Thorn survives rough and tumble SRL race

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Redwood Acres Raceway was at full capacity this past Saturday night for Bear River Hotel and Casino/Renner Petroleum Night at the Races. In addition to four local classes of roadrunners, bombers, mini stocks and Legends, fans were treated to the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series’ third visit to the 3/8-mile paved oval. The SRL’s Renner Petroleum/Bear River Hotel and Casino 125 proved to be a memorable race for a variety of reasons.

Bethany Rapp was fast time for the California State and Federal Employees Credit Union with a 21.064. Dominic Vogelsang was the trophy dash winner while the heat races were won by Bob Ratzloff and Vogelsang. The main event was scheduled for 20-laps but was marred by several caution flags. The scariest incident involved Tim Ratzloff who got sideways in turns one and two and slid into the pit entrance in turn two. Thankfully nobody was harmed and Ratzloff somehow avoided getting damage.

At lap 10, the field was turned around and ran the track backwards. The battle up front between Rapp and Vogelsang proved to be contentious and controversial. Vogelsang appeared to have the superior car and was able to take the lead from Rapp but was moved back to second due to driving through the dirt to make the pass. With three laps remaining, Vogelsang got into Rapp sending her sliding out of the lead much to the dismay of the fans. Officials black flagged Vogelsang which gave Bob Ratzloff the top spot. The race was called at that point with Ratzloff winning over Tyler Peach, Jake Keeling and Rapp.

Ukiah racer, R.J. Randall was quick time for the Fortuna Wheel and Brake bomber division with a 18.133. Randall took the trophy dash victory while the heat race featured an incident that knocked Ryan Ahrens out for the race. James Moore was the heat race winner. Dave Jones led the opening four laps of the 25-lap feature until Moore took over. The race looked to be Moore’s until a restart in the final handful of laps did him in. Jones was able to take the lead with three laps remaining and held off Moore to claim the win. The top three drivers were awarded a special monetary bonus thanks to Lally Motorsports and Four Star Realty with Moore and Tyler Avelar being the other two drivers receiving the extra money. John Lally placed fourth while Jimmy Sorrels rounded out the top five.

Dylan Hagmann continues to impress in his rookie campaign in the Humboldt Hydroponics mini stock division. Hagmann set quick time with a 18.949. Gary Klinetobe took trophy dash honors while heat race winners were Brian Murrell, Sr. and Eugene Palmer. A strong field of 15 cars started the 25-lap feature. Troy Lee and Jordon Paiment traded the lead the first two laps before Brett Murrell took over. Hagmann had already maneuvered through by lap seven and on lap eight, he took over the lead and would never look back. The best battle for the rest of the race was for second with Daniel Buell and Rick Estes battling tooth and nail. At the finish it was Hagmann winning his first mini stock feature. Estes managed to take second followed by Buell, Klinetobe and Sam Brown.

Brad Curtice was fast time in the Legends division with a 18.114 and went on to win the trophy dash and heat races. The main event featured a two-man battle for the lead between Robert Miller and Curtice. With just three laps remaining, Miller and Curtice got together off turn two. Anissa Curtice inherited the lead and was able to hang on to take her first Legends main event win. Brad Curtice placed second while Miller and M’Kinzy Uselton were credited with third and fourth.

16 Spears SRL Southwest Tour drivers qualified for the Renner Petroleum/Bear River Casino 125. Blaine Rocha set quick time and a new SRL Redwood Acres Raceway track record with a 15.410. Rocha drew an invert of four which put local driver, Brandon White on the pole, much to the delight of the partisan crowd. White took the lead from the drop of the green flag in what proved to be a clean start. The first caution dropped 10 laps in due to a spin off turn four by Oregon racer, Alan Cress.

A lap 19 restart proved to be to the benefit of Derek Thorn as he was able to get by Jacob Gomes for second. White and Thorn had a fantastic battle for the lead with Thorn briefly taking the top position on lap 24. However, White was able to regain the lead. On lap 38, Thorn found the line he needed to maneuver past White for the lead. A lap later, Andre Prescott hit the wall in turn three from that point on, the race was caution-filled.

