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Hogge Wins Roger Haudenshild Tribute Race
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...Bobby Hogge IV won the Seventh Annual Rodger Haudenshild Tribute race for the IMCA Modifieds Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway. Hogge made the trip to Oregon to drive one of the Paul Guglielmoni's Late Models and brought his IMCA Modified with him. He ended up winning Main Events in both divisions, and his victory in the IMCA Modified portion of the program was worth $2,000 thanks to sponsorship from the Haudenshild family and Dusty's Transmissions.
With 18 competitors on hand, they ran three heat races with the Top 4 finishers redrawing for their starting order in the Main Event. Hogge won his heat race ahead of Zach Fettinger. Three-time reigning track champion Albert Gill outran Preston Jones to win the second eight lap heat race, and Jon DeBenedetti won his heat race ahead of Jimmy Lipke. Fettinger also won the four lap Trophy Dash. Nick Trenchard has won three of the last four Roger Haudenshild Tribute races, and he won the $200 Crack The Whip race.
Hogge drew the pole for the Main Event with Trenchard starting eighth and Fettinger lined up in 11th. When the green flag waved, Hogge immediately moved into the lead ahead of rookie Justin Foux and Gill. A yellow flag waved on lap six when DeBenedetti spun in Turn 3. Trenchard was already in fourth by then, and he took third from Gill on the restart as Hogge continued to set the pace. The flying Fettinger was up to fifth by the time the final yellow flag waved for a Bo Shields spin on the front stretch on lap 12. Hogge continued to lead Foux and Trenchard on the restart, but Trenchard made an inside move in Turn 4 of the 14th lap to take over second. Hogge continued to set a rapid pace as Fettinger made his move past Foux for third on lap 24. Hogge brought it home to a satisfying victory, and Fettinger made a strong move on the inside in the final turn and beat Trenchard back to the line for second. Foux settled for fourth, followed by Jeffrey Hudson, Jones, DeBenedetti, Gill, Lipke and Paul Guglielmoni.
The IMCA Modifieds return to action on June 15th as part of a seven division program. On June 22nd, they will be running the second round of the IMCA Wild West Speedweek Series. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Race Results
IMCA Modifieds
Heat 1-Jon DeBenedetti, Jimmy Lipke, Jeffrey Hudson, Nick Trenchard, Jesse Bailey, Manny Freeman.Heat 2-Albert Gill, Preston Jones, Justin Foux, Ray Kniffen Jr, Steve Borror, Bo Shields.
Heat 3 Bobby Hogge IV, Zach Fettinger, Duane Cleveland, Paul Guglielmoni, David Satterfield.
Crack The Whip-Nick Trenchard
Trophy Dash-Zach Fettinger, Preston Jones, Jeffrey Hudson, Justin Foux.
Main Event-Bobby Hogge IV, Zach Fettinger, Nick Trenchard, Justin Foux, Jeffrey Hudson, Preston Jones, Jon DeBenedetti, Albert Gill, Jimmy Lipke, Paul Guglielmoni, Ray Kniffen Jr, Manny Freeman, Bo Shields, Steve Borror, Jessie Bailey, Duane Cleveland, David Satterfield NS, Brett Provost BS.
Hogge Takes High Road To Late Model Victory
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...June 1... Bobby Hogge IV made a surprise visit to Southern Oregon Speedway and collected the victory in the 25 lap Late Model Main Event Saturday night. Hogge was driving one of the Paul Guglielmoni cars and also brought his own IMCA Modified for a $2,000 win in the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race. The win in the Late Model race was worth $1,000 thanks to the increased purse this year and a $200 bonus from Northwest Trucking Academy.
Hogge had to line up last in his eight lap heat race, but he won ahead of Mark Wauge, who was making his division debut. After Trent Elliott spun from the lead, Darren Coffell won the other heat race with Elliott charging back to second. Elliott picked up the four lap Trophy Dash win.
Hogge and Coffell shared the front row for the Main Event, and Coffell charged into the lead. Hogge made an outside pass on Coffell for first on lap two, but the battle was far from over. Wauge surprised Trent Elliott with an inside pass on the front stretch on lap four to take over third, and an inside move down the front stretch on lap five put Coffell back into first. When Elliott spun in Turn 2, that caused a lap seven yellow flag. Coffell continued to lead Hogge and Wauge on the restart, and Hogge kept looking for the opportunity to regain the lead. A yellow flag waved on lap 13 for Tony Bartell in Turn 2, Coffell continued to lead Hogge and Wauge on the restart, and Hogge was looking to the outside for a passing opportunity. On lap 20, it finally happened as Hogge went high in Turn 4 and emerged with the lead. This time, Hogge didn't let it slip away as he brought it home to a well-earned victory ahead of Coffell. Wauge had a strong debut in third, followed by Elliott, Dave Everson, Paul Guglielmoni, Miles Deubert, Dave Foote, Dennis Souza and Jason Schultz.
The Late Models return on June 15th as part of an exciting seven division program. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Race Results
Late Models
Heat 1-Darren Coffell, Trent Elliott, Dave Everson, Paul Guglielmoni, Jason Schultz, Don Garrett Jr.Heat 2 Bobby Hogge IV, Mark Wauge, Miles Deubert, Dave Foote, Brian Bowman, Ricky Massey, Tony Bartell, Dennis Souza.
Trophy Dash-Trent Elliott, Dave Foote, Miles Deubert.
Main Event-Bobby Hogge IV, Darren Coffell, Mark Wauge, Trent Elliott, Dave Everson, Paul Guglielmoni, Miles Deubert, Dave Foote, Dennis Souza, Jason Schultz, Brian Bowman, Tony Bartell, Don Garrett Jr, Ricky Massey.
Braaten Scores 100th Career Feature Win
At Roger Haudenshild Tribute
White City, Oregon...June 1...Jorddon Braaten picked up the 20 lap Roger Haudenshild Tribute IMCA Sport Modified feature win Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway. This happened to be the 100th career feature win for the two-time Southern Oregon Speedway and reigning State of Oregon champion. It was also the third win for Braaten in this race, earning him a $1,600 payday thanks to additional sponsorship from the Haudenshild family and Dusty's Transmissions.
With the big money on the line, drivers came from as far south as the San Francisco Bay area for a shot at a nice payday, growing the field to 32 competitors. They ran four heat races with the Top 3 drivers redrawing for their Main Event starting positions. Braaten won the first eight lap race ahead of Yreka star Ryder Boswell. In a battle of past California State champions, Fred Ryland outran Brian Cooper for a heat race win. Jantzen Knips picked up the third heat victory ahead of Justin McCreadie, while Isaac Sanders collected a win in the final heat in front of Patti Ryland. Braaten completed a clean sweep effort with his four lap Trophy Dash victory. After a bad heat race, Matt Sanders pocketed $200 for his win in the Crack The Whip Challenge race and then won the 12 lap B Main ahead of Braxton Possinger and Steven Sanders.
Braaten had the outside front row starting spot for the Main Event with Tyler Rodgers starting sixth and Fred Ryland lined up in eighth. The race got off to a rocky start when Wyatt Westfall and Mike Medel tangled on the front straightaway for a yellow flag. After another yellow flag, Braaten led Brian Johnsen and Rodgers on the restart. Braaten set a nice pace up front, and Rodgers slipped past Johnsen for second on lap three. A lap six caution flag waved for Sanders in Turn 1, and Braaten continued to lead Rodgers on the restart. Fred Ryland slipped past Johnsen for third on the restart, and Brian Cooper and Ryder Boswell tangled in Turn 3 for a lap 12 caution flag. Braaten remained in command on the restart, but a lap 18 yellow flag for Isaac Sanders and Patti Ryland in Turn 2 gave Rodgers one more shot to attempt a pass. Rodgers gave it a valiant effort, but Braaten was not to be denied the milestone victory. Fred Ryland settled for third ahead of Justin McCreadie. Possinger made a strong charge from the back of the pack for a fifth place finish, followed by Westfall, Knips, Ethan Killingsworth, Johnsen and Matt Sanders.
The IMCA Sport Modifieds return as part of a seven division program on June 15th and will run in support of the IMCA Modified Wild West Speedweek race on June 22nd. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Race Results
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Heat 1-Jorddon Braaten, Ryder Boswell, Brian Johnsen, Willie McFall, Matt Sanders, Joby Shields, Billy Richey.Heat 2-Fred Ryland, Brian Cooper, Mike Medel, Dwayne Melvin, Braxton Possinger, Brian Knorr, Lloyd Speer, Bob Thomas.
Heat 3-Jantzen Knips, Justin McCreadie, Ethan Killingsworth, Branden Wilson, Steve Lysinger, Austin Petrey, Michael Rule, straight up 55 car
Heat 4-Isaac Sanders, Patti Ryland, Tyler Rodgers, Wyatt Westfall, Jesse Skidmore, Steven Sanders, Matt Ruff, Danny Rule, Todd Cooper.
Crack The Whip-Matt Sanders.
Trophy Dash-Jorddon Braaten, Branden Wilson, Matt Sanders, Justin McCreadie.
