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Seventh Annual Roger Haudenshild Tribute

At Southern Oregon Speedway This Saturday

White City, Oregon...After back-to-back rainouts, Southern Oregon Speedway returns to action with one of the biggest events of the season. This Saturday night will be the Seventh Annual Roger Haudeshild Tribute race. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks will be racing for increased purses, and the Late Models and Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars will make this a five-division program.

Roger Haudenshild was a Destruction Derby and Stock Car competitor as well as a hot rod enthusiast. He sponsored many different racers through the years. The community was saddened by his passing, and this race was established in 2013 as a way to remember him. The Haudenshild family and Matt Duste of Dusty's Transmissions has sponsored this race and kept it going. Each year it has gotten bigger.

Another hallmark of the event is the special $200 to win Crack-the-whip race that will be held for the three featured divisions. The format calls for as many laps as there are starters in the race. Each lap, the last place car leaves the track until only one driver remains to collect the prize. These special races will be flagged by longtime flagman Maurie Skaggs.

In three of the past four races, the IMCA Modified winner has been Nick Trenchard. Trenchard has proven to be a clutch racer when the money is on the line, winning several big events at Southern Oregon Speedway and other area tracks. Trenchard was unstoppable last season in collecting the $2,000 victory. The only driver keeping him from winning four races in a row was 2016 winner Mark Wauge, who recently announced his move up to the Late Models after selling his car.

The Wauge departure from the IMCA Modifieds also will affect the championship battle. Trenchard could be the driver to beat on Saturday and in the championship race as well. Three-time reigning track champion Albert Gill is hoping to collect his biggest feature win ever this week, and other drivers to watch for include season opener winner Jeffrey Hudson, Preston Jones, Zach Fettinger and Justin Foux.

The lure of the extra money has brought some fast competitors to the IMCA Sport Modified show these past few seasons. Last year, 2015 California State champion Fred Ryland picked up the win. The year before that, reigning Oregon State champion Jorddon Braaten picked up his second win in the big race. A year earlier, Todd Cooper got the win. With the first prize set at $1,600, some fast racers are expected on Saturday.

The season opener showcased two of the toughest competitors in the state in a photo finish, won by Matt Sanders ahead of Justin McCreadie. These two drivers may be at the top of the list of potential winners this week, but other drivers to watch for include Rich McCoy, Branden Wilson, Isaac Sanders and two-time track champions Mike Medel and Dwayne Melvin.

Dr. Scott Lenz has become an unstoppable force in the Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stock division. In addition to winning this year's Billy Geyer Memorial race in Yreka, Lenz has won the past two Roger Haudenshild Tribute races. He comes into Saturday's show as the odds-on favorite to win again. The two drivers nipping at his heels so far this year are the father-son team of Scott Flowers and James Flowers. They may have the best shot at beating Lenz. Other drivers to watch for this week include 2016 champion Steve Borror, Matt Harlow and Bryan Hammond.

The addition of Mark Wauge to the Late Model roster is adding more star power to the growing division. Trent Elliott is the driver many people have talked about as the one to beat in this year's championship chase, but 2017 title winner Nathan Augustine and last season's top rookie, Miles Deubert, are two others hoping to make a run for the money this year. Other drivers to watch for this week include 2016 champion Bob Dees, Dave Foote, 2013 Pro Stock champion Dave Everson and Tony Bartell.

The Dwarf Cars round out what is sure to be an action-packed program this weekend. Camden Robustelli served notice to the competition with his impressive victory a few weeks ago. Robustelli got that win after a great battle with three-time reigning champion Josh King and two-time champ Brock Peters. These three drivers will be tough to beat this week, but others, such as Chad Cardoza, Fred Hay, Jesse Lorentz, Kalvin Morton and Joe Sanders, will be out there to give it a go.

The Roger Haudenshild Tribute race is one of those events that people mark on their calendar to see. There will be many great competitors in all of the classes, and the weather report is looking good for the weekend. Gates will open at 5 pm with the first race starting at 7. General Admission will be $15 with Seniors, Veterans and Juniors 7 to 12 $10. Children 6 and under are free. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.

Fan Appreciation Day At Siskiyou Golden Speedway

Yreka, CA...The weather wasn't kind to Siskiyou Golden Speedway last weekend. The track was attempting to host a big two-day event, featuring the Bo Hittson Memorial for IMCA Sport Modifieds, the John Arnberg Memorial for IMCA Modifieds and the first ever appearance by The Iron Giant Street Stocks. Though the neighboring track in Medford cancelled last Saturday due to the forecast, the Yreka track attempted to go on with the show.

Over 40 competitors filled the pits, including some last-minute additions to the show. However, the rain fell during heat races, forcing the cancellation of that night's events as well as the Sunday activities. Promoter Kevin Barba is working on a makeup date for the John Arnberg Memorial. In the meantime, this Sunday afternoon will be the Bo Hittson Memorial race for the IMCA Sport Modifieds. It will also be Fan Appreciation Day at the track. Joining the Sport Modifieds will be the Mini Stocks and the Jefferson State Jalopies. Fans will get to enjoy a great day of racing for $5 admission.

Initially, Barba considered rescheduling the Bo Hittson race for Saturday, but there is a big event happening for the class on Saturday in Medford. By making this a Sunday race, it opens the door for the top racers to go to Medford on Saturday and come back to Yreka for another big show. Matt Sanders and Isaac Sanders, both of whom are feature winners in Yreka this year, are probably going to do this, and there will be several others as well. There will even be drivers, such as past Bo Hittson Memorial winner Brian Cooper, coming in from further down in California to make a run for the money.

We are four races into the season, and there is a nice point battle developing between Colt Boswell and Ethan Killingsworth. Killingsworth is a one-time winner this year, but Boswell has been just a bit more consistent in taking a one point lead. Sean Husley has made all of the races and is only eight points out of the lead, while Ryder Boswell is 11 points back in fourth. The championship battle looks like it will be between these four. Other drivers to watch for include Randy Wright, Donovan Rodgers and Gary Foster. Word is we will see reigning champion Trevor Tiffee and Sprint Car racer Merissa Henson out there soon.

The addition of the Mini Stocks to last weekend's two events could have been harmful to the effort of Darek Alford. After three races, Alford was shown leading Mike Kendrick by two points and two-time champion Mike Whitaker by four. The Alford team didn't bring any of their cars on Saturday, meaning they could have taken a hit in the point battle. They had other plans for Memorial Day Weekend and couldn't adjust them on the fly to go racing.

The lead three drivers are all looking for their first wins of the season, but fourth place Terry Kendrick and fifth place competitor David Steele are winners. Steele made the Mike Caveye Memorial race his second win of the season, while Kendrick accounts for the other win. It's possible we'll see all five of these racers in action this week along with three-time reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick, Zak McMurry, Terry Alford and Michael McCloud.

The Jefferson State Jalopies are making their first scheduled appearance of the season this Saturday night. The Jalopies are the brainchild of JJ Smith and Karl Bernstein. Using frames from trucks, the finished product almost resembles a bigger version of a Dwarf Car, but the idea is to create a division that doesn't brake a racer's budget. Smith and Bernstein have built four cars so far with a fifth one in production

The addition of this division to the lineup is a positive for Siskiyou Speedway as the track gives the fans another division to enjoy. In addition to Josh Bernstein and Smith, they recruit other drivers for the other two cars. Mini Stock star Marilyn Yawnick was given the opportunity to drive one of the cars last Saturday. It is hoped that this division will catch on and grow in the weeks ahead.

The forecast calls for better weather this Sunday night. Fan Appreciation Night will be a good opportunity to enjoy some great racing at the speedway. For further information, go to www.siskiyougoldenspeedway.com.

