First of all...
The DCRR Racing Media Books
Just A Kid From The Grandstands: My Time In Auto Racing
Stories of my time in auto racing from the beginning to 2003
Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover
And
Don's California Racing Recollections: Best Of The Blog And Beyond
Racing History, Stories, Statistics And Pictures
Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback
Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback
Disclaimer
For years
we've made a commitment to cover motorsports on the West Coast, and
we're very proud of our record. We always endeavor to give you the most
accurate information possible, but sometimes some details aren't
available to us when we go to press. Therefore, we want to remind you
that any finishes listed in the articles and stats posted on this page
are unofficial. As always, we refer you to each race track's webpage for
official results and point standings. Our goal is to cover racing to
the best of our ability, but we are an unofficial news source for the
tracks covered in each post. Thank you for reading and thank you for
your support.
If You Like Reading Our Articles
Support Us Via The Go Fund Me The Tip Jar HERE
Also...
DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting HERE
From the Grandstands By Ron Rodda HERE
Blakesley Sports Media HERE
Short Track Live HERE
DRC (Daren Ricks Campbell) Motorsports Media HERE
The DCRR Racing Radio Show
Backup Link HERE
Nelson Wins Terry Traub Tribute Race,
Sanders Gets Ninth Win At Ocean Speedway
Watsonville,
CA...August 13...Billy Nelson won the 33 lap Hobby Stock Main Event
Friday night at Ocean Speedway. This was a special occasion as it was
the Terry Traub Tribute race, paying $1,033 to the winner. Nelson is a
three-time division champion.
Ron Bonmema had
the pole and moved into the early lead ahead of six-time champion Sam
Kennedy and Bobby Huckaby Jr. The race was slowed by a Lap 5 yellow flag
with the order at the front remaining the same on the restart. On the
10th lap, Kennedy slipped past Bonnema for the lead, and a Lap 11 yellow
flag waved for Bonnema. Kennedy continued to lead Huckaby and
Bakersfield racer Dylan Wilson on the restart as Nelson had maneuvered
from the fifth row into fourth at that point. A Lap 12 yellow flag
bunched the field once again, but a Lap 15 yellow flag saw three-time
champion Rob Gallaher joining Bobby Huckabely Sr and Scott Freeman on
the sidelines. Kennedy continued to lead the way ahead of Huckaby Jr and
Wilson, but Nelson started to make a move, taking third from Wilson on
Lap 18 and second from Huckaby Jr two laps later. Nelson made his
presence known at the front of the pack and finally put the moves on Sam
Kennedy for the lead on Lap 23. Wilson took second from Kennedy on the
26th lap. Huckaby Jr held third for just one lap before Kennedy regained
the position for good. Nelson set a good pace down the stretch and
scored the big win ahead of Wilson, Sam Kennedy, point leader Joe
Gallaher, Bonnema, Bobby Huckaby Jr, Ryan Muller, Tony Olivera, Donald
Hiser and Ken Winland.
The Hobby Stocks
produced a 22 car field for the occasion with the eight lap heat race
wins going to Sam Kennedy, Rob Gallaher and Wilson.
Justin
Sanders won the 30 lap Taco Bravo Sprint Car Main Event. This was the
division leading ninth win of the season for Sanders aboard his North
County Plastering sponsored Sprinter, and he increased his lead to 45
points over Bud Kaeding in the championship battle.
Sanders
set himself up in a good position by winning the six lap Trophy Dash
ahead of Chase Johnson and Jayson Bright. However, Johnson surprised
Sanders by bolting into the lead at the start with reigning champion
Mitchell Faccinto settling into an early third. Johnson led until his
race came to an unfortunate end for a Lap 6 yellow flag. Sanders led
Faccinto and Bright on the restart, but Bright slipped past Faccinto for
second on Lap 9. A Lap 14 yellow flag flew with Bryce Eames out at that
point. Sanders continued to lead Bright and Faccinto on the restart,
but fifth row starter Joey Ancona took third from Faccinto on Lap 16.
Unfortunately, Ancona saw his run in third come to an end for a Lap 18
yellow flag. Sanders again motored ahead on the restart in front of
Bright and Faccinto. With Sanders leading the way, the battle
intensified for second. Faccinto finally made the pass on Lap 26, and
Sanders won ahead of Faccinto, Bright, Kaeding, Jake Andreotti, Kurt
Nelson, Tristan Guardino, Jeremy Chisum, Jason Chisum and Ancona.
Guardino
was the quickest of 28 qualifiers on the Tom Sagmiller prepared
quarter-mile clay oval at 11.173, beating the 11.232 of Sanders and the
11.233 of Faccinto. The eight lap heat race wins went to Eames, Grant
Duinkerken, Nelson and Jerry Bonnema. Guardino won the 12 lap B Main. He
jumped into the lead at the start ahead of Koen Shaw and Jason Chisum.
Nick Ringo moved into third on Lap 2 and gained second on Lap 10.
Unfortunately, Ringo had problems on the last lap as Guardino won ahead
of Shaw, Jason Chisum, Andreotti and Chris Nelson.
Jim
Pettit II won the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event. This was the third
win of the season for Pettit, who is locked in a close battle with
brothers Cody Burke and Austin Burke for the track championship. Cody
leads Austin by four points and the tied Pettit and JC Elrod by 7 in the
track title chase, while Pettit leads the State championship battle.
With
an outside front row starting position, Todd Hermosillo jumped into the
lead at the start ahead of Pettit and Andy Obertello. The race ran
rapidly with no slowdowns during the first 20 laps, but Pettit kept it
close at the front. A Steve Pemberton crash brought out a Lap 20 red
flag as his race came to an end. On the restart, Pettit went motoring
past Hermosillo for the lead, and Obertello and Austin Burke also made
late passes on Hermosillo. Pettit was the happy winner ahead of
Obertello, Austin Burke, Hermosillo, Cody Burke, Fred Lind, Bobby Hogge
IV, Elrod, Eric Berendsen and Pemberton. Pettit and Obertello picked up
the eight lap heat race wins.
Jonathan Hagio
won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. This was his first win.
Max Baggett led the opening lap with State point leader Trevor Clymens
getting the lead a lap later. However, Hagio was able to get the lead on
Lap 3 before a yellow flag waved. Baggett, Kelly Campanile and Ryan
Foss were all out at that point. Clymens took the lead from Hagio on the
restart with Markus Frazier settling into third. Point leader Randy
Miller grabbed third on the eighth lap, and a yellow flag waved a lap
later. Hagio took the lead from Clymens on the restart, and Miller took
second on Lap 13. Clymens surrendered third to Frazier on the 14th lap,
and Miller saw his run near the front end on Lap 18. This put Frazier
into second, but all he could do was chase Hagio across the finish line.
Nicholas Zapatero ended up third ahead of Duane Bieser, Clymens,
Charlie Hunter, Scott Foster, Miller, Orion Messina and Cody Bryan.
Baggett and Hagio won the eight lap heat races.
Roy
Iler won the 15 lap Police N Pursuit Main Event. This was the third win
of the season for Iler, who represents the San Benito County Sheriff's
Office. This was also Special Olympics night for the group as they raise
money for the cause. We didn't get a total amount raised as of press
time.
With a pole position start, Iler jumped
into the lead immediately ahead of point leader Nate Graham, who
represents the Santa Cruz Police Department. The race had no yellow flag
slowdowns. John Hohmann was third for two laps before being passed by
AJ Waltrip of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. Iler won with
Graham not too far behind him in second. Waltrip was a distant third,
followed by Jackie Yeung, Hohmann, Hunter Gather, Eric Perez, Tony Weir,
Pat Sullivan and Fernando Tellez.
Next weekend
is the prestigious Johnny Key Classic. Key Kickoff Night will be
Friday, featuring The Taco Bravo Sprint Cars, Hobby Stocks and South Bay
Dwarf Cars. On Saturday, the Key Classic will be an Elk Grove Ford
Sprint Car Challenge Tour, Presented by Abreu Vineyards, event with the
Hobby Stocks and WMR Midgets running in support. For further
information, go to www.racepmg.com.
Grenert, Haverty, Curr Are winners In Dwarf Car Nationals Friday Night Action At Cottage Grove
Cottage
Grove, Oregon...August 13...Michael "Spanky" Grenert won the 20 lap Pro
Dwarf Car Main Event Friday night at Cottage Grove Speedway. This was
the opening night of the WSDCA Dwarf Car Nationals, hosted by the
Northwest Dwarf Cars. Grenert is the reigning NorCal Dwarf Car champion,
and he entered the weekend in a tie for second with fellow NorCal Star
Ryan Winter, 36 points behind Darren Brown in the Pro division National
points.
