Walsh, Peeples, Miller big winners at the Acres
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Though mother nature provided a rather cold and dreary night, racing at Redwood Acres Raceway as not dampened whatsoever. It was a night of excitement, good racing and when the checkered flag fell on the night’s last race, there wasn’t one case of a wrecker having to be used during the race events or a track official using oil dry on the racing surface. Trevor Miller ran away from the pack in the real stock division to take his second win of the season and go four for four on the night with fast time, dash win, heat win and main win. Paul Peeples, Jr. continued his dominance of victory lane in the thunder roadster class with yet another win in the same fashion as Miller. Marty Walsh won his second main event of the season in the sportsman division rather handily.
Unfortunately for the limited street stocks and the mini stocks, both fields only had five cars turnout for the night. Both divisions ran trophy dashes and 10 lap main events. Scott Lyons was the fastest of the limited streets in qualifying with a 17.474 lap time. Lyons won the dash over Kenny Demello, Duayne Mayo and Craig Huffman. The 10 lap main featured a late race pass by Huffman over Mayo for the lead. At the line Huffman won over Mayo, Lyons, Fergy Ferguson and Demello.
Craig Baker turned in the quickest lap for the mini stock cars with a 19.127 time. Brian Murrell won the trophy dash literally by inches over Craig Baker, Scott Baker and Brian McIntosh. After a lap three pass for the lead on Murrell, Craig Baker was able to cruise to the win in the main. Murrell held onto second, Scott Baker third, Denzel Barrett fourth and McIntosh fifth after having gone into the pits with issues early in the race.
Qualifying in the real stock division was tight as Trevor Miller’s 18.813 qualifying lap was a mere three hundredth’s quicker than Shawn Craig’s 18.816. Miller won the dash over Ryan Peeples, Pat Conway and Craig. Unfortunately, both Conway and Craig had problems in the dash and were not able to make it back out for the heats or the main. Miller drove through the field in the heat race for the win over Casey Mitchell, Peeples, Donnie Hyman and Jim Redd.
Mitchell and Redd lead the nine car field to the green flag of the 25 lap main event. Redd got the jump off the start while Miller quickly made his way to the front. On lap three, Miller passed Peeples for fourth then moved into third just as quickly with Peeples following. On lap six, Miller moved outside of Mitchell for second. Three laps later the yellow flag dropped for debris on the race track.
Miller wasted no time on the restart immediately attacking Redd for the top position. On lap 13, Miller found the inside line and moved under Redd for the lead. On lap 15, Peeples who had been running third pulled into the pits. A few laps later, Nick Green spun off the second turn collecting Hyman and Ryan Robinson and bringing out the yellow flag. Fortunately everyone continued on in the race. The restart and the final few laps proved to be a formality for Miller as he was able to pull away from Redd to a comfortable lead and the checkered flag by the end of lap 25. Redd finished second with Dustin Walters third, Mitchell fourth and Green fifth.
Paul Peeples, Jr.’s 16.999 lap time was the only one under the 17 second bracket thus making it the quickest. Jay Bahner won the trophy dash over Peeples, Mark Arroyo and Troy Combs. Leroy Marsh, Jr. claimed the win in the first heat over Rick Crawley, Dave McMurray, Bruce Ziemer and Rob Nelson. Peeples won the second heat over Combs, Mike Ward, Arroyo and Robert Miller.
Nelson and Crawley comprised the front row for the 30 lap main event. Nelson took the early lead before Marsh took the lead away. Five laps into the race, Combs made his way into the second spot and tried to run down Marsh for the lead. Just as Combs moved inside and by Marsh for the lead, the yellow flag flew when Nelson spun off turn four and was facing the fourth turn nose first. All of the drivers had to take evasive action to avoid running into Nelson and though it was tight, everybody avoided what could have been a serious incident.
With the field reverting to their position on the previous lap, Marsh was able to retake the lead over Combs, McMurray, Peeples and Crawley. Peeples quickly moved by McMurray on the restart. On lap 11, Combs moved inside of Marsh for the lead bringing Peeples with him. On lap 15, Peeples looked to have the inside line on Combs but didn’t have the momentum to get by. Gerhy Foster’s spin on lap 19 brought out the yellow flag allowing Combs and Peeples to cool their tires and get set for another close battle.
