Drivers Can Run For The Money At Two Tracks
On Memorial Day Weekend
Last week, the weather was the winner at Southern Oregon Speedway as it washed out both the Outlaw Kart race and the race on the bigger track. This week, they will try again with both tracks. Despite the washout at Southern Oregon Speedway, Roseburg, Coos Bay, Susanville and Yreka all got their races in.
There are some big races coming up on Memorial Day Weekend. Though it may appear as if Southern Oregon Speedway and Siskiyou Motor Speedway are engaged in a bit of one upsmanship, that's not the case. When Mike McCann took over the Medford track, he looked at of all the schedules and saw that the big race for Yreka was actually the weekend before last year. Southern Oregon Speedway had the Roger Haudenschild Tribute on the last week of May. McCann figured that this was a safe bet.
The track will go ahead with the tribute to Roger Haudenschild, which is being spearheaded by Matt Duste of Dusty's Transmission. As this column is being written, we're still putting together the notes on what the pay is going to be, but Matt has indicated an increase in last year's $700 to win for the IMCA Sport Mods and $1000 to win for the IMCA Modifieds is the goal. Last year's purses are actually in line with the $1,038 to win at Yreka for IMCA Modifieds and $750 to win for IMCA Sport Mods.
For Siskiyou Motor Speedway, it's an important event. They honor one of the track's legends, John Arnberg, with a 38 lap IMCA Modified race. All three divisions are having special events as the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds honor Bo Hittson and the McDonald's Mini Stocks honor Mike Caveye. It is actually a two day event for Siskiyou Motor Speedway as they run preliminary races on Saturday and the big races on Sunday.
In this day and age, a two day event can be a crap shoot. Back in the days when there were big car counts at these shows, you needed that second day to help qualify people for the show. You would get 50 or 60 or more cars in the pits for the big show. Even getting B Main Events at this show may be a long shot. This is not a negative shot at any race track, just an observation of the times that we live in now. It would be nice if they could get that kind of car count.
The smart racer will note the purses at both tracks and head for Southern Oregon Speedway on Saturday and back to Siskiyou Motor Speedway on Sunday. That means that the fans will enjoy big show's at both tracks. The two tracks have a rather strained relationship for reasons that this column won't get into, but hopefully that will change in the future. As it is, many racers support both tracks when they can.
Southern Oregon Speedway Ready For Action
What we didn't get last week that would have been nice was our first look at the Super 4's and the Hornets divisions. Going into the third season for the Hornets division, we're not really sure we can expect at Southern Oregon Speedway. We do know Darryl Nelson Jr is ready to go, and we've seen one Hornet that was on display at the parade a month ago. The hope was that we could at least start the season off with the six cars that we had last year and build from there. We know of at least 10 Hornets in the area.
The Super 4's division is coming back to Southern Oregon Speedway after being away for a few seasons. Indications are that we could see anywhere from 6 to 12 cars when they finally get on the race track. Though the first race was a wash out, they're scheduled to be a part of the Haudenschild Race on May 28th.
Another question will be answered when the four division show comes to Southern Oregon Speedway this week. The show will feature Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, Mini Stocks and the new Open Stock division. Eyes were opened among some of the Outlaw Pro Stock drivers when they got wind of what the purse would be. The word is that we will be seeing some Outlaw Pro Stock drivers at the track this week as part of the Open Stock race.
The unknown in all of this is what sort of Late Model and Street Stock count might appear. It is known that there is still a handful of cars in the area in both classes, but otherwise they'll be drawing from cars up north. We anticipate that we will see some cars from each classification, but how many remains to be seen. Late Model names that were said to be looking include Blaine Thomas, Bob Dees, Mike Linder and Steve Lemley.
With the recent cancellation of the Limited Sprint show up at Cottage Grove Speedway, there was a question as to who might show up for the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car class at Southern Oregon Speedway this week. They run for a slightly smaller purse than what Southern Oregon Speedway offers, so some drivers might think they have a shot at some of the money. We'll have to wait and see.
