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
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
Antioch Speedway Racing Discussion Can Be Heard HERE
Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion Can Be Heard HERE
The DCRR Racing Radio Show
Backup Link HERE
Golobic, Campion, Thomas Among The Winners
At Ocean Speedway
At Ocean Speedway
Watsonville,
CA...June 25...Shane Golobic won the 30 lap Taco Bravo Sprint Car Main
Event Thursday night at Ocean Speedway. Golobic turned in another
dominant performance in leading every lap aboard the Matt Wood owned Elk
Grove Ford/NOS Energy Drink Sprinter. Golobic also drove that car to a
flag to flag victory at Marysville a night earlier earlier. He is a
two-time Sprint Car champion at Ocean Speedway. Covid-19 guidelines will
not allow for any fans in the grandstands. In order to get SpeedshiftTV
streaming service, this race was moved from Friday night to Thursday
night.
By virtue of his fastest
time in qualifying, Golobic had the pole position for the Main Event. He
set the early pace ahead of Bud Kaeding and Ryan Bernal. The red flag
flew after four laps when contact in the first turn saw both Joey Ancona
and Eric Humphries roll their cars. Adam Kaeding was also involved in
the melee, but nobody was injured. Golobic continued to lead Bud Kaeding
and Bernal on the restart, but Kaeding began to slow and brought out a
yellow flag on lap seven. Golobic led Bernal and Kaleb Montgomery on the
restart, but another yellow flag waved after contact between Montgomery
and DJ Netto saw Netto with a damaged front wing. Netto retired from
the race. Golobic continued to command the race over Bernal and
Montgomery on the next restart. However, contact between Burt Foland Jr
and Josh Chisum in Turn 2 saw Chisum do an easy roll for a yellow flag.
Golobic
continued to lead Bernal and Montgomery on the restart, but Bernal saw
his race come to an end when he stalled on the backstretch for a lap 15
yellow flag. The yellow flags did nothing to disrupt Golobic's rhythm as
he continued to lead the restart with Montgomery now second ahead of
Kurt Nelson. Golobic pulled away to a comfortable advantage by the time
the checkered flag waved with Montgomery settling for second ahead of
Nelson. Bud Kaeding made a last-lap pass on Zane Blanchard to finish
fourth. Caden Sarale ended up sixth, followed by Koen Shaw, James Ringo,
Jason Chisum and Jake Haulot.
There
were 21 competitors for this show, and Golobic was the fastest
qualifier and the only driver in the 11-second bracket with an 11.927
lap around the quarter-mile clay oval. Bud Kaeding was second quick at
12.034. Jason Chisum surprised Golobic by holding him him off to win
their eight lap heat race. The other heat wins went to Bud Kaeding and
Netto.
Terry Campion won the 40
lap Hobby Stock Main Event. The Hobby Stocks had an opportunity to run a
40 lap race rather than their makeup feature from last week and their
regular feature. These chose the extra laps in one race instead. Merced
Speedway star Austin Van Hoff settled into the early lead ahead of long
time speedway competitor Tony Oliveira and Campion. A yellow flag flew
on the third lap when reigning champion Rob Gallaher stalled on the
backstretch. Van Hoff led just one more lap before an outside pass on
the frontstretch put Campion into the lead. Joe Gallaher went low in the
first turn to take third from Oliveira on lap six. An inside pass in
Turn 2 a lap later netted Joe Gallaher second. Norm Ayers spun in Turn 2
for a yellow flag. Campion continued to lead Gallaher with Bobby
Huckaby Jr settling into third. They ran 22 laps without a yellow flag
as Campion led just ahead of Joe Gallaher. Huckaby ended up spinning in
Turn 1 for a lap 28 yellow flag. Campion wasn't threatened by Joe
Gallaher as he pulled away again on the next restart and brought it home
to victory. Merced racer Kristie Shearer finished third, followed by a
Huckaby, Steve Remde, Ayers, Ryan Muller, Van Hoff, Mitch Lettunich and
Wally Kennedy. The two eight lap heat races were won by Campion and
Ayers.
Merced Speedway star
Tanner Thomas won an exciting 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. The
second generation racer had to hold off the serious threat of State
championship contender Michael Johnson down the stretch before taking
the checkered flag ahead of the pack. Billy Robertson set the early pace
ahead of Stephen Allee and Max Baggett. Thomas made an inside pass in
Turn 3 of fifth lap to take third from Baggett, and both Thomas and
Johnson went by Allee on the backstretch to settle into second and
third. Following a lap seven yellow flag, Thomas led Johnson and rookie
Kaylin Lopez into the Top 3 positions on the restart. Frank Cefaliello
Jr brought out a yellow flag on the 15th lap. On the restart, Thomas
continued to be the leader ahead of a very persistent Johnson. The
battle was close in the waning laps, but Thomas prevailed ahead of
Johnson, Lopez, Adriane Frost, State point leader Timothy Allerdings,
Allee, Robertson, Kelly Campanile, Charlie Hunter and Gavin Espino.
Robertson and Thomas won their respective eight lap heat races.
Ryan
McLelland won a thrilling 20 lap Mini Stock makeup Main Event. This was
the race that was meant to run last Friday before curfew ended the show
after the Sprint Cars had run. McClelland led early ahead of John
Grilli and Tony Gullo. However, an outside pass in Turn 2 of the third
lap gained 2018 Central Valley Mini Stock champion Greg Baronian the
third position. As McClelland and Grilli were having a side-by-side
battle at the front of the pack, contact sent Baronian spinning in the
fourth turn. Gullo with put the back of the pack in for his part in the
incident, and Kelly Campanile crashed on the back straightaway.
McClelland continued to lead Grilli on the restart, and Kate Beardsley
settled into third. Jesse Gullings spun in Turn 1 for a Lap 10 yellow
flag.
On the restart, Baronian
moved into third behind McClelland and Grilli. An inside pass on the
frontstretch of the 12th lap gained Baronian second. Baronian made an
inside pass down the back straightaway to take the lead from McClelland
on Lap 13. Baronian started to pull away and built a good lead, but he
slowed just a little bit on the final lap. This allowed McClelland to
gain on him quickly. An outside pass on the frontstretch as they took
the checkered flag netted McClelland the win as Baronian settled for
second. Grilli finished third, followed by Kate Beardsley, Nicole
Beardsley, Gullo, Gullings, Joseph Marsh, Richard Mitchell and Bill
Beardsley
Baronian had a bit of
redemption in the second 20 lapper as he scored an impressive victory.
Gullings was the early leader over Gullo. Baronian made an inside pass
in Turn 3 of the eighth lap to grab the second position. When Gullings
got a bit out of shape exiting Turn 2 on lap 11, Baronian went low and
emerged with the lead. Grilli had broken steering and came to a rest in
Turn 2 for a yellow flag after 12 laps. On the restart, Baronian
maintained command and begin to pull away as McClelland moved past
Gullings for second. Second place was the battle as Baronian went on to
victory. McClelland ended up second, followed by Gullings, Gullo, Kate
Beardsley, Campanile, Nicole Beardsley, Richard Mitchell, Allan
Kuykendall and Bill Beardsley. The eight lap heat race wins were earned
by McClelland and Baronian.
Tony
Parker won the 15 lap Police N Pursuit Main Event. Parker represents the
Task Force Racers. Reigning series champion Roy Iler of the San Benito
Sheriff's Office settled into the early lead ahead of Nate Graham and
Parker. Parker made a move around Graham for second on lap eight and
immediately set his sights on Iler. A low pass in Turn 2 of the ninth
lap gained Parker the lead. He began to stretch his lead to over a
straightaway by the time the checkered flag waved. Iler finished second,
followed by Graham, John Hohmann, Steven Fernandes, Chris Murphy,
Jackie Yeung and AJ Waltrip.
The next race date on the schedule is set for Friday, July 10th. For information on what will be happening, go to www.racepmg.com or check out the Ocean Speedway Facebook page.
Golobic Dominates Sprint Car Action At Marysville Raceway
Marysville,
CA...June 24...Shane Golobic turned in a rather dominant performance in
winning the 25 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event Wednesday night at
Marysville Raceway. Golobic started on the front row and led every lap
aboard Matt Wood's Elk Grove Ford/NOS Energy Drink sponsored Sprinter.
The race was moved to Wednesday to enable the track to get SpeedshiftTV
coverage as covid-19 guidelines only allowed for 100 fans in the
grandstands. Despite the low number of permitted attendance in the
grandstands, Marysville still became the second California track to
allow fans to attend since the reopening process began in the state.
The
race had to be restarted when Colby Copeland, reigning champion Michael
Ing and Brandon Dozier got together in Turn 1. Ing was eliminated in
the melee, and Copland also retired with top wing damage. Golobic led
Shane Hopkins and reigning Placerville champion Andy Forsberg on the
ensuing restart. However, only one lap went in the books before a Turn 2
crash involving Nick Larson and Pat Harvey Jr brought out another
yellow flag. Golobic resumed command over Hopkins and Forsberg on the
next restart. However, a red flag halted the action after three laps
when contact between Brent Bjork and Mike Monahan in the fourth turn
resulted in Monohan flipping. Golobic again charged into lead on the
restart with Forsberg taking second from Hopkins.
By
the 10th lap, Golobic was already lapping slower traffic and had a big
lead. The battle for second saw Hopkins make an inside pass in Turn 2 of
the 11th lap to gain the position from Forsberg. However, Forsberg
stayed high and made the pass in the same turn a lap later to regain the
spot. Hopkins was tenacious in this battle, and he made an inside pass
in Turn 2 of the 16th lap to regain second for good. Golobic held a
straightaway advantage by the 13th lap as Blake Carrick joined the
second place battle. Carrick took third from Forsberg on the 21st lap,
and an Alec Justeson spin in Turn 3 wiped out a huge lead for Golobic.