Bo Hittson Memorial Winners
2004 Jesse Morton
2005 info not available
2006 Chris Cullen
2007 Jennifer Hisey
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

Beast Jett Car Burn Down, NASCAR Racing Saturday

At Coos Bay Speedway

Coos Bay, Oregon...Nobody could be blamed for feeling the rainy day blues in Coos Bay. Three of the five races scheduled this season have been canceled due to rain. This includes the last two Saturday night shows. However, forecasts call for sunny skies and racing to return to the dirt oval this Saturday night.

Fans will get to see the Beast Jett Car burn a car to the ground. Also, the kids Mega Bike Giveaway, which has been scheduled for the past two weeks, will finally happen. When it comes to racing, there will be a full lineup of NASCAR Whelen All American Series action, including Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Model, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Hornets and Junior Stingers.

Brody Montgomery may be the reigning America's Mattress Super Late Model champion, but he's still looking to put his new car in the Winner's Circle. The winners of the first two events have been Willamette champion Joey Tanner and reigning Cottage Grove champion Preston Luckman. Luckman appears to be making a run at the Coos Bay title this year, but a challenge is also being made by 2015 title winner Toby McIntyre.

The Super Late Model division has gotten more competitive this year as two-time Sportsman Late Model champion Wayne Butler purchased the old Montgomery car to make Super Late Model racing his full-time effort. Deven Brown is off to a good start as he ranks third in the standings, just eight out of the lead and two ahead of Montgomery. Other racers to watch for this week include Chris Ray, Tom Elam and two-time championship runner-up Thor Kristensen.

Braden Fugate has back-to-back Sportsman Late Model wins, but with Mike Taylor chasing him across the finish line in both events, Fugate's lead is only four points. These two figure to be the main championship contenders, but other racers to watch for this week include Josh Kralicek, Charlie Withers and Tom Williams.

The competition level has gone up just a little bit in the Street Stock division as well. The hottest driver at the speedway during the past couple of seasons has been Steve Dubisar, and he appears to be making a run at the championship this year. He's posted back-to-back feature wins, but Late Model veteran Tom Elam has been on his back bumper in second for both races. This means Dubisar only has a four.point advantage. Last season's top rookie and point runner-up, David Smith, holds down third ahead of rookie Peyton Reigard and reigning champion Ken Fox. It's still a close race between these five drivers while rookie Sam Talon has struggled in his first two starts.

To make up for his bad luck in that class, two-time reigning Mini Outlaw champion Talon did win that division season opener to take a two-point lead over Jason Kellam. These two drivers are expected to battle it out at the front of the pack, and other drivers to watch for include Dan Daniels, Hunter Berrier, Ken Fox and Carl Johnson. It's possible we could see the VW Beetle of Rob Lauver as well.

With her charge from 13th starting to her second-straight win last time out, "Hurricane" Hannah Robison now leads reigning champion Tyler Tullos by four points in the Hornet championship battle. These two drivers may be the ones making the best run in points, but Gabrielle Boles has done a good job so far to hold down third in the standings. Other drivers to watch for this week include William Hitner, Steven Parker, Jesse McIntyre and Kris Parker.

Rounding out the program will be the Junior Stinger division, which puts kids 11 to 14 years old in Hornet race cars. Two races have been held so far with wins going to last season's champion, Griff Smith, and Alex Butler. This year, points are not being awarded to this class.

There's a little something for everybody this Saturday night in Coos Bay. There's bike giveaways for the kids, the Beast Jett Car burning down a car in spectacular fashion and a great lineup of NASCAR racing. It should be a fun time at the speedway. For further information, go www.coosbayspeedway.us.

Cleveland, Peckham Win Marysville Raceway Main Events

Marysville, CA...May 25...Duane Cleveland scored the 25 lap All Star Series Main Event victory Saturday night at Marysville Raceway. This was the first race of the four-race series for the IMCA Modifieds. Chris Olexiewicz led early before being passed by Cleveland on lap five. The yellow flag waved on lap 11, but Cleveland continued to lead Olexiewicz on the restart. Randy McDaniel took over second on lap 14, and Brian Cass gained third on a lap 15 restart. There were two yellow flags during the final five laps, but each time Cleveland moved ahead and would score the victory. Cass took second from McDaniel on a lap 23 restart and would finish there as McDaniel settled for third, followed by Tim Yeager, Olexiewicz, Ray Trimble, Bud Walberg, Richard Papenhausen, Justin Yeager and Joe Wood. Cass outran Tim Yaeger to win the first eight lap heat race. Jeff Olshowka held off Balding to win the next heat, and Cleveland won the final heat in front of Ryan McDaniel.

Andrew Peckham won the 20 lap Pepsi IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. He took the lead from the start ahead of Scott Savell and Jim Waller. Jimmy Ford took third from Waller on a lap three restart and began to battle Savell for second as Peckham built a straightaway advantage. Ford finally gained second on lap nine, and a yellow flag flew one lap later. Peckham continued to lead Ford on the restart, and there were another three yellow flags during the final 10 laps. However, Peckham led the way on each restart and scored the well-earned victory ahead of Ford. Chuck Golden outdueled Todd Cooper to grab the third place finish. Jake Van Tol finished fifth, followed by Kenny Shrader, Jim Waller, Allen Furuta, Thomas Reynolds and Greg Barnes. Peckham also outran Shelby to win the first of three eight lap heat races. Todd Cooper won the second heat ahead of Nick Caughman Jr and Waller outran Reynolds to win the final heat.

Nick Larson won the 20 lap Crate Sprint Main Event. Kiely Ricardo led the first four laps. Larson took second from Mike Sayre on lap four and grabbed the lead from Ricardo on a lap six restart. The rest of the race went without incident, and Larson built his advantage over Ricardo to nearly a straightaway at the checkered flag. Brett Youngman finished third, followed by Darren Johnson, Sayre, Cameron Haney Jr, Kevin Dozier, Chad Thompson and Mike Ballentine. Ricardo won the eight lap heat race In front of Youngman.

This was to be a two-race weekend with the Mel Hall Memorial Winged 360 Sprint Car Civil War race on Sunday, supported by the IMCA Sport Modifieds. However, heavy rains forced the cancellation. Management is working on a possible date to reschedule this event. Racing returns on June 8th with the Winged 360 Sprint Cars back in action along with the Pepsi IMCA Sport Modifieds, Super Stocks and Hobby Stocks. For further information, go to www.marysvilleraceway.com.

Lovell And Lovell Win At Ukiah Speedway

Ukiah, CA...May 26...Mike Lovell made a thrilling last-lap pass to win the 45 lap Limited Modified Main Event Sunday night at Ukiah Speedway. Much of the race was led by Tyler Caturgelli ahead of Sierra Furia. Lovell moved into third on a lap 33 restart and was able to take second from Furia on lap 36. Mike Doss gained third two laps later. Lovell and Doss ran closely behind Caturgelli with Lovell making the move into first on the last lap. Caturgelli settled for second, followed by Doss, Sierra Furia, David Furia, Tony Ramazzotti, TJ Buzzard, Kylei Keown, Kevin Coburn and Bo Robertson.

Lovell was the quickest at 14 qualifiers with a lap of 13.656, beating a 13.688 of Doss. The first of two 10 lap heat race wins went to Caturgelli ahead of Lovell. Doss outran Coburn to win the other heat.

Mikey Lovell won the 50 lap Bomber Main Event. This was also the third round of the Upstate Bomber Series, which will pay $2,000 to the champion at the conclusion of the seven race series. The invert puts the top qualifiers deep in the pack, meaning Lovell and Donnie Hyman started in the sixth row. David Dillinger and Sam Brown battled it out early in the race as Lovell and Hyman worked their way through the pack. Once Lovell got the lead, however, not even Hyman could stop him from bringing home the victory. Brown settled for third, followed by final lead lap finisher Denny Cashada. Simi Tour finished fifth, followed by Dillinger, Jimmy Sorrels, Jim Redd, Bob Mook and Scottie Cape.

