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Pit Stops
We
enter the final weekend of August with a few interesting things on the
schedule. One of the biggest highlights will be the two race Tri State
Pro Stock Challenge Series weekend, starting at Antioch Speedway on
Saturday and heading to Petaluma Speedway on Sunday. You can watch them
online. Antioch has their own streaming service at antiochspeedway.tv and Petaluma will be on floracing.com.
Pavement fans have some great Mini Stock and Late Model action to check
out at Madera, Street Stocks get a big event at Coos Bay, Micros are
back in action at Dixon and there's more.
Tri State Pro Stock Challenge
Tri
State Pro Stock Challenge Series Director Roy Bain has been as busy man
this year. Seeing how some tracks were still trying to hold races
without fans, Roy started making phone calls and adjusting his schedule.
By the time we get to the end of the season, they will have had about
as many races as were originally scheduled, though some of the locations
will have changed. This double header weekend is the first two-race
opportunity the group has had since the formation of the series last
year.
It came about because
Petaluma Speedway Promoter Rick Faeth was looking to get the group for a
visit. One of the things that has helped make these race dates possible
has been Roy's ability to find sponsors to help with the purse. They
like to pay $1,000 to win these races, which will be the case at both
Petaluma and Antioch. Longtime Petaluma car builder Joe Carr stepped
forward to help make the Petaluma Speedway race happen on Sunday.
Saturday's show at Antioch Speedway will be sponsored by Jay's Mobile
Welding Service. Bain estimates that the car count should be in the 20s
at least for both races, and that may necessitate the need for B Mains.
The
series has held six events so far. Jesse Gonzalez picked up a pair of
wins at the Stockton Dirt Track, three-time reigning Petaluma champion
Mitch Machado got both Antioch wins, Ryan Smith won the first Susanville
appearance and Jeff Olschowka won the most recent Susanville race.
Machado will come into both tracks as the driver to beat. However, he
can expect some formidable competition.
When
the series is not running, they are still welcomed at non-sanctioned
races. In a recent race at Coos Bay Speedway, Gonzalez returned for
another victory. Antioch Speedway has an open-door policy for drivers of
this group, and Smith and reigning series champion Mike Learn have both
picked up wins there. The series is sparking new life and new interest
in Super Stock/Pro Stock racing.
In
addition to the aforementioned stars, you've got hard chargers like
Brett Lawrence, BJ Pearson, reigning Chico champion Matt Micheli, Chris
Smith, Bill Hall III, Richard Workman, Matt Kile and Wayne Coffman. You
also have the regulars at both Petaluma Speedway and Antioch Speedway
that will do their best to bring the glory back home. It will make for
an exciting two nights of Pro Stock racing. You can check out the Tri
State Pro Stock Challenge Series Facebook page for information and
updates.
Antioch Speedway
Antioch
Speedway will be welcoming back the Wingless Spec Sprints, Delta Dwarf
Cars, Super Stocks vs the Tri State Pro Stocks and the Four Bangers. The
combination of divisions seems to work pretty well for the track. They
go from the IMCA Modified classes and Hobby Stocks to these open-wheel
affairs and seem to be drawing decent support. Since they can't have
fans in the grandstands, they offer the pay-per-view streaming option at
antiochspeedway.tv.
This
is the sixth Wingless Spec Sprint race of the season, five of which
have been the track's regular group and one for the Hunt Wingless Sprint
Series. While there are no points being kept that we know of, we can
tell you that there have been five different feature winners so far. The
big Hunt Series victory went to Bradley Terrell, who recently grabbed
the Johnny Soares Classic victory at Petaluma. Past Petaluma champion
Shayna Ensign won the first Spec Sprint race of the year in Antioch with
three-time Hunt Series champion Terry Schank Jr and past Antioch
champion DJ Johnson getting wins.
The
most recent victory was earned by 14 year old phenom Dylan Bloomfield.
At the race before that, Bloomfield nearly scored the thrilling victory
over Johnson, but Johnson was able to make the late move to get the lead
away from him. Bloomfield's win occurred in just his sixth time behind
the wheel of a Spec Sprint. This Micro Sprint graduate has displayed
some impressive moves since getting behind the wheel. Can he make it two
races in a row? Johnson is anticipated for this race and could present a
challenge.
Winged 410 Sprint Car
racer Jarrett Soares has multiple Top 5 finishes and seems to be
knocking on the door to his first win of the year. Two-time champion Dan
Gonderman has also had a couple of strong finishes. Others to watch for
this week include two-time champion Bob Newberry, Roy Fisher, Jeff
Scotto, Kevin Box and Keith Calvino. There could be a few of the top
drivers from the Hunt Series coming to town for a shot at the win. That
might even include past Hunt Series champion Shawn Jones.
Jones
could certainly make a claim as the top Dwarf Car driver in the state
of California this year. He's won multiple Main Events with different
groups and is always fast. He was at the Wyoming Dwarf Car Nationals,
though he was forced to settle for second on that occasion. One of the
area racers making a splash was 2016 Antioch champion Kevin Miraglio.
Kevin won the Veterans portion of the Nationals in Wyoming, and he's
also picked up a pair of wins in regular Delta Dwarf Car competition at
Antioch.
Two-time Antioch Dwarf
Car champion Danny Wagner is also a feature winner this year. He and
reigning champion Scott Dahlgren and young gun Devan Kammermann always
make their presence known. Kammermann has finished on the podium
multiple times this year, but he's looking to capture his first career
win. He might be encouraged by the fact that the most recent winner was
Sean Catucci. That was the first win for Sean in this class after
earning a second earlier in the season. There are some great racers with
the Delta Dwarf Cars, and some to watch for this week include two-time
champion Mike Corsaro, Troy Stevenson Jr, Mario Marquez, David Michael
Rosa, Travis Day and rookies Ellie Russo and Chance Russell.
It
might be a challenge for the local Super Stock competitors to pick up
the win with the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series coming to town.
With $1,000 on the line to the winner thanks to sponsorship from Jay's
Mobile Welding, it could be the biggest win of the any local
competitor's career. People might look at two-time reigning champion
Kimo Oreta as the guy to get the job done, but it hasn't particularly
been a good year for him. 2013 champion Jim Freethy has finished well
this year and may be the best local driver in the hunt.
Never
count out the fast and consistent Mike Walko as he's due to strike for a
win of his own. Driving the John "The Bear" Keith car, Chris Long will
also be a driver to watch. There's also Chad Hammer, Jay Bryant and John
Evans to consider. The man with the most wins in this division's
history, Mike Gustafson, might not be somebody people are looking at,
but never count the future Antioch Speedway Hall of Famer out. There is a
driver who might come in as the top regular competitor in this race.
Ryan
Cherezian is a good example of persistence and determination. In the
past few years, he's worked hard trying to get his car faster and has
seen the successes and the disappointments. He's led races for several
laps, only to watch his motor expire on him. At the most recent Antioch
Super Stock race, Cherezian turned in a very impressive performance in
winning his first career feature. He has finished as high as second with
the Tri State Challenge Series, and he may be a threat to win. We don't
know what the points might be in this division, but the glory of
getting a win is on everybody's mind.
The
standing offer of a purse for five cars still remains in effect for the
Four Banger division. The track has been trying to re-establish this
class, but getting drivers to to participate has been a challenge. Jess
Palladino has been the most supportive so far, but Palladino needs other
drivers to race with. As Merced Speedway has been sitting dark to the
class and Watsonville appears to be done, this is a golden opportunity
for drivers to travel from both places to run for a little bit of purse
money at Antioch Speedway. The track remains committed to getting this
division established.
The Super
Stock vs Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series race alone makes this
worth watching. There are expected to be over 20 competitors in this
class, and that could also be the case with the Dwarf Cars. Throw in
some Wingless Spec Sprints, and that is plenty of reason to subscribe to
the track's www.antiochspeedway.tv streaming service to watch it all. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Petaluma Speedway
Petaluma Speedway moved to Sunday night for this weekend in order to accommodate the streaming services of floracing.com.
It turns out that the streaming service may not have any other races to
broadcast in California on Saturday night, but it still works out great
for the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series, who will be coming to
town to do battle with the local Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks in
what should be a big show. Speaking of big, the General Hydroponics
Redwood Dwarf Cars have been fielding huge car counts this year, and
they return along with the PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars and the Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros.