When the green dropped, Combs and Peeples pulled away while Marsh settled into third comfortably. Meanwhile, McMurray and Bahner were dueling for fourth racing side-by-side for several laps. Up front Peeples was working hard to pass Combs. On lap 22, Peeples got another run and the two raced wheel-to-wheel. Both cars were like this until lap 24 when Combs pulled out the advantage once again.
On lap 26, Combs got loose between turns three and four. Peeples moved inside to try to get by, but Combs collected him while trying to save his car. While the two got their cars straight, Marsh moved by both to go from third to first in a matter of moments. Unfortunately for Marsh, he just didn’t have the handling on this night to hold off Peeples as he was able to move by on lap 28 for the lead. On the last lap, Combs moved inside of Marsh to take second, but it was too late for him to try something on Peeples as he crossed the line first. Marsh finished third with McMurray fourth and Bahner fifth.
Brandon Barnwell’s 16.547 qualifying time proved to be the fastest in the sportsman division. The trophy dash was won by Dennis Delbiaggio over Larry Pries, Barnwell and Marty Walsh. Delbiaggio won the second heat ahead of Jerry Peterson, Ken Hallis, Romeo Venza and Keith Dias. Pries won the second heat with Walsh, Al Acuna, Angelo Marcelli and Lissa Uselton completing the top five.
11 cars started the 30 lap feature event. Uselton got the jump on Venza to take the early lead. On lap seven, Marcelli was able to move under Uselton for the top spot after several laps of battling her for the lead. Marcelli’s move for the lead allowed Acuna to follow into the second position. On lap 9, Barnwell and Hallis made contact in the fourth turn sending both drivers into the infield. Both drivers got going again and the yellow flag was not thrown.
By lap 10, the top five was Marcelli, Acuna, Fox, Uselton and Pries with the top three cars nose to tail. On lap 14, Walsh made a move on Acuna. After a lap, Walsh was able to move by for second while Pries and Delbiaggio got by Uselton at the same time for fourth and fifth. It only took Walsh two more laps before he moved under and by Marcelli for the lead going into the third turn bringing Acuna into second. As the laps wound down, Walsh pulled away while Acuna held onto the second spot.
On lap 24, Pries moved into third getting by Marcelli. With two laps to go, Barnwell moved into fifth position getting by Delbiaggio. At the finish line it was Walsh, Acuna, Pries, Marcelli and Barnwell the top five. Delbiaggio, Uselton, Peterson, Hallis, Venza and Dias rounded out the finishing order.
Racing at the Acres takes a two week break before returning the Saturday of Father’s Day Weekend on June 14th.
Historic videos, race reports and race results from various Northern California race tracks
Gary Jacob Archives
Showing posts with label Craig Huffman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Craig Huffman. Show all posts
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Thursday, January 25, 2007
2006 Limited Street Stock Season: A Look Back
2006 Limited Street Stock Season: A Look Back
By Matthew J. Sullivan
There was no doubt that the 2006 season for Redwood Acres Raceway’s limited street stock division was a tough one. Throughout the year the class struggled with the car count, and on a few occasions the main events for the division were cancelled. Nonetheless, the division provided some of the best racing action at the Acres despite the lack of cars on the race track.
One of the most impressive drivers throughout the year was Adrien Betournay. Driving in his first full season at the Acres, Adrien won three main events, rookie of he year honors in the division and took home the championship. Adrien was also the only driver in the division to start every race. Kenny Demello made all but one of the races, one of which Kavin Conn drove the car for points. Demello took home two main events and was Betournay’s strongest challenge throughout the season.
Orion Mosher returned to the Acres in his truck scoring three main event wins. Unfortunately, Mosher missed a few races which prevented him from making a run at the title taking third place in points. Trevor Miller proved to be a fast competitor. Coming off of his 2005 real stock championship, Miller looked to drive the full season in the division but missed the first few races of the season and then was caught up in an accident which put him out for several more races. Miller came back to be a strong competitor notching three wins and fourth in the standings.