However, Golobic picked up where he left off at the next green flag and
brought it home to the checkered flag in impressive fashion. Hopkins
finished second. Forsberg made a last lap pass on Carrick to take third.
Korey Lovell finished fifth, followed by Larson, Bjork, Kevin Lovell,
Jesse Love and Kenny Wanderstadt.
There
were 20 competitors for this race, and Golobic set the fastest lap of
12.776. Forsberg was second quick at 12.817. Wanderstadt, Brad Bumgarner
and Hopkins won the eight lap heat races.
Jimmy
Ford was awarded the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event win after three-time
reigning Ocean Speedway champion Rob Galleher was disqualified in
post-race tech. Rick Etchieson set the early pace ahead of Gallaher and
IMCA Sport Modified star Ford, who was substituting for William Merritt.
Etchieson and Gallaher had a good battle going at the front of the pack
as Gallaher kept taking looks to the inside to try to make the pass. On
the eighth lap, Etchieson pushed off the groove in the second turn, and
Gallaher stayed low to grab the lead. A yellow flag flew on the 10th
lap for Jason Clayton in Turn 3. Gallaher continued to lead the restart
with Ford taking second from Etchieson. Chris Van Roekel moved past
Etchieson for third, but he lost his spot to Zach Lindgren on the 14th
lap. However, Van Roekel and Jim Brookshire got by Lindgren on the 15th
lap. Lindgren would end up pitting with a flat tire. Ford gave it his
best effort, but Rob Gallaher was not about to be passed. Post-race tech
handed the win to Ford. Brookshire beat Chris Van Roekel back to the
line to finish third. Sprint Car racer Angelo Cornet ended up fourth,
followed by Toby Merrifield, point leader Jesse Van Roekel, Dave Caluya,
Mario Davis, Etchieson and Lindgren. Eight lap heat race wins went to
Lindgren, Brookshire and Jesse Van Roekel.
Dan
Brown Jr won the 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event. Brown led from
the outset ahead of Ray Tremble, but Tremble surrendered second to Jay
Norton on lap two. By the sixth lap, Brown had a half straightaway
advantage over Norton. By the tenth lap, the lead was a full
straightaway, but Richard Vander Ploeg spun in the second turn for the
only yellow flag on lap 11. Brown resumed command ahead of Norton and
Tremble on the restart. Brown again pulled away from the pack and won by
a wide margin ahead of Norton, Tremble, Rod Oliver and Vander Ploeg.
Brown also won the eight lap heat race.
Racing
will resume with another Wednesday night offering on July 8th. The
Winged 360 Sprint Cars will be back along with the Pepsi IMCA Sport
Modified, Nor Cal Dwarf Cars and Limited Late Models. For further
information, go to www.marysvilleraceway.com.
Moles Steals The Show At Covid Cup Opener
At Dixon Speedway
At Dixon Speedway
Dixon,
CA...June 24... Mitchell Moles got the West Coast Covid Cup started on
an impressive note Wednesday night at Dixon Speedway. Not only did Moles
pick up the win in the 25 lap Super 600 Main Event, he also won the 25
lap Wingless Micro Main event as well. He won both championships at
Lemoore Raceway last season. The three race series that takes place
between Dixon, Plaza Park and Lemoore Raceway pays $40,000 in purse and
point fund money.
The Super 600
Main Event ran without a yellow flag, and Moles had the lead from the
start ahead of Heath Duinkerken and Caeden Steele. The lead trio ran in
that order until Steele and Chance Crum both got by Duinkerken for
second and third on lap 18. Ricky Sanders passed Duinkerken for fourth
on lap 20. Moles was never really threatened in this race as he won by a
comfortable margin ahead of Steele, Crum, Sanders, Duinkerken, Cody
Key, RJ Johnson, Sage Bordenave, Eli Bookout and Brent Crews. Steele had
the fastest lap of 11.660, beating the 11.671 of Duinkerken. Duinkerken
won both his 10 lap heat race and the six lap Trophy Dash. Moles was
the other 10 lap heat race winner.
In
the 25 lap Wingless race, Moles settled into fourth on the second lap
as Brandon Carey led Hank Davis and Austin Stone. Stone took second from
Davis on lap three, and a yellow flag waved on lap seven. On the
restart, Carey continued to lead Stone, and Moles slipped past Davis for
third on the 10th lap. Two laps later, Moles got by Stone for second
and began pressuring Carey for the lead. Moles put the moves on Carey to
take the lead on the 16th lap. He began to build a good lead, but a
yellow flag waved on lap 20. Moles led Stone and Davis on the ensuing
restart, and they finished in that order. Brent Crews finished fourth,
followed by Austin Torgerson, RJ Johnson, Taylor Chamorro, Logan
Calderwood, Cameron Paul and Cody Jessup. Carey was the fastest of 23
qualifiers with a lap of 12.295, beating the 12.435 of Austin Torgerson.
Davis, Troy Morris III and Moles won their respective 10 lap heat
races, and Carey was the eight lap Trophy Dash winner.
Colin
Kirby won the 20 lap Restricted Main Event. Dalton Parreira started on
the front row and led early with Kirby settling into second on a lap two
restart. Following a lap eight yellow flag, Kirby took the lead from
Parrara on the restart. Parreira saw his run come to an end for a lap
nine yellow flag, and Kirby led Brandon Riveira and point leader Bryant
Bell on the restart. Kirby began to pull away from Riveira during the
second half of the race as he won by nearly a straightaway. Bell settled
for third, followed by Matthew Tatoole, JJ Loss, Teagen Moles, Jayden
Whitney, Dominic Carter, Cash Lovenburg and Reilee Phillips. Parreira
was the quickest of 22 qualifiers with a lap of 11.990, beating the
11.995 of Tatoole. 10 lap heat race wins went to Parreira, Elijah Gile
and Bell. Parreira also won the eight lap Trophy Dash.
Jarrett
Rogers won the 20 lap Super Stock Main Event. Rogers started on the
pole and set the pace from the start ahead of Gauge Garcia. Jayden
Whitney held third before being passed by Austin Torgerson on a lap
eight restart. Garcia kept it close with Rogers for most of the race,
but Jarrett Rogers would prevail at the checkered flag. Austin Torgerson
settled for third, followed by Joshua Rogers, Griffith Jones, Dawson
Faria, Whitney, Dale Saber, Garrett Saber and Ashton Torgerson.
Nathan
Ward won 20 lap Junior Sprint Main Event. Braxon Vasconcellos led a lap
before being passed by point leader Kyle Fernandez. Ward followed into
the second position, and reigning champion Makayla Tatoole grabbed third
on the fourth lap. Though Ward kept it close, Fernandez appeared to be
headed for victory. However, Ward was able to make his winning pass on
the 17th lap. Tatoole gained second a lap later. Ward won by about a
straightaway ahead of Tatoole. Fernandez settled for third, followed by
Hayden Stepps, Ty Lovenburg, Vasconcellos, Ryan Bright and Jacob Battle.
Stepps was the fastest qualifier at 13.263. Fernandez won both the 10
lap heat race and five lap Trophy Dash.
In July, racing will resume with Micro Sprint events on the 18th and 24th. For further information, go to www.dixonspeedway.net.
Sunday Will Be A Fun Day At Petaluma Speedway
Petaluma,
CA...Petaluma Speedway will keep their action on Sunday night again
this week. This was originally scheduled to be a Sunday show as the
County Fair was to close that night. Even with the Fair cancelled this
year, the track has decided to stay on Sunday. The PitStopUSA.com
Wingless Spec Sprints, McLea's Tire Service IMCA Modifieds and
Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks will all be back for their second
appearances of the season.
Promoter
Rick Faeth announced that on July 5th, the Spec Sprints and IMCA
Modifieds will be joined by the General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Cars
for a three division show. Covid-19 guidelines make it impossible to
have fans in the grandstands at this time, and Sundays have become
necessary to keep the coverage on SpeedshiftTV.
Last
season, Angelique Bell added the Petaluma championship to her list of
credentials. She is also a past division champion at Silver Dollar
Speedway. It was relatively close in the point battle as Scott Chapeta
overtook past champion Sparky Howard on the final night to take second
in the standings. Cody Fendley, who was a multi-time winner last season,
ended up fourth. Fendley looked fast two weeks ago when the division
was an action, but he wasn't quite fast enough to beat Dwarf Car
Nationals winner Shawn Jones that night as he settled for second ahead
of Boy Moniz. Hard chargers like past champion Ryan Siverling, Keith
Calvino, Matthew Haulot and newcomer Braidon Moniz should make this an
entertaining race. Multi-time Winged 360 Sprint Car champion Bradley
Terrell recently won a Hunt Wingless Sprint Series race and could be on
hand for this occasion.
Speaking
of entertaining, last Sunday saw the track have one of its most exciting
IMCA Modified races in recent memory. Anthony Slaney managed to lead
every lap in victory, but he was receiving constant pressure at various
times from seven-time champion Michael Paul Jr, reigning Merced champion
Troy Foulger and West Coast Stock Car Hall of Famer Jim Pettit II.
Slaney kept his cool and grabbed the victory ahead of Tim Yeager as
Pettit had to make a late pit stop and still managed to charge back to a
third place finish. Paul took a beating in that race, and he'll
certainly be looking for some redemption this week. Wife Michelle Paul,
who finished fourth last week, is anticipated along with Justin Yeager,
Mitch Machado, Trevor Brady and Chris Sieweke.
