Henderson clinches title for Moulton in substitute role

By Matthew J. Sullivan

It was a fine evening for racing this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. It was Mid City Motor World Night at the Races and all six local divisions were in action including the late model division which was running its final point paying event of 2016.

Prior to the racing action starting, Redwood Acres Raceway and its fans paid tribute to the late Nyle Henderson. Henderson was a former racer at Redwood Acres Raceway and was a fixture at the Acres for more than 30 years. Nyle Henderson is the father of the late, Steve Henderson who was also a driver at Redwood Acres Raceway in the 80s on the dirt and the 90s on the pavement. Henderson is also the grandfather of current RAR driver, David Henderson.

James Nichols was fast time in the California State and Federal Employee Credit Union roadrunner division with a 20.763. Dominic Vogelsang won the trophy dash while heat race victors were Ken Barrett and Nichols. The 20-lap feature started off with the cars running in the opposite direction. The race was slowed early when Gage Ethridge hit the wall in turn three. Ken Barrett led the opening two laps before Vogelsang took over. Even after the cars were turned around to run the proper direction around the track, Vogelsang was dominant. At the finish it was Vogelsang taking his first main event win. Nick Ford placed second followed by Nichols, Barrett and Tyler Peach.

Qualifying for the Humboldt Hydroponics mini stocks was paced by Brian Murrell, Sr. with a 19.045. Gary Klinetobe took trophy dash honors while heat races were won by Brian Murrell, Jr. and Rick Estes. The 25-lap feature was led early on by Brian Murrell, Jr. On lap six, Rick Estes took over and never looked back. The best battle for the rest of the race was for third between Jarrett Mayo, Klinetobe, Palmer and Murrell, Jr. At the front, Estes was able to hold on and withstand a late charge by Murrell, Sr. to take the win. Mayo took third, Klinetobe fourth and Palmer rounded out the top five.

Brad Curtice set quick time for the Legends class with a 18.001 qualifying time. Robert Miller took the trophy dash win while Curtice took the heat race victory. Curtice and Miller resumed their season-long battle in the 25-lap main event. In spite of Curtice leading from start-to-finish, it was a tight race between the two. At the finish it was Curtice taking the win over Miller, Anissa Curtice and M’Kinzy Uselton.

Kolby Jackson was fast time for the Fortuna Wheel and Brake bomber division with a 18.276. The trophy dash saw an unfortunate accident between John Lally, Ray Taylor, Sr. and Jordon Paiment which sent Paiment hard into the wall. While Paiment was okay, he was finished for the night. Jackson won the dash. The heat race was taken by Taylor, Sr. Steven Taylor led the opening lap of the 25-lap main before Jackson took over the lead. Jackson would never fall out of the top position. The event was cut short of its scheduled distance when Lally spun in turn three. James Moore had nowhere to go and slammed into Lally’s rear-end. Thankfully both drivers were okay. Officials declared the race official with Jackson being the winner. Ray Taylor, Sr. was second while Moore was credited with third. Shane Toole finished fourth while Steven Taylor placed fifth.

The fastest driver in Thunder Roadster qualifying was Ronnie O’Neil with a 17.339. Aaron Byers won the trophy dash while Tommy Payne took the heat race. Jett Taylor led the first lap of the 30 lap main but on lap two it was Byers in the lead. The highlight of the race was for third between Donnie Brown, O’Neil and Payne. On lap 19, Payne finally prevailed to move into third. Nobody had anything for Byers on the night as he took the win in dominating fashion. Taylor placed second followed by Payne, O’Neil and Brown.

13 Mid City Motor World late models took time with David Henderson setting fast time with a 15.828. Henderson was racing as a substitute for Mic Moulton who was injured in the most recent race on August 20th. Henderson’s role as Moulton’s sub took an even bigger role on the night as the points champion in the division was on the line and Moulton was the points leader over Marty Walsh.

Walsh took the trophy dash win while heat race victories went to Kenny Demello and Henderson. Demello led the opening lap of the 50-lap feature before giving way to Corey James. James’ time up front was short as Henderson moved to the lead on lap six. Meanwhile, Walsh was having to play catch up having been involved in an opening lap tangle which put him at the rear of the field.

Racing came to a halt on lap 30 and several cautions slowed the race. The most notable incident involved Dustin Walters and Walsh with both going to the rear. Henderson looked to have the dominant car but began suffering issues. On lap 38, James maneuvered back to the lead. Two laps later a major incident in turn four brought out the yellow. Officials deemed the race official with James taking the win and Henderson helping Moulton claim the championship. Walsh recovered to finish third while Robbie Nelson and Ken Hallis rounded out the top 10.

