Moulton, Olson victorious again
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was race number 10 of the 2010 season at Redwood Acres Raceway this past Saturday evening. With only three races remaining in the season after the night, competition for position in races was even more crucial. It lead to a brutal night in several of the five local divisions as a couple incidents knocked out several competitors on Eureka, California’s 3/8-mile paved oval.
Prior to qualifying in the mini stock division, Wyatt Roach who was driving Ryan Ahrens car lost an engine in practice and was unable to race. In the trophy dash, Brian Murrell, Jr. got loose in turn four on the first lap, overcorrected and hit the concrete wall. Murrell was able to walk away from the incident but was finished for the evening. Brian McIntosh took the dash victory over Brian Murrell and Scott Baker. With only four cars remaining, the division skipped the heat race and ran a 10-lap main. Murrell made a daring pass inside of McIntosh for the lead and was able to take the win over McIntosh, Baker and Harry Walford.
Jim Redd won the real stock trophy dash over Ronnie O’Neill, Nick Green and Bill Middleton. Ryan Robinson took the heat race win ahead of Casey Mitchell, O’Neill, Middleton and Green. Robinson used his pole-position starting spot in the main event to full advantage as he took the lead from the get-go from Mitchell. While Robinson ran away, Mitchell fought hard to fall into second but unfortunately was unable to use the high line to his advantage as Green, Redd and O’Neill all were able to move past for position. On lap four, Middleton hit the wall on the backstretch and was finished for the night. After the restart, Green briefly challenged Robinson for the lead but Robinson was eventually able to pull away. Redd moved by Green for second on lap 10 bringing O’Neill with him. Two laps later, O’Neill moved by Redd for second. Robinson’s lead was insurmountable though and unfortunately for O’Neill he lost power coming to the white flag. Robinson crossed the finish line first over Redd, Green, Mitchell and Doug Way.
The roadrunner trophy dash went to Kolby Jackson over Raleigh Willoughby, Dax Kinsey and Robbie Nelson. Willoughby passed Jackson on the last lap of the heat to win while Dylan Cook, Kinsey and Nelson rounded out the top five finishers. Ken Barrett held the lead at the start of the main event but lost the position to Michael Lawrence on lap two followed by Jackson. Unfortunately for Lawrence, his time up front was short as Jackson took the lead on lap three bringing Willoughby with him. Meanwhile, Kinsey methodically maneuvered his way to the front, getting by Lawrence on lap 8 for third. Kinsey closed in as the front duo of Jackson and Willoughby fought for the lead. Kinsey got by Willoughby on lap 13 and then moved under and past Jackson for the lead on lap 16. Kinsey was able to hold on from that point as he took the win over Jackson, Willoughby, Nelson and Lawrence.
Chris Sarvinski won the thunder roadster trophy dash over Tommy Payne, Randy Olson and Mike Ward. The heat race proved to be a very interesting race. After a caution flag for Jay Bahner’s spin off turn two, Allen Olson spun in the first turn. Mike Ward hit Olson’s left-front wheel severely damaging the suspension on Olson’s car. Ward’s car came out of the incident clean. After the restart, another caution flew when Payne and Ward came together in turns three and four. Luckily nobody suffered any damage. Coming to the white flag, Sarvinski spun coming off turn four. As Sarvinski came back across the track, Ward had nowhere to go and slammed into the side of Sarvinski’s car ending the night prematurely for both drivers. Just after taking the yellow flag, Randy Olson and Ray Elliott who were first and second pulled into the pits believing they had taken the checkered flag when it had not been thrown. The end result put Belinda Ward into the lead on the restart and she was able to hold on and won over Bruce Ziemer, Rob Nelson, Bahner and Olson.
Bahner got a good start in the main event and took the race lead initially but he had his hands full by the end of the first lap as Elliott and Randy Olson had moved to second and third place. On lap two, Elliott looked for room under Bahner for the lead. Olson seized the opportunity and took the high line past Elliott for second. Olson worked the high line on Bahner the next two laps and took the race lead on lap five. At the same time, Payne hit the wall on the front stretch but continued on in the race. Moments later, Elliott and Bahner made contact sending Bahner spinning into the infield on the back stretch and bringing out the yellow flag. After the restart, Elliott began to make a charge back to the front along with Payne. Unfortunately for Payne, he spun off turn two and ended up losing a lap to the leaders. Elliott began racing Nelson for third on lap 10 and on lap 11 he moved under Nelson going into turn one. The two came together though. Nelson was able to slow up and avoid hitting the wall but Elliott was not so fortunate as he hit the wall and damaged his suspension. When the checkered flag flew it was Randy Olson winning handily over Ziemer, Nelson, Allen Olson and Belinda Ward.
Mic Moulton proved superior in the sportsman trophy dash beating Angelo Marcelli, Larry Pries and Dennis DelBiaggio. Jerry Peterson took the heat race win over DelBiaggio, Moulton, Donnie Brown and Scott Baker. Brown pulled into the lead in the initial stages of the main event ahead of Peterson. Brown tried as best he could to hold the top position but finally on lap five, Peterson moved under to take the lead. On lap seven, Marcelli made contact with Baker sending Baker spinning and bringing out the caution flag. Marcelli was sent to the rear of the field for initiating the contact. Racing resumed for two laps before DelBiaggio made contact with Brown coming off turn two while racing for second. Brown did a 360 and everyone avoided contact as the yellow flew. Like Marcelli, DelBiaggio was sent to the rear for his role in the spin.
After the restart, Peterson had his hands full with Moulton who was now in the second position. Moulton wasted little time, taking the lead on lap 10. Peterson desperately hung on to Moulton but as the laps wound down, Moulton was able to build his margin over Peterson to approximately five car lengths. At the checkered flag it was Moulton winning over Peterson, Pries, DelBiaggio and Marcelli.
Racing returns to Redwood Acres Raceway Saturday August 28th for Fan Appreciation Night.
Historic videos, race reports and race results from various Northern California race tracks
Gary Jacob Archives
Showing posts with label Brian McIntosh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brian McIntosh. Show all posts
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Crashes highlight racing at the Acres
Crashes highlight racing at the Acres
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was a surprisingly cool summer evening this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. The five local division returned to the 3/8-mile paved oval after a two-week layoff. Unfortunately, numerous accidents highlighted the events throughout the evening and by the end of the night, several drivers were hot under the collar.
Nick Green held off Casey Mitchell, Ronnie O’Neill and Bill Middleton to win the real stock trophy dash. Mitchell went on to win the heat race over Green, Ryan Robinson, Doug Way and O’Neill. The real stock main event proved to be the highlight of the evening and likely the best race thus far at Redwood Acres in the 2010 season. Mitchell and O’Neill raced a clean, nose-to-tail race for most all of the 20-lap feature. O’Neill was unable to use the high line to his liking as he tried it several times on Mitchell. At the checkered flag it was Mitchell beating O’Neill, Way, Middleton and Robinson. Surprisingly, the main event win marked Mitchell’s first of this season.
In mini stock action, Scott Baker won the trophy dash over Brian Murrell, Ricky Davis who was making his first-ever start and Brian McIntosh. Baker followed up with the heat race victory over Brian Murrell, Jr., Murrell, Ryan Ahrens and McIntosh. Baker was able to make it a clean sweep on the night as he ran away with the main event beating Murrell, McIntosh, Murrell, Jr. and Ken Barrett.
Nick Hansen took the roadrunner trophy dash victory ahead of Raleigh Willoughby, Dylan Cook and Michael Lawrence. Kolby Jackson held off Hansen to take the heat race victory followed by Lawrence, Cook and Willoughby. The feature was a rough and tumble affair. In the initial start, Brett Murrell and Cook made contact going into the third turn bringing out a restart. On the next start, Willoughby and Jackson came together as they were completing the first lap with Jackson getting into the wall. The next restart saw contact between Ken Barrett and Dax Kinsey going into the first turn. As both cars headed for the wall, Cook was caught up and he spun and hit the wall with his rear-end. Barrett and Kinsey were finished for the evening while Cook was able to continue. The race was cut to 10 laps with Hansen taking the win over Jackson, Willoughby, Cook and Murrell.
The thunder roadster trophy dash went to Randy Olson over Tommy Payne, Brandon Barnwell and Chris Sarvinski. The heat race for the roadsters looked more like a demolition derby than a race. When trying to pass Rob Nelson on the outside of turn four, Sarvinski got too high, got loose and hit the wall coming off the corner finishing his evening prematurely. After a restart, Nelson and Fergy Ferguson got hung together in turns one and two sending both drivers into the water barrels entering pit road. Both drivers were okay but were also finished for the evening. After all the chaos, Olson took the heat race win ahead of Mike Ward, Barnwell, Payne and Ziemer. Barnwell took the lead from the start of the feature event but by the end of the first lap, Olson was on his bumper in second. Going into the third turn on lap five, Olson took the lead and never looked back. Olson took the win handily over Barnwell, Payne, Ward and Ziemer.
Jerry Peterson took the sportsman trophy dash honors ahead of Angelo Marcelli, Larry Pries and Mic Moulton. Aaron Byers was able to beat Peterson by inches in the heat race followed by Moulton, Dennis DelBiaggio and Pries. Byers was able to take the lead early in the main event over Marcelli until lap two when DelBiaggio got loose going into turn three, spun and hit the wall ending his race. After the restart, Marcelli began to work hard on Byers for the lead. On lap 9, Marcelli found the line under Byers for the top spot. On lap 16, Peterson moved by Byers for second with Moulton following the next lap. On lap 20, Pries tried to make a move under Byers for fourth going into turn three. The two touched and went into the wall. Both drivers were fine but out of action. After the restart, Marcelli showed surprising strength holding off Peterson and Moulton. Neither was able to put a serious challenge to Marcelli’s lead and at the checkered flag it was Marcelli winning over Peterson, Moulton and Kenny Demello.
The racing action at Redwood Acres Raceway goes on a three-week hiatus before returning on Saturday July 31st. Joining the five local divisions will be the return of the Airport Auto Brokers Late Model series. It will be the second of the two scheduled points paying events for the series.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was a surprisingly cool summer evening this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. The five local division returned to the 3/8-mile paved oval after a two-week layoff. Unfortunately, numerous accidents highlighted the events throughout the evening and by the end of the night, several drivers were hot under the collar.
Nick Green held off Casey Mitchell, Ronnie O’Neill and Bill Middleton to win the real stock trophy dash. Mitchell went on to win the heat race over Green, Ryan Robinson, Doug Way and O’Neill. The real stock main event proved to be the highlight of the evening and likely the best race thus far at Redwood Acres in the 2010 season. Mitchell and O’Neill raced a clean, nose-to-tail race for most all of the 20-lap feature. O’Neill was unable to use the high line to his liking as he tried it several times on Mitchell. At the checkered flag it was Mitchell beating O’Neill, Way, Middleton and Robinson. Surprisingly, the main event win marked Mitchell’s first of this season.
In mini stock action, Scott Baker won the trophy dash over Brian Murrell, Ricky Davis who was making his first-ever start and Brian McIntosh. Baker followed up with the heat race victory over Brian Murrell, Jr., Murrell, Ryan Ahrens and McIntosh. Baker was able to make it a clean sweep on the night as he ran away with the main event beating Murrell, McIntosh, Murrell, Jr. and Ken Barrett.
Nick Hansen took the roadrunner trophy dash victory ahead of Raleigh Willoughby, Dylan Cook and Michael Lawrence. Kolby Jackson held off Hansen to take the heat race victory followed by Lawrence, Cook and Willoughby. The feature was a rough and tumble affair. In the initial start, Brett Murrell and Cook made contact going into the third turn bringing out a restart. On the next start, Willoughby and Jackson came together as they were completing the first lap with Jackson getting into the wall. The next restart saw contact between Ken Barrett and Dax Kinsey going into the first turn. As both cars headed for the wall, Cook was caught up and he spun and hit the wall with his rear-end. Barrett and Kinsey were finished for the evening while Cook was able to continue. The race was cut to 10 laps with Hansen taking the win over Jackson, Willoughby, Cook and Murrell.
The thunder roadster trophy dash went to Randy Olson over Tommy Payne, Brandon Barnwell and Chris Sarvinski. The heat race for the roadsters looked more like a demolition derby than a race. When trying to pass Rob Nelson on the outside of turn four, Sarvinski got too high, got loose and hit the wall coming off the corner finishing his evening prematurely. After a restart, Nelson and Fergy Ferguson got hung together in turns one and two sending both drivers into the water barrels entering pit road. Both drivers were okay but were also finished for the evening. After all the chaos, Olson took the heat race win ahead of Mike Ward, Barnwell, Payne and Ziemer. Barnwell took the lead from the start of the feature event but by the end of the first lap, Olson was on his bumper in second. Going into the third turn on lap five, Olson took the lead and never looked back. Olson took the win handily over Barnwell, Payne, Ward and Ziemer.
Jerry Peterson took the sportsman trophy dash honors ahead of Angelo Marcelli, Larry Pries and Mic Moulton. Aaron Byers was able to beat Peterson by inches in the heat race followed by Moulton, Dennis DelBiaggio and Pries. Byers was able to take the lead early in the main event over Marcelli until lap two when DelBiaggio got loose going into turn three, spun and hit the wall ending his race. After the restart, Marcelli began to work hard on Byers for the lead. On lap 9, Marcelli found the line under Byers for the top spot. On lap 16, Peterson moved by Byers for second with Moulton following the next lap. On lap 20, Pries tried to make a move under Byers for fourth going into turn three. The two touched and went into the wall. Both drivers were fine but out of action. After the restart, Marcelli showed surprising strength holding off Peterson and Moulton. Neither was able to put a serious challenge to Marcelli’s lead and at the checkered flag it was Marcelli winning over Peterson, Moulton and Kenny Demello.
The racing action at Redwood Acres Raceway goes on a three-week hiatus before returning on Saturday July 31st. Joining the five local divisions will be the return of the Airport Auto Brokers Late Model series. It will be the second of the two scheduled points paying events for the series.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Olson breaks through to win, Barnwell victorious
Olson breaks through to win, Barnwell victorious
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Race number ten of the 2009 racing season at Redwood Acres Raceway occurred this past Saturday night. A beautiful Summer day turned to a cool and cloudy evening that was more akin to Spring. Nevertheless, it was another thrilling night of action on the 3/8-mile paved oval.
Five of the six local divisions partook in the night’s events. Unfortunately the limited street stock class did not race due to a low car turnout. Donnie Hyman won the real stock trophy dash beating Ryan Walters, Pat Conway and Jim Redd. Hyman followed up with a victory in the heat race ahead of Ryan Walters, Casey Mitchell, Dustin Walters and Conway. The 20 lap feature race proved to be a rough-and-tumble affair as there were an unusual number of incidents in what has been a very clean division throughout the 2009 season. Coming to the green flag, Dustin Walters who was outside of row one and Jim Redd who was outside of row two got sideways and spun at the same time. Redd hit the wall while Walters spun into the infield. Redd’s car was severely damaged but both were able to continue.
After a complete restart, Russ Robinson took the lead before he was turned by Dustin Walters in turn four bringing out a yellow flag before lap one had been completed. Walters was given the black flag and was forced into the pits for the rest of the race. Hyman inherited the lead over Conway, but by lap two Ryan Walters had moved into second. The top two pulled away from the rest of the field and dueled for the top spot. It was a tooth-and-nail duel as Walters occasionally used his bumper to try to pressure Hyman out of the lead. On lap 14, Robinson spun off turn four. At the same point, Walters and Hyman made contact off turn two sending Hyman spinning into the infield. Walters suffered damage to his nose and was forced to restart at the rear for his involvement in the incident. Doug Way took the lead on the restart, but coming off turn two he and Conway made contact spending Way spinning out of the lead. Conway was put to the rear of the field allowing Nick Green to take the lead. Green was able to lead the final four laps to take the victory over Redd, Hyman, Walters and Conway for his first main event victory of the year.
Brian McIntosh won the mini stock trophy dash over Craig Baker, Scott Baker and Brian Murrell, Jr. He backed that up with a heat race victory over Craig Baker, Scott Baker, Steve Smith and Jesse Chown. McIntosh took the lead from the front row in the 15-lap main event and held it before lap 2 when Murrell, Jr. got loose in turn two and spun bringing out the yellow flag. Craig Baker got a good jump on the restart and was able to pass McIntosh for the lead. Baker was able to pull out several car lengths over McIntosh, but with the laps winding down McIntosh was able to close in. On lap 11, McIntosh and Craig Baker made contact in turn one sending Baker spinning. Scott Baker was unable to slow down quick enough and hit McIntosh sending him into the infield and giving Baker the apparent lead. Under caution, Scott Baker was told to go to the rear by the officials. Baker decided to pull his car into the pits while McIntosh was able to keep his lead. The final three laps were incident free as McIntosh made a clean sweep on the night, taking the win over Murrell, Jr., Chown and Craig Baker.
The roadrunner division had a stout car count on the night with the addition of several new drivers. Joe Mitchell took the trophy dash over Wyatt Roach, Scott Campbell and Dustin DelBiaggio. Dylan Cook took the heat race win over Nick Bundy, Campbell, Roach and Charlie Anderson. The 20-lap feature was clean from the drop of the green to the drop of the checkered flag. Cook took the lead from the start while the field sorted out. While Cook pulled out to a comfortable margin, the best race in the field was between Anderson and Roach. The two raced side-by-side for the duration of the race. Roach was never able to use the high line to his advantage though. Mitchell was able to get by Roach and by Anderson by lap 18. At the front though, Cook had the field covered winning over Campbell handily. Mitchell finished third, Anderson fourth and Roach fifth.
Brandon Barnwell was doing double-duty on the night. In addition to driving his sportsman car, Barnwell was behind the wheel of Donn Cole’s thunder roadster. David Henderson won the thunder roadster trophy dash over Barnwell, Tommy Payne and Bruce Ziemer. Robert Miller won the first heat race ahead of Mike Ward, Shane Toole, Rob Nelson and Dave McMurray. Randy Olson made his first appearance of the 2009 season sporting an orange and white car. Olson won the second heat race over Jay Bahner, Ziemer, Barnwell and Payne. Ward took the lead early on in the 30-lap main event from his outside front row starting position. By lap two, Miller and Olson had moved into the third and fourth positions and looked prime to give Ward a challenge for the lead. Miller found the traction off turn two on lap three and got inside of Ward going into the third turn. Coming off turn four, both Ward and Miller pushed up allowing Olson to dive under making it three-wide across the stripe. The three went into turn one together but coming off turn two Olson was able to take the lead over Miller and Ward. Going into the third turn, Barnwell was able to take third from Ward. Two laps later, Barnwell was past Miller for second.
The caution flew on lap six when Henderson and Payne made contact off turn four. Payne’s left front tire got in touch with Henderson’s right rear sending Payne into the wall. Payne was okay but his car was done for the night. Henderson didn’t suffer any noticeable damage, but the incident seemed to hinder his car. Unlike all of the races prior, Henderson was not a factor for the race win on this night. After the restart, the best battle on the track was for the race lead. Olson and Barnwell fought a very clean battle for the top spot. On several occasions, it appeared as though Barnwell was going to use the low line to get by Olson, however Olson managed to pull his car out enough to prevent Barnwell from getting the positioning needed to challenge him for the lead. At the checkered flag it was Olson winning over Barnwell and Miller. Henderson claimed fourth while Ward finished fifth. Olson’s victory made him only the third different winner in the thunder roadster division this season. Prior to this race, every main event victory had been claimed by either David Henderson or Paul Peeples, Jr.
Larry Pries held off Brandon Barnwell, Dennis DelBiaggio and Angelo Marcelli to take the trophy dash win in the sportsman division. Jerry Peterson took the heat race win over DelBiaggio, Pries, Barnwell and Marcelli. In the 25-lap feature, Marcelli took the lead from the start. While Lissa Uselton dropped out after the first lap, Barnwell was quick to pounce on Peterson for second. On lap three, Barnwell moved high on Marcelli for the lead. The two went door handle-to-door handle for the next few laps before Barnwell was able to take the lead. On lap 8, Barnwell got under Marcelli for second. This opened the door for DelBiaggio and Pries to take third and fourth. It was single file after that and at the checkered flag it was Barnwell winning over Peterson, DelBiaggio, Pries and Marcelli.
The next event at Redwood Acres Raceway takes place Saturday August 8. Joining the local divisions will be the Pro-4 Modifieds who will be making their second appearance of 2009.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Race number ten of the 2009 racing season at Redwood Acres Raceway occurred this past Saturday night. A beautiful Summer day turned to a cool and cloudy evening that was more akin to Spring. Nevertheless, it was another thrilling night of action on the 3/8-mile paved oval.
