Tight racing, wrecks highlight Fan Appreciation Night

Tight racing, wrecks highlight Fan Appreciation Night

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Hundreds of fans showed up this past Saturday night for Fan Appreciation Night at Redwood Acres Raceway, the 11th race of the 2010 season. Race fans were able to witness the night’s action for free thanks to Bear River Casino sponsoring the event. The racers in the five local divisions as well as the visiting Northern California Pro-4 Modified cars did not disappoint as there was everything one would expect watching a race wrapped up into one night; tight racing, close finishes and a couple wild incidents.

Things got off on a bad note in the mini stock trophy dash for Ricky Davis as he got loose off turn two and hit the backstretch wall nose-first, ending his night prematurely. Craig Baker took the dash win over Brian Murrell and Brian McIntosh. Baker then went on to win the heat race ahead of McIntosh and Murrell. McIntosh took the lead early in the main event but Baker was quick to get to the front. On lap two, Baker moved outside and past McIntosh for the lead. Brian Murrell, Jr. and Murrell were able to move into second and third by McIntosh a lap later. Baker appeared to be on his way to an easy victory before getting caught up with Steve Stone while trying to pass him. The caution flew with Murrell, Jr. in the lead but his engine blew under the caution period in spectacular fashion. Murrell, Jr. exited his car okay while the flames died down from under his hood. Murrell restarted in the lead but could not hold off Baker as he took the lead the next lap. At the flag it was Baker sweeping the night over Murrell, McIntosh, Ken Barrett and Stone.

Ryan Robinson took the flag first in the real stock trophy dash over Casey Mitchell and Nick Green. Jim Redd held off Ronnie O’Neill in the heat race for the win followed by Green, Doug Way and Mitchell. Way took the lead from the start of the main event ahead of Green and Mitchell. Way did his best to hold off the two cars but on lap four Mitchell moved under and by Way coming off turn two. Green was able to follow Mitchell to move into second. O’Neill began making his way to the front as he took third away from Way on lap six but unfortunately O’Neill got sideways off turn four collecting Robinson and bringing out the caution flag. O’Neill was sent to the rear and after the restart Mitchell and Green pulled away from Way as he fought off the faster cars of Redd and O’Neill. O’Neill looked poised to take the third position away from Way on lap 12 but his engine came apart coming down the front straight ending his night. Mitchell was able to fend off Green in the final laps to take the win followed by Way, Robinson and Bill Middleton.

The roadrunner trophy dash win went to Nick Hansen over Kolby Jackson, Raleigh Willoughby and Robbie Nelson. Hansen then took the heat race win ahead of Nelson, Dax Kinsey, Willoughby and Michael Lawrence. It was a land rush from the drop of the green flag of the main event as Ken Barrett took the lead ahead of Brett Murrell and the rest of the field. On lap two, Jackson and Nelson both moved by Murrell into the second and third positions. On lap four, Nelson found a line under Jackson going into turn three to take second. Kinsey took third from Jackson a lap later just as Nelson moved under Barrett for the race lead. Going into turn one, Kinsey got into the back of Nelson got then got into Barrett sending the two into the infield and bringing out the caution flag. Hansen was able to take the lead amongst the confusion and led Kinsey and the rest of the field to the restart. Kinsey briefly regained the race lead before Hansen took it back. Hansen held a comfortable lead until the last two laps when he ran into slower traffic. Kinsey was able to close in on the final lap and made a move under Hansen coming off the fourth turn. The two raced to the checkered flag and crossed the line in a dead heat. Hansen was determined to be the winner over Kinsey followed by Willoughby, Nelson and Jackson.

The Northern California Pro-4 Modifieds made their first appearance at the Acres this season. Greg Van Cleave won the trophy dash over Kyle Tellstrom, Jake Tillman and Neo Nuno. The heat race win went to Nuno over Tillman and Tellstrom. The main event proved to be one of the best races of the season so far at the Acres. Nuno, Tellstrom and Tillman proved to be the class of the field by separating themselves from the pack and having their own race. Nuno held the lead until lap 12 when Tellstrom found the high line to his liking. The two raced into turn three wheel-to-wheel with the slower car of Robbie Robinson just in front. Coming off four, it was three wide between Nuno, Robinson and Tellstrom with Tellstrom taking the lead and Tillman following behind into second while Nuno fell to third. Tillman shadowed Tellstrom for the duration of the race, even as the two had to maneuver through heavy lapped traffic. In the end, Tellstrom fought Tillman off to take the win while Nuno held on for third.

David Henderson took home the thunder roadster trophy dash win over Paul Peeples, Jr., Tommy Payne and Chris Sarvinski. Peeples won the heat race over Henderson, Payne, Ray Elliott and Fergy Ferguson. Elliott took the lead from his pole starting spot in the main over Al Olson in the early going. On lap two, Payne moved under Olson to take the second position bringing Henderson and Peeples with him. Henderson was able to get under Payne the next lap and the two fought for the second position. On the fifth lap it was settled as Henderson slotted into second with Peeples following into third and Payne in fourth. On lap six, Olson got severely sideways coming off turn four. Amazingly, he saved his race car but lost fifth and sixth spots to Ferguson and Bruce Ziemer in the process. The top four ran nose-to-tail for the duration of the event with Elliott doing everything he could to fight off Henderson and the others. With just a handful of laps left, Henderson moved outside and by Elliott coming off the second turn. Henderson remained unchallenged from that point on crossing the line first over Elliott, Peeples, Payne and Ferguson. Unfortunately, Henderson’s car did not pass post-race technical inspection and the event win went to Elliott.

The sportsman division saw its strongest turnout of cars for the season with 12 showing up for the evening. Joe McDonald claimed the victory in the trophy dash ahead of Mic Moulton, Larry Pries and Dennis DelBiaggio. Donnie Brown won the first heat race over Scott Baker, Angelo Marcelli, Al Acuna and Kenny Demello. Jerry Peterson took the second heat followed by Moulton, McDonald, Ken Hallis and Pries. The feature event for the sportsman cars proved to be the roughest race of the night. Brown spun on the initial start bringing out the caution flag and a complete restart. On the second lap the caution flew when Pries spun between turns three and four after contact with Hallis. After the restart, Marcelli held the lead over Peterson and McDonald. McDonald moved under Peterson for second on lap six. Coming off turn two, Peterson spun bringing out another yellow.

McDonald did not waste any time taking the lead after the restart as he moved under and by Marcelli on lap seven. DelBiaggio tried to use the high line to get by Marcelli but could not get the traction necessary and lost the third spot to Moulton on lap nine. McDonald was in his own area code while Marcelli fought off Moulton, DelBiaggio and Pries for second. The caution flew on lap 19 when Acuna spun into the turn four infield. On the restart, DelBiaggio moved under Moulton going into turn one. The two tangled with DelBiaggio’s car climbing on the side of Moulton’s. Behind them Peterson and Brown had nowhere to go and were collected in the melee. DelBiaggio and Brown were finished for the night while Peterson was able to continue and Moulton was able to later rejoin the race. It looked as though McDonald’s biggest challenge would come from Pries after the restart but unfortunately Pries suffered a flat tire and had to pit. McDonald was on cruise control the rest of the evening and handily took the win ahead of Marcelli, Peterson and Baker.

The next race at the Acres is the Memorial Race on Saturday September 11th. It will be the final night of points racing for the mini stock and sportsman divisions. A schedule change has been made for the Fall Spectacular. It is now a two day show scheduled for September 25th and 26th. Divisions scheduled for the end of the year race include the local real stocks, roadrunners and thunder roadsters. Joining will be the late models for the 100-lap event.

Upset winners highlight night at the races

Upset winners highlight night at the races

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Race nine of the 2010 season took place this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway’s 3/8-mile paved oval. Though the weather was cool and cloudy, a full house packed the grandstands to witness the five local divisions and some of the best racing on the west coast.

Craig Baker took the reigns of his brother Scott’s car for the evening and took the trophy dash victory over Rick Stone, Brian McIntosh and Brian Murrell, Jr. Baker then went on to win the heat race ahead of Stone and Murrell, Jr. The division had its best turnout of cars for the season with eight drivers starting the feature event. The early stages of the main featured a side-by-side duel between front row starters McIntosh and Stone. Baker made his run to the front quickly, narrowly avoiding Murrell, Jr. who spun out of third coming off the fourth turn bring out a caution. On the restart, Stone did his best to try to hold off Baker and was successful until lap 12 when Baker maneuvered high and past Stone between the third and fourth turns. From that point on Baker was able to pull away to the checkered flag with no pressure, taking the victory. Stone finished a solid second followed by McIntosh, Ricky Davis and Murrell, Jr.

After several races away from the raceway, Jim Redd returned to action and showed no signs of rust by taking the real stock trophy dash victory ahead of Casey Mitchell, Mark Williams and Bill Middleton. Ronnie O’Neill took the heat race win over Ryan Robinson, Mitchell, Middleton and Williams. O’Neill put his pole position starting spot in the main event to good use as he was able to grab the lead from the start and pull away from the Robinson and the rest of the pack. Middleton was the first driver to pick his way up to third, but Mitchell quickly maneuvered past him for the position. Nobody had the ability to catch O’Neill and at the checkered flag it was O’Neill winning over Robinson, Mitchell, Redd and Middleton.

Nick Hansen took the roadrunner trophy dash win ahead of Raleigh Willoughby, Dax Kinsey and Robbie Nelson. Kinsey ran away in the heat race, taking the win over Kolby Jackson, Willoughby, Nelson and Hansen. Kinsey looked to be the dominant force on the night and was able to maneuver into the lead by lap six. However as the laps clicked off, Kinsey’s car appeared to lose some of the power that it once had. On lap 12, Willoughby moved by Kinsey easily to take the lead. Hansen followed by just moments later. Hansen began to close on Willoughby and on the last lap Hansen attempted a pass under Willoughby. The two came together slightly with Willoughby holding the lead and Hansen losing his momentum. At the checkers it was Willoughby winning over Hansen, Jackson, Kinsey and Charlie Anderson.

