Eureka, CA (September 29, 2019) – The inaugural season of championship racing for the Humboldt Outlaw Karts came to its conclusion this past Saturday afternoon at the Redwood Acres Fairgrounds. There was plenty of excitement on the 1/8-mile dirt oval as championships in all six divisions were decided. The racing action was presented in honor and memory of the late Howard Ford who passed away in August.
Adam Myer set fast time for the PeeWee Predators with a 15.250. As has been the case since the division started mid-season, Leonard Ward IV was dominant. Ward was victorious in the heat race then followed up by leading the main event from start to finish to win. Tony Abeyta placed second over Raylan Ross and Adam Myer. Ross earned enough points to take the Peewee Predators championship by 24 points while Ward placed third in the standings.
Although Aaliyah Mitchell had already earned enough points to lock up the championship for the Champagne Attorney Service beginner box stocks, there was still plenty to race for. Colin Wolfe was fast time with a 14.508. Wolfe followed up with a win in the heat race. The main event proved to be similar as Wolfe was able to jump to the lead from pole position and cruised to the win. Mitchell placed second with Destiny Lewis taking third. As previously mentioned, Mitchell was the division champion while Lewis took second and Danica Kinsey was third.
Jeffrey Smith was quickest of the Fortuna Wheel And Brake old fart karts with a 12.313. The division had perhaps its strongest field of the season and it showed in the heat race as Kenny Demello took the win. The main event saw highly competitive action. Demello led the opening 10 laps until Nick Ford began to make his presence felt. Ford took the lead on lap 11 but Demello fought back to lead the next two circuits. Ford regained the lead on lap 14 as Demello fell to third behind another Redwood Acres Raceway veteran, Chris Sarvinski. Ford led the rest of the way to take the feature win over Sarvsinki and Demello. Nicole Overholt took fourth while Smith placed fifth. Ford had already clinched the championship going into the event. Amanda Harpe placed second in the championship standings with Scott Proctor third.
Leonard Ward’s time of 11.716 in qualifying for the Miclette Family Racing pure stocks was the fastest. Ward followed up with the heat race victory. Pete Miclette moved to the lead at the start but he and Ward got locked together while working lap two going down the back stretch. The issues allowed David Alves to jump to the lead and he was able to pull out to a huge advantage as Shawn Andrews moved to second while Miclette and Ward dropped to third and fourth. Alves slowly built his lead while Miclette and Ward tried to recover. Miclette moved by Andrews for second on lap eight while Ward got to third a lap later. With clear track between he and Alves, Miclette slowly closed in on the lead. Unfortunately for him, Alves’ lead was too great and his pace was more or less equal. At the finish it was Alves winning over Miclette, Ward, Andrews and Michael Lawrence. Ward took the pure stock championship by 12 points over Pete Miclette. Lawrence was third in the standings followed by Alves and Jordan Miclette.
Dryver Dothage clinched the championship for the Wes Green Landscaping 250s in qualifying with the fastest lap of 10.009. Dothage won the heat race. The feature event was slowed several times due to spins. Brady Osborne, Sonya Osborne, Lily Williamson and MKinzy Uselton each had turns going around. Dothage avoided disaster and was able to nail each restart to perfection to win the main event. Uselton finished second with Williamson third, Brady Osborne fourth and Sonya Osborne fifth. Dothage was 250 champion over Uselton, Landen Green, Maleesa Miles and Williamson.
Qualifying for the Nor Cal Automotive 500s was paced by Tony Miles with a 10.373. Brad Curtice of Nor Cal Automotive put up a special $25 bonus when to all 250 division drivers who raced with the 500s on the night. In addition, the purse for the top three finishers in the main event was $100 for first, $50 for second and $25 for third. Miles was the heat race winner. The main event proved to be the best race of the season for the 500s. Miles moved to the lead at the start but Dryver Dothage was second by lap two. The front duo staged a fantastic nip-and-tuck duel for the lead as Dothage was all over Miles lap after lap. On lap 13, Miles drove into turn three and got too high. Dothage took full advantage of the opportunity and took the lead. Dothage slowly pulled away from Miles and was able to take the feature victory. Miles held on to second over MKinzy Uselton in third, Lily Williamson in fourth and Brady Osborn in fifth. Miles had already secured the division championship over Dax Williamson prior to the event.
The closest championship race for the Humboldt Outlaw Karts going into Saturday was in the Williamson Financial Group box stocks. Grant Proctor led the championship standings by one point over Dylan Combest. Proctor earned a valuable four points in qualifying by timing in fastest with a 11.374. Combest won the first heat race while Austin Bartholomew won the second. Combest’s win and Proctor’s third in the second heat meant that the gap between the two entering the feature was only three points.
Combest used pole position to his advantage to take the lead at the drop of the green in the feature event. Lap three saw Proctor avoid major disaster as several karts got together right in front of him while coming off the second turn. Bartholomew suffered the worst of it as his right rear axle was bent in the collision forcing him out of second position and off the track for the rest of the race. The race resumed with Combest leading Proctor and it became a cat-and-mouse game as each driver pushed their talents to the limit trying to keep up with each other while also safely maneuvering through slower traffic.
As the finish neared, lapped traffic became a bigger issue for the leaders with both Combest and Proctor knowing any mistake could cost them the championship. Timmy Walters moved by Proctor on lap 16 but Proctor was able to retake the position on lap 18. Combest had his hands full at the white flag as he continued to try to safely maneuver through traffic. Proctor was able to gain going down the backstretch and a spin in turn three forced both drivers to make a choice of how they would get to the finish. Combest went low with Proctor going high. The two flat-footed their karts to the finish with Combest winning by inches over Proctor. Walters was third followed by Jack Myer and Grant Williamson. Proctor’s second place finish helped him fend off Combest in the championship standings as he was able to secure the title by only two points. Bartholomew was third in the final standings while Walters and Corbin Green rounded out the top five.
Even though the championship season has ended for the Humboldt Outlaw Karts in 2019, the season still has one more event. The final race of the season is Saturday October 12. The 2019 season for the Humboldt Outlaw Karts is presented by Steve’s Septic Service and Wes Green Landscaping. For full race results and championship standings, visit www.HumboldtOutlawKarts.com. You can also find HOK on Facebook.
Historic videos, race reports and race results from various Northern California race tracks