B Main-Matt Sanders, Braxton Possinger, Steven Sanders, Jesse Skidmore, Austin Petrey, Michael Rule, Steve Lysinger, Joby Shields, Todd Cooper, Brian Knorr, Bob Thomas.
Main Event-Jorddon Bratten, Tyler Rodgers, Fred Ryland, Justin McCreadie, Braxton Possinger, Wyatt Westfall, Jantzen Knips, Ethan Killingsworth, Brian Johnsen, Matt Sanders, Ryder Boswell, Jesse Skidmore, Steven Sanders, Patti Ryland, Mike Medel, Branden Wilson, Isaac Sanders, Brian Cooper, Willie McFall, Dwayne Melvin.
Lenz Wins Thrilling Third-Straight Pro Stock
Roger Haudenshild Tribute Race
White City, Oregon...June 1...Dr Scott Lenz scored the victory in the 20 lap Roger Haudenshild Tribute race for the Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway. This was the third-straight win for the two-time reigning series champion in this big event, and it paid $1,200. Lenz has been off to a strong start this season and also had a rich win in the Billy Geyer Memorial race in Yreka in early May. On this occasion, he was surprised by a strong challenge from division veteran Scott Flowers, who ended up second.
There were 17 Pro Stock competitors for this race, and Lenz was a heat race winner ahead of Matt Harlow. It was James Flowers outrunning John David Duffie in the other eight lap heat race, and Ryan Smith jumped into the Tom Hackworth #34 car and picked up a $200 payday in the Crack The Whip Challenge race. With a recent Trophy Dash being cancelled in Yreka when the program was changed to beat the rain, that Trophy Dash was added to the show on this occasion. Lenz won the four lap race ahead of James Flowers.
It was Jeff Haudenschild racing into the early Main Event lead ahead of Lenz and Duffie. An inside pass in Turn 4 of the third lap put Lenz into the lead, and he began to set a rapid pace as he hit slower traffic rather quickly. Duffie made a move past Haudenshild for the second position on lap seven and caught Lenz swiftly. Scott Flowers was in third on lap eight. Unfortunately for Duffie, his race ended with a flat tire on lap 10, but Flowers made a big move on Lenz down the backstretch on lap 13 to gain the lead. Flowers was doing a masterful job of working the Jim Rodgers prepared 3/10 mile clay oval, but Lenz finally came roaring by on the inside down the backstretch on lap 17 to regain the lead. This time, however, Lenz wouldn't relinquish his advantage as he scored the impressive win. Scott Flowers settled for another second, followed by Haudenshild, James Flowers, Ken Irving, Kenneth LaPlante Jr, Chris Ellis, Harlow, Colby Hammond and Smith.
The Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks will be in Yreka this coming Saturday night and will be back at Southern Oregon Speedway to headline a show on June 13th. For further information on their activities, go to the Outlaw Pro Stock Facebook page or www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Race Results
Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks
Heat 1-Scott Lenz, Matt Harlow, Scott Bennett, Jeff Haudenshild, Ginny Flowers, Bryan Hammond, Dan Randall.Heat 2-James Flowers, John David Duffie, Scott Flowers, Ken Irving, Chris Ellis, Chuck Hipps, Kenneth LaPlant Jr, Ryan Smith, Colby Hammond.
Crack The Whip-Ryan Smith.
Trophy Dash-Scott Lenz, James Flowers, Matt Harlow, Bryan Hammond.
Main Event-Scott Lenz, Scott Flowers, Jeff Haudenshild, James Flowers, Ken Irving, Kenneth LaPlant Jr, Chris Ellis, Matt Harlow, Colby Hammond, Ryan Smith, Chuck Hipps, Ginny Flowers, John David Duffie, Bryan Hammond NS, Tom Hackworth NS, Dan Randall NS, Scott Bennett NS.
Peters Takes Dwarf Cars Honors
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...June 1...Taking the lead when mechanical woes struck Camden Robustelli, Brock Peters went on to win the 20 lap Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Main Event Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway. Peters was in the midst of a good battle with Fred Hay for second when Robustelli's car broke during a caution flag period. Peters motored ahead on the next restart and didn't look back from there. This was the sixth year in which the Dwarf Cars were included as part of the Seventh Annual Roger Haudenshild Tribute race.
There were 21 Dwarf Cars on hand for the group's second visit of the season. Peters won his 10 lap heat race ahead of Jesse Lorentz. Chad Cardoza collected a heat race win in front of Hay, and Robustelli outran Ryan Smith for the third heat victory. Cardoza won the six lap A Dash ahead of Robustelli, and Steve Walker finished ahead of Mason Lewman for the B Dash victory.
Smith was looking good in preliminaries and he took the lead from Peters on a lap two restart in the Main Event. Smith held the spot for just two laps before an outside pass in Turn 2 of the fourth lap gained Robustelli the lead position. Bud Lorentz brought out a lap six yellow flag in Turn 1. Robustelli continued to lead Smith on the restart, but Peters made a low pass in Turn 4 to take second on lap nine. Moments later, the caution flag waved for Trevor Davis. Smith barrel rolled his car several times in Turn 1 for a lap 10 red flag. Amazingly, he was still able to continue the race. Robustelli continued to lead during the series of mishaps that took place. It was during a lap 12 caution period when Robustelli's car broke on the backstretch. He required the assistance of the tow truck. Peters inherited the lead at that point, but he'd been enjoying a good battle with Fred Hay, who kept taking looks to the outside. When racing resumed, however, Peters took command. An inside pass in Turn 4 of the 15th lap gained Cardoza second, but all he could do was follow the flying Peters to the checkered flag. Hay earned a solid third place finish, followed by Walker, Jesse Lorentz, Ryan Smith, Michael Johnson, Shane Hines, Mark Nielsen and Dane Halbert.
The Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars return as part of the Wild West IMCA Modified Speedweek event on June 22nd. For further information on the association, go to www.sodca.net or www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Race Results
Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars
Heat 1-Chad Cardoza, Fred Hay, Mason Lewman, Steve Walker, Dan Penland, Reggie Ayers, Kaycee Sheeler.
Heat 2-Brock Peters, Jesse Lorentz, Michael Johnson, Ashleigh Strain, Chad Lorentz, Dane Halbert, Sean Trujillo.
Heat 3-Camden Robustelli, Ryan Smith, Bud Lorentz, Mark Nielsen, Trevor Davis, Joe Sanders, Shane Hines.
A Dash-Chad Cardoza, Camden Robustelli, Brock Peters, Fred Hay, Ryan Smith, Jesse Lorentz.
B Dash-Steve Walker, Mason Lewman, Michael Johnson, Ashleigh Strain, Bud Lorentz, Mark Nielsen.
Main Event-Brock Peters, Chad Cardoza, Fred Hay, Steve Walker, Jesse Lorentz, Ryan Smith, Michael Johnson, Shane Hines, Mark Nielsen, Dane Halbert, Chad Lorentz, Kaycee Sheeler, Camden Robustelli, Ashleigh Strain, Joe Sanders, Mason Lewman, Dan Penland, Trevor Davis, Bud Lorentz, Sean Trujillo.
Malicious Monster Trucks Return
To Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...Fans have been looking for a little bit more excitement at Southern Oregon Speedway in recent years, and last season the schedule saw a nice addition. It was the first appearance of the Malicious Monster Truck Insanity Tour. Despite rainy weather and a competing Monster Truck event not far from the track, the stands were packed with fans who were eager to see this form of exciting entertainment.
Because the show was a success, the Malicious Monster Trucks were booked for this Saturday and Sunday in events sponsored by Dave's Carpet And Vinyl Liquidators of Medford. These gargantuan trucks run an obstacle course with cars buried up to their roofs. The trucks jump through the air, do wheelies and compete in a few different styles of competition, to the delight of the fans.
Last year, the wet grounds made things more challenging for the Monster Truck competitors to do their thing. Given their experience and expertise in handling these vehicles, they did a great job of putting on an entertaining show. Conditions will be much better this Saturday and Sunday, and the fans are in for a real treat.
The Malicious Monster Truck Tour is very popular and makes visits to several different venues on the West Coast. They do not disappoint. On Saturday, about a half-dozen of these high-powered beasts will be competing, led by the fan favorite Rock Star, California Kid, Identity Theft, Spitfire and Honda Generators High Voltage. Deogee and Skeletor will also be there to offer fans rides in specially built Monster Trucks.
This year, the two-day Monster Truck show will be joined by Tuff Trucks. Those drivers will be competing for cash payouts in their competition. If that's not enough, the Tee'd Off Jet Car will provide a little fire and a little thunder as it burns a car to the ground. This promises to be two fun, family-friendly events, and the weather is looking good.
The gates open at 5 p.m. on Saturday with a pit party happening at 5:30 p.m. Showtime begins at 7 pm. The Sunday afternoon event sees the gates opening at 1 p.m. with the pit party at 1:30 p.m. Showtime will be at 3 pm. Tickets for each day are Adults for $20 admission, Seniors for $18, Juniors 8 years and under for $8 and VIP Adult Tickets $30.
