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Sprint Cars Return To Southern Oregon Speedway
Saturday Night
White City, Oregon...The first appearance of the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car division is on the schedule when racing resumes this Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway. A loaded seven division show will also include the Pro Stocks, Mini Stocks, SODCA Dwarf Cars, Valley Stor-All Late Model Lites, JOAT Labs Hornets and a special Street Stock series race.
There's a change in the Sprint Car division this season. Rules were adjusted in a way that should cut the costs of racing and encourage car count to grow as the season moves forward. Sprint Car veteran David Hibbard has been a leader in the movement to establish this division in Medford. Hibbard's credentials include several feature wins between his home track and Cottage Grove, where he won a championship in 2014. He was leading the points in Cottage Grove last year when he stepped out from behind the wheel to let his son Bailey drive the car.
Bailey Hibbard was having a rough season and was seriously questioning whether he should be racing when he started a race in Medford last September. The teen racer made a late pass on Raquel Ivie for his first career win. The Hibbard family will be three generations strong this Saturday as Bailey's grandfather, Calvin Hibbard, will be competing. It's the first opportunity for the three of them to be on the track together.
Among the stars to watch for this week will be 2016 "Rookie Of The Year" Jeffrey Hudson, who is the 2015 Pro Stock champion and recently won the Billy Geyer Memorial in Yreka. Two rookies in the class will be Top 5 Mini Stock racer Merissa Henson and 2010 Outlaw Kart champion Bartley Foster. SODCA Dwarf Car star Camden Robustelli, 2013 Cottage Grove champion Raquel Ivie and Kinzer Cox are also anticipated for the beginning of a new era in Sprint Car racing at Southern Oregon Speedway.
Robustelli takes great delight in competing with the Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association. He is coming off of back to back runnerup point seasons. The Dwarf Cars make their first appearance of the season, and most of last year's biggest stars are anticipated. This includes reigning champion Brock Peters in a new car and two time champion Josh King. Brock has moved his son Cody Peters into his championship ride. Chad Cardoza, Kalvin Morton, Rob Gergel, Paul Haslow, Randy Slater, Rob Sanders and the returning Fred Hay are among the other stars of the group. The competition level is so high that it's anybody's guess who might win.
The Street Stock race is the first of an eight track, eight race series billed as The Road To The Iron Giant. Drivers from other Oregon tracks compete in this series that builds up to the grand finale Iron Giant Race in September at Willamette. The race last season paid over $5,000 and was won by Kyle Yeack. When it comes to Street Stocks, Kyle has racked up over two dozen wins just in the past five years, and he figures to be the driver to beat. Series organizer Chris Sine, who just won a race in Madras, reports a field of 18-22 cars is anticipated for the biggest Street Stock show Medford has had in several years.
Once upon a time, the old Medford track had a Street Stock division that evolved into the Pro Stocks that were a part of Southern Oregon Speedway when it opened in 1996. The Pro Stock division has raced every year at the track, but the most recent track champion was Dustin Knight in 2011. One of the first track champions, Scott Lenz, is back in a Pro Stock this season and could very well be the driver to beat. Two time champions Ken Irving and Brian Johnsen, 2014 Street Stock champion Miles Deubert, Derrel Nelson Jr., Josh Kralicek and Dave Satterfield are some of the other drivers anticipated this week.
There are some interesting things happening in the three four cylinder classes. Lee Doty is the reigning champion of the Late Model Lites and won the opener, but he was chased by two drivers sure to give him a challenge this season. Last season's Mini Stock champion Bob Burkett finished second in the opener, while Charlie Eaton was third. Word out of Portland is that one of the top drivers in the state, Bob Westcott, will be racing this week. Westcott has occasionally competed at Medford and left town with the winner's prize on multiple occasions. Wesctott and car owner Randy Hansen intend to make every race. "It's a bit of a drive, " Bob admitted, "but we've committed to the season."
Wesctott is happy to see the division back in Medford again. He sees it growing and getting stronger here. Bob ran the circuit at tracks like Willamette and Banks and tried to keep it together. "Eventually, the guys just stopped showing up. I was at the last race with six cars, and that was pretty much it after that."
