Kneely takes real stock victory

Kneely takes real stock victory

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Racing is one of the most unpredictable sports there is. September 7 at Redwood Acres Raceway was no exception as Jeff Kneely, driving a car normally shoed by Travis Maytanes, took the victory. Kneely is no stranger to the 3/8 of a mile paved oval though, as he has raced the track many times before, but not in a while. Rookie, Joe McDonald displayed his ability in the sportsman division taking the unexpected main event win. The mini stock main event winner, however, was no stranger to victory lane as Phil Wood took home another main event trophy this season.

In the mini stock trophy dash, Phil Wood took the top honors over Jaison Chand, Jason Rhodes and Chad Grammer. Making his first ever start at the Acres, 21 took the victory in the first of the two heat races beating Matt Wolf, Joe McDonald Sr. and Tai Frye. In the second heat, Jason Shaha came in first but because his car wasn’t legal he didn’t officially take the win. Jason Rhodes took the trophy followed by Wood and Brian Murrell.

Murrell and Rhodes brought the mini stock main event to the green flag. On lap 2, Grammer and Judge John Morrison spun collecting McDonald. Morrison suffered damage to his right front wheel and pulled into the pits to call it a night while Grammer and McDonald were able to continue. Rhodes led the field to the restart and the green flag.

Within a few laps, Wood made his move, making a move on Rhodes on the outside then passing him on the inside. Shaha followed suit just a lap later. For the rest of the race, it was a two-horse battle between Wood and Shaha. With a few laps to go, Shaha made an inside move on Wood. The two collided but came apart with Shaha in the lead and Wood second, but only in position. When the checkered flag fell, Shaha led Wood but it was Wood who took home the win over Rhodes and Chand.

In the sportsman trophy dash, veteran, Al Acuna took the win over Ken Hallis, Roger Sanderson and Pat Walsh. Walsh made some moves to the front in the heat race, taking the win over Joe McDonald, David Henderson and Jim Norris. The main event was brought to green and Norris used his pole position to his advantage, taking the early lead. On lap 2, McDonald powered his way by Norris. Three laps later, Hallis slid between turns three and four. Behind him, Ed Peters hit the wall severely. Peters was all right as he drove his mount into the pits, unfortunately he would not return.

After the restart, on lap 9, Acuna spun off of turn four but there was not a caution. A few laps later, Walsh made contact with Sanderson and a caution flag was thrown. Under the yellow, Sanderson and Hallis collided sending Hallis hard into the turn three wall. Sanderson continued to race with some left front fender damage while Hallis had to call it a night. On the restart, McDonald got a jump and pulled away from second place Angelo Marcelli. With four laps to go in the 30 lap main event, Norris spun for the yellow flag. McDonald again got a good start on Marcelli and with that, he came across the finish line first followed by Marcelli, Walsh and Henderson.

The real stock class had one of it’s smaller car counts of the season; only 25 cars. In the “B” trophy dash, Cecil Arispe took the win over Bill Middleton. The “A” dash victory went to Jeff Kneely, followed by Don Hyman, Mike Peters and Jimmy Thornberry. Rick Fox, whom had motor problems on his qualification attempt, won the first of three heat races over Arispe and Steve Kimberling. Lissa Uselton took the second heat win with Aaron Byers, Hymie Yellon and Chad Trump breathing down her neck. In the third heat, Peters won followed by Ryan Thompson, Marty Walsh and Hyman. The “B” main transferred four cars into the “A” main. Filling those positions were Fox, Arispe, Gary Adams and Kimberling.

Uselton and Yellon led the field to the drop of the green flag in the real stock “A” main event. Uselton showed her strength, taking the lead away from Yellon. Early, Doug Way and Peters had a run in. On lap 7, Thompson spun resulting in the first caution flag in the race. After the restart, Ryan Walters lost control of his car and spun for another caution. When the field went back to green flag racing it was Uselton leading followed by Yellon, John Goinn and Byers.

On lap 11, Kneely began to make his presence known taking the third position. Two laps later a wreck involving Walsh, Thornberry and Donald Brown occurred between turns three and four. After the clean up crew did their job, Uselton again brought the field to the green flag. Kneely took advantage of the close field taking away second on lap 14. A lap later, Goinn spun without the result of a caution though. The same lap, Kneely made a strong move to the outside of Uselton and took the lead from her. Fox who had marched his way through the field followed Kneely to take second from Uselton. Lap 19, Hyman made an attempt to pass Uselton for third. The two dueled for several laps with Hyman taking the spot on lap 22. Kneely was just too strong this night though as he took home the win over Hyman, Fox, Uselton and Byers. The next race at Redwood Acres Raceway is a special night as it will be Fan Appreciation Night on September 21.