With a pole position start, Grenert
led from the outset ahead of Tommy Velasquez III and Southern Oregon
star Josh King. King moved into second on Lap 2 with Winter settling
into third at the same time. Winter was briefly passed by Anthony Pope
on the fifth lap, but he regained third on Lap 7. Unfortunately, Winter
saw his luck run out on Lap 13 as his race ended. Pope was back in third
at that point. Grenert continued to lead the restart with Velasquez
moving past King for second. Grenert managed to hold off the determined
Velasquez for the win. Pope made a last lap pass on King for third with
King settling for fourth ahead of Brandon Shaw, Dylan Shrum, Kalvin
Morton, Vuki Wilson Jr, Josh Foster and Nick Velasquez.
The
Pro division had 27 drivers, and the eight lap heat race wins went to
Grenert, Morton and Tommy Velasquez III. John Foster won the 15 lap B
Main. Dylan Shrum led a lap before Foster took over. Josh Rogers quickly
settled into third and briefly took second from Shrum on Lap 9.
However, Shrum regained the position a lap later. Foster picked up the
win with Shrum and Rogers in close pursuit as Brandon Shaw and Danny
Altom completed the Top 5.
Jack Haverty won the
20 lap Veterans Dwarf Car Main Event. The Veterans division National
standings is currently being led by Delta Dwarf Car point leader Kevin
Miraglio by 72 points over Tony Margot. Haverty is third, 106 points out
of the lead.
While Haverty worked his way
forward from a seventh row starting position, polesitter Rodney Cook
took the early lead ahead of Scott Dahlgren and Miraglio. Miraglio and
Dahlgren battled back and forth for second with Miraglio grabbing the
spot on Lap 5 before making another pass to reclaim the position on Lap
7. On the 11th lap, Miraglio put the moves on Cook to grab the lead, and
Mike Reeder settled into third. No sooner had Reeder taken second from
Cook then he brought out a Lap 15 yellow flag. Miraglio led the restart
with Haverty moving into second ahead of Cook. Haverty slipped past
Miraglio for the lead on Lap 17, and Cook saw his run in third end a lap
later. Haverty won by about half a straightaway over Miraglio, who
barely held off reigning South Bay Dwarf Car champion Mark Biscardi for
third. Ageless veteran Fred Hay finished fourth, followed by Eric
Weisler, Glenn Sciarani, Tony Margot, Dahlgren, Steve Kapaun and Mark
Pollock. The 22 Veteran Dwarf Cars ran three eight lap heat races with
Dan Zuger, Cook and John Chrisman scoring the wins.
Tanner
Curr won the 20 lap Sportsman Dwarf Car Main Event. Sportsman Nationals
point leader Will Dykeman was not there. Dykeman was leading Ellie
Russo and Orey Woods by 12 points coming into the weekend.
Bryson
Smith took the early lead ahead of Teagan Fischer and Colby Bergquist.
Curr moved into third on Lap 3 and gained second when Fischer brought
out a yellow flag on Lap 5. Dave Brune settled into third on the sixth
lap, and Curr made a move around Smith for the lead on Lap 11. Smith
surrendered second to Brune on the 12th lap and lost third to Trevor
Davis on Lap 15. Curr went on to win just ahead of Brune and Davis.
Philip Roland ended up fourth, followed by Smith, Dan Morris, Dan
Varner, Adam Walker, Russo and Fischer. There were 23 Sportsman Dwarf
Cars, and the eight lap heat race wins went to Isaak Geil, Smith and
Curr.
To keep up to date with what's happening at the track, go to www.cottagegrovespeedway.com.
Holmwood, Peterson, Guffie Win At Deming Speedway
Everson,
Washington...August 13....Derek Holmwood won the 25 lap Shots 2 Go
Espresso 1200 Mini Sprint Main Event Friday night at Deming Speedway.
Holmwood continues to lead the championship standings.
Seth
Hespe had the pole and jumped into the early lead ahead of Steven
Hendrickson. Dakota Drake held third for a lap before being overtaken by
Alex Lewis. However, Lewis brought out a yellow flag on Lap 3. Hespe
continued to lead Hendrickson and Drake on the restart with another
yellow flag flying on Lap 5. Halee Bloodgood was out at that point.
Hespe still led Hendrickson and Drake on the restart, but Holmwood had
worked his way into fourth and took third from Drake on Lap 8. A lap
later, Holmwood slipped past Hendrickson for second and began
challenging Hespe. On the 11th lap, Holmwood put the moves on Hespe to
grab the lead as Alex Lewis moved into third. However, Lewis surrendered
that position to Dustin O'Brien on Lap 14. A final yellow flag waved on
Lap 19, but it didn't deter Holmwood. He charged ahead when the green
flag waved and built about a straightaway advantage over Hespe in
victory. Greg Hamilton and Drake both got past O'Brien on the final lap
as O'Brien settled for fifth ahead of Lewis, Jared Gunderson, Tyson
Lemley, Frosty Metcalfe and Hendrickson.
Holmwood
was the quickest of 12 qualifiers on the 1/6 mile clay oval at 10.612,
but Gunderson tied him with an identical lap. Lemley was next at 10.631.
The eight lap heat race wins were recorded by Hespe and Lewis.
Jared
Peterson won the 25 lap Speed Mart Super 600 Main Event. Dakota Drake
and Blaine Granberg shared the front row and moved into the 1-2
positions at the start. Parker Hadlock was an early third, but Peterson
moved by on Lap 10. A close battle developed between the lead trio, and
Peterson was able to move by Granberg for second on Lap 17. A yellow
flag waved moments later as Travis Hart was out of the event. Drake led
Peterson and Hadlock on the restart, but Peterson put the moves on Drake
to get the lead on Lap 19. One final yellow flag waved at that moment
with Colin Mackey retiring from the action. Peterson maintained the lead
over Drake and Hadlock on the restart. Hadlock had his hands full with
Granberg, and Granberg made the pass for third on Lap 24. Peterson won
ahead of Drake, Granberg, Hadlock, Riley Mayer, point leader Dylan
Resch, Jesse Schlotfeldt, Levi Kuntz, Jaden Whitney and Joe Constance.
Resch
set the fast time of 10.553, beating the 10.629 of Peterson as 15
drivers came to compete. Granberg and Mayer won the eight lap heat
races.
Carson Guffie won the 25 lap mytrafficman.net
Restricted 600 Micro Main Event. Guffie and Mallory Fisher shared the
front row and sprinted into the first and second positions when the
green flag waved. Axel Oudman was an early third before surrendering
that position to Corbin Ramsey on Lap 3. There were no changes at the
front after that, and Guffie built nearly a half-lap advantage over
Fisher by the time the race ended. Ramsey was right behind Fisher in
third as Oudman, Destry Miller, point leader Levi Hillier, Peyton Drake,
Riley Kentch, Zoey Tupper and Fairah Lee completed the Top 10.
Hillier
led a field of 19 drivers in qualifying with a lap of 11.127, beating
the 11.270 of Kuntz and the 11.399 of Miller. The eight lap heat race
wins went to Ramsey, Oudman and Fisher. Diane Knutzen won the 10 lap B
Main. She started on the pole and proceeded to lead all the way in
victory. Grace Matier was a race-long second with Dale Orcutt running
third most of the distance. However, Lee made the pass on Orcutt on the
ninth lap to steal third as Knutzen won ahead of Matier, Lee and Orcutt.
Jayden
Medcalf won the 20 lap Clean Crawls Junior Sprint Main Event. Sawyer
Baxter had the pole and led early ahead of Avery Askvig and McKenna
Morgan. Morgan took second from Askvig on Lap 2, and Medcalf moved into
third on the fourth lap. A lap later, Medcalf took second from Morgan
and set his sights on Baxter. Medcalf made what proved to be his winning
pass on Lap 9, while Askvig gained third from Morgan. A Lap 9 yellow
flag waved for Clayton Jalakas. Medcalf led Baxter and Askvig on the
restart, and Askvig moved around Baxter for second on Lap 12. However,
Medcalf built about a half-straightaway advantage over Askvig in
victory. Baxter settled for third ahead of Morgan, point leader Brooklyn
Constance, Jalakas, Dustin Ramsey, Oliver Kairis, Ryan Bright and
Hayden Cook. Constance set the fast time of 13.139, beating the 13.294
of Morgan. The eight lap heat race wins went to Baxter and Bright.
Racing
continues next Friday night with the Shots 2 Go Espresso 1200 Mini
Sprints back in action along with the Speed Mart Super 600s, mytrafficman.net
600 Restricted Micros and Clean Crawls Junior Sprints. The Northwest
Focus Midgets will also be a part of the action. For further
information, go to www.demingspeedway.com.
Winebarger Wins Seventh Round Of Wild West Series
At Sunset Speedway
Banks,
Oregon...August 13...Collen Winebarger won the 40 lap IMCA Modified
Main Event Friday night at Sunset Speedway. This was the third win in
the series for Winebarger, who had to start back in the fifth row on
this occasion. He now has a 10 point lead over Jesse Williamson and a 20
point advantage over Eston Whistler heading into the final show.
