Racing returns to the Acres
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The 2011 season opening event at Redwood Acres Raceway occurred this past Saturday night, April 30th. While rain plagued and eventually cancelled the original season opening date on April 16th, sun and blue skies fell over the 3/8-mile paved oval. There were a lot of old faces returning to the track as well as a lot of new ones. All in all, there was some great racing action had on the evening.
Defending real stock track champion, Casey Mitchell looked to be in top form winning the trophy dash over Donnie Hyman, Nick Green and Steve Kimberling. Hyman held off Ryan Robinson in the heat race to take the race win followed by Green, Mitchell and Kimberling. Wyatt Roach took the lead for the first two circuits of the 20-lap feature event before giving way to Doug Way. While battling for third alongside Hyman, Kimberling got loose between turns three and four forcing him to slow and lose several spots. Roach did his best to hold off faster cars for second but had to give way on lap five allowing Robinson to get under and by as well as Mitchell, Green and Hyman. Way appeared to have his hands full with Robinson and Mitchell filling his mirrors until the caution flew when Hyman spun on his own in turn one on lap seven.
Immediately after the restart, Robinson tried to go high and around Way for the lead. Mitchell chose the low line and was able to get by both for the lead when Way opened the door coming off turn four on lap 10. Robinson and Green continued to fight way or second while Hyman made his way back to the lead cars. Hyman was on a mission, moving past Green, then Robinson and setting his sights on Way. On lap 19 going into the first turn, Hyman’s right rear wheel flew off his car, sending him spinning. As Hyman came back down the track, he collected Robinson’s car. Fortunately, neither car was heavily damaged but both were finished for the race. Mitchell took the green/white restart and held on to the checkered flag over Way, Kimberling, Green and rookie driver Chris Naughton.
There were several new drivers in the roadrunner division. Among them were Jennifer Barrett, Heath Roach, Jared Mayo, Greg Mattox and Josh Hansen. Kolby Jackson won the trophy dash over Nick Hansen, Robbie Nelson and Dylan Cook. Jackson followed up with the heat race win over Roach, N. Hansen, Michael Lawrence and J. Hansen. Roach grabbed the lead early in the 20-lap main as the rest of the pack tried to sort themselves out. Mattox was the first to give Roach some trouble until Lawrence moved his way to third. Lawrence appeared to have second taken away before Roach slowed abruptly in front of him forcing Lawrence to jump on the brakes. Roach’s car came to a stop on the front straight necessitating a yellow flag on lap three.
Jackson used his experience to take the lead on the restart and appeared to be the car to beat. However, Lawrence, N. Hansen, Nelson and Brett Murrell were nipping at his heels. On lap 13, Jackson pushed high off turn four allowing Lawrence to maneuver past to the lead. A lap later, N. Hansen moved under to take second with Nelson following to third. The caution flew on lap 16 and bunched up the field for a shootout to the finish. N. Hansen used the restart to his advantage, finding the low lane under Lawrence for the lead. Nelson followed by into second. Nelson did all he could to mount a challenge on N. Hansen but didn’t have enough to take the lead away. At the checkered flag it was N. Hansen winning over Nelson, Lawrence, Mattox and Murrell.
Paul Peeples, Jr. held off Randy Olson, Fergy Ferguson and defending champion, Thomas Payne to win the thunder roadster trophy dash. The first heat was won by Robert Miller who was making his first start in the division in a year, former mini stock champion, Bernard Burns, Dan Browne, Bruce Ziemer and Jim Rich. The second heat saw misfortune strike both Randy and Allen Olson. Randy pulled his car into the pits with engine problems at the start of the heat while Allen Olson looked poised to win his first race ever but had to pull in due to an oil leak. Peeples was able to take the win over Payne, Chris Sarvinski and Ferguson.
Miller took the lead at the start of the 30-lap main event while a mad scramble played itself behind him. On lap three, Peeples made contact with Browne in turn one sending Browne spinning, bringing out a yellow flag and sending Peeples to the rear of the field. Miller took the restart ahead of Burns and Rich and looked to not have any rust after a year away from the Acres. Likewise, Burns looked to be very competitive in his first race back in many years. However, experience in the division began to show through in the form of Ziemer and Payne. On lap nine, Ziemer and Payne made a move to the inside of Burns at the same time. Ziemer and Payne touched briefly forcing Payne to get briefly get loose before he save his car. A lap later, Burns pulled his car to the pits. On lap 12, Ziemer moved under Miller and past to the lead with Payne following into second. The front two dueled nose-to-tail for the lead while Peeples began to make his presence known by passing Miller for third.
The closing laps featured a fantastic fight for the lead between Ziemer, Payne and Peeples. Payne tried the high line around Ziemer with three laps remaining opening the door for Peeples. With two to go, Ziemer pushed high allowing Peeples to get the room underneath to take the lead. At the checkered flag it was Peeples winning over Ziemer, Payne, Ferguson and Sarvinski.
Larry Pries won the sportsman trophy dash ahead of Dennis DelBiaggio, Brandon Barnwell and Angelo Marcelli. Barnwell took the heat win over Marcelli, Pries, DelBiaggio and Al Acuna. The 30-lap feature got off to a sloppy start when DelBiaggio and Ken Hallis made contact at the start forcing a caution flag. Acuna led Pries and Barnwell to the restart and fought hard to hold off the two faster cars. Barnwell was better able to use the high line to his advantage, working his way past Pries and then Acuna for the lead. Pries was able to move by on the outside several laps later. As the race went on, Pries appeared to be catching Barnwell for the lead until DelBiaggio spun on lap 21 bringing out the caution flag.
The restart appeared to be just what Pries needed to get by Barnwell. With two laps to go, Pries took a look inside of Barnwell going into turn one but got into the corner too hard costing him his momentum and the race win. At the checkered flag it was Barnwell winning ahead of Pries, Acuna, Hallis and DelBiaggio.
It’s a quick turnaround for everyone as the 2011 racing season resumes at Redwood Acres Raceway this Saturday May 7th for the Mother’s Day Race.
Historic videos, race reports and race results from various Northern California race tracks
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Showing posts with label Doug Way. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doug Way. Show all posts
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Wrecks impair racing at the Acres
Wrecks impair racing at the Acres
By Matthew J. Sullivan
After a two week hiatus, racing returned to Redwood Acres Raceway for Back-To-School Night. Though several multi-car pileups slowed down the pace of the on track action, fans were able to witness a full slate of action in just over a three hour period. Scott Lyons took his second main event victory of the season in the limited street stock division. In the mini stocks, Craig Baker notched win number four for 2007. Ryan Robinson held off Doug Way in the real stock division taking his first win of the season. Perhaps the most familiar rivalry at the Acres in 2007 has been between Paul Peeples, Jr. and David Henderson. The two battled for the win once again with Henderson claiming the victory for the third time this season. It was the fifth time that the two drivers finished either first or second amongst themselves. Brandon Barnwell ran away with the sportsman main event for win number five.
Joining the five local classes was a special powder puff race. Female drivers drove borrowed real stock cars in the 10 lap main event. The race was originally scheduled for 10 laps but was cut to six when Mary DeMello spun in turn three collecting Whitney Burgess and Deborah Danielson. Danielson’s car went under Burgess’ car with Burgess rear end on Danielson’s hood. Debbie Huffman was the leader at the red flag but could not get her car to start when the yellow came out which gave the victory to Michelle Krupa. Others who were involved in the race were Kathryn Devries and Sequoya Warren.
Scott Lyons set quick time for the limited street stock cars with a 17.298 lap. Stan Young won the trophy dash over Duane Mayo, Lyons and Robert Miller. Kavin Conn won the heat driving Kenny Demello’s car. Mayo, Young, Miller and Lyons filled out the top five. Mayo and Miller brought the field to the green in the 15 lap main event. Mayo got the jump on Miller from the start while Lyons slotted himself into the second position. On lap four, Lyons moved well inside of Mayo going into turn three. The two made contact with Mayo spinning into the infield. Mayo lost a lap while trying to restart and the caution came out. On the restart, Lyons held the lead over Miller. Lyons pulled out to a eight car gap, but as the laps wound down Miller closed the gap to within a car length. That was as close as it would get though as Lyons crossed the start/finish line first over Miller, Young, Conn and Romeo Venza.
Fast time for the mini stock division was set by Byron McIntosh with an 18.791 time. Craig Baker won the dash over Denzil Barrett, McIntosh and Brian Murrell. The heat race saw a wreck between Murrell and Nick Karanopoulos severely damaging both cars. Max Capps took the win over By. McIntosh, Brian McIntosh, Barrett and Baker. Capps and By. McIntosh led the field to the green for the 15 lap mini stock main. Capps snookered By. McIntosh on the start, taking the lead while the two McIntosh brothers dueled side-by-side for the second spot. On lap two Brian had the advantage, but on lap three Byron took the position back. On lap five, Byron spun off the fourth turn into the infield. He got his car going however and racing was able to continue.
On lap eight, Baker moved outside of Capps for the lead, taking the position on lap nine. On lap 10, Br. McIntosh began to suffer engine woes and was passed by Murrell who was driving Barrett’s vehicle with his number on the side to score points for himself. From there on out the race was to see how long Br. McIntosh could stay on the track and if he would finish in the top five. On lap 11, Byron got by Brian for fourth. On the very last lap, Karanopoulos took fifth away from Brian. Meanwhile, Baker had smooth sailing in the lead taking the win handily over Capps, Murrell, By. McIntosh and Karanopoulos.