Right now, Vern Wheeler Jr is the king of the mountain, and his son Jake Wheeler seems to be the prince. The Wheeler family has taken the 1-2 positions in both Main Events, and the first target will be Jake. Can anybody take the second spot from him this week? The two young guns of the division, Camden Robustelli and Jeffrey Hudson, seem like the most likely candidates at the moment.
The hot rumor right now is that we may be seeing 2009 champion Charlie Thompson make a return to the Sprint Car division this week. His return could signal a challenge to Vern Wheeler Jr's domination.
The Winged Sprint Cars will also get a Trophy Dash with a front row of Robustelli and Wayne Kniffen. Will either of these two drivers be able to withstand the challenge from the Wheelers, who start in the row behind them?
Mark Wuage will be back out there to go for two in a row. There's a lot of excitement in the air with the IMCA Modifieds as they prepare for the Roger Haudenschild Tribute Race coming up on May 28th. You can bet that Mark will be gunning for that race and the extra prize money on the line, and this week will be a tune up for the six time track champion.
There are some talented drivers in this field that we saw last time out, including the driver who finished second, Matt Duste, third place finisher Jesse Bailey and two-time defending champion Albert Gill. These three are anticipated this week along with hard chargers such as Zack Fettinger, Jeremy Ohlde and Justin Ryker. There are some hard chargers we hope to see here in the weeks ahead, including past champions John DeBenedetti and Brian Poppa and hard charger Tim Bailey.
While Bob Burkett and Gary Anderson are picking up right where they left off in the Mini Stock division, there is still a race among the rest of the competitors to dethrone these two feature winners. Andrew Hall has certainly stepped up his game and could be the driver to beat them. There's also talented 14 year old racer Marissa Henson, currently third in the points. Kristopher Mix, Mike Cloud and hard luck racer Eric Hanson are others we'll be watching for. The field also welcomes some talented new drivers including Dylan Lausen, Devon Weiser and Mikey Johnson.
Sport Mod, Mini Stock Excitement In Yreka
Making headlines last week at Siskiyou Motor Speedway in Yreka was the fact that veteran Lenny Toolanen jumped into an IMCA Sport Modufied and set a track record. Toolanen was running in the Mechanics Race and scored the victory. Names like Toolaneen, Gunderson and Lorenzini have been fixtures at the speedway through the years, and all three families were represented on Saturday night.
With rain putting a damper on some of the race tracks up north, Jorddon Braaten led the charge in the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified division. Not surprisingly, he ended up bringing home the winner's hardware. Braaten was so dominant in the Main Event that he scored the victory by over half a lap ahead of Jimmy Lipke, who figures to be a serious title contender this year. Lipke enjoyed his best finish yet in his new car. There's only one more position for him to go as he sets his sights on the victory
Kurt Lorenzini, the son of Roger, ran a good race to finish third in the Main Event after winning his heat race. Kurt already counts himself as one of the Main Event winner's this season. Another of this year's Main Event winners and title contender Garrett Hamilton settled for 7th in the Main Event.
It was Chris Jorgensen getting himself another good finish in the Main Event in fourth ahead of young up and comer Colton Chaffey. The one thing about the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified division at Siskiyou Motor Speedway is it is very competitive. There are sure to be a few more drivers this year that will lay claim to Main Event victories.
In the McDonald's Mini Stock division, David Steele has not gotten off to the kind of start that he would hope for. He did win the season opener, but he was surprised in the next two races by Marilyn Yawnick. Marilyn has been enjoying the best run of her career so far, but her win streak was snapped by Dennis Jorgensen on Saturday night. It was a Main Event that Steele watched from the sidelines after mechanical problems before his heat race.
Jorgensen was a happy winner, and it appears as if young Ethan Killingsworth may be the next driver to make it into the Winner's Circle. Ethan seemed to be heading for victory last time out when he had a wiring problem sideline him from the lead 10 laps into the race. A visit to Southern Oregon Speedway netted him a third place finish two weeks ago. He backed that up with a strong second place finish last week.
