Coming off of a wild weekend of racing at Southern Oregon Speedway, the track featured two racing events this past weekend. On Friday night, there was the Outlaw Kart race on the 1/8 mile oval and on Saturday night was a six division show on the big track. The main goal for both events was to keep things flowing, get done at a reasonable time and give the fans a good show. Admittedly, a lot of factors played into things not happening that way at the big Roger Haudenshield Memorial event a week earlier.
On Friday night, promoter Mike McCann and crew was hard at work making last minute preparations to get the Outlaw Kart track ready, which included installing a PA system at the track. The natives were just a little bit restless when they looked at the track and saw some weeds, thinking that things would not be ready. However, promoter Mike McCann has been in the business for many years, and he knew what it would take to have the track ready. Within about five minutes of the cars on the track, the weeds weren't even visible anymore.
The only thing that added to the time on the program was the addition of a second set of heat races. Though this was not something that has been a part of the way Mike has promoted Kart racing going back some 30 years, which includes the popular indoor racing at Roseburg, a second set of heat races was added. However, the racers really did their part to keep things running smoothly. Only a few minor mishaps slowed the event the entire night.
Noteworthy in the group was up and coming racer Tanner Holmes. It would not be an understatement to say that this young man has a Sprint Car future and could end up being a front runner with the right equipment underneath him. Tanner has already won Box Stock and 250 Kart championships in his career. This season, he has his sights set on the 250 championship and at least the "Rookie Of The Year" title in the 500 Karts.
Johnny Burke and Chase Hill were feeling just a little bit racy in the 500 Karts Main Event. Hill won a heat race, crashed in the second heat race and might have appeared doubtful for the Main Event if not for some hard work by his crew. He had the car back into shape and was dueling with Burke for the lead for the first few laps when the two cars got together in Turn 1. Burke's night was over, and Hill didn't quite seem the same after that.
That was just fine for her Holmes. Holmes had already won both of his heat races in the 250 class and won that Main Event in impressive fashion. He also won a heat race in the 500 Karts. Holmes drove around the melee in the 500 class and would grab the lead. He led the rest of the way to make it a big two win night. Not a bad way to start your season at the Southern Oregon Speedway Outlaw Kart track.
Of course, he couldn't win all of the heat races since he was only in two of them, and Enrique Jaime did an excellent job in winning his heat race. The other heat win went to Brendon Bartlett, who turned out to be the top competition for Holmes. Bartlett tried to give it a good battle up front, but Holmes did pull away just a little bit. However, nobody could hang with Brandon as he finished second.
The real battle was provided by the drivers competing for third place. Bodee Weiser, Brody Sim and Enrique Jaime had a good battle for that position the entire race as each driver held the spot for a while. They ended up finishing nose to tail in that order. If this is an example of the competition to be had in the 250 Kart division, it's going to be an exciting season.
The Box Stock division had its past two champions in action with defending champion Trevor Grimes and 2014 champion Carley Holmes both racing. Grimes won two heat races to set himself up as the driver to beat in the Main Event. He shared the front row with Holmes, but she was no match for him as he led from the outset and put on a driving clinic in posting an impressive victory.
The girls were well accounted for in this event. After Bryson Snow had a strong second place showing, the girls filled up the remainder of the top five. Carley seemed to lose the handle on her Kart just a little bit, surrendering the third spot to the impressive Emma Rodgers. However, Holmes finished fourth and also won one of her heat races that night. The fifth place finish went to Natalie Richard. The beautiful number #10 Kart of Isabella Jaime picked up a heat race win and was sixth in the Main Event.
Of course, you have to start somewhere. This is what the Beginners Box Stock division is for. Young Will Wigley had a nice looking Kart ready to go, but the boy was just a little bit nervous about racing with the other kids. When his father couldn't convince him to race, Will was persuaded to attempt to make some hot laps during the intermission.. Will did good just getting out there for the very first time.
