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Please note that the purpose of the Jefferson Racing News Blog is NOT to promote only one track. We will cover tracks in the Jefferson area that catch our eye during the course of the season. This blog is NOT affiliated with any race track, but it is affiliated with DCRR Racing News, which has been my Magazine/Blog since 1985.
Southern Oregon Speedway will get a lot of attention because it is my home track now. However, Yreka, Hayfork, Susanville and other tracks will get mentions as I get information. My goal is to help promote auto racing and racers in this area and help be a part of the positive. Many of the tracks getting covered on this blog have been ignored in recent years by and large. I intend to be a part of the change.
Pit Stops
Play Day In Yreka
Racing season is getting closer and closer, and tracks are finally getting into playday season. This includes Cottage Grove Speedway and Sikiyou Motor Speedway in Yreka. The Yreka track has a tradition in recent years where the racers gather at the local McDonald's. It's not simply to grab a burger and fries, though this reporter wouldn't object if they did. You see, McDonald's in Yreka has been a proud sponsor of the track for several years. They are the Mini Stock sponsor. This gives the Mini Stock drivers another reason to Love It.
There were several Mini Stocks and an Outlaw Pro Stock on display at the McDonald's. This gave the fans a chance to get up close with the race cars and meet the drivers. A few kids even got the chance to sit inside a race car, which is what these gatherings are really about. The SCMA and the Yreka McDonald's are all about the community. When this event concluded at 1 PM, the drivers headed to the race track for some practice laps.
There was a nice turnout of roughly 40 cars from Mini Stocks to IMCA Modifieds and Sports Mods, Dwarf Cars, Outlaw Pro Stocks and even some Sprint Cars. Many drivers are anxious to go racing this year, and Siskiyou Moytor Speedway goes live with the season opener on April 9th, featuring a $1,000 to win feature for the IMCA Modifieds, a visit from the always exciting Outlaws Pro Stocks, IMCA Sport Mods and McDonald's Mini Stocks. Last season's champions are Nick Trenchard (IMCA Modifieds), Colter Boswell (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Doug Franklin (SCMA sanctioned IMCA Sport Modifieds) and David Steele (McDonald's Mini Stocks). Jeffrey Hudson is the defending Outlaw Pro Stock champion.
Getting back to IMCA Mofifieds, we happened to write an article when the track's schedule was released back in February, and the race date total checked in at five races. That was just a bit surprising. It had the big money first race of the season, the Wild West Modified Tour race, the special Jon Arnberg Memorial race and the Rod Restad Memorial race as the season closer, which was the biggest paying to win race in California for the class last season. The SCMA was probably keeping an eye on what the schedule was elsewhere, but they added four more races to make it nine within about 48 hours of the schedule's release. Now, the schedule sits at 12 races.
The question every year with IMCA Modifieds is who will be racing for points in the class this year? Drivers tend to bounce back and forth between Southern Oregon Speedway and Siskiyou Motor Speedway. The fans will probably see all of the big names in the area pop in for at least a few visits. Last season, Nick Trenchard, a past winner of Southern Oregon Speedway's Lon Skinner Memorial race, bested past Southern Oregon Street Stock champion Dwayne Osburn for the IMCA Modified championship. The duo were both at playday last week.
2014 champion Roger Lorenzini was third. The year before that, you had Lorenzini beating a couple of Southern Oregon champions, Albert Gill and Mark Wauge, for the championship. Wauge made sure to visit a few times last season and was a winner. You know the big names will come calling, but who will be in contention for the track championship? The first step to answering that question happens on Saturday.
It looks as if Doug Franklin will be out trying for the IMCA sanctioned Sport Mod title, and Colter Boswsell will be there to defend. Trevor Tiffee will have his beautiful car out there during the 13 race schedule as well. Word that we've heard is that car count will actually be up in this class as new cars are debuted. We certainly like to hear that. We know Jimmy Lipke has a new car that he made practice laps with on playday. Add in hard chargers like Garrett Hamilton, Cory Biggs, Kurt Lorenzini and others, and it should be a great season.