"Magic" Mike Whitaker just served notice to the competition with his third place finish in the recent race that he's back in competitive form. Whitaker is the 2014 champion and point runner up last season, but he has struggled out of the gate. It looks like he's turning things around now. Yawnick settled for a fourth place finish and remains in title contention. Marilyn was not winless that evening as she did win her heat race.
Another past Mini Stock champion, Terry Kendrick, picked up a Trophy Dash win and was 6th in the Main Event. Those results should put Terry into the point lead when the next point list is released. Though Devon Weiser is a regular at Southern Oregon Speedway, he was happy to grab his first top five finish in 5th.
A bit of a wild and crazy IMCA Modified division resulted in penalties being levied against Roger Lorenzini and 2015 point runner up Duane Orsburn. Stan Gunderson ended up getting the win, and word was that Orsburn was considering not coming back to the speedway in light of the ruling against him. Track officials had to be a little bit concerned with the car count that showed up despite the fact that Southern Oregon Speedway was rained out and didn't have this division scheduled to begin with.
This week will be the first round of the new Patriot Series that will pit the drivers in all divisions against each other in a winner take all competition. It combines points in all classes and the drivers will also get points based on the most patriotic looking paint jobs. All of that information will be explained at www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com. The Saturday night competition will include the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds, McDonald's Mini Stocks and Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association.
Coos Bay, Diamond Mountain Speedway Racing Continues
Coos Bay Speedway is in full gear with two races under their belts and a big Late Model competition coming up on May 28th. The track again featured the Winged Sprint Car division and Late Models as part of the Les Schwab Series. It was Josh Sin adding his name to the Late Model win list ahead of David Schmidt and Nathan Augustine.
In light of the recent controversy over certain tracks and what they pay for the Winged Sprint Car purse, it was a bit of a surprise to us to see two Cottage Grove Speedway competitors in the Sprint Car field. It was not a surprise to see Cooper Desbian win the Main Event with Brandi Crockett finishing third. Local regular Scott Fox ended up second as defending champion Dave May was fourth.
Daniel Land continues his domination of the Street Stock division with his second straight Main Event win, while Wayne Butler held off Justin Rykes and Tom Williams to win the Sportsman Main Event. Jeremiah Reiber was the Main Event winner in the Hornets division ahead of Josh Bearden and Jake Siewell.
In Central Jefferson, we have word from Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville. Shawn Natenstedt won the IMCA Modified Main Event with Chris Nieman second and Galen Hainline third. Matt Murphy and past Quincy champion Erica Buhr rounded out the top five.
The Strictly Stock Main Event was another win for Victor Richey as he held off defending champion Richard Longacre and Nathan Howard for that victory. Meanwhile, 2015 runner up Kyle Belli rebounded from his non finish in the season opener to win the Main Event in the Mini Stocks ahead Billy Gibson and Wyatt Spaulding
It seems that the most difficult track to get any results from in the Jefferson area remains American Valley Speedway in Quincy. However, we can give you top three finishers for the first two IMCA Modified races of the season. It was Chris Nieman winning the opening Main Event ahead of Erica Buhr and Riley Simmons. Veteran Jeff Olschowka won the next Main Event ahead of Chase Nieman and Matt Murphy.
Quincy and Susanville seem to be dancing partners, so to speak, and they have the NAPA Gold Series. The first race for that series takes place at Quincy on June 4th with the next race at Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville on June 11th.
A bit west of Yreka, Hayfork Speedway is getting ready for their second event on May 21st. Admittedly, the support was a bit sparse for their opener under threatening skies. The track is hoping for some more competitors to take on Hobby Stock feature winner Burl Richardson, Bill Kasper and the rest of the competition. By the end of the season, the Hobby Stocks last year were getting double digit car counts, and the track decided to add Beginner Street Stocks this year.