Duayne Mayo brought his car to the track towards the end of the season and had several good runs to give himself the fifth place position in the standings. Although Terry Vallee struggled to find the handle with his race car, he scored enough points to take sixth position in the points. Stan Young was able to get out with a few races left to finish seventh in points. Craig Huffman ran a few races in his 09 truck before an accident virtually ended the racing season for him. Keith Lyons came to race with two races left and finished ninth in points while Kavin Conn took tenth in the standings despite having an accident at the beginning of the season that destroyed his race car. Other drivers who made it out in the division were Romeo Venza, Mark Burris and Acres veteran Fergy Ferguson who took a few hot laps but didn’t race.
One of the highlights of the 2006 racing season at the Redwood Acres Raceway was the last lap duel between Betournay and Miller during the tenth race of the season on July 29. The two raced side by side on the final lap, Betournay on the inside, Miller on the outside. Coming off the fourth turn the two cars were nearly even, but as they crossed the line Betournay had the advantage literally by inches.
Hopefully more limited street cars will make it out for the 2007 season. While Betournay will be defending his title, he will have his hands full with Mosher and Miller both of whom proved that they could be just as fast if not faster on any given night. Also Kenny Demello cannot be counted out as well. With new drivers such as Lyons, Young, Kelly McBride and Venza getting the feel for their cars, it should be a close championship points battle.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
There was no doubt that the 2006 season for Redwood Acres Raceway’s limited street stock division was a tough one. Throughout the year the class struggled with the car count, and on a few occasions the main events for the division were cancelled. Nonetheless, the division provided some of the best racing action at the Acres despite the lack of cars on the race track.
One of the most impressive drivers throughout the year was Adrien Betournay. Driving in his first full season at the Acres, Adrien won three main events, rookie of he year honors in the division and took home the championship. Adrien was also the only driver in the division to start every race. Kenny Demello made all but one of the races, one of which Kavin Conn drove the car for points. Demello took home two main events and was Betournay’s strongest challenge throughout the season.
Orion Mosher returned to the Acres in his truck scoring three main event wins. Unfortunately, Mosher missed a few races which prevented him from making a run at the title taking third place in points. Trevor Miller proved to be a fast competitor. Coming off of his 2005 real stock championship, Miller looked to drive the full season in the division but missed the first few races of the season and then was caught up in an accident which put him out for several more races. Miller came back to be a strong competitor notching three wins and fourth in the standings.
Duayne Mayo brought his car to the track towards the end of the season and had several good runs to give himself the fifth place position in the standings. Although Terry Vallee struggled to find the handle with his race car, he scored enough points to take sixth position in the points. Stan Young was able to get out with a few races left to finish seventh in points. Craig Huffman ran a few races in his 09 truck before an accident virtually ended the racing season for him. Keith Lyons came to race with two races left and finished ninth in points while Kavin Conn took tenth in the standings despite having an accident at the beginning of the season that destroyed his race car. Other drivers who made it out in the division were Romeo Venza, Mark Burris and Acres veteran Fergy Ferguson who took a few hot laps but didn’t race.
One of the highlights of the 2006 racing season at the Redwood Acres Raceway was the last lap duel between Betournay and Miller during the tenth race of the season on July 29. The two raced side by side on the final lap, Betournay on the inside, Miller on the outside. Coming off the fourth turn the two cars were nearly even, but as they crossed the line Betournay had the advantage literally by inches.
Hopefully more limited street cars will make it out for the 2007 season. While Betournay will be defending his title, he will have his hands full with Mosher and Miller both of whom proved that they could be just as fast if not faster on any given night. Also Kenny Demello cannot be counted out as well. With new drivers such as Lyons, Young, Kelly McBride and Venza getting the feel for their cars, it should be a close championship points battle.
Sunday, May 1, 2005
Brandon makes a big return to the Acres
Brandon makes a big return to the Acres
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The race didn’t see its full distance, and the racing action ran right up to the 11:00 sound curfew but none of that mattered to Geoff Brandon, who returned to regular racing action with the first win in the sportsman division of the new season at Redwood Acres Raceway. Brandon had previously ran his number 26 in the same division several years ago but decided to take a break from local racing until now. Defending real stock champion Cecil Arispe served notice to his competition that he would be a force to be reckoned with this season as he ran away from the field for the win. Due to impending bad weather and the time crunch with the visiting North State Challenge Series, the mini stock and limited street stock divisions were not able to hold their respective main events.