David Steele is simply one of the best McDonald's Mini Stock racers in the area. He turned the tables on Mike Whitacker by beating the 2014 champion for last season's title. Whitaker had his hands full holding off past point runner up Ryder Boswell for the second place season. Long time division supporter Marlyn Yawnick, Leslie Cobb, J.B. Leahy and Tyler Frost are others to watch for. Steele, Whitaker, Yawnick and Frost were among the 16 drivers practicing on Saturday.
With Southern Oregon Speedway dark for a few more weeks, it's very possible that a few of their Mini Stocks will be at the Yreka opener on Saturday. A half dozen of their regulars were at the practice. At the end of the day, it's time to stop speculating and come out and see what is happening. After playday on Saturday, the opener is set for this Saturday. Let the green flag fly and let the cars finish where they will. It's going to be a great season!
Yes, Hayfork, Susanville And Quincy Have Race Tracks
Getting information on some of the "Jefferson area" race tracks can be difficult. Take Hayfork Speedway, for instance. We rarely saw results posted last season, though pictures posted on their Facebook site gave us an idea of what race cars were there. This last Saturday, there was some buzz on Facebook as people were working on the track to get it ready for the coming season. What is interesting is that Hayfork Speedway may have been the first track on the West Coast to release a schedule, doing it back in October of last year. For those wondering, those dates are:
May 7, May 21, June 4, June 18, July 9, July 23 August 13, August 27, September 10, September 24 and October 8. The race in October is likely the 3rd Annual Clyde Cordell Memorial Race, though the schedule doesn't specifically say that at the moment.
Pictures from last season showed that at least ten Hobby Stocks were at that race, and Burl Richardson added his name to the perpetual trophy with his victory. We also can tell you that the track again crowned champions last season, and they were Bill Kasper (Hobby Stock), Jack Turner (Mini Stock) and William Young (Enduro). The Enduro class is a unique blend of Trucks and bigger cars, and it looks to be a wild race from the pictures.
We mentioned that one of the track's first stars when it opened for business back in 2011, Josh Smith, has gotten on board with the new Outlaw Pro Stock class that joins the roster of the three other classes. Another addition is the beginner's Street Stocks. It's an interesting move for the track to add new classes while establishing other ones, but we certainly wish them well. They do have a new www.hayforkspeedway.com web site that is a work in progress at the moment. By the way, the track also has two playdays scheduled for April 16 and 30.
We certainly hope that Hayfork Speedway has more news available this year, and we hope for the same from two other Jefferson area tracks, American Valley Speedway in Quincy and Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville. We haven't found champions from the Quincy race track, but their schedule calls for racing on April 30. The Susanville track is run by The Fairgrounds these days, and the track still features IMCA Modifieds, Strictly Stocks and Mini Stocks as the core classes. All three had nine race championship seasons last year.
In the IMCA Modifieds, it was a close battle between veteran Wade Kennemore and Matt Murphy, and Kennemore managed to eek it out in the end for a hard fought championship. The battle for third was also very close with about 20 points separating Jeff Chew, Scott McBeen, Gene Hainline, Neven Kennemore and Steve Bejcek. Generally, car count held steady at about 12 cars per race.
The Strictly Stock division battle went down to the end of the season. Richard Longacre was trailing Nathan Howard going into the finale, but he would prevail in the end. Andrew Cunningham's bad luck down the stretch dropped him back a bit, but he still managed a third place ranking ahead of Shayna Neiman. Jason Emmot battled Larry Foster in a close fourth place battle. At times, the car count struggled, though they went through July in double digits.
Mini Stocks were generally good for eight cars, and it was division mainstay Kyle Belli eeking out a close battle with past champion Larry Whitebird and Jozay Hartman to claim the track championship. Another entertaining battle in the standings saw five cars battle fiercely for fourth with Raymond Talavara Jr. and Joey Marlow battling neck and neck. Raymond Talavara Sr., Fred Kresge and George Bumb were all within striking distance.
The Susanville race track has again booked a comfortable ten race schedule that should make it easier for the racers to support the show this year. The first race is set of April 23.
Coos Bay Speedway Racing Program Continues
Up in Coos Bay, they do a little Mid Drag racing and have several divisions that they run on the clay oval during the season. The track tries to do a little of everything, and Late Models, Sprint Cars, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws and Hornets are a part of the schedule that runs from May through the first week of October.
