Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion
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After his father Vern announced his retirement, Jake Wheeler kept the family in the winner's circle with his 25 lap Pennzoil Sprint Car feature victory at Southern Oregon Speedway. Wheeler survived a mid race restart with Wayne Kniffen to get the win. Duane Orsburn assumed the IMCA Modified point lead with his 25 lap Main Event win as Trophy Dash winner and early leader James Welshonse settled for second.
Point leader Bob Burkett collected his second 20 lap Mini Stock feature win with Andrew Hall a career best second. Sprint Car veteran Mike Linder grabbed the win in the 20 Lap Open Stock Main Event. Trevor Thomason won the heat and 20 lap Main Event in the inaugural appearance of the OTRO Hardtops. Rookie Darrel Nelson Jr. won his first start in the 20 lap Hornet race.
Jake Wheeler continued the Wheeler family domination of the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car division. Wheeler won the heat and Trophy Dash earlier in the evening. 2009 champion Charlie Thomspon was running second when he blew a motor on lap 14 for a yellow flag. Wheeler held off Wayne Kniffen on the restart and went on to victory. Kniffen was second and Bill Hopper finished third.
Duane Orsburn took over the IMCA Modified point lead after winning the 25 lap Main Event. After his heat and Trophy Dash wins, rookie James Welshonse led seven laps before Orsburn made a Turn 4 pass to grab the lead. Welshonse settled for second ahead of Bo Shields. Daniel Herrera hit the Turn 4 wall hard to end his race on lap six.
Late Model and Sprint Car veteran Mike Linder kicked off the Open Stock season by winning the heat race and 20 lap Main Event. Bob Dees finished second with 2014 Street Stock champion Miles Deubert placing third.
Trevor Thomason won the OTRO Hardtop feature in impressive fashion as he lapped the entire field by lap 15 of the 20 lap race. Bill Trotter battled Gary Barber all race long to grab the second place finish. Brian Crouch finished fourth. Chris Mehrer won the Trophy Dash, but he hit the wall in his heat race to knock the front end out front underneath his car.
Bob Burkett scored a flag to flag victory in the 20 lap Mini Stock feature. The point leader Burkett built a straightaway advantage over Andrew Hall, who was enjoying his best career finish in second. Eric Hanson rebounded from recent bad luck, and he did it by holding off Gary Anderson for third. Anderson spun out of second early and had to come from the back to finish fourth. Fourteen year old Marissa Hanson finished fifth after winning her first Trophy Dash earlier in the evening.
Rookie Darrel Nelson Jr. led from start to finish to win the 20 lap Hornet Main Event. John Hoult won an early duel with heat winner Tim Hedges to finish second. Hedges finished third ahead of Garrett Fredrickson. .
Racing continues next week with the first leg of the Wild West IMCA Modified Speedweek Series. Also on the card will be IMCA Sport Modifieds and Outlaw Pro Stocks. For further information, check out www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Race Results Saturday, June 4
Pennzoil Winged Sprint Cars
Heat Winner (6 Laps)-Jake Wheeler. Trophy Dash (4 Laps)-Wheeler. Main Event (25 Laps)-Wheeler, Wayne Kniffen, Charlie Thompson, Bill Hopper.
IMCA Modifieds
Heat Winner (6 Laps)-James Welshonse. Trophy Dash (4 Laps)-Welshonse. Main Event (25 laps)-Duane Orsburn, Welshonse, Bo Shields, Daniel Hererra.
Mini Stocks
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Gary Anderson, Bob Burkett. Trophy Dash (4 laps)-Marissa Henson. Main Event (20 Laps)-Burkett, Andrew Hall, Eric Hanson, Anderson, Henson.
Open Stock
Heat Winner (6 Laps)-Mike Linder. Main Event (20 Laps)-Linder, Bob Dees, Miles Deubert.
OTRO Hardtops
Heat Winner (6 Laps)-Trevor Thomason. Trophy Dash (4 Laps)-Chris Mehrer. Main Event (20 Laps)-Thomason, Bill Trotter, Gary Barber, Brian Crouch, Jimmy Delcastille.
