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Robinson Wins Toller Memorial Race At Marysville Raceway

Marysville, CA...February 29...Second-generation racer Ryan Robinson won the Sherm and Loree Toller Memorial Winged 360 Sprint Car race Saturday night at Marysville Raceway. Robinson's win aboard the Todd Weiher owned Sprint Car was his second in as many weeks as he was the winner at Stockton last Saturday. This win paid $2,000.

When the green flag waved, Robinson sprinted into the lead ahead of reigning Placerville champion Andy Forsberg and  2018 Marysville champ Mike Monahan. With Forsberg shadowing his every move, Robinson had to hit his marks to remain in front. However, Robinson was doing an excellent job when the only yellow flag of the race flew for Monahan on lap 20. Forsberg gave Robinson some serious pressure on the restart. However, Robinson was not about to make a mistake as he kept his poise and brought it home to a well-earned victory. Forsberg settled for second ahead of Jesse Love, reigning track champion Michael Ing, Billy Wallace, Heath Hall, Brant Bjork, Jake Haulot, Korey Lovell and Kevin Lovell.

Forsberg set the fast time of 14 competitors with a lap of 12.645 around the quarter-mile clay oval. Ing was second quick at 12.704. Eight lap heat race wins went to Forsberg and Robinson.

Shane Hopkins won the 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event. His win came aboard the Brian Sperry owned entry. Hopkins raced into the lead at the start ahead of Matt Streeter and past Petaluma champion Shayna Sylvia. Josh Young charged from fourth into second on the third lap with Streeter running third as Sylvia ran a close fourth. Hopkins steadily pulled away in the non-stop event, leaving the battle for second. Sylvia slipped past Streeter for the third position on lap 13, and Hopkins held a straightaway advantage over Young at that point. Hopkins went on to the impressive victory with Young holding off Sylvia in a much closer battle for second. Streeter settled for fourth, followed by Dennis Furia Jr, Terry Schank Jr and Rory McLaughlin. Sylvia won the eight lap heat race. Braden Moniz was a Main Event scratch.

Brett Youngman won the 12 lap Crate Sprint Main Event. The reigning champion went winless at Marysville last year, though he won the division's appearance in Chico. With Mike Ballantine and Jeff Macedo scratching after the heat race. David Sims led early with Cameron Haney Jr and Youngman in close pursuit. Haney led Youngman around Sims on the fifth lap. With Youngman following closely, Haney broke after completing the seventh lap for the only yellow flag of the race. Officials cut the race to 12 laps at that point. Youngman led Sims on the restart, and they finished in order with Haney credited in third. Haney won the eight lap heat race.

Championship point racing begins on March 21st with the Winged 360 Sprint Cars back in action along with the Pepsi IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. For further information, go to www.marysvilleraceway.com.

New Schedule Announced For Outlaw Pro Stock Association

Klamath Falls, Oregon...The schedule for the ninth season of the Outlaw Pro Stock Association has been released, and the group will be busy as they pay visits to four different tracks during the course of a 14 race season. After the excitement of a championship battle that went down to the final race in Yreka in October last year, the drivers are excited about getting back on the race track again. 

Siskiyou Golden Speedway in Yreka will again be the home track for the group with eight championship point events, starting with visits on April 11th and 25th. The Annual Billy Geyer Memorial race on May 2nd will be a Tri State Pro Stock Series event, but the Outlaw Pro Stock Association will support it. It's two weeks later on May 16th when they pay tribute to the late Bryan Hammond, who passed away after a heart attack moments after the final race in Medford last year.

Speaking of Medford, the association gets to be a part of some of the biggest events at the track. This will include the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race on May 30th. They are back in Yreka on June 13th before supporting another Tri State Challenge event on June 27th. This will be in Cedarville and it's the Fourth Annual Gordon Russell Sr Memorial race. As it is with the Geyer race, the association will show their support in an event that won't count towards championship points.

The Pro Stocks get to be a part of the Fourth of July celebration event in Yreka on July 4th before heading back up north a week later to support the Tri State Series race in Medford. This will be another special event as it is the first ever Rocky Nash Memorial race. They return to Yreka on July 18th. On August 1st, what has become an annual event at Coos Bay Speedway will happen once again. The group goes head-to-head with the NASCAR Sportsman Late Models that night. They return to Yreka on August 22nd before running their final race of the year at Medford on September 6th. This is the second night of the R Charles Snyder Salute. Championship point racing concludes in Yreka on September 26th.