Speaking
of Machado, it looked as if the three-time reigning champion was on his
way to a track record 14th consecutive point racing Lumberjacks
Restaurant Super Stock feature win. However, his motor gave up on him 18
laps into the race. This left the battle between two time champions
Matt While and Steve Studebaker, and it was While who prevailed at the
checkered flag. These two drivers are at the head of the pack in the
race to deprive Machado of another victory this week. Longtime racer and
past champion Shawn McCoy hopes to have the mechanical gremlins that
sidelined him last week fixed. Others to watch for this week include the
returning Roger Miller, hard-charger Gary Adams and newcomers Justin
Zwicker and Randy Miramontez.
It
should be a pleasant evening of racing at Petaluma Speedway. Racers
looking to make the trip to support the show can take into consideration
that management will be trying to get the race done at a reasonable
time. For fans, it should be two or three hours of good racing on
SpeedshiftTV. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.
Tri-State Pro Stock Challenge Series Invades
Diamond Mountain Speedway
Diamond Mountain Speedway
Susanville,
CA...The Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series will be coming to
Susanville this Saturday night as part of a five division lineup at
Diamond Mountain Speedway. This will be the fourth round of action for
the premiere Pro Stock Series on the West Coast. The top drivers from
California, Oregon and Nevada compete in these exciting races, and that
will again be the case on Saturday night.
On
June 6th, the group made their inaugural appearance at Antioch Speedway
with over 20 competitors in action. They had an eventful feature race
that saw Bill Pearson and Ryan Smith lead at various times, but it was
three-time reigning Petaluma Speedway champion Mitch Machado leading the
all-important last lap for the victory. Bakersfield area competitor
Chris Smith ended up second, followed by multi-time Watsonville Hobby
Stock champion Matt Kile in the Calhoun Brothers entry, 2013 Antioch
champion Jim Freethy and Mike Walko. The Smith team will be there as
recent Antioch winner Ryan Smith will join Chris in competition this
week.
Two-time Stockton winner
Jesse Gonzalez was absent from Antioch, but he is anticipated on
Saturday night along with fellow Nevada racer Pearson. In fact, Gonzalez
and Pearson could be favorites to win this week, though the Smith team
figures to have something to say about that. Another driver who could
strap in behind-the-wheel is Susanville Promoter Jeff Olschowka, who
finished third in the New Year's race at Stockton. Olschowka is a
Modified champion in the area and could be a factor. He finished third
that night ahead of reigning series champion Mike Learn, who is also
anticipated.
Ryan Cherezian has
looked good this year with second and fifth place finishes at Stockton
and a seventh place finish at Antioch from last starting. At press time,
it sounded like Ryan may not make it for this particular event due to
other commitments. However, Donny Richardson has announced his
intentions to compete along with Orland area racer Kevin Pendergrass,
longtime Chico and Petaluma racer Richard Workman and the ever-present
Brent Lawrence. This is just a sampling of the drivers to watch for this
week, but they are expected to tow from all three states to complete
with the Pro Stock Series once again.
Lyle
Hopper of Winning Attitude Motorsports of Paradise, California has been
gracious enough to support the purse money this year, and he's offering
$500 towards the purse again this Saturday night. Drivers looking to
get parts are urged to support Hopper if possible. You can find the
latest information on the series by going to the Tri State Pro Stock
Challenge Series page. Series Director Roy Bain goes live when
announcements need to be made, and he will also broadcast some of the
action live on race day.
Racing Resumes At Siskiyou Golden Speedway Saturday Night
Yreka,
CA...Siskiyou Golden Speedway has been making all kinds of news in
recent weeks with the things Promoter Kevin Barba and the crew have been
doing. Last weekend, this included a special King of the Dirt 16 car
tournament with a $1,000 prize at the end for the top IMCA Sport
Modified racer. This Saturday night, those very same IMCA Sport
Modifieds will be competing along with the Mini Stocks, who are excited
to be returning to the track.
It
was just announced during the week that Travis Hoppes and Barba have
gotten together to make a special Fourth of July weekend event. On July
3rd, IMCA Modifieds will compete for $1,500 to win, IMCA Sport Modifieds
will get $850 to win and Mini Stocks will also be in action. On
Saturday night, the speedway hosts one of its biggest Late Model races
ever with $2,000 on the line for the winner. Outlaw Pro Stocks and
Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars will also be an action. A complete purse
breakdown was not available at press time, but Hoppes assures that it
will be good.
Moving to this
Saturday night, drivers are beginning to wonder if they can beat the
dominant Jorddon Braaten. The three-time reigning Southern Oregon
Speedway and reigning Oregon State champion not only has wins in both
Yreka races, he also defeated local star Justin Foux to win the King of
the Dirt tournament. Not surprisingly, Braaten is being shown as the
point leader, but it's not a comfortable margin. With back-to-back
second place finishes, Isaac Sanders is just two points behind Braaten,
while two-time Southern Oregon Speedway champion Mike Medel has used
consistency to stay six points out of the lead. Medel is coming off of a
third place finish last time out.
The
Sanders family is keeping their presence strong at the front of the
pack. Steven Sanders and Matt Sanders rank fourth and fifth,
respectively. Matt Sanders figured to have something for Braaten last
week, but problems arose to take him out of contention. The numbers have
been up this year, but local racers have found the going just a bit
challenging. Mechanical issues sidelined both 2019 point runner-up Ryder
Boswell and past champion Colt Boswell prior to racing action last
week. Reigning champion Ethan Killingsworth hasn't had the kind of luck
that he would desire so far either. These three will be hoping to turn
things around this week.
The
division has seen some welcome additions, including young rookie Brionna
Fuller and Ryan Peery. The steady Chris Silva currently occupies
seventh in the standings behind Fuller. Some of the other drivers to
watch for this week include Medford stars Branden Wilson and Joby
Shields, Gary Foster, Dylan Sauer and Zach Nelson.
The
Mini Stock drivers have been chomping at the bit to get back on the
track after being excluded from the first two races. 2015 division
champion David Steele, who is coming off of back-to-back championships
at Southern Oregon Speedway, declared his intent to go "trophy hunting"
on Saturday night. He offers a formidable challenge for the local stars,
which include three-time reigning champion Mike Whitaker, three-time
champion Marilyn Yawnick and past champion Terry Kendrick.
Terry
Alford could be representing the family this week, and there could be
multiple cars from the team. Mike Kendrick and Kassidy Wilkinson are two
other locals to watch for, and there are others representing the area
as well. From Medford, some possible visitors might include past Hornet
champion Tim Hedges and his son, 2019 Medford runner-up Ashtin Hedges.
It will be interesting to see who comes to compete with the Mini Stocks,
but the numbers should be up slightly from their usual average.
Management
has indicated the possibility of a third division to be announced, but
there were no announcements as of press time. One possibility will be
the Jefferson State Jalopies, which come from the shop of Karl Bernstein
and JJ Smith. Last season saw the division run for its first-ever
championship, won by Marilyn Yawnick. Smith, Bernstein and multi-time
winner Michael Colson were others who piloted these four machines last
year. The team has been working on a fifth car, but there is no word on
whether it's ready to go.
Because
the IMCA Modifieds have a big race in Susanville, Barba thought it best
not to book the class this week. With the Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars in
Coos Bay, there aren't many other options for a third division. It may
not happen. On the other hand, there have been Sprint Car and Late Model
drivers lobbying for a visit, so some sort of exhibition race could be
added if enough drivers made the commitment.
The
best way to keep updated on the happenings at the track is through the
Siskiyou Golden Speedway Facebook page. Social Media Director Misty
Buchanan answers questions and has been known to go live on race night
with footage from the track. At press time, there was no word on any
official streaming services being offered for Saturday's race.
Sprint Cars, Dwarf Cars Return
To Antioch Speedway Saturday Night
To Antioch Speedway Saturday Night
Antioch,
CA...Considering the difficult time we're going through in the country,
it's amazing that Antioch Speedway has been able to have a race every
Saturday night during June. Despite the fact that covid-19 guidelines
have prevented the track from opening up the grandstands for fan
attendance, fans have still been able to watch all of the action live on
the internet. This Saturday night will see the return of the Winless
Spec Sprints along with the Delta Dwarf Cars, Hobby Stocks and the Four
Bangers. Winged 360
Sprint Cars had been booked, but a last minute schedule adjustment has
been made to work with another track.
With the big Placerville Posse Sprint Car race happening
this weekend, management announced the decision on Tuesday morning to
substitute the Winged 360 Sprint Cars with Wingless Spec Sprints and
schedule the Winged 360 Sprints at another time. This will give the
track a better opportunity to get more cars for the show. Earlier this
season, Shayna Ensign won the Main Event ahead of DJ Johnson and Jake
Morgan. Ensign is the 2018 champion in the division at Petaluma
Speedway.
Dan Gonderman had been
leading for several laps before falling back to fourth at the end.
Gonderman is a two-time champion in the class and is anticipated. Three
other champions we could be seeing are reigning champion Shannon Newton,
two-time champion Bob Newberry and Johnson. Rookie Dylan Bloomfield has
made a splash with two Top 5 finishes this year, including his
impressive performance in the Hunt Series race.
Others
to watch for include Jeff Scotto, Kevin Box, Keith Calvino, Troy Ferry
and Roy Fisher, but it's possible we'll see cars from elsewhere for the
show. Rules were changed before the season to accommodate the drivers
from neighboring Petaluma Speedway.
