Combs defeats Peeples, Barnwell returns to victory lane

Combs defeats Peeples, Barnwell returns to victory lane

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The racing this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway must have left many people scratching their heads. The car count in three of the five divisions was unexpectedly low, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t close racing. Usually when there is close racing, there usually comes contact and accidents, and that’s exactly what happened. By the end of the night, four drivers were able to bring their cars home victorious and intact, Craig Baker in the mini stocks, Trevor Miller in the real stocks, Troy Combs in the thunder roadsters and Brandon Barnwell in the sportsman division. Regrettably the limited street stock class was unable to run due to the lack of cars at the track.

The mini stock trophy dash was won by Scott Baker over Brian Murrell, Brian McIntosh and Max Capps. The main event saw eight cars start the race. On the first lap, rookie Norm Carmichael hit the turn four wall head on bringing out the yellow flag. Thankfully Carmichael was not injured in the incident. Craig Baker took the lead early in the race and was able to maintain a comfortable distance throughout the event all the way to the checkered flag. McIntosh finished second with Murrell third, Capps fourth and Scott Baker fifth.

Shawn Craig broke Trevor Miller’s track record in the real stock division but unfortunately his night was cut short in the trophy dash when heavy smoke began to pour out of his vehicle while leading. Miller was able to inherit the lead and take the dash win ahead of Ryan Peeples and Jim Redd. The heat race featured a wreck on the front straightaway on the start between Ryan Robinson and Dustin Walters. Both drivers were able to continue to race. Peeples lost his engine in the heat ending his night prematurely. Miller took the win over Redd, Robinson, and Dana DeVane. The main started off with a red flag after a turn two wreck between Walters and Redd. Walters was able to continue but Redd was out of the race. Miller was able to cruise to an easy victory over Robinson, Walters and DeVane while Redd was credited with fifth.

Mike Ward took home the trophy in the dash for the thunder roadsters holding off Troy Combs, Paul Peeples, Jr. and Robert Miller. The heat race saw contact between Donn Cole and Miller while racing for the lead. Unfortunately, Thomas Payne was collected while trying to avoid the incident and damaged his car enough to where he was out for the rest of the night. Peeples was able to take the win over Ward, Combs, Miller and Chris Lawrence. Combs was able to wrestle away the lead early in the main event and was able to hold off the strongest of challengers in Peeples to claim his first main event win of the season, and only the second main event win by someone other than Peeples. Miller took third with Ward fourth, Cole fifth and Lawrence sixth.

Mic Moulton made his return to the sportsman division winning the trophy dash over Larry Pries, Dennis Delbiaggio and Brandon Barnwell. Barnwell won the first heat race over Delbiaggio, Ken Hallis, Romeo Venza and Keith Dias. Jerry Peterson held off Lissa Uselton in