Hornets
Heat Winner (6 Laps)-Tim Hedges. Main Event (20 Laps)-Darrel Nelson Jr., John Hoult, Hedges, Garrett Fredrickson.
Holmes A Double Winner In Outlaw Karts
At Southern Oregon Speedway
Outlaw Kart racing season finally opened at the little one-eighth mile track at Southern Oregon Speedway. The kids had a good night of racing and put on an entertaining show for the fans in attendance. Defending 250 Kart champion Tanner Holmes impressed with his win in 25 lap Main Event. Holmes won ahead of Brenden Bartlett. Holmes then followed that up by winning his first 25 lap 500 Kart feature ahead of Chase Hill. Trevor Grimes won the 20 lap Box Stock feature in impressive fashion ahead of Bryson Snow. Jacob James won the Beginners Box Stock Main Event.
Chase Hill won the first of two 500 Kart ten lap heats, but he was involved in a crash to end his second heat race. Holmes won the second heat before Hill returned to run the Main Event. Johnny Burke led the first five laps. Lap six saw Hill dive low in Turn 3 to grab the lead, but Burke ducked underneath in Turn 4 to regain the point. Hill made another dive into Turn 1 of sixth lap to regain the lead as the two bumped wheels. The yellow was out on lap seven as Burke stalled in Turn 1. A lengthy yellow flag period on lap seven for Burke saw Hill and Steve Rambo run out of fuel. T. Holmes had the lead on the restart, and he led the rest of the way with Hill a lead lap second. Rambo was third ahead of Burke and Jantzen Kinps.
T. Holmes had a great night in the 250 Karts as he won his first ten lap heat race along with Brenden Bartlett. T. Holmes and Enrique Jaime were the winners of the second set of heat races. T. Holmes led the Main Event from the start with Bartlett making a low pass in Turn 4 of the fourth lap for second. A pair of yellows in succession for Reece Slyter spins in Turn 2 were the only slowdowns on laps four and five. The last half of the race featured a good battle between Jaime, Bodee Weiser and Brody Sim for third as the three competitors ran closely. An inside pass in Turn 4 of the 12th lap gained Brody Sim third from Jaime, but he surrendered third to a Turn 4 pass by Weiser on lap 17. T. Holmes drove a flawless race and won by a straightaway ahead of the smooth running Bartlett. Bodee Weiser was third just ahead of Sim and Jaime, the final lead lap finishers.
The Box Stock division also had a good turnout. 2014 champion Carley Holmes and defending champion and Trevor Grimes were the first round ten lap heat winners. Isabella Jaime drove a good race to win a heat race in the second round as Grimes won his again. Grimes and C. Holmes led the pack to the Main Event green flag with Grimes racing ahead. An inside move on the back stretch of the third lap gained Bryson Snow second from C. Holmes. Holmes got out of shape in Turn 2 of the tenth lap, allowing Emma Rodgers to race by for third. Grimes drove a great race to collect a well earned victory. Snow was equally impressive in second as Rodgers, Holmes and Natalie Richard were lead lap finishers in the Top 5.
The Beginners Box Stock class saw Jacob James sweep both six lap heat races and the 15 lap Main Event. James was the third ranked driver last season and would lap the field as Adrian Richard and Kiley Grimes both made their first starts in second and third, respectively. Will Wigley was just a bit nervous about racing, but this young man did well just getting out on the track to make a lap by himself.
The drivers did a great job all night, and the next Outlaw Kart race will be on June 24th. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com and look in the Outlaw Karts section.
500 Karts
Heat 1 (10 Laps)-Chase Hill. Heat 2 (10 Laps)-Tanner Holmes. Main Event (25 Laps)-T. Holmes, Hill, Steve Rambo, Johnny Burke, Jentzen Kinps.
