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Sprint Cars, Late Models Headline Veteran's Night Program
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...Saturday night is another special event at Southern Oregon Speedway. It's Veteran's night, meaning all active duty and retired Military personnel with ID get free admission. A packed lineup of racing will include the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars, Late Models, Bobbio's Pizza Mini Stocks, Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars, JOAT Labs Hornets and OTRO Hardtops. As if that's not enough, the show will conclude with a Silva's Painting Destruction Derby.
The speedway is off to its best start in years as more fans are coming out to watch and more drivers are showing up to compete. The Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars are having a strong start this year as several young drivers have joined up to help grow this division's car count.
Last time out, two of the young guns, Jeffrey Hudson and Enrique Jaime, finished second and third at the checkered flag. It was the second time that Jaime had a third place finish this season. Hudson finds himself 16 points out of the lead, seven ahead of Jaime in a close race up front.
The driver leading the charge is David Hibbard, who carries an experience advantage over the rest of the pack as a past Cottage Grove Speedway champion. Hibbard has won two of the three races held so far and finished second to his son Bailey Hibbard the night he didn't win. He has also worked hard behind the scenes to help grow this division.
Though the Hibbard's could very well be the drivers to beat, Hudson and Jaime are poised to get their first wins on Saturday night. Other drivers to watch include Blaine Cory, Todd Whipple, Theron Smith and Aaron Miller. Miller picked up a win last Saturday night at Coos Bay Speedway.
Nathan Augustine was left searching for another ride after his Late Model Main Event crash destroyed his chassis last time out. It appears as if the reigning champion will be able to borrow a car, but he has another car on the way. Augustine is clinging to a five point lead over rookie Miles Deubert. Both drivers are feature winners.
Dave Foote is third in points and won the most recent race. Word out of California is that Antioch Speedway star David Newquist and teammate Joey Olschowka are coming for a visit this Saturday night. Bob Dees and sons John and Garrett Dees are anticipated along with Mike Linder and rookie Eric Massey.
With three wins in four starts, David Steele is holding a 22 point advantage in his quest to win the Bobbio's Pizza Mini Stock championship. Steele won the most recent race ahead of the much improved Hunter Magnan. Magnan won his first ever Trophy Dash earlier that night, and he is now second in the standings ahead of reigning champion Kristopher Mix. Mix had mechanical issues sideline him early last time, but he'll be back to go for his second win on Saturday night. Other drivers to watch for include Garrett Frederickson, Michael McLeod, Ashtin Hedges and 2013 champion Steve Goetz.
While we still haven't seen a point sheet from the Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association, it won't be a surprise to see Brock Peters, Chad Cardoza and Kalvin Morton ranking high on the list. Morton made a late pass on Cardoza last time out to finally get his first win at Southern Oregon Speedway. It's been a long time coming.
Brock Peters had won the previous Main Event and finished third behind son Cody Peters on Saturday night. The numbers are up with the Dwarf Cars this season, and other drivers to watch for this week include Ryan Smith, Randy Slater, Fred Hay and Joe Sanders.
It's been a very competitive season so far for the JOAT Labs Hornets. Chris Boynton became the fourth different winner in four races when he beat teammate Bree Tritchler last time out. Point leader Brandon Wonsyld and reigning champion Jason Stoutenburgh struggled further back in the field, but both will be out to try and get their second wins this week. Other drivers to watch for include the rapidly improving Ashtin Hedges, Zach Nelson, Jenna Hedges and Ethan Doty.
The Old Time Racers of Oregon get to make their third appearance this week with their beautiful old style Coupe and Sedan race cars. The Trotter family has parked their cars in the Winner's Circle so far with son Dusty winning the opener and Bill winning the most recent race. Bill's old pickup truck, driven by Jay Smith, has finished second both times and won a pair of Trophy Dashes. These three should be out there this week along with Mark Minter, Jeff Krossman and Dean Cast.
The Silva's Painting Destruction Derby will bring the show to an exciting conclusion. It all adds up to a great night of entertainment from start to finish. All retired and active duty Military get in free with a valid ID. Gates open at 5 p.m. with the first race at 7 pm. General Admission is $12, Seniors and Juniors (6 to 12) are $6 and children 5 and under are free. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Great Racing, Kids Night Fun On Tap At Coos Bay Speedway
Coos Bay, Oregon...On the heels of the exciting two race weekend on the dirt oval track last weekend, Coos Bay Speedway is coming back with a full slate of NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing, featuring Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Hornets and Jr Stingers. As if that's not enough, it's a night for the kids. There will be free rides in the race cars, and the first 100 kids through the gates get a free grab bag.
Last Saturday night, the $300 bounty to beat Super Late Model point leader Brody Montgomery was claimed by Joey Tanner. Montgomery finished back in fifth as the only driver who has had all Top 5 finishes in six starts, including four victories. Montgomery holds a commanding lead over Chris Ray, and Ray was able to stretch his lead just a little bit in the race for second. Thor Kristensen is 38 points behind Ray, but he only leads Richard Wallace by 2 points in a closer battle for third.
Dyllan Siewell continues to lead the way in the Sportsman Late Model division. In seven races, he has racked up seven Top 5 finishes and four wins, giving him a 30 point lead over Tom Williams and a 32 point advantage over Charlie Withers. Last Saturday, Winters had his best finish of the year in second. Three-time winner Wayne Butler is 24 points behind Withers in fourth.
Ken Fox holds command in the Street Stock division with four victories. He got the win on Saturday night to stretch his advantage to 74 points over David Smith. There are five different feature winners so far, and Troy Chamberlain, Steve Dubisar, Daniel Land and Donald Schott are the other winners. Schott and Dubisar had a crowd pleasing battle going for the first half of Sunday's race before Dubisar fell out and Schott scored the win.
Sam Talon picked up his sixth win in seven starts last week as he holds command in the Mini Outlaw championship race. Jason Kellam finally got his first win of the season last Sunday to put him two points ahead of the other feature winner so far this season, John Henry.
Tyler Tullos enjoyed a big weekend as he stretched his advantage to 60 points over April Warmack. Tullos won Sunday's race ahead of Warmack. At the moment, Warmack is 14 points ahead of Hannah Robison in a closer race for second. Both ladies are feature winners this season as is Braden Fugate, who picked up his third win last Saturday in a new car. The Hornet car count grew on Saturday to 16 cars as drivers are starting to return to the action.
The Jr Stingers offer racing to kids 11 to 14 years old. This is essentially a Hornets division for the younger crowd. Griff Smith won the most recent race ahead of Sebastian Freedle and Alex Butler.
Saturday night's NASCAR Whelen All American Series show, complete with special offerings for the kids, should be a night for the whole family to enjoy. For further information, go to www.coosbayspeeedway.us.
Firecracker Challenge On Tap For Tuesday Night
At Siskiyou Speedway
Yreka, CA...The special Firecracker Challenge race is scheduled for Tuesday, July 3rd at Siskiyou Motor Speedway. It's a night that offers not just great racing action, but a Fireworks Display to end the show. Scheduled to compete that night will be the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Mini Stocks and Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks.
