Pit stops - Jefferson Edition

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Pit stops - - Jefferson Edition

Modifieds Take Center Stare At Southern Oregon Speedway

It's official. Racing season is in full bloom throughout the West Coast. While Siskiyou Motor Speedway was taking a week off, Southern Oregon Speedway was bringing out the heavy guns last Saturday night. The lineup of IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Mini Stocks and Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars delighted the crowd.

In the field of IMCA Modifieds was six time champion Mark Wauge. Wauge raced a limited schedule last season, but he still managed to rank second in points. Between Southern Oregon Speedway and Yreka, Wauge managed to win several of the big races during the course of the season. It's not for lack of love for his home track that Wauge didn't run every race last season. His main concern was car count, and he really didn't want to go out there and get wins if it was only a six car field.

In the weeks leading up to the season opener, Mark began to tell people that he was considering running full time again this year. He revealed to this reporter that this is the plan as long as car count can stay up above the 10 car mark. It was hoped that some of the big names would get back out there and race, and Mark is certainly the biggest name in the area. On Saturday, he showed why as he won both his heat race and the Main Event.

If Wauge does go for his seventh track championship, he can count on some competition from Matt Duste. Throughout the 20 year run of the speedway, the Duste family has been a factor in the championship battle in this division. In fact, Matt and his father and his brother, Dave Sr. and Dave Jr., have all ranked as high as second in the standings. Matt himself is a winner of the prestigious Lon Skinner Memorial Race. The rumor had it that Matt would be running a Sport Mod this year, but he had his beautiful blue #23 car out there running with the Modified division. He ran a smooth race, though he didn't have what he needed to get around Wauge for the win. He settled for a second place finish.

Two of the other names you'll need to keep an eye on this year are Jesse Bailey and two time defending champion Albert Gill. You won't find a better supporter of the speedway over the last two seasons than Gill. He has come up through the ranks of the Pro Stock division to the Modifieds, and he has been competitive in whatever division he's been in. He grabbed a fourth place finish on Saturday night, showing that he still has it.

As for Bailey, he's been a front runner in Modifieds at the speedway over the last few seasons. He would follow Wauge's example by winning his heat race that night, and he was up near the front of the pack in third for most of the Main Event. The fact is, Jesse is due for a breakout championship run. Could this be the year?

The Yreka track was also well represented in the Southern Oregon opener. 2015 champion Nick Trenchard, Kyle Casson, and Duane Orsburn crossed the line in fifth through seventh. Trenchard had been running up in third, but his motor seemed to be losing a little bit of power down the stretch. All three of these drivers have had their success at Southern Oregon Speedway. Casson is a past Top 5 driver in the standings, and Trenchard won the Lon Skinner Memorial Race a few years ago. Orsburn started racing at the Speedway in the Street Stock division and won the first two championships in 2011 and 2012.

In the week leading up to the opener, Duane revealed that he was planning on running full time for a championship at Southern Oregon Speedway. This could have been heightened by his frustration at Yreka, where he was the only driver to make all three races. In fact, the the last time Yreka had a race for the class, he was the only driver there. Trenchard had a $1,000 victory in the season opener before bailing on them. We didn't hear what Nick's plans are, but Casson said he would run occasionally at Southern Oregon Speedway. Having any of these three drivers in the field is a bonus for the fans.

It was interesting to watch the crew of Daniel Herrera in the line coming to the track. The team had gotten this car from Dan Estremado, a past champion at the speedway. The car wasn't quite ready to go to the track, and they were trying to finish up the last minute details while they waited to sign in. Obviously, things weren't quite up to specs as the team didn't make the Main Event.

Jeremy Ohlde and Zach Fettinger both made it for the opening night. Both drivers plan on making the full season. Ohlde managed to grab an eighth place finish, but Zach watched the finish from the sidelines as he DNF'ed in 12th. Making the Main Event interesting was the fact that it went all 25 laps without a yellow flag. It shows just how good IMCA Modified racing can be at Southern Oregon Speedway.