Of course, the more experience you have, the faster you will probably go in this class, and Jacob James was third in the standings last year. It was no surprise to see Jacob win both of his heat races and win the Main Event impressively. Two other youngsters, Adrian Richard, and Kiley Grimes, were making their first laps, and both took checkered flags in second and third, respectively.
All in all, it was a good night of racing. The drivers enjoyed their time out on the race track, and even their fathers had to admit that the racing surface was safe and sound after all. Perhaps some of the unrest had to do with to rainouts early in the season and the program that took place on the big track the week before. Whatever the case, the racers know that the Outlaw Kart track is fast and ready to go. As time goes on, promoter Mike McCann will be making improvements to the race track.
Over on the big track, six divisions were in action, and this included the first visit of the OTRO Hardtops. This is a group of drivers who have splintered off from the pavement at Roseburg and are giving the dirt a try. Seven drivers dared to come to the 3/10 mile, banked clay oval, and they did so with slick tires on their cars.
This made the racing a little bit interesting early on the as the competitors slipped and slid around the race track trying to find grip. There is always one driver in the group who feels a little bit more confident than the others and pushes it just a little bit harder. In this case, it was Chris Mehrer. The group was given a Trophy Dash, and luck of the draw put the four drivers in there. Mehrer was one of those drivers.
Chris got on it just a little bit harder than everybody else and led the first lap. He started to pull away even further only to spin in front of the starting line to bring out a yellow flag. This didn't stop him from getting on it again and winning the Trophy Dash. Come heat race time, Chris felt like he had his confidence flowing and was racing hard, but he ended up hitting the wall coming out of Turn 4 and knocking the front end out from underneath the car. His night was over.
From that point on, the night belonged to Trevor Thomason. Trevor would win the heat race and easily win the Main Event. It was Bill Trotter and Gary Barber providing the battle for second, which went in Trotter's favor at the Finish. Trotter was the only other driver to finish on the lead lap as Barber got lapped late. Brian Crouch and Jimmy DelCastille both did good jobs in finishing fourth and fifth in their first visit to the speedway.
Also making their first appearance at the speedway was the Hornet division. It was their first visit of the year, and the car count was lighter than anticipated. Four drivers were there to give it a go. Darrel Nelson Jr reported that there were some drivers who have sold their Outlaw Karts to get into the Hornet division. However, these drivers are still 13 years old. It does look as if once paperwork is all squared away, these drivers will be able to race, and one of those drivers is Gabe Nelson.
Gabe had to watch from the grandstands as Darrel was the star of the show. Nelson set a blistering pace in the Main Event and would lap the whole field. However, Darrel was just as excited about getting these youngsters into the Hornet division as he is about winning a race. He sees the Hornet division as a gateway for the Kart drivers to get onto the big track, which it has been. It was John Hoult winning a battle with heat race winner Tim Hedges to finish second in the Main Event as Garrett Fredrickson rounded out the field. Fredrickson was the only driver to have any experience in this division last season.
There was a question concerning the Open Stock division. It was already known that the winner will get a $500 pay day. The only question was, who would show up? Bob Dees has been a long time competitor at the speedway in Pro Stocks and even Late Models, and he has been top five in Late Models. He's held onto his car for a few years hoping for the opportunity to get out there and race again. The family also has cars for sons John Dees and Garrett Dees, and we may see John in a Late Model before the season is over.
The Dees family was waiting in anticipation to see who else might show up, and they finally saw the arrival of Late Model at Sprint Car veteran Mike Linder. Linder has been running his Late Model occasionally at Cottage Grove, but he had already said that he would be there for the opener. The question was, would anybody else show up? That question was answered not long after Linder showed up with the arrival of 2014 Street Stock champion Miles Deubert. Deubert now has a Pro Stock, and that car is pretty fast.
With his experience and the fact that he's had some seat time this year, Linder was the class of the field and pocketed the winner's paycheck. Second place prize money was contested over by Dees and Deubert, who ran closely until Deubert pitted late in the race. All three drivers were happy to be out on the track, and word is that more drivers will be coming. The Open Stock division is a great opportunity for drivers to get seat time with Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro Stocks and whatever. You will not get bogged down by rules in this division. It's not about rules, it's about racing.
The Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car division sort of imploded on Saturday night. The rumors of Vern Wheeler Jr retiring turned out to be true. He has moved over to the crew chief position for his son Jake's effort. Jake already has Kart championship credentials and was top three in the Southern Oregon Sprint Car Tour a couple years ago. He was second to his father in the points coming into the night, having finished second in the previous two Main Events.
The two young guns of the division, Camden Robustelli and Jeffrey Hudson, went up north, and Todd Whipple was not present due to work. However, Wayne Kniffen and Bill Hopper were there, and 2009 Sprint Car champion Charlie Thompson was there to attempt to provide some competition for Wheeler. Charlie hadn't raced since his championships with the exception of one time in 2010. It has been a while, but he was looking pretty good.
There are a few drivers in the group that Charlie runs with who have Sprint Cars, but some of them are hesitant to come out and support the show at this time. Charlie just wanted to race, and unfortunately, this may be the only time that we see him this year. Halfway through the Main Event, and while he was running second, Charlie blew a motor. There is no ETA on when he will be back.
Meanwhile, Bill Hopper made much improvement over his first appearance. The first appearance was an embarrassment to Bill, which he admitted. With a Magneto issue and his failure to get the car to start, which followed the blown tire he had on the way up to Oregon, Bill went back to the drawing board. When he returned, he made some good laps all night, but the car overheated just a bit in the Main Event as he pulled off.
The only other competitor to catch a whiff of Wheeler was Wayne Kniffen. Kniffen had a front row start for the Trophy Dash and wanted the win. He charged out to the lead on the opening lap, but Wheeler got by on the next lap. It got a little dicey between the two drivers in Turn 3 as they bumped wheels and spun. Kniffen nearly flipped his car and was not very pleased with Wheeler after that. He still finished second in the Main Event, which resulted in a $500 payday despite the car count. Management has remained committed to the purse as advertised regardless of car count.
Of course, this meant that Jake Wheeler brought the winner's paycheck back to the Wheeler camp once again. He just ran a smooth race and wasn't really threatened in the Main Event. The speed of the Wheeler family is rumored to have intimidated some of the competition from showing up, but there is another way of looking at it. If you can come out here and beat Jake Wheeler for a win, you know you've earned it. Can anybody rise to the challenge?
Sprint Cars will remain a part of the Southern Oregon Speedway lineup. This is a simple fact. Despite whatever rumors have been floating around out there, a Sprint Car division will continue to be a part of the program. Promoter Mike McCann has had Sprint Cars at every other track at which he has promoted. Other ideas have been floating around, but the injected Sprint Car class is the priority at the moment. A few ideas are being looked at right now, and when there is something to report, we will report it. What we can report is that the schedule that has been booked will be honored for the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars. That means more racing will happen. The next date for this division will be on June 25th.
The Mini Stock division has continued to be an exciting program. The experience factor of 2014 champion Gary Anderson and current point leader Bob Burkett makes winning a race in this division a challenge for any of the lesser experienced drivers. However, we got an indication early in the evening that these two drivers are indeed beatable.
Marissa Henson is only 14 years old and a high school student, but she's been racing Karts for several years and has been top three ranked in 250 Karts at the speedway for the past three seasons. She got into Mani Stocks last season, completely going around the Hornet Class, and she was Top 10 ranked. The goal this year was to move in on the Top 3 and contend for a championship. People might not have taken her serious about that, but after her performance early in the night, they took notice.
With Gary Anderson pushing her all the way, Marissa won the Trophy Dash. Needless to say, she was quite pleased with her finish. Looking the way she did, you have to believe a Main Event win is around the corner for her. Earlier in the evening, point leader Bob Burkett predicted that Marissa would probably be the first driver to beat he and Anderson for a Main Event victory. But at the moment, Burkett and Anderson are the force on the track.