One of the originators of the association in 2012, Arlen Heath, returned last year to support the tour as the title sponsor with his Calculated Comfort Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigerating company in Medford. The season started off on an extremely high note for two-time reigning series champion Dr Scott Lenz. Lenz won the first four races in Yreka, including the Billy Geyer race. He won the Gordon Russell Sr race in Cedarville and won the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race and another event in Medford as well. Lenz seemed well on his way to the championship with his August win in Coos Bay, and he also had a second place finish to Steve Borror at the sixth Yreka event. 

Unfortunately, the momentum went away from Lenz at that point. It appeared as if he made a charge from an early pit stop to finish second at the R Charles Snyder Salute in Medford, but association rules docked him a lap as he missed a restart. Though technically a lap hadn't been completed when he did return, it was clear in the bylaws that he was still a lap down. Following his win in Yreka, the consistent Scott Flowers gained the point lead. Lenz opted not to return for the final race, conceding the championship to Flowers. The win for Flowers in the first October race was his first victory in five years. Consistency was indeed the key as he had seven Top 5 finishes in the eight races held in Yreka. He also had second and third place finishes in the first two Medford races, finished fourth in the Russell Memorial in Cedarville and third in a visit to the Tri State Series event in Fernley, Nevada.

As it turned out, Flowers won the championship by just 51 points, but it was his son James Flowers who ended up claiming second in the standings after picking up the season-ending feature win in Yreka. James beat Lenz by just 26 points. The younger Flowers had five Top 5 finishes in Yreka and also had a fourth place finish at Coos Bay and a Top 5 finish in the Gordon Russell Sr race. James also won the Trophy Dash in July in Medford.

Matt Harlow came within four points of claiming third in the standings in the Maurie Skaggs owned entry. Harlow finished as high as third on two occasions in Yreka along with three additional Top 5 efforts. He also had a third place finish once in Medford. He beat John David Duffie by just seven points to claim fourth in the standings. Duffie finished as high as second once in Yreka along with three additional Top 5 finishes. Duffie had a fifth place finish in Coos Bay as well.

The balance of the Top 11 in the standings was made up by Ginny Flowers, Bryan Hammond, Colby Hammond, Kenneth LaPlant, Rick Lukens and Jeff Haudenshild. Season highlights for these six included a win for Haudenshild in the R Charles Snyder Salute in Medford as well as a third place finish in the Roger Haudenshild Tribute. Lukens, LaPlant and Bryan Hammond each had a season-high second place finish in Yreka. Ginny Flowers had a fifth place finish in a Main Event in Yreka. Also noteworthy was 2016 champion Steve Borror's two feature wins in Yreka, one second place finish in Medford and one second place finish in Coos Bay. Borror also picked up a Trophy Dash win in Yreka. Lenz, meanwhile, led the group with a total of five Trophy Dash wins.

The Outlaw Pro Stock Association has a roster of over 20 active competitors, and new drivers such as Mini Stock stars Darek Alfod and Mike McLeod have recently joined the division. Club President Scott Flowers is busy putting the finishing touches on an exciting season ahead, and there will be series sponsors announced soon. For further information, check out the Outlaw Pro Stock Association Facebook page.

2019 Outlaw Pro Stock Association Points

Scott Flowers 659

James Flowers 608

Scott Lenz 582

Matt Harlow 578

John Duffie 571

Ginny Flowers 436

Bryan Hammond 433

Colby Hammond 426

Kenneth LaPlant 396

Rick Lukens 328

Jeff Haudenshild 252

Bobbio's Pizza Mini Stocks Begin 25th Season 
At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...The Bobbio's Pizza Mini Stocks return as one of the featured divisions at Southern Oregon Speedway this season. Along with the IMCA Modifieds, they are the only division to crown a champion every season since the track opened in 1996. The division has served as an entry point into the racing scene, launching several racing careers through the years.

The four cylinder division has included cars from several different manufacturers through the years, including Toyotas, Nissans and Fords. Currently, the most popular model is the Ford Mustang, and it's not often you see a racer break that trend and score a feature win these days. Back in the early days, drivers like Brian Barns, Tracy Bradley, David Bishop, Rich McCoy and Mike Johnson counted themselves as champions at the speedway. Both McCoy and Johnson went on to compete in other classes, and Barns was the first Late Model Lites champion when that division was introduced. 

