flowers, Scott Bennett, Jeff Hudson and Jeff Haudenshild, all of whom are Pro Stock competitors these days.
While Southern Oregon Speedway may have been left out of the Street Stock loop, Oregon had a thriving effort at every other track in the state. In Willamette, they created a huge event called The Iron Giant race. When there were 55 competitors competing for $5,000 to win in 2016, Chris Sine and James Whitehouse knew that there was great potential to launch a big series for the Street Stocks.
The plan was very simple. There are nine outdoor racing venues in Oregon, and eight of them were included in 2016. There was one race at each track, culminating in The Iron Giant race in Willamette on Labor Day Weekend. The series would start at Southern Oregon Speedway, and Donald Schott wrote his name into the record books in 2017 by winning the first Disorder On The Southern Border race. This was a 50 lap event paying $1,000 to win. Ten drivers competed in that race.
There might have been some question as to who was willing to come to Southern Oregon Speedway from up north, but over 20 racers came to town last season for the second annual event. Andrew Langan picked up the win that night and won another race at Madras. If not for some bad luck that forced him to miss a race, Langan might have been the series champion last year. As it was, David Cronk succeeded Kyle Yaeck as The Iron Giant Series champion last season, aided by his win in St Helens.
The Street Stock division is a nice mixture of Camaros and Firebirds, Monte Carlos, Novas and other makes. The metric cars are starting to grow in popularity as a couple of tracks in Oregon have started the IMCA Stock Car division. Unfortunately for the drivers who choose to run Camaros and Firebirds, their cars are not legal for that effort. Since the Street Stocks are still alive and well in Oregon, that hasn't become an issue yet.
Every so often, you'll hear people in the Medford area ask why there isn't a Street Stock division at the speedway. You would have to ask the track's founder, John Skinner, why he never thought it was important enough to be a part of his roster from the start. These days, the speedway rotates nine different divisions on any given week, so finding a spot for the Street Stocks in the lineup might be a challenge. As there hasn't been sufficient enough interest shown by potential racers, this hasn't become a topic that management has chosen to entertain.
The Iron Giant Street Stock Series visit begins a string of big events coming to Southern Oregon Speedway through the month of June. IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds have been included this weekend, and the two divisions will take center stage in the Seventh Annual Roger Haudenshild Tribute race on June 1st. Among the other divisions included will be the Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks for their first of three visits to the speedway.
The next two weeks will be important in setting the stage for this year's Sport Modified and Modified championship battles. Not only will there be more money on the line for the Haudenshild race, but these two events will go a long way towards putting the racers in a position to really contend for the track title.
Mark Wauge was making some waves during the offseason. With all of the talk centering around the Late Model division and drivers getting involved in that class, he hinted that he was taking a look at getting a car himself in the event that he sold both his trailer and his race car. As he still had his Modified when the season started, Wauge clarified that he was going for an unprecedented eighth IMCA Modified championship. He was also hoping to score his milestone 50th career Modified win at his home track.
Some very late breaking news reports that he has in fact finally gotten a Late Model and is hoping to make some practice laps with it this Saturday night. This is one of the cars previously owned by Trent Elliott. Wauge's departure from the Modified division will break the championship race wide open.
Albert Gill is back to see if he can successfully defend his championship, and conflicting reports tell us that perennial title contender Nick Trenchard plans to give it a go this year. Trenchard has always been a factor when the big money has been on the line, but he has never really pursued a championship in Medford. Should he be doing so this year, the Gill, Trenchard, Zach Fettinger, Preston Jones battle could be epic.
What's interesting is that Jeffrey Hudson has forced the competition to take notice with his impressive drive to victory at the season opener. Driving the Don Romer owned Modified, Hudson turned in a superb performance in winning the season opener. Romer has generally had his car where the money is for the past couple of years, but should a championship in Medford catch his attention, Hudson has proven he's got the ability to hang with the leaders. Thie 2015 Pro Stock champion has only just begun to show what he can do behind the wheel.