Two youngsters, third generation racer William Kasper and D.J. Case, were there for the first race. Case will go on record as the first winner in the Beginners Street Stock class. Can he make it two in a row? Tressan Smith (Outlaw Pro Stock), William Young (Mini Stock) and Bryan Gummerus (Enduro) are also looking to win their second features in the five division program.
Racing Season Kicks Off In Roseburg
In Northern Jefferson, Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg now has two races under their belt. The PRA Hardtop division was part of the May 7th season opener, and they fielded 12 cars. Troy Gasner won the season opening 25 lap race ahead of Doug Coffman and Greg Hickman.
The PRA Modified division also competed with Tom Ford winning their opening 35 lapper ahead of Herman Pulyer and Andrew Koens. It was Nicholas Hansen winning the 25 lap Street Stock opener ahead of Mike Klass and Dale Yarbrough. The Pro 4 Wedge Car 25 lap Main Event went to Andy Nelson over Rich McCoy and Dustin Knight.
The season opener was also a showcase for the track's two other four cylinder divisions with Dale Roth winning the Mini Stock 25 lapper ahead of Jimmy Smith and Tony Shoptaw. A field of 12 Mini Stocks were in action for that one. Picking up the 20 lap Hornet Main Event win was Neil Pecor ahead of Bob Vancil and Chris Cole.
The Hornets were back again last week, and Cole picked up the Main Event win ahead of Vancil and Andy Nelson. Pecor ended up not finishing. The Pro 4 Wedge Car victory went too Rich McCoy over Andy Nelson and Dustin Knight.
The Mini Stock themed night continued with Kevin Welch winning the 25 lap Mini Stock future ahead of Dan Colton and Dale Roth, while the Pro 4 Modified 75 lap Main Event went to Rick Thompson ahead of Eddie Secord and Steve Thompson. Brad Morrison was the final lead lap finisher in the 12-car field.
From the extreme Northern end of Jefferson we head to the extreme South and All American Speedway in Roseville. The speedway went with a five division program, and the Street Stock 35 lapper went to Mark Gardiner over Dan Farrington and Andrew Peeler. Like Roseburg, Roseville had a Pro 4 Modified division with Jim Badeker winning the 35 lap race ahead of Codi Barba and Neo Nuno.
Erik Ray won the 35 lap Bomber Main Event over Blake Disomma and Chris Paulson. In the F4 division, Jesse Yendes grabbed the victory in the 25 lap Main Event ahead of Mel Wilson and Keith Hopkinson Jr. Not to be forgotten was the 35 lap Legend Main Event where Pete Peirce claimed the victory ahead of Jack Wood and Keith Clement.
Sprint Cars, Sport Mods Highlight Chico and Marysville
Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico had a Friday night program headlined by the 410 Sprint Cars. Jonathan Allard picked up the victory ahead of current point leader Sean Becker and Andy Forsberg. Chris Story claimed the win in the Economy Sprint Car race ahead of Mike Ficklin and Wyatt Brown, while Terry Shank Jr. saw his streak snapped by Tony Richards in Wingless Spec Sprints. Schank settled for second ahead of Barry Pries Jr.
There can be no doubt about the IMCA Sport Modified movement in the area. Car count has been strong so far this year. Past Marysville Stock Car star Philip Shelby picked up the Sport Modified win ahead of Brian Cooper and Todd Cooper. Past A Modified champion Marc Abouzeid made his debut in the division with a fifth place finish. The California Hardtop Association Main Event win went to Ken Clifford ahead of Joe Hopp and Ron Ruiz.
Out at Marysville Raceway, it was Colby Weisz making a last lap pass on runner up finisher Jeremy Burt. Tyler Seavy settled for third. Meanwhile, Peter Paulson won the Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event ahead of Johnny Burns and Josh Vierra. The growing IMCA Sport Mod division's Main Event victory went to Todd Cooper ahead of Brian Cooper and Phillips Shelby. Shawn Jones won the NorCal Dwarf car Association feature ahead of early leader Buddy Olschowka and Michael "Spanky" Grenert.