The limited street stock class has a seven car turnout with J.D. Fry setting the pace with an 18.142 lap around the 3/8 paved track. Richard Betournay won the trophy dash over Ken DeMello, Fry and Kavin Conn. The heat race saw great action between DeMello and Fry as the two battled each other for the win. Unfortunately as this was going on, on the last lap Duane Mayo blew his engine going into turn one. DeMello made his way though but Fry hit the oil and spun. DeMello took the win over Betournay. Fry was able to recover and finish third, Terry Vallee fourth and Mike Adams fifth.
There was a seven car turnout for qualifying for the mini stock class with Jaison Chand and Glen Bernald missing getting times in. Defending mini stock champion Jerry Peterson set a quick time of 18.911, the only driver to get into the eighteen second bracket. In the trophy dash, Joe Bonomini won a close on over Peterson, class rookie Craig Huffman and Craig Baker. Peterson ran away and hid from the field in the heat race scoring the win over Huffman, Baker, Bonomini and Chand.
The real stock division had a fine turnout of cars with twenty-two showing up for the night. Lissa Usselton set the pace with a solid 20.052 lap for fast time honors. Trevor Miller took the trophy dash with Cecil Arispe, Usselton and Bill Middleton nipping at his heels. Arispe won the first heat over Bill Bradbury and Ryan Walters while in heat two, Ray DeMello won over Miller and Gary Adams.
Rookie Brian Belt received pole honors for the twenty-five lap main event and led the first three laps before the caution flag flew. Under the yellow, Adams was black flagged. Walters took advantage on Belt’s lack of experience on the restart and nabbed the lead away from him. Meanwhile, Arispe had quickly diced his way through traffic and began challenging Walters for the lead on lap four. On lap five, Rick Stone spun on the front stretch and blocked the track. At the same time Arispe made his move for the lead on Walters and got it. The yellow flag came out as Doug Way spun off turn two. Under the yellow the running order was Arispe, Walters, Brian Belt, Middleton and Bradbury.
After the restart, on lap 7 Adams suffered a flat right rear tire and brought his car back into the pits. Meanwhile, Middleton and Jason Belt were moving their way to the front of the field. By lap twelve Middleton was second with Jason Belt following in third, both trying to chase down Arispe. Three laps later, Jason Belt made his move past Middleton and set sail to challenge Arispe for the lead. Lap 19, Adams had problems again and the caution flag flew. On the restart, Jason Belt began to apply pressure on Arispe for the lead and continued to til the end. Unfortunately for Belt it wasn’t enough as Arispe won with Miller third, Middleton fourth and Walters.
The sportsman division had its highest car count in recent memory with fifteen cars taking time and seventeen making the main event. Longtime Acres veteran, Glen Shewry turned in a 16.347 lap for fast time and took the trophy dash win over Larry Pries, Aaron Byers and Al Acuna. Acuna won the first sportsman heat race over Pries and Angelo Marcelli while Fergy Ferguson won the second over Byers and Shewry.
Marty Walsh brought the field to the green flag in the thirty lap main event. The first seven laps turned out some great side-by-side racing for the lead between the front row starters Walsh and Donnie Hyman. For the first seven laps, it was nip and tuck between the two racing cleanly for the lead. The caution flag came out on lap seven when Byers spun. On the restart going into turn one, Walsh and Hyman made contact and spun in front of the field. Pat Walsh, Mike Peeples and Brandon Barnwell all spun to avoid the incident while division rookie Frank Billy climbed the wall in the mix up. Billy was done for the night.
Geoff Brandon inherited the lead and brought the field to the restart over Acuna, Pries, Shewry and Rick Fox. After a lap twelve caution, Pries and Shewry battled for third position while Acuna tried to find a way around Brandon. The red flag came out on lap seventeen when Pat Walsh spun in turn four collecting his son Marty Walsh, along with Byers who rear ended Marty Walsh’s car. After the lengthy cleanup, the field went back to green flag racing. The yellow came out once again on lap twenty three when Barnwell and Hyman made contact with Hyman spinning. When the green came out, Acuna again applied pressure to Brandon but time ran out when Barnwell spun off turn four on lap twenty-nine and lost the entire rear part of his body. Due to the 11:00 curfew, the checkered flag flew under the yellow with Brandon winning, Acuna second, Pries third, Shewry fourth and Fox fifth.