Steve Kimberling set the fast time for the real stock cars with a 19.511 lap time. The trophy dash victory went to Bill Middleton over Kimberling, Ryan Walters and Ryan Peeples. Peeples won the first heat followed by Kimberling, Barry Barnwell, Ray Robinson and Mark Mullan. Ryan Robinson won the second heat over Walters, Doug Way, Jim Redd and Marvin Savage. The 25 lap feature was brought to the green flag by Savage and Ray DeMello. DeMello took the lead off the start while Barnwell took second. A wild race for third place ensued between Savage and a host of other cars. By lap two though, Savage regained second from Barnwell. On lap three Ry. Robinson made a daring three wide pass to get by Barnwell and Savage to move into second, just before the yellow came out for debris on the track.
Ry. Robinson got a great start when the green came out again, taking the lead away from DeMello. Way got a similar start moving by Savage for third. On lap six, Way moved by DeMello to take second. Nick Green moved into fifth on lap seven, taking the position away from Barnwell. Two laps later, Green made a superb three wide pass to get by DeMello and Savage for third. Just behind him, Middleton went for a spin off of turn two, but was able to get going again. On lap 10, Troy Wood who was scoring points for himself using Chuck Essex’s car, spun in turn four collecting Mullan. Robinson’s substantial over Way was erased. On the restart, Way immediately tried to get by Robinson for the lead. On lap 15, Walters moved by Savage for fourth bringing Peeples in tow. On lap 21, Walters moved by Green for third. At the front, Robinson was able to hold off Way’s challenges to take the win. Walters took third while Peeples took fourth away from Green on the last lap.
Paul Peeples, Jr. set fast time once again for the thunder roadsters with a 17.057 clock-in. David Henderson took home the trophy for the dash ahead of Peeples, Chris Banfill and Mike Ward. Bill Bradbury beat Bruce Ziemer to the line in the first heat with Donn Cole, Chris Lawrence and Jay Bahner rounding out the front five. The second heat featured an incident between Ray Elliott and Henderson which knocked off the right front wheel and suspension from Henderson’s car. Peeples took the win though, followed by Chris Sarvinski, Leroy Marsh, Jr., Banfill and Ward.
Lawrence and Mark Arroyo who was borrowing a car for this race lead the 17 car field to the green in the 30 lap main event. Arroyo held took the lead from the drop of the green. On lap three, Elliott moved by Lawrence into second. The moved allowed Sarvinski, Marsh and Henderson all to get by Lawrence. Henderson moved inside of Marsh on lap eight to take the fourth position. On lap 10 Henderson moved by Sarvinski for third while Elliott moved by Arroyo for the lead. Henderson, Sarvinski, Marsh and Peeples all followed Elliott to take their places in the top five.
Peeples began to really make his presence known. On lap 13 he moved by Marsh for fourth. Four laps later, Peeples moved by Sarvinski for the third position. On lap 19, Henderson moved inside of Elliott, but Elliott held him off. The front three of Elliott, Henderson and Peeples began to distance themselves from the rest of the field. On lap 25, Henderson made his move to the inside of Elliott for the lead. The two raced side-by-side until lap 27 when Henderson gained the advantage. Peeples followed Henderson and completed the pass a lap later. Peeples would not be able to mount a serious threat to Henderson in the final two laps though. Henderson crossed the line first two car lengths ahead of Peeples. Elliott finished third, Sarvinski fourth and Banfill fifth.
Veteran Larry Pries was the fastest of the sportsman drivers with a 16.496 time. Pries won the dash over Brandon Barnwell, Rick Fox and Angelo Marcelli. The heat was marred by two crashes, the first taking place just after the cars got on track. Romeo Venza spun in turn four collecting Aaron Byers. As Venza’s car rolled down the track, he collected Jerry Peterson. The race itself saw an even more unfortunate incident. Barnwell and Lissa Usselton made contact while racing for second and the two spun in front of the rest of the field, collecting Pries and Venza, knocking both of their cars out for the rest of the night. Fox won the heat followed by Barnwell, Marcelli, Byers and Peterson.
With only six cars making the start, the main event was cut down to 25 laps. Pries was able to make the start thanks to Byers who gave his car to him to score points. Uselton and Marcelli took the field to the green. Uselton got severely loose off the start allowing Marcelli to easily take the lead ahead of Barnwell. On lap three, Fox took third away from Uselton. On lap six, Barnwell looked inside of Marcelli for the lead, but found no room. Fox looked inside of Barnwell on lap 10, but Barnwell fended him off. On lap 15, Barnwell found a hole inside of Marcelli and took it and the lead, bringing Fox with him to second. While trying to follow into third, Uselton and Marcelli made contact going into turn one. Uselton miraculously saved her car but lost a lot of track position and was not able to make a challenge on Marcelli again. The rest of the race ran smoothly with Barnwell comfortably winning over Fox, Marcelli, Uselton and Peterson.
Mercifully for the sportsman class, racing at the Acres takes a break Labor Day weekend allowing drivers and teams to get their cars back together. Racing resumes September 8th with all five classes returning to action once more in 2007.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
After a two week hiatus, racing returned to Redwood Acres Raceway for Back-To-School Night. Though several multi-car pileups slowed down the pace of the on track action, fans were able to witness a full slate of action in just over a three hour period. Scott Lyons took his second main event victory of the season in the limited street stock division. In the mini stocks, Craig Baker notched win number four for 2007. Ryan Robinson held off Doug Way in the real stock division taking his first win of the season. Perhaps the most familiar rivalry at the Acres in 2007 has been between Paul Peeples, Jr. and David Henderson. The two battled for the win once again with Henderson claiming the victory for the third time this season. It was the fifth time that the two drivers finished either first or second amongst themselves. Brandon Barnwell ran away with the sportsman main event for win number five.
Joining the five local classes was a special powder puff race. Female drivers drove borrowed real stock cars in the 10 lap main event. The race was originally scheduled for 10 laps but was cut to six when Mary DeMello spun in turn three collecting Whitney Burgess and Deborah Danielson. Danielson’s car went under Burgess’ car with Burgess rear end on Danielson’s hood. Debbie Huffman was the leader at the red flag but could not get her car to start when the yellow came out which gave the victory to Michelle Krupa. Others who were involved in the race were Kathryn Devries and Sequoya Warren.
Scott Lyons set quick time for the limited street stock cars with a 17.298 lap. Stan Young won the trophy dash over Duane Mayo, Lyons and Robert Miller. Kavin Conn won the heat driving Kenny Demello’s car. Mayo, Young, Miller and Lyons filled out the top five. Mayo and Miller brought the field to the green in the 15 lap main event. Mayo got the jump on Miller from the start while Lyons slotted himself into the second position. On lap four, Lyons moved well inside of Mayo going into turn three. The two made contact with Mayo spinning into the infield. Mayo lost a lap while trying to restart and the caution came out. On the restart, Lyons held the lead over Miller. Lyons pulled out to a eight car gap, but as the laps wound down Miller closed the gap to within a car length. That was as close as it would get though as Lyons crossed the start/finish line first over Miller, Young, Conn and Romeo Venza.
Fast time for the mini stock division was set by Byron McIntosh with an 18.791 time. Craig Baker won the dash over Denzil Barrett, McIntosh and Brian Murrell. The heat race saw a wreck between Murrell and Nick Karanopoulos severely damaging both cars. Max Capps took the win over By. McIntosh, Brian McIntosh, Barrett and Baker. Capps and By. McIntosh led the field to the green for the 15 lap mini stock main. Capps snookered By. McIntosh on the start, taking the lead while the two McIntosh brothers dueled side-by-side for the second spot. On lap two Brian had the advantage, but on lap three Byron took the position back. On lap five, Byron spun off the fourth turn into the infield. He got his car going however and racing was able to continue.
On lap eight, Baker moved outside of Capps for the lead, taking the position on lap nine. On lap 10, Br. McIntosh began to suffer engine woes and was passed by Murrell who was driving Barrett’s vehicle with his number on the side to score points for himself. From there on out the race was to see how long Br. McIntosh could stay on the track and if he would finish in the top five. On lap 11, Byron got by Brian for fourth. On the very last lap, Karanopoulos took fifth away from Brian. Meanwhile, Baker had smooth sailing in the lead taking the win handily over Capps, Murrell, By. McIntosh and Karanopoulos.
Steve Kimberling set the fast time for the real stock cars with a 19.511 lap time. The trophy dash victory went to Bill Middleton over Kimberling, Ryan Walters and Ryan Peeples. Peeples won the first heat followed by Kimberling, Barry Barnwell, Ray Robinson and Mark Mullan. Ryan Robinson won the second heat over Walters, Doug Way, Jim Redd and Marvin Savage. The 25 lap feature was brought to the green flag by Savage and Ray DeMello. DeMello took the lead off the start while Barnwell took second. A wild race for third place ensued between Savage and a host of other cars. By lap two though, Savage regained second from Barnwell. On lap three Ry. Robinson made a daring three wide pass to get by Barnwell and Savage to move into second, just before the yellow came out for debris on the track.
Ry. Robinson got a great start when the green came out again, taking the lead away from DeMello. Way got a similar start moving by Savage for third. On lap six, Way moved by DeMello to take second. Nick Green moved into fifth on lap seven, taking the position away from Barnwell. Two laps later, Green made a superb three wide pass to get by DeMello and Savage for third. Just behind him, Middleton went for a spin off of turn two, but was able to get going again. On lap 10, Troy Wood who was scoring points for himself using Chuck Essex’s car, spun in turn four collecting Mullan. Robinson’s substantial over Way was erased. On the restart, Way immediately tried to get by Robinson for the lead. On lap 15, Walters moved by Savage for fourth bringing Peeples in tow. On lap 21, Walters moved by Green for third. At the front, Robinson was able to hold off Way’s challenges to take the win. Walters took third while Peeples took fourth away from Green on the last lap.