250 Karts
Heat 1 (10 Laps)-Tanner Holmes. Heat 2 (10 Laps)-Brenden Bartlett. Heat 3 (10 Laps)-T. Holmes. Heat 4 (10 Laps)-Enrique Jaime. Main Event (25 Laps)-T. Holmes, Bartlett, Bodee Weiser, Brody Sim, Jamie, Braden Weiser, Wyatt Pinchney, Carley Holmes, Reece Slyter.
Box Stock
Heat 1 (10 Laps)-Carley Holmes. Heat 2 (10 Laps)-Trevor Grimes. Heat 3 (10 Laps)-Isabella Jaime. Heat 4 (10 laps)-Grimes. Main Event (20 Laps)-Grimes, Bryson Snow, Emma Rodgers, C. Holmes, Natalie Richard, I. Jaime, Ryan Hirschbock, Cadyn Smith, Deven Felix.
Beginner Box Stock
Heat 1 (6 Laps)-Jacob James. Heat 2 (6 Laps)-James. Main Event (15 Laps)-James, Adrian Richard, Kiley Grimes, Will Wigley (DNS).
Mini Stocks, Hornets Return To Southern Oregon Speedway On June 18th
The Mini Stock and Hornet divisions are an important part of the racing program at Southern Oregon Speedway. Since the gates opened at the speedway in 1996, Mini Stocks have been on the lineup of divisions. They have served as a gateway class in getting new racers onto the 3/10th mile clay oval. There is a mixture of experienced and new drivers in the class.
Three years ago, the Hornet division was added as a means to make an even more affordable path for the new racer to get involved. There has been a struggle getting it started, but Promoter Mike McCann has reaffirmed his support for this division as well as Mini Stocks.
The biggest challenge facing Mini Stocks right now is the rest of the roster overcoming the experience factor of Bob Burkett and Gary Anderson. Burkett is a four time point runner up who has won his share of races through the years. In fact, he won for the second time this season last Saturday.
Burkett sees a challenge coming, and he looks forward to it. "A lot of these drivers are pretty new to this, " said the current point leader. "Give them some time, and they will get better."
Burkett sees challenges coming from the likes of Marissa Henson and Andrew Hall. "She's (Henson) gotten much faster this year. " Bob admitted. "I can see her getting a win this season the way she is going."
Even more impressive is the fact that Henson is only 14 years old. She goes to high school with another 14 year old in the division, second generation racer Mikey Johnson. Johnson was second in Hornet points last season, but he's a bit more of a newcomer than Henson. He's still learning the ropes and getting better with each start.
Marissa has lots of seat time in Outlaw Karts, where she ranked third in the 250 division three years in a row. She entered Saturday night's program ranked a strong third in the standings, and she proved Burkett right on his prediction. She held off 2014 champion Gary Anderson to win her first Trophy Dash Saturday night.
Another driver coming on strong is the #007 car of Andrew Hall. Hall is driving a unique Ford Pinto Wagon. "The car has been around for a while, " Hall explained. "The guy I got it from only ran it once before parking it for a few years. Before that, somebody else ran it."
Andrew is in his first full season in the class, and he made a trip to Yreka a week ago. That trip resulted in his car suffering damage. There was still work to be done to make it better, but he wanted to race. "We have things we need to fix on it, " Andrew explained. "We'll get it fixed a little at a time."
It had to be gratifying for Hall to drive to a career best second place finish last week. The distance between winner Burkett and him was about a straightaway, and that never really changed during the last ten laps. This time, however, Andrew didn't spin or mess up in getting the good finish.
It's a rare thing to see Gary Anderson make a mistake, but he did on Saturday. Early in the Main Event, he looped it in Turn 4. Many veteran racers would park their cars and draw a yellow flag, but Gary took it as a challenge. He gathered it back up and mounted a charge back to the front of the pack from eighth. When he caught third place Eric Hanson, he was unable to overcome his lose setup and would settle for a fourth.
For Hanson, the season has started on a rough note with carburetor and fuel issues keeping him from even starting the first two races. "We've had a few motor issues, " Hanson admitted. "We're working on something for later this season, but we're trying to make this work for now."