When last we
saw the Dwarf Cars in action, they were setting a division car count
record with 37 competitors. Management was so impressed with the show
that the Western States Regionals event that was scheduled for July 18th
has been expanded to two days with the first night on July 17th. Past
Antioch champion Kevin Miraglio became the first official winner of a
Delta Dwarf Car Association sanctioned event after taking advantage of a
tangle between Shawn Jones and Ryan Winter to move past both for the
lead. Jones and Winter settled for second and third, respectively.
Two-time
Antioch champion Danny Wagner was a solid fourth on that occasion.
Miraglio and Wagner are anticipated for the show. Reigning champion
Scott Dahlgren recently won the Veterans division main event at the
Dwarf Car Nationals at Petaluma Speedway. He finished 10th in the opener
and will be hoping to take it up a notch on this occasion. Some of the
drivers to watch for this time around include two-time champion Mike
Corsaro, Jack Haverty, Travis Day, Chance Russell, Ellie Russo and last
season's championship runner-up Devan Kammermann.
We
haven't seen an official point list released yet for the Hobby Stock
division after four events, but Travis Dutra certainly did himself a
world of favors by winning the most recent event in dominant fashion.
Dutra is a past Mini Truck champion at the speedway and more recently a
Dwarf Car champion at Petaluma. He built a fast and competitive race car
and has been in Top 5 contention for every race held so far. Dutra may
be getting his closest challenge in the standings from last season's
championship runner-up, Breanna Troen. Troen managed a fourth place
finish last time out after her late pass on fifth place finisher Chris
Bennett. For Bennett, fifth was one of his best performances in the
class.
Larry McKenzie managed to
snatch a podium finish last time out in third after being overtaken by
longtime racer Tim Elias. The competition level has risen this year as
rules have been opened up a little bit to allow visitors from out of
town. This has included two-time winner Rob Gallaher and his one-time
winner father Joe Gallaher. Both drivers are stars out at Watsonville,
where Rob is a three-time champion. Some of the drivers to watch for
this week include Josh Leach, Ken Johns, James Thomson, Gene Haney and
Judy Arth.
It's going to be a
process in rebuilding the Four Banger division, but you've got to start
someplace. Prior to the division's return on the 30th of May, they
hadn't competed at the speedway since 2014. On this occasion, three-time
Merced Speedway champion Chris Corder won both the Main Event and heat
race. He won the Main Event ahead of Jess Paladino, who is expected to
be one of the regulars this year. Merced racer Jennifer Rodgers finished
third on that occasion ahead of Trevor Jolly, while past Merced
champion Dan McCabe scratched. Cars are being built for this class, and
it should grow in the weeks ahead.
We
wrap up the month of June with some exciting open-wheel competition as
well as some fender bending stock car action. We hope to be able to open
the grandstands for fan attendance soon. In the meantime, you can check
out all of the action on SpeedshiftTV. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Central Valley Mini Stocks, King Of Thunder Sprint Cars Come To Keller Auto Speedway
Hanford,
CA...On the heels of the successful reopening of Keller Auto Speedway
last week, action resumes this Saturday night with another exciting
three division offering. The House of JuJu Central Valley Mini Stocks
will be competing along with the King of Thunder Sprint Cars and the
IMCA Stock Cars. For both the Mini Stocks and the Sprint Cars, this is
their third race of the season. Due to covid-19 guidelines, the
grandstands will not be open for this event.
In
their fourth exciting season, the House of JuJu CVMS series put over 20
cars on the track at both Hanford and Kern Raceway earlier this year.
The results were similar. Reigning champion Dan Myrick emerged
victorious both times. He was chased by 2018 champion Greg Baronian on
both occasions. To nobody's surprise, Myrick holds an eight point lead
over Baronian, 221-213.
The
racing is exciting on the track, and the affordability of these cars has
helped this group grow by leaps and bounds since it first started in
2017. Jason Cook has used a pair of fifth place finishes to hold third
in the standings by four points over Rod Baronian. Rod had a fourth
place finish at Hanford behind Matt Herod. Jeff Durant is fifth in the
standings following his third place finish at Hanford and eighth at Kern
Raceway. This should be a good show with such hard chargers as Scott
Glenn, Gene Glover, Andy Boydstun and Steven Porter in the field.
The
King of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Cars never seem to disappoint. Young
charger Keith Day Jr might have won the opener this season if not for a
bit of trouble in traffic. As as it was, Day won the next race to go
with his Top 5 finish, giving him a 12 point lead over Grant Duinkerken
and Kaleb Montgomery. Duinkerken was the one chasing Day at the second
race to earn a runner-up finish. He'll certainly be a factor in the race
for victory this week. Montgomery has been consistent with sixth and
third place finishes so far.
This
series was created last year to increase the fields in Hanford and
Tulare, which hasn't opened yet. Car counts have reached into the
twenties on both occasions this year. There are some top notch
contenders in the field, won by Mitchell Faccinto. Mitchell's brother
Michael finished fifth that night. Some of the drivers to watch for
include Craig Stidham, Jace Vanderweerd, Zane Blanchard, Ben Worth and
Steven Kent.
The IMCA Stock Car
division is gathering momentum on the West Coast, but it all started
with Hanford being the first track to offer the division. Their first
race of the season produced a 14 car field with Eric Hamilton scoring
the win over fifth row starters Wayne Dotson and Chad Johnson. Johnson
won the championship last year with four wins in his six starts. These
three drivers are anticipated this week, but there will be other hard
chargers in the field including Troy Patee, Brock Hamilton and Loren
DeArmond. All three drivers are past champions at the speedway. Last
season's championship runner-up, Cody Johnson, will be hoping to rebound
from his bad luck at the opener, and others to watch for include Chris
Broucaret, Ron Bane, Joshua Nichols and Miranda Dotson.
This
promises to be a good line up with the adrenaline pumping Winged 360
Sprint Cars along with the fender bending action offered by both the
IMCA Stock Cars and CVMS Mini Stocks. For further information, go to www.racekingsspeedway.com or go to the Keller Auto Speedway Facebook page.
Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 27, 2020
Taco Bravo Winged 360 Sprints
Shane Golobic
Kaleb Montgomery
Kurt Nelson
Bud Kaeding
Zane Blanchard
Caden Sarale
Koen Shaw
James Ringo
Jason Chisum
Jake Haulot
Jeremy Chisum
Bradley Dillard
Bryan Grier
Ryan Bernal
Burt Foland Jr
D.J. Netto
Josh Chisum
Chris Nelson
Adam Kaeding
Joey Ancona
Eric Humphries
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Tanner Thomas
Michael Johnson
Kaylin Lopez
Adriane Frost
Timothy Allerdings
Steven Allee
Billy Robertson
Kelly Campanile
Charlie Hunter
Gavin Espino
Mike Kofnovec Jr
Frank Cefaliello Jr
Max Baggett
Kodie Dean
Mini Stocks
Greg Baronian
Ryan McClelland
Jesse Gullings
Tony Gullo
Kate Beardsley
Kelly Campanile
Nicole Beardsley
Richard Mitchell
Allan Kuykendall
Bill Beardsley
Mark Fields
John Grilli
Joseph Marsh DNS
Mini Stock Makeup Race
Ryan McClelland
Greg Baronian
John Grilli
Kate Beardsley
Nicole Beardsley
Tony Gullo
Jesse Gullings
Joseph Marsh
Richard Mitchell
Bill Beardsley
Mark Fields
Chuck Kessinger
Kelly Campanile
Hobby Stocks
Terry Campion
Joe Gallaher
Bobby Huckaby Jr
Kristie Shearer
Steve Remde
Norm Ayers
Brady Muller
Ryan Muller
Austin VanHoff
Mitch Lettunich
Wally Kennedy
Adriane Frost
Tony Oliveira
Jerry Skelton
Rob Gallaher
Ken Winland
Thomas Summers
Police N Pursuit
Tony Parker
Roy Iler
Nate Graham
John Hohmann
Steven Fernandes
Chris Murphy
Jackie Yeung
A.J. Waltrip
Matt Kurrle DNS
Marysville Raceway Unofficial Race Results June 24, 2020
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Shane Golobic
Shane Hopkins
Andy Forsberg
Blake Carrick
Korey Lovell
Nick Larsen
Brent Bjork
Kevin Lovell
Jesse Love
Kenny Wanderstadt
Pat Harvey Jr
Alec Justeson
Brad Bumgarner
Michael Wasina
Mike Monahan
Michael Ing
Colby Copeland
Brandon Dozier
Hobby Stocks
Jimmy Ford
Jim Brookshire
Chris Van Roekel
Angelo Cornet
Toby Merrifield
Jesse Van Roekel
David Caluya
Mario Davis
Rick Etchieson
Zach Lindgren
Matt Rivera
Kyle Cheney