Paul Peeples, Jr. set fast time once again for the thunder roadsters with a 17.057 clock-in. David Henderson took home the trophy for the dash ahead of Peeples, Chris Banfill and Mike Ward. Bill Bradbury beat Bruce Ziemer to the line in the first heat with Donn Cole, Chris Lawrence and Jay Bahner rounding out the front five. The second heat featured an incident between Ray Elliott and Henderson which knocked off the right front wheel and suspension from Henderson’s car. Peeples took the win though, followed by Chris Sarvinski, Leroy Marsh, Jr., Banfill and Ward.
Lawrence and Mark Arroyo who was borrowing a car for this race lead the 17 car field to the green in the 30 lap main event. Arroyo held took the lead from the drop of the green. On lap three, Elliott moved by Lawrence into second. The moved allowed Sarvinski, Marsh and Henderson all to get by Lawrence. Henderson moved inside of Marsh on lap eight to take the fourth position. On lap 10 Henderson moved by Sarvinski for third while Elliott moved by Arroyo for the lead. Henderson, Sarvinski, Marsh and Peeples all followed Elliott to take their places in the top five.
Peeples began to really make his presence known. On lap 13 he moved by Marsh for fourth. Four laps later, Peeples moved by Sarvinski for the third position. On lap 19, Henderson moved inside of Elliott, but Elliott held him off. The front three of Elliott, Henderson and Peeples began to distance themselves from the rest of the field. On lap 25, Henderson made his move to the inside of Elliott for the lead. The two raced side-by-side until lap 27 when Henderson gained the advantage. Peeples followed Henderson and completed the pass a lap later. Peeples would not be able to mount a serious threat to Henderson in the final two laps though. Henderson crossed the line first two car lengths ahead of Peeples. Elliott finished third, Sarvinski fourth and Banfill fifth.
Veteran Larry Pries was the fastest of the sportsman drivers with a 16.496 time. Pries won the dash over Brandon Barnwell, Rick Fox and Angelo Marcelli. The heat was marred by two crashes, the first taking place just after the cars got on track. Romeo Venza spun in turn four collecting Aaron Byers. As Venza’s car rolled down the track, he collected Jerry Peterson. The race itself saw an even more unfortunate incident. Barnwell and Lissa Usselton made contact while racing for second and the two spun in front of the rest of the field, collecting Pries and Venza, knocking both of their cars out for the rest of the night. Fox won the heat followed by Barnwell, Marcelli, Byers and Peterson.
With only six cars making the start, the main event was cut down to 25 laps. Pries was able to make the start thanks to Byers who gave his car to him to score points. Uselton and Marcelli took the field to the green. Uselton got severely loose off the start allowing Marcelli to easily take the lead ahead of Barnwell. On lap three, Fox took third away from Uselton. On lap six, Barnwell looked inside of Marcelli for the lead, but found no room. Fox looked inside of Barnwell on lap 10, but Barnwell fended him off. On lap 15, Barnwell found a hole inside of Marcelli and took it and the lead, bringing Fox with him to second. While trying to follow into third, Uselton and Marcelli made contact going into turn one. Uselton miraculously saved her car but lost a lot of track position and was not able to make a challenge on Marcelli again. The rest of the race ran smoothly with Barnwell comfortably winning over Fox, Marcelli, Uselton and Peterson.
Mercifully for the sportsman class, racing at the Acres takes a break Labor Day weekend allowing drivers and teams to get their cars back together. Racing resumes September 8th with all five classes returning to action once more in 2007.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Surprising victory for Jerry Peterson, Peeples returns to form
Surprising victory for Jerry Peterson, Peeples returns to form
By Matthew J. Sullivan
After a long two week break from racing at the Acres, action got back going this past Saturday night. As always, all five local classes were on hand to provide intense racing action for north coast racing fans. Orion Mosher made things look easy in the limited street stock main event, scoring another win for the 2007 season. Craig Baker’s late pass on Nick Karanopoulos enabled him to score the win in the mini stock feature. Driving a borrowed car, Ryan Walters took the win in the real stock action. Jerry Peterson showed surprising strength, muscling past Brandon Barnwell and running away from the field in the sportsman class to win. After several weeks of being out of the winner’s circle, Paul Peeples, Jr. made his way back taking the win in the thunder roadster main event.
Orion Mosher set fast time for the limited street stock drivers with a 17.412 lap time. Robert Miller won the dash ahead of Scott Lyons, Mosher and Kenny Demello. The victory for the heat went to Mosher beating out Miller, Lyons, Demello and Stan Young. The 15 lap main event was brought to the green flag by Demello and Lyons. Demello was able to get the early lead over Mosher. Mosher worked Demello’s bumper until lap five when he was able to get by Demello for the lead. While Mosher pulled away, the best racing was between Demello, Lyons and Miller. With three laps to go, Miller got loose while trying to get by Lyons causing him to spin in turn four and allowing Young to move to the fourth position. At the checkered flag it was Mosher winning ahead of Demello, Lyons, Young and Miller.
The fast lap for the mini stock division was set by Byron McIntosh with a 19.056 lap. McIntosh took the heat win over Brian Murrell, Max Capps and Nick Karanopoulos. Craig Baker won the heat over Denzil Barrett, Karanopoulos, Murrell and McIntosh. The 15 lap main event was led to the green flag by Brian McIntosh and Karanopoulos. The early lead was held by Karanopoulos while the rest of the field jockeyed for position behind him. On lap two, Capps moved inside of Brian McIntosh to take second, bringing Byron McIntosh with him. On lap seven, Baker moved inside of Byron McIntosh for fourth. A lap later, Baker took third away from Capps. On lap 11, Baker took second from Murrell, bringing Byron McIntosh with him. With two to go, Baker pulled by Karanopoulos for the lead. While trying to fight back, going into the third turn Karanopoulos got loose and lost several positions. At the finish it was Baker winning ahead of Brian McIntosh, Murrell, Capps and Karanopoulos.
Former limited street stock ace Shawn Craig returned to racing at the Acres in the real stocks and took quick time with a 19.239 lap. Steve Kimberling won the dash followed by Ryan Peeples, Bill Middleton and Craig. Craig won the first head ahead of Ryan Walters, Kimberling, Jim Redd and Bob Lima. Just after crossing the finish line, Walters and Kimberling tangled with Walters receiving the worst of the damage. The official ruling was that Kimberling would be parked for the evening for whatever part he played in the incident. The second heat was taken by Doug Way ahead of Middleton, Peeples, Ray Robinson and Ray DeMello.
Nick Green and DeMello led the 15 car field to the green of the 25 lap feature event. Green took the initial lead before Redd took over to lead the first lap. On lap two, Bob Lima and Peeples made contact sending Peeples for a spin between the third and fourth turns bringing out the yellow flag. After the restart, the race went green for three more laps before Marvin Savage spun collecting Chuck Essex and Green bringing out the second yellow flag of the race. By this time, Redd held the lead over Troy Wood, Way, Lima and Walters who was driving the car Craig was driving earlier in the evening. After several more laps of green flag running, the yellow came out once more when Lima and Walters made contact, shearing off Walters’ front bumper and throwing it on the front straightaway.
After the restart, Way made his way by Wood on the twelfth lap. The next lap, Lima and Walters maneuvered their way by Wood to take third and fourth. On lap 17, Essex spun in turn four but got back going. At the same time, Way moved outside and by Redd for the lead. Walters moved by Redd a lap later to take the second position. Middleton, Lima and Redd went three wide going into turn one on lap 19. Unfortunately, Middleton spun bringing out the yellow. On the final restart, Walters got the jump on Way and made his way by. Lima looked outside of Wood on lap 22 but got loose allowing Essex and Middleton to pass. With two laps left, Middleton got loose in turn three allowing Lima to take fifth. At the line though it was Walters notching the victory ahead of Way, Wood, Essex and Lima.
Brandon Barnwell took fast time in the sportsman division with a 16.564 lap. Rick Fox won the dash over Aaron Byers, Lissa Uselton and Barnwell. Byers took the head victory over Angelo Marcelli, Fox, Barnwell and Uselton. Joe Bonomini and Marcelli led the field to the green in the 30 lap main event. For the first five laps, the first three rows dueled side by side in a clean battle. Finally on the sixth lap, Bonomini was able to gain the advantage and take the lead bringing Fox into the second spot. On lap seven, Fox and Bonomini tangled sending Bonomini spinning. Under the caution flag, Fox was relegated to the rear of the field giving Byers the lead over Uselton, Barnwell and Jerry Peterson.
On the restart, Barnwell got by Uselton for second. Peterson moved to Uselton’s outside and took third a lap later. On lap 11, Bonomini spun in the fourth turn ending his evening. The restart came once more with Barnwell and Peterson on Byers’ tail. On lap 13, Fox moved inside of Uselton completing the pass the next lap. On lap 16, Byers grazed the back stretch wall but was able to continue with minimal damage. On lap 17, Larry Pries spun in turn two bringing out another yellow flag. Barnwell took advantage of Byers on the restart and took the lead, bringing Peterson and Fox with him. While trying to follow Fox, Uselton spun trying to avoid hitting Byers. She lost several spots but got her car going again.
On lap 21, Peterson rocketed his way past Barnwell to take the lead. The next lap off turn two, Barnwell and Fox had contact sending Barnwell into a spin. He kept going though and there wasn’t a yellow flag. The field stretched out until lap 27 when Pries spun again. In the last few laps, Fox tried to find a line by Peterson but Peterson was just too strong on this night as he was able to take the win ahead of Fox, Byers, Marcelli and Barnwell.
