Season winding down as the AABLM series returns to the Acres

Season winding down as the AABLM series returns to the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Only five races remain in the 2010 season at Eureka, California’s Redwood Acres Raceway. After seven events the true contenders for the track championships in the five divisions have become clear. Besides the points races drawing to a close, the final five events are all special events with the AABLM touring series making its second of two schedule points visits this weekend followed by Back-To-School Night on August 7th, Fan Appreciation Night on August 28th, the September 11th Memorial Race and the September 25th Fall Spectacular which the AABLM will be returning for a non-points, all-money event.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Scott Baker appears to have the mini stock points title well in hand as he holds a 57 point cushion over second place, Ken Barrett. Brian Murrell, Jr. sits third 97 markers behind Baker while Brian Murrell, Sr. and Brian McIntosh rest in fourth and fifth positions in the standings.

As usual, the real stock division has been ultra-competitive as six different drivers have taken home main event victories. Through it all, Casey Mitchell has been the most consistent as he has accumulated 525 points. Nick Green has been strong all season and is second with 502 points, 23 behind Mitchell. Ryan Robinson was the points leader earlier in the season, but issues during the June 26th Fair Night main event cost him dearly and he now is third with 486 points. The duo of Shawn Craig and Ryan Walters hold fourth with 463 points while Bill Middleton is fifth with 348.

The roadrunner division holds the distinction of having the most cars that have raced at the Acres this season, 20 in total. Raleigh Willoughby dominated the early portion of the season and though he’s had bad luck of late, he still holds a commanding lead over second place Dax Kinsey, 542 points to 471 points. Nick Hansen has been a strong competitor as the season has progress. He is third with 442 points. Jimmy Murray is fourth with 431 points and Dustin DelBiaggio is fifth with 369 points.

Although Paul Peeples, Jr. has been the commanding force in the thunder roadster division this season, he did not race on July 10. His absence allowed Tommy Payne to take the lead in the standings with 509 to Peeples 504. Brandon Barnwell in third and Mike Ward in fourth are still within striking distance with 488 and 482 points apiece while Chris Sarvinski is sixth with 414 points.

Ironically, the top two positions in the sportsman division are the same as in the thunder roadster division. Like Payne, Angelo Marcelli has 509 points and is the leader while Mic Moulton is second with 504. However, the gap to third is much closer with Dennis DelBiaggio at 501 points. Larry Pries still has an outside chance of taking the division title with 481 points while Jerry Peterson is out of it with 453 points.

As previously noted, the AABLM series joins the five local divisions at Redwood Acres Raceway this weekend, July 31st. In their last visit on May 22nd, David Miller was the dominant force taking the lead in the early stages of the race and running away by the end. With the series having been on break for more than a month, it’s likely that there will be a full field of cars and drivers who are excited to get back to racing.

Redwood Acres Raceway Points Standings (After 8 races)
Mini Stocks
Track Record: Craig Baker 18.597
Scott Baker 352, Barrett/Walford 295, Brian Murrell, Jr. 255, Brian Murrell, Sr. 210, Brian McIntosh 191, Ryan Ahrens 182, Craig Baker 79, Robbie Robinson 57, Ricky Davis 51

Real Stocks
Track Record: Shawn Craig 18.763
Casey Mitchell 525, Nick Green 502, Ryan Robinson 486, Craig/Walters 463, Bill Middleton 348, Ronnie O'Neill 333, Ray Middleton 269, Jim Redd 246, Doug Way 225, Dustin Walters 179, Wyatt Roach 125, Aaron Sandifer 97, Bob Lima 64, Landon Newell 50

Roadrunners
Track Record: Raleigh Willoughby 21.307
Raleigh Willoughby 542, Dax Kinsey 471, Nick Hansen 442, Jimmy Murray 431, Dustin DelBiaggio 369, Michael Lawrence 345, Charlie Anderson 321, Kolby Jackson 281, Robbie Nelson 279, Ken Barrett 264, Bill Snow 253, Kent Campbell 249, Tim Abeyta 233, Dylan Cook 221, Brett Murrell 208, Eric Rice 117, Pete Smith 64, Jake Moxon 63, Mark Benzinger 58, Kaveeta Chand 44

