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Southern Oregon Speedway Hosts Wild West
IMCA Modified Speedweek Race Saturday Night
White City, Oregon...There is lots of excitement surrounding Southern Oregon Speedway this season. More people are coming to check out the action, and more drivers are competing this season than in recent years. Saturday night will certainly see a big field of IMCA Modifieds for the second round of the IMCA Wild West Speedweek Tour. IMCA Sport Modifieds, Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars and JOAT Labs Hornets will also be part of the program.
Eight years ago, the Speedweek Series was started as an effort to bring some of the best IMCA Modified drivers together for an exciting week of racing. Past Southern Oregon Speedway champion Brian Poppa dominated that first series in winning the title. Since then, the dominant driver has been Jesse Williamson, who won his fourth series championship in a great battle with Californian Ethan Johnson last year. Two other Californians, Alex Stanford and Kellen Chadwick, each have one Speedweek title to their credit.
Southern Oregon Speedway competitors know they have to bring their A Game with drivers such as Williamson, Collen Winebarger, John Campos and Grey Fernando coming to town. It's not just a Speedweek Series point race, it's also a track championship race. There's a good battle happening at Southern Oregon Speedway so far this season.
The consistent Albert Gill finds himself leading the charge ahead of Roger Haudenshild Tribute winner Nick Trenchard and last week's winner Zach Fettinger. Only a few points separate these three drivers. With the competition level rising immensely this week, just making the Main Event will be a challenge. Winning the $1,000 to win race would certainly be a career highlight for many of the local racers. Other local competitors looking to notch the win include Mark Wauge, Jantzen Knips and CJ Putnam.
David Marble is off to a strong start in the IMCA Sport Modified division. With all three Top 5 finishes, Marble leads Willie McFall in the championship chase. Marble finished second last week in a wild last lap scramble. He used slower traffic to move up further at the finish line. Braxton Possinger was the class of the field as he became the third different feature winner. Current Oregon State and Pacific Sport Mod Challenge leader Justin McCreadie will be hoping to get his first local win, and other drivers to watch for include two time reigning champion Mike Medel, Tony Bartell, Tony Duste and Brandon Wilson.
The Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association has been more competitive than ever so far this season. There are four different winners in five races, and two time reigning champion Brock Peters had to work extra hard to finally get his first win of the season last time out. He faces some stiff competition this week from two-time winner Camden Robustelli, Ryan Smith, Chad Cardoza, Randy Slater, Cody Peters, Kalvin Morton and two-time champion Josh King.
The JOAT Labs Hornets have been very competitive this year, and young Brandon Wonsyld holds a slim one point lead over reigning champion Jason Stoutenburgh after three races. These two, along with Ashtin Hedges, are feature winners so far in the growing field of competitors. Other drivers are lining up to get their first wins of the season, including 2016 champion Tim Hedges, wife Jenna Hedges, Derrel Nelson Jr, Zach Nelson, Dylan Irving and Bree Tritchler.
Saturday's lineup will offer plenty of thrills and spills for the fans to enjoy, but if that's not enough, there is a full program of Outlaw Kart racing on the little Southern Oregon Speedway track on Friday night. Jeremy Brown, Trevor Grimes, Taylor Fuller and Malachi Johnson lead their respective championship point races, and several young drivers have bolstered the roster this season. It's a nice little program with a $10 ticket price that allows the fans an opportunity to roam the pits before grabbing a bleacher seat to watch the show.