The second race of the season is Saturday May 14. Along with the regular schedule of cars, the BCRA and WMRA midgets will be visiting the Acres.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The race didn’t see its full distance, and the racing action ran right up to the 11:00 sound curfew but none of that mattered to Geoff Brandon, who returned to regular racing action with the first win in the sportsman division of the new season at Redwood Acres Raceway. Brandon had previously ran his number 26 in the same division several years ago but decided to take a break from local racing until now. Defending real stock champion Cecil Arispe served notice to his competition that he would be a force to be reckoned with this season as he ran away from the field for the win. Due to impending bad weather and the time crunch with the visiting North State Challenge Series, the mini stock and limited street stock divisions were not able to hold their respective main events.
The limited street stock class has a seven car turnout with J.D. Fry setting the pace with an 18.142 lap around the 3/8 paved track. Richard Betournay won the trophy dash over Ken DeMello, Fry and Kavin Conn. The heat race saw great action between DeMello and Fry as the two battled each other for the win. Unfortunately as this was going on, on the last lap Duane Mayo blew his engine going into turn one. DeMello made his way though but Fry hit the oil and spun. DeMello took the win over Betournay. Fry was able to recover and finish third, Terry Vallee fourth and Mike Adams fifth.
There was a seven car turnout for qualifying for the mini stock class with Jaison Chand and Glen Bernald missing getting times in. Defending mini stock champion Jerry Peterson set a quick time of 18.911, the only driver to get into the eighteen second bracket. In the trophy dash, Joe Bonomini won a close on over Peterson, class rookie Craig Huffman and Craig Baker. Peterson ran away and hid from the field in the heat race scoring the win over Huffman, Baker, Bonomini and Chand.
The real stock division had a fine turnout of cars with twenty-two showing up for the night. Lissa Usselton set the pace with a solid 20.052 lap for fast time honors. Trevor Miller took the trophy dash with Cecil Arispe, Usselton and Bill Middleton nipping at his heels. Arispe won the first heat over Bill Bradbury and Ryan Walters while in heat two, Ray DeMello won over Miller and Gary Adams.
Rookie Brian Belt received pole honors for the twenty-five lap main event and led the first three laps before the caution flag flew. Under the yellow, Adams was black flagged. Walters took advantage on Belt’s lack of experience on the restart and nabbed the lead away from him. Meanwhile, Arispe had quickly diced his way through traffic and began challenging Walters for the lead on lap four. On lap five, Rick Stone spun on the front stretch and blocked the track. At the same time Arispe made his move for the lead on Walters and got it. The yellow flag came out as Doug Way spun off turn two. Under the yellow the running order was Arispe, Walters, Brian Belt, Middleton and Bradbury.
After the restart, on lap 7 Adams suffered a flat right rear tire and brought his car back into the pits. Meanwhile, Middleton and Jason Belt were moving their way to the front of the field. By lap twelve Middleton was second with Jason Belt following in third, both trying to chase down Arispe. Three laps later, Jason Belt made his move past Middleton and set sail to challenge Arispe for the lead. Lap 19, Adams had problems again and the caution flag flew. On the restart, Jason Belt began to apply pressure on Arispe for the lead and continued to til the end. Unfortunately for Belt it wasn’t enough as Arispe won with Miller third, Middleton fourth and Walters.
The sportsman division had its highest car count in recent memory with fifteen cars taking time and seventeen making the main event. Longtime Acres veteran, Glen Shewry turned in a 16.347 lap for fast time and took the trophy dash win over Larry Pries, Aaron Byers and Al Acuna. Acuna won the first sportsman heat race over Pries and Angelo Marcelli while Fergy Ferguson won the second over Byers and Shewry.
Marty Walsh brought the field to the green flag in the thirty lap main event. The first seven laps turned out some great side-by-side racing for the lead between the front row starters Walsh and Donnie Hyman. For the first seven laps, it was nip and tuck between the two racing cleanly for the lead. The caution flag came out on lap seven when Byers spun. On the restart going into turn one, Walsh and Hyman made contact and spun in front of the field. Pat Walsh, Mike Peeples and Brandon Barnwell all spun to avoid the incident while division rookie Frank Billy climbed the wall in the mix up. Billy was done for the night.