Five of the six local divisions partook in the night’s events. Unfortunately the limited street stock class did not race due to a low car turnout. Donnie Hyman won the real stock trophy dash beating Ryan Walters, Pat Conway and Jim Redd. Hyman followed up with a victory in the heat race ahead of Ryan Walters, Casey Mitchell, Dustin Walters and Conway. The 20 lap feature race proved to be a rough-and-tumble affair as there were an unusual number of incidents in what has been a very clean division throughout the 2009 season. Coming to the green flag, Dustin Walters who was outside of row one and Jim Redd who was outside of row two got sideways and spun at the same time. Redd hit the wall while Walters spun into the infield. Redd’s car was severely damaged but both were able to continue.
After a complete restart, Russ Robinson took the lead before he was turned by Dustin Walters in turn four bringing out a yellow flag before lap one had been completed. Walters was given the black flag and was forced into the pits for the rest of the race. Hyman inherited the lead over Conway, but by lap two Ryan Walters had moved into second. The top two pulled away from the rest of the field and dueled for the top spot. It was a tooth-and-nail duel as Walters occasionally used his bumper to try to pressure Hyman out of the lead. On lap 14, Robinson spun off turn four. At the same point, Walters and Hyman made contact off turn two sending Hyman spinning into the infield. Walters suffered damage to his nose and was forced to restart at the rear for his involvement in the incident. Doug Way took the lead on the restart, but coming off turn two he and Conway made contact spending Way spinning out of the lead. Conway was put to the rear of the field allowing Nick Green to take the lead. Green was able to lead the final four laps to take the victory over Redd, Hyman, Walters and Conway for his first main event victory of the year.
Brian McIntosh won the mini stock trophy dash over Craig Baker, Scott Baker and Brian Murrell, Jr. He backed that up with a heat race victory over Craig Baker, Scott Baker, Steve Smith and Jesse Chown. McIntosh took the lead from the front row in the 15-lap main event and held it before lap 2 when Murrell, Jr. got loose in turn two and spun bringing out the yellow flag. Craig Baker got a good jump on the restart and was able to pass McIntosh for the lead. Baker was able to pull out several car lengths over McIntosh, but with the laps winding down McIntosh was able to close in. On lap 11, McIntosh and Craig Baker made contact in turn one sending Baker spinning. Scott Baker was unable to slow down quick enough and hit McIntosh sending him into the infield and giving Baker the apparent lead. Under caution, Scott Baker was told to go to the rear by the officials. Baker decided to pull his car into the pits while McIntosh was able to keep his lead. The final three laps were incident free as McIntosh made a clean sweep on the night, taking the win over Murrell, Jr., Chown and Craig Baker.
The roadrunner division had a stout car count on the night with the addition of several new drivers. Joe Mitchell took the trophy dash over Wyatt Roach, Scott Campbell and Dustin DelBiaggio. Dylan Cook took the heat race win over Nick Bundy, Campbell, Roach and Charlie Anderson. The 20-lap feature was clean from the drop of the green to the drop of the checkered flag. Cook took the lead from the start while the field sorted out. While Cook pulled out to a comfortable margin, the best race in the field was between Anderson and Roach. The two raced side-by-side for the duration of the race. Roach was never able to use the high line to his advantage though. Mitchell was able to get by Roach and by Anderson by lap 18. At the front though, Cook had the field covered winning over Campbell handily. Mitchell finished third, Anderson fourth and Roach fifth.
Brandon Barnwell was doing double-duty on the night. In addition to driving his sportsman car, Barnwell was behind the wheel of Donn Cole’s thunder roadster. David Henderson won the thunder roadster trophy dash over Barnwell, Tommy Payne and Bruce Ziemer. Robert Miller won the first heat race ahead of Mike Ward, Shane Toole, Rob Nelson and Dave McMurray. Randy Olson made his first appearance of the 2009 season sporting an orange and white car. Olson won the second heat race over Jay Bahner, Ziemer, Barnwell and Payne. Ward took the lead early on in the 30-lap main event from his outside front row starting position. By lap two, Miller and Olson had moved into the third and fourth positions and looked prime to give Ward a challenge for the lead. Miller found the traction off turn two on lap three and got inside of Ward going into the third turn. Coming off turn four, both Ward and Miller pushed up allowing Olson to dive under making it three-wide across the stripe. The three went into turn one together but coming off turn two Olson was able to take the lead over Miller and Ward. Going into the third turn, Barnwell was able to take third from Ward. Two laps later, Barnwell was past Miller for second.
The caution flew on lap six when Henderson and Payne made contact off turn four. Payne’s left front tire got in touch with Henderson’s right rear sending Payne into the wall. Payne was okay but his car was done for the night. Henderson didn’t suffer any noticeable damage, but the incident seemed to hinder his car. Unlike all of the races prior, Henderson was not a factor for the race win on this night. After the restart, the best battle on the track was for the race lead. Olson and Barnwell fought a very clean battle for the top spot. On several occasions, it appeared as though Barnwell was going to use the low line to get by Olson, however Olson managed to pull his car out enough to prevent Barnwell from getting the positioning needed to challenge him for the lead. At the checkered flag it was Olson winning over Barnwell and Miller. Henderson claimed fourth while Ward finished fifth. Olson’s victory made him only the third different winner in the thunder roadster division this season. Prior to this race, every main event victory had been claimed by either David Henderson or Paul Peeples, Jr.
Larry Pries held off Brandon Barnwell, Dennis DelBiaggio and Angelo Marcelli to take the trophy dash win in the sportsman division. Jerry Peterson took the heat race win over DelBiaggio, Pries, Barnwell and Marcelli. In the 25-lap feature, Marcelli took the lead from the start. While Lissa Uselton dropped out after the first lap, Barnwell was quick to pounce on Peterson for second. On lap three, Barnwell moved high on Marcelli for the lead. The two went door handle-to-door handle for the next few laps before Barnwell was able to take the lead. On lap 8, Barnwell got under Marcelli for second. This opened the door for DelBiaggio and Pries to take third and fourth. It was single file after that and at the checkered flag it was Barnwell winning over Peterson, DelBiaggio, Pries and Marcelli.
The next event at Redwood Acres Raceway takes place Saturday August 8. Joining the local divisions will be the Pro-4 Modifieds who will be making their second appearance of 2009.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Henderson notches fourth win, Peterson sneaks his first
Henderson notches fourth win, Peterson sneaks his first
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was an exceptionally quick night of racing this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. The events started at 6:30 in the evening and it was just before 9:00 when fans were filing out of the grandstands following the final checkered flag. Unfortunately, part of that was due to a low car count in all of the divisions on the night, but also there were not any serious incidents that ended up causing any on-track cleanup.
Kenny Demello and Stan Young were the only two drivers in the limited street stocks to make a qualifying attempt and unfortunately there were no races for the division. The mini stocks had only five cars show up. Craig Baker won the trophy dash and narrowly beat Brian McIntosh to the line in the heat race. McIntosh and Baker dueled again in the 10-lap main event. Baker looked to have the better car, but got loose in the second turn with a few laps left and spun. McIntosh was able to cruise to his first main event victory of the season ahead of Scott Baker, Steve Smith and Norm Carmichael, while Craig Baker finished fifth.
Jim Redd held off Casey Mitchell, Ryan Walters and Pat Conway to win the real stock trophy dash. Ryan Robinson took the heat race victory ahead of Mitchell, Dustin Walters, Ryan Walters and Roger Linn. The action kicked off right at the get-go of the 15 lap main event. A huge jam-up between several cars ended up giving Mitchell the lead and a huge margin over the rest of the pack. As he has done several times this year, Ryan Walters maneuvered his way through the field and to second position in only a few laps. With two laps to go, Walters used the low line to get past Mitchell for the lead. Walters crossed the finish line first with Mitchell second, Dustin Walters third, Robinson fourth and Redd fifth.
Carrie Cook won the roadrunner dash ahead of Oscar Koskinen, Charlie Anderson and Jimmy Murray. A last lap incident involving Murray and Anderson ended up damaging Murray’s car enough to where he was unable to race in the main event. Bill Snow was able to take the win over Cook, Koskinen, Nick Bundy and Murray. Bundy returned to the form he had shown in the first four events of the season as he took the lead early on in the main event and then held off Koskinen to take the victory. Eric Mendes ended up third ahead of Cook and Snow.
The sportsman trophy dash was won by Dennis Delbiaggio over Angelo Marcelli, Joe McDonald and Larry Pries. Jerry Peterson took the dash win over McDonald, Ken Hallis, Delbiaggio and Brandon Barnwell. Peterson and Hallis comprised the front row of the 25-lap main event and the two fought door-handle-to-door-handle the first several laps before Hallis was able to firmly take control of the top spot. Delbiaggio looked to be the best car on the track as he was able to dice through the field, moving by Peterson for the second position on lap 13. The field bunched up after a lap 18 spin by Marcelli. The restart allowed Delbiaggio to put some real pressure on Hallis. With two laps to go, Hallis and Delbiaggio got together coming off of turn two sending both sliding through the infield grass. This allowed Peterson to inherit the lead. On the last lap, Pries and Barnwell touched while racing for second going into the third turn. McDonald was able to get by both drivers to take second. Peterson was safely in front through and took the checkered flag over McDonald and Barnwell. Former real stock driver, Shawn Craig brought his car home in fourth in only his second sportsman main event while Pries was able to get going again to finish fifth.
David Henderson has made victory lane his personal home this season in the thunder roadster division and he was there once again after the trophy dash. Robert Miller, Mike Ward and Chris Sarvinski were the other drivers in the dash. Gary Payne won the first dash over Rob Nelson, Dan Browne, Belinda Ward and Jim Rich. The second dash saw the loss of two cars. Bruce Ziemer appeared to get loose going into turn one. As Ziemer slid down the track, he collected Sarvinski and Mike Ward. Both Ziemer and Sarvinski were finished for the night. In the end, Henderson won the heat over Miller.
Racing for the top spot in the 25-lap thunder roadster main event was fast and furious in the early going. Nelson and Browne fought tooth and nail for the top position. Nelson briefly took the lead before Payne was able to get by on the third lap. Mike Ward, Henderson and Miller fought hard amongst themselves for the second position before Henderson was able to take the position away on lap five. Miller was able to get by Ward on lap seven just as Henderson moved under Payne to take the lead. On lap 12, Miller moved under Payne for second in turn three but got tight in turn four, got into Payne and spun into the infield resulting in a caution flag. After the restart, the best racing proved to come from Miller who was moving his way through the field back to the front as quick as he could. On lap 23, Miller took third away from Mike Ward, but unfortunately for him that was as high as he would get. Henderson was able to more or less cruise to the win ahead of Payne, Miller, Ward and Nelson.
A reminder to fans, the scheduled June 13th event at Redwood Acres Raceway has been cancelled. Racing returns to the Acres on Friday June 26th and Saturday June 27th during the Redwood Acres Fair.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was an exceptionally quick night of racing this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. The events started at 6:30 in the evening and it was just before 9:00 when fans were filing out of the grandstands following the final checkered flag. Unfortunately, part of that was due to a low car count in all of the divisions on the night, but also there were not any serious incidents that ended up causing any on-track cleanup.
Kenny Demello and Stan Young were the only two drivers in the limited street stocks to make a qualifying attempt and unfortunately there were no races for the division. The mini stocks had only five cars show up. Craig Baker won the trophy dash and narrowly beat Brian McIntosh to the line in the heat race. McIntosh and Baker dueled again in the 10-lap main event. Baker looked to have the better car, but got loose in the second turn with a few laps left and spun. McIntosh was able to cruise to his first main event victory of the season ahead of Scott Baker, Steve Smith and Norm Carmichael, while Craig Baker finished fifth.
Jim Redd held off Casey Mitchell, Ryan Walters and Pat Conway to win the real stock trophy dash. Ryan Robinson took the heat race victory ahead of Mitchell, Dustin Walters, Ryan Walters and Roger Linn. The action kicked off right at the get-go of the 15 lap main event. A huge jam-up between several cars ended up giving Mitchell the lead and a huge margin over the rest of the pack. As he has done several times this year, Ryan Walters maneuvered his way through the field and to second position in only a few laps. With two laps to go, Walters used the low line to get past Mitchell for the lead. Walters crossed the finish line first with Mitchell second, Dustin Walters third, Robinson fourth and Redd fifth.
Carrie Cook won the roadrunner dash ahead of Oscar Koskinen, Charlie Anderson and Jimmy Murray. A last lap incident involving Murray and Anderson ended up damaging Murray’s car enough to where he was unable to race in the main event. Bill Snow was able to take the win over Cook, Koskinen, Nick Bundy and Murray. Bundy returned to the form he had shown in the first four events of the season as he took the lead early on in the main event and then held off Koskinen to take the victory. Eric Mendes ended up third ahead of Cook and Snow.
The sportsman trophy dash was won by Dennis Delbiaggio over Angelo Marcelli, Joe McDonald and Larry Pries. Jerry Peterson took the dash win over McDonald, Ken Hallis, Delbiaggio and Brandon Barnwell. Peterson and Hallis comprised the front row of the 25-lap main event and the two fought door-handle-to-door-handle the first several laps before Hallis was able to firmly take control of the top spot. Delbiaggio looked to be the best car on the track as he was able to dice through the field, moving by Peterson for the second position on lap 13. The field bunched up after a lap 18 spin by Marcelli. The restart allowed Delbiaggio to put some real pressure on Hallis. With two laps to go, Hallis and Delbiaggio got together coming off of turn two sending both sliding through the infield grass. This allowed Peterson to inherit the lead. On the last lap, Pries and Barnwell touched while racing for second going into the third turn. McDonald was able to get by both drivers to take second. Peterson was safely in front through and took the checkered flag over McDonald and Barnwell. Former real stock driver, Shawn Craig brought his car home in fourth in only his second sportsman main event while Pries was able to get going again to finish fifth.
David Henderson has made victory lane his personal home this season in the thunder roadster division and he was there once again after the trophy dash. Robert Miller, Mike Ward and Chris Sarvinski were the other drivers in the dash. Gary Payne won the first dash over Rob Nelson, Dan Browne, Belinda Ward and Jim Rich. The second dash saw the loss of two cars. Bruce Ziemer appeared to get loose going into turn one. As Ziemer slid down the track, he collected Sarvinski and Mike Ward. Both Ziemer and Sarvinski were finished for the night. In the end, Henderson won the heat over Miller.
Racing for the top spot in the 25-lap thunder roadster main event was fast and furious in the early going. Nelson and Browne fought tooth and nail for the top position. Nelson briefly took the lead before Payne was able to get by on the third lap. Mike Ward, Henderson and Miller fought hard amongst themselves for the second position before Henderson was able to take the position away on lap five. Miller was able to get by Ward on lap seven just as Henderson moved under Payne to take the lead. On lap 12, Miller moved under Payne for second in turn three but got tight in turn four, got into Payne and spun into the infield resulting in a caution flag. After the restart, the best racing proved to come from Miller who was moving his way through the field back to the front as quick as he could. On lap 23, Miller took third away from Mike Ward, but unfortunately for him that was as high as he would get. Henderson was able to more or less cruise to the win ahead of Payne, Miller, Ward and Nelson.
A reminder to fans, the scheduled June 13th event at Redwood Acres Raceway has been cancelled. Racing returns to the Acres on Friday June 26th and Saturday June 27th during the Redwood Acres Fair.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Peeples ends Henderson’s streak, DelBiaggio notches first win of the season
Peeples ends Henderson’s streak, DelBiaggio notches first win of the season
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Race number five of the 2009 racing season at Redwood Acres Raceway completed this past Saturday night under cool and cloudy conditions, weather akin more to early springtime weather rather than late. Nevertheless, another good fan count showed up to watch another thrilling night of racing on Eureka’s 3/8-mile paved oval.
With only four cars racing in each division, both the limited street stocks and the mini stocks saw a limited number of laps. Kenny Demello won the trophy dash for the limited streets while Fergy Ferguson won the 10-lap feature over Demello, Stan Young and Bill Middleton who was making his first start of the season. Craig Baker won the dash, the heat and the main event for the mini stock class. Brian McIntosh was able to hold off Scott Baker in the main for second while Steve Smith rounded out the field.
Jim Redd won the real stock trophy dash holding off Ryan Walters, Jim Hathaway and Roger Linn. Dustin Walters won the heat ahead of Hathaway, Nick Green, Redd and Ryan Walters. Coming from the second row, Redd moved to the lead going into the first turn of the 15-lap main event. By the end of the first lap, Ryan Walters had moved from the back to second position. The field spread out and the race was relatively calm until the final laps when Walters tried to make a move by Redd for the lead and the race win. Walters tried to get Redd loose in turns three and four on the last lap with a bump. Redd’s bumper fell off and slid up to the wall harmlessly and it wasn’t enough to shake him out of the lead as he took the checkered flag first over Walters, Linn, Dustin Walters and Casey Mitchell.
Redwood Acres Raceway’s newest division, the roadrunners, continues to see an increase in the number of cars showing up. Bill Snow won the dash over Nick Bundy, Dustin Delbiaggio and Carrie Cook. Oscar Koskinen took the heat race victory over Delbiaggio, Eric Mendes, Bundy and Snow. The main event for the roadrunners proved to be a rough and tumble affair. Upon starting from the outside position on the front row of the main event, Koskinen took the lead from Charlie Anderson. The first caution flew early on when Anderson got loose going into turn three, got into Snow sending Snow into the wall. A few laps after the restart, Delbiaggio drove a bit too hard going into the third turn getting into Cook and sending both drivers spinning and bringing out the caution flag. Both drivers were able to avoid suffering any damage and were able to continue in the race.
Koskinen continued to hold lead over Bundy in second and Snow in third. On the tenth lap, Snow got into Bundy in turn three. Bundy did a 360 and kept going without a yellow flag. On the final lap in the final corner, Snow bumped Koskinen going into the third turn. Behind those two, Bundy got into Cook sending her spinning in the fourth turn. In the end Snow crossed the line first ahead of Koskinen while Bundy was third, Wyatt Roach in the track car in fourth and Cook fifth. After the race, officials deemed Snow‘s driving to be too aggressive. The end result was Koskinen the main event winner, his first of the year breaking Bundy’s streak of four.
Joe McDonald made his second appearance in the sportsman division this year and took home the trophy dash victory beating Brandon Barnwell, Dennis Delbiaggio and Angelo Marcelli. Jerry Peterson took the heat race win over Barnwell, Pries, Marcelli and McDonald. Peterson used the pole position to his advantage as he took the lead early on in the 25 lap sportsman main event. On lap three, Barnwell moved to the high side of Peterson and the duo dueled side-by-side until lap five when Barnwell took the position away. Delbiaggio was able to use the same move a lap later to take the second position. A lap later, McDonald did the same thing to move by Peterson into third.
On lap seven, former real stock driver Shawn Craig, who was making his debut in the division on this night, got loose off the fourth turn, got into the infield but was able to safely maneuver his car on the track not causing a serious accident. On the ninth lap, Delbiaggio found the inside line under Barnwell to take the lead away. With a few laps to go, Barnwell got loose off turn four and spun. Fortunately nobody else got involved, but unfortunately Barnwell was forced to the rear of the field on the restart. Delbiaggio took the restart over McDonald with two laps left in the race. McDonald couldn’t muster the strength to make a move on Delbiaggio and at the line it was Delbiaggio first over McDonald, Larry Pries, Peterson and Marcelli.
David Henderson was able to beat Paul Peeples, Jr. in the thunder roadster trophy dash by literally inches. Chris Sarvinski and Robert Miller rounded out the finishers. The first roadster heat featured an incident that unfortunately ended Belinda Ward’s night. Jay Bahner took the heat win over Dave McMurray who was making his first start of the year, Rob Nelson, Dan Browne and Jim Rich. Miller held off Peeples for the win in the second heat while Mark Arroyo, Mike Ward and Sarvinski were the other top five finishers. Nelson and Bahner took the field to the green in the 35 lap thunder roadster feature. The two battled side-by-side in the opening laps before Bahner, who was sporting the new roadster body style took the lead. Meanwhile, the faster cars of Tommy Payne, Miller, Peeples and Henderson were quickly dicing their way through the field. By the third lap they were third through fifth in that order.
Miller tried to use the high line to get by Peeples on the fourth lap, but just as quickly as he made that move, Peeples found room under Payne to take the second spot. Henderson filled the hole behind Peeples and moved under Miller for fourth. On completion of the same lap, Bahner got too high off turn four allowing Peeples to get under to take the lead. Peeples began to pull away as Banher, Payne, Henderson and Miller all battled for position. It wasn’t until lap eight until Henderson was able to get under Payne for third.
