North State mods return to the Acres

North State mods return to the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2014 racing season at Redwood Acres Raceway hits its halfway point this weekend, Saturday July 5^th for a special Fourth of July celebration at the 3/8-mile paved oval. Joining the local divisions of roadrunners, bombers, mini stocks, Thunder Roadsters and late models will be the return of the North State Modified Series which had raced at the Acres earlier this season during the May 25^th Memorial Day weekend races. Capping the night off will be a spectacular fireworks show, the first time Redwood Acres Raceway has held a fireworks event. It promises to be a memorable and spectacular night for fans.

The point leader in the Humboldt Hydroponics roadrunner division is Gary Klinetobe. Of the five feature races thus far this season, Klinetobe has been victorious in four of them. Eugene Palmer broke Klinetobe’s win streak in the most recent race on June 21^st, doing so by mere inches. Palmer lies 21 points behind Klinetobe in the standings. Tim Abeyta holds down third, 44 behind Klinetobe. Robbie Robinson is fourth, 52 points behind the leader and Kayla Foster is fifth, 76 points behind.

Leonard Ward has made the John’s Used Cars and Wreckers bomber division his personal playground this season. Like Klinetobe in the roadrunner class, Ward has dominated the field in the bombers winning four of the five races in 2014. Due to his success, Ward has a 20 point gap over second place, James Moore. A rookie at the Acres, Moore was victorious during the May 25^th event. 60 points behind the leader in third position is Tyler Avelar. Fourth in points is Michael Lawrence who is 69 points in arrears of Ward. Matt Simon is fifth, 71 points behind.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts/Del Reka Distributing mini stock division saw an influx of cars during the fair night races two weeks ago. Brett Murrell holds the points lead in the class ahead of his older brother, Brian Murrell, Jr. by 12. Nick Green is a rookie to the division but not to racing at Redwood Acres Raceway and is third and 47 points behind the leader.  The top three drivers all have at least one main event win thus far this season Brett Murrell with one, Brian Murrell, Jr. with two and Green with one. Chelsea Champagne is fourth 58 markers behind Murrell while Sam Brown is fifth, 60 behind.

Since crashing out on opening night on May 17^th, Paul Peeples, Jr. has dominated the Bear River Hotel and Casino Thunder Roadster division knocking off four straight main event victories and holding down the points lead. David Henderson won the opening night race and has finished second to Peeples in all four races that he’s won. The gap between the two is only nine points. Chris Sarvinski is third, 37 points behind Peeples. Thomas Payne is fourth, 41 behind and Robbie Nelson is fifth, 70 points behind.

The closest competition at the Acres in 2014 has come in the Mid City Motor World late model division. Mic Moulton leads second place, Luke Hall by only four points. Both drivers each have two main event wins so far this season. Kenny Demello holds down third and is 36 points behind Moulton. Division rookie, Ryun Leazer is fourth and 47 points behind while Jerry Peterson is fifth, 54 points behind. Peterson is the only other driver who has won this year, his victory having come on the May 17^th race.

The North State Modified Series will be making its second stop to the Acres in 2014 this weekend. It will be the fourth race of six for the new touring series this season. Jay Linstroth leads Cody Braund by 26 points in the standings. Kyle Borden is third, 34 points behind Linstroth while Dustin DeRosier and Rich Cobb are fourth and fifth, 38 and 46 behind the leader respectively.  Linstroth won the series opener at Shasta Speedway while the previous race at the Acres on May 25^th was won by Darrin Knight. Linstroth took the most recent victory on the tour at All-American Speedway on June 21^st.

There will be an open practice session for all cars on Friday July 4^th between noon to 6:00 PM. Grandstands open at 5:00 PM on Saturday while the racing begins at 6:30 PM. For more information regarding this weekend’s events or news in general for Redwood Acres Raceway, please visit the track’s new and official website, www.racingtheacres.com.