The excitement in the thunder roadster division got going from the drop of the green flag in the trophy dash. Going into the first turn, Paul Peeples, Jr. and Randy Olson came together sending Olson into the water barrels that protect the wall going into pit road and Peeples into the wall just a few feet farther down the track. Fortunately both drivers were able to return to the track later on. Tommy Payne won the dash over Brandon Barnwell. Rob Nelson won the first heat race ahead of Fergy Ferguson, Jay Bahner, Jim Rich and Belinda Ward. Payne held off Peeples in the second heat to win followed by Barnwell, Bruce Ziemer and Mike Ward.

Bahner took the lead from the pole at the start of the feature event while the mass-exodus of faster cars tried to quickly maneuver from the back to the front. On lap 7, Peeples, Olson and Barnwell came together off turn two with Barnwell suffering extensive right-front damage ending his event. After the restart, the caution flew two laps later for Peeples spin off turn two. The next restart saw Payne move to the high line from third to pass Belinda Ward in second and then Bahner for the race lead on lap 11. Olson had quickly moved to third at that point and had to fight Baher until lap 13 before he got into second. Peeples moved by Bahner into third on the nineteenth lap. It appeared as though Payne had enough of a margin on Olson to cruise to victory but a caution on lap 23 bunched the field up. With the two experienced drivers of Olson and Peeples behind him, Payne restarted the event with two laps to go. Payne did not falter and was able to hold on to take his first-ever main event victory at the Acres, sweeping all three events on the night. Olson finished second with Peeples third, Mike Ward fourth and Belinda Ward fifth.

Mic Moulton took the sportsman trophy dash win over Dennis DelBiaggio, Kenny Demello and Donnie Brown. Al Acuna took the heat race victory ahead of Scott Baker, Brown, Moulton and Angelo Marcelli. Acuna used the pole position to the lead in the main event while outside front row starter Baker slotted himself into the second position. Baker looked impressive in only his second sportsman start holding off the faster challengers while also trying to find a way past Acuna for the lead. On lap 4, Brown got into the back of Peterson in between turns three and four sending him spinning from the third position. Behind them, other drivers spun to slow down. Unfortunately for DelBiaggio, he suffered extensive front-end damage which forced his crew to tear off the entire bumper for him to return.

On the restart, Moulton quickly moved by Baker into second. The best action on the track for the duration of the event was at the front as Moulton tried everything he could to find a line by Acuna for the lead. Acuna used everything he knew to fight off Moulton and at the end it worked as he crossed the finish line first beating Moulton, Baker, Peterson and Marcelli.

Racing returns to Redwood Acres Raceway in just one week on August 7th for Back-To-School Night.

Olson goes back-to-back, sweeps fair races

Olson goes back-to-back, sweeps fair races

By Matthew J. Sullivan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Redwood Acres Raceway track champions officially crowned

Redwood Acres Raceway track champions officially crowned

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Redwood Acres Raceway held its 2009 banquet this past Saturday evening. The track champions in the six local divisions were crowned while various other awards were presented throughout the duration of the evening. A great time was had by all and it was a nice way to finish out an excellent year of racing on the north coast.

Kenny Demello took the championship trophy over Acres veteran, Fergy Ferguson in the limited street stock division. Stan Young and Bill Middleton were the only two other drivers who had scored points in the division during the season. Craig Baker notched another mini stock track championship on the year, however it was by a scant two points ahead of his brother Scott. The Baker brothers were the dominant forces in the division throughout the entire season. Brian McIntosh took third, while Steve Smith placed fourth. Both drivers were able to sneak main event victories away from the Bakers during the year. Brian Murrell, Jr. maintained a solid and steady pace all season and placed fifth in the standings. Smith took rookie of the year honors in the class while Scott Baker won the fast time award.

After a brief hiatus away from racing at the Acres, Ryan Walters returned to the real stock division in fine fashion as he took home the championship. Casey Mitchell placed a solid second in points with a main event win, his first ever and rookie of the year honors in the division. Pat Conway was a regular front runner, taking home a main event win early in the season and finishing third in the standings. Defending division champion, Jim Redd had somewhat of a tough season with several misfortunes. Redd did win a couple main events and placed fourth in points. The duo of Ryan and Russell Robinson finished fifth in points and were also victorious during the year.

It was most definitely a successful maiden voyage for the roadrunner division in 2009. Charlie Anderson won the first-ever championship by pacing himself and driving smart. Late in the season, Anderson and his team were forced to use a completely new car after he was involved in a wreck that wrote off the car he had been in for most of the year. The efforts of both driver and crew definitely paid off. Kent Campbell and Carrie Cook finished second in the points, only seven behind Anderson. Cook drove most of the first half of the season while Campbell took over for the second half. Dustin DelBiaggio was third in points, five behind second place and 12 behind first. DelBiaggio looked to be one of the stronger cars at the end of the year. Jimmy Murray ran a consistent and smooth pace throughout the year placing fourth in the points, while the Redwood Acres Raceway track car was good enough to place fifth thanks to numerous drivers who were behind the wheel during the season. Several drivers won main events but didn’t place high in points. Nick Bundy was the man to beat for the better part of the first half of the year, but did not race the second half of the season. Wyatt Roach got a late start to the year but looks to be the favorite in the division going into the 2010 season. Roach won the fast time award for the roadrunners. The team of Bill Snow and Dylan Cook were also winners along with Oscar Koskinen, III and Dax Kinsey.

David Henderson won his third track championship out of four seasons in the thunder roadster division. Henderson was dominant all year winning the most main events in the division for the year. Robert Miller placed second in the standings and was a regular top 5 contender. The same could be said for Tommy Payne who took third in points. Both Miller and Payne appear to be the two drivers on the cusp of being able to upset Henderson going into 2010. Mike Ward was fourth in the standings, while Bruce Ziemer took fifth. Henderson’s dominance in the class was felt through the number of main event victors. Other than Henderson, only Paul Peeples, Jr. and Randy Olson took home main event trophies. Peeples proved to be Henderson’s equal in the first part of the year, but unfortunately Peeples missed several races in the mid-point which knocked him out of contention. Olson had a late start in 2009, but still took three main event wins in a row. Still though, it was Henderson’s year as he also took fast time honors. Dan Browne earned rookie of the year for the division.

Dennis DelBiaggio was smooth and strong all season long in the sportsman division. DelBiaggio was able to win several main events and was fortunate enough to avoid major incident until the final race of the season, taking the 2009 track title. Angelo Marcelli was able to use the same tactics, but did not have the pace that DelBiaggio had for most of the year. Marcelli did notch a main event win early in the year. Jerry Peterson placed third in points and looked to be DelBiaggio’s toughest competition. Unfortunately, Peterson lost his primary car late in the season and though he was strong in a backup car, he was not able to close the gap to the leader. Larry Pries placed fourth on the year and might have been higher had he not missed the Fair Night races due to a qualifying crash on the first night. Brandon Barnwell was fifth on the year. Barnwell won several main events, but did most of his racing in the last part of the season in Donn Cole’s thunder roadster. Joe McDonald and Aaron Byers were the only other drivers who scored main event victories in the division. DelBiaggio won the fast time award for the class.

There were several highlights throughout the 2009 season. Two of the most memorable involved unfortunate incidents for two roadrunner drivers. Robbie Nelson had an unfortunate meeting with the turn two water barrels during the year, while Raleigh Willoughby flipped while trying to correct his car in the next to last race of the season. Several drivers made the trek from Oregon to race at the Acres in the limited street stock class during the Fair races. The Northern California Pro-4 cars made three visits to the Acres with Codi Barba winning the third event. The season finished out with a 100-lap late model event that was won by Noel McCormack, Jr.

2010 is just around the corner and it won’t be long until racing at the Acres returns for yet another season.

2009 Final Points Standings

Limited Street Stocks
Track Record: Trevor Miller 17.143
Kenny Demello 398, Fergy Ferguson 390, Stan Young 331, Bill Middleton 109

Mini Stocks
Track Record: Craig Baker 18.597
Craig Baker 973, Scott Baker 971, Brian McIntosh 919, Steve Smith 778, Brian Murrell, Jr. 687, Len Bowman/Jesse Chown 565, Brian Murrell, Sr. 272, Norm Carmichael 143, Nick Karanopoulos 117, Mike Weekly 111, Denzil Barrett 59

Real Stocks
Track Record: Shawn Craig 18.763
Ryan Walters 1009, Casey Mitchell 937, Pat Conway 896, Jim Redd 856, Ryan/Russell Robinson 752, Nick Green 624, Dustin Walters 596, Roger Linn, Jr. 526, Doug Way 301, Don Hyman 217, Ray Middleton 123, Bob Lima 111, Jim Bailey 11

Roadrunners
Track Record: Wyatt Roach 21.634
Charlie Anderson 825, Kent Campbell/Carrie Cook 818, Dustin DelBiaggio 813, Jimmy Murray 796, Track Car 725, Nick Bundy 579, Wyatt Roach 571, Bill Snow/Dylan Cook 454, Raleigh Willoughby 432, Oscar Koskinen III 391, Eric Rice/Rick Crawley 374, Aaron Sandifer 341, Eric Mendes 236, Robbie Nelson 175, Nick Hansen 129, Dax Kinsey 119, Landon Newell 49

Thunder Roadsters
Track Record: Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.839
David Henderson 938, Robert Miller 836, Thomas Payne 825, Mike Ward 742, Bruce Ziemer 675, Paul Peeples, Jr. 644, Rob Nelson 599, Chris Sarvinski 590, Belinda Ward 572, Jay Bahner 551, Dan Browne 522, Mark Arroyo 500, Jim Rich 474, Brandon Barnwell 333, Dave McMurray 312, Randy Olson 250, Shane Toole 203, Mic Moulton 191, Chris Banfill 141, Ray Elliott 98, Donn Cole 59, Gerhy Foster 54, Mark Baldwin 48, Doug Pulver 43, Al Olson 38, Bill Bradbury 19, Rick Crawley, Jr. 12

Sportsman
Track Record: Shawn Andrews 15.794
Dennis DelBiaggio 927, Angelo Marcelli 852, Jerry Peterson 815, Larry Pries 780, Brandon Barnwell 444, Joe McDonald 392, Frank Billy, Jr. 328, Lissa Uselton 311, Aaron Byers 297, Shawn Craig 271, Kenny Demello 263, Kavin Conn 230, Ken Hallis 158, Al Acuna 149, Jim Walker 134, Rick Fox 14.