Racing at Redwood Acres Raceway returns Saturday September 24th for the final points race of the season presented by Maxwell’s Custom Automobiles. The late models will be off but the other five local classes will be in action to determine who will win the track championships in each division. Concluding the event will be the second boat race of 2016.

2016 at the Acres concludes October 7th, 8th, and 9th with the return of the Fall Spectacular. Late models and modifieds highlight the event while roadrunners, bombers, mini stocks, Legends and Thunder Roadsters will also be in action. For more information about the Fall Spectacular including entry forms and purse payout please visit Redwood Acres Raceway’s official website, www.racingtheacres.com

Walsh wins first feature of 2016

By Matthew J. Sullivan

For a while, it did not look as though Mother Nature was going to cooperate with the proceedings this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. Following the roadrunner trophy dash, a heavy mist dropped over the 3/8-mile paved oval which delayed the racing action for nearly an hour. Thankfully the weather cleared up and fans were able to see a full slate of racing in all six local divisions on Pepsi Night at the Acres.

The California State & Federal Employee Credit Union roadrunner trophy dash was won by Richard Stancliff. The two heat races were taken by Jennifer Murrell and Stancliff. Rookie driver, Bob Ratzlaff showed surprising strength in the first portion of the 20-lap roadrunner feature as he led six of the first ten laps. However, Ratzlaff broke the 21-second break-out rule and because he did not adhere to it, he was scored off the lead lap.

The second half of the feature was dominated by Shawn Molloy who was driving Daniel Buell’s car for the night. Molloy and Stancliff staged a great duel in the final handful of laps. Molloy got the advantage in the end and claimed his first ever main event victory. Tyler Peach ended up second followed by Steve Paiment, Stancliff and Patrick Sproul.

Rookie, John Lally won the Fortuna Wheel & Break bomber trophy dash in his first race at the Acres. James Moore took the heat race victory. Lally led lap one of the 25-lap main event but by lap two Avelar was in the lead. Avelar blitzed the field, dominating the rest of the event and taking his second straight bomber feature win. Moore took second over Lally, Ryan Ahrens and Jimmy Sorrels.

Rick Estes took the trophy dash win for the Humboldt Hydroponics mini stock division. Heat one featured a photo finish with Jordon Paiment narrowly defeating Brian Murrell, Jr. Jarrett Mayo was the winner of the second mini stock heat. Michael Lawrence led lap one of the 25-lap main event but on lap two, Paiment maneuvered his way to the lead. On lap six, Estes found the line past Paiment to take over the top position.

The race featured a fantastic four-way battle between Estes, Eugene Palmer, Gary Klinetobe and Mayo with all four running nose-to-tail. Palmer was all over Estes and tried to use the high line to get to the lead. Palmer edged Estes to the line on the white flag lap and the two raced side-by-side in a thrilling battle for the win. Estes got the grip coming off turn four and was able to hold off Palmer to take the win. Klinetobe placed third while Mayo and Daniel Buell rounded out the top five finishers.

Tommy Payne won the four-lap Thunder Roadster trophy dash which featured an incident by Chris Sarvinski on the final lap while coming to the flag. Unfortunately, Sarvinski was finished for the evening. Payne also took the win in the heat race. Craig Baker led the opening four laps of the 30 lap affair before yielding to Donnie Brown. It wasn’t long before Brown’s brother, Aaron Byers began to challenge for the top position. On lap nine, Byers took the lead.

Brown had his hands full all race long for second position as Payne applied pressure. In the closing stages, Robbie Nelson made his presence known as well. With three laps remaining, Nelson used a three-wide pass to take the second position. Nelson did not have enough time to catch the leader though. At the checkered flag it was Byers winning his first ever Thunder Roadster main event. Nelson took second while Payne, Brown and Ronnie O’Neil placed second through fifth.

After several seasons away from racing, Robert Miller returned to take the trophy dash win in the Legends division. Miller had a scary wreck at the start of the heat race but fortunately he was okay and was able to return to the main event. Brad Curtice was the winner of the 10-lap heat. Curtice was absolutely dominant in the 25-lap main event as he was able to lead flag-to-flag to post his first feature win at the Acres. Miller placed second ahead of Brent Mack. Keith Van Dyne made the long tow from Washington to place fourth while Anissa Curtice finished fifth.

The Mid City Motor World late model division trophy dash was won by Marty Walsh who also took the win in the heat race. The 50-lap feature ended up being cut down to 30 laps due to several incidents and curfew. The first incident occurred on lap one when Kenny Demello got loose off turn two collecting Dustin Walters. Both drivers were out for the rest of the race. The second incident occurred in turns three and four when Jedd Ambrosini and Jim Walker tangled collecting Mic Moulton. Amborsini and Walker were able to continue while Moulton’s car suffered severe right front damage.