Zac Bullock
Jason Clayton
Jacob Johnson
Marcus Smith
Anthony Doubledee
Rob Gallaher DQ
Ltd.Late Models
Dan Brown Jr
Jay Norton
Ray Trimble
Rod Oliver
Richard Vander Ploeg
Dixon Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 24, 2020
Covid Cup Round 1
Super 600s
Mitchel Moles
Caeden Steele
Chance Crum
Ricky Sanders
Heath Duinkerken
Cody Key
RJ Johnson
Sage Bordenave
Eli Bookout
Brent Crews
Brian Gilbert
Troy Morris III
Jeffrey Pahule
Brett McColloch
Wingless
Mitchel Moles
Austin Stone
Hank Davis
Brent Crews
Austin Torgerson
RJ Johnson
Tyler Chamorro
Logan Calderwood
Cameron Paul
Cody Jessup
Ashton Torgerson
Austin Taborski
Cade Lewis
Norman Harley Rose
Don McLeister
Becca Clark
Stefen Sidur
Brandon Alvarado
Brandon Carey
Savannah Brown
Troy Morris III
Ryan Holden DNS
Mark Baker DNS
Restricted
Colin Kirby
Brandon Riveira
Bryant Bell
Matthew Tatoole
JJ Loss
Teagen Moles
Jayden Whitney
Dominic Carter
Cash Lovenburg
Reilee Phillips
Hayley Aragon
Levi Kuntz
Elijah Gile
Tuesday Calderwood
Destry Miller
Colton Key
Xan Miller
Kyle Cravotta
Dalton Parreira
Corbin Rueschenberg
Maverick Myrick
Taylor Mayhew
Super Stock
Jarrett Rogers
Gauge Garcia
Austin Torgerson
Joshua Rogers
Griffith Jones
Dawson Faria
Jayden Whitney
Dale Saber
Garrett Saber
Ashton Torgerson
Logan Calderwood
Pete Piantanida
Levi Robinson
Keira Zylstra DNS
Destiny Villanueva DNS
Junior Sprints Ward
Makayla Tatoole
Kyle Fernandez
Hayden Stepps
Ty Lovenburg
Braxon Vasconcellos
Ryan Bright
Jacob Battle
Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 27, 2020
Taco Bravo Winged 360 Sprints
Shane Golobic
Kaleb Montgomery
Kurt Nelson
Bud Kaeding
Zane Blanchard
Caden Sarale
Koen Shaw
James Ringo
Jason Chisum
Jake Haulot
Jeremy Chisum
Bradley Dillard
Bryan Grier
Ryan Bernal
Burt Foland Jr
D.J. Netto
Josh Chisum
Chris Nelson
Adam Kaeding
Joey Ancona
Eric Humphries
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Tanner Thomas
Michael Johnson
Kaylin Lopez
Adriane Frost
Timothy Allerdings
Steven Allee
Billy Robertson
Kelly Campanile
Charlie Hunter
Gavin Espino
Mike Kofnovec Jr
Frank Cefaliello Jr
Max Baggett
Kodie Dean
Mini Stocks
Greg Baronian
Ryan McClelland
Jesse Gullings
Tony Gullo
Kate Beardsley
Kelly Campanile
Nicole Beardsley
Richard Mitchell
Allan Kuykendall
Bill Beardsley
Mark Fields
John Grilli
Joseph Marsh DNS
Mini Stock Makeup Race
Ryan McClelland
Greg Baronian
John Grilli
Kate Beardsley
Nicole Beardsley
Tony Gullo
Jesse Gullings
Joseph Marsh
Richard Mitchell
Bill Beardsley
Mark Fields
Chuck Kessinger
Kelly Campanile
Hobby Stocks
Terry Campion
Joe Gallaher
Bobby Huckaby Jr
Kristie Shearer
Steve Remde
Norm Ayers
Brady Muller
Ryan Muller
Austin VanHoff
Mitch Lettunich
Wally Kennedy
Adriane Frost
Tony Oliveira
Jerry Skelton
Rob Gallaher
Ken Winland
Thomas Summers
Police N Pursuit
Tony Parker
Roy Iler
Nate Graham
John Hohmann
Steven Fernandes
Chris Murphy
Jackie Yeung
A.J. Waltrip
Matt Kurrle DNS
Marysville Raceway Unofficial Race Results June 24, 2020
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Shane Golobic
Shane Hopkins
Andy Forsberg
Blake Carrick
Korey Lovell
Nick Larsen
Brent Bjork
Kevin Lovell
Jesse Love
Kenny Wanderstadt
Pat Harvey Jr
Alec Justeson
Brad Bumgarner
Michael Wasina
Mike Monahan
Michael Ing
Colby Copeland
Brandon Dozier
Hobby Stocks
Jimmy Ford
Jim Brookshire
Chris Van Roekel
Angelo Cornet
Toby Merrifield
Jesse Van Roekel
David Caluya
Mario Davis
Rick Etchieson
Zach Lindgren
Matt Rivera
Kyle Cheney
Zac Bullock
Jason Clayton
Jacob Johnson
Marcus Smith
Anthony Doubledee
Rob Gallaher DQ
Ltd.Late Models
Dan Brown Jr
Jay Norton
Ray Trimble
Rod Oliver
Richard Vander Ploeg
Dixon Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 24, 2020
Covid Cup Round 1
Super 600s
Mitchel Moles
Caeden Steele
Chance Crum
Ricky Sanders
Heath Duinkerken
Cody Key
RJ Johnson
Sage Bordenave
Eli Bookout
Brent Crews
Brian Gilbert
Troy Morris III
Jeffrey Pahule
Brett McColloch
Wingless
Mitchel Moles
Austin Stone
Hank Davis
Brent Crews
Austin Torgerson
RJ Johnson
Tyler Chamorro
Logan Calderwood
Cameron Paul
Cody Jessup
Ashton Torgerson
Austin Taborski
Cade Lewis
Norman Harley Rose
Don McLeister
Becca Clark
Stefen Sidur
Brandon Alvarado
Brandon Carey
Savannah Brown
Troy Morris III
Ryan Holden DNS
Mark Baker DNS
Restricted
Colin Kirby
Brandon Riveira
Bryant Bell
Matthew Tatoole
JJ Loss
Teagen Moles
Jayden Whitney
Dominic Carter
Cash Lovenburg
Reilee Phillips
Hayley Aragon
Levi Kuntz
Elijah Gile
Tuesday Calderwood
Destry Miller
Colton Key
Xan Miller
Kyle Cravotta
Dalton Parreira
Corbin Rueschenberg
Maverick Myrick
Taylor Mayhew
Super Stock
Jarrett Rogers
Gauge Garcia
Austin Torgerson
Joshua Rogers
Griffith Jones
Dawson Faria
Jayden Whitney
Dale Saber
Garrett Saber
Ashton Torgerson
Logan Calderwood
Pete Piantanida
Levi Robinson
Keira Zylstra DNS
Destiny Villanueva DNS
Junior Sprints Ward
Makayla Tatoole
Kyle Fernandez
Hayden Stepps
Ty Lovenburg
Braxon Vasconcellos
Ryan Bright
Jacob Battle
The Editor's Viewpoint
If
you're reading this, it means I actually redid much of this column. One
particular news item that I wanted to comment on changed dramatically
from what I had written in the first place. I was going to leave it
there and add something further down in the column, but I don't want to
write it that way. I was doing that when I was covering the day-to-day
news and l making my observations, but this column got way too wordy. I
really didn't want to put a post out today. I'm just not feeling too
encouraged to keep doing this due to lack of support. However, I just
had to comment on what I've heard this week.
The
news just continues to break daily. The virus situation certainly has
caused an impact when it comes to scheduling, and some tracks are
adjusting things on the fly. It is nice to see promoters working
together in that regard so that everybody has a chance to win. If only
that was a trend during normal circumstances, I think things would be
even better.
I was looking at the
Antioch Speedway schedule headed into this weekend, and I was
scratching my head. It was announced at the beginning of June that the
Winged 360 Sprint Cars would be racing at Antioch on Saturday. People
have been wanting this class, and I see people asking when the next date
will be booked. It's a challenging situation, because the track has
struggled to get a car count and there was a desire to have the division
there. Management threw them in on June 27th for what would have been
$1,200 to win and $200 to start.
One
of the stand out tracks when it comes to Winged 360 Sprint Cars is
Placerville Speedway. The track has a long history with these open wheel
race cars, and they get a huge car count on a normal night with their
Thompson's Auto Group sponsored effort. However, this Friday and
Saturday were going to be even bigger. It was one of their Placerville
Posse weekends with an increased purse for the division. They also had
NorCal Dwarf Cars thrown in on the deal for both days as well. What do
you do if you are the management at Antioch Speedway?
As
much as Chad Chadwick might have wanted to go ahead with this race as
scheduled, he also would like to have car count too. When you're dealing
with covid-19 guidelines that keep you from having fans and you rely on
revenue coming in from internet streaming, you also need as many cars
and people in the pits as possible. This wasn't going to happen with
Winged 360 Sprint Cars. Sure, you'd have drivers that didn't feel they
could compete in Placerville and maybe a couple of cherry pickers
looking for an easy win. You might have a dozen cars or so, but that's
not enough justification for the purse that Antioch Speedway would be
paying.
The obvious option was
the Wingless Spec Sprints. Bakersfield Speedway is having the Richie
McGowan Memorial race with both IMCA Modified classes on the bill. While
Antioch probably could have thrown one of those classes in there,
there's something big around the corner in July. Therefore, the Wingless
Spec Sprints were the obvious answer. Rules were changed headed into
this year to accommodate cars from Petaluma Speedway, which has a race
for this class on Sunday.
Management
is hoping to hit the 20 car mark with Spec Sprints, which would have
happened with the winged class if Placerville hadn't been booked. Add in
the Delta Dwarf Cars, Hobby Stocks and Four Bangers, and it should be a
solid show this Saturday. We keep waiting impatiently for covid-19
guidelines to go into the next phase and allow some fans in the stands,
but that announcement still hasn't been made yet. Therefore, the track
will be streaming this one on SpeedshiftTV. At least you don't have to
miss any of the great racing happening out there, and if you subscribe
to the service, you can check out some other great races as well.
