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
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
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
The Adobe Cup PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Car race at Petaluma can be viewed HERE
The California Hardtop race at Orland Raceway can be viewed HERE
The Wingless Sprint Car race race at Orland Raceway can be viewed HERE
The DCRR Racing Radio Show
First of all...
Just A Kid From The Grandstands: My Time In Auto Racing
Also...
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
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
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
The DCRR Racing Radio Show
Golobic, Clymens, Bonnema, Diatte Win
Ocean Speedway Finale
Watsonville, CA...October 13...Shane Golobic closed the 2017 season at Ocean Speedway with a victory in the 30 Lap Taco Bravo Sprint Car Main Event. This was his first win of the season in this group, but the multi time track champion was coming off of a thrilling win in the 30 lap King Of The West/NARC Sprint Car Main Event. Golobic started the night off with the second quick time in qualifying and a second place heat race finish, but he held off fast timer and 2016 champion Brad Furr to win the six lap Trophy Dash. 2015 champion Justin Sanders finished third in the dash, and the three champions spent he entire Main Event running at the front of the pack. S. Golobic won, just ahead of Sanders and Furr. Cory Eliason finished a strong fourth, followed by Michael "Buddy" Kofoid, Koen Shaw, Jeremy Chisum, Jerry Bonnema, Jason Chisum and Dustin Golobic. S. Golobic came out second in qualifying and clocked in with a lap of 11.595. His time held up as the quickest until 18th qualifier Furr bested him with his lap of 11.573. The closest heat race of the night was the second heat as Koen Shawn held off S. Golobic. Mathew Moles won the first heat in front of Furr, and Jason Chisum won the third heat ahead of Geoff Ensign. Ensign used an 11th place feature finish to wrap up the track championship.
Trevor Clymens made a surprise visit and won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Clymens is the 2016 Antioch Speedway champion. Buoyed by his first win of the season a week earlier, 2017 point runnerup Mark Hartman was looking for two in a row, but Clymens was just too fast as he forced Hartman to settle for second. Hartman previously raced Mini Trucks at Antioch Speedway. Clymens also beat Hartman to win their eight lap heat race. The Bieser family enjoyed their best night of the season as Alex Bieser finished third in the Main Event ahead of Duane Bieser. John Ferro enjoyed one of his best efforts of the year as he won his heat race ahead of new champion Matt Hagio and finished fifth in the Main Event. Hagio DNF'ed the feature in 11th as Charlie Hunter finished sixth, followed by Mike Kofnovec Jr., Jason Pugh, Dave Smart and Billy Robertson.
Ron Bonnema made his first appearance of the season and left with a 20 lap American Stock Main Event win. Jerry Skelton was contending for his second win of the season, but Bonnema held him off for the victory. Bobby Huckaby Sr. was a solid third with heat race winner Katie Briggs settling for fourth ahead of Vernon Silva. J.C. Elrod wrapped up second in the standings with a sixth place feature finish as Mark Reist, Terry Traub, Tom Cline and John Farrell rounded out the Top 10. Briggs won her eight lap heat race ahead of Farrell, and Huckaby won the first heat ahead of Skelton.
Cameron Diatte wrapped up his SBDCA Dwarf Car championship season with a 20 lap Main Event win. It was a battle of the Diatte's up front as Cameron scored the win ahead of Ryan Diatte. Ryan Amlen was a solid third ahead of Zach Price, 2017 point runnerup Mark Biscardi, Gene "Punky" Pires, Brady Beck, Chris Dorto, Justin McKenna and Bill Belfield. Pires won his eight lap heat race ahead of Zach Price, while C. Diatte scored a win in his heat in front of Amlen.
There were no official results posted on what was the most successful evening of racing in the past few years at Orland Raceway. Wild Iron horseman has been capturing the races on video and was there for the final race of the year. Not all of the names were available, but we did the best we could in filing an unofficial report.