Matt Sanders Wins Bo Hittson Memorial Race
At Siskiyou Golden Speedway
Yreka, CA...June 2...Matt Sanders won the 32 lap Bo Hittson Memorial race Sunday afternoon at Siskiyou Golden Speedway. This was his second IMCA Sport Modified win of the season, and he picked up $1,012 for his impressive effort. Drivers came from as far south as Brentwood for this race, and Sanders shared the front row of the feature with current IMCA State point leader Guy Ahlwardt out of Antioch. Ahlwardt was looking for a three-win weekend after picking up victories at Watsonville and Quincy.
Despite having some great competition from Ahlwardt and 2015 State champion Fred Ryland throughout the race, however, Sanders would not be denied. He picked up the win ahead of Ryland and Ahlwardt. Fred's wife, Patti Ryland, moved from the fifth row to finish fourth, followed by previous Yreka winner Isaac Sanders, Brian Cooper, Ryder Boswell, Randy Wright, Ethan Killingsworth and Austin Petrey.
The increased car count meant three eight lap heat races would be run, and Fred Ryland outran Todd Cooper to pick up the first victory. The second heat win went to Tyler Rodgers ahead of Ahlwardt, and Brian Cooper held off Killingsworth to win the final heat. Killingsworth would win the four lap Trophy Dash ahead of Ahlwardt.
Zak McMurry was the winner of the 20 lap Mini Stock Main Event. This was the first career victory for the 2018 Rookie Of The Year. The standings were shuffled in the race after pole-sitter Terry Alford and Darek Alford were both disqualified in post-race tech. McMurry won the feature with Cassidy Wilkinson finishing second ahead of reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick and Terry Kendrick. Kendrick held off Wilkinson to win the eight lap heat race, and Terry Alford picked up the four lap Trophy Dash win ahead of Wilkinson.
Cassidy Wilkinson scored a clean sweep in the Jefferson State Jalopy races, capped by a win in the 20 lap Main Event. Wilkinson was trailed in the Main Event by Marilyn Yawnick, JJ Smith and Karl Bernstein. Wilkinson held off Yawnick to win both the eight lap heat race and four lap Trophy Dash.
Racing continues next Saturday night with a can food drive. Bring three cans of food to receive a $2 discount on your ticket. The Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks return along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks. There will also be a full program at Outlaw Kart racing on the little track on Friday night. For further information, go to www.siskiyougoldenspeedway.com.
Sport Modified Battle Continues
At Siskiyou Speedway Saturday Night
Yreka, CA...After the excitement of the annual Bo Hittson Memorial race last Sunday afternoon, Siskiyou Golden Speedway has another exciting lineup of racing scheduled for this Saturday night. Scheduling has just been clarified to list the IMCA Sport Modifieds this Saturday along with Mini Stocks and Jefferson State Jalopies. Plus, it's Canned Food Night at the races. A fan who brings two cans of food will receive a $2 discount on their admission ticket. For fans looking for more racing, Friday night will offer a full lineup of Outlaw Kart excitement on the little track at the fairgrounds.
With five IMCA Sport Modified races in the books, there's a good battle brewing between Ethan Killingsworth, Colt Boswell, Ryder Boswell and Sean Hulsey. The full field for the Bo Hittson race on Sunday shook up the standings just a little bit. Killingsworth should be listed as the point leader by a slim margin when IMCA releases their standings on Friday. Only a few points separate him and the other three racers. Killingsworth is the only one of the championship contenders with a win so far this year, and he picked up the Trophy Dash win on Sunday.
The star on Sunday was Matt Sanders, who drove to his second win of the season with 2015 State champion Fred Ryland and current State point leader Guy Ahlwardt in close pursuit. Sanders has his black #2 car running strong and is a threat to win anytime he's in town. Likewise, Isaac Sanders is a hard charger. He finished fifth on Sunday and is also one of this season's Main Event winners.
The track did not stay dark last Saturday as some drivers came to town to test their equipment. One of the IMCA Sport Modified racers getting some seat time was 2017 Medford Sprint Car Rookie Of The Year Merissa Henson. Merissa will be piloting the Donny Bottoms owned car. There is a rumor that she may be making her first official start on Saturday. Other drivers to watch for this week include Randy Wright, Gary Foster and Donovan Rodgers. With the Medford track not having a race for the division this week, it's possible we could see a visitor or two from there.
The Jefferson State Jalopies have been added to Saturday's program. This is pretty much a homegrown idea for the local track, and the architects are Karl Bernstein and JJ Smith. Last Sunday, Bernstein finally got behind the wheel of one of the cars. Karl is a past racer at the speedway going back several seasons, and the new Jalopy idea of his has created quite a bit of excitement at the speedway.
Last Saturday, Kassidy Wilkinson was making his first laps in a Jalopy, and he certainly did well. Wilkinson swept all three events for the evening, beating three-time Mini Stock champion Marilyn Yawnick in the process. JJ Smith also continued to make laps. Smith and Bernstein continue to work on a fifth Jalopy. It is hoped that the car will be ready before the season concludes.
Wilkinson and Yawnick were busy last Sunday as both were also competing in the Mini Stock division. Wilkinson is the latest new competitor in the group as the roster of drivers who have competed so far has reached to nearly 20 entries. The championship race is sure to be shaken up as Mike Whitaker and Mike Kendrick didn't compete last Sunday. Two drivers who made up big ground in the battle are Terry Kendrick and Yawnick. Darek Alford was the incoming point leader, but he ended up being disqualified in post-race tech on Sunday.
Zak McMurry proved to be the star of Sunday's show as he deprived Wilkinson of a double Main Event winning afternoon. McMurry now makes three different winners in the four races held so far as this division is becoming very competitive. You never know who might win on any given week. Other drivers to watch for this week include Terry Alford, Dan Borror and Tiffany Cobb. With the Medford track dark to the division, there could be a couple of other visitors from up north.
With the future stars of the big track competing on Friday night in Outlaw Karts on the little track and this three-division lineup on the big track on Saturday night, it's a golden opportunity to check out two great nights of racing. For further information, go to www.siskiyougoldenspeedway.com.
Langenderfer, Ruiz, Webster, Winter Thrill
Orland Raceway Crowd With Victories
Orland, CA...June 1...Jeremy Langenderfer returned with his Pure Stock and promptly won the 20 lap Main Event Saturday night at Orland Raceway. Langenderfer is the 2017 champion and won the title at Silver Dollar Speedway the next year, but he has moved up to the Wingless Spec Sprint division this season.
Langenderfer had a front row start for the Pure Stock Main Event and charged into the lead at the waving of the green flag, followed by championship contender Keith Ross. The only yellow flag of the race waved on lap five when James Taylor hit the frontstretch wall. Ross had gotten out of shape exiting the fourth turn and fell back outside the Top 5 before the yellow flag as Brad Ray took over second ahead of point leader Phil Spencer. Langenderfer continued to lead on the restart as Spencer moved past Ray for second. During the next half-dozen laps, Spencer kept taking looks to the inside of Langenderfer. However, Langenderfer kept his challenger at bay and began to put a little distance between himself and second during the final half-dozen laps. Langenderfer scored the impressive victory, followed by Spencer. Previous winner Wes Smock made a charge from deep in the pack to finally gain the third position from Ray with an inside pass on the front stretch on lap 15. Smock would finish third, followed by Ray, Amanda McAbel, Toby Merrifield, reigning champion Paul Stephens, Maurice Merrill, Steve Martin and John Camper. The Pure Stocks ran three eight lap heat races with wins being earned by Martin, Smock and Spencer.
Ron Ruiz won the 20 lap California Hardtop Association Main Event. This was his second win of the season. It was Roger MacShain jumping into the early lead ahead of Joe Shenefield and Joe Hopp. Ruiz slipped past MacShain for the lead on lap two, and the lead duo began to pull away from the pack at Shenefield ran strong in third. From the back of the pack, Kimo Oreta managed to take the fourth position from Hopp on lap six. Oreta set his sights on Shenefield and was finally able to overtake him on lap 13. Though MacShain didn't let Ruiz get too far ahead of him, Ruiz nonetheless looked impressive as he went on to win the non-stop race. Oreta finished third, followed by Shanefield, Hopp and final lead lap finisher Mario Romano. Ken Clifford, Rhett Lange and Tom Grady completed the finishing order. The Dave Mackey car was sidelined following a crash in the eight lap heat race, which was won by Ruiz ahead of Oreta.
Dan Webster picked up his second straight Mini Truck Main Event victory. Webster is the 2016 champion, but he isn't really racing for points this year. Kalvin Kvalvik is one of the championship contenders, and he raced into the lead on the second lap. Through four yellow flags during the first 12 laps, Kvalvik continued to lead the way impressively as the drivers jockeyed for position behind him. Anthony Esquaville held the second position despite tagging the front wall exiting Turn 4 on the third lap. Point leader James Woodell finally moved past Esquaville for second on lap nine with a Turn 3 pass. Moments later, a yellow flag waved for debris, and Dan Libbee made contact with Esquaville, causing a spin. Esquaville retired from the event and Libbee restarted in the back of the pack. When a yellow flag waved once again on lap 13, Kvalvik discovered that he had a flat tire and made a pit stop. This put Zack Webster into the lead over Dan Webster, but Dan Webster charged into the lead on the restart. Dan Webster went on to win, followed by Zack Webster, William Fogle, Dan Libbee and Woodell. The three eight lap heat race wins were earned by Woodell, Dan Webster and Zack Webster.