Walker suffered damage on his left front fender which caused his tire to smoke and led to what was the most frightening incident of the night. Going into turn three, sparks flew from Walker’s chassis hitting the pavement. Walker hit the third turn wall hard. Thankfully though his car was severely damaged, Walker was able to exit the car under his own power and was unharmed. At the front it was Walsh who was able to avoid the various disasters. At the finish it was Walsh sweeping the night and winning his first main of 2016. Richard Knight placed second over Tim Crenshaw who was making his first-ever start at Redwood Acres Raceway. Ambrosini placed fourth over Eddie Klein.

Racing returns to the Acres pavement for a special Sunday race on May 29th. While the late model division will be off for the night, the other five local divisions will be accompanied by the popular North State Challenge Series modifieds. Grandstands open at 5:00PM while racing begins at 6:00PM. General admission tickets for the event are $15, senior and military are $12, children 12 and under are $2 while children under five are free. Members of the military who have their military ID are also free. For more information of everything going on at Redwood Acres Raceway, please visit the track’s official website www.RacingTheAcres.com.

Olson goes back-to-back, sweeps fair races

Olson goes back-to-back, sweeps fair races

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The annual Redwood Acres Raceway fair night races took place this past Saturday night at the 3/8-mile paved oval in Eureka, California. As expected, the presence of the fair brought in additional drivers and fans to the track for one of the biggest weekends of the racing season. With races on back-to-back nights, it was important for drivers and teams to keep their cars in one piece, not only for the regular season points battles but for the special fair race title as well.

The weather on Friday evening proved to be cool and crisp, but that didn’t deter the racing on the track. In the real stock class, Ryan Walters took the trophy dash victory over Nick Green, Casey Mitchell and Ronnie O’Neill. Green won the heat race over Mitchell, Walters, Bill Middleton and O’Neill. Middleton held the lead in the opening stages of the main event before being challenged by Walters and Ryan Robinson. On lap 5, Walters made contact with Middleton off turn four sending Middleton out of the lead. During the caution period, Walters was sent to the rear giving the lead to Robinson. Robinson was able to withstand a last lap charge by Green to take the victory. Mitchell, Walters and Middleton rounded out the top five.

Scott Baker took the Friday night mini stock dash win over Brian Murrell, Brian Murrell, Jr. and Ryan Ahrens. The heat race victory went to Murrell, Jr. over Murrell, Baker, Ahrens and Ken Barrett. Due to the car count, the minis did not run a main event.

Kolby Jackson won the roadrunner trophy dash ahead of Bill Snow, Dax Kinsey and Raleigh Willoughby. Jackson followed up with the heat race win over Kinsey, Willoughby, Dustin DelBiaggio and Jimmy Murray. The main event proved unfortunate to two of the faster competitors. Willoughby’s tire blew just as he made the pass for the lead five laps into the race. Later on, Jackson had a tire blow taking him off the track. Kinsey was able to maneuver his car through the field and held on for the win over Murray, DelBiaggio, Ken Barrett and Tim Apeyta.

Paul Peeples, Jr. was the victor in the thunder roadster trophy dash over Randy Olson, David Henderson and Tommy Payne. Bruce Ziemer won the first heat over Jay Bahner, Fergy Ferguson, Rob Nelson and Belinda Ward while Henderson took the second heat ahead of Chris Sarvinski, Olson, Peeples and Brandon Barnwell. The opening laps of the feature event proved costly to two drivers. On lap two, several cars began spinning. Most notable of those was Henderson who spun going into the third turn, hitting the wall hard. It became evident that fluid was on the track and after a lap under caution it was evident that the culprit was Barnwell’s car which had leaked fluid heavily around the track. After the restart, Ziemer held the lead until Olson found a way by on the inside on lap 12 bringing Peeples with him. From that point on, Olson and Peeples raced nose-to-tail for the lead. Peeples was unable to put a move on Olson and at the checkered flag it was Olson winning over Peeples, Payne, Sarvinski and Mike Ward.

Friday night’s sportsman trophy dash victory went to Mic Moulton over Jerry Peterson, Joe McDonald and Dennis DelBiaggio. Peterson won the heat ahead of McDonald, Angelo Marcelli, Moulton and Al Acuna. Peterson held the lead from the get-go of the main event while Marcelli and Moulton settled in for a battle for the second position. On lap 21, Moulton and Marcelli tangled going into the first turn sending both cars spinning. Behind them, DelBiaggio had nowhere to go and hit Moulton. Marcelli was able to continue while DelBiaggio and Moulton were finished for the event.