With Bob Burkett moving up, David Steele would seem poised to win the Mini Stock championship after winning the opener. Steele remarked before the first race that he will miss a race or two this year, leaving some talented newer drivers lining up for their moment to shine. This includes Kristopher Mix, Andrew Hall, Michael Johnson, Patrick Stringer-Stine and Dillen Lausen. A win for any of them would be a first career victory.
You can't forget the two champions in the field. 2014 champion Gary Anderson is coming off of a runnerup season in the standings. That car is actually the 2013 championship car of Steve Goetz. "It was a good car, " said Steve. "My wife wanted me to get it out of my system and go out as champion. We did that and sold the car."
Steve wasn't happy siting on the sidelines. "We started this car with the last of the cars I had left. I got rid of the other ones. My wife saw how mopey I was, so she encouraged me to come back."
Helping put the cage together was good friend David Steele. There were still last minute details left to finish. A rainout may have saved him from not being completely ready. He was still working out the bugs in the opener, but you can believe that he will be battling for wins in the weeks ahead.
After breaking a car count record in the Hornet division two weeks ago, management added a rain makeup race for the class this week. Joby Shields bested the ten car field last time. Word is there are another ten cars being prepared to race in the coming weeks. Most of the competitors are newcomers. Two interesting teams of note are the family team of reigning champion Tim Hedges, wife Jenna and son Ashton, who field three cars. Ashland High is represented by Erik Oline and the unique PT Cruiser of Ethan Doty. The Hornets are the most affordable path into racing at Southern Oregon Speedway.
It's an exciting seven division program this Saturday night. Gates open at 5 PM with the first race at 7 PM. General Admission is $12, Seniors (62 and up) and Juniors (6-12) are $6 and Children 5 and under are free. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Pro Stocks, Sport Modifieds Back at Siskiyou Speedway
Yreka, CA...After a week off for Mother's Day, racing returns this Saturday night at Siskiyou Motor Speedway. Outlaw Pro Stocks are on the schedule along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, McDonald's Mini Stocks and IMCA Modifieds. It should be another great night of racing.
The Outlaw Pro Stocks are coming off of the exciting Third Annual Billy Geyer Memorial Race, which was won by 2015 champion Jeffrey Hudson. Hudson has subbed for Scott Bennett in the #15 car for the first three races and finished no worse than second in any of his starts. The first two races were won by Dr. Scott Lenz, who has run a limited racing schedule in recent seasons. Lenz's last win was the 100th of his career.
Matt Harlow enters the race ranked third in the standings, 35 points out of the lead. It's even closer behind Harlow as Scott Flowers and Rick Lukens are within four points of Harlow. Matt managed a lead lap fifth place finish in the Geyer Race. He's had several Top 5 finishes, but he's looking for his first career win this week. Flowers will be fast as well, and he could be joined by his wife Ginny, son James and daughter Julia as all of them have cars. Jeff Haudenshild, Bryan Hammond, John Bowers, Roy Bain and John Cobb are others who make this a competitive show.
They might not have seen Justin Foux coming before the season, but after a win and a second place finish, the second generation racer leads in the IMCA Sport Modified point race. The two drivers chasing him are looking for their first win of the season. Both Chris Jorgensen and second generation racer Colton Cheffey have a pair of Top 5 finishes to be just two points behind Foux. Cheffey came close to winning last time as he finished second to Foux. He led the group with four wins last season, causing some people to call this talented teen the driver to beat this year.
Young D.J. Bottoms is fourth in points on the strength of the second place finish he had to Justin McCreadie in the second event of he season. Cory Biggs has returned this year and is only four points behind Bottoms in the battle for fourth. The Sport Modified field is just as competitive this year as it was last season. Gaven Gonzales will be out to improve on his third place finish from last time. He'll have to battle hard chargers like Braxton Possinger, Garrett Hamilton, Doug Franklin and Mike Colson. With Medford dark to the class this week, there could be a few visitors from there as well.