Though there's not as many cars as the track would like there to be, the Hobby Stock division continues to grow, and Late Model veteran Greg Rayl won the 15 lap Main Event ahead of Cameron Hammett and Shannon Collins.
After his good run at Chico, Sean Becker took it up a notch with a Winged 360 Sprint Car feature win at Placerville Speedway on Saturday night. Mason Moore and Justin Johnson rounded out the top three. In Domco Plumbing Limited Late Model action, Jay Norton won the Main Event over Matt Micheli and two time winner Willie McMillan. It was Jason Palmer winning the Jays Welding And Fabricating Pure Stock feature ahead of Orville Owens and Dan Smith. Fourth place finisher Nick Baldwin continues to lead the standings.
BCRA Midget Lites were back for another race, and Kyle Offill won that Main Event ahead of Sprint Car veteran Charlie Caracillo and Scott Males. A nice field of 16 Midget Lites completed.
So once again, Siskiyou Motor Speedway in Yreka races this Saturday night. It will be Round #1 of the Patriot Series, featuring O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds, McDonald's Mini Stocks and the Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association. To find out more, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com.
Southern Oregon Speedway will open up the Outlaw Kart race track on Friday night for six divisions of Kart racing. On Saturday night, it will be Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, Mini Stocks and the Open Stock division. For further information can be obtained by going to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Orland Raceway Rises From the Ashes Once Again
The tales of the demise of Orland Raceway have been greatly
exaggerated. When Adam Zachary chose to walk away from the track at the
end of last season, it looked as if racing was done in Orland. The Glenn
County Fair Board had decided to put a soccer field right next to the
race track. Word was that the fair board was receptive to having racing
this season, but Zachary had other plans. Enter the new promotional team of Rich Hood and Nathan Skaggs.
There was word of a few racers who were looking to take a shot at running the track. At the May Fairboard meeting, Hood made his presentation. Rich has been a competitor in Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks in recent years and is one of the more respected people out there. Joining him in this endeavor is Nathan Skaggs. Skaggs has competed in the track's Mini Truck division in recent years. The news of the two local racers taking charge of the track is be welcome among the competitors.
There was word of a few racers who were looking to take a shot at running the track. At the May Fairboard meeting, Hood made his presentation. Rich has been a competitor in Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks in recent years and is one of the more respected people out there. Joining him in this endeavor is Nathan Skaggs. Skaggs has competed in the track's Mini Truck division in recent years. The news of the two local racers taking charge of the track is be welcome among the competitors.
Adam Zachary never quite could establish a program at the speedway. In fact,
car counts plummeted in some of the divisions following the departure
of previous Promoter
Mike McCann. Zachary was making decisions that were controversial to
the racing community prior to deciding to leave in March of this year.
He did not have the Wingless Sprint Car division included on the 2016
schedule that he announced. There was also the merger of the Mini Stock
and Mini Truck divisions into one class. In the end, he decided to walk
away.
There were some bright spots in the 2015 season, including the Hobby
Stock division. It seemed as if the car count held steady at ten to a
dozen race cars per race. The fact that the Mini Stock division and Mini
Truck division usually had about four to six cars each made the
decision to merge the two divisions easier. Though there were some
grumblings from drivers in the Mini Stock division about running with
the heavier Mini Trucks, it appears as if the new management will be
continuing with that idea.
It also appears as if there will be no Wingless Sprint Cars on the
schedule. The goal in mind right now is to get race cars back on that
race track, and the new management is doing everything they can to make
that happen. The 10 race schedule has an option for more races, and it
begins on June 4th. One of the things that has to be done, in order to
accommodate the soccer field, is they have to have racing on Sunday
afternoons and Friday nights for most of the season. This is because
soccer will be played on Saturday nights when the field is usable.
The story of Orland racing has been a rocky one. Racing has a history
in the town going back into the 1970's, but there is a revolving door
when it comes to promoters. In the late 1980's and early 1990's, there
was Sprint 100's leadfoot Doc Bogart. It wasn't a bad program, but his
run came to an end by the mid 1990's.
