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Berendsen Gets First IMCA Modified Win,
Miller, Rothweller, Scentani Other Winners At Ocean Speedway
Watsonville,
CA...July 23...Carl Berendsen II won the 30 lap IMCA Modified Main
Event Friday night at Ocean Speedway. This was the first win of the
season for the two-time Antioch Speedway champion.
Fred
Lind returned to action and set the early pace ahead of Todd Hermosillo
and Berendsen, but a Lap 3 yellow flag waved for an incident that
eliminated point leader Cody Burke, State point leader Jim Pettit II,
Austin Burke and Nick DeCarlo. Lind continued to lead Berendsen on the
restart with recent Petaluma winner Tim Balding settling into third.
Unfortunately for Lind, he started having problems as Berendsen and
Balding both got by on Lap 8. A lap later, Bobby Hogge IV moved into
third, and Lind retired on Lap 11. Hogge moved into second on Lap 14 and
quickly began to pressure Berendsen for the lead. Unfortunately, Hogge
had problems and brought out a Lap 25 yellow flag. Berendsen led Balding
and Rick Diaz on the restart. Berendsen stayed smooth and kept his cool
to score the impressive win. Balding finished second, and JC Elrod made
a last lap pass on Diaz to claim third. Freddie Plourde III ended up
fifth, followed by Hermosillo, Raymond Keldsen Jr, Hogge, Kyle Bryan and
Lind. The eight lap heat race wins went to Pettit and Elrod.
Randy
Miller won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. This was the
third win of the season for Miller as he continues to lead the
championship battle. Scott Foster set the pace when the green flag waved
ahead of past Merced Speedway Hobby Stock champion Kodie Dean and Mike
Kofnovec Sr. Reigning champion Adriane Frost moved into third on Lap 6
with Miller following her closely into fourth. The first yellow flag of
the race waved on Lap 10. Foster continued to lead the restart with
Frost and Miller moving into second and third. Dean saw his run in the
Top 5 end on a Lap 11 yellow flag. Foster led State point leader Trevor
Clymens and Miller on the restart, but Miller moved into second on Lap
13 before a yelled a flag waved. Foster led Miller and Clymens on the
restart with a final yellow flag flying on Lap 16. As Foster led Miller
on the restart, Frost took third from Clymens. The battle intensified in
the closing laps, and Miller executed his winning maneuver on the final
circuit to steal the victory away from Foster, who settled for second.
Frost ended up third, followed by Clymens, Jim DiGiovanni, Mike Kofnovec
Jr, Mike Kofnovec Sr, Jacob Mallet Jr, Richard Ragsdale and Duane
Bieser. There were 20 IMCA Sport Modifieds, and the eight lap heat race
wins went to Dean, Clymens and Foster.
Terre
Rothweiler won the 20 lap South Bay Dwarf Car Main Event. Rothweiler is a
past champion with the group and he was making his first start of the
year. He jumped into the lead at the start ahead of Travis Day and Tommy
Velasquez III, but a yellow flag waved after one lap with reigning
champion Mark Biscardi out of the race. Rothweiler led Velasquez and Day
on this restart and a Lap 3 restart. Promoter John Prentice, who is a
past champion with the group, was making a rare start and settled into
fourth. A yellow flag waved on Lap 7 for Kieran Costas and Mike Aceves.
Rothweiler continued to lead Velasquez and Day on the restart. The
battle was getting close between the lead duo when a final yellow flag
waved on Lap 14 with Prentice retiring from his Top 5 effort. Rothweiler
led Velasquez and Day on the final restart. Velasquez was giving
Rothweiler all the pressure he could handle, but Rothweiler still
brought it home to the well-earned victory. Day ended up third, followed
by Eric Weisler, Fred Dickey, Barry Waddell, Mack Aceves, Eddy
Claessen, Keith Costas and Mike Aceves. The eight lap heat race wins
went to Prentice and Velasquez.
Nick Scentani
won the 15 lap Four Banger Main Event. This was his first win. Scentani
started on the pole and bolted into the lead ahead of Kate Beardsley and
Nicole Beardsley. Kenny Stragalinos quickly moved into third. The only
yellow flag of the race waved on Lap 6. Scentani maintained the lead on
the restart ahead of the persistent Kate Beardsley and Stragalinos.
Scentani ran a smooth race and was rewarded with the victory ahead of
Kate Beardsley, Stragalinos, Nicole Beardsley, Bill Beardsley, Travis
Van Gilder, Clem Lessi, TJ Santos, Joseph Marsh and point leader Tony
Gullo. Stragalinos and Kate Beardsley picked up the six lap heat race
wins.
The Taco Bravo Sprint Cars return to
action next Friday night along with the WMR Midgets, IMCA Sport
Modifieds, Four Bangers and Police N Pursuit cars. For further
information, go to www.racepmg.com.
Scelzi Wins The Chris And Brian Faria Memorial
At Tulare Thunderbowl
Tulare,
CA...July 23...Dom Scelzi won the 30 lap NARC/King of the West Fujitsu
Winged 410 Sprint Car Main Event Friday night at Tulare Thunderbowl.
This was the Chris and Brian Faria Memorial race, and it was also the
third win of the season for Scelzi aboard the Wimple
Superchargers/Scelzi Enterprises sponsored Sprinter as he battles Bud
Kaeding and DJ Netto for the series championship
Shane
Golobic jumped into the early lead ahead of reigning series champion DJ
Netto and Sean Becker. Scelzi moved into third on Lap 3, and a yellow
flag waved on Lap 6. Golobic continued to lead Netto and Scelzi on the
restart, but another yellow flag waved on Lap 8 just as Netto took the
lead from Golobic. Billy Aton retired at that point and Netto led
Golobic and Scelzi on the restart. A red flag stopped the action on Lap
11 when Sean Watts flipped. Netto led the restart, and Scelzi began to
battle a Golobic for second before grabbing the position on Lap 22.
Another yellow flag waved on Lap 24 for a Corey Day flip. Scelzi put the
moves on Netto to grab the lead on the restart and led the rest of the
way for the victory. Netto settled for second, followed by Golobic,
Mitchel Moles, Becker, Bud Keeding, Willie Croft, Tim Kaeding, Mitchell
Faccinto and Geoffrey Stroele.
There were 18
Winged 410 Sprint Cars, and Netto set the fast time of 14.463, beating
the 14.705 of Golobic. The three eight lap heat race wins went to Tim
Kaeding, Sean Becker and Sean Watts. Netto set himself up with a pole
position start in the Main Event by winning the six lap Trophy Dash
ahead of Golobic and Becker. The NARC/KWS was going to be in Santa Maria
the next night, followed by a race at Placerville Speedway on August
25th. For further information, go to www.narc410.com.
Dom
Scelzi continued his domination of the evening by winning the 30 lap
King of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. After finishing second
to Landon Hurst in the six lap Trophy Dash, Kaleb Montgomery found
himself on the front row and jumped into the early lead ahead of Joey
Ancona and Brooklyn Holland. Scelzi took third from Holland on Lap 3 and
slipped past Ancona for second a lap later. Montgomery was doing a good
job of leading the way ahead of Scelzi, but his race came to an abrupt
end for a lap 19 yellow flag. Scelzi led Ancona and Sean Becker on the
restart. Scelzi drove a great race in the closing laps and went on the
victory with Ancona a strong second ahead of Becker, Tucker Worth,
Holland, Keith Day Jr, Grant Champlin, Steven Kent, Grant Duinkerken and
Zane Blanchard.