It's been a while since we've seen the PitStopUSA.com
Winged 360 Sprint Cars, but they return for their fourth appearance of
the season. This is the only Northern California opportunity for drivers
to run this class. In their three events we've seen three different
winners. Chase Majdic got a win in his one appearance. Sean Becker and
Andy Forsberg are the other winners. If you're keeping track of the
points, reigning Chico champion Becker carries a one point advantage
over Marysville champion Andy Forsberg. 17 points behind Becker you'll
find past Petaluma champion Jake Haulot in a tie with JJ Hickle. Driving
for Worden Racing, Hickle has been racing back East. He is nine points
ahead of Brent Bjork, who was a feature winner last year.
There
have been five events so far for the General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf
Cars, and reigning NorCal champion Michael "Spanky" Grenert leads the
way as the only driver with five Top 5 finishes, including a win.
However, his advantage is 59 points over reigning champion Chad
Matthias. Matthias is still looking for his first victory as he leads
Jimmy Damron by 12 points and Matt Hagemann by 28. Seeing a field of 30
or more cars is a good possibility as drivers could visit from multiple
Dwarf Car groups in the area. This could include past Watsonville and
NorCal champion Shawn Jones, who has won twice. Past NorCal champion
Danny Wagner and Southern California driver Darren Brown are also
winners with the group. Local Stars include past champion John "Scooter"
Gomes Michael Affonso, Mike Dahle, Carroll Mendenhall, Garrett Brady
and Zach Albers.
While the Tri
State Pro Stock Challenge Series invades, the Lumberjacks Restaurant
Super Stocks will be having a point event. Two-time champions Steve
Studebaker and Matt While are battling for the lead after four races.
Studebaker picked up the most recent win for his second triumph, and
While is also a two-time winner. The lead is just one point for
Studebaker over While. Justin Zwicker is just 17 points out of the lead,
and Roger Miller is only 18 points back. However, these points don't
take into account their race during the Speedweek visit. These four
drivers are anticipated along with past champion Shawn McCoy and Randy
Miramontez as well as the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series stars.
Rounding
out the program will be the Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros. We haven't
seen a current point update after four races, but we can tell you that
Koen Shaw is a two-time winner. George Nielson and Jim Beck have won the
two most recent races and come into the show as the drivers to beat.
It's been very competitive racing with this group with a few other
drivers coming close to the glory. Some of the racers to watch for
include Kyle Grissom, reigning champion Justin Adiego, Rob Brown, Shiloh
Borland and Trevor Mendenhall.
The grandstands will not be open for this show, but you can catch all of the action at floracing.com. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com or check out the Petaluma Speedway Facebook page.
Madera Speedway
Madera
Speedway will be back in action for another club race this Saturday
night. This event is being headlined by the Olga's California Dream 100
lap Pro Mini Stock race. The House of JuJu Central Valley Mini Stocks
will also be competing along with the Madera Late Models, MST's, Hobby
Stocks and the Toyotas. With fans still not able to attend these races, nutupindustries.com has sponsored the track so that they may offer the stream for free on YouTube.
The
California Dream race sort of sprung up after the track invited the
Mini Stock racers from the CVMS and other places to compete in a July
race last season. Robert Copley has been working feverishly behind the
scenes to help make this race happen. Originally, it was going to be a
50 lap show, but it has grown to be 100 laps. With that kind of
distance, tire management will be a factor in the outcome for sure. This
will be the biggest Mini Stock race on the West Coast, and a good
turnout is anticipated. In last season's race, Josh Cross picked up the
win ahead of Stockton area competitors Joseph Reichmuth and current
Stockton point leader Joe Flowers.
Cross
has already committed to this race. The Ford Pinto of Andy Brown will
be in action along with Eureka stars Brian Murrell Sr and Brian Murrell
Jr. Chris Wishman and Rich Ackerman Jr are two others who've signed up
ahead of time to compete. The lure of running a race that could be
televised on MavTV at a later date certainly has its appeal.
Furthermore, there aren't too many 100 lap Mini Stock races on the
schedule anywhere on the West Coast, so drivers would obviously like to
get a piece of the glory.
The
CVMS Mini Stock group is making their second appearance of the year at
the speedway and will run a 35 lap race. The last time out, it was Rod
Baronian outrunning brother Greg Baronian after making a couple of good
moves late in traffic to get the win. Greg Baronian is the 2018
champion. Reigning champion Dan Myrick had been running in the Top 5,
but contact racing in an effort to move forward sent him to the pits as
Steven Brown, Ryan Doglione and Gene Glover completed the Top 5 that
night. Doglione won a regular show at Hanford recently, while Clint
Massey won the latest CVMS race there as well as a non series race at
Bakersfield the next day.
Jeff
Durant finished sixth at the Madera race and earned a Top 5 finish in
Hanford. Myrick was hoping to grab a second place finish that night at
the very least, but he again encountered problems and retired from the
show. The battle for the championship is still close as the consistent
Durant leads Myrick by 13 points, 550-537. Both are feature winners this
year. There's a nice battle going on for third, being led by Jason Cook
by six points ahead of Gene Glover and 23 in front of Greg Baronian.
Massey is 26 points back in sixth. These drivers are all anticipated
along with others, such as Ethan Griffioen, Shawn DePriest and Randy
Brown Jr.
The current Madera Late
Model points list was not available at press time, but it should be
very close between Lily Mead and Trevor Schlundt following the most
recent race. Schlundt might have taken the lead from Mead on that
occasion, but he faded to finish fifth, just in front of Mead at the
checkered flag. On thst occasion, we saw a new winner emerge in Sheldon
Cooper, who had a battle on his hands holding off Kyle Keller, who was
looking to get his second win in this series. Some of the drivers to
watch for include Del McIntosh, Jon Schlundt, Lauren Kutz, Mike Shapiro
and Keller.
Manny Gonzalez Jr
helped his championship cause in the Hobby Stock division last time by
picking up his first win of the season. He had a pair of seconds and a
third prior to that. One of the drivers who's been making things
interesting for Gonzalez is Tyler Rogers, but he had mechanical failures
in preliminaries that would sideline him from the most recent race.
Dennis Saunders Jr could be second in the standings, though we haven't
seen a list. Bakersfield racers Don Mead and Brian Childress competed
last time out. it will be interesting to see who shows up for this
occasion.
The MST division was
saddened at the news of the passing of Bert Stephens' wife prior to the
most recent race. As a result, he did not compete, and the field saw a
lower car count due to the fact that there were others unable to fix
equipment and others taking a vacation due to being suspended. Stephens
probably lost the point lead after the last race as the Reynolds
brothers finished first and second. Both Ryan Reynolds and Shaun
Reynolds are feature winners this year. Haley Bugg was making good laps
as she continues to improve. She should be back for this race, and
others to watch for include rookie Kyle LaBrie, Tim Kammerer and Patrick
Geiger.
The Toyota Sedans class
hasn't been getting a good turnout, and none of the competitors showed
up last time out. Andrew Parr has a nine.point lead over Thomas Magray.
JJ Brandsen is third in the standings.
The
night will be all about Mini Stock racing, and both the California
Dream and the CVMS races should be entertaining. Throw in the Madera
Late Models and everything else, and it will be a fun show. Furthermore,
nutupindustries.com has
enabled this race to be shown for free on the track's YouTube page
thanks to their sponsorship. For further information, go to www.racemadera.com or check out the Madera Speedway Facebook page.
Coos Bay Speedway
There
are just three NASCAR Whelen All American Series events left on the
Coos Bay Speedway schedule, and they will happen during the next three
weeks. This Saturday's show includes the 40 lap $500 to win Battle At
The Beach Street Stock race. The America's Mattress Super Late Models
will be competing along with the Sportsman Late Models, Mini Outlaws,
Hornets and Junior Stingers.