Then came Paul and Carol Turner. By the end of their tenure, which
produced some great results, they were ridiculed by some in the racing
community. However, nobody can deny the success that that program had
in the early days. So successful were the Turner's when it came to the
staple Mini Stock, Mini Truck in Hobby Stock divisions that they
ventured into Modified Mini Stocks and Wingless Sprint Cars. They
created a healthy Sprint Car division that had 27 cars for one of the
Harvest Classic events. In the end, when the money dried up, the Turner
run came to an ugly end.
The problem was, everybody after them seemed to struggle to get
anything established. The track even remained dark for a year. Nobody
can be faulted for going in there and trying to do something, because at
least somebody was putting race cars on the track. When veteran Mike
McCann came into the picture in 2013, he attempted to give some
stability to the program.
McCann's budget had been exhausted by midway through the 2014 season,
though it appeared that the program was about to turn the corner. The
lack of cooperation from a group that had rented the fairgrounds for a
car show led to having to cancel a big open wheel event that he had
planned. It also hastened his decision to walk away. McCann admitted
that the board was supportive of his efforts.
It was actually thought that this track was going to be closed
permanently when McCann walked away, but Adam Zachary entered the
picture. Right from the beginning, Zachary struggled to establish a crew
to run the events. The Mini Stock and Mini Truck drivers never really
got on board with him, and the Wingless Sprint Car drivers became
unhappy when their purses were cut. The 600 Micro Sprint and 250 Outlaw
Kart divisions never quite jelled the way he would have hoped. However,
the Hobby Stock division showed signs of life. The little car counts and
the lack of attendance made it easy for Zachary to walk away rather
than give the 2016 season a whirl.
This left the race car drivers in Orland scrambling to figure out where
they were going to race. A few racers have headed for Marysville and
Chico, but a majority of competitors ended up parking their cars. In
fact, many people thought that racing in Orland was actually done this
time. Negotiations to save racing in Orland have been ongoing for
months, and a break in the negotiations finally occurred just within the
last week or two.
With time being a major factor, the new promoting team is wasting no
time trying to put a program on the race track. They are going with the
basic divisions that Zachary had planned to run this year, and they
intend to have the race track ready to go in June. While the dates are
booked, the question remains the same as it was when Zachary had the
race track. Will anybody support racing at the track this time?
It is known that there are several Mini Stocks and Mini Trucks in the
area to go along with the Hobby Stocks. By all rights, all three
divisions should have a double digit car count for every race. The lack
of stability that the track has had over the last decade led to some
racers going to Chico. The management team will have to see if they can
win some of those teams back. So, what will be different this time
around?
The bottom line is if the management team can't win the hearts and
minds of those racers, racing doesn't have much of a chance. You can't
continue to put race car programs on the track with a half a dozen cars,
knowing that down the road in Chico there are cars. The fact that they
know there are parked cars in the area has the management team hoping
that they can get them to come back.
That puts the ball back in the court of the racers. And, they have to
ask themselves, how badly do they want racing in their home town? If
they don't get on board and support with their race cars, the show
doesn't have a chance. There may be real valid reasons for some of these
racers not to have supported the track in recent years. Perhaps they
should be willing to give the next management team a chance. If they
don't, it seems less likely that the track will get a chance next time.
The new management team could very well be Orland Raceway's last hope.
The first order of business is to make the facilities usable. This
includes making a racing surface that won't be rough on the cars. The
next order of business is to get the word out to the racers and fans.
The racers need to know the schedule and when those race dates are.
Then, you have to hope that the racers haven't booked other things in a
way that impedes their ability make it to these races. All track
management can do is give it their best effort. If they give a serious
and sincere effort, hopefully the people will give them a chance.
In these difficult economic times, some people say that Orland racing
is dead already. Others believe that it will take the right management
team to make it happen. Is this the right management team? The fact is,
we're running out of options. Whether they are the best team or not,
they may be Orland Raceway's last hope to keep it alive. And, the one
thing we always say is as long as the gates open at the race track,
there's a chance for good things to happen