The NorCal Dwarf Cars Association staged an exhibition event with eight competitors showing up to give the fans a taste of their style of racing. What they saw was a 20 lap Main Event with some close racing and only one yellow flag. The victory went to Ryan "Ice Chip" Winter. It was Kevin "Hollywood" Bender racing into the lead at the start with Winter quickly moving into second. Jeff Fitch and Shawn Whitney tangled for the only yellow flag on lap four. Winter charged around Bender on the outside as the green flag waved. From there, Winter built a half-lap lead in winning the race ahead of Bender. Michael "Spanky" Greenert finished third, followed by Mike Reeder, Jeremy Blackshere, Wade Ehrlich, Fitch and Whitney. There were two eight lap heat races that all of the competitors started. Winter won the first race ahead of Bender, and Bender picked up the win in the second heat, followed by Whitney.
In the 600 Micro division, Colby Grieg led all the way to score the 20 lap feature victory. Amber Fields held the second position during the first half of the race before being passed on lap 12 by Tony Alosi. Grieg won by a wide margin, followed by Alosi and Fields. Lester Elsey won the 250 Micro Sprint 20 lap Main Event ahead of Ronnie Heyer. The 600 Micro heat race win went to Alosi, while Elsey was the 250 Micro heat winner.
This Saturday night is the Fourth Annual Thomas Schmitke Race For A Cure fundraising event. The Wingless Spec Sprints are back in action along with the Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Trucks and 250 Micros. For further information, go to the Orland Raceway Facebook page.
Montgomery, Smith, Robison Win at Coos Bay Speedway
Coos Bay, Oregon...June 1...Brody Montgomery won the 25 lap America's Mattress NASCAR Super Late Model Main Event Saturday night at Coos Bay Speedway. Montgomery is the reigning champion, and he's piloting a new car this season. He shared the front row with two-time Sportsman Late Model champion Wayne Butler, who was driving the former Montgomery mount. Montgomery wasted little time getting the lead, but he still had his hands full holding off third row starter and previous feature winner Preston Luckman. However, Montgomery grabbed the checkered flag just ahead of Luckman in the close race up front. Richard Wallace was the only other driver to stay on the lead lap with his third place finish. Butler ended up fourth, followed by Tom Williams, Thor Kristensen, Mike Taylor, Toby McIntyre, Deven Brown and Chris Kristensen. Montgomery managed to score a clean sweep by holding off Butler to win the five lap Trophy Dash and by out running McIntyre to win their eight lap heat race. Luckman won the other heat ahead of McIntyre.
David Smith won the 25 lap Street Stock Main Event. Smith was last season's top-ranked rookie, finishing second in the standings. Smith shared the front row with rookie Payton Reigard and charged into the lead at the start. However, two-time winner and current point leader Steve Dubisar kept the pressure on Smith all the way to the checkered flag. Reigard settled for third, followed by Sam Talon and Charlie Withers. Reigning champion Ken Fox and 2016 title winner Daniel Land were both feature scratches. Dubisar won the five lap Trophy Dash ahead of Smith and picked up his eight lap heat race win in front of Land. Smith outran Withers to win the other heat.
Braden Fugate won his third straight Sportsman Late Model Main Event. Fugate led from the start and built a straightaway advantage over his closest point rival, Mike Taylor. Tom Williams finished third as Dave Williams was a Main Event scratch. Taylor won the five lap Trophy Dash in front of Fugate, but Fugate picked up the eight lap heat race win ahead of Tom Williams.
Hannah Robison won the 25 lap Hornets Main Event. This was the third straight victory for Robison. She started back in the fourth row and worked her way through the pack to take the lead from Alyssa Johnson. Once Robison got the lead, she pulled away to about a straightaway advantage in her victory ahead of Johnson. John Henry finished third, followed by Jeff Thurman, Leroy Rockwell, Dusty Shingleton, Andy Austin, Sebastian Freedle, Gabrielle Boles and Kris Parker. Robison made it a clean sweep effort as she held off Thurman to win both their eight lap heat race and the five lap Trophy Dash. Kris Parker outran Steven Parker to win the other heat race.
Sam Talon won the 15 lap Mini Outlaw Main Event. This was the second straight win for Talon, who took the checkered flag ahead of Bob Oliver and Jason Kellam. Rob Lauver was there with his fast VW Beetle, but mechanical issues again ended his night early. Talon outran Kellam to win both the five lap Trophy Dash and the eight lap heat race.
Griff Smith won the 12 lap Junior Stinger Main Event. Smith took the lead immediately and won by two-thirds of a lap ahead of James Shingleton and Alex Butler. Smith also won the eight lap heat race ahead of Butler, but Butler prevented the clean sweep by holding off Smith for the five lap Trophy Dash victory.
The oval track will be dark this week, but the McDonald's Malicious Monster Truck Insanity Tour will be in town for a two-day show on June 14th and 15th. A week later, NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing action continues with the Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Hornets and the exciting Sprint Cars all racing on Saturday night. The next day, the IMCA Wild West Speedweek Modified Tour will be in town along with Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws and Hornets. For further information, go to www.coosbayspeedway.us.
Kids Night At The Races Saturday
At Mountain Valley Raceway
Hayfork, CA...It's been a bit of a wait for the next show to happen at Mountain Valley Raceway, but the wait is over Saturday night. It will be Kids Night at the races, and that means special things for the young fans. The racing program will consist of the Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, B Modifieds and Enduro cars.
On Saturday night, the kids will also get an opportunity to race on the track with their bicycles in some special drag racing events. Kids will be competing in three different age groups from 4 to 14 years old. In addition to that, each kid will receive a special raffle ticket with many good things to be given away during the night. This will include a bike giveaway for one girl and one boy in each of the three age groups. Each kid 14 and younger will receive a free admission to the races in addition to a free hotdog and drink.
The fans will get to watch The Hobby Stock division as the question remains, who can beat Russ Newman? Newman has looked impressive in the early goings this year, but the competition will be out to evict him from the winner's circle. Burl Richardson, Josh Smith and Tony Quinones are three of the top contenders.
The Mini Stock division has some great racers in its ranks. Coming from Orland to race in Hayfork, William Fogle has picked up a couple of victories this year in his fast truck. Another driver with a fast truck is Ian Thulin, who has been making visits down to Orland as well. Ian had some bad luck in his most recent visit there. He'll be hoping to turn things around this week, and other stars of the speedway include Larry Richardson, Jack Turner, Freddie Leeper and William Young.
The Young family has been a fixture in the popular and exciting Enduro division. Joseph Young was the most recent winner, and he'll be out to win two in a row. He can expect some stiff competition from season-opening winner Bryan Gummerus and JD Hudman, among others.
Another driver riding high these days is Tressen Smith, who has posted multiple victories in the B Modified division. It was Joe Short taking up pursuit last time and Patrick Solometo finishing second the first time around.
Kids Night this Saturday will be a fun family atmosphere at the speedway with raffle prizes and bike races and free admission for kids 14 and younger. For further information, check out the Mountain Valley Raceway Facebook page.
Rupert Wins Northwest Mini Stock Tour Race
At Douglas County Speedway
Roseburg, Oregon...June 1...Bryce Rupert won the Northwest Mini Stock Main Event Saturday night at Douglas County Speedway. The pits were filled with roughly 40 Four Cylinder race cars between the Mini Stock and Hornet divisions. Most of the Northwest Mini Stock racers came from either Washington or Northern California. Rupert will likely be the point leader after this event, which was the third round of a six-race series that takes place at six different tracks between Washington and Oregon.
Rupert hails from Spokane Washington, and he took the checkered flag ahead of Carl Smith and Bradley Rhoads. Local Mini Stock star Dale Roth finished fourth, followed by Eric Angeledes, Richard Koraskis, Jerrett Mayo, Gary Klinetobe, Fred Vigil and Ken LeGault.
Burnie Bryant picked up the Hornets Main Event victory. Point leader Rich Dickenson finished second, followed by Zachary Asumendi. Championship contender Bruce McMasters finished fourth, followed by Chris Lemon, Tyler Organ, Michael Kennedy, Jeremy Simms, Bart Pulse and Paul Corbett.
The Street Stocks rounded out the program, and it was Dale Roth scoring the Main Event victory. Roth was followed across the line by Larry Means, Monique Scevers, April Hilyard and incoming point leader John Dumire.
The next event on June 15th will be the Adcox Outlaw 100, presented by Adcox Heating Center And Infostructure. The Outlaw division is designed to let drivers from various divisions compete in these special events. The PRA Hardtops, Hornets and the J Class will also be in competition. For further information, go to www.douglascountyspeedway.com.
Pit Stops
Southern Oregon Speedway hosted the Seventh Annual Roger Haudenshild Tribute race. This has become a very important race to the fans of the 24 year old racing facility as Roger meant a lot to so many people. Because car counts swelled to 97 cars last year and the race ran long due to all the activities associated with his event, promoter Mike McCann pulled one division from the schedule this year. The result was an increase in car count to 103 racers.