On lap 36, a massive pile-up took place in turn three involving Carlos Vieira, Alan Cress and Dennis Furden. All four drivers were knocked out of the race. Also involved were Craig Raudman and Luke Hall but drivers were able to continue. The race slowed again a few laps later when Raudman and and Hall got together going into turn three. Another caution quickly followed when White spun going into the third turn and hit the wall ending his night.

Thorn led the field on the restart and the race was clean the rest of the way. Rocha was right on Thorn’s bumper for the early stages of the long run but as the race progressed, Thorn’s car appeared to be more stable and Rocha’s appeared to lose grip. Thorn began to pull bigger gap lap after lap. Rocha eventually lost the second spot to Gomes just before the final caution flew for oil on the track. Unfortunately due to curfew, the race was cut to 102 laps with Thorn taking the win over Gomes, Rocha, Ryan Cansdale and Keith Spangler.

Racing at the Acres takes a two week break before returning on August 20th for Driver Appreciation Night presented by Fastenal. Fans can get complimentary tickets from their favorite driver. In addition to the five local classes, the second annual Murrell 500 will be held. Track officials also announced the return of the Fall Spectacular on October 8th and 9th. More details will be provided on the season-ending event soon. Also, the final outlaw kart race of 2016 will take place August 27th. It’s certain to be an exciting event as youngsters will take to the .110-dirt oval for the final time this season. For more information on everything going on at Redwood Acres Raceway including video of the Spears SRL Southwest Tour race from this weekend, please visit the track’s official website www.racingtheacres.com

Leazer goes wire-to-wire in first main event victory

Ryun Leazer claimed his first late model division win at Redwood Acres Raceway Saturday night

By Matthew J. Sullivan

After a long three week break, racing returned to Redwood Acres Raceway this past Saturday night. All five classes of roadrunners, bombers, mini stocks, Thunder Roadsters and late models put on another exciting night on the pavement for what was Driver Appreciation Night. Prior to the main events, drivers pulled their cars to the front stretch for a meet-and-greet with the numerous fans in attendance.

Steve Paiment was the winner of the Humboldt Hydroponics trophy dash. The first heat race victory went to Tyler Peach while Dillon Hagman won the second. The start of the 20-lap roadrunner feature got off to a slow start as several incidents brought out the caution flag. The most serious involved Shawn Molloy and Paiment in the fourth turn. When the green flag came back out, the intensity in the race picked up. Rookie drivers Hagman and R.C. Brown battled for the lead while division dominator Dylan Ford maneuvered his way to the front.

The race was slowed on lap eight when Troy Lee and Bethany Rapp came together in the first turn. Ford got the jump on the restart to take the lead while Hagman fell into second. Meanwhile, Daniel Buell began to make his presence known as he maneuvered into the top five. The final few laps were a battle between Hagman, Ford, Brown and Buell. With two laps remaining, Brown got sideways and fell off the top three of Buell, Hagman and Ford. Things got strung out on the final lap and at the checkered flag it was Buell taking his second main event in a row over Hagman, Ford, Jett Taylor and Brown.

The bomber trophy dash win was taken by Matt Simon. The heat race saw an incident in which Dustin Walters got sideways off turn four while racing Simon for the lead. Walters hit the front stretch wall hard. Fortunately he was okay but his car was out for the night. Simon took the heat race victory. The 25-lap bomber main event was slowed at the start by a spin from Rick Jelton but the race was clean and green from that point on. James Moore took the lead on the restart and dominated the race. Simon closed in on Moore in the final few laps but wasn’t close enough at the finish as Moore took the victory over Simon, Ryan Ahrens and Jelton.

Rick Estes narrowly won the mini stock trophy dash. The heat race victory went to Brian Murrell, Jr. Brett Murrell took the lead on the first lap of the 25-lap main but his older brother Brian moved to the top spot on lap two. Murrell, Jr. pulled out to a sizable lead over the field while faster qualifiers Estes, Eugene Palmer and Chris Champagne battled through the field. It appeared as though Murrell, Jr. was going to cruise to an easy victory as his lead was nearly a full straightaway ahead of the battle between second place between Estes, Palmer and Champagne but that changed when the caution flew due to Michael Lawrence hitting the water barrels and tires at the pit entrance in turn two. Lawrence was unharmed.