Paul Peeples, Jr. set quick time for the thunder roadster division with a 16.981 lap time. Leroy Marsh, Jr. won the dash over Peeples, Chris Banfill and David Henderson who pulled his car into the pits suffering with problems. Henderson borrowed Ron Rosenthal’s car to complete the night’s events. Fred Hanks won the first head ahead of Donn Cole, Troy Combs, Bill Bradbury and Bruce Ziemer. Peeples won the second head over Chris Banfill, Henderson, Ray Elliott and Bill O’Neill. Unfortunately, Jay Bahner wrecked in the heat forcing him to miss the start of the roadster main event.
Combs and Gerhy Foster lead the 19 car field to the green of the 35 lap feature event. Combs took the lead from the start. Banfill moved to second quickly taking the spot from Foster. On lap three, Elliott took third from Foster. The fourth lap, Bradbury spun off the fourth turn collecting Chris Sarvinski and Hanks bringing out the yellow flag. On the restart, Peeples moved outside and by Marsh. On lap seven, Peeples moved into fourth passing Foster for the position. Banfill looked inside of Combs for the lead on lap eight, but Combs shut the door. The front four of Combs, Banfill, Elliott and Peeples pulled away from the rest of the field before lap 20 when Elliott spun in turn four bringing out the yellow flag.
On the restart it was Combs leading Banfill, Peeples, Marsh and Henderson. Peeples got a great start on Banfill and made the pass. On lap 22, Peeples moved by Combs to take the lead. The next lap, Henderson took fourth away from Marsh. On lap 25, Henderson moved inside of Banfill and finished the pass the next lap. Marsh was able to follow in Henderson’s wake to take fourth from Banfill. On lap 27, Banfill moved back by Marsh. While Peeples held a comfortable lead over Combs, Banfill and Marsh continued their duel for fourth before lap 32 when Marsh moved by Banfill to take the lead. Up front though, it was Peeples winning over Combs, Henderson, Marsh and Banfill.
Drivers and teams have a quick week to get prepared for another race this coming weekend. It should be another special event with some added excitement as it will be Fan Appreciation Night at the Acres. Joining the five local classes will be Powderpuff races. There’s little doubt that there will be a packed house ready to see the same kind of intense excitement that the 2007 season at the Acres has produced.
Limited Street Stocks
Fast Time Orion Mosher 17.412
Dash: Robert Miller, Scott Lyons, Mosher, Kenny Demello
Heat: Mosher, Miller, Lyons, Demello, Stan Young, Duane Mayo
Main: Mosher, Demello, Lyons, Young, Miller, Romeo Venza
Mini Stocks
Fast Time Byron McIntosh 19.056
Dash: By. McIntosh, Brian Murrell, Max Capps, Nick Karanopoulos
Heat: Craig Baker, Denzil Barrett, Karanopoulos, Murrell, By. McIntosh, Capps, Brian McIntosh
Main: Baker, By. McIntosh, Murrell, Capps, Karanopoulos, Br. McIntosh, Barrett
Real Stocks
Fast Time Shawn Craig 19.239
Dash: Steve Kimberling, Ryan Peeples, Bill Middleton, Craig
Heat 1: Craig, Ryan Walters, Kimberling, Jim Redd, Bob Lima, Chuck Essex, Nick Green, Mark Mullan, Dana DeVane
Heat 2: Doug Way, Middleton, Peeples, Ray Robinson, Ray DeMello, Troy Wood, Marvin Savage, Ryan Robinson
Main: Walters, Way, Wood, Essex, Lima, Middleton, Savage, DeMello, Ra. Robinson, Green, Mullan, DeVane, Redd, Peeples, Ry. Robinson
Sportsman
Fast Time Brandon Barnwell 16.564
Dash: Rick Fox, Aaron Byers, Lissa Uselton, Barnwell
Heat: Byers, Angelo Marcelli, Fox, Barnwell, Uselton, Joe Bonomini, Jerry Peterson, Larry Pries, Romeo Venza
Main: Peterson, Fox, Byers, Marcelli, Barnwell, Uselton, Venza, Pries, Bonomini
Thunder Roadsters
Fast Time Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.981
Dash: Leroy Marsh, Jr., Peeples, Chris Banfill, David Henderson
Heat 1: Fred Hanks, Donn Cole, Troy Combs, Bruce Ziemer, Bill Bradbury, Rob Nelson, Chris Sarvinski, Mike Ward, Belinda Ward, Gary Payne
Heat 2: Peeples, Banfill, Henderson, Ray Elliott, Bill O’Neill, Gehry Foster, Chris Lawrence, Mark Baldwin, Marsh, Jay Bahner
Main: Peeples, Combs, Henderson, Marsh, Banfill, Foster, M. Ward, Lawrence, O’Neill, Ziemer, Baldwin, McMurray, Elliott, Hanks, Nelson, B. Ward, Bahner, Bradbury, Sarvinski, Cole.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
After a long two week break from racing at the Acres, action got back going this past Saturday night. As always, all five local classes were on hand to provide intense racing action for north coast racing fans. Orion Mosher made things look easy in the limited street stock main event, scoring another win for the 2007 season. Craig Baker’s late pass on Nick Karanopoulos enabled him to score the win in the mini stock feature. Driving a borrowed car, Ryan Walters took the win in the real stock action. Jerry Peterson showed surprising strength, muscling past Brandon Barnwell and running away from the field in the sportsman class to win. After several weeks of being out of the winner’s circle, Paul Peeples, Jr. made his way back taking the win in the thunder roadster main event.
Orion Mosher set fast time for the limited street stock drivers with a 17.412 lap time. Robert Miller won the dash ahead of Scott Lyons, Mosher and Kenny Demello. The victory for the heat went to Mosher beating out Miller, Lyons, Demello and Stan Young. The 15 lap main event was brought to the green flag by Demello and Lyons. Demello was able to get the early lead over Mosher. Mosher worked Demello’s bumper until lap five when he was able to get by Demello for the lead. While Mosher pulled away, the best racing was between Demello, Lyons and Miller. With three laps to go, Miller got loose while trying to get by Lyons causing him to spin in turn four and allowing Young to move to the fourth position. At the checkered flag it was Mosher winning ahead of Demello, Lyons, Young and Miller.
The fast lap for the mini stock division was set by Byron McIntosh with a 19.056 lap. McIntosh took the heat win over Brian Murrell, Max Capps and Nick Karanopoulos. Craig Baker won the heat over Denzil Barrett, Karanopoulos, Murrell and McIntosh. The 15 lap main event was led to the green flag by Brian McIntosh and Karanopoulos. The early lead was held by Karanopoulos while the rest of the field jockeyed for position behind him. On lap two, Capps moved inside of Brian McIntosh to take second, bringing Byron McIntosh with him. On lap seven, Baker moved inside of Byron McIntosh for fourth. A lap later, Baker took third away from Capps. On lap 11, Baker took second from Murrell, bringing Byron McIntosh with him. With two to go, Baker pulled by Karanopoulos for the lead. While trying to fight back, going into the third turn Karanopoulos got loose and lost several positions. At the finish it was Baker winning ahead of Brian McIntosh, Murrell, Capps and Karanopoulos.
Former limited street stock ace Shawn Craig returned to racing at the Acres in the real stocks and took quick time with a 19.239 lap. Steve Kimberling won the dash followed by Ryan Peeples, Bill Middleton and Craig. Craig won the first head ahead of Ryan Walters, Kimberling, Jim Redd and Bob Lima. Just after crossing the finish line, Walters and Kimberling tangled with Walters receiving the worst of the damage. The official ruling was that Kimberling would be parked for the evening for whatever part he played in the incident. The second heat was taken by Doug Way ahead of Middleton, Peeples, Ray Robinson and Ray DeMello.
Nick Green and DeMello led the 15 car field to the green of the 25 lap feature event. Green took the initial lead before Redd took over to lead the first lap. On lap two, Bob Lima and Peeples made contact sending Peeples for a spin between the third and fourth turns bringing out the yellow flag. After the restart, the race went green for three more laps before Marvin Savage spun collecting Chuck Essex and Green bringing out the second yellow flag of the race. By this time, Redd held the lead over Troy Wood, Way, Lima and Walters who was driving the car Craig was driving earlier in the evening. After several more laps of green flag running, the yellow came out once more when Lima and Walters made contact, shearing off Walters’ front bumper and throwing it on the front straightaway.
After the restart, Way made his way by Wood on the twelfth lap. The next lap, Lima and Walters maneuvered their way by Wood to take third and fourth. On lap 17, Essex spun in turn four but got back going. At the same time, Way moved outside and by Redd for the lead. Walters moved by Redd a lap later to take the second position. Middleton, Lima and Redd went three wide going into turn one on lap 19. Unfortunately, Middleton spun bringing out the yellow. On the final restart, Walters got the jump on Way and made his way by. Lima looked outside of Wood on lap 22 but got loose allowing Essex and Middleton to pass. With two laps left, Middleton got loose in turn three allowing Lima to take fifth. At the line though it was Walters notching the victory ahead of Way, Wood, Essex and Lima.
Brandon Barnwell took fast time in the sportsman division with a 16.564 lap. Rick Fox won the dash over Aaron Byers, Lissa Uselton and Barnwell. Byers took the head victory over Angelo Marcelli, Fox, Barnwell and Uselton. Joe Bonomini and Marcelli led the field to the green in the 30 lap main event. For the first five laps, the first three rows dueled side by side in a clean battle. Finally on the sixth lap, Bonomini was able to gain the advantage and take the lead bringing Fox into the second spot. On lap seven, Fox and Bonomini tangled sending Bonomini spinning. Under the caution flag, Fox was relegated to the rear of the field giving Byers the lead over Uselton, Barnwell and Jerry Peterson.