Third place point competitor Matt Sanders had his sights set on becoming the first repeat winner in the IMCA Sport Modified division last week. He came very close at the checkered flag, losing by inches to Keith Brown Jr. The amazing thing is that there are now eight different winners in eight races. Sanders is on that list along with Brown, Jorddon Braaten, Tim Elias, reigning champion DJ Bottoms, Justin Foux, Jimmy Lipke and point leader Trevor Tiffee.
It's a close battle for the championship as Tiffee leads Ryder Boswell by 15 points. Also close is the battle for third between Sanders and Lipke. Sanders now leads 2016 champion Lipke by just eight points. The big question is, will there be a repeat winner, or will we get our ninth new visitor to the Winner's Circle? It's anticipated that there could be a few drivers visiting from Medford this week for the special show.
The SCMA released the Mini Stock point list, and it shows three-time winner Marilyn Yawnick leading Terry Kendrick by six points and "Magic" Mike Whitaker by nine. Yawnick is the two-time reigning champion looking for three in a row. However, Whitaker is hoping the numbers are on his side. He won his first championship in this class of 2010 and added to that four years later. As another four years have gone by, he's hoping this will be his year. At the very least, Whitaker and Kendrick are hoping to join Yawnick and David Steele in the win column this week.
Steele indicated the possibility that he could be there for this race if things go okay at Medford, where he currently leads the championship battle. David is a four-time winner at Siskiyou Speedway this season. When teen racer Zac McMurray beat Jason Frost to the finish line for fourth the last time out, he took a three point lead over him in the battle for fifth. Zac also leads the rookie race. Other drivers to look for this week include Darek Alford, Mike Frost and Tiffany Cobb.
The Outlaw Pro Stocks round out what should be an exciting racing program. BD Hammond Construction has added an additional $500 to their purse this weekend. So far, reigning Series champion Dr. Scott Lenz, Steve Borror and Mike Learn are the Main Event winners. Lenz just picked up a strong third place finish in the Gordon Russell Sr Memorial race at Cedarville. A look at the point listings finds Lenz leading Scott Flowers by just 18 points in the championship battle. Scott's son James Flowers is only 22 points behind him as Matt Harlow and 2016 champion Borror make up the Top 5 in the standings. Other drivers to watch for this week include Johnny Cobb, John David Duffie, Ginny Flowers, Julia Flowers and Bryan Hammond.
With three great divisions competing and a Fireworks Display to end the program, Siskiyou Motor Speedway will be the place to be on July 3rd. Also, don't forget the Sprint Car Speedweek race coming up on July 9th. This is the first race of that series this year. Joining them that evening will be the IMCA Sport Modifieds. For further information, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com.
Mountain Valley Raceway Keeps Racing Alive In Hayfork
Hayfork, CA...When Clyde Cordell had the vision of auto racing at the Trinity County Fairgrounds in Hayfork, California, there might have been some skepticism. After all, there really hadn't been much auto racing at that facility in years. Where are you going to get your cars from? However, Cordell and the track crew had the dream. They weren't going to give up until racing began. After a couple of years of work, the dream became reality. Hayfork Speedway was born.
Change in racing is inevitable. During the offseason, the association in charge ran into some financial instability issues, and the future became uncertain despite a 10 race schedule that had been booked for the season. Could racing even happen this year was the big question. However, there were others who wanted to keep Clyde's dream of racing in Hayfork alive. Therefore, Mountain Valley Raceway has risen from the ashes of Hayork Speedway.
On Saturday night, there will be a practice session for all divisions. Many people are chomping at the bit to get back out on the speedway again, and there's more reason to be excited. On July 14th, the speedway is having its first race of the season, featuring the popular Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Enduros and the Modified division. The event is being sponsored by the Trinity County Fairgrounds, and there will also be a Fireworks Display after the races.
Sadly, Clyde passed away before he got to see much racing, but he'd have been happy to know that they've held many races here during the past six years. Such top notch talent as Josh Smith, Bill Kasper, William Kasper, Burl Richardson and Russ "The Newmanator" Newman have competed in the Hobby Stock division and brought home the winner's trophy.
Young William Kasper followed up his grandfather Bill Kasper's championship from the year prior by winning the 2017 Hobby Stock crown. The track also features a Mini Stock division that has been competitive and was starting to see an increase in car count last season. And Blackburn won the championship last season, following up on a title earned by Orland long tow Ross Vige from the year before.
The track has also held the wild in Crazy Enduro division, which has featured such stars as Tim Kasper, JD Hudman, Bryan Gummerus and William Young. The concept is simple. The track gets watered down at the end of the night and they turn these drivers loose. There were over a dozen different competitors to compete in the Enduro class last season.
It may not be the most glamorous place for auto racing, but the people in Hayfork, California are proud of their race track. Fortunately, because people don't want to let Clyde Cordell's dream die, racing will continue this season. After Saturday night's practice, racing will happen on July 14th. For further information, go to the newly created Mountain Valley Raceway Facebook.
Pit Stops
It
really is a remarkable sight. You show up in the pits at Southern
Oregon Speedway even at noon on the morning of the IMCA Modified Wild
West Speedweek Tour, and there are already cars in the pits. They've
been unloaded and are on jack stands with body panels missing and tires
removed. The drivers are working on getting everything ready for another
night of racing.
Speedweek
is a busy time for the drivers who make the commitment. You get eight
races in a nine day span this year. Southern Oregon Speedway, as pointed
out by Speedweek announcer Ben Deatheridge, has consistently had a
Saturday night race for every Speedweek Tour visit. Sometimes it has
come at the end of the tour but most of the time it has been at the
beginning.
The
reason is pretty simple. Drivers come in from California and work their
way all the way up through Oregon. There have been seasons when the
Speedweek Tour has gone into Washington, though that didn't happen last
year and isn't happening this year either. You go to Yreka for the
opening round and then head to Southern Oregon Speedway. It's the second
race of Speedweek, and there's already lots of work to be done on the
cars. This will be the process all the way to the end of the series at
Willamette. Get to the pits early, unload your cars and start working on
things to make it ready for the night's race.
The
man with the target on his car is Jesse Williamson. Who knows how he
does it, but he has won four of the seven preceding Speedweek Tour
championships. You may watch him not necessarily burst out of the gate.
That's fine, because Jesse doesn't start hitting his stride untill they
get a few races in. If you don't get off to a really good start and
maintain your momentum, he's going to get you. Only three times has he
not won the Speedweek Tour championship prior to this year.
Southern
Oregon Speedway's Brian Poppa, who is currently not active in racing,
kicked off the tour seven years ago by winning four races and the
championship. Two Californians, Alex Stanford and Kellen Chadwick, were
both able to etch their names into the record books as champions.
Interestingly enough, both of those drivers also didn't compete in
Speedweek this year.