They didn't get much better then Jim Pope and John Derby. Both drivers had a knack for scoring feature wins and were track champions. In fact, Derby won four-consecutive titles before stepping away. It was around that time that two top notch competitors, Bob Burkett and David Steele, entered the scene. Burkett has won championships in both Mini Stocks and Late Model Lites before stepping away, and Steele has been on a major roll for the past few seasons.

You might as well put a big target on the fast #67 Mustang of Steele. Everybody is gunning for him. During the past two seasons, he's only failed to win the Main Event four times on his way to back-to-back championships. Along the way, Steele has written his name in the books as the all-time Main Event win leader in division history. In fact, he's also known to head down to Yreka on occasion and leave with the Main Event winner's hardware there as well. Simply put, Steele is the driver to beat anytime he's there.

It's the new stars who have joined this class in recent seasons who have gained valuable experience and become threats to Steele. The two Main Events he didn't win last year were won by 2018 championship runner-up Hunter Magnan and last season's point runner-up Ashtin Hedges. Hedges was a feature winner in the Hornet division prior to moving up to the Mini Stock class, and he topped the competitors with six runner-up finishes last season as the biggest threat to Steele on any given race night. Both drivers should be fast this year.

2013 champion Steve Goetz had a horrendous start to his season last year, which took him out of contention, but he'll be a threat to get back into the winner's column this year. Likewise, 2017 champion Kristopher Mix is hoping to grab another feature win this year. Though the third-generation racer Mix also had a rough start last year, he still climbed his way up the point ladder and held off Magnan to rank third in the standings. He plans to compete in both the Mini Stock and IMCA Sport Modified classes this year.

Teammates Dylan Irving and Brandyn Wonsyld were both top competitors in the Hornet division in the past, and both won Main Events in that class. Last season, Irving drove the former David Marble car to a fifth place season, which was good enough to earn him top rookie honors. He'll be out to get his first win in this class, while Wonsyld will be hoping to be a bigger threat to win races as well.

The division will gain the Hedges Racing Team in full force this year. 2016 Hornets champion Tim Hedges has a four-car team again this year. He will be behind the wheel of the 2014 division championship car of Gary Anderson. Wife Jenna Hedges has a car, although she's tentative as far as how much racing she will do. As a two-time Hornet point runner up and feature winner in that class, it stands to reason that she would get comfortable behind the wheel of a Mini Stock in short order. There's no word on who will drive the other Hedges car, and one of the cars is a championship winning machine from a little over a decade ago. 

Andrew Hall, who was a Top 5 competitor a few years ago, is hoping he will have his Ford Pinto dialed in just right this year. There are several other cars available, and there has been some speculation that we'll be seeing a few new or returning drivers in the field. Competitors such Garrett Fredrickson, Greg McDaniels and Scott Yergis could see some action this year. We might also see a visit or two from drivers in the Yreka area when scheduling allows.

The Mini Stock division serves an important role in getting new drivers on the track who eventually move up to other classes. Car count is expected to increase slightly this season during the 13 race schedule. The first race for the class will happen on May 2nd. Other races to look forward to include May 16th, May 30th as part of the Roger Haudenshild Tribute, June 13th, June 20th, June 27th, July 11th, July 25th, August 8th, August 22nd, August 29th and Championship Night on September 12th. For further information on this and other topics, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.

Late Model Lites Return For 16th Season 
At Southern Oregon Speedway

White City, Oregon...Southern Oregon Speedway continues to offer the pinnacle of four cylinder racing. This is the Late Model Lites division, and it returns for its 16th championship season on the 3/10 mile clay oval. The division first launched in 2003, and Mini Stock graduate Brian Barns won the first two titles. As this class has evolved, it's become one of the fastest race cars at the speedway.

Following the 2013 season with a bit of controversy behind the scenes, the division was discontinued. However, a few racers wouldn't give up on the dream, led by Lee Doty . Doty lobbied for a race in 2015, which he won. He then persuaded new Promoter Mike McCann to add the class in 2016, coming on board as the title sponsor for the class in 2017. Valley Store All Self Storage in Medford sponsored three seasons for the class, but 2016 champion Doty has since retired to Arizona after selling his car to Ross Payant.

