2006 Real Stock season: A look back
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Bill Bradbury’s wide point margin and championship victory may have been a bit deceiving to those who were not able to view all of the real stock races at Redwood Acres Raceway in 2006. While Bradbury did notch three victories and maintained the consistency it takes to win a championship on any level, his 2006 championship run was anything but easy. On any given night at the Acres, at least ten different drivers could wind up as the winner of the main event. No, it was not easy at all.
Bradbury’s closest points competitor proved to be Barry Barnwell. Early in the season, Barnwell’s strength was somewhat of a surprise, but as the season went on his strength proved to last. Although Barnwell was not able to win a main event in 2006 he was consistently a factor, at or near the front of the pack in every race. The third place points finishers, co-drivers Ray and Ryan Robinson also proved to be surprising. Going into the season, it did not appear as if the duo would be among the fast cars, but on most nights they were. Although they were shut out from victory circle, they opened the eyes of their competition and should be one of the cars to beat in the coming year.
Real Stock veteran, Steve Kimberling maintained a top five consistency throughout the season, keeping his car clean. Kimberling was finally able to break through and win the final main event of the year in the Fall Spectacular. One of Bill Bradbury’s toughest competitors all season proved to be Dan Browne. The two staged one of the most memorable races ever at the Acres in the fourth race of the season, trading the lead back and forth on several occasions. When the checkered flag dropped, Browne and Bradbury were side-by-side. At the line, Browne was able to beat Bradbury by inches.
Jim Redd placed sixth in the points standings. More often than not, Redd was in the thick of the battle for the top five. Ryan Walters won the most main events in the division scoring four victories and seventh in the points. Unfortunately, Walters took what may have been the hardest hit of the season on the final weekend when his right front tire bounced off his car in practice sending him straight into the water barrels in turn two. Walters was not hurt, but the car proved not to be.
Eighth in the points was Troy Wood. On many nights Wood was among the early leaders in the main event, but he just could not muster enough to claim victory. Doug Way was the ninth place points finisher scoring his two main event wins early in the season. Way seemed to be one of the more unlucky drivers, getting involved in accidents not of his own doing forcing him out of races. Jim Bailey finished tenth in points. Bailey was one of the strongest contenders every race, but circumstance kept him from taking home main event wins. Two drivers scored main event wins, but did not participate the full season, Jason Belt and Cecil Arispe.
The 2007 season should prove to be a close points battle. Bill Bradbury is the rightful favorite going into the year but winning the championship won’t get any easier. With Barnwell and Walters combining their efforts into one, they should be stiff competition. Anyone in the top ten could easily win the championship. Those outside of the top ten like Bob Lima, Ray Demello and Cecil Arispe could be major championship factors too. Improving drivers such as Dana DeVane, Marvin Savage and Nick Green look to finish better in the standings. The real stock division will definitely be something worth watching in 2007.
Historic videos, race reports and race results from various Northern California race tracks
Gary Jacob Archives
Showing posts with label Dan Browne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dan Browne. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Thompson wins wire-to-wire, Henderson, Bradbury lock up titles
Thompson wins wire-to-wire, Henderson, Bradbury lock up titles
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The end of a thrilling 2006 racing season at the Redwood Acres Raceway came Friday and Saturday night at the 3/8 mile paved oval. Joining the real stocks and thunder roadsters for the final weekend of action were the I.M.C.A. modified cars. Oregonian Willie Thompson took full advantage of his pole position and lead wire-to-wire in a clean and green modified main event. Troy Combs took the win in the thunder roadster main event, however David Henderson held a big enough advantage over Combs in points to take the championship. The real stocks held two main events, one for each night. Jim Bailey won on the first night while Steve Kimberling won on night two. Bill Bradbury comfortably won the 2006 real stock points title.
In what has seemed to be the norm for the real stock division this season, Ryan Walters had the quickest lap in qualifying turning a 19.414 lap. Bill Middleton won the dash over Dan Browne, Jim Bailey and Walters. Troy Wood won the first heat race followed by Steve Kimberling, Browne, Middleton and Jason Belt. Ryan Robinson won the second heat with Bailey, Barry Barnwell, Bill Bradbury and Jim Redd completing the top five.
18 cars started the 25-lap main event with the field brought to the green flag by Belt and Redd. Going into the first turn, Redd held the advantage over Belt. Doug Way spun in turn two on the first lap but didn’t bring out a yellow. Coming off of turn four on the first lap, Belt was able to move by Redd to take the lead. On lap three, Middleton took his car to the pits putting him out of contention. Lap four saw Barnwell move inside of Redd for second. That same lap, Robinson spun off turn four blocking most of the front straightaway. Kelly McBride, with nowhere to go hit Robinson in the right rear bringing out the red flag. Amazingly Robinson was able to continue, while McBride’s front end necessitated repairs that would keep him out for the rest of the night.
With the red flag being displayed, the field reverted to the previous lap of running which set Belt in the lead followed by Redd, Barnwell, Kimberling and Bob Lima. On the restart, Barnwell spun off the second turn, losing his third position. On lap 8, Bradbury moved into the fifth position. On lap 10, Redd began to drag bodywork. The yellow came out for debris the next lap. Redd went to the pits changing the top five order to Belt, Kimberling, Lima, Bailey and Bradbury.
The restart came and Bailey took advantage of cooler tires and the bunched up field. On lap 13 he moved outside and by Lima. The next lap, Bailey used the same move to get by Kimberling for second. On lap 16, Bailey moved to the outside of Belt but couldn’t get the grip he needed to get by. At the same time, Lima moved inside and by Kimberling for third. Bailey moved back to Belt’s outside on lap 18 and the two raced side-by-side for the lead. On lap 21 Bailey held the advantage but Belt fought back and was able to use lap traffic to retake the lead. Lima was able to move into second, but Bailey retook the position on lap 22 going into the third turn. Bailey tried his best to close the gap on Belt the final two laps but couldn’t muster enough strength as Belt crossed the line first over Belt, Lima, Bradbury and Browne. However in post race inspection, Belt’s car did not pass awarding the win to Bailey.
Saturday night’s action started off with an unfortunate incident for Ryan Walters during practice. Walter’s right front wheel came loose sending him hard into the turn two water barrels entering pit road. Fortunately Walters okay but his car was beyond repair. Dan Browne won the trophy dash over Jim Bailey, Bill Middleton and Bill Bradbury. The first of the two heat races started off with a scary incident involving Dana DeVane and Doug Way. Track workers had to use the jaws of life to extract DeVane out of her car. Thankfully, DeVane was awake and alert and track and medical officials were being cautious in taking her out of the car. Browne won the heat over Middleton, Bob Lima, Chuck Essex and Steve Kimberling. Bradbury took the second over Bailey, Ryan Robinson, Jim Redd and Barry Barnwell.
The 25-lap main with a depleted 12 car field was lead to the green fittingly by Nick Green and Barnwell. Green’s car started off the pace giving the lead to Barnwell over Robinson, Wood, Redd and Browne. On lap two, Browne made contact with Redd off turn two sending Redd into the infield. Browne moved to the back of the pack and the field went to back to green. Robinson spun off the second turn on his own, but the yellow didn’t come out. On lap four, Lima moved by Bradbury for fifth going into the first turn. Bradbury retook the position going into the third turn on the same lap. On lap five, Wood moved outside of Barnwell for the lead. Bradbury spun off the second collecting Redd and bringing out the yellow flag.
Lima was moved to the back of the pack changing the top five to Barnwell, Wood, Kimberling, Bailey and Essex. The green flag flew once again with Browne taking advantage and moving by Essex for fifth. On lap 9, Wood and Barnwell made contact bringing out the yellow. However, officials deemed Bailey responsible for the incident sending him to the rear of the field. Through all the confusion, Kimberling was now the leader over Wood, Browne, Essex and Robinson. The green flew for the final time with Kimberling looking to hold on and take his first main event win.
On lap 10, Browne moved outside of Wood for second but couldn’t get by. Three laps later, Browne moved to Wood’s inside to take the second position. On lap 14, Robinson moved outside of Essex for fourth, taking the position the next lap. Meanwhile Bailey was on a tear through the field, following Robinson past Essex. In the meantime, Kimberling held a comfortable 10-car length gap over second place Browne.
On lap 17, Bailey moved outside Robinson for fourth, taking the spot going into the third turn on lap 18. On lap 21, Bailey moved inside and past Wood for third. Meanwhile Browne was quickly closing the gap on Kimberling. With one lap to go, Browne closed to within five car lengths. Coming off the fourth turn the gap was closed to within one car length, but the margin was more than enough for Steve Kimberling as he was able to score his first ever main event victory. Browne, Bailey, Wood and Robinson rounded out the top five finishers.
The thunder roadster division had three visiting drivers making long tows to race. Included were Ed Hohman from Las Vegas along with Tryan Stutes and Luis Garcia from Texas. Rusty Olson set quick time with a 17.074 lap. The action in the trophy dash got a bit too wild between Troy Combs and Randy Olson with Olson suffering irreparable damage. Paul Peeples, Jr. was awarded the win. The heat races were 25-lap affairs with Chris Banfill winning the first over Hohman, Ron Rosenthal, Ray Elliott and Mike Ward. David Henderson won the second over Peeples, Jr. Randy Olson who was driving a Bill O’Neill car, Combs and LeRoy Marsh, Jr.
Marsh and Ward comprised the front tow for the 24 car 50-lap feature. Marsh was able to grab the early lead with Combs following in second, Randy Olson third and Peeples fourth. On lap two, Henderson looked inside of Peeples for fourth but didn’t have the line. With Henderson’s momentum broke, Rusty Olson moved outside and past Henderson on lap three. The front trio of Marsh, Combs and Randy Olson pulled away as the field settled and stretched out. Combs looked outside of Marsh on lap 10 but couldn’t find the room. On lap 14, Combs looked inside of Marsh but again Marsh held him off.
When the leaders hit slower traffic on lap 15, the racing really got intense. Combs moved to Marsh’s outside while Olson filled the gap behind Marsh. Olson moved inside of Combs on lap 18, but Combs was able to get back to Marsh’s outside on lap 20. Marsh got loose off turn four on lap 21 allowing Combs to take the lead. While the Marsh and Randy Olson continued to maneuver through traffic, Peeples and Rusty Olson began to close in. Combs began to fight heavier traffic giving Marsh and Randy Olson a chance to close while Peeples and Rusty Olson fought slower cars.
The yellow flag came out on lap 30 when Chris Lawrence and Jay Bahner had a meeting in turn four. The field bunched up and the green came out once again. On lap 32, Marsh got loose off the fourth turn, but he was able to hold on. Peeples looked to Randy Olson’s inside on lap 35 but couldn’t make the move. Three laps later, Randy Olson was finally able to get inside Marsh completing the pass off the second turn. Peeples was able to follow through. Combs had a 8-car length gap but the gap shrank when he got into slower traffic. With three laps to go, Olson was able to get on Combs’ bumper. That same lap, Henderson moved by Rusty Olson to take fifth. Randy Olson tried to mount a challenge but time ran out as Troy Combs was able to hold him off for the win with Randy Olson second, Paul Peeples, Jr. third, LeRoy Marsh, Jr. fourth and David Henderson fifth. However, Combs car did not pass post-race tech giving the win over to Olson.
The I.M.C.A. modifieds had their usual race in the Acres season finale. Stockton ace and defending race champion Jay Lindstroth took fast time honors with a 16.206 lap. The trophy dash was won by Scott Winters followed by Lindstroth, Ken Scales and Jerry DuBach. Tom Berry won the first heat followed by Eddie Laws, Guy Young, Willie Thompson and Gary Lowblad. Scott Winters won the second heat over Noel McCormack, Jerry Dubach, Dustin DeRosier and Terry Pittman.
17 cars started the 50-lap main event. Among the drivers who didn’t start were Young, Pittman and Richie Potts who wasn’t even able to get on the track. Thompson and DeRosier brought the field to the green flag. Thompson was able to take the lead while DeRosier was freight trained on the inside. Thompson lead Laws, Dubach, McCormack and Winters. By lap 9, Thompson had a three car length lead over Laws as he fought off Dubach for the second position. Winters moved inside and by McCormack on lap 14. Defending race champion Lindstroth fell off the pace and pulled his car to the pits on lap 15.
On lap 16, Dubach moved to Laws’ outside allowing Thompson to pull out his lead to eight car lengths. The two raced side-by-side for a lap before Dubach fell behind Laws. Thompson began to get into slower traffic on lap 27 but was able to make his way through on lap 29. The cars of Law, Dubach, Winters were just getting into the traffic on lap 29 and didn’t get through until lap 32. By this point, Thompson had a 15-car length gap
Dubach looked inside of Laws on lap 36 but couldn’t get by. Finally, on lap 41 Dubach got the grip and moved by Laws going into turn one bringing Winters with him. The gap looked to be insurmountable, but with the laps dwindling Dubach was able to narrow the gap to about four car lengths. But that was as close as it would come as Willie Thompson won the beautifully run race over Dubach, Winters, Laws and Lowblad.