After a brief caution period, Peeples got a fantastic jump on Bahner on the restart and was able to pull to a sizeable gap. Henderson got under Bahner on lap 11, opening the door for Payne and Miller. Three laps later, Miller moved by Payne for third. It appeared as though Peeples would go unchallenged as he had built up what looked to be an insurmountable lead over Henderson before the caution flew for Rich’s spun car in turn four with just six laps left. Peeples led the field to the restart, but unlike the races past this season, Henderson didn’t seem to have the strength to provide a challenge for the lead. Miller was able to pounce on Henderson for second and was able to take the position. By then though, it was too late for Miller to mount a challenge on Peeples and it was Peeples winning over Miller, Henderson, Payne and Sarvinski.
Racing returns to the Acres this coming Saturday night. Of note is a schedule change. The June 13th Father’s Day Weekend race has been cancelled. Another race has been added for the Redwood Acres Fair Classic on June 28th.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Race number five of the 2009 racing season at Redwood Acres Raceway completed this past Saturday night under cool and cloudy conditions, weather akin more to early springtime weather rather than late. Nevertheless, another good fan count showed up to watch another thrilling night of racing on Eureka’s 3/8-mile paved oval.
With only four cars racing in each division, both the limited street stocks and the mini stocks saw a limited number of laps. Kenny Demello won the trophy dash for the limited streets while Fergy Ferguson won the 10-lap feature over Demello, Stan Young and Bill Middleton who was making his first start of the season. Craig Baker won the dash, the heat and the main event for the mini stock class. Brian McIntosh was able to hold off Scott Baker in the main for second while Steve Smith rounded out the field.
Jim Redd won the real stock trophy dash holding off Ryan Walters, Jim Hathaway and Roger Linn. Dustin Walters won the heat ahead of Hathaway, Nick Green, Redd and Ryan Walters. Coming from the second row, Redd moved to the lead going into the first turn of the 15-lap main event. By the end of the first lap, Ryan Walters had moved from the back to second position. The field spread out and the race was relatively calm until the final laps when Walters tried to make a move by Redd for the lead and the race win. Walters tried to get Redd loose in turns three and four on the last lap with a bump. Redd’s bumper fell off and slid up to the wall harmlessly and it wasn’t enough to shake him out of the lead as he took the checkered flag first over Walters, Linn, Dustin Walters and Casey Mitchell.
Redwood Acres Raceway’s newest division, the roadrunners, continues to see an increase in the number of cars showing up. Bill Snow won the dash over Nick Bundy, Dustin Delbiaggio and Carrie Cook. Oscar Koskinen took the heat race victory over Delbiaggio, Eric Mendes, Bundy and Snow. The main event for the roadrunners proved to be a rough and tumble affair. Upon starting from the outside position on the front row of the main event, Koskinen took the lead from Charlie Anderson. The first caution flew early on when Anderson got loose going into turn three, got into Snow sending Snow into the wall. A few laps after the restart, Delbiaggio drove a bit too hard going into the third turn getting into Cook and sending both drivers spinning and bringing out the caution flag. Both drivers were able to avoid suffering any damage and were able to continue in the race.
Koskinen continued to hold lead over Bundy in second and Snow in third. On the tenth lap, Snow got into Bundy in turn three. Bundy did a 360 and kept going without a yellow flag. On the final lap in the final corner, Snow bumped Koskinen going into the third turn. Behind those two, Bundy got into Cook sending her spinning in the fourth turn. In the end Snow crossed the line first ahead of Koskinen while Bundy was third, Wyatt Roach in the track car in fourth and Cook fifth. After the race, officials deemed Snow‘s driving to be too aggressive. The end result was Koskinen the main event winner, his first of the year breaking Bundy’s streak of four.
Joe McDonald made his second appearance in the sportsman division this year and took home the trophy dash victory beating Brandon Barnwell, Dennis Delbiaggio and Angelo Marcelli. Jerry Peterson took the heat race win over Barnwell, Pries, Marcelli and McDonald. Peterson used the pole position to his advantage as he took the lead early on in the 25 lap sportsman main event. On lap three, Barnwell moved to the high side of Peterson and the duo dueled side-by-side until lap five when Barnwell took the position away. Delbiaggio was able to use the same move a lap later to take the second position. A lap later, McDonald did the same thing to move by Peterson into third.
On lap seven, former real stock driver Shawn Craig, who was making his debut in the division on this night, got loose off the fourth turn, got into the infield but was able to safely maneuver his car on the track not causing a serious accident. On the ninth lap, Delbiaggio found the inside line under Barnwell to take the lead away. With a few laps to go, Barnwell got loose off turn four and spun. Fortunately nobody else got involved, but unfortunately Barnwell was forced to the rear of the field on the restart. Delbiaggio took the restart over McDonald with two laps left in the race. McDonald couldn’t muster the strength to make a move on Delbiaggio and at the line it was Delbiaggio first over McDonald, Larry Pries, Peterson and Marcelli.
David Henderson was able to beat Paul Peeples, Jr. in the thunder roadster trophy dash by literally inches. Chris Sarvinski and Robert Miller rounded out the finishers. The first roadster heat featured an incident that unfortunately ended Belinda Ward’s night. Jay Bahner took the heat win over Dave McMurray who was making his first start of the year, Rob Nelson, Dan Browne and Jim Rich. Miller held off Peeples for the win in the second heat while Mark Arroyo, Mike Ward and Sarvinski were the other top five finishers. Nelson and Bahner took the field to the green in the 35 lap thunder roadster feature. The two battled side-by-side in the opening laps before Bahner, who was sporting the new roadster body style took the lead. Meanwhile, the faster cars of Tommy Payne, Miller, Peeples and Henderson were quickly dicing their way through the field. By the third lap they were third through fifth in that order.
Miller tried to use the high line to get by Peeples on the fourth lap, but just as quickly as he made that move, Peeples found room under Payne to take the second spot. Henderson filled the hole behind Peeples and moved under Miller for fourth. On completion of the same lap, Bahner got too high off turn four allowing Peeples to get under to take the lead. Peeples began to pull away as Banher, Payne, Henderson and Miller all battled for position. It wasn’t until lap eight until Henderson was able to get under Payne for third.
After a brief caution period, Peeples got a fantastic jump on Bahner on the restart and was able to pull to a sizeable gap. Henderson got under Bahner on lap 11, opening the door for Payne and Miller. Three laps later, Miller moved by Payne for third. It appeared as though Peeples would go unchallenged as he had built up what looked to be an insurmountable lead over Henderson before the caution flew for Rich’s spun car in turn four with just six laps left. Peeples led the field to the restart, but unlike the races past this season, Henderson didn’t seem to have the strength to provide a challenge for the lead. Miller was able to pounce on Henderson for second and was able to take the position. By then though, it was too late for Miller to mount a challenge on Peeples and it was Peeples winning over Miller, Henderson, Payne and Sarvinski.
Racing returns to the Acres this coming Saturday night. Of note is a schedule change. The June 13th Father’s Day Weekend race has been cancelled. Another race has been added for the Redwood Acres Fair Classic on June 28th.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Division titles still up in the air at the Acres
Division titles still up in the air at the Acres
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Only five races remain on the 2008 schedule for Redwood Acres Raceway and the battle for the championship in four of the five divisions are tight with no clear-cut favorite. In fact in several of the divisions, the points title can still be claimed by at least five drivers. For the limited street stocks, mini stocks and sportsman cars, there are only four races remaining while the real stocks and thunder roadsters will decide their champion at the Acres’ Fall Spectacular at the end of September.
Although the limited street stock class has had problems fielding enough cars to race at times during the year, the points battle is tight with three drivers who have a realistic shot at winning. Acres veteran Fergy Ferguson holds the points lead with 240 total. Tied for second are Duayne Mayo and Kenny Demello with 227, only 13 behind leader Ferguson. The duo of Romeo Venza and Craig Huffman hold down fourth in the points with 169 gained, while defending champion Scott Lyons looks as if he’ll have to wait until next year to win as he’s fifth with 153 points.
Only 41 points separate the top five drivers in the mini stock class. Scott Baker leads the field with 451 points. Brian McIntosh is second only 10 points behind. Scott’s brother Craig is third with 440 points. Brian Murrell is still in the hunt for the title with 431 points, while Denzil Barrett in fifth has an outside shot with 410.
Real stock driver Jim Redd took the points lead after race one of the season and has managed to hold on to it up to this point. Redd holds a 23 point lead over second place Trevor Miller, 454-431. Barring any unfortunate accidents, it appears as though the points battle will be decided between those two drivers as third place Ryan Robinson is 67 points behind the leader. Shaun Craig is fourth with 362 points and in fifth is rookie Dustin Walters with 349.
The points title for the thunder roadsters is defending champ Paul Peeples, Jr.’s to lose. Among all the points leaders at the Acres, Peeples is the one with the biggest points cushion by a substantial margin; 120 points. Second is division rookie Robert Miller with 381 points gained. Mike Ward is third, a mere two points behind Miller. Troy Combs is fourth with 327 points coming off his first win of the year. Gerhy Foster is fifth with 325 but will likely move down the standings due to his car being irreparably damaged in a wreck a few weeks ago.
With a win in the main event in the last race, Brandon Barnwell was able to take the points lead in the sportsman division. Barnwell leads Dennis Delbiaggio 455-451. In third is Larry Pries with 431 points. Lissa Uselton is fourth with 407 and Angelo Marcelli is fifth with 405.
Racing returns to the Acres this Saturday night, July 26th with all five local classes. After a break, the action returns August 9th with the North State Challenge Series late model tour cars joining the schedule with their first race in a number of months. Fan Appreciation night is August 23rd while the Judy Fox Memorial race will be September 6th. The memorial race will again be the final points event for the limited street, mini stocks and sportsman cars. The season will wrap up September 27th with the Fall Spectacular with real stocks, thunder roadsters, IMCA modifieds and the North State Challenge Series returning.
Points Standings (numbers in parenthesis state how far back a driver is from the points leader)
Limited Street Stocks
1. Fergy Ferguson 240, t2. Duane Mayo 227 (-13), t2. Kenny Demello 227 (-13), 4. Craig Huffman/Romeo Venza 169 (-71), 5. Scott Lyons 153 (-87)
Mini Stocks
1. Scott Baker 451, 2. Brian McIntosh 441 (-10), 3. Craig Baker 440 (-11), 4. Brian Murrell, Sr. 431 (-20), 5. Denzil Barrett 410 (-41), 6. Max Capps 373 (-78), 7. Marty Walsh 132 (-319), 8. Brian Murrell, Jr. 108 (-343), 9. Norm Carmichael 65 (-386), 10. Ryan Ahrens 59 (-392), 11. Nick Karanopoulos 13 (-438)
Real Stocks
1. Jim Redd 454, 2. Trevor Miller 431 (-23), 3. Ryan Robinson 387 (-67), 4. Shawn Craig 362 (-92), 5. Dustin Walters 349 (-106), 6. Ryan Peeples 310 (-144), 7. Dana DeVane 262 (-192), 8. Nick Green 237 (-217), 9. Don Hyman 235 (-219), 10. Casey Mitchell 197 (-257), 11. Bob Lima 181 (-273), 12. Marvin Savage 170 (-284), 13. Bill Middleton 168 (-286), 14. Mark Mullan 137 (-317), 15. Ray Robinson 105 (-349), 16. Pat Conway 78 (-376), 17. Ray Middleton 57 (-397), 18. Roger Linn, Jr. 53 (-401)
Thunder Roadsters
1. Paul Peeples, Jr. 501, 2. Robert Miller 381 (-120), 3. Mike Ward 379 (-122), 4. Troy Combs 327 (-174), 5. Gerhy Foster 325 (-176), 6. Jay Bahner 313 (-182), 7. Donn Cole 305 (-189), 8. Thomas Payne 299 (-195), 9. Rick Crawley, Jr. 275 (-226), 10. Mark Arroyo 260 (-241), 11. Leroy Marsh, Jr. 244 (-257), 12. Dave McMurray 237 (-264), 13. Bruce Ziemer 234 (-267), 14. Chris Sarvinski 220 (-281), 15. Chris Banfill 136 (-365), 16. David Henderson 116 (-385), 17. Belinda Ward 78 (-423), 18. Chris Lawrence 54 (-447), 19. Doug Pulver 49 (-452), 20. Ron Borges 45 (-456) 21. Rob Nelson 43 (-458)
Sportsman
1. Brandon Barnwell 455, 2. Dennis DelBiaggio 451 (-4), 3. Larry Pries 431 (-24), 4. Lissa Uselton 407 (-48), 5. Angelo Marcelli 405 (-50), 6. Jerry Peterson 399 (-56), 7. Romeo Venza 348 (-107), 8. Keith Dias 284 (-171), 9. Al Acuna 251 (-204), 10. Marty Walsh 210 (-245), 11. Rick Fox 146 (-309), 12. Tim McCracken 136 (-319), 13. Ken Hallis 119 (-336), 14. Mic Moulton 55 (-400), 15. Frank Billy, Jr. 20 (-435).
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Only five races remain on the 2008 schedule for Redwood Acres Raceway and the battle for the championship in four of the five divisions are tight with no clear-cut favorite. In fact in several of the divisions, the points title can still be claimed by at least five drivers. For the limited street stocks, mini stocks and sportsman cars, there are only four races remaining while the real stocks and thunder roadsters will decide their champion at the Acres’ Fall Spectacular at the end of September.
Although the limited street stock class has had problems fielding enough cars to race at times during the year, the points battle is tight with three drivers who have a realistic shot at winning. Acres veteran Fergy Ferguson holds the points lead with 240 total. Tied for second are Duayne Mayo and Kenny Demello with 227, only 13 behind leader Ferguson. The duo of Romeo Venza and Craig Huffman hold down fourth in the points with 169 gained, while defending champion Scott Lyons looks as if he’ll have to wait until next year to win as he’s fifth with 153 points.
Only 41 points separate the top five drivers in the mini stock class. Scott Baker leads the field with 451 points. Brian McIntosh is second only 10 points behind. Scott’s brother Craig is third with 440 points. Brian Murrell is still in the hunt for the title with 431 points, while Denzil Barrett in fifth has an outside shot with 410.
Real stock driver Jim Redd took the points lead after race one of the season and has managed to hold on to it up to this point. Redd holds a 23 point lead over second place Trevor Miller, 454-431. Barring any unfortunate accidents, it appears as though the points battle will be decided between those two drivers as third place Ryan Robinson is 67 points behind the leader. Shaun Craig is fourth with 362 points and in fifth is rookie Dustin Walters with 349.
The points title for the thunder roadsters is defending champ Paul Peeples, Jr.’s to lose. Among all the points leaders at the Acres, Peeples is the one with the biggest points cushion by a substantial margin; 120 points. Second is division rookie Robert Miller with 381 points gained. Mike Ward is third, a mere two points behind Miller. Troy Combs is fourth with 327 points coming off his first win of the year. Gerhy Foster is fifth with 325 but will likely move down the standings due to his car being irreparably damaged in a wreck a few weeks ago.
With a win in the main event in the last race, Brandon Barnwell was able to take the points lead in the sportsman division. Barnwell leads Dennis Delbiaggio 455-451. In third is Larry Pries with 431 points. Lissa Uselton is fourth with 407 and Angelo Marcelli is fifth with 405.
Racing returns to the Acres this Saturday night, July 26th with all five local classes. After a break, the action returns August 9th with the North State Challenge Series late model tour cars joining the schedule with their first race in a number of months. Fan Appreciation night is August 23rd while the Judy Fox Memorial race will be September 6th. The memorial race will again be the final points event for the limited street, mini stocks and sportsman cars. The season will wrap up September 27th with the Fall Spectacular with real stocks, thunder roadsters, IMCA modifieds and the North State Challenge Series returning.
Points Standings (numbers in parenthesis state how far back a driver is from the points leader)
Limited Street Stocks
1. Fergy Ferguson 240, t2. Duane Mayo 227 (-13), t2. Kenny Demello 227 (-13), 4. Craig Huffman/Romeo Venza 169 (-71), 5. Scott Lyons 153 (-87)
Mini Stocks
1. Scott Baker 451, 2. Brian McIntosh 441 (-10), 3. Craig Baker 440 (-11), 4. Brian Murrell, Sr. 431 (-20), 5. Denzil Barrett 410 (-41), 6. Max Capps 373 (-78), 7. Marty Walsh 132 (-319), 8. Brian Murrell, Jr. 108 (-343), 9. Norm Carmichael 65 (-386), 10. Ryan Ahrens 59 (-392), 11. Nick Karanopoulos 13 (-438)
Real Stocks
1. Jim Redd 454, 2. Trevor Miller 431 (-23), 3. Ryan Robinson 387 (-67), 4. Shawn Craig 362 (-92), 5. Dustin Walters 349 (-106), 6. Ryan Peeples 310 (-144), 7. Dana DeVane 262 (-192), 8. Nick Green 237 (-217), 9. Don Hyman 235 (-219), 10. Casey Mitchell 197 (-257), 11. Bob Lima 181 (-273), 12. Marvin Savage 170 (-284), 13. Bill Middleton 168 (-286), 14. Mark Mullan 137 (-317), 15. Ray Robinson 105 (-349), 16. Pat Conway 78 (-376), 17. Ray Middleton 57 (-397), 18. Roger Linn, Jr. 53 (-401)
Thunder Roadsters
1. Paul Peeples, Jr. 501, 2. Robert Miller 381 (-120), 3. Mike Ward 379 (-122), 4. Troy Combs 327 (-174), 5. Gerhy Foster 325 (-176), 6. Jay Bahner 313 (-182), 7. Donn Cole 305 (-189), 8. Thomas Payne 299 (-195), 9. Rick Crawley, Jr. 275 (-226), 10. Mark Arroyo 260 (-241), 11. Leroy Marsh, Jr. 244 (-257), 12. Dave McMurray 237 (-264), 13. Bruce Ziemer 234 (-267), 14. Chris Sarvinski 220 (-281), 15. Chris Banfill 136 (-365), 16. David Henderson 116 (-385), 17. Belinda Ward 78 (-423), 18. Chris Lawrence 54 (-447), 19. Doug Pulver 49 (-452), 20. Ron Borges 45 (-456) 21. Rob Nelson 43 (-458)
Sportsman
1. Brandon Barnwell 455, 2. Dennis DelBiaggio 451 (-4), 3. Larry Pries 431 (-24), 4. Lissa Uselton 407 (-48), 5. Angelo Marcelli 405 (-50), 6. Jerry Peterson 399 (-56), 7. Romeo Venza 348 (-107), 8. Keith Dias 284 (-171), 9. Al Acuna 251 (-204), 10. Marty Walsh 210 (-245), 11. Rick Fox 146 (-309), 12. Tim McCracken 136 (-319), 13. Ken Hallis 119 (-336), 14. Mic Moulton 55 (-400), 15. Frank Billy, Jr. 20 (-435).
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Combs defeats Peeples, Barnwell returns to victory lane
Combs defeats Peeples, Barnwell returns to victory lane
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The racing this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway must have left many people scratching their heads. The car count in three of the five divisions was unexpectedly low, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t close racing. Usually when there is close racing, there usually comes contact and accidents, and that’s exactly what happened. By the end of the night, four drivers were able to bring their cars home victorious and intact, Craig Baker in the mini stocks, Trevor Miller in the real stocks, Troy Combs in the thunder roadsters and Brandon Barnwell in the sportsman division. Regrettably the limited street stock class was unable to run due to the lack of cars at the track.
The mini stock trophy dash was won by Scott Baker over Brian Murrell, Brian McIntosh and Max Capps. The main event saw eight cars start the race. On the first lap, rookie Norm Carmichael hit the turn four wall head on bringing out the yellow flag. Thankfully Carmichael was not injured in the incident. Craig Baker took the lead early in the race and was able to maintain a comfortable distance throughout the event all the way to the checkered flag. McIntosh finished second with Murrell third, Capps fourth and Scott Baker fifth.
Shawn Craig broke Trevor Miller’s track record in the real stock division but unfortunately his night was cut short in the trophy dash when heavy smoke began to pour out of his vehicle while leading. Miller was able to inherit the lead and take the dash win ahead of Ryan Peeples and Jim Redd. The heat race featured a wreck on the front straightaway on the start between Ryan Robinson and Dustin Walters. Both drivers were able to continue to race. Peeples lost his engine in the heat ending his night prematurely. Miller took the win over Redd, Robinson, and Dana DeVane. The main started off with a red flag after a turn two wreck between Walters and Redd. Walters was able to continue but Redd was out of the race. Miller was able to cruise to an easy victory over Robinson, Walters and DeVane while Redd was credited with fifth.