Saturday's Speedweek event kicks off with the first race at 7 p.m. Gates will open at 5 p.m. General Admission is $15 with Seniors, Veterans and Juniors (6 to 12) $10. Children 5 and under are free. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
2018 IMCA Wild West Modified Shootout Schedule
Friday, June 22nd-Siskiyou Motor Speedway-Yreka, California
Saturday, June 23rd-Southern Oregon Speedway-White City, Oregon
Sunday, June 24th-Coos Bay Speedway-Coos Bay, Oregon
Monday, June 25th-Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, Oregon
Tuesday, June 26th-Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, Oregon
Wednesday, June 27th-Sunset Speedway Park-Banks, Oregon
Thursday, June 28th-Travel Date/Driver Appreciation Part presented by FinishLine Graphics at Willamette Speedway-Lebanon, Oregon
Friday, June 29th-Willamette Speedway-Lebanon, Oregon
Saturday, June 30th-Willamette Speedway-Lebanon, Oregon
Former IMCA Wild West Modified Shootout Champions
2011- Brian Poppa
2012- Jesse Williamson
2013- Jesse Williamson
2014- Alex Stanford
2015- Jesse Williamson
2016- Kellen Chadwick
2017- Jesse Williamson
All-Time IMCA Wild West Modified Shootout Win List
Jesse Williamson- 10
Alex Stanford- 6
Kellen Chadwick- 4
Brian Poppa
Ethan Dotson- 2
Travis Peery
Ken Schrader
Nick Trenchard
Mark Wauge
John Campos- 1
Mark Carrell
Ryan Gaylord
Braedon Hand
Danny Lauer
Scott Lenz
Brad Martin
Anthony Restad
Wade Taylor
Collen Winebarger
IMCA Wild West Modified Speedweek
Comes To Siskiyou Speedway
Yreka, CA...Some of the best IMCA Modified racers on the West Coast will be coming to Siskiyou Motor Speedway this Friday night. The occasion is the opening round of the eighth Annual IMCA Modified Wild West Speedweek Tour. Also competing on Friday night will be the IMCA Sport Modifieds.
The Speedweek Series was started in 2011 as a way to bring together some of the best IMCA Modified racers on the West Coast. Southern Oregon Speedway star Brian Poppa won the inaugural championship. Since then, reigning series champion Jesse Williamson has won an unprecedented four series titles, punctuated by the 2014 championship of Chowchilla, California competitor Alex Stanford and the 2016 title for Oakley, California racer Kellen Chadwick.
Several of Oregon's best racers are anticipated for this race, including Williamson, Collen Winebarger, John Campos, Bricen James and Gray Ferrando. They can expect some stiff competition from recent John Arnberg Memorial winner Mark Wauge, two-time reigning champion Nick Trenchard, two-time champion Albert Gill and local area racers, Kyle Casson, Duane Orsburn and Stan Gunderson. Trenchard was the winner of the Speedweek race last season.
The IMCA Sport Modified Series has been interesting on a couple of levels. There's a close championship battle going on between two unlikely contenders, Trevor Tiffee and Ryder Boswell. Tiffee strengthened his case with his recent second place feature finish. He also counts himself among the seven different feature winners in seven races.
Last week, 2016 champion Jimmy Lipke was the class of the field in scoring the Main Event win. We saw perhaps the race of the season a week earlier when Matt Sanders repelled a strong last lap challenge from Braxton Possinger to get the win. A good field is anticipated this week. Antioch Speedway rookie Brent Curran has announced his plans to come race this weekend, and other drivers to watch for include Randy Wright, Gary Foster, Ethan Killingsworth, Oregon State point leader Justin McCreadie and two-time reigning champion DJ Bottoms.
Siskiyou Motor Speedway will be the place to be this Friday night for a great lineup of IMCA Modified and IMCA Sport Modified racers. For further information, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com.
Big Weekend On Tap At Coos Bay Speedway
Coos Bay, Oregon...On the heels of last weekend's big Monster Truck event, there will be lots of racing on the Coos Bay Speedway dirt oval this weekend. It begins on Saturday night, which is Ladies Night. Ladies get in free, and Winged Sprint Cars will be back along with NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws and Hornets.
On Sunday, Coos Bay Speedway has been given an IMCA Modified Wild West Speedweek date. The Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Hornets and Mini Outlaws will also be joining them.
We don't get to see the IMCA Modifieds at Coos Bay Speedway very often. Last season, they made two appearances, the first of which was won by Southern Oregon Speedway star Mark Wauge ahead of Ryan Baker. Promoter Drake Nelson came up with a plan to give the fans another taste of Modified action when the Speedweek Tour was happening last year. Though Coos Bay didn't have a date, Nelson created the Modified Gambler race and got some drivers to come visit on an off night for the tour. Justin Duty won the race with a thrilling last lap pass on Collen Winebarger.
Coos Bay Speedway is excited about having the Speedweek Series return. Last season, Jesse Williamson won his unprecedented fourth series title. Speedweek will take place during a nine day span that will include six different race tracks. Coos Bay gets the third leg of the tour, and a good field is anticipated.