On the restart, Barnwell got by Uselton for second. Peterson moved to Uselton’s outside and took third a lap later. On lap 11, Bonomini spun in the fourth turn ending his evening. The restart came once more with Barnwell and Peterson on Byers’ tail. On lap 13, Fox moved inside of Uselton completing the pass the next lap. On lap 16, Byers grazed the back stretch wall but was able to continue with minimal damage. On lap 17, Larry Pries spun in turn two bringing out another yellow flag. Barnwell took advantage of Byers on the restart and took the lead, bringing Peterson and Fox with him. While trying to follow Fox, Uselton spun trying to avoid hitting Byers. She lost several spots but got her car going again.
On lap 21, Peterson rocketed his way past Barnwell to take the lead. The next lap off turn two, Barnwell and Fox had contact sending Barnwell into a spin. He kept going though and there wasn’t a yellow flag. The field stretched out until lap 27 when Pries spun again. In the last few laps, Fox tried to find a line by Peterson but Peterson was just too strong on this night as he was able to take the win ahead of Fox, Byers, Marcelli and Barnwell.
Paul Peeples, Jr. set quick time for the thunder roadster division with a 16.981 lap time. Leroy Marsh, Jr. won the dash over Peeples, Chris Banfill and David Henderson who pulled his car into the pits suffering with problems. Henderson borrowed Ron Rosenthal’s car to complete the night’s events. Fred Hanks won the first head ahead of Donn Cole, Troy Combs, Bill Bradbury and Bruce Ziemer. Peeples won the second head over Chris Banfill, Henderson, Ray Elliott and Bill O’Neill. Unfortunately, Jay Bahner wrecked in the heat forcing him to miss the start of the roadster main event.
Combs and Gerhy Foster lead the 19 car field to the green of the 35 lap feature event. Combs took the lead from the start. Banfill moved to second quickly taking the spot from Foster. On lap three, Elliott took third from Foster. The fourth lap, Bradbury spun off the fourth turn collecting Chris Sarvinski and Hanks bringing out the yellow flag. On the restart, Peeples moved outside and by Marsh. On lap seven, Peeples moved into fourth passing Foster for the position. Banfill looked inside of Combs for the lead on lap eight, but Combs shut the door. The front four of Combs, Banfill, Elliott and Peeples pulled away from the rest of the field before lap 20 when Elliott spun in turn four bringing out the yellow flag.
On the restart it was Combs leading Banfill, Peeples, Marsh and Henderson. Peeples got a great start on Banfill and made the pass. On lap 22, Peeples moved by Combs to take the lead. The next lap, Henderson took fourth away from Marsh. On lap 25, Henderson moved inside of Banfill and finished the pass the next lap. Marsh was able to follow in Henderson’s wake to take fourth from Banfill. On lap 27, Banfill moved back by Marsh. While Peeples held a comfortable lead over Combs, Banfill and Marsh continued their duel for fourth before lap 32 when Marsh moved by Banfill to take the lead. Up front though, it was Peeples winning over Combs, Henderson, Marsh and Banfill.
Drivers and teams have a quick week to get prepared for another race this coming weekend. It should be another special event with some added excitement as it will be Fan Appreciation Night at the Acres. Joining the five local classes will be Powderpuff races. There’s little doubt that there will be a packed house ready to see the same kind of intense excitement that the 2007 season at the Acres has produced.
Limited Street Stocks
Fast Time Orion Mosher 17.412
Dash: Robert Miller, Scott Lyons, Mosher, Kenny Demello
Heat: Mosher, Miller, Lyons, Demello, Stan Young, Duane Mayo
Main: Mosher, Demello, Lyons, Young, Miller, Romeo Venza
Mini Stocks
Fast Time Byron McIntosh 19.056
Dash: By. McIntosh, Brian Murrell, Max Capps, Nick Karanopoulos
Heat: Craig Baker, Denzil Barrett, Karanopoulos, Murrell, By. McIntosh, Capps, Brian McIntosh
Main: Baker, By. McIntosh, Murrell, Capps, Karanopoulos, Br. McIntosh, Barrett
Real Stocks
Fast Time Shawn Craig 19.239
Dash: Steve Kimberling, Ryan Peeples, Bill Middleton, Craig
Heat 1: Craig, Ryan Walters, Kimberling, Jim Redd, Bob Lima, Chuck Essex, Nick Green, Mark Mullan, Dana DeVane
Heat 2: Doug Way, Middleton, Peeples, Ray Robinson, Ray DeMello, Troy Wood, Marvin Savage, Ryan Robinson
Main: Walters, Way, Wood, Essex, Lima, Middleton, Savage, DeMello, Ra. Robinson, Green, Mullan, DeVane, Redd, Peeples, Ry. Robinson
Sportsman
Fast Time Brandon Barnwell 16.564
Dash: Rick Fox, Aaron Byers, Lissa Uselton, Barnwell
Heat: Byers, Angelo Marcelli, Fox, Barnwell, Uselton, Joe Bonomini, Jerry Peterson, Larry Pries, Romeo Venza
Main: Peterson, Fox, Byers, Marcelli, Barnwell, Uselton, Venza, Pries, Bonomini
Thunder Roadsters
Fast Time Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.981
Dash: Leroy Marsh, Jr., Peeples, Chris Banfill, David Henderson
Heat 1: Fred Hanks, Donn Cole, Troy Combs, Bruce Ziemer, Bill Bradbury, Rob Nelson, Chris Sarvinski, Mike Ward, Belinda Ward, Gary Payne
Heat 2: Peeples, Banfill, Henderson, Ray Elliott, Bill O’Neill, Gehry Foster, Chris Lawrence, Mark Baldwin, Marsh, Jay Bahner
Main: Peeples, Combs, Henderson, Marsh, Banfill, Foster, M. Ward, Lawrence, O’Neill, Ziemer, Baldwin, McMurray, Elliott, Hanks, Nelson, B. Ward, Bahner, Bradbury, Sarvinski, Cole.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
2006 Real Stock season: A look back
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Nine car pile-up highlights season opener
Nine car pile-up highlights season opener
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was a cold night in Eureka, California, but that didn’t prevent thousands of race fans from attending the 2006 season opening race at Redwood Acres Raceway. A good number of fans were drawn by the buzz of the new thunder roadster division which made its debut. The night’s action was punctuated by several great races along with several wrecked race cars. Aaron Byers won the sportsman main event which featured a nine car melee. David Henderson became the first driver to win a main event race at the Acres in the roadster division. Doug Way nabbed real stock division honors while Chad Grammar won the mini stock main and Kenny DeMello won the limited street main.
Before the racing action began, the track held it’s annual Best Appearing Car contest. Those honors went to Jim Redd in the real stock division, Kavin Conn in the limited street division, Stacy Minnick in the mini stock division, Ray Elliott in the thunder roadster division and Lissa Uselton in the sportsman division.
Fast time in the limited street division went to Andrien Betournay with a lap of 17.610. Kenny DeMello won the trophy dash over Betournay, Kavin Conn and Terry Vallee. The division’s heat race was exciting as Betournay got by J.D. Frey to win followed by Conn, DeMello and Vallee. Due to the small car count, the main event was only 10 laps with Frey not making it out. DeMello got the jump from the outside of the front row over Vallee. However, Betournay was losing fluid from his car and the yellow flag was thrown. After the restart, another yellow flew when Vallee lost control of his car coming off turn four. When the green flag came out again, DeMello was briefly challenged by Conn, but by race’s end it was DeMello taking the checkered flag followed by Conn, Vallee and Betournay.
The mini stock division had a solid turnout of 10 cars and it seems as if the division is comprised of brothers, one duo being the Bakers, Scott and Craig, the other being the McIntoshes, Bryan and Byron. Scott Baker had the fastest qualifying lap with a 19.294 run. Craig Baker took the trophy in the dash over Chad Grammer, Stacy Minnick and brother Scott. Byron McIntosh won his first race in his first start in the heat with Scott Baker, Bryan McIntosh, Stacy Minnick and Glen Bernald in his trail. The initial start 20 lap main event was brought to the green flag by Bryan McIntosh and Bernald but had to be restarted when Grammer was forced into the dirt and Craig Baker spun.
When the green flew again, trouble occurred when Minnick and Craig Baker made contact collecting Byron McIntosh and Scott Baker. The lone survivor was Craig who was able to make it out on the restart before he parked his car for the night. Due to time constraints, the main was cut to 10 laps and on the start it was Bryan McIntosh leading Brian Murrell and Grammer. Murrell challenged McIntosh for the lead before Grammar got by both, taking the lead from McIntosh down the back chute while Murrell filled the hole Grammer left taking the second spot. Murrell tried to find a way past Grammer before the ninth lap when going into turn three he had a severe problem which forced him into the grass damaging his car and ending his race. The green and white flag restart was a formality for Grammer as he held off McIntosh, Bernald, Denzel Barrett and Nick Karanopoulos to take the victory.
Ryan Walters set the standard in qualifying for the real stock division with a lap time of 19.522. The trophy dash was won by Dan Browne followed by Jim Redd, Walters and Bob Lima. The first heat was dominated by Walters with Jason Belt, Bill Bradbury, Redd and Ray Demello in his wake, while the second heat was won by Browne over Lima, Doug Way, Troy Wood and Ryan Robinson. The 14 car field was brought to the green of the 25 lap main event by Brian Belt and Demello. Of the start, Demello took the lead followed by Bradbury. On lap three, Brian Belt lost traction of turn two and spun but kept his car going. That same lap, Bradbury got by Demello and brought Browne with him. Two laps later Browne got by Bradbury for the race lead. By lap six it was Browne and Bradbury running away from Demello, Walters and Way. While fighting for the third slot on lap eight, Demello and Walters made contact off the second turn causing Walters to get loose and lose several spots. On lap 10, Browne slowed dramatically going into the third turn, then between turns three and four, his right rear wheel sailed off his car. Bradbury had nowhere to go and rammed the back of Browne’s car finishing off a spin that was already started. Neither car was seriously damaged but Browne was finished for the night while Bradbury took his car into the pits and wasn’t a factor for the win.