With that, the 2006 racing season at the Acres concluded. 2007 should be another exciting season as the real stocks, limited street stocks, mini stocks, thunder roadsters and sportsman cars will be back at it again.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The end of a thrilling 2006 racing season at the Redwood Acres Raceway came Friday and Saturday night at the 3/8 mile paved oval. Joining the real stocks and thunder roadsters for the final weekend of action were the I.M.C.A. modified cars. Oregonian Willie Thompson took full advantage of his pole position and lead wire-to-wire in a clean and green modified main event. Troy Combs took the win in the thunder roadster main event, however David Henderson held a big enough advantage over Combs in points to take the championship. The real stocks held two main events, one for each night. Jim Bailey won on the first night while Steve Kimberling won on night two. Bill Bradbury comfortably won the 2006 real stock points title.
In what has seemed to be the norm for the real stock division this season, Ryan Walters had the quickest lap in qualifying turning a 19.414 lap. Bill Middleton won the dash over Dan Browne, Jim Bailey and Walters. Troy Wood won the first heat race followed by Steve Kimberling, Browne, Middleton and Jason Belt. Ryan Robinson won the second heat with Bailey, Barry Barnwell, Bill Bradbury and Jim Redd completing the top five.
18 cars started the 25-lap main event with the field brought to the green flag by Belt and Redd. Going into the first turn, Redd held the advantage over Belt. Doug Way spun in turn two on the first lap but didn’t bring out a yellow. Coming off of turn four on the first lap, Belt was able to move by Redd to take the lead. On lap three, Middleton took his car to the pits putting him out of contention. Lap four saw Barnwell move inside of Redd for second. That same lap, Robinson spun off turn four blocking most of the front straightaway. Kelly McBride, with nowhere to go hit Robinson in the right rear bringing out the red flag. Amazingly Robinson was able to continue, while McBride’s front end necessitated repairs that would keep him out for the rest of the night.
With the red flag being displayed, the field reverted to the previous lap of running which set Belt in the lead followed by Redd, Barnwell, Kimberling and Bob Lima. On the restart, Barnwell spun off the second turn, losing his third position. On lap 8, Bradbury moved into the fifth position. On lap 10, Redd began to drag bodywork. The yellow came out for debris the next lap. Redd went to the pits changing the top five order to Belt, Kimberling, Lima, Bailey and Bradbury.
The restart came and Bailey took advantage of cooler tires and the bunched up field. On lap 13 he moved outside and by Lima. The next lap, Bailey used the same move to get by Kimberling for second. On lap 16, Bailey moved to the outside of Belt but couldn’t get the grip he needed to get by. At the same time, Lima moved inside and by Kimberling for third. Bailey moved back to Belt’s outside on lap 18 and the two raced side-by-side for the lead. On lap 21 Bailey held the advantage but Belt fought back and was able to use lap traffic to retake the lead. Lima was able to move into second, but Bailey retook the position on lap 22 going into the third turn. Bailey tried his best to close the gap on Belt the final two laps but couldn’t muster enough strength as Belt crossed the line first over Belt, Lima, Bradbury and Browne. However in post race inspection, Belt’s car did not pass awarding the win to Bailey.
Saturday night’s action started off with an unfortunate incident for Ryan Walters during practice. Walter’s right front wheel came loose sending him hard into the turn two water barrels entering pit road. Fortunately Walters okay but his car was beyond repair. Dan Browne won the trophy dash over Jim Bailey, Bill Middleton and Bill Bradbury. The first of the two heat races started off with a scary incident involving Dana DeVane and Doug Way. Track workers had to use the jaws of life to extract DeVane out of her car. Thankfully, DeVane was awake and alert and track and medical officials were being cautious in taking her out of the car. Browne won the heat over Middleton, Bob Lima, Chuck Essex and Steve Kimberling. Bradbury took the second over Bailey, Ryan Robinson, Jim Redd and Barry Barnwell.
The 25-lap main with a depleted 12 car field was lead to the green fittingly by Nick Green and Barnwell. Green’s car started off the pace giving the lead to Barnwell over Robinson, Wood, Redd and Browne. On lap two, Browne made contact with Redd off turn two sending Redd into the infield. Browne moved to the back of the pack and the field went to back to green. Robinson spun off the second turn on his own, but the yellow didn’t come out. On lap four, Lima moved by Bradbury for fifth going into the first turn. Bradbury retook the position going into the third turn on the same lap. On lap five, Wood moved outside of Barnwell for the lead. Bradbury spun off the second collecting Redd and bringing out the yellow flag.
Lima was moved to the back of the pack changing the top five to Barnwell, Wood, Kimberling, Bailey and Essex. The green flag flew once again with Browne taking advantage and moving by Essex for fifth. On lap 9, Wood and Barnwell made contact bringing out the yellow. However, officials deemed Bailey responsible for the incident sending him to the rear of the field. Through all the confusion, Kimberling was now the leader over Wood, Browne, Essex and Robinson. The green flew for the final time with Kimberling looking to hold on and take his first main event win.
On lap 10, Browne moved outside of Wood for second but couldn’t get by. Three laps later, Browne moved to Wood’s inside to take the second position. On lap 14, Robinson moved outside of Essex for fourth, taking the position the next lap. Meanwhile Bailey was on a tear through the field, following Robinson past Essex. In the meantime, Kimberling held a comfortable 10-car length gap over second place Browne.
On lap 17, Bailey moved outside Robinson for fourth, taking the spot going into the third turn on lap 18. On lap 21, Bailey moved inside and past Wood for third. Meanwhile Browne was quickly closing the gap on Kimberling. With one lap to go, Browne closed to within five car lengths. Coming off the fourth turn the gap was closed to within one car length, but the margin was more than enough for Steve Kimberling as he was able to score his first ever main event victory. Browne, Bailey, Wood and Robinson rounded out the top five finishers.
The thunder roadster division had three visiting drivers making long tows to race. Included were Ed Hohman from Las Vegas along with Tryan Stutes and Luis Garcia from Texas. Rusty Olson set quick time with a 17.074 lap. The action in the trophy dash got a bit too wild between Troy Combs and Randy Olson with Olson suffering irreparable damage. Paul Peeples, Jr. was awarded the win. The heat races were 25-lap affairs with Chris Banfill winning the first over Hohman, Ron Rosenthal, Ray Elliott and Mike Ward. David Henderson won the second over Peeples, Jr. Randy Olson who was driving a Bill O’Neill car, Combs and LeRoy Marsh, Jr.
Marsh and Ward comprised the front tow for the 24 car 50-lap feature. Marsh was able to grab the early lead with Combs following in second, Randy Olson third and Peeples fourth. On lap two, Henderson looked inside of Peeples for fourth but didn’t have the line. With Henderson’s momentum broke, Rusty Olson moved outside and past Henderson on lap three. The front trio of Marsh, Combs and Randy Olson pulled away as the field settled and stretched out. Combs looked outside of Marsh on lap 10 but couldn’t find the room. On lap 14, Combs looked inside of Marsh but again Marsh held him off.
When the leaders hit slower traffic on lap 15, the racing really got intense. Combs moved to Marsh’s outside while Olson filled the gap behind Marsh. Olson moved inside of Combs on lap 18, but Combs was able to get back to Marsh’s outside on lap 20. Marsh got loose off turn four on lap 21 allowing Combs to take the lead. While the Marsh and Randy Olson continued to maneuver through traffic, Peeples and Rusty Olson began to close in. Combs began to fight heavier traffic giving Marsh and Randy Olson a chance to close while Peeples and Rusty Olson fought slower cars.
The yellow flag came out on lap 30 when Chris Lawrence and Jay Bahner had a meeting in turn four. The field bunched up and the green came out once again. On lap 32, Marsh got loose off the fourth turn, but he was able to hold on. Peeples looked to Randy Olson’s inside on lap 35 but couldn’t make the move. Three laps later, Randy Olson was finally able to get inside Marsh completing the pass off the second turn. Peeples was able to follow through. Combs had a 8-car length gap but the gap shrank when he got into slower traffic. With three laps to go, Olson was able to get on Combs’ bumper. That same lap, Henderson moved by Rusty Olson to take fifth. Randy Olson tried to mount a challenge but time ran out as Troy Combs was able to hold him off for the win with Randy Olson second, Paul Peeples, Jr. third, LeRoy Marsh, Jr. fourth and David Henderson fifth. However, Combs car did not pass post-race tech giving the win over to Olson.
The I.M.C.A. modifieds had their usual race in the Acres season finale. Stockton ace and defending race champion Jay Lindstroth took fast time honors with a 16.206 lap. The trophy dash was won by Scott Winters followed by Lindstroth, Ken Scales and Jerry DuBach. Tom Berry won the first heat followed by Eddie Laws, Guy Young, Willie Thompson and Gary Lowblad. Scott Winters won the second heat over Noel McCormack, Jerry Dubach, Dustin DeRosier and Terry Pittman.
17 cars started the 50-lap main event. Among the drivers who didn’t start were Young, Pittman and Richie Potts who wasn’t even able to get on the track. Thompson and DeRosier brought the field to the green flag. Thompson was able to take the lead while DeRosier was freight trained on the inside. Thompson lead Laws, Dubach, McCormack and Winters. By lap 9, Thompson had a three car length lead over Laws as he fought off Dubach for the second position. Winters moved inside and by McCormack on lap 14. Defending race champion Lindstroth fell off the pace and pulled his car to the pits on lap 15.
On lap 16, Dubach moved to Laws’ outside allowing Thompson to pull out his lead to eight car lengths. The two raced side-by-side for a lap before Dubach fell behind Laws. Thompson began to get into slower traffic on lap 27 but was able to make his way through on lap 29. The cars of Law, Dubach, Winters were just getting into the traffic on lap 29 and didn’t get through until lap 32. By this point, Thompson had a 15-car length gap
Dubach looked inside of Laws on lap 36 but couldn’t get by. Finally, on lap 41 Dubach got the grip and moved by Laws going into turn one bringing Winters with him. The gap looked to be insurmountable, but with the laps dwindling Dubach was able to narrow the gap to about four car lengths. But that was as close as it would come as Willie Thompson won the beautifully run race over Dubach, Winters, Laws and Lowblad.
With that, the 2006 racing season at the Acres concluded. 2007 should be another exciting season as the real stocks, limited street stocks, mini stocks, thunder roadsters and sportsman cars will be back at it again.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Walsh, Grammer, Betournay 2006 champions
Walsh, Grammer, Betournay 2006 champions
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The thirteenth event of the season, the Judy Fox Memorial race at Redwood Acres Raceway Saturday night saw the 2006 points races in the sportsman, mini stock and limited street stock divisions come to an end with champions crowned in each division. Marty Walsh held off the toughest challenges of Glen Shewry to win once again in the sportsman division capping off a superb championship run. Craig Baker took home the trophy in the mini stock division but Chad Grammer was probably the happiest mini stock driver as his fourth place finish was good enough to claim the title. Class rookie Trevor Miller claimed victory in the limited street stock class while first year driver Adrien Betournay won the division champion. While the real stock and thunder roadsters still have another weekend of racing left, both divisions had great racing with Dan Browne winning the real stock main, and Troy Combs taking top honors in the roadster race.
Before the night’s racing action, drivers from all divisions brought their cars out to the track to do a few memorial laps in honor of Judy Fox as well as other loved ones who were either lost to cancer or have passed on from other circumstances. The field of cars was lead by Rick Fox, Judy’s son and Lissa Uselton who is a close friend of the Fox family. Ryan Walters set the quickest lap in time trials in the real stock division with a 19.338 lap. Jim Bailey won the dash over Walters Dan Browne and Bill Bradbury. Brian Belt won the first heat race followed by Ryan Robinson, Troy Wood, Steve Kimberling and Bailey. Browne won the second heat race with Bill Middleton, Walters, Doug Way and Barry Barnwell in his tire tracks.
Eighteen cars started the 25-lap real stock main event. Troy Wood and Chuck Essex took the field to the green flag and the start of the race. Off the start, Doug Way suffered problems and slowed on the track. Coming off the fourth turn, Middleton spun bringing out the yellow flag. Amidst the early race chaos, it was Essex taking the early lead over Barnwell and Wood. The green flag flew again with Barnwell moving to Essex’s outside, taking the top position on lap three. On lap four, Walters moved himself into the fifth position getting by Kimberling. Bradbury moved by Wood and began to harass Essex for second allowing Barnwell to pull out to a sizeable margin. On lap seven, Walters made his way by Wood bringing Browne with him. The next lap, Walters moved inside Bradbury for second but Bradbury was able to hold him off. The caution came out on lap 10 when Mark Mullin spun and hit the turn four wall.