Jake
Mayden had the pole and led early ahead of Tyson Blood and Curtis
Towns. Greg Walters moved into third on Lap 3, took second a lap later
and took the lead from Mayden on the fifth lap. Mayden surrendered
second to Blood on Lap 7, but Winebarger made his way into third by the
ninth lap. On Lap 11, Winebarger took second from Blood, and he grabbed
the lead from Walters on the 15th circuit. Walters lost second to Blood
on Lap 18, but Mayden gained second on Lap 25. Two laps later, Blood saw
his race come to an unfortunate end. Winebarger was leading Mayden at
that point, and they finished in that order with Gray Fernando third,
followed by Greg Walters, Craig Cassell, Jerry Schram, Bricen James,
Jesse Williamson, Curtis Towns and Paul Culp.
They
ran two sets of eight lap heat races with the first round wins going to
Winebarger, Mayden and Cassell and the second round wins being earned
by Winebarger, Whistler and Paul Culp. Rather than start all 22 drivers
in the Main Event, they elected to run a 12 car B Main, which Brenton
Schnitzer led all the way for the win. Tim O'Gormin held second until
being passed on Lap 10 by Ray Elwess. O'Gormin settled for third.
Dustin
Comer won the 25 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Comer is the
Cottage Grove Speedway point leader, and heavy attrition found just
three of the 10 starters completing all 25 laps. Comer was chased across
the finish line by Keith Foux and Chris Frisbie. Ryan Peery has been
rather dominant in the series, but he settled for being five laps down
in fourth, followed by Trevor Points, Michael Melton, Matt Sanders,
Skyler Winebarger, Zack Riehl and Jeff Clough. Peery and Comer won the
eight lap heat races.
To keep up to date with what's happening at the track, go to www.sunsetspeedwaypark.com.
Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results August 13
Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo
A Main
Justin Sanders
Mitchell Faccinto
Jayson Bright
Bud Kaeding
Jake Andreotti
Kurt Nelson
Tristan Guardino
Jeremy Chisum
Jason Chisum
Joey Ancona
Rickey Sanders
Grant Duinkerken
Mark Chaves Jr
Chris Nelson
Michael Pombo
Koen Shaw
Connor Danell
J.J. Ringo
Jerry Bonnema
Bradley Dillard
Bryce Eames
Chase Johnson
B Main
Tristan Guardino
Koen Shaw
Jason Chisum
Jake Andreotti
Chris Nelson
Mark Chaves Jr
Richard Fajardo
Josh Chisum
Nick Ringo
Glenn Bryan
Geoffrey Grimm
Billy Chester
IMCA Modifieds
Jim Pettit II
Andy Obertello
Austin Burke
Todd Hermosillo
Cody Burke
Fred Lind
Bobby Hogge IV
JC Elrod
Eric Berendsen
Steve Pemberton
Danny Malfatti
Justin Yaeger
Matthew Hagio DNS
Raymond Keldsen Jr DNS
Tim Yaeger DNS
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Jonathan Hagio
Markus Frazier
Nicolas Zapatero
Duane Bieser
Trevor Clymens
Charlie Hunter
Scott Foster
Randy Miller
Orion Messina
Cody Bryan
Codie Hample
Breanna Troen
Max Baggett
Kelly Campanile
Ryan Foss
Hobby Stocks
Billy Nelson
Dylan Wilson
Sam Kennedy
Joe Gallaher
Ron Bonnema
Bobby Huckaby Jr
Ryan Muller
Tony Oliveira
Donald Hiser
Ken Winland
Bobby Gallaher
Timmy Crews
Steve Remde
Wally Kennedy
Jerry Skelton
Norm Ayers
Tim Ragsdale
Kenny Troen
Rob Gallaher
Bobby Huckaby Sr
Scott Freeman
Mitch Lettunich DNS
Police-n-Pursuit
Roy Iler
Nate Graham
A.J. Waltrip
Jackie Yeung
John Hohmann
Hunter Gaither
Eric Perez
Tony Weir
Pat Sullivan
Fernando Tellez
Cottage Grove Speedway Unofficial Race Results August 13
Sportsman Division
Tanner Curr
Dave Brune
Trevor Davis
Philip Rowland
Bryson Smith
Dan Morris
Dan Varner
Adam Walker
Ellie Russo
Teagan Fischer
Cody Shrum
Isaak Geil
Adam Chaffee
Colby Bergquist
Ashleigh Strain
Mack Aceves
Dewey Myers
molly williams
Pat Petrie
Jesse Cook
Randy Houston
Trevor Coats
John Williams DNS
Pro Division
A Main
Mike Grenert
Tommy Velasquez III
Anthony Pope
Josh King
Brandon Shaw
Dylan Shrum
Kalvin Morton
Vuki Wilson Jr
John Foster
Nick Velasquez
Justin DeMars
Jake Van Ortwick
Shawn Whitney
Josh Rodgers
Chance Russell
Chris Kress
Erin Morgenstern
Casey Warren
Ryan Winter
Danny Wagner
Danny Altom
Ryan Smith
Darren Brown
Chris Wright
B Main
John Foster
Dylan Shrum
Josh Rodgers
Brandon Shaw
Danny Altom
Jake Van Ortwick
Erin Morgenstern
Chris Wright
Casey Warren
Kobe Kerns
James Brinster
Dennis Liebig
Veteran Division
Jack Haverty
Kevin Miraglio
Mark Biscardi
Fred Hay
Eric Weisler
Glenn Sciarani
Tony Margott
Scott Dahlgren
Steve Kapaun
Mark Pollock
Gary Wegener
Mike Reeder
Jason Robustelli
Rodney Cook
Richie Abbott
Dan Zuger
John Chrisman
Austin Quilty
Eddie Claessen
Brian Quilty
Dan Geil
Tommy Velasquez II
Sunset Speedway Unofficial Race Results August 13
Wild West Modified Shootout Round 7
IMCA Modifieds
Main Event
Collen Winebarger
Jake Mayden
Grey Ferrando
Greg Walters
Craig Cassell
Jerry Schram
Bricen James
Jesse Williamson
Curtis Towns
Paul Culp
Ray Elwess
Jeffrey Hudson
Brenton Schnitzer
Tom O'Gormin
Aaron Elwess
Ian Whistler
Tyson Blood
Eston Whistler
Jared Domingos
Cody Jones
B Main
Brenton Schnitzer
Ray Elwess
Tom O'Gormin
Cody Jones
Devon Reed
IMCA Sport Modfieds
Dustin Comer
Keith Foux
Chris Frisbie
Ryan Peery
Trevor Points
Michael Melton
Matt Sanders
Skyler Winebarger
Zach Riehl
Jeff Clough
Deming Speedway Unofficial Race Results August 13
1200 Mini Sprints
Results are not official
1 #17 Derek Holmwood
2 #92 Seth Hespe
3 #30 Greg Hamilton
4 #10D Dakota Drake
5 #71 Dustin O'Brien
6 #5 Alex Lewis
7 #6 Jared Gundersen
8 #10J Tyson Lemley
9 #10S Frosty Metcalf
10 #13 Steven Hendrickson
11 #6H Haylee Bloodgood
Super 600 Micro Sprints
Results are not official
1 #91 Jared Peterson
2 #22D Dakota Drake
3 #28B Blaine Granberg
4 #11h Parker Hadlock
5 #22R Ryley Mayer
6 #23R Dylan Resch
7 #22 Jesse Schlotfeldt
8 #29 Levi Kuntz
9 #88w Jayden Whitney
10 #54 Joe Constance
11 #21Z Keira Zylstra
12 #23x Xan Miller
13 #11c Colin Mackey
14 #15H Travis Hart
15 #78 Haley Constance
Restricted 600
A Main
Results are not official
1 #14c Carson Guffie
2 #59M Mallory Fisher
3 #21c Corbin Ramsey
4 #7o Axel Oudman
5 #3D Destry Miller
6 #24L Levi Hillier
7 #22 Peyton Drake
8 #40J Rylee Kentch
9 #48z Zoey Tupper
10 #66 Fairah Lee
11 #91 Grace Matier
12 #5A Cejay Adkins
13 #4D Diane Knutzen
14 #29 Levi Kuntz
15 #15H Hunter Cook
16 #71 Kane VanSickle
B Main
Results are not official
1 #4D Diane Knutzen
2 #91 Grace Matier
3 #66 Fairah Lee
4 #38B Dale Orcutt
5 #15H Hunter Cook
6 #12 Samantha Fraser
7 #115 Avery Askvig
Jr Sprints
Results are not official
1 #23 Jayce Medcalf
2 #3 Avery Askvig
3 #88 Sawyer Baxter
4 #68 McKenna Morgan
5 #78 Brooklyn Constance
6 #21c Clayton Jalakas
7 #20d Dustin Ramsey
8 #67 Oliver Kairis
9 #54 Ryan Bright
10 #17 Hayden Cook
Winnemucca Regional Raceway Unofficial Race Results August 13
IMCA Modified
Cole Jones
Shawn Natenstedt
Alec Childs
Jeff Olschowka
Shawn LaRocque
Dave Sciarroni
Kaity Sample
Dave Carrera
Randy Artz
Dwarf Car
Chris christiano
Gene Winters
Destiny Villanueva
Shay Harrell
Trista Nunn
WIlliam Christiano
Courtney Duncan
Robert Duncan
Hobby Stock
KC Kubichek