McCormack makes late pass to win 100 lapper

McCormack makes late pass to win 100 lapper

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Beautiful weather graced Eureka, California’s Redwood Acres Raceway this past Friday and Saturday for the season finale Fall Spectacular event. Friday evening featured local divisions of real stocks, mini stocks, roadrunners and thunder roadsters along with late models while real stocks, roadrunners, thunder roadsters and late models returned on Saturday as well as the Northern California Pro-4 Modifieds. The track championships in the real stock, mini stock and roadrunner divisions were still up for grabs going into the weekend, making it very important to survive and race both nights.

It appeared as though the battle for the track championship was going to take a major turn in the mini stock trophy dash when points leader Craig Baker’s car broke. Scott Baker won the dash over Brian Murrell, Jr. and Jesse Chown. Fortunately for Craig Baker, fellow driver Steve Smith turned his car over to him allowing Baker to continue to race for the night. Brian Murrell won the heat race ahead of Craig Baker, Chown, Scott Baker and Murrell, Jr. Scott Baker held off Chown to win the main event while Craig Baker took third and the mini stock track championship. McIntosh was fourth and Murrell fifth.

Shawn Craig took the Friday night real stock trophy dash victory driving Dustin Walters’ car. Casey Mitchell, Pat Conway and Ryan Walters rounded out the finishers. Conway took the heat race win over Craig, Mitchell, Walters and Ray Middleton. Walters took the Friday night main event win ahead of Mitchell, Russell Robinson, Craig and Middleton. There was a big scare in the Saturday night dash when Mitchell and Redd made contact sending Redd headlong into the pit entrance. Fortunately Redd was okay, but his car was destroyed and he was finished for the night. Walters took the dash over Mitchell and Craig. Mitchell won the heat ahead of Craig, Walters, Ray Middleton and Bill Middleton. Walters then went on to win the main event and wrap up the track championship for the real stocks. Mitchell was second while Conway, Ray Middleton and Bill Middleton finished out the top five.

Things got a bit heated between Wyatt Roach and Dax Kinsey in the Friday night trophy dash resulting in Kinsey receiving a black flag. Dustin DelBiaggio took the win over Jimmy Murray. Kinsey won the heat over Roach, Kent Campbell, Eric Rice and DelBiaggio. Roach took the main event victory ahead of Murray, DelBiaggio, Kinsey and Rice but the big story happened when Raleigh Willoughby was coming to the finish line. Coming off the fourth corner, Willoughby got sideways and tried to correct his car. Willoughby’s tires dug into the pavement and sent his car flipping approximately four times before landing on its wheels. Willoughby climbed out of his car and let the fans know he was all right by climbing to his car’s roof and standing with his arms in the air. Roach continued his winning ways Saturday with the dash victory over DelBiaggio, Murray and Bill Snow. Roach followed up with the heat race victory over DelBiaggio, Aaron Sandifer, Snow and Campbell. Roach made it a clean sweep on the night with the main event victory ahead of DelBiaggio, Rice, Campbell and Charlie Anderson who took the roadrunner track championship.

The Northern California Pro-4 Modifieds visited the Acres for a non-points event on Saturday evening. Ken Gifford took the trophy dash over Curt Lewis, Kevin Barba and Codi Barba. Lewis took the heat race victory over Gifford, Codi Barba, Kevin Barba and Stan Buschman. Codi Barba won the main event ahead of Kevin Barba, Gifford, Buschman and Steve Smith.

The thunder roadsters took to the track for a non-points event for the weekend. Brandon Barnwell won the trophy dash on Friday night ahead of Paul Peeples, Jr., 2009 thunder roadster track champion, David Henderson and Mike Ward. The finishes of the heat races determined the start of the Saturday evening main event. Peeples, Jr. won the first head ahead of Barnwell, Ray Elliott, Rob Nelson and Belinda Ward. Henderson won the second heat over Robert Miller, Tommy Payne, Bruce Ziemer and Mike Ward. With the first six positions getting the invert, this gave the pole position to Payne with Elliott on his outside. Payne grabbed the lead from the start of the 50-lap feature before the field was slowed when caution flew for Chris Sarvinski. The rest of the race ran clean and green from that point on. Henderson was clearly the class of the field on this night as he took the lead from his fifth starting position on lap four and never looked back. The best battle of the race was for third, fourth and fifth between Miller, Peeples and Barnwell. At the checkered flag it was Henderson winning by nearly a straightaway over second place Payne. Miller, Peeples and Barnwell finished third through fifth.

Randy Houston set quick time for the late model cars but his car broke while warming up prior to the trophy dash ending his weekend prematurely. Mike Lovell took the dash over Jeremy Hopkins and Junior Roddy. Like the thunder roadster cars, the finish of the late model heats determined the starting lineup of the main event. Northern California racing legend and local favorite, Jim Walker excited the fans in the first heat taking the victory over Joe McDonald, Noel McCormack, Roddy and Rod McCombs. Unfortunately, Berndt Akerstrom broke during the first heat and was finished for the event. Local sportsman driver, Jerry Peterson surprised folks by taking the victory in the second heat ahead of Keith Nelson, Robert Miller, Corey James and Kevin Ostern.

The first six were inverted giving pole position to Miller with McCormack starting outside the front row. It was a clean start for the 100-lap feature before caution fell on lap two when Ostern spun in the first turn infield. After the restart, the caution flew quickly when Walker and Roddy made contact going into turn three. Walker suffered minor damage and returned to the track briefly before retiring shortly thereafter. The racing went green for another 10 circuits until the caution dropped on lap 12 for Nelson’s car in the turn four wall. The best racing of the night took place for what would be the longest period of green flag action. McCormack rode constantly in Miller’s mirror while McDonald in third looked to take advantage of any mistake made by either driver. Things got interesting when the field caught up to lap McCombs. Though McCombs tried his best to give the leaders room to race, the pack bunched up behind him. Miller was able to clear McCombs while McDonald was able to sneak into second as McCormack tried his best to fend off Peterson for third. McCormack was able to hold off Peterson while on the high line, and then get back by McDonald for second before the caution flew on lap 49 when Mike Doss went for a ride through the front stretch infield.

The action slowed several times between the halfway and three-quarter lap marks. On lap 58, the yellow came for Scott Lenz who had spun in turn four. The caution flew on lap 59 to clean up debris from contact between Roddy and Peterson. After a brief period of racing, the caution flew again on lap 68 when Lovell spun out from fourth position. Corey James also spun to avoid Lovell and both were able to continue racing. Racing resumed and things remained status quo up front between Miller, McCormack and McDonald until lap 76 when McCormack found the low line under Miller going into the first turn to take the lead. McDonald was able to follow behind to take the second position. Miller now had to fight off Doss for third. The two raced door-handle-to-door-handle for several laps before Doss took the position on lap 82. On lap 83, Hopkins and Roddy made contact while racing for the fifth position in turns three and four bringing out the caution flag for the final time. On the restart, Doss’ car slowed and he drove his car to the pits. While McCormack and McDonald drove away from the field, Ostern began to give Miller trouble for third. On lap 90, Ostern moved high and past Miller for third. At the front, McDonald was unable to mount a challenge on McCormack for the lead and at the finish it was McCormack winning over McDonald, Ostern, Miller and Lovell. Allen Gibney, James, Roddy, Hopkins and Lenz finished out the top 10.

Congratulations to Redwood Acres Raceway’s 2009 track champions, sportsman driver, Dennis DelBiaggio; thunder roadster driver, David Henderson; roadrunner driver, Charlie Anderson; mini stock driver, Craig Baker and real stock driver, Ryan Walters.

Racing at the Acres closes with the Fall Spectacular this weekend

Racing at the Acres closes with the Fall Spectacular this weekend

By Matthew J. Sullivan

It should be a big weekend of racing this Friday and Saturday at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka, CA. Besides local championship races being decided in the real stocks, mini stocks and roadrunners, late models along with the Northern California Pro-4 Modifieds will also be joining the show.

The real stock and mini stock divisions are slated to run on Friday evening only unless both divisions are able to pick up enough cars to warrant racing for both nights. In the real stocks, Ryan Walters holds a firm 69 point lead over Casey Mitchell in second place. It is highly unlikely that Walters will lose his lead unless he is unable to race at all this weekend. In the mini stock division, Craig Baker leads his brother Scott by six points. The two brothers dueled for the victory in the main event on September 12th and its almost certain that they will be fighting each other head-to-head once again for the track championship. The race for the roadrunner track title has closed significantly. Points leader, Charlie Anderson has had misfortune the past two events which has allowed Dylan Cook to close the gap to eight points. Dustin DelBiaggio and Jimmy Murray are also still within striking distance to claim the title if both Anderson and Cook falter this weekend.

The Northern California Pro-4 Modifieds are slated to join the action for Saturday evening. Curt Lewis was able to beat Codi Barba by a mere five points this past weekend at Shasta Raceway Park to claim the series crown for 2009. With no points on the line, it should be an exciting and wide-open race for the win. 14 cars have pre-entered for the 100 lap late model show with several other drivers having stated commitment to show up as well. Among the notables are Northern California racing legend, Jim Walker of Ferndale, CA; 2009 Airport Auto Brokers Late Model series champion, Kevin Ostern of Lucerne, CA; 2009 Redwood Acres Raceway sportsman track champion, Dennis DelBiaggio of Ferndale, CA; former Acres open winner, David Miller of Coquille, OR and former North State Challenge Series late model champion, Mike Doss of Lakeport, CA.

Friday night will feature qualifying, trophy dashes and heat races for the late models while the local divisions will run main events in addition to the preliminary races. Saturday night the Northern California Pro-4 Modifieds will join the show. The roadrunners will likely run heats and another main event while the real stocks and mini stocks will do the same if the car count allows. Finally, the late models will run their 100-lap feature to close out the 2009 season of racing at Redwood Acres Raceway. Racing begins at 6:30PM both nights. Don’t miss out on what’s likely to be a very exciting weekend of racing at the Acres.