These drivers will likely be in town for the IMCA Wild West Speedweek race on June 22nd. That event brings some of the best racers Oregon and even California have to offer for a week-long series that crowns a champion. To this day, only Brian Poppa has managed to win a Speedweek crown from the Medford Area.
The Malicious Monster Truck Tour will come to town to entertain the fans on June 8th and 9th. Last year, despite a conflicting Monster Truck show at the drag strip and rain on the day of the event, the stands were still packed at Southern Oregon Speedway to watch these drivers in their gargantuan machines as they flew through the air and crushed the cars beneath them. This year, fans get two days of entertainment, thanks to the sponsorship of Dave's Carpet and Vinyl Liquidators.
There's just too much excitement happening at Southern Oregon Speedway, and fans will have something good on the schedule almost every week through the scheduled season finale on September 14th.
People have been saying for a couple of years that the IMCA Sport Modifieds were going to get to the level where they would deliver the biggest car counts at the track, and they have finally been proven right. Last season, the division started putting car counts into the twenties on the track, and they opened this year with an impressive 21 car field. Everybody is getting one of these race cars, and it's also opened the door for a few racers on the lower levels who didn't think they could move up.
One of the interesting entrants in the season opener was two-time champion Jorddon Braaten. It wasn't known what the reigning IMCA State Sport Modified champion would do, and we're still not taking anything for granted where the #84 car is concerned. However, if he chooses to compete in every event, he would certainly be a factor in the championship hunt.
Braaten had to come from mid pack to battle the #95 car of Rich McCoy in a good race for third. Ahead of him, Justin McCreadie seemed to have things in hand until being challenged on the final lap by Matt Sanders. Dwayne Melvin had a piece of that action early on until lapped traffic got him. It was one of the best runs we've seen from Melvin in quite some time and an indication that the #69 car could be a threat to win this year.
When the checkered flag falls on the field and the finish is so close that electronic scoring is needed to determine the winner, you know it's been one heck of a battle. The scoring showed that Sanders beat McCreadie back to the line by mere inches in one of the closest finishes in Speedway history.
The aforementioned addition of Wauge to the Late Model roster is sure to get people talking. The division's season debut included 12 competitors, but there were several local stars who weren't quite ready for the show. Three who were on hand and expected to be title contenders were Trent Elliott, Nathan Augustine and Miles Deubert. All three drivers scored Top 5 finishes that night with Elliot finishing second, Augustine fourth and Deubert fifth.
Just when we thought we might not see Dave Foote, he made the announcement at the opener that he will continue to race at Southern Oregon Speedway, and we were also happy to see the Dees family represented by 2016 champion Bob Dees. Even 2013 Pro Stock title winner Dave Everson was making good laps and finishing sixth in the feature.
However, there are some racers we hope to see in action in the weeks ahead, including reigning champion John Dees. John was with his father Bob for the opener. We anticipate the return of past champion Jeremy Richey along with teammate Chris Biggs, James Welshonse, Don Garrett Jr, Brian Bowman, Jason Schultz, John David Duffie and new cars for both Eric Massey and Dustin Knight. People have been saying that this could be a breakout season for the class, and they may be right. The Late Models will be part of the big show on June 1st.
The JOAT Labs Hornets division has seen the competition level rise this year. 2016 champion Tim Hedges knew that was going to be the case, which led him to put new cars together for both himself and wife Jenna Hedges. Basically, the white #14 car ended up giving up the on Tim at last season's finale, and he nearly could have gotten out and ran faster than his car was going on the 3/10 mile clay will that night. Somehow, he managed to cling to second in the standings behind champion Bree Tritchler.
Tritchler stepped up her game with a new car this year, and Dylan Sauer planned to hit the ground running this year after he ended last season with back-to-back Top 3 finishes. Though Hedges has been very fast this season, Sauer has been just a little bit faster with a pair of wins. Because Tim has had just a little bit better luck in the preliminaries, he is clinging to a slim lead, but he knows he'll have to start winning some Main Events to keep his lead.