Looking back at last season, the battle was close for the Winged Sprint Car championship with 16 points separating the Top 4 drivers by season's end. Ultimately, it was Dave May winning a hard fought battle ahead of John Black by just five points. Lawrence VanHoof and Truman Whinningham rounded out the Top 4 with Eric Lyons a solid fifth. Late Models also competed at Coos Bay, and only seven points separated champion Toby McIntire from Trina Post in the end. Bill Hitner was a solid third ahead of Chris Ray and Chuck Bracelin.
Wayne Butler's Sportsman championship was never really in doubt as he won by over 100 points ahead of Tom Williams. Williams was a solid second, leaving the battle for third between Mark Nielson and Josh Kralichek. Neilson won that by just 14 points. Stacy Hiatt was fifth. Josh Bearden was the Street Stock champion last season by 29 points ahead of Daniel Land. The remainder of the Top 5 ran comfortably in order with Ken Fox third ahead of Gary Bearden and Justin Krossman.
The track has two variations of Mini Stocks, and it was Samuel Talon dominating the more advanced Mini Outlaws ahead of Carl Johnson and John Henry. In the Hornet class, which was the best supported division at the track, Dyllan Siedwell won the championship by 24 points ahead of Brody Montgomery. Jeremiah Reibert was third by just a point over Phillip Sullivan as Justin Montgomery rounded out the Top 5.
The 2016 Les Schwab Championship season at Coos Bay Speedway kicks off on May 7 with Winged Sprint Cars headlining along with Late Models, Sportsman cars, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws and Hornets.
From Coos Bay we head back to the Medford area and Southern Oregon Speedway. Saturday is the annual Pear Blossom Parade, and indications are that there are nearly 20 drivers who will be representing the speedway with their cars. It really seems like there's lots excitement in the air with the promoter change this year.
New Season Nearly Upon Us At Southern Oregon Speedway
If you were to slip back about 10 years or so in the past, the numbers tell a different story about Southern Oregon Speedway. At that point in time, four of the track's regular divisions were still pulling in B Main events on occasion. Over the past two or three years, car count has struggled.
People can get bogged down on reasons. The track has gone through various general managers, and there are certain stories that can be told of this difficult time, especially in the last 5 or 6 years. At this point in time, it really doesn't matter why or who is to blame. What does matter is that change is coming. The optimism you may be feeling in the air is the hope that the drivers have of a better 2016 and better years to come.
The racers want to race, and they want to have fun. Fun is a key factor in all of this. If you're not having fun, your desire to race dwindles. A common theme in the success story of the promotional career of Mike McCann is fun. Nowhere is this more evident than in Mike's efforts at Cottage Grove Speedway and Sunset Speedway in Banks. You can ask the racers who were there, and they'll tell you.
Yreka recently had their car show at the McDonald's in town and several racers were there with their cars. The best representation from Southern Oregon Speedway came from the Mini Stock division. Indications are that the Mini Stock division is primed for a major growth in car count. There is also an optimism that the recent domination of Bob Burkett and champions Gary Anderson and David Marble might come to an end.
Two of the drivers who have the highest hopes of making a step towards the championship were at the Yreka car show and play day. That would be Mike Cloud and Eric Hanson. Both of these drivers have serious aspirations of winning the track championship and scoring some feature victories this year. Cloud has progressed in the standings from 6th in 2014 to 5th last year. Hanson, meanwhile, also showed improvement in the standings from 8th in 2014 to 4th last year.
Unconfirmed rumors have last year's champion, David Marble, moving up to the Pro Stock ranks, but the status of Gary Anderson and Bob Burkett hasn't been revealed. The fact that Anderson has won the championship already could influence a move up at some point, but Burkett may have a little bit more incentive to hang around. Bob has been a fixture in the Mini Stock division over the last decade, and his championship frustration finds him ranking second in four of the last six seasons. Could this be the year he finally wins it?
Other top ten drivers from last year, Kris Mix and Marissa Henson, were also at Yreka making some laps, and there were two drivers up from the Hornet ranks with their new Mini Stocks. That would be Devin Weiser and Dillon Lausen. Lausen competed against Henson in the 250's last year at Southern Oregon Speedway, and he ranked second with her third in the final standings.