After
the eighth event of the season, Brody Montgomery managed to take the
lead in the America's Mattress Super Late Models by 10 points over
Braden Fugate. Montgomery is the only driver with all Top 5 finishes so
far, and this was his first win of the season. He's hoping to win his
second championship in the last three years. Incoming leader Jason
Johnson had a pair of victories this season, but mechanical failure in
the preliminaries kept him sidelined for the Main Event. The damage
could have been much worse than it was. He's only 12 points out of the
lead and still in the hunt. Fugate is a one-time winner and the top
rookie in the field. Reigning champion Preston Luckman has three
victories to his credit in maintaining the fifth place position that is
still worth $800 to him in championship point fund money. The track
championship itself is worth $3,500, plus there's an additional $2,000
in state championship money on the line.
In
addition to the big money being offered up for the Street Stock race on
Saturday, there's also a close championship on the line. 2018 champion
Ken Fox leads reigning champion Steve Dubisar by just eight points. Both
have a pair of victories to their credit, and Dubisar is coming off of a
third place finish last week. Four-time winner Graig Osborne leads the
class with four victories and may be the driver to beat going into this
race. Sam Talon is a solid fourth in the standings, and the multi time
Mini Outlaw champion is looking for a big moment. Despite the fact that
Willamette Speedway just put up $1,000 for their own Street Stock race,
car count should be in the teens for this race at least.
The
Sportsman Late Model race is being led by two-time winner Trace Fugate.
Unless he stumbles badly, he may be on his way to the championship. His
lead over last week's winner Ryan Emry is 82 points. Emry is just 44
points ahead of Jared Simmons, who is still looking for his first win of
the season. With Willamette Speedway open, we're not sure what support
might come in from out of town.
The
Mini Outlaw division has seen five different winners in eight races.
Brad Hicks won earlier in the year, but he's had terrible luck since
then. However, as the only driver in the group to not miss any races, he
leads two-time winner Tahlen Rogers by 46 points and three-time winner
Scott Beaudoin by 64. Last week's winner Jason Kellam is 134 points out
of the lead, eight points in front of Matthew Emry.
The
Hornet division continues to be led by the consistent Isaac Stere.
Unless he stumbles in the last three weeks, the Cottage Grove resident
could be on his way to a $500 championship. With two wins and eight Top 5
finishes in his nine starts he holds a 94 point advantage over William
Hitner. Hitner is 52 points ahead of Kevin Rockwell. Kris Parker and
John Henry are tied for fourth, eight tallies ahead of Dan Briesacher.
All five of those drivers chasing Stere have yet to get a feature win.
All
eight wins in the Junior Stinger class have gone to two-time reigning
champion Griff Smith as he continues to dominate the class. He has the
makings of the next star to rise up through the ranks in Coos Bay
speedway racing. Can anybody beat this kid? The class for Hornet drivers
11 to 14 years old has been getting double-digit car count, and it
seems like everybody's battling to finish second on any given week
Second-ranked Alex Butler had mechanical issues in the Trophy Dash
sideline him early last week, but he still holds second, 88 points
behind Smith. His lead over Cameron Metzgus is just 18 points, while
Heather Burton is 36 points back in fourth. Burton only leads Teagen
Montgomery by 10 points following Montgomery's Top 3 finish last week.
Though Cameron Metzgus ranks higher than his sister, Lily Metzgus is
coming off of her best-ever second place finish last time out.
This
NASCAR Whelen All American Series program should have quite a bit of
action. There's no streaming service available that we know of, but fans
are still able to buy tickets and attend the show. For further
information, go to www.coosbayspeedway.us or go to the Coos Bay Speedway Facebook page.
Siskiyou Golden Speedway
Siskiyou
Golden Speedway has another race planned for this Saturday night. In a
rare occasion, there is no IMCA sanctioned Modified or Sport Modified
show. The track has offered a non-point race for the Sport Modifieds if
10 drivers commit. The Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars are scheduled to
appear along with the Mini Stocks and the Jefferson State Jalopies.
We're unaware of any streaming service being offered, although it's
possible that the track will stream the show again this week on their
Facebook page.
In a recent Dwarf
Car event at Coos Bay Speedway, Camden Robustelli picked up the victory.
Robustelli always seems to be in the hunt for the win, and he's had
some good moments in Limited Sprint racing as well. Four-time reigning
champion Josh King and two-time champion Brock Peters are always a
factor when they're in town, and both could be there this week. The
group has had most of their races in Coos Bay this year, and both King
and Peters count themselves among the winners. There are some very
competitive drivers in the group, including Chad Cardoza, Ryan Smith,
Steve Walker and Cody Peters. Ageless veteran Fred Hay also manages to
hang in there with the younger competitors. There could be a bigger
turnout than normal for this show as the drivers have not been able to
race at their home track in Medford all year.
There
have been four Mini Stock races held so far, but we haven't seen a
current point list. Two-time reigning Medford and 2015 Yreka champion
David Steele won impressively last week, giving him three wins on the
year. His only blemish is the second.place finish he was forced to
settle for behind impressive young racer Austin Hedges. Hedges won a
battle with 2013 Medford champion Steve Goetz last week to score his
second runner-up finish of the season, while Goetz settled for third. If
there are drivers to knock Steele off of his pedestal, it could be
Goetz or Hedges that does the job. A pair of three-time Yreka champions,
Mike Whitaker and Marilyn Yawnick, could also be a factor along with
such notables as Hunter Magnan, Kassidy Wilkinson and Terry Alford Sr.
The
Jefferson State Jalopies are excited to be back for the second-straight
week. These cars were all built by Karl Bernstein and JJ Smith.
Frequently, it's been somebody else getting the on the track glory, but
Smith emerged with his second win with the group last week ahead of
reigning champion Marilyn Yawnick. Both of these drivers are anticipated
along with Bernstein and the fourth car. Last week, the fourth car was
driven by Ron Morris to a second place heat race finish and third in the
Main Event.
As a late update to
this article, the track has decided to add the non-point IMCA Sport
Modified race to this Saturday's card after all. This decision was
announced on Thursday evening. The track was offering $400 to win the
non-point affair, and a couple of drivers were a little bit grumpy at
the possibility that this was going to be a point race. The track stuck
to its guns that if they got 10 drivers they would go ahead and book
this race, and reportedly they have 10 commitments.
We
haven't seen the list of commitments, but this year's top rookie, Ryan
Peery, Wyatt Westfall, Chad Wormington, Jace Wright and possibly Randy
Wright are in. Usually, reigning champion Ethan Killingsworth is up for a
show like this. He's currently third in the standings. You might see
one or both of the Boswell Brothers, Colt or Ryder. In any case, a
non-point IMCA Sport Modified show will happen.
Another
thing we can add to this article is that the track will be offering a
pay-per-view broadcast at $9.99 for each night on September 4th and 5th.
As previously announced, the show will have IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport
Modifieds and Outlaw Pro Stocks on both nights with Mini Stocks added on
Saturday. Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series Director Roy Bain is
offering the service, although it won't become official until Roy sees
how the Pro Stock live streaming goes at Antioch Speedway this week. We
also haven't seen what the purse money will be for the weekend, but it's
a great opportunity for drivers in the area to get two nights of
racing.
The schedule could be
adjusted with additions this week, and there are also announcements
forthcoming concerning the Labor Day weekend show. To find out all of
this and possibly see live streaming on race night, go to the Siskiyou
Golden Speedway Facebook page.
Dixon Speedway
This
Saturday night, Dixon Speedway will be back in action again for their
11th race of the season. The Wingless 600 Micros, Super 600s, Restricted
class and Junior Sprints will all take their turns on the 1/5 mile dirt
oval.
While the Restricted class
is third in the hierarchy, they have the closest championship battle at
the moment. Two-time winner Bryant Bell is coming off of his third
runner-up finish of the season. This gives him a 20 point lead over
one-time winner Izaak Sharp. Matthew Tatoole has been creeping up the
ladder. He has a second and a pair of third place finishes, putting him
53 points out of the lead. Last time out, Austin Wood scored his first
win since the third event, giving him three on the season. Colin Kirby
and Brandon Riveira could be out to score another win this week as well.
The
Wingless 600 Micros have the biggest turn out on any given week. There
are usually more than 30 competitors in the class. Kelvin Lewis leads by
nearly 200 points over Cody Gray at this point, and it's almost a
foregone conclusion that Lewis will win the championship. The bigger
question is, can he get a win before the season is up? He earned his
second-straight runner-up finish and third of the season last time out.