On Saturday night, the track's Winged Sprint Cars run their third point event. Thus far, Kayla Green holds a four point advantage over Brett Hulsey and a 12 point lead over Mike Crawford. Green has spent recent seasons running a BCRA Midget Lite in California, but she was excited about the prospects of driving a Sprint Car for Prather Motorsports. She will be looking for her first win Saturday. Wins have been recorded by reigning champion Lawrence Van Hoof and Ian Bandy so far.
The bounty is still in place on Super Late Model point leader Brody Montgomery. In fact, an anonymous donor and Seven Devil’s Brewing Company have added to the bounty. If anybody can beat Montgomery this Saturday night, they will receive a $300 bonus on top of the $500 first prize. Montgomery has won four of the five races so far to hold a commanding point lead. Chris Ray maintains second, 40 points over Thor Kristensen. It's a closer battle between Kristensen and Richard Wallace as only four points separate them. Kristy Grout is closing in fast, 14 points behind Kristensen. Montgomery might win a nice prize for the championship, but there is also good NASCAR point fund money to be had in the positions behind him.
The Sportsman Late Model division will have a busy two race weekend, and it will be interesting to see how that shakes up the standings. Dyllan Siewell leads two time champion Wayne Butler by 50 points. Both drivers have won three Main Events so far. Tom Williams is only 14 points behind Butler, while the steady Charlie Withers is 18 points back in fourth.
The Street Stock division will also get to race on both Saturday and Sunday. Ken Fox has a commanding lead in the championship battle on the strength of three Main Event triumphs. One time winner Troy Chamberlain is only four points ahead of David Smith in a closer battle for second. Steve Dubisar and 2016 champion Daniel Land are the other Main Event winners so far this season.
The Hornet championship battle could get a nice shake up with their two race weekend. Rookie Tyler Tullos leads April Warmack by 42 points. Both drivers have one Main Event victory. It's a closer battle for second as Warmack leads David Pellum by six tallies and the tied Hannah Robison and Kylea Krossman by eight. Robison counts herself among the five different winners while Trace Fugate and Braden Fugate are also winners. Braden has won twice.
The Mini Outlaws will also get the chance to compete both nights. Sam Talon is a five time winner with an 80 point lead over one time winner John Henry. Henry finds himself leading Carl Johnson by just 16 points in the race for second. Forth place Jason Kellam was a feature winner last season, but he's still searching for his first win this year.
There will be lots of racing this weekend for the fans to enjoy. Ladies Night on Saturday offers a full slate of NASCAR Whelen All American Series racing, while Sunday will give fans a look at some of the best IMCA Modified drivers on the West Coast. For further information, go to www.coosbayspeedway.us.
Pit Stops
It was a busy night of racing at Southern Oregon Speedway Saturday night. Things continue to look up at the speedway in the third season of KJE Enterprises promoting the 22 year old racing facility. The night's offering included Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Bobbio's Pizza Mini Stocks, Valley Stor-All Late Model Lites and Old Time Racers of Oregon Hardtops.
In the IMCA Modified division, there might have been a bit of a question as to who was showing up after the big Roger Haudenshild Tribute Race of two weeks earlier. The records show that there has been quite a drop-off in previous seasons, but a great group of racers came out to compete for this race. This included, among other racers, seven time champion Mark Wauge, two-time champion Albert Gill and incoming point leader Nick Trenchard. Let's not forget such notables as Zack Fettinger, CJ Putnam and Bo Shields.
Wauge was coming off of major motor issues at the previous race. He was all set to go for a heat race win when the green flag waved that night, but the motor had other ideas. Mark ended up watching the Main Event from the sidelines as rival Trenchard claimed the winner's prize that night. He had hopes of turning things around, and he certainly looked like he had the car to do it.
Wauge and Zach Fettinger were on their way to the front and had just moved into second and third when it happened. Andy Freeman, who is a welcome return to the lineup after being away for a couple of years, was leading the race and lapped a slower car. Unfortunately for Wauge and Trenchard, the slower car veered right into their path as they went down the front straightaway. This resulted in a crash that eliminated Wauge and sent Fettinger spinning and getting hit by another car on the front straightaway.