Geoff Brandon inherited the lead and brought the field to the restart over Acuna, Pries, Shewry and Rick Fox. After a lap twelve caution, Pries and Shewry battled for third position while Acuna tried to find a way around Brandon. The red flag came out on lap seventeen when Pat Walsh spun in turn four collecting his son Marty Walsh, along with Byers who rear ended Marty Walsh’s car. After the lengthy cleanup, the field went back to green flag racing. The yellow came out once again on lap twenty three when Barnwell and Hyman made contact with Hyman spinning. When the green came out, Acuna again applied pressure to Brandon but time ran out when Barnwell spun off turn four on lap twenty-nine and lost the entire rear part of his body. Due to the 11:00 curfew, the checkered flag flew under the yellow with Brandon winning, Acuna second, Pries third, Shewry fourth and Fox fifth.
The second race of the season is Saturday May 14. Along with the regular schedule of cars, the BCRA and WMRA midgets will be visiting the Acres.
Thursday, August 1, 2002
Spencer holds off Walker to win
Spencer holds off Walker to win
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The late model cars made their fourth visit to the 3/8-mile paved oval in Eureka, California and they didn’t disappoint. Though there was a low turnout of cars there was not at a low level in the action as Rick Spencer held off local favorite, Jimmy Walker to take the win in the main event. In the local action, young Gary Adams took the victory in the popular real stock division. Veteran driver, Pat Walsh, made a bold pass and won the main event in the sportsman division while Phil Wood once again showed his strength in the mini stock division taking home the top honors.
Jaison Chand took the mini stock trophy dash victory over Dan Brown. In the first of the two heat races in the division, Matt Wolfe took the win over Tai Frye who was making his first appearance of the season and Brian Murrell. Phil Wood won the second heat over his season long challengers Jason Rhodes and Chand. In the main event, Wood showed his strength early as he took the lead in the first few laps of the race; a lead he would not relinquish. On lap 3, Rhodes made his way to second and tried to chase down Wood along with Brown and Chand. Wood, was just too strong and he took the victory over Rhodes, Brown and Chand.
Rick Fox broke the real stock track record for the second race in a row with a new fast pace of 19.531. In the trophy dash, Mike Peters won over Dan Maxwell, Shawn Craig and Fox. Craig Huffman won the first of the three heat races for the real stock class over Carl Bowling and Brett Alverson who was driving in Bill Middleton’s car. There was a alarming event in the second heat race when Jimmy Thornbury and Lissa Uselton made contact coming off of turn four. Uselton’s car looked as if it were going to hit the wall severely but fortunately she suffered only minor damage to her right front quarter panel. Thornbury also escaped major damage to his car. James Henry took the win over Travis Maytanes and Ryan Thompson. In the third heat, Rick Fox had radiator troubles. Dan Maxwell won over Fox’s title rival Craig and Donnie Hyman.
Four spots were open for the drivers in the ‘B’ main event to move on to the ‘A’ main. Filling those four places were winner, Huffman, Ryan Walters, Chad Trump and Cecil Arispe. The main event was tempestuous to say the least. Chad Gurney and Uselton led the field to the green flag. A full first lap would not be completed however as a major accident in turn three involving several cars ensued. Among the most heavily damaged were Fite, Fox, Craig, Peters, Curt Vance and Hyman. Under the caution flag, Maxwell and Doug Way had an exchange in which Maxwell spun out Way. Both were black flagged and parked for the evening.
After the restart and a few laps of racing, Uselton spun while trying to pass another car bringing out a caution flag. Fortunately for her, she did not loose a lap and was able to continue on. Once the green fell again, Gary Adams began to show his muscle. On lap 8 Adams took the lead from Aaron Byers. On lap 12, Byers and Dana Porter spun while fighting for second position. That same lap, Maytanes pulled his car into the infield. Under the caution Byers was not pleased with his placement in the lineup for the restart. He showed his discontent and he was black-flagged and parked for the rest of the night.