Thain, DiBenedetto And Bloom Take Idaho Outlaw Kart Features

By Gary Jacob

Caldwell, ID -- Leading all 20 laps after she drew the pole starting position, Cassie Thain from Elk Grove, CA won the Open Outlaw A Main as the QRC All Star Tour made it's longest road trip ever to Sandhollow Raceway Park in Caldwell, Idaho. She was chased to her win by series point leader and defending series champion Sean Becker, who started 3rd. Robbie Whitchurch ran third ahead of Daniel Becker as the inside row starters ran 1-2-3-4. In the 125 Intermediate action, fast timer Matt DiBenedetto from Grass Valley, CA drew the pole after winning his heat and led all 20 laps to win. Napa's Richard Bailey started fifth and ran second with Brett Miller coming from 9th to finish third. In the Box Stock action, Keith Bloom Jr set fast time and won his heat. He drew third starting spot but raced by pole starter Derek Kennemore on lap 13 to win that 20 lap A Main. Outside front row starter Kyle Larson ran second and wrapped up the traveling series championship with one race remaining in November at Red Bluff. A great group of traveling teams from California allowed the three division show to have over 110 entries. Since the Idaho facility lacks lights, the time trials and heat races were run on Saturday afternoon and the feature races were contested on Sunday afternoon. The track was watered between each event leading to a pair of long race days.

Over 50 Open Outlaws time trialed with Ryan Kaplan the quickest at 10.294. S Becker ran a 10.450 lap and Whitchurch had a 10.491 effort. Ukiah's Rick Schamber posted a 10.497 and Thain was fifth quick ahead of Zack Mason. Thain scored a big win at the Ukiah fair race back in August. Mason won the dash honors with Thain second over S Becker. The large field was divided into six heat races with the top 3 finishers in each advancing into the 20 lap A Main. The heat races were straightup off the timed runs. Kaplan won the first heat with D Becker second over Chris Faulkner. S Becker won heat 2 with Michael Tarter second over Aaron Colburn. Whitchurch won heat 3 with Idaho's Josh Ostler second over another Idaho star Bryan Warf. Schamber won heat 4 with Tony Sousa second over David Shingle. Thain won heat 5 from the pole with Kyle Hirst second in front of Chris Mansell. Mason won heat 6 as Idaho's Brandon Johnson came from deep in the field for second ahead of Jared Consani. Four more transfer slots were available in the B Main and Oregon's Brandon Farquhar won that race over David James, Jon Shingle and Idaho's Eric Hodge. Just missing transfers were Kevin Juvenal and Kelly Fairbanks. Juvenal had battled forward from 19th starting after winning the C Main ahead of Kirk Simpson and Jeff Pohlman. The six heat winners drew for their starting order at the front of the 22 kart A Main grid. Thain and Schamber shared row 1 ahead of S Becker, Mason, Whitchurch and Kaplan. Again, the inside row had a major advantage in the 20 lap feature with Thain winning ahead of S Becker, Whitchurch, D Becker, Kaplan, Faulkner, Mason, Consani, D Shingle and Farquhar as a 22 car grid filled the track.

DiBenedetto was the quickest of the 31 125's with a 10.213 lap that beat all the 500 cc Open Outlaws. It easily paced the second fast effort of Lakeport star Kayla Mincey who ran a 10.556. Camden Mendiola ran a 10.567 lap with Alan Ambers, Bailey and Michael Forslund also in the 10.5 bracket. Forslund was the dash winner ahead of Bailey and DiBenedetto. The field was divided into four heat races with the top 3 in each advancing into the 20 lap A Main. DiBenedetto won heat 1 with Bailey second over B Miller. Forslund beat Nic Helwig in heat 2 with Justin Reinolds third. Bradley Terrell took heat 3 in front of Cody Miller and Mendiola. Michael Hubert III took heat 4 ahead of Tyler Wolf and Alan Ambers. It was a tough weekend for second fast Mincey as she ran last in the dash, sixth in her heat and 11th in the B Main. Four transfers were pulled from the B Main finish and Carson City, NV racer Tom Purcell won with Klint Simpson second over Michael Helwig and JoJo Helberg. Idaho's Jimmy Gross won a small C Main ahead of Peter Lawrence. The four heat winners drew for their starting order with DiBenedetto drawing the pole alongside Hubert. Terrell and Forslund shared row 2. DiBenedetto led all 20 laps for the win ahead of Bailey, B Miller, Hubert, Terrell, C Miller, N Helwig, Reinolds, Ambers and JoJo Helberg.