Jeremy Doss was the quickest qualifier of the 17 car field with a lap of 14.713. Hyman was second quick at 14.803, beating the 14.838 of Lovell. Mook won his 10 lap heat race ahead of Randall, and Doss outran Redd to win the other heat. Tour won the four lap Trophy Dash in front of Hyman.

Dave Rogers won the 30 lap Jammers Main Event. The Pro and Junior classes run together, and Rogers was chased across the line by Junior Jammer competitor Donovan Arreguin and Pro Danny Helm. Junior Jammer competitor Christian Sanchez finished fourth, followed by Dennis Anderson, Ron Portlock and Raymond Taylor Jr. Helms set the quick time of 15.946. Rodgers won the four lap Trophy Dash and Taylor picked up the win in the 10 lap heat race.

The Jalopy class runs on the dirt track in the infield, and Chris Hunt came from eighth starting to win the 20 lap Main Event. Loren Powers started back in ninth to chase Hunt for the second place finish. Front row starter Nigel Ashley led early before finishing third, followed by Jack Schlief, Valicia Catching, Harley Tarrant, Wayne Hunt, Robert Portlock Sr, Stacy Ramsey and Dave Tyrrell. Hunt Picked up wins in both the four lap Trophy Dash and his 10 lap heat race, and Parker was the other heat winner.

Jeremy Doss Wins Upstate Bomber Series Race

At Ukiah Speedway

Ukiah, CA...May 25...Jeremy Doss won the 50 lap Upstate Bomber Series Main Event Saturday night Ukiah Speedway. This is the second round the seven-race series that will pay $2,000 to the champion and award all of the Top 10 competitors point fund money. Jeremy Doss took the lead from Mike Doss on lap 28 and won a battle with Mikey Lovell before moving ahead and holding off Denny Cashada for the victory.

David Dillinger took the lead from Scottie Cape on lap two and held it until a lap seven caution flag waved. Donnie Hyman took the lead from Dillinger on the restart, and Lovell and Jeremy Doss settled in the second and third on lap 14. There was a close four-car battle at the front of the pack at that point, Mike Doss made a big move into the lead on lap 16. Jeremy Doss was second. The two Doss cars ran close at the front. Jeremy Doss made the move into the lead on lap 28. Lovell took the lead from Jeremy Doss on a lap 36 restart. Jeremy Doss regained the lead on lap 38. Denny Cashada moved into second on lap 39 and kept it close for the remaining laps. However, Jeremy Doss would prevail ahead of Cashada, reigning track champion Bob Mook, Jeff French, Hyman, Lovell, RJ Randall, Dillinger, Jimmy Sorrells and Amber Portlock.

Mike Doss bested the 17 car field in qualifying. There were two ten lap heat races, and Mike Doss outran Hyman to win the first one. The second heat victory went to Randall ahead of Bo Robertson. The four lap Trophy Dash win went to Sam Brown ahead of Cape

Mike Lovell one the 45 lap Limited Modified Main Event. Tyler Caturgeli led the first six laps before being passed by Lovell. Caturgeli maintained second until being passed by Mike Doss on lap 34. Doss held the second position and gave Lovell pressure the rest of the way. Despite a lap 43 caution flag, Lovell maintained his poise and led the restart and the remaining laps for the win. Doss settled for second, followed by Caturgeli, Cole Brown, Kevin Colburn, Tony Ramazzotti, TJ Buzzard, David Furia, Trystan Mucci and Sierra Furia.

Cole Brown set the fast time of 13.683, beating the 13.733 of Lovell. Brown won his 10 lap heat race ahead of Doss, and Lovell outran Mucci to get the second heat race win. The four lap Trophy Dash victory went to Kobe Taylor in front of Gene Odell.

David Rogers won the 20 lap Jammer Main Event. Ron Portlock led the first half of the race with Dennis Anderson running second. Raymond Taylor Jr moved past Portlock for the lead on lap 12 with Anderson regaining second. On lap 20, Rogers took second from Anderson, and he used a lap 22 restart to take the lead from Taylor. Rogers led the rest of the way to win, followed by Portlock, Anderson, Danny Helm Jr and Taylor. Taylor won the 10 lap heat race, and Rogers picked up the six lap Trophy Dash win. Taylor set the quick lap of 15.892.

Cleveland, Peckham Win Marysville Raceway Main Events

Lovell And Lovell Win At Ukiah Speedway

Jeremy Doss Wins Upstate Bomber Series Race

At Ukiah Speedway

Williams, Cole, Smith Win Yreka Outlaw Kart Races

Yreka, CA...May 24... Brayden Williams won the 20 lap 500 Open Kart Main Event Friday night at the little Siskiyou Speedway track in Yreka. Williams had the pole for the race and led a Redding driver sweep of the podium as Steven Gannon finished second ahead of Kinden Peacock. Beau Perkins finished fourth, and Merissa Henson earned the passing honors by driving from 13th starting to finish fifth in the 14 Kart field. Each driver ran two eight lap heat races, and wins went to Levi Huestis, Brionna Fuller, Braden Weiser and Gannon.

Redding's Skyler Cole won the 20 lap 250 Kart Main Event. Cole turned in a rather dominant performance as he led the race from the pole and was also the winner of two eight lap heat races. Nicolas Perrin finished second in the Main Event, followed by Cale Cunial, Taylor Fuller and Jacob James. Cunial and Perrin were the other heat race winners.

Hayfork's Chayce Smith turned in an impressive effort in winning the 20 lap Box Stock Main Event. After a disappointing heat race showing, Smith started eighth in the Main Event and made a charge to the front of the pack. Double heat race winner Jaxon Coughlin and heat race winner Mikey Wheeler Jr had a battle at the front of the pack before Smith took over. Wheeler settled for second, followed by Couglin, heat race winner Carson Henson and Shailene Horn.

Mike Wheeler of Central Point, Oregon won the UAS Speedway Kart Main Event. Wheeler picked up a win in one of the two eight lap heat races and was chased across the finish line in the Main Event by Steve Rambo, heat race winner Brionna Fuller and Larry Fuller.

Debbie Medeiros of Yreka won the 4 Cycle Main Event ahead of Lori Fuller and Steve Rambo. Fuller and Maderos each won a heat race.

Hunter Granger of White City, Oregon swept the Beginners Box Stock action with two eight lap heat race wins and the 20 lap Main Event victory. He was chased by Urijah Boardman and Bhaltaire Edwards.

All of the divisions will be back on June 14th for the third round of Kart racing at the little track. Find out more information by going to the Yreka Outlaw Kart page on Facebook.

Kennemore, Ahlwardt Win At Diamond Mountain Speedway

Susanville, CA...May 24...Wade Kennemore won his second straight 20 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Friday night Diamond Mountain Speedway. Dave Sciarroni was the early leader ahead of Nevin Kenmore. Mitch Murphy held third until being passed by Wade Kennemore on lap six. Sciarroni and Nevin Kennemore had a close battle going at the front of the pack as Wade Kennemore tried to reel them in. A Turn 4 crash for a lap 10 yellow flag gave Wade Kennemore the opportunity he needed. Wade Kennemore moved past Nevin Kennemore for second on the restart and made an inside pass in Turn 2 of the 12th lap to take the lead from Sciarroni. Point leader Chris Nieman was running in fourth and closing in on the second place battle when contact between Nevin Kennemore and Sciarroni in Turn 4 allowed Nieman to move underneath them to gain the second position on the last lap. Wade Kennemore would not be denied as he cruised to victory ahead of Chris Nieman, Mitch Murphy, Sciarroni, Nevin Kennemore, Gene Kay, Larry McCracken, Steve Bejcek, Melissa Natenstedt and Ron Brown. Wade Kennemore won the first of two eight lap races ahead of Sciarroni. Nevin Kennemore won the other heat in front of Kay.