Gray is a winner this year, and he leads Travis Sullivan by 44 points.
Sullivan is also looking for his first win of the year. Hard chargers
such as Brandon Carey, Mitchell Moles, Austin Stone and Ashton Torgerson
have wins this season. Of that group, only Moles doesn't have two wins.
The
Super 600 class is the fastest group on the track, and two-time
reigning champion Kyle Mentch will be dethroned this year. Brad Hannum
has three wins to his credit, but he's been winless in the last six
races. The point leader does have three runner-up finishes, and two of
those have occurred in the last three events. He leads Hailey Wood by
nearly 200 points as Wood picked up her second third place finish last
time out. Wood is only three points ahead of Hayden Saich. Others on the
winner's list this season include Corey Day, fourth-ranked Devon
Courtnier, Mitchell Moles, Ashton Torgerson and Ricky Sanders. Sanders
has won two of the last three races, and Courtnier is also a two-time
winner.
In the Junior Sprint
ranks, Kyle Fernandez became the first three-time winner following his
triumph last time out. Reigning champion in Makayla Tatoole leads him by
just 25 points. Tatoole has one win so far, but she also leads the
group with five runner-up finishes. Brody Rubio is just 56 points back
in third. Rubio has two wins in the last three races and also leads the
group with four third place finishes. Lucas Mauldin, Braxon Vasconcellos
and Nathan Ward have wins this year, and Ward has won twice.
Dixon
Speedway has a good Micro Sprint program. We're unaware of any internet
streaming services being offered for this show, but they generally have
the Race Monitor app going so you can keep track of live scoring. For
further information, go to www.dixonspeedway.net or check out the Dixon Speedway Facebook page.
Robinson, Shelby Get Marysville Wins,
Forsberg And Allerdings Are Champions
Marysville,
CA...August 26...Ryan Robinson won the 25 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car
Main Event Wednesday night at Marysville Raceway. This was also
championship night for the Sprint Cars, and Andy Forsberg used a fourth
place finish to wrap up another title winning season. This was the
second appearance of the season for Robinson, and it was also his second
win aboard the Todd Weiher owned Sprinter.
Reigning
Chico champion Sean Becker led the field to the green flag. He led one
lap before he spun on the backstretch and was hit by Willie Croft, who
rolled for a red flag. Robinson inherited the lead at that point and led
Shane Golobic and Tanner Carrick on the restart. Robinson just got past
Colby Wiesz and son Josh Wiesz to put them a lap down, but Colby Wiesz
stalled in Turn 4 moments later for a Lap 11 yellow flag. Robinson
continued to lead Golobic as Forsberg slipped past Carrick for third. A
red flag flew on Lap 18 when Nick Larsen rolled in Turn 3. On the
restart, Golobic moved to the outside and passed Robinson in Turn 4 to
complete the lap as the leader. Robinson stayed with it and made a low
pass in Turn 1 on Lap 21 to regain the lead. Tanner Carrick went low in
Turn 4 to grab third from Forsberg. Golobic stayed close to Robinson,
but it was Robinson taking the checkered flag for the impressive
victory. Tanner Carrick settled for third, followed by Forsberg, Michael
Ing, Alec Justeson, Colby Copeland, Billy Wallace, Michael Sellers and
Caden Sarale.
There were 31
competitors, and Robinson turned the quarter-mile clay oval with a lap
of 12.569. Croft was second quick at 12.580, but he found himself in the
B Main when he had mechanical issues prior to his eight lap heat race.
The heat race wins were earned by Tanner Carrick, Blake Carrick, Golobic
and Becker. Croft and Wallace were a race long first and second to make
the transfer out of the 12 lap B Main along with Josh Wiesz and Kevin
Lovell.
Phillip Shelby won the 20
lap Pepsi IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. This was the second win of
the season for the past division champion, and he did it in impressive
fashion. Hunter Merritt led the opening lap before Justin Funkhouser
spun in Turn 1 and collected Donnie Fortney for a yellow flag. Hunter
Merritt continued to lead Shelby and Shaun Merritt on the restart. Lisa
Shelby spun in Turn 1 for a Lap 3 yellow flag. On the restart, Phillip
Shelby got a good run on the inside of Hunter Merritt and made the pass
in Turn 2 to claim the lead. By the eighth lap, Shelby already had a
straightaway advantage over Hunter Merritt with Mike Merritt in third.
However, Willie Horn Jr spun in Turn 3 for a yellow flag. Phillip Shelby
led Hunter Merritt and past State champion Brian Cooper on the restart.
Cooper made an inside pass on the front stretch on Lap 12 to take
second from Hunter Merritt. By then, Shelby again held a straightaway
advantage. State point leader Timothy Allerdings made a couple of good
passes to move into sixth place behind track championship rival Jimmy
Ford. That would prove to be the move that earned Allerdings the track
championship. Shelby won by a straightaway ahead of Cooper, Hunter
Merritt, Mike Merritt, Ford, Allerdings, Shaun Merritt, Bryce Campbell,
Shelby and Fortney. The eight lap heat race wins were earned by Mike
Merritt and Shelby.
Ben Wiesz won
the 15 lap NorCal Dwarf Car Main Event. The race was plagued by yellow
flags, starting with a yellow flag on the first lap when leader Travis
Day spun in Turn 2, collecting Shawn Whitney and Gage Meyers. Wade
Ehrlich spun on the first restart attempt, and Wiesz grabbed the lead on
the next restart ahead of Sean Catucci and Carl Droivold. Through three
yellow flag incidents during the next six laps, Wiesz continued to lead
Catucci and Droivold. Trinity Shores brought out her second yellow flag
with a Turn 4 spin on Lap 7 to end her race. Wiesz led Catucci and
Droivold on the next restart. Whitney was making a climb back into the
Top 5, taking fifth from John Williams on Lap 9. Unfortunately, Cory
Eaton got sideways in front of Whitney in Turn 4, and Whitney spun to
avoid him for a Lap 10 caution flag. Wiesz continued to lead this
restart and the the next restart over Catucci and Droivold.
Unfortunately for Catucci, he spun in Turn 4 and was clipped by Eaton
for a Lap 12 yellow flag that ended the race for both. Wiesz led the
restart and the final laps for the victory with Droivold second. Dylan
Schrum had one of his best efforts yet in third, followed by Wade
Ehrlich, Day, Williams, Isaak Geil, Bob Dickey, Hailey Wiesz and
Catucci. The three eight lap heat races were won by Whitney, Wiesz and
Catucci as 18 drivers were on hand.
Gary
Hildebrand won the 15 lap California Hardtop Main Event. Hildebrand was
racing his pickup truck Sportsman car that he normally drives at Merced
Speedway. As Merced hasn't been running this year, Hildebrand, two-time
Sportsman champion Mike Friesen and Jeff West have been competing in
Hardtop races when they can. Having won the eight lap heat race,
polesitter Ron Ruiz jumped into the early lead ahead of Roger MacShain
and Hildebrand. Hildebrand and MacShain had a close battle going for the
second position until Hildebrand went by with a low pass in Lap 4. A
low pass in Turn 2 of the seventh lap gained Hildebrand the lead from
Ruiz, but Ruiz came charging by on the inside in Turn 4 a lap later to
reclaim first. MacShain closed in to make it a three-car battle up
front, and Hildebrand made a low pass in Turn 4 on Lap 11 to get the
lead once again. Hildebrand led the rest of the way with Ruiz a close
second. MacShain spun in the final turn as Friesen finished third.
MacShain settled for fourth ahead of Ken Clifford and West.
The
track has scheduled a race for September 9th. It is a non-point affair
that they are calling a Salute to the Gold Cup and Platinum Cup events
at Silver Dollar Speedway, which were canceled due to covid-19. The
Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Hobby Stocks will compete. For further
information on that and other track news, go to www.marysvilleraceway.com or check out the Marysville Raceway Facebook page.
The Editor's Viewpoint
I'm
trying to figure out the deal with Coos Bay Speedway. When the OLCC
took their liquor license away from them last Thursday, I can't say that
I was surprised by that. All I heard at the time was that it had
nothing to do with selling alcohol to minors. It had to do with people
who were not wearing masks and the idea that social distancing was not
being observed. I didn't want to comment on it too much, because I was
still trying to make sense of it. The biggest thing I was trying to
figure out was what sort of plan were they following in the first place
that allowed them to open the gates?