Palmer pulled into the pits under caution and did not return to the track when racing resumed. The yellow was exactly what Estes needed as he was now a serious challenger to Murrell’s victory hopes. Champagne and Cole Peterson also got into the fight and it was a four-way battle for the win. On the final lap, Champagne appeared to get loose and spun off turn two but fortunately he didn’t hit anything. Estes did all he could but Murrell, Jr. held on at the line to take his first main event win of 2015. Peterson took third, Brett Murrell fourth and Champagne fifth.

Thomas Payne was the victor of the Bear River Hotel And Casino Thunder Roadster trophy dash. Paul Peeples, Jr. took the win in the heat race. Belinda Ward took the lead at the start of the 30-lap main event. Donnie Brown and Chris Sarvinski took Ward three wide coming to lap two with Sarvinski pulling out to the front bringing Peeples with him. The caution flag dropped on lap five and the ensuing restart allowed Peeples to get by Sarvinski for the race lead. Peeples pulled away while Sarvinski had his hands full with Robbie Nelson who eventually got the second position. As has been the case throughout the entire 2015 season, Peeples dominated and claimed his sixth main event win in a row. Nelson took second followed by Sarvinski, Payne and Brown.

The Mid City Motor World late model trophy dash win was taken by Leonard Ward who also went on to win the heat race. With the 11:00 curfew closing in, the feature event was cut to 30 laps. Fortunately the race went start to finish with nary a caution flag. Ryun Leazer used pole position to his advantage as he took the lead from the start. Marty Walsh likely had the fastest car in the field but flagman, Bill Middleton gave Walsh the consultation flag when smoke began coming from the back of Walsh’s car.

With Walsh out of the running, it was Ward who would be Leazer’s main competition. At the halfway point, Ward had closed in to within a car length on Leazer. However as the race progressed, Leazer appeared to have superior drive from the center of the corner off. The only chance Ward had in the final few laps was if Leazer made a mistake but the sophomore late model driver never did. At the finish it was Leazer winning his first ever late model feature. Ward took second while Kenny Demello, Jedd Ambrosini and Mark Williams rounded out the top five.

Racing returns to the Acres for a special two-day Labor Day weekend spectacular on Saturday September 5th and Sunday September 6th. The Saturday event will feature the third and final Tri-Holiday Classic event for the late models. On Sunday, the North State Modified Series returns to the Acres for the second time in 2015. The local classes of roadrunners, bombers, mini stocks and Thunder Roadsters will race both nights while the late models will not partake in Sunday’s events. Front gates open at 4:30PM and racing starts at 6:00PM both nights. An open practice is scheduled on Friday September 4th from 2:00PM to 7:00PM.

Only two more events remain after the Labor Day weekend races. Saturday September 19th’s race will be Fan Appreciation Night as well as championship night for all five local classes. The final event of the season is on October 3rd will be the First Annual Big T Jackpot race for the roadrunners and the Bomber Bash. The second boat race of 2015 will follow the races and conclude the racing season at the Acres. For more information regarding the rest of the 2015 schedule, please visit Redwood Acres Raceway’s official website www.racingtheacres.com .

Champagne wins in a thriller

Chris Champagne took the mini stock feature win on Saturday night

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2015 season at Redwood Acres Raceway resumed this past weekend for another exciting night of racing presented by Maxwell’s Custom Automobiles. As always, the five local classes of roadrunners, bombers, mini stocks, Thunder Roadsters and late models were in action. The night was capped off with boat races which delighted the packed house at the 3/8-mile paved oval.

Steve Paiment was the winner of the Humboldt Hydroponics roadrunner trophy dash. Paiment followed his dash win with a win in the first heat for the division while Dylan Ford took first in the second heat race. The roadrunners have provided exciting racing throughout 2015 and this night was no different as the racing at the front of the field in the 20-lap main event was exceptional. Paiment moved by Bethany Rapp to the lead on lap one but he was quickly overtaken by Daniel Buell the next lap. Dylan Hagman moved past Buell on lap three just as Ford, R.C. Brown and Michael Lawrence moved into third, fourth and fifth.