The IMCA Sport Modifieds are getting noticed in the Medford area. When you bring 33 cars to the show, it's bound gain attention. Only last season's R Charles Snyder Salute had more cars in attendance. The prize of $1,600 to win drew some big names to the track, including 2015 State of California champion Fred Ryland, the following year's State of California champion Brian Cooper, 2016 Roger Haudenshild Tribute winner Todd Cooper and Yreka point later Ethan Killingsworth.
The way things are going these days, you're going to see about 20 IMCA Sport Modifieds for most of these races. This is the fastest growing class at Southern Oregon Speedway, and it seems like everybody wants a piece of the action. Two-time champion Jorddon Braaten hasn't officially stated that he's trying for a third title at the speedway. He enjoys testing his ability against the best drivers Oregon has to offer, so it's possible you might not see him at the next race. That all depends. One thing we know for sure is that he is now a three-time winner of the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race.
Braaten left little doubt about it when he started on the pole for the $1,600 to win race and led every lap, completing a sweep of Trophy Dash and heat. This was also a milestone win for him as it was his 100th career triumph, and he's nearing the big 50th career win at his home track. The competition might be wishing Jorddon takes it on the road for the next race. If he decides to stick around, it might be difficult beating him for the championship.
It wasn't like Braaten didn't have good racers behind him. Tyler Rodgers was the only driver with more than one feature win at the track last season, and he was giving Jorddon all the pressure he could in the waning laps before settling for second ahead of Fred Ryland. The one driver who was giving Jorddon a nice challenge last year is also the driver chasing him in the points this year. After his second place finish in the opener, Justin McCreadie finished fourth in a nice drive. The passing honors would have to go to Braxton Possinger, who transferred from the B Main and charged all the way to fifth at the checkered flag.
Two-time champion Mike Medel didn't quite have the results he had been hoping for. It's been a rough start for him. His first race resulted in a flat tire that put him out of the running. This race wasn't much better as he was involved in a tangle at the start of the race. Though he took a checkered flag, he still didn't make the Top 10. Not the kind of start Mike was hoping for, but you can believe that he will be back trying harder next time.
It was just a little bit confusing keeping track of all of the #7s at the speedway. There were seven of them with various letters after the number. The Main Event had all seven of them taking a green flag. One of the rookies this year is the #7w of Wyatt Westfall, who is off to a strong start. He picked up his second Top 10 finish in sixth with Jantzen Knips and Ethan Killingsworth right behind him in two of the other #7 cars.
Knips was a Top 5 Modified driver last year who has decided to move into this class this year. Killingsworth is going for the championship in Yreka. Quietly having a strong start this year is two-time Late Model Lites champion Brian Johnsen, who ended up ninth. Johnsen has done well in both Late Model Lites and Pro Stocks, so it won't be a surprise to see him win at some point this season.
June is a very important month for both Modified classes. Though they get this week off, they are back the following week as well as the IMCA Wild West Speedweek night on June 22nd. The IMCA Modifieds will have some of the best drivers Oregon and even California has to offer, which means that this particular race could throw a monkey wrench into the track championship battle. The locals will be fighting just to earn feature starting spots on this occasion.
Bobby Hogge IV is well known as somebody who comes up money in the big shows. His visit to Southern Oregon Speedway was possibly a surprise to some. It was made possible when Late Model car owner Paul Guglielmani let Bobby drive one of his race cars. Bobby had earlier won a feature in that car in Placerville, California. Since he was coming up to run the Late Model, Bobby brought his Modified. The $2,000 to win prize money was enticing enough to make that happen.
All it took was Bobby's mother drawing the #1 pill in the redraw to make it clear that the drivers were going to have their work cut out for them. With this talented third-generation racer on the front row, getting him out of the lead was going to be easier said than done. As it turned out, Bobby never relinquished the lead and earned most of his big payday with the victory in there Roger Haudenshild Tribute IMCA Modified race.
Behind him, however, positions were still up for grabs. Driving the Biehn Racing Modified, Nick Trenchard has won three of the past four Haudenshild Tribute races. However, the crew has been working to get the car dialed in. His effort at the season opener was less than hoped, but Trenchard took it all the way up to second after winning $200 in the Crack The Whip Challenge. It looked like he might have that spot, but he didn't count on the black #88 of Zach Fettinger making a late move. Fettinger had to battle from the sixth row. He had won the Trophy Dash earlier, and he made a charge from fourth to second in the last few laps, taking second in the final turn from Trenchard.
The points will be close after two races. Season opening winner Jeffrey Hudson also started deep in the pack before finishing fifth, enabling him to cling to a one point advantage over Fettinger and Justin Foux. Foux may not be so much of a surprise in second, though he's a rookie in the class this year. He's done very well in IMCA Sport Modifieds during the past couple of years, and he's also earned a pair of Top 5 finishes in the first two races. We haven't heard if Justin's intent is to race for points in Medford, but if he is going for it, this battle just got more interesting. Likewise, Preston Jones brought it home for a sixth place finish after his fourth place finish in the opener. He's only three points out.
Again, the pressure is on to do well in June. The real pressure comes on Speedweek when so many top stars come to town for the big week-long series. The locals find themselves scrambling just to maintain their point effort by making the feature, and some good racers end up on the outside looking in. June 22nd will be important not just because it's going to be Speedweek but because the locals know they need to make the show.
Roger loved Pro Stock racing as well, so the Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks were included for the fourth year in a row. It almost seems automatic that two-time reigning champion and two-time reigning race champion Dr Scott Lenz is going to leave with the $1,200 prize and the winner's trophy. Lenz won the Billy Geyer Memorial race in Yreka a month earlier and has been nearly unbeatable with this group for the past two years.
However, Lenz wasn't quite pulling away from the pack once he took the lead from Jeff Haudenshild. In fact, John David Duffie and second-ranked Scott Flowers weren't far behind him. When a flat tire sent Duffie to the pits, Flowers stepped up his game. Lenz might not have seen him coming, but he ended up getting a good view of the #21 car as it passed him on the back straightaway. Flowers hasn't won in over four years, and he's long overdue to get a victory. He led for about a half-dozen laps before Lenz came racing by, but the doctor knew he had to work for this one.
Scott Flowers did well enough in finishing second to reclaim second in the standings from his son James, who finished fourth behind a nice drive for Jeff Haudenshild. The Pro Stocks also delivered a 17 car field, which included three cars from the Hackworth racing team. In fact, Ryan Smith drove the Tom Hackworth #34 car to the $200 Crack The Whip Challenge win, while Chris Ellis earned a seventh place feature finish. The Pro Stocks still remain a favorite to many fans at the speedway, who are looking forward to the July 13th event where the group will be headlining.
One of the drivers who has made it known that he will be running at Medford in his Pro Stock whenever possible is two-time association champion Ken Irving. Like the Hackworth team and Dan Randall, he seems to be there when the races are scheduled. Otherwise, he's busy with his son Dylan's Mini Stock effort. Parked next to Irving was Chuck Hipps, who hadn't been seen at the speedway since 2015. There is definitely a stronger movement going to get the class back more often next season. As far as the race was concerned, Irving didn't quite get it up to the speed he had hoped, but he was the first car a lap down in fifth, finishing ahead of newcomer Kenneth LaPlant.
Southern Oregon racing fans are talking about the Late Model division. For many years, Late Models were featured at the Medford Raceway, but they were only an occasional attraction at Southern Oregon Speedway. Mike McCann stepped in here to do something about that with the addition of the class in 2016. It's been growing steadily, but this year it seems like everybody is wanting to get a race car. You know it's serious when seven-time IMCA Modified champion Mark Wauge gets a car and joins the fun. Wauge made his division debut on Saturday.
Your getting some top notch drivers coming down from up north with Trent Elliot and Darren Coffell among the field. Elliott had finished second in the season opener, but at times Turn 2 proved to be a bit tricky for him on Saturday. He spun from the lead in his heat race and also spun in the Main Event before making a charge back to finish fourth. This was good enough to keep him leading the standings ahead of 2013 Pro Stock champion Dave Everson, who got it to the finish line in fifth in his best run yet in this class.
Up at the front of the pack, the fans were treated to a classic duel between Coffell and Bobby Hogge IV. Hogge always comes prepared, and he's won some of the biggest races at the speedway through the years. He held the lead, only two surrender it to Coffell. But Hogge kept searching the track for the right line. He saw something on the outside that Coffell wasn't looking at, and he used an outside pass in the fourth turn of the 20th lap to take the lead and bring it home to the $1,000 victory. Coffell finished second.
Normally, a third place finish isn't something that Wauge will go around bragging about. He comes to win, and he's won over 50 Main Events at Southern Oregon Speedway in his illustrious career, including 49 in the IMCA Modifieds. Not knowing how well he was going to do in this class in his first race, he actually had a legitimate shot to score the victory. That has Mark feeling more confident as he looks ahead to the next event. Despite having a late start, Wauge has a chance to make some moves in the standings in the weeks ahead if he keeps racing the way he did here.