There were 20 King of Thunder
Winged 360 Sprint Cars, and Montgomery set the fast time of 15.284,
beating the 15.515 of Holland and the 15.563 of Hurst. The eight lap
heat race wins went to Ancona, Brendan Warmerdam and Worth.
Kyle
Rasmussen won the 20 lap IMCA Western RaceSaver 305 Sprint Car Main
Event. Rasmussen recently moved into the State point lead. He jumped
into the lead when the green flag waved ahead of Brandon Stidham and
Richard Weddle, but a red flag waved on Lap 3 for Phil Heynen's flip.
Rasmussen continued to lead Stidham and Weddle on the restart, but a
yellow flag waved for the last time on Lap 4. On the restart, Rasmussen
led Stidham and Weddle, but Weddle slipped past Stidham for second on
Lap 6. Rasmussen rapidly pulled away from the pack during the second
half of the race and beat Weddle by over a straightaway. Stidham settled
for third, followed by Blaine Fagundes, Sean Quinn, Tyler Gray and
Heynen. Fagundes set the fast time of 16.078, beating the 16.398 of
Rasmussen. Stidham won the eight lap heat race.
Thunderbowl Raceway will once again be hosting the Trophy Cup on October 21st through the 23rd. For further information, go to www.thunderbowlraceway.com.
Peery Wins Opening Night Of PSM Sport Modified Challenge
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White
City, Oregon...July 23...Ryan Peery won the 25 lap IMCA Sport Modified
Main Event Friday night at Southern Oregon Speedway. The win paid the
Siskiyou Golden Speedway point leader $500 and made him one of eight
drivers to qualify for the $2,500 to win Main Event that would be held
the following night. This was the First Annual PSM IMCA Sport Modified
Challenge.
With 43 drivers on hand, they ran
two sets of heat races and used point totals to determine the driver's
who automatically made it into the night's Main Event and who would have
to run one of the B Mains. When the points were all totaled, Ryan Peery
found himself on the pole for the feature race, and he charged into the
lead from the start ahead of Marysville and Chico star Brian Cooper and
Chase Thomas. A yellow flag waved on Lap 4, but Ryan Peery continued to
lead Cooper and Tanner Thomas on the restart. Tyler Rodgers fell out on
Lap 9. During the lengthy green flag period, Ryan Peery began to pull
away as Tanner Thomas took second from Brian Cooper on Lap 12. A yellow
flag waved on Lap 19, wiping out a big lead for Ryan Peery. On the
restart, Tanner Thomas pressured Ryan Peery, but Peery made no mistakes
as he brought it home to the well-earned victory. Brian Cooper settled
for third, followed by Travis Peery, Chase Thomas, Philip Shelby, point
leader Matt Sanders, Andrew Peckham, Dwayne Melvin and Andrew Pearce.
The Top 8 finishers automatically made it into Saturday's show.
The
43 competitors had an opportunity to qualify on the clock, which only
determined who made the Trophy Dash. Rodgers set the fast time of
16.288, beating the 16.441 of Peckham and the 16.471 of Matt Sanders.
The drivers had two sets of eight lap heat races, which earned them
points to determine who automatically made it into the night's Main
Event. The first round of heat wins went to Rodgers, Peckham, Chase
Thomas, Travis Peery, Tanner Thomas and Brian Cooper. The next round of
wins went to Jace Wright, Peckham, Dustin Comer, Ryan Peery, Shelby and
Dwayne Melvin. Fred Ryland won the four lap Trophy Dash.
The
two 15 lap B Mains transferred just two drivers into the feature race.
The first race was won by Ryland, who took the lead from Chris Sieweke
on the fourth lap. Branden Wilson settled into second ahead of Pro Stock
star Scott Lenz, but Lenz took second from Wilson on Lap 7 with Steven
Sanders following him closely into third. Lenz kept it close, but Ryland
prevailed at the checkered flag. Steven Sanders, Trevor Points and
Sieweke completed the Top 5 at the finish. Daniel Ray won the second
race. Jace Wright jumped into the lead at the start ahead of Jimmy Ford
and Ray. Ray slipped past Ford for second on Lap 9 and put the moves on
Wright for the lead a lap later. Ray won ahead of Wright, Ford, Mike
Merritt and Billy Richey.
Jake Wheeler won the
25 lap World Famous Autos Limited Sprint Main Event. He's the third
different winner in as many races, and he pocketed $1,250 for the effort
thanks to additional sponsorship from Dave's Home Supply of Medford.
Wheeler is the current point leader and the 2016 champion.
With
a front row start, Wheeler charged into the lead when the green flag
waved, followed by Bailey Hibbard and RJ McGahuey. With Bailey Hibbard
keeping it close, McGahuey was about a straightaway behind when Camden
Robustelli moved the TJ Winningham car into third on Lap 11. The leaders
caught slower traffic, and Bailey Hibbard briefly gained the lead on
Lap 19, only to bring out a yellow flag moments later. Wheeler led
Robustelli and McGahuey on the restart. A final yellow flag waved on lap
21, but that didn't stop Wheeler. When the green flag waved, he bolted
ahead once again and brought it home to victory ahead of Robustelli,
McGahuey, Charlie Thompson, Enrique Jaime, Johnny Burke, Bailey Hibbard,
Dave Hibbard and David Marble.
Robustelli set
the fast time of 12.958, beating the 13.121 of Thompson and the 13.279
of Bailey Hibbard. The eight lap heat race wins went to Wheeler and
Bailey Hibbard, and Robustelli claimed four lap Trophy Dash honors.
Ashtin
Hedges won the 15 lap Mini Stock Main Event. Hedges has won several
times in Yreka this year, where he currently ranks second in the
standings. He was also runner up in the standings in Medford in 2019.
After
winning the four lap Trophy Dash and his eight lap heat race, two-time
reigning champion David Steele was working on a clean sweep. He started
on the pole and charged into the early lead ahead of Hedges and Connor
Franklin. Following a Lap 1 yellow flag, Steele continued to lead Hedges
and Franklin. However, Hedges slipped past Steele for the lead on the
fifth lap. A Lap 9 yellow flag slowed the pace, and Connor Franklin
joined Kristopher Mix on the sidelines at that point. Hedges continued
to lead Steele and Hunter Magnan on the restart. Steele kept it
reasonably close, but Ashtin Hedges scored the satisfying win. Magnan
ended up third, followed by Tim Hedges, Garrett Fredrickson, Dylan
Irving, Marilyn Yawnick, Andrew Hall, Franklin and Zach Nelson. Ashtin
Hedges was the other heat race winner.
The big
money was on the line the following evening as the Southern Oregon Dwarf
Cars and Late Model Lites were also on the card. Next Saturday will be
the Rocky Nash Memorial for the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series.
Also in action will be the CD Architects Late Models, Late Model Lites
and Mini Stocks. For further information, go to www.southernoregonmotorsports.com.
Mognaga Wins Again At Dixon Speedway
Dixon,
CA...July 23...Dan Mognaga won the 25 lap Wingless Micro 600 Main Event
Friday night at Dixon Speedway. The point leader started on the pole
and took the lead immediately ahead of Jeffrey Pahule and Austin
Torgerson. That was the order through yellow flags on Lap 5 and 13. The
Lap 13 yellow flag saw the race end for Travis Sullivan, Tyson Davis and
Matt Santana. Mognaga continued to lead the restart, but Pahule stayed
with him. Despite pressure from the determined to Pahule, Mognaga held
him off to get the win. Austin Torgerson settled for third, followed by
Brandon Riveira, Dwarf Car star Ryan Winter, Colin Kirby, Drew Laeber,
Blake Parmley, Jarrett Heimlich and Cody Parmley.