Thunder Roadsters
Track Record: Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.839
Thomas Payne 509, Paul Peeples, Jr. 504, Brandon Barnwell 488, Mike Ward 482, Chris Sarvinski 414, Belinda Ward 412, Bruce Ziemer 410, Rob Nelson 363, Fergy Ferguson 298, Dave Henderson 290, Randy Olson 286, Jay Bahner 197, Jim Rich 157, Dan Maxwell 79, Robert Miller 62, Allen Olson 53, Dave McMurray 11

Sportsman
Track Record: Shawn Andrews 15.794
Angelo Marcelli 509, Mic Moulton 504, Dennis DelBiaggio 501, Larry Pries 481, Jerry Peterson 453, Kenny Demello 379, Joe McDonald 344, Al Acuna 221, Donnie Brown 212, Aaron Byers 181, Jim Walker 62, Scott Baker 51, Ken Hallis 48.

Rain cancels racing at the Acres

Rain cancels racing at the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

For the first time in the 2010 racing season, Mother Nature brought bad weather to Redwood Acres Raceway on Saturday night forcing officials to cancel the evening’s events. A heavy mist befell the 3/8-mile paved oval just after time trials in all of the divisions had finished. Redwood Acres Raceway promoter, Rich Olson waited for the skies to clear but after 15 minutes and the mist falling harder Olson called for the races to be cancelled.

The cancellation of this event means that there will be another two week break until action returns to the track in all four local divisions.

Remaining Schedule:
June 19th
June 25th & 26th - Fair Races
July 10th
July 31st – AABLM series
August 7th
August 28th – Pro-4 Modifieds
September 11th
September 25th – Fall Spectacular featuring AABLM series and Pro-4 Modifieds

Points Standings:
Mini Stocks
Track Record: Craig Baker 18.597
1. 7 Scott Baker 127
2. 8 Ken Barrett 118
3. 11 Craig Baker 79
4. 23 Robbie Robinson 57
5. 74 Brian Murrell, Jr. 56
6. 68 John Blake 11

Real Stocks
Track Record: Shawn Craig 18.763
1. 47 Ryan Robinson 270
2. 89 Craig/Walters 252
3. 69 Casey Mitchell 251
4. 1 Nick Green 247
5. 44 Redd/Simon 236
6. 52 Ray Middleton 165
7. 51 Ronnie O'Neill 148
8. 57 Wyatt Roach 125
9. 11 Bill Middleton 118
10. 55 Bob Lima 54
11. 18 Landon Newell 50
12. 14 Aaron Sandifer 48

Roadrunners
Track Record: Raleigh Willoughby 21.307
1. 8 Raleigh Willoughby 268
2. 25 Nick Hansen 261
3. 20 Jimmy Murray 244
4. 88 Charlie Anderson 241
5. 24 Robbie Nelson 219
6. 10 Kolby Jackson 218
7. 33 Dax Kinsey 200
8. 42 Dustin DelBiaggio 174
9. 44 Dylan Cook 147
10. 92 Kent/Carrie Campbell 146
11. 71 Bill Snow 128
12. 28 Rice/Crowley 117
13. 47 Michael Lawrence 100
14. 00 Mark Benzinger 58
15. 38 Jake Moxon 53
16. 69 Tim Apeyta 46
17. 49 Ken Barrett 45

Thunder Roadsters
Track Record: Paul Peeples, Jr. 16.839
1. 15 Paul Peeples, Jr. 292
2. 66 Thomas Payne 252
3. 9 Brandon Barnwell 241
4. 13 Mike Ward 237
5. 21 Chris Sarvinski 228
6. 5 Bruce Ziemer 223
7. 95 Belinda Ward 207
8. 2 Dave Henderson 189
9. 18 Rob Nelson 188
10. 99 Jim Rich 147
11. 21X Fergy Ferguson 117
12. 3 Jay Bahner 101
13. 82 Robert Miller 62