Guy Ahlwardt won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Ahlwardt is the current State point later, but he benefited from his low Susanville point average, which put him on the front row for the race. Ahlwardt raced into the lead at the start ahead of Craig Nieman and point later Richard Longacre. Keith Brown Jr took over second on lap six and held the spot until a lap 14 restart attempt. Brown got passed by Shayna Nieman, but he made contact with her in Turn 2, collecting Jimmy Ray Hoffman. Brown and Huffman were eliminated as Ahlwardt led Craig Nieman and Longacre on the final restart. Ahlwardt pulled away to a straightaway advantage at the checkered flag. Craig Nieman spun in Turn 4 on the 19th lap, giving Longacre the second place finish. Shayna Nieman would finish third ahead of Craig Nieman and Jacob Dias. Huffman and Ahlwardt won eight lap heat races.

Skeeter Bethel won the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. He started on the front row and led the race from the start. Doug Weeks was an early second, and Connor McMillan spun from third in Turn 4 for a yellow flag on lap 10. Bethel continued to lead on the restart with Rick Higby taking second from Weeks on the restart. Jacob Hutson moved in to make it a three-car battle for second. Weeks had been slightly smoking throughout the race, but Higby had the real problems as his motor gave up on him on the backstretch for a lap 16 caution flag. He joined reigning Marysville champion Shannon Collins in the pits. Bethel continued to lead the restart as Weeks continued to hold off Hutson in a close battle for second. This is the way they finished with Bethel the happy winner ahead of Weeks, Hutson, Darren Ballentine and Steve Buhr. Bethel won the eight lap heat race by a comfortable margin ahead of Hutson.

Cody Kenmore won his third straight Mini Stock Main Event. The current point leader led from the start with multi-time champion Larry Whitebird running not too far behind in second. Johnny Moya ran third, and the lead three cars ran in that order all the way to the checkered flag in the non-stop event. Matt Canada held fourth until being passed by Billy Gibson in Turn 3 on lap 13. Gibson would finish fourth with Canada rounding out the field. Kennemore also outran Whitebird to win the eight lap heat race.

Racing returns on Saturday, June 8th with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks. For further information, go to www.dmspeedway.com.

Northwest Mini Stock Tour Comes To

Douglas County Speedway

Roseburg, Oregon...Douglas County Speedway gets set for another exciting night of racing this Saturday. The only appearance of the Northwest Mini Stock Tour will highlight a program that also includes the PRA Mini Stocks, Super Stocks and Hornets. Plus, there will be Tough Trucks. The night's action will be presented by The Scoreboard, Oakland Tavern, ODOT and MADD.

The Northwest Mini Stocks are an interesting concept. It takes the top drivers from Washington and puts them on a tour of six different tracks in Oregon and Washington to crown a champion. This is their third race of the six race season. They've already been to Wenatchee and more recently Hermiston.

Josh Childress is off to the best start with a win at Wenatchee over Lane Sundholm and Scott Murphy. In Hermiston, Murphy got the win ahead of Childress and Bart Hector Jr. As you might expect, Childress holds a slim three point lead over Murphy coming into this race, while Bryce Rupert is six points back in third in the standings after 5th and 6th place finishes. A field of anywhere from 10 to 20 racers is expected.

The standings were recently released for the PRA Roseburg divisions. On the strength of two wins, Dale Roth leads the Mini Stock race by 37 points ahead of Ed Pratt. Pratt is just eight points ahead of Kieri Smith. These three drivers are anticipated along with 2017 champion Chuck Jacobs and Ron Johnson. Johnson also competes in the Hornets division, and he did well in that class last season with multiple wins.

The Hornet division has had two races this year, and Rich Dickinson has won both of them. With a pair of podium finishes, Johnson is 24 points out of the lead and 11 ahead of Bruce McMasters. These three drivers should be on hand along with other such stars as Chris Lemon, Jeremy Simms, Burnie Bryant and Bart Pulse.

The Street Stocks have just one race in the books, and it was John Dumire winning that one ahead of double division racer Dale Roth and Monique Scevers. These three should be in competition this week, and Larry Means and April Hillyard are other drivers to watch for.

The Tough Trucks will also be a highlight of the event, but the fans will only have this opportunity check out the exciting Northwest Mini Stock Tour It should be a good night from start to finish. For further information, go to www.douglascountyspeedway.com.

Pit Stops

This Saturday night, Southern Oregon Speedway will try to get their first race in the books since May 11th. It's been back to back rainouts for the 3/10 mile clay oval, but racing returns with the Seventh Annual Roger Haudenshild Tribute race. This race was created as a way to honor the beloved member of the racing community.

Once again, sponsorship from the Haudenshild family and Matt Duste of Dusty's Transmissions will see to it that the IMCA Modified winner receives $2,000 once again, the IMCA Sport Modified winner gets $1,600 and the Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stock Association winner will win $1,200. The association may be taking the money given by the Haudenshild family and distributing it amongst more than just the winner, but it will still be an increased purse for the group.

For the first few years, the race was there to offer more money, but it seemed like it still flew in under the radar. With the arrival of Mike McCann and KJE Enterprises, an effort has been made to feature this event as one of the biggest shows of the season. The goal is to make this a show that Roger himself would be very proud of, and the racing over these past few years has certainly been enjoyable.

The bounty hunter of the IMCA Modified division could be considered Nick Trenchard. Nick generally shows up at the big races in the Pacific Northwest and has won his share of them. When it comes to Roger's race, he has won three of the last four, interrupted only by seven-time IMCA Modified champion Mark Wauge. For the time being at least, Wauge is not looking to get another win in this event. He has moved on to the Late Model division and will be making his debut there this Saturday night.

The fact that Trenchard is anticipated this Saturday night makes him the early favorite to get the win. He has been breaking in a new car this year and didn't get the results he was hoping for at the season opener. At the Bill Mills race in Madras, it was even worse as he was involved in a crash that ended his race. He's looking to get his season back on track and will certainly be tough to beat.

The question will be whether Jeffrey Hudson is in town to compete after winning the season opener. This talented second-generation racer has looked very impressive through the years as a Pro Stock champion and the runner-up in Winged Sprint Car points twice in the last three seasons. He even managed to get a second place finish in the Cascade Wingless Sprint Car Challenge race last season. If you haven't figured it out yet, Hudson is the real deal.

Albert Gill is one of the most decorated champions at the speedway in the last decade, but maybe he's not considered one of the elite racers yet. Though he has won some races through the years, he lacks that marquee victory that many of the other frontrunners have earned. Gill felt his car was running strong at the season opener before mechanical issues sidelined him. He's hoping to make his mark this Saturday night.

Weather it's Zach Fettinger, Preston Jones, Jeremy Ohlde, Duane Orsburn or the return of Travis Perry, there are some good racers hoping to earn the second biggest IMCA Modified payday being offered at Southern Oregon Speedway this year. Plus, they write their name into the record books as a winner of the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race.

The IMCA Sport Modifieds don't get a lot of bigger payday races, but Saturday night is one of them. This division is the only other class that has been a part of all of the previous Roger Haudenshild Tribute events. Only two-time division champion Jorddon Braaten, who tops the division's all time win list by a wide margin, is a multi time winer of this race. The $1,600 payday that was offered last year went to 2015 California State champion Fred Ryland. Braaten actually pocketed a few more bucks for his second win a year before that, while Todd Cooper enjoyed the big pay of the year before. Matt Duste and his Southern Oregon Racing Hall Of Fame father Dave Duste Sr are the other winners of this race.

You can pretty much see that this division is the fastest growing class at Southern Oregon Speedway these days, and the proof was further given at the season opener when 21 racers showed up. It was a rapidly run event that featured a photo finish at the checkered flag, won by Matt Sanders ahead of race long leader Justin McCreadie. These two drivers enter the race as the ones to beat. Sanders has looked good in the early season and also has a win in Yreka.