If the Payant name sounds familiar, it's because Ross was a Late Model competitor at the old Medford Raceway. He was a multi-time Late Model Lites feature winner last year on his way to third in the standings behind new champion Greg Arnold and 2018 title winner Charlie Eaton. Arnold, who also won the 2002 Super Truck championship, has moved up to full Late Models this season, putting Payant and Eaton into the position of "drivers to beat".

Eaton would love to join Joe Guider, Brian Johnsen and Barns as a two-time champion, but he knows the competition will still be tough. In addition to Payant, the Hadley Racing team is anticipated with three cars this season. Nobody in the history of the division has more feature wins than past division championship runner-up Terry Hadley. Wife Krista Hadley had multiple Top 3 feature finishes last season, and she ranked fourth in the standings. Both drivers will be threats to win.

The Aos Racing Team should again be represented. Both Eric Aos and Dusty Aos have been Top 5 ranked in recent seasons, and Dusty was fifth last year. Last year was not the kindest to either one of them, but as feature winners in the past, they should both be considered threats to win again this season.

Following a season with horrendous luck, Jim Cunningham is hoping to dial out the bugs and become a factor in the battle for wins this season. One driver who has won Main Events in the past, Danny Prewitt, is expected to return this season. The 2018 championship car of Bob Burkett has been purchased by the Naramore Racing Team and is expected to return this season. The Naramore family competed in the old Thrill Car division and were champions. We're also hoping to see 2013 champion John Barger make an appearance or two this year as well.

For the Mini Stock racer looking to continue in four cylinder competition, these fast race cars are an attractive option. They will make their first 2020 appearance on May 9th, followed by visits on May 23rd, June 20th, July 4th, July 25th, August 1st, August 15th and Championship Night on September 17th. It's hoped that the car count will be assisted by the more relaxed eight race season. For further information on this and other topics, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.

Pro Stocks, Hardtops Make Three Appearances Each 
In 2020 At Southern Oregon Speedway

Medford, Oregon...There's quite the variety on the 2020 schedule once again at Southern Oregon Speedway. Every year since the track opened in 1996, the Pro Stocks have held at least one race, and that will continue again this year with three visits on three special occasions. The Old Time Racers of Oregon Hardtops will also be back with their vintage style of racing three times.

When the speedway opened in 1996, the Pro Stocks were instrumental in helping establish a solid foundation. Frequently during those early years, the Pro Stocks delivered the biggest car counts at the track. There would be over 30 competitors at times, and the field included some of the best drivers, including Jimmy Walker Jr, Scott Lenz, Brian Poppa, Frank Word III, Tony Walker and John David Duffie. The first four drivers count themselves as champions. Walker won three of the first championships at the speedway, and Word won an incredible eight titles in nine seasons, interrupted by Poppa after his first four-consecutive titles.

When the speedway went a different route with the introduction of the IMCA Sport Modifieds in 2012, a few drivers joined the class. However, others formed the Outlaw Pro Stock Association. The group enters their ninth season. They have had an impressive roster of their own, and this includes two-time champions Ken Irving and Scott Lenz, one-time champions Steve Borror and Dave Everson. The reigning champion will be Scott Flowers. Flowers like several drivers on the roster, hails from the Klamath Falls area. He broke a five-year winner's drought with his October win in Yreka last year. After second and third place finishes in Medford last year, he's hoping to grab a victory here this time around.

Jeff Haudenshild managed to score the surprise win in the R Charles Snyder Salute last season. In an effort to help the Pro Stocks get more of an opportunity to shine, Promoter Mike McCann has booked them as the third division for the Sunday portion of the Snyder race on September 6th. There will be no fourth division this time, meaning the Pro Stocks should have a great opportunity to shine. Haudenshild and Flowers will lead an impressive line-up of competitors which should include such stars as Irving, James Flowers, Matt Harlow, Kenneth LaPlant, Rick Lukens, Colby Hammond and Dean Hackworth. We could also see 2016 champion Steve Borror among the field as well. 

The Pro Stocks have become an important part of the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race, which happens again on May 30th. With two-time series champion Scott Lenz winning the last three big shows and moving up to Late Models this year, it opens the door for somebody else to get a winner's opportunity. Borror won the race in 2016. However, there is still one other Pro Stock race on the schedule that the association will be a part of.