I
know it involved rebranding the place as a bar and grill. Drake Nelson
really believed in that idea and saw a path. I believe the social
distancing plan he used came from the fact that he had a good sized
grandstand there. Plus, they have seating on the hillside. However,
there were clearly more than 250 people in the grandstands. To the
letter of the guidelines, not an actual law, you're not supposed to have
more than 250 people in a gathering. Governor Brown was quite clear on
no sporting events as well. Aside from the fact that I don't agree with
that, everybody still has to negotiate through these guidelines until
the people rise up and say enough. What ought to be crystal clear right
now is Drake was one of those people trying to rise up and say no.
You
know what was on the guy's mind when he attempted to open under normal
circumstances during Phase 1. That didn't last beyond one drag race and
they slapped him with a cease-and-desist order. Drake didn't just say he
was going to stop. Instead, he boldly put it out there for the media to
quote him that he would just have to find another loophole. The bar and
grill idea was his loophole, and that's what he believed. It's obvious
he had the Coos County Health officials working with him on this plan.
Like I said, there are certain counties that don't necessarily agree
with the government. Local elected officials might choose to go with the
people rather than the government when they don't agree with what the
government is doing.
The plan was
to mark paths in the grandstand area for people to walk in certain
directions and control the flow of traffic. This would supposedly help
with social distancing. There were guidelines in place for how they
would serve the food and the beer. There were spots marked on the
grandstand seats to make sure people we're exercising social distancing.
Of course, if you were a family coming to watch the show, you could sit
in the same section. This was all well and good, but it became obvious
once you saw pictures of the grandstands that this wasn't happening.
There were three times and at times even four times as many as 250
people in the stands, and that's provable.
The
number 250 was given, and I'd like to see more of what that plan was.
Was it always 250 people in the grandstands and 250 in the pits? Note
that they also went over 250 people in the pits on multiple occasions.
Then again, other tracks are doing that as well. They don't seem to be
looking as closely at that. When it starts to look like a regular show
as far as the grandstands are concerned, you are likely to get
attention. People who aren't for racing are piling on against this track
and saying some pretty harsh things. I noticed a fan showing a somewhat
empty grandstand and saying, "Does this look like 1,000 people?" Well
no, that one didn't, but there are pictures out there that show what has
happened there this year.
What
I'm trying to get my head around was the idea that Drake might have
designated two areas in his grandstands for 250 people, thereby allowing
him to have 500. I believe he exceeded that number as well, but did he
go for that and did the county approve it? That hasn't been put out to
the public. They simply said he wasn't using the social distancing
guidelines that he agreed to. People weren't wearing masks and people
were clearly not keeping their distance while not wearing masks. This
was observed by state officials. I don't know if it matters at this
point. They were going over 250 people in the grandstands, no matter how
you look at it.
Somebody had to
be the guy on the West Coast to take a swing at this. I'm kind of
surprised nobody in California, not even a privately-run race track,
gave it a shot. Then again, would Gavin Newsom have allowed it to happen
the way Kate Brown has? Drake looked at the dollar signs and took his
shot. He has pretty much gotten away with it. We didn't have Cottage
Grove open until July and Willamette only recently opened. Therefore,
Coos Bay had racers coming from everywhere in Oregon. They also had fans
coming from everywhere. Drake knew exactly what he was doing. Of this,
there's no doubt.
A critical
thinker will realize that you don't have a fireworks show or a Monster
Truck event if you're not trying to do something to get as many fans in
the grandstands as you possibly can. Under normal circumstances, this is
exactly what you do. In a time of a pandemic, when state health
officials are telling you how many people you can have, you're walking a
fine line. Basically, you're thumbing your nose at them and giving them
a middle finger. Racing people are going to cheer for Drake and tell
him to fight the good fight. I can't say I disagree with them on that.
Drake saw dollar signs, and he didn't believe the stories the media is
telling us. A lot of us don't believe those stories.
The
bigger question to ask is, has Coos Bay running in an almost
business-as-usual fashion added to the numbers of cases of people who
have the virus? I don't know that you can document that for one simple
reason. They might know to the person who's signed into the pits. You
need to keep that information for insurance purposes. I'm aware of no
such efforts being made to document the fans. They can buy tickets at
the gate, and therefore they don't have contract tracing information for
them. Hermiston Raceway has been using contact tracing for their 250
person seating in the grandstands plan and will do the same thing if
they're allowed to race again after being put back to Phase 2 in
September. There's no way of knowing if people went to Coos Bay Speedway
and got this virus that the overwhelming majority of people don't even
get sick from.
The OLCC is within
their rights to revoke your license if they feel any part of what
you're supposed to be doing is not being done properly. It's not just
about you selling beer to minors. They can look at the mask situation
and the social distancing and decide that you failed to do what you were
supposed to do. That's all they need to do.
The
concern I had was that this might start a snowball effect. They might
get into trouble with the health officials in regards to how they're
doing food sales, and the next thing you know they are shut down there
as well. Once that's done, you are no longer a bar and grill. You can't
sell either. You can still have races until whoever might be in charge
of that shuts you down, but you're not getting fans.
As
I write this, Drake already put it out there that Saturday's race will
go on as scheduled. He's appealing the liquor license decision. He's
paying $500 to win for a 40 lap Street Stock race. The Iron Giant Series
has been on hiatus this year, and that's the group that this race was
created for. However, they will support the River City Speedway event on
Labor Day weekend. They have not come out for or against the Coos Bay
race, but Drake looked at the numbers. His Street Stock numbers have
been up higher than they've been since he took over the track, so going
ahead and paying $500 or even giving these guys a Late Model purse was a
safe bet.
He'll run his NASCAR
Whelen All American Series event. As the only track that is NASCAR
sanctioned in Oregon, these guys will compete for State point fund money
as well as track money, and that's pretty lucrative for the America's
Mattress Super Late Models. The Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks and
Hornets also get some point fund money, and the Mini Outlaws and Jr
Stingers will be there as well. Looking at the schedule, he'll run
another NASCAR program that will be joined by his local Winged Sprint
Cars. That will serve as the final point race for the Sprint Cars. On
September 12th, it's NASCAR championship night. After that, point racing
is done.
Drake has been throwing
in oddball races during the week to try to get Dirt Modifieds, B
Modifieds and Limited Sprints, but with Willamette and Cottage Grove
open, I think he's seen the interest in that waning. As I said before,
he blew it by not bringing in IMCA sanctioning and instead going
unsanctioned. There was no way certain die-hards were coming without the
sanctioning. On the oval track, there is the ISCS Limited Sprint
special on September 26th and the Prather family Lucas Oil Open Show on
October 3rd, if those races go on as scheduled. Otherwise, he's the only
track in Oregon that's managed to get a significant portion of his
schedule in the books.
For the
diehards in racing, Drake will stand head and shoulders above everybody
else on the West Coast this year. He's the one who took the biggest
risk. He might have talked with Coos County Health officials and said
the right things, but he clearly decided to do what he was going to do
on any normal Saturday night after the gates opened. He got away with it
and made some money, while other track promoters sat nervously watching
him. A few may have looked at what he was doing, but nobody dared go
that way with it. Nobody wanted to face the big fine, and I haven't
heard what fines Drake has suffered because of this.
To
me, the safe bet was always what Hermiston Raceway did. In fact, I
can't help but sing the praises of it. At one time, I think Cottage
Grove might have considered this option, and I believe Medford did as
well. Open your track for a twilight race with hot laps and Main Events
only and then do it again in the evening. You've got enough of a window
to pull off two programs. Bring in 250 fans at a slightly inflated
ticket price and do it twice. $20 was a nice round number, and some may
balk at that. Others will pay it. I'm not suggesting it would be a
regular show, but every few weeks or so it could have worked under these
trying times. Hermiston was making $10,000 a night on that.
