Walsh, Peeples, Miller big winners at the Acres

Walsh, Peeples, Miller big winners at the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Though mother nature provided a rather cold and dreary night, racing at Redwood Acres Raceway as not dampened whatsoever. It was a night of excitement, good racing and when the checkered flag fell on the night’s last race, there wasn’t one case of a wrecker having to be used during the race events or a track official using oil dry on the racing surface. Trevor Miller ran away from the pack in the real stock division to take his second win of the season and go four for four on the night with fast time, dash win, heat win and main win. Paul Peeples, Jr. continued his dominance of victory lane in the thunder roadster class with yet another win in the same fashion as Miller. Marty Walsh won his second main event of the season in the sportsman division rather handily.

Unfortunately for the limited street stocks and the mini stocks, both fields only had five cars turnout for the night. Both divisions ran trophy dashes and 10 lap main events. Scott Lyons was the fastest of the limited streets in qualifying with a 17.474 lap time. Lyons won the dash over Kenny Demello, Duayne Mayo and Craig Huffman. The 10 lap main featured a late race pass by Huffman over Mayo for the lead. At the line Huffman won over Mayo, Lyons, Fergy Ferguson and Demello.

Craig Baker turned in the quickest lap for the mini stock cars with a 19.127 time. Brian Murrell won the trophy dash literally by inches over Craig Baker, Scott Baker and Brian McIntosh. After a lap three pass for the lead on Murrell, Craig Baker was able to cruise to the win in the main. Murrell held onto second, Scott Baker third, Denzel Barrett fourth and McIntosh fifth after having gone into the pits with issues early in the race.

Qualifying in the real stock division was tight as Trevor Miller’s 18.813 qualifying lap was a mere three hundredth’s quicker than Shawn Craig’s 18.816. Miller won the dash over Ryan Peeples, Pat Conway and Craig. Unfortunately, both Conway and Craig had problems in the dash and were not able to make it back out for the heats or the main. Miller drove through the field in the heat race for the win over Casey Mitchell, Peeples, Donnie Hyman and Jim Redd.

Mitchell and Redd lead the nine car field to the green flag of the 25 lap main event. Redd got the jump off the start while Miller quickly made his way to the front. On lap three, Miller passed Peeples for fourth then moved into third just as quickly with Peeples following. On lap six, Miller moved outside of Mitchell for second. Three laps later the yellow flag dropped for debris on the race track.

Miller wasted no time on the restart immediately attacking Redd for the top position. On lap 13, Miller found the inside line and moved under Redd for the lead. On lap 15, Peeples who had been running third pulled into the pits. A few laps later, Nick Green spun off the second turn collecting Hyman and Ryan Robinson and bringing out the yellow flag. Fortunately everyone continued on in the race. The restart and the final few laps proved to be a formality for Miller as he was able to pull away from Redd to a comfortable lead and the checkered flag by the end of lap 25. Redd finished second with Dustin Walters third, Mitchell fourth and Green fifth.

Paul Peeples, Jr.’s 16.999 lap time was the only one under the 17 second bracket thus making it the quickest. Jay Bahner won the trophy dash over Peeples, Mark Arroyo and Troy Combs. Leroy Marsh, Jr. claimed the win in the first heat over Rick Crawley, Dave McMurray, Bruce Ziemer and Rob Nelson. Peeples won the second heat over Combs, Mike Ward, Arroyo and Robert Miller.

Nelson and Crawley comprised the front row for the 30 lap main event. Nelson took the early lead before Marsh took the lead away. Five laps into the race, Combs made his way into the second spot and tried to run down Marsh for the lead. Just as Combs moved inside and by Marsh for the lead, the yellow flag flew when Nelson spun off turn four and was facing the fourth turn nose first. All of the drivers had to take evasive action to avoid running into Nelson and though it was tight, everybody avoided what could have been a serious incident.

With the field reverting to their position on the previous lap, Marsh was able to retake the lead over Combs, McMurray, Peeples and Crawley. Peeples quickly moved by McMurray on the restart. On lap 11, Combs moved inside of Marsh for the lead bringing Peeples with him. On lap 15, Peeples looked to have the inside line on Combs but didn’t have the momentum to get by. Gerhy Foster’s spin on lap 19 brought out the yellow flag allowing Combs and Peeples to cool their tires and get set for another close battle.