It's no exaggeration to say that at least half of the field of drivers who will show up on Saturday night have a chance to get the win here, and it's likely that we will see some drivers coming in from California to take a shot at the money. Will Ryland again make an appearance? As of press time, we haven't heard any confirmation, but there were a few drivers that we heard could show up. One who has made plans to come up north is Brian Cooper. Brian is the 2016 California State champion.

Two-time Medford champions Mike Medel and Dwayne Melvin have something in common. Both drivers are looking for their biggest feature wins to date. Melvin showed everybody just how much of a threat he is when he ran a strong third and had a bold move to get by the two drivers in front of him wiped out when a slower car spun in his path. It's no exaggeration to say that Dwayne is a threat to win this race.

Generally, Medel will get his car to a Top 5 finish or better when he's got everything running just right, and he went to Sunset Speedway for a third place finish last weekend. Mike has enjoyed calling this his home track for the past 22 years, and he has a big win in him. It just may be that Saturday night will be his night.

Medel didn't do so well at the season opener as he had a flat tire, and last season's championship runner-up, Branden Wilson, didn't do as well as hoped. Wilson has a newer car this year and is hoping to make a challenge for more wins. He has his eyes on the big prize as does long time Speedway racer Rich McCoy in the Lightning McQueen #95 car. McCoy had a strong Top 5 effort at the season opener. Just watching this division and the Modifieds alone this weekend will be worth the price of admission, but there's much more.

In the Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks division, Dr. Scott Lenz is the odds on favorite to win this race for the third straight year. Lenz has been an unstoppable force in this class, and the only thing that's beat him on the track has been mechanical issues. So, it may just be that the speculation could be who will finish second behind him on Saturday night.

There have been unconfirmed rumors that long time Chico and Vallejo Stock Car competitor Gary Newman and Brent Lawrence might be coming to town from the Chico area, and both generally run pretty well. Two regulars from the Outlaw Pro Stock group, Scott Flowers and his son James Flowers, are the next best bet. Scott finishes second so often that a case could be made to rename second the Scott Flowers position. He's hoping to get his first win of the past few years, and a win for him on Saturday night would certainly be huge.

The 2016 winner of this race was the champion of that year, Steve Borror. The last time Lenz got beat in a regular association point race, it was Borror, who did it in Yreka. The list of drivers hoping to take a shot at beating Lenz includes long time Medford Pro Stock racer John David Duffie, Jeff Haudenshild, Matt Harlow, Bryan Hammond, two-time champion Ken Irving and Scott Bennett

There has been some speculation as to the possibility of Lenz eventually moving up to a Late Model. The Late Model division has been included on this weekend's card, and people in Medford are talking about this class. Much interest has been shown, and seven-time Modified champion Mark Wauge made good on his intentions to move up to the division. Wauge got a good deal on one of the Trent Elliott cars and is excited about this next challenge.

Elliott would seem to be the driver to beat this Saturday night. Last time out, he was beat by Coos Bay star Preston Luckman, who isn't anticipated this week. The two drivers hoping to have the best shot at beating Elliott would be 2017 champion Nathan Augustine and last season's stop rookie, Miles Deubert. Deubert got a new car this year in the hopes of stepping up his game a little bit. Both drivers came from the back to get Top 5 finishes at the season opener.

There are some good drivers waiting in the wings to go Late Model racing, and we anxiously await the arrival of track record holder Dustin Knight to the group. It may be a couple of weeks before we see the past Modified and Pro Stock champion in the field, but we anticipate 2016 champion Bob Dees, 2012 Coos Bay title winner Dave Foote, 2013 Pro Stock champion Dave Everson and Tony Bartell to be among the field this week. Might we see the season debut of reigning champion John Dees?

the Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars have managed to be a part of most of the big events happening at the speedway in recent years. This weekend will be no different. They've been included in all but one of the Roger Haudenshild Tribute races. Brock Peters is not only a two time champion, but he's the winner of the last two races, beating season opening winner Camden Robustelli last year and his son Cody Peters the year before that. Another two-time winner of the race is three-time Southern Oregon Speedway champion Josh King. CJ Putnam is the other winner.

Kalvin Morton had a disappointing season opener this year, but he has earned Top 3 finishes in this event three times with a second and two thirds. He'll be hoping to get his first win this time around. One nice thing about the Dwarf Cars is they bring a good field of racers when they come to town. At the season opener, there were 20 drivers as people like Sean Trujillo, Shane Hines, and Dan Halbert have helped grow the roster, and more drivers continue to join.

The season opener featured another good battle as long time racer Fred Hay and Mason Lewman went at it all night. Lewman held off Hay to win their heat race, and Hay won the battle for fourth in the Main Event. Jesse Lorentz continues to dial in his Mod Lite and is on the verge of a victory. Another driver who's always in the hunt is perennial championship contender Chad Cardoza. There is sure to be lots of excitement and plenty of speed when the Dwarf Cars get on the track.

The Southern Oregon Speedway show will be the perfect cure for the people suffering from the rainy day blues. Rain has not been our friend as we've lost a pair of races, but the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race is the perfect way to get back into racing. Roger was an important member of our racing community. Not just somebody who loved being a Destruction Derby and Stock Car competitor, but somebody who helped out his fellow racers whenever he could. This will be a fitting race honoring his memory.

Down in Yreka, they have races that are very special to them. Rain was not kind to either of the big memorial races that were planned last Saturday and Sunday. At least they were able to put cars on the track for the Bo Hittson Memorial race on Saturday before rain came in during the heat races to end that. The rain was so bad during the night and into Sunday morning that the John Arnberg Memorial was cancelled. A date will be named later for the Arnberg, but a date has been named for the Hittson.

The Bo Hittson race will happen this Sunday afternoon. It's Fan Appreciation Day, meaning people can come watch for $5 admission. They will see one of the biggest IMCA Sport Modified races of the year and a race that has a longer heritage then any other event on the track's schedule. It started out as a Stock Car show, but it has become a Sport Modified event for the past several years.

Because this race comes a day after the Roger Haudenshild Tribute in Medford, it's a further enticement for people to travel longer distances to come race. You not only have a chance to win some money in Yreka, but Medford as well. Word is that past Bo Hittson Memorial race winner, Brian Cooper, it's coming to town. It wouldn't be a surprise to see several of the Yuba City area racers coming to town as well. Plus, the running of this race on Sunday opens a door for the Medford racers to help make this a bigger car count.

The IMCA Sport Modifieds carry a heavy load for the Yreka program as they are on the card for almost every race. At the moment, there are four drivers very much in the hunt for the division championship, led by past champion Colt Boswell, Ethan Killingsworth, Sean Hulsey and Ryder Boswell. Only Killingsworth has a feature win in this group, but the Boswell brothers have both been running well. A win for any of these drivers would be the biggest of their career.

Donny Bottoms has a top notch Sport Modified which was raced by his son DJ to the 2017 title. DJ has decided to focus on other things, vacating the seat to the next driver. Bottoms has arranged to have Sprint Car driver Merissa Henson take over the duties, and he's even painted the car her colors and #17. Henson has done well as a Top 5 Sprint Car racer and a top Mini Stock racer before that. She has risen through the ranks of the Outlaw Kart program and recently had a fifth place finish in a 14 car 500 Open Main Event field at the Yreka Kart track.

Henson will be a welcome addition to the Sport Modified field whenever she's there, and we're about ready to see the return of reigning champion Trevor Tiffee. Tiffee entered his car in a car show recently, but he's excited about getting back behind the wheel to do some racing once again. The Yreka field includes other regulars such as Donovan Rodgers, Gary Foster and Randy Wright. Wright has picked up a pair of Trophy Dash wins this year, and Foster unfortunately rolled his car at the season opener.