It looked like the race would be left up to Freeman, second year competitor and Jantzen Knips and past Dwarf Car champion CJ Putnam to contend for the win, but Fettinger wasn't done. After his team made repairs, Zach restarted at the back of the pack and was on a mission that would not end until he took the checkered flag. Once Fettinger got the lead, Putnam shadowed his every move. The Putnam team has a new car this year and is looking better than ever. Fettinger firmly establishes himself as one of the championship contenders with this win.
Wauge's early departure wasn't the only thing shaking up the point battle. Trenchard got caught in a jam up at the start of the Main Event and brushed the front wall, doing enough damage to his car to end his race prematurely. This opened the door for Albert Gill, and he walked on through for a third place finish that enabled him to take over the track point lead.
You won't find a better supporter of the track's IMCA Modified program during the past five seasons than Gill. He has two championship to show for it and probably would have won a third last season if not for family commitments that forced him to miss a pair of races. Gill has been competing at the speedway for some 20 years and is a true sportsman and a welcome member of the roster on any given night he's there.
The battle now is between Gill, Trenchard and Fettinger, but we're coming up on a race that generally throws a monkey wrench into the battle. The IMCA Wild West Speedweek race is not just a point race for the week. The track competitors accumulate IMCA points, and it's a challenge just to make the Main Event with the loaded field on hand. The first mission of all of the contenders is to just make it into the $1,000 to win race. Then comes the effort to get the best finish or even win.
In the IMCA Sport Modified ranks, David Marble continues to lead the way as he is off to a strong start. Last Saturday's Main Event got a little bit rough for him as it did for several others in the early goings, but the 2015 Mini Stock champion and 2016 Sport Modified "Rookie Of The Year" made a nice charge to the front of the pack late in the race. Traffic enabled Marble to make the last lap pass on Rich McCoy and steel the second place finish.
Getting back to Saturday's race, Knips still managed to get it to the checkered flag in fifth behind Freeman. This keeps Jantzen within range of the championship. Also still hanging tough in this battle is David Satterfield, who finished sixth at the checkered flag. Satterfield is new to the IMCA Modified ranks, but he competed and won races with the Pro Stock division at the speedway in the past.
Also not to be forgotten in the battle to be in the Top 5 is longtime racer Bo Shields, who finished a respectable eighth behind Brett Provost. Provost, who is a past Street Stock racer at the speedway, was making his second start of the year. Prior to that, we haven't seen him since 2015, and he is certainly a welcome return to the roster.
That finish was good enough to add a few more points to Marble's lead, but Willie McFall is hanging tough in second. McFall grabbed another Trophy Dash win to start his night and also found himself at the back of the pack early in the Main Event. He still salvaged a respectable Top 5 finish at the checkered flag. Still on Willie's radar is a Main Event victory, but you have to believe it's coming soon the way he's been driving this season.
The team of Braxton Possinger and Justin McCreadie established something very important over these past two weekends. McCreadie currently leads the state of Oregon IMCA point battle as well as the lucrative Pacific Sport Modified Challenge Series, which pays $1,250 to the champion. He's done well in winning several Main Events already on the circuit, though he's still looking for a win at his home track. He's also celebrating the fact that he recently graduated college.
However, Possinger isn't merely the other driver on the team. In Yreka a week earlier, he drove a brilliant race and did everything he could short of making any contact with the leader in a great battle for the win. Though he settled for second behind Matt Sanders that night, it was as close to a win as he could get. However, he had the pole position on Saturday night and wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away. Braxton led every lap for his first win at his home track. McCreadie finished a bit further back in ninth, though he should still maintain his leads in the other two battles. There's some good competition out there, so Justin knows he'll need to get back to the Winner's Circle to keep those leads.
Back in the third spot, Rich McCoy was a welcome sight in the pits. His Lightning McQueen themed Sport Modified is popular with the kids, and it's as fast as it is good looking. Though he had a spin early in the race while trying to get the lead, he nonetheless came back for a respectable third place finish after earlier winning his heat race. McCoy isn't chasing points this year, but he's certainly a threat to win any time he's on the race track. Likewise can be said for Jesse Merriman, who enjoyed some good laps battling with McCoy before finishing fourth.