Mike Ward took home the trophy in the dash for the thunder roadsters holding off Troy Combs, Paul Peeples, Jr. and Robert Miller. The heat race saw contact between Donn Cole and Miller while racing for the lead. Unfortunately, Thomas Payne was collected while trying to avoid the incident and damaged his car enough to where he was out for the rest of the night. Peeples was able to take the win over Ward, Combs, Miller and Chris Lawrence. Combs was able to wrestle away the lead early in the main event and was able to hold off the strongest of challengers in Peeples to claim his first main event win of the season, and only the second main event win by someone other than Peeples. Miller took third with Ward fourth, Cole fifth and Lawrence sixth.
Mic Moulton made his return to the sportsman division winning the trophy dash over Larry Pries, Dennis Delbiaggio and Brandon Barnwell. Barnwell won the first heat race over Delbiaggio, Ken Hallis, Romeo Venza and Keith Dias. Jerry Peterson held off Lissa Uselton in the second heat while Marty Walsh, Angelo Marcelli and Pries completed the top five finishers. Delbiaggio took the lead early in the main event and was able to gain several car lengths over second place Walsh. Meanwhile, Moulton moved his way from mid-pack to third. After many laps of running in Walsh’s mirror, Moulton was able to maneuver by for second.
On lap 26, Moulton moved inside of Delbiaggio for the lead. The two made contact going into turn one sending Delbiaggio spinning. Officials placed Moulton at the rear of the field and now the race lead belonged to Barnwell over Walsh, Pries, Uselton and Hallis. With two laps left, Delbiaggio, Venza and Dias spun between turns one and two bringing out the yellow. The restart was a simultaneous green and white restart. Moulton tried to time his start perfectly and was able to move into second going into turn one. The race to the line was absolute chaos. In turn four coming to the checkered flag, Walsh and Pries made contact sending them spinning. Meanwhile, Barnwell crossed the line first with Moulton second, Uselton third and Hallis fourth. The action still wasn’t over as Venza’s throttle stuck and he drove over the side of Walsh’s car right at the start/finish line. Officals deemed Moulton to have restarted before the green flag waved which moved Uselton into the second finishing position, Hallis third and Marcelli fourth. In any case, Barnwell was still the winner.
Racing at the Acres take a break for one week before returning July 26th for more excitement from the five local divisions.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The racing this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway must have left many people scratching their heads. The car count in three of the five divisions was unexpectedly low, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t close racing. Usually when there is close racing, there usually comes contact and accidents, and that’s exactly what happened. By the end of the night, four drivers were able to bring their cars home victorious and intact, Craig Baker in the mini stocks, Trevor Miller in the real stocks, Troy Combs in the thunder roadsters and Brandon Barnwell in the sportsman division. Regrettably the limited street stock class was unable to run due to the lack of cars at the track.
The mini stock trophy dash was won by Scott Baker over Brian Murrell, Brian McIntosh and Max Capps. The main event saw eight cars start the race. On the first lap, rookie Norm Carmichael hit the turn four wall head on bringing out the yellow flag. Thankfully Carmichael was not injured in the incident. Craig Baker took the lead early in the race and was able to maintain a comfortable distance throughout the event all the way to the checkered flag. McIntosh finished second with Murrell third, Capps fourth and Scott Baker fifth.
Shawn Craig broke Trevor Miller’s track record in the real stock division but unfortunately his night was cut short in the trophy dash when heavy smoke began to pour out of his vehicle while leading. Miller was able to inherit the lead and take the dash win ahead of Ryan Peeples and Jim Redd. The heat race featured a wreck on the front straightaway on the start between Ryan Robinson and Dustin Walters. Both drivers were able to continue to race. Peeples lost his engine in the heat ending his night prematurely. Miller took the win over Redd, Robinson, and Dana DeVane. The main started off with a red flag after a turn two wreck between Walters and Redd. Walters was able to continue but Redd was out of the race. Miller was able to cruise to an easy victory over Robinson, Walters and DeVane while Redd was credited with fifth.
Mike Ward took home the trophy in the dash for the thunder roadsters holding off Troy Combs, Paul Peeples, Jr. and Robert Miller. The heat race saw contact between Donn Cole and Miller while racing for the lead. Unfortunately, Thomas Payne was collected while trying to avoid the incident and damaged his car enough to where he was out for the rest of the night. Peeples was able to take the win over Ward, Combs, Miller and Chris Lawrence. Combs was able to wrestle away the lead early in the main event and was able to hold off the strongest of challengers in Peeples to claim his first main event win of the season, and only the second main event win by someone other than Peeples. Miller took third with Ward fourth, Cole fifth and Lawrence sixth.
Mic Moulton made his return to the sportsman division winning the trophy dash over Larry Pries, Dennis Delbiaggio and Brandon Barnwell. Barnwell won the first heat race over Delbiaggio, Ken Hallis, Romeo Venza and Keith Dias. Jerry Peterson held off Lissa Uselton in the second heat while Marty Walsh, Angelo Marcelli and Pries completed the top five finishers. Delbiaggio took the lead early in the main event and was able to gain several car lengths over second place Walsh. Meanwhile, Moulton moved his way from mid-pack to third. After many laps of running in Walsh’s mirror, Moulton was able to maneuver by for second.
On lap 26, Moulton moved inside of Delbiaggio for the lead. The two made contact going into turn one sending Delbiaggio spinning. Officials placed Moulton at the rear of the field and now the race lead belonged to Barnwell over Walsh, Pries, Uselton and Hallis. With two laps left, Delbiaggio, Venza and Dias spun between turns one and two bringing out the yellow. The restart was a simultaneous green and white restart. Moulton tried to time his start perfectly and was able to move into second going into turn one. The race to the line was absolute chaos. In turn four coming to the checkered flag, Walsh and Pries made contact sending them spinning. Meanwhile, Barnwell crossed the line first with Moulton second, Uselton third and Hallis fourth. The action still wasn’t over as Venza’s throttle stuck and he drove over the side of Walsh’s car right at the start/finish line. Officals deemed Moulton to have restarted before the green flag waved which moved Uselton into the second finishing position, Hallis third and Marcelli fourth. In any case, Barnwell was still the winner.
Racing at the Acres take a break for one week before returning July 26th for more excitement from the five local divisions.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Peeples, Walsh opening night winners at the Acres
Peeples, Walsh opening night winners at the Acres
By Matthew J. Sullivan
After the initial season opening race was cancelled the previous Saturday thanks to Mother Nature, racing returned to Redwood Acres Raceway this weekend. As fans have come to expect at the Acres, there was some great racing action provided by the drivers in the limited street stock, mini stock, real stock, thunder roadster and sportsman divisions.
Before the night’s events, former Acres regular and North State Challenge Series competitor Hank Hilton was honored. Fans and crew members applauded as “Hammerin’” Hank’s number 98 car made one final ceremonial lap around the 3/8 mile oval with Acres racer Frank Billy behind the wheel. The flag was flown at half staff in honor of Hilton as well as Humboldt County Second District Supervisor Roger Rodoni who was tragically killed in a car accident Thursday evening.
Scott Lyons paced qualifying for the limited street stock cars with a 17.663 lap. Dwayne Mayo won the trophy dash over Romeo Venza, Kenny Demello and Lyons. With only five cars showing up for the evening, the heat race turned out to be the final race of the night for the class. Venza took the win, his first of any kind at the Acres over Rick Armstrong after attrition knocked out Demello, Mayo and Lyons.
Qualifying for quick time in the mini stock division was very, very close. Max Capps claimed the honor with a 19.205 time, just five-thousandths quicker than Craig Baker. In the dash, Baker took the win ahead of Denzel Barrett, Scott Baker and Capps. The heat race was won by Brian McIntosh with Baker, Barrett, Capps and Brian Murrell rounding out the top five. Although only six cars started the 15 lap main, the racing was close. McIntosh took the early lead over the Baker brothers. On lap five, Scott and Craig made contact while racing for second sending Scott spinning. On lap 11, Craig Baker dropped off the pace and went into the pits. Barrett tried his best to find a way around McIntosh in the remaining laps, but couldn’t muster enough strength as McIntosh won. Capps finished third, Murrell fourth and Craig Baker took fifth.
Shawn Craig set the qualifying mark for the real stocks with a 19.067 time in. Craig won the dash over Jim Redd, Ryan Peeples and Bob Lima. Pat Conway won the first heat ahead of Nick Green, Dustin Walters, Casey Mitchell and Dana DeVane. Lima won heat two over Donnie Hyman, Redd, Ryan Robinson and Craig.
14 cars made the start of the 25 lap main event. Walters and Ray Middleton paced the field to the green flag. Walters took the initial lead, but by the end of the completion of the first lap it was Green in the lead. Robinson spun off the second turn on lap two but was able to keep going. On lap five, Redd moved by Hyman for third. The next lap Redd moved by Lima for second, but a lap later Lima regained the position. On lap seven, Hyman, Walters and Craig tangled up in the fourth turn bringing out a yellow flag. During the caution period, Green pulled into the pits from third place and did not return. The green returned for five more laps before an incident in the first and second turns involving Walters and Conway.
On the restart, the front trio of Lima, Redd and Peeples pulled away from the rest of the field. On lap 15, Redd moved by Lima for the lead. Two laps later, Lima spun off the second turn moving Peeples into second and Craig into third. On lap 18, an incident between Robinson and Walters brought out the final caution flag. Redd got a good start when the green flew again, but Peeples and Craig kept in close touch. With two laps remaining, Craig moved by Peeples for second, but by that point it was too late for him to mount a serious charge for the lead. At the checkered flag it was Redd winning with Craig, Peeples, Hyman and Lima rounding out the top five.
Qualifying in the sportsman division was close. Dennis DelBiaggio set the quick mark with a 16.342 barely beating Brandon Barnwell’s 16.347. Marty Walsh driving Rick Fox’s car won the dash over DelBiaggio, Barnwell and Larry Pries. Al Acuna returned to the division after being absent for a year and won the heat over Walsh, Jerry Peterson, DelBiaggio and Barnwell.
Walsh and Pries led the field to the green flag in the main event. It was short lived however as an incident involving Acuna, Lissa Uselton and Romeo Venza brought the yellow out. Acuna was finished for the night but Uselton and Venza were able to continue in the race. On the restart, Walsh led while Barnwell moved inside Pries for second. That opened the bottom line for Peterson to move into third and Angelo Marcelli for fourth. Uselton spun in turn three on lap five bringing out the yellow flag.
When racing resumed, Walsh put a gap over Barnwell and Peterson who were dueling for the second position. After a lap 14 caution for debris, the green flew again and once again Walsh pulled away. On lap 22, the yellow dropped when Pries got loose in turn four and was helped around by DelBiaggio who had nowhere to go. Walsh hit his gears and his marks on the final restart and crossed the line first at the checkered flag ahead of Barnwell, Peterson, Marcelli and DelBiaggio.
Paul Peeples, Jr. was the fastest of the thunder roadster drivers with a 16.892, the only driver under 17 seconds. Peeples took the dash win over Chris Banfill, Leroy Marsh, Jr. and Chris Sarvinski. Mike Ward won the first heat race over Donn Cole, Jay Bahner, class rookie Robert Miller and Dave McMurray. Peeples won heat two over Thomas Payne, Marsh, Sarvinski and Gerhy Foster.
McMurray and Bahner comprised the front row for the 15 car, 25 lap main event. McMurray took the early lead, but by lap three Foster moved into the top spot bringing Payne and Bahner with him. On lap six, Peeples began to maneuver his way to the front getting by Bahner. Three laps later, Peeples took second from Payne. By lap 11, Peeples took the lead from Foster and began to pull away. On lap 14, Payne moved inside Foster for second. The two dueled side by side for a lap before Payne took firm hold of the position. The caution flag dropped on lap 17 when McMurray hit the turn three wall.
After the restart, Sarvinski spun coming off turn four after running in the top five. He was able to get going again without a yellow flag. Payne was able to stay close on Peeples bumper and tried his best to find a way by the veteran driver, however he was unable to find a line by as Peeples took the win. Foster held on for third over Banfill and Marsh.
Racing returns to Redwood Acres Raceway May 10th with all five classes of cars looking to put on another fantastic show.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
After the initial season opening race was cancelled the previous Saturday thanks to Mother Nature, racing returned to Redwood Acres Raceway this weekend. As fans have come to expect at the Acres, there was some great racing action provided by the drivers in the limited street stock, mini stock, real stock, thunder roadster and sportsman divisions.
Before the night’s events, former Acres regular and North State Challenge Series competitor Hank Hilton was honored. Fans and crew members applauded as “Hammerin’” Hank’s number 98 car made one final ceremonial lap around the 3/8 mile oval with Acres racer Frank Billy behind the wheel. The flag was flown at half staff in honor of Hilton as well as Humboldt County Second District Supervisor Roger Rodoni who was tragically killed in a car accident Thursday evening.
Scott Lyons paced qualifying for the limited street stock cars with a 17.663 lap. Dwayne Mayo won the trophy dash over Romeo Venza, Kenny Demello and Lyons. With only five cars showing up for the evening, the heat race turned out to be the final race of the night for the class. Venza took the win, his first of any kind at the Acres over Rick Armstrong after attrition knocked out Demello, Mayo and Lyons.
Qualifying for quick time in the mini stock division was very, very close. Max Capps claimed the honor with a 19.205 time, just five-thousandths quicker than Craig Baker. In the dash, Baker took the win ahead of Denzel Barrett, Scott Baker and Capps. The heat race was won by Brian McIntosh with Baker, Barrett, Capps and Brian Murrell rounding out the top five. Although only six cars started the 15 lap main, the racing was close. McIntosh took the early lead over the Baker brothers. On lap five, Scott and Craig made contact while racing for second sending Scott spinning. On lap 11, Craig Baker dropped off the pace and went into the pits. Barrett tried his best to find a way around McIntosh in the remaining laps, but couldn’t muster enough strength as McIntosh won. Capps finished third, Murrell fourth and Craig Baker took fifth.
Shawn Craig set the qualifying mark for the real stocks with a 19.067 time in. Craig won the dash over Jim Redd, Ryan Peeples and Bob Lima. Pat Conway won the first heat ahead of Nick Green, Dustin Walters, Casey Mitchell and Dana DeVane. Lima won heat two over Donnie Hyman, Redd, Ryan Robinson and Craig.
14 cars made the start of the 25 lap main event. Walters and Ray Middleton paced the field to the green flag. Walters took the initial lead, but by the end of the completion of the first lap it was Green in the lead. Robinson spun off the second turn on lap two but was able to keep going. On lap five, Redd moved by Hyman for third. The next lap Redd moved by Lima for second, but a lap later Lima regained the position. On lap seven, Hyman, Walters and Craig tangled up in the fourth turn bringing out a yellow flag. During the caution period, Green pulled into the pits from third place and did not return. The green returned for five more laps before an incident in the first and second turns involving Walters and Conway.
On the restart, the front trio of Lima, Redd and Peeples pulled away from the rest of the field. On lap 15, Redd moved by Lima for the lead. Two laps later, Lima spun off the second turn moving Peeples into second and Craig into third. On lap 18, an incident between Robinson and Walters brought out the final caution flag. Redd got a good start when the green flew again, but Peeples and Craig kept in close touch. With two laps remaining, Craig moved by Peeples for second, but by that point it was too late for him to mount a serious charge for the lead. At the checkered flag it was Redd winning with Craig, Peeples, Hyman and Lima rounding out the top five.
Qualifying in the sportsman division was close. Dennis DelBiaggio set the quick mark with a 16.342 barely beating Brandon Barnwell’s 16.347. Marty Walsh driving Rick Fox’s car won the dash over DelBiaggio, Barnwell and Larry Pries. Al Acuna returned to the division after being absent for a year and won the heat over Walsh, Jerry Peterson, DelBiaggio and Barnwell.
Walsh and Pries led the field to the green flag in the main event. It was short lived however as an incident involving Acuna, Lissa Uselton and Romeo Venza brought the yellow out. Acuna was finished for the night but Uselton and Venza were able to continue in the race. On the restart, Walsh led while Barnwell moved inside Pries for second. That opened the bottom line for Peterson to move into third and Angelo Marcelli for fourth. Uselton spun in turn three on lap five bringing out the yellow flag.
When racing resumed, Walsh put a gap over Barnwell and Peterson who were dueling for the second position. After a lap 14 caution for debris, the green flew again and once again Walsh pulled away. On lap 22, the yellow dropped when Pries got loose in turn four and was helped around by DelBiaggio who had nowhere to go. Walsh hit his gears and his marks on the final restart and crossed the line first at the checkered flag ahead of Barnwell, Peterson, Marcelli and DelBiaggio.
Paul Peeples, Jr. was the fastest of the thunder roadster drivers with a 16.892, the only driver under 17 seconds. Peeples took the dash win over Chris Banfill, Leroy Marsh, Jr. and Chris Sarvinski. Mike Ward won the first heat race over Donn Cole, Jay Bahner, class rookie Robert Miller and Dave McMurray. Peeples won heat two over Thomas Payne, Marsh, Sarvinski and Gerhy Foster.
McMurray and Bahner comprised the front row for the 15 car, 25 lap main event. McMurray took the early lead, but by lap three Foster moved into the top spot bringing Payne and Bahner with him. On lap six, Peeples began to maneuver his way to the front getting by Bahner. Three laps later, Peeples took second from Payne. By lap 11, Peeples took the lead from Foster and began to pull away. On lap 14, Payne moved inside Foster for second. The two dueled side by side for a lap before Payne took firm hold of the position. The caution flag dropped on lap 17 when McMurray hit the turn three wall.
After the restart, Sarvinski spun coming off turn four after running in the top five. He was able to get going again without a yellow flag. Payne was able to stay close on Peeples bumper and tried his best to find a way by the veteran driver, however he was unable to find a line by as Peeples took the win. Foster held on for third over Banfill and Marsh.
Racing returns to Redwood Acres Raceway May 10th with all five classes of cars looking to put on another fantastic show.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Season ends with champions crowned, race cars destroyed
Season ends with champions crowned, race cars destroyed
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The 2007 points season came to a close for four of the five divisions at Redwood Acres Raceway this past weekend, thankfully for many drivers and teams. As has been displayed over the duration of the 2007 schedule, there was some great, tight racing as well as some spectacular crashes which severely damaged several cars. Orion Mosher capped off a spectacular season, winning another limited street stock main event, however rookie Scott Lyons claimed the division championship. Second year driver, Byron McIntosh took another main event victory in the mini stock division, which only added to his joy of being the division’s champion. While the real stock class didn’t finish their points season, the racing was just as close as Barry Barnwell took the trophy in the main. Paul Peeples, Jr. finished off a dominating season in the thunder roadster division with the main event win and the championship. Finally, in the sportsman division, Rick Fox took his first main event win of 2007 but Brandon Barnwell took the championship, unfortunately with a demolished race car at night’s end.
Scott Lyons took fast time honors for the limited street stock cars with a 17.505 lap. The dash victory went to Orion Mosher ahead of Stan Young, Robert Miller and Lyons. The heat was claimed by Mosher ahead of Duane Mayo, Miller, Lyons and Fergy Ferguson who made his lone appearance of the 2007 season. Mayo and Young led the field to the green flag in the 20 lap main event. Young led from the start while Mayo held of Miller and Mosher. On lap four, Miller moved inside of Mayo and took the position the next lap while Mosher followed into third. Mosher moved inside of Miller on lap six and the two raced side-by-side until lap nine when Mosher cleared Miller for the position. On lap 10, Mosher swept past Young for the lead.
While Mosher pulled away from the rest of the field, Young, Miller and Mayo fought for the second spot. On lap 14, the yellow came out for debris on the race track. Just after the restart, Miller pulled his car into the pits. As Mosher continued to pull away, Young and Mayo continued to duel for second. On the last lap the two tangled. Mosher won while Lyons moved into second. Mayo took third, Young fourth and Romeo Venza finished fifth. Lyons second place helped him finish off a spectacular season with the 2007 championship in the division.
Fast time for the mini stock division was set by Max Capps with a 19.095 time. Craig Baker won the dash over Capps, Denzil Barrett and Nick Karanopoulos. The heat was won by Bill Wood. Brian McIntosh took second, Glenn Bernald third, Barrett fourth and Capps fifth. Nine cars started the 20 lap main with Wood and Stacy Minnick taking the field to the green flag. Off the start, By. McIntosh took the front row three wide to take the lead. The next lap Karanopoulos tried the same maneuver but unfortunately contact was made with Wood causing a huge melee.