When the green came out, Doug Way found himself as the leader over Demello, Jason Belt, Walters and Wood. On lap 12, Way was enough an eight car length lead while Belt moved past Demello and brought Walters with him. A few laps later, Walters began to challenge Belt for the second position. Meanwhile behind that duo, Demello and Bob Lima were dueling for the fourth spot. On lap 17, the two made contact in turn four and spun allowing Jim Redd and Troy Wood to fill in the fourth and fifth place spots. With two laps to go, Walters lost control of his car going into the third turn and hit the wall ending his race. The green and white flags came out for the final restart for Way. Belt tried to find a way by but it wasn’t enough as Doug Way won the real stock main followed by Jason Belt, Troy Wood, Jim Redd and James Bailey.
The much anticipated thunder roadster division had a great 22 car turnout. Former Eureka native and now North Carolinian Ryan Zeck set the mark in Nyle Henderson’s car with a lap time of 16.906. In the trophy dash after tire warmups, Randy Olson’s throttle hung going into turn one and he hit the wall. The dash was won by Zeck followed by David Henderson and Troy Combs. The first heat was won by Dave McMurray over Michael Ward, Jim Adams, Bruce Ziermar and Gary Payne. The second heat went to Paul Peeples with Bill O’Neill, Mark Arroyo, Ray Elliott and Mark Baldwin trailing him. Olson returned to the track in a different car and crossed the line ahead of David Henderson and Troy Combs in the third heat but was penalized for passing before the cone in turn four, so the win was Henderson’s.
The 26 lap race was brought to the green flag by Jay Bahner and O’Neill. Bahner got the jump off the start before Arroyo nabbed the lead by the end of lap one. Arroyo stretched his lead over the field as the two fastest qualifiers Zeck and Olson diced their way through the field. On lap seven, Combs moved his way to second. A few laps later, Combs grabbed the lead while working through slower traffic. On lap 19, the front five was stretched out with Combs leading, Henderson second, Lonnie Tamboury third, Zeck fourth and Olson fifth. On lap 22, Combs lost control of his car off turn four hand the lead to Henderson. With the laps ticking away, the front four got tighter and tighter as Henderson fought with lapped traffic. On the white flag it was anyone’s guess who would win as Henderson was hanging on tight to his lead. Coming down the back stretch, Tamboury, Zeck and Olson all tried to make their move at once. Off the fourth turn, it was nearly four wide as Zeck got loose off the corner and Henderson held on to win over Olson, Tamboury and Zeck.
Long time veteran Larry Pries was the fastest qualifier in the sportsman division with a time of 16.667. Angelo Marcelli won the trophy dash over Rick Fox, Al Acuna and Pries. In the first heat, Marty Walsh won with Marcelli, Aaron Byers, Jerry Peterson and Pries trailing while Acuna won the second head over Fox, Frank Billy, Brandon Barnwell and rookie Lissa Uselton. The start to the 30 lap main event was memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. Billy and Byers lead the field to the green with Byers getting the front spot from his outside front row position. Going into the third turn, Rick Fox took Billy and Marcelli three wide but it didn’t work. The three tangled, blocking up the track causing a massive wreck. Of the 11 starters, the only two cars who avoided the incident were leader Byers and Brandon Barnwell. Mercifully, the cars of Walsh, Peterson, Fox, Marcelli and Billy were able to take the restart while sadly Pries, Acuna, Uselton, and Donnie Brown were done for the evening.
The race was cut to 15 laps and on the start it was Byers and Barnwell leading the field to the green. Walsh got by Barnwell and tried to find a way around Byers. The two ran away from the rest of the pack while Barnwell and Peterson fought hard for third position. On lap 12, Peterson got outside of Barnwell and got by. The last two laps saw Walsh try the inside of Byers but it was to no avail as Byers held Walsh off with Peterson, Barnwell and Marcelli rounding out the top five finishers.
The next race at the Acres is April 29 as the North State Challenge Series opens their season along with the regular sportsman, real stock, mini stock and limited street divisions.
*Notes*
- I liked the new wall in turns one and two. Now drivers won’t have to worry about going over like Don Eyerly or Tim McCracken once did.
- Former sportsman champ Otis Stabler was driving the 99 car normally piloted by Phil Wood. Unfortunately in qualifications, the throttle hung and Otis hit the wall going into turn three. It was great to see him back in a race car, hopefully he’ll be back soon.
- Otis’ misfortune may have played into the hands of Aaron Byers, although at first it may not have looked like it. Byers was the first car on the track after Otis’ wreck and the dry sweep on the track definitely hurt his qualifying time. However, had it not been for that, Byers may not have started where he did in the race and he likely may have been caught up in the nine car incident.
- Aaron Byers and Frank Billy timed in one after the other. They both ran the same fast lap of 17.030.
- Brandon Barnwell did a couple nifty 360s. The first was during his second qualifying lap. He was able to turn a respectable 19.938. The second was in the heat race he ran.
- The limited street division has a lot of potential. The heat race between Betournay, Frey, Conn and DeMello was awesome to see. Hopefully there will be more cars and drivers out as the season progresses.
- My apologies for not covering the thunder roadster division better. With so many cars and drivers unfamiliar to me, it was hard to pick out who was who, besides the fact that these cars were haulin’ the mail!
- One thing that was clear about the roadsters is that if you’re one of the faster cars, you’ve really got to go from the drop of the green flag. Ryan Zeck and Randy Olson were definitely the fastest two cars on the track and were putting on a heck of a show coming through the field, but maneuvering through traffic was touchy thing to do.
- The incident in the sportsman main event was a real shame and it was disappointing for me as a longtime fan to hear fans in the stands cheering when the wreck happened. Hopefully fans will realize that wrecking is a part of racing but it isn’t racing, much like injuries are to other sports.
- Awesome crowd but getting out of the parking lot sucks... and hopefully it warms up next race!
- Hopefully all the drivers involved in any incidents this week will be able to get out and get after it again on the 28th.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was a cold night in Eureka, California, but that didn’t prevent thousands of race fans from attending the 2006 season opening race at Redwood Acres Raceway. A good number of fans were drawn by the buzz of the new thunder roadster division which made its debut. The night’s action was punctuated by several great races along with several wrecked race cars. Aaron Byers won the sportsman main event which featured a nine car melee. David Henderson became the first driver to win a main event race at the Acres in the roadster division. Doug Way nabbed real stock division honors while Chad Grammar won the mini stock main and Kenny DeMello won the limited street main.
Before the racing action began, the track held it’s annual Best Appearing Car contest. Those honors went to Jim Redd in the real stock division, Kavin Conn in the limited street division, Stacy Minnick in the mini stock division, Ray Elliott in the thunder roadster division and Lissa Uselton in the sportsman division.
Fast time in the limited street division went to Andrien Betournay with a lap of 17.610. Kenny DeMello won the trophy dash over Betournay, Kavin Conn and Terry Vallee. The division’s heat race was exciting as Betournay got by J.D. Frey to win followed by Conn, DeMello and Vallee. Due to the small car count, the main event was only 10 laps with Frey not making it out. DeMello got the jump from the outside of the front row over Vallee. However, Betournay was losing fluid from his car and the yellow flag was thrown. After the restart, another yellow flew when Vallee lost control of his car coming off turn four. When the green flag came out again, DeMello was briefly challenged by Conn, but by race’s end it was DeMello taking the checkered flag followed by Conn, Vallee and Betournay.
The mini stock division had a solid turnout of 10 cars and it seems as if the division is comprised of brothers, one duo being the Bakers, Scott and Craig, the other being the McIntoshes, Bryan and Byron. Scott Baker had the fastest qualifying lap with a 19.294 run. Craig Baker took the trophy in the dash over Chad Grammer, Stacy Minnick and brother Scott. Byron McIntosh won his first race in his first start in the heat with Scott Baker, Bryan McIntosh, Stacy Minnick and Glen Bernald in his trail. The initial start 20 lap main event was brought to the green flag by Bryan McIntosh and Bernald but had to be restarted when Grammer was forced into the dirt and Craig Baker spun.
When the green flew again, trouble occurred when Minnick and Craig Baker made contact collecting Byron McIntosh and Scott Baker. The lone survivor was Craig who was able to make it out on the restart before he parked his car for the night. Due to time constraints, the main was cut to 10 laps and on the start it was Bryan McIntosh leading Brian Murrell and Grammer. Murrell challenged McIntosh for the lead before Grammar got by both, taking the lead from McIntosh down the back chute while Murrell filled the hole Grammer left taking the second spot. Murrell tried to find a way past Grammer before the ninth lap when going into turn three he had a severe problem which forced him into the grass damaging his car and ending his race. The green and white flag restart was a formality for Grammer as he held off McIntosh, Bernald, Denzel Barrett and Nick Karanopoulos to take the victory.