Tritchler is forced to play catch up with everybody after she blew a motor in hot laps at the opener and was done for the night. It looked like her motor was going to give up on her again at the most recent race, but things worked out and she managed a fourth place feature finish. All of the drivers are watching Sauer, knowing that he is certainly going to be tough to beat.
The Nelson family, meanwhile, has had mixed results so far. Derrel Nelson Jr did get a Top 5 finish in the first race, though he didn't do as well in the most recent show. Son Zach Nelson was nursing a sick motor to the finish line in that race, while Ryan Nelson missed the race making repairs after hitting the front wall in the season opener. He hopes to be back for the next event. The Hornets have certainly been exciting to watch so far.
Car count has been an issue in both the Valley Store All Late Model Lites and Bobbio's Pizza Mini Stocks as some drivers aren't ready to go. The Late Model Lites were without last season's third and fourth place competitors, Eric and Dusty Aos, who are still getting their cars ready. Likewise, Lee Doty's car wasn't quite ready for Ross Payant to make his return last time. It's hopeful that they'll have another car or two in the field this week to do battle with reigning champion Charlie Eaton, Greg Arnold and Pete Bowne.
The Mini Stock division has been without 2014 champion Gary Anderson, who has decided to take a break. Rookie Scott Yergis and Garrett Fredrickson still aren't quite ready to go, and 2013 title winner Steve Goetz blew a motor in Yreka and has missed two races. Had last weekend's race went on a scheduled, reigning champion David Steele was intending to race in Yreka at the annual Mike Caveye Memorial race. Steele has attempted to help a few of his fellow racers get their cars ready and is hoping that there will be another car or two in the field for the next race.
In Yreka, the Mini Stocks got an opportunity they don't often get at other tracks. They were the headliners for Saturday night's Mike Caveye Memorial race. They ran 32 laps in honor of Mike, who passed away in 2011. The Mini Stock Blowout race was named in his honor that year, making this the ninth annual running of that race.
The race is special to Steele, who won the Blowout race prior to 2011 and has won five of the last six races in Mike's honor. Steele found himself being chased by the guy who beat him in Medford last time out, Ashtin Hedges, but he still prevailed when the checkered flag waved. This was the first Yreka start for Hedges in a Mini Stock, and he did well holding off point leader Terry Kendrick for second.
Kendrick is fielding two cars this year with Mike Kendrick behind the wheel of the other. The Alford team is now a three-car strong with Terry Alford Sr, Terry Alford Jr and Darek Alford behind the wheel. Of course, you've also got three-time reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick and teammate "Magic" Mike Whitaker out there. Whitaker is a two-time title winner in the class.
Mini Stocks are important to the Yreka racing program right now as one of the relied-upon regular classes. The other division is the IMCA Sport Modifieds, where Mini Stock graduates Ethan Killingsworth, Ryder Boswell and Colt Boswell battle it out for the honors this year. Killingsworth has had the better finishes of the three with one win and a pair of Top 3 finishes, but he is still not far ahead of the Boswell brothers.
Much like the Mini Stocks, this weekend will be a two-race weekend for the IMCA Sport Modifieds and a very important piece to the championship puzzle. Drivers will be hoping to at least get through the weekend with respectable of finishes if they're unable to bag the big bucks being offered. It's the annual Bo Hittson Memorial race on Saturday, a race being held in honor of the fallen police officer and past Yreka racer.
With the money on the line, it's possible that some competitors from further down in California will come take a run at the money. One monkey wrench in the plan could be thrown in there by the scheduled events at Marysville this weekend. Marysville will be running an All Star Series IMCA Modified race on Saturday with the Pepsi IMCA Sport Modifieds and Crate Sprints also on the card. The Sport Modifieds are also being booked on Sunday as part of the Mell Hall Classic. This race is being headlined by the Civil War Sprint Car Series.
Perhaps the biggest concern in Yreka is the fact that some of the local IMCA Sport Modified racers still haven't been showing up. Two years ago, car count was doing so well that it led to the sliding scale pay increase for the division. Drivers would receive $500 to win if 13 or more cars showed up. Drivers like Colton Cheffey, DJ Bottoms, Jack Walden III, Garrett Hamilton and Doug Franklin were among the roster, but Walden is the only driver of that group we've seen at all so far this year. The key to the car count getting consistently stronger is local support.