All of the racers know they need to step up their game. It's a whole different Late Model division than it's been for the past three years, but Miles Deubert and Dave Foote are two racers giving it a heck of a run. Deubert finished seventh ahead of Foote. We are approaching 20 different drivers who have already competed, and we're just two races in. Furthermore, there are several drivers who haven't made their season debuts just yet. Late Model racing is alive and well at Southern Oregon Speedway, and it promises to only get bigger.
The Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars were a nice way to round out this exciting program. Much like the IMCA Sport Modifieds, they bring a huge field of competitors every time they are on the schedule. Cameron Robustelli seems to be the fastest driver in the group in the early goings of the season, but mechanical issues dropped him from the lead and sent him to the pits at the Yreka race and last Saturday night. It has to be frustrating for Robustelli, who has finished as high as second in the standings and would love to notch his first career championship. Three-time reigning champion Josh King skipped this event to win a pair of features in Winnemucca, Nevada this past weekend.
This opened the door for Brock Peters, who has been looking good so far this year. Brock led several laps of the season opener before finishing second. He had been having a thrilling side-by-side battle with ageless veteran Fred Hay for second behind Robustelli. Once Robustelli departed, Peters took over. Neither Hay nor eventual second place finisher Chad Cardoza was going to keep him from the winner's circle on this occasion.
You won't hear Cardoza complaining as he stays in the championship hunt once again with a strong second place finish, and seeing Hay on the podium had several fans smiling. One has to wonder if a feature win for Hay may be just around the corner. It would certainly make for a very popular win. Cardoza also won both his heat race and the A Dash, while Steve Walker collected the B Dash victory. Walker also did quite well in the Main Event as he finished fourth ahead of the Mod Lite of Jesse Lorentz. Lorentz had been struggling for much of last year to get his #96 car up to speed, but it looks like he's just about got it there now.
It seems like Ryan Smith did about everything a racer could do short of winning the Main Event. He led some early laps, rolled spectacularly in the first turn and still managed to finish sixth in the feature. Maybe it's not the way he wanted to get it to the checkered flag, but at least he got it there.
Meanwhile, Michael Johnson had his best effort of the year as the second-generation racer placed seventh ahead of newcomer Shane Hines. It was nice to see a couple of drivers get Top 10 finishes who haven't had that much success as Mark Nielsen placed ninth and Dane Halbert was tenth.
Siskiyou Golden Speedway Promoter Kevin Barba just made a big announcement on Wednesday. Iron Giant Street Stock Series leaders have been in contact with him and have rescheduled the rained out event from Memorial Day weekend for August 17th. This is huge for the Yreka track, which is in need of getting bigger car counts. The Street Stocks were once a very popular division at the speedway, and there have been rumblings from people wanting to see a return of this class.
They are seeing the Jefferson State Jalopies. The four cars built by Karl Bernstein and JJ Smith ran a full program on Sunday as part of the annual Bo Hittson Memorial event, and Kassidy Wilkinson turned out to be the star of the afternoon with a sweep. Wilkinson also finished second in the Mini Stock Main Event, making it a banner afternoon for him. He also earned his Jalopy wins ahead of three-time Mini Stock champion Marilyn Yawnick.
It's known that the Yreka track needs other divisions they can count on and needs to grow their roster, so having the Jalopies on any occasion possible will only help. They weren't originally scheduled for the coming Saturday night, but that has been changed to allow them to go racing once again. Furthermore, Bernstein and Smith continue to work on their fifth Jalopy as they appear to be single-handedly creating this division. It's hoped that others with the know-how will start building cars in the future and this division can take hold.
The Bo Hittson race on Sunday meant drivers coming to the Medford track for the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race could come on down to Yreka on Sunday and get another race in. Some big names were in the pits for this show, including past California State champions Fred Ryland and Brian Cooper and current State point leader Guy Ahlwardt. Knowing that he had the competition behind him, Matt Sanders worked extra hard.
Sanders has been very fast in the black #2 car this year, and he pocketed $1,012 for his impressive drive to victory in the 32 lap feature. This was his second win at Yreka this year, and it came ahead of Fred Ryland, Guy Ahlwardt and Patti Ryland. Ahlwardt had a busy weekend as he won the Main Event at Watsonville on Friday and went to Quincy to pick up another win on Saturday. The Sport Modifieds certainly didn't disappoint.
Meanwhile, the locals were jockeying for position. The incoming point leader was Colt Boswell, but unfortunately he didn't fare too well. His brother Ryder Boswell did the best of the four championship contenders in seventh, while Trophy Dash winner Ethan Killingsworth finished ninth. The finish by Killingsworth should put him into the lead in the standings buy a slim margin when they are released by IMCA on Friday. Title contender Sean Hulsey ended up 11th.
The bigger concern in Yreka may be getting other local drivers to be more supportive of this class. Two years ago, they were getting over a dozen cars on some occasions, which prompted track officials at the time to offer them $500 to win any time they had 13 or more cars. These days, it seems they're stuck at around 6 to 8 local drivers, and double-digit counts only seem to happen when there's enough visitors from out of town.
Though the track moved their race from Saturday to Sunday, it was still open for a Saturday practice. There were a few IMCA Sport Modifieds in the pits, including the #17m car of Merissa Henson. Henson was making her first laps in the car owned by Donny Bottoms. Bottoms saw his car driven to the 2017 championship by son DJ. Henson has impressed with her driving in various divisions over the past few years. She should do well when she finally gets out there and races, which could happen this Saturday night. Hopefully, a few more of the names that have been missing in recent weeks will also be back.
One of those drivers supporting the show this year is Randy Wright. Wright has picked up a pair of Trophy Dash wins so far. Though he has finished as high as second in Main Event competition in recent seasons, he is still looking for his first feature win. He could be a threat to get it done this week. Gary Foster and Donovan Rodgers have been supporting the show this year, but it's hoped to see some familiar faces returning to the fold in the weeks ahead.
Three-time reigning Mini Stock champion Marilyn Yawnick may be talking about only running for fun and not points this year, but things seem to be cycling back to her after four events. She even vacated the seat of her car voluntarily at the opener to allow teammate Mike Whitaker to go out there and earn points. Because Whitaker and Mike Kendrick didn't show up on Sunday and incoming point leader Darek Alford was disqualified in post-race tech, Yawnick and long time Yreka racer Terry Kendrick both will make a big move in the standings. Yawnick would finish third in Sunday's race ahead of Kendrick.
Also noteworthy was the drive turned in by last season's top rookie, Zak McMurry. McMurry has been making great strides this year, but his win in Sunday's feature was his very first. The division really has been broken wide open, and any of the drivers out there has a shot at victory on any given week. The roster has reached a point now where there's almost 20 active drivers who have earned points this year, so hopefully the lower turnout on Sunday is only an anomaly.
Coos Bay Speedway returned to NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing on Saturday. The America's Mattress Super Late Models now have a third different winner in reigning champion Brody Montgomery. Montgomery had purchased a new car this year in the hopes of being more competitive in the field that he knew would have a few more top-notch competitors this year. He joins Willamette Speedway champion Joey Tanner and reigning Cottage Grove champion Preston Luckman on the winner's list. Luckman appears to be making a run for the championship at Coos Bay, which is his home track.
As it turned out, Luckman finished second, and only Richard Wallace was able to somewhat keep up with the rapid pace being turned in by the Top 2 finishers. Even he finished half a lap behind them. Again, there were 10 Super Late Models in the field on Saturday as this division is still hitting its marks. It was not a very good night for either Toby McIntyre or Thor Kristensen. Kristensen didn't finish the Main Event, and McIntyre had mechanical issues and didn't start.
Steve Dubisar gained just a little bit of slack in the Street Stock point race when Tom Elam didn't show up last week. Elam had trailed Dubisar in the first two features. However, Dubisar can't relax with second-year racer David Smith finally picking up his first career win. Smith held off Dubisar to get those honors and is still one of the contenders in this year's championship chase. It's been nice to see the numbers up just a little bit for Coos Bay in this class, and it means the fans are getting a better show.
Mini Outlaw champion Sam Talon, who again won that Main Event, also had his best Street Stock effort as he took a checkered flag in fourth ahead of Sportsman Late Model racer Charlie Withers. Withers has had some terrible luck in the other class and is hoping he'll have better luck in this division. Rookie Payton Reigard was the third place finisher.
In the Hornet division, Hannah Robison again won the feature. She started deep in the pack, and yet she managed to win by a straightaway once again ahead of Alyssa Johnson. The first two races saw her being trailed by reigning champion Tyler Tullos, but he ended up finishing a disappointed 11th in this race. Robison appears to be making a serious run for the division championship this year.
The Hornet division continues to field the biggest car counts at the speedway with 13 competitors last Saturday. Drivers seem to be coming in from other divisions as Johnson and John Henry, two Mini Outlaw racers, finished second and third, respectively. Jeff Thurman has won Street Stock Main Events in recent years and would finish fourth on this night. It's nice to see the division doing well and giving the fans a good show.
Douglas County Speedway had a Four Cylinder oriented show on Saturday that did pretty well. The PRA does what they need to do to keep things going and has a nice variety of different things scheduled in addition to the regular classes. On this occasion, there were roughly 40 Four Cylinder cars between the touring Northwest Mini Stock group and the local Hornets.