The third place finish was encouraging for Hanson, who was fourth in points last season. He actually made a trip during the off week to run at Coos Bay. It helped him dial things in as he got a fourth place finish there. "I enjoy going there, " Bob remarked. "We ran with the Mini Outlaws. At first they didn't like us running with them, because they are like the Super 4's here. But, we keep them from having to run with the Hornets. They like us now, because they get their own race when we come."
Fifth ranked Kris Mix was practically raised at the race track. His father is Stock Car veteran Keith Mix, who was there in the pits supporting his son. Kris made a trip to Yreka a week earlier and ended up getting a little banged up in the Main Event. "We got tore up, " Kris explained. "We had to replace the clutch, then we went back out and got dumped again."
Saturday was a little better for Mix, who finished sixth ahead of Hornet graduates Dillen Lausen and Mikey Johnson, The Hornets are back with some new drivers in the field. One of them was Darrel Nelson Jr. Darrell and 13 year old Gabe Nelson, like many others, started racing on the Outlaw Kart track. "There's actually a few kids who sold their Karts and have Hornets, " Nelson observed. "They want to start racing on the big track."
Nelson was driving the same number that 2015 champion Drew Fielder ran last year, and he looked like a champion in lapping the field for the feature victory. What was nice was the cost of purchasing this car to go racing. "It was about $400 to get the car, " Darrel revealed. "Plus, it came with a spare motor."
Tim Hedges is another newcomer to the Hornet division, and he was excited to be a part of the action. His first race resulted in a heat race victory. Tim had an influence in his decision to start racing. "I've been following (Vern and Jake) Wheeler, and I decided I needed to get my own car, " he explained. "It wasn't gonna be a Sprint Car. These cars are cheaper. It was less than $1000 to get the car. Plus, it's cheaper to run one of these."
The Mini Stock and Hornet divisions will take a break this week, but both classes are back on June 18th for more racing excitement. Not only do these divisions help bring in the next generation of race car drivers, they are fun classes to watch. For information on these and other divisions, check out www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Lipke Gets First Win At Siskiyiou Motor Speedway
Yreka, CA...O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks shared the top billing at Siskiyou Motor Speedway Saturday night. On the heels of his best finish yet, Jimmy Lipke took it up a notch with his win in the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified feature. It was his first win of the season. After a flat tire derailed what could have been a double win weekend last week, defending Mini Stock champion David Steele collected his third win of the season.
Jimmy Lipke has stepped up his racing program with a new car this season, and he's currently second in the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified point race. Lipke had collected a career best second place finish last week in the Bo Hittson Memorial, but he would win the Main Event this time. Reigning IMCA champion Colter Boswell was back for a strong second place finish ahead of Jesse Morton. 2015 SCMA Association champion Doug Franklin crossed the finish line for a fourth place finish ahead of point leader Garrett Hamilton, Chris Jorgensen, Jack Walden and Randy Wright. Lipke just beat Franklin back to the line to win his eight lap heat race, and rookie Ryder Boswell won his heat ahead of Hamilton. Hamilton just beat Lipke back to the line in a close finish for the Trophy Dash victory.
It has been an up and down season in McDonald's Mini Stocks for defending champion David Steele. After a feature scratch earlier in the season, he is trying to make up some lost ground in the point standings. Only a second to 2014 champion "Magic" Mike Whitaker in his heat race blemished Steele's evening. Steele won the four lap Trophy Dash and added a win in the Main Event. He gained little ground on point leader Terry Kendrick, who finished second. Dennis Jorgensen was a strong third ahead of Ethan Killingsworth, three time winner Marilyn Yawnick, Mike Colson, Dan Borror, Whitaker, Guy Morris and Mike Frost. Borror won the other eight lap heat ahead of Morris.
The track also had a Kid's Bike Race to make it a fun family evening at the track. The Wild West IMCA Modified Series will run the second leg of the seven race series along with support divisions on Sunday, June 12th. For further information, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com.