There's
more from Antioch, but I want to continue talking about the scheduling
news that came out earlier in the week. It actually changed by
Wednesday. Travis Hoppes of Hoppes Motorsports out of the Medford area
initially worked a deal to sponsor the big Fourth of July weekend event
that was scheduled at Cottage Grove Speedway. The virus shut down pretty
much wiped out Oregon racing at this point. Coos Bay Speedway stands as
an anomaly for the entire West Coast. They are not only open, but they
are allowed to have fans and sell concessions. They are the only oval
track that can make that claim on the West Coast. I have already talked
about that in previous columns, so I don't feel the need to go there any
further. Suffice it to say, other Oregon promoters are trying to figure
out if they can get away with what Coos Bay is doing.
I'm
going by the assumption that Travis and Cottage Grove Speedway Promoter
Heather Boyce had a conversation within the last couple of weeks in
regards to whether Cottage Grove Speedway would be running on Fourth of
July weekend. If so, I'm quite confident that Hoppes would have
supported this event to the best of his ability. Boyce has publicly gone
on record as saying she didn't believe she could open the track up with
no fans. However, she had a change of heart. This didn't happen until
after the news broke in Yreka on Monday night.
In
light of what's been going on at Siskiyou Golden Speedway, everybody's
talking. With the Medford track still closed, several drivers have gone
down to support the Northern California track for its first two races.
Hoppes came to Promoter Kevin Barba with the idea of doing something big
on Fourth of July weekend that would cater to the IMCA Sport Modifieds.
There would be a Friday night race with $400 to win and a Saturday
night race with $850 to win, plus increased purse all the way down.
Because Susanville was having a big IMCA Modified race on Saturday, it
was decided that there would be a $1,500 to win race in Yreka on Friday,
but no race for the division on Saturday. Instead, there would be a
$2,000 to win Late Model race on Saturday with Outlaw Pro Stocks also
being part of the bill. With no fans allowed in the grandstands yet, a
deal seemed to be in place to bring PJ Risso of Dirt Oval TV to Yreka to
help bring in some revenue.
This
was announced on Monday evening. We still hadn't heard a peep out of
Cottage Grove, but there were some people making comments to the effect
that they would like to see the track open on Fourth of July weekend,
which is the anniversary of their opening over 60 years ago. There was
no news until Wednesday morning. Suddenly, Boyce appeared to have a
change of heart. They couldn't have fans and seem to be stuck at the 250
person guideline that is keeping some promoters from looking at holding
a race in Oregon. I'm not sure what all the details will be. Some
details are still lacking. I have a hunch that Heather could be working
on trying to find a way to get fans, but she doesn't know whether she'll
be successful. However, she went ahead and made the announcement about
her race with no fans that would have Dirt Oval TV covering it with
internet pay-per-view.
What was
decided was a six division show at Cottage Grove Speedway on July 4th
that would feature Limited Sprints, Late Models, Street Stocks and the
IMCA sanctioned Modifieds, Sport Modifieds and Sport Compacts. Details
like purse structure, how many people would be allowed in the pits and
whether or not they might be able to get fans in the grandstands are
still forthcoming. There will be an announcement soon. I have a hunch
that they are trying for fans, but there's no guarantee that this will
happen.
Speaking of fans, Drake
Nelson chimed in once again to announce a Wednesday race on July 1st
that will include Sprint Cars, Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars, Street Stocks
and Junior Stingers. He's not wasting any opportunities since he's the
only track that can have fans and concessions, but he had a big drag
racing event booked throughout the Fourth of July weekend. This was his
opportunity to have a race on the oval track.
He's
also going ahead with plans as originally scheduled for two races this
weekend. NASCAR Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks,
Mini Outlaws and Hornets will race on both Saturday and Sunday.
Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars will be a part of the Saturday show, and
he'll run the IMCA Modified Gambler race on Sunday along with the IMCA
Sport Modifieds.
Hoppes was
displeased by the Cottage Grove news, to put it mildly. However, he
managed to restrain himself in his public comment at the Hoppes
Motorsports Facebook page. It's hard to say whether the Cottage Grove
race date announcement was booked with hurtful intent towards the other
track or merely an opportunity to get the place open finally. I wouldn't
say it was done out of spite, but I've questioned some of Heather's
motives in the past. That's all I will say on the matter. Okay, I will
also add that she didn't need to book Sport Modifieds for this
particular date with all the other divisions she had. She could have let
that class go. However, there was no way she was going to open to no
fans, if she can't get any, unless she has live streaming. That meant
there was no way that Dirt Oval TV would be in Yreka for both days.
It's
risky enough to open a race track and pay a purse when you don't get
fans. It's another level of risky to pay increased purses. Yreka was
counting on Dirt Oval TV. They have to have a camera crew in place to
get SpeedshiftTV, which could technically be possible. Fast 4 Media will
probably be at Cycleland, so unless they can get the Dirt 360 TV guys
to come in from Washington, Yreka may not have a pay service at all.
They're not backing off on running a big race, however. Despite the fact
that Hoppes knows some people will stay in Cottage Grove now, he and
Barba managed to work something out.
Yreka
will now run the $1,500 to win IMCA Modified race on Friday and move
the $850 to win IMCA Sport Modified race to the same night as well.
They've added Mini Stocks to round out that program. Late Models will
remain on Saturday for $2,000 to win. The Pro Stocks will remain and the
Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars have been added as well. Hoppes says that
the payout will still be good all the way down and hopes for support
from some of the Oregon racers, mainly the ones from Medford. As
Southern Oregon Speedway has yet to announce any plans at all for a
race, it's a safe bet at this point that the track will be dark on
Fourth of July weekend.
This
highlights the struggle to book during the covid-19 situation. Many of
the tracks have taken the schedules that they booked going into the
season and either threw them out completely or have severely modified
them. Tracks are actually booking on the fly, because there is concern
if they try to book too far in advance, those plans will have to be
canceled. This leaves promoters sometimes making decisions day to day.
All they can do is look and see what other tracks are doing and try to
make the best move possible. If another track hasn't made a move on that
particular date for a certain division, they may try to stake their
claim. Yreka was there first, there was no indication of Cottage Grove
Speedway even considering a race and they felt safe to do it. It looks
like the situation has been resolved, and both tracks will do their
thing.
I will point out that it
is interesting that Yreka would be worried about what Susanville is
doing. There really isn't much back-and-forth happening between these
two tracks. You rarely see anybody from Susanville in Yreka, and vice
versa. I question whether they needed to leave the IMCA Modifieds off
the July 4th schedule at all as I'm sure racers from Yreka and a bit
further south, not to mention drivers from Southern Oregon, would be
willing to go to Siskiyou Golden Speedway. Furthermore, even with
Susanville paying a big purse this Saturday night, Yreka still could
have had a dozen or more Modifieds had they even run a regular show.
That's just my opinion. They will run on Saturday with IMCA Sport
Modifieds and Mini Stocks, but I haven't heard if a third division has
been added yet.
I also want to
give praise to Hoppes. A couple of weeks ago, I did point out that the
PSM Sport Modified group was quick to pass the hat around to support
Coos Bay Speedway for what could have been a doubleheader Memorial Day
weekend event. Coos Bay Speedway does not feature IMCA Sport Modifieds
or IMCA Modifieds, but the group wanted to make this happen and had
lined up about $1,200 in sponsorship money. I even heard the IMCA
Modifieds guys had raised $1,500 worth of sponsorship towards their
purse. Why do I have the feeling that Travis might have been one of the
people pitching in to help that out?
Having
attended two PSM meetings in the past, I can attest to the fact that
the membership didn't necessarily speak highly of the track in Yreka. It
was a dot on the map for their point series, but not much else. This is
why I questioned whether they would do something for the track or not.
There are people in Yreka who buy memberships to support this cause.
Travis is one of the biggest sponsors the PSM has, and he has stepped up
big time to do something special for the class in Yreka. I admit to
being disappointed that he withheld his support from Medford last year,
but that's not what this is about. I just want to acknowledge that this
July 4th weekend activity in Yreka is happening in part because of the
PSM and Travis. I also tend to sympathize with his frustrations as he
wanted it to be a two-race weekend for the Sport Modifieds, and now it
can't be.
I've also received late
word that an effort is being put together to create some sort of
pay-per-view stream for this event after all. The problem is that the
five established services that have worked on the West Coast are all
booked. This means the track would have to create its own
infrastructure. However, work is being put together on this as of this
writing. I've heard a little bit about it, which I'm not willing to
share at this time. Suffice it to say that the track could have an
announcement of where the fans can watch this online for a fee. There
should be an update on that very soon as the clock is ticking.
Uncertain
right now is if and when Southern Oregon Speedway will open. At this
point, we can only engage in speculation. Management has no desire to
open in front of no fans, but word is they are at least drafting ideas
for how it could be possible to do so under those circumstances. The
preferred course of action would be to have fans and concessions, which
is being done at both Coos Bay Speedway and the Medford Dragstrip.
However, both places have gotten creative and are not completely
operating within the spirit of the covid-19 guidelines. You might get
away with taking a risk doing such things, but if you fail at it, the
consequences could be a serious fine. There's a lot to consider. If you
do try to go the Coos Bay Speedway route, you'd better cover your
bases.
When we look at the
status of Oregon racing, River City Speedway will try to open again this
weekend with 250 people maximum in the pits. They were rained out in
their attempt last week, but it should work out this week. It should be
pointed out that the drivers will be racing for no purse. Madras had a
practice last week, but we don't know what their next course of action
is. Likewise, we are not sure what Douglas County Speedway will do,
though there was a hint that they might try racing in July at some
point. Sunset Speedway is stuck in Phase 1 and unable to even gather 250
people at the facility, and Willamette Speedway has other issues.