With just two laps to go, Larry Pries and Aaron Byers got together in turn one resulting in a yellow flag. After the restart, McDonald led Peterson and Marcelli. Coming to the white flag, Peterson nudged McDonald and took the lead. Coming to take the checkered flag, McDonald got into Peterson sending Peterson spinning off the fourth turn. The end result was that Marcelli was awarded the victory while several cars including Peterson and McDonald were unable to race on Saturday due to choice or official’s ruling.

Saturday evening proved to be completely different from the night before. Beautiful sunshine spread over the raceway while there was only one caution period in all of the night’s action. Ronnie O’Neill won the real stock trophy dash over Casey Mitchell, Nick Green and Ryan Walters. Ryan Robinson held off O’Neill to win the heat race while Walters, Mitchell and Green rounded out the top five. Inexplicably Robinson, who was the real stock points leader going into the fair night weekend, was unable to get his car to the line for the main event. After starting from the pole, O’Neill ran away from the competition and handily took his first ever main event victory ahead of Walters, Doug Way, Mitchell and Green. Walters was awarded the fair night crown for the real stock division.

Brian Murrell, Jr. held off his father, Brian Murrell for the mini stock trophy dash victory while Ryan Ahrens and Craig Baker who was driving his brother Scott’s car for the night placed third and fourth. Baker won the heat race over Murrell, Murrell, Jr., Ahrens and Brian McIntosh. Baker started at the rear of the field for the main and was able to maneuver by the Murrell father-son team to take the victory while Murrell, Murrell, Jr., McIntosh and Ahrens. The team of Scott and Craig Baker were also victorious in the fair night championship as well.

Raleigh Willoughby won the roadrunner trophy dash over Dax Kinsey, Bill Snow and Kolby Jackson. Willoughby then won the heat race ahead of Michael Lawrence, Kinsey, Anderson visitor, Noah Smith and Ken Barrett. The main event was slowed only once, that by a hard hit by Barrett going into the first turn. Thankfully he was alright. Willoughby’s poor finish in Friday night’s event gave him pole position in Saturday night’s main. He was able to use the good start to his advantage as he held of several challenges by Snow to take the win. Kinsey was able to get by Snow on the last lap for second while Smith and Lawrence finished out the top five. Kinsey took home the fair night title for the roadrunner division.

The thunder roadster trophy dash victory went to Randy Olson over Tommy Payne, Paul Peeples, Jr. and Brandon Barnwell who was driving Bruce Ziemer’s car for the night. Belinda Ward took the first heat race win ahead of Rob Nelson, Fergy Ferguson, Jay Bahner and Dan Maxwell. Payne withstood Olson’s challenges in the second heat to win followed by Peeples, Mike Ward and Barnwell. Ferguson grabbed the lead early in the main event from Bahner but was quickly challenged by the faster cars of Mike Ward, Payne and Olson. Payne got too high off turn two on lap 10 allowing Olson to get under for third. The next lap, Ferguson opened the door allowing a host of cars to get under him and past, most notably Ward and Olson. Ward did his best to hold off Olson but on lap 15, Olson was able to get under and past for the race lead. Ward then had his hands full with Peeples and in the latter stages Peeples was able to pull into second bringing Barnwell and Payne with him. Olson was able to race the rest of the event unchallenged as he took the victory over Peeples, Barnwell, Payne and Ward. With his victory, Olson was the only driver to win both main event for the fair races and he was able to take the weekend championship.

Mic Moulton won the sportsman trophy dash over Dennis DelBiaggio, Larry Pries and Aaron Byers. DelBiaggio took the heat victory ahead of Byers, Pries, Northcoast racing legend, Jim Walker and Moulton. The main event proved to be over from the drop of the green flag as Moulton got a good jump from the outside front row and pulled away from the pack. The bulk of the excitement came from the famous blue 48 car driven by Walker. After starting from the rear, Walker thrilled the fans by moving to the third position by the end of the night. Moulton was able to win what was surprisingly his first main event victory on the year over DelBiaggio, Walker, Pries and Byers. The sportsman fair night championship was won by Byers.

Racing at the Acres takes a much needed week off after three races in the past two weeks. Action resumes Saturday July 10th with all five divisions returning once more.

2006 Sportsman season: a look back

2006 Sportsman season: a look back

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2006 season for the Sportsman division was one of the most competitive in recent memory with seven different winners in 13 races. Although the points margin wasn’t as tight as some of the other local divisions, the racing proved to be as exciting. Marty Walsh was able to keep his car clean from the start of the season to its finish winning four main events, the most in the sportsman class, and taking the 2006 championship. Every Saturday night, Walsh proved to be the driver that every other driver knew they absolutely had to beat.