After another restart, Gurney spun and almost collected Craig who had returned to the track to run for valuable points. The green fell again and Adams pulled away from the rest of the pack. Another incident developed for second between Henry and Mike Peeples. Both spun but the caution flag was not brought out. Adams ran clean the whole night and ended up with the winner’s trophy. Finishing second making a great charge from his win in the ‘B’ main was Huffman, followed by Arispe, Uselton and Fite.
It seemed to be a night for the veterans in the sportsman division as a veteran driver took each victory in the class. Angelo Marcelli won the trophy dash over David Henderson and Pat Walsh. Ed Peters, who had been out of competition for several years, took the heat race win over Walsh and Marcelli. The main event had the most exciting episode in the first corner of the first lap. Peters and Henderson brought the field to the green flag. Going into that first corner, Walsh made a daring move to the inside of Peters and Henderson to make it three wide. Fortunately for everyone, Walsh made it through unscathed in what turned out to be the winning move. On lap two, Peters got loose and spun off of turn two but there wasn‘t a caution flag thrown. Walsh stretched out his lead while Marcelli, Henderson and Scotty Turner tried to chase him down. Henderson had problems on lap 20 and was forced to retire. Walsh held his lead and took the win over Marcelli, Turner and Peters.
In a fight between two Ferndale, California drivers, Larry Pries took the heat race win over Jimmy Walker, Rick Spencer and Shawn Hayes. Pries made the heat race action even more exciting as he took the lead and the victory away from Ed Peters on the last lap over the race. Second was Spencer followed by Hayes and Walker.
Peters and Preston O’Dell brought the field to the green flag in the main event. It was short lived for Peters though who broke on the first lap and was done for the night. On the restart, O’Dell took the early lead. While racing with Pries, Hayes made contact with him and spun Pries out. The caution was thrown and Hayes was sent to the rear of the field. On the restart, O’Dell led over Spencer and Walker. On lap 12, Chuck LaHorgue had problems and went into the pits. Three laps later, Pries spun between turns three and four. Coming to the caution flag, Spencer made a bold pass on O’Dell and took the lead. After a few laps of green racing, O’Dell spun forcing another caution flag.
After the restart, Hayes got loose and spun off of turn four, billowing smoke from his tires trying in vain to save his car. Eureka driver, Jason Winfrey drove into the smoke but didn’t make it through as his front end slammed in to the right front wheel of Hayes car. Both Hayes and Winfrey were done for the night. Walker tried his best to make a move on Spencer. Both had a lot of horsepower down the straight-aways but it was Spencer’s better handling car that helped him hold off Walker for the lead and the eventual victory. Second was Walker followed by O’Dell and Pries.
The next race at the Acres is the regular show of mini stocks, real stocks and sportsman cars on August 17. The late models return two weeks later on August 24.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The late model cars made their fourth visit to the 3/8-mile paved oval in Eureka, California and they didn’t disappoint. Though there was a low turnout of cars there was not at a low level in the action as Rick Spencer held off local favorite, Jimmy Walker to take the win in the main event. In the local action, young Gary Adams took the victory in the popular real stock division. Veteran driver, Pat Walsh, made a bold pass and won the main event in the sportsman division while Phil Wood once again showed his strength in the mini stock division taking home the top honors.
Jaison Chand took the mini stock trophy dash victory over Dan Brown. In the first of the two heat races in the division, Matt Wolfe took the win over Tai Frye who was making his first appearance of the season and Brian Murrell. Phil Wood won the second heat over his season long challengers Jason Rhodes and Chand. In the main event, Wood showed his strength early as he took the lead in the first few laps of the race; a lead he would not relinquish. On lap 3, Rhodes made his way to second and tried to chase down Wood along with Brown and Chand. Wood, was just too strong and he took the victory over Rhodes, Brown and Chand.
Rick Fox broke the real stock track record for the second race in a row with a new fast pace of 19.531. In the trophy dash, Mike Peters won over Dan Maxwell, Shawn Craig and Fox. Craig Huffman won the first of the three heat races for the real stock class over Carl Bowling and Brett Alverson who was driving in Bill Middleton’s car. There was a alarming event in the second heat race when Jimmy Thornbury and Lissa Uselton made contact coming off of turn four. Uselton’s car looked as if it were going to hit the wall severely but fortunately she suffered only minor damage to her right front quarter panel. Thornbury also escaped major damage to his car. James Henry took the win over Travis Maytanes and Ryan Thompson. In the third heat, Rick Fox had radiator troubles. Dan Maxwell won over Fox’s title rival Craig and Donnie Hyman.