Sportsman
Track Record: Shawn Andrews 15.794
1. 09 Joe McDonald 261
2. 19 Dennis DelBiaggio 261
3. 25 Angelo Marcelli 252
4. 07 Jerry Peterson 249
5. 1 Mic Moulton 245
6. 01 Larry Pries 238
7. 55 Donnie Brown 212
8. 8 Kenny Demello 207
9. 40 Al Acuna 10

Favorites yet to be determined in Acres points races

Favorites yet to be determined in Acres points races

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Much like the racing has been at Redwood Acres Raceway this season, the chase for the track championships in nearly all of the five local divisions are tight. Even after three races, there has yet to be a clear favorite to win the title in almost all of the classes.

The mini stock class has only participated in two of the three race dates in 2010. Because of the poor car count in the division, the mini stocks did not partake in the last race on May 8th. Currently Scott Baker leads the standings over rookie driver, Ken Barrett however whether or not the division will continue to race through the rest of the season has yet to be determined. The real stock points standings are tight amongst the top five drivers. Ryan Robinson leads with 200 points even over the duo of Shawn Craig and Ryan Robinson who have 195 points. Third is Casey Mitchell with 192 points, fourth is Nick Green 186 while Jim Redd lies fifth with 172 points.

Though Raleigh Willoughby has won the roadrunner main event in all three races this season, his points lead over Dax Kinsey is only 21 points, 221-200. Nick Hansen holds third with 186 while Jimmy Murray and Charlie Anderson are tied for fourth place with 178 points accumulated. In the thunder roadster class, Paul Peeples, Jr. holds a 25 point lead over Tommy Payne, 217 points to 192 points. Mike Ward is third with 180 points, Brandon Barnwell fourth with 171 and Bruce Ziemer fifth with 169. The tightest points race at the Acres thus far is in the sportsman division. Joe McDonald holds the lead with 197 points, but the gap between he and fifth place is only 13 points. Jerry Peterson lies second with 191 points followed by Angelo Marcelli with 190, Dennis DelBiaggio with 188 and Larry Pries with 184.

Racing at the Acres resumes this Saturday May 22nd. Joining the local divisions will be the Airport Auto Brokers Late Model series for the Scottfield Executive Hotels 75. The event will mark the third points race of the season for the AABLM cars and the first points race for the series at Redwood Acres Raceway. The AABLM held a non-points event last season at the Acres during the season finale Fall Spectacular. Noel McCormack, Jr. was able to score the win in that event.

Redwood Acres Raceway Points Standings

Mini Stocks
Scott Baker 127, Ken Barrett 118, Craig Baker 79, Robbie Robinson 57, Brian Murrell, Jr. 56, John Blake 11

Real Stocks
Ryan Robinson 200, Shawn Craig/Ryan Walters 195, Casey Mitchell 192, Nick Green 186, Jim Redd 172, Ronnie O’Neill 148, Wyatt Roach 125, Ray Middleton 111, Bill Middleton 57, Landon Newell 50

Roadrunners
Raleigh Willoughby 221, Dax Kinsey 200, Nick Hansen 186, Jimmy Murray 178, Charlie Anderson 178, Robbie Nelson 157, Kolby Jackson 149, Dylan Cook 147, Kent/Carrie Campbell 146, Bill Snow/Ryan Walters 128, Dustin DelBiaggio 117, Eric Rice/Rick Crawley 117, Russell Robinson 60, Mark Benzinger 58

Thunder Roadsters
Paul Peeples, Jr. 217, Tommy Payne 192, Mike Ward 180, Brandon Barnwell 171, Bruce Ziemer 169, Chris Sarvinski 165, Belinda Ward 159, Jim Rich 147, Rob Nelson 143, David Henderson 122, Fergy Ferguson 117, Robert Miller 62, Jay Bahner 53.

Sportsman
Joe McDonald 197, Jerry Peterson 191, Angelo Marcelli 190, Dennis DelBiaggio 188, Larry Pries 184, Mic Moulton 178, Donnie Brown 161, Kenny Demello 156, Al Acuna 103.