Yancy Shupe
Craig Maestretti
Ryan Greenberg
Marie Curtis
IMCA Stock Car
Randy Artz
KC Kubichek
Marie Curtis
Alyssa Jones
IMCA Sport Compact
Bob Gardner
Josie Kennedy
Johnathan Mearse
Alessio Burnett
600cc Winged Micros
Steven Schwartzkopf
Martin Hammond
Rick Zeiter
Plaza Park Unofficial Race Results August 13
600cc Winged Micros
Results are not official
1 #10 Dominic Gorden
2 #24 Jade Avedisian
3 #21 Raio Salmon
4 #15 Cody Key
5 #5 Mattix Salmon
6 #12 Cody Christensen
7 #121 Caeden Steele
8 #02 Ashton Torgerson
9 #32A Colton Huelsmann
10 #15C Colby Dubato
11 #67 JJ Loss
12 #21G Gauge Garcia
13 #24S Izaak Sharp
14 #9 Lachlan Caunt
15 #1NZ Stefan Sidur
600cc Non Winged Micros
Results are not official
1 #88 Austin Torgerson
2 #8G TJ Smith
3 #02 Ashton Torgerson
4 #66X Broedy Graham
5 #10 Dominic Gorden
6 #4G Brian Gilbert
7 #12B Dawson Faria
8 #29 Austin Stone
9 #85 Robbie Lewis
10 #2C Cade Lewis
11 #10M Zach McLoughry
12 #67 JJ Loss
13 #40B Dylan Beal
14 #15D Dylan Schaadt
15 #1T Taylor Whitefield
Restricted Winged Micros
Results are not official
1 #55 Jett Barnes
2 #2 Taylor Mayhew
3 #21 Cash Lovenburg
4 #7 Quinn Thurein
5 #63 Colton Key
6 #13 Elijah Gile
7 #4 Teagen Moles
8 #14G Madelyn Gjerness
9 #7J JW Henderson
10 #5 Axton Romero
11 #84 Deegan Irey
12 #18H Hailey Boudakian
13 #3C Connor Jacobs
14 #14 Drake Carter
15 #7K Kennzzie Brown
Stock Super 600s
Results are not official
1 #5 Mattix Salmon
2 #24S Izaak Sharp
3 #17 Caden Stoll
4 #44M Carson Myrick
5 #51 Dalton Parreira
6 #247 JW Henderson
7 #79 Barrett Polhemus
8 #61 Wyatt Bookout
9 #10S Brian Streuter
10 #9B Casey Bauman
11 #22E Evan Dixon
12 #51G Grant Schaadt
13 #13 Elijah Gile
Junior Sprints
Results are not official
1 #95 Nathan Ward
2 #25R Brody Rubio
3 #98 Hayden Stepps
4 #13V Braxon Vasconcellos
5 #66B Blayden Graham
6 #17B Brycen Roush
7 #5 Jace Thurein
8 #61 Blake Bookout
9 #3LJ Kasey Leal
10 #14 Quentin Hagoppian
Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo
A Main
Justin Sanders
Mitchell Faccinto
Jayson Bright
Bud Kaeding
Jake Andreotti
Kurt Nelson
Tristan Guardino
Jeremy Chisum
Jason Chisum
Joey Ancona
Rickey Sanders
Grant Duinkerken
Mark Chaves Jr
Chris Nelson
Michael Pombo
Koen Shaw
Connor Danell
J.J. Ringo
Jerry Bonnema
Bradley Dillard
Bryce Eames
Chase Johnson
B Main
Tristan Guardino
Koen Shaw
Jason Chisum
Jake Andreotti
Chris Nelson
Mark Chaves Jr
Richard Fajardo
Josh Chisum
Nick Ringo
Glenn Bryan
Geoffrey Grimm
Billy Chester
IMCA Modifieds
Jim Pettit II
Andy Obertello
Austin Burke
Todd Hermosillo
Cody Burke
Fred Lind
Bobby Hogge IV
JC Elrod
Eric Berendsen
Steve Pemberton
Danny Malfatti
Justin Yaeger
Matthew Hagio DNS
Raymond Keldsen Jr DNS
Tim Yaeger DNS
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Jonathan Hagio
Markus Frazier
Nicolas Zapatero
Duane Bieser
Trevor Clymens
Charlie Hunter
Scott Foster
Randy Miller
Orion Messina
Cody Bryan
Codie Hample
Breanna Troen
Max Baggett
Kelly Campanile
Ryan Foss
Hobby Stocks
Billy Nelson
Dylan Wilson
Sam Kennedy
Joe Gallaher
Ron Bonnema
Bobby Huckaby Jr
Ryan Muller
Tony Oliveira
Donald Hiser
Ken Winland
Bobby Gallaher
Timmy Crews
Steve Remde
Wally Kennedy
Jerry Skelton
Norm Ayers
Tim Ragsdale
Kenny Troen
Rob Gallaher
Bobby Huckaby Sr
Scott Freeman
Mitch Lettunich DNS
Police-n-Pursuit
Roy Iler
Nate Graham
A.J. Waltrip
Jackie Yeung
John Hohmann
Hunter Gaither
Eric Perez
Tony Weir
Pat Sullivan
Fernando Tellez
Cottage Grove Speedway Unofficial Race Results August 13
Sportsman Division
Tanner Curr
Dave Brune
Trevor Davis
Philip Rowland
Bryson Smith
Dan Morris
Dan Varner
Adam Walker
Ellie Russo
Teagan Fischer
Cody Shrum
Isaak Geil
Adam Chaffee
Colby Bergquist
Ashleigh Strain
Mack Aceves
Dewey Myers
molly williams
Pat Petrie
Jesse Cook
Randy Houston
Trevor Coats
John Williams DNS
Pro Division
A Main
Mike Grenert
Tommy Velasquez III
Anthony Pope
Josh King
Brandon Shaw
Dylan Shrum
Kalvin Morton
Vuki Wilson Jr
John Foster
Nick Velasquez
Justin DeMars
Jake Van Ortwick
Shawn Whitney
Josh Rodgers
Chance Russell
Chris Kress
Erin Morgenstern
Casey Warren
Ryan Winter
Danny Wagner
Danny Altom
Ryan Smith
Darren Brown
Chris Wright
B Main
John Foster
Dylan Shrum
Josh Rodgers
Brandon Shaw
Danny Altom
Jake Van Ortwick
Erin Morgenstern
Chris Wright
Casey Warren
Kobe Kerns
James Brinster
Dennis Liebig
Veteran Division
Jack Haverty
Kevin Miraglio
Mark Biscardi
Fred Hay
Eric Weisler
Glenn Sciarani
Tony Margott
Scott Dahlgren
Steve Kapaun
Mark Pollock
Gary Wegener
Mike Reeder
Jason Robustelli
Rodney Cook
Richie Abbott
Dan Zuger
John Chrisman
Austin Quilty
Eddie Claessen
Brian Quilty
Dan Geil
Tommy Velasquez II
Sunset Speedway Unofficial Race Results August 13
Wild West Modified Shootout Round 7
IMCA Modifieds
Main Event
Collen Winebarger
Jake Mayden
Grey Ferrando
Greg Walters
Craig Cassell
Jerry Schram
Bricen James
Jesse Williamson
Curtis Towns
Paul Culp
Ray Elwess
Jeffrey Hudson
Brenton Schnitzer
Tom O'Gormin
Aaron Elwess
Ian Whistler
Tyson Blood
Eston Whistler
Jared Domingos
Cody Jones
B Main
Brenton Schnitzer
Ray Elwess
Tom O'Gormin
Cody Jones
Devon Reed
IMCA Sport Modfieds
Dustin Comer
Keith Foux
Chris Frisbie
Ryan Peery
Trevor Points
Michael Melton
Matt Sanders
Skyler Winebarger
Zach Riehl
Jeff Clough
Deming Speedway Unofficial Race Results August 13
1200 Mini Sprints
Results are not official
1 #17 Derek Holmwood
2 #92 Seth Hespe
3 #30 Greg Hamilton
4 #10D Dakota Drake
5 #71 Dustin O'Brien
6 #5 Alex Lewis
7 #6 Jared Gundersen
8 #10J Tyson Lemley
9 #10S Frosty Metcalf
10 #13 Steven Hendrickson
11 #6H Haylee Bloodgood
Super 600 Micro Sprints
Results are not official
1 #91 Jared Peterson
2 #22D Dakota Drake
3 #28B Blaine Granberg
4 #11h Parker Hadlock
5 #22R Ryley Mayer
6 #23R Dylan Resch
7 #22 Jesse Schlotfeldt
8 #29 Levi Kuntz
9 #88w Jayden Whitney
10 #54 Joe Constance
11 #21Z Keira Zylstra
12 #23x Xan Miller
13 #11c Colin Mackey
14 #15H Travis Hart
15 #78 Haley Constance
Restricted 600
A Main
Results are not official
1 #14c Carson Guffie
2 #59M Mallory Fisher
3 #21c Corbin Ramsey
4 #7o Axel Oudman
5 #3D Destry Miller
6 #24L Levi Hillier
7 #22 Peyton Drake
8 #40J Rylee Kentch
9 #48z Zoey Tupper
10 #66 Fairah Lee
11 #91 Grace Matier
12 #5A Cejay Adkins
13 #4D Diane Knutzen
14 #29 Levi Kuntz
15 #15H Hunter Cook
16 #71 Kane VanSickle
B Main
Results are not official
1 #4D Diane Knutzen
2 #91 Grace Matier
3 #66 Fairah Lee
4 #38B Dale Orcutt
5 #15H Hunter Cook
6 #12 Samantha Fraser
7 #115 Avery Askvig
Jr Sprints
Results are not official
1 #23 Jayce Medcalf
2 #3 Avery Askvig
3 #88 Sawyer Baxter
4 #68 McKenna Morgan
5 #78 Brooklyn Constance
6 #21c Clayton Jalakas
7 #20d Dustin Ramsey
8 #67 Oliver Kairis
9 #54 Ryan Bright
10 #17 Hayden Cook
Winnemucca Regional Raceway Unofficial Race Results August 13
IMCA Modified
Cole Jones
Shawn Natenstedt
Alec Childs
Jeff Olschowka
Shawn LaRocque
Dave Sciarroni
Kaity Sample
Dave Carrera
Randy Artz
Dwarf Car
Chris christiano
Gene Winters
Destiny Villanueva
Shay Harrell
Trista Nunn
WIlliam Christiano
Courtney Duncan