As with the other divisions at the track, other than the Outlaw Pro Stocks and the Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association, car count in the Mini Stocks last year was under 10 for some races. However, it seemed as if interest was picking up at the end of the year as they were finally able to reach the 10 car mark and beyond. It's not overly optimistic to think that this division will find its way into the teens this year.
One of the keys still comes down to who will be racing regularly this year. Stronger support from the local base will be key to making the car count in the IMCA Modifieds pop this year. One driver we will be hoping to see out there for all nine of the events is six time champion Mark Wauge. Despite not making every race last season, Wauge still led the division in wins and ranked second in the standings, just ahead of Tim Bailey. We do expect the Bailey boys, Tim and Jessie, will be supporters this season. Jesse was a one time Main Event winner last season while ranking fourth in the points, and he was second in the standings the year before.
Of course, the driver to beat is the two time defending champion, Albert Gill. Albert has remained very dedicated to supporting the track in recent seasons. Two drivers who have already committed to being at the speedway this year are Zach Fettinger and Andy Freeman. Freeman really didn't chase points last season, but he was still a main event winner during the year. Fettinger is coming off of back to back 6th place seasons.
Two drivers you definitely would like to have in the field this season are Brian Poppa and John DeBenedetti. Both drivers are past champions in this division, while DeBenedetti is a past multi time Dwarf Car champion and Poppa is a two time Pro Stock champion. The division could become a highly competitive affair with the likes of DeBenedetti and Poppa among the ranks. Hopefully, we'll get some good news in that area.
Monte Bischoff will be hoping for some good news of his own. Unfortunately, that would be the news that his car isn't as torn up as he thought it was after that hard crash at Yakima that he went through last weekend. Monte is a hard charger wherever he goes and was a top 10 driver last season.
Other racers, such as Brett Provost, Jeremy Ohlde, Eric Mobbs and Brian Bowman, were on last season's roster, and we're certainly hoping to see them this year.
We also can't forget the likes of Travis Peery and Dave Duste Jr., two hard chargers who could be title contenders this year. It was only a couple years ago when Duste finished second in the standings ahead of Nick Trenchard. Trenchard was the champion out at Yreka last year, but we saw him a few times at Southern Oregon Speedway as well. Duane Osburn was also a competitor in Yreka, but he's a two time Street Stock champion at Southern Oregon Speedway.
The key to the success of the IMCA Modifieds is the driver's commitment to running regularly at the speedway. The nine race schedule makes it a little bit easier for drivers to make more races. The Lon Skinner Memorial, Wild West Speedweek Shootout and Roger Haudenshild Tribute races will give the drivers some big races to go for this year as well.
It's not likely that two time defending IMCA Sport Mod Champion Jorddon Braaten is arrogantly sitting back saying bring it on boys, but he knows he's the man to beat this year. As it is, they are gunning for him and trying to dethrone the champion, and this should be the best season yet for the five year old division. Braaten gobbled up the lion's share of main event wins at both Southern Oregon Speedway and Siskiyou Motor Speedway, where he ranked 5th last season.
Word is that there are a few drivers planning to surprise him this year as they get into the division. We have heard of Kurt Lorenzini moving into the Sport Mod class, and Matt Duste competed in the division last year, winning a main event. Everybody knows how competitive the Duste family has been at this track through the years, and Matt is a past Lon Skinner Memorial Race winner.
Only 10 points behind Braaten last season despite all of his winning was the consistent Mike Medel. Mike ended the season as the IMCA Oregon State champion, and he'd like to win the track Championship this year. If Glenn Severson, Randy Fernandez and Dwayne Melvin, the top 5 drivers in the points last year, return along with others, such as Bob Nelson, Mini Stock graduate James Welshonse and Jason Rupert, the division could start seeing car counts in double digits with new drivers joining the fray.
The track's somewhat controversial decision to start a Sport Mod class at the expense of the Pro Stocks five years ago did not lead to the demise of the Pro Stock division. The drivers gathered together as a group, and the Outlaw Pro Stock Tour was born. Over the past few seasons, Southern Oregon Speedway has still been a home base for the division, but they race at Yreka and other tracks as well.