However,
it was another Californian stepping up to the plate to make the
challenge. That would be Ethan Dotson, who came within a whisker of the
championship last season, before Williamson made him settle for second.
Again, Jesse didn't have the best start. When the checkered flag waved,
he finished back in ninth. Doesn't sound like a great start for Jesse,
does it? However, after Cottage Grove, he left that facility with a win
and a second. Who will stop him? It could fall on Dotson again this
year.
You
half expect to see Collen Winebarger step out of his car after a night
of racing wearing a cape. His car doesn't have a number, just a big S.
It's the Superman car, and there's a reason for it. The man is flying
around the speedway, it seems. Intent on winning the championship,
Dotson was the driver putting on the pressure, but Winebarger was the
driver leading all 35 laps for the $1,000 win at Southern Oregon
Speedway.
You
almost don't even need anything else in support of the IMCA Modifieds
for a Speedweek program. However, the IMCA Sport Modified drivers are
starting to lobby to be added as the support class for all dates.
Really, who couldn't disagree with that? It's a natural fit, Modifieds
and Sport Modifieds. However, there are some tracks on the tour who are a
little bit slow to get involved with the Sport Modifieds for their
particular Speedweek event.
When
the Modified drivers show up, they're drawing numbers to determine
their heat race lineups. It's a draw, redraw line up, and it makes
perfect sense. IMCA does a point average, but doing that for this race
would leave all of the visiting drivers at a bit of a disadvantage.
After all, the locals will be the ones who have earned points. A similar
thing happened to the Sport Modified division that did do the point
average on Saturday night. There are several drivers coming up and
taking a look at the speedway for the first time this year, and they
started behind the drivers who have been there. Hence, another reason
the Sport Modified competitors are lobbying to be included in Speedweek
in the future.
The
solution is simple. The IMCA Modified drivers use a system similar to
The Outlaw Kart program. You get two sets of heats, and your points
determine the lineup for the Main Event. This is where it gets a little
bit different than the kart program. You run two heat races with your
group. Straight up line up and then you invert the lineup in your second
heat later on. You earn passing points and finishing points, and the
Top 2 point earners out of each group then go to the redraw for the Main
Event. From there, you determine the first four rows of the Main Event.
It
can't be emphasized enough how important doing well in your heat races
really is for Speedweek. While a racer can come from the back of the
pack to get a win, you'll usually find that the winner of the big show
did well enough in the heat races to get a start somewhere in the first
four rows. That was certainly the case for Winebarger. He was one of
nine different drivers to get a heat race win and he also finished
second in his other heat.
The
track went dry early on. There's a theory behind that. Many racers in
the Modified ranks prefer to see a drier track that is smooth and has
two grooves. Southern Oregon Speedway had that, and the racing was good
once it got going. However, the new clay delivered to the speedway
during the offseason has presented somewhat of a challenge to track guru
Jim Rodgers. He's still finding the right combination. The season
started off with tracks that were a little too heavy, and we've also had
tracks that dry off just a little bit.
The
Modified drivers generally prefer such a track. Winebarger was one of
those racers singing the praises in the Winner's Circle. A night
earlier, he finished second in the Main Event in Yreka. The winner that
night shouldn't be too much of a surprise to anybody. It was two times
Yreka champion and reigning Yreka Speedweek race champion Nick
Trenchard. Trenchard grabbed the lead, and even Winebarger's threats
that night weren't going to stop him from grabbing the victory. Nick
finished eighth in the Southern Oregon Speedway race.
There's
another story playing out on Speedweek. Because it is an IMCA race, the
drivers are competing for IMCA points. This means, the championship for
the speedway is still at stake, and it's huge. So many top drivers that
come to town are going to grab those Main Event starting spots that the
locals need to earn their way in. Good drivers that you'll see doing
well on any given Saturday night are forced to run the B Main. This
included reigning champion Jesse Bailey and incoming point leader Albert
Gill. Both drivers failed to make the show. Trenchard made it in as did
seven time champion Mark Wauge, CJ Putnam and Preston Jones.
Speedweek
and the upcoming R Charles Snyder Salute throw that little monkey
wrench into the track championship. A driver can make up a lot of ground
on nights like that. In fact, that's pretty much how Wauge won the 2016
championship. He's had an interesting start this year. He won the
season opener, but he's also blown a motor and been eliminated in an
early crash. An early crash happened once again, and Wauge didn't last
long. Still, he did well enough to move up a little higher in the
standings as Trenchard regained the lead and Gill maintain second.
Cottage
Grove Speedway champion Grey Ferrando had an excellent showing in the
Main Event as he grabbed the third position. The driver finishing in
fourth was Darrell Hughes II. Darrell only makes occasional visits from
California. When we saw him for the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race in
2016, he led most of the way and still got a Top 3 finish. This time, he
found himself having to win a B Main to get into the show. In fact, he
won the B Main a night earlier to get into the race in Yreka as well.
Speedweek
has a Passing Masters program set up for the driver who makes the most
passes during the whole Speedweek Tour. After Southern Oregon Speedway,
Darrell was the one leading that. However, he had to get back down to
California to go to work, not to mention the fact that he has a point
lead to maintain at Merced Speedway, which will be running next Saturday
night. Still, the third generation racer gave a great accounting of
himself at Southern Oregon Speedway.
What
you'll get in any Speedweek lineup are some of the best drivers around.
Bricen James managed to grab the fifth position. James seemed poised to
pick up both the Super Late Model and IMCA Modified championships last
season at Willamette, but an injury suffered the week following his win
during Iron Giant Weekend took him out of the competition for the final
two races. It was John Campos winning the championship honors last year,
but James had such a lead that Campos couldn't make the pass until the
finale. Campos would finish sixth behind James in the Southern Oregon
Speedway Main Event as multi time Santa Maria Speedway champion Danny
Lauer placed seventh.
Back
in tenth at the checkered flag was Curtis Towns. Much like Winebarger,
James and a few others on the tour, Towns enjoys driving Late Models and
Modifieds. In his case, he's a regular at Cottage Grove Speedway and a
champion in both divisions. That's the thing about Speedweek. You're not
just getting lots of drivers in the IMCA Modifieds. You're getting
championship winning drivers. With that sort of quality, it's a win just
making it into the show. To finish in the Top 5, you're really doing
something, and to win is a career highlight for some. If you can keep up
the pace and run the entire Speedweek, you can be proud.
And
there's another interesting statistic with Speedweek. Williamson may be
the decorated champion of the series, but Southern Oregon Speedway can
boast the driver who has made the most starts. That would be Mark Wauge,
the Ironman of Speedweek. It's not enough for Mark to have won nearly
50 IMCA Modified Main Events at Southern Oregon Speedway along with
seven championships. He enjoys challenging himself at the other race
tracks when he can. And even a hard crash that he suffered at Willamette
last season during Speedweek didn't dampen his competitive spirit.