With heat race wins, the duo had front row Main Event starts and battled up front. Burkett raced into the lead, and Anderson spun in Turn 4 a few laps later. Rather than draw a yellow flag, Anderson. got going at the back of the pack. The race had no yellow flags, and Burkett already had a straightaway lead over the Mini Wagon of Andrew Hall. Burkett took it home to his second win of the year as he increased his point lead.
We've been predicting that Hall might be a driver to get a feature win this year based on how fast he has looked so far. He did get a career best second place finish, and you have to believe that the win is just around the corner. The battle for third was quite entertaining between Eric Hanson and Anderson. Anderson actually caught and passed Hanson, but it was obvious that his car was still a little bit loose. He nearly spun.
Hanson has been fighting motor issues all year, but his trip to Coos Bay Speedway seemed to help him dial out those issues. He ran a good race and held his line, and he was rewarded with a season best third place finish. We had already pointed out going into the night that if things are right with Hansen's car or teammate Mike Cloud's car, these two drivers will compete for a win. Unfortunately, Cloud had motor issues in his heat race to end his night. It seems like when one team mate has been doing well, the other one is having problems.
Anderson ended up fourth, but he definitely put on a show for the fans the way he was driving. Fifth place went to Henson, who continues to hold down third in the standings by a slim margin ahead of Hall. Hall's teammate, second generation racer Kristopher Mix, used his sixth place finish to gain a tighter hold on fifth in the standings.
There was a rumor that some IMCA Modified drivers would not be there for this race, and the result was a four car field. It was a bit of a surprise that some of the drivers didn't come out there and take advantage of the fact that the biggest force on the track, Mark Wauge, was at Willamette racing in the Strawberry Cup. Most of the other drivers weren't there. It was a good opportunity to get some laps and compete for a win, and one driver who was there had already made the commitment to run for points. That was two time Street Stock champion Duane Orsburn.
It was another driver surprising Duane early in the evening, rookie James Welshonse. Welshonse battled Orsburn to win both the heat race and Trophy Dash. He even led early on in the Main Event until a lap 7 restart provided Orsburn his opportunity to make the winning pass. Welshonse still finished second as he moves into the top five in the point standings. Bo Shields made his season debut in third while rookie Johnny Herrera had a rough Main Event that saw him knock the rear out from underneath his car after hitting the front wall..
There isn't really any question that there will be a lot of IMCA Modifieds for the Wild West Series race this week. A field of 38 cars competed last year in the race that was won by tour champion Jesse Williamson. Williamson is expected this week along with some of the top drivers in the state of Oregon and other states. This is one of those Modified races you won't want to miss, and IMCA Sport Modifieds and Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks are also on the card.
Out at Siskiyou Motor Speedway, they ran O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks last Saturday night. They also had a Kart race earlier in the afternoon, which we haven't seen any results for as of this writing. This Sunday night, the IMCA Modified Wild West Shoot Out will be there along with the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds.
Jimmy Lipke has been knocking on the door to victory in recent weeks in the IMCA Sport Modified division. He is currently running second in the Northwest Sport Modified Challenge Series and top three in the points at Yreka. He impressed with his second place finish in the Bo Hittson Memorial Race the previous Sunday, but he did even better on Saturday night as he won the Main Event.
He finds himself very much in the hunt for the championship this year, and point leader Garrett Hamilton best not get too comfortable. It was another champion, reigning IMCA Sport
Modified champion Colter Boswell, who ended up finishing second ahead of long time speedway competitor Jesse Morton. Doug Franklin managed a fourth place finish ahead of his teammate Hamilton.
The Sport Modifieds have been putting on a good show at Yreka every week as the battle has been wide open. There is no dominant factor in this division at this point, and you never know who might win a Main Event on any given week. The IMCA Modifieds will be the headliners on Sunday, but the
IMCA Sport Modified division is sure to be interesting. There could also be a few surprise entries for that race to make it even better.