Terry Kendrick is after another Mini Stock championship this year, and he impressed with his feature win over Dennis Jorgensen last time out. Terry has all Top 5 finishes so far and is looking good. The same can be said for second generation racer Aaron Jorgensen, who also has all top 5 finishes in his three starts. In fact, his father Dennis is also doing well. Reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick opened with a fourth and a second, but she's hoping to bounce back from her eighth place finish last time out.
"Magic" Mike Whitaker had a strong Top 5 finish last time, which is a nice change of pace from the terrible first two nights. The 2014 champion knows he has to do better to keep pace with teen mini truck driver Ethan Killingsworth. Ethan had a Top 5 finish last time, but he also held off Whitaker to win both their heat race and the Trophy Dash earlier in the evening. Jeremy Sites, Mike Frost, Amber Waldon and Heather Ryan are others to watch for when the Mini Stocks return this Saturday.
It's hard to tell who might show up to run their IMCA Modifieds this week, but Medford being dark to the class makes Yreka the closest alternative for drivers wanting to race. It's also a tune up race for The John Arnberg Memorial next week. We do know the Pro Stocks, IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks will all be competitive this week. For further information, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com.
Late Models, Sprint Cars At Coos Bay Speedway
Saturday Night
Coos Bay, Oregon...Saturday night is K&N Engineering Fan Appreciation Night at Coos Bay Speedway. This means more NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing action, led by the Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Hornets and Humboldt Motorsports Side By Side UTV's. As if that's not enough, the Winged Sprint Cars will be making their third appearance.
The Sprint Cars have had a couple of good races so far, won by Shane Forte and two time Southern Oregon Sprint Tour champion Kyler Barraza. It's been a while since we've seen Kyler, but he reminded us just how fast he is with his victory. The consistent Lawrence Van Hoof has been a long time Sprint Car supporter, and he is leading the points for the first time on the strength of a second and a third. Van Hoof leads Brett Hulsey by six points and the tied Ryan Kingrey and Casey Sabin by eight points. Hulsey has a Top 5 finish, while the other two have a pair of Top 5's each.
Promoter Drake Nelson knew it would be a building process with NASCAR and Super Late Models, but he wants the racers to know a lot of the big point fund money is still up for grabs for people who want to join the show now. To that end, he is offering $100 incentive to any driver who hasn't raced at Coos Bay yet this season. Mike George is ahead of the curve. With five Top 5's and two wins, George holds a 16 point advantage over 2015 champion Toby McIntyre. Toby has three top 5's and a win so far, and he sees the $6,000 pot of gold at the end of the championship rainbow. Chris Ray is still within 38 points of the lead with two Top 5 finishes. He's finished as high as second, but he's hungry for victory. Other drivers to watch for this week include Jered Bemetz, Trent Elliot, Loren McIntyre and Brian Tenney.
The Sportsman Late Model series may be one that goes to the final checkered flag. Wayne Butler carries the experience factor as a two time champion, but he finds second year racers Brody Montgomery and Dyllan Siwell to be formidable competition. Butler and Montgomery each have 5 Top 3's to four for Siewell. All have feature wins this year, while Montgomery and Butler have done it twice. The way points stack up, Butler leads Montgomery by just two markers, while Siewell is 12 points back. Charlie Withers is still within range at 26 points back in fourth. Withers has finished as high as third, but he'll be joining Jeff Krossman and Tony Chamberlain in the quest for victory this week.
Meanwhile, Justin Krossman is setting himself up for what looks to be a Street Stock championship run. Justin has three wins and a 76 point lead over Ken Fox, who has finished as high as second. Reigning champion Daniel Land also has finished as high as second and is down 28 points to Fox in the battle for second. Hopefully, racers like Jeff Thurman and Stacy Robinson will also be there to make things interesting.
Consistency alone may not get the job done for Dan Daniels in the Mini Outlaws. Dan has been at every race and has two Top 5 finishes. However, two time winner Rob Lauver is closing in fast is his potent VW Beetle. Lauver is only 14 points out of the lead, while one time winner Samuel Talon is 28 points back in third. Talon is the 2015 division champion. Kallam Jason is 34 points back in fourth and should be there this week along with other hard chargrs like one time winner Ken Fox, Jamie Daniels, John Henry and reigning champion Ryder Johnson.