Speaking
of champions, a decorated Late Model and Modified champion named
Richard Papenhausen came to town. Richard has won some big races up
here, though it has been a few years since we've seen him. Papenhausen
is driving one of the Walberg Racing Team cars. It turns out that Bud
Walberg, a driver Southern Oregon Speedway fans may remember as a past
feature winner there, is more comfortable in the #4p
car that you would normally see Papenhausen driving. Therefore, Richard
was driving Bud's #55 car and Bud was in Richard's car. Papenhausen
finished 12th after making this show with a second place B Main finish.
Walberg, unfortunately, didn't quite make it into the Main Event.
Since
winning his second championship at Antioch Speedway back in 2015, Carl
Berendsen II has endeavored to challenge himself by going to different
race tracks. He didn't make it to Southern Oregon Speedway last year as
he crashed in Yreka. This time, he won one of his heat races and did get
the pole for the Main Event. The results weren't exactly what he was
looking for as he finished out of the running, but he gave a good
accounting of himself for the night. Past Chowchilla Speedway champion
Tim Balding also made it into the show as did young DJ Shannon. DJ is
the son of Late Model racer Chris Shannon. Both drivers compete at
Merced Speedway, and DJ won his first career Main Event recently during
the Merced County Fair Race. He made the show at Southern Oregon
Speedway and was planning on running the entire Speedweek Tour. Its
efforts like this that are going to pay off and make the younger Shannon
a champion at his home track one day.
There
were several new and even surprise visitors for the IMCA Sport Modified
race. Really, the buzz has been about the drivers of this division
wanting to be included in Speedweek in the future. It seems that Sport
Modifieds as a support class with the Modifieds is a natural fit for
Speedweek, and the fact that the division has been added at Willamette
Speedway as a regular class makes it that much more enticing. For now,
the drivers have to be content to run races in Yreka and Southern Oregon
Speedway. A few drivers even joined the Sportsman Late Model class for a
race at Coos Bay on Sunday.
Four
surprise visitors on the roster all came from the Antioch, California
area. Keith Brown Jr is part of a family of racers that goes back to
Antioch in the late 60s. His grandfather Bill Brown is a legend and
Sportsman division champion. His father Keith won the Antioch-Chowchilla
Modified Series one season. Keith Jr doesn't run anywhere regularly as
he enjoys traveling up and down California. This season, he got a ride
driving for Keith Steinmetz, who is learning from Brown and plans to
start racing next season
Teammate
Brent Curran also made the trip. Curran has risen through the ranks at
Antioch Speedway as a 4 Banger champion and then the Hobby Stock Rookie
of the Year last season. He has already won a Sport Modified Main Event
at Antioch, but he too has enjoyed testing his ability against drivers
at other race tracks. He announced earlier in the week that he was
planning to come up to do battle with the Medford regulars.
Also
making the trip were Ryan DeForest and Kenny Neu. DeForest is the son
of Late Model veteran Shawn DeForest, and Shawn was there in the pits
getting the car ready to go. Neu has a background in Outlaw Mini Stock
racing and won a championship there before winning championships in the
IMCA Modified ranks. He has been gone for a few years but returned to
the Sport Modifieds this season. Both Brown and Neu crossed the line
with Top 5 finishes only to be disqualified in post-race tech. Curran,
on the other hand, had taken second from Brown just before the checkered
flag waved.
The
winner was Justin McCreadie. A week after McCreadie's teammate, Braxton
Possinger, impressed with the victory, Justin was happy to get his
first win at his home track. A check of the current standings finds
McCreadie is leading the State of Oregon and Pacific Sport Mod Series
points, but he knows the pressure is on to continue winning. The guy
he's trying to defeat is none other than two time Southern Oregon
Speedway champion Jorddon Braaten, who has racked up several wins on the
circuit already. Though he got off to a late start, Justin shouldn't be
counted out in the track championship battle either.
The
point average situation worked to McCreadie's advantage as there were
only four drivers with points who made it into the Top 12 from heat
races. This gave he and Possinger front row starts. Possinger finished
further back in fifth. Taking a podium finish in third was Doug Coffman.
Coffman is a regular at Cottage Grove Speedway and is part of a close
championship battle that has the Top 8 drivers separated by just 11
points. Doug checks in at seventh.
The
championship battle at Southern Oregon Speedway has been between David
Marble and Willie McFall. McFall had a night he'd rather forget and
finished out of the running in 15th. Marble had the solid type of night
that a champion needs to have. He finished fourth and added some points
to his advantage over McFall. McFall is still looking for his first Main
Event win, and he may need it as Marble is starting to pull away just a
little bit. In fact, McFall is being chased closely by Tony Bartell and
Tony Duste, who are tied for third and 10 points behind him. Neither of
those drivers had the best of nights either as both failed to make it
into the Top 15.
The
competition level in the Sport Modified division has risen. Car counts
have been up to a point where even when there are some drivers missing
from the roster, the numbers haven't suffered too badly. In fact, many
of the drivers on the roster have a legitimate chance of winning a Main
Event. Four races have yielded four different winners as McCreadie,
Possinger, Marble and Fred Ryland have all taken their turns at the top
of the podium. Will there be another new winner when the Sport Modifieds
return to action on July 7th?
It
can be a fine line between victory and defeat in auto racing. Back in
2016 at about this time of the year, Kalvin Morton was on top of the
Southern Oregon Dwarf Car scene. He was setting a blistering pace at
Southern Oregon Speedway as he rounded the final turn to take the
checkered flag. Unfortunately, he tangled with a slower car and flipped.
Not only did he lose the race that night, his point effort suffered as
well. Morton has won just about everywhere else that he's raced, but the
win in Medford has eluded him. However, that changed on Saturday night.
From
the start of the season, Kalvin has been fast. He won a big gathering
of the three different Dwarf Car groups of Oregon at Cottage Grove
Speedway earlier this season. On Saturday night, he made a move into the
lead with four laps to go and saw a sight that many racers see in the
group. Both Brock Peters and son Cody Peters were hot on his tail.
However, Morton wasn't letting this race slip away as he brought it home
to a well-deserved and hard-earned victory.
It
was Cody Peters making a late move around his father Brock to get the
second place finish. Second is the best finish for Cody so far this
year. He had the B Dash in hand until a last turn pass gave it to
two-time Dwarf Car champion Josh King. As for his father Brock, he won
both his heat race and the A Dash and thought he might get the feature
victory when he passed early leader Chad Cardoza with five laps to go.
However, he ended up settling for third. Cardoza ended up fourth. The
point sheet hasn't been released publicly yet for the group, but you're
likely to see Brock up there near the top along with Morton, Cardoza and
Ryan Smith.
The
Dwarf Cars, much like the Sport Modifieds and the Kendall Oil Winged
Sprint Cars, are seeing bigger numbers this season. There were 18
competitors last Saturday night, and at least half of them have a
legitimate shot at victory. One of those drivers due for a win is Randy
Slater. Randy made a couple of late passes to grab the fifth place
finish ahead of Fred Hay. This was one of his better finishes of the
season.