When the green dropped, Combs and Peeples pulled away while Marsh settled into third comfortably. Meanwhile, McMurray and Bahner were dueling for fourth racing side-by-side for several laps. Up front Peeples was working hard to pass Combs. On lap 22, Peeples got another run and the two raced wheel-to-wheel. Both cars were like this until lap 24 when Combs pulled out the advantage once again.

On lap 26, Combs got loose between turns three and four. Peeples moved inside to try to get by, but Combs collected him while trying to save his car. While the two got their cars straight, Marsh moved by both to go from third to first in a matter of moments. Unfortunately for Marsh, he just didn’t have the handling on this night to hold off Peeples as he was able to move by on lap 28 for the lead. On the last lap, Combs moved inside of Marsh to take second, but it was too late for him to try something on Peeples as he crossed the line first. Marsh finished third with McMurray fourth and Bahner fifth.

Brandon Barnwell’s 16.547 qualifying time proved to be the fastest in the sportsman division. The trophy dash was won by Dennis Delbiaggio over Larry Pries, Barnwell and Marty Walsh. Delbiaggio won the second heat ahead of Jerry Peterson, Ken Hallis, Romeo Venza and Keith Dias. Pries won the second heat with Walsh, Al Acuna, Angelo Marcelli and Lissa Uselton completing the top five.

11 cars started the 30 lap feature event. Uselton got the jump on Venza to take the early lead. On lap seven, Marcelli was able to move under Uselton for the top spot after several laps of battling her for the lead. Marcelli’s move for the lead allowed Acuna to follow into the second position. On lap 9, Barnwell and Hallis made contact in the fourth turn sending both drivers into the infield. Both drivers got going again and the yellow flag was not thrown.

By lap 10, the top five was Marcelli, Acuna, Fox, Uselton and Pries with the top three cars nose to tail. On lap 14, Walsh made a move on Acuna. After a lap, Walsh was able to move by for second while Pries and Delbiaggio got by Uselton at the same time for fourth and fifth. It only took Walsh two more laps before he moved under and by Marcelli for the lead going into the third turn bringing Acuna into second. As the laps wound down, Walsh pulled away while Acuna held onto the second spot.

On lap 24, Pries moved into third getting by Marcelli. With two laps to go, Barnwell moved into fifth position getting by Delbiaggio. At the finish line it was Walsh, Acuna, Pries, Marcelli and Barnwell the top five. Delbiaggio, Uselton, Peterson, Hallis, Venza and Dias rounded out the finishing order.

Racing at the Acres takes a two week break before returning the Saturday of Father’s Day Weekend on June 14th.

2006 Thunder Roadster Season: A Look Back

2006 Thunder Roadster Season: A Look Back

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2006 season marked the beginning of a new division at Redwood Acres Raceway; the thunder roadsters. These new cars were highly anticipated because of their open-wheel look, the number of cars and drivers and the various experience levels of every driver. Suffice to say, the new class did not disappoint. The roadsters provided some of the most memorable races of the season.

David Henderson won the 2006 thunder roadster championship by 120 points, but it never appeared as if he was running away with the title. Henderson only had one win, however he was almost always among the top three finishers when the checkered flag fell. Henderson’s lone win proved to be in the very first race of the season where he held off a number of drivers to take a hard fought victory.

Paul Peeples, Jr. proved to be Henderson’s toughest points competitor. Peeples notched four wins, three in a row at one point. Peeples four victories proved to be the most in the division, but he was not able to maintain the consistency that Henderson was able to. Troy Combs proved to be one of the drivers to beat on a weekly basis despite the 2006 season being his first at the Acres. Combs took two main event victories and third in the points.

Another Acres newcomer was Chris Sarvinski. Sarvinski was always among the quicker cars, and was able to be among the top finishers on a regular basis. Acres veteran Bill O’Neill returned to racing after several years away from the oval. O’Neill was able to dial in his car during the season, scoring several strong runs and finishing fifth in points.

Leroy Marsh missed the first few races of the season, but took to the track in his roadster like a duck to water. Marsh came close to winning several races but wasn’t able to take the checkered flag in first. Despite missing a few races, Marsh placed sixth in points. Randy Olson returned to racing after not driving for a few years. Olson won three main events, set the track record of 16.885 and finished seventh in points despite not racing the full schedule. Acres rookie Ray Elliott drove his colorful 31 car to a number of good runs to finish in eight place in the standings.