Unfortunately for Barnwell, his large lead was erased, and on the restart he now had Essex, Bradbury, Walters and Browne within striking distance of him. On the restart, Walters moved to the outside of Bradbury for third, finishing the pass on lap 11. Walters then was able to maneuver his way by Essex going into the third turn on lap 12 taking the second spot. At the same time, Browne was able to get by Bradbury for fourth. Browne moved outside of Essex on lap 13, taking the third position on lap 14 in turn one. As the leaders hit slower cars on lap 16, Browne was able to get by Walters for second in turn one. The lapped traffic jumbled the running order with Belt and Bradbury able to get by Essex.
On lap 18, Browne was able to snatch the lead away from Barnwell going into the first turn. At the same time, Belt and Walters made contact, allowing Belt to get by. Walters regained the position going into the third turn on lap 19. On lap 20, Walters spun in the second turn into the infield. The caution flag did not fly however costing Walters any chance at a good finish. Meanwhile, Browne had stretched out to a comfortable lead over Barnwell, while Barnwell had a comfortable lead over Bradbury in third. With one lap to go, Belt moved to the outside of Bradbury but got loose allowing Bailey to take the fourth position. At the front, it was Dan Browne crossing the checkered flag leading a top five consisting of drivers with the last name started by ‘B’; Barnwell, Bradbury, Bailey and Belt.
In practice for the limited street stock division, Romeo Venza hit the fourth turn wall and was not able to make it out for the rest of the evening. Trevor Miller set the fast time with a 17.143 lap. The trophy dash belonged to Kenny Demello who was looking to gain points on division leader Adrien Betournay for the championship. Miller finished second with Mosher third and Betouray fourth. Mosher took the win in the heat race followed by Demello, Betournay, Duane Mayo and Scott Lyons.
The two title contenders Demello and Betournay lead the six car field to the green flag in the 10 lap main event. Demello was able to take the early lead while the drivers tried to sort themselves out. Miller moved by Mayo in the first turn on lap two while Betournay tried to move outside and by Demello for the lead. Mosher made his way past Mayo going into the third turn on lap three. On lap five, Miller found a line inside Betournay to take second bringing along Mosher. A few moments later, Miller got to the inside of Demello to take the lead coming off the second turn. On lap seven, Mosher was able to get by Demello for second. Betournay did the same move on lap eight. Unfortunately coming off turn two, Demello hit the wall ending his race and losing his chances at the championship. The restart proved to be a formality for Miller as he was able to hold off Mosher to take the win. Betournay took third winning the class title, Mayo finished fourth and Lyons fifth.
With only a few points separating mini stock points leader Chad Grammer and second place Brian Murrell, every position in every race was extremely important. Craig Baker set fast time with a 18.731 lap. The trophy dash was won by Baker followed by Stacy Minnick, Grammar and Glen Bernald. Baker then took the win in the heat race over Grammar, Murrell, Denzel Barrett and Bernald. Nine cars started the 20-lap mini stock main event with Murrell and Bernald pacing the field. Before the start of the race, the lighting system in the second turn failed and the drivers had to race that corner in darker conditions.
Murrell was able to get the lead off the start while Minnick moved to second, followed by Baker, Grammer and Bernald. On lap three, Baker moved to the outside of Minnick to take second while Murrell pulled out to a large gap. On lap five the caution came out when Barrett spun in the fourth turn. On the restart, Baker moved outside of Murrell taking the lead on lap seven. From that point on, the field stretched out and the only drama that was left was to see if the champion would either be Murrell or Grammer. Craig Baker made it three-for-three on the night to handily take the main event win over Murrell, Minnick, Grammer and Bernald. Grammer’s fourth place finish was just enough to beat Murrell in the final points talley making him the 2006 mini stock champion.
Randy Olson set the quick time for yet another race night for the thunder roadsters with a 16.965 lap. David Henderson held off Olson, Paul Peeples, Jr. and Chris Banfill to take the win in the dash. Bill O’Neill won the first heat followed by Gary Payne, Fred Hanks, Chris Lawrence and Waylon Henze. Troy Combs won the second heat race over LeRoy Marsh, Jr., Mike Ward, Chris Sarvinski and Peeples. 20 cars started the 30-lap main event with Bruce Ziemar and Dave McMurray leading the field to the green flag. Ziemar grabbed the early lead before the second lap when Marsh took the lead taking Combs and Ward with him. Ziemar got loose of the second turn costing himself several positions. Going into turn three on lap four, Combs moved inside and by Marsh for the lead. As the front duo pulled away from the rest of the pack, the faster qualifiers of Olson and Henderson fought their way through the traffic. Olson moved outside of Sarvinski on lap five completing the pass on lap six. Henderson was able to move inside Sarvinski on the same lap to take fifth.
On lap 9, the Olson/Henderson duo closed in on Ward for third while Combs and Marsh had a sizeable 10-15 car length gap over the three. Olson and Henderson moved inside Ward going into the third turn on lap 10. Two laps later, Sarvinski was able to get by Ward to take the fourth spot. Rob Nelson spun in turn four on lap 13 but no yellow flag was thrown. At the same time, Peeples, who had made his way by Ward, got past Sarvinski for fifth. With the field spread out and Combs and Marsh with a seemingly insurmountable gap over Olson and Henderson, the race looked to be a two car battle. On lap 21, Combs hit slower traffic slowing his car. This allowed Marsh to close within striking distance along with allowing Olson and Henderson to close the large gap a little bit.
For several laps, Henderson tried to find a way by Olson. On lap 25 as the two closed in on Marsh who was fighting slower cars, Henderson made a bold move inside to get by and take third. Two laps later going into turn three, Olson regained the third position on the high side. The battle amongst Marsh, Olson and Henderson was enough for Troy Combs to sail to the win. Marsh held off Olson for second while Henderson finished fourth and Peeples fifth.
Barring any unusual circumstances, Marty Walsh basically had to show up to clinch the championship in the sportsman division. Glen Shewry clocked the fastest lap in qualifying with a 16.424 lap. Angelo Marcelli won the dash over Shewry, Walsh and Aaron Byers. Al Acuna won the first heat holding of Ken Hallis, Rick Fox, Walsh and Byers to win. The second sportsman heat race was highlighted by a superb side-by-side race for the win between Donnie Brown and Brandon Barnwell. The two raced doorhandle-to-doorhandle for the three laps before Barnwell was able to take the lead and win over Brown, Shewry, Lissa Uselton and Marcelli.
The 12 car 30-lap main event was brought to the green flag by Uselton and Brown. Off the start Brown took the lead. Going into the third turn Uselton tried to mount a challenge but Brown shut the door. On lap two, Shewry got loose off the fourth turn and slid into the infield going into turn one. He was able to save his race car while going back on the track in the middle of turns one and two, however the field was jumbled up. On lap four, Walsh moved by Uselton coming off turn four. The yellow flag flew on lap seven when Keith Dias spun in turn four. Under yellow, Barnwell and Fox made contact sending Fox spinning. However since the incident occurred under the yellow flag, Fox was able to retain his position in the race.
When the green flag came out it was Brown leading Walsh, Uselton, Byers and Marcelli. Shewry moved outside of Marcelli on lap nine, finishing the pass on lap 10. On lap 11, the field jammed up in front of Larry Pries causing Hallis to spin him out and bringing out the yellow. Hallis was sent to the rear for his involvement in the incident. The green flag came out again giving Shewry the chance to get outside and by Byers. Going into the third turn on lap 12, Walsh moved inside of Brown for the lead. Off turn two, Walsh got the bite in his rear tires, taking the lead, while Shewry moved by Uselton for third.
On lap 15, Browne dug deep and moved inside of Walsh to regain the lead. Marcelli moved inside of Byers for fifth on lap 16, taking the position going into turn three on lap 17. That same lap the yellow flag came out when Pries spun in turn four collecting Hallis, who took his car to the pits under the caution period.
The yellow period allowed Walsh to cool his tires and on the restart he was able to challenge Brown for the lead again. On lap 20, Walsh moved inside of Brown. The two raced side-by-side for a lap before Walsh was able to take the lead once more, this time bringing Shewry with him. Shewry appeared to have a faster car and he tried to fill Walsh’s mirror as much as possible. On lap 25, Shewry tried to use the high line to get by Walsh but it didn’t work. A lap later, Shewry tried the same tactic but got too loose off turn two and lost several car lengths. On lap 29, the yellow flag flew for debris from Pries’s car. This set up a green/white/checker finish. The restart wasn’t enough for Shewry to mount a challenge to Walsh as Marty Walsh was able to cap off his championship night win the main event win. Shewry held on to second followed by Brown, Uselton and Marcelli.
The final two points races for the real stock and the thunder roadsters will be held in conjunction with the Fall Spectacular Friday and Saturday night September 22nd and 23rd. Along with the two local classes will be the IMCA modifieds and the open competition super late model races. Cars from all over the west coast, from as far away as Las Vegas and Texas will be racing at the Acres. On Thursday the 21st, there will be an open practice between 2-6 PM followed by a steak barbeque provided by Rich and Linda Olson as well as Jim Offenbach and the Golden Gate Meat Company. It promises to be a very exciting conclusion to what has been perhaps the best season of racing at the Acres ever.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The thirteenth event of the season, the Judy Fox Memorial race at Redwood Acres Raceway Saturday night saw the 2006 points races in the sportsman, mini stock and limited street stock divisions come to an end with champions crowned in each division. Marty Walsh held off the toughest challenges of Glen Shewry to win once again in the sportsman division capping off a superb championship run. Craig Baker took home the trophy in the mini stock division but Chad Grammer was probably the happiest mini stock driver as his fourth place finish was good enough to claim the title. Class rookie Trevor Miller claimed victory in the limited street stock class while first year driver Adrien Betournay won the division champion. While the real stock and thunder roadsters still have another weekend of racing left, both divisions had great racing with Dan Browne winning the real stock main, and Troy Combs taking top honors in the roadster race.
Before the night’s racing action, drivers from all divisions brought their cars out to the track to do a few memorial laps in honor of Judy Fox as well as other loved ones who were either lost to cancer or have passed on from other circumstances. The field of cars was lead by Rick Fox, Judy’s son and Lissa Uselton who is a close friend of the Fox family. Ryan Walters set the quickest lap in time trials in the real stock division with a 19.338 lap. Jim Bailey won the dash over Walters Dan Browne and Bill Bradbury. Brian Belt won the first heat race followed by Ryan Robinson, Troy Wood, Steve Kimberling and Bailey. Browne won the second heat race with Bill Middleton, Walters, Doug Way and Barry Barnwell in his tire tracks.
Eighteen cars started the 25-lap real stock main event. Troy Wood and Chuck Essex took the field to the green flag and the start of the race. Off the start, Doug Way suffered problems and slowed on the track. Coming off the fourth turn, Middleton spun bringing out the yellow flag. Amidst the early race chaos, it was Essex taking the early lead over Barnwell and Wood. The green flag flew again with Barnwell moving to Essex’s outside, taking the top position on lap three. On lap four, Walters moved himself into the fifth position getting by Kimberling. Bradbury moved by Wood and began to harass Essex for second allowing Barnwell to pull out to a sizeable margin. On lap seven, Walters made his way by Wood bringing Browne with him. The next lap, Walters moved inside Bradbury for second but Bradbury was able to hold him off. The caution came out on lap 10 when Mark Mullin spun and hit the turn four wall.
Unfortunately for Barnwell, his large lead was erased, and on the restart he now had Essex, Bradbury, Walters and Browne within striking distance of him. On the restart, Walters moved to the outside of Bradbury for third, finishing the pass on lap 11. Walters then was able to maneuver his way by Essex going into the third turn on lap 12 taking the second spot. At the same time, Browne was able to get by Bradbury for fourth. Browne moved outside of Essex on lap 13, taking the third position on lap 14 in turn one. As the leaders hit slower cars on lap 16, Browne was able to get by Walters for second in turn one. The lapped traffic jumbled the running order with Belt and Bradbury able to get by Essex.
On lap 18, Browne was able to snatch the lead away from Barnwell going into the first turn. At the same time, Belt and Walters made contact, allowing Belt to get by. Walters regained the position going into the third turn on lap 19. On lap 20, Walters spun in the second turn into the infield. The caution flag did not fly however costing Walters any chance at a good finish. Meanwhile, Browne had stretched out to a comfortable lead over Barnwell, while Barnwell had a comfortable lead over Bradbury in third. With one lap to go, Belt moved to the outside of Bradbury but got loose allowing Bailey to take the fourth position. At the front, it was Dan Browne crossing the checkered flag leading a top five consisting of drivers with the last name started by ‘B’; Barnwell, Bradbury, Bailey and Belt.
In practice for the limited street stock division, Romeo Venza hit the fourth turn wall and was not able to make it out for the rest of the evening. Trevor Miller set the fast time with a 17.143 lap. The trophy dash belonged to Kenny Demello who was looking to gain points on division leader Adrien Betournay for the championship. Miller finished second with Mosher third and Betouray fourth. Mosher took the win in the heat race followed by Demello, Betournay, Duane Mayo and Scott Lyons.