I
might have pitched the idea for Medford to run one program headlined by
the Limited Sprints, IMCA Modified, Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars and Late
Model Lites and the other headlined by the Late Models, IMCA Sport
Modifieds, Mini Stocks and visiting groups. It might have been able to
work if fans could have been approved. I guess we'll never know as this
pandemic situation kept the gates shut in Medford as well as Madras and
Banks. A lot of tracks in Southern California have yet to open either.
There is this rebellious, heroic ideology that some might have hoped
that Drake Nelson would inspire across the West Coast.
Nelson
has been able to do it and has walked away with his hands clean up
until last week. What if other promoters had done the same? The
fairgrounds tracks might have had a bigger issue with it, but there were
tracks in Oregon that could have followed suit. There were tracks in
California that could have done the same. Would strength in numbers have
made a big difference? I'd like to think it would have, but in reality,
the governors might have taken a look at what was going on and slapped
it down quickly. We'll never know. Things played out the way they did.
Some
of the privately-run tracks in California have not run or have only
done so tentatively. I sort of had this impression that Bakersfield
Speedway might take a swing at something bigger, but Scott Schweitzer
played this very smart. He didn't end up being the leader I thought he
was going to be. That fell to another privately-run track in Marysville,
promoted by Dennis Gage. Scott has run a few races, but he certainly
hasn't opened the gates as much as I thought he might. Then again, he
probably didn't like what he was hearing from the county down there and
didn't feel like paying a fine for doing too much.
That's
the other thing. Tracks have been hit with huge fines in the $10,000 or
more range across the country when their state officials have not liked
what they were doing. You have to remember that some of these promoters
are average blue-collar people as well. They're not rolling in money,
so when they get hit with that sort of fine, it hurts. Therefore, you
can't blame somebody for not wanting to take that risk. Sometimes the
racing community will start a GoFundMe and rally behind somebody in a
situation like that, but sometimes you're left high and dry. When racing
historians look back at 2020 on the West Coast, there will probably be
two or three chapters on Drake Nelson and the path he took to get his
track open.
To highlight the
struggle that Drake now has to bring in the out-of-town drivers,
Willamette Speedway has increased the winner's share of their purse this
Saturday night for the Late Models and the Street Stocks. They're
paying $1,500 to win the Late Models and $1,000 to win the Street
Stocks. Since they're not able to have fans, this is only happening
because of sponsorship. Actually, would they be cleared to have fans
under normal circumstances? I'm not sure if the grandstands have been
given the seal of approval by the county health officials there yet. In
any event, $1,000 to win at Willamette may keep a few of their top
drivers from going to Coos Bay.
When
the MavTV taping happens on September 5th for the Nut Up Pro Late
Models at Madera Speedway, there is a bigger cash incentive. This is one
of those Race 2B Drug Free Series events as well, and it's paying
$5,000 to win the Main Event. Kenny Shepherd wasn't content to leave it
at that. He's paying what I believe is the highest purse for a Semi Main
anywhere in the country at $3,000 to win. If the driver happens to win
that race, they are allowed to transfer into the Main Event to run for
the bigger prize. Some will say he's crazy to do this, and maybe he is.
That's to be debated. It will certainly make for some entertaining
television, which is one of the things I think he's after.
Buddy
Shepherd is going for the championship and leading the way. However, I
believe you're getting points for how you qualify. There might be a
temptation if you're as fast as he is. Don't qualify, run the Semi Main
and win it and go from there. You can take that risk, but there's always
a possibility that some of the drivers in that Semi Main might cause a
crash that collects you. It will be interesting to see how the prize
money offered in the Semi Main might influence a few of the top drivers.
Then again, you might find somebody like Matt Erickson. He hasn't been
qualifying that well lately, and he's just liable to be the one that
ends up in the Semi Main and wins it.
This
week, Madera is trying something different with the California Dream
100 lap Mini Stock race. There are supposed to be some top Mini Stock
racers coming to town to run this race, and Shepherd has alluded to the
fact that this could be a televised race on MavTV at some point. The
House of JuJu Central Valley Mini Stocks will get a 35 lap Main Event of
their own. I'm not sure if those drivers are welcomed in the California
Dream 100, but I think it's possible. They also have the local Madera
Late Models, Hobby Stocks, MST's and Toyotas, and this event will be
broadcast on the track's YouTube page thanks to sponsorship from nutupindustries.com. You can go to the Madera Speedway Facebook page for more information.
I
like the way that Dan Myrick has put this CVMS Series together. It
really does highlight how good the racing can be in the Four Banger
class. You're talking about racers on a budget, but that doesn't mean
you can't have close, competitive racing. Dan is still working out the
schedule and adjusting for new dates where he can get them during this
pandemic. I still think it might be interesting to see these guys get
invited to Antioch Speedway for a show. Antioch is struggling to get
this class started, and I think having a good quality race such as what
these drivers can deliver might help promote it. That, and Antioch needs
somebody down there building cages to get some new cars out there.
In
the meantime, Antioch Speedway will feature the Tri State Pro Stock
Challenge Series as part of a program that also includes the Wingless
Spec Sprints, Delta Dwarf Cars and Four Bangers. This was originally a
Super Stock race that would invite anybody from the Tri State Series
that wanted to come. However, Tri State Series Director Roy Bain was
contacted by Petaluma Promoter Rick Faeth to get them on the Petaluma
schedule. With Joe Carr Racing interested in sponsoring that show, it
was able to be booked for this Sunday. Roy has been working his way
through this whole pandemic mess and figuring out what works best for
the group. Antioch was available the night before, and the possibility
of a two-race weekend became very attractive.
One
of the enticements you have for drivers towing longer distances is
these two tracks are about an hour apart. A driver can get a two-race
weekend in, and this certainly helps get the cars. I won't be surprised
if both of these shows need B Mains. Jay's Mobile Welding Service came
on board to sponsor the Antioch race, and Rick Workman Communications
will pay $300 to a weekend points champion. There are some big things on
the horizon for this group at Antioch Speedway, especially the Al
Miller Memorial race on October 31st. When we look back on the 2020
season, the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series will be viewed as one
of the positive highlights of the year.
Petaluma
Speedway was originally going to have a NARC/King of the West Sprint
Car show, but that got canceled as they can't have fans in the
grandstands. There's simply not enough money to pay the purse required
for this group. Rick Faeth decided to keep the Sunday date intact and
replace that group with his local PitStopUSA.com
Winged 360 Sprint Cars. The General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Cars have
been getting huge car counts, and they'll be there along with the Santa
Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros. The Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks were
the fourth division.
Obviously,
Rick has some concern about the car count in the Super Stocks. It has
dropped a little bit from last year. I'm not sure what attributed to
that, but Rick became interested in bolstering his car count. When Bain
reached out to him last year, there didn't seem to be much interest, but
there is now. Rick saw more potential cars here, and he couldn't resist
inviting the group for the show. Furthermore, they are invited to be a
part of the Bob McCoy Memorial race as part of the Adobe Cup event that
happens on September 26th. It's always good to check a track's Facebook
page as things change quickly sometimes. Roy Bain constantly does
updates at the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series Facebook page and
they've been updating things on the Petaluma Speedway Facebook page as
needed.
One of the things
happening at Petaluma Speedway is the BCRA Midgets and USAC Western
States Midgets have come together for two events. The September 7th race
has been moved to the 6th, which is a Sunday. They're going to pair
that race with the October 24th track season finale and offer a two-race
point find. Obviously, neither group is going to be crowning a champion
this year given the circumstances, but this is a little something
special. What's made that possible is support from the West Coast Stock
Car Hall of Fame. I can see 20 or more Midgets showing up on both
occasions. The bcraracing.com website is the place to check for additional information.
Ukiah
Speedway will be back on Labor Day weekend with the Upstate Bomber
Series. I believe that's a $1,000 to win show, and they'll get drivers
from Ukiah, Eureka and Lakeport for this race. They announced it was
$500 to win the Limited Modified race, and they're trying to promote an
Open Modified race that would pay $1,000 to win. When you're throwing in
the Jammers and the Jalopies, this should be an exciting show. You
don't just go to the Ukiah Speedway Facebook page to get the updates,
you can also go there on race night and watch it streamed live for free.
Since they can't have fans, they are trying to include them this way.