Tony Bartell is quietly hanging in the battle in the Top 5 in the standings. Bartell seemed to have more than his share of bad luck last season that kept him from being a serious contender, but things are looking up for him this year. Though the sixth place finish he got wasn't what he was hoping for, it was still a solid point night for him as he sets his sights on the race coming up this weekend.
The Valley Stor-All Late Model Lites saw three welcome returns to the roster with the husband and wife team of Terry and Krista Hadley and reigning champion Bob Burkett. The Hadley's have been a part of this division for many years, and a look at the record books finds that Terry has won more Main Events in this class than anybody in the history of this division at Southern Oregon Speedway. It looked as if he and Krista still had some things to sort out, but they enjoyed a good battle for fourth, won by Terry with a last lap pass.
Bob Burkett has been handling other things during the beginning of this season, but he commented prior to the races that he felt it was time he got back out there and did some racing. He didn't seem to have much rust as he ran second in the Main Event after an early battle with incoming point leader Charlie Eaton for the position. However, Bob was unable to make a move on the flying Greg Arnold.
Arnold was hoping that he could be more competitive this year when he bought his newer chassis from the Willamette area. He had further incentive to be competitive this year as he changed his number to #39 in honor of his friend, Tim Law, who passed away of cancer during the offseason. Greg gave indication that this was going to be his night when he made a thrilling last lap pass to take the Trophy Dash win away from Eaton. After winning the heat race, he left little doubt who was going to win the Main Event as he set a rapid pace and won by a respectable margin in front of Burkett. With Eaton finishing third, the lead is still in his hands, but it got closer after the impressive performance from 2002 Super Truck champion Arnold.
The Bobbio's Pizza Mini Stock championship is firmly in the sights of David Steele. Track championships haven't really been something he has pursued through the years, though he is the 2015 Siskiyou Motor Speedway champion. David had time to take a vacation last week, which even kept him from making a visit to Siskiyou Speedway as he will often do. But, it wasn't a total vacation. He found some serious problems on his car that could have sidelined him before the checkered flag, one of which was starting to develop in his second place finish at the previous race. Fortunately, he resolved that electrical issue, and the car ran just fine.
Steele also took some of his vacation time as an opportunity to help his friend, Steve Goetz, get his #55 car clipped and ready for action. All of the work paid off for the man who is closing in fast on the track's All Time Main Event win record. David didn't quite pull off a Trophy Dash victory, but the Main Event and the heat races were his. He continued to increase his championship point lead with his strong night.
Hunter Magnan had high hopes of being more competitive this season when he got his current car from the Fettinger Racing Team late last year. On Saturday night, he got an indication that the team is very close to their first feature victory. The 2017 "Rookie Of The Year" kicked things off by holding off Garrett Fredrickson for a Trophy Dash victory. Not only was that big for Hunter, but for Fredrickson it was his best preliminary effort yet. Hunter is still very much in championship contention and also strengthened his hold on second in the standings by finishing second in the Main Event and his heat race. The Main Event was by no means a gimme for Steele as Hunter was a very close second.
Steve Goetz was just happy to take a third place finish on the podium after the crash two races ago that could have ended his season. He admitted that coming out of Turn 2 in that race, the glare of the sun was so bad that he didn't even realize Cameron Hall had spun until it was too late to take evasive action. The third place finish shows that the 2013 champion is still very much in contention to get a Main Event win at some point this season.
Tim Hedges brought the former Randy Simmons car back, but this time he put his son Ashtin behind the wheel. He was hoping that all of the adjustments and replacements they made would at least keep the car on the track, and that mission was accomplished. Not only did Ashtin keep it out there, but he won a battle with Top 5 point runner Michael McLeod for fourth, putting the younger Hedges into the next Trophy Dash.
The news was not as good for Kristopher Mix. The reigning champion seemed to stumble out of the gate and didn't have the best of nights. He took the green flag in the Main Event to get his points and come back to fight another day. He remains third in the standings.
Points are not a part of what the Old Time Racers of Oregon Hardtop group does. They're out there having fun and trying to put on a show for the fans. They all race for position, but their goal is to do it respectively and without doing damage to each other's race cars. It's a tight-knit group that has been around for over 30 years.