The two title contenders Demello and Betournay lead the six car field to the green flag in the 10 lap main event. Demello was able to take the early lead while the drivers tried to sort themselves out. Miller moved by Mayo in the first turn on lap two while Betournay tried to move outside and by Demello for the lead. Mosher made his way past Mayo going into the third turn on lap three. On lap five, Miller found a line inside Betournay to take second bringing along Mosher. A few moments later, Miller got to the inside of Demello to take the lead coming off the second turn. On lap seven, Mosher was able to get by Demello for second. Betournay did the same move on lap eight. Unfortunately coming off turn two, Demello hit the wall ending his race and losing his chances at the championship. The restart proved to be a formality for Miller as he was able to hold off Mosher to take the win. Betournay took third winning the class title, Mayo finished fourth and Lyons fifth.
With only a few points separating mini stock points leader Chad Grammer and second place Brian Murrell, every position in every race was extremely important. Craig Baker set fast time with a 18.731 lap. The trophy dash was won by Baker followed by Stacy Minnick, Grammar and Glen Bernald. Baker then took the win in the heat race over Grammar, Murrell, Denzel Barrett and Bernald. Nine cars started the 20-lap mini stock main event with Murrell and Bernald pacing the field. Before the start of the race, the lighting system in the second turn failed and the drivers had to race that corner in darker conditions.
Murrell was able to get the lead off the start while Minnick moved to second, followed by Baker, Grammer and Bernald. On lap three, Baker moved to the outside of Minnick to take second while Murrell pulled out to a large gap. On lap five the caution came out when Barrett spun in the fourth turn. On the restart, Baker moved outside of Murrell taking the lead on lap seven. From that point on, the field stretched out and the only drama that was left was to see if the champion would either be Murrell or Grammer. Craig Baker made it three-for-three on the night to handily take the main event win over Murrell, Minnick, Grammer and Bernald. Grammer’s fourth place finish was just enough to beat Murrell in the final points talley making him the 2006 mini stock champion.
Randy Olson set the quick time for yet another race night for the thunder roadsters with a 16.965 lap. David Henderson held off Olson, Paul Peeples, Jr. and Chris Banfill to take the win in the dash. Bill O’Neill won the first heat followed by Gary Payne, Fred Hanks, Chris Lawrence and Waylon Henze. Troy Combs won the second heat race over LeRoy Marsh, Jr., Mike Ward, Chris Sarvinski and Peeples. 20 cars started the 30-lap main event with Bruce Ziemar and Dave McMurray leading the field to the green flag. Ziemar grabbed the early lead before the second lap when Marsh took the lead taking Combs and Ward with him. Ziemar got loose of the second turn costing himself several positions. Going into turn three on lap four, Combs moved inside and by Marsh for the lead. As the front duo pulled away from the rest of the pack, the faster qualifiers of Olson and Henderson fought their way through the traffic. Olson moved outside of Sarvinski on lap five completing the pass on lap six. Henderson was able to move inside Sarvinski on the same lap to take fifth.
On lap 9, the Olson/Henderson duo closed in on Ward for third while Combs and Marsh had a sizeable 10-15 car length gap over the three. Olson and Henderson moved inside Ward going into the third turn on lap 10. Two laps later, Sarvinski was able to get by Ward to take the fourth spot. Rob Nelson spun in turn four on lap 13 but no yellow flag was thrown. At the same time, Peeples, who had made his way by Ward, got past Sarvinski for fifth. With the field spread out and Combs and Marsh with a seemingly insurmountable gap over Olson and Henderson, the race looked to be a two car battle. On lap 21, Combs hit slower traffic slowing his car. This allowed Marsh to close within striking distance along with allowing Olson and Henderson to close the large gap a little bit.
For several laps, Henderson tried to find a way by Olson. On lap 25 as the two closed in on Marsh who was fighting slower cars, Henderson made a bold move inside to get by and take third. Two laps later going into turn three, Olson regained the third position on the high side. The battle amongst Marsh, Olson and Henderson was enough for Troy Combs to sail to the win. Marsh held off Olson for second while Henderson finished fourth and Peeples fifth.
Barring any unusual circumstances, Marty Walsh basically had to show up to clinch the championship in the sportsman division. Glen Shewry clocked the fastest lap in qualifying with a 16.424 lap. Angelo Marcelli won the dash over Shewry, Walsh and Aaron Byers. Al Acuna won the first heat holding of Ken Hallis, Rick Fox, Walsh and Byers to win. The second sportsman heat race was highlighted by a superb side-by-side race for the win between Donnie Brown and Brandon Barnwell. The two raced doorhandle-to-doorhandle for the three laps before Barnwell was able to take the lead and win over Brown, Shewry, Lissa Uselton and Marcelli.
The 12 car 30-lap main event was brought to the green flag by Uselton and Brown. Off the start Brown took the lead. Going into the third turn Uselton tried to mount a challenge but Brown shut the door. On lap two, Shewry got loose off the fourth turn and slid into the infield going into turn one. He was able to save his race car while going back on the track in the middle of turns one and two, however the field was jumbled up. On lap four, Walsh moved by Uselton coming off turn four. The yellow flag flew on lap seven when Keith Dias spun in turn four. Under yellow, Barnwell and Fox made contact sending Fox spinning. However since the incident occurred under the yellow flag, Fox was able to retain his position in the race.
When the green flag came out it was Brown leading Walsh, Uselton, Byers and Marcelli. Shewry moved outside of Marcelli on lap nine, finishing the pass on lap 10. On lap 11, the field jammed up in front of Larry Pries causing Hallis to spin him out and bringing out the yellow. Hallis was sent to the rear for his involvement in the incident. The green flag came out again giving Shewry the chance to get outside and by Byers. Going into the third turn on lap 12, Walsh moved inside of Brown for the lead. Off turn two, Walsh got the bite in his rear tires, taking the lead, while Shewry moved by Uselton for third.
On lap 15, Browne dug deep and moved inside of Walsh to regain the lead. Marcelli moved inside of Byers for fifth on lap 16, taking the position going into turn three on lap 17. That same lap the yellow flag came out when Pries spun in turn four collecting Hallis, who took his car to the pits under the caution period.
The yellow period allowed Walsh to cool his tires and on the restart he was able to challenge Brown for the lead again. On lap 20, Walsh moved inside of Brown. The two raced side-by-side for a lap before Walsh was able to take the lead once more, this time bringing Shewry with him. Shewry appeared to have a faster car and he tried to fill Walsh’s mirror as much as possible. On lap 25, Shewry tried to use the high line to get by Walsh but it didn’t work. A lap later, Shewry tried the same tactic but got too loose off turn two and lost several car lengths. On lap 29, the yellow flag flew for debris from Pries’s car. This set up a green/white/checker finish. The restart wasn’t enough for Shewry to mount a challenge to Walsh as Marty Walsh was able to cap off his championship night win the main event win. Shewry held on to second followed by Brown, Uselton and Marcelli.
The final two points races for the real stock and the thunder roadsters will be held in conjunction with the Fall Spectacular Friday and Saturday night September 22nd and 23rd. Along with the two local classes will be the IMCA modifieds and the open competition super late model races. Cars from all over the west coast, from as far away as Las Vegas and Texas will be racing at the Acres. On Thursday the 21st, there will be an open practice between 2-6 PM followed by a steak barbeque provided by Rich and Linda Olson as well as Jim Offenbach and the Golden Gate Meat Company. It promises to be a very exciting conclusion to what has been perhaps the best season of racing at the Acres ever.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Walsh, Bradbury, Baker victorious
Walsh, Bradbury, Baker victorious
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was another full night of racing at Redwood Acres Raceway and by the night’s end, several familiar faces returned to victory lane once more. Marty Walsh ran away in the sportsman division, while Bill Bradbury held off Dan Browne to win the real stock main event. Scott Baker also did his share of domination as he handily won the mini stock main. Andrien Betournay won the closest main of the night as he held off Trevor Miller to claim the real stock main event literally by inches.
Six limited street stocks showed up for the evening with the addition of George Young’s new car. Orion Mosher set fast time with a 17.328 lap. Andrien Betournay took home the dash win with Kenny Demello, Trevor Miller and Mosher following behind. Miller won the exciting heat race beating Demello, Mosher, Betournay and Young. Five cars started the 10 lap main event with Young not being able to make the start. Off the start, Duane Mayo and Demello raced side by side for the first lap and a half until Demello got loose on the high side giving Mayo the lead. On lap three, Demello moved back to Mayo’s outside. Coming off turn two, Betournay found room on the low side of the front two to make a daring three-wide pass going into the third turn. Miller was able to follow Betournay into the second position. For several laps, Miller looked for a way by Betournay. With one lap to go, Miller drove his car hard into the outside line going into turn one. His car stuck and the two drag raced doorhandle to doorhandle going into the third turn. Coming off four, the two were still side by side and as the two cars hit the start/finish line it was Betournay beating Miller by inches. Mosher finished third, Mayo fourth and Demello fifth.
Eleven mini stocks showed up to take time, unfortunately Justina Shaha had to wait to make her debut in the class as she hit the wall during her qualifying run. Two other drivers made their debut in the class; Max Cap and Robbie Robinson. Scott Baker set the fastest lap of 19.203. Bryan McIntosh won the heat race over Stacy Minnick, Chad Grammer and Baker. A multi-car incident in the heat race knocked out McIntosh as well as Denzel Barrett. Brian Murrell was able to win the heat followed by Baker, Glen Bernald, Grammer and Minnick. Eight cars made the start of the 20 lap main event with the front row comprised of Murrell and Bernald. The initial start saw contact between Murrell and Bernald in the first and second turns and Grammer spin out. The second start was much cleaner as Murrell took the lead while Bernald slotted into second and Minnick third. On lap two, Minnick made her way by Bernald and set her sights on Murrell’s lead. Grammer made his way to fifth by Byron McIntosh on lap three. On the fifth lap, Baker got by Bernald for third and tried to close on the front duo of Murrell and Minnick who had a six car length gap over him.
Grammer spun in turn two on lap nine but was able to get his car going not resulting in a caution flag. Baker moved past Minnick on lap 10 for second. A lap later, Baker moved by Murrell to take the lead. On lap 12, Minnick moved to Murrell’s outside to challenge him for the second position, but Murrell was able to hold her off. With two laps to go, Minnick tried the same maneuver again but got too high allowing Bernald to move to third. Meanwhile, Baker was able to cruise to victory followed by Murrell, Bernald, Minnick and Grammer.
Ryan Walters was fastest of the 13 real stock cars setting a mark of 19.380. Dan Browne won the dash followed by Bill Bradbury, Walters and Doug Way. Walters was able to win the first heat race over Barry Barnwell, Ray DeMello, Way and Ray Robinson. Browne won the second heat with Lima, Bradbury, Jim Redd and Steve Kimberling in his wake. Lima and Robinson lead the field to the green in the 25 lap main event. Lima took the initial lead but a restart had to come after Walters spun in the first and second turn. Walters was unable to take the green when it came out again as he was in the pits. Lima grabbed the lead again while Barnwell moved inside Robinson for second. On the second lap, Barnwell powered his way by Lima on the high side to take the lead. Coming off the second turn, Lima lost power and pulled his car into the infield.
Bradbury made his way by Way for second on lap three and began to close on the leader Barnwell. Redd was black flagged for leaking fluid, but before he could pit, he made contact with Way spinning Way out and bringing out the yellow. Coming to take the caution flag, Bradbury was able to beat Barnwell to the line to take the lead. The green came back out with Browne moving into the inside of Robinson for third. On lap 12, Way got by Kimberling for fifth. Browne began to challenge Barnwell for second on lap 17 before the caution came out on lap 19. When the green flew again, Browne moved quickly by Barnwell for second. Robinson and Barnwell made contact fighting for third sending Barnwell into the infield, however no caution came. For the last few laps, Browne and Bradbury battled for the lead, but Browne couldn’t gather enough steam to get by as Bradbury held him off for the win. Robinson took third, Way fourth and Kimberling fifth.
Marty Walsh set quick time for the sportsman division with a 16.791 lap. Rick Fox won the dash over Donnie Brown, Walsh and Brandon Barnwell. Larry Pries nabbed the win in the first heat over Walsh, Fox, Al Acuna and Lissa Uselton. Brown won the second followed by Jerry Peterson, Angelo Marcelli, Frank Billy and Barnwell. 12 cars started the 25 lap main event. Brown planned to merely take the start and earn points as he graciously donated his car for the use of North State Challenge Series driver Andrew Snider who suffered problems with his car. Joe Bonomini and Pries lead the field to the green flag. Pries took the early lead before Bonomini spun off turn four. Officials deemed Pries at fault and sent him to the rear.