Placerville
Speedway is a good example of tracks changing things on the fly. They
were going to come at it this weekend with a Winged 360 Sprint Car, Pure
Stock, Limited Late Model and BCRA Midget Lites show, but that has been
postponed due to several of their racers testing positive for covid-19
when they made the trip back east. Originally, they announced the date
would be moved to September 13th, but there was a problem with that date
as well as something else was happening at the El Dorado County
Fairgrounds. That race was moved to October 3rd, and there is also the
race that was originally scheduled on September 19th. Checking the
Placerville Speedway Facebook page is probably the smart thing to do.
What's
interesting is Petaluma was influenced in moving their date to Sunday
because some of their camera people would have been at Placerville.
Marysville started going to Wednesday's for the same reason. As far as I
can tell there is no Flo Racing broadcast happening at any of the dirt
tracks in California this Saturday night. Marysville or Petaluma could
have had that date. Then again, if Petaluma had it, this Tri State Pro
Stock Series weekend wouldn't have worked out the way it has.
Ultimately, it worked out well for them.
I
was watching the Flo Racing broadcast at Marysville Raceway on
Wednesday to see how the two championships that were being decided would
end. Troy Henning was the one doing the announcing again. Sometimes
it's hard to tell when the guy was actually being serious or joking
around. He was definitely doing kind of a laid-back, let's have fun type
of broadcast. I get the vibe he was going for, and there was nothing
necessarily wrong with that. At one point, he had Ryan Robinson up there
announcing a race. He tried to get Andy Forsberg to do the same, but
Andy declined.
The subject turned
to races being rescheduled. What he said was since Silver Dollar
Speedway lost the annual Platinum Cup/Gold Cup week, Marysville Raceway
intends to run a Salute To The Gold Cup on September 9th. Point racing
is over, but the Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Hobby Stocks will be a part
of that program. I'm assuming there might be a few more dollars on the
line there, but that hasn't been announced yet. Troy hinted at the
possibility that there might be more races out there after the Western
States Dwarf Car Nationals show happens at the end of September. There's
also the annual Gold Fever Taxi Cab Open and Sprint Car Spooktacular
races in October, and I'm assuming those will stay on the schedule. Troy
hinted that there could be more dates, so my suggestion would be to pay
attention to the Marysville Raceway Facebook page for those
announcements.
The fires in Santa
Cruz County have seen the fairgrounds used as a place for people to
relocate. As such, the Johnny Key Classic last week and this weekend's
show have both been cancelled, leaving the Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial
Dirt Track Shootout on September 25th and 26th. I know that Jim Pettit
II and his family are working on that, and people are already sponsoring
it. I know the racing community will come together to help make this
one special, because Mr and Mrs Pettit always did what they could to
help make special shows and would sponsor racers throughout their
involvement in racing.
Because
we're in a pandemic, it would be understandable for the Watsonville
track to just give up on the Johnny Key Classic. You can't have fans, so
you're certainly not going to pay $5,000 to win this year. On the other
hand, rumor has it that they want to have the 14th running of this race
at Watsonville and the 60th overall running of the race. Troy indicated
that the word is that management is trying to not only reschedule that
race, but they're looking at other possible race date opportunities in
October. I don't know what will happen there, but I'm sure they'll make
those announcements at the Ocean Speedway Facebook page when they know.
What
I do know is Marysville Raceway wanted those Flo Racing cameras going,
and Wednesday night was the time to make that happen. The Sprint Car
racers came out in full force with 31 drivers, and there were nearly 70
total cars for this race. The Sprint Cars didn't have too much drama
going into the Main Event. Andy Forsberg has been in enough championship
races in his lifetime that he knew what it was he needed to do. Get
that car to the Main Event and take a green flag, and it's done. It
hasn't been that great of a year for Forsberg, though he's won a Main
Event there. He has also supported every race this year.
it
was very interesting watching Andy battle for wins early this season,
because traffic bit him in the rear end a couple of times. On one
occasion he flipped. However, he was able to get a Top 10 finish out of
it most of the time. Reigning champion Michael Ing was not as fortunate.
I was kind of surprised when I looked at the standings about six races
into it and noticed that Ing had managed to get second in the standings.
However, he didn't have nearly the kind of year he had last year. He
didn't have much of a shot at Forsberg, but he at least managed to
maintain second in the standings.
The
Sprint Cars are the main attraction at Marysville these days, and they
delivered the kind of show you would expect. There was excitement early
on with Kenny Wonderstadt nearly flipping his car after doing a wheelie.
Hennig was given some money to pay out to a racer, so he created the
Most Exciting Qualifying Lap and gave the $40 to Kenny. He was the other
one in the booth announcing the heat race with Ryan Robinson, who set
the fast time and earned the $100 prize for that.
Robinson
is a talented young driver. Both he and his sister have already made
waves in Winged 360 Sprint Car racing. Jodie was a Sprint Car Challenge
Tour winner at Merced last year. Their father is David Robinson, himself
a Sprint Car champion at Placerville. Ryan had already won a Main Event
earlier this year, but he's only been running select races in
California this year. His appearance earlier this year was a win, and he
looked very impressive in doing it again on this occasion. Shane
Golobic got around him, which might have been all she wrote for Ryan
with a few laps left to go. However, the kid stayed with it and made the
move to get the win.
We hear a
lot of names thrown around as the best in Sprint Car racing in
California, but Andy Forsberg deserves his name in that conversation.
I've never met the man, but he seems like a good guy who's just having
fun out there at the track. They say he's won over 30 championships, so
at this point I don't think it's even about winning those. Obviously,
you'll take it if the points add up that way. I think it's about living
the dream and winning when you can. More importantly, just the
camaraderie of being among your peers. To me, Forsberg is probably the
best Winged 360 Sprint Car racer in California.
The
IMCA Sport Modifieds had a championship battle that was going down to
the line between State point leader Timothy Allerdings, Jimmy Ford and
Mike Merritt. Those were the only three drivers with a real shot at it
as 13 competitors showed up. Past Sport Modified and Stock Car champion
Philip Shelby was in another time zone, and the only thing slowing him
down was the yellow flag. When the green flag came out again, he was
gone. Not even Brian Cooper could challenge him when he finally got into
second. Shelby was a straightaway in front of him for his second win.
I
don't know what was going on with Ford, but he seemed a bit off on this
occasion. He had been leading the standings up until last race, when
Allerdings used his first win of the year to take over. Ford was kind of
running along in the sixth position, but they needed three cars between
each other for anything to happen. The IMCA point system is just one
point at a time, and the best Ford had at any point during the race was
two cars between he and Allerdings. Allerdings made a couple of moves
down the stretch to move into sixth behind Ford, and that won him the
championship.
I haven't seen too
many IMCA State point battles that have actually had more than one
driver making a serious run at it. These days, you'll get a couple of
other racers who just want to go a little higher in the standings. The
title might be out of their grasp, but they'll run more races to move
into second or third. Allerdings has been aiming for the State title
since the start, and only Fred Ryland looked like he was going to try.
However, Ryland dropped out of it. Allerdings has put his time in and is
certainly a deserving champion. However, I think he might be more proud
of this track championship, because he had a more challenging time
earning it.
With the Dwarf Car
Nationals taking place in Wyoming this past weekend, some of the top
NorCal Dwarf Car drivers just couldn't make it in time. In fact, names
like Ryan Winters, Michael "Spanky" Grenert, Shawn Jones and Buddy
Olschowka were not there. This meant that you were looking at a field of
eight rookies and drivers on the cusp of taking it to the next level.
Their Main Event was a bit rough and tumble. When you've got so many
rookies in the field, it's going to be challenging. One driver out there
is Hailey Wiesz, the younger sister of the driver who won the race, Ben
Wiesz. Hailey wasn't going as fast as everybody, but she did her best
to get out of the way when being lapped. She ended up with a Top 10
finish in the 18 car field.
It
was not so much a battle of attrition. Once Ben Wiesz got the lead, you
weren't getting it from him. However, there were some pretty good
drivers in the field, such as Shawn Whitney and Sean Catucci, who ended
up watching the finish from the sidelines. When you're wondering where
your next drivers are going to come from, it's encouraging to have eight
rookies in the field. Some drivers might move on, but there will be
others to step up and take their place. NorCal will be hosting the Dwarf
Car Nationals in Marysville on September 25th and 26th.