The show turned out to be quite entertaining. Bill Trotter has one of the nicer looking cars on a track. His old #46 Coupe, sporting an orange paint job, also has orange lights underneath that becomes very apparent as the sun goes down. Bill has won a Trophy Dash here in the past, but a Main Event win has eluded him. His car got driven to a victory in 2016 with Mark Minter behind the wheel. After his son Dusty Trotter got the win in their first visit this year, Bill knew he had to step up his game.
The elder Trotter jumped into the lead at the start, but there was a surprise waiting for him down the stretch. For these past two seasons, the #16 pickup truck, also owned by Bill Trotter, has somewhat been an afterthought. It's there to provide another vehicle, but it's not generally contending for wins. However, Jay Smith has changed that this year. He won the Trophy Dash earlier in the evening. After running fifth early in the race, he gradually worked his way into second. He managed to close in on Bill in the waning laps before driving that truck to a strong second place finish.
Dusty Trotter settled for third ahead of Mark Minter, and all four vehicles ran close up front. We are hearing that more new cars coming. We saw Dean Cast make his first appearance of the season, and we're told another Minter car should be ready to debut for the next race. These old time race cars are a joy to watch. Keeping things affordable is a goal, and there are some very nice looking machines out on the track when they visit.
The big news last weekend was the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars, presented by Hays Oil. With Dave's Carpet And Vinyl helping increase the purse, the division has seen some growth during the past year. It was Hibbard who suggested the track go in the rules direction that has been taken since last year, and all indications are that it's working. Saturday night saw the best regular point event car count at Southern Oregon Speedway for the track's Sprint Car division in several years. There were 20 cars.
One of those cars was driven by Kyler Barraza. You know anytime the reigning champion and two-time Southern Oregon Sprint Car Tour champion is on the track, you're going to get a show. Unfortunately, the last time Kyler was in town, the show he gave the crowd was not one he was happy about. He slipped off the back straightaway, landed on his lid and the car caught fire. It was a scary situation that left him with second and third degree burns. Kyler has regrouped this year and already had a win earlier this season at Coos Bay Speedway.
It looked like business as usual when he won both his heat race and the Scramble. Though David Hibbard jumped into the lead at the start, Barraza moved by him around lap eight. Once he got the lead, it seemed that it would be his victory. But the one thing about a race with this many cars is you will see lapped traffic. A fan watching this race would see cars everywhere on the race track, and Barraza knew that with Hibbard behind him, he had to make split-second decisions to keep moving ahead. When a slower car got in his path coming down the front straight away, he made the move to get by on the outside, only to be taken out the exit when that car pitted. Barraza flipped out of the event.
This put the lead into the hands of David Hibbard, and he led the remaining tours for his second win of the season. He also added a couple points to his lead, but he didn't gain huge. This is because 2016 "Rookie Of The Year" Jeffrey Hudson had a strong second place finish after some good laps battling Enrique Jaime. Hudson has clearly established himself as a contender for the championship, and he's done it with a smooth and patient driving style. Earlier in the evening, Jeffrey picked up more good points by winning his heat race.
For Jaime, the third place finish was his second of the year, which goes along with a pair of heat race victories. Enrique was doing a great job last season just learning the race car and making his laps in his fifth place point season. This year, the team has taken it up a notch. Enrique is a fast learner and knows how to handle one of these race cars. A feature win seems inevitable for him at some point during the season.
Feature wins have come through the years for both Kinzer Cox and Hedge Carter. Both drivers have won at Cottage Grove Speedway and Carter is a past champion. They were among a group of a racers who came to town as their home track was dark to their division for the night. Hedge was actually a Top 10 point racer last season at Southern Oregon Speedway. At the checkered flag, Cox would finish fourth, followed closely by Carter.
We finally saw the return of 2009 Southern Oregon Speedway champion Charlie Thompson. When Charlie made his lone appearance back in 2016, he was riding along in second when his motor gave up on him. This time, he had a spirited duel with Top 10 point runner Aaron Miller for the seventh place finish before claiming the spot. Miller settled for eighth, followed by Todd Whipple. Whipple is within range of the Top 5 in the standings.