We've finally seen a point list for the Hornets, and it's good news for Ryan Siewell. With three wins and five Top 5's, Siewell leads the consistent "Hurricane" Hannah Robison by 12 points. Hannah is still looking for her first win this season, but she has not finished lower than third. Sam Taylor is only 40 points back in third, but after back to back bad weeks, reigning champion Jeremiah Reiber is 80 points out of the lead. Reiber has two wins this year. Other drivers to watch for this week include Jeremy Beard, Matt Butler, Tim Young and Robert Vandre.
The Humboldt Motorsports Side By Side UTV's are also running for points. Shannon Krohn leads Curtis Ziessler by four points and Eric Tackett by 54. Ziessler has one win, while Tackett has two. Justin Barron, Scott Carroll and Ken Dunnagan are other drivers to watch for this week.
The racing program should be good with all of the NASCAR Stock Car classes and Winged Sprint Cars all on the card. For further information, go to www.coosbayspeedway.us.
Hardtops Set To Invade All American Speedway
Roseville, CA...The California Hardtops will be going to the pavement of All American Speedway this Saturday night. There was doubt as to whether the first of two regular season dates at this track would happen, but once track management was in place, the dates were on. This is great news for the California Hardtops as the competitors love racing on this paved oval.
Rob Waldrop was the star of the show last weekend on the dirt. Driving for Bill McLaughlin, the 1998 Antioch Speedway Street Stock champion won Main Events at both Chico and Marysville after winning his heat races. The mechanical issues that effected him in the opener were a memory. On Friday at Chico, Waldrop had to fight off Placerville winner Jason Armstrong. Armstrong had to come back through the pack, and that meant battling "The Rocket Man" Ken Clifford for second. Clifford has been making some great laps this season, and he had thirds at both Chico and Marysville. He had a good battle with Rhett Lange, who finished second at Marysville.
Joe Hopp made both races and finished fourth at Marysville and sixth at Chico. It was Ron Ruiz getting his motor back together and holding off Dennis Armstrong for a fourth place finish at Chico. The Hardtop group was happy to see Steve Cloyes, Dan Whitney and Lange in Chico as well. The racers are excited about putting their vintage race cars on the track at every opportunity.
Joe Shenefield was on vacation last week, but Roseville is his home track. It's the first place he was really able to make some good laps in his #15 Sedan earlier this year at practice. After his good showing in Placerville, Joe is excited to be back in action this Saturday. The Clifford's will both be racing, meaning father Ken will be racing son Jason Clifford. Joe Hopp is planning to be there, as is Ron Ruiz. The Russ Kraft car will be there, and word is that CHA President John Philbert will get to do the honors this week. We haven't heard the status of Lange, but his car originally ran on the pavement of Roseburg. Add the Bill McLaughlin car and the possibility of an Armstrong or two, and it should be a fun night of Hardtop racing at Roseville.
Friday Night Fair Race At Orland Raceway
Orland, CA...It's time once again for the Glenn County Fair, and that also means racing at Orland Raceway. Friday night will be a night of action on the one-fifth mile dirt oval. The program will include Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, Micro Sprints and a Powder Puff RV Destruction Derby.
The Pure Stocks at Orland have been doing pretty well at the track over the past few years. Car count has been able to reach into the double digits, and there are some good racers in the field. Leading the charge is two time reigning champion Steve Martin. Steve figured to be the driver to beat this season, and he started the season off a couple weeks ago wth a Main Event victory. Clearly, he's going to continue to be hard to beat.
However, Martin has some tough competitors in the field to contend with. Drivers like Jeremy Langenderfer, Shannon Collins, Brad Ray and Keith Ross are on the roster this year. Last season, Langenderfer, Collins and Ray were feature winners, and Collins won a few weeks ago in Chico. Ray and Ross are both past Mini Truck champions. Ray provided Martin with his toughest competition in the opener before finishing second ahead of Ross. At this point, Ross is doing double duty in both Pure Stocks and Mini Trucks.
With the word getting out about how competitive the class is in Orland, there could be some drivers coming in from elsewhere to test their skills. They will also have to battle regulars like Amanda Koop, Cody Bundy, Chris Barnett, John Camper and Ethan Benzel.