On July 11th, Southern Oregon Speedway offers a $1,000 to win race with a special meaning behind it. This will be the Rocky Nash Memorial race. Nash was not only one of the top Pro Stock competitors and a longtime Medford area racer, he was also a winner on the prestigious NASCAR West Series circuit on multiple occasions. Nash passed away in 2017 following complications suffered from a crash in Yreka. This event will be promoted by the new Tri State Pro Stock Series.

Series organizer Roy Bain was excited to announce the event after negotiations fell through in the attempt to book a race in 2018. The Pro Stocks will be the headliner that night, and drivers from Oregon, California and Nevada are anticipated. Jesse Gonzalez has won the first two races held in Stockton, California this year. He figures to be a tough competitor, along with such crafty veterans as Bill Pearson, reigning series champion Mike Learn, Jerry Bartlett, Ryan Cherezian, Donny Richardson and some of the best drivers from the Oregon Outlaw Pro Stock Association.

The Vintage Coup and Sedan race cars from the Old Time Racers of Oregon will be back three times this year as well. The drivers compete in old 1930s and 1940s Ford, Chevy and Dodge bodied race cars. They have had several races each season since Promoter Mike McCann took over the track in 2016. Mark Minter counts himself as the only driver to win a feature in each of the four previous seasons. Bill Trotter has been the biggest supporter of the effort during that time, and both drivers are anticipated when the group comes to town on May 9th, May 23rd and June 13th. 

Among the drivers on the roster are Dan Fouts in the Dusty Trotter owned entry, Brian Weberg II, Matt Butler, Jay Smith, Chris Mehrer and Dean Cast. Cast was a feature winner last season, and Butler and Weberg were both preliminary race winners last year. The Hardtops are always fun to watch and are a throwback to a time when this division ruled the race tracks throughout the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Special visits from the Pro Stocks and Hardtops give the fans a little bit more variety in addition to the regular divisions being offered. There's quite a bit to be excited about at Southern Oregon Speedway this year. For further information on this and other topics, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.

Editor's Viewpoint

This is literally a last-minute column. I had no plans to do a Jefferson Racing post today, and the future of the blog is still up in the air. However, I had enough content and it felt right to go ahead and do this one, so here it is. The weather has been so nice, even up in Oregon, that some tracks could have actually booked a practice day for Saturday if they wanted. Who knew that the weather would be this good though? If it continues to hold, Cottage Grove will have a practice on the 14th and open their season a week later.

One of the things that somehow escaped my attention was the fact that there are playdays scheduled for both Orland Raceway and Siskiyou Golden Speedway on Saturday. You don't usually have much chance of putting race cars on the track anywhere from Yreka through Oregon in early March. In talking with Mike McCann, he tells me that when he took over Riverside Speedway, now Cottage Grove Speedway, he went ahead and booked racing in March. This was back in 1985.

True story. Mike really had no idea how things were done in Oregon with scheduling. He'd been in California and was taking the leap to realize his dream of promoting a race track. Most of the promoting he'd done up to that point involved Micro Sprint racing, but few can doubt the positive impact he had on Cottage Grove. Promoters told him he was crazy, but he managed to pull it off that year. As he learned more, he realized that usually you don't get anything started until mid-April.

Siskiyou Golden Speedway released a revised schedule following the successful negotiations with the Outlaw Pro Stock Association. We all knew they would be getting dates, but we were waiting for those confirmed dates. I know there are some people cranky in Medford that the Pro Stock class doesn't have enough dates, and I'm certainly one of those people. However, Yreka has kept the gates open to bring them in anytime they can get them. It's a smart move on their part, and from a Klamath Falls perspective, it's just as easy for the drivers to tow from there to Yreka as it is Medford.

I noticed Kevin Barba hadn't put a date on the calendar for the Mike Caveye Memorial Mini Stock Blowout race. I hope that's just an oversight as this division does a lot of the heavy lifting as far as scheduling is concerned and does deserve this special race. It's not as if they have a huge purse anyway. All of the other things you would expect are on the schedule, including the John Arnberg, Bo Hittson, Rod Restad and the Rod Barba Memorial races. Lots of things in are happening in Yreka. 