This weekend is a pivotal week for the Yreka schedule because it is the Bo Hittson race on Saturday and the John Arnberg race on Sunday. Saturday saw the cancellation of the IMCA Modified show as Promoter Kevin Barba realized that between the show in Marysville and the show in Medford he might not see a car count in that class. Therefore, it's up to the IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks to carry the heavy load that night.
However, Sunday could turn out to be a bonanza for the speedway as The Chew On This Jerky Gold Rush Iron Giant Street Stock Series race will happen. Barba was able to secure the date as the series visit to Medford happens on Memorial Day Weekend. Since Yreka had a Sunday race scheduled, it was easy enough to negotiate with the Iron Giant race directors to make the Sunday visit happen.
Plus, there's a $1,038 to win IMCA Modified race being held in John Arnberg's honor. The 38 lapper is sure to get some support from Oregonians and drivers further south in California. As if these two divisions aren't enough, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks will also be there. For any fans who take a wait-and-see attitude towards Yreka, Sunday is a day they should get in line and buy a ticket.
Barba has alluded to the fact that he has an interest in booking Street Stock races if some of the local area drivers who reportedly still have cars were to show up on Sunday. In the event that there were enough drivers, you never know what could be added to the schedule down the line. Yreka needs racers, and anything that can get the locals to come out and race will be a good thing. Another date to circle on your calendar will be the IMCA Modified Wild West Speedweek series opener on June 21st, which will have the IMCA Sport Modifieds running in support.
Rain ruined what could have been a great night at Coos Bay Speedway last Saturday. It was the Interstate Sprint Car Series event. It happened to be part of a two-night season opener for the group with the first race in Cottage Grove also getting rained out. It was sure to attract a field of anywhere between 25 and 30 competitors, leaving Sprint Car enthusiasts disappointed.
Coos Bay will try again this Saturday night with the NASCAR Whelen All American Series lineup featuring all of the regular classes. The Super Late Models have had a strong turnout after two events, bringing lots of optimism to the fans in the area. Right now, it's shaping up to be a battle between 2018 Cottage Grove champion Preston Luckman, 2015 title winner Toby McIntyre, Deven Brown and reigning champion Brody Montgomery. The Street Stocks and Hornets are also off to a good start, and Saturday's show should be worth checking out just for these three divisions alone.
Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville has gotten off to a nice start this year. The lowest turnout for the IMCA Modifieds so far is the 12 cars they had for the race last time, which was won by Wade Kennemore. Riley Simmons won the previous two races. The Modifieds are doing well, and this Friday's show should be entertaining. Numbers have also increased in the IMCA Sport Modifieds.
The other thing that's nice about the Susanville track is that racing conditions have been very good and the racing has been entertaining for the fans. The Mini Stock division has been putting enough cars on the track to make two heat races and a Main Event, while the Hobby Stock division is still trying to grow their ranks. Considering the track looked like it would be closed this year, Jeff Olschowka has done a great job of getting the place up and running again. Jeff hasn't completely stepped out of the cockpit as he is currently leading the points at American Valley Speedway in Quincy.
In a final note, Orland Raceway had a very good night last weekend. It was the annual Glenn County Fair, and a nice turnout of fans was entertained by over 50 competitors across five divisions. Promoter Rich Hood continues to make some good moves in his fourth year at the helm of the 1/5 mile dirt oval.
It's interesting to note that the Pure Stock Main Event winner last week was none other than Wes Smock. The 1999 Mini Stock champion hasn't been seen at the speedway in recent years, but he's got a fast blue #11 race car. Smock and the late Ken Lewis had many great battles in the late 1990s and are certainly two of the greats in the speedway's history.
After the disappointment of the previous race, Keith Ross got his championship bid back on the right track with a second-place finish, but championship rival Phil Spencer didn't let him gain much ground as he finished third. Spencer was the winner of the previous race, while Ross started the season with back-to-back victories. It looks like it's still going to be a great battle between these two drivers with past champion Steve Martin lurking not far behind.