Valley Boys Auto Sales has come on board as a title sponsor for the division this year. One of the big news items that we saw in Yreka was that we have a third Flowers family member in the ranks this year. Of course, we saw Scott Flowers settle for a very close second in the standings for the second year in a row, while Jason flowers ranked 3rd last season. This year, Julia Flowers has joined the field, and she was in Yreka making laps last Saturday.
With car counts that actually reached into the twenties last year despite some critics saying it couldn't happen, The Outlaw Pro Stocks are riding high. The rumor of David Marble joining the fray this year could give them their top rookie. Of course, he can count on some competition from the veterans, including two time champion Ken Irving, past champion Davie Everson, and feature winners from last year, Steve Borror, Rocky Nash and Dave Quick. All of those hard charges were among the top 11 in the standings last year.
While the car count remains dependable in the Pro Stocks, the same can be said about the Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association. Unfortunately, the season will start on a sad note after a hard crash at Chico Silver Dollar Speedway has sidelined popular division mainstay Fred Hay.
Hay, along with a few other Southern Oregon competitors, including Brock Peters, Cody Peters and Kalvin Morton, made the trip to the Friday night venue last week. Hay was riding along competing for a Top 10 finish in the 24 car field when the leader, Ryan "Ice Chip" Winter, slowed coming out of turn two. Hay didn't see the slowing car until the last minute and swerved to avoid him going down the back straightaway.
The result of that move saw Hay hit by another car, with his car being launched at least 15 feet in the air before landing on its roof. The good news is that Fred is back home recuperating as of this writing. The bad news is that he is probably out for the foreseeable future. We are awaiting word as to any fundraising plans that will be made on Fred's behalf by the club. Fred was third in the points last season while a feature winner on the circuit as well.
Josh King has already made visits to the Northern California area this year and has a recent Top 3 feature finish to show for it. The two time defending champion may be tough to beat this year. Kalvin Morton is coming off of a fourth place season, and he certainly has hopes of making a run at King. Brock Peters was Top 10 at the finish at Chico last week, and he will be another driver to keep an eye on.
The Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association always puts on a great show wherever they go, and this year we expect the same as they come to Southern Oregon Speedway several times. Other drivers we'll be watching for include Ryan Smith, Rob Gergle, Jesse Merriman, Kaycee Keeler, Travis Gergle, Chad Cardoza and Cody Peters.
The sense of newness in the air will emanate from the fact that the track has added divisions this year that weren't on the card last year. Two of those divisions have a past at the speedway with several championship seasons,. Both the Super 4 Mini Stocks and the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars, presented by Hays Oil, are booked for several shows this year.
Much has already been written about the roster of Sprint Car drivers this year and the fact that there are several drivers looking to make a step up. Unknown in the equation is where some of the division mainstays will end up, but we do know that "young guns" such as Jeffrey Hudson and Camden Robustelli, are on the roster this year along with Sprint Car champions Bill Hopper, Patrick Dills and Chadd Noland. Wayne Kniffin and Todd Whipple are two others who have thrown their hats into the ring.
Like the Sprint Cars, the Super 4's had more than 10 seasons of point racing before they disappeared from their regular spot on the Southern Oregon Speedway roster. At the time, some of the racers thought they'd find greener pastures on the pavement up at Roseburg. However, there have been inquires in the last season or so from drivers wanting to come back through the door. The track made it happen this year, and word is that there are several cars waiting to return to the fast 3/10 mile banked, clay oval. This division was a good one in the past, and it will be interesting to see how the drivers respond to it this year.
The Hornet division has been the overlooked division on the roster, and yet it serves an important function at the speedway. The Hornets are the gateway division for new drivers to get into racing at a reasonable cost. Last season, there were 10 different cars to compete.
Drew Fielder was last season's champion, winning a majority of the races and beating Mikey Johnson, who settled for second. Neal Coaty, Jason Peeble and Garrett Fredrickson made up the top 5 drivers in the standings last year. Two racers from last season, Devin Weiser and Dylan Lausen, are heading for the Mini Stocks this year, and it's uncertain who will be racing this year. However, the Hornets will not be the overlooked division at the speedway this year. Every division matters.