McDonald bests DelBiaggio in Acres season opener

McDonald bests DelBiaggio in Acres season opener

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2010 racing season opened this past weekend at Redwood Acres Raceway to windy, but clear and rain-free skies. A glorious opening night crowd welcomed the drivers in the five local divisions and the racing on the track was more than enough to keep the crowd thrilled and excited throughout the cool and crisp night weather.

The season for the mini stock division started off on somewhat of a bad note. After a spin by Craig Baker to bring out the restart flag in the trophy dash, Baker made contact with Brian Murrell on the restart sending both drivers spinning. After a third restart, the two came together again off the second turn with both Baker and Murrell hitting the wall hard. Both drivers exited their cars and it was obvious that neither was happy with the other. Unfortunately, both cars were damaged to the point where they couldn’t race the rest of the night. Brian Murrell, Jr. was able to take the trophy dash victory over Scott Baker. Because of the unfortunate incident in the dash, the minis did not run a heat race and had a 10-lap main event. Murrell, Jr. had problems from the drop of the green and it allowed Scott Baker to cruise to the win over rookie driver, Ken Barrett and former Pro-4 modified driver, Robbie Robinson.

Defending real stock champion, Ryan Walters was sporting a new number in a ride he’ll be sharing with Shawn Craig this season. Walters won the real stock dash ahead of Jim Redd, Ryan Robinson and Wyatt Roach who race the roadrunner class in 2009. Robinson took the heat race victory over Roach, Walters, Redd and Casey Mitchell. Nick Green was able to recover from heat race car problems to take the feature event win followed by Robinson, Mitchell, Walters and Redd.

The roadrunner division turned out an impressive 13 cars on the night. Raleigh Willoughby took the trophy dash over Dylan Cook, Robbie Nelson and Jimmy Murray. Kolby Jackson held off Dax Kinsey to win the hotly contested heat race. Willoughby, Eric Rice and Kent Campbell rounded out the top five finishers. Willoughby was able to maneuver his car from the tail end of the field to the front, passing Kinsey to take his first ever main event victory. Murray, Charlie Anderson and Mark Benzinger followed closely behind.

It was a familiar site in the thunder roadster class as defending division track champion, David Henderson fought off Paul Peeples, Jr. to win the trophy dash. Brandon Barnwell and Tommy Payne finished out the dash field. The first heat race saw an unfortunate incident in the third turn. Bruce Ziemer tried to maneuver his car under Jay Bahner’s but Ziemer got loose and turned Bahner’s car around collecting Fergy Ferguson who was making his first start in the thunder roadster division. Bahner would return in the main event while Ferguson was done for the evening. Robert Miller won the heat after having issues in qualifying. He was followed by Ziemer, Belinda Ward, Jim Rich and Rob Nelson who was driving Peeples, Jr’s backup car after having issues with his own machine. Peeples, Jr. was able to sneak by Barnwell and Henderson when the two came together to win the second heat over Payne, Chris Sarvinski and Mike Ward.

The main event started off with an unfortunate incident. After completing the first lap, Barnwell appeared to have a steering problem going into the first turn as he went up the track into Nelson. Amongst the confusion, Henderson’s right rear got damage. In the aftermath, Barnwell and Nelson were done while Henderson pulled his car into the pits and was unable to return. After the restart, Mike Ward tried all he could to fight off the faster car of Peeples but it wasn’t enough as Peeples was able to maneuver by into the lead and the race win. Ward held on for second while Payne finished third, Miller fourth and Ziemer fifth.

Nine sportsman cars showed up for the night. In the trophy dash, Larry Pries was able to move by Mic Moulton to take the win followed by Dennis DelBiaggio and Joe McDonald. Jerry Peterson took the heat race win over McDonald, DelBiaggio, Angelo Marcelli and Al Acuna. The start of the sportsman main event proved to be similar to the thunder roadster start. Coming off the fourth turn to complete the first lap, outside front row starter, Peterson got loose and into the side of pole-sitter Acuna. Behind them everyone but Donnie Brown was able to maneuver safely by. After the restart, Mic Moulton looked to have the car to beat but lost power in his car resulting in a caution flag.