Bloom was the quickest of 29 Box Stocks at 12.019. Derek Kennemore ran a 12.083 lap and Larson was third quick at 12.140. Shane Graham and Dillon Silverman rounded out the top five qualifiers. Derek Kennemore won the dash over Thomas Bruckenstein and Silverman. The field was split into four heat races with the top 3 in each advancing. Bloom won heat 1 from the pole with Silverman second over Doug Kennemore. Derek Kennemore won heat 2 with Mason Moore second over Bruckenstein. Kaplan beat Jonny Lentz in heat 3 as Riley Gomes ran third. Brian Southers won heat 4 over Jacob Miller and Tristan Miller. The final four A Main slots came from the B Main were Jesse Red won over Austin Lev, Cody Ambers and Leanna Kenyon. Just missing the cut were Brad Patchen and Nevada's Jennifer Purcell. Casey McClain won the C Main with Derrick Hirst second over Shelby Dargert. The draw between the four heat winners put Derek Kennemore and Larson on the front row ahead of Bloom and Southers. Derek Kennemore led 12 laps before Bloom took over. Larson ran second over Derek Kennemore, Southers, Lentz, Bruckenstein, Red, J Miller, Lev and Ambers.

Summary Box Stock Fast Time-Keith Bloom Jr 12.019 Dash-Derek Kennemore, Thomas Bruckenstein, Dillon Silverman. Heat 1-Bloom, Silverman, Doug Kennemore, Austin Lev, Cody Ambers. Heat 2-Derek Kennemore, Mason Moore, Bruckenstein, Jake Cartwright, Dana Evans. Heat 3-Kyle Larson, Jonny Lentz, Riley Gomes, Jesse Red, Cory Lockwood. Heat 4-Brian Southers, Jacob Miller, Tristan Miller, Brad Patchen, Gavin Marron. C Main-Casey McClain, Derrick Hirst, Shelby Dargert, Cyle Allison, Shane Graham. B Main-Red, Lev, Ambers, Leanna Kenyon, Patchen, Jennifer Purcell, Evans, Marron, Dargert, Andrew Cumpton. A Main-Bloom, Larson, Derek Kennemore, Southers, Lentz, Bruckenstein, Red, J Miller, Lev, Ambers, Doug Kennemore, Gomes, Kenyon, Silverman, T Miller, Moore. 125 Intermediate Fast Time-Matt DiBenedetto 10.213 Dash-Michael Forslund, Richard Bailey, DiBenedetto. Heat 1-DiBenedetto, Bailey, Brett Miller, Lonnie Stephens, Klint Simpson. Heat 2-Forslund, Nic Helwig, Justin Reinolds, Tom Purcell, Steven Rogers. Heat 3-Bradley Terrell, Cody Miller, Camden Mendiola, Michael Helwig, Stephen Connell. Heat 4-Michael Hubert III, Tyler Wolf, Alan Ambers, Austin Hagar, Kale Freedman. C Main-Jimmy Gross, Peter Lawrence, #3, Mike Salter. B Main-Purcell, Simpson, M Helwig, JoJo Helberg, Rogers, Freedman, Lonnie Stephens, Hagar, Gross, Jessica Helberg. A Main-DiBenedetto, Bailey, B Miller, Hubert, Terrell, C Miller, N Helwig, Reinolds, Ambers, JoJo Helberg, Simpson, Forslund, Purcell, Wolf, M Helwig, Mendiola. Open Outlaw Fast Time-Ryan Kaplan 10.294 Dash-Zack Mason, Cassie Thain, Sean Becker. Heat 1-Kaplan, Daniel Becker, Chris Faulkner, Pete Johnston, Bubba Hill. Heat 2-S Becker, Michael Tarter, Aaron Colburn, Brandon Farquhar, Steven Gannon. Heat 3-Robbie Whitchurch, Josh Ostler, Bryan Warf, Cody Braund, Eric Hodge. Heat 4-Rick Schamber, Tony Sousa, David Shingle, Josh Chartier, Taylor Simas. Heat 5-Thain, Kyle Hirst, Chris Mansell, Eric Miller, David James. Heat 6-Mason, Brandon Johnson, Jared Consani, Jon Shingle, Mark Bowers. C Main-Kevin Juvenal, Kirk Simpson, Jeff Pohlman, Jay Dargert, Chuck Miller, Jerryd Stanley, Brad Dey, Justin Mincey, Shawn Amos, Ron Ennis. B Main-Farquhar, James, J Shingle, Hodge, Juvenal, Kelly Fairbanks, Chad Widener, Simas, Simpson, Gannon. A Main-Thain, S Becker, Whitchurch, D Becker, Kaplan, Faulkner, Mason, Consani, D Shingle, Farquhar, Johnson, Tarter, Sousa, Schamber, J Shingle, Mansell, Hirst, Colburn, Ostler, Warf, James, Hodge.