There
were 24 Wingless 600 Micros, and Ashton Torgerson set the fast time on
the 1/5 mile dirt oval at 11.561, beating the 11.577 of Austin Torgerson
and the 11.617 of Laeber. The 10 lap heat race wins went to Pahule,
Riveira and Heimlich, and Mognaga claimed eight lap Trophy Dash honors.
Izaak
Sharp won the 25 lap Super 600 Main Event. Sharp took the lead from the
start ahead of Austin Torgerson and Ashton Torgerson. A yellow flag
waved on the ninth lap for Ashton Torgerson. Sharp continued to lead
Austin Torgerson and point leader Brad Hannum on the restart, but Hannum
saw his race end on Lap 17. Sharp led the rest the way with Austin
Torgerson in close pursuit. Ashton Torgerson ended up third ahead of
Hannum. Jeffrey Pahule and Todd Job were Main Event scratches. Sharp set
the fast time of 10.341, beating the 10.447 of Hannum. Austin Torgerson
won the 10 lap heat race and the four lap Trophy Dash.
Quinn
Thurein ended up the unlikely winner of the 20 lap Restricted 600 Micro
Sprint Main Event. Jackson Kohler started on the pole and took lead
when the green flag waved, followed by Adriana DeMartini and Thurein.
Andrew Smith and Lucas Johnson both got past Thurein for third and
fourth on Lap 4, and a yellow flag flew on Lap 8. Kohler continued to
lead DeMartini and Smith on the restart, and a Lap 9 yellow flag
signaled the end of the race for Johnson and Kaiden Gowen. Kohler
continued to lead DeMartini and Smith on the restart, but Smith slipped
past DeMartini for second on Lap 14. Nicholas Leonard Jr and Aniyah
Scott were both out at that point. Kohler led Smith and DeMartini on the
final restart. Smith was giving Kohler plenty of pressure. After the
taking the white flag, there was contact with Kohler crashing. Smith
took the checkered flag, but he would later be penalized to be put
behind Kohler in the finishing order. Thurein took second from DeMartini
on the final lap. However, the penalty gave Thurein the win ahead of
DeMartini, Cierra Wullenwaber, Kyle Cravotta, AJ Neilson, Kohler, Smith,
Leonard, Scott and Johnson.
Smith was the
quickest of 11 qualifiers with a lap of 11.376, beating the 11.394 of
Johnson and the 11.475 of Kohler. The 10 lap heat race wins went to
Smith and Johnson with DeMartini picking up the six lap Trophy Dash win.
Point
leader Hayden Stepps won the 20 lap Jr Sprint Main Event. After winning
the Trophy Dash, Stepps had the pole and took the lead at the start of
the Main Event, followed by Vito Cancilla and Jackson Tardiff. They ran
in that order until Josiah Vega brought up the only yellow flag on Lap
8. Stepps continued to lead Cancilla on the restart with Levi Osborne
moving into third. Stepps led the rest of the way for the win, followed
by Cancilla, Osborne, Jace Thurein, Vega, Tardiff and Colin Reynolds.
Stepps
set the fast time of 12.957, beating the 12.961 of Cancilla. Vega won
the 10 lap heat race with Stepps getting the four lap Trophy Dash win.
Racing will return on July 31st with the same lineup of Micro Sprint divisions once again. For further information, go to www.dixonspeedway.com.
Fugate, McIntyre, Smith Win Wednesday Night Throwdown
At Coos Bay Speedway
Coos
Bay, Oregon...July 21...Braden Fugate won the 30 lap NASCAR America's
Mattress Super Late Model Main Event Wednesday night at Coos Bay
Speedway. This was the third Wednesday Night Throwdown event and the
fifth win of the season for Fugate which keeps him just six points
behind Brody Montgomery in the championship battle.
The
midweek event drew just six Super Late Models, and Bid Van Loon
scratched after hot laps. Following a third place finish in the 10 lap
heat race, which was won by Fugate, Thor Kristensen was also a feature
scratch. Fugate had the pole and led from the start with Hannah Robison
second for a lap before being passed by Wayne Butler. Montgomery got
past Robison a lap later. Only one yellow flag waved during the race.
Fugate had Butler and Montgomery right behind him down the stretch as
they waited for him to make a mistake. However, Fugate hit all of his
marks and brought it home to victory ahead of Butler, Montgomery and
Robison.
Toby McIntyre won the 30 lap Street
Stock Main Event. This was the first win of the season for the 2015 Late
Model champion as he becomes the seventh different winner of the
season. Jesse McIntyre had the pole but had problems on the opening lap
as reigning champion Ken Fox took the early lead ahead of point leader
Seth Christian and Sam Talon. Toby McIntyre moved into third on Lap 2
and slipped past Christian for second on the sixth lap. On Lap 9, Toby
McIntyre put the moves on Fox to grab the lead. At about the same time,
2018 champion Steve Dubisar moved by Christian for third. Toby McIntyre
set a swift pace and pulled away to a half-lap advantage over Fox by the
time the race ended. Dubisar finished third with the Sport Modified of
Josh Kraliceck right behind him in fourth, followed by Christian, Jesse
McIntyre and Talon. Toby McIntyre also won the 10 lap heat race.
Griff
Smith won the 20 lap Junior Stinger Main Event. This was the 11th win
of the season for Smith as he continues his domination of the Hornet
division for kids 11 to 14 years old. Smith started back in the fourth
row with Eli Luckman taking the early lead ahead of DJ Nelson. Tallon
Dubisar took second from Nelson on Lap 2 and briefly got by Luckman for
the lead on the fourth lap. However, Smith had followed him into second
and took the lead on Lap 5. Luckman held on to second until being
overtaken on lap 14 by Madelyn Hardy Ashley. On the final lap, Ashley
took second from Tallon Dubisar. Smith won ahead of Ashley, Tallon
Dubisar, Luckman, Alex Butler, Nelson, Tanner Dubisar, Max Haga and
Tucker Dubisar. Bid Van Loon was the only Hornet competitor on hand, and
he ran with the Juniors and finished seventh overall. The eight lap
heat race wins went to Smith and Ashley.
There
was a race on Saturday that featured the Outlaw Pro Stocks and NASCAR
Sportsman Late Models going head to head along with a full slate of
NASCAR competition. The next show on the oval track will be Whelen Fan
Appreciation Night on July 31st, which will include the NASCAR America's
Mattress Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini
Outlaws, Hornets, Junior Stingers and the Dwarf Cars. For further
information, go to www.coosbayspeedway.us.
Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 23
IMCA Modifieds
Carl Berendsen II
Tim Balding
JC Elrod
Rick Diaz
Freddie Ploudre
Todd Hermosillo
Raymond Keldsen Jr
Bobby Hogge IV
Kyle Bryan
Fred Lind
Terry Decarlo Sr
Jim Pettit II
Austin Burke
Nick DeCarlo
Cody Burke
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Randy Miller
Scott Foster
Adriane Frost
Trevor Clymens
Jim DiGiovanni
Mike Kofnovec Jr
Mike Kofnovec Sr
Jacob Mallet Jr
Richard Ragsdale
Duane Bieser
Cody Bryan
Jason Pugh
Ryan DeForest
Timothy Allerdings
Jonathan Hagio
Charlie Hunter
Justin Parr
Kodie Dean
Max Baggett
Kyle Fife
Four Bangers
Nick Scentani
Kate Beardsley
Kenny Stragalinos
Nicole Beardsley
Bill Beardsley
Travis VanGilder
Clem Lessi
TJ Santos
Joseph Marsh
Tony Gullo
South Bay Dwarf Cars
Terre Rothweiler
Tommy Velasquez III
Travis Day
Eric Weisler
Fred Dickey
Barry Waddell
Mack Aceves
Eddy Claessen
Keith Costas
Mike Aceves
Kieran Costas
John Prentice
Mark Biscardi
Southern Oregon Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 23
World Famous Autos Limited Sprints
Jake Wheeler
Camden Robustelli
RJ McGahney
Enrique Jaime
Johnny Burke
Charlie Thompson
Bailey Hibbard
David Hibbard
David Marble
Mini Stocks
Ashtin Hedges
David Steele
Hunter Magnan
Tim Hedges
Garrett Fredrichson
Dylan Irving
Marilyn Yawnick
Andrew Hall
Connor Franklin
Zach Nelson
kristopher mix
Quintyn Ericks
Dusty's Transmission IMCA Sport Modifieds
A Main
Ryan Peery
Tanner Thomas
Brian Cooper
Travis Peery
Chase Thomas
Phillip Shelby
Matt Sanders
Andrew Peckham
Dwayne Melivin
Andrew Pearce
Scott Lenz
Fred Ryland
Todd Cooper
Austin Petray
Dustin Comer
Doug Coffman
Jace Wright
Daniel Ray
Mike Medel
Tyler Rodgers
B Main 1
Fred Ryland
Scott Lenz
Steven Sanders
Trevor Points
Chris Sieweke
Mike Jones
Branden Wilson
Jordan Henry
Buddy Olschowka
Curt Ballard
Chad Wormington
Bruce Ray
Isaac Sanders
Ryder Boswell
B Main 2
Daniel Ray
Jace Wright
Jimmy Ford
Mike Merritt
Billy Richey
Joby Shields
Byron Anderson
Jacob Hoppes
Mike Desilva
Bart Foster
Andrew Gifford
Jantzen Knips
Jesse Merriman
Thunderbowl Raceway Unofficial Race Results July 23
Chris & Brian Faria Memorial
KWS/NARC fUJITSU 410 Sprint Cars
Results are not official
1 #41 Dominic Scelzi
2 #88N D.J. Netto
3 #17W Shane Golobic
4 #83 Mitchel Moles
5 #83V Sean Becker
6 #69 Bud Kaeding
7 #29 Willie Croft
8 #42X Tim Kaeding
9 #37 Mitchell Faccinto
10 #09S Geoffrey Strole
11 #36 Craig Stidham
12 #76 Jesse Attard
13 #01 Danny Faria Jr
14 #78 Mark Barroso
15 #21 Corey Day
16 #56 Ryan Robinson
17 #98 Sean Watts
18 #26 Billy Aton
King of Thunder 360 Sprints
Results are not official
1 #41 Dominic Scelzi
2 #88A Joey Ancona
3 #83V Sean Becker
4 #33 Tucker Worth
5 #2 Brooklyn Holland
6 #22 Keith Day
7 #18 Grant Champlin
8 #7 Steven Kent
9 #67G Grant Duinkerken
10 #7Z Zane Blanchard
11 #75 Brendan Warmerdam
12 #50 Bryce Eames
13 #9 Reece Goetz
14 #5D Connor Danell
15 #6C Travis Coelho
16 #3 Kaleb Montgomery
17 #9S Landon Hurst
IMCA RaceSaver Sprints
Results are not official
1 #38 Kyle Rasmussen
2 #1X Richard Weddle
3 #3 Brandon Stidham
4 #11 Blaine Fagundes
5 #28Q Sean Quinn
6 #36 Tyler Gray
7 #31H Phil Heynen
Dixon Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 23
Wingless
Dan Mognaga
Jeffrey Pahule
Austin Torgerson
Brandon Riveira
Ryan Winter
Colin Kirby
Drew Laeber
Blake Parmley
Jarrett Heimlich
Cody Parmley
Kelvin Lewis
Taylor DeCarlo
Eddie Hamblen
Ryan Holden
Devin Osanna
Savannah Brown
Steve Alvarado
Tony Morris
Ashton Torgerson
Travis Sullivan
Tyson Davis
Matt Santana
Chris Parmley DNS
Bryant Bell DNS
Super 600
Izaak Sharp
Austin Torgerson
Ashton Torgerson
Brad Hannum
Todd Job DNS
Jeffrey Pahule DNS
Restricted
Quinn Thurein
Adrianna DeMartini
Cierra Wullenwaber
Kyle Cravotta
AJ Neilson
Jackson Kohler
Andrew Smith
Nicholas Leonard Jr
Aniyah Scott
Lucas Johnson
Kaiden Gowen
Jr Sprints
Hayden Stepps
Vito Cancilla
Levi Osborne
Jace Thurein
Josiah Vega
Jackson Tardiff
Colin Reynolds
IMCA Modifieds
Carl Berendsen II
Tim Balding
JC Elrod
Rick Diaz
Freddie Ploudre
Todd Hermosillo
Raymond Keldsen Jr
Bobby Hogge IV
Kyle Bryan
Fred Lind
Terry Decarlo Sr
Jim Pettit II
Austin Burke
Nick DeCarlo
Cody Burke
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Randy Miller
Scott Foster
Adriane Frost
Trevor Clymens
Jim DiGiovanni
Mike Kofnovec Jr
Mike Kofnovec Sr
Jacob Mallet Jr
Richard Ragsdale
Duane Bieser
Cody Bryan
Jason Pugh
Ryan DeForest
Timothy Allerdings
Jonathan Hagio
Charlie Hunter
Justin Parr
Kodie Dean
Max Baggett
Kyle Fife
Four Bangers
Nick Scentani
Kate Beardsley
Kenny Stragalinos
Nicole Beardsley
Bill Beardsley
Travis VanGilder
Clem Lessi
TJ Santos
Joseph Marsh
Tony Gullo
South Bay Dwarf Cars
Terre Rothweiler
Tommy Velasquez III
Travis Day
Eric Weisler
Fred Dickey
Barry Waddell
Mack Aceves
Eddy Claessen
Keith Costas
Mike Aceves
Kieran Costas
John Prentice
Mark Biscardi
Southern Oregon Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 23
World Famous Autos Limited Sprints
Jake Wheeler
Camden Robustelli
RJ McGahney
Enrique Jaime
Johnny Burke
Charlie Thompson
Bailey Hibbard
David Hibbard
David Marble
Mini Stocks
Ashtin Hedges
David Steele
Hunter Magnan
Tim Hedges
Garrett Fredrichson
Dylan Irving
Marilyn Yawnick
Andrew Hall
Connor Franklin
Zach Nelson
kristopher mix
Quintyn Ericks
Dusty's Transmission IMCA Sport Modifieds
A Main
Ryan Peery
Tanner Thomas
Brian Cooper
Travis Peery
Chase Thomas
Phillip Shelby
Matt Sanders
Andrew Peckham
Dwayne Melivin
Andrew Pearce
Scott Lenz
Fred Ryland
Todd Cooper
Austin Petray
Dustin Comer
Doug Coffman
Jace Wright
Daniel Ray
Mike Medel
Tyler Rodgers
B Main 1
Fred Ryland
Scott Lenz
Steven Sanders
Trevor Points
Chris Sieweke
Mike Jones
Branden Wilson
Jordan Henry
Buddy Olschowka
Curt Ballard
Chad Wormington
Bruce Ray
Isaac Sanders
Ryder Boswell
B Main 2
Daniel Ray
Jace Wright
Jimmy Ford
Mike Merritt
Billy Richey
Joby Shields
Byron Anderson
Jacob Hoppes
Mike Desilva
Bart Foster
Andrew Gifford
Jantzen Knips
Jesse Merriman
Thunderbowl Raceway Unofficial Race Results July 23
Chris & Brian Faria Memorial
KWS/NARC fUJITSU 410 Sprint Cars
Results are not official
1 #41 Dominic Scelzi
2 #88N D.J. Netto
3 #17W Shane Golobic
4 #83 Mitchel Moles
5 #83V Sean Becker
6 #69 Bud Kaeding
7 #29 Willie Croft
8 #42X Tim Kaeding
9 #37 Mitchell Faccinto
10 #09S Geoffrey Strole
11 #36 Craig Stidham
12 #76 Jesse Attard
13 #01 Danny Faria Jr
14 #78 Mark Barroso
15 #21 Corey Day
16 #56 Ryan Robinson
