By Matthew J. Sullivan
The final points event for Redwood Acres Raceway’s late model division is set to take place this Saturday September 10th for Mid City Motor World Night at the Races. It will be the next to last event for the Acres’ five other local divisions.
The battle for the California State and Federal Employees Credit Union roadrunner division is a two-man race at this point. Tyler Peach currently holds a 12 point lead over Steve Paiment. The battle for third in the standings is even closer as third through fifth are separated by only three points. Bethany Rapp currently holds down the third position while Dominic Vogelsang and Patrick Sproul round out the top five in the standings.
It appears as though James Moore has a lock on the Fortuna Wheel and Brake bomber division track championship. If Moore finishes the evening with a 43 point margin, he will be the 2016 division champ. Moore leads second place John Lally by 77 markers. Ryan Ahrens sits third in points followed by rookie driver, Kimberly Sorrels and Tyler Avelar in fifth.
Only five points separate the top three drivers in the Humboldt Hydroponics mini stock division. Gary Klinetobe leads Eugene Palmer by four points while Jarrett Mayo in third is a point behind Palmer. Rick Estes is fourth in the standings and has been a regular front runner all season long. Daniel Buell has been impressive in his rookie campaign in the division and is fifth in the championship standings.
The fight for the Thunder Roadster division crown is a tight, two man race. Tommy Payne and Ronnie O’Neil have traded the points lead several times in 2016 and the current gap between the two is a mere four points. Donnie Brown is third in the standings, while his brother Aaron Byers is fourth and only two points behind him. LeRoy Marsh, Jr. is fifth in the standings having returned to racing at the Acres for the first time in several years.
Robert Miller has a comfortable lead in the Legend point standings. Like James Moore in the bombers, if Miller leaves the night with a 43-point margin over whoever is in second place in the standings, he will lock up the 2016 track championship in the Legend division. Miller’s lead over second place Anissa Curtice is 30 points. Annissa’s father, Brad is third in the standings, 3 points behind his daughter. Brent Mack is fourth in points while M’Kinzy Usselton rounds out the top five in the standings.
As mentioned, the 2016 champion in the Mid City Motor World late model division will be decided this weekend. Mic Moulton has the lead by 12 points. The margin is anything but comfortable given that second place in the standings is Marty Walsh who has been as strong as Moulton all season long. Third in fourth in the standings are Jedd Ambrosini and Richard Knight. While both have an outside chance of claiming the division title, it will take major odds to swing in their favor as they are 18 and 21 points behind Moulton. Kenny Demello is fifth and though he’s mathematically alive, it will take a miracle for him to win this year’s title.
The final point race for the rest of the five local divisions will take place Saturday September 24th presented by Maxwell’s Custom Automobiles. In addition will be the special Big T Jackpot race for the roadrunners along with the second \boat race of the 2016 season. The Fall Spectacular will return on October 8th and 9th featuring all six local divisions in what promises to be a memorable ending to the 2016 season. For more information on everything going on at Redwood Acres Raceway including video of all the main events from this past Saturday night, please visit the track’s official website www.racingtheacres.com