Every lap seemed to have a different leader between Hagman, Ford, Lawrence, Shawn Malloy and Jett Taylor. Hagman looked to be the strongest competitor to Ford’s five-race win streak as he was able to stay near the front better than the rest of the competition. The two raced side-by-side in the final laps of the race with Ford gaining the advantage on the last lap. Going into the third turn, Hagman drove as hard as he could to try to get by Ford. The two touched slightly coming off four but it was good, clean racing to the line with Ford winning his sixth feature in a row just ahead of Hagman. Lawrence placed third in his first race of the year driving Ken Barrett’s car. Malloy crossed the line fourth and Taylor took fifth.

The bomber division trophy dash win was taken by James Moore. Division point leader, Dustin Walters took the heat race and proved dominant in the 25-lap feature. Moore wrestled the lead away from Eddie Klein on the second lap but on lap six, Walters moved to the inside of Moore coming off turn two to take the lead. Walters pulled away to an insurmountable lead in what proved to be a clean and green race. At the finish it was Walters winning followed by Moore, Klein, Rick Jelton and Matt Simon.

The Maxwell’s Custom Automobiles mini stock division has arguably had the most exciting racing the past few races and tonight proved to be another example. Rick Estes narrowly took the win and trophy in the dash. Ted Henry won his first race ever in the first heat race while Gary Klinetobe showed muscle in the second heat, taking the victory. Henry got the lead at the start but quickly had to deal with the faster qualifiers of Brian Murrell, Jr., Chris Champagne, Estes, Klinetobe and Eugene Palmer. Estes got to the lead on lap three and led until a caution brought out by a spin by Tim Abeyta.

Racing resumed for a few laps before another caution. After the restart Champagne, Murrell, Jr. and Palmer really began to apply pressure to Estes for the lead. The top four cars raced side-by-side for first & second and third & fourth. Palmer was able to get by Murrell, Jr. while Estes and Champagne continued their fight for the lead. Estes eventually got loose under Champagne between the first and second turns which broke his momentum and cost him first and second positions. Palmer and Champagne began a fight for the lead that ended when the two made slight contact in the third and fourth turns. Champagne got loose and was able to save his car while Palmer slid into the infield. Champagne was far enough ahead of the rest of the field that he was able to withstand the brief scare and take the race win. Estes finished second followed by Murrell, Jr., Klinetobe and Henry.

Paul Peeples, Jr. did what he’s done throughout most of the 2015 season in the Bear River Hotel and Casino Thunder Roadster division by dominating and winning races left and right. Peeples took the trophy dash win and passed Thomas Payne on the last lap to win the heat race. Belinda Ward held the lead at the start of the 30-lap feature but by the end of lap one, Peeples was in the lead. While Peeples pulled away, Payne and Robbie Nelson did what they could to maneuver their way into the second position. Nelson eventually got to second and was able to close in on Peeples as the laps wound down. It wasn’t enough however as Peeples took his fifth win in a row over Nelson, Payne, Chris Lawrence and Ward.

The Mid City Motor World late model division trophy dash went to Marty Walsh. The heat race featured an incident that knocked out the cars of George Young and Kenny Demello but thankfully both drivers were unharmed. Walsh had the clear-cut fastest car on the night and he proved it by dominating the 35-lap feature and winning handily over Ryun Leazer, Jedd Ambrosini and Ken Hallis.

There were 13 boat racers in all for the featured attraction for the evening. Brian Murrell, Jr.’s “Griswold” car won the $100 best appearing boat racer prior to the start of the event. As expected, the boat race proved to be a real crowd pleaser. Troy Lee’s “School Bus” van was the winner over Murrell, Jr. and Roger Kirkpatrick.

The summer of fun at Redwood Acres Raceway resumes on August 1st with the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series joining the roadrunners, bombers, mini stocks and Thunder Roadsters. The top super late model drivers on the west coast will square off on the Acres pavement in the SRL’s second visit to the track, the first since 2013. A limited amount of pre-sale tickets for the Spears SRL Southwest Tour 125 presented by Bear River Hotel and Casino can be purchased at Humboldt Motorsports.