The Mini Stocks are running a six-race series between six different tracks, three of which are in Washington and three in Oregon. What makes things interesting is that one of the Oregon dates is at River City Speedway in St Helens, which is a dirt track. This is a pavement oriented group, and they enjoyed their trip to Roseburg last year. On this occasion, not only were there drivers coming down from Washington, but a group of drivers came in from the Eureka area in California as well. When the checkered flag waved, however, it was likely series point leader Bryce Rupert winning the race over Carl Smith and Bradley Rhoades. Local star Dale Roth, the defending track Mini Stock champion, finished fourth, but he also won the local PRA Street Stock feature.
The strongest turn out in Roseburg these days seems to come from the Hornets on most regular occasions, and there were 17 drivers to take the green flag on Saturday. Burnie Bryant managed to hold off Rich Dickenson for the latest Victory. Dickenson was the point leader coming into the night. After a week off, they will be running another Outlaw 100 event in Roseburg. These unique events see a mixture of Modifieds, Street Stocks and even Hardtops. In fact, the Hardtop driven by Harlan Cox scored the win at the last 100 lap race a few weeks back. Reportedly, Cox has made a trade with a driver in the Medford area for a Sport Modified as that Medford racer looks to go racing with the OTRO Hardtops.
Finally, racing fans in Orland got a look at Dwarf Cars on the 1/5 mile dirt oval. Despite the fact that this was a nonpoint event for the NorCal Dwarf Car Association and drivers didn't have a lot of incentive to come, eight of their best racers still put on a show for the fans. The conversation in Orland is about how there can be more dates for this group in 2020. It really seems to be a good fit for the track, so hopefully this will happen.
The California Hardtop Association enjoys coming to Orland on any occasion, and they brought 10 racers for this show. Ron Ruiz has found the track very much to his liking this year and left town with the Main Event winner's hardware once again. This time around, he had Roger MacShain chasing him as MacShain looked better than he has since buying that car from Bill McLaughlin.
Another driver who was doing a great job in the field was Joe Shenefield, who held third for several laps before Antioch Speedway regular Kimo Oreta finally made a move. The Oreta car was the one piloted by Larry Damitz to several wins in Antioch, but there are some who question the authenticity of that particular race car. Regardless, Shenefield should be proud of the effort he put forth. Joe Hopp continues to do a great job in the #70 car as he took a checkered on the lead lap in 5th. Hardtops head to Chico this Friday night for what is sure to be another enjoyable event.
Placerville Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 1, 2019
Thompson's Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Shane Golobic
Andy Forsberg
Tony Gualda
Kalib Henry
Steven Tiner
Kaleb Montgomery
Justin Sanders
Bobby McMahan
Tanner Carrick
Billy Wallace
Jodie Robinson
Jimmy Trulli
Mike Benson
Zane Blanchard
Michael Faccinto
Chris Masters
Bobby Butler
CJ Humphries
Cody Lamar
Bubba DeCaires
B Main
Tanner Carrick
Justin Sanders
Mike Benson
Steven Tiner
Shane Hopkins
Jesse Love
Jarrett Soares
Steel Powell
Justin Henry
Jake Morgan
Ryan Souza
Justin Johnson
Blake Carrick
Colby Wiesz
Limited Late Models
Ray Trimble
Dan Brown Jr
Don Keenan
Tyler Lightfoot
Jay Norton
Brent Lawrence
Jay's Mobile Welding Pure Stocks
Dan Jinkerson
John Ewing
Scott Grunert
Rich Lindgren
Nick Baldwin
Jason Palmer
Kevin Jinkerson
Ryan Peter
Dave Silva
Mel Byers
Jason Leonard
Jesse Bryant
John Wacht
Mike Carpenter
Stephanie Hanson
Jarred Beddow
BCRA/POWRi Midgets
Shane Golobic
Robert Dalby
Jake Morgan
Cory Elliott
Marvin Mitchell
Robert Carson
Alex Schutte
Shawn Jones
Shannon McQueen
Beau Lemire
JR Williams
Dortiey
Siskiyou Golden Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 1, 2019
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Matt Sanders
Fred Ryland
Guy Ahlwardt
Patti Ryland
Issac Sanders
Brian Copper
Ryder Boswell
Randy Wright
Ethan Killingsworth
Austin Pedray
Sean Hulsey
Wyatt Westfall
Todd Cooper
Colt Boswell
Tyler Rodgers
Jorddon Braaten
Scott Savell
Jefferson State Jalopies
Kassidy Wilkinson
Marilyn Yawnick
JJ Smith
Karl Bernstein
Mini Stocks
Zak McMurry
Kassidy Wilkinson
Marilyn Yawnick
Terry Kendrick
terry alford DQ
Darek Alford DQ
Coos Bay Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 1, 2019
America's Mattress Super Late Models
Brody Montgomery
Preston Luckman
Richard Wallace
Wayne Butler
Tom Williams
Thor Kristensen
Mike Taylor
Toby McIntyre
Deven Brown
Chris Kristensen
Sportsman Late Models
Braden Fugate
Mike Taylor
Tom Williams
Dave Williams
Street Stocks
David Smith
Steve Dubisar
Payton Reigard
Sam Talon
Charlie Withers
Ken Fox
Daniel Land
Paten Reigard
Mini Outlaws
Sam Talon
Jason Kellam
Bob Oliver
Rob Lauver
Hornets
Hannah Robison
Alyssa Johnson
John Henry
Jeff Thurman
Leroy Rockwell
Dusty Shingleton
Andy Austin
Sebastion Freedle
Gabrielle Boles
Kris Parker
Tyler Tullos
Charity Hinkel
William Hitner
Steven Parker
Jr Stingers
Griff Smith
James Shingleton
Alex Butler
Douglas County Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 1, 2019
Northwest Mini Stock Tour
1. Bryce Rupert
2. Karl Smith
3. Bradley Rhoads
4. Dale Roth
5. Eric Angeledes
6. Richard Koraskis
7. Jarrett Mayo
8. Gary Klinetobe
9. Fred Vigil
10. Ken LeGault
11. Brett Murrell
12. Trevor Eacret
13. Brian Murrell Jr
14. Josh McMillan
15. Terry Armstrong
16. Rob Mueller
17. Brian Murrell Sr
18. Andrew Murphy
19. Reginald Gill
20. Kieri Smith
21. Devin Matthews
Super Stocks
1. Dale Roth
2. Larry Means
3. Monique Scevers
4. April Hilyard
5. John Dumir
Hornets
1. Burnie Bryant
2. Rich Dickenson
3. Zachary Asumendi
4. Bruce McMaster
5. Chris Lemon
6. Tyler Organ
7. Michael Kennedy
8. Jeremy Simms
9. Bart Pulse
10. Paul Corbett
11. Ryan Dickenson
12. Valerie West
13. Cherish Wilson
14. Dylan Grichar
15. Patti Morgan
16. Jalana Pynch
The Editor's Viewpoint
When you get a little bit of momentum going, you want to hold on to it. Southern Oregon Speedway has been down for two weeks due to rain before coming back last week for the Roger Haudenshild Tribute. There were modest expectations for this five division show. Honestly, I thought there might be about 80 or 82 cars for this race, which would have been plenty. There were 97 cars the year before, and it was felt that maybe that was a little bit too many when Mike McCann made the decision to cut it down to five divisions for this year.
The Roger Haudenshild Tribute has a tradition of a special Memorial Lap for Roger in which many of the racers get on the track and do a few laps. Also, Roger saw this race on his trips back east that he really liked. It's called the Crack The Whip Challenge where the last place car gets black flagged on every lap until you get one driver on the track. That driver gets all of the prize money being offered for that particular race. In this case, there were three Crack The Whip races paying $200 to win. That was also the case last year. With these things happening, you can afford to lighten the load in the car count department a little bit.
There though there are no such demands that races get done at a certain time in Medford, the goal is generally to be concluded by 10 at night. Racing starts at 7, ends at 10 and that gives the fans three hours of good entertainment. Occasionally you might go later, say 10:30 or even 11. But what has been happening at this event is it's gone past midnight. This is something you don't want to do, even if you can. We broke that particular time limit in 2016. We shot ourselves in the foot with about an hour of downtime. We greatly cut the time the next year, and last year it ran maybe a little bit later.
The thing about the show this year is that we had no real downtime. There was a brief ten minute intermission in which line ups got put on the board. The track was in a little bit of rough shape. This was caused by rain that happened on Friday after Jim had set the track the way he wanted it. It also led to a nasty rut in Turns 1 and 2, so the conditions were less than ideal. During the heat races, we knew that we would have to water the track, so the plan was to water it during the intermission. Even if there was a little bit of time taken to water the track, there wasn't that much down time with nothing on the track. We rolled out the Memorial Lap for Roger not long after watering the track. In other words, there wasn't much downtime.
The thing is, you're running a lot of races. There were four Trophy Dashes, three Crack The Whip Challenge races, two Scrambles, five Main Events, a B Main and 14 heat races. We had 103 cars in the pits. The fans got their money's worth. I like seeing that, but I always take a look at the negatives. It makes it hard to actually enjoy successes when it happens, because you're looking at the things that didn't go right. We ran over two hours longer than we wanted to. That's the biggest negative I can take. The racing was good, and the people seemed to enjoy themselves.