I
had no clue who might show up for the California Hardtops. It's 50-50
whether the group will actually show up for a Marysville race from what
I've observed. I'm a bit disappointed in leadership not using their
Facebook page at the very least to let people know things. I shouldn't
even have to bring something like that up, and I hesitate to be
critical. The problem is, certain people take it personally when I point
out the things that frustrate me about the leadership of this group.
You've got a Facebook page, tell people some things. How hard is it to
put a post up on Facebook?
One of
my frustrations with the Hardtop group is that tracks almost act like
they could care less whether the group is there or not. Frustration? It
pisses me off is what it does. You've got announcers up there that
almost sound like they'd rather make a break for the concession stand
than announce the race, and that's a race that is rolling onto the track
after a 10 minute intermission. If you can't be bothered, maybe you
should bring an announcer up there who wants to be there. If you can't
get excited about every aspect of the program, what are you doing?
That's not aimed at any particular announcer, just an observation.
The
CHA is not a group that is going to bring their own announcer, and
they're not budgeted to do that sort of thing anyway. It's not like the
Legends of Kearney Bowl, where Kenny Takeuchi would show up at most of
their events and tell us about the cars we were watching and give us a
bit of a history lesson on Super Modified racing in general. What
probably needs to be done is some sort of preparation for the announcer
by the group. Bring a sheet of paper to every race that lets the
announcer know who is coming and tells a little bit about those cars.
Give the announcer something to work with, since a lot of these guys
don't want to do their homework.
You
can tell me that these guys are only out there exhibition racing, and
you're right. They do take a green flag, run several laps and take a
checkered flag. At the end of the show, the person who took the
checkered flag first in the Main Event gets an award. So, if it's not
actual racing, it's still exhibition racing where people do want to get
the win. They're not trying to lay a wheel on somebody to do it, but
they still want to win the race. What I'm getting at is presentation.
The program could have had a better presentation.
It
isn't often that the Hardtops get to run a show where they are on a
live stream and people can watch them. They did have a show at Antioch
Speedway, and they actually gave that one away this last week on the
track's Facebook page. It was interesting watching. Doug Braudrick won
that race, although Dave Mackay seemed to be asleep at the wheel. That
was another occasion when Hardtops were viewable by a bigger audience.
You want to present yourself in the best light. What is this group all
about? What's the history of these cars? Why should people care?
Exhibition race or regular race, you're still on the track presenting
yourself.
I'm not saying that the
group didn't have a good race. The Main Event was actually quite
enjoyable. What I am saying is the presentation was hurt by the fact
that the announcer didn't seem as interested in the show as he could
have been. Maybe he didn't want to do his homework and stop off and chat
with the racers. These cars don't have wings on them. In other words,
they're not Sprint Cars, and maybe he couldn't be bothered? Whatever the
case may be, this is where the CHA takes the initiative and approaches
him with some information that he can use when he announces. You're
representing Hardtop racing, so you want it to have a positive impact on
the group.
What we ended up
having was a shootout between Hardtops and Valley Sportsman. It isn't
often that we see Mike Friesen making a trip up north with his cars. If
he's not racing at Merced, which is pretty much down for the count this
year, he and teammates Gary Hildebrand and Jeff West are running their
Super Modifieds at Stockton or Madera. I'm actually happy that Mike
brought the cars up north. He's a good guy who is an excellent
representative of vintage racing. However, this is one of those areas in
which a better presentation could have helped.
You
didn't have six Hardtops on the track for this race. I'm not
complaining about opening the door to bring Sportsman cars to a Hardtop
show, and I wouldn't complain if Hardtops showed up to a Sportsman race
either. I think that's great as there was a time back in the 1970s when
you'd have open shows where these two types of cars and Super Modifieds
ran together. Those could be quite entertaining.
What
I'm saying is the announcer just announced this as a Hardtop race in
general, rather than pointing out that you had three Sportsman cars out
there on the track. Mike Friesen is actually the first Sportsman
champion of the division's revival at Merced Speedway in 1999 and 2000. I
believe Hildebrand was the first Sport Modified champion before the
division really exploded in California. He earned those honors at
Chowchilla Speedway.
It could
have been mentioned how the Sportsman division normally runs with wings
and took them off for this occasion. It could have been pointed out how
closely competitive these cars actually are. It was just an opportunity
that was missed in the presentation of the group. I'm very grateful for
the Sportsman cars that showed up, or there would have just been three
Hardtops. I know making it to a race on a Wednesday is going to be
challenging for some people, and though I'd be tempted to criticize the
CHA for their lack of support, I take this into consideration and I'm
thankful that they didn't cancel the race entirely.
Ron
Ruiz has all podium finishes in the three Hardtop races, and he's the
only driver that can say that this year. This might be one he looks back
at and says he let it get away. Hildebrand was driving a truck bodied
Sportsman, although I don't remember ever seeing a truck in a Sportsman
race back in the 1970s. It's an interesting creation. He was fast enough
to be competitive, but not dominant fast. Actually, I think Roger
MacShain had a little bit more for both of the drivers in front of him,
but he didn't quite have the handle on his Sedan. It was still a good
race between the lead three cars with the Sportsman of Hildebrand
beating the Hardtop of Ruiz in the end.
I
don't know what might be next on the horizon for the California
Hardtops, which is to say I don't know if they might book another race
on the fly. Otherwise, I believe the Chet Thomson Memorial race at
Antioch Speedway is the next Hardtop race. This will be the fifth
running of this race at Antioch and the 18th overall. The race had its
history at the old Vallejo Speedway. There were people commenting on Ron
Ruiz's post that they hope to have their cars ready for Antioch, and I
hope everybody does. I don't know if they've ever had more than 15 cars
at Antioch, and it would be really cool to see that happen.
I
still come back to the thought that a true Vallejo Speedway Hardtop
movement hasn't materialized. There's definitely a respect for Vallejo
Speedway in the way the cars appear with the Bay Area contingent. There
is definitely a tie in with that. You hear of the occasional family
that's looking for a car or building a car. I'm talking families that
have a history at Vallejo Speedway. I just wonder what could be there.
When I start talking about this, I'm also not necessarily talking about
the leadership that exists in the Hardtop movement right now. They're
going to do things the way they feel is right for their particular
groups.
I'm wondering if
leadership could emerge to try to build something new. I don't know what
the possibility would be of that. I'm talking about leadership that
would keep their drivers in the loop, building this thing up one car at a
time and as faithfully to the old ways as possible. Working on the
presentation and doing something with the intent of making it grow even
bigger. I'm not even saying I'm hearing of anything being discussed on
this matter, but I personally believe that the time is right for
something to be looked at. I think having another group that really
embraces the heritage of Vallejo Speedway would be a winner.
At
the end of the day, I'm glad that Hardtop racing continues on in its
form. There are three groups in California, although I'm concerned with
what's going on down in Bakersfield right now. There are two groups in
Oregon. Last weekend, there were 17 Hardtops competing at two different
venues in Oregon, so we're not talking about a movement that's going
away anytime soon. Enough people care about these old-time race cars
that it will move ahead, and it should. That's what really matters. I'm
happy that vintage race cars were able to be showcased at Marysville
this past Wednesday, even if I feel that the presentation could have
been a little bit better.
I
didn't want to write this much in the column, but that seems to be
something that happens every week. This is the final racing weekend of
August. Does it seem like the year is actually going slower this year?
Usually, we get to this point and I wonder where the time went. I'm not
really feeling that this year. The IMCA championships will wrap up in
September, and some people don't realize you can go to imca.com
to view them all. They have the State, Regional and National points up
there, and you can easily do track searches to find the points at your
particular track. Some tracks won't be crowning their own champions, so
it's up to IMCA to officially acknowledge them.
I'll
be covering something this week, but I'm going to try to take it
easier. The last two weeks have been frustrating at times, although it
has been interesting monitoring so much. I didn't even realize I had
covered 10 tracks in last week's blog until after I posted it. I just
kept writing. We've actually covered at least a dozen tracks for all of
their races this year, so I am proud that we've essentially done another
full season that will be here in the archives after we're done.
On that note, I will end this column. Until next time...