Ryan Walters set the standard in qualifying for the real stock division with a lap time of 19.522. The trophy dash was won by Dan Browne followed by Jim Redd, Walters and Bob Lima. The first heat was dominated by Walters with Jason Belt, Bill Bradbury, Redd and Ray Demello in his wake, while the second heat was won by Browne over Lima, Doug Way, Troy Wood and Ryan Robinson. The 14 car field was brought to the green of the 25 lap main event by Brian Belt and Demello. Of the start, Demello took the lead followed by Bradbury. On lap three, Brian Belt lost traction of turn two and spun but kept his car going. That same lap, Bradbury got by Demello and brought Browne with him. Two laps later Browne got by Bradbury for the race lead. By lap six it was Browne and Bradbury running away from Demello, Walters and Way. While fighting for the third slot on lap eight, Demello and Walters made contact off the second turn causing Walters to get loose and lose several spots. On lap 10, Browne slowed dramatically going into the third turn, then between turns three and four, his right rear wheel sailed off his car. Bradbury had nowhere to go and rammed the back of Browne’s car finishing off a spin that was already started. Neither car was seriously damaged but Browne was finished for the night while Bradbury took his car into the pits and wasn’t a factor for the win.
When the green came out, Doug Way found himself as the leader over Demello, Jason Belt, Walters and Wood. On lap 12, Way was enough an eight car length lead while Belt moved past Demello and brought Walters with him. A few laps later, Walters began to challenge Belt for the second position. Meanwhile behind that duo, Demello and Bob Lima were dueling for the fourth spot. On lap 17, the two made contact in turn four and spun allowing Jim Redd and Troy Wood to fill in the fourth and fifth place spots. With two laps to go, Walters lost control of his car going into the third turn and hit the wall ending his race. The green and white flags came out for the final restart for Way. Belt tried to find a way by but it wasn’t enough as Doug Way won the real stock main followed by Jason Belt, Troy Wood, Jim Redd and James Bailey.
The much anticipated thunder roadster division had a great 22 car turnout. Former Eureka native and now North Carolinian Ryan Zeck set the mark in Nyle Henderson’s car with a lap time of 16.906. In the trophy dash after tire warmups, Randy Olson’s throttle hung going into turn one and he hit the wall. The dash was won by Zeck followed by David Henderson and Troy Combs. The first heat was won by Dave McMurray over Michael Ward, Jim Adams, Bruce Ziermar and Gary Payne. The second heat went to Paul Peeples with Bill O’Neill, Mark Arroyo, Ray Elliott and Mark Baldwin trailing him. Olson returned to the track in a different car and crossed the line ahead of David Henderson and Troy Combs in the third heat but was penalized for passing before the cone in turn four, so the win was Henderson’s.
The 26 lap race was brought to the green flag by Jay Bahner and O’Neill. Bahner got the jump off the start before Arroyo nabbed the lead by the end of lap one. Arroyo stretched his lead over the field as the two fastest qualifiers Zeck and Olson diced their way through the field. On lap seven, Combs moved his way to second. A few laps later, Combs grabbed the lead while working through slower traffic. On lap 19, the front five was stretched out with Combs leading, Henderson second, Lonnie Tamboury third, Zeck fourth and Olson fifth. On lap 22, Combs lost control of his car off turn four hand the lead to Henderson. With the laps ticking away, the front four got tighter and tighter as Henderson fought with lapped traffic. On the white flag it was anyone’s guess who would win as Henderson was hanging on tight to his lead. Coming down the back stretch, Tamboury, Zeck and Olson all tried to make their move at once. Off the fourth turn, it was nearly four wide as Zeck got loose off the corner and Henderson held on to win over Olson, Tamboury and Zeck.
Long time veteran Larry Pries was the fastest qualifier in the sportsman division with a time of 16.667. Angelo Marcelli won the trophy dash over Rick Fox, Al Acuna and Pries. In the first heat, Marty Walsh won with Marcelli, Aaron Byers, Jerry Peterson and Pries trailing while Acuna won the second head over Fox, Frank Billy, Brandon Barnwell and rookie Lissa Uselton. The start to the 30 lap main event was memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. Billy and Byers lead the field to the green with Byers getting the front spot from his outside front row position. Going into the third turn, Rick Fox took Billy and Marcelli three wide but it didn’t work. The three tangled, blocking up the track causing a massive wreck. Of the 11 starters, the only two cars who avoided the incident were leader Byers and Brandon Barnwell. Mercifully, the cars of Walsh, Peterson, Fox, Marcelli and Billy were able to take the restart while sadly Pries, Acuna, Uselton, and Donnie Brown were done for the evening.
The race was cut to 15 laps and on the start it was Byers and Barnwell leading the field to the green. Walsh got by Barnwell and tried to find a way around Byers. The two ran away from the rest of the pack while Barnwell and Peterson fought hard for third position. On lap 12, Peterson got outside of Barnwell and got by. The last two laps saw Walsh try the inside of Byers but it was to no avail as Byers held Walsh off with Peterson, Barnwell and Marcelli rounding out the top five finishers.
The next race at the Acres is April 29 as the North State Challenge Series opens their season along with the regular sportsman, real stock, mini stock and limited street divisions.
*Notes*
- I liked the new wall in turns one and two. Now drivers won’t have to worry about going over like Don Eyerly or Tim McCracken once did.
- Former sportsman champ Otis Stabler was driving the 99 car normally piloted by Phil Wood. Unfortunately in qualifications, the throttle hung and Otis hit the wall going into turn three. It was great to see him back in a race car, hopefully he’ll be back soon.
- Otis’ misfortune may have played into the hands of Aaron Byers, although at first it may not have looked like it. Byers was the first car on the track after Otis’ wreck and the dry sweep on the track definitely hurt his qualifying time. However, had it not been for that, Byers may not have started where he did in the race and he likely may have been caught up in the nine car incident.
- Aaron Byers and Frank Billy timed in one after the other. They both ran the same fast lap of 17.030.
- Brandon Barnwell did a couple nifty 360s. The first was during his second qualifying lap. He was able to turn a respectable 19.938. The second was in the heat race he ran.
- The limited street division has a lot of potential. The heat race between Betournay, Frey, Conn and DeMello was awesome to see. Hopefully there will be more cars and drivers out as the season progresses.
- My apologies for not covering the thunder roadster division better. With so many cars and drivers unfamiliar to me, it was hard to pick out who was who, besides the fact that these cars were haulin’ the mail!
- One thing that was clear about the roadsters is that if you’re one of the faster cars, you’ve really got to go from the drop of the green flag. Ryan Zeck and Randy Olson were definitely the fastest two cars on the track and were putting on a heck of a show coming through the field, but maneuvering through traffic was touchy thing to do.
- The incident in the sportsman main event was a real shame and it was disappointing for me as a longtime fan to hear fans in the stands cheering when the wreck happened. Hopefully fans will realize that wrecking is a part of racing but it isn’t racing, much like injuries are to other sports.
- Awesome crowd but getting out of the parking lot sucks... and hopefully it warms up next race!
- Hopefully all the drivers involved in any incidents this week will be able to get out and get after it again on the 28th.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Brandon wins a thriller over Ferguson and Shewry
Brandon wins a thriller over Ferguson and Shewry
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was an unseasonably cold July night at Redwood Acres Raceway but the weather didn’t seem to affect the drivers in the sportsman, real stock, limited street stock or mini stock divisions as there was great racing all around. Geoff Brandon fought off an ill-handling race car and challenges from Fergy Ferguson and Glen Shewry for another win in the sportsman division. In the real stock division, Bob Lima drove by his teammate Jim Redd and held off Doug Way to win the main event. Joe Bonomini was able to fend of the strength of Jaison Chand and Jerry Peterson to take mini stock main event honors. Unfortunately, impending fog prevented the limited street cars from having their main event race.
Jaison Belt set quick time with a 19.764 in the real stock division which had a seventeen car turnout. Defending division champion Cecil Arispe nabbed the ‘A’ trophy dash win over Belt, Lissa Usselton and Barrett Barnwell while Troy Wood won the ‘B’ dash over Doug Way, Gary Adams and Jim Redd. Jim Bailey won the first heat race over Redd, Barnwell and Uselton while Wood won the second over Belt, Trevor Miller and Way. The twenty-five lap real stock main event was led to the green by Marvin Savage and Redd. The start was short-lived however when Adams lost control of his car, spun on the front stretch and hit the wall. Fortunately no other drivers were involved and Adams was able to continue in the race.
On the restart, Redd grabbed the lead followed by his Rat Pack Racing teammate, Bob Lima. By lap five, it looked to be just a three horse race for the win on this night as it was Redd holding off the faster cars of Lima and Way while Wood and Miller dueled for the fourth position. On lap twelve, Bailey got by Miller for fifth and on the next lap Lima saw his opportunity to get the lead and took it. Redd and Lima raced side-by-side until lap fifteen when Lima took the lead for good. Redd then had to fend off Way’s advances for second while Wood and Bailey continued to fight for fourth position. Redd and Way would swap the second position on a couple of occasions, Way would take the position on lap sixteen, Redd back by on lap eighteen. On lap nineteen, Wood lost control of his car and spun off turn four handing fourth to Bailey. A lap later, Way got back by Redd for second. At the finish it was Lima, Way, Redd, Bailey and Belt.
Fast time in the limited street stock division was set by J.D. Frey with a 17.450. Ken Demello won the trophy dash followed by Frey, Duane Mayo and Kavin Conn. The heat race would be the last event of the night for the division because of the threat of moisture from fog. Frey was able to get by Demello and take the win over Demello, Mayo, Conn and Mike Bradbury who made a return after a long absence from racing.
Jaison Chand set the pace for the mini stock division with a time of 18.639, a tenth and a half faster than the second fastest driver, Joe Bonomini. Chad Grammer, sporting new colors won the trophy dash over Glen Barnald, Brian McIntosh and Scott Baker. Chand moved his way from the back to the front in the first heat race winning over McIntosh, Grammer and Craig Baker while Craig’s brother Scott held off Bonomini, Bernald and Craig Huffman for the second heat race win.