Southern Oregon Speedway may be the next Oregon track with the best
possibility of opening, but the window will shut before too long.
Some
of the things to think about when it comes to opening Southern Oregon
Speedway include the fact that by about late September, weather changes
and racing becomes problematic. This gives you about 12 weeks from the
start of July before it's over. The dry weather will probably be
conducive to some fires in August, and Medford has been very smokey in
recent years due to the fires. That impacts how many people want to show
up. The other thing is the schedule as originally released is out the
window. Almost all of the big races will not be salvaged. It might be
hoped that the R Charles Snyder Salute could be kept, assuming the track
opens, but that race could be in danger as well.
The
next question would be what divisions do you run in any sort of
abbreviated season at the track? The speedway was set to crown six
division champions this year, and the Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars were
featured several times as well. Therefore, these seven divisions might
need to be booked every time the track opens. We're talking kitchen sink
races, which means a lot of cars in the pits. This ensures that nobody
ever gets left out when the track opens for a race. If there are four
races, six races, eight races or whatever, you just run them all. This
would certainly make for a long night. This is also speculation, and the
place to find the answers when they are given will be the Southern
Oregon Speedway Facebook page
I'm
on standby at the moment, waiting for that news. I see this being my
final year in the sport, but I'll put myself into racing mode and head
down to Medford if that's the game plan. I believe it probably will be. I
believe that in July racing will be scheduled. It's not likely to
happen until July 11th at the earliest, but I think people will be
seeing that updated information on the Facebook page soon. It's been
frustrating watching how this virus has decimated some of the racing
programs. While tracks are making the best of it and in some cases doing
big things, the bottom line has been negatively affected.
Getting
back to Antioch Speedway, I heard rumors last year that Chad Chadwick
was considering IMCA Stock Cars. I didn't like the the sound of that
because we have a Hobby Stock division there that is viable. However,
Chad obviously looked at everything that Antioch Speedway was doing and
declared it all wrong or in need of improvement. He's gone over
everything with a fine-tooth comb and adjusted it. I don't think there's
anything in the program that had been run before that has survived
without some sort of adjustment. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It
does show that Chad feels he needs to do these things to get the track
back up to the level he wants it to be, and he may be right. He's the
guy risking the money, so ultimately he's the guy who will decide what
risks are worth taking and what risks are not.
I
do love the Hobby Stock division, which is a continuation of the Street
Stocks with a different lineage. The Camaros and Firebirds will start
going away, and you still want something of this nature on the schedule.
I don't think the Hobby Stock division is dying yet, but sometimes you
make moves now that will pay off five years from now. With the IMCA
Stock Cars, you're going with the sanctioning body you use for the
Modified classes, and that means universal rules. With Hobby Stocks, you
have some tracks that run that this rule and some tracks that run a
different variation of the rules, and drivers aren't necessarily legal
to go there. An IMCA Stock Car will be legal at any IMCA sanctioned
race. That's what you're buying into, along with the gamble that your
car count will pop.
What we've
seen in California since Hanford started IMCA Stock Cars over a decade
ago is a division that grew a little bit but has topped out at 16 or 18
total cars. I don't know that there's ever been an IMCA Stock Car race
in California with 20 cars. However, one would have to believe that time
is coming. Hanford's class kind of branched out to Bakersfield Speedway
and Tulare Thunderbowl. You're still talking about cars in one specific
area in California. For this thing to really grow, you need other areas
of the state to buy in.
I've
forwarded the notion that Siskiyou Speedway ought to at least take a
look at IMCA Stock Cars to get something of this nature on their
schedule. The Street Stock class died and they don't have Hobby Stocks.
For that matter, it would have made sense to add the class at Southern
Oregon Speedway, especially since tracks in Banks and Lebanon, Oregon
are running the class and Cottage Grove will probably do so as well.
It's just a matter of time. IMCA Stock Cars will be the big thing on the
West Coast. You can already see it happening. The fact that Chadwick
has decided that Antioch should do it does not surprise me.
You
also have to consider the fact that Merced Speedway was going to have a
championship for this division as there were four or five dates booked.
Then, their season got put on hold due to the virus. Antioch jumping in
makes sense at this point, and there have been cars built specifically
with this division in mind. They may not be to the letter of the rules,
but it wouldn't take much to make them legal. I believe IMCA also has a
one-year grace period that they put on new tracks to get them up to
code, although I'm not sure if that will apply at Antioch.
I'm
initially hesitant to get on board with this decision on the grounds
that we have Hobby Stocks, but I'm told it's not an either-or situation.
The Hobby Stocks will have races as well the IMCA Stock Cars. They do
this down in Bakersfield. In fact, they also have an American Stock
class. Chadwick just wants to recreate something he saw at Antioch
Speedway for years with NASCAR. You knew Street Stocks, American Stocks,
Sportsman, Grand American Modifieds and Late Models were legal to race
at several tracks. NASCAR isn't the thing on our level anymore, but IMCA
is. We've replaced the red jackets with yellow and purple shirts, but
the image is still there.
I think
this goes along with the image that Chadwick is trying to portray with
the speedway. Bringing in the sanctioning body and flying that flag up
the pole shows people something different, and it harkens back to the
time when the NASCAR flag was being raised up the pole. More
announcements will be made regarding this division in the days ahead,
but there is still half a season left to run.
I
do have to wonder if the Four Bangers might benefit from sanctioning.
Granted, I believe only Ventura Raceway has an IMCA Sport Compacts class
in California, but I could see Antioch looking at this. One benefit you
have is that new drivers know that they're running a sanctioned class,
and that could lead to car count growth at a quicker pace. One thing you
can't deny is change is in the air at Antioch Speedway, and it's all
designed to make things bigger and better.
Marysville
Raceway ran a quick and efficient race on Wednesday night. They went
with Wednesday because they're not conflicting with any of the other
California tracks and can get the camera crews that enable them to
stream live on SpeedshiftTV. They need that revenue. What's interesting
was they were allowed 100 fans in the stands, but I heard Troy Hennig
mention early on that if anybody in the Marysville area was watching,
they could probably get there and buy a ticket to watch in person. It's
interesting that there weren't 150 people waiting in line to get those
100 seats, but I guess they didn't want to bother? Or maybe they were
late arrivals. It was hot after all.
Because
of the heat, the California Hardtops declined it to support the date
they were booked for. This group is known to do that and has canceled
several races over the last five or six years due to excessive heat.
Some of the drivers are older, and they also cite the older racing
equipment not handling the heat very well. I did enjoy watching Pat
Harvey Jr as one of the competitors in the Sprint Cars on Wednesday.
He's in his 70s. There's a point there someplace, but I'm not going to
elaborate too much. This is my clever way of saying these excessive heat
cancellations by the Hardtops disappoint me. Then again, it's their
decision to make, not mine.
Dennis
Gage and his crew ran a quick program. There were a little over forty
competitors between three divisions, but the Limited Late Models only
brought five cars. The Hobby Stocks ran a fast program and their
cleanest race of the year. It's interesting to see that the Watsonville
legal cars are competitive with the Marysville legal cars, and Rob
Gallaher demonstrated that quite well by taking the checkered flag first
in the Main Event ahead of Jimmy Ford. I know Rob was disqualified in
post-race tech, but I personally don't believe that was why he won. They
really have a good Hobby Stock division in Marysville.
The
Sprint Cars also ran a quick race. There really wasn't much drama at
the front of the pack. Shane Golobic got the lead at the start and was
never threatened. It was quite an impressive drive as even heavy traffic
couldn't slow him down. It looks like some of the teams decided they
would just save their cars for Placerville on Friday and Saturday, but
they still had 20 cars and some good drivers in that field. All in all,
it was a good night. You got a couple hours of entertainment and it
didn't drag. They're going to stick with the Wednesday idea and will
return on July 8th with the Winged 360 Sprint Cars back in action along
with the Pepsi IMCA Sport Modifieds, Nor Cal Dwarf Cars and Limited Late
Models.
There's no denying that
the loss of the California Micro Sprint Speedweek Series hurt. The four
promoters involved in that deal hated canceling it. They wanted to do
something at the end of June. What's interesting was they were able to
put together last-minute scheduling and created something called the
West Coast Covid Cup. The only track from Speedweek not included was
Delta Speedway, and that's only because they didn't get opened in time.
I've been keeping an eye on Dixon for a year-and-a-half now, so I
watched the scoring loop once again.
They
didn't have the car count they would have had If this was a Speedweek
race, but there were a little over 80 cars. This included the Super
Stock 600 class that they run at Lemoore, though this is not a class
featured regularly in Dixon. It didn't seem like they were in any sort
of rush to move the program along and it stretched beyond 11 again. It
got done right around a quarter to 12. There were some talented drivers
in the field and this was certainly a good start to the series. One of
the names you're going to be hearing in Sprint Car racing in the near
future, I'm sure, is Mitchel Moles. Moles turned in an impressive
performance by winning the Wingless and Super 600 Main Events. He's done
this at Dixon and other tracks before, so it's not a big surprise.
Turning
back to Antioch Speedway again, it was announced on Wednesday that
there will be another two race weekend coming up at the start of July.
July 3rd is a Friday night, and the track will have IMCA Modifieds for
$750 to win and $75 minimum to start. IMCA Sport Modifieds get 400 to
win with $60 to start that night. The Hobby Stocks get $150 to win and
$40 to start. The Big Kahuna George Steitz Freedom Series is back with
the second of three scheduled rounds. The Saturday, July 4th program
will see the IMCA Modifieds racing for $1,500 to win and $100 to start.