The drivers are chomping at the bit to get on the racetrack, and play day is coming on April 24th. In fact, the speedway will be a very busy place as the Outlaw Kart Track will be open for practice as well. On April 30th, the season opens with the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars, Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association, Outlaw Pro Stocks and Mini Stocks. Information can be found on this and other matters at the official website, www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Division Changes At Chico And Marysville
Going further south to the lower Jefferson area, we head to Chico Silver Dollar Speedway. Promoter Dennis Gage has shaken up the format at his tracks in Chico and Marysville this year. We had already noted that the Mini Stock division was off the schedule at both tracks. That leaves two time Marysville Mini Stock Champion Jimmy Ford and his fellow competitors without a place to run Mini Stocks.
It also comes at a time when Orland racers are scrambling to find places to run their cars. As we reported previously, promoter Adam Zachary has walked away from Orland and is not even in the state at this point. The Glenn County Fair board has put a soccer field near the racetrack, but the season could have happened this year had Zachary endeavored to make the effort. From a business standpoint, it didn't make much sense to him. Other racers tried and apparently have failed to get something going this year.
The Mini Stock and Mini Truck racers at Orland might have hoped to head to Chico or Marysville this year, but those options appear to be off the table. Ironically enough, the Mini Stock effort began at Chico when the Orland racers didn't have a racetrack not too many years ago after the Turner's walked away. Now, drivers are making inquiries as far up north as Southern Oregon Speedway for race dates. You are likely to see some Orland racers on the roster at both Southern Oregon Speedway and Siskiyou Motor Speedway this season, and there could even be a few racers at Hayfork Speedway.
Hobby Stock drivers could still go to Chico or Marysville, and Marysville opened strong with a double digit car count in their Hobby Stock division a couple weeks ago, won by Jason Palmer ahead of Orville Owens and Brian Compton. The Hobby Stocks have been struggling to get cars at Marysville these past few seasons, but this could be a breakout year for this division at the track. Wingless Sprint Car drivers at Orland could just as easily head to Chico for some Friday night racing or even Marysville, where the division still exists. The other option is they could strap a wing on their cars and run with the Economy Sprint Car class that competes at both tracks.
The removal of the Mini Stock division at Chico and Marysville wasn't the only big move made by Gage. The IMCA Modified division is without a home track at Chico this year as well. This will leave the drivers scrambling for a place to run, and they could head north to Susanville or Yreka or south to Antioch or Petaluma. In fact, there was a Duane Cleveland sighting in Hanford last Saturday.
What may have been a motivating factor in Gage's decision to drop the Modifieds was the fact that he is being heavily supported by many of those drivers in The Limited Late Model class, including the Cleveland and McDaniel cars. However, the track will not be without its Modified division.
The IMCA Sport Mod division has been added to Silver Dollar Speedway for several events, and the kickoff event was on April 1st. Drivers came from as far as Southern Oregon to be a part of an over 20 car field, but when the checkered flag flew, it was a familiar face in the Winner's Circle. That would be Antioch and IMCA State champion Fred Ryland. The three drivers expected to be at the front of the pack at both Chico and Marysville finished second through fourth on Friday, led by Hobby Stock graduates Todd Cooper and Brian Cooper and longtime Speedway veteran Jerry Bartlett.
When you consider the numbers in the IMCA Modified division and look over the past couple of seasons, the move to the Sport Mod class makes much sense. The Sport Mod division had a solid year at Marysville last season, and there's no reason to expect that the same won't happen in Chico. When you have a division that starts dropping under 10 cars on a regular basis and another one that seems to be growing, it makes sense that you have to do something. Two things to consider are the fact that the Modified racers have the Limited Late Model division to go to, and there's a possibility that some of these racers may end up in a Sport Mod eventually anyways.
Gage had to be pleased with the Sport Mod openers at Marysville and Chico, both won by Ryland over the Cooper duo. The good start by the Hobby Stocks at Marysville and the continuing double digit performance for the Wingless Spec Sprints are two other reasons for Gage to be pleased. Of course, it is no surprise that many time Spec Sprint champion Terry Schank Jr. continues to win, winning the first two features this year.