After the mess was cleaned up, Baker and Barrett were the two who weren’t able to make the restart. McIntosh led Wood, Minnick, Br. McIntosh and Capps. Byron pulled away from the field while Brian maneuvered his way through the field. He moved by Minnick for third off the restart and then by Wood on lap six. For the rest of the race, the excitement was whether or not Brian could catch brother Byron. By the time the race ended, Brian had closed on Byron’s bumper but that was it. It was Byron winning the race and clinching the title over Brian McIntosh, Wood, Capps and Karanopoulos.
Ryan Peeples laid down a blistering 19.238 lap time in the real stock division to claim fast time. Peeples won the dash ahead of Dan Brown, Troy Wood and Ray Robinson. Wood won the first heat over Chuck Essex, Barry Barnwell, Marvin Savage and Brown. Doug Way won the second followed by Peeples, Bill Middleton, Robinson and Steve Kimberling. Pat Conway and Way brought the field to the green in the 25 lap main event. Conway took the lead early before a lap two yellow flag. After the restart, Middleton moved inside of Nick Green for the fourth position on lap four bringing Barnwell with him. Peeples moved outside of Barnwell on lap six for fifth, while ahead of them Middleton moved outside of Savage for third. The four raced in a tight formation for several laps before Barnwell moved under and past Middleton on lap 10.
On lap 11, Barnwell moved outside of Savage but couldn’t pull off the pass. At the same time, Peeples moved by Middleton for fourth. The two leaders Conway and Way pulled away while Savage and Barnwell continued their duel. On lap 14, Barnwell moved into second. Peeples really began to show his strength, as he moved by Savage at the same time and moved by Barnwell for second a lap later, just as Way pulled his car into the pits and out of the race. Peeples rapidly began to close in on Conway. On lap 19, Brown moved by Barnwell but pushed up the track allowing Barnwell to move back inside.
On lap 20, Peeples and Conway made contact in the first turn sending Conway into a spin and bringing out the yellow flag. Officials determined Peeples to be at fault for the incident and he was sent to the rear of the field. Brown would have inherited the lead but pulled his car into the pits under the caution period handing the top spot over to Barnwell over Savage and Middleton. Barnwell got a good restart and stretched out a comfortable lead over Savage. Barnwell maintained a comfortable margin and took the win over Savage and Middleton. Kimberling was running in fourth on the last lap but got severely loose off the final corner allowing Wood and Peeples to take fourth and fifth at the end.
Paul Peeples, Jr. once again set the fastest time in qualifying for the thunder roadster cars with a very fast 16.898 time in. Peeples won the dash over David Henderson, Mike Ward. Unfortunately fourth place finisher Leroy Marsh, Jr. wrecked in the dash. Mark Baldwin won heat one over Ron Rosenthal, Chris Banfill, Mark Arroyo and Bruce Ziemer. Bill O’Neill won the second heat ahead of Troy Combs, Henderson, Thomas Payne and Peeples.
A strong 19 car field was brought to the green flag of the 30 lap main event by Arroyo and Payne. Arroyo grabbed the lead early. By lap three, Peeples had quickly maneuvered his way into the top five, getting by O’Neill. Donn Cole moved by Payne for second on lap five. Gehry Foster took the fifth position, moving by O’Neill on lap six. On the same lap, Cole spun in turn four causing cars to scatter left and right of his car. Fortunately everyone missed Cole’s car. Unfortunately for Combs, he was caught up in the aftermath of the melee and hit the wall, ending his evening.
At this time Arroyo held the lead over Peeples, Payne, Henderson and Foster. Henderson used the restart to his advantage moving by Payne. On lap seven, Peeples made his bid for the lead, taking it away from Arroyo. On lap 8, Ward and Banfill spun with Banfill having right front damage putting an end to his night. On the restart, Baldwin moved by O’Neill for fifth. Lap nine, Henderson moved inside of Arroyo for second. The duo dueled side-by-side until lap 11 when Henderson gained the upper hand down the back stretch. The field spread out and try as he might, Henderson just could not close the gap on Peeples. The race concluded with Peeples winning by several car lengths over Henderson, Arroyo, Baldwin and Foster. The win capped off what was a season of pure domination by Peeples, resulting in the division championship.
Dennis Delbiaggio returned to the Acres in the sportsman division and laid down fast time with a 16.493. Angelo Marcelli won the dash over Brandon Barnwell, Rick Fox and Delbiaggio. The dash saw two unfortunate incidents, one of which involved Lissa Uselton and Marcelli making contact off the fourth turn, another which saw Frank Billy, Jr. hit the turn four wall ending racing action for him. Barnwell won the heat over Delbiaggio, Uselton, Fox and Larry Pries.
Delbiaggio and Fox took the field to the green flag for the 25 lap main event. Delbiaggio took the early lead while the field settled into single file formation. On lap two, Barnwell moved by Usleton into fourth. On lap seven, Barnwell moved outside of Pries for third, but Pried found room under Fox to take the second spot, allowing Barnwell to follow him into third. Pries and Barnwell closed in on Delbiaggio quickly and the three raced nose-to-tail until lap 24 when Pries finally found room under Delbiaggio down the back stretch. Unfortunately the two tangled in the third turn collecting Barnwell. Fox slowed down and drove under the wreck while Uselton had to spin her car out to avoid a more serious situation. Fortunately, all cars involved received little to no damage.
With the field regrouped, it was Fox leading Delbiaggio, Barnwell, Marcelli and Pries to the green and white flag restart. Coming off the fourth turn, Barnwell moved outside of Delbiaggio for second but the two tangled causing a major incident involving Marcelli, Pries and Uselton behind them. At the line, Fox was the lone car without damage. Barnwell took second, Delbiaggio third, Marcelli fourth and Uselton fifth. Barnwell was crowned the sportsman division champion for 2007 after an impressive season.
Racing returns to the Acres September 28 and 29 for the annual Fall Spectacular. The championship for the real stock division will be determined. Joining them will be the thunder roadsters, the I.M.C.A./Grand American Modifieds and the North State Challenge Series late models. It promises to be an exciting close to what has been an exciting 2007 season.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The 2007 points season came to a close for four of the five divisions at Redwood Acres Raceway this past weekend, thankfully for many drivers and teams. As has been displayed over the duration of the 2007 schedule, there was some great, tight racing as well as some spectacular crashes which severely damaged several cars. Orion Mosher capped off a spectacular season, winning another limited street stock main event, however rookie Scott Lyons claimed the division championship. Second year driver, Byron McIntosh took another main event victory in the mini stock division, which only added to his joy of being the division’s champion. While the real stock class didn’t finish their points season, the racing was just as close as Barry Barnwell took the trophy in the main. Paul Peeples, Jr. finished off a dominating season in the thunder roadster division with the main event win and the championship. Finally, in the sportsman division, Rick Fox took his first main event win of 2007 but Brandon Barnwell took the championship, unfortunately with a demolished race car at night’s end.
Scott Lyons took fast time honors for the limited street stock cars with a 17.505 lap. The dash victory went to Orion Mosher ahead of Stan Young, Robert Miller and Lyons. The heat was claimed by Mosher ahead of Duane Mayo, Miller, Lyons and Fergy Ferguson who made his lone appearance of the 2007 season. Mayo and Young led the field to the green flag in the 20 lap main event. Young led from the start while Mayo held of Miller and Mosher. On lap four, Miller moved inside of Mayo and took the position the next lap while Mosher followed into third. Mosher moved inside of Miller on lap six and the two raced side-by-side until lap nine when Mosher cleared Miller for the position. On lap 10, Mosher swept past Young for the lead.
While Mosher pulled away from the rest of the field, Young, Miller and Mayo fought for the second spot. On lap 14, the yellow came out for debris on the race track. Just after the restart, Miller pulled his car into the pits. As Mosher continued to pull away, Young and Mayo continued to duel for second. On the last lap the two tangled. Mosher won while Lyons moved into second. Mayo took third, Young fourth and Romeo Venza finished fifth. Lyons second place helped him finish off a spectacular season with the 2007 championship in the division.
Fast time for the mini stock division was set by Max Capps with a 19.095 time. Craig Baker won the dash over Capps, Denzil Barrett and Nick Karanopoulos. The heat was won by Bill Wood. Brian McIntosh took second, Glenn Bernald third, Barrett fourth and Capps fifth. Nine cars started the 20 lap main with Wood and Stacy Minnick taking the field to the green flag. Off the start, By. McIntosh took the front row three wide to take the lead. The next lap Karanopoulos tried the same maneuver but unfortunately contact was made with Wood causing a huge melee.
After the mess was cleaned up, Baker and Barrett were the two who weren’t able to make the restart. McIntosh led Wood, Minnick, Br. McIntosh and Capps. Byron pulled away from the field while Brian maneuvered his way through the field. He moved by Minnick for third off the restart and then by Wood on lap six. For the rest of the race, the excitement was whether or not Brian could catch brother Byron. By the time the race ended, Brian had closed on Byron’s bumper but that was it. It was Byron winning the race and clinching the title over Brian McIntosh, Wood, Capps and Karanopoulos.
Ryan Peeples laid down a blistering 19.238 lap time in the real stock division to claim fast time. Peeples won the dash ahead of Dan Brown, Troy Wood and Ray Robinson. Wood won the first heat over Chuck Essex, Barry Barnwell, Marvin Savage and Brown. Doug Way won the second followed by Peeples, Bill Middleton, Robinson and Steve Kimberling. Pat Conway and Way brought the field to the green in the 25 lap main event. Conway took the lead early before a lap two yellow flag. After the restart, Middleton moved inside of Nick Green for the fourth position on lap four bringing Barnwell with him. Peeples moved outside of Barnwell on lap six for fifth, while ahead of them Middleton moved outside of Savage for third. The four raced in a tight formation for several laps before Barnwell moved under and past Middleton on lap 10.
On lap 11, Barnwell moved outside of Savage but couldn’t pull off the pass. At the same time, Peeples moved by Middleton for fourth. The two leaders Conway and Way pulled away while Savage and Barnwell continued their duel. On lap 14, Barnwell moved into second. Peeples really began to show his strength, as he moved by Savage at the same time and moved by Barnwell for second a lap later, just as Way pulled his car into the pits and out of the race. Peeples rapidly began to close in on Conway. On lap 19, Brown moved by Barnwell but pushed up the track allowing Barnwell to move back inside.
On lap 20, Peeples and Conway made contact in the first turn sending Conway into a spin and bringing out the yellow flag. Officials determined Peeples to be at fault for the incident and he was sent to the rear of the field. Brown would have inherited the lead but pulled his car into the pits under the caution period handing the top spot over to Barnwell over Savage and Middleton. Barnwell got a good restart and stretched out a comfortable lead over Savage. Barnwell maintained a comfortable margin and took the win over Savage and Middleton. Kimberling was running in fourth on the last lap but got severely loose off the final corner allowing Wood and Peeples to take fourth and fifth at the end.
Paul Peeples, Jr. once again set the fastest time in qualifying for the thunder roadster cars with a very fast 16.898 time in. Peeples won the dash over David Henderson, Mike Ward. Unfortunately fourth place finisher Leroy Marsh, Jr. wrecked in the dash. Mark Baldwin won heat one over Ron Rosenthal, Chris Banfill, Mark Arroyo and Bruce Ziemer. Bill O’Neill won the second heat ahead of Troy Combs, Henderson, Thomas Payne and Peeples.
A strong 19 car field was brought to the green flag of the 30 lap main event by Arroyo and Payne. Arroyo grabbed the lead early. By lap three, Peeples had quickly maneuvered his way into the top five, getting by O’Neill. Donn Cole moved by Payne for second on lap five. Gehry Foster took the fifth position, moving by O’Neill on lap six. On the same lap, Cole spun in turn four causing cars to scatter left and right of his car. Fortunately everyone missed Cole’s car. Unfortunately for Combs, he was caught up in the aftermath of the melee and hit the wall, ending his evening.
At this time Arroyo held the lead over Peeples, Payne, Henderson and Foster. Henderson used the restart to his advantage moving by Payne. On lap seven, Peeples made his bid for the lead, taking it away from Arroyo. On lap 8, Ward and Banfill spun with Banfill having right front damage putting an end to his night. On the restart, Baldwin moved by O’Neill for fifth. Lap nine, Henderson moved inside of Arroyo for second. The duo dueled side-by-side until lap 11 when Henderson gained the upper hand down the back stretch. The field spread out and try as he might, Henderson just could not close the gap on Peeples. The race concluded with Peeples winning by several car lengths over Henderson, Arroyo, Baldwin and Foster. The win capped off what was a season of pure domination by Peeples, resulting in the division championship.
Dennis Delbiaggio returned to the Acres in the sportsman division and laid down fast time with a 16.493. Angelo Marcelli won the dash over Brandon Barnwell, Rick Fox and Delbiaggio. The dash saw two unfortunate incidents, one of which involved Lissa Uselton and Marcelli making contact off the fourth turn, another which saw Frank Billy, Jr. hit the turn four wall ending racing action for him. Barnwell won the heat over Delbiaggio, Uselton, Fox and Larry Pries.
Delbiaggio and Fox took the field to the green flag for the 25 lap main event. Delbiaggio took the early lead while the field settled into single file formation. On lap two, Barnwell moved by Usleton into fourth. On lap seven, Barnwell moved outside of Pries for third, but Pried found room under Fox to take the second spot, allowing Barnwell to follow him into third. Pries and Barnwell closed in on Delbiaggio quickly and the three raced nose-to-tail until lap 24 when Pries finally found room under Delbiaggio down the back stretch. Unfortunately the two tangled in the third turn collecting Barnwell. Fox slowed down and drove under the wreck while Uselton had to spin her car out to avoid a more serious situation. Fortunately, all cars involved received little to no damage.
With the field regrouped, it was Fox leading Delbiaggio, Barnwell, Marcelli and Pries to the green and white flag restart. Coming off the fourth turn, Barnwell moved outside of Delbiaggio for second but the two tangled causing a major incident involving Marcelli, Pries and Uselton behind them. At the line, Fox was the lone car without damage. Barnwell took second, Delbiaggio third, Marcelli fourth and Uselton fifth. Barnwell was crowned the sportsman division champion for 2007 after an impressive season.
Racing returns to the Acres September 28 and 29 for the annual Fall Spectacular. The championship for the real stock division will be determined. Joining them will be the thunder roadsters, the I.M.C.A./Grand American Modifieds and the North State Challenge Series late models. It promises to be an exciting close to what has been an exciting 2007 season.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Surprising victory for Jerry Peterson, Peeples returns to form
Surprising victory for Jerry Peterson, Peeples returns to form
By Matthew J. Sullivan
After a long two week break from racing at the Acres, action got back going this past Saturday night. As always, all five local classes were on hand to provide intense racing action for north coast racing fans. Orion Mosher made things look easy in the limited street stock main event, scoring another win for the 2007 season. Craig Baker’s late pass on Nick Karanopoulos enabled him to score the win in the mini stock feature. Driving a borrowed car, Ryan Walters took the win in the real stock action. Jerry Peterson showed surprising strength, muscling past Brandon Barnwell and running away from the field in the sportsman class to win. After several weeks of being out of the winner’s circle, Paul Peeples, Jr. made his way back taking the win in the thunder roadster main event.
Orion Mosher set fast time for the limited street stock drivers with a 17.412 lap time. Robert Miller won the dash ahead of Scott Lyons, Mosher and Kenny Demello. The victory for the heat went to Mosher beating out Miller, Lyons, Demello and Stan Young. The 15 lap main event was brought to the green flag by Demello and Lyons. Demello was able to get the early lead over Mosher. Mosher worked Demello’s bumper until lap five when he was able to get by Demello for the lead. While Mosher pulled away, the best racing was between Demello, Lyons and Miller. With three laps to go, Miller got loose while trying to get by Lyons causing him to spin in turn four and allowing Young to move to the fourth position. At the checkered flag it was Mosher winning ahead of Demello, Lyons, Young and Miller.
The fast lap for the mini stock division was set by Byron McIntosh with a 19.056 lap. McIntosh took the heat win over Brian Murrell, Max Capps and Nick Karanopoulos. Craig Baker won the heat over Denzil Barrett, Karanopoulos, Murrell and McIntosh. The 15 lap main event was led to the green flag by Brian McIntosh and Karanopoulos. The early lead was held by Karanopoulos while the rest of the field jockeyed for position behind him. On lap two, Capps moved inside of Brian McIntosh to take second, bringing Byron McIntosh with him. On lap seven, Baker moved inside of Byron McIntosh for fourth. A lap later, Baker took third away from Capps. On lap 11, Baker took second from Murrell, bringing Byron McIntosh with him. With two to go, Baker pulled by Karanopoulos for the lead. While trying to fight back, going into the third turn Karanopoulos got loose and lost several positions. At the finish it was Baker winning ahead of Brian McIntosh, Murrell, Capps and Karanopoulos.
Former limited street stock ace Shawn Craig returned to racing at the Acres in the real stocks and took quick time with a 19.239 lap. Steve Kimberling won the dash followed by Ryan Peeples, Bill Middleton and Craig. Craig won the first head ahead of Ryan Walters, Kimberling, Jim Redd and Bob Lima. Just after crossing the finish line, Walters and Kimberling tangled with Walters receiving the worst of the damage. The official ruling was that Kimberling would be parked for the evening for whatever part he played in the incident. The second heat was taken by Doug Way ahead of Middleton, Peeples, Ray Robinson and Ray DeMello.
Nick Green and DeMello led the 15 car field to the green of the 25 lap feature event. Green took the initial lead before Redd took over to lead the first lap. On lap two, Bob Lima and Peeples made contact sending Peeples for a spin between the third and fourth turns bringing out the yellow flag. After the restart, the race went green for three more laps before Marvin Savage spun collecting Chuck Essex and Green bringing out the second yellow flag of the race. By this time, Redd held the lead over Troy Wood, Way, Lima and Walters who was driving the car Craig was driving earlier in the evening. After several more laps of green flag running, the yellow came out once more when Lima and Walters made contact, shearing off Walters’ front bumper and throwing it on the front straightaway.
After the restart, Way made his way by Wood on the twelfth lap. The next lap, Lima and Walters maneuvered their way by Wood to take third and fourth. On lap 17, Essex spun in turn four but got back going. At the same time, Way moved outside and by Redd for the lead. Walters moved by Redd a lap later to take the second position. Middleton, Lima and Redd went three wide going into turn one on lap 19. Unfortunately, Middleton spun bringing out the yellow. On the final restart, Walters got the jump on Way and made his way by. Lima looked outside of Wood on lap 22 but got loose allowing Essex and Middleton to pass. With two laps left, Middleton got loose in turn three allowing Lima to take fifth. At the line though it was Walters notching the victory ahead of Way, Wood, Essex and Lima.
Brandon Barnwell took fast time in the sportsman division with a 16.564 lap. Rick Fox won the dash over Aaron Byers, Lissa Uselton and Barnwell. Byers took the head victory over Angelo Marcelli, Fox, Barnwell and Uselton. Joe Bonomini and Marcelli led the field to the green in the 30 lap main event. For the first five laps, the first three rows dueled side by side in a clean battle. Finally on the sixth lap, Bonomini was able to gain the advantage and take the lead bringing Fox into the second spot. On lap seven, Fox and Bonomini tangled sending Bonomini spinning. Under the caution flag, Fox was relegated to the rear of the field giving Byers the lead over Uselton, Barnwell and Jerry Peterson.
On the restart, Barnwell got by Uselton for second. Peterson moved to Uselton’s outside and took third a lap later. On lap 11, Bonomini spun in the fourth turn ending his evening. The restart came once more with Barnwell and Peterson on Byers’ tail. On lap 13, Fox moved inside of Uselton completing the pass the next lap. On lap 16, Byers grazed the back stretch wall but was able to continue with minimal damage. On lap 17, Larry Pries spun in turn two bringing out another yellow flag. Barnwell took advantage of Byers on the restart and took the lead, bringing Peterson and Fox with him. While trying to follow Fox, Uselton spun trying to avoid hitting Byers. She lost several spots but got her car going again.
On lap 21, Peterson rocketed his way past Barnwell to take the lead. The next lap off turn two, Barnwell and Fox had contact sending Barnwell into a spin. He kept going though and there wasn’t a yellow flag. The field stretched out until lap 27 when Pries spun again. In the last few laps, Fox tried to find a line by Peterson but Peterson was just too strong on this night as he was able to take the win ahead of Fox, Byers, Marcelli and Barnwell.