The Sport Modifieds get $750 to win and $100 minimum to start. The Hobby
Stocks get $300 to win and $50 minimum to start.
At
this point, We're hoping that we can get good news at anytime regarding
fans in the grandstands. However, we also keep hearing in the news
about more people getting the virus, not to mention the fact that the
California governor put a statewide mask requirement rule in place. In
other words, we have to be mindful of the possibility of things being
pulled back at anytime. Therefore, I'm going to say it's unlikely that
the grandstands will be open for this particular weekend, but you never
know. The track will again be going for a streaming service to allow the
fans to watch, probably SpeedshiftTV. What else are you going to do at
this point? I think the track will do well on this particular weekend as
I'm not expecting any other Bay Area tracks to attempt to challenge it.
I
wouldn't expect Watsonville to try to run a show on Friday, but seeing
them attempt a Thursday race wouldn't be a big surprise. However, no
announcement has been made yet. Petaluma Speedway did make an
announcement, and they are going to go with Sunday. They're doing Sunday
this week, which was also scheduled in the first place. It was to be
the final night of the County Fair, which was obviously canceled due to
covid-19. This Saturday night will still see the PitStopUSA.com
Wingless Spec Sprints, McLea's Tire Service IMCA Modifieds and
Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks in action. The same Sprint Cars and
Modifieds will be back on July 5th along with the General Hydroponics
Redwood Dwarf Cars.
On the radar
for both Petaluma and Watsonville will be visits by the NARC/King of the
West Fujitsu Winged 410 Sprint Car Series. This will be the opportunity
to test my theory that Rick Faeth at Petaluma has always intended to
honor the schedule as booked. He never changed anything. The reason I
bring that up is I wonder if he'll have grandstands on July 11th. If
not, that's a hefty purse to pay. The following weekend is the Howard
Kaeding Classic, which is a special event at Watsonville. Everybody is
looking forward to going to that one.
Placerville
Speedway seems to be a little bit slower in giving us updates on the
scheduling. We didn't really start hearing rumblings about the
Placerville Posse Winged 360 Sprint Car race that will be happening on
Friday and Saturday along with NorCal Dwarf Cars on both nights until
about a week and a half ago. However, this weekend is shaping up to be
big for the track. They've got big purse money on the line for Saturday,
and even the Friday purse has been raised a bit as other people
sponsor. To highlight that and one bit of information we just heard,
Country Builders Construction has sponsored enough money to bump the
starting money to $300 for the Sprint Cars. There's more details on the
track's Facebook page.
They also
announced that they will indeed be racing on July 4th weekend. In this
case, they'll have the Thompson's Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars,
Limited Late Models, Pure Stocks and Mini Trucks. They're already saying
that there will be no grandstands or fireworks show. Of course,
firework shows for most of the big events are out of the question due to
the virus. They were going to have a USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car and
Western Midget race on July 11th, but this has been canceled. In this
case, it wasn't USAC doing the canceling, but there's a livestock event
happening at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds that conflicts with the
race. USAC is still waiting to get their West Coast activity started.
This
Saturday night was always planned to be a special evening at
Bakersfield Speedway. On this occasion, we remember one of the beloved
members of the racing community, Richie McGowan. McGowan was a regular
in the Hobby Stock division for several years. When he passed away, the
track added a 32 lap Hobby Stock race in his honor for $600 to win.
Obviously,
you want to open up the track to fans, but the situation with the virus
has made that impossible at this time. Promoter Scott Schweitzer still
wanted to make this race happen, and fortunately Low Budget TV has been
supporting Bakersfield Speedway pretty well in recent years. This should
lead to some great coverage online on Saturday night.
The
IMCA Modifieds have been a part of this special occasion in recent
years, and they get $1,000 to win, while the IMCA Sport Modifieds
receive $700 to win. This was to be one of the Highway 99 Series races
between Bakersfield and Merced Speedway. We are unclear on the status of
Merced Speedway at this time, but we hope to hear some good news soon.
The American Stocks even get a piece of the action at $250 to win.
Drivers
have been chomping at the bit to get back on the 1/3 mile dirt oval
again, so it's anticipated that there should be a good car count all the
way around. If you're a fan of Modified racing and Hobby Stocks, the
Low Budget TV streaming of the Richie McGowan Memorial at Bakersfield
Speedway will be a show you won't want to miss on Saturday night.
On
the northern end of California, Jeff Olschowka is all in on a big two
day show at Diamond Mountain Speedway this week. The promoter is putting
up some good money, which should ensure a good turn out like he had two
weeks ago. Susanville is able to open the grandstands to fans with
social distance guidelines in place, though they are unable to have
concession stands at this time. On Friday night, the IMCA Modifieds will
be offering $1,500 to win. IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks will
each get $400 to win, and the Mini Stocks complete the program. With
Mini Stocks down on Saturday, the three other divisions will run for the
same purse, joined by a $1,500 to win race for Late Models and a $1,500
to win program for the Tri State Pro Stocks Challenge Series.
They
happen to be catching certain divisions at the right time, and with the
car count they are getting in the Modifieds and Sport Modifieds, they
probably didn't need to open things up. However, the opportunity to
bring Late Models in from Northern California and parts of Oregon was
too good for Olschowka to pass up. It will be interesting to see the
numbers in this race. The Tri State Pro Stock Series has been off to a
good start this year and should represent very well in this event. Their
purse is sponsored in part by Lyle Hopper of Winning Attitude
Motorsports, and this event but will be broadcast online at Dirt Oval
TV.
Ocean Speedway had a rather
enjoyable and well-run show on Thursday night. In fact, I managed to get
an article done at 10 minutes after 10. They have a 10 o clock curfew
there, but they were done well before that. The week before, they had
110 cars in the pits and the night got away from them as they didn't run
the Hobby Stock or Mini Stock Main Events that night. Therefore,
management made the immediate decision to book both divisions for double
Main Events on this occasion. There's a lot of schedule adjustments
happening these days, and one such decision called for the track to move
its race from Friday night to Thursday night in order for them to get
the important revenue generated from streaming the event live online via
SpeedshiftTV
This time they had
73 cars, but they still had quite a bit of racing to do. They didn't
need any B Mains this time, which certainly helped speed things along.
They also made the decision to not to run a Sprint Car Trophy Dash. Tom
Sagmiller had the quarter-mile clay oval whipped into beautiful shape,
which was conducive to some great racing all night long. The Hobby Stock
division elected to run a 40 lap Main Event rather than the regularly
scheduled 20 lap race and the makeup race. However, attrition took it
toll in that race as less than half of the field would finish.
It
seemed like the most entertaining races in terms of battles at the
front of the pack were had by the Mini Stocks and the IMCA Sport
Modifieds. The other story being played out was the performance of Shane
Golobic in the Sprint Car feature. The two-time track champion had led
every lap in winning at Marysville the night before, and he did the same
thing this time around. The team was planning on running four nights of
racing, which will include Placerville on Friday and Saturday. Shane
and his brother Dustin were back east doing some Sprint Car racing there
as they had more opportunities than they would have in California.
It's
certainly not the most ideal time for a promoter to try to run a race.
Having to run based on money generated through the pits and streaming
services means you still might have a challenge paying the bills. You
need those fans and the concession sales they bring. I hate to see all
of this great racing that's been happening without any fans up in the
grandstands. It's really sad to look at, but this is the only way we've
been able to get anything on the track. They come back again on July
10th, but I'm really curious how the upcoming NARC/King of the West
Sprint Car race will be on the 17th. With any luck, maybe they can get
fans by then? Saying there's a 50-50 chance of that happening might be a
bit optimistic, but you never know. They've still got it better than
some tracks in the state.
Before
wrapping up this already long column, we take a look at the tracks that
seem to have been forgotten in California. These are the tracks that
haven't been able to open up for a race since the shutdown. Last week we
reported that because the Plumas County Fairgrounds has been shut down
for the year, American Valley Speedway will not be opening this year.
It's the only track in California that we know has made that statement.
Ventura Raceway made a statement back at the end of May that they are
tied to the fairgrounds and haven't been given the go-ahead to do
anything yet. Orland Raceway made a similar statement back in May. Like
Ventura, there's been no update since. Silver Dollar Speedway did get a
race in the books back in March before they were shut down, but the
fairgrounds has not given them approval to open the track yet. Troy
Hennig indicated in the broadcast at Marysville Raceway on Wednesday
that the target date is the third Friday of July at the earliest.
Similarly,
Merced Speedway General Manager Doug Lockwood indicated that his track
might not open until July 18th at the earliest. He's constantly in
negotiations with the county health officials to move things along, but
we haven't heard any encouraging news yet. Santa Maria Raceway held a
practice two weeks ago, but management says they're still not cleared to
have a race yet. This weekend, Orange Show Speedway and Barona Raceway
are having practices, but we are unclear on when they might actually
have a race. At the far Northwestern end of California, Hayfork Speedway
is still waiting on any word on when they can even practice. All
American Speedway in Roseville had a practice last week, but we haven't
heard word of any race happening there just yet.
As
for me, I'm just sitting here watching all of this racing news as it
breaks day to day and watching what's going on in the world in total
disbelief. I wasn't planning to do this column, but there were too many
tempting things to comment on. Whether I get any support or not, I just
figured I'd put my two cents in on the matter. We're still week-to-week,
and the early post next week is the only one I am currently planning to
put out. Other than that, we'll just have to see.
On that note, I'm going to end this column. Until next time...