The Mini Truck division continues to be a wild and crazy event. Though not chasing points this season, Dan Webster returned and showed the drivers the fast way around the oval track with a well-earned victory ahead of Hayfork visitor Ian Thulin. The race before, Dan's son Zack Webster took a nasty tumble off of Turn 2, which hurt his potential championship bid. Zack has two wins this year, but he missed this race while title hopeful Kalvin Kvalvik rolled to a fourth place finish. Kalvin got his first win in the previous race, but this battle is a long way from over.
After obliterating the competition in his heat race, Kevin Pendergrass had mechanical issues sideline him before the Main Event, which allowed reigning Mini Stock champion Tom Davis to increase his lead a little bit with another win. Davis was chased by his closest point rival from last season, Barbara Crain, for several laps. It was great to see Barbara back behind the wheel of her red #23 car. It was also nice to see the Pinto of Jason Libbee, who voiced his frustrations after a blown motor at the previous race. Libbee didn't give up on his run last week and was rewarded with a late pass on Crain for the second place finish.
In a lengthy open-wheel career, Tony Richards has won multiple championships between Chico and Orland. After a non start at the season opener, which was won by Josh Tucker, Richards has won three Main Events. He still finds himself trying to make up ground on the consistent Denny McNary. Though Richards won the most recent race by about half a lap, it was McNary chasing him in second. Also doing well with a best ever finish in third was 2017 Pure Stock champion Jeremy Langenderfer.
Langenderfer has elected to focus on his Spec Sprint effort, which has really been a dream come true for him as he didn't expect he'd get a chance to run a Sprint Car. Therefore, he's not running his Pure Stock all the time, and his Mini Stock was there with Lori Langenderfer making her first start since the Powder Puff race last season. Lori did good making her laps and getting the car to the checkered flag, making it a good night for the team.
Orland fans don't often get to see the B Modifieds, but there were two races booked this season. Seven competitors showed up for this race, including Yuba City racers Jimmy Ford, Jason Ferguson and Scott Savell.
Jake Van Tol has driven several different classes and won in most of them at Orland, most recently in the Sprint Car division. He won one of the B Modified visits last year and was definitely a factor in the battle on Friday. However, Tyler Rogers made a nice comeback to get the win. Van Tol had a photo finish with Jimmy Ford in the race for second. It certainly looked close, but the score keepers gave the nod to Ford.
There is definitely some racer interest in this division at Orland. Certain factors have to be considered when booking a race, including what neighboring Silver Dollar Speedway is doing and what's happening at Marysville. That is the pool of drivers they would be drawing from. However, one has to wonder if a four or six race championship series could be booked under IMCA sanctioning in 2020. The minimum amount of races IMCA acknowledges to make it an official point effort is four.
Orland continues to offer little special attractions for the fans to enjoy, and June 1st will see two of them. They will be visited by the popular NorCal Dwarf Car Association in what will be their first race there in several years. A strong field is anticipated for the show. Also on the card will be the second visit for the California Hardtop Association. The drivers of those beautiful old style Coup and Sedan race cars enjoy their visits to Orland and are looking forward to this show.
Siskiyou Golden Speedway Unofficial Race Results May 18, 2019
Mike Caveye Mini Stock Blowout
Mini Stocks
David Steele
Ashtin Hedges
Terry Kendrick
Mike Whitaker
Marilyn Yawnick
Michael Kendrick
Michael McLeod
Terry Alford SR
terry alford
Darek Alford
Jack Turner
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Issac Sanders
Ethan Killingsworth
Steven Sanders
Ryder Boswell
Colt Boswell
Sean Hulsey
Chad Wormington
Gary Foster
Matt Rue
Matt Sanders
Rich McCoy
Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stock
Scott Lenz
Scott Flowers
James Flowers
Bryan Hammond
Fred LaPlant Jr
Jeff Hudson
Colby Hammond
Dustin Knight
Matt Harlow
Ginny Flowers