Paul Peeples, Jr. set quick time for the thunder roadster division with a 16.981 lap time. Leroy Marsh, Jr. won the dash over Peeples, Chris Banfill and David Henderson who pulled his car into the pits suffering with problems. Henderson borrowed Ron Rosenthal’s car to complete the night’s events. Fred Hanks won the first head ahead of Donn Cole, Troy Combs, Bill Bradbury and Bruce Ziemer. Peeples won the second head over Chris Banfill, Henderson, Ray Elliott and Bill O’Neill. Unfortunately, Jay Bahner wrecked in the heat forcing him to miss the start of the roadster main event.
Combs and Gerhy Foster lead the 19 car field to the green of the 35 lap feature event. Combs took the lead from the start. Banfill moved to second quickly taking the spot from Foster. On lap three, Elliott took third from Foster. The fourth lap, Bradbury spun off the fourth turn collecting Chris Sarvinski and Hanks bringing out the yellow flag. On the restart, Peeples moved outside and by Marsh. On lap seven, Peeples moved into fourth passing Foster for the position. Banfill looked inside of Combs for the lead on lap eight, but Combs shut the door. The front four of Combs, Banfill, Elliott and Peeples pulled away from the rest of the field before lap 20 when Elliott spun in turn four bringing out the yellow flag.
On the restart it was Combs leading Banfill, Peeples, Marsh and Henderson. Peeples got a great start on Banfill and made the pass. On lap 22, Peeples moved by Combs to take the lead. The next lap, Henderson took fourth away from Marsh. On lap 25, Henderson moved inside of Banfill and finished the pass the next lap. Marsh was able to follow in Henderson’s wake to take fourth from Banfill. On lap 27, Banfill moved back by Marsh. While Peeples held a comfortable lead over Combs, Banfill and Marsh continued their duel for fourth before lap 32 when Marsh moved by Banfill to take the lead. Up front though, it was Peeples winning over Combs, Henderson, Marsh and Banfill.
Drivers and teams have a quick week to get prepared for another race this coming weekend. It should be another special event with some added excitement as it will be Fan Appreciation Night at the Acres. Joining the five local classes will be Powderpuff races. There’s little doubt that there will be a packed house ready to see the same kind of intense excitement that the 2007 season at the Acres has produced.
Limited Street Stocks
Fast Time Orion Mosher 17.412
Dash: Robert Miller, Scott Lyons, Mosher, Kenny Demello
Heat: Mosher, Miller, Lyons, Demello, Stan Young, Duane Mayo
Main: Mosher, Demello, Lyons, Young, Miller, Romeo Venza
Mini Stocks
Fast Time Byron McIntosh 19.056
Dash: By. McIntosh, Brian Murrell, Max Capps, Nick Karanopoulos
Heat: Craig Baker, Denzil Barrett, Karanopoulos, Murrell, By. McIntosh, Capps, Brian McIntosh
Main: Baker, By. McIntosh, Murrell, Capps, Karanopoulos, Br. McIntosh, Barrett
Real Stocks
Fast Time Shawn Craig 19.239
Dash: Steve Kimberling, Ryan Peeples, Bill Middleton, Craig
Heat 1: Craig, Ryan Walters, Kimberling, Jim Redd, Bob Lima, Chuck Essex, Nick Green, Mark Mullan, Dana DeVane
Heat 2: Doug Way, Middleton, Peeples, Ray Robinson, Ray DeMello, Troy Wood, Marvin Savage, Ryan Robinson
Main: Walters, Way, Wood, Essex, Lima, Middleton, Savage, DeMello, Ra. Robinson, Green, Mullan, DeVane, Redd, Peeples, Ry. Robinson
Sportsman
Fast Time Brandon Barnwell 16.564
Dash: Rick Fox, Aaron Byers, Lissa Uselton, Barnwell
Heat: Byers, Angelo Marcelli, Fox, Barnwell, Uselton, Joe Bonomini, Jerry Peterson, Larry Pries, Romeo Venza
Main: Peterson, Fox, Byers, Marcelli, Barnwell, Uselton, Venza, Pries, Bonomini
Thunder Roadsters
Fast Time Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.981
Dash: Leroy Marsh, Jr., Peeples, Chris Banfill, David Henderson
Heat 1: Fred Hanks, Donn Cole, Troy Combs, Bruce Ziemer, Bill Bradbury, Rob Nelson, Chris Sarvinski, Mike Ward, Belinda Ward, Gary Payne
Heat 2: Peeples, Banfill, Henderson, Ray Elliott, Bill O’Neill, Gehry Foster, Chris Lawrence, Mark Baldwin, Marsh, Jay Bahner
Main: Peeples, Combs, Henderson, Marsh, Banfill, Foster, M. Ward, Lawrence, O’Neill, Ziemer, Baldwin, McMurray, Elliott, Hanks, Nelson, B. Ward, Bahner, Bradbury, Sarvinski, Cole.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
After a long two week break from racing at the Acres, action got back going this past Saturday night. As always, all five local classes were on hand to provide intense racing action for north coast racing fans. Orion Mosher made things look easy in the limited street stock main event, scoring another win for the 2007 season. Craig Baker’s late pass on Nick Karanopoulos enabled him to score the win in the mini stock feature. Driving a borrowed car, Ryan Walters took the win in the real stock action. Jerry Peterson showed surprising strength, muscling past Brandon Barnwell and running away from the field in the sportsman class to win. After several weeks of being out of the winner’s circle, Paul Peeples, Jr. made his way back taking the win in the thunder roadster main event.
Orion Mosher set fast time for the limited street stock drivers with a 17.412 lap time. Robert Miller won the dash ahead of Scott Lyons, Mosher and Kenny Demello. The victory for the heat went to Mosher beating out Miller, Lyons, Demello and Stan Young. The 15 lap main event was brought to the green flag by Demello and Lyons. Demello was able to get the early lead over Mosher. Mosher worked Demello’s bumper until lap five when he was able to get by Demello for the lead. While Mosher pulled away, the best racing was between Demello, Lyons and Miller. With three laps to go, Miller got loose while trying to get by Lyons causing him to spin in turn four and allowing Young to move to the fourth position. At the checkered flag it was Mosher winning ahead of Demello, Lyons, Young and Miller.
The fast lap for the mini stock division was set by Byron McIntosh with a 19.056 lap. McIntosh took the heat win over Brian Murrell, Max Capps and Nick Karanopoulos. Craig Baker won the heat over Denzil Barrett, Karanopoulos, Murrell and McIntosh. The 15 lap main event was led to the green flag by Brian McIntosh and Karanopoulos. The early lead was held by Karanopoulos while the rest of the field jockeyed for position behind him. On lap two, Capps moved inside of Brian McIntosh to take second, bringing Byron McIntosh with him. On lap seven, Baker moved inside of Byron McIntosh for fourth. A lap later, Baker took third away from Capps. On lap 11, Baker took second from Murrell, bringing Byron McIntosh with him. With two to go, Baker pulled by Karanopoulos for the lead. While trying to fight back, going into the third turn Karanopoulos got loose and lost several positions. At the finish it was Baker winning ahead of Brian McIntosh, Murrell, Capps and Karanopoulos.
Former limited street stock ace Shawn Craig returned to racing at the Acres in the real stocks and took quick time with a 19.239 lap. Steve Kimberling won the dash followed by Ryan Peeples, Bill Middleton and Craig. Craig won the first head ahead of Ryan Walters, Kimberling, Jim Redd and Bob Lima. Just after crossing the finish line, Walters and Kimberling tangled with Walters receiving the worst of the damage. The official ruling was that Kimberling would be parked for the evening for whatever part he played in the incident. The second heat was taken by Doug Way ahead of Middleton, Peeples, Ray Robinson and Ray DeMello.
Nick Green and DeMello led the 15 car field to the green of the 25 lap feature event. Green took the initial lead before Redd took over to lead the first lap. On lap two, Bob Lima and Peeples made contact sending Peeples for a spin between the third and fourth turns bringing out the yellow flag. After the restart, the race went green for three more laps before Marvin Savage spun collecting Chuck Essex and Green bringing out the second yellow flag of the race. By this time, Redd held the lead over Troy Wood, Way, Lima and Walters who was driving the car Craig was driving earlier in the evening. After several more laps of green flag running, the yellow came out once more when Lima and Walters made contact, shearing off Walters’ front bumper and throwing it on the front straightaway.
After the restart, Way made his way by Wood on the twelfth lap. The next lap, Lima and Walters maneuvered their way by Wood to take third and fourth. On lap 17, Essex spun in turn four but got back going. At the same time, Way moved outside and by Redd for the lead. Walters moved by Redd a lap later to take the second position. Middleton, Lima and Redd went three wide going into turn one on lap 19. Unfortunately, Middleton spun bringing out the yellow. On the final restart, Walters got the jump on Way and made his way by. Lima looked outside of Wood on lap 22 but got loose allowing Essex and Middleton to pass. With two laps left, Middleton got loose in turn three allowing Lima to take fifth. At the line though it was Walters notching the victory ahead of Way, Wood, Essex and Lima.
Brandon Barnwell took fast time in the sportsman division with a 16.564 lap. Rick Fox won the dash over Aaron Byers, Lissa Uselton and Barnwell. Byers took the head victory over Angelo Marcelli, Fox, Barnwell and Uselton. Joe Bonomini and Marcelli led the field to the green in the 30 lap main event. For the first five laps, the first three rows dueled side by side in a clean battle. Finally on the sixth lap, Bonomini was able to gain the advantage and take the lead bringing Fox into the second spot. On lap seven, Fox and Bonomini tangled sending Bonomini spinning. Under the caution flag, Fox was relegated to the rear of the field giving Byers the lead over Uselton, Barnwell and Jerry Peterson.
On the restart, Barnwell got by Uselton for second. Peterson moved to Uselton’s outside and took third a lap later. On lap 11, Bonomini spun in the fourth turn ending his evening. The restart came once more with Barnwell and Peterson on Byers’ tail. On lap 13, Fox moved inside of Uselton completing the pass the next lap. On lap 16, Byers grazed the back stretch wall but was able to continue with minimal damage. On lap 17, Larry Pries spun in turn two bringing out another yellow flag. Barnwell took advantage of Byers on the restart and took the lead, bringing Peterson and Fox with him. While trying to follow Fox, Uselton spun trying to avoid hitting Byers. She lost several spots but got her car going again.
On lap 21, Peterson rocketed his way past Barnwell to take the lead. The next lap off turn two, Barnwell and Fox had contact sending Barnwell into a spin. He kept going though and there wasn’t a yellow flag. The field stretched out until lap 27 when Pries spun again. In the last few laps, Fox tried to find a line by Peterson but Peterson was just too strong on this night as he was able to take the win ahead of Fox, Byers, Marcelli and Barnwell.
Paul Peeples, Jr. set quick time for the thunder roadster division with a 16.981 lap time. Leroy Marsh, Jr. won the dash over Peeples, Chris Banfill and David Henderson who pulled his car into the pits suffering with problems. Henderson borrowed Ron Rosenthal’s car to complete the night’s events. Fred Hanks won the first head ahead of Donn Cole, Troy Combs, Bill Bradbury and Bruce Ziemer. Peeples won the second head over Chris Banfill, Henderson, Ray Elliott and Bill O’Neill. Unfortunately, Jay Bahner wrecked in the heat forcing him to miss the start of the roadster main event.
Combs and Gerhy Foster lead the 19 car field to the green of the 35 lap feature event. Combs took the lead from the start. Banfill moved to second quickly taking the spot from Foster. On lap three, Elliott took third from Foster. The fourth lap, Bradbury spun off the fourth turn collecting Chris Sarvinski and Hanks bringing out the yellow flag. On the restart, Peeples moved outside and by Marsh. On lap seven, Peeples moved into fourth passing Foster for the position. Banfill looked inside of Combs for the lead on lap eight, but Combs shut the door. The front four of Combs, Banfill, Elliott and Peeples pulled away from the rest of the field before lap 20 when Elliott spun in turn four bringing out the yellow flag.
On the restart it was Combs leading Banfill, Peeples, Marsh and Henderson. Peeples got a great start on Banfill and made the pass. On lap 22, Peeples moved by Combs to take the lead. The next lap, Henderson took fourth away from Marsh. On lap 25, Henderson moved inside of Banfill and finished the pass the next lap. Marsh was able to follow in Henderson’s wake to take fourth from Banfill. On lap 27, Banfill moved back by Marsh. While Peeples held a comfortable lead over Combs, Banfill and Marsh continued their duel for fourth before lap 32 when Marsh moved by Banfill to take the lead. Up front though, it was Peeples winning over Combs, Henderson, Marsh and Banfill.
Drivers and teams have a quick week to get prepared for another race this coming weekend. It should be another special event with some added excitement as it will be Fan Appreciation Night at the Acres. Joining the five local classes will be Powderpuff races. There’s little doubt that there will be a packed house ready to see the same kind of intense excitement that the 2007 season at the Acres has produced.
Limited Street Stocks
Fast Time Orion Mosher 17.412
Dash: Robert Miller, Scott Lyons, Mosher, Kenny Demello
Heat: Mosher, Miller, Lyons, Demello, Stan Young, Duane Mayo
Main: Mosher, Demello, Lyons, Young, Miller, Romeo Venza
Mini Stocks
Fast Time Byron McIntosh 19.056
Dash: By. McIntosh, Brian Murrell, Max Capps, Nick Karanopoulos
Heat: Craig Baker, Denzil Barrett, Karanopoulos, Murrell, By. McIntosh, Capps, Brian McIntosh
Main: Baker, By. McIntosh, Murrell, Capps, Karanopoulos, Br. McIntosh, Barrett
Real Stocks
Fast Time Shawn Craig 19.239
Dash: Steve Kimberling, Ryan Peeples, Bill Middleton, Craig
Heat 1: Craig, Ryan Walters, Kimberling, Jim Redd, Bob Lima, Chuck Essex, Nick Green, Mark Mullan, Dana DeVane
Heat 2: Doug Way, Middleton, Peeples, Ray Robinson, Ray DeMello, Troy Wood, Marvin Savage, Ryan Robinson
Main: Walters, Way, Wood, Essex, Lima, Middleton, Savage, DeMello, Ra. Robinson, Green, Mullan, DeVane, Redd, Peeples, Ry. Robinson
Sportsman
Fast Time Brandon Barnwell 16.564
Dash: Rick Fox, Aaron Byers, Lissa Uselton, Barnwell
Heat: Byers, Angelo Marcelli, Fox, Barnwell, Uselton, Joe Bonomini, Jerry Peterson, Larry Pries, Romeo Venza
Main: Peterson, Fox, Byers, Marcelli, Barnwell, Uselton, Venza, Pries, Bonomini
Thunder Roadsters
Fast Time Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.981
Dash: Leroy Marsh, Jr., Peeples, Chris Banfill, David Henderson
Heat 1: Fred Hanks, Donn Cole, Troy Combs, Bruce Ziemer, Bill Bradbury, Rob Nelson, Chris Sarvinski, Mike Ward, Belinda Ward, Gary Payne
Heat 2: Peeples, Banfill, Henderson, Ray Elliott, Bill O’Neill, Gehry Foster, Chris Lawrence, Mark Baldwin, Marsh, Jay Bahner
Main: Peeples, Combs, Henderson, Marsh, Banfill, Foster, M. Ward, Lawrence, O’Neill, Ziemer, Baldwin, McMurray, Elliott, Hanks, Nelson, B. Ward, Bahner, Bradbury, Sarvinski, Cole.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
2006 Mini Stock Season: A Look Back
2006 Mini Stock Season: A Look Back
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The 2006 season for the mini stock division proved to be the most competitive season in the past few years. 15 different drivers got behind the wheel of one car or another, and nearly half (seven to be exact) of those who raced earned at least one victory. Craig Baker proved to be the driver with the most main event wins in the class as well as the most wins of all the divisions at the Acres with a total of five wins. Unfortunately, Baker missed several races due to on track incidents which kept him from making a run at the track championship.
The championship battle turned out to be a tight one between Glenn Bernald, Chad Grammer, Brian McIntosh, Stacy Minnick and Brian Murrell, however as the season wound down, the duel was between Grammer and Murrell. Brian Murrell was never quiet able to make it to victory lane in main event action, but he consistently put himself in the top five race after race. Grammer’s season was full of highs and lows. Grammer won three main events but several times found himself finishing out of the top five. At season’s end, Grammer was able to narrowly defeat Murrell for the title, 805 points to Murrell’s 797.
Brian McIntosh and Glenn Bernald had a spirited duel for the third points position. McIntosh won one main event while Bernald wasn’t able to get a main win. However, the final points showed McIntosh only one point ahead of Bernald, 777-776. One of the most improved drivers was fifth place points finisher Stacy Minnick. Stacy became the second female to win in the mini stock class joining Sandra Woodhurst in that distinction. She made it a point to finish in the top five in nearly all of the races.
Scott Baker was one of the faster cars all season, but like his brother Craig, Scott has on track misfortune that caused him to miss a few races. Scott was able to take home two wins during the season. Denzel Barrett was another driver who greatly improved in the 2006 season. Denzel actually tied Scott Baker in points, but because Baker scored more wins he took the sixth place points finish while Barrett took seventh. Byron McIntosh made a good impression in his first season behind the wheel of a mini stock and finished eighth place in points while Craig Baker took the ninth spot. Nick Karanopoulos was only able to get out for a few races, but earned enough points to take the tenth place points position.
Two of the drivers who finished outside of the top ten in points won one race, those drivers being Jerry Peterson and Jaison Chand. Max Capp drove Peterson’s truck in a handful of races as well. Robbie Robinson brought his truck out near season’s end and he was able to get more comfortable in the new vehicle with each race. The racing judge John Morrison also made a few appearances, while Mac Collado brought his car out to race on one occasion, however he wasn’t scored points.
The 2007 season appears to be wide open with Chad Grammer departing. The obvious favorite has to be Craig Baker who proved to be the class of the field when he was out, along with his brother Scott who was able to hold his own. But Murrell, McIntosh, Bernald and Minnick will be in the fight too, along with several others.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The 2006 season for the mini stock division proved to be the most competitive season in the past few years. 15 different drivers got behind the wheel of one car or another, and nearly half (seven to be exact) of those who raced earned at least one victory. Craig Baker proved to be the driver with the most main event wins in the class as well as the most wins of all the divisions at the Acres with a total of five wins. Unfortunately, Baker missed several races due to on track incidents which kept him from making a run at the track championship.
The championship battle turned out to be a tight one between Glenn Bernald, Chad Grammer, Brian McIntosh, Stacy Minnick and Brian Murrell, however as the season wound down, the duel was between Grammer and Murrell. Brian Murrell was never quiet able to make it to victory lane in main event action, but he consistently put himself in the top five race after race. Grammer’s season was full of highs and lows. Grammer won three main events but several times found himself finishing out of the top five. At season’s end, Grammer was able to narrowly defeat Murrell for the title, 805 points to Murrell’s 797.
Brian McIntosh and Glenn Bernald had a spirited duel for the third points position. McIntosh won one main event while Bernald wasn’t able to get a main win. However, the final points showed McIntosh only one point ahead of Bernald, 777-776. One of the most improved drivers was fifth place points finisher Stacy Minnick. Stacy became the second female to win in the mini stock class joining Sandra Woodhurst in that distinction. She made it a point to finish in the top five in nearly all of the races.
Scott Baker was one of the faster cars all season, but like his brother Craig, Scott has on track misfortune that caused him to miss a few races. Scott was able to take home two wins during the season. Denzel Barrett was another driver who greatly improved in the 2006 season. Denzel actually tied Scott Baker in points, but because Baker scored more wins he took the sixth place points finish while Barrett took seventh. Byron McIntosh made a good impression in his first season behind the wheel of a mini stock and finished eighth place in points while Craig Baker took the ninth spot. Nick Karanopoulos was only able to get out for a few races, but earned enough points to take the tenth place points position.
Two of the drivers who finished outside of the top ten in points won one race, those drivers being Jerry Peterson and Jaison Chand. Max Capp drove Peterson’s truck in a handful of races as well. Robbie Robinson brought his truck out near season’s end and he was able to get more comfortable in the new vehicle with each race. The racing judge John Morrison also made a few appearances, while Mac Collado brought his car out to race on one occasion, however he wasn’t scored points.
The 2007 season appears to be wide open with Chad Grammer departing. The obvious favorite has to be Craig Baker who proved to be the class of the field when he was out, along with his brother Scott who was able to hold his own. But Murrell, McIntosh, Bernald and Minnick will be in the fight too, along with several others.