The IMCA Modifieds take a week off, but they're coming back for two appearances in a row to close the month on May 21st and May 28th. The May 28th race is a big event, the Roger Haudenschild Tribute Race. Extra money will be on the line, and the IMCA Sport Modifieds will be there then. In fact, the IMCA Sport Modifieds are running this week as well.

Back once again is Jorddon Braaten. Braaten has already been a big factor on the circuit, having won Main Events at Cottage Grove Speedway. When he got into the Sport Modified division a few years ago, he revealed that his plans were to get into the IMCA Modifieds. According to the team, this is going to happen in 2017. In the meantime, Jorddon is setting his sights on a triple crown and the championships of Southern Oregon Speedway, IMCA Oregon State and Steve Kerstulovich's North West Sport Modified Challenge.

Jorddon picked up right where he left off last year by winning the Main Event. In this case, he had his hands full with another two time Southern Oregon Speedway champion, Dwayne Melvin. Melvin had won his heat race, and he gave Braaten all he could handle during the first half of the race. Dwayne even made it past for the lead midway through the race, only to have it negated by a yellow flag for defending Oregon State champion Mike Medel. He ended up settling for a strong second place finish.

As for Medel, the night ended up being one he'd rather forget. Dwayne was involved in a scrape on the back straight away with Yreka visitor Garrett Hamilton and Randy Fernandes. Fernandes was the worst victim of the early yellow flag as his race ended. Hamilton and Medel continued, but it was obvious both of their cars were pretty damaged. Medel fell out, but heat race winner Hamilton limped around the track for a seventh place finish, one lap down.

As with the IMCA Modified division, the Sport Modifieds were will represented by Yreka racers. In addition to Hamilton, Jimmy Lipke and Kurt Lorenzini were also in the field. Lipke had purchased a car before the season from Ryland Racing down in Brentwood, California. He has been running up near the front of the pack, but he's looking for a feature victory. On this occasion, he ended up fourth. He will likely be back at his home track next week trying for that win.

Lorenzini is a driver who will be racing wherever he feels like this season. Kurt got his car from his legendary father, Roger Lorenzini Jr. It was actually an IMCA Modified that he converted back to Sport Modifieds for this season. The results of that paid off early on with the win that he had at Yreka, and he didn't do too badly on this night with a fifth place finish.

2015 Mini Stock champion David Marble made his Southern Oregon Speedway debut in the Sport Modified class. The nephew of past Sprint Car champion T.J. Winningham collected a respectable fifth place finish. David had been pitting for him for several seasons before he was convinced by his uncle to get a Mini Stock. He rapidly climbed up the ladder in that division, ranking in the Top 3 in 2014 before winning the championship last year. So far, he's really enjoyed driving this race car.

Marble wasn't the only rookie in the field as A.J. Parker was also making his first start. Unfortunately for Parker, he didn't do too well and ended up last in the 10 car field. That was better than Klamath Falls long tow Justin Foux, who didn't even start the Main Event due to mechanical issues.

Mini Stock racing has been pretty exciting two races into the season. Bob Burkett and Gary Anderson have come out strong this year. Burkett, who is now the point leader, won the season opener, and he was working on a clean sweep last week. After his Trophy Dash and heat race wins, however, Burkett was denied by Anderson. Burkett did lead 10 laps before Anderson passed him. This time, Anderson didn't get tripped up by lapped traffic. He ended up bringing home the victory. Anderson is the 2014 champion in this division, and it could be a good battle between these two drivers.

The Mini Stock division has a pair of 14 year olds in its midst. They are Marissa Henson and Michael Johnson. Henson has raced for several seasons in Outlaw Karts. Last season was her first season in Mini Stocks, and she finished in the Top 10. This year, the High School Freshman is setting her sights on a Top 3 ranking and her first career feature victory in Mini Stocks. Marissa managed to hold off a late challenge from Andrew Hall to finish fourth in the Main Event, earning her another Trophy Dash start next time the division is in action. She is also holding on to third place in the point standings.