Fox inherited the lead over Walsh, Barnwell, Marcelli and Peterson and the green came back out. The field strung out as Fox and Walsh battled for the top spot. After several nose to tail laps, Walsh managed to get by Fox to take the lead on lap seven. Uselton spun off the second turn on lap 12 but got her car going again. On lap 15, Peterson pulled into the pits from the fifth position. Meanwhile, Walsh had a sizeable gap over Fox and the rest of the field. Pries provided the excitement on the track as he moved by Acuna for fifth on lap 21. Barnwell closed on Fox’s bumper on lap 23 and tried to find a way by but by the end wasn’t able to. Walsh won handily over Fox, Barnwell, Marcelli and Pries.
The next race at the Acres is August 5, Fan Appreciation Night. Free tickets can be found at various locations. Sportsman, real stock, mini stock, limited streets will be racing along with the return of the thunder roadsters after a month hiatus from the 3/8 track.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was another full night of racing at Redwood Acres Raceway and by the night’s end, several familiar faces returned to victory lane once more. Marty Walsh ran away in the sportsman division, while Bill Bradbury held off Dan Browne to win the real stock main event. Scott Baker also did his share of domination as he handily won the mini stock main. Andrien Betournay won the closest main of the night as he held off Trevor Miller to claim the real stock main event literally by inches.
Six limited street stocks showed up for the evening with the addition of George Young’s new car. Orion Mosher set fast time with a 17.328 lap. Andrien Betournay took home the dash win with Kenny Demello, Trevor Miller and Mosher following behind. Miller won the exciting heat race beating Demello, Mosher, Betournay and Young. Five cars started the 10 lap main event with Young not being able to make the start. Off the start, Duane Mayo and Demello raced side by side for the first lap and a half until Demello got loose on the high side giving Mayo the lead. On lap three, Demello moved back to Mayo’s outside. Coming off turn two, Betournay found room on the low side of the front two to make a daring three-wide pass going into the third turn. Miller was able to follow Betournay into the second position. For several laps, Miller looked for a way by Betournay. With one lap to go, Miller drove his car hard into the outside line going into turn one. His car stuck and the two drag raced doorhandle to doorhandle going into the third turn. Coming off four, the two were still side by side and as the two cars hit the start/finish line it was Betournay beating Miller by inches. Mosher finished third, Mayo fourth and Demello fifth.
Eleven mini stocks showed up to take time, unfortunately Justina Shaha had to wait to make her debut in the class as she hit the wall during her qualifying run. Two other drivers made their debut in the class; Max Cap and Robbie Robinson. Scott Baker set the fastest lap of 19.203. Bryan McIntosh won the heat race over Stacy Minnick, Chad Grammer and Baker. A multi-car incident in the heat race knocked out McIntosh as well as Denzel Barrett. Brian Murrell was able to win the heat followed by Baker, Glen Bernald, Grammer and Minnick. Eight cars made the start of the 20 lap main event with the front row comprised of Murrell and Bernald. The initial start saw contact between Murrell and Bernald in the first and second turns and Grammer spin out. The second start was much cleaner as Murrell took the lead while Bernald slotted into second and Minnick third. On lap two, Minnick made her way by Bernald and set her sights on Murrell’s lead. Grammer made his way to fifth by Byron McIntosh on lap three. On the fifth lap, Baker got by Bernald for third and tried to close on the front duo of Murrell and Minnick who had a six car length gap over him.
Grammer spun in turn two on lap nine but was able to get his car going not resulting in a caution flag. Baker moved past Minnick on lap 10 for second. A lap later, Baker moved by Murrell to take the lead. On lap 12, Minnick moved to Murrell’s outside to challenge him for the second position, but Murrell was able to hold her off. With two laps to go, Minnick tried the same maneuver again but got too high allowing Bernald to move to third. Meanwhile, Baker was able to cruise to victory followed by Murrell, Bernald, Minnick and Grammer.
Ryan Walters was fastest of the 13 real stock cars setting a mark of 19.380. Dan Browne won the dash followed by Bill Bradbury, Walters and Doug Way. Walters was able to win the first heat race over Barry Barnwell, Ray DeMello, Way and Ray Robinson. Browne won the second heat with Lima, Bradbury, Jim Redd and Steve Kimberling in his wake. Lima and Robinson lead the field to the green in the 25 lap main event. Lima took the initial lead but a restart had to come after Walters spun in the first and second turn. Walters was unable to take the green when it came out again as he was in the pits. Lima grabbed the lead again while Barnwell moved inside Robinson for second. On the second lap, Barnwell powered his way by Lima on the high side to take the lead. Coming off the second turn, Lima lost power and pulled his car into the infield.
Bradbury made his way by Way for second on lap three and began to close on the leader Barnwell. Redd was black flagged for leaking fluid, but before he could pit, he made contact with Way spinning Way out and bringing out the yellow. Coming to take the caution flag, Bradbury was able to beat Barnwell to the line to take the lead. The green came back out with Browne moving into the inside of Robinson for third. On lap 12, Way got by Kimberling for fifth. Browne began to challenge Barnwell for second on lap 17 before the caution came out on lap 19. When the green flew again, Browne moved quickly by Barnwell for second. Robinson and Barnwell made contact fighting for third sending Barnwell into the infield, however no caution came. For the last few laps, Browne and Bradbury battled for the lead, but Browne couldn’t gather enough steam to get by as Bradbury held him off for the win. Robinson took third, Way fourth and Kimberling fifth.
Marty Walsh set quick time for the sportsman division with a 16.791 lap. Rick Fox won the dash over Donnie Brown, Walsh and Brandon Barnwell. Larry Pries nabbed the win in the first heat over Walsh, Fox, Al Acuna and Lissa Uselton. Brown won the second followed by Jerry Peterson, Angelo Marcelli, Frank Billy and Barnwell. 12 cars started the 25 lap main event. Brown planned to merely take the start and earn points as he graciously donated his car for the use of North State Challenge Series driver Andrew Snider who suffered problems with his car. Joe Bonomini and Pries lead the field to the green flag. Pries took the early lead before Bonomini spun off turn four. Officials deemed Pries at fault and sent him to the rear.
Fox inherited the lead over Walsh, Barnwell, Marcelli and Peterson and the green came back out. The field strung out as Fox and Walsh battled for the top spot. After several nose to tail laps, Walsh managed to get by Fox to take the lead on lap seven. Uselton spun off the second turn on lap 12 but got her car going again. On lap 15, Peterson pulled into the pits from the fifth position. Meanwhile, Walsh had a sizeable gap over Fox and the rest of the field. Pries provided the excitement on the track as he moved by Acuna for fifth on lap 21. Barnwell closed on Fox’s bumper on lap 23 and tried to find a way by but by the end wasn’t able to. Walsh won handily over Fox, Barnwell, Marcelli and Pries.
The next race at the Acres is August 5, Fan Appreciation Night. Free tickets can be found at various locations. Sportsman, real stock, mini stock, limited streets will be racing along with the return of the thunder roadsters after a month hiatus from the 3/8 track.
Sunday, June 4, 2006
Peeples two in a row, Bradbury holds off Browne
Peeples two in a row, Bradbury holds off Browne
By Matthew J. Sullivan
For the first time in the 2006 season it a somewhat warm night at Redwood Acres Raceway. Even though a few showers fell during the event, it wasn’t enough to severely slow down another exciting night as the thunder roadsters made their third appearance of the season at the Acres, along with the regular four classes of cars. Orion Mosher pulled away from the field in the limited street stock main to win while Craig Baker continued to show his strength in the mini stock division, winning the main event handily. Resuming their battle from the previous race, Bill Bradbury held off Dan Browne to win the real stock main. After some struggles at the start of the season, Larry Pries was able to make his way though the field in the sportsman division and claim victory. After an incident between Troy Combs and Randy Olson, Paul Peeples, Jr. inherited the lead in the roadster main event and was able to fend off David Henderson to win his second main event in a row at the Acres.
The limited street division was able to pick up one more car this weekend as Mark Burris showed up. Kenny Demello won the trophy dash over Orion Mosher, Adrien Betournay and Terry Vallee. Demello and Mosher put on an exciting heat race with Demello holding off Mosher’s challenges to win followed by Betournay, Vallee and Burris. The eight lap main was brought to the green flag by Mosher and Demello. Mosher used his inside front row starting spot to grab the lead from Demello. Though Demello briefly challenged Mosher for the lead, Mosher was eventually able to pull away and take the win with Demello second, Betournay third, Burris fourth and Vallee fifth.
Chad Grammer took home the trophy in the mini stock dash over Scott Baker, Brian Murrell and Stacy Minnick. The heat race had a bit too much excitement in it as a Brian McIntosh spin caught out Glen Bernald and Scott Baker. Craig Baker took the heat win over Grammer, Murrell, Byron McIntosh and Denzel Barrett. 11 cars started the 20 lap main event with the front row comprised of Nick Karanopoulos and Bernald. By the end of the first lap however, Brian McIntosh was able to get by both to nab the top spot. McIntosh’s lead would not last long however, as Murrell moved by for the lead on lap three. That same lap, Scott Baker pulled his car into the pits, calling it a night.
On lap four, Grammer made his way by Murrell bringing Craig Baker with him moving Murrell back to third. For several laps, Baker looked for a way by Grammer. Baker then made his way to the outside of Grammer and the two dueled side by side for the lead. On lap 10, coming off the fourth turn Grammer got loose allowing Baker to completely get by and pull away. Meanwhile, Minnick moved her way past Brian McIntosh four the fifth position. By lap 15, the field had spread out with Baker leading Grammer, Murrell, Minnick and McIntosh. On lap 16, Grammer pulled his car into the pits moving everyone behind up a spot, including long-time mini stock racer Mac Collado to fifth. When the checkered flag fell, the top five was the same, Baker, Murrell, Minnick, Bryan McIntosh and Collado.
The real stock division had perhaps their best field of the season. Dan Browne and Bill Bradbury resumed their battle from the previous race for a bit in the dash with Browne winning followed by Bradbury, Jim Bailey and Barry Barnwell. Ray Robinson won the first heat over Browne, Jim Redd, Troy Wood and Bailey. The second heat was won by Bradbury over Bob Lima, Barnwell, Ray DeMello and Marvin Savage. 17 cars took the green flag in the 25 lap main event with DeMello and Redd sharing the front row. DeMello grabbed the lead from Redd off the start while Doug Way pulled his car into the pits for the night. On lap two, Ryan Robinson moved by Redd for the second spot, then he moved outside of DeMello to challenge for the first position. By lap three, Browne had made his way to the third spot before a yellow flag flew for debris on the track.
The green flag came out again and Browne decided to use the closeness of the front to cars to his advantage. He made his way by Robinson for second by lap four, then he moved his way outside of DeMello to grab the lead on lap five. In the meantime, Bradbury began picking his way through the field. On lap eight, he moved past Bailey for fifth then by Redd for fourth. However any thoughts of taking the lead were fantasy as Browne had pulled out to a large lead over DeMello. On the tenth lap, Robinson spun but no yellow flag flew. The top five at this time was Browne, DeMello, Bradbury, Redd and Lima.
On lap 13, Bradbury moved to DeMello’s bumper and tried to take the second spot while a four car duel between Redd, Lima, Barnwell and Bailey four the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh positions. Brad Bergquist making his first start of the season blew his engine in the high line on lap 14 but again no yellow flag flew as the fluid was well out of the racing groove. Bradbury made his way by DeMello lap 15. That same lap, Lima made contact with the lapped car of Dana DeVane necessitating a yellow flag and bunching up the field, much to Bradbury’s pleasure and Browne’s dismay. When the green came again, Browne and Bradbury pulled away from DeMello and the rest of the field. On lap 18, Bradbury moved inside of Browne for the lead, taking the position. At the same time, DeMello got too high and lost several spots. Bradbury and Browne continued to duel for the lead as the laps ticked off but when the checkered fell Browne didn’t have enough as Bradbury won followed by Browne, Barnwell, Redd and Lima. Unfortunately in post race inspection, Browne’s car was deemed illegal.
12 cars showed up to race in the sportsman division. Rick Fox held off Marty Walsh, Brandon Barnwell and Larry Pries to win the trophy dash. Angelo Marcelli won the first heat race over Fox, Walsh, Donnie Brown and Al Acuna while Barnwell won the second heat over Ken Hallis, Aaron Byers, Pries and Jerry Peterson. The 35 lap main event was lead to the green flag by Frank Billy and Brown. Brown was able to get a good jump on the start and take the front spot. On lap two, Billy got into the side of Barnwell spinning him and causing the field to scatter. Fortunately, there wasn’t any serious damage done to any of the cars.