IMCA Sport Modified division is sure to be interesting. There could also be a few surprise entries for that race to make it even better.
In the McDonald's Mini Stock division, you have to know that defending champion David Steele is about ready to get on a roll. Only a flat tire in the Mike Caveye Memorial Race kept Steele from winning that race on the previous Sunday after winning the race the night before. In the most recent race, Steele was back to his fast self as he won the Trophy Dash and the Main Event. Only a second to rival and 2014 champion "Magic" Mike Whitaker kept the clean sweep from happening. Whitaker is still struggling to get his season going in the right direction and did not finish in the top five.
Steele had one stumbling block earlier in the year as he failed to start the Main Event with mechanical problems in preliminaries. Because of that, past champion Terry Kendrick is the point leader. Kendrick has been pretty consistent near the front of the pack, and his second place feature finish on Saturday will keep him running strong in the standings. Not to be lost in the shuffle was third place finisher Dennis Jorgensen, who is very much in the hunt for victory this year. Ethan Killingsworth has yet to get his first win in his truck, but he still finished a strong fourth ahead of Marilyn Yawnick.
Marilyn has been fast this season with three feature wins to show for it, but her effort took a hit in the previous Saturday race when she blew a motor. There is some question as to whether she can get back up to speed again, but her top five finish shows that she's still in the hunt. If David Steele has hit his stride, Marilyn and the rest of the pack will need to bring something to the track to stop him. At this point, Marilyn is still very much in the championship hunt, and there's still plenty of racing left to do.
Orland Raceway managed to get their season underway last Saturday night. The track got a little bit dry and dusty, but the smooth racing surface provided some great racing according to video footage. We are still waiting to get results and have been informed that results will be posted this Sunday following the second race of the year. The Sunday race will feature Mini Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Mini Trucks and Micro Sprints.
About two dozen competitors ushered in the new era of Rich Hood and Nate Skaggs as promoters. A few of the names in the field included past Hobby Stock champion Steve Martin, Jerry Langenderfer and Cody Bundy. Mini Truck champion Keith Ross, Skaggs and double division racer Olin Crane were among the truck competitors. The Mini Stock division saw the return of hard charger Eric Hammond along with Tom Davis and Crane. Jackie Whitson Sr. and Jr. were among the eight competitors in Micro Sprints.
We have been informed that championship trophies were handed out for last year's competitors though the new management was under no obligation to honor what the old management had done last year. This Sunday, there will be a bike giveaway for a lucky kid. The gates open at 11 with the first race scheduled for 12 noon. Go to www.orlandraceway.org for more information.
A little bit more information is coming out from Hayfork Speedway. In fact, the photographer has graciously posted some photos on the Hayfork Speedway Facebook page to let people know that there are cars out there. The most recent Main Event winners on June 4th were last year's Clyde Cordell Memorial Race winner Burl Richardson ahead of Russ Newman in Hobby Stocks, Ross Vige of Orland in Mini Stocks, Bryan Gummerus in Enduros and young William Kasper in Beginners Pure Stocks.
It was just a few days before race day when we finally got results from the May 21st race. It was Gummerus winning the Enduro race over Tim Casper and William Casper winning the beginner Pure Stock race. The Hobby Stock win went to Bill Kasper ahead of Trophy Dash winner Kevin Casper, while Ross Vige won the Mini Stock Main Event ahead of 2015 Enduro champion William Young. The Outlaw Pro Stock division got to compete on May 21st with Josh Smith beating Tressan Smith. Josh is hoping to rally some support from The Outlaw Pro Stock group in Oregon for the July 9th race, which will pay $1,000 to win. In the past, when Hayfork has offered $1,000 to win races, that has been based on a 10 car field. If the Outlaw Pro Stock group comes to support that show, there's no doubt they could get that purse. As usual, www.hayforkspeedway.com is the site for information on the track.