I would like to see some effort made to add more to the local roster, and the reason is they need as many cars as they can get. They need to know that when they book something in-house, they can get cars. Bringing in the Pro Stocks or Dwarf Cars to make visits is a very smart move, but it's equally smart to have more in house stuff. I'm sure there's going to be some little last-minute adjustments to the schedule based on what Medford isn't booking, which can include Late Model and Sprint Car visits, but those divisions do have price tags to them. Medford has invested heavily in building those classes. 

I think it was a smart move to book more IMCA Modified races. It's still important, in my view, to reach out to anybody in the area who has a car that's been parked in the last few years to see if you can get them back. There are anywhere from a half-dozen to 10 cars that I know of that could probably get back out there in short order, and you need that in case the Medford drivers don't tow over the hill. I'm not so sure that booking 15 or 16 dates was wise. They've been booking four dates in recent seasons, and I think eight would have been a better number. I would advise the track to pay IMCA Modifieds what Medford pays them, regardless of car counts.

One thing about Mike McCann in Medford is that if he says he's going to pay something, he's damn well going to pay it. There was a race for IMCA Modifieds in 2016, won by Duane Orsburn. McCann paid the usual $500 to win and the $100 minimum to start. It's called consistency, and you'll get drivers if they know they're not going to get hosed at the pay window. McCann actually was prepared to pay the $700 to win and $500 for second guarantee for a Sprint Car race that year that only had two cars, but Jake Wheeler loaded up and left in a huff that night. Interesting that the $700 probably would have gone to him that night, but anyway. Guaranteed payouts is the way to go if you really want to build a car count.

I still believe that some new in-house divisions need to be established now. I understand that you won't have a big car count in those classes initially, but if you can give the fans another four or five cars to watch, it helps. What's going to get the fans to come spectate in Yreka? More race cars on any given night. With the media outlets willing to spread the word, when fans see a good car count after hearing about the show from the media, they'll keep coming back. The track should immediately start a Hornet division. It wouldn't be that hard to do, and they can get some cars. They can even go bold with an IMCA sanctioning for the class, although I don't think that's necessary.

Some sort of Hobby Stock, Street Stock or even IMCA Stock Car class should probably be started as well. They're not doing anything like this in Medford, and there's still interest in this style of racing. At least ways, the track should gamble on Hobby Stocks. I know it's work to do, but classes like Hobby Stocks and Hornets also help because you don't have to pay out big purses. High end divisions are another matter, because I know budget is tight unless they could get a big sponsor. I'll throw out two random thoughts. Yreka should look at Wingless Spec Sprints like they do at Orland and Antioch. It makes Sprint Car racing a possibility for people who might not have thought they could do it. I'd love to see the I4 Modifieds try the dirt in Yreka once or twice. Something tells me Kevin's tried to make that happen, but the guys aren't quite ready yet. 

Two easy booking scenarios on the schedule that could be done now are Hall of Fame Night and running on Friday during R Charles Snyder Salute weekend in Medford. As the Medford track does not do practice on Friday night, Yreka could probably get cars on their way to Medford. Furthermore, it might entice people to go up to Medford knowing that Yreka is taking a chance with their own special Friday date. Maybe $1,000 to win for Modifieds and $750 to win for Sport Modifieds? Just a thought. 

Hall of Fame night is a great way to sell the history of the track to the fans and also highlight how long the track has been there in the community. It's not that difficult to put together. Pick a few legends each year to induct into the Hall of Fame during intermission that night. You basically pay for the plaques and free tickets for the inductees and their families. You can put up clipping display boards by the grandstands so the fans can look at the old articles and pictures. This promotion wouldn't really cost that much to do, and you would benefit in many ways over time

Regardless, Yreka will be getting started with practice this Saturday night. They've also got the Sportsman Expo coming up that should have some cars on display once again. Car shows are a big thing to get people talking. Coos Bay Speedway will have the Pony Village Mall show coming up very soon, and Medford will be having a show at the mall as well as being a part of the Pear Blossom Parade. It's a way to get people excited about the coming racing season.

I don't have a lot to really talk about at the moment. I've heard through sources that Kevin Barba was interested in trying to do something between Yreka and Medford, in addition to the big Aces High Gambler Series that includes Coos Bay on June 26th through June 28th. This is a big IMCA Modified series which will have IMCA Sport Modified support at all three events. Yeah, I've heard Kevin might be interested in doing something, although I'm not aware that he's actually contacted Mike McCann to see if anything could be done or not. I'm not sure if there is any possibility, but you never know unless you ask.