Drivers Pre-Entered for the 100-lap Late Model Event:
01 - Larry Pries
04 - Rod McCombs
07 - Jerry Peterson
9 - Randy Houston
09 - Joe McDonald
15 - Mike Lovell
19 - Dennis DelBiaggio
22 - Dave Miller
36 - Kevin Ostern
37 - Berndt Akerstrom
41 - Junior Roddy
48 - Jim Walker
51 - Scott Lenz
75 - Mike Doss

2009 champs decided on Judy Fox Memorial night

2009 champs decided on Judy Fox Memorial night

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The race for the 2009 championships in all but one of the six divisions was decided this past Saturday evening at Redwood Acres Raceway. It was Judy Fox Memorial night at the Acres making the event even more special and prestigious. Prior to the start of the trophy dashes, nearly all of the drivers in all of the divisions pulled their race cars out onto the track for a few memorial laps while track announcer Rollin Trehearne read off names of dozens of those who drivers wanted to remember on the evening.

The limited street stock class did not race on the night allowing Kenny Demello to claim the 2009 track title in that division over Fergy Ferguson. Ryan Walters had to feel very comfortable going into the night as he held a margin of nearly 70 points over second place Casey Mitchell in the points standings for the real stock division. Jim Redd held off Mitchell, Walters and Bill Middleton to win the trophy dash. Mitchell took the heat race victory over Redd, Walters, Nick Green and Ryan Robinson. In the 15-lap feature, Walters quickly moved his way into the lead, passing front row starters Ray Middleton and Bob Lima. A lap 6 caution bunched the field for a brief period, but nobody had enough strength to challenge Walters for the win. At the checkered flag it was Walters cruising to the victory and the 2009 real stock track championship. Mitchell was second followed by Robinson, Redd and Lima.

The points race in the mini stock class was a family affair as Craig Baker held a one point margin over brother Scott Baker going into the night. Brian Murrell, Jr. won the trophy dash over Scott Baker, Steve Smith and Craig Baker. Craig Baker took the heat win ahead of Scott Baker, Brian Murrell, Brian Murrell, Jr. and Jessie Chown. Going into the 15-lap feature, the Baker brothers were tied in the points. After Murrell, Jr. spun on the initial start, the race restarted with Craig Baker taking the lead over Scott. The best battles on the track during the race were between family members. In the early stages, the father/son duo of Murrell and Murrell, Jr. battled hard for the third position. In the closing laps, the Baker brothers dueled for the race lead and the 2009 mini stock track championship. Scott Baker tried to make his move on the final lap, driving inside of Craig going into the third turn. Coming off turn four, Craig’s momentum from the outside line prevailed and he was able to cross the line just a few feet ahead of Scott. Murrell was able to take third while Murrell, Jr. spun off turn four while trying to mount a challenge on his father. Brian McIntosh crossed the line fourth while Jessie Chown was fifth.

The race for the 2009 track title in the roadrunner division didn’t end on this evening, making it important for points leader Charlie Anderson to survive the night and make it for the September 26th and 27th events. Wyatt Roach won the dash over Dustin DelBiaggio, Jimmy Murray and Nick Hansen. Roach followed up with a heat race victory ahead of DelBiaggio, Eric Rice, Aaron Sandifer and Dillon Cook. Rice wrestled away the lead from Raleigh Willoughby early on in the 15-lap main event and pulled away from the field. Meanwhile, Willoughby had his hands full with the likes of Sandifer, Cook and Roach all vying for the second position. On lap five, Roach moved past Willoughby for second. On lap 9, Anderson and Willoughby made contact in turn two sending Willoughby spinning into the infield. Behind that, Dylan Fox who was driving the track car got too high in turns one and two and hit the water barrels that protect the wall going into the pits. Fortunately neither car suffered serious damage with Willoughby returning to the field and Fox exiting the race. Nobody was able to mount a challenge on Roach for the race lead and at the checkered flag it was Roach taking the win over DelBiaggio, Cook, Rice and Anderson.

Dennis DelBiaggio had the track championship sealed up for the sportsman division as he held an insurmountable 88 point margin over Angelo Marcelli headed into the night. DelBiaggio padded his lead with a win in the trophy dash over Larry Pries, Jerry Peterson and Marcelli. The heat race had an unfortunate incident that ended the evening for several cars. While dueling for the lead, Lissa Uselton and Rick Fox made contact in between turns three and four. Both cars came together and hit the turn four wall head on collecting DelBiaggio, Kavin Conn, Pries and Kenny Demello. Uselton, Fox, Conn and DelBiaggio all suffered severe damage while Conn and Pries came out more or less okay. Marcelli won the heat over Peterson, Shawn Craig and Demello. With the field significantly reduced, the laps for the main event were reduced to 15. DelBiaggio was able to bring his car out to take the start and be awarded points, but quickly pulled his car back into the pits. After racing side-by-side the first three laps, Peterson was able to snatch the lead from Marcelli. The main event ran quick and smooth with Peterson winning over Marcelli, Pries, Craig and Demello.

David Henderson would have had to not show up for Robert Miller to have any chance of taking the 2009 thunder roadster track championship. Paul Peeples, Jr. won the trophy dash over Randy Olson, Tommy Payne and Mic Moulton. Ray Elliott won the first heat over Dan Browne, Bruce Ziemer, Gehry Foster who was making his first start of the year and Jay Bahner. Henderson took the second dash over Olson, Miller, Payne and Brandon Barnwell. The caution flag flew early in the 35-lap main event for debris in turn three. While slowing down on the front stretch, several cars got together, most notably Mike Ward. Ward spun into the infield and back onto the track in front of Barnwell. Barnwell avoided serious damage but Ward was finished for the night.

Browne led the field to the restart but he had a fight on his hands holding off Ziemer in second. On lap four, Ziemer moved under Browne for the lead while Miller and Olson followed into second and third. On lap seven, Miller found the opening he needed going into the first turn inside of Ziemer. Coming off the corner Miller took the spot with Olson following closely behind. The two ran nose-to-tail until lap 11 when Olson moved under Miller off the second turn to take the lead. Miller didn’t give up easily though has he moved under Olson off turn two the next lap to try to take the lead back but he didn’t have the muscle coming off the fourth turn giving Olson the clear lead. Henderson began making his presence known as the race entered the late stages as he began to mount a challenge on Miller for second. On lap 27, the caution flew for a spin by Elliott. Under the yellow, Olson’s engine began to sour and he was forced out of the race. The red flew briefly for a fire under Olson’s car in the pits, but it was quickly put out.

Miller now led the restart over Henderson and Peeples, Jr. Miller couldn’t hold off Henderson as he took the lead on lap 28 with Peeples behind. Miller tried to get second back from Peeples in turn one but the two came together sending Miller spinning in front of the rest of the field. Moulton had nowhere to go and hit Miller and several cars were collected into the wreck including Bahner and Rob Nelson while Elliott took evasive maneuvers by driving into the pits. After the restart, Henderson was able to withstand the pressure provided by Peeples to hold on and take the win. Barnwell finished third with Payne fourth and Moulton fifth.

The next event at the Acres is the Fall Spectacular on September 26th and 27th. Real stocks and mini stocks will be racing Friday night and could Saturday as well pending the car count in both classes. Roadrunners and Thunder Roadsters will be racing both nights. The late models will have qualifying and the heat races Friday with their 100-lap main Saturday evening while the Northern California Pro-4 Modified will be joining the show Saturday as well.

Redwood Acres Raceway points update

Redwood Acres Raceway points update

By Matthew J. Sullivan

There are only three races left in the 2009 season for the drivers in the five divisions at Redwood Acres Raceway. In the case of the limited street stock, mini stock and sportsman divisions, there are only two points paying events left. The next one is tomorrow Saturday August 29th, Fan Appreciation Night at Redwood Acres Raceway.

The closest points battles are in the limited street stock and mini stock divisions. After last Saturday evening’s events, Scott Baker was able to break a tie with his brother Craig and now leads him by six points. Though the margin between limited street stock drivers Kenny Demello and Fergy Ferguson is a mere eight points, unless the division is able to add a few cars in the next two events, it’s unlikely that Ferguson will be able to overtake Demello. Charlie Anderson was able to take the points lead from Nick Bundy in the roadrunner division and holds a 24 point margin over Bundy in second place. Though not having won a main event during this year, Anderson had finished strong in nearly all the events while Bundy, the early season dominator has been unable to make several of the races as of late.

Ryan Walters has a 62 point margin over Casey Mitchell in the real stock division. Though Mitchell has been a strong competitor in the class this season, it’s Walters’ race to lose at this point. David Henderson has been a top 5 finisher in all but one main event in the thunder roadster class this season. It’s a testament to Robert Miller that Henderson’s lead is 60 points in sight, but it would take a disaster for the track championship not to be Henderson’s at this point. The same holds true for the sportsman division as Dennis DelBiaggio holds a 62 point lead ahead of Angelo Marcelli. All DelBiaggio has to do is stay on track for the final two events and the 2009 sportsman division track championship is his.

Again, racing at Redwood Acres Raceway will be tomorrow night, August 29th. The next two scheduled events are September 12th, the Judy Fox Memorial race and September 25th and 26th, the Fall Spectacular featuring a 100-lap late model main event. Further details for the Fall Spectacular are still being laid out and will be made available very soon.