Robert Duncan
Hobby Stock
KC Kubichek
Yancy Shupe
Craig Maestretti
Ryan Greenberg
Marie Curtis
IMCA Stock Car
Randy Artz
KC Kubichek
Marie Curtis
Alyssa Jones
IMCA Sport Compact
Bob Gardner
Josie Kennedy
Johnathan Mearse
Alessio Burnett
600cc Winged Micros
Steven Schwartzkopf
Martin Hammond
Rick Zeiter
Plaza Park Unofficial Race Results August 13
600cc Winged Micros
Results are not official
1 #10 Dominic Gorden
2 #24 Jade Avedisian
3 #21 Raio Salmon
4 #15 Cody Key
5 #5 Mattix Salmon
6 #12 Cody Christensen
7 #121 Caeden Steele
8 #02 Ashton Torgerson
9 #32A Colton Huelsmann
10 #15C Colby Dubato
11 #67 JJ Loss
12 #21G Gauge Garcia
13 #24S Izaak Sharp
14 #9 Lachlan Caunt
15 #1NZ Stefan Sidur
600cc Non Winged Micros
Results are not official
1 #88 Austin Torgerson
2 #8G TJ Smith
3 #02 Ashton Torgerson
4 #66X Broedy Graham
5 #10 Dominic Gorden
6 #4G Brian Gilbert
7 #12B Dawson Faria
8 #29 Austin Stone
9 #85 Robbie Lewis
10 #2C Cade Lewis
11 #10M Zach McLoughry
12 #67 JJ Loss
13 #40B Dylan Beal
14 #15D Dylan Schaadt
15 #1T Taylor Whitefield
Restricted Winged Micros
Results are not official
1 #55 Jett Barnes
2 #2 Taylor Mayhew
3 #21 Cash Lovenburg
4 #7 Quinn Thurein
5 #63 Colton Key
6 #13 Elijah Gile
7 #4 Teagen Moles
8 #14G Madelyn Gjerness
9 #7J JW Henderson
10 #5 Axton Romero
11 #84 Deegan Irey
12 #18H Hailey Boudakian
13 #3C Connor Jacobs
14 #14 Drake Carter
15 #7K Kennzzie Brown
Stock Super 600s
Results are not official
1 #5 Mattix Salmon
2 #24S Izaak Sharp
3 #17 Caden Stoll
4 #44M Carson Myrick
5 #51 Dalton Parreira
6 #247 JW Henderson
7 #79 Barrett Polhemus
8 #61 Wyatt Bookout
9 #10S Brian Streuter
10 #9B Casey Bauman
11 #22E Evan Dixon
12 #51G Grant Schaadt
13 #13 Elijah Gile
Junior Sprints
Results are not official
1 #95 Nathan Ward
2 #25R Brody Rubio
3 #98 Hayden Stepps
4 #13V Braxon Vasconcellos
5 #66B Blayden Graham
6 #17B Brycen Roush
7 #5 Jace Thurein
8 #61 Blake Bookout
9 #3LJ Kasey Leal
10 #14 Quentin Hagoppian
The Editor's Viewpoint
Idea
for a book. The modern Vintage Hardtop movement was established in
California in 2002, just three years after the modern Vintage Valley
Sportsman effort got restarted. There's quite a bit of history in there,
including a little bit of prehistory about what was going on in Oregon
that was brought to California. In the back of my mind, I am considering
working on a book covering this while I work on editing the follow-up
to Just a kid From The Grandstands, My Apologies: A Written Retraction.
With the information, pictures and results that are out there, I think
lovers of the Hardtops might get a kick out of something like this, and
I'd see to it that it was available at a reasonable price.
I
have a person in the Hardtop movement who clues me in on what's going
on and let's me know what happened at the track. I appreciate his help.
I'm withholding the name right now, but he knows who he is. As I was
wrapping up a very late blog post covering last Saturday's action, he
hit me with the message. What he told me was that Antioch Speedway had a
Hardtop race booked, but he didn't think there would be many cars. I
already knew that to be the case. Some of the California Hardtop guys
will be in Placerville as part of Legends Night, and the Merced
Sportsman drivers will be in Merced to help justify their continuation
on the schedule at the track in 2022.
I don't
feel I need to restate this comment, but it's obvious. I recently heard
that one person who's a leader in the Bay Area Hardtop movement was
worried about what might happen at Antioch Speedway if they had another
promoter, thinking that the current one likes them. That's not a recipe
for keeping your division on the roster. A good recipe is being a leader
who inspires the racers to come to any date you have booked and keeps
the racers and the promoters at the tracks updated on what's going on. A
real leader of the group would know who was coming and let the promoter
know so that they'd be ready for that. While there are 8-12 Hardtops
that I consider Bay Area guys, if they have more than three or four on
Saturday I will be surprised.
There's a lot of
people talking about the Santa Maria Raceway situation. People are
rightfully worried that they may have lost the race track for good. I'm
still very frustrated because this situation didn't have to go this way.
I blame the promoters for thinking they had a concert venue. Race
tracks are built for race cars, not concerts. The only music you should
be hearing at the track is what gets piped in on the PA for parade lap
music or just songs during breaks in the action. The place was
grandfathered in as a race track, despite the fact that houses are
popping up all around it. When they decided they wanted to pursue having
concerts, they opened themselves up for people to bitch and complain
about the very existence of the place.
There
might be tracks that can get away with having concerts, but when you're
in the middle of a neighborhood, I don't think it's a good move. After
the whole debacle that was San Jose Speedway and the effort to put an
amphitheater on the Santa Clara Fairgrounds location, I've had my fill
of concert venues. There are plenty of places anywhere in the state that
have concerts on different scales. From intimate settings to bigger
arenas. I know some people worry about not being able to make money to
keep the gates open, so they think doing things like concerts is a good
idea. Nope. Promote a good race track and the people will support you.
I
know the promoters are trying to solicit some pity, but the only reason
Santa Maria Raceway isn't running this week is because the promoters
pulled the plug. They would have had a good Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Car
race this weekend, and we're talking two dozen or more cars. The
grandstands would have been packed to watch this race, and money surely
would have been made. Cry me a river about your financial problems, but I
give less than a damn about it. Again, I know I might annoy some
people, but I'm at the point right now where I don't care. There are
enough problems going on in this world, and I don't like it when race
tracks bring on problems themselves that threaten their own existence.
Santa Maria Raceway is a great example of that. By the way, they can
take the Stadium 805 name and shove it directly where the sun don't
shine.
I'm sort of wondering about my Arena
Racing idea and the smaller footprint race track. What could somebody
get away with in cramped confines? As I've said, I could forsee a
scenario at the Stockton Fairgrounds where they build low housing and
yet find a way to keep Delta Speedway on the property. For about 35
years now, they've worked with a very limited amount of space with what
they've done. It's been a venue that's hosted different classes,
including Mini Stocks, Modified Mini Stocks, Mini Sprints and Dwarf
Cars. These days, it's accepted as a Micro Sprint and Outlaw Kart track,
and that's all it needs to be.