Bruce Ziemer had the wildest wreck of all the roadster drivers flipping in a race at Ukiah Speedway. Fortunately Ziemer was okay and was able to continue racing at the Acres finishing ninth in the points. Mark Arroyo looked to be one of the faster competitors as the season concluded, and his steady finishes made him the tenth place points finisher. Over thirty different drivers participated in the thunder roadster class during the 2006 season. During the Fall Spectacular weekend drivers from Nevada and Texas made the trek to race against what is the highest number of roadster cars and drivers in the nation.

The 2007 season should have more of the same kind of action that the 2006 season provided. David Henderson will return to defend his championship, but it won’t be an easy road going against the likes of Peeples, Combs, Olson and Marsh. With more experience, drivers like Sarvinski, Elliott, Ziemer, Arroyo, Donn Cole, Mike Ward, Jay Bahner and Chris Banfill should be strong competition too. Veterans including O’Neill, Dave McMurray and Rusty Olson will be tough to beat along with Mark Baldwin who missed the last half of the 2006 season due to an injury. A variety of drivers can win on any given night, and with that kind of group excitement is sure to be found.

Walsh, Grammer, Betournay 2006 champions

Walsh, Grammer, Betournay 2006 champions

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The thirteenth event of the season, the Judy Fox Memorial race at Redwood Acres Raceway Saturday night saw the 2006 points races in the sportsman, mini stock and limited street stock divisions come to an end with champions crowned in each division. Marty Walsh held off the toughest challenges of Glen Shewry to win once again in the sportsman division capping off a superb championship run. Craig Baker took home the trophy in the mini stock division but Chad Grammer was probably the happiest mini stock driver as his fourth place finish was good enough to claim the title. Class rookie Trevor Miller claimed victory in the limited street stock class while first year driver Adrien Betournay won the division champion. While the real stock and thunder roadsters still have another weekend of racing left, both divisions had great racing with Dan Browne winning the real stock main, and Troy Combs taking top honors in the roadster race.

Before the night’s racing action, drivers from all divisions brought their cars out to the track to do a few memorial laps in honor of Judy Fox as well as other loved ones who were either lost to cancer or have passed on from other circumstances. The field of cars was lead by Rick Fox, Judy’s son and Lissa Uselton who is a close friend of the Fox family. Ryan Walters set the quickest lap in time trials in the real stock division with a 19.338 lap. Jim Bailey won the dash over Walters Dan Browne and Bill Bradbury. Brian Belt won the first heat race followed by Ryan Robinson, Troy Wood, Steve Kimberling and Bailey. Browne won the second heat race with Bill Middleton, Walters, Doug Way and Barry Barnwell in his tire tracks.

Eighteen cars started the 25-lap real stock main event. Troy Wood and Chuck Essex took the field to the green flag and the start of the race. Off the start, Doug Way suffered problems and slowed on the track. Coming off the fourth turn, Middleton spun bringing out the yellow flag. Amidst the early race chaos, it was Essex taking the early lead over Barnwell and Wood. The green flag flew again with Barnwell moving to Essex’s outside, taking the top position on lap three. On lap four, Walters moved himself into the fifth position getting by Kimberling. Bradbury moved by Wood and began to harass Essex for second allowing Barnwell to pull out to a sizeable margin. On lap seven, Walters made his way by Wood bringing Browne with him. The next lap, Walters moved inside Bradbury for second but Bradbury was able to hold him off. The caution came out on lap 10 when Mark Mullin spun and hit the turn four wall.

Unfortunately for Barnwell, his large lead was erased, and on the restart he now had Essex, Bradbury, Walters and Browne within striking distance of him. On the restart, Walters moved to the outside of Bradbury for third, finishing the pass on lap 11. Walters then was able to maneuver his way by Essex going into the third turn on lap 12 taking the second spot. At the same time, Browne was able to get by Bradbury for fourth. Browne moved outside of Essex on lap 13, taking the third position on lap 14 in turn one. As the leaders hit slower cars on lap 16, Browne was able to get by Walters for second in turn one. The lapped traffic jumbled the running order with Belt and Bradbury able to get by Essex.