Coos Bay Speedway had their usual Saturday night race, and Sprint Cars were the headliners. Current point leader Dave May won a good battle with Lawrence Van Hoof for the victory as 2015 point runner up John Black rounded out the podium finish. In the Late Model ranks, point leader Nathan Augustine win the dash, heat and main. He was chased across the line in the feature by Thor Christenson and Kelly McIntyre. Sportsman point leader Wayne Butler had his clean sweep attempt thwarted by Trophy Dash winner William Montgomery, but Butler won the feature over rookie Dylan Siewell and Russ Blean.
Four cylinder racing was well represented as the flying Rob Lauver picked up the Mini Outlaw Main Event win over Ryder Johnson and point leader Samuel Talon. Lauver also swept the evening's action. Hornet point leader Jeremiah Reiber was fourth in the Mini Outlaw Main Event and won his division ahead of Jeremy Beard and Wesley Wilkinson. The Street Stock feature was won by Daniel Land in a short field.
You couldn't have asked for a better season opener for Shasta Speedway than the Pacific Late Model Challenge Series. A good field of drivers showed up to compete for the win, and the checkered flag flew on winner Tracy Bolin. Jeremy Doss grabbed the runner up finish ahead of Cole Moore, David Miller and J.R. Courage. We haven't seen results for the companion divisions as of yet, but it was just nice to see this fast payment oval track reopen again.
Down in Southern Jefferson, Chico Silver Dollar Speedway had a double header event while Placerville raced on Saturday. 410 Sprint Cars headlined the Friday show at Silver Dollar Speedway with Sean Becker picking up a win in the Main Event. Cory Eliason and Jonathan Allard rounded out the podium in the 20 car field. The IMCA Sport Modified division is running strong and had a good turnout with "Mr. Controversy" himself, Jerry Bartlett, finally getting a feature win over Todd Cooper and Mike Merrit. Incoming point leader Brian Cooper suffered a DNF in tenth.
The Wingless Spec Sprint division delivered 14 cars with the usual results of point leader Terry Schank Jr. getting the win over Troy DeGaton and Brent Steck. The Street Stocks also had a good field of 15 cars as Corey Hall won ahead of Chris Warner and Shawn Smith. Past champion Phil Marino ended up fourth. The Super Stocks made an appearance from Marysville with Dennis Wood grabbing the win ahead of Cortney Dozier and Richard Vanderploeg.
Saturday was King of the West 410 Sprint Car night, and Kyle Hurst grabbed the big victory ahead of Michael Ing and Sean Becker. Jonathan Allard and veteran Jason Statler completed the top five in the 22 car Main Event. Mike Ficklin won the Economy Sprint Main Event ahead of Chris Storey and Wyatt Brown. Sprint Cars headline a full field of six divisions on Friday night along with IMCA Sport Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks and the BCRA Midget Lites. As always, www.silverdollarspeedway.com is your official source for the happenings at the track.
And last but not least, Placerville Speedway had a good field at 21 Winged 360 Sprint Cars in the Main Event with Mason Moore grabbing the victory ahead of Steven Tiner and Greg DeCaires. The DOMCO Plumbing Limited Late Model Main Event was an all Lightfoot affair as Mike Lightfoot defeated Tyler Lightfoot with Eddie Gardner in third. Dan Jinkerson grabbed the Jay's Welding And Fabricating Pure Stock victory ahead of Jason Palmer, Russ Murphy, 2015 champion Scott Grunert and point leader Nick Baldwin. The BCRA Midget Lites win went to Australian Scott Males ahead of Kyle Offil and Sprint Car veteran Charlie Caracillo. All of the latest official news can be found at www.placervillespeedway.com.
Once again, the Wild West IMCA Modified Series will be at Southern Oregon Speedway on Saturday night as the IMCA Sport Modifieds and Valley Boys Auto Sales Outlaw Pro Stocks are support classes. You can go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com for official information.
On Sunday, Siskiyou Motor Speedway in Yreka will get their turn to host the Wild West IMCA Modified Series as the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds will be the support class. The official website for information is www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com.