For second generation racer Johnson, the going has been a little bit more difficult. Michael is one of three drivers who has moved up from the Hornet division, and he actually ranked second in that class last year. The car he ran then had an automatic transmission, and now he's working a stick shift. In his struggle to learn the stick shift, Michael didn't quite make it out to start the season opening Main Event. Johnson answered the call in the latest race and finished ninth.

Eric Hanson would love to answer the call for a Main Event, but thus far, he's been unable to start either race. Coming off of his Top 5 season last year, but nothing has gone right so far. He was taken out by fuel pump problems at the season opener, and the team was scrambling frantically during intermission to get the motor running this last week. No word on what the problem was this time, but Eric will hopefully have the car back and running when the Mini Stocks return to the speedway on May 21st.

For Kristopher Mix, the racing season almost didn't happen. Coming off of his Top 10 season last year, Kristopher has high hopes of an even better year this year. He took the car he intended to compete with this season to the playday at Yreka. Unfortunately, he ended up crashing in one of the practice sessions and damaged the car enough that it wasn't going to be usable for him in time to start the season at Southern Oregon Speedway. This left the veteran of four seasons of Mini Stock racing scrambling to find another ride.

Fortunately for Mix, he found a ride in the former Curt Ballard car. He went to work on getting the car ready with just a couple of weeks to do so, and he added some new pink numbers to his #89 car. The second generation racer went out on opening day and grabbed himself a Top 5 finish in fourth. That earned him a Trophy Dash start last week, though he didn't do so well in that event. Mix ended up seventh at the checkered flag last week, which keeps him in the battle for the Top 5 in points.  That and a feature win were the goals going into the season.

Meanwhile, Yreka visitor Ethan Killingsworth brought his Mini Truck, and he had a solid showing with a third place finish. Just a week prior at his home track, Ethan actually led 10 laps of the Main Event before an electrical issue sidelined him.

It's obvious that the beautiful blue #007 Mini Wagon of Andrew Hall is fast, though Hall is still getting used to being behind the wheel. For the second straight week, Andrew won his heat race, and he was running up in the Top 3 before spinning again. Hall made a charge back up to finish fifth in the Main Event, just barely missing passing Marissa Henson for that fourth place position. Actually, if there's a car in the field that has something for the #43 of Burkett and the #0 of Anderson, it could be the #007 car of Hall.

It was not too much of a surprise to see Vern Wheeler Jr. again roll to a clean sweep in the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car division. Wheeler has the experience and is running a 360 Sprint Car in the field that has some Limited Sprints. Though there are some veteran racers avoiding competing in the new class at Southern Oregon Speedway, Wheeler has ruffled some feathers by taking his car and his son Jake's car to the speedway. Wheeler has said that he wants to see this division be successful at the track, and it is close to his home.

An issue with some of the racers is their feelings that there should be a bigger purse for the class. At this point, management is just trying to establish a division and build a crowd base for the speedway, which has had tough times over the last couple years. Things can get a lot better for Sprint Car racing at Southern Oregon Speedway, but the fact that some of the racers refuse to compete there isn't helping the cause.

As for the Wheeler Team, they have grabbed the top two positions in each Main Event so far, and that has left them with a $1,200 paycheck each week. Plus, they are only towing a few minutes from home. If the other teams aren't liking what they're seeing, perhaps somebody will bring their car out there and put an end to the Wheeler domination? Otherwise, it will fall to one of the drivers on the roster to do this.

Currently, the two drivers most likely to challenge Team Wheeler are rookies Camden Robustelli and Jeffrey Hudson. Each of them has a third place finish in the Main Event, while Hudson now has a second place finish in the Trophy Dash and a heat race. Robustelli also has a second place heat race finish. Both drivers are concentrating on getting comfortable behind the wheel and controlling their race cars. In time, you're going to see something good from both of these drivers. They're both very talented.