In only his second full season of racing, Brandon Barnwell was able to finish second in points and won one main event. Barnwell was constantly at or near the front in every race, and it wasn’t surprising to see he and Walsh battling for a top three position on any given night. Rick Fox was able to finish third in the standings scoring one main event win. While Fox was one of the fast drivers, many times he was the victim of circumstance, getting involved in incidents that weren’t of his own doing.

Fourth place in the standings went to Acres veteran Angelo Marcelli. As has been the norm for many years, Marcelli was a consistent top five finisher, taking two main event wins in 2006. Perhaps the driver with the hardest luck at the Acres in 2006 was veteran Larry Pries. He won three main events and was consistently one of the fastest cars, yet too often he was the victim of misfortune. Another Acres veteran Al Acuna finished sixth in points. Although Acuna surprisingly wasn’t able to take a main event victory, he made it a habit to finish every race. At one point in the season, Rick Fox kindly loaned his backup race car to Acuna when his car wasn’t able to race.

The rookie of the year in the sportsman division was seventh place points finisher Lissa Uselton. Although 2006 was her first year behind the wheel of a sportsman car, Uselton used her past experience as a real stock driver to help guide her around the track, and she was able to notch some impressive finishes as the season progressed. One driver that should be a real threat in 2007 is Donnie Brown who took the eighth spot in the standings. At the end of the 2006 season, Brown looked to have a good handle on his car and nearly won several main events.

Although Aaron Byers missed several races in 2006 due to accidents, he was able to get back on the track and finished ninth place in points. Byers notched one main event victory, and hopes to have better luck in 2007. Rounding out the top ten points finishers was Jerry Peterson. Much of the early part of 2006 for Peterson involved getting everything squared away so he could be among the fast cars. In 2007 he should do that.

One driver who took home a victory was multi-time champion, Glen Shewry. Shewry didn’t make it out to the Acres until the late stages of the season, but proved that the time off hadn’t hindered his ability behind the wheel. Other drivers of note who competed in the sportsman division in 2006 were former mini stock champion Joe Bonomini, Ken Hallis, Mike Bourbon, rookie Keith Dias and J.D. Frey who raced on one occasion.

The car count for the 2007 season looks to be quiet promising. Along with most of the drivers previously mentioned will be the addition of now former real stock driver Jason Belt and now former limited street driver Kavin Conn. With Marty Walsh moving on from the division there will be a new champion crowned in 2007. Whether it will be a past champion like Pries or Marcelli, or an uncrowned driver such as Barnwell or Fox is hard to say. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens at the Acres this season.

Nine car pile-up highlights season opener

Nine car pile-up highlights season opener

By Matthew J. Sullivan

It was a cold night in Eureka, California, but that didn’t prevent thousands of race fans from attending the 2006 season opening race at Redwood Acres Raceway. A good number of fans were drawn by the buzz of the new thunder roadster division which made its debut. The night’s action was punctuated by several great races along with several wrecked race cars. Aaron Byers won the sportsman main event which featured a nine car melee. David Henderson became the first driver to win a main event race at the Acres in the roadster division. Doug Way nabbed real stock division honors while Chad Grammar won the mini stock main and Kenny DeMello won the limited street main.

Before the racing action began, the track held it’s annual Best Appearing Car contest. Those honors went to Jim Redd in the real stock division, Kavin Conn in the limited street division, Stacy Minnick in the mini stock division, Ray Elliott in the thunder roadster division and Lissa Uselton in the sportsman division.

Fast time in the limited street division went to Andrien Betournay with a lap of 17.610. Kenny DeMello won the trophy dash over Betournay, Kavin Conn and Terry Vallee. The division’s heat race was exciting as Betournay got by J.D. Frey to win followed by Conn, DeMello and Vallee. Due to the small car count, the main event was only 10 laps with Frey not making it out. DeMello got the jump from the outside of the front row over Vallee. However, Betournay was losing fluid from his car and the yellow flag was thrown. After the restart, another yellow flew when Vallee lost control of his car coming off turn four. When the green flag came out again, DeMello was briefly challenged by Conn, but by race’s end it was DeMello taking the checkered flag followed by Conn, Vallee and Betournay.

The mini stock division had a solid turnout of 10 cars and it seems as if the division is comprised of brothers, one duo being the Bakers, Scott and Craig, the other being the McIntoshes, Bryan and Byron. Scott Baker had the fastest qualifying lap with a 19.294 run. Craig Baker took the trophy in the dash over Chad Grammer, Stacy Minnick and brother Scott. Byron McIntosh won his first race in his first start in the heat with Scott Baker, Bryan McIntosh, Stacy Minnick and Glen Bernald in his trail. The initial start 20 lap main event was brought to the green flag by Bryan McIntosh and Bernald but had to be restarted when Grammer was forced into the dirt and Craig Baker spun.