The Mini Stock division has been a staple class at the speedway for over 20 years. It's also served as an entry point for drivers to go racing in Yreka. Three of the drivers in this year's Sport Modified championship battle started in the Mini Stocks. It's been interesting to watch this division take on a different look this year. Three-time reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick, two-time champion Mike Whitaker and multi divisional champion Terry Kendrick have been the stars of the point battles, but others are stepping up this year.

Yawnick has made the decision to run for fun and not worry about points. To illustrate this, she vacated the driver's seat at the season opener to allow teammate Whitaker to start the Main Event. Whitaker is in the thick of the battle along with Mike Kendrick, who is driving one of the Terry Kendrick team cars. The other name at the top of the list may surprise some people.

After a stellar rookie season last year that saw him score a surprising feature victory late in the season, Darek Alford is leading the point battle. He and Terry Alford Sr and Terry Alford Jr were absent from the Memorial Day weekend races, which weren't originally scheduled. They had a prior commitment. Because it rained, no points were able to be earned and Darek maintains his spot at the top of the list for a little while longer. The Sunday program could see a few other surprise entrants, including Michael McLeod, 2015 champion and reigning Medford champion David Steele and Dan Borror.

Yreka certainly could benefit from having some other locally based classes, and they have one that will be running on Sunday. Thanks to the efforts of JJ Smith and Karl Bernstein, the Jefferson State Jalopies have come into existence. They're taking the frames from old pickup trucks and using them to build these unique cars, which are sort of a bigger version of a Dwarf Car. At the moment, the team has four of these cars with a fifth one in production to hopefully see the race track before the season is over.

Smith and Bernstein have been doing all the work to get this class going, but the hope is that another resourceful person who has the tools might begin production of a car of their own. Smith and Josh Bernstein have piloted two of the cars, and Marilyn Yawnick has gotten the opportunity to drive one of the other cars on multiple occasions. Just giving the fans something different to look at on the race track is a step in the right direction.

The fans got another look at something different when the Iron Giant Street Stocks came to town a day earlier than they had been scheduled. The race in Medford had been cancelled due to the rain that would hit the speedway around 6pm that night, but Yreka was gambling that they could get this race in as they had the week before when the weather looked bad. Several of the Street Stock competitors had traveled from up north and made contact with Promoter Kevin Barba to switch the race from Medford to Yreka.

There were 14 racers as some drivers didn't travel south because of the threatening forecasts. Reigning series champion David Cronk did show up along with Sean Cronk. Coos Bay Speedway champion Ken Fox and current Coos Bay point leader Steve Dubisar were also there. James Whitehouse was debuting his new ride and another of the competitors was Kelly McDonald.

McDonald turned in a dominant performance in winning his heat race, which was one of the few races that got completed before the rain put an end to the evening. There was some smoke coming from his car as he headed for the pits and shut it off before the cool off lap. However, the fact that he won the hastily scheduled Street Stock show at the Clair Cup in Willamette the next night shows that all was still okay with the car.

The Street Stocks were a big hit with the Yreka crowd just as they had been in Medford for the past two seasons. Fans haven't seen this division since its last race in 2014 as part of the Bo Hittson Memorial. By then, the special race had been given to the Sport Modifieds, but the division was still included that night. Between 2013 and 2014, there were 16 different racers who completed in Yreka. How many of those cars are still out there seems to be the topic. An addition of this division to the roster would certainly be popular with the fans.

The Iron Giant Series left Yreka happy with their treatment and the effort given to run the race, though they were disappointed that they couldn't get it all in. When they saw Sunday wasn't going to happen, they headed up to Willamette and their division was added to the Clair Cup. 20 drivers took the green flag in the Main Event that night. Street Stocks are alive and well in Oregon, but can they be revived in Yreka? There has been talk about rescheduling the Iron Giant race, though nothing has been said officially yet.

The Yreka track has had some really good moments through the years, and there are some good things planned in the weeks ahead. The Sunday Bo Hittson Memorial race is special because it does remember a past racer and police officer who was killed tragically in the line of duty at only 28 years old. Those who knew him still miss him to this day, so being a part of this show, either with a race car or by purchasing a ticket is something they circle on their calendar every year.

Ukiah Speedway Unofficial Race Results May 25, 2019
Jr Jammers
Christian Sanchez
Donovan Arreguin

Limited Modifieds
Mike Lovell
Mike Doss
Tyler Caturegli
Cole Brown
Kevin Coburn
Tony Ramazzotti
TJ Buzzard
David Furia
Trystan Mucci
Sierra Furia
Kobe Taylor
Kylei Keown
Bo Robertson
Gene O'Dell

Pro Jammers
David Rogers
Ron Portlock
Dennis Anderson
Danney Helm Sr
Raymond Taylor Jr

Upstate Bombers
Jeremy Doss
Denny Cashada
Bob Mook
Jeff French
Donnie Hyman
Mikey Lovell
RJ Randall
David Dillinger
Jimmy Sorrels
Amber Portlock
Mike Doss
Scottie Cape
Bradley Dale
Sam Brown
Mike Lovell
Bo Robertson
Jim Redd

Ukiah Speedway Unofficial Race Results May 26, 2019
Jr Jammers
Donovan Arreguin
Christian Sanchez

Limited Modifieds
Mike Lovell
Tyler Caturegli
Mike Doss
Sierra Furia
David Furia
Tony Ramazzotti
TJ Buzzard
Kylei Keown
Kevin Coburn
Bo Robertson
Gene O'Dell
Trystan Mucci
Kobe Taylor

Pro Jammers
David Rogers
Danney Helm Sr
Dennis Anderson
Ron Portlock
Raymond Taylor Jr

Upstate Bombers
Mikey Lovell
Donnie Hyman
Sam Brown
Denny Cashada
Simi Tour
David Dillinger
Jimmy Sorrels
Jim Redd
Bob Mook
Scottie Cape
Bradley Dale
Jeremy Doss
Jeff French
Amber Portlock
Bo Robertson
RJ Randall DQ

Jalopies
Chris Hunt
Loren Powers Jr
Nigel Ashley
Jack Schleif
Valicia Catching
Harley Tarrant
Wayne Hunt
Robert Portlock Sr
Stacey "Snuggle Bug" Ramsey
Dave Tyrrell
John Parker
JACK HALL

NCRA Lakeport Speedway Unofficial Race Results May 26, 2019
Limited Modifieds
Richard Knight
Darrin Sullivan
Mikey Snider
Eric Johnson
Chris Salmina
Bryan Denton
Michael Knight
Anthony Esberg
Guy Minyard

Bombers
Loren Snider
Simi Tour
Mike Sullivan
Corey James
Wade Coleman
Ron Duke Sr
David Jones
Trevor Abella
Jeremy Nowlin
Rick Jelton

Legend Cars
Cody Winchel
Aiden Daniels
Kylie Daniels
Wyatt Hobart
Dave Allen
J.K. Kenny DNS
Lane Anderson DNS

Marysville Raceway Unofficial Race Results May 25, 2019
All Star Series IMCA Modifieds
Duane Cleveland
Brian Cass
Randy McDaniel
Tim Yaeger
Chris Olexiewicz
Ray Trimble
Bud Walberg
Richard Papenhausen
Justin Yaeger
Joe Wood
Raymond Keldsen
Jeff Olschowka
Tim Balding
Ryan McDaniel
Anthony Slaney
Freddie Plourde
David Zeiter

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Andrew Peckham
Jimmy Ford
Chuck Golden
Todd Cooper
Jake Van Tol
Kenny Shrader
Jim Waller
Alan Furuta
Thomas Reynolds
Greg Barnes
Scott Savell
Shayna Nieman
Sean Hulsey
Nick Caughman
Phillip Shelby
Raymond Benkowski
Luke Kaper
Jeremy Phillips
Jason Ferguson
Richard Vander Ploeg

Crate Sprints
Nick Larson
Kiely Ricardo
Brett Youngman
Darren Johnson
Mike Sayre
Cameron Haney Jr
Kevin Dozier
Chad Thompson
Mike Ballantine

The Editors Viewpoint

Well, I didn't quite get everything into the Viewpoint column that I put up on the other blog, so I'm adding a few things here. Hopefully, I can be brief as I have a few other articles that need to be done so we can put this blog post up.