17 #98 Sean Watts
18 #26 Billy Aton
King of Thunder 360 Sprints
Results are not official
1 #41 Dominic Scelzi
2 #88A Joey Ancona
3 #83V Sean Becker
4 #33 Tucker Worth
5 #2 Brooklyn Holland
6 #22 Keith Day
7 #18 Grant Champlin
8 #7 Steven Kent
9 #67G Grant Duinkerken
10 #7Z Zane Blanchard
11 #75 Brendan Warmerdam
12 #50 Bryce Eames
13 #9 Reece Goetz
14 #5D Connor Danell
15 #6C Travis Coelho
16 #3 Kaleb Montgomery
17 #9S Landon Hurst
IMCA RaceSaver Sprints
Results are not official
1 #38 Kyle Rasmussen
2 #1X Richard Weddle
3 #3 Brandon Stidham
4 #11 Blaine Fagundes
5 #28Q Sean Quinn
6 #36 Tyler Gray
7 #31H Phil Heynen
Dixon Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 23
Wingless
Dan Mognaga
Jeffrey Pahule
Austin Torgerson
Brandon Riveira
Ryan Winter
Colin Kirby
Drew Laeber
Blake Parmley
Jarrett Heimlich
Cody Parmley
Kelvin Lewis
Taylor DeCarlo
Eddie Hamblen
Ryan Holden
Devin Osanna
Savannah Brown
Steve Alvarado
Tony Morris
Ashton Torgerson
Travis Sullivan
Tyson Davis
Matt Santana
Chris Parmley DNS
Bryant Bell DNS
Super 600
Izaak Sharp
Austin Torgerson
Ashton Torgerson
Brad Hannum
Todd Job DNS
Jeffrey Pahule DNS
Restricted
Quinn Thurein
Adrianna DeMartini
Cierra Wullenwaber
Kyle Cravotta
AJ Neilson
Jackson Kohler
Andrew Smith
Nicholas Leonard Jr
Aniyah Scott
Lucas Johnson
Kaiden Gowen
Jr Sprints
Hayden Stepps
Vito Cancilla
Levi Osborne
Jace Thurein
Josiah Vega
Jackson Tardiff
Colin Reynolds
The Editor's Viewpoint
I'm
either getting an early start on this column for the regularly
scheduled weekly post, or this will be the column for a special Saturday
afternoon post that covers the Friday night racing activity at a few
different venues. I got pretty wordy with this in my first attempt, so
I'm going to try to be more succinct this time.
The
news about the proposal to build low-income housing at the site of the
Stockton Dirt Track and Delta Speedway at the San Joaquin County
Fairgrounds was just breaking when we went with our previous post. I did
have a rather strong statement to make, and I'll repeat it. I don't
think Tony Noceti can trust the people on the Fair Board. I think
they've proven that much, and I also think he's invested quite a bit of
time and money in the track. If they don't appreciate what he's brought
to that location, they don't deserve him. Therefore, I believe Tony
should get his equipment and get out of that location as soon as
possible. I know he's struggled at times with political stuff that
people don't even know about.
The bottom line
to going to the politicians and writing letters on behalf of these
tracks is I don't know how effective it's going to be. This has the
governor's backing, meaning government money. It's got a little bit more
substance behind it than what was going on that closed San Jose
Speedway and what's currently going on to try to close Petaluma
Speedway. I'm thinking there's a good chance that something is going to
happen this time. If not, it's only a matter of time before they find a
way to shut down the dirt track. Therefore, is it really worth fighting
for this location?
In saying that, I feel bad
for Delta Speedway and it's supporters. That location has been hosting
races for over 30 years, and it's not like they take up a bunch of real
estate. Quite honestly, they could have figured out a plan that would
have kept that track there, while building some houses. They also have
the bonus of being a venue that hosts divisions that are for kids, and
they are very much a family-oriented track, even more so than your
average big track. I feel worse for Delta Speedway than I do for the big
track, only because it has a longer tradition.
That's
not a shot against Tony, because I respect that he's invested heavily
and done some really good things that have been well supported in his
time. If you want to fight for the cause, I don't think writing letters
to politicians is going to get it done. The better plan would be to get
the local politicians to help you relocate. Either that happens
somewhere in Stockton or a neighboring town, and the politicians can use
their influence to get it done. This would probably be more effective
if Tony and the guy at Delta Speedway were united in this plan.
There
are options. I know Tony has the fallback plan of still having Stockton
99 Speedway, but I think he wants to keep doing stuff on the dirt. I
know the people out in Byron at the airport were interested in a dirt
track among other things. That's one location that could be approached.
What about Altamont Raceway? What other possibilities are there? You can
either try to go to the politicians and get them to support relocating
both tracks, or you start the ball rolling on finding another location. I
also believe there are some options for the Micro Sprint community.
I
don't blame them for fighting. I wish they had fought for San Jose
Speedway back in the day. If they had simply kept racing going in 2000
and 2001, racing might still be there today. There was never any
financial support for the amphitheater, and the fairgrounds would have
been happy to take whatever revenue was being generated from San Jose
Speedway. In fact, I wonder what could happen if somebody came in there
with a plan to build a new dirt track on that location now. Granted,
it's a bigger financial investment than it would be if they still had
the grandstands, but could something be done?
On
Thursday, Tony went on record as saying he'll finish the remainder of
the 2021 schedule as booked and is planning the 2022 schedule as normal.
I don't have a good feeling about the situation at that fairgrounds,
and I really think it's going to be a losing battle. However, if Tony is
digging his heels in and going for it, then I support him. He's
invested a lot of money in that place, so I do understand the
motivation. I just don't have a very good feeling about the situation
there. Then again, you never win the war if you don't fight the big
battle.
I don't want to go on with this point,
but if they want to fight for it, so be it. I don't believe this battle
is winnable, and I also don't believe that the San Joaquin County
Fairgrounds deserves Tony. On the other hand, if he feels this is the
only place he can promote a dirt track, he'll dig his heels in and go
for it. We'll be hearing more about this in the weeks ahead, and I'm
sure I'll have a few more thoughts on the subject as more information
comes out.