When the green flew again, trouble occurred when Minnick and Craig Baker made contact collecting Byron McIntosh and Scott Baker. The lone survivor was Craig who was able to make it out on the restart before he parked his car for the night. Due to time constraints, the main was cut to 10 laps and on the start it was Bryan McIntosh leading Brian Murrell and Grammer. Murrell challenged McIntosh for the lead before Grammar got by both, taking the lead from McIntosh down the back chute while Murrell filled the hole Grammer left taking the second spot. Murrell tried to find a way past Grammer before the ninth lap when going into turn three he had a severe problem which forced him into the grass damaging his car and ending his race. The green and white flag restart was a formality for Grammer as he held off McIntosh, Bernald, Denzel Barrett and Nick Karanopoulos to take the victory.

Ryan Walters set the standard in qualifying for the real stock division with a lap time of 19.522. The trophy dash was won by Dan Browne followed by Jim Redd, Walters and Bob Lima. The first heat was dominated by Walters with Jason Belt, Bill Bradbury, Redd and Ray Demello in his wake, while the second heat was won by Browne over Lima, Doug Way, Troy Wood and Ryan Robinson. The 14 car field was brought to the green of the 25 lap main event by Brian Belt and Demello. Of the start, Demello took the lead followed by Bradbury. On lap three, Brian Belt lost traction of turn two and spun but kept his car going. That same lap, Bradbury got by Demello and brought Browne with him. Two laps later Browne got by Bradbury for the race lead. By lap six it was Browne and Bradbury running away from Demello, Walters and Way. While fighting for the third slot on lap eight, Demello and Walters made contact off the second turn causing Walters to get loose and lose several spots. On lap 10, Browne slowed dramatically going into the third turn, then between turns three and four, his right rear wheel sailed off his car. Bradbury had nowhere to go and rammed the back of Browne’s car finishing off a spin that was already started. Neither car was seriously damaged but Browne was finished for the night while Bradbury took his car into the pits and wasn’t a factor for the win.

When the green came out, Doug Way found himself as the leader over Demello, Jason Belt, Walters and Wood. On lap 12, Way was enough an eight car length lead while Belt moved past Demello and brought Walters with him. A few laps later, Walters began to challenge Belt for the second position. Meanwhile behind that duo, Demello and Bob Lima were dueling for the fourth spot. On lap 17, the two made contact in turn four and spun allowing Jim Redd and Troy Wood to fill in the fourth and fifth place spots. With two laps to go, Walters lost control of his car going into the third turn and hit the wall ending his race. The green and white flags came out for the final restart for Way. Belt tried to find a way by but it wasn’t enough as Doug Way won the real stock main followed by Jason Belt, Troy Wood, Jim Redd and James Bailey.

The much anticipated thunder roadster division had a great 22 car turnout. Former Eureka native and now North Carolinian Ryan Zeck set the mark in Nyle Henderson’s car with a lap time of 16.906. In the trophy dash after tire warmups, Randy Olson’s throttle hung going into turn one and he hit the wall. The dash was won by Zeck followed by David Henderson and Troy Combs. The first heat was won by Dave McMurray over Michael Ward, Jim Adams, Bruce Ziermar and Gary Payne. The second heat went to Paul Peeples with Bill O’Neill, Mark Arroyo, Ray Elliott and Mark Baldwin trailing him. Olson returned to the track in a different car and crossed the line ahead of David Henderson and Troy Combs in the third heat but was penalized for passing before the cone in turn four, so the win was Henderson’s.

The 26 lap race was brought to the green flag by Jay Bahner and O’Neill. Bahner got the jump off the start before Arroyo nabbed the lead by the end of lap one. Arroyo stretched his lead over the field as the two fastest qualifiers Zeck and Olson diced their way through the field. On lap seven, Combs moved his way to second. A few laps later, Combs grabbed the lead while working through slower traffic. On lap 19, the front five was stretched out with Combs leading, Henderson second, Lonnie Tamboury third, Zeck fourth and Olson fifth. On lap 22, Combs lost control of his car off turn four hand the lead to Henderson. With the laps ticking away, the front four got tighter and tighter as Henderson fought with lapped traffic. On the white flag it was anyone’s guess who would win as Henderson was hanging on tight to his lead. Coming down the back stretch, Tamboury, Zeck and Olson all tried to make their move at once. Off the fourth turn, it was nearly four wide as Zeck got loose off the corner and Henderson held on to win over Olson, Tamboury and Zeck.