They don't take
up a lot of space at Stockton Delta Speedway, and they don't
necessarily need to. The only issues you have are the racers who feel
the need to bring massive trailers to the track with their vehicles.
When you go back to the 1990s, a lot of people were bringing cars on a
simple trailer or even on the back of a truck. I've never understood
racers who don't travel much feeling the need to have a big enclosed
trailer to go to their local track. It seems wasteful to me. With all of
the big tow vehicles, that's where you get to the issue where you need
more space to park the vehicles. However, given the scale of what's run
at this track compared to what they run at Stockton 99 Speedway or the
Stockton Dirt Track, you still don't need a lot of space to operate
Delta Speedway. I really don't want to see that track close.
Ever
since I saw a Mini Stock Figure 8 in a rodeo arena sized track, the
light bulb started going off over my head. This is actually something
that happens at several little rodeo arena venues across the country.
The Alameda County Fair is the one people might know in California,
though they've done stuff at the Salinas Rodeo Grounds and the other
fair further south of them with Mini Stocks on a little oval track.
You're not talking about a big venue here. Granted, there are some
arenas that are small enough that you might not want to do something,
but there are many fairgrounds in the state that have arenas that could
host something like this.
My opinion on this
matter evolves, and sometimes when I try to explain it in a column like
this, I feel like I'm falling short. I'm looking at ways to continue the
sport of auto racing and be community friendly. If you have a little
arena fairgrounds track, as was just demonstrated at the Grass Valley
Fairgrounds, you can even run Outlaw Karts. They just had a division for
kids deliver 24 cars for the special Fair Race. When you're talking
about having a track in a neighborhood, being kid and family friendly
goes a long ways towards getting people to give you the go ahead.
There's a track in Rio Linda that has been threatened at various times,
and yet it still continues to be a Kart venue. Jeff Gordon even started
his career there.
Part of my idea is how much
property would you need to build something from the ground up? What all
do you need to make it go? I'm looking at seating capacity in the
800-1,000 range. Do you build a permanent concession stand or bring in a
food truck? Do you build bathrooms or get porta potties with the
portable water thing that some of these deals have now? Fencing is
needed. K rails. Lighting of some sort. How much would you need to put
up a little arena venue? How much space would it require? What are the
bare essentials to get you started, knowing you'll be adding more in the
future?
This is a two-part thought process,
and what I'm talking about here is actually building a new track.
Believe it or not, I've found a little bit of information about a track
that's not far from Contra Costa County that has had Sprint Cars on it.
We're talking private property and special event gatherings. You have to
be familiar with the county codes and what's permitted and what isn't.
If you're doing a private gathering, there are certain rules you have to
go by. If you're trying to open an event for the public, there are
other things to deal with. You also have to deal with zoning issues and
what the property is actually allocated for. Somebody has to come in and
do their homework.
What I'm talking about
could actually be a temporary track that's put up and taken down one or
more times a year. At the Alameda County Fair, there is no little arena
race track. The five years that they've done this have seen them put the
track in just for the fair and then make it go away. The Mini Stocks
actually share the venue with Monster Trucks, the Destruction Derby and
that sort of thing. I envision arena racing that would be about Mini
Stocks and a Figure 8. Maybe an oval would be included and a Mini Stock
Derby to end the night. If you're talking temporary but open to the
public, you have to go to the politicians to see if your event would be
approved, given your ability to find a location to host said event.
You
might be somebody with quite a bit of property and the desire to do
something of this nature. That could end up being at track that you
build to host multiple events. I can see some people rolling their eyes
at the notion of a rodeo arena sized track with Mini Stocks that runs a
Figure 8 and maybe an oval. They're looking at it through their Sprint
Car fan or IMCA Modified fan glasses, and that's fine. What I'm looking
at is something that the weekend warrior racer could even get into.
Given the size of the venue, you don't need a division with 30 cars to
have the perception of a full show. If you can only start six cars in
the race, 12 cars showing up is a full program for the class.
These
days, people have so many different things distracting them and
demanding their time that they don't have as much time as the old racer
did for maintaining a race car. The Mini Stock or the basic Hornet Mini
Stock is the cheapest to maintain. Once you have the car, all you have
to do is not destroy it by punishing it too hard. You do your basic
maintenance and could park it alongside your garage with a tarp over it
until it's needed next time. The weekend warrior, somebody who has a
life but will go racing when given the opportunity. I think there's a
lot of potential for rodeo arena racing, and that's something I'd be
keen on exploring.
When they made the decision
back in 2015 to add a arena Figure 8 to the Alameda County Fair
Destruction Derby, the promoter needed drivers. They actually gave these
guys a pretty nice financial incentive to come. Everybody got an equal
amount of pay, plus they raced for trophies. They didn't have people in
Alameda County building cars. What ended up happening is they caught the
attention of some people down in Porterville, and it became an annual
trip for them to go to the Alameda County Fair. They loved it, and you
could tell by the crowd reaction that they loved it too. The arena guys
even created their own Facebook page talking about doing more of these
type of events.
I think they had their entrance
paid and were given something like $350 to show up, and I'm not so sure
they're going to get that every time. They'll get something, but I
don't know what that would be. I know there was some talk back in 2015
and 2016 about a rodeo arena Figure 8 tour that would complement Monster
Truck and Destruction Derby events. When you look at some of the places
that don't have actual race tracks but have arena availability, they
could have easily created a tour of 6-8 races at various fairs during
the year, and I think it would have been popular. However, something
like this needs a promoter stepping up to organize it, and there was
nobody willing to do that.
As I get older, I'm
more enamored with the kind of good old boy local track deal that's not
about money. The track I am fascinated by is the 1/5 mile oval that
might run Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Dwarf Cars, Micro Sprints and that
sort of thing. There are plenty of venues for the bigger stuff, but that
doesn't mean you couldn't have big shows for the smaller stuff. There
are actually quite a few people out there who have built Mini Stocks,
because it's what they can afford. Some of these people will travel
great distances with their cars.
One idea I've
contemplated is starting with the arena, but building it within the
confines of what could become a 1/5 mile dirt oval with limited pit
space around it. Something like what they have out at Newman with Hills
Ferry Raceway comes to mind. Start with the arena oval and 8 and doing
things like that. One of the cool things about having a place that seats
800-1,000 people is that if you got 400 or 500 people showing up, it
looks like a big happening.
It's something
different and intimate, but you can do some things that will keep people
wanting to come back. Even if it didn't become the 1/5 mile dirt track,
I could see running an event that had 8-12 shows per year for Mini
Stock stuff with other things available, such as Motorcycle racing or
Outlaw Karts.
The other thing to look at is
the fact that there are some arenas out there that could host this very
easily at fairgrounds locations. There are two not far from where I
lived when I was in California. One I'm going to keep to myself right
now as maybe in the back of my mind I'm thinking that I could help make
something happen in the future. So many of the building blocks are
already there that it's ridiculous that somebody hasn't given it a shot.
Another one is in Vallejo at the old fairgrounds. You know Vallejo had
quite a racing history.
It was pretty cool to
go to the Historical Aerials website and see the track they called the
China Barn track, and also there's the Vallejo Speedway that everybody
was familiar with. Houses cover the entire deal now. Before the Vallejo
Fairgrounds went into development phase, Steve Hazelton built a little
Micro Sprint and Kart track. This was I believe where they were running
Motorcycles at one time. They already had grandstands in the area, so
some of the building blocks were there. Neighbors complained a little
bit, so Steve had to build another track elsewhere at the fairgrounds.
He even built it a little bit bigger, but that came to an end as well.
Vallejo
is going to the redevelop some of the fairgrounds property. They're
talking stores, which frustrates me to no end. As somebody who walked a
lot more than I do these days. God, I miss walking as much as I used to.
I would walk by storefronts that had half of the buildings vacant. And
yet, you would see where they were building new storefronts. Why don't
you focus on filling those empty spaces before building a new complex? I
get that the fairgrounds is close to the freeway and an attractive
prospect, but it still frustrates me that that's part of the
redevelopment plan for the Vallejo Fairgrounds.
The
other thing that makes me sad is they had a nice grandstand there for
the mile long horse track. Obviously, horse racing had come and went,
but I think they could have allotted enough space to build a nice little
quarter-mile track on the property and use other areas for
redevelopment. Alas, they went the way they did, but the little arena
that Hazleton started with is still there. They have nice bleachers that
are handicap accessible. I think you might have to bring in food
trailers and maybe even porta potties, but you have lighting there and
the basics to do an arena race of some sort. Would the fairgrounds
entertain racing at this point?
The big issue
you're going to have is people complaining about potential noise. The
thing is, these same Hornet Mini Stock cars are similar to the cars
being driven on the freeway, which isn't far from the track. You'd only
be dealing with eight or so races a year, maybe a few Derbies. Maybe
you'd have a bike race, but they could do something with this venue. The
bottom line is there are quite a few of these types of places, and a
creative person could do all kinds of things within the small confines.