The green came out again with Brown leading while Fox tried to get by Billy for second. On lap four, Fox got the spot and set his sights on Brown. The next lap, several cars were able to move past Billy including Pries, Byers and Walsh. The gap between the front five cars began to close as all five raced bumper to bumper cleanly. On lap 11, Byers got his car sideways off the fourth turn but managed to reel in his car and not lose position. On lap 13, Billy spun off the second turn bringing out the caution. The restart was to Pries’ advantage as he moved by Fox for second on lap 14, then he moved inside Browne on lap 16, taking the lead the next lap. Barnwell spun on lap 19 and the yellow flag came once again.
Pries got a good start when the green came back out while Brown tried to hold off Fox. Pries held a two car length advantage while second through fourth were nip and tuck for position. On lap 30, Walsh made his way by Byers for fourth. On lap 32 the final yellow flag came. Under caution Barnwell cut a tire forcing him into the pits for the final few laps. For Larry Pries, the last three laps were merely a formality as he claimed the win followed by Brown, Fox, Walsh and Byers. Regretfully, Brown’s car was found to be illegal in post race inspection.
The thunder roadsters made their third start at the Acres with another beautiful field of cars. Paul Peeples, Jr. won the dash over Randy Olson, David Henderson and Ron Rosenthal. Mike Ward won the first heat followed by Jay Bahner, Waymond Hans, Donn Cole and Byron Nelson. Chris Sarvinski took the second heat followed by Troy Combs, Henderson, Randy Olson and Peeples. Leroy Marsh returned to the Acres after a few years hiatus to win the third heat with Rusty Olson using a car barrowed from Bill O’Neill finishing second followed by, Ray Elliott, Chris Banfill and Ron Turner filling out the top five. With the high car count, a B-main event was necessitated and Ward was able to win while Dave McMurray took the second and final transfer spot.
18 cars started the 30 lap roadster main with Marsh and Bruce Ziermar leading the field to the green. Marsh got the jump bringing Rusty Olson with him while Ziermar had major issues falling to the end of the field. On the fifth lap, Sarvinski spun, however the yellow flag was withheld as he got going again. By the tenth lap the field was still spreading out as Marsh lead Olson, Elliott, Combs and Henderson. Elliott and Combs began to reel in Olson for second allowing Marsh to pull his lead out a bit more. On lap 12, Combs pulled to the outside of Elliott while Randy Olson moved to the high side of Henderson. Combs made his way by Elliott on lap 13 just as Bill O’Neill spun off the second turn bringing out the yellow flag.
On the restart, Combs got a jump to the outside of Rusty Olson and Marsh taking the lead. Randy Olson followed suit moving to third, then taking second from Marsh on lap 15. On lap 18, Henderson moved to the inside of Rusty Olson for fourth but Olson held him off. Meanwhile, Randy Olson began to close the gap on Combs for the lead. The yellow flag came out on lap 19 as Elliott, Ward and McMurray were all collected in an incident in the second turn. On the restart, Peeples got a jump and moved to the third position while Henderson got by Rusty Olson for fifth and Marsh for fourth.
On lap 22 while racing for the lead off the fourth turn, Randy Olson turned Combs into the infield bringing out the final yellow flag. Under yellow, Combs showed his frustration with Olson hitting him in the third and fourth turn. Olson was sent to the rear but decided to pull his car to the pits. With the field shuffled, the top five was now Peeples, Henderson, Marsh, Banfill and Rusty Olson. The green came again and Peeples was able to put a gap on Henderson who put a gap on Marsh. On lap 25, Olson pulled his borrowed car into the pits for the night. The last laps went without any major challenges in the top five. When the checkered flag came down it was Paul Peeples making it two in a row followed by Henderson, Marsh, Banfill and Mark Arroyo.
The next race at the Acres is June 10 with the regular field of limited street stocks, mini stocks, real stocks and sportsman cars. It should be another exciting night of racing.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
For the first time in the 2006 season it a somewhat warm night at Redwood Acres Raceway. Even though a few showers fell during the event, it wasn’t enough to severely slow down another exciting night as the thunder roadsters made their third appearance of the season at the Acres, along with the regular four classes of cars. Orion Mosher pulled away from the field in the limited street stock main to win while Craig Baker continued to show his strength in the mini stock division, winning the main event handily. Resuming their battle from the previous race, Bill Bradbury held off Dan Browne to win the real stock main. After some struggles at the start of the season, Larry Pries was able to make his way though the field in the sportsman division and claim victory. After an incident between Troy Combs and Randy Olson, Paul Peeples, Jr. inherited the lead in the roadster main event and was able to fend off David Henderson to win his second main event in a row at the Acres.
The limited street division was able to pick up one more car this weekend as Mark Burris showed up. Kenny Demello won the trophy dash over Orion Mosher, Adrien Betournay and Terry Vallee. Demello and Mosher put on an exciting heat race with Demello holding off Mosher’s challenges to win followed by Betournay, Vallee and Burris. The eight lap main was brought to the green flag by Mosher and Demello. Mosher used his inside front row starting spot to grab the lead from Demello. Though Demello briefly challenged Mosher for the lead, Mosher was eventually able to pull away and take the win with Demello second, Betournay third, Burris fourth and Vallee fifth.
Chad Grammer took home the trophy in the mini stock dash over Scott Baker, Brian Murrell and Stacy Minnick. The heat race had a bit too much excitement in it as a Brian McIntosh spin caught out Glen Bernald and Scott Baker. Craig Baker took the heat win over Grammer, Murrell, Byron McIntosh and Denzel Barrett. 11 cars started the 20 lap main event with the front row comprised of Nick Karanopoulos and Bernald. By the end of the first lap however, Brian McIntosh was able to get by both to nab the top spot. McIntosh’s lead would not last long however, as Murrell moved by for the lead on lap three. That same lap, Scott Baker pulled his car into the pits, calling it a night.
On lap four, Grammer made his way by Murrell bringing Craig Baker with him moving Murrell back to third. For several laps, Baker looked for a way by Grammer. Baker then made his way to the outside of Grammer and the two dueled side by side for the lead. On lap 10, coming off the fourth turn Grammer got loose allowing Baker to completely get by and pull away. Meanwhile, Minnick moved her way past Brian McIntosh four the fifth position. By lap 15, the field had spread out with Baker leading Grammer, Murrell, Minnick and McIntosh. On lap 16, Grammer pulled his car into the pits moving everyone behind up a spot, including long-time mini stock racer Mac Collado to fifth. When the checkered flag fell, the top five was the same, Baker, Murrell, Minnick, Bryan McIntosh and Collado.
The real stock division had perhaps their best field of the season. Dan Browne and Bill Bradbury resumed their battle from the previous race for a bit in the dash with Browne winning followed by Bradbury, Jim Bailey and Barry Barnwell. Ray Robinson won the first heat over Browne, Jim Redd, Troy Wood and Bailey. The second heat was won by Bradbury over Bob Lima, Barnwell, Ray DeMello and Marvin Savage. 17 cars took the green flag in the 25 lap main event with DeMello and Redd sharing the front row. DeMello grabbed the lead from Redd off the start while Doug Way pulled his car into the pits for the night. On lap two, Ryan Robinson moved by Redd for the second spot, then he moved outside of DeMello to challenge for the first position. By lap three, Browne had made his way to the third spot before a yellow flag flew for debris on the track.
The green flag came out again and Browne decided to use the closeness of the front to cars to his advantage. He made his way by Robinson for second by lap four, then he moved his way outside of DeMello to grab the lead on lap five. In the meantime, Bradbury began picking his way through the field. On lap eight, he moved past Bailey for fifth then by Redd for fourth. However any thoughts of taking the lead were fantasy as Browne had pulled out to a large lead over DeMello. On the tenth lap, Robinson spun but no yellow flag flew. The top five at this time was Browne, DeMello, Bradbury, Redd and Lima.
On lap 13, Bradbury moved to DeMello’s bumper and tried to take the second spot while a four car duel between Redd, Lima, Barnwell and Bailey four the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh positions. Brad Bergquist making his first start of the season blew his engine in the high line on lap 14 but again no yellow flag flew as the fluid was well out of the racing groove. Bradbury made his way by DeMello lap 15. That same lap, Lima made contact with the lapped car of Dana DeVane necessitating a yellow flag and bunching up the field, much to Bradbury’s pleasure and Browne’s dismay. When the green came again, Browne and Bradbury pulled away from DeMello and the rest of the field. On lap 18, Bradbury moved inside of Browne for the lead, taking the position. At the same time, DeMello got too high and lost several spots. Bradbury and Browne continued to duel for the lead as the laps ticked off but when the checkered fell Browne didn’t have enough as Bradbury won followed by Browne, Barnwell, Redd and Lima. Unfortunately in post race inspection, Browne’s car was deemed illegal.
12 cars showed up to race in the sportsman division. Rick Fox held off Marty Walsh, Brandon Barnwell and Larry Pries to win the trophy dash. Angelo Marcelli won the first heat race over Fox, Walsh, Donnie Brown and Al Acuna while Barnwell won the second heat over Ken Hallis, Aaron Byers, Pries and Jerry Peterson. The 35 lap main event was lead to the green flag by Frank Billy and Brown. Brown was able to get a good jump on the start and take the front spot. On lap two, Billy got into the side of Barnwell spinning him and causing the field to scatter. Fortunately, there wasn’t any serious damage done to any of the cars.
The green came out again with Brown leading while Fox tried to get by Billy for second. On lap four, Fox got the spot and set his sights on Brown. The next lap, several cars were able to move past Billy including Pries, Byers and Walsh. The gap between the front five cars began to close as all five raced bumper to bumper cleanly. On lap 11, Byers got his car sideways off the fourth turn but managed to reel in his car and not lose position. On lap 13, Billy spun off the second turn bringing out the caution. The restart was to Pries’ advantage as he moved by Fox for second on lap 14, then he moved inside Browne on lap 16, taking the lead the next lap. Barnwell spun on lap 19 and the yellow flag came once again.
Pries got a good start when the green came back out while Brown tried to hold off Fox. Pries held a two car length advantage while second through fourth were nip and tuck for position. On lap 30, Walsh made his way by Byers for fourth. On lap 32 the final yellow flag came. Under caution Barnwell cut a tire forcing him into the pits for the final few laps. For Larry Pries, the last three laps were merely a formality as he claimed the win followed by Brown, Fox, Walsh and Byers. Regretfully, Brown’s car was found to be illegal in post race inspection.
The thunder roadsters made their third start at the Acres with another beautiful field of cars. Paul Peeples, Jr. won the dash over Randy Olson, David Henderson and Ron Rosenthal. Mike Ward won the first heat followed by Jay Bahner, Waymond Hans, Donn Cole and Byron Nelson. Chris Sarvinski took the second heat followed by Troy Combs, Henderson, Randy Olson and Peeples. Leroy Marsh returned to the Acres after a few years hiatus to win the third heat with Rusty Olson using a car barrowed from Bill O’Neill finishing second followed by, Ray Elliott, Chris Banfill and Ron Turner filling out the top five. With the high car count, a B-main event was necessitated and Ward was able to win while Dave McMurray took the second and final transfer spot.
18 cars started the 30 lap roadster main with Marsh and Bruce Ziermar leading the field to the green. Marsh got the jump bringing Rusty Olson with him while Ziermar had major issues falling to the end of the field. On the fifth lap, Sarvinski spun, however the yellow flag was withheld as he got going again. By the tenth lap the field was still spreading out as Marsh lead Olson, Elliott, Combs and Henderson. Elliott and Combs began to reel in Olson for second allowing Marsh to pull his lead out a bit more. On lap 12, Combs pulled to the outside of Elliott while Randy Olson moved to the high side of Henderson. Combs made his way by Elliott on lap 13 just as Bill O’Neill spun off the second turn bringing out the yellow flag.
On the restart, Combs got a jump to the outside of Rusty Olson and Marsh taking the lead. Randy Olson followed suit moving to third, then taking second from Marsh on lap 15. On lap 18, Henderson moved to the inside of Rusty Olson for fourth but Olson held him off. Meanwhile, Randy Olson began to close the gap on Combs for the lead. The yellow flag came out on lap 19 as Elliott, Ward and McMurray were all collected in an incident in the second turn. On the restart, Peeples got a jump and moved to the third position while Henderson got by Rusty Olson for fifth and Marsh for fourth.
On lap 22 while racing for the lead off the fourth turn, Randy Olson turned Combs into the infield bringing out the final yellow flag. Under yellow, Combs showed his frustration with Olson hitting him in the third and fourth turn. Olson was sent to the rear but decided to pull his car to the pits. With the field shuffled, the top five was now Peeples, Henderson, Marsh, Banfill and Rusty Olson. The green came again and Peeples was able to put a gap on Henderson who put a gap on Marsh. On lap 25, Olson pulled his borrowed car into the pits for the night. The last laps went without any major challenges in the top five. When the checkered flag came down it was Paul Peeples making it two in a row followed by Henderson, Marsh, Banfill and Mark Arroyo.