Stevens, Crain, Webster Win Orland Raceway
Battle Of The Axels
Orland, CA...October 14...Paul Stevens won the 25 lap Pure Stock Main Event at Orland Raceway. It was the first ever Battle Of The Axels, and the $1,000 to win race attracted 27 cars just for this division. Stevens is the 2015 Orland champion, and this was the biggest win of his career. Placerville star Dan Jinkerson raced into the early Main Event lead ahead of Stevens. Jinkerson quickly bolted to a straightaway lead as three time Chico champion Brian Compton battled Stevens for second. A low move in Turn 4 of the seventh lap gained Compton second. Multi time Susanville champion Richard Longacre was fourth when a spin in Turn 4 forced a lap ten caution flag. Jinkerson chose the inside and continued to lead Compton and Stevens on the restart. A high pass in Turn 2 of the 15th lap gained Stevens second from Compton, and a lap 16 caution flag flew for a back stretch crash involving John Kirkpatrick and Brad Ray. Stevens led the restart, and contact sent Jinkerson spinning in Turn 2. Jinkerson got going without a yellow flag as Longacre and B Main transfer Dave Silva were second and third. A lap 19 caution flag flew for a crash involving Jinkerson, and Silva spun to avoid them after the fact. Stevens continued to lead on the restart as Compton took second from Longacre. Longacre regained second on lap 12, but he lost the position to Placerville star and B Main winner Scott Grunert on a lap 23 restart. Stevens went on to win ahead of Grunert, Longacre, Shannon Collins, Compton and Jeremy Langenderfer. Grunert took the lead from Orland champion Langenderfer on a lap eight restart and won the 15 lap B Main with Silva and Ronnie Richards completing a Placerville sweep of the podium.
Olin Crain won a wild 25 lap Mini Stock Main Event. Crain took advantage of a tangle between the leaders to score the $500 victory. Two time Marysville Mini Stock champion Jimmy Ford raced into the lead at the start ahead of new track champion Tom Davis. Past Hayfork champion Jack Turner spun in Turn 4 for a lap four yellow flag, and Davis pitted during the caution period. Ford appeared to be the class of the field as Sean Perry settled into second ahead of Hunter Merritt. Crain gained third on a lap six restart, but he had his hands full battling Merritt and Davis. An outside pass on the front stretch of the 14th lap gained Perry the lead from Ford as Merritt gained third. A lap 15 caution flag bunched the field, and Ford regained the lead from Perry on the restart. Davis settled into third on lap 17. As they worked lap 21, contact sent Perry spinning on the front stretch, and he collected Davis in Turn 1. Ford led Dustin Hills on the restart. As Ford exited Turn 4 on lap 24, he got just a bit sideways, and Hills took him the rest of the way around as they crashed on the front stretch. Crain suddenly had the led, and he sped home to the thrilling victory. Davis made a last turn pass on Merritt to finish second as Merritt settled for third. Perry finished fourth ahead of an unidentified driver in the #7 car.
Dan Webster won a close battle to collect the $500 prize in the 25 lap Mini Truck Main Event. Contact between Webster and new champion Keith Ross in Turn 2 allowed Olin Crain to race around both for the lead. Webster brushed the front wall on lap two and lost his rear bumper for a yellow flag. Crain continued to lead Ross and Webster on the restart. Ross was pressuring Crain for the lead before beating him back to the line to take the position on lap eight. Webster ran a close third in the entertaining three truck battle. Crain was running the high side, but he finally went too high and drove off the track in Turn 1 on lap 19. Ross chose the inside on the restart, but Webster raced by for the lead. Webster held off Ross the rest of the way for the well earned victory. The former Ryan Cherezian #12 truck, which is now based out of the Hayfork area, was driven to a third place finish ahead of Ricky Wagner and William Fogle.
Danny Myrick Wins Central Valley
Mini Stock Feature And Championship
Lemoore, CA...October 29...Danny Myrick wrapped up the inaugural season for the Central Valley Mini Stocks with a 30 lap Main Event win. The win wrapped up the championship for Myrick. Dan Myrick and Danny Myrick had a close championship battle, but Dan's hopes ended with a busted tie rod while leading the B Main. In reality, it would have been a nearly impossible task to overtake Danny Mryrick, who set fast time, won the Trophy Dash and won the fourth heat race in his clean sweep performance.
The Mini Socks produced a season high 19 car field. Dan Myrick set the fast time with a 15.066 lap around the one 1/5 mile dirt oval. Logan Doglione had a lap of 15.223, beating Ryan Doglione's 15.261 effort for second fast time. Danny Myrick continued his momentum with a four lap Trophy Dash win ahead of L. Doglione. Terry Caraveo won the first eight lap heat race by a wide margin ahead of Chris Goldsmith. Gene Glover won the second heat ahead of Chuck Doglione. Darren Wilson won the third heat in a close battle with Ben Davis, and Danny Myrick won the last heat ahead of L. Doglione. Dan Myrick finished fourth in his heat to put him in the B Main, but he broke a tie rod while leading. This handed the lead and eventual victory to Merced Speedway regular Shawn DePriest ahead of R. Doglione and Jeff Durant.