Obviously, horse people aren't going to be in favor of it, but some
arenas are barely being used at all. It all depends on where you look.
There
are actually some fairgrounds right now that probably could use a race
track. They have the seating capacity, and I doubt they're making a lot
of money with what they have. There are a half-dozen or so that come to
mind, but I've always been fascinated with the fairgrounds in Mariposa.
They have the big Destruction Derby out there, but they've actually got
the space enough to build a proper race track. Back in the 1950s, they
actually raced Hardtops there. In more recent decades, they've had Micro
Sprints and that sort of thing. I think a track could work there. At
the very least, I think there are some arena racing possibilities. I've
talked to a racer I respect in the area who thinks it's too small or did
when I asked him a decade or so ago, but I still think the potential is
there.
In any case, the arena racing concept
is something I've held on to and find very inspiring. Occasionally, I'll
take a look at what's out there. What venues could be used for such a
thing and what's being promoted across the country. I don't look at
something like this as a replacement for the type of racing people are
already enjoying. I look at this as something that can be done as its
own entity. I'm sure it would get a decent enough following. Heck, if
you created an arena racing venue some place close to a bigger track,
you might find that some of the people who support the bigger track will
come play at your venue if you're booking it on a different night. This
is sort of what used to happen at Delta Speedway in the 90s with
Stockton 99 Speedway racers who would come play in Mini Sprints or Mini
Stocks.
As I thought might be the case, the
fact that Patrick Weger was able to put the Outlaw Kart program together
at the Grass Valley Fairgrounds caused people to talk about getting
Ernie Purssell Memorial Speedway back again. You have to remember that
they had dirt track racing in that location for decades, and it only
came to an end in 1995 because the track was creating a dust problem and
the promoter didn't seem keen on dealing with the concerns when they
were being addressed to him in a respectful manner.
At
about the time that I decided to come back into racing prior to the
2015 season, I noticed the Bring Back Grass Valley Racing page on
Facebook. People there loved their track, which had a mixture of open
wheel and stock car stuff. When I dug into that Facebook page, what I
discovered was these guys weren't very organized in what they were
doing. They didn't have a clear mission statement on what they were
going to do to bring racing back. In fact, it seemed to me that the
Facebook page creator was keen on creating a board and that sort of
stuff, not so much on getting answers to the important questions. What
is it going to take to bring racing back?
It
was a lady not associated with the group who had a conversation with the
Fair Manager. What I gleaned from what she posted was they were
receptive to bringing racing back, but they had concerns that needed to
be addressed. I know they have horsing events there, but it doesn't take
up the fairgrounds for the entire year. What I think was revealed was
that the fairgrounds would entertain bringing racing back to that track,
but somebody would have to make the right proposal. They would have to
come in and spend the money and I'm guessing be friendly to the horsing
events that might need to use the facility once or twice a year.
The
Bring Back Grass Valley Racing effort may have fizzled out, but Dwarf
Car racer Patrick Weger wanted to bring some sort of racing to town.
This is why he created Vintage Duels, and he was looking not to infringe
on the footprint that was already there. They've built a little bit at
the old race track location. There's a cement walkway and grandstands
where the back straightaway would be. What he proposed to do was go in
there and build a little oval track within the confines of the rodeo
arena, and he wanted to run one-on-one Dwarf Car races. Personally, I
think he could have gotten away with four cars on the size of the track
that he was talking about, but I digress.
Patrick
made such an impressive pitch that he got a unanimous yes vote from the
people on the Fair Board. They only wanted to see that he could put the
track in and take it out and leave it where he got it. This is not
unlike what Mike McCann used to do with the Roseburg Indoor Kart
program. He used to have to take the track out after each event, and
they would see it the way it was before he put the track in. Patrick
pulled that off during the fair in 2019 and successfully held his
Vintage Duels event with some 14 Dwarf Cars and a pretty good crowd on
hand. He even got media coverage for it.
Obviously,
he had critics even then who didn't think he was bringing "real racing"
back to Grass Valley. I get it. If you were a fan who watched Sprint
Cars run on the red clay back in the 1990s, this doesn't compare.
However, Patrick viewed this as the way to get racing back, and who can
fault him for the effort. He held the event in 2019 and just had an
Outlaw Kart event during the County Fair last week. He intends to have a
Vintage Duels Dwarf Car event again in October. As the NorCal Dwarf Car
group seems to be on board with him, I think he'll get the supporters
once again. He hinted at making the track just a little bit bigger for
them for the second go-round, so we'll see what happens.
At
the end of the day, I think Patrick really showed that they were
interested in having racing back at this venue again. It's not that you
can come in there and get everything you want. There would probably be
compromises. There would be certain weekends that you couldn't have
racing and there's the horse people to make happy. However, I would say
somewhere in the area of 8-14 events would be doable, and it would be
possible on the old track again. However, this is just me offering an
opinion on the subject. Somebody has to make the pitch and have the ways
and means to follow through.
You're not going
to hear me bad mouth Patrick for doing what he's doing. He's doing
something, and something is better than nothing. I think he would like
to do things bigger. Maybe he doesn't have all of the resources needed
to make that happen, or maybe he's afraid of being told no and losing
what he has at the moment. I'm not in his head, and I haven't had a
sufficient enough conversation with him to know what he's thinking. He
downplays the idea that he'll be the guy to bring the sort of racing
people want to see back there again, but I also think he could be saying
that for political reasons.
To follow through
on the comment I made above about certain fairgrounds possibly being
willing to entertain racing, you have to understand that a few years ago
the fairgrounds lost some revenue that they were getting from the
state. This is another reason why some fairgrounds might entertain
letting the property be used for low housing or different things like
that. If somebody comes in with a race track plan and can give them 20
or 30 grand, they are listening. This might be the fairgrounds in
Mariposa. There's another Fairgrounds not far from the Ukiah Fairgrounds
that looks like it has space. You might look at a place like Gridley or
Colusa County. There are places, and they only lack a person with the
money and the plan to make it happen.
What I
hope doesn't happen in Grass Valley with Patrick is people piling on him
for not doing it the way they want. I think the better way to do things
would be to meet with him privately and have serious discussions. I'm
not talking about a fan telling him necessarily what they want. If
you've got a pitch for something he can do in the arena that he's using
now, go for it. I still like the Figure 8 on what he's using now. What
I'm saying is if you want something bigger, maybe he'd be willing to
listen if you were somebody who could help get him the things he needs
to do it? Who knows?
I'm not sure why I turned
this into fantasy race track discussion. Honestly, I'm not sure why I'm
writing this or even thinking about doing a post on Saturday afternoon
after the week I've had. What I do know is California is quite lucky
when it comes to racing. It's not as dire as people are making it out to
be, despite the struggles being seen in Stockton, Calistoga, Petaluma
and Santa Maria. A lot of tracks are still carrying on, and there are
some other possibilities out there. While I think there can be some more
quarter-mile or bigger tracks, I'm enamored with the arena concept and
would love to see somebody explore this a little more. I don't know if
the day will come when I can be a part of that, but I guess you never
know.
It seems like there are more things
happening at the race tracks on Friday night lately. At least ways, this
is stuff that's on our radar. Friday night is when Ocean Speedway comes
to life, and they had quite the night this week. On the heels of coming
up just shy of 90 cars for a six division show, this five division show
produced 90 cars. I continue to be appreciative of the fact that once
Main Event racing starts, track officials keep the show going. They
don't waste a lot of time between Main Events. This is what you do when
you have an earlier curfew and you're trying to keep non-racing people
happy, while still delivering your race fans a quality show.
Watsonville
does special things for other divisions, and early August used to mean
the Mike Cecil Memorial race for the Hobby Stock class. With the Cecil
family deciding they didn't want to be a part of organizing this show,
management decided to retire that race, but they would create the Terry
Traub Tribute race for another of the track's fallen racers. I'm a
little bit disappointed that the track chose to end a longstanding
traditional race. I don't think the Cecil family was saying not to run
the race for Mike, just that they had other commitments. One could go in
the direction of management killing special traditional stock car
races, like the Tim Williamson Classic, but I'll bite my tongue on that
and go with what is there.
Terry was a popular
driver among his fellow Hobby Stock racers. In fact, teammate Jerry
Skelton sometimes drives Terry's old car as he did on this occasion.
They increased the purse, although I didn't get the full breakdown. The
winner would get $1,033. 33 being the number of Terry's race car.
Remarkably, they delivered a 22 car field for this occasion. What's even
nicer is the field was made up mostly of drivers you would consider
Watsonville regulars. Though the car count for a regular show hovers in
the 10-12 range, they are capable of delivering more. I'm not going to
drag this column out longer than it needs to be, but a couple of many
time champions, Sam Kennedy and Billy Nelson, battled for the glory with
Nelson claiming the prize.