The state of Oregon has nine outdoor racing venues for big cars. It looks like all nine of them have something planned this weekend, making it the first time of the year that this has happened. Obviously, even in the spring months you're going to get rainouts in this state. You can get to the summer and still have a rainout in Oregon.

People tend to forget the track in Hermiston, but they have been managing to keep racing alive on the old pavement track. They actually have a pretty nice tradition there, but you probably don't hear much of that. When people think Oregon, they're probably talking about Cottage Grove, Willamette or Medford.

By the time you get to Eastern Oregon, there's not a lot of talk. What's interesting, as we pointed out in an article last year, is that between Baker City, Elgin and La Grande, Eastern Oregon had a pretty nice little dirt track effort going for some 25 or 30 years. I don't believe they have anything in La Grande anymore, and the Elgin Outlaws got evicted from the Rodeo Grounds. Nice of the rodeo people to say they would write a letter of recommendation for them to go somewhere else, but where exactly were they going to go?

Elgin lasted for a little over a decade before they gave racing the heave ho out of the arena so that they could build horse stables her some such stuff. There was somebody with quite a bit of land and a couple of stocked fishing ponds who was trying to offer the racers a venue. This was probably 15 years ago, and it didn't get past the county officials. More of those "not in my backyard" people stopping it from happening.

Baker City was going to do something big. The had the oval track, but they were talking about a NASCAR type track and a drag strip. Too many grand plans, in my opinion. The dirt track ran for two or three years, but now it's for sale. Perfect opportunity for somebody to buy it and make a go of it, but you don't have a big pool of cars in which two draw from. There's a fairgrounds there that's been doing a motorcycle race during the fair that is quite interesting.

We mentioned earlier this year that Carl Tresser has put Worden Speedway up for sale. This makes two tracks in Oregon that somebody wanting to get into the promoting game could buy. Worden is in Southern Oregon, and they could draw from the Klamath Falls crowd that has quite a few racers. Carl probably needs to come down a little bit on his price, however. There is work that needs to be done to get the facility up to snuff, but where there's a will there's a way. Will anybody buy it?

Southern Oregon Speedway shot out of the gate with a couple of nice events at the beginning of May. The first race was one of the highest attended events under the current promotional effort of KJE Enterprises. Then, there was even a nicely attended race at the little track, thanks to the inclusion of motorcycles in the program. Mike McCann has been talking about a way to get motorcycle racing involved at the facility.

What has happened in Medford is that McCann honored the agreement that was made when he got the lease for Southern Oregon Speedway. Thanks to the Leach family, an MX track has been built along the hillside between there and the little track. It actually took up a little bit of the little track's pit parking. They haven't had an official MX race yet, but there have been several practices that have been well attended.

What this has done is sparked the interest of the motorcycle community, and the MX Race Director helped round up some motorcycle racers to give the little track a chance. Between the motorcycles, the trikes and the quads, it's seemed to go over pretty well, and word is that on June 14th, there will be more support coming.

McCann has an idea in mind right now regarding the motorcycles, and it may not be what everybody expects it to be. Something big may be on the horizon at the facility, but what it is cannot be stated here as nothing has been announced. It's a nice idea that in this writer's opinion would be pretty cool to see happen. It would be a fan friendly experience as well and something that Southern Oregon has been needing for quite some time.

Where that leaves the Outlaw Kart program is pretty simple. There are six races remaining on the schedule, and the next one happens on June 14th. Though conditions weren't ideal for the opener, between the motorcycle competitors and the Karts, there were roughly 50 entrants. This was the highest number of competitors the little track has seen in quite some time.

Conditions weren't ideal for the first race on the little track, and this was because another pipe issue was discovered on the day of the race. This meant that getting water on the little track wasn't even possible. An attempt was made to put water on the track before the show started, but as tends to happen on the little track, it had dried out by the time the first set of heat races were complete. All that could be done at that point was to make the best of it and get things repaired for the next show. The pipe issue is fixed, and we'll see how things go for the next show.

There is discontent in the air in the Kart community, which I am choosing not to really get into here. I understand the concerns of the competitors, and I also understand the concerns of management. I'm personally in the middle of the whole thing as the one who announces, presides over the awards ceremony afterwards and am the face that people see associated with the little track. I do everything that I can, and I hope for the best. If it were in my power to do more, I would.

The frustrating part to me is watching people sit on the fence with a wait and see attitude. They have Karts, but they don't come. Maybe everything isn't 100% to their liking, so they instead don't support the show at all. The only thing a lack of support for this program is going to guarantee is there won't be a program at all eventually. There are some good families who have been supporting this show, and they are all to be commended. The kids are out there driving and doing their best, and it really has been a joy to be around everybody. I look forward to my Friday nights at the little track.

In Yreka, Jim Berry is the one promoting the little track at Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds. Personally, I think he was the best choice. I had a good interaction with him when he brought his kids down to compete at the Little Southern Oregon Speedway. I was very well aware of the things Jim had done to promote that little track. He's invested money and time into that, so when the fairgrounds awarded him the little track, they made a good move.

The thing is, Jim also managed to put together a winter series two years ago that was successful. The success he was having with promoting Kart racing led to other people thinking they could take it from there and make it better. Obviously, it didn't quite happen that way. When the fairgrounds made their move to bring in a new promoter for the big and little track, Jim was the natural choice for the little track.

He just had a successful show during Memorial Day weekend. He was the only one able to get something in as the bigger track was rained out both nights. The count in the pits was over 40 competitors, which included an impressive 14 500 Open Karts. Several racers from Red Bluff made the visit. There seems to be quite a bit of enthusiasm in Yreka for the Kart program. Nobody is saying they are there as far as being a huge success, but the wheels are in motion.

Shifting gears to the bigger tracks, Southern Oregon Speedway has the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race this Saturday night. Thanks to the Haudenshild family and Matt Duste, the IMCA Modified, Sport Modified and the Calculated Comfort Outlaws Pro Stocks have seen their purses go up. It isn't really just about the purse increase for this five division program either.

One of the goals Mike had when coming in and taking over the track was too honor the tradition and make the special races happen. He suggested the name of this race changing from Memorial to Tribute as this is a night that pays tribute to Roger. Not only was he a competitor and and avid car collector, but he was a big supporter via sponsorship of the racers and a beloved member of the community. So, it's important that we remember the man, not just the fact that there's more money on the line in this race.

For me personally, not being somebody from the Medford area initially, I made it my goal to learn the history and do what I can to honor the history of racing in this area. I've pretty much been in line with Mike's thinking when it comes to making these races more special as well as being somebody who has pushed for a couple of special nights that have been added to the schedule. Lots of good things are happening in Medford.

It's gratifying to know that through hard work and effort, we've taken this track quite a ways from where it was in 2015 to the present. We can say it's better than it's been in years, but there's lots of work left to be done to get it where it really needs to be. All you can do is take it one week at a time and stick to the goal. Mike has his Promoting 101 system, and he sticks to the guarantees and the consistency that the racers expect. That goes so far in why things have gotten better. But you can never assume you are there. You get back to work.