Sunday, August 6, 2006
Shewry returns to victory lane, two in a row for Olson
Shewry returns to victory lane, two in a row for Olson
By Matthew J. Sullivan
A throng of fans filled the grandstands at the Redwood Acres Raceway for the annual Fan Appreciation Night. Old and new fans alike were not disappointed with the racing on the track as all five classes of local cars delighted and thrilled the crowd. After a brief hiatus from the winner’s circle, Orion Mosher claimed the win in the limited street stock division. Craig Baker maneuvered his car from the back of the pack to win the mini stock main event. Ryan Walters ran away from the real stock field to notch the victory. After a little over a month away from the Acres, the thunder roadsters returned with Randy Olson going four for four for the evening, finishing off the night with the main event win. In the sportsman division, former champ Glen Shewry returned to racing for the first time this season and matched Olson’s feat, also going four for four and winning the main event.
Before the race, drivers from all the divisions pulled their cars out onto the front stretch to meet and greet the fans. Drivers brought gifts and goodies, chatted with fans and signed autographs. All fans were able to attend Fan Appreciation Night free thanks to Bear River Casino. Trevor Miller edged Orion Mosher for fast time in the limited street stock division by six-hundreths of a second. Miller’s time was a 17.351. Miller won the dash by inches over Andrien Betournay with Mosher and Duane Mayo rounding out the four starters. Mosher took the win in the heat race over Miller, Betournay, Mayo and Kavin Conn who was driving Kenny Demello’s car for the evening.
With the seven car count, the limited streets were able to run a 15 lap main event. Mayo took the early lead as the field settled out. Mosher wanted to take care of business early. On the first lap, he moved outside and past Miller for second, then on lap two he moved by Mayo for the lead bringing Miller with him. Halfway through the race, Betournay’s right side door panel fell off his car and was dragging on the track. He was given the black flag and pulled off the race track. With the laps ticking off, Mosher maintained a one to two car length gap over Miller. For several laps, Miller tried his best to stick with Mosher, but unfortunately for his case, on lap 11 he got loose and spun in the fourth turn. Miller’s misfortune left Mosher all alone and he was able to take the win with Mayo second, Conn third, Stan Young fourth and Miller fifth.
Stacy Minnick beat the mini stock field in qualifying setting a 19.025 lap. Scott Baker won the dash over Glen Bernald, points leader Brian Murrell and Minnick. Bryan McIntosh won the heat followed by Baker, Byron McIntosh, Murrell and Minnick. 10 cars started the 20 lap main event, as Bryan McIntosh and newcomer Max Cap took the field to the green flag. McIntosh was able to take the lead over brother Byron, Bernald and Minnick. Murrell moved to the inside of Minnick on lap two, but Minnick held him off. On lap four, Minnick moved by Bernald for third. A lap later, Minnick move to Byron McIntosh’s for second.
Meanwhile, Baker began to make his presence felt as he got by Bernald on lap five for the fourth spot. Minnick cleared Byron on lap six and set her sights on Bryan. On the same lap, going into the third corner, Minnick missed her mark and coming off the fourth turn she got sideways. Fortunately she was able to save her car, but unfortunately she lost several positions falling back to fifth. Minnick’s misfortune allowed Baker to move into the second position. On lap nine, Baker powered by Bryan McIntosh to take the lead, while Minnick moved into fourth getting by Chad Grammer. As Baker pulled away, the rest of the field battled for position. With five laps to go, Minnick tried the outside line on Byron McIntosh, but to no avail. Two laps later, Grammar moved by Minnick for fourth. But all of that was well in Scott Baker’s mirror as he was able to take home the victory with Bryan McIntosh, Byron McIntosh, Grammer and Minnick rounding out the top five.
19.317 was the quick mark set by Ryan Walters in the real stock class. The trophy dash was won by Cecil Arispe over Walters, Dan Browne and Bill Bradbury. Walters won the first heat over Steve Kimberling, Ryan Robinson, Bradbury and Barry Barnwell. Browne took the second followed by Bob Lima, Arispe, Doug Way and Troy Wood. A strong 18 car field was lead to the green of the 25 lap main event by Mark Mullin and Robinson. Unfortunately the initial start of the race featured a Lima spin in turn two caused from fluid leading from Mullin’s car. Coming to take the yellow, Arispe spun and was hit on the right side door by Jim Redd. The red flag flew and the ambulance came out to visit Arispe. Thankfully, Arispe was none the worse for the wear and was able to get back out and continue on in the main event.
With Mullin having to pull into the pits, Wood inherited the pole and took the lead on the restart. It would be short lived though as Way and Dana DeVane spun in the second turn bringing out another yellow. The green flew again with Wood leading Lima, Walters, Robinson and Kimberling. On lap four, Bradbury got by Kimberling. The caution flag flew again on lap five when something broke on Mike Peeples’ car while DeVane spun in turn two. When the restart came, Walters decided to make his move. He got to Lima’s outside, then moved by on lap six. Bradbury moved outside Robinson for fourth. On lap seven, Robinson got loose and spun in the infield but was able get going.
On lap 8, Walters moved to the outside of Wood for the lead. The two made some contact coming off turn two getting Wood loose of the second turn and giving Walters the lead. Lima followed through to take second while Bradbury moved outside and by Wood on lap nine. On lap 10, Browne moved by Wood for fourth. Two laps later, Barnwell got by Wood for fifth. Meanwhile, the front two cars of Walters and Lima were enjoying a 10 car length gap over the third place car of Bradbury. On lap 12, DeVane spun in the first turn in front of several cars including Browne who was forced to stop his car to keep from running into DeVane. The spin cost Browne several positions and he was never able to make it to the front again.
On the restart, Way moved outside of Wood for fifth taking the position on lap 14. Walters began to walk away from the field before Arispe broke in the second turn and hit the wall bringing out the yellow flag. Due to the number of yellow flags in the race along with the other races and time concerns, the race was cut down to 20 laps, making the restart very important, however nobody in the top five was able to muster enough strength for anyone else. When the checkered flag flew it was Walters first followed by Lima, Bradbury, Barnwell and Way.
The thunder roadsters returned to racing at the Acres after a month’s break from the raceway. Randy Olson set the quick time notching a 16.912 lap. Olson followed up quick time with the dash win over David Henderson, Chris Banfill and Paul Peeples, Jr. LeRoy Marsh, Jr. Won the first heat race over Donn Cole, Rob Nelson, Jay Bahner and Waylon Henze. Olson took the second followed by Troy Combs, Ray Elliott, Mark Arroyo and Banfill. 21 cars took the start of the 30 lap main event with Fred Hanks and Dave McMurray leading the field to the green flag. Hanks was able to lead lap one, but McMurray fought hard on the outside trying to regain the lead on the third lap. McMurray’s move was to no avail though as Elliott moved to his inside for second. Meanwhile, the faster cars of Combs, Olson, Henderson and Peeples were dicing their way through the field. Olson moved his way into fifth on lap five getting by Bill O’Neill. Just ahead, Combs got inside of Arroyo for third bringing Olson with him.
On lap 7, Combs, Olson and O’Neill were able to get by Elliott for the second, third and fourth positions. Olson moved to the outside of Combs on lap nine. The two made slight contact in the third turn. Olson fell back into position while Combs tried to challenge Hanks for the lead. On lap 11, Olson moved inside of Combs going into the first turn, taking the spot on lap 12. On lap 13, Olson moved outside of Hanks, taking the lead. Peeples moved outside of O’Neill for the fourth position on lap 15 but fell back. Peeples moved to O’Neill’s outside again on lap 16. The two made contact coming off the second turn and going into the third turn they collided sending Peeples into the wall and O’Neill in a spin. Peeples was finished for the night while O’Neill pulled his car into the pits.
Olson lead Hanks, Henderson, Combs and Banfill to the restart. On lap 16, Henderson moved to the inside of Hanks. Combs was able to follow through. Henderson closed to within three car lengths of Olson while Banfill worked the bumper of Hanks’ car before Nelson spun in turn four bringing out the yellow flag on lap 22. The restart allowed Combs to move by Henderson coming to the green while Olson lead. Henderson moved by Combs on lap 25 while Banfill tried to get by Hanks for fourth. Henderson closed the gap to within two car lengths on Olson once again, but time ran out for him to mount a challenge as Olson took the win followed by Henderson, Combs, Hanks and Banfill.
After nearly a year away from racing, Fortuna driver Glen Shewry returned to racing in the sportsman division showing no signs of rust, setting the quick lap of 16.285. Shewry won the dash, which saw a bit too much excitement when Marty Walsh and Brandon Barnwell made contact sending Barnwell’s car into the wall. Larry Pries finished second with Walsh third. The first heat saw another incident, this time between Pries and Donnie Brown. Of the second turn, the two made contact sending Pries into the wall. Brown was forced to the pits for the rest of the race, while Pries was finished for the evening. Shewry was able to take the win over Marcelli, Joe Bonomini and Lissa Uselton. Marty Walsh won the second heat followed by Al Acuna, Barnwell, Jerry Peterson and Rick Fox.
Peterson and Brown lead the 11 car field to the green flag of the 30 lap main event. Coming off turn 2, Peterson got loose, and did a 360 in front of the field. Fortunately, nobody wrecked and everyone was able to continue. Peterson’s spin sent him to the rear and gave Fox the pole position and he took advantage of it. When the green flew, Fox took the lead while Brown fell into second and Barnwell and Walsh raced side by side for third. On lap two, Shewry went to the high side of Walsh and Barnwell making it three-wide. The three made one lap in that fashion before Shewry moved into third. On lap four, Walsh got by Barnwell for fourth. The next lap, Marcelli began to challenge Barnwell for fith. On lap six, Marcelli got to Barnwell’s inside and took the position.
Shewry began to challenge Brown for second on lap seven, giving Fox room to breathe in the lead. The yellow flag came out on lap nine when Frank Billy, Uselton and Peterson spun simultaneously in turn two, apparently from fluid leaking from Acuna’s car. Brown used the restart to his advantage, moving to the inside of Fox and taking the top spot on lap 10. A lap later, Shewry was able to take second. Fox continued to slide back losing third to Walsh on lap 12, and fighting Marcelli for fourth on lap 13. At the same time, Shewry moved inside Brown for the lead. On lap 14 while running inside of Fox, Marcelli got loose and spun bringing out the yellow flag.
The restart came and Shewry began to really stretch out a lead while Brown and Walsh fought for second. On lap 21, Walsh got by Brown, but by that point Shewry was in his own world. The field stretched out, with the major battle being between Fox, Bonomini, Peterson and Barnwell. On the last lap coming off turn four, Peterson and Barnwell made contact, but that was all in the mirror of Shewry as he handily won over Walsh, Brown, Fox and Bonomini.
All five classes of cars return to the Acres August 26 for Back to School Night. It should be another exciting night of racing.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
A throng of fans filled the grandstands at the Redwood Acres Raceway for the annual Fan Appreciation Night. Old and new fans alike were not disappointed with the racing on the track as all five classes of local cars delighted and thrilled the crowd. After a brief hiatus from the winner’s circle, Orion Mosher claimed the win in the limited street stock division. Craig Baker maneuvered his car from the back of the pack to win the mini stock main event. Ryan Walters ran away from the real stock field to notch the victory. After a little over a month away from the Acres, the thunder roadsters returned with Randy Olson going four for four for the evening, finishing off the night with the main event win. In the sportsman division, former champ Glen Shewry returned to racing for the first time this season and matched Olson’s feat, also going four for four and winning the main event.
Before the race, drivers from all the divisions pulled their cars out onto the front stretch to meet and greet the fans. Drivers brought gifts and goodies, chatted with fans and signed autographs. All fans were able to attend Fan Appreciation Night free thanks to Bear River Casino. Trevor Miller edged Orion Mosher for fast time in the limited street stock division by six-hundreths of a second. Miller’s time was a 17.351. Miller won the dash by inches over Andrien Betournay with Mosher and Duane Mayo rounding out the four starters. Mosher took the win in the heat race over Miller, Betournay, Mayo and Kavin Conn who was driving Kenny Demello’s car for the evening.
With the seven car count, the limited streets were able to run a 15 lap main event. Mayo took the early lead as the field settled out. Mosher wanted to take care of business early. On the first lap, he moved outside and past Miller for second, then on lap two he moved by Mayo for the lead bringing Miller with him. Halfway through the race, Betournay’s right side door panel fell off his car and was dragging on the track. He was given the black flag and pulled off the race track. With the laps ticking off, Mosher maintained a one to two car length gap over Miller. For several laps, Miller tried his best to stick with Mosher, but unfortunately for his case, on lap 11 he got loose and spun in the fourth turn. Miller’s misfortune left Mosher all alone and he was able to take the win with Mayo second, Conn third, Stan Young fourth and Miller fifth.
Stacy Minnick beat the mini stock field in qualifying setting a 19.025 lap. Scott Baker won the dash over Glen Bernald, points leader Brian Murrell and Minnick. Bryan McIntosh won the heat followed by Baker, Byron McIntosh, Murrell and Minnick. 10 cars started the 20 lap main event, as Bryan McIntosh and newcomer Max Cap took the field to the green flag. McIntosh was able to take the lead over brother Byron, Bernald and Minnick. Murrell moved to the inside of Minnick on lap two, but Minnick held him off. On lap four, Minnick moved by Bernald for third. A lap later, Minnick move to Byron McIntosh’s for second.
Meanwhile, Baker began to make his presence felt as he got by Bernald on lap five for the fourth spot. Minnick cleared Byron on lap six and set her sights on Bryan. On the same lap, going into the third corner, Minnick missed her mark and coming off the fourth turn she got sideways. Fortunately she was able to save her car, but unfortunately she lost several positions falling back to fifth. Minnick’s misfortune allowed Baker to move into the second position. On lap nine, Baker powered by Bryan McIntosh to take the lead, while Minnick moved into fourth getting by Chad Grammer. As Baker pulled away, the rest of the field battled for position. With five laps to go, Minnick tried the outside line on Byron McIntosh, but to no avail. Two laps later, Grammar moved by Minnick for fourth. But all of that was well in Scott Baker’s mirror as he was able to take home the victory with Bryan McIntosh, Byron McIntosh, Grammer and Minnick rounding out the top five.
19.317 was the quick mark set by Ryan Walters in the real stock class. The trophy dash was won by Cecil Arispe over Walters, Dan Browne and Bill Bradbury. Walters won the first heat over Steve Kimberling, Ryan Robinson, Bradbury and Barry Barnwell. Browne took the second followed by Bob Lima, Arispe, Doug Way and Troy Wood. A strong 18 car field was lead to the green of the 25 lap main event by Mark Mullin and Robinson. Unfortunately the initial start of the race featured a Lima spin in turn two caused from fluid leading from Mullin’s car. Coming to take the yellow, Arispe spun and was hit on the right side door by Jim Redd. The red flag flew and the ambulance came out to visit Arispe. Thankfully, Arispe was none the worse for the wear and was able to get back out and continue on in the main event.
With Mullin having to pull into the pits, Wood inherited the pole and took the lead on the restart. It would be short lived though as Way and Dana DeVane spun in the second turn bringing out another yellow. The green flew again with Wood leading Lima, Walters, Robinson and Kimberling. On lap four, Bradbury got by Kimberling. The caution flag flew again on lap five when something broke on Mike Peeples’ car while DeVane spun in turn two. When the restart came, Walters decided to make his move. He got to Lima’s outside, then moved by on lap six. Bradbury moved outside Robinson for fourth. On lap seven, Robinson got loose and spun in the infield but was able get going.
On lap 8, Walters moved to the outside of Wood for the lead. The two made some contact coming off turn two getting Wood loose of the second turn and giving Walters the lead. Lima followed through to take second while Bradbury moved outside and by Wood on lap nine. On lap 10, Browne moved by Wood for fourth. Two laps later, Barnwell got by Wood for fifth. Meanwhile, the front two cars of Walters and Lima were enjoying a 10 car length gap over the third place car of Bradbury. On lap 12, DeVane spun in the first turn in front of several cars including Browne who was forced to stop his car to keep from running into DeVane. The spin cost Browne several positions and he was never able to make it to the front again.
On the restart, Way moved outside of Wood for fifth taking the position on lap 14. Walters began to walk away from the field before Arispe broke in the second turn and hit the wall bringing out the yellow flag. Due to the number of yellow flags in the race along with the other races and time concerns, the race was cut down to 20 laps, making the restart very important, however nobody in the top five was able to muster enough strength for anyone else. When the checkered flag flew it was Walters first followed by Lima, Bradbury, Barnwell and Way.
The thunder roadsters returned to racing at the Acres after a month’s break from the raceway. Randy Olson set the quick time notching a 16.912 lap. Olson followed up quick time with the dash win over David Henderson, Chris Banfill and Paul Peeples, Jr. LeRoy Marsh, Jr. Won the first heat race over Donn Cole, Rob Nelson, Jay Bahner and Waylon Henze. Olson took the second followed by Troy Combs, Ray Elliott, Mark Arroyo and Banfill. 21 cars took the start of the 30 lap main event with Fred Hanks and Dave McMurray leading the field to the green flag. Hanks was able to lead lap one, but McMurray fought hard on the outside trying to regain the lead on the third lap. McMurray’s move was to no avail though as Elliott moved to his inside for second. Meanwhile, the faster cars of Combs, Olson, Henderson and Peeples were dicing their way through the field. Olson moved his way into fifth on lap five getting by Bill O’Neill. Just ahead, Combs got inside of Arroyo for third bringing Olson with him.
On lap 7, Combs, Olson and O’Neill were able to get by Elliott for the second, third and fourth positions. Olson moved to the outside of Combs on lap nine. The two made slight contact in the third turn. Olson fell back into position while Combs tried to challenge Hanks for the lead. On lap 11, Olson moved inside of Combs going into the first turn, taking the spot on lap 12. On lap 13, Olson moved outside of Hanks, taking the lead. Peeples moved outside of O’Neill for the fourth position on lap 15 but fell back. Peeples moved to O’Neill’s outside again on lap 16. The two made contact coming off the second turn and going into the third turn they collided sending Peeples into the wall and O’Neill in a spin. Peeples was finished for the night while O’Neill pulled his car into the pits.
Olson lead Hanks, Henderson, Combs and Banfill to the restart. On lap 16, Henderson moved to the inside of Hanks. Combs was able to follow through. Henderson closed to within three car lengths of Olson while Banfill worked the bumper of Hanks’ car before Nelson spun in turn four bringing out the yellow flag on lap 22. The restart allowed Combs to move by Henderson coming to the green while Olson lead. Henderson moved by Combs on lap 25 while Banfill tried to get by Hanks for fourth. Henderson closed the gap to within two car lengths on Olson once again, but time ran out for him to mount a challenge as Olson took the win followed by Henderson, Combs, Hanks and Banfill.
After nearly a year away from racing, Fortuna driver Glen Shewry returned to racing in the sportsman division showing no signs of rust, setting the quick lap of 16.285. Shewry won the dash, which saw a bit too much excitement when Marty Walsh and Brandon Barnwell made contact sending Barnwell’s car into the wall. Larry Pries finished second with Walsh third. The first heat saw another incident, this time between Pries and Donnie Brown. Of the second turn, the two made contact sending Pries into the wall. Brown was forced to the pits for the rest of the race, while Pries was finished for the evening. Shewry was able to take the win over Marcelli, Joe Bonomini and Lissa Uselton. Marty Walsh won the second heat followed by Al Acuna, Barnwell, Jerry Peterson and Rick Fox.
Peterson and Brown lead the 11 car field to the green flag of the 30 lap main event. Coming off turn 2, Peterson got loose, and did a 360 in front of the field. Fortunately, nobody wrecked and everyone was able to continue. Peterson’s spin sent him to the rear and gave Fox the pole position and he took advantage of it. When the green flew, Fox took the lead while Brown fell into second and Barnwell and Walsh raced side by side for third. On lap two, Shewry went to the high side of Walsh and Barnwell making it three-wide. The three made one lap in that fashion before Shewry moved into third. On lap four, Walsh got by Barnwell for fourth. The next lap, Marcelli began to challenge Barnwell for fith. On lap six, Marcelli got to Barnwell’s inside and took the position.
Shewry began to challenge Brown for second on lap seven, giving Fox room to breathe in the lead. The yellow flag came out on lap nine when Frank Billy, Uselton and Peterson spun simultaneously in turn two, apparently from fluid leaking from Acuna’s car. Brown used the restart to his advantage, moving to the inside of Fox and taking the top spot on lap 10. A lap later, Shewry was able to take second. Fox continued to slide back losing third to Walsh on lap 12, and fighting Marcelli for fourth on lap 13. At the same time, Shewry moved inside Brown for the lead. On lap 14 while running inside of Fox, Marcelli got loose and spun bringing out the yellow flag.
The restart came and Shewry began to really stretch out a lead while Brown and Walsh fought for second. On lap 21, Walsh got by Brown, but by that point Shewry was in his own world. The field stretched out, with the major battle being between Fox, Bonomini, Peterson and Barnwell. On the last lap coming off turn four, Peterson and Barnwell made contact, but that was all in the mirror of Shewry as he handily won over Walsh, Brown, Fox and Bonomini.