One driver who has been out at the speedway just about since it opened is Wayne Kniffen. Wayne is one of the budget racers at the speedway, and he has won B Main championships in the Dirt Modified and Mini Stock divisions in his career. After a sponsor flaked on him, he missed the opening race. As it is, it could be week to week as to whether we see the #84 car in the field.

On Saturday night, Wayne drove a good race and ended up a lead lap fourth in the 25 lap feature. With that finish, he is qualified for the Trophy Dash on May 21st. Wayne revealed that this was the first Trophy Dash for him since he ran the Mini Stocks some fifteen years ago. With a front row start, you never know what he might be able to accomplish.

Todd Whipple is getting the most seat time that he's had in a Sprint Car since he debuted the car. Though his results aren't as good as he might like to see, he has taken his car to two straight checkered flags and has been able to drive it up on the trailer. The one thing about the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car division at Southern Oregon Speedway is it has given these drivers some good seat time. If the six drivers return on May 21st, they will likely be joined by two time Orland Wingless Sprint champion Bill Hopper, who has gotten his motor problems ironed out. And, you never know who might show up next.

The five division program that is coming this week will include the Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks, the IMCA Sport Modifieds, the Hornets division, the Super 4's division and the OTRO Hardtops. There are a few questions centering around this program. However, they don't involve the Outlaw Pro Stocks. The turnout is expected to be pretty good for that class.

The bigger question when it comes to the Pro Stock division is can anybody stop Steve Borror? Steve has dominated the first two Main Events of the season. In fact, nobody has really come close to him. In the last race at Southern Oregon Speedway, only Ken Irving, James Flowers and Roy Bain managed to stay on the lead lap with him. Flowers is the only other driver with Top 3 finishes in both Main Events this year. He was second to Borror in Yreka.

The Flowers family now fields three Outlaw Pro Stocks. There is father Scott Flowers, who had a DNF at the first race at Southern Oregon Speedway. Then, there's his son James and daughter Julia. Julia is up from Outlaw Kart racing and is a rookie this season. So far, she has stayed out of trouble and grabbed two consecutive checkered flags. Scott brings impressive credentials as a two time runner up in the Pro Stocks these past two seasons and a past champion at Worden Speedway.

There were 14 cars at the last race, and some good competitors are anticipated this week as well, including John Cobb, Scott Bennett, Matt Harlow and two time Super 4's champion Brian Johnsen.

Speaking of the Super 4's division, they return to the speedway as one of the featured divisions for the first time since 2013. We're not sure who will be showing up, but last year's lone feature winner, Lee Doty, could be there along with John Barger. Estimations are that we could see anywhere from six to 10 cars for the opener. This division put on some good shows back in the day, and it will be nice to have them back in the fold once again.

One of the keys to a successful racing program is a solid entry level division. The Hornets division has been that entry level division for the past couple of seasons, though it has sort of flown in under the radar. A total of 10 different cars competed last year, including six cars each for the last two nights. The goal is to see nights where at least 10 cars show up. The hope is for a minimum of six cars for this race.

At this point, we're not really sure who will be there. Darrel Nelson Jr. has confirmed that he will be there. We've heard nothing from 2015 champion Drew Fielder, but three other competitors from last year, Devan Weiser, Dillon Lausen and Michael Johnson, have all moved up to Mini Stocks. Weiser still has his car and was contemplating a visit for this race. He is coming off of a sixth place finish in the Mini Stock feature last week.

Not much is known to this reporter about who will be showing up with OTRO Hardtops. A group of about a half a dozen of the competitors who were running on the pavement at Roseburg are said to be interested in doing some dirt racing. The only name that we've heard of in this group is Dick Bridges, who is the one reportedly coordinating the group to come visit. The Hardtops are scheduled five times this year, although one report was that they were going to run the first two races and see from there. 