2009 Redwood Acres Raceway Points Standings (after August 22nd)

Limited Street Stocks
Track Record: Trevor Miller 17.143
Kenny Demello 377, Fergy Ferguson 369, Stan Young 331, Bill Middleton 98

Real Stocks
Track Record: Shawn Craig 18.763
Ryan Walters 805, Casey Mitchell 743, Pat Conway 707, Jim Redd 689, Dustin Walters 596, Ryan/Russell Robinson 571, Roger Linn, Jr. 526, Nick Green 520, Doug Way 301, Don Hyman 217, Bob Lima 57, Jim Bailey 11

Mini Stocks
Track Record: Craig Baker 18.597
Scott Baker 777, Craig Baker 770, Brian McIntosh 743, Steve Smith 666, Brian Murrell, Jr. 520, Len Bowman/Jesse Chown 391, Brian Murrell, Sr. 130, Nick Karanopoulos 117, Mike Weekly 111, Norm Carmichael 100, Denzil Barrett 59

Roadrunners
Track Record: Wyatt Roach 21.634
Charlie Anderson 603, Nick Bundy 579, Dillon/Carrie Cook 569, Jimmy Murray 569, Dustin DelBiaggio 548, Track Car 532, Oscar Koskinen III 391, Bill Snow 324, Wyatt Roach 271, Raleigh Willoughby 265, Eric Mendes 236, Aaron Sandifer 159, Eric Rice 153, Nick Hansen 53, Dax Kinsey 51, Robbie Nelson 11

Thunder Roadsters
Track Record: Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.839
Dave Henderson 796, Robert Miller 736, Thomas Payne 700, Mike Ward 666, Bruce Ziemer 563, Paul Peeples, Jr. 540, Chris Sarvinski 529, Rob Nelson 508, Belinda Ward 492, Mark Arroyo 462, Jay Bahner 442, Dan Browne 424, Jim Rich 386, Dave McMurray 274, Brandon Barnwell 209, Randy Olson 209, Shane Toole 160, Chris Banfill 141, Mic Moulton 92, Donn Cole 59, Mark Baldwin 48, Ray Elliott 43, Doug Pulver 43, Al Olson 38, Bill Bradbury 19, Rick Crawley, Jr. 12

Sportsman
Track Record: Shawn Andrews 15.794
Dennis DelBiaggio 795, Angelo Marcelli 733, Jerry Peterson 682, Larry Pries 648, Brandon Barnwell 444, Joe McDonald 330, Aaron Byers 297, Frank Billy, Jr. 269, Lissa Uselton 236, Kavin Conn 217, Shawn Craig 209, Kenny Demello 157, Al Acuna 149, Jim Walker 134, Ken Hallis 108.

Championship races tight as season draws to an end

Championship races tight as season draws to an end

By Matthew J. Sullivan

A mere four races are left for the 2009 season at Redwood Acres Raceway. Track championships have yet to be decided in any of the divisions thus far after 11 of the 15 scheduled races though it will be tough sledding to unseat the points leaders in a few of the 6 local classes.

The limited street stocks have struggled all season with a lack of cars competing in the division. Both Kenny Demello and Fergy Ferguson have been showing up to earn points for qualifying the past several events. Currently Demello leads Ferguson by eight points, 377-369. Unless the division picks up a few cars in the final four events, it appears as though it is Demello’s title to win or lose. Stan Young and Bill Middleton are the only two other drivers who have scored points in the division in 2009.

The fight for the track championship mini stock class is as close as it can get. Not only is there a tie between the first and second place runners, but the battle for the title is between two brothers, Craig and Scott Baker. Craig holds the tiebreaker over Scott due to a few more main event victories. Brian McIntosh, Steve Smith and Brian Murrell, Jr. round out the top five drivers in points for the class.

Ryan Walters holds a sizeable gap over Jim Redd in the real stock division points standings. Walters has a 56 points cushion over Redd, 735-679. Casey Mitchell is a single point behind Redd in third place. Pat Conway is another 27 points behind Mitchell in fourth, while Ryan Walters sits fifth place with 538 points scored.

The roadrunner division has continued to gain strength in its first season at the Acres. The car count for the class has risen nearly every race and is expected to continue to climb as the 2009 season concludes and the 2010 season commences. Nick Bundy dominated the first part of the season and leads the standings with 579 points. Bundy has been absent in several of the recent races. This has allowed second place Charlie Anderson to close the gap to only 39 points. The duo of Carrie and Dylan Cook hold third place with 510 points. Jimmy Murray is fourth with 503 and Dustin DelBiaggio is fifth with 489.

David Henderson has been the man to beat on a weekly basis in the Thunder Roadster division. After 11 races, Henderson has accrued 724 points. Robert Miller is second with 676 points, Tommy Payne is third with 645 points and Mike Ward fourth with 613 points. Paul Peeples, Jr. was Henderson’s toughest competition through the first half of the season, but has been unable to compete in the past several events and has fallen to fifth with 540 points and no chance at catching Henderson for the championship.

The track title for the sportsman division appears to be a three-man fight. Currently, Dennis DelBiaggio leads with 726 points. Jerry Peterson and Angelo Marcelli sit tied for second with 670 each. Larry Pries has scored 577 points while Brandon Barnwell is fifth with 434 points.

Racing at the Acres resumes this Saturday evening, August 22nd for Back-To-School Night. The following week on the 29th will see another big event, Fan Appreciation Night at the Acres where fans will be able to attend the races free. After a break, there’s a special event on September 12th, the Judy Fox Memorial races. The 2009 season concludes on September 26th with the Fall Spectacular featuring late models and the I.M.C.A. Modifieds.

Points Standings Through 11 Races

Limited Street Stocks
Track Record: Trevor Miller 17.143
Kenny Demello 377, Fergy Ferguson 369, Stan Young 331, Bill Middleton 98

Mini Stocks
Track Record: Craig Baker 18.597
Craig Baker 708, Scott Baker 708, Brian McIntosh 683, Steve Smith 611, Brian Murrell, Jr. 467, Len Bowman 327, Brian Murrell, Jr. 130, Nick Karanopoulos 117, Mike Weekly 111, Norm Carmichael 100, Denzil Barrett 59

Real Stocks
Track Record: Shawn Craig 18.763
Ryan Walters 735, Jim Redd 679, Casey Mitchell 678, Pat Conway 651, Dustin Walters 538, Roger Linn, Jr. 526, Ryan/Russ Robinson 517, Nick Green 460, Doug Way 301, Don Hyman 217, Bob Lima 57, Jim Bailey 11

Roadrunners
Track Record: Wyatt Roach 21.711
Nick Bundy 579, Charlie Anderson 540, Carrie/Dylan Cook 510, Jimmy Murray 503, Dustin DelBiaggio 489, Track Car 486, Oscar Koskinen III 391, Bill Snow 324, Eric Mendes 236, Raleigh Willoughby 212, Wyatt Roach 200, Eric Rice 153, Aaron Sandifer 99, Robbie Nelson 11

Sportsman
Track Record: Shawn Andrews 15.794
Dennis DelBiaggio 726, Jerry Peterson 670, Angelo Marcelli 670, Larry Pries 577, Brandon Barnwell 434, Joe McDonald 330, Aaron Byers 297, Frank Billy, Jr. 269, Lissa Uselton 236, Kavin Conn 217, Shawn Craig 209, Al Acuna 149, Jim Walker 134, Kenny Demello 100, Ken Hallis 96.

DelBiaggio, Olson and Lewis victorious

DelBiaggio, Olson and Lewis victorious

By Matthew J. Sullivan

It was another glorious evening at Redwood Acres Raceway this past Saturday night. The beautiful summer sunshine bathed the 3/8-mile paved oval for the Acres’ 11th event of the season. Although the limited street stock class was again missing from the night’s scheduled events, the other five local divisions were joined by the Northern California Pro-4 Modifieds who were making their second and final visit to the raceway this season.

Scott Baker was the winner in the mini stock trophy dash over Craig Baker, Brian Murrell, Jr. and Brian McIntosh. Because the division only had five cars on the night, officials chose to skip running a heat race for the class. The 15-lap main event was shortened to 10 laps after Scott Baker, McIntosh and Steve Smith wrecked in turns one and two. Baker recovered and was able to continue but McIntosh and Smith were forced to the pits for the rest of the race. Murrell, Jr. had issues spinning in turn two and bringing a caution out after the first restart, and then again a few laps later. Unfortunately, Murrell’s car was unable to continue leaving the two Baker brothers to duel for the lead. On the last lap, Scott pushed his car a bit too hard and spun. This allowed Craig to cruise to the victory helping close the points gap that Scott had going into the race.

The real stock trophy dash was taken by Dustin Walters over his brother Ryan, while Pat Conway and Casey Mitchell finished the pack out. Ryan Robinson won the heat race ahead of Jim Redd, Ryan Walters, Mitchell and Donnie Hyman. Unlike the previous race on July 25th, the 15-lap real stock main event was clean, save for an unfortunate spin off turn two by Redd. Robinson was able to use his pole position start to full advantage as he was able to lead wire-to-wire taking the checkered flag over Mitchell, Ryan Walters, Conway and Dustin Walters.

The roadrunner division had its lowest car count in a number of weeks. Wyatt Roach took the trophy dash win over Charlie Anderson, Dustin DelBiaggio and Bill Snow. Anderson won the heat race ahead of Snow, Dylan Cook, DelBiaggio and Roach. Things got a bit too exciting in the 15-lap feature event when the track car driven by Evon Schumeier and Snow made contact coming out of turn two. Schumeier’s front bumper fell off in front of his front tires while Snow hit the turn-three wall likely due to a cut tire from the bumper. After the complete restart, DelBiaggio and Roach quickly moved to the first and second positions by the end of the first lap. On lap 2, Roach moved inside and past DelBiaggio for the race lead. The best battle for the rest of the race was for fifth between Erin Sandiferd and Raleigh Willoughby. Willoughby was able to take the lead late in the going. At the checkered flag, it was Roach taking the comfortable win over Cook, DelBiaggio, Anderson and Willoughby.

Johnny Barker took the trophy dash victory for the Northern California Pro-4 Modified cars over Curt Lewis, Greg Van Cleave and Jake Tillman. Barker followed that up with a heat race victory ahead of Van Cleave, Codi Barba, Tillman and Curt Lewis. Barker swiftly maneuvered his way to the front of the field from the rear in the 25-lap main event. Caution flew early on for Tillman who was leaking fluid onto the track. After the restart, Van Cleave moved into second behind Barker. The front two cars were the class of the field as Barker held a five to six car-length gap over Van Cleave in second. With only four laps remaining, Van Cleave spun in turn two. Unfortunately, Van Cleave was not able to get going again and was finished for the race. The restart allowed Barba to try to put up a fight for the lead but coming off turn four with two laps remaining Barba spun. At the same time, Barker’s car started to misfire. Coming to the white flag, Curt Lewis and Marty Lewis both got by Barker for first and second. It was a drag race to the line but Curt Lewis was able to beat Marty Lewis to the line for the win. Barker held on for third while Barba was fourth and Stan Bushman took fifth.