Orland Raceway roars to life this weekend with practice, and I'm optimistic for another good year for them. The schedule they released recently looks nice with plenty of races for the core four divisions, Pure Stocks, Wingless Spec Sprints, Mini Trucks and Mini Stocks. I understand Mountain Valley Raceway will be having a practice in Hayfork within the next couple of weeks, and Jerm Smith has put out a proposition to try to get a Modified show this year. If they can get six visitors to join their locals, there is $1,000 in purse money for them. It's an interesting roll of the dice. I'm not sure they will get any takers, but you never know unless you try.

We are just under two months away from practice at Southern Oregon Speedway. By moving practice to the last week of April last year, we managed to accomplish what we hadn't the previous three years. We got a practice in, and everybody managed to get good laps. The way the weather is going right now, it looks like it should happen, but things will change on a dime around here. One of the projects that Mike McCann and the Jackson County Parks people are working on is paving the entrance road to the track. I'm sure everybody will like it much better.

Southern Oregon Speedway will manage to have several big races throughout the course of the season. The total divisions are a little bit lighter on any given race night, so now we'll find out a little bit more about where we stand with certain car counts. My frustration was that I personally believe the Pro Stocks could have been fit in there another three or four times, but I still think the schedule looks good. Every big race that was on the schedule last year is still there, and that means some big specials for IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Late Models, Sprint Cars and the big appearance of The Iron Giant Street Stocks. I love that class, so I'm looking forward to a nice Memorial Day weekend so it can happen. 

My thinking is that the Iron Giant Street Stock Series is exactly what is needed to keep a strong presence in Oregon in light of the decision of certain tracks in recent years to add IMCA Stock Cars to the mix. Without this series, I fear Street Stocks could take a big hit. I think James Whitehouse has done well to keep it going, and though he's made some mistakes, I think he's learned from them. I am amazed that Oregon has held onto Street Stocks as we knew them in California. Plus, Oregon still has a thriving Late Model division. As much frustration as I have with this state, you can't ignore those two positives.

Mountain Valley Raceway recently made a pitch to get at least a half-dozen Modifieds to come to town to race against the three or four locals they have in the class. Jerm Smith has relocated from the Porterville-Bakersfield area and is excited about helping the Hayfork track step up to the next level. He has also been attempting to bring the Northern Nevada Sprint Cars to town for a visit, and those negotiations may still be ongoing. It's not a bad idea to try to add new and bigger attractions to the show, in my opinion.

I'm of the opinion that the track should be focused on Sport Modified rules while pursuing an IMCA sanctioning. The reason being every other track is sanctioned, and that could get some visitors to come to town in the name of IMCA points. However, what really should be the focus is shoring up the program they already have. The Hobby Stock, Mini Stock and Enduro classes all have potential, but there will apparently be no championship point race for them. I'm not sure what the official reason is, but if it's money for trophies, perhaps the $1,000 that would be offered for the six Modified drivers they are seeking could be spent there instead?

One of the ways a track markets itself is through championship points. Drivers may not be as committed to that as they were years ago, but they still care about it. A championship or a good point season still means something to some racers. It's also a way to make your racers bigger stars to the fans you are trying to get to come to the races. This guy is a champion, this driver was our top rookie, this guy was a career best second last year. It gets the fans engaged and committed to wanting to be there every week. I'm not saying don't think bigger, but I am saying champiosnship points is a way to build up your program.

I've noticed a Pacific Northwest writer kind of ripping on the struggling Sprint Car division in the state. Truthfully, it's a damn mess. Mike McCann was basically the guy who established Sprint Cars at Cottage Grove in the 1980s and also established Wingless Sprint Cars at Sunset Speedway. The Wingless Sprint Series has still managed to hold on. I am frustrated that they wouldn't talk to McCann about a date or two this year, but their schedule looks good, especially at Sunset. I know the columnist in question isn't paying much attention to Wingless Sprint racing.