I might have had a shot at a Tuesday
post this last week as my head was in the game this time. I let myself
get sidetracked on the quest of trying to figure out how many Valley
Sportsman cars are built in the Merced area. This involved me looking at
YouTube videos, going through the point standings and that sort of
stuff. Luis Miranda tells me he thinks there are 16 cars, but I still
think there are more. I never said I knew how many, but I believe there
are more. Right now I think I can verify 17 cars, but I am looking to
see what else might be there. I can very easily see me easing into the
nostalgia thing, and the Sportsman division would factor into what I do
in the future.
I always marveled at how Miranda
and then Promoter Chuck Griffin were able to put rules together and
make this thing fly back in 1999 and have a dozen cars built in the area
within a couple of years. I'd like to know how many cars are actually
out there. I know of the 17 I know of, and I believe it wouldn't take
much to get all of them out to the track. If somebody doesn't want to
run their car, will they sell it to somebody who will? If they won't
sell it, could they trust somebody to maintain it and keep it out there
on the track? I know that the reason one or two cars might not be out
there is because they don't like the motor rules.
At
some point, the goal has to be getting new cars built. Yeah, I'd like
to find what cars are out there and get them into the hands of people
who want to run them, but cars need to be built. Very early on in the
effort, you had Bill Baker of Mighty Mufflers, and then he hooked up
with car builder Keith Van Houten. There might have been a steeper price
tag on the cars Keith was building, but they were certainly nice
pieces. Just get a load of the #62 car that Eric Seely pilots. I
remember when Tim Leidich brought it out to the track back in the day.
Such a beauty.
One of the goals in the
Sportsman movement should be getting new cars built. The immediate goal
is to get as many cars out to Merced Speedway as possible to show
current management that this division belongs on the roster. I see them
not being 100% sold on the class, and yet they aren't ready to cut ties
either. Now is the time to show what this division can do. I also see
doors potentially opening at Antioch Speedway. I know Chad Chadwick
likes this class, but if he could take the step further by getting a
copy of the rules out to the people and saying he's going to do more
with this class in the future, you might see some Antioch people
building cars as the roster grows.
There is a
bit more organization and an attempt to keep people in the loop with
regards to the Sportsman class. When somebody asks about a car for sale,
they are generally referred to this place or that place. They know when
the next race is coming. They have a private group on Facebook which I
wish they would make public. The more people realize that there's a
Sportsman community out there and learn more about these cars, the
better. There are still some people around who appreciate what this
division once meant to the sport in the 1970s, and there are people who
weren't there who can certainly appreciate what it is these cars have to
offer.
When I was looking at video footage
from immediately after John Soares took over Merced Speedway, I was
struck by how good the racing really was at that point. You could make a
case for the fact that this was a feature class and certainly something
that attracted the people who came out to watch the races. They were
getting eight cars or more on a regular basis in the early years when
John was in charge. On the other hand, it almost came to a crashing end
in 2015, but the drivers who still had cars wouldn't let it go down that
way. The big loss in 2015 was no official champion was crowned, which I
believe should have been Marcus Lung.
Again, I
could ramble on about this topic, but one thing I was struck by when I
looked at the video footage was how much better that race track was in
2010 when John got a hold of it. He immediately removed the back wall
that people didn't like. He also eliminated the perception that out of
town drivers weren't necessarily welcome there. There was that
reputation that Chuck Griffin had created in his 20-year reign, whether
it was intentional or not. John saw the beauty and potential of this
track, which has the best grandstands I can think of in the state of
California.
What he saw was how Merced could
host big league events, and he brought the World of Outlaws to town.
It's amazing that some people when they criticize John think of him as
the guy who got rid of the World of Outlaws when he was the guy who
brought them there in the first place. Big Sprint Car events, big
Modified shows that paid $5,000 to win. Working together with other
tracks. If it wasn't for John, where would the place be now? Yeah, I get
people seeing some of the negative, but he did some good things that
management that followed him benefited from. I don't think John gets the
credit he deserves for the good he did for Merced Speedway in his six
years there. I also believe he should be in the West Coast Stock Car
Hall of Fame, but that's another subject.
It
seems like we have more big races these days, which I marvel at
considering we've come through the pandemic. I'm nervous because I see
another lockdown looming in the future if the people let it happen. I
like the idea of the Howard Kaeding Classic at Watsonville, and one of
the reasons I'm enamored with the idea is because Howard is still with
us and able to see how much people appreciate what he was able to
accomplish on the track through the years. The Kaeding family is a Bay
Area Sprint Car legacy family for sure. When you have iconic racers who
are still with you, why not honor them this way? Heck, I could make a
case for a JD Willis race at Antioch or a Dennis Moomjean night at
Merced, but I digress.
Memorial races are
always important to me. Whether I knew the racer or not, the people in
the community knew them. That person made a difference in the legacy of
the race track. The last thing that I was really fighting for at
Southern Oregon Speedway was a race for Rocky Nash. I remember when he
died as a result of the injuries he sustained in his crash at Siskiyou
Golden Speedway. In fact, I still have the "In Memory Of Rocky Nash"
sticker in my collection. I was also wondering if they would run a race
to remember him, but it might have been a touchy subject coming from the
Outlaw Pro Stock Association. I don't know.
I
can't claim to know Rocky that well, but I had some good interactions
with him. Afterward, I went back and did research and found out about
his NASCAR background and his Winston West wins. He was definitely
somebody who gave a little bit more legitimacy to the Outlaw Pro Stock
Association. I think within a year I was bouncing the idea around in my
mind that we needed a race for Rocky, and I also wanted a showcase night
for the Outlaw Pro Stocks. This was a battle, because Mike McCann
wasn't necessarily a fan of the Pro Stocks and only saw the need to book
them twice.
I found my opening with the race
that he was going to book against the Jackson County Fair. I know that
night financially is not a big winner, so I proposed giving the bigger
purse divisions the week off that week and we came up with a way to make
the night special. That's where we got the kids bike giveaway and
Claudia Linker did a great job of setting that all up. We were going to
give the Sprint Cars, Late Models and IMCA Modifieds the night off, but I
didn't want this race to be an IMCA Sport Modified race. Nope. I wanted
the Outlaw Pro Stocks to be the division that headlined the show, and I
got my wish. I will maintain the night was a success and the racing in
that division was some of the best I'd seen from them.
I
began pushing the idea of the Rocky Nash Memorial for that race, but
Mike didn't think it was a good idea just yet. He wasn't against the
idea, but he was still considering it. When planning began for the 2020
season, Roy Bain.was already in discussions with Mike about having a Tri
State Pro Stock Challenge Series race. Seeing the possibilities, I
brought up the idea of a Rocky Nash Memorial to Roy, and he grabbed the
ball and ran with it. He went to the Nash family and got their blessing
and all he needed was the date to be officially booked to announce the
Rocky Nash Memorial at Southern Oregon Speedway. I did what I could in
planting the seed, and the reality was it was going to happen in 2020
before the covid-19 shutdown.
Roy didn't let go
of the idea and the Nash family was still on board. The new management
at Southern Oregon Speedway has decided they want this race, and the Pro
Stocks are the headliners on July 31st. I know the purse has increased
as the Nash family is putting something into it. I believe the Outlaw
Pro Stock guys in the area and in Klamath Falls will come out in force,
and it's my hope that the Tri State racers from throughout California
and Nevada come there and swell the numbers well into the 20s. The
potential is really good for this race, and I think Rocky deserves that.