Thunder Roadster driver, Paul Peeples, Jr. returned to the Acres after a two race absence but had engine problems in practice and did not race on the evening. David Henderson fought off Randy Olson, Mike Ward and Tommy Payne in the trophy dash to win. After a long absence from the Acres, Ray Elliott returned to win the first heat race for the roadsters over Jay Bahner, Chris Sarvinski, Dave McMurray and Belinda Ward. Olson won the second heat beating Henderson, Robert Miller, Bruce Ziemer, Payne and Mike Ward. McMurray led the field to the green in the 30-lap feature event and put the pole position to good use, taking the lead from the start. The caution fell on lap two when Dan Browne and Payne made contact between turns three and four sending Payne spinning. Browne was sent to the rear of the field with Payne and the race resumed.

On the restart, Elliott tried to put pressure on the leader McMurray. Meanwhile, Sarvinski, Miller, Henderson and Olson were quickly moving to the front. Miller pushed high in turns one and two on lap four allowing Henderson and Olson to use the low line to get by. The next lap, Henderson moved under Sarvinski for third with Olson following in his path. On lap seven, Elliott spun off turn four while battling Henderson for the second position. McMurray had his hands full on the restart with both Henderson and Olson filling his mirrors. Henderson tried to use the high line to quickly get by McMurray for the lead but it left a spot for Olson to fall in on the bottom behind McMurray. Coming off turn four on lap 9, Olson was able to get under McMurray. Olson took the position the next lap with Miller following by past Henderson and McMurray.

Henderson quickly regrouped and moved by McMurray and then Miller on subsequent laps to get into second. Henderson rode in Olson’s mirror before lap 25 when he found a line under Olson coming off the fourth turn. The two raced wheel-to-wheel going into turn one, but Olson managed to shut the door on Henderson. The duo ran nose-to-tail until the final lap when Henderson moved under Olson coming off turn four. Olson was able to win the drag race to the line to take his second straight victory. Miller finished third with Mike Ward fourth and McMurray taking fifth.

Northern California racing legend, Jim Walker qualified his familiar blue 48 car for the sportsman division but did not take part in the racing action. Dennis DelBiaggio took the honors in the trophy dash winning ahead of Brandon Barnwell, Jerry Peterson and Larry Pries. Lissa Uselton fought off the pack to take the heat race win over Peterson, Angelo Marcelli, Barnwell and DelBiaggio. Uselton started on the pole position for the 30-lap main event and took the lead in the early going. Kavin Conn spun off the fourth turn on lap two. While Conn was coming back on the track, Uselton had to quickly slow down allowing to pass and take the lead. Pries, Barnwell and Peterson also took advantage of Uselton’s misfortune getting by her.

On lap 6, Pries moved outside and past Marcelli bringing DelBiaggio with him. A few laps later, DelBiaggio took the lead from Pries while Barnwell and Peterson moved by Marcelli at the same time. DelBiaggio was on rails and went unchallenged the rest of the race winning over Pries, Barnwell, Peterson and Marcelli.

Racing at the Acres returns in two weeks on August 22nd with Back-To-School Night. Only three races remain after that with Fan Appreciation Night on August 29th, the Judy Fox Memorial Race on September 12th and the Fall Spectacular on September 26th featuring late models and the I.M.C.A. Modifieds.

Water barrels, loose wheels and a wedding mark an interesting night at the Acres

Water barrels, loose wheels and a wedding mark an interesting night at the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

It was a crazy night of racing this past Saturday evening at Redwood Acres Raceway. An unusually high number of incidents stalled the racing on several occasions throughout the evening. One of the highlights of the night though was the marriage of real stock driver, Roger Linn. Linn and his now wife Stephanie were married at the start/finish line in front of friends, family and race fans.

The limited street stock division only ran a trophy dash on the night. Fergy Ferguson won over Kenny Demello, Stan Young and Bill Middleton. The mini stock class also had a low car count on the evening and only ran a dash and a main event. Scott Baker won the dash over Brian Murrell, Jr., Steve Smith and Craig Baker. In the main event, Craig was able to hold off Scott to win while Brian McIntosh, Murrell, Jr. and Smith rounded out the finishers.

Ryan Walters held off Jim Redd, Nick Green and Casey Mitchell for the trophy dash win for the real stock division. Dustin Walters was sporting a new right on the night, but unfortunately hit the wall between turns one and two in the heat race and was finished for the rest of the evening. Pat Conway was able to take the heat race victory ahead of Ryan Walters, Roger Linn, Ryan Robinson and Green. The real stock main event was eventful to say the least. Conway held the lead early over the field, but on lap three in between turns three and four, Conway’s left rear wheel came off his car. The rest of the pack bunched up and was able to avoid further trouble, but this allowed Mitchell to take the race lead.

After the restart, Green was able to stretch his lead ahead of second place Robinson and the remainder of the field. The best battle on the track at this point was for third between Redd and Walters. The caution flew once more when one of Doug Way’s rear wheels came loose coming off turn two, sending him spinning into the infield. Mitchell brought the field to the restart once again, and spent the rest of the race mostly unchallenged as he brought home his first ever main event victory. Robinson took second, Redd third, Walters fourth and Linn fifth.

The roadrunner division saw another influx of new cars and drivers turnout for the night. Several notable drivers were missing on the evening including division points leader, Nick Bundy who has been the dominant driver in the division in its inaugural season, Oscar Koskinen who has been Bundy‘s toughest competition and Raleigh Willoughby. Wyatt Roach took the dash victory over Carrie Cook, Joe Mitchell and Dustin DelBiaggio. The heat race had a scary accident on the start as Robby Nelson got too high in turns one and two and hit the water barrels protecting the turn two pit wall. Thankfully Nelson was unhurt and was in fact able to return to the race. Dylan Cook took the win in the car normally driving by Bill Snow. Carrie Cook took second, Charlie Anderson third, Dustin DelBiaggio fourth and Jimmy Murray fifth.

Dylan Cook held the lead from the pole position in the main event but on lap three Anderson was able to take the lead coming out of turn two. Roach had the car to beat on this night. He was able to quickly dice his way through the field and by lap seven he passed Cook for the second position. Caution flew on lap 12 for debris on the track. After the restart, Roach pulled out a sizeable lead while Anderson and DelBiaggio battled for the second spot. On lap 15, DelBiaggio drove his car a bit too hard going into the third turn, slamming into the wall, severely damaging his car and ending his night. The restart bunched up the field, but nobody had anything to challenge Roach for the lead and he was able to take his first main event victory over Anderson, Erik Mendes, Jimmy Murray and Dylan Cook.

The thunder roadster division had one of its strongest competitors missing the evening as Paul Peeples, Jr. was not in attendance. David Henderson won the trophy dash over Mark Arroyo, Tommy Payne and Robert Miller. Belinda Ward won the first head ahead of Shane Toole, Mark Baldwin, Bruce Ziemer and Dan Browne while Payne narrowly edged Miller to the line in the second heat over Arroyo, Mike Ward and Henderson.

The thunder roadster main event was a quick and clean caution-free race. Pole-sitter, Rob Nelson used the position to his advantage as he took the lead on the first lap and maintained it over the field. Chris Sarvinski was the first of the faster cars to maneuver his way to the front, getting to third position by lap seven, but it wasn’t long before Henderson made his presence known. A lap later, second place Toole got loose allowing Sarvinski to pull into the position and Henderson to take third.

Nelson did all he could to hold off the faster cars of Sarvinski and Henderson, but on lap 12 it wasn’t enough. Henderson was able to move under Sarvinski for second coming off turn two, then going into turns three and four he was able to get by Nelson for the lead. While Henderson ran away, Miller began to make his charge. On lap 19, Miller took second away from Sarvinski. There was no beating Henderson on this night though has he built and maintained an insurmountable lead and handily took the race win over Miller, Sarvinski, Arroyo and Payne.

Dennis DelBiaggio took the trophy dash accolades in the sportsman division ahead of Angelo Marcelli, Larry Pries and Jerry Peterson. In the heat race, Marcelli was able to beat Aaron Byers, Lissa Uselton, DelBiaggio and Peterson for the victory. Byers took the lead early and held it until DelBiaggio took it on lap eight. However on that same lap, Frank Billy spun in turns three and four bringing out the yellow. Since the division no longer races to the flag and reverts to scoring on the previous lap, Byers was able to regain the lead while DelBiaggio slotted into second.

Byers had his hands full with DelBiaggio after the restart and unfortunately he lost the lead to DelBiaggio on lap eight. DelBiaggio’s move opened the door for Peterson and Marcelli to take second and third away from Byers. On lap 14 while trying to pass Byers for fourth, Uselton’s right front tire and Byers’ left rear tire touched in turns three and four. Uselton’s car drove over the side of Byers’ car, tearing off his left side sheet metal and nearly sending Uselton onto her side. Amazingly both drivers were able to continue on in the race. DelBiaggio ran away from the field after the restart and was able to cruse to victory over Peterson, Marcelli, Pries and Billy.

There are only six events left at Redwood Acres Raceway in 2009. Racing takes a two week break before returning Saturday July 25th. There are three events in the month of August; August 8th, August 22nd (Back-To-School Night) and August 29th (Fan Appreciation Night). The regular season rounds out for a few of the divisions on September 12th for the Judy Fox Memorial Race and the season finale is September 26th for the annual Fall Spectacular.

Fair races live up to their expectations

Fair races live up to their expectations

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The grandstands were packed this past Friday and Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway for the annual Redwood Acres Fair Classic. As has been the case in previous years, the Fair Classic brought out a number of drivers who have not raced at the Acres full-time or in some cases at all this season. This made for some electrifying racing and unluckily several incidents.

The limited street stock division had its highest car count in several years thanks in part to several Oregon drivers who made the trek to race at the Acres; Bob Barnes, Bob Brumbrack, Dan Fouts, Gary Perry, Doug Risely and Bobby Wright. Their attendance for this weekend’s racing was very much appreciated by everyone at Redwood Acres Raceway. Wright won the Friday night trophy dash over Risely, Kenny Demello and Bob Barnes. The heat race victory went to Barnes ahead of Fergy Ferguson, Demello, Risely and Perry.