Long time veteran Larry Pries was the fastest qualifier in the sportsman division with a time of 16.667. Angelo Marcelli won the trophy dash over Rick Fox, Al Acuna and Pries. In the first heat, Marty Walsh won with Marcelli, Aaron Byers, Jerry Peterson and Pries trailing while Acuna won the second head over Fox, Frank Billy, Brandon Barnwell and rookie Lissa Uselton. The start to the 30 lap main event was memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. Billy and Byers lead the field to the green with Byers getting the front spot from his outside front row position. Going into the third turn, Rick Fox took Billy and Marcelli three wide but it didn’t work. The three tangled, blocking up the track causing a massive wreck. Of the 11 starters, the only two cars who avoided the incident were leader Byers and Brandon Barnwell. Mercifully, the cars of Walsh, Peterson, Fox, Marcelli and Billy were able to take the restart while sadly Pries, Acuna, Uselton, and Donnie Brown were done for the evening.

The race was cut to 15 laps and on the start it was Byers and Barnwell leading the field to the green. Walsh got by Barnwell and tried to find a way around Byers. The two ran away from the rest of the pack while Barnwell and Peterson fought hard for third position. On lap 12, Peterson got outside of Barnwell and got by. The last two laps saw Walsh try the inside of Byers but it was to no avail as Byers held Walsh off with Peterson, Barnwell and Marcelli rounding out the top five finishers.

The next race at the Acres is April 29 as the North State Challenge Series opens their season along with the regular sportsman, real stock, mini stock and limited street divisions.

*Notes*

- I liked the new wall in turns one and two. Now drivers won’t have to worry about going over like Don Eyerly or Tim McCracken once did.

- Former sportsman champ Otis Stabler was driving the 99 car normally piloted by Phil Wood. Unfortunately in qualifications, the throttle hung and Otis hit the wall going into turn three. It was great to see him back in a race car, hopefully he’ll be back soon.

- Otis’ misfortune may have played into the hands of Aaron Byers, although at first it may not have looked like it. Byers was the first car on the track after Otis’ wreck and the dry sweep on the track definitely hurt his qualifying time. However, had it not been for that, Byers may not have started where he did in the race and he likely may have been caught up in the nine car incident.

- Aaron Byers and Frank Billy timed in one after the other. They both ran the same fast lap of 17.030.

- Brandon Barnwell did a couple nifty 360s. The first was during his second qualifying lap. He was able to turn a respectable 19.938. The second was in the heat race he ran.

- The limited street division has a lot of potential. The heat race between Betournay, Frey, Conn and DeMello was awesome to see. Hopefully there will be more cars and drivers out as the season progresses.

- My apologies for not covering the thunder roadster division better. With so many cars and drivers unfamiliar to me, it was hard to pick out who was who, besides the fact that these cars were haulin’ the mail!

- One thing that was clear about the roadsters is that if you’re one of the faster cars, you’ve really got to go from the drop of the green flag. Ryan Zeck and Randy Olson were definitely the fastest two cars on the track and were putting on a heck of a show coming through the field, but maneuvering through traffic was touchy thing to do.

- The incident in the sportsman main event was a real shame and it was disappointing for me as a longtime fan to hear fans in the stands cheering when the wreck happened. Hopefully fans will realize that wrecking is a part of racing but it isn’t racing, much like injuries are to other sports.

- Awesome crowd but getting out of the parking lot sucks... and hopefully it warms up next race!

- Hopefully all the drivers involved in any incidents this week will be able to get out and get after it again on the 28th.

A ‘hooked up’ Potts takes the IMCA victory

A ‘hooked up’ Potts takes the IMCA victory

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Making one of two appearances at Redwood Acres Raceway this season, the IMCA Modifieds visited the 3/8 of a mile-paved oval for some hard-charging racing action. Setting a new track record at a 16.465, Petaluma’s Richie Potts started from the back to work his way to the front and to take the victory in the main event. Capitalizing on real stock points leader, Shawn Craig’s misfortunes, Rick Fox took the victory and closed in on the championship leader. After making a bold pass on the outside with a few laps to go, veteran Al Acuna took the sportsman main event victory. In the mini stock class, Jason Chand resolved the motor problems he had been having the past few races and took victory honors in that class.

The limited street stock class made their second appearance at the Acres this season. In the trophy dash, Craig Johnson took the victory over Orion Moshier. The two repeated the process in the main event as Johnson again took the win over Moshier. Due to the low car count, however, the class didn’t run a main event.

Defending mini stock track champion, Phil Wood won the trophy dash over Dan Brown. The heat race action was intense as Chad Grammer, Jaison Rhodes, Wood and Brown battled for the victory. Coming off of turn four on the last lap, Rhodes made an attempt to pass Grammer on the inside. The two touched sending Grammer into the infield and Rhodes to the checkered flag first. Officials ruled that since Rhodes caused the incident he would be placed at the tail end of the finishing order. This gave Wood the victory over Brown, Glenn Bernald and Brian Murrell.