I
was happy to see that management at Willamette Speedway extracted their
head from their posterior and removed the IMCA Modifieds from July
24th, which was a conflict with the long established Beads Shipwreck
Nationals at Grays Harbor Speedway in Elma Washington. I can't believe
they even thought about running a 100 lap $1,500 to win race on top of
it, but they did. It's been moved to August 21st as I mentioned, but
another announcement was made after I published my most recent post.
Management
has decided to book a $5,000 to win IMCA Stock Car race that night as
well. On the surface, I'm not delighted. I still think it's too soon for
this class to get that kind of money, if ever. However, I know they are
giddy from the success of having 24 cars show up for the two-day
weekend $5,000 to win race they just had at Sunset Speedway. I also know
that track owner Jerry Schram has invested in this class and is a car
dealer bringing new drivers in. I also further know that he's not
enamored with the Street Stocks, and a side benefit of this effort is
his attempt to sideline the class permanently.
Coos
Bay Speedway and Cottage Grove Speedway may come out being the last
tracks that fight the hardest for the Street Stocks in the long run, and
I think it's in the best interest of the Iron Giant Series people to
try to put something together for their series. Even if they don't have a
race at every track in 2022 and only get five or six races, do it guys.
The reality is if they put the Iron Giant race back on the schedule at
Willamette on Labor Day weekend, they'd get a much bigger turnout than
what they will get for this big money IMCA Stock Car race. That's not
just opinion, that's fact. They've already done it. However, I don't
think Jerry would be keen on the idea of promoting a race that had 40
plus Street Stocks given the fact that he's trying to do what he is for
the IMCA Stock Cars. Maybe he'll prove me wrong.
Ultimately,
the desire is to establish IMCA Stock Car racing in Oregon, and it will
happen. Sunset Speedway might still hold on to a Street Stock division,
but they sacrificed the Pure Stocks in order to put the IMCA Stock Cars
in the rotation. There was that one year grace period to get IMCA
legal, but there were a group of about a dozen guys who were not going
to do that. What's left of them races at River City Speedway in St
Helens. You're seeing IMCA Stock Cars established at Willamette Speedway
and Sunset Speedway, but I think it's only a matter of time before
Cottage Grove Speedway and Southern Oregon Speedway dip their toes in
the IMCA Stock Car water.
I did a double take
when I noticed the Clair Arnold Memorial race at Willamette Speedway on
September 4th. I have never seen it referred to as that. The iconic
Oregon promoter does have a race named after him that they called the
Clair Cup, and I'm guessing this is it. In any case, they are running a
$5,000 to win race for the Super Late Models on this occasion, which is
probably going to negatively impact the Late Model portion of the
program Southern Oregon Speedway runs that night. This at a time when
Southern Oregon Speedway isn't running the Sport Modifieds that night
because they are working with Yreka for whatever reason, even if it's
going to severely handicap the R Charles Snyder Salute.
In
any case, I never met Mr Arnold, but I've heard some really interesting
stories about the guy. The only thing I knew about Willamette Speedway
in the 1980s was they kind of marched to the beat of their own drum and
had a huge car count right into the 1990s. I could tell you some stories
that I have heard about the guy, but I also know there's a lot of
respect for what he did for racing there. I did base a character in my
little Platagon cartoon series on him, at least in part. I might have to
revive that series when I have more time to play with the animation
program.
Cooperation is a two-way street, and I
understand Willamette Speedway was a bit late to the scheduling dance
this year. They had to get some things up to code before they could even
open the gates, and everybody else had schedules out before they did.
What do you do at that point? Do you tiptoe around what everybody else
is doing or do you book what you know you can get to give the fans a
show? Cooperation is a nice thing, and a track should do it when they
can. However, you also have to take care of your bottom line or you
won't have a track that can cooperate with other tracks.
Coos
Bay Speedway had a Wednesday night Throwdown race, and I was monitoring
it. At some point you have to ask why? Wednesday is such a terrible
night to try to run a race, let alone putting four additional races on
your schedule throughout the year. I know that Drake Nelson did this in
order to try to take a shot at promoting the Sport Modified and Dirt
Modified classes, but IMCA gave him the middle finger by denying him a
sanctioning. Nobody's traveling to Coos Bay for a non-sanctioned race on
a Wednesday. Sorry to break it to you.
They
had 23 cars for this occasion for what was supposed to be a
five-division program that ended up being three. You can do more damage
to your program than good with this type of thing, and there has been
some positives happening at Coos Bay in the last couple of years. I said
it before and I'll say it again. There is room for an additional night
of racing at Coos Bay occasionally, and he might even get drivers to
come for unsanctioned Modified races. You've got to do it on a Friday.
They're not coming on a Wednesday. I still think IMCA should let them in
as it doesn't just benefit Coos Bay, it benefits the state's effort.
Drake
at times can be uncooperative. We let him know that we had the
Cottonwood Classic Late Model show in 2019 and we were hoping he would
go dark for us. In return we would go dark for his Tidal Wave 50 and
even help spread the word to get some of our guys to support him. Nope,
Drake couldn't possibly change one date for us. I was disappointed in
the guy as I believe he could have found a way.
Fast
forward to July 24th, and there's the $2,000 to win Loggers Cup Late
Model show at Cottage Grove Speedway on the same night the track is
doing the Curt Deatherage Memorial Historical Night. You guessed it,
Coos Bay booked their Late Model class on top of it. They didn't
necessarily need them as they had the shootout race for the Outlaw Pro
Stocks versus the local Sportsman Late Models, Plus OTRO Hardtops. Come
on Drake. Do better than that.
I woke up
on a Saturday morning with a shot at posting Friday night reviews and
this column on Saturday afternoon. I'm going for it, and the fact that I
am almost reminds me of how it used to be when I was really into the
media effort and feeling good about everything that was going on. I'll
be honest with you when I say this was my goal this week, so I finally
accomplished something here on the blog. Enough said.
We
were greeted with the news on Friday afternoon that Petaluma Speedway
would be canceling the show tonight. I guess there's a leaky pipe at the
fairgrounds, but I do think the track's Winged 360 Sprint Car problem
might have been exposed. I don't know what kind of car count they would
have had tonight. The Dwarf Cars would have been solid and the Super
Stocks have certainly looked better lately. I do feel bad for the Mini
Stocks as they've had multiple nights canceled this year when they were
going to run. Just how is this division going to get momentum and start
building their numbers back up?
Ocean Speedway
did the honorable thing and pulled the Taco Bravo Sprint Cars from the
schedule for Friday. Nope, I don't believe John Prentice owed the other
track that. I know there was at least one driver who was going to be at
Tulare who is in the points at Watsonville, but you make those decisions
and go for it. Watsonville has a two-race throw away rule, and if you
need more than that, you don't really want to run for the points, do
you? It sucks to have to make those choices, but drivers do that all the
time. For instance, Fred Ryland ducked out on Watsonville to go for the
bigger money at Southern Oregon Speedway.
I
think Watsonville would have had 15 to 20 cars in the Sprint Car class
on Friday. Probably not a huge field, but enough to give the fans a
little show in addition to what they were going to get. Promoters do
this thing where they cancel races to work with each other sometimes,
but it does seem like Prentice has been doing that a lot lately. I hope
to see some proof that it's reciprocated his way. That's all I'm saying
here. I am a track unity kind of person, but I've seen enough crap from
promoters stepping on each other that I learned the hard lesson that was
told to me when I got up to Oregon. You have to look out for your track
first. Your fans aren't worried about whether you're working with
another track. They want to see cars at the track they are at.