Stan Young held the lead early on in the main event but by lap five he faced the challenge of both Fouts and Demello. On lap seven, Fouts went to the high side on Young. Demello found a groove inside of Young and the trio went three-wide into turn three. Demello came out with the lead with Fouts second and Young third. The rest of the main event was nip and tuck between Demello and Fouts. It appeared as though Fouts had the faster machine, but he was unable to find the speed necessary to get by Demello and at the checkered flag it was Demello the victor over Fouts, Wright, Perry and Ferguson.

The starting lineup for all of the divisions on Saturday night were determined by the results of the races on the previous night, only inverted. Risely won the Saturday night dash followed by Barnes, Wright and Demello. Risely followed the dash win with a victory in the heat race beating out Fouts, Wright, Young and Ferguson. Brumbrack took the lead early on in the feature event before the caution fell on lap two when Risely nailed the turn four wall severely damaging his right front and putting an end to his evening.

After the restart, on lap eight Brumbrack’s car lost power going down the back stretch giving the lead to Young with Barnes following into second. Two laps later, Barnes touched Young between turns three and four sending Young spinning into the infield. Barnes was sent to the rear of the field allowing Wright to take the helm. From that point on it was all Wright as he was able to cruise away to victory over Demello, Fouts, Ferguson and Barnes.

Craig Baker won the Friday night mini stock trophy dash over Brian McIntosh, Brian Murrell, Jr. and Scott Baker. The Baker brothers dueled in the heat race with Scott beating Craig while Murrell, Jr., McIntosh and Norm Carmichael. In the main event, it was Craig beating out Scott this time. Murrell, Jr. took third, Steve Smith fourth and McIntosh fifth. Scott Baker started off Saturday night with the dash win over McIntosh, Craig Baker and Murrell, Jr. McIntosh held off Craig Baker to win the heat race while Scott Baker, Murrell, Jr. and Mike Weekley. The Bakers dueled once again in the future and this time it was Scott beating Craig for the win. McIntosh, Len Bowman took third and fourth while Smith and Murrell, Jr. crossed the line in a virtual dead heat for fifth.

Real stock trophy dash honors on Friday evening went to Ryan Walters over Casey Mitchell, Bill Middleton who was driving Jim Redd’s car for the weekend and Dustin Walters. Nick Green held off Roger Linn, Pat Conway, Middleton and Mitchell for the heat race victory. One of the more scary incidents occurred early on in the main event when Ryan Robinson lost his right front wheel in turn four. The wheel rolled off the track then back on in front of Dustin Walters and Conway who both made contact with the wheel sending it bouncing approximately 20 feet in the air. Thankfully the wheel rolled safely and harmlessly into the infield and neither Walters or Conway suffered extensive damage to their cars. Middleton held off Ryan Walters for the win in the feature while Green, Linn and Conway rounded out the top five.

Dustin Walters started off Saturday night with a trophy dash victory over Middleton, Mitchell and Ryan Walters. The win in the heat race was taken by Ryan Walters followed by Robinson, Middlton, Mitchell and Dustin Walters. Ryan Walters chalked up another main event victory in 2009 beating Mitchell, Linn, Green and Middleton.

Carrie Cook beat Oscar Koskinen to the line in the roadrunner dash on Friday with Jimmy Murray and Bill Snow rounded out the finish. Nick Bundy claimed the heat race win over Cook, Koskinen, Charlie Anderson and Murray. Koskinen took the main event victory over Bundy, Anderson, Murray and Cook. On Saturday night, Bundy found himself the trophy dash winner over Murray, Cook and Koskinen. Anderson proved victorious in the heat race over Murray, Bundy, Koskinen and Erik Mendes. Bundy was able to withstand and fend off a furious charge my Mendes to win the main event. Murray took third while Anderson was able to beat Koskinen back to the finish line for fourth.

The familiar battle in the thunder roadster division between Paul Peeples, Jr. and David Henderson resumed in the Friday night dash as Peeples beat Henderson, Robert Miller and Tommy Payne to win. Bill Bradbury won the first heat race Chris Sarvinski, Dave McMurray, Jim Rich and Dan Browne. Peeples took the second heat over Henderson, Brandon Barnwell driving Donn Cole’s car, Mike Ward and Payne. Peeples grabbed the lead early on in the main event and held off a late race charge by Henderson to take the narrow victory while Miller finished third, Payne fourth and Mark Arroyo fifth. Saturday night’s dash win was claimed by Henderson over Payne, Peeples and Miller. Arroyo won heat one over Rob Nelson, Browne, McMurray and Belinda Ward while heat two was taken by Chris Sarvinski ahead of Henderson, Peeples, Mike Ward and Barnwell. Peeples was able to take the main event on the night over Miller, Arroyo, Barnwell and Payne.

The sportsman division saw the surprise return of a West Coast stock car racing legend. Two time super stock track champion, Jim Walker made his first start in a local division at the Acres since 1990. Unfortunately prior to the events on Friday night, one of Walker’s long-time on-track rivals, Larry Pries severely injured his thumb after getting involved in a wreck in practice that was started by a flat left-rear tire on Brandon Barnwell’s machine. Pries was unable to race both Friday and Saturday night.

In the Friday trophy dash, Jerry Peterson narrowly beat Dennis DelBiaggio to the line for the victory while Brandon Barnwell and Joe McDonald followed behind. The first heat race went to Lissa Uselton over Al Acuna, Preston O’Dell, Ken Hallis and Ryan Peeples. Walker won the second heat to the delight of the crowed over Aaron Byers, McDonald, Peterson and Barnwell. The main event saw several incidents in the early stages. In fact, it wasn’t until a third restart on that the cars were able to accrue more than a single lap. McDonald was able to stave off a last corner charge by Walker to take his first main event of the season, making him the seventh different main event winner in as many races. Delbiaggio placed third, Marcelli fourth and Peterson fifth.

McDonald returned on Saturday to take the trophy dash victory over Delbiaggio, Peterson and Marcelli. Peeples took the win in heat one over Shawn Craig, Acuna, Uselton and Kavin Conn. The second heat race went to McDonald ahead of DelBiaggio, Marcelli, Peterson and Walker. McDonald and DelBiaggio carried on their fight in the main event with DelBiaggio able to withstand several late race restarts and beat McDonald for his second main event of the season, breaking the string of different winners. Byers narrowly edged out Walker for third while Marcelli took fifth.

Racing at Redwood Acres Raceway goes on hiatus for two weeks before returning Saturday July 11th.

Championships favorites becoming clearer at Redwood Acres Raceway

Championships favorites becoming clearer at Redwood Acres Raceway

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2009 racing season at Redwood Acres Raceway is more than 1/3rd of the way through the year’s schedule. The points standings in the six local classes after six of the scheduled 15 events are tight in some of the divisions while in others, the margin is much larger and the points standings are more spread out.

The limited street stock division points are led by Fergy Ferguson with 215. He holds a two point lead over Kenny Demello in second and a 14 point lead over Stan Young in third. The closeness of the standings are unfortunately a reflection of the lack of cars in the division. Bill Middleton stands fourth with 66 points garnered.

It’s a battle of brothers in the mini stock class. Scott Baker leads brother Craig 393-382. Brian McIntosh is third with 372 points while rookie Steve Smith isn’t too far behind in fourth with 342. Brian Murrell, Jr. is fifth with 176. Nick Bundy has been the dominant force in the roadrunner divisions first season at Redwood Acres Raceway, winning five of the six main events on the year. Bundy has 390 points, 127 more than second place Oscar Koskinen at 263. Jimmy Murray is third with 261 followed by Carrie Cook with 241 and the Redwood Acres track car with 238.

Ryan Walters has been the man to beat in the real stock division winning four of the six main events. Walters has scored 410 points thus far. Casey Mitchell has been a consistent top three runner and stands in second place with 368 points. Jim Redd is third with a main event win and 366 points, while Pat Conway also has a main event victory and is one point behind Redd in fourth place. Roger Linn, Jr. is in fifth with 342 points.

In the thunder roadster division, David Henderson was able to stretch his points lead over Paul Peeples, Jr. in the June 6th race at Redwood Acres. Henderson swept the night winning the trophy dash, the heat race and the main event while Peeples struggled with his car after having to change his engine earlier in the day. Henderson has 414 points while Peeples in second has 390. While those two have been the dominant drivers in the division, Robert Miller has been the “best of the rest” and is third in points with 362. Fourth place is only five behind miller with 357 while Mike Ward is fifth with 330.

Out of all the divisions, the sportsman class has been the most competitive without question. Through the six races this year, there have been six different winners. Dennis Delbiaggio has a 10 point lead over Larry Pries, 381-371, both drivers having scored a main event win this year. Angelo Marcelli is third, three points behind Pries with 368 and a main event victory. Jerry Peterson is another five points behind Marcelli with 363 and a main event victory in the last race at the Acres on June 6th. Brandon Barnwell sits fifth with a main event and 251 points. The top four drivers are the only ones who have been in all six races this season.

Racing at Redwood Acres Raceway returns on Friday June 26th and Saturday 27th for the Redwood Acres Fair Classic. This event is the second biggest race of the season at the speedway next to the Fall Classic season finale in September. A number of cars are expected to show up for both nights in several of the divisions and its expected to be a pair of thrilling nights at the Acres.

