Black, Augustine Kick Off 2015 Season
At Coos Bay Speedway With Victories
Five divisions took their turns on the dirt oval at Coos Bay Speedway Saturday night. When the checkered flag waved, wins went to John Black (Sprint Cars), Nathan Augustine (Late Models), Dyllan Siewell (Sportsman), Daniel Land (Street Stocks) and Jeremiah Reiber (Hornets). It was all part of a great night of racing in the Les Schwab Series.
All of the divisions got a chance to run time trials, and Scott Fox was the fastest Sprint Car. His 14.056 lap bested the 14.136 of Laurence Van Hoof. Van Hoof chased John Black across the line for a second in the Trophy Dash before winning his heat race, but he hurt his motor in the process to end his night. Black is the 2015 point runner up, and he won the Main Event ahead of defending champion Dave May. Scott Fox won his heat race and finished third in the Main Event ahead of Ken Fox, Erin Lyons, Ryan Kingery and Nick Kykendall. All of those drivers were on the lead lap of the 30 lap race, which Van Hoof didn't finish.
Coos Bay Speedway is one of those rare tracks on the West Coast that has their own Late Model and Sprint Car divisions. Jared Benet kicked things off in Late Models with a fast lap of 15.397, besting the 15.618 of Nathan Augustine. Benet finished a close second to Chuck Bracelin in the first heat race, but his motor got hurt in the process. Augustine got on a roll in preliminaries as he held off Tom Parry to win the Trophy Dash and then bested Chase Hitner to win the second heat race. Hitner gave it a good run in the Main Event, but the best he could do was settle for second behind the flying Augustine. Parry grabbed a respectable third place finish as Thor Kristenson, Bracelin and Kristy Grout rounded out the lead lap finishers. Defending champion Toby McIntire didn't finish.
Defending Sportsman champion Wayne Butler came out strong with a fast time in qualifying of 16.193, besting the 16.516 lap of Tom Williams. Steve Dubisar held off Dyllan Siewell to win the Trophy Dash and then bested Butler in the heat race. Unfortunately for Dubisar, his Main Event ended early. With Butler and 2015 runner up T. Williams in pursuit, 2015 Hornet runner up Siewell had little margin for error in the Main Event. However, Siewell was up to the challenge as he collected an impressive victory ahead of Butler and T. Williams. Charlie Williams finished fourth as Josh Kralichek, Russ Blean and Dubisar rounded out the field.
Daniel Land would score a grand slam in the Street Stock division. Land started things off as the only driver in the 16 second bracket in qualifying. His lap of 16.918 bested Matt King's lap of 17.466. In fact, King was second all night long to the flying Land. Land won the Trophy dash, the heat race and the Main Event. Land beat King by over a half lap in scoring the feature victory. Jeff Thurman was the final lead lap finisher in the Main Event as Mark Minter, Dustin Hitner and Tom Young rounded out the finishing order. Jeff Krossman had mechanical issues in preliminaries to end his night early.
The Hornet car count reached into double digits, and fourth ranked 2015 competitor Jeremiah Reiber is hoping to step up his game this season. The flying Brody Montgomery, the 2015 champion, set the fast time of 17.959, beating the 18.711 of Reiber. Reiber turned the tables on Montgomery to win the Trophy Dash, but Montgomery suffered a mechanical issue in his heat race to end his night. Robert Randall won his heat race over Brian Berlelow, but he too had a mechanical issue to become a feature scratch. Mike Wagner held off Reiber to win the second heat. Reiber turned in a dominant performance in winning the Main Event. He beat Ryan Siewell by a half lap as Jeremy Beard and Jason Greer were the final lead lap finishers. Barlelew was a lap down in fifth as Wagner, Hanna Robinson, Jake Siewell and William Hitner completed the finishing order. Adam Barber also scratched from the feature.
The Les Schwab series continues this Saturday night. It's Pepsi Night with Sprint Cars, Late Models, Sportsman, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws and Hornets all in action. For further information, check out www.coosbayspeedway.us.
Outlaw Kart Season Continues
At Siskiyou Motor Speedway On Saturday
The new one-eighth mile dirt oval track next to the bigger track at Siskiyou Motor Speedway races again this Saturday afternoon with various classifications of cars. The track is a training ground for the next stars of the bigger track. The show is just being established and will grow in the weeks to come.
The previous race was the season opener, and 500 Karts, 250 Karts, 125's and Box Stocks all took their turns on the small oval track. The 500's were the headliners, and Mike Wheeler grabbed the inaugural victory. The Wheeler family has been a big supporter of open wheel racing for years. Richard Weststeyn collected a solid second place finish with Kenny Boardman grabbing the final spot on the podium. Johnny Burke was fourth. Marissa Henson races the Mini Stock division on the bigger track and won a heat race recently. She finished fifth in her Outlaw Kart as Dustin Pence rounded out the field.
Henson's teammates grabbed the 1-2 finish in the 250 division as Braden Weiser beat Brodee Weiser to the finish line. Sklyer Cole rounded out the Top 3. With the only 125 Kart in the group, Reece Skyler ran with the 250's and finished fourth ahead of Braden Bartlett and Colby Berquist.
The Intermediate Box Stock feature win went to Cadyn Smith ahead of Brionna Fuller and Devon Felix. Natalie Richard grabbed the fourth place finish ahead of Ryan Hisrschbock and Drew Berry. Hirschbock is about ready to make the transition to this class, but he also ran in the Beginner Box Stock division. He finished second in that race behind Taylor Fuller.