On lap 18, Browne was able to snatch the lead away from Barnwell going into the first turn. At the same time, Belt and Walters made contact, allowing Belt to get by. Walters regained the position going into the third turn on lap 19. On lap 20, Walters spun in the second turn into the infield. The caution flag did not fly however costing Walters any chance at a good finish. Meanwhile, Browne had stretched out to a comfortable lead over Barnwell, while Barnwell had a comfortable lead over Bradbury in third. With one lap to go, Belt moved to the outside of Bradbury but got loose allowing Bailey to take the fourth position. At the front, it was Dan Browne crossing the checkered flag leading a top five consisting of drivers with the last name started by ‘B’; Barnwell, Bradbury, Bailey and Belt.

In practice for the limited street stock division, Romeo Venza hit the fourth turn wall and was not able to make it out for the rest of the evening. Trevor Miller set the fast time with a 17.143 lap. The trophy dash belonged to Kenny Demello who was looking to gain points on division leader Adrien Betournay for the championship. Miller finished second with Mosher third and Betouray fourth. Mosher took the win in the heat race followed by Demello, Betournay, Duane Mayo and Scott Lyons.

The two title contenders Demello and Betournay lead the six car field to the green flag in the 10 lap main event. Demello was able to take the early lead while the drivers tried to sort themselves out. Miller moved by Mayo in the first turn on lap two while Betournay tried to move outside and by Demello for the lead. Mosher made his way past Mayo going into the third turn on lap three. On lap five, Miller found a line inside Betournay to take second bringing along Mosher. A few moments later, Miller got to the inside of Demello to take the lead coming off the second turn. On lap seven, Mosher was able to get by Demello for second. Betournay did the same move on lap eight. Unfortunately coming off turn two, Demello hit the wall ending his race and losing his chances at the championship. The restart proved to be a formality for Miller as he was able to hold off Mosher to take the win. Betournay took third winning the class title, Mayo finished fourth and Lyons fifth.

With only a few points separating mini stock points leader Chad Grammer and second place Brian Murrell, every position in every race was extremely important. Craig Baker set fast time with a 18.731 lap. The trophy dash was won by Baker followed by Stacy Minnick, Grammar and Glen Bernald. Baker then took the win in the heat race over Grammar, Murrell, Denzel Barrett and Bernald. Nine cars started the 20-lap mini stock main event with Murrell and Bernald pacing the field. Before the start of the race, the lighting system in the second turn failed and the drivers had to race that corner in darker conditions.

Murrell was able to get the lead off the start while Minnick moved to second, followed by Baker, Grammer and Bernald. On lap three, Baker moved to the outside of Minnick to take second while Murrell pulled out to a large gap. On lap five the caution came out when Barrett spun in the fourth turn. On the restart, Baker moved outside of Murrell taking the lead on lap seven. From that point on, the field stretched out and the only drama that was left was to see if the champion would either be Murrell or Grammer. Craig Baker made it three-for-three on the night to handily take the main event win over Murrell, Minnick, Grammer and Bernald. Grammer’s fourth place finish was just enough to beat Murrell in the final points talley making him the 2006 mini stock champion.

Randy Olson set the quick time for yet another race night for the thunder roadsters with a 16.965 lap. David Henderson held off Olson, Paul Peeples, Jr. and Chris Banfill to take the win in the dash. Bill O’Neill won the first heat followed by Gary Payne, Fred Hanks, Chris Lawrence and Waylon Henze. Troy Combs won the second heat race over LeRoy Marsh, Jr., Mike Ward, Chris Sarvinski and Peeples. 20 cars started the 30-lap main event with Bruce Ziemar and Dave McMurray leading the field to the green flag. Ziemar grabbed the early lead before the second lap when Marsh took the lead taking Combs and Ward with him. Ziemar got loose of the second turn costing himself several positions. Going into turn three on lap four, Combs moved inside and by Marsh for the lead. As the front duo pulled away from the rest of the pack, the faster qualifiers of Olson and Henderson fought their way through the traffic. Olson moved outside of Sarvinski on lap five completing the pass on lap six. Henderson was able to move inside Sarvinski on the same lap to take fifth.