With the addition of late arrival and long-time mini stock veteran Mac Collado, twelve cars took the green in the twenty lap main event. The race’s start saw Grammer take the lead over pole sitter Scott Baker. By lap three, Bonomini had advanced himself into the second position and by lap five he took the lead from Baker with Chand, Grammer and Peterson all able to get by Baker. On lap seven, Chand tried to get by Bonomini on the outside but it didn’t work. Peterson got by Grammer on lap seven as Chand continued to try to get by Bonomini. On lap fifteen, McIntosh pulled his car to the infield with problems and on lap sixteen Craig Baker spun and the caution flag flew. Coming to take the yellow, Bonomini was able to narrowly hold off Chand from taking the lead which proved to be the race winning move.
On lap seventeen restart, Collado lost control of his car and spun on the front stretch resulting in a red flag for his precarious position on the track. He pulled his car off the track for the night. When the green flew again, Bonomini continued to hold off Chand’s advances. Try as he might, Chand could do nothing to get by Bonomini and when the checkered flag flew it was Bonomini, Chand, Peterson, Grammer and Scott Baker the top five finishers.
The sportsman division had an excellent sixteen car turnout for qualifying with Geoff Brandon setting a quick lap of 16.087. The trophy dash had a little more excitement than it probably should have as Fergy Ferguson and Glen Shewry made contact resulting in Shewry hitting the wall. Fortunately both cars were able to return to racing later on. Phil Wood held off Brandon for the win. Brandon Barnwell took the win in the first heat over Al Acuna, Marty Walsh, Brandon and Mark Williams while Aaron Byers ran away from the field in the second heat and won followed by Larry Pries, Donnie Brown, Wood and Rick Fox. Seventeen cars rolled out for the sportsman main event with Pat Walsh arriving late and Mike Peeples being scratched due to an apparent tire issue with track officials. During tire warmups, Fox was black-flagged and unable to take the initial green.
Angelo Marcelli and Frank Billy brought the field to the green flag. Off the start, Billy took the lead while Marty Walsh grabbed second. Marcelli apparently had handling issued and fell back quickly. On lap five the order was Billy, Walsh, Ferguson, Brandon and Wood. On lap six, Brandon took a look on the outside and tried to get past Ferguson. The two dueled for several laps before Brandon took the spot on lap ten. The next lap Brandon powered by Walsh for second. On lap fourteen, Brandon got by Billy on the outside for the lead. Two laps later, Brandon got loose off of turn four and Billy regained the lead from him. Brandon then got by Billy on lap nineteen followed by Ferguson. By lap twenty the top five was composed of Brandon, Ferguson, Billy, Shewry and Wood.
Shewry got by Billy on lap twenty-one and tried to get by Ferguson and Brandon. It was apparent that Brandon’s car wasn’t handling very good and Ferguson filled his mirror, ready to take advantage of any mistake that Brandon would make. On lap twenty-seven, Wood got by Billy for fourth while Pries took advantage and passed Billy for fifth. On lap thirty-one, Pries got by Wood for fourth but it would be too little and too late for his chance to win. When the checkered flag came down it was Geoff Brandon winning a clean and green race over Ferguson, Shewry, Pries and Wood.
The next race is Fan Appreciation night this coming weekend Saturday August 6th at Redwood Acres Raceway. It should be another exciting night of racing in all four divisions.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
It was an unseasonably cold July night at Redwood Acres Raceway but the weather didn’t seem to affect the drivers in the sportsman, real stock, limited street stock or mini stock divisions as there was great racing all around. Geoff Brandon fought off an ill-handling race car and challenges from Fergy Ferguson and Glen Shewry for another win in the sportsman division. In the real stock division, Bob Lima drove by his teammate Jim Redd and held off Doug Way to win the main event. Joe Bonomini was able to fend of the strength of Jaison Chand and Jerry Peterson to take mini stock main event honors. Unfortunately, impending fog prevented the limited street cars from having their main event race.
Jaison Belt set quick time with a 19.764 in the real stock division which had a seventeen car turnout. Defending division champion Cecil Arispe nabbed the ‘A’ trophy dash win over Belt, Lissa Usselton and Barrett Barnwell while Troy Wood won the ‘B’ dash over Doug Way, Gary Adams and Jim Redd. Jim Bailey won the first heat race over Redd, Barnwell and Uselton while Wood won the second over Belt, Trevor Miller and Way. The twenty-five lap real stock main event was led to the green by Marvin Savage and Redd. The start was short-lived however when Adams lost control of his car, spun on the front stretch and hit the wall. Fortunately no other drivers were involved and Adams was able to continue in the race.
On the restart, Redd grabbed the lead followed by his Rat Pack Racing teammate, Bob Lima. By lap five, it looked to be just a three horse race for the win on this night as it was Redd holding off the faster cars of Lima and Way while Wood and Miller dueled for the fourth position. On lap twelve, Bailey got by Miller for fifth and on the next lap Lima saw his opportunity to get the lead and took it. Redd and Lima raced side-by-side until lap fifteen when Lima took the lead for good. Redd then had to fend off Way’s advances for second while Wood and Bailey continued to fight for fourth position. Redd and Way would swap the second position on a couple of occasions, Way would take the position on lap sixteen, Redd back by on lap eighteen. On lap nineteen, Wood lost control of his car and spun off turn four handing fourth to Bailey. A lap later, Way got back by Redd for second. At the finish it was Lima, Way, Redd, Bailey and Belt.
Fast time in the limited street stock division was set by J.D. Frey with a 17.450. Ken Demello won the trophy dash followed by Frey, Duane Mayo and Kavin Conn. The heat race would be the last event of the night for the division because of the threat of moisture from fog. Frey was able to get by Demello and take the win over Demello, Mayo, Conn and Mike Bradbury who made a return after a long absence from racing.
Jaison Chand set the pace for the mini stock division with a time of 18.639, a tenth and a half faster than the second fastest driver, Joe Bonomini. Chad Grammer, sporting new colors won the trophy dash over Glen Barnald, Brian McIntosh and Scott Baker. Chand moved his way from the back to the front in the first heat race winning over McIntosh, Grammer and Craig Baker while Craig’s brother Scott held off Bonomini, Bernald and Craig Huffman for the second heat race win.
With the addition of late arrival and long-time mini stock veteran Mac Collado, twelve cars took the green in the twenty lap main event. The race’s start saw Grammer take the lead over pole sitter Scott Baker. By lap three, Bonomini had advanced himself into the second position and by lap five he took the lead from Baker with Chand, Grammer and Peterson all able to get by Baker. On lap seven, Chand tried to get by Bonomini on the outside but it didn’t work. Peterson got by Grammer on lap seven as Chand continued to try to get by Bonomini. On lap fifteen, McIntosh pulled his car to the infield with problems and on lap sixteen Craig Baker spun and the caution flag flew. Coming to take the yellow, Bonomini was able to narrowly hold off Chand from taking the lead which proved to be the race winning move.
On lap seventeen restart, Collado lost control of his car and spun on the front stretch resulting in a red flag for his precarious position on the track. He pulled his car off the track for the night. When the green flew again, Bonomini continued to hold off Chand’s advances. Try as he might, Chand could do nothing to get by Bonomini and when the checkered flag flew it was Bonomini, Chand, Peterson, Grammer and Scott Baker the top five finishers.
The sportsman division had an excellent sixteen car turnout for qualifying with Geoff Brandon setting a quick lap of 16.087. The trophy dash had a little more excitement than it probably should have as Fergy Ferguson and Glen Shewry made contact resulting in Shewry hitting the wall. Fortunately both cars were able to return to racing later on. Phil Wood held off Brandon for the win. Brandon Barnwell took the win in the first heat over Al Acuna, Marty Walsh, Brandon and Mark Williams while Aaron Byers ran away from the field in the second heat and won followed by Larry Pries, Donnie Brown, Wood and Rick Fox. Seventeen cars rolled out for the sportsman main event with Pat Walsh arriving late and Mike Peeples being scratched due to an apparent tire issue with track officials. During tire warmups, Fox was black-flagged and unable to take the initial green.
Angelo Marcelli and Frank Billy brought the field to the green flag. Off the start, Billy took the lead while Marty Walsh grabbed second. Marcelli apparently had handling issued and fell back quickly. On lap five the order was Billy, Walsh, Ferguson, Brandon and Wood. On lap six, Brandon took a look on the outside and tried to get past Ferguson. The two dueled for several laps before Brandon took the spot on lap ten. The next lap Brandon powered by Walsh for second. On lap fourteen, Brandon got by Billy on the outside for the lead. Two laps later, Brandon got loose off of turn four and Billy regained the lead from him. Brandon then got by Billy on lap nineteen followed by Ferguson. By lap twenty the top five was composed of Brandon, Ferguson, Billy, Shewry and Wood.
Shewry got by Billy on lap twenty-one and tried to get by Ferguson and Brandon. It was apparent that Brandon’s car wasn’t handling very good and Ferguson filled his mirror, ready to take advantage of any mistake that Brandon would make. On lap twenty-seven, Wood got by Billy for fourth while Pries took advantage and passed Billy for fifth. On lap thirty-one, Pries got by Wood for fourth but it would be too little and too late for his chance to win. When the checkered flag came down it was Geoff Brandon winning a clean and green race over Ferguson, Shewry, Pries and Wood.
The next race is Fan Appreciation night this coming weekend Saturday August 6th at Redwood Acres Raceway. It should be another exciting night of racing in all four divisions.
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