Yreka Racing Returns On Saturday

Siskiyou Motor Speedway will be back in action this Saturday with a Kart race in the afternoon and then the regular show in the evening. The evening show will feature the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds, McDonald's Mini Stocks and IMCA Modifieds. The program will also feature Mud Bogs, Mechanics Races and a ball toss by the IMCA Sport Modified racers.

At this point, the two IMCA Sport Mod drivers battling for the championship are Garrett Hamilton and his teammate Doug Franklin. Franklin was second in IMCA points last season while winning the association's championship. He ended up second at the finish last time out, while teammate Garrett Hamilton won the race. Hamilton took a beating at Southern Oregon Speedway last week, though he took a checkered in seventh on the night and after winning his heat race.

Two other drivers visiting Southern Oregon Speedway last week were Kurt Lorenzini and Jimmy Lipke. Lipke purchased a car from Ryland Racing in California in the hopes of being more competitive and picked up his best finish yet in that car in forth. Lorenzini already has a Main Event win at Yreka two races ago, and he finished sixth at Southern Oregon. It seems to be a pretty evenly matched show for the Sport Modifieds at Yreka.

The McDonald's Mini Stocks has turned into a rather interesting show. Not many people were expecting that Marilyn Yawnick would end up winning two Main Events in a row, but that's exactly what she has done. She's enjoying the best finishes of her career to this point. Making it even more impressive is the fact that in both cases, 2015 champion David Steele finished a close second to her.

Steele probably expected that 2014 champion Mike Whitaker would be his closest competitor. Unfortunately, Whitaker has sort of stumbled out of the gate so far this year. At this point, past champion Terry Kendrick and Yawnick are his closest contenders. However, we'll have to keep an eye on the Mini Truck of Ethan Killingsworth after his strong third place showing at Southern Oregon Speedway.

We anticipate good racing in both divisions, but we're not really sure who will be showing up in the IMCA Modifieds. After all of the complaining following just five dates being scheduled, the track more than doubled that schedule to 12 races. Car count to this point after three races has been five at the first show, 3 at the second and one at the third. Duane Orsburn was the only driver to make all three appearances, and he was clearly frustrated by the fact that he was the only guy there last time. Perhaps the only thing giving the show a chance at having cars is the fact that Southern Oregon Speedway does not have IMCA Modifieds this week. We'll see what happens.

Season Openers At Coos Bay And Hayfork

While Susanville had a rain out for their second event (they have IMCA Modifieds, Strictly Stocks and Mini Stocks this Friday), Coos Bay Speedway finally had their first race. A field of just over 40 cars showed up for the five division show, which featured both Sprint Cars and Late Models. It was John Black picking up the Sprint Car win. The 2015 Point runner up beat the defending champion Dave May, who settled for second over Scott Fox. Nathan Augustine won the Late Model Main Event ahead of Chase Hitner and Tom Parry. There aren't too many tracks that run Late Models and Sprint Cars, and Coos Bay Speedway had them both on the same night.

Dylan Siewell is up from the Hornet division into the Sportsman class, and he had to take on the defending champ and the 2015 Point runner up. What was interesting was he managed to beat the defending champion Wayne Butler and Tom Williams in a competitive race. Siewell's departure from the Hornet division opens the door for 2015 fourth ranked driver Jeremiah Reiber, who picked up the feature win by half a lap over Ryan's Siewell. An equally dominant performance was turned in by the Street Stock runner up for 2015, Daniel Land, who won by over a half lap ahead of Matt King in Street Stocks. Land won every race in the division that night with King finishing second each time.