The next race at the Acres is June 10 with the regular field of limited street stocks, mini stocks, real stocks and sportsman cars. It should be another exciting night of racing.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Browne beats Bradbury by inches, completes trifecta
Browne beats Bradbury by inches, completes trifecta
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Another chilly night welcomed everyone in attendance at Redwood Acres Raceway Saturday night, but as usual the excitement on the track was enough to make people forget the cold. Craig Baker returned from engine woes the previous week to claim the main event victory in the mini stock division while Dan Browne held off Bill Bradbury by inches to claim the win in the real stock main event in what might be the race of the season. Track veteran, Angelo Marcelli took the win in the sportsman division main.
The limited street class was in action but once again the car count was very low with only four showing up. Of the four, Orion Mosher was the fastest in time trials with a 17.484 lap. Mosher won the closely contested trophy dash beating Adrien Betournay, Ken Demello and Vern Crowley who was driving the car normally piloted by Terry Vallee. Sadly, the heat race would end up being the classes main event. However, it was a very exciting race as Betournay was able to hold off all challenges from Mosher to take the win with Demello third and Crowley fourth. An attempt at a main event was made but before the green, Betournay had issues with fuel coming out of his car and the race was called off.
Chad Grammer set the fast mark in the mini stock division with a 19.083 time. Brian Murrell won the dash over Grammer, Craig Baker and Stacy Minnick. Baker moved his way through the field in the heat race to take the win followed by Bryan McIntosh, Glen Bernald, Grammer and Murrell. Nine cars started the 20 lap main event with the front row comprised of Bernald and Scott Baker. The green flew as Bernald and Baker battled for the lead. Baker battled hard on the outside for the first two laps before the inside line prevailed with Bernald getting the lead, Murrell getting by Baker for second. On lap five, Grammer and Bryan McIntosh made contact in the fourth turn. The incident forced Grammar into the pits while McIntosh had substantial right front damage. However, there was no yellow flag for the incident. Meanwhile, Murrell and Baker were able to get by Bernald for the first and second positions.
By lap nine, Craig Baker had moved his way by Bernald to the third position. Two laps later, he moved by brother Scott to take second while leader Murrell maintained a seven car gap. At the same time, Bernald and Minnick were fighting hard for the fourth position. As the laps wound down, Baker closed the gap on Murrell. Baker looked for a line by Murrell before making his move inside on lap 16 and taking the lead. Murrell fought back and stayed in Baker’s mirror hoping that he would falter in the final laps. To Murrell’s dismay he didn’t as Craig Baker took the win followed by Brian Murrell, Scott Baker, Glen Bernald and Stacy Minnick.
Jim Bailey blew the real stock field away in qualifying with a quick lap of 19.198. Dan Browne won the trophy dash over Bailey, Bill Bradbury and Barry Barnwell. Browne again took honors in the first heat winning over Barnwell, Troy Wood, Marvin Savage and Jim Redd. Bradbury won the second heat race followed by Bailey, Ukiah regular Danny Helm, Ray Robinson and Steve Kimberling. The two heat race winners would have a bit of a show-down in the main event.
The 12 car field was brought to the green flag by Browne and Barnwell. Browne got the jump off the start while Bradbury moved into the second position and Barnwell back to the third slot. On lap two, Bradbury found a way by Browne on the inside to take the lead. However, Browne was able to fall behind and maintain position in the second spot. In the meantime, Barnwell and Bailey were having a race of their own for the third position. For several laps, the two were doorhandle to doorhandle, Barnwell on the inside, Bailey on the outside. Bailey couldn’t find enough grip to get by, so he settled in behind Barnwell hoping to make a run past him later in the race. On lap seven, Browne moved past Bradbury to reclaim the lead. The duo of Brown and Bradbury had now pulled out to a sizeable gap over the Barnwell, Bailey battle. Bradbury would not be denied however. On lap 12, he used the front bumper to move by Browne to give the race another lead change. The bump allowed Bradbury to open a bit of a gap on Browne.
On lap 14, Bailey was able to find a way by Barnwell on the inside line to take the third spot. Things were heating up again for the lead as Browne had closed the margin on Bradbury and was now on his rear bumper. On sixteenth lap, Browne moved to the inside of Bradbury going three wide while lapping Ray Robinson to retake the lead once again. However, Browne could not pull away from Bradbury. The two leaders began to hit slower traffic coming to the white flag. Going into the third turn, Bradbury made contact with Browne sending Browne slightly into the infield. However, Browne was able to hang on and maintain the lead while Bradbury moved to the inside. It was a drag race coming off the fourth turn between the two with Browne finding just enough bite to claim a thrilling victory over Bradbury, Bailey, Barnwell and Danny Helm. However, in post race inspection, Bailey’s car was found to be illegal thus moving Barnwell to third, Helm to fourth and Jim Redd to fifth. Browne’s main event win made him three for three for the night, completing the dash-heat-main trifecta.
Qualifying for the sportsman division was tight with Marty Walsh prevailing with a 16.568 lap. Angelo Marcelli won the dash over Aaron Byers, Rick Fox and Walsh. The first heat was won by Jerry Peterson over Marcelli, Al Acuna, Fox and Mike Bourbon while the second heat was won on the last lap by Larry Pries followed by Lissa Uselton, Byers, Walsh and Brandon Barnwell. Donnie Brown started the first heat but had problems and didn’t return for the rest of the evening. 10 cars started the 30 lap main event. Originally, the front row was supposed to be shared by Peterson and Pries, however Pries had to pit prior to the green flag allowing Marcelli to take the outside position on the front row. Marcelli grabbed the lead off the drop of the green flag. On lap two, Fox moved by Byers for third. At the same time, Pries was black flagged after starting in the back of the field.
On lap three, Fox moved to the inside of Peterson for second, freight training Peterson all the way back to sixth. All the fighting for the second position allowed Marcelli to pull out to an eight car length gap over the rest of the field. By the fifth lap, the front five was Marcelli, Fox, Byers, Walsh and Acuna. Fox was able to break away from Byers and while Byers had his hands full with Walsh. The two raced bumper-to-bumper for several laps before Walsh was able to get by on the inside on lap 13. Meanwhile, Fox had closed the margin on Marcelli and was now challenging for the lead. Uselton spun off the fourth turn on lap sixteen bringing out the yellow flag and tightening the field.
Marcelli lead the field to the restart with Fox trying to find a way by, while Walsh tried to find a way by Fox. With seven to go, Walsh and Fox made contact allowing Walsh to grab second. On the next lap, going into the first turn, Byers turned Fox sending the two into the wall collecting Acuna and Pries and bringing out the red flag. Fox, Acuna and Pries were able to continue but Byers’ car was done for the night. The field was reset again and the green flew once more. Walsh tried several times to get to the inside of Marcelli but he couldn’t find enough grip. As the checkered flag fell it was Marcelli taking the win followed by Walsh, Barnwell, Peterson and Fox.
Racing at the Acres takes a weekend off before returning to action with all four classes of cars along with the thunder roadsters on June 3.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Another chilly night welcomed everyone in attendance at Redwood Acres Raceway Saturday night, but as usual the excitement on the track was enough to make people forget the cold. Craig Baker returned from engine woes the previous week to claim the main event victory in the mini stock division while Dan Browne held off Bill Bradbury by inches to claim the win in the real stock main event in what might be the race of the season. Track veteran, Angelo Marcelli took the win in the sportsman division main.
The limited street class was in action but once again the car count was very low with only four showing up. Of the four, Orion Mosher was the fastest in time trials with a 17.484 lap. Mosher won the closely contested trophy dash beating Adrien Betournay, Ken Demello and Vern Crowley who was driving the car normally piloted by Terry Vallee. Sadly, the heat race would end up being the classes main event. However, it was a very exciting race as Betournay was able to hold off all challenges from Mosher to take the win with Demello third and Crowley fourth. An attempt at a main event was made but before the green, Betournay had issues with fuel coming out of his car and the race was called off.
Chad Grammer set the fast mark in the mini stock division with a 19.083 time. Brian Murrell won the dash over Grammer, Craig Baker and Stacy Minnick. Baker moved his way through the field in the heat race to take the win followed by Bryan McIntosh, Glen Bernald, Grammer and Murrell. Nine cars started the 20 lap main event with the front row comprised of Bernald and Scott Baker. The green flew as Bernald and Baker battled for the lead. Baker battled hard on the outside for the first two laps before the inside line prevailed with Bernald getting the lead, Murrell getting by Baker for second. On lap five, Grammer and Bryan McIntosh made contact in the fourth turn. The incident forced Grammar into the pits while McIntosh had substantial right front damage. However, there was no yellow flag for the incident. Meanwhile, Murrell and Baker were able to get by Bernald for the first and second positions.
By lap nine, Craig Baker had moved his way by Bernald to the third position. Two laps later, he moved by brother Scott to take second while leader Murrell maintained a seven car gap. At the same time, Bernald and Minnick were fighting hard for the fourth position. As the laps wound down, Baker closed the gap on Murrell. Baker looked for a line by Murrell before making his move inside on lap 16 and taking the lead. Murrell fought back and stayed in Baker’s mirror hoping that he would falter in the final laps. To Murrell’s dismay he didn’t as Craig Baker took the win followed by Brian Murrell, Scott Baker, Glen Bernald and Stacy Minnick.
Jim Bailey blew the real stock field away in qualifying with a quick lap of 19.198. Dan Browne won the trophy dash over Bailey, Bill Bradbury and Barry Barnwell. Browne again took honors in the first heat winning over Barnwell, Troy Wood, Marvin Savage and Jim Redd. Bradbury won the second heat race followed by Bailey, Ukiah regular Danny Helm, Ray Robinson and Steve Kimberling. The two heat race winners would have a bit of a show-down in the main event.
The 12 car field was brought to the green flag by Browne and Barnwell. Browne got the jump off the start while Bradbury moved into the second position and Barnwell back to the third slot. On lap two, Bradbury found a way by Browne on the inside to take the lead. However, Browne was able to fall behind and maintain position in the second spot. In the meantime, Barnwell and Bailey were having a race of their own for the third position. For several laps, the two were doorhandle to doorhandle, Barnwell on the inside, Bailey on the outside. Bailey couldn’t find enough grip to get by, so he settled in behind Barnwell hoping to make a run past him later in the race. On lap seven, Browne moved past Bradbury to reclaim the lead. The duo of Brown and Bradbury had now pulled out to a sizeable gap over the Barnwell, Bailey battle. Bradbury would not be denied however. On lap 12, he used the front bumper to move by Browne to give the race another lead change. The bump allowed Bradbury to open a bit of a gap on Browne.
On lap 14, Bailey was able to find a way by Barnwell on the inside line to take the third spot. Things were heating up again for the lead as Browne had closed the margin on Bradbury and was now on his rear bumper. On sixteenth lap, Browne moved to the inside of Bradbury going three wide while lapping Ray Robinson to retake the lead once again. However, Browne could not pull away from Bradbury. The two leaders began to hit slower traffic coming to the white flag. Going into the third turn, Bradbury made contact with Browne sending Browne slightly into the infield. However, Browne was able to hang on and maintain the lead while Bradbury moved to the inside. It was a drag race coming off the fourth turn between the two with Browne finding just enough bite to claim a thrilling victory over Bradbury, Bailey, Barnwell and Danny Helm. However, in post race inspection, Bailey’s car was found to be illegal thus moving Barnwell to third, Helm to fourth and Jim Redd to fifth. Browne’s main event win made him three for three for the night, completing the dash-heat-main trifecta.
Qualifying for the sportsman division was tight with Marty Walsh prevailing with a 16.568 lap. Angelo Marcelli won the dash over Aaron Byers, Rick Fox and Walsh. The first heat was won by Jerry Peterson over Marcelli, Al Acuna, Fox and Mike Bourbon while the second heat was won on the last lap by Larry Pries followed by Lissa Uselton, Byers, Walsh and Brandon Barnwell. Donnie Brown started the first heat but had problems and didn’t return for the rest of the evening. 10 cars started the 30 lap main event. Originally, the front row was supposed to be shared by Peterson and Pries, however Pries had to pit prior to the green flag allowing Marcelli to take the outside position on the front row. Marcelli grabbed the lead off the drop of the green flag. On lap two, Fox moved by Byers for third. At the same time, Pries was black flagged after starting in the back of the field.
On lap three, Fox moved to the inside of Peterson for second, freight training Peterson all the way back to sixth. All the fighting for the second position allowed Marcelli to pull out to an eight car length gap over the rest of the field. By the fifth lap, the front five was Marcelli, Fox, Byers, Walsh and Acuna. Fox was able to break away from Byers and while Byers had his hands full with Walsh. The two raced bumper-to-bumper for several laps before Walsh was able to get by on the inside on lap 13. Meanwhile, Fox had closed the margin on Marcelli and was now challenging for the lead. Uselton spun off the fourth turn on lap sixteen bringing out the yellow flag and tightening the field.