Leading the field to the green in the main event were Murrell and Matt Wolfe. Going into turn one on the start of the race, the two made contact and spun. Both had to start at the rear of the field for initiating the incident. On the restart, Brown took the lead over Rhodes. On lap 7, Wood, who had car problems and was using Grammer’s car, got loose and lost a lot of track position to the leaders. Meanwhile, Brown, Rhodes and Jason Chand were tightly contesting for the lead position.

Wood got loose again in turn 3 and this time lost a few positions. With five laps to go, Rhodes got loose and lost second position to Chand. Chand made a bold attempt to pass Brown on the high side with two laps to go and made it stick as he took the lead and the victory. Second was Brown, third was Rhodes while fourth went to Glen Bernald.

In sportsman competition, long time Acres racer, Angelo took the trophy dash victory over another veteran Al Acuna. In the heat race, Acuna gave the crowd a hint of things to come in the main event as he made a strong pass on the outside of rookie Jim Norris on the last lap of the race to take the victory. Norris and another rookie, Joe McDonald, brought the main event to green. Going into turn 3 on the first lap, David Henderson made contact with Norris. Henderson spun and caused a chain reaction that collected Pat Walsh, Scotty Turner and Acuna. Walsh and Turner weren’t able to return to the race while Acuna suffered only minor damage.

On the restart, McDonald lead over Redding visitor, Kyle Cattanach. The battle for the lead was intense as Cattanach put the pressure on McDonald. Going into turn one halfway through the race, Cattanach made a mistake and got loose. This allowed Acuna, Henderson, and Marcelli to get by. With just a handful of laps to go, Acuna moved to the top groove and made his car stick as he drove past McDonald and began to pull away. Henderson passed McDonald as well did Marcelli but it was too late in the race as Acuna won over Henderson, McDonald and Marcelli. It was determined after the racing action that a few of the sportsman competitors were illegal. Acuna’s victory withheld with second really belonging Marcelli, third Cattanach and fourth Ed Peters.

The real stock division had another great car count. Rick Fox broke the track record setting a new time of 19.566. In the trophy dash, Travis Maytanes took the victory over Shawn Craig by just a bumper. Gary Adams won the first of the three heat races over Ryan Walters and Dana Porter. The second heat was won by Chad Gurney with second going to Hymie Yellon and third place being Steve Kimberling. In the fast heat, Marty Walsh won over Donnie Hyman and Doug Way.

Because of the high car count the division ran a B main event with the top two finishers transferring to the main. Filling those two spots were James Henry and Porter. The real stocks put on yet another awesome main event race. Craig Huffman and Kimberling brought the field to the green flag. On lap 2, Hyman made contact with the turn two wall forcing his night to a close. On the restart, Aaron Byers began to apply pressure on Huffman. Returning driver, Dan Maxwell made a daring attempt going into turn one making it three wide on lap 8. Everybody came out okay with Maxwell leading. On lap 9, Huffman spun coming off of turn two. At the same time, Lissa Uselton spun coming off of the corner. Both lost a lot of track position but didn’t lose a lap.

Fox, who had started at the back of the pack, began to make his presence known. On lap 10 he passed Byers for second. On lap 12, Fox took the lead away from Maxwell. Fox caught a break in the points on lap 13 when his title rival, Craig had an axle brake on the right rear of his car ending his night. On the restart, Maxwell and Walsh spun. Coming to the caution, Maxwell made contact with Kimberling spinning him out. All of the drivers continued on without any major damage. On the restart, Fox led Byers and Way. Fox stretched out his lead and ended up taking the winner’s trophy over Byers, Mike Peters, Way and Walsh.

Long time IMCA veteran Richie Potts showed off his fast car as he set a new track record at Redwood Acres Raceway. In the trophy dash, David Sullivan took the victory over Bill Vance. The first of the two heat races led to misfortune for one driver, Lester Agee who made severe contact with the wall ending all of his racing action for the night. Gary Crawford took the win over Lakeport racer, Bob Strauss and Charlie Krown. In the second heat, Kelly Peacock won over Sullivan, Potts and Vance.

The main event was clean and green from start to finish. Crawford and Lance Walker brought the field to the green flag. Peacock took the lead early. By lap 8 it was Peacock, Krown, Sullivan and Potts who had all ready passed six cars from his last starting position. Potts passed Sullivan and on lap 15 he passed Krown on the inside for second position. On lap 19, Potts took the high line and passed Peacock and stretched out to an insurmountable lead over the rest of the competition. The rest of the race was for second as Peacock tried to hold off Vance and Sullivan. Vance eventually got by Peacock but it was too late in the race as Potts took the victory over Vance, Peacock and Crawford.