There were 16 starters for the Main Event, but the battle of attrition left only six cars on the track by the finish. Danny Myrick set a rapid pace, but Rod Baronian stayed with him as the two lapped the whole field. Myrick was the happy winner, just ahead of Baronian. Wilson was a lap down in third, and C. Doglione and Goldsmih were each two laps down in fourth and fifth, respectively. R. Doglione was the final finisher in sixth as Durant, Randy Brown Sr., Ross Maddox and Davis rounded out the Top 10.
The 2017 season finale was reason to celebrate. People worked very hard to make this a reality, and a good portion of the regulars who competed this year drove cars built specifically for this effort. Some cars came out of the wrecking yard to race ready status within a week or two. The CVMS also wishes to thank House of JuJu, B&B Ag Transport and Jake Miller Hay Co. for sponsoring the CVMS season finale. Also, thanks to Pacific Ag Rentals, Susie Myrick, Ella Brown and Erick Montgomery for all the great raffle prizes. For further information on the group, check out the Central Valley Mini Stock Facebook page or go to www.centralvalleyministocks.com.
Davis, Oliver, Compton, Baldwin Win
Marysville Gold Fever Races
Marysville, CA...October 21...The Annual Gold Fever Tax Cab Open Show was at Marysville Raceway Saturday night. This is an event that stretches back many years, and the program included Limited Late Models, Super Stocks, Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks and Pure Stocks. Some drivers did double duty by changing their cars over to run in a second division.
Matt Davis won the 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event from last starting. Most of these drivers compete at Placerville Speedway normally, and Scott Woessner won the eight lap heat race ahead of Ryan McDaniel. The McDaniel family is three generations strong as Ryan's father Randy and grandfather Plummer have also raced at Marysville through the years. An opening lap crash eliminated past Marysville champion George Magenheimer and Kelly Ricardo, who was piloting one of the Micheli cars. Davis made his way to the front and battled Winged Street Stock feature winner Rod Oliver for the win. Wayne Trimble was a lead lap third. Woessner fell out five laps from the end in fourth, and fifth place finisher McDaniel's race ended on lap five.
Rod Oliver won the 20 lap Winged Super Stock feature. Rod is following in the footsteps of Danny Oliver, a past Late Model star at both Marysville and Chico. The Dozier family has been a respected family in Marysville for decades, and Brandon Dozier kicked things off with an eight lap heat race win ahead of Oliver. Oliver set a blistering pace out front in the rapidly run Main Event and won by over a half lap ahead of multi time Petaluma Speedway champion Steve Studebaker. Bill Hall was the final finisher a lap down. Merced Sport Modified champion Fred Ryland, Dozier and Marsyville and Chico Sport Modified champion Phillip Shelby completed the finishing order.
Sean Smith captured the checkered flag in the 20 lap Street Stock Main Event. Again, Steve Studebaker was the closest threat to the winner, but it was much closer this time as Smith earned the victory. Fred Ryland won his eight lap heat race ahead of Smith, but his problems in the Super Stock race made him a feature scratch for Street Stocks. Studebaker won his heat race ahead of Steve Hammett, and Hammett finished a strong third in the Main Event. Garrett Agnew and Bill Hall rounded out the Top 5 on the lead lap as Dave Silva was a lap down in sixth. Leif Berglund scratched on the pace lap, and Richard Vanderploeg also failed to start the feature.
Brian Compton scored an impressive victory in the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Compton is a three time Chico champion, and he won his eight lap heat race ahead of Kyle Cheney. Past Antioch champion Brad Myers and past Orland champion Paul Stevens battled all night. Myers held off Stevens to win their heat race. With Compton a half lap ahead in the Main Event, the race was for second. Stevens earned that finish not too far ahead of Myers and past Orland Mini Truck champion Brad Ray. Brian Zachary, Shannon Collins, Breanna Troen and Cheney were lead lap finishers in order as Placerville Pure Stock champion Jason Palmer and Antioch champion Cameron Swank rounded out the Top 10.