All five classes of cars return to the Acres August 26 for Back to School Night. It should be another exciting night of racing.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Barnwell holds off Pries, Peeples wins in thrilling fashion
Barnwell holds off Pries, Peeples wins in thrilling fashion
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was the 13th, there was a full moon, mercifully it wasn’t Friday, but that didn’t prevent some craziness from happening Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. With the thunder roadsters back in town, there was a full plate of action for fans, drivers and crew members alike. Brandon Barnwell held off two Acres veterans to claim the Sportsman main event win, while former sportsman runner, Paul Peeples, Jr. won the thrilling roadster main event on the last lap. Bill Bradbury held off all challenges to claim the victory in the real stock main event, and Bryan McIntosh took home the trophy in the crash-marred mini stock main.
The limited street division was out to run, but the car count continued to struggle as only five cars timed in with Orion Mosher setting the fast lap at a 17.253. Adrien Betournay took the dash win over Mosher, Kenny Demello and Trevor Miller who was making his first start in the division. The heat race ended up being the division’s main event as Terry Vallee wasn’t able to make it out. During the race, Miller got sideways off the fourth turn and slammed nose first into the concrete wall. Miller was able to get out of his car, but his car was too heavily damaged to continue. With a two laps left in the 10-lap run, Betournay’s hood came up into his windshield forcing him into the infield. When it was over, Kenny Demello held off Mosher to win.
Craig Baker continued to set the standard in the mini stock division as he clocked in a 19.066 lap. Baker won the dash over Chad Grammer, Stacy Minnick and Scott Baker. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be a full night of racing for Craig Baker as he suffered engine problems in the heat. Byron McIntosh took the win in that race over Scott Baker, Bryan McIntosh, Nick Karanopoulos and Minnick. Nine cars started the 25 lap main event with Karanopoulos and Byron McIntosh leading the field to the green flag. Karanopoulos took the lead on the first lap but his time up front would be short-lived. On lap two, Brian Murrell moved his way past Karanopoulos to take the lead. Karanopoulos slotted into the second spot but by the fifth lap he had moved back to the sixth spot as Bryan McIntosh, Scott Baker, Glen Bernald and Grammer all were able to get by him. On lap seven, Byron McIntosh spun off the fourth turn into the infield resulting in a yellow flag.
On the restart, Baker tried to forge his way to the front using the outside line. Unfortunately on the eighth lap in between the first and second turns, Baker got loose and hit the wall slightly bringing out the caution. Baker made his way to the back of the field which at this time was lead by Murrell, Bryan McIntosh, Grammer, Bernald and Karanopoulos. When the green came out again, Murrell stretched his lead while Grammer tried to get by McIntosh. The two raced doorhandle to doorhandle for several laps and were able to close the gap on Murrell. On lap 16, Grammar took the second spot and pulled outside of Murrell to battle for the race lead. On lap 18, Denzel Barrett blew his engine going into the third turn resulting in a small fire under his car. Just as the red flag came out, Murrell spun in the third turn. However, the red flag rules were his savior as he was allowed to keep his race leading position.
The green flag came out again but didn’t last long when Karanopoulos lost his left front wheel in the middle of turns three and four on lap 19 hitting the wall hard. Fortunately he was okay. The green came out once more with Murrell and Grammer continuing their fight for the front position. With two laps to go, Grammer made contact with Murrell in turn two spinning him out. The yellow flag came again with Grammer going to the back of the pack handing the lead over to Bryan McIntosh. It was a green flag, white flag restart with McIntosh leading Bernald and Scott Baker. In turn three on the last lap, Baker and Murrell made contact hitting the third turn wall. It was all in McIntosh’s mirror as he took the win over Bernald, Grammer, Murrell and Baker.
Dan Browne set a very quick 19.070 lap in the real stock division. Ryan Walters won the dash followed by Jim Bailey, Browne and Mike Peeples. Walters followed that up with a win in the first heat over Bill Bradbury, Barry Barnwell, Ray Rapp driving Ray DeMello’s car and Dan Bradbury driving Jim Redd’s car. Unfortunately in the heat, Browne smacked the wall in between the third and fourth turns which hurt his left front, ending his night. Doug Way nabbed the second heat win followed by Peeples, Bailey, Ray Robinson and Troy Wood. 13 cars started the 25 lap main with the front row comprised of Bill Bradbury and Rapp. Rapp got the jump off the start, but Bradbury was able to use the inside line to get by Rapp by the end of the first lap bringing Walters with him. On lap four, Peeples made his way past Walters to take the second spot, however Bradbury had built up a substantial lead over the field. By lap five, the top five was Bradbury, Peeples, Walters, Bailey and Barnwell.
On the eighth lap, Bailey made contact with Walters causing Walters to get loose and lose the position. On lap 11, Way moved his way by Barnwell for the fifth position and set his sights on Walters. On lap 14, Walters got on Bailey’s bumper and repaid the favor from earlier, but Bailey was able to maintain the third position. Four laps later, Walters got by Bailey to take the position. A lap later, Wood made contact with newcomer Nick Green sending Green spinning in the first turn. As he tried to get going, Green’s cooling system failed spilling water on the track and bringing out the yellow flag, much to Bill Bradbury’s dismay as he had built up an insurmountable lead over Peeples. The green came out and Peeples tried to find a way past Bradbury. On the last lap, Peeples tried to use the high line to get by but wasn’t able to get his car to stick as he lost the second spot to Walters. Bradbury crossed the line first to take the win over Walters, Peeples, Bailey and Way. Regrettably, the cars of Walters, Peeples and Way were deemed illegal in post race technical inspection which cancelled out all of their finishes for the night and realigning the top five in the main event, Bradbury, Bailey, Barry Barnwell, Ray Robinson and Dan Bradbury
The thunder roadsters made their second start of the year and had another solid turnout of cars, with a count of 21. Veteran Paul Peeples, Jr. had the fast lap of 17.113. Debut winner David Henderson took the dash win over Peeples, Troy Combs and Mark Arroyo. Peeples grabbed the win in the first heat followed by Rusty Olson, Combs, Ron Rosenthal and Mike Ward while Henderson took the second over Chris Sarvinski, Ray Elliott, Arroyo and Bill O’Neill. Ward and O’Neill shared the front row for the 25 lap main event. When the green flag dropped, Ward took the top spot with Ray Elliott filling the gap in second. On lap three, Elliott spun off the fourth turn sending up a cloud of dust which caught out Dave McMurray who hit the wall bringing out the caution flag.
The green flew for the restart with Ward leading O’Neill, Rosenthal, Combs and Mike Felhouser. Combs moved his way past Rosenthal for third, then by O’Neill for second, then the lead by O’Neill on lap five. On lap eight, Nyle Henderson spun bringing out the yellow. The top five was now Combs, O’Neill, Ward, Rosenthal and Olson. The green flew again with Combs pulling out to a huge lead over the field. On lap 10, Peeples moved into the fifth position. Peeples moved by Ward, then on lap 12 he took the second spot. O’Neill was freight-trained as Olson took third, David Henderson took fourth and Rosenthal took fifth. The front five settled themselves out and it looked as if Combs was going to go unchallenged as he hit slower traffic. Several times, Combs had problems maneuvering past slower cars and with each lap Peeples was able to gain ground. With two laps to go, Peeples was within enough distance to challenge Combs for the lead. On the last lap, the duo was nose to tail, still fighting traffic. Going into the third turn on the final lap, Combs move high to get around a slower car. Unfortunately for him, the slower car moved up allowing Peeples to take the inside line and cross the finish line first. Combs brought his car home second with Olson holding off Henderson for third and Rosenthal taking the fifth finishing spot.
12 cars took clock in the sportsman division, Rick Fox being the fastest with a lap of 16.673. Marty Walsh took the dash win over Fox, Aaron Byers and Brandon Barnwell. Walsh won the first heat over Al Acuna and Jerry Peterson while Angelo Marcelli took the controversial second race which saw contact between Fox and Lissa Uselton. Fox maintained the second position over Byers, Larry Pries and Ken Hallis who arrived after qualifications. Pries and Brown lead the field to the green in the initial start of the 30 lap main event. However, before the lap ended Frank Billy and Fox made contact sending Fox spinning in the third turn. Coming off the fourth corner, Brown spun into the infield hitting one of the Humboldt Towing trucks. Fortunately the damage was minor to Brown’s car and the two truck didn’t appear to have any damage whatsoever.
With Brown going to the rear, Barnwell inherited the outside front row starting position, and when the green came out he took advantage of his opportunity. Going into the first turn, Barnwell took the lead over with Pries slotting behind in second. The field settled out and on lap five it was Barnwell leading Pries, Marcelli, Walsh and Byers. On lap six, Walsh moved to the high line and moved his way past Marcelli the next lap. Meanwhile, Barnwell and Pries were running nose to tail maintaining a comfortable gap over Walsh. Each lap, Walsh gained ground on the front two and by lap 13 he was on Pries’ bumper. On lap 15, Peterson moved by Byers for the fifth position. The battle for second heated up between Pries and Walsh allowing Barnwell to pull out a bigger gap. Walsh had a run inside of Pries on lap 19 but backed off.
On lap 21, Peterson got into the back of Marcelli coming off the fourth corner. Frank Billy spun to avoid Marcelli and the yellow flag came out. Peterson was sent to the rear and the top five was now Barnwell, Pries, Walsh, Acuna and Byers. On the restart, the front trio pulled away from Acuna who had his hands full with Byers. Barnwell’s savior ended up being Walsh who continued to fight Pries for second, allowing Barnwell to race somewhat comfortably. When the checkered flag fell it was Barnwell, Pries, Walsh, Acuna and Byers the top five.
The next race at the Acres is May 20 as the BCRA midgets make their one and only stop to the north coast.
- Notes -
- It was very nice at the track, thankfully there wasn’t a huge wind blowing. It sure got cold though.
- What a shame for Trevor Miller. He finally is able to get out and race and he hits the wall. Hopefully Trevor will be back out soon.
- You have to feel for Troy Combs who lost the roadster main on the last lap. He drove a good race and tried to be as clean as he could with slower cars.
- Hopefully the cars caught up in incidents in the mini stock main will get back out this coming weekend. I hate to see so many cars have problems.
- Brandon Barnwell did a fine job holding off two veteran drivers in Larry Pries and Marty Walsh. It was a nice, clean run between all three.
- Thanks to all who bought tickets in the Chuck Essex raffle. It’s great to hear that Chuck is home. We hope to see you back out soon!
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was the 13th, there was a full moon, mercifully it wasn’t Friday, but that didn’t prevent some craziness from happening Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. With the thunder roadsters back in town, there was a full plate of action for fans, drivers and crew members alike. Brandon Barnwell held off two Acres veterans to claim the Sportsman main event win, while former sportsman runner, Paul Peeples, Jr. won the thrilling roadster main event on the last lap. Bill Bradbury held off all challenges to claim the victory in the real stock main event, and Bryan McIntosh took home the trophy in the crash-marred mini stock main.
The limited street division was out to run, but the car count continued to struggle as only five cars timed in with Orion Mosher setting the fast lap at a 17.253. Adrien Betournay took the dash win over Mosher, Kenny Demello and Trevor Miller who was making his first start in the division. The heat race ended up being the division’s main event as Terry Vallee wasn’t able to make it out. During the race, Miller got sideways off the fourth turn and slammed nose first into the concrete wall. Miller was able to get out of his car, but his car was too heavily damaged to continue. With a two laps left in the 10-lap run, Betournay’s hood came up into his windshield forcing him into the infield. When it was over, Kenny Demello held off Mosher to win.
Craig Baker continued to set the standard in the mini stock division as he clocked in a 19.066 lap. Baker won the dash over Chad Grammer, Stacy Minnick and Scott Baker. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be a full night of racing for Craig Baker as he suffered engine problems in the heat. Byron McIntosh took the win in that race over Scott Baker, Bryan McIntosh, Nick Karanopoulos and Minnick. Nine cars started the 25 lap main event with Karanopoulos and Byron McIntosh leading the field to the green flag. Karanopoulos took the lead on the first lap but his time up front would be short-lived. On lap two, Brian Murrell moved his way past Karanopoulos to take the lead. Karanopoulos slotted into the second spot but by the fifth lap he had moved back to the sixth spot as Bryan McIntosh, Scott Baker, Glen Bernald and Grammer all were able to get by him. On lap seven, Byron McIntosh spun off the fourth turn into the infield resulting in a yellow flag.
On the restart, Baker tried to forge his way to the front using the outside line. Unfortunately on the eighth lap in between the first and second turns, Baker got loose and hit the wall slightly bringing out the caution. Baker made his way to the back of the field which at this time was lead by Murrell, Bryan McIntosh, Grammer, Bernald and Karanopoulos. When the green came out again, Murrell stretched his lead while Grammer tried to get by McIntosh. The two raced doorhandle to doorhandle for several laps and were able to close the gap on Murrell. On lap 16, Grammar took the second spot and pulled outside of Murrell to battle for the race lead. On lap 18, Denzel Barrett blew his engine going into the third turn resulting in a small fire under his car. Just as the red flag came out, Murrell spun in the third turn. However, the red flag rules were his savior as he was allowed to keep his race leading position.
The green flag came out again but didn’t last long when Karanopoulos lost his left front wheel in the middle of turns three and four on lap 19 hitting the wall hard. Fortunately he was okay. The green came out once more with Murrell and Grammer continuing their fight for the front position. With two laps to go, Grammer made contact with Murrell in turn two spinning him out. The yellow flag came again with Grammer going to the back of the pack handing the lead over to Bryan McIntosh. It was a green flag, white flag restart with McIntosh leading Bernald and Scott Baker. In turn three on the last lap, Baker and Murrell made contact hitting the third turn wall. It was all in McIntosh’s mirror as he took the win over Bernald, Grammer, Murrell and Baker.
Dan Browne set a very quick 19.070 lap in the real stock division. Ryan Walters won the dash followed by Jim Bailey, Browne and Mike Peeples. Walters followed that up with a win in the first heat over Bill Bradbury, Barry Barnwell, Ray Rapp driving Ray DeMello’s car and Dan Bradbury driving Jim Redd’s car. Unfortunately in the heat, Browne smacked the wall in between the third and fourth turns which hurt his left front, ending his night. Doug Way nabbed the second heat win followed by Peeples, Bailey, Ray Robinson and Troy Wood. 13 cars started the 25 lap main with the front row comprised of Bill Bradbury and Rapp. Rapp got the jump off the start, but Bradbury was able to use the inside line to get by Rapp by the end of the first lap bringing Walters with him. On lap four, Peeples made his way past Walters to take the second spot, however Bradbury had built up a substantial lead over the field. By lap five, the top five was Bradbury, Peeples, Walters, Bailey and Barnwell.
On the eighth lap, Bailey made contact with Walters causing Walters to get loose and lose the position. On lap 11, Way moved his way by Barnwell for the fifth position and set his sights on Walters. On lap 14, Walters got on Bailey’s bumper and repaid the favor from earlier, but Bailey was able to maintain the third position. Four laps later, Walters got by Bailey to take the position. A lap later, Wood made contact with newcomer Nick Green sending Green spinning in the first turn. As he tried to get going, Green’s cooling system failed spilling water on the track and bringing out the yellow flag, much to Bill Bradbury’s dismay as he had built up an insurmountable lead over Peeples. The green came out and Peeples tried to find a way past Bradbury. On the last lap, Peeples tried to use the high line to get by but wasn’t able to get his car to stick as he lost the second spot to Walters. Bradbury crossed the line first to take the win over Walters, Peeples, Bailey and Way. Regrettably, the cars of Walters, Peeples and Way were deemed illegal in post race technical inspection which cancelled out all of their finishes for the night and realigning the top five in the main event, Bradbury, Bailey, Barry Barnwell, Ray Robinson and Dan Bradbury
The thunder roadsters made their second start of the year and had another solid turnout of cars, with a count of 21. Veteran Paul Peeples, Jr. had the fast lap of 17.113. Debut winner David Henderson took the dash win over Peeples, Troy Combs and Mark Arroyo. Peeples grabbed the win in the first heat followed by Rusty Olson, Combs, Ron Rosenthal and Mike Ward while Henderson took the second over Chris Sarvinski, Ray Elliott, Arroyo and Bill O’Neill. Ward and O’Neill shared the front row for the 25 lap main event. When the green flag dropped, Ward took the top spot with Ray Elliott filling the gap in second. On lap three, Elliott spun off the fourth turn sending up a cloud of dust which caught out Dave McMurray who hit the wall bringing out the caution flag.
The green flew for the restart with Ward leading O’Neill, Rosenthal, Combs and Mike Felhouser. Combs moved his way past Rosenthal for third, then by O’Neill for second, then the lead by O’Neill on lap five. On lap eight, Nyle Henderson spun bringing out the yellow. The top five was now Combs, O’Neill, Ward, Rosenthal and Olson. The green flew again with Combs pulling out to a huge lead over the field. On lap 10, Peeples moved into the fifth position. Peeples moved by Ward, then on lap 12 he took the second spot. O’Neill was freight-trained as Olson took third, David Henderson took fourth and Rosenthal took fifth. The front five settled themselves out and it looked as if Combs was going to go unchallenged as he hit slower traffic. Several times, Combs had problems maneuvering past slower cars and with each lap Peeples was able to gain ground. With two laps to go, Peeples was within enough distance to challenge Combs for the lead. On the last lap, the duo was nose to tail, still fighting traffic. Going into the third turn on the final lap, Combs move high to get around a slower car. Unfortunately for him, the slower car moved up allowing Peeples to take the inside line and cross the finish line first. Combs brought his car home second with Olson holding off Henderson for third and Rosenthal taking the fifth finishing spot.
12 cars took clock in the sportsman division, Rick Fox being the fastest with a lap of 16.673. Marty Walsh took the dash win over Fox, Aaron Byers and Brandon Barnwell. Walsh won the first heat over Al Acuna and Jerry Peterson while Angelo Marcelli took the controversial second race which saw contact between Fox and Lissa Uselton. Fox maintained the second position over Byers, Larry Pries and Ken Hallis who arrived after qualifications. Pries and Brown lead the field to the green in the initial start of the 30 lap main event. However, before the lap ended Frank Billy and Fox made contact sending Fox spinning in the third turn. Coming off the fourth corner, Brown spun into the infield hitting one of the Humboldt Towing trucks. Fortunately the damage was minor to Brown’s car and the two truck didn’t appear to have any damage whatsoever.
With Brown going to the rear, Barnwell inherited the outside front row starting position, and when the green came out he took advantage of his opportunity. Going into the first turn, Barnwell took the lead over with Pries slotting behind in second. The field settled out and on lap five it was Barnwell leading Pries, Marcelli, Walsh and Byers. On lap six, Walsh moved to the high line and moved his way past Marcelli the next lap. Meanwhile, Barnwell and Pries were running nose to tail maintaining a comfortable gap over Walsh. Each lap, Walsh gained ground on the front two and by lap 13 he was on Pries’ bumper. On lap 15, Peterson moved by Byers for the fifth position. The battle for second heated up between Pries and Walsh allowing Barnwell to pull out a bigger gap. Walsh had a run inside of Pries on lap 19 but backed off.
On lap 21, Peterson got into the back of Marcelli coming off the fourth corner. Frank Billy spun to avoid Marcelli and the yellow flag came out. Peterson was sent to the rear and the top five was now Barnwell, Pries, Walsh, Acuna and Byers. On the restart, the front trio pulled away from Acuna who had his hands full with Byers. Barnwell’s savior ended up being Walsh who continued to fight Pries for second, allowing Barnwell to race somewhat comfortably. When the checkered flag fell it was Barnwell, Pries, Walsh, Acuna and Byers the top five.
The next race at the Acres is May 20 as the BCRA midgets make their one and only stop to the north coast.
- Notes -
- It was very nice at the track, thankfully there wasn’t a huge wind blowing. It sure got cold though.
- What a shame for Trevor Miller. He finally is able to get out and race and he hits the wall. Hopefully Trevor will be back out soon.
- You have to feel for Troy Combs who lost the roadster main on the last lap. He drove a good race and tried to be as clean as he could with slower cars.
- Hopefully the cars caught up in incidents in the mini stock main will get back out this coming weekend. I hate to see so many cars have problems.
- Brandon Barnwell did a fine job holding off two veteran drivers in Larry Pries and Marty Walsh. It was a nice, clean run between all three.
- Thanks to all who bought tickets in the Chuck Essex raffle. It’s great to hear that Chuck is home. We hope to see you back out soon!
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