The
Lorenz family was three cars strong last week. We've seen the Mod Lite
of Jesse Lorenz a couple of times this year as he continues to work out
the bugs. That wasn't the only Mod Lite in the field as Chad Lorenz made
his season debut. Though he took a checkered flag, he was laps down.
Jesse's father, Bud Lorenz also made his first start of the season. It
was Jesse having the best run of the family with a lead lap eighth place
finish behind Kaycee Sheeler.
Joe
Sanders got a second place finish in his heat race to earn a trip to
the A Dash. He too got to lead lap feature finish in ninth, followed by
Bud Lorenz. Sanders was the only driver of the Southern Oregon group to
take a trip down to Merced Speedway for the Dwarf Car Nationals. He ran
the Sportsman classification and brought it home to a respectable second
place finish that night. Joe showed noticeable Improvement last week,
and the second year competitor could become more of a contender in the
weeks ahead.
Good
things are happening in a JOAT Labs Hornets division. Car count is up
and the competition level has risen right along with it. With four races
in the books, there have been four different winners. Last week saw two
unlikely drivers battling it out for the win. And actually, you
shouldn't be surprised to see Bree Tritchler at the front of the Main
Event. The rookie already had two Top 5 finishes and is battling for the
Top 5 in the standings. She won her heat race to get things started and
then proceeded to lead the first 10 laps of the Main Event.
However,
it was Chris Boynton making the pass on lap 11 and leading the rest of
the way. Tritchler tried to make a run at him again, but she settled for
a very close second. The consolation for this finish was the fact that
she lost to her teammate. However, she gained a lot of confidence and
she will be in the hunt for a feature win this week and going forward.
The
Main Event winners list also includes second year racer Ashtin Hedges,
surprising point leader Brandon Wonsyld and reigning champion Jason
Stoutenburgh. Wonsyld and Stoutenburgh didn't have the best of Main
Events as they struggled at the back of the pack. However, Wonsyld did
get a bit of a run later in the race and brought it home in seventh,
adding a few points to his lead over Stoutenburgh.
The
Hedges family keeps right on moving and occupies two of the Top 5 spots
in the standings. Running third is Tim Hedges. Tim is the 2016
champion, and he picked up another heat race win to start his night.
However, Tim found himself chasing son Ashtin and wife Jenna, who
finished third and fourth in the Main Event. Though Tim managed to gain a
little bit of ground on the lead two in the standings, Ashtin gained
some ground on him.
Derrell
Nelson Jr has had his share of struggles this season, so just getting
it to the checkered flag was an accomplishment. He finished just outside
the Top 5 and sixth. Motor issues and tire issues have plagued the team
so far, and there was a chance that Derrell might not get his car ready
in time for this race. However, as he gets the #8G
car dialed in, he's certain to be a contender for feature victories.
Derrell was a two-time winner who finished second in the standings back
in 2016.
He
might have finished fifth in the standings last year if not for young
Dylan Irving. Irving had an impressive rookie season and battled Nelson
and teammate Wonsyld to grab the fifth spot in points. When he won the
first Trophy Dash of the season this year, it seemed to give an
indication that Dylan was going to be even tougher to beat in the race
for feature victories. However, after a crash at the second race, Irving
has struggled just a little bit. After finishing second in his heat
race Saturday, he again finished out of the running in the Main Event.
However, as the son of two-time Pro Stock champion Ken Irving gets
things dialed in, you know he'll be back and making a challenge for his
first feature win.
White City, Oregon...Sprint Car racing has been a part of Southern Oregon Speedway since the gates opened back in 1996. There has been at least one race for one Sprint Car Series or another in each season while the track has also had several championship seasons of its own through the years. However, there's never really been a big commitment to build up a local Sprint Car presence.
That changed in 2016 when Mike McCann became promoter. McCann carries a reputation with him of establishing Sprint Car programs wherever he goes, including Marysville Raceway and Cottage Grove Speedway. Hays Oil has been a staunch supporter of the Sprint Car program for years and got on board with McCann from the outset.
The missing ingredient might have been the adjustment of the rules package to a more limited rule set, designed to keep cost down. David Hibbard was the leader of this movement and has also sponsored an increase in purse money to make it $1,000 to win and $200 minimum to start for each race. Last year was the first year for this new rules package, and there was an increase in car count from the first year.
This year, it's growing even bigger. A key factor in the car count growth is all of the new drivers who have moved up from the Outlaw Kart track at the adjoining 1/8 mile dirt oval. Though Hibbard carries an experience advantage as a past Cottage Grove champion, two-time winner this year and current point leader, he knows these younger drivers will get tougher to beat as they get more seat time.
Jeffrey Hudson made great strides last time out in what was the biggest local point series car count for this division in years. With 20 cars in action, it was Hudson battling fellow young gun Enrique Jaime to finish second. In doing so, Hudson has established himself in second in the standings, just 16 points behind Hibbard. The second generation racer has built up quite a pedigree as a past kart champion, the Outlaw Pro Stock Association champion at 15 years old back in 2015 and a Sprint Car feature winner and "Rookie Of The Year" in 2016.
Jaime, meanwhile, has raced karts on both dirt and pavement and won championships along the way. His first Sprint Car season last year resulted in fifth in the standings, and the team has stepped up their program a little bit this year. So far, Enrique has two heat race wins and two third place feature finishes, putting him seven points behind Hudson and 23 points out of the lead.
The Top 5 in the standings is further filled by two other young drivers. David's son Bailey Hibbard sits fourth in the standings, 11 points behind Jaime. Bailey won the season-opening feature this year, which was the fifth time he'd won at Southern Oregon Speedway. 14 points behind him is another Little Southern Oregon Speedway Kart champion, Blaine Cory. Cory is the top rookie in the field.
It's not just new drivers in the field. The excitement surrounding the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars has resulted in getting 2009 champion Charlie Thompson back out to the speedway again. Thompson made his season debut last time out with a Top 10 finish. Two other drivers battling for Top 10 finishes at the most recent race were Todd Whipple and Aaron Miller. Whipple is only 11 points out of the Top 5 in the standings at the moment.
The Miller family has been racing for several years as Aaron's father raced Super Stocks. Aaron has been running Sprint Cars in California in recent seasons and was Top 10 ranked at Antioch Speedway last year. He got his first Sprint Car win at Southern Oregon Speedway in 2016, and he recently went to Coos Bay Speedway and notched another victory by beating the track's two top stars of recent seasons, Lawrence Van Hoof and Dave May.
A field of anywhere from 10 to 14 cars is anticipated for this Saturday night's fourth round of Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car racing. It should be a good show. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Point Standings
Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars
3 David Hibbard 100
L88 Jeffrey Hudson 84
48e Enrique Jaime 77
1 Bailey Hibbard 66
94 Blaine Cory 52
17m Merissa Henson 45
04 Todd Whipple 41
31 Calvin Hibbard 40
42 Theron Smith 38
18t Tanner Holmes 37
Siskiyou Motor Speedway got to play host to the first Wild West Speedweek race on Friday night, and they saw nearly 30 competitors come to town. We've mentioned above that two time champion Nick Trenchard got the feature win. Also noteworthy was the fourth place finish earned by Ryan McDaniel. At four races, it becomes an official IMCA point race. The track has already had three races with McDaniel and Mark Wauge winning the other two. The Rod Restad race that will close the season is also an IMCA sanctioned event. It's likely that you will see McDaniel there, and his appearance would probably solidify the Siskiyou Speedway championship.