We are three races into the season, and there have been many positive indications that the Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car Class is on the right track at Southern Oregon Speedway. Their next racing opportunity will be on Veterans night, June 30th. They also have some big events on the horizon this year, including the $2,000 to win Ironhead Nationals on August 11th. Things are looking up for Sprint Car racing at Southern Oregon Speedway.
The IMCA Sport Modified division is enjoying an interesting start at Siskiyou Motor Speedway. There are seven races in the record books, and there are two storylines at play. First is the fact that there are seven different winners so far. Second is the championship battle taking place between unlikely contenders Trevor Tiffee and Ryder Boswell. The two drivers grew up as kids around that race track, and they are close friends. Now, they're battling for the championship. Though Tiffee counts himself among the seven with wins, Boswell is still searching for his first.
Jimmy Lipke has been there and done that before. This year, he's made trips down south to compete at Silver Dollar Speedway and up North for racing action at Southern Oregon Speedway. He is the 2016 Siskiyou Speedway champion and a feature winner in the past. On this occasion, he became the seventh name added to the winner's list by holding off Tiffee for the victory.
At the rate things are going, we could see a few more feature winners before we finally get a repeat name on the list. Back in third was the man who finished third in points last season, Randy Wright. He is slowly working his way up into the Top 5 in the standings and has a legitimate shot at recapturing third in points once again. He was followed by rookie Ethan Killingsworth. A week earlier, Ethan made his debut and ended up falling out very early. The fourth place finish is good progression for the driver who has ranked Top 5 in Mini Stock points with multiple feature wins during the past two seasons. You just know the win is coming for Ethan.
The IMCA Sport Modifieds are anticipating a good car count this Friday night as they run in support of the IMCA Modified Wild West Speedweek race. The Mini Stock division gets a week off, and it's an opportunity for a few competitors to get their cars ready for when racing resumes.
It's not really a big surprise that the storyline in Mini Stock racing at Siskiyou Speedway is the battle between two-time reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick and past champions Mike Whitaker and Terry Kendrick. All three drivers carry a noticeable experience advantage over the rest of the field. So, you would expect that before anybody else gets a win, they will have to go through these three.
On Saturday night, Yawnick was just a little bit better than teammate Whitaker. She held him off for wins in their heat race, the Trophy Dash and the Main Event. She is now a three-time winner. We have yet to see a point list, but it's expected that Marilyn will be leading either Whitaker or Kendrick, who finished third in Saturday's race.
Meanwhile, teen racer Zac McMurray just continues to go out there and make his laps. He started out with a Cobra II this season, but he now also has the former Ethan Killingsworth truck. He took a checkered flag in fourth ahead of Jason Frost at the most recent race. As the young teen gets more comfortable behind the wheel, he may just surprise the "big three" and emerge with a feature win of his own.
The Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stock division rolled into town with 14 competitors last week. When these drivers come to Yreka, they always put on a show. The battle we were anticipating was between 2016 champion Steve Borror and reigning champion Dr. Scott Lenz. However, Borror was a surprising no show for the recent race. That left it to Lenz to battle the rest of the field for another win. He won the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race at Southern Oregon Speedway earlier this season. However, this was his first Yreka win of the season, and he did it by a straightaway advantage over perennial championship contender Scott Flowers.
The Flowers team is four cars strong at most races, and Scott and son James Flowers are usually in the battle up front while wife Ginny and daughter Julia are giving them a good race for a Top 10 finish. Car owner Arlen Garrison turned over the wheel to a car that he might normally be driving, but he got an opportunity to drive the hastily scheduled Pit Crew Race after the show. Arlen and his support behind the scenes helps keep this racing team going.
When Scott Flowers gained second, nobody was taking it away from him. He left the battle for third between his son James and Johnny Cobb, but Cobb got it done with the mid race pass. James moved into the Top 5 in the standings with a fourth place finish. Matt Harlow rounded out the Top 5. What's amazing to watch with these Calculated Comfort Pro Stocks is that the roster continues to increase. In this case, Phil Pipgras was the latest driver to make his debut.
The Oregon based Pro Stock group will be heading to Cedarville, California this Saturday night to support the Nevada Outlaw Pro Stock promoted Gordon Russell Memorial Race. The two associations are working together to help each other have bigger races. Also on the horizon will be a special appearance for the group at Coos Bay Speedway as they run head-to-head with that track's NASCAR Sportsman Late Model group.