I know some people
may roll their eyes at the concept of the Police N Pursuit class. These
are the drivers from different law enforcement agencies, and they run
cars that have the flashing lights on the roofs. I didn't get the
concept myself initially, but Promoter John Prentice wanted to promote
some good will between the community at large and law officers.
People
get to see these drivers away from their sometimes under appreciated
jobs and realize that these guys are human like everybody else. They
don't have a huge field. There's about 10 that show up. One of the
things these drivers do is raise money for the Special Olympics, and
there's a special night for them to reveal how much was raised and give
fans an opportunity to donate more. Friday was the night. I don't have
any further details, but they usually raise quite a bit of money here. I
appreciate the efforts.
The Taco Bravo Sprint
Cars aren't just the headline class at Watsonville these days, they
usually bring the most cars. There were 28 on this occasion, and that
required a B Main. What can I say about Justin Sanders? The guy is
winning everything and having one of those seasons. The points are still
close, only because Sanders has missed some races. It could still go
either way between he and Bud Kaeding, but Justin won again while Bud
finished fourth. We had another Sanders in the field as Rickey Sanders
made what I believe was his Winged 360 Sprint Car debut. They ran a
little bit longer than you like to see, but it was still an interesting
race.
The IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport
Modifieds delivered enough cars for a pair of heat races and a Main
Event for both classes. The Sport Modifieds have been getting just a bit
more support this year than the Modifieds, but both had 15 cars on this
occasion. Jim Pettit II has had a rough past few weeks, so it was nice
to see the State point leader getting it done on this occasion. The
Sport Modifieds saw Jonathan Hagio collecting what I believe is his
first win in this class, a week after Matt Hagio got his first win in a
Modified at Antioch. I know some people say Watsonville should pay
better in the Sport Modifieds than they do, but they get good support.
Full
race reports are included in the blog post, so I don't want to get
further into it here. I'm just giving overall impressions of how the
night went. I monitored Deming Speedway in Washington as they had their
usual four division Micro Sprint and Mini Sprint program. Everything
delivered double digits with the Restricted 600s presenting a full field
that required a B Main. They run a tight ship at the 1/6 mile clay oval
and don't seem to play around too much once they get started. I think
the average fan appreciates a track that tries to get things done in a
timely manner, rather than playing around and dragging the night on.
This
has been one of my overall gripes regarding the WSDCA Dwarf Car
Nationals. The Northwest Dwarf Cars hosted the latest race at Cottage
Grove. This is an event that's been hosted by the Southern Oregon Dwarf
Cars at Southern Oregon Speedway in recent years, but I guess the group
has fallen out of favor for whatever reason. They had over 70 cars show
up between the three classifications, Pro, Veteran and Sportsman. To me,
that seems a little bit down. Then again, Oregon didn't support this
show as well as they could have. It's not that they did badly, but they
could have done better
I don't know if this was
influenced by Promoter Heather Boyce or not, but they didn't dilly
dally around. What's been happening lately with the Nationals events is
they run their heat races and wait anywhere from a half an hour to an
hour before running the Main Events, which themselves can be brutal.
That didn't happen. There wasn't a huge time gap between heats and Main
Events, and only the Pro class needed a B Main. The races went smoothly,
and the show was done in a timely manner.
The
Dwarf Car Nationals is also about the party, and the racers have a good
time. I can appreciate that. I see the lure of running huge events like
this in multiple states and making a party of it. I just make the
criticism that these guys need to be aware that they have fans coming to
watch, even if it's not a huge crowd. You still try to put on a show,
while also having a party. Just get the show done in a timely manner and
party til your heart's content afterwards. The Friday night portion
qualifies the Top 10 drivers in each group automatically into the Main
Event. They know they're in. They run the Fast Dash on Saturday to
determine the lineup for those drivers at the front of the pack.
At
the risk of dragging this column out too long, I do want to say I
appreciate everything that Frank Munroe created with the Dwarf Car
Nationals. I have been critical this year, but you know you'll get an
honest opinion from me. I like that they gather all of these drivers and
they want to be there. I just want them to try to be more fan friendly
and be a little bit more cooperative in helping get more fans to the
tracks. This is accomplished by helping get more information out there.
There are really good drivers in the Dwarf Cars that people might
appreciate more if they knew more about them. This is what I tried to do
when I hyped up the three Dwarf Car Nationals events that we had at
Southern Oregon Speedway. It still makes me smile to see that some of my
work is still out there to be viewed on the internet.
I've
been low-key following the Wild West IMCA Modified Speedweek Series,
and it's obvious that what Jerry Schram did to the schedule led to
disaster. As Willamette Speedway was promoting an increased purse in
some of their divisions tonight in a posting on Friday morning, I
noticed that they have the IMCA Modifieds booked. So, you're telling me
that the owner of the Wild West Shootout Series brand has booked a race
against his own series? That's just a little bit counterproductive,
don't you think? You're relying heavily on Willamette racers to give you
what car count you get In this series right now.
I
think the people involved are looking around and realizing that this is
a mess, but they're trying to get to the finish line. They're trying to
present this in the best light possible. This includes announcer/media
guy Ben Deatherage. Ben has been doing pre-race interviews that have
been presented on the series' Facebook page and doing his usual
professional job. You can only decorate it so much when people are used
to seeing car counts in the mid-30s and you only have 22 cars show up
for the final Sunset Speedway race to go with only 10 IMCA Sport
Modifieds. That's really not good enough.
Even
if Jerry felt he needed to evict the three tracks south of Cottage
Grove from the series, moving it from June to August simply wasn't a
good idea. I've been told that he did that because of another series
happening in Colorado, but I didn't get confirmation on that. If that
was the reason, it's not very smart as there are only two Colorado
drivers who supported this series sometimes. You have established
something in June, and that's when the racers look forward to it. It
doesn't help that it's really not promoted and hyped leading into it the
way it should be, and that's something I noticed when I got to Medford
in 2016. It just sort of happens on its own because people want to run a
week long series. It could have been even bigger.
What
Schram did in moving the series was take it off of the radar for people
who might have come. California getting into the IMCA Modified
Speedweek business two years ago certainly had an impact. This is
something I endorsed as California should have been doing this years
ago, and I remain a supporter of Doug Lockwood in this effort. This
means the California drivers have more incentive to not worry about
traveling to Oregon, but the support of the guys who had been coming up
north has had a positive impact on the numbers in the past. One thing
Jerry needs to do if he really cares about this thing is move the series
back to June in 2022 if he wants this deal to continue. I'd still
advocate putting the other three tracks back in as there's never been an
adequate reason for why they were dropped in the first place.
Well,
I'm dragging this out too long, but I need to say the good move that
was made was adding the IMCA Sport Modifieds to all of the series races.
However, are they keeping a point list? I haven't been able to find it,
and I hope that they are running these guys for points. It doesn't
really even matter if they're offering a big point fund, but giving the
Top 3 guys trophies at the end of the week would still be a nice gesture
in my opinion. I know there's a few people that have tried to run every
race, though the numbers were admittedly a bit weak with 10 cars at
Sunset Speedway. You still have to start someplace, and they've kept it
at double digits all week. I worry about what tonight's race at Grays
Harbor Speedway will offer.
Steve over at the
PSM site was wondering if maybe the drivers don't want to go north but
would rather go south. In other words, a Sport Modified series in that
direction. I've been talking about this as something Southern Oregon
Speedway and Siskiyou Golden Speedway could start together if they
wanted. I think you could get Chico Silver Dollar Speedway and
Marysville Raceway in there pretty quickly. You could add Susanville's
Diamond Mountain Speedway if you don't think it's too far off the path.
You could add races at Orland and Placerville along the way, should you
want six tracks.
It might interest people to
know that I had a few discussions with former Medford Promoter Mike
McCann on the subject. I felt the time would be right to do something
that included Southern Oregon and Northern California. There are drivers
from Marysville and Chico who like coming up north, and I think you can
get the Southern Oregon guys to travel at least that far for a good
reason. Mike and I talked about how there are already so many Speedweek
Series as it is that maybe this is too much. On the night that the Wild
West Series concludes, the ISCS Week Of Speed begins in Medford. At what
point is it just too much?
However, if you
did something like the series that the John Padjen once created for the
Modifieds at Chico, Marysville, Placerville, Susanville and Grass
Valley, it could work. You weren't running everything in a one week. You
were running it throughout the year where tracks could hype up their
event and get a little bit more driver and crowd support as a result. I
can see the pros and cons of doing something Sport Modified centered in
this particular area, but I can see the case for doing it as week-long
series or doing it the way Padjen did back in the day.
That's
enough. I wasn't even going to do anything for Saturday, but if you're
reading this it means I did. I'm only proof reading it once so sorry if
there are a few more mistakes than usual. Every word I write from here
on makes it more of a pain in the rear to edit, so I'm going to shut up.
Until next time...