The track had a thriving IMCA Modified division for a while, but the numbers dwindled to the point where they couldn't get more than one car to show up when there wasn't money on the line. An attempt has been made to run an Outlew Open Comp division, but so far they only had two racers run that. The question is, can anything be done to salvage the IMCA Modified portion of the Siskiyou Speedway program? The fact is, there are probably quite a few cars sitting around in the area that could be seen at the speedway if the drivers were inclined to put them together.
In the meantime, the fans did get to see a full field running IMCA Modifieds as they kicked off the 2018 Speedweek Tour. Nick Trenchard was the class of the field, but Collen Winebarger kept it close late. Bricen James was there to grab the final podium position in third. McDaniel held off Merced Speedway star DJ Shannon for the fourth place finish.
Ethan Dotson wasn't even planning on running Speedweek this year after finishing a close second to Jesse Williamson last season. However, Brian Wolfenstein was planning to run the series and had a second car. He offered the ride to Dotson, and he was glad to accept it. Going into the Sunset Speedway race on Wednesday, Ethan was the Speedweek Tour point leader. He finished sixth at Siskiyou Speedway ahead of Grey Ferrando, who had two wins in Yreka last season. John Campos, Aaron Sheeler and Jesse Williamson completed the Top 10.
While all of this is going on. The IMCA Sport Modified storylines continue to play out. In eight races, there have been eight different winners. On Friday night, Matt Sanders attempted to become the first two-time winner, but he lost that battle by inches to Keith Brown Jr. The high point man in the championship battle, Trevor Tiffee, drove to a respectable fifth place finish as he added a few more points to his advantage over Ryder Boswell. Two Antioch, CA area racers, Brent Curran and Kenny Neu, finished third and fourth, respectively.
Car count in the Sport Modified division has gone down this year for whatever reason, and there are still a few names from last year we've yet to see this season. The Firecracker Challenge race on July 3rd should be a good show for the division. Will there be a repeat winner, or will we see another new name added to the list? Feature winners so far include Justin Foux, DJ Bottoms, Jimmy Lipke, Jorddon Braaten, Tim Elias, Brown, Sanders and Tiffee. Among the names still without a win this year are Randy Wright, Braxton Possinger, Justin McCreadie, Gary Foster, Ethan Killingsworth and Boswell. The special weeknight race should be a good one.
The Mini Stock point sheet has been released, and as we expected, two-time reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick is the leader over past champion Terry Kendrick and two time champion "Magic" Mike Whitaker. Whitaker, who finished second to Yawnick in all three races last time out, is hoping the numbers will be in his favor this year. He won his first championship in 2010, his second in 2014 and this would be 4 years later. Are the numbers on his side? Will three indeed be a charm for Yawnick, or is Kendrick destined to get his second championship in this division? Meanwhile, Zac McMurray continues to get faster with each start, and he used his latest finish to move ahead of Jason Frost for fifth in the standings and top rookie status. The July 3rd race should see a few visitors from Medford. It is generally one of the better programs to attend in Yreka.
If that's not enticing enough for you, the Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks will be on the bill with $500 more being added to their purse, courtesy of Hammond Construction. The Outlaw Pro Stock drivers were in Cedarville to support the Nevada Outlaw Pro Stock Association's Gordon Russell Sr Memorial Race. Dr. Scott Lenz gave a good accounting of himself as he finished third in the race with James Flowers and Steve Borror also notching Top 10 finishes. Lenz continues to lead the Outlaw Pro Stock Association standings ahead of perennial title contender Scott Flowers.
The popular rumor going around in Oregon is that there will be another track joining the IMCA Sport Modified ranks. Actually, there was a rumor prior to Coos Bay Speedway going NASCAR that this might be the track to do it. The Sport Modified drivers had a golden opportunity to come support the Sunday event, which was Round #3 of the IMCA Modified Speedweek race. Promoter Drake Nelsen opened the gates to allow the Sport Mod racers to come, and the four California visitors who were at Southern Oregon Speedway the day before came to town along with Matt Sanders.
Dyllan Siewell is the star of the Sportsman Late Model division as he leads Tom Williams in the standings. He did nothing to hurt his status as he won his fourth Main Event of the season on Saturday night. On Sunday, he had mechanical issues in his heat race to end his night early. Meanwhile, the steady Charlie Withers wasn't faring much better on Sunday, though he did manage to start the race. A night earlier, Withers had his best run in quite some time as he finished second.
The Main Event belonged to the California Connection. After both drivers won their heat races, Keith Brown Jr held off teammate Brent Curran for the victory with Sanders making it a Sport Mod podium sweep. Is this the start of something special for the Sport Mods? Could they be in an addition to the schedule in the future at Coos Bay Speedway? It's this writer's opinion that if enough interest were expressed, something could happen here. Nelson is the promoter who hastily scheduled an IMCA type Modified race to start last season and then added the special Modified Gambler show during Speedweek last year to get some of those drivers to come visit. If there's enough interest, things can happen.
Brody Montgomery has been a force in the NASCAR Super Late Model division. Last season, he did well in winning 14 Main Events to win the Sportsman Late Model championship. He also began making Super Late Model starts and learning the car as he went. This year, the door was open for him to win the championship as his top rivals were Chris Ray and Richard Wallace. Reigning champion Mike George opted not to defend. This has put Montgomery in a somewhat dominant position with the battle now for second.
Because Montgomery had done so much winning and there were a few locals that hadn't been seen at the track in some time, it was decided to put up a $100 bounty to see if somebody could come out and beat the young gun. When it was raised to $300 prior to this last race, two drivers from the Willamette area, Joey Tanner and Casey Vitale, came to claim the bounty. Tanner is a feature winner in the past at Coos Bay Speedway and plans to come back for the big Ice Breaker race, which paid $3,000 to win last year. The only challenge to Tanner on Saturday was Vitale, who finished a close second. Also back in the field was George Bemetz, and he finished third.
Hopefully, Bemetz will stick around and do some more racing. There's still a few people missing in action, including past champions Toby McIntyre and Trina Post. With a little bit more support coming from the local drivers, the Late Model division could actually become quite a show.
The fans got a nice side by side battle for 12 laps in the Street Stock Main Event last time between Donald Schott and Steve Dubisar. Dubisar topped the Main Event Winner's List last year with eight and looked like he could get the win on Sunday before mechanical issues sent him to the pits. With him out of the way, Schott led the rest of the way in victory. Not content with just this win, Schott headed to Cottage Grove Speedway a night later and won that race as well. Your leader in the standings continues to be Ken Fox. Fox's closest rival, David Smith, finished second on Sunday and was also a Trophy Dash winner.