Obviously, people were frustrated when we cancelled the past two races. The first time, the forecast was just so bad that we knew there would be no racing. We cancelled early, and sure enough, it rained right about the time heat races would be lining up on the track. Because the forecast was being tricky and showed no rain and then for three days prior to the race showed rain, the decision wasn't main to cancel last Saturday's race until the morning of the race. It was pretty obvious the forecast wasn't budging. Sure enough, it downpoured. Lots of racers would have been stuck in the pits had we attempted anything.

What do you gain from trying to run races when the forecast calls for rain? The casual fans are not coming, so there is revenue lost right there. Even some of the more dedicated fans and racers don't come when it looks that bad. You can become a hero when you race, but if you don't pull it off and people get stuck in the pits, you're instantly the bad guy. There is more to lose in these cases than there is to gain. That's just my opinion. I do sympathize with the Oregon racers as the window to have a racing season isn't as wide as it is in California. But when you can't race, you can't race.

What frustrates me the most about losing the last race was that Street Stocks had been booked. The Iron Giant Street Stock Series was making their third appearance, and I love this class. There has always been a Street Stock program involved with any track that I've been at from the time I started going to the races in the 1970s, so showing up in Medford to see no division existed was a bit of a culture shock to me. I admit I was not happy and questioned how the man who built this race track could ignore such an important division.

The Iron Giant Street Stocks are such a welcome site. Last year, there were over 20 of these cars, and they put on a good show. When the series organizers put the schedule together, however, they wanted the holiday weekend in order to include Yreka on their visit. I understand the thinking. They figured they could get the drivers from up north to tow down more easily for a two-day event. They could camp in the pits and have a lot of fun. Plus, a two-day event in this area might help draw some Californians to go racing which is something I know the series organizers wanted.

I was a little concerned to see them move the race scheduled for Medford to Yreka when Yreka had a race scheduled the next day. Medford management had reached out to the series directors to not only let them know the state of the race but try to figure out if another date could be booked. But series directors had already reached out to the Yreka promoter to book this race. Evidently, several of the racers and already come down for the weekend. Again, not much can be done when the weather doesn't cooperate. There was clearly no way Medford would be able to hold that race

I certainly understand Promoter Kevin Barba's reasoning for reaching out to the Medford racers when they lost the race to the weather. Some people are ready to go and will travel to Yreka to get their racing fix. And in this case, you also had Street Stock racers down there who had nothing to lose going to Yreka, even if it looked like that show would get rained out.

Kevin was feeling pretty lucky after beating the weather a week earlier, and he went ahead and rolled the dice. He attempted to run a Saturday program when it looked quite clearly like sometime after 7 they would be getting rain. The weather forecast was right on the bullseye, and they got into heat racing before the rain fell. It got worse overnight, forcing the Sunday cancellation as well. I hate to see them lose Sunday as this would have been a big night for the track had it happened. The Street Stock drivers already knew Sunday probably wasn't going to happen and headed back up north to be a part of the annual Clair Cup in Willamette.

Kevin is going to do whatever he thinks needs to be done to get cars. He's made some interesting schedule choices as he learns how to set an actual schedule. His move this past Tuesday caused a little bit of controversy when he announced the Bo Hittson race that was to happen last Saturday was going to be rescheduled for this Saturday. The problem is, Medford had a big race for the Sport Modifieds, and that was pointed out very quickly. Kevin has since changed it to a Sunday afternoon race, and the Fan Appreciation Day tag on this will make it a nice $5 ticket.

What the Sunday scheduling of an extra money Sport Modified event does is further entices Californians to come on up. You have two races paying more money as the Medford Sport Modified show pays $1,600 to win and the Yreka race pays $1,012. So, the scheduling can benefit both tracks in this case. Kevin also has Mini Stocks and Jefferson State Jalopies on Sunday. I thought they might want to contact IMCA to see about adding a race for the Modifieds on Sunday, but what I did hear was that if there are 10 Modifieds he would pay them $500 to win.

Here's the problem as I see it and why this won't ultimately succeed. First, you should go and see if you can get something sanctioned for points as an enticement for the racers. Secondly, Modified racers don't do it on the cheap. These days, there are Modified racers who won't support regular shows at $500 to win and instead only appear at races that are $1,000 to win or more. So you're already dealing with that issue. Standard purse for an IMCA Modified race these days is $500 to win and a minimum of $100 to start. So, you're almost still repeating the sliding scale situation that the association had used prior to Kevin coming in. This is something that pretty much killed the class there.

Yreka still has a car count issue that needs to be resolved, but again, Kevin didn't get the keys to the gate until March of this year. There was only so much he could do. He knew he had an IMCA Sport Modified and Mini Stock program that had cars. Everything else is done with visiting drivers and special events. The IMCA Modified division has faltered. The Street Stock division that was there a few years back is gone. What do you do? You work with the tools you have, but I would certainly hope the Kevin has a game plan when it comes to establishing other divisions.

There are probably anywhere from a half doesn't to a dozen Modifieds parked in the Yreka area. I wouldn't know for certain how many, as it's likely that some of the Sport Modified drivers bought their cars from people who were parked, but there's some local drivers left who aren't running. You still need to find out who has cars and either call a meeting or reach out to people personally to find out if anything can be done. There's no reason Yreka shouldn't have a half dozen IMCA Modified guys waiting in the pits for the visitors who come in and support this show.

It was pointed out again by one of the racers when the Street Stock talk started up again this last week. There are several drivers who have parked their cars. Who are they? Again, reaching out to people who are parked and finding out what's going on will benefit the track. One of the easiest ways to figure that out is to go on to MyLaps and start writing down names. Figure out how to contact them, and go from there. A check of results between 2013 and 2014 finds there were 16 cars that competed at least once during that time.

Again, I do understand that one of the easiest ways to get cars is to look at what your closest neighbor is doing and invite people who either got rained out that night or weren't booked to come run. I might be doing that myself were I the person in charge. However, it would probably be a smart move to start drafting rules for new divisions that might come out. Whether you restart a Street Stock class or add Hornets, which might be the easiest. Whether you bring the IMCA Modifieds back. Whatever the case may be, there needs to be a plan being made right now for 2020.

I know one thing Kevin can't do is pick up a phone and get contact information from the Siskiyou County Motorsports Association. Whatever information he has from his time as president last year is all he has to work with. I know there are not good feelings between he and the association, and the association has made it a point to say they exist but they are not affiliated with the race track. They will be at the Yreka Gold Rush Days event on June 15th.

One has to wonder what the association is thinking as far as even keeping this thing going when somebody else is running both the big track and the smaller track. Bottom line is the association has been called upon to save this race track in the past, so there are people in the ready in case they are needed again. It's not a slam dunk that Kevin will make it very far, although he is certainly going to give it his best shot and has brought lots of enthusiasm to his effort. People want that track to succeed.

The association will just be waiting in the wings. Ken White recently drafted a letter to one of the local newspapers in which he talked about the association, the struggles when somebody embezzled their money and the effort to pay back $13,000 of their debt so far. I think another reason the association is there is to pay back money that's owed and put themselves back in good standing. If Kevin ultimately makes it through the first couple of years as promoter, will there even need to be an association?

Something that'll give a promoter nightmares is the idea that an association starts recruiting the racers around the area and becomes the voice for the racers. In other words, do it the way we tell you to do it or we aren't racing. This has happened at other tracks that have been run by associations and then had a promoter come in and win the bid for the track. So, it's a possibility in the long run if the association continues to hold on. Is that a good thing for racing?

A racer will say it's good to have a voice. A promoter will point out that there are lots of things that go into running a race track that racers don't understand. Their work doesn't begin on race night. A promoter's work never really ends. If they do their jobs right, people will come and support them. Ultimately, I want to see good things in Yreka.

I had other things I wanted to comment on here, but as I've done a lousy job of being brief, I must end this column so that we can get the post up on Thursday. That's all for now. Until next time...

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Southern Oregon Speedway, Siskiyou Golden Speedway, Coos Bay Speedway, Marysville Raceway, More