Four spots were open for the drivers in the ‘B’ main event to move on to the ‘A’ main. Filling those four places were winner, Huffman, Ryan Walters, Chad Trump and Cecil Arispe. The main event was tempestuous to say the least. Chad Gurney and Uselton led the field to the green flag. A full first lap would not be completed however as a major accident in turn three involving several cars ensued. Among the most heavily damaged were Fite, Fox, Craig, Peters, Curt Vance and Hyman. Under the caution flag, Maxwell and Doug Way had an exchange in which Maxwell spun out Way. Both were black flagged and parked for the evening.
After the restart and a few laps of racing, Uselton spun while trying to pass another car bringing out a caution flag. Fortunately for her, she did not loose a lap and was able to continue on. Once the green fell again, Gary Adams began to show his muscle. On lap 8 Adams took the lead from Aaron Byers. On lap 12, Byers and Dana Porter spun while fighting for second position. That same lap, Maytanes pulled his car into the infield. Under the caution Byers was not pleased with his placement in the lineup for the restart. He showed his discontent and he was black-flagged and parked for the rest of the night.
After another restart, Gurney spun and almost collected Craig who had returned to the track to run for valuable points. The green fell again and Adams pulled away from the rest of the pack. Another incident developed for second between Henry and Mike Peeples. Both spun but the caution flag was not brought out. Adams ran clean the whole night and ended up with the winner’s trophy. Finishing second making a great charge from his win in the ‘B’ main was Huffman, followed by Arispe, Uselton and Fite.
It seemed to be a night for the veterans in the sportsman division as a veteran driver took each victory in the class. Angelo Marcelli won the trophy dash over David Henderson and Pat Walsh. Ed Peters, who had been out of competition for several years, took the heat race win over Walsh and Marcelli. The main event had the most exciting episode in the first corner of the first lap. Peters and Henderson brought the field to the green flag. Going into that first corner, Walsh made a daring move to the inside of Peters and Henderson to make it three wide. Fortunately for everyone, Walsh made it through unscathed in what turned out to be the winning move. On lap two, Peters got loose and spun off of turn two but there wasn‘t a caution flag thrown. Walsh stretched out his lead while Marcelli, Henderson and Scotty Turner tried to chase him down. Henderson had problems on lap 20 and was forced to retire. Walsh held his lead and took the win over Marcelli, Turner and Peters.
In a fight between two Ferndale, California drivers, Larry Pries took the heat race win over Jimmy Walker, Rick Spencer and Shawn Hayes. Pries made the heat race action even more exciting as he took the lead and the victory away from Ed Peters on the last lap over the race. Second was Spencer followed by Hayes and Walker.
Peters and Preston O’Dell brought the field to the green flag in the main event. It was short lived for Peters though who broke on the first lap and was done for the night. On the restart, O’Dell took the early lead. While racing with Pries, Hayes made contact with him and spun Pries out. The caution was thrown and Hayes was sent to the rear of the field. On the restart, O’Dell led over Spencer and Walker. On lap 12, Chuck LaHorgue had problems and went into the pits. Three laps later, Pries spun between turns three and four. Coming to the caution flag, Spencer made a bold pass on O’Dell and took the lead. After a few laps of green racing, O’Dell spun forcing another caution flag.
After the restart, Hayes got loose and spun off of turn four, billowing smoke from his tires trying in vain to save his car. Eureka driver, Jason Winfrey drove into the smoke but didn’t make it through as his front end slammed in to the right front wheel of Hayes car. Both Hayes and Winfrey were done for the night. Walker tried his best to make a move on Spencer. Both had a lot of horsepower down the straight-aways but it was Spencer’s better handling car that helped him hold off Walker for the lead and the eventual victory. Second was Walker followed by O’Dell and Pries.
The next race at the Acres is the regular show of mini stocks, real stocks and sportsman cars on August 17. The late models return two weeks later on August 24.
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