It led to the difficult week I've had trying to play catch-up. When you don't get back to the house until 5 in the morning, and Sunday is your busiest writing day and you're almost a walking zombie the whole day, it leaves you running behind schedule. So, that's another thing to look at.
Southern Oregon Speedway only had 18 cars show up for a race in 2015, and things have been done to ensure that the fans are going to see a show. It's led to the creation of classes, rotating divisions to keep car counts high and the fans generally knowing that they're going to get a good show when they come to Southern Oregon Speedway.
The Roger Haudendshild race is a marquee event that pays tribute to one of Southern Oregon's own by giving the fans a show that they know is going to be good. Things need to be done to make things go a little smoother on this particular night, but that's something to consider for 2020.
Yreka had some good news, and they certainly need some good news. Kevin Barba broke the story as I'm writing this on Wednesday night that the Iron Giant Street Stock Series is coming back for a makeup race on August 17th.
I find this to be good news for Yreka, though I can't help but be a little bit disappointed in the series directors. They were reached out to the day that Medford had to cancel their show to let them know that there just was no way to get that race in, but the group has never made an effort to respond to management since that day. I'm at a loss as to why that would be.
We watched the weather forecast very intently because it wasn't looking good. Perhaps people were upset that we didn't cancel on Friday night, but givien that the forecast had changed from Tuesday to Friday, we figured we should look and at least wait and see what would happen. Tuesday's report said that Saturday was going to be good, but the forecast changed on Wednesday. It wouldn't look any better on Friday, but we had hoped that the system that was coming down on us might hold off for a few hours. It called for rain when we looked at it on Saturday morning, and it said it was going to hit at around 6.
The forecast was right. You're not going to get Mike McCann to open the gates to a race track when he knows that the chances of rain are very high. The decision to cancel was made at 9 in the morning on Saturday, which would have saved people from the Willamette area a trip. Unfortunately, several drivers had already made the trip down. Perhaps this is what got the leadership upset? Are they upset? It's a fair question since no attempt has been made to reach back out to Medford management and possibly reschedule the race that was lost there. In fact, Medford even moved the date to accommodate a Memorial Day weekend this year so that the group could come to Yreka and get a double race weekend. However, nobody can control the weather.
In saying that, I am happy to see Yreka could get the date. It's my opinion there's a better chance of potentially restarting a Street Start division in Yreka than Medford. The biggest reason is Medford already rotates nine different divisions and doesn't really have the room for a Street Stock division. There doesn't seem to be any racers in the area with cars that could be put on the track. Calls have been made to get Street Stock drivers to show up from the Southern Oregon area for the past three years, but nobody has. Management feels like an effort has already somewhat been made.
You hear talk in Yreka that there are several cars still sitting in the area, and the track pretty much needs something new to add to the roster. The Mini Stock and IMCA Sport Modified divisions have so much pressure on them that they have to be booked for almost every race that's on the schedule. This is bound to hurt car counts in both classes, but you have to put something on the track to have a race, right?
IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks are all they have in-house, and otherwise it's usually about bringing in visiting groups. If there were something available to start a Street Stock division down there, I think it would be a good thing. There's also the possibility that since the California Hobby Stock is very similar to the Oregon Street Stock that Yreka could work something out with the tracks down in Orland and Chico to get some drivers to come up north in the future.
In any event, August 17th will be a winner for Yreka. The Iron Giant Street Stock Series certainly does not disappoint, and they have a top-notch field of drivers. I'm excited for the track. I also like the fact that the Jefferson State Jalopies are getting more racing opportunities. I think they have to go cautiously with that particular division as there are only four cars ready to go as it is. If mechanical issues are going to start to rear their ugly heads, then the division will certainly need a break. I think four cars is about as low as you can go before not having it out there. My hope is that in addition to the fifth car being built by Karl Bernstein and JJ Smith, others start building cars and this division can take hold.
You can certainly see there is enthusiasm with Kevin Barba and his team out there, and that's needed. You can see there have been a few rookie mistakes made, which can be expected. Keeping the gates open at a race track is not a slam dunk, and this track does present certain challenges. However, there are some good opportunities in the weeks ahead to put on some big shows. The Street Stock rebooking is a coup for the track as far as I'm concerned, and Wild West Speedweek on June 21st should also be big. Just taking into account what you have, where things can be improved and especially building up your roster for 2020 are things that need to be on the agenda now. Though you're maintaining things for this year, you've always got to be looking ahead as well.
The Siskiyou County Motorsports Association revealed something very interesting today as well. Apparently, they have some property that may enable them to put a race track together. Right now, the vehicles in question would be Lawnmowers. Lawnmower racing had a couple of facilities in Oregon, though I think there may only be one running these days. There was also the Jefferson State Lawnmower group that was trying to build a track in the last couple of years.
The association is just trying to keep things going, and from what I hear, they aren't going away anytime soon. They spent many years being the backbone of the racing effort in Yreka, and without them, it's possible we wouldn't even be talking about Siskiyou Golden Speedway at all. Whatever people might say about the group, don't forget that fact.
The thing is, if they are able to cut a track, there are some other intriguing possibilities that could present themselves. What those possibilities are, I can only speculate. In fact, in recent columns, you might see some things I've talked about as possibilities for such a track. I'll be cryptic about that for now, but if something starts to come together, you know me. I'll start talking about it.
Getting back to Yreka, they did pull off a nice little show on Sunday. Due to some quick thinking, Kevin decided to rebook the Bo Hittson Memorial race for Sunday. It was only a week ago that he lost the first attempt due to rain. They came very close to beating that rain, but mother nature had other plans that night. By running on Sunday, a day after the big show in Medford, they were still able to get 18 competitors. It led to a good race at the front of the pack.
As it stands right now, the IMCA Sport Modifieds are the show in Yreka. I still contend that the IMCA Modifieds can be rebuilt, but you're going to have to make a commitment at the top to make it happen. You cannot half-heartedly do it. You either go for it or you don't. Sliding scales will only ensure that you're going to slide the division out of existence. So the question will really need to be asked. How badly does Yreka and want to still be in the IMCA Modified game? Racers are still anxiously awaiting the makeup date for the John Arnberg Memorial race that was rained out on Memorial Day weekend.
Obviously, IMCA Sport Modified racers are going to lobby for themselves. They're going to want the bigger purses and the attention. That's understandable. Those drivers have what they have invested in their cars, and they are the show right now. Outlaw Pro Stock racers might see it differently when they come to town as they can deliver as many or more cars for their shows. Either way, the Sport Modifieds are what the track has now, and the 18 car show that they had on Sunday highlights the potential. It could be even better if they could convince the locals who still aren't really supporting things to get back out there and race.
That may be one of the biggest challenges that Kevin faces as the promoter. There are several Sport Modifieds parked. There are several Modifieds parked. There are some Mini Stocks parked. If you listen to the people talk down there, there's at least a half-dozen Street Stocks parked. The problem with parked race cars is when they sit long enough, they never get back out to the race track again. Or, it's another decade before you see them, if the track is open long enough.
One of the challenges Kevin will have is figuring out what he can do to get those cars back at the track. More cars are good for business. Obviously, that's more coming in the back gate, but more cars will lead to more fans coming to watch a bigger show. Fans want to see races with more cars and more action.
When your dealing with a new or struggling race track, just opening the gates can be a challenge. It was either early April or late March of 2016 when Orland racers heard that the season was canceled. With the fairgrounds looking at soccer, the writing was on the wall. Racing was done. However, Pure Stock racer Rich Hood would not let the dream die. I continue to have a lot of respect for that man.
Orland is not a high profile, big money track, but it means a lot to the people who support it. Rich moved in and made the deal to keep the season going. He had very little time to get it open for racing in June that year, but he made it happen. He might have figured somebody else would come along and run the place in 2017, but he pretty much put himself in the position as the leader. He would be quick to point out the crew he has that makes it all work.
Even when you are talking low profile, you still want to do things to grow the show. Hardtops, B Modifieds, Crate Sprints and Dwarf Cars have been brought in for visits. Dwarf Cars finally did it last week. What took you so long guys? Now please, add Orland to the NCDCA point schedule at least once in 2020. Point is, Rich continues to grow this show into something that rivals what has happened there in the past 10-15 years.
Community is important, and Rich knows this. I'm happy to see the Thomas Schmitke Memorial happening this week. They raise money for Cancer research at this race. He will allow other groups to come in to raise money for local causes as well. Kids Bike Giveaway/Racing Night, Fan Appreciation Night and The Battle Of The Axles are also coming up. It's just nice to see how much progress has been made in improving this show since Hood took over in 2016.
Clyde Cordell's dream of racing in Hayfork continues on. This Saturday night, they are having a kids bike race and giveaway for boys and girls in three different age groups. They are doing other giveaways as well. Making a race track go at a place like Mountain Valley Raceway in Hayfork is a challenge. You are doing what you can to establish a tradition. They have had their moments, though it is a work in progress. The family friendly theme of Saturday is a good move. I certainly hope they get some good racer support for this.
Other than that, I think I've probably talked enough. I have a lot of editing to do now, so I will end this column. Until next time...