Ross is part of a small but competitive Mini Truck class. He won the season opener, but he had to battle reigning champion Dan Webster and past champion Ross Vige to get it. These three should be at the head of the pack this week, but William Fogle, Jeremy Callen, Nathan Skaggs and Olin Crane are others to watch for.
The big name in Mini Stocks is Tom Davis. Tom was stopped in the opener, but it was mechanical issues that slowed the past champion in that case. John Kirkpatrick is a two time defending champion, but what he's really looking for is a feature win. He won the title last season despite not winning a Main Event. He knocked on the door last time in second behind the flying Sean Perry. One of the last Marysville drivers with a car, Donnie Fortney, was at the opener along with Barbara Crane. Other drivers to watch for this week include past champion Robert Hunt, Eric Hammond, Seth Libbee and Donovan Chilton.
The Micro Sprints have two classes, and the 250's are doing it without wings for the first six races. Jackie Whitson Jr. is one of the top stars in recent seasons and won the opener ahead of James Barnes, Jackie Whitson Sr. and Jess Garland. The first 600's race of the year had just the two Michelet cars as Mavel beat Kyra Michelet. We're hoping to see three of the top drivers in recent years on Friday, reigning champion Jeromie Chrismon, Skyler Richter and Tony Alosi.
When the racing is over on Friday night, the Powder Puff RV Destruction Derby will close the show. The County Fair Derbies in recent years have been very entertaining. Friday's program at Orland Raceway should be a good one. For further information, go to www.orlandraceway.org.
New Season Begins Saturday Night At Hayfork Speedway
Hayfork, CA...Hayfork Speedway got national attention in a racing publication last month, but maybe a key point wasn't made clear enough. They race at Hayfork Speedway. It's a field of dreams for the people of Hayfork. When Clyde Cordell began lobbying for this track some seven years ago, it was because he knew this would be good for the community. It gives people a place to go on Saturday nights during the summer, and it offers people the opportunity to live out their dreams of driving a race car. They race at Hayfork Speedway.
On Saturday night, the season begins at the Trinity County Fairgrounds racing facility with a program that will include the popular Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Enduro Cars, Pro Stocks and Quads. The Speedway will have nine events this season, including the popular County Fair race (August 12th) and the Clyde Cordell Memorial. Clyde would be pleased to know that racing is happening in his home town. It was a dream come true for him.
Saturday night, the Hobby Stocks will do battle for another championship season. Kevin Kasper enters the season as the reigning track champion. Kevin won several times last season, but he had some good competition. This included Russ "The Newmanator" Newman, who was also a feature winner last year. Past Clyde Cordell Memorial winner Burl Richardson provided some good competition, as did hard chargers like D.J. Case, William Kasper, Carl Roberts and Brian Young. During the offseason, 2015 champion Bill Kasper, the patriarch of the family, sold his car to Josh Smith. Smith was one of the top drivers in the class before moving up to Pro Stocks last season.
The Mini Stocks provided plenty of excitement last season and should continue to do the same this year. Jack Turner was the 2015 champion, but a driver from Orland named Ross Vige enjoyed racing in Hayfork so much that he came up and won the 2016 championship. The battles between Young, Vige, Turner and Andy Blackburn last season were very entertaining.
The Enduros are a stock class that offers plenty of slam bang action. Tim Kasper succeeded William Young as 2016 track champion. Other competitors include Tommy Evans, Eric Brown, Joey Young, Donny Case and J.D. Hudman. This is perhaps the easiest class for a new competitor to experience the excitement of racing at Hayfork Speedway.
The Pro Stocks had their first season last year, and Tressan Smith was the champion. Josh Smith and Josh Michaels were also in on the ground floor of the new division. Quads were added for the last few races last year, and they will become a regular part of the show this year. Tommy Tremayne, Jordon Weibe and Jeff Tremayne are some of the competitors in the class.
Saturday night is the first race of what is sure to be an exciting season. Gates open at 6:00 PM with the first race starting at 7:00 PM. General Admission is $10, Seniors (60+) $8, Students (6-12) $5 and children five and under are free.