Out at Hayfork Speedway, they finally opened up their gates to do some racing. Unfortunately, their car count was just a bit light as only the locals showed up due to the threat of rain. The records will show that the winners of the seventh season opener were Burl Richardson in Hobby Stocks, William Young in Mini Stocks, D.J. Case in Beginners Street Stocks, Tressan Smith in Outlaw Pro Stocks and Ryan Gummerus in Enduros. They'll be trying for a bigger car count on May 21st, and it will probably happen.

Placerville And Closing Thoughts

Rain did a number on the race tracks in South Jefferson with cancellations in Roseville, Chico and Marysville. However, Placerville Speedway did get to run, and their Thompson Auto Group 360 Sprint Car feature was won by Andy Forsberg. It was Sean Becker picking up the second place finish once again over Dominic Scelzi, Mason Moore and Jonathan Allard.

In the Jay's Welding And Fabricating Pure Stock division, Jason Palmer picked up his first ever win over Matt Tillford. The Tillford family has been racing at Placerville for a number of years, making Palmer's accomplishment more impressive. Two time defending champion, Scott Grunert, finished third ahead of Jeff Sly and new point leader Nick Baldwin. Willie McMillan grabbed his second DOMCO Plumbing Limited Late Model Main Event win over Ryan McDaniel as Tyler Lightfoot. Ray Trimble and Matt Micheli completed the top five.

Whether it is the BCRA Midget Lites, NorCal Dwarf Cars or what have you, Placerville likes to run a fourth division. There have been rumblings about getting the track to start its own IMCA Sport Modified show, and after the 13 car showing they had at a test race a couple of weeks ago, it wouldn't be a surprise to see that happen. Past San Jose Sprint Car champion Charlie Caracillo won the BCRA Midget Lites Main Event over defending series champion Craig Dillard and Kyle Offill. This division will join the track's regular three divisions when racing resumes at Placerville this week.

Southern Oregon Speedway will be running Outlaw Karts on Friday night, followed by a five division show Saturday night on the big track that will include the Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Super 4's, Hornets and OTRO Hardtops. The page for the details as always is www.southernoregonspeedway.com.

Siskiyou Motor Speedway likes to do their Kart racing on the same night as the big track races, so Kart races happen Saturday afternoon. The show on Saturday night will feature the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds, McDonald's Mini Stocks and IMCA Modifieds. Mud Bogs, Mechanics Races and a ball toss by the Sport Modified drivers are also featured on the card. And, www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com is your website to go to for all of the details.

Now that the gates are open at Coos Bay Speedway, you'll get Winged Sprint Cars, Late Models, Sportsman, Street Stocks, Hornets and Mini Outlaws as a part of a six division show this Saturday night. You can go to www.coosbayspeedway.us for more information.

Hayfork Speedway Opens Seventh Season 

Under Threatening Skies

Racing season began at Hayfork Speedway Saturday night. Even the threatening skies didn't dampen the spirits of the competitors who were there as cars from five different divisions were represented.  Of note was the fact that three generations of the Kasper family were competing.

Grandfather Bill Kasper, himself the 2015 Hobby Stock champion, was there, along with son Kevin Kasper and grandson William Kasper.  Bill was going for the win in Hobby Stocks, but he was denied by the winner of last season's Clyde Cordell Memorial Race, Burl Richardson.  Bill settled for second ahead of Russ Newman.  Meanwhile, Bill's son, Kevin Kasper collected the win in the Trophy Dash.

The track has added a Beginner's Street Stock division as a way to get new competitors.  A couple of teens, D.J. Case and William Kasper, the grandson, battled for the win with the checkered flag falling over Case.  Bryan Gummerus won the Enduro race ahead of Tim Kasper.  2015 Enduro champion William Young won the Mini Stock race, while Tressan Smith was the Outlaw Pro Stock winner.

Racing resumes at Hayfork Speedway on May 21st with Hobby Stocks, Enduros, Mini Stocks, Outlaw Pro Stocks and Beginners Street Stocks all on the card.  For further information, check out the official web site at www.hayforkspeedway.com.