When Tyler Tullos picked up his second Main Event win just ahead of April Warmack on Sunday, he increased his lead in the standings. Tyler now holds a 60 point advantage over Warmack and a 74 point lead over Hannah Robison. Warmack and Robison are both feature winners this year, and Robison led the first eight laps before having to pit with a flat tire. She did win her heat race earlier in the evening. The Hornet division has been bringing the stronger car counts at the track, and it has been very competitive all season long with five different feature winners so far.
With Kayla Green bowing out of the championship race in the Sprint Cars, Brett Hulsey has taken over. He won the Trophy Dash on Saturday, but the Main Event belonged to Southern Oregon Speedway racer Aaron Miller. This was Miller's first Sprint Car win since 2016 at Southern Oregon Speedway, where he is a regular this season. He was chased by the two kingpins of Coos Bay Sprint Car racing, two-time champion Dave May and reigning champion Lawrence Van Hoof. These are the two drivers following Hulsey in the standings, but Hulsey has a sizable lead so far.
Coos Bay Speedway had to be pleased with the shows put on for the fans on both nights. A nice NASCAR Late Model show entertained the crowd on Saturday night, and the IMCA Modified Wild West Speedweek event had a good turnout on Sunday. It's likely that Nelson would have attempted to run a non-sanctioned event had he not been included, but it was certainly nice to see the track included in the big tour.
It's interesting to note that there are still two other dirt tracks running in Oregon that are not included in Speedweek while two other tracks have multiple dates. It's not likely that you'll see River City Speedway in St. Helens or Madras Speedway included in the future, but you never know. As for Coos Bay, Nelson is always looking for new and entertaining things to give to his fans.
We got a brief bit of news from Cedarville, where the $1,500 to win Gordon Russell Sr Memorial Race brought nearly 30 Outlaw Pro Stocks from the Nevada and Oregon groups. There were also 19 Hobby Stocks for a race paying $1,000 to win. Cedarville used to race more often and had a thriving Stock Car program with occasional Late Model and Modified visits as well. However, the Gordon Russell Sr Memorial Race is the lone race on the schedule. It seems to be doing well and entertaining the fans, and you never know if that might prompt somebody to look into holding more races there in the future.
At the Trinity County Fairgrounds in Hayfork, California, there was concern that Hayfork Speedway might be done. Mismanagement led to there not being enough funds to pay for insurance and track improvements. That meant the 2018 schedule would have been cancelled. However, new people have stepped up to the plate to get the track going again. It has been renamed Mountain Valley Raceway, and they will have a playday this Saturday night. Coming up on July 14th, the Trinity County Fairgrounds is sponsoring the event that will feature the Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Enduro Cars and Modifieds. As we often say, as long as the gates continue to open, there is a chance for good things to happen.
We have word that after rainouts took out a two race weekend at Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville, California, they're going to attempt to run a two night program again this Friday and Saturday. Hopefully, we'll be able to get you some information on the winners of these races as the track continues to feature IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks. and Mini Stocks.
In closing, Orland Raceway is coming back with a show that will feature the California Hardtops, Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks and the two Micro Sprint divisions. The Hardtops were very popular when they made their two appearances last season. The group has actually booked a busy weekend as they will run at Orland on Saturday and Petaluma Speedway on Sunday. Hopefully, this won't have a negative impact on the turnout in Orland. The record shows that Jason Clifford and Jason Armstrong were the two winners last season.
Things continue to look up for the speedway in what is promoter Rich Hood's third season at the helm. The track is attracting several of their past champions in the Pure Stock ranks, and that has led to some really good battles at the front of the pack. Jeremy Langenderfer leads the group with three wins this year. Past Pure Stock champion Paul Stevens has a Hobby Stock and Mini Stock win to his credit this year. With Brad Ray, Steve Martin and Jerry Bartlett as other past champions on the roster, it's getting interesting at Orland Raceway.
The Mini Stocks continue to have some good races as well. You still have past champion John Kirkpatrick and hard charger Sean Perry looking for their first wins of the season, but reigning champion Tom Davis finally got his win last time out. Barbara Crain has looked strong this year with her two wins, while Stevens has the other victory. It should be a good show for the Mini Stocks on Saturday.
Micro Sprints continue to have a seat at the Orland Raceway table since promoter Mike McCann added them to the roster back in 2013. There are 250 and 600cc motor cars at the track, and both groups will get a shot at the one-fifth mile dirt oval this week.
New Talent Growing Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car Class
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...Sprint Car racing has been a part of Southern Oregon Speedway since the gates opened back in 1996. There has been at least one race for one Sprint Car Series or another in each season while the track has also had several championship seasons of its own through the years. However, there's never really been a big commitment to build up a local Sprint Car presence.
That changed in 2016 when Mike McCann became promoter. McCann carries a reputation with him of establishing Sprint Car programs wherever he goes, including Marysville Raceway and Cottage Grove Speedway. Hays Oil has been a staunch supporter of the Sprint Car program for years and got on board with McCann from the outset.
The missing ingredient might have been the adjustment of the rules package to a more limited rule set, designed to keep cost down. David Hibbard was the leader of this movement and has also sponsored an increase in purse money to make it $1,000 to win and $200 minimum to start for each race. Last year was the first year for this new rules package, and there was an increase in car count from the first year.
This year, it's growing even bigger. A key factor in the car count growth is all of the new drivers who have moved up from the Outlaw Kart track at the adjoining 1/8 mile dirt oval. Though Hibbard carries an experience advantage as a past Cottage Grove champion, two-time winner this year and current point leader, he knows these younger drivers will get tougher to beat as they get more seat time.
Jeffrey Hudson made great strides last time out in what was the biggest local point series car count for this division in years. With 20 cars in action, it was Hudson battling fellow young gun Enrique Jaime to finish second. In doing so, Hudson has established himself in second in the standings, just 16 points behind Hibbard. The second generation racer has built up quite a pedigree as a past kart champion, the Outlaw Pro Stock Association champion at 15 years old back in 2015 and a Sprint Car feature winner and "Rookie Of The Year" in 2016.
Jaime, meanwhile, has raced karts on both dirt and pavement and won championships along the way. His first Sprint Car season last year resulted in fifth in the standings, and the team has stepped up their program a little bit this year. So far, Enrique has two heat race wins and two third place feature finishes, putting him seven points behind Hudson and 23 points out of the lead.
The Top 5 in the standings is further filled by two other young drivers. David's son Bailey Hibbard sits fourth in the standings, 11 points behind Jaime. Bailey won the season-opening feature this year, which was the fifth time he'd won at Southern Oregon Speedway. 14 points behind him is another Little Southern Oregon Speedway Kart champion, Blaine Cory. Cory is the top rookie in the field.