I'm
only bringing up the Sprint Car thing because I want to express that
opinion, but the reality was Watsonville had a good show on Friday.
There were 20 IMCA Sport Modifieds, despite the complaints I'm hearing
about people saying the class isn't getting paid on a level equal to the
other tracks in the area. 15 IMCA Modifieds, 13 South Bay Dwarf Cars
and 10 Mini Stocks. The fans got a show, and once again the program was
run well and didn't drag on. They do good things at this race track and
the racing is good. I'm happy to see that.
Since
I mentioned Tulare, they had the Faria Memorial race with the NARC/King
of the West 410 Sprint Car Series there as well as the King of Thunder
Winged 360s and RaceSaver 305 Sprint Cars. Looks like the 305 Sprint
Cars are experiencing a car count decline for whatever reason. It's been
a few races since they've hit double digits, and there were only seven
cars on Friday. The Winged 360 Sprints delivered 20, so I don't think
they benefited all that much from Watsonville doing what they did. They
were going to get what they got regardless. The 410 Sprint Cars brought
about what I thought they would bring at 18 cars, and they head to Santa
Maria tonight.
I didn't see a visual, but I'm
told the track was a little bit dusty again. However, the big take away
from the show was probably the performance of Dom Scelzi. Once again, he
went to Tulare and left with wins in both the 410 and 360 Sprint Cars. I
don't know if people are aware of this, but this guy is definitely a
star. I was talking about how the NARC/KWS effort is building up the
numbers and creating new stars, and this is another good example of
that. You got a couple of full Main Events at Tulare. Even if the
numbers weren't as good as they could have been, they were still
adequate for the ticket price.
They ran a
Friday night Micro Sprint program at Dixon, and I'm not sure why. I
don't keep up with the other Micro Sprint tracks, so there was probably a
bigger show going on tonight. The problem that Jeremy Prince and his
team face is the numbers go down a little bit on these occasions. There
were still 24 Wingless 600s, which is certainly the best supported part
of the program. Those numbers were down, believe it or not.
However,
only the Restricted Micros were able to also reach double digits, but
there were some cars in the Jr Sprints and Super 600's. Sometimes the
program tends to drag well past 11:00 pm there, but they kept it moving
and got it done. That's about the only complaint from what I've seen
about the program. They could get it done quicker on a regular basis,
but they do have some interesting issues arise that warrant going a
little bit later. The racing is still good at this place.
Southern
Oregon Speedway was booming. There are a lot of ways I can go with this
comment. I'm hearing some things that are coming from multiple sources
that don't sound good. Do I comment on those things? Nope. I sit back
and observe and see how things are handled. I don't need to nit pick
every little thing that happens at this place. They are doing what they
are doing, and the show goes on. I know they are learning that
everything isn't peaches and cream at this place. They may have thought
the previous management had it all wrong, but they are starting to learn
that this wasn't necessarily the case. I'll leave it at that.
One
thing I did notice was they had the Outlaw Kart track going at the same
time the big track was going. I remember we talked about doing
something similar to that, but we would have been very busy. There's
some enthusiasm in the Kart program with the Fuller family and Mike
Wheeler jumping in and doing what they do. I have some opinions on the
way they were towards what we were doing, but again I am going to
withhold those. I will say they care about the community. I don't want
to get into this too much as it will run the column longer than I
intend.
I will say I'm astonished at how many
500 Open Karts were there. When Wheeler wants to use his influence for
good, this is what happens. The last time I looked at the numbers, they
were in double digits and most of them were local area people. We
couldn't get those guys to come support us if our lives depended on it,
and it's one of the things that we dealt with in our four years at this
track.
There were over 40 total cars on Friday
night and approaching 50. I don't have results, and probably wouldn't
report them anyways as I have backed off from Kart racing on this blog.
I'm happy they're having success, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't
disappointed that these people weren't trying so hard when we were
running the place. Always nit picking everything. They can blame us for
why the numbers weren't fantastic, but I think some of those people
should look in the mirror for some of the reason.
I
knew that Friday's show was all about the IMCA Sport Modifieds, and
they delivered the goods with 43 cars. Before I talk about that, I'll
mention the nine Limited Sprints and a dozen Mini Stocks that were
there. I'm so happy that the Mini Stock drivers showed up in the numbers
they did, just to remind the track that they exist and should be booked
a little better than they have been this year.
The
Limited Sprint numbers this week and last time highlight that this
class is still a work in progress. Does the management at this place
really care about this class? I have my concerns about the future of the
Late Models there, but what about this class? I know there is hope in
some circles that the Cottage Grove guys are coming to visit, but they
won't. How badly do the locals want this show to continue and how
patient will management be to nurture them.
They
handed off the big IMCA Sport Modified show to the PSM people. My
initial reaction was, why? We had two shows where we just put up the
purse and the drivers came. One had 48 cars and the other had 50. Money
talks, and the people are going to come to town for the money. The track
was paying a very nice purse for the weekend with $2,500 on the line
for Saturday. They won $500 on Friday.
I know
the PSM fancies themselves as the reason why the Sport Modified car
count is growing on Oregon, but they aren't. I don't mean to upset
anybody, but I am going to state the facts here. Obviously, there are
people who are rallying and doing what they do, but I would suggest to
you that the car count they have was going to be there regardless as
long as they paid the purse money.
As I said,
management decided they wanted these people as allies, and I get that.
They are trying in some regards to go for a more community themed flavor
at the track, and a motivated PSM will go to bat for this track even
harder than they will for the other tracks if they get this kind of
treatment. They ran two sets of heat races and a pair of B Mains before
getting into the Main Event. There was a lot of racing, and drivers came
from California and throughout Oregon to be a part of this show. By any
measuring stick, this race was a success.
I
get that management created this race because they were removing the
class from the second night of the R Charles Snyder Salute. However,
they're going to do severe damage to that special race by doing that,
and you get nothing by working with Yreka at the moment. Maybe there are
some people who come in and help officiate that I'm not aware of, but
in terms of the kind of car support you're getting, it's not significant
enough to take a division off of a program that would normally bring
you 40 cars and help make it profitable. I've already said this, so why
repeat it? Just as a reminder that there's time to fix this little
problem.
The only downside to the show on
Friday night was it didn't attract the fans. I know Cameron got them on
TV again and the locals knew what was up. You have to really work at
that, and TV alone isn't going to fix it for you. It can help. The track
seemed to hold up pretty nicely from the footage I saw and wasn't a
dust bowl. That's more progress.
However, they
need to keep the show moving. The two other divisions didn't have a
significant car count, so you only had the one huge count. You don't
need to be getting done at 11:30 pm, but this has always been a problem
at this track when it comes to any division with a count like this. In
any case, the racing was good all night. I'm happy for them and hope to
success continues
I was going to give a
state of my media effort address, but I rambled on too long. I have a
lot to think about, and this goes beyond the DCRR brand. Discussions
still need to be had, but I also have to figure out if I really have the
energy and the drive to do what's being asked of me. This isn't 25
years ago, and I struggle just to maintain the weekly effort on the
blog. I'm wanting to wind down and do things at a more manageable pace,
but there are some real life things involved with a potential
opportunity that might benefit me personally in the long run. In any
case, when I figure all of that out, I'll let you know. More discussions
are needed.
On that note, I'll end this column. Until next time...