Indications are that Chico is poised to have a solid year, but the continuing concerns might be the Winged Economy Sprint Car count as well as the Street Stocks at Marysville. It will be interesting to see how things progress, but we're hoping for solid seasons at both racetracks. The other cool thing about Chico is it continues to boast the only regular 410 Winged Sprint Car class in the state of California. Car count is expected to continue to move along in the double digit area, and they continue to put on a good show there every Friday night.
The change in promoters at Placerville seems to have gone smoothly after the first race there. Car count remains strong in the staple classes, the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Limited Late Models and Pure Stocks. The track will continue to run the Placerville Posse Series that will reward extra point fund money and prize money on those four events for all three divisions. We've also noticed that Domco Plumbing will continue to support with its sponsorship.
Race fans will note that Greg DeCaries continues to be a star in the Winged 360 ranks, picking up the opening season victory over Justin Sanders and Andy Gregg. Twenty-one cars competed in that event, while there were a dozen cars in the Limited Late Model race, won by Ray Trimble over Ryan McDaniel and Wayne Trimble.
It was Dan Jinkerson who won several Main Events last year, picking up the Pure Stock opener ahead of Russ Murphy and Nick Baldwin. Baldwin is excited about hitting the ground running at the season opener this year after his top ten point performance last year despite his late start. Sixteen cars competed in this event, though there was word of some rules discrepancies that might have actually sent some of the racers home. Last season, the division frequently needed B Mains because of the car account, and hopefully that will be the case again this year. We'll see how things go.
NW Modified Cup/Sport Mod Challenge Update
We can't close this column without speaking of Steve Kerstulovich and the Northwest Modified Cup and Northwest Sport Mod Challenge. Steve has been working tirelessly to build both of the series, adding the Sport Mods this year. The season opener for the Modifieds occurred up in Yakima last weekend to a huge car count.
Kerstulovich plans to be very busy with a dozen race tracks in the Modified Series, some of which are also a part of the Sport Mod challenge. At last count, roughly 20 competitors had signed on for the Sport Mod Series, which has at last report landed $1,100 in point fund money. The champion at this moment will get a $500 payday with second collecting $300 and third $200. We had heard that Steve was still working on more details here, so we're staying tuned.
It's not a bad deal when somebody comes in there and builds up a series that offers $1,500 to the champion. That is what Kerstulovich is doing this year with the Northwest Modified Cup. Steve is drawing from a point fund of over $4,000 thanks to numerous sponsors, and the Top 10 drivers will receive some point fund money as well as contingency awards for several spots. Why would he put all of his time and effort into something like this? Because he wants to do something for the good of the sport.
And, Steve added another aspect to his plans, Best Appearing Car Awards. They will go to the drivers involved in both the Sport Mod and Modified divisions. The winners will be chosen among the drivers who have signed up for the either of the two series. Steve will actually be keeping track of all of the points for the two divisions at all of the tracks at which they compete. However, the prizes will be limited to the drivers who have joined the two series.
The cutoff point for joining has come and gone, but we have to believe that if the drivers who haven't signed up yet manage to get their $25 entry to Steve in the near future, they will be able to participate as well. When you think about it, $25 is not a bad investment for something where you can win something back and also help to promote the sport. Steve is taking $20 of that and putting it back into the series, while using just $5 from each to go back into administrative fees.
The beautiful part of this whole deal is the fact that the Modified series continues to grow so much that it has nearly doubled from last year to this year when it comes to the point find and prizes. The Sport Mod division has grown so much that he felt the need to add that. And, we've been saying that this thing can grow even bigger depending on the support of the racers and the sponsors who support it. A West Coast Series in the future? Who knows, but it's nice that we have what Steve has given us at this point.
Once again, the season opens at Siskiyou Motor Speedway this Saturday night with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, McDonald's Mini Stocks and Outlaw Pro Stocks on the card. You can check www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com for the details. In Medford, we have the Pear Blossom Parade taking place this Saturday, and 18 racers are said to be entering their cars in the parade. Playday comes to Southern Oregon Speedway on April 24th, while season openers will soon be coming within the next few weeks at the race tracks in Susanville, Quincy and Hayfork. The Jefferson area will be roaring with the sound of engines as racing season begins.