It's not just new drivers in the field. The excitement surrounding the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars has resulted in getting 2009 champion Charlie Thompson back out to the speedway again. Thompson made his season debut last time out with a Top 10 finish. Two other drivers battling for Top 10 finishes at the most recent race were Todd Whipple and Aaron Miller. Whipple is only 11 points out of the Top 5 in the standings at the moment.
The Miller family has been racing for several years as Aaron's father raced Super Stocks. Aaron has been running Sprint Cars in California in recent seasons and was Top 10 ranked at Antioch Speedway last year. He got his first Sprint Car win at Southern Oregon Speedway in 2016, and he recently went to Coos Bay Speedway and notched another victory by beating the track's two top stars of recent seasons, Lawrence Van Hoof and Dave May.
A field of anywhere from 10 to 14 cars is anticipated for this Saturday night's fourth round of Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car racing. It should be a good show. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Point Standings
Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars
3 David Hibbard 100
L88 Jeffrey Hudson 84
48e Enrique Jaime 77
1 Bailey Hibbard 66
94 Blaine Cory 52
17m Merissa Henson 45
04 Todd Whipple 41
31 Calvin Hibbard 40
42 Theron Smith 38
18t Tanner Holmes 37
Outlaw Kart Pit Stops
Friday
night at little Southern Oregon Speedway is a night for the young
racers to shine. Taking center stage on the night and stealing the show
was The Beginner's Box Stock division. This is the youngest of the young
drivers. You can get your start in this class at 5 years old. Some
drivers are a little intimidated and may take a race or two before they
jump into their karts for the first time. Other drivers might go slow at
first as they get used to things.
Then
you have the case of Malachi Johnson. This youngster came on the scene
at the end of 2016 with quite a bit of confidence. Last season, he won
the final three races to win the championship. On Friday night, he
seemed to be very willing to put his car up on the outside, which can be
intimidating as you get closer to the wall. It was a good battle as he
ran the outside, but Carson Henson had the inside. Behind Johnson on the
inside was Mike Wheeler Jr, who won both of his heat races to get
things started.
Henson
was debuting a new kart. During the offseason, he used his other kart
to win the Yreka Indoor championship. Wheeler, meanwhile, had won the
first three races at Yreka this year. When Hanson got the lead, he
stayed on the bottom of the track and did a great job of holding his
line. Only briefly during the race did Johnson get by, but Henson stayed
cool and passed him back. It was when they caught traffic in the final
turn when Johnson was able to make it work again on the outside as he
took over the lead for good. Wheeler also got by for second with Henson
third.
All
three drivers did a great job of running up front and entertaining the
crowd. It's a perfect illustration of why Friday night at the Little
Southern Oregon Speedway can be so much fun. You see some great racing
from these kids as they learn how to drive these karts and get better
every week. Back in forth, Uriah Sanders was still adding points to his
totals and staying up in the championship battle. The same can be said
for incoming point leader Shailene Horn, who took the checkered flag in
fifth and earlier won one of her heat races. Though Johnson has taken
over the lead in the standings, it's still very close between he, Horn,
Sanders and Henson.
Another bit of excitement developed late in the UAS Speedway Kart Main Event. Previous winner Larry Fuller was set to drive his #4l
kart, but he wasn't feeling well and turned the wheel over to Sean
Fuller. Sean grabbed a pair of heat race wins and then set about winning
the Main Event. Ron Bolles was making his first start of the season.
His motor seemed to be giving up on him in the heat race, but everything
was situated for the Main Event. Bolles ran closely behind Fuller
throughout the race with Steve Rambo a solid third.
It
was when the leaders caught up to the two 4 Cycle Karts when things got
interesting. Fuller passed Michael Owens and came up on Lori Fuller
next. He hesitated to make his move, and Bolles seized on the
opportunity to make a last-lap pass in the second turn to gain the lead
and victory. It was another exciting race by these open cockpit karts,
which are turning laps comparable with 500 Open Class. Sean Fuller
settled for second with Rambo bringing it home in third.
Lori
Fuller, meanwhile, is hoping to see more 4 Cycle Karts show up and
possibly get the class its own race, but in the meantime, she's happy to
be out there running with the other drivers. Owens was making his first
start in a 4 Clycle Kart owned by Rambo Motorsports.
Another
bit of drama developed in the 250 Kart class. Reigning champion Trevor
Grimes has picked up two Main Events so far this year as the early
leader. He has established himself as the driver to beat, but young
Vinny DeBenedetti was determined to get the job done. When he won the
second heat race, Vinny served notice to Grimes that he came to do
battle.
At
the start of the Main Event, Vinny got a good run and settled into the
lead on the bottom groove. Here's where things got interesting. Grimes
seems more comfortable running the bottom groove and is less inclined to
put it up on the outside. Vinny was clinging tenaciously to the bottom
line and running smooth and consistent laps. Grimes kept looking, but
there was no opening. In his quest to get the lead, Grimes spun three
times. With the rule being three yellow flags and you get black flagged,
the race ended at that point, and DeBenedetti secured his first career
win. Grimes settled for second.
Taylor
Fuller is still getting used to things in his 250 Kart. Already in his
young career, he won the Beginners Box Stock championship at Yreka in
2016, while coming to little Southern Oregon Speedway for a pair of
victories. Last season, he won the Yreka Box Stock championship. This
year, he's running for the Box Stock championship while learning the 250
Kart. He was also getting the opportunity to race against his sister
Brionna Fuller, but Brionna had to miss the races as she broke her arm
during the week. Taylor didn't finish the 250 Main Event, but he did
better in the Box Stocks.
The
Box Stocks saw a four-kart battle at the front, led by Keaton
Augustine. Augustine had picked up a heat race win earlier in the
evening as did Jacob James. He settled into the early lead in the Main
Event, but James was in close pursuit, followed by previous feature
winner Ryan Hirschbock and incoming point leader Taylor Fuller. Only one
yellow flag slow down occurred in this race, and Augustine maintained
his pace on the restart and to the checkered flag for his first victory
of the season. The nose to tail finish went in order with James a close
second, followed by Hirschbock and Fuller. The kids all did a great job.
Brandon
Steinhoff wasn't too far behind the lead pack in fifth place. The
Steinhoff's made their first visit at the previous race, and Tyler
Steinhoff was the one getting the Top 5 finish that night. This time,
the team brought a pair of 500 Open Karts as well.
It
was Josh Steinoff winning the two heat races and the Main Event.
Teammate Kyle Romociotti ended up second in the feature, though his race
ended three laps from the finish with mechanical issues. The same can
be said for Reece Slyter, who started the Main Event and was credited
with third. It was hoped that there would be a few other locals in the
field, but these three were the only ones coming out to run for the full
purse money that was paid regardless of the fact that the minimum four
kart turnout wasn't achieved.
This
year has been a bit different at the little track. First of all, all of
the races scheduled have happened so far, and the track even ran on a
night when it was threatening to rain. The drivers have their old pit
area back this season and Bob Fredrickson has been the Race Director.
There have been more karts coming this year, but it's hoped that even
more will show up in the weeks ahead. The drivers who have been there
have put on a great show every week.