Nick Baldwin outran Scott Grunert to win the 20 lap Pure Stock Main Event. This division had the biggest car count as several Placerville racers supported the show. Baldwin and Grunert are both past Placerville champions, and their battle up front was close. Jason Palmer won a photo finish with Dan Jinkerson for third as Hobby Stock winner Brian Compton was a strong fifth. Russ Murphy, Paul Stevens, Guy Bean, Jarod Mize and Brad Myers completed the Top 10 in the 17 car field. Palmer managed to beat Compton to the line to win the first eight lap heat race. Baldwin won the second heat ahead of Jinkerson and Murphy won the third heat in front of Grunert.
Pit Stops
The Antioch Speedway Awards Banquet is coming on November 18th. The DCRR will be represented as we drop in on our old friends and celebrate the season with them. Thanks to several people stepping up and sponsoring us, we're making an appearance and will probably be covering the banquet for various outlets. While it will be great to see everybody, nothing else has been discussed and we're not commenting on any rumors surrounding this visit. It's about face to face conversations with friends, putting some negative things in the past and looking ahead to the future. We have already announced that The DCRR will be back in 2018 covering racing at various venues.
Antioch Speedway is in the news. For starters, management is planning for next year and beyond. John & Donna Soares now have promoted this track for 20 years. Last season was difficult at times, but some improvements were made to the facility with more good things planned. We've not seen further confirmation on a Thanksgiving Weekend Swap Meet and Playday, but Trent Wentworth posted recently that this was the case. It was also hinted at that another New Years Bash will happen, which means the track won't have a lot of down time. Soares will reportedly be headed to Reno for the Promoters Meeting, and he's also made some intriguing comments that will interest racers and fans.
Rumors were circulating about what divisions might or might not be back next season. However, we're not hearing a word about any of this season's divisions not being a part of the show in 2018. Most of the divisions performed about where they were expected to. The surprising numbers were the increased car count in Hobby Stocks despite being booked 19 times this season. Both B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks delivered B Mains for the Fall Brawl. Mini Stock drivers wanting back were given a minimum goal of eight cars, though more would be expected. There's been some talk among the racers on Facebook, and it won't be a surprise to see some Mini Stock race dates next season. There's plenty of reason to be optimistic about Antioch Speedway in 2018.
Dixon Speedway will be having a 200 lap Mini Stock Enduro on the 18th. We endorse this idea. They will be joined on the card by the Dwarf Cars, who will have a 50 lap race. The track has held races for both groups in the past, and you can find footage of some of that on YouTube. Garrett Corn has been beating the drums for this race, and it looks as if there will be Merced representation in Dixon. Indications are the car count will be bigger than 2014's 100 lap Enduro that was still very entertaining at 12 cars. Hopefully, something like this can take root and become a more regular occurrence.
Thanksgiving Thunder hasn't found another track after losing both Porterville and more recently Hanford. It's unclear if they will get another track in time, but Kern County and Tulare are reportedly the leading candidates. An announcement will be made on this race's status by this weekend. Of course, USAC will have the big Turkey Classic at Ventura Raceway on Thanksgiving weekend. November 11th will be crowded with the Gary Patterson Memorial in Stockton, the Oval Nationals in Perris and the big IMCA event in Las Vegas.
On the heels of his success with the Battle Of The Axels, Rich Hood will be coming back for a third season at Orland Raceway. Hood has done an impressive job of breathing new life into that track, but he knows there is more work to be done. A string of good showings to close the season has to be encouraging. He may be year to year at this point, but the Glenn County Fairgrounds has to be pleased with what they've seen after two years.
After a somewhat successful Rod Restad Memorial to close the season, Siskiyou Speedway has been rocked with disturbing news that they are at least $12,000 short in the SCMA treasury. The curious part in the story is that bank statements highlighting the financial transactions were never supplied to the board when they made various decisions based on information that had been given. We suspect the SCMA will soldier through this, but it highlights one of the ways in which the management will need to change if they want to grow a racing program there. The only regular divisions are Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks, and car counts weren't where they should be on "non special" nights. The Outlaw Kart program has broken off from the SCMA to ensure its own survival in case the SCMA doesn't pull through.