Coos Bay Speedway Is getting set for a big two race weekend after the successful two-day Monster Truck event last week. In his never-ending quest to get people to come out and watch, promoter Drake Nelsen is offering Ladies Night as part of the Saturday night NASCAR show. All women get in free that night, and there are a couple of intriguing prospects on the card. First of all, the Winged Sprint Cars will be back. Secondly, the NASCAR Super Late Models are there.
Brody Montgomery has dominated Super Late Model action to such an extent that there is now a $300 bounty to beat him while he's still running on the race track. However, There is word that Willamette Speedway competitor Joey Tanner will be coming to town to try and take the money. Tanner is fast and has won at Coos Bay in recent seasons. Jared Bemetz is also talking about dusting off his car and coming back.
This is great news to see locals coming back out and supporting the race track. There are known to be several cars across all divisions in the area that haven't been supporting in recent seasons or at least this year. If you get them back out there, the fans will see one heck of a race. The bounty could increase the Super Late Model Class to eight or ten cars, which would be a nice little show for the track as they attempt to establish momentum. There's also that NASCAR point fund money to consider, and the drivers who have been supportive will be the ones getting the bigger share. Though Montgomery has a commanding lead, there's a good battle going on for second between Chris Ray, Thor Kristensen, Richard Wallace and Kristy Grout.
The Sportsman Late Models, Mini Outlaws, Street Stocks and Hornets are going to be a very busy as they race on both Saturday and Sunday. The point races will surely be shaken up just a little bit. Word it is that Justin Krossman will be back in his Sportsman Late Model this week to do battle with point leader Dyllan Siewell, two-time champion Wayne Butler, Tom Williams and the steady Charlie Withers.
Coos Bay fans will be excited to see the IMCA Modified Wild West Speedweek race on Sunday. Last season, they were left off the tour. When Nelson saw that there was a break in the Speedweek Tour action, he hastily scheduled a race that night with a $1,500 to win enticement. Though there weren't too many takers, the drivers who came out there put on a nice show for the fans, won by Justin Duty. There will be decidedly more cars this time around. There have been rumblings of there being an interest in adding this class or perhaps Sport Modifieds to the schedule in the future, but we classify that as a rumor. Whatever the case, it's great to see Coos Bay Speedway still giving the fans some racing entertainment on any given Saturday night.
Orland Raceway information seems to be hard to come by these days, but the good news is they are holding races. They're getting some top notch talent out there on the track in the Pure Stock division, not the least of which were the two drivers battling for victory last week, reigning champion Jeremy Langenderfer and past champion Paul Stevens. It was Langenderfer prevailing for the third time this season. Though we haven't seen a point list yet, it's very likely that Jeremy tops the list and Stevens probably won't be too far behind him.
We've been watching the Mini Stock division as reigning champion Tom Davis has been shut out of the Main Event winner's list. We've even seen Barbara Crain get a pair of victories so far. However, Davis is not just some chump on the race track. He got it done on Saturday night and becomes the third different winner so far.
We managed to see some video footage of heat race action for the Mini Stocks and noticed Sean Perry won his race, while Paul Stevens, who is doing double duty this year, won the other. It's interesting that Sean is another driver in this class that you would expect to get a win at some point. Stevens, meanwhile, is the third different feature winner in Mini Stock competition.
Dan Webster, who has been a regular at this race track in Mini Truck competition for several seasons, added his name to the Winner's List. He has a new truck that was probably needed with the rise in competition in the class this year.
We also noticed that Tony Richards returned with his Wingless Sprint. The class went to gas last year, and it was thought that this might keep Tony from coming out to compete. However the reigning Chico champion and past Orland champion wanted to get back to racing in front of the home crowd again. He became the third different winner in five races, joining Josh Tucker and Josh Jacobo.
The show continues to go on and build momentum as a promoter Rich Hood is in his third year at the helm. They take a break this week, but when they return a week later, California Hardtops will get to take their turn on the 1/5 mile dirt oval. This is one of the more popular venues for the Hardtop group, and strong support is anticipated. Also on the radar on July 28th will be the second visit of the popular B Modifieds. Slowly but surely, Orland Raceway is rising to a prominence it hasn't seen in over a decade.