Marcelli lead the field to the restart with Fox trying to find a way by, while Walsh tried to find a way by Fox. With seven to go, Walsh and Fox made contact allowing Walsh to grab second. On the next lap, going into the first turn, Byers turned Fox sending the two into the wall collecting Acuna and Pries and bringing out the red flag. Fox, Acuna and Pries were able to continue but Byers’ car was done for the night. The field was reset again and the green flew once more. Walsh tried several times to get to the inside of Marcelli but he couldn’t find enough grip. As the checkered flag fell it was Marcelli taking the win followed by Walsh, Barnwell, Peterson and Fox.
Racing at the Acres takes a weekend off before returning to action with all four classes of cars along with the thunder roadsters on June 3.
Monday, May 1, 2006
Walsh wins, two in a row for Way
Walsh wins, two in a row for Way
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Another chilly evening welcomed the competitors and fans of the four classes of cars at the Acres, but it sure didn’t slow any of the competition down on the race track. Adrien Betournay nabbed the main event win in the depleted limited street class while Doug Way won the thrilling real stock main. Craig Baker ran away from the field in the mini stock main completing the dash/heat/main trifecta and Marty Walsh won the closely contested main in the sportsman division.
Orion Mosher returned to the limited street division in his truck and claimed the win in a thrilling trophy dash which saw Kavin Conn and Adrien Betournay tangle in the fourth turn on the final lap while battling for the lead. Unfortunately, Conn suffered nose damage which was enough to end his evening. Kenny Demello won the heat over Betournay and Terry Vallee with Mosher in the pits due to smoke which was coming from his vehicle. The eight lap main event was brought to its green flag by Betournay and Mosher. Betournay got the jump while Mosher slotted behind and tried to find a way around. On the fifth lap, Demello had problems and slowed. Mosher tried several times to make a move on Betournay but it wasn’t enough as Adrien Betournay took the win over Mosher, Vallee and Demello.
It appeared that Craig Baker was looking to make an early season statement in the mini stock class. Baker took the trophy dash win followed by his brother Scott Baker, Stacy Minnick and Chad Grammar. He followed that up with a win in the heat over Glen Bernald, Scott Baker, Grammer and Brian Murrell. Nick Karanopoulos and Bernald brought the ten car field to the green flag in the 20 lap main event. Karanopoulos got the jump and lead the first lap and Craig Baker moved into second as the field began to get into formation. On the second lap, Bernald spun. The same lap, Baker made his way by Karanopoulos for the lead taking the yellow flag. Under the caution, Grammer was sent to the back for his involvement in Bernald’s spin.
When the green flag flew, Craig Baker stretched his lead while Scott Baker made his way to the second position. The Bakers ran away from the field while Grammer tried to get to the front. By lap 13, Grammer had reached the third slot passing Karanopoulos, Brian McIntosh, Denzel Barrett and Murrell, but he was half the track distance behind Craig Baker who was maintaining a comfortable distance over Scott. On the last lap while working through traffic, Scott Baker made contact with Barrett in the middle of the back stretch. Fortunately, no other cars were involved. Craig Baker crossed the start/finish line first to take the win over Grammer, Karanopoulos, McIntosh and Murrell.
If Craig Baker was making a statement then so was Doug Way in the real stock class. Way won the trophy dash over Mike Peeples, Dan Browne and Jim Bailey. Jason Belt won the first heat followed by Browne, Peeples, Ray DeMello and Brian Belt while Bob Lima took the second over Way, Barry Barnwell, Bailey and Bill Bradbury. The 16 car field was brought to the green of the 25 lap main event by DeMello and Ryan Robinson. Browne had issues before the race started and had to pit but returned just as the field took the green. DeMello got the jump and took the early lead over Jim Redd and Bradbury. Way began to make his way to the lead early, getting by Bradbury on lap two and taking the second position from Redd on lap three. On lap five, Ryan Walters spun bringing out the yellow flag.
After the restart, Way began to try to find a way past DeMello. On lap six, Peeples got by Redd while Bailey followed in his tracks to also get past Redd. Way moved to the outside of DeMello on lap seven. A lap later, Barnwell and Brian Belt tangled between the third and fourth turns resulting in a caution flag. Barnwell continued but Belt’s night was over. The green flew again as Way continued to look for a line. Mike Peeples got loose of the second turn on lap nine and lost several positions. On lap 10, Way got to the outside of DeMello and was able to find some grip. Bradbury and Bailey were able to close up on the two to make it a four car race. After several side-by-side laps, Way was able to take the lead away. Bailey and Browne were also able to get past DeMello. The caution flag flew again on lap 15 for Jim Redd’s spin in turn two. The restart came again and it appeared to be a three car race between Way, Bailey and Browne. Bailey tried the outside line on Way several times but couldn’t make it work. By this time, Bradbury had caught the trio and made it a four car race. With two to go, Browne and Bradbury made their way past Bailey. Browne then moved to the outside, trying to pass Way. It wasn’t enough though as Way fought off Browne and Bradbury to take a thrilling victory followed by Bailey and Peeples.
Most of the cars involved in the previous week’s nine car tangle were able to make it back out. Rick Fox took the trophy home winning the dash over Aaron Byers, Marty Walsh and Al Acuna. Walsh took the heat race win followed by Byers, Jerry Peterson, Donnie Brown and Fox. 10 cars started the 25 lap main with Brandon Barnwell and Angelo Marcelli leading the field to the green. Barnwell got the drop on Marcelli on the start brining Walsh with him in second. Byers, the previous week’s main event winner, spun on the second lap bringing out the yellow. The green flag flew as Walsh made his move. On lap three, Walsh got to Barnwell’s inside and took the lead. By lap five it was Walsh, Barnwell, Marcelli, Acuna and Fox. It didn’t appear to be Byers’ night as he spun again in the first turn bringing out another yellow on lap six.
After the restart, Marcelli tried to pressure Barnwell enabling Walsh to pull to a five car length lead over the field. Barnwell held off Marcelli’s advances and began to pull away. On lap 18, Fox got by Acuna off turn four to take the fourth position. Barnwell tried to close the gap between he and Walsh several times but he just couldn’t find the grip allowing Walsh to win followed by Barnwell, Marcelli, Fox and Acuna.
The next race at the Acres is May 13 when the thunder roadsters have their second race of the season.
-notes-
- It’s ironic that Chad Grammer’s name is spelled with an “e” as opposed to the word grammar. Bad Grammer I guess... (bad joke.)
- It was great to see so many of the cars who had suffered damage the last race able to make it out to this one. It was also nice to not have to see the big sweeper out either as there weren’t any incidents that were severe enough to involve dry sweep.
- Hopefully the speaker problems will be fixed by next race. It was a bummer not being able to hear lap times in the pits.
- J.D. Frey brought his late (late) model car to the sportsman division but didn’t finish the main event.
- The North State series had a BEAUTIFUL field of cars. It was great to see so many of them out there.
- Get well Chuck Essex! We hope you’re back out as soon as possible.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Another chilly evening welcomed the competitors and fans of the four classes of cars at the Acres, but it sure didn’t slow any of the competition down on the race track. Adrien Betournay nabbed the main event win in the depleted limited street class while Doug Way won the thrilling real stock main. Craig Baker ran away from the field in the mini stock main completing the dash/heat/main trifecta and Marty Walsh won the closely contested main in the sportsman division.
Orion Mosher returned to the limited street division in his truck and claimed the win in a thrilling trophy dash which saw Kavin Conn and Adrien Betournay tangle in the fourth turn on the final lap while battling for the lead. Unfortunately, Conn suffered nose damage which was enough to end his evening. Kenny Demello won the heat over Betournay and Terry Vallee with Mosher in the pits due to smoke which was coming from his vehicle. The eight lap main event was brought to its green flag by Betournay and Mosher. Betournay got the jump while Mosher slotted behind and tried to find a way around. On the fifth lap, Demello had problems and slowed. Mosher tried several times to make a move on Betournay but it wasn’t enough as Adrien Betournay took the win over Mosher, Vallee and Demello.
It appeared that Craig Baker was looking to make an early season statement in the mini stock class. Baker took the trophy dash win followed by his brother Scott Baker, Stacy Minnick and Chad Grammar. He followed that up with a win in the heat over Glen Bernald, Scott Baker, Grammer and Brian Murrell. Nick Karanopoulos and Bernald brought the ten car field to the green flag in the 20 lap main event. Karanopoulos got the jump and lead the first lap and Craig Baker moved into second as the field began to get into formation. On the second lap, Bernald spun. The same lap, Baker made his way by Karanopoulos for the lead taking the yellow flag. Under the caution, Grammer was sent to the back for his involvement in Bernald’s spin.
When the green flag flew, Craig Baker stretched his lead while Scott Baker made his way to the second position. The Bakers ran away from the field while Grammer tried to get to the front. By lap 13, Grammer had reached the third slot passing Karanopoulos, Brian McIntosh, Denzel Barrett and Murrell, but he was half the track distance behind Craig Baker who was maintaining a comfortable distance over Scott. On the last lap while working through traffic, Scott Baker made contact with Barrett in the middle of the back stretch. Fortunately, no other cars were involved. Craig Baker crossed the start/finish line first to take the win over Grammer, Karanopoulos, McIntosh and Murrell.
If Craig Baker was making a statement then so was Doug Way in the real stock class. Way won the trophy dash over Mike Peeples, Dan Browne and Jim Bailey. Jason Belt won the first heat followed by Browne, Peeples, Ray DeMello and Brian Belt while Bob Lima took the second over Way, Barry Barnwell, Bailey and Bill Bradbury. The 16 car field was brought to the green of the 25 lap main event by DeMello and Ryan Robinson. Browne had issues before the race started and had to pit but returned just as the field took the green. DeMello got the jump and took the early lead over Jim Redd and Bradbury. Way began to make his way to the lead early, getting by Bradbury on lap two and taking the second position from Redd on lap three. On lap five, Ryan Walters spun bringing out the yellow flag.
After the restart, Way began to try to find a way past DeMello. On lap six, Peeples got by Redd while Bailey followed in his tracks to also get past Redd. Way moved to the outside of DeMello on lap seven. A lap later, Barnwell and Brian Belt tangled between the third and fourth turns resulting in a caution flag. Barnwell continued but Belt’s night was over. The green flew again as Way continued to look for a line. Mike Peeples got loose of the second turn on lap nine and lost several positions. On lap 10, Way got to the outside of DeMello and was able to find some grip. Bradbury and Bailey were able to close up on the two to make it a four car race. After several side-by-side laps, Way was able to take the lead away. Bailey and Browne were also able to get past DeMello. The caution flag flew again on lap 15 for Jim Redd’s spin in turn two. The restart came again and it appeared to be a three car race between Way, Bailey and Browne. Bailey tried the outside line on Way several times but couldn’t make it work. By this time, Bradbury had caught the trio and made it a four car race. With two to go, Browne and Bradbury made their way past Bailey. Browne then moved to the outside, trying to pass Way. It wasn’t enough though as Way fought off Browne and Bradbury to take a thrilling victory followed by Bailey and Peeples.
Most of the cars involved in the previous week’s nine car tangle were able to make it back out. Rick Fox took the trophy home winning the dash over Aaron Byers, Marty Walsh and Al Acuna. Walsh took the heat race win followed by Byers, Jerry Peterson, Donnie Brown and Fox. 10 cars started the 25 lap main with Brandon Barnwell and Angelo Marcelli leading the field to the green. Barnwell got the drop on Marcelli on the start brining Walsh with him in second. Byers, the previous week’s main event winner, spun on the second lap bringing out the yellow. The green flag flew as Walsh made his move. On lap three, Walsh got to Barnwell’s inside and took the lead. By lap five it was Walsh, Barnwell, Marcelli, Acuna and Fox. It didn’t appear to be Byers’ night as he spun again in the first turn bringing out another yellow on lap six.
After the restart, Marcelli tried to pressure Barnwell enabling Walsh to pull to a five car length lead over the field. Barnwell held off Marcelli’s advances and began to pull away. On lap 18, Fox got by Acuna off turn four to take the fourth position. Barnwell tried to close the gap between he and Walsh several times but he just couldn’t find the grip allowing Walsh to win followed by Barnwell, Marcelli, Fox and Acuna.
The next race at the Acres is May 13 when the thunder roadsters have their second race of the season.
-notes-
- It’s ironic that Chad Grammer’s name is spelled with an “e” as opposed to the word grammar. Bad Grammer I guess... (bad joke.)
- It was great to see so many of the cars who had suffered damage the last race able to make it out to this one. It was also nice to not have to see the big sweeper out either as there weren’t any incidents that were severe enough to involve dry sweep.
- Hopefully the speaker problems will be fixed by next race. It was a bummer not being able to hear lap times in the pits.
- J.D. Frey brought his late (late) model car to the sportsman division but didn’t finish the main event.
- The North State series had a BEAUTIFUL field of cars. It was great to see so many of them out there.
- Get well Chuck Essex! We hope you’re back out as soon as possible.
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