On lap 9, the Olson/Henderson duo closed in on Ward for third while Combs and Marsh had a sizeable 10-15 car length gap over the three. Olson and Henderson moved inside Ward going into the third turn on lap 10. Two laps later, Sarvinski was able to get by Ward to take the fourth spot. Rob Nelson spun in turn four on lap 13 but no yellow flag was thrown. At the same time, Peeples, who had made his way by Ward, got past Sarvinski for fifth. With the field spread out and Combs and Marsh with a seemingly insurmountable gap over Olson and Henderson, the race looked to be a two car battle. On lap 21, Combs hit slower traffic slowing his car. This allowed Marsh to close within striking distance along with allowing Olson and Henderson to close the large gap a little bit.

For several laps, Henderson tried to find a way by Olson. On lap 25 as the two closed in on Marsh who was fighting slower cars, Henderson made a bold move inside to get by and take third. Two laps later going into turn three, Olson regained the third position on the high side. The battle amongst Marsh, Olson and Henderson was enough for Troy Combs to sail to the win. Marsh held off Olson for second while Henderson finished fourth and Peeples fifth.

Barring any unusual circumstances, Marty Walsh basically had to show up to clinch the championship in the sportsman division. Glen Shewry clocked the fastest lap in qualifying with a 16.424 lap. Angelo Marcelli won the dash over Shewry, Walsh and Aaron Byers. Al Acuna won the first heat holding of Ken Hallis, Rick Fox, Walsh and Byers to win. The second sportsman heat race was highlighted by a superb side-by-side race for the win between Donnie Brown and Brandon Barnwell. The two raced doorhandle-to-doorhandle for the three laps before Barnwell was able to take the lead and win over Brown, Shewry, Lissa Uselton and Marcelli.

The 12 car 30-lap main event was brought to the green flag by Uselton and Brown. Off the start Brown took the lead. Going into the third turn Uselton tried to mount a challenge but Brown shut the door. On lap two, Shewry got loose off the fourth turn and slid into the infield going into turn one. He was able to save his race car while going back on the track in the middle of turns one and two, however the field was jumbled up. On lap four, Walsh moved by Uselton coming off turn four. The yellow flag flew on lap seven when Keith Dias spun in turn four. Under yellow, Barnwell and Fox made contact sending Fox spinning. However since the incident occurred under the yellow flag, Fox was able to retain his position in the race.

When the green flag came out it was Brown leading Walsh, Uselton, Byers and Marcelli. Shewry moved outside of Marcelli on lap nine, finishing the pass on lap 10. On lap 11, the field jammed up in front of Larry Pries causing Hallis to spin him out and bringing out the yellow. Hallis was sent to the rear for his involvement in the incident. The green flag came out again giving Shewry the chance to get outside and by Byers. Going into the third turn on lap 12, Walsh moved inside of Brown for the lead. Off turn two, Walsh got the bite in his rear tires, taking the lead, while Shewry moved by Uselton for third.

On lap 15, Browne dug deep and moved inside of Walsh to regain the lead. Marcelli moved inside of Byers for fifth on lap 16, taking the position going into turn three on lap 17. That same lap the yellow flag came out when Pries spun in turn four collecting Hallis, who took his car to the pits under the caution period.

The yellow period allowed Walsh to cool his tires and on the restart he was able to challenge Brown for the lead again. On lap 20, Walsh moved inside of Brown. The two raced side-by-side for a lap before Walsh was able to take the lead once more, this time bringing Shewry with him. Shewry appeared to have a faster car and he tried to fill Walsh’s mirror as much as possible. On lap 25, Shewry tried to use the high line to get by Walsh but it didn’t work. A lap later, Shewry tried the same tactic but got too loose off turn two and lost several car lengths. On lap 29, the yellow flag flew for debris from Pries’s car. This set up a green/white/checker finish. The restart wasn’t enough for Shewry to mount a challenge to Walsh as Marty Walsh was able to cap off his championship night win the main event win. Shewry held on to second followed by Brown, Uselton and Marcelli.

The final two points races for the real stock and the thunder roadsters will be held in conjunction with the Fall Spectacular Friday and Saturday night September 22nd and 23rd. Along with the two local classes will be the IMCA modifieds and the open competition super late model races. Cars from all over the west coast, from as far away as Las Vegas and Texas will be racing at the Acres. On Thursday the 21st, there will be an open practice between 2-6 PM followed by a steak barbeque provided by Rich and Linda Olson as well as Jim Offenbach and the Golden Gate Meat Company. It promises to be a very exciting conclusion to what has been perhaps the best season of racing at the Acres ever.