Up north in Medford, Southern Oregon Speedway management is enjoying some down time, but plans are in the early stages for next season, including other additions to the facility. John Holmes of Johnny Cat has graciously donated new clay for the race track. Numbers have been slow to come up, though they are slightly better than 2016. Things have been down for several years, and management knows this is a work in progress. A few pieces of the foundation they hope to build upon were put in place this year with Hall Of Fame Night, the R. Charles Snyder Salute and the Cascade Wingless Sprint Car Challenge, but more is coming.
Petaluma Speedway canceled the final race of the season as the devastating fires and smokey conditions led to firefighters using the fairgrounds as a base. The Adobe Cup a week earlier was a resounding success. The track was recently used to film footage for an upcoming racing movie starring John Travolta. Ocean Speedway also wrapped up their season. For years, the track would only run until the end of August or first of September, but it went to the second week of October again. Promoter John Prentice was definitely put through the ringer this year, but he nonetheless had a respectable season at Watsonville, saw growth in the All Star Modified Series and kept the King Of The West/NARC and Civil War Sprint Car Series going. Prentice and Petaluma's Rick Faeth will probably work together when they can, as has been the case over the past several seasons.
You can also expect Ed Parker of Merced Speedway to do his best to stay off of the big dates at Watsonville. Parker has hit on the right scheduling formula for Merced. It includes several big events, but none of the divisions are booked so heavily that car count suffers. Both Modified classes and Hobby Stocks have been strong all season and should continue that trend. You can expect Parker and company to book another great season of racing with more surprises in 2018.
Still sitting in the weeds is Rocky Hill Speedway and Chowchilla Speedway. Rocky Hill had a limited schedule booked, but much needed repairs to the facility forced the whole season to be scrapped. The question is, does this mean the track is gone for the long term, or will we get racing back in 2018? Chowchilla was more a victim of an overly ambitious schedule that could not deliver the cars and had no fan support. You have to go with a back to basics, smaller is smarter formula to make it work in Chowchilla. At this point, does anybody even care? Meanwhile, they will continue the winter Barn Burner Series at the Chowchilla Fairgrounds.
I received a message from Marilyn Yawnick of the SCMA about a bad situation at Siskiyou Motor Speedway. There is a substantial amount of missing funds as of October 17th, and this is leaving the SCMA scrambling to get the money needed to continue. The group just had their awards banquet and is proceeding with their elections. The intent is to keep things going, but they need help.
Missing Funds Put SCMA and Siskiyou Speedway's
Future In Doubt
Yreka, CA...The Siskiyou Motor Speedway awards banquet capped the 2017 season last Saturday with the crowning of D.J. Bottoms (IMCA Sport Modifieds) and Marilyn Yawnick (McDonald's Mini Stocks) as SCMA champions. The ballots are going out to elect 2018 SCMA Board Members. The intent is to keep racing alive at Siskiyou Motor Speedway.
In the midst of that optimism, there is concern over the future of the SCMA as the association running the track. According to 2017 SCMA Secretary Marilyn Yawnick, an audit was recently done of the group's funds, and it revealed that $12,000 was missing. That figure could go as high as $20,000 in missing funds.
The name of the person suspected in this case was not revealed. All financial reports filed during the season suggested that bills were being paid, and financial decisions made by the board were made based on false reports. According to Yawnick, the board doesn't see the actual bank statements.
It was revealed by Yawnick that when the person in question was confronted about the missing money, the answers given were not provable. Also, the person in question was not accepting accountability for the loss and was therefore unapologetic. The Yreka Police Department has been contacted, but the SCMA as of now is in debt.
Concern over this matter recently resulted in the Yreka Outlaw Karts group breaking off from the SCMA. The move will make things more challenging for the Outwlaw Karts, but they recently announced a winter indoor racing schedule. There are enough people dedicated to Karts to keep that effort going, and they held a separate banquet to honor their champions last weekend.
The SCMA has been scrambling to find the funds to keep the group afloat. Though there are people who have stepped forward, more help is needed. The Yreka race track hosts such big events as IMCA Modified Speedweek, The Arnberg/Hitson Memorial, The Rod Restad Race and Sprint Car Speedweek as well as staging weekly events.
The track is looking for donors. Yawnick points out that the track can and has made money. With the youth movement in the regular racing program and the growing Outlaw Kart program, racing in Yreka is on the upswing. Those looking to donate to the SCMA can visit the contact section of the web page at www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com or send an e-mail to scma.webmaster@gmail.com.