Limited Street Stocks
Track Record: Trevor Miller 17.143
Fergy Ferguson 215, Kenny Demello 213, George Young 201, Bill Middleton 66

Mini Stocks
Craig Baker 18.597
Scott Baker 393, Craig Baker 382, Brian McIntosh 372, Steve Smith 342, Brian Murrell, Jr. 176, Len Bowman 161, Brian Murrell, Sr. 130, Nick Karanopoulos 117, Norm Carmichael 88, Denzil Barrett 59

Roadrunners
Nick Bundy 21.825
Nick Bundy 390, Oscar Koskinen III 263, Jimmy Murray 261, Carrie Cook 241, Track Car 238, Charlie Anderson 221, Dustin DelBiaggio 200, Bill Snow 120, Erik Mendes 111, Raleigh Willoughby 59

Real Stocks
Shawn Craig 18.763
Ryan Walters 410, Casey Mitchell 368, Jim Redd 366, Pat Conway 365, Roger Linn, Jr. 342, Dustin Walters 318, Ryan/Russ Robinson 227, Nick Green 210, Doug Way 101, Bob Lima 57, Jim Bailey 11

Thunder Roadsters
Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.839
Dave Henderson 414, Paul Peeples, Jr. 390, Robert Miller 362, Thomas Payne 357, Mike Ward 330, Chris Sarvinski 303, Rob Nelson 281, Mark Arroyo 281, Bruce Ziemer 257, Belinda Ward 245, Jim Rich 213, Dan Browne 187, Jay Bahner 148, Chris Banfill 141, Donn Cole 59, Dave McMurray 50, Doug Pulver 43

Sportsman
Shawn Andrews 15.794
Dennis DelBiaggio 387, Larry Pries 377, Angelo Marcelli 368, Jerry Peterson 363, Brandon Barnwell 251, Joe McDonald 197, Frank Billy, Jr. 126, Aaron Byers 124, Kavin Conn 116, Shawn Craig 107, Ken Hallis 56, Al Acuna 53, Lissa Uselton 11.

Henderson, DelBiaggio and Walters early season points leaders

Henderson, DelBiaggio and Walters early season points leaders

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Four of the scheduled 15 races have already been completed for the 2009 season at Redwood Acres Raceway and the points standings for most of the five divisions are still fairly close. There are a few drivers than have flexed their muscle thus far and have made it known that they are the driver to beat every night.

The limited street stocks have only raced on three of the four scheduled race nights due to a lack of cars in the division. Kenny Demello is the points leader with 143 total over Fergy Ferguson by only two points. George Young has scored 133 points thus far and is in third place while Bill Middleton has 10 points.

Scott Baker has been a dominant force in the mini stock class. Baker has two main event wins and has 269 total points. Brother Craig Baker is second with 255 and a main event victory followed by Brian McIntosh (242), Steve Smith (225) and Brian Murrell, Jr. (166). Smith won the most recent event on May 16th.

The new roadrunner division has seen an influx of cars from the first race of the season. Of all the drivers though, Nick Bundy has proven to be the class of the field. Bundy has won all four main events and has 266 points. Jimmy Murray is second with 232 while the raceway’s track car is third in points with 166. Despite missing two races, Dustin Delbiaggio is fourth with 135 points and Oscar Koskinen is fifth with 125.

Ryan Walters returned to the real stock division for 2009 and has shown not to have any rust behind the wheel. Walters has won three main events and has a total of 276 points. Pat Conway is the other driver in the division who has won this season, winning the April 25th event. Conway is second with 252 points. Casey Mitchell is third (246) while Jim Redd and Roger Linn, Jr. round out the top five with 238 and 227 points respectively.

Of all the divisions at the Acres, the sportsman class has been the most competitive. No driver has scored more than one main event during the season and the points standings show the closeness of the racing that’s been seen so far. Despite not having won a main event, Dennis Delbiaggio is the points leader with 261. Angelo Marcelli, who scored a win on April 25th is second, a mere point behind. Larry Pries who won the season opener is third with 254 points while Jerry Peterson is fourth with 230. Brandon Barnwell sits at fifth with 134 and a main win on May 9th. The other main event winner this year was Aaron Byers who won May 16th.

Though the points do not reflect it, David Henderson has clearly been the man to beat in the Thunder Roadsters. Henderson has won the past three main events and sits first in points with 283 scored. Last season’s dominator, Paul Peeples, Jr. is second with a main event win and 271 points. Tommy Payne is third at 235 while Chris Sarvinski has 231 and Mark Arroyo has 229.

Racing at the Acres resumes this Saturday night, June 6th and will be followed up next Saturday night with Father’s Day race on June 13th.

Redwood Acres Raceway Points Standings after 4 events:

Limited Street Stocks
Track Record: Trevor Miller 17.143
Kenny Demello 143, Fergy Ferguson 141, George Young 133, Bill Middleton 10

Mini Stocks
Craig Baker 18.597
Scott Baker 269, Craig Baker 255, Brian McIntosh 242, Steve Smith 225, Brian Murrell, Jr. 166, 50 Len Bowman/Frank Billy 161, Brian Murrell, Sr. 130, Nick Karanopoulos 117, Denzil Barrett 89, Norm Carmichael 22

Roadrunners
Nick Bundy 21.825
Nick Bundy 266, Jimmy Murray 232, Track Car 166, Dustin DelBiaggio 135, Oscar Koskinen 125, Carrie Cook/Kent Campbell 123, Charlie Anderson 109

Real Stocks
Shawn Craig 18.763
Ryan Walters 276, Pat Conway 252, Casey Mitchell 246, Jim Redd 238, Roger Linn, Jr. 227, Dustin Walters 191, Ryan/Russell Robinson 153, Nick Green 106, Bob Lima 57, Doug Way 51, Jim Bailey 11

Sportsman
Shawn Andrews 15.794
Dennis DelBiaggio 261, Angelo Marcelli 260, Larry Pries 254, Jerry Peterson 230, Brandon Barnwell 134, Frank Billy, Jr. 126, Kavin Conn 116, Aaron Byers 76, Joe McDonald 63, Al Acuna 53, Lissa Uselton 11

Thunder Roadsters
Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.839
Dave Henderson 283, Paul Peeples, Jr. 271, Thomas Payne 236, Chris Sarvinski 231, Mark Arroyo 229, Robert Miller 228, Mike Ward 218, Bruce Ziemer 203, Rob Nelson 183, Belinda Ward 181, Chris Banfill 141, Jim Rich 129, Dan Browne 93, Jay Bahner 89, Shane Toole 48, Donn Cole 10.

Henderson scores win number two on the season

Henderson scores win number two on the season

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Racing at Redwood Acres Raceway returned for the third time this season this past Saturday night. A large crowd turned out to watch all six local classes return to action once again at the 3/8-mile paved oval. As usual, there was much close racing but unfortunately there were a number of incidents that cut short the night of several racers.

The limited street stock class timed in only three cars and only ran the trophy dash. Fergy Ferguson took the dash win over Kenny Demello and George Young. The roadrunner division saw an influx of several cars on the night. Keri Cook won the dash in her first ever start beating Nick Bundy, Oscar Koskinen and Dustin Delbiaggio. Costinin won the heat race ahead of Bundy, Delbiaggio, Cook and Jimmy Murray. The first lap of the main event was led by Murray before Bundy took the top position on the second lap. Bundy would not look back from that point on. On the last lap of the race, Murray and Delbiaggio made contact and spun on the front stretch. Bundy crossed the line the winner while Delbiaggio and Koskinen finished second and third.

The real stock trophy dash winner was Casey Mitchell followed by Ryan Walters, Jim Redd and Roger Linn. Walters followed that win with another in the heat race over Pat Conway, Mitchell, Redd and Dustin Walters. The battle for the lead on lap one of the main event was between Ryan and Dustin Walters with Mitchell right in the mix. By lap two, Ryan took the lead away from Dustin and set sail while Mitchell was able to follow through into the second position. Redd was able to pass Walters for third on lap three. The best battle on the track was for second between Mitchell and Redd. Redd was able to successfully take the position on lap 10 after dueling side-by-side with Mitchell for several laps. On lap 19, Redd spun on his own in the second turn bringing out the yellow flag. The restart was merely a delay to victory lane for Walters as he was able to hold off Mitchell at the line to win his second main event on the year. Conway finished third with Dustin Walters fourth and Linn fifth.

The mini stock division has a few more cars show up to race for the evening. Scott Baker won the dash over Brian Murrell, Brian McIntosh and Denzil Barrett. Baker followed that up with the heat race win over McIntosh, Murrell, Barrett and Craig Baker. The main event proved to be a wild one. On lap three, Scott Baker, Barrett and Brian Murrell, Jr. came together along the front straightaway sending Barrett’s vehicle over the rear wheel of Murrell’s car. Murrell was finished for the night. On the restart it was his father leading Nick Karanopoulos, McIntosh and the Baker brothers, Scott and Craig. On lap five, Steve Smith spun in the fourth corner. While coming back to the flag, McIntosh and Scott Baker spun. Barrett had nowhere to go and slammed head on into Baker’s car. McIntosh was able to continue while Baker, Barrett and Smith were forced out for the rest of the event. After the restart, McIntosh broke and brought out another yellow. The race was shortened to 10 laps and Murrell was able to hold off Craig Baker and Karanopoulos for the victory. Afterwards, Murrell was disqualified for not going through post-race teardown so the win was awarded to Baker.

Defending sportsman division champion, Brandon Barnwell returned to the Acres for the first time this season winning the trophy dash followed by Larry Pries, Dennis Delbiaggio and Angelo Marcelli. The heat race featured an unfortunate incident in turn one. Pries spun and collected Frank Billy ending Billy’s evening. Barnwell took the dash win ahead of Jerry Peterson, Marcelli and Delbiaggio. The first few laps of the main were led by Delbiaggio. Coming off of turn four on the fifth lap, Delbiaggio got severely loose, nearly wrecking. This allowed Barnwell to take the lead away. Delbiaggio got loose and spun on lap 10 bringing out the caution flag. Barnwell was able to race comfortably after the restart and took the victory over Pries, Delbiaggio, Marcelli and Peterson.

David Henderson won the thunder roadster heat race over Paul Peeples, Jr., Mike Ward and Tommy Payne. Mark Arroyo won the first heat ahead of Bruce Ziemar, Rob Nelson, Jay Bahner and Belinda Ward. Peeples held off Henderson for the victory in the second heat race while Robert Miller, Payne and Mike Ward rounded out the top five. Chris Sarvinski took the lead early on in the main event and it looked as though it might be his night. However as both Henderson and Peeples knifed their way through traffic, it was obvious that once again the battle for the race win would be between them. After holding both Henderson and Peeples off for the first 15 laps, Sarvinski had to make way for the two, falling back to the third position. Henderson was clearly the fastest car on the track on the night as he was able to pull out and maintain a comfortable lead over Peeples. At the checkered flag it was Henderson over Peeples, Sarvinski, Arroyo and Payne.

Racing resumes this coming Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. Along with the six local classes will be the Pro-4 Modifieds making a visit on what will be Pepsi Night at The Acres.