The resulting restart saw Marcelli leading McDonald. Marcelli briefly held off McDonald but eventually McDonald took the top position with DelBiaggio slotting in behind. As the green flag laps continued, DelBiaggio looked to have a better car than McDonald. DelBiaggio moved to the outside of McDonald and the two staged a side-by-side, wheel-to-wheel race that had the fans on their feet with excitement. DelBiaggio looked to have the pass nearly completed on lap 19 going into the third turn when he and McDonald briefly came together, a product of the close racing. It was enough for McDonald to regain the lead. DelBiaggio tried to mount a challenge in the closing stages of the race but didn’t have enough laps as McDonald took the win over DelBiaggio, Marcelli, Kenny Demello and Larry Pries.

Racing returns to Redwood Acres Raceway on Saturday May 1st for Pepsi Night at the Acres.

Race Results

Mini Stocks
Trophy Dash: Brian Murrell, Jr., Scott Baker, Craig Baker
Main Event: S. Baker, Ken Barrett, Robbie Robinson, Murrell, Jr.

Real Stocks
Trophy Dash: Ryan Walters, Jim Redd, Ryan Robinson, Wyatt Roach
Heat Race: Robinson, Roach, Walters, Redd, Casey Mitchell, Ray Middleton, Landon Newell, Nick Green, Ronnie O’Neil
Main Event: Green, Robinson, Mitchell, Craig, Redd, Middleton, Roach, Newell, O’Neil

Roadrunners
Trophy Dash: Raleigh Willougby, Dylan Cook, Robbie Nelson, Jimmy Murray
Heat Race: Kolby Jackson, Dax Kinsey, Willoughby, Eric Rice, Kent Campbell, Nelson, Charlie Anderson, Murray, Mark Benzinger, Russell Robinson, Nick Hansen, Dustin DelBiaggio, Cook
Main Event: Willoughby, Kinsey, Murray, Anderson, Benzinger, Rice, Nelson, DelBiaggio, Robinson, Hansen, Jackson, Cook

Thunder Roadsters
Trophy Dash: David Henderson, Paul Peeples, Jr., Brandon Barnwell, Tommy Payne
Heat Race 1: Robert Miller, Bruce Ziemer, Belinda Ward, Jim Rich, Rob Nelson, Jay Bahner, Fergy Ferguson
Heat Race 2: Peeples, Jr., Payne, Chris Sarvinski, Mike Ward, Barnwell, Henderson
Main Event: Peeples, Jr., M. Ward, Payne, Miller, Ziemer, Bahner, B. Ward, Rich, Sarvinski, Henderson, Nelson, Barnwell

Sportsman
Trophy Dash: Larry Pries, Mic Moulton, Dennis DelBiaggio, Joe McDonald
Heat Race: Jerry Peterson, McDonald, DelBiaggio, Angelo Marcelli, Al Acuna, Pries, Kenny Demello, Moulton, Donnie Brown
Main Event: McDonald, DelBiaggio, Marcelli, Demello, Pries, Peterson, Moulton, Acuna, Brown.

Points Standings After Race 1

Mini Stocks: S. Baker 64, Robinson 57, Murrell, Jr. 56, Barrett 54, C. Baker 11
Real Stocks: Robinson 69, Green 65, Walters 63, Mitchell 62, Redd 60, Roach 58, Middleton 55, Newell 50, O’Neil 46
Roadrunners: Willoughby 75, Kinsey 71, Murray 64, Anderson 62, Rice 61, Benzinger 58, Nelson 58, Jackson 54, DelBiaggio 49, Robinson 49, Hansen 46, Campbell 46, Cook 41
Thunder Roadsters: Peeples, Jr. 73, Payne 64, Miller 62, M. Ward 62, Ziemer 59, B. Ward 54, Bahner 53, Rich 51, Sarvinski 49, Henderson 47, Nelson 44, Barnwell 41, Ferguson 11
Sportsman: McDonald 72, DelBiaggio 68, Marcelli 63, Pries 61, Peterson 60, Acuna 52 Brown 46.