The concern is the sorry state of Winged 360 Sprint Cars. I put a finger of blame at a certain individual who deals parts and engines and has his hands all over this class. He's basically guiding it with his influence on other promoters. When McCann came to Medford, I think the goal was to start a Winged 360 Sprint Car class there, but the budget was not as big as hoped at first. McCann left it open to see where the support came from, but this particular influential person rallied the troops to not support Medford. Thanks to Dave Hibbard, McCann was persuaded to go a different direction, and the class has been established with Limited Sprint rules. 

I will admit the 360 Sprint Cars are a mess in Oregon. Cottage Grove is the hub, and the only way they usually can fill out their field if they don't have a visiting group coming to town is by allowing Limited Sprints to join with an incentive for the highest finisher in that group. Madras is on an island unto themselves with a few Winged 360 Sprint races. Had this influencer let Medford get its legs underneath it, that track likely would have ended up running Winged 360s and the division would be much stronger in Oregon. However, it still has a fighting chance.

What you have to remember is Limited Sprints have a strong presence at Cottage Grove and Medford, while still getting by somehow in Coos Bay. At the former two tracks, we have new drivers still in their teens getting started, and I can guarantee you their desire is not to run Limited Sprints for years. They are just getting started. We've seen drivers like Tanner Holmes and Tyler Thompson already up in the Winged 360s, and that trend will continue. By still keeping the division on the schedule, Cottage Grove could see an increase in Winged 360s in the near future.

The columnist seems to indicate that Limited Sprints have harmed Sprint Car racing in Oregon, but it's quite the contrary. Limited Sprints have kept the division alive. Some Limited Sprint people see the potential of drivers moving up and are worried that their division could be hurt, but that's not the case either. I think the two divisions can have a symbiotic relationship where drivers get in through the Limited Sprints and move up to the Winged 360s. The Limited Sprints have some good things of their own including the ISCS Series and Week of Speed. There are people down in Medford panicking a little bit, thinking they need to raise the purse to keep people coming.

I personally don't like the idea, and I furthermore believe Medford is already over paying the division. While Cottage Grove sticks to its guns at $500 to win and $100 to start according to their website, you're getting about twice that money in Medford. It was believed by people who pushed for the purse increase that cars would start coming, and that hasn't been the case. It's almost as easy for Roseburg racers to go to Medford as Cottage Grove, and yet a majority of those drivers go to Cottage Grove for half the purse. Money ain't the answer to everything.

The real problem a promoter has when they start playing around with purse money is other divisions notice who's getting the money and who isn't. When you have multiple fast divisions and some of them are getting increases and some aren't, drivers can start getting a little bit grumpy about the whole thing. Furthermore, when you do this with purse money, you have to look for justification. In other words, how is the car count now that the purse money is up? How is the fan attendance based on that particular division? And if the numbers don't add up, you can put yourself on the hook for bigger payouts and not really benefit. It's an investment to pay out big purses.

That's a bit of a side issue. It definitely costs money to have faster divisions, but the point I started with is that although one can say the state of Sprint Car racing in Oregon is a mess, it's not dead. There is potential for more things to happen. At the moment, we've only got seven dirt tracks in operation, two of which aren't very popular with Winged Sprint Car racers and one which is seen as being a bit off the beaten path. There's still the possibility of a track or two opening in Oregon in the next couple of years, which could make this discussion more interesting.

The bigger mistake people in the Pacific Northwest make, and I will include Washington in this, is trying to compare Sprint Car racing in Oregon and Washington to California. You're not going to win that comparison. California is the superior state by far when it comes to Sprint Cars, just as Oregon is the superior state when it comes to Late Models. There were better days in the past for the other two states. There was a time when Speedweek for the Sprint Cars meant something and got big California names. They can still get some of that glory back, but they're going to have to work on it. Sprint Car racing is still alive in Washington and Oregon, but the people guiding the ship and the racers have to come together to build on it from here.

Anyway, it's time for me to shut up. I'm finding it more of a challenge to go through the whole editing process as I just don't enjoy it, especially when I'm on a time limit. The Editor's Viewpoint column becomes the biggest pain in the rear for me to deal with. It takes much more time than the average article. I very much want to cut back on the workload and try to reconnect with what it was that made this all fun for me. Admittedly, this hasn't always been fun in recent years, although I feel that I've helped the cause quite a bit with what I've done.

This particular posting doesn't necessarily mean that the Jefferson blog is going to be a regular occurrence. I just had enough content that I figured I'd do it this time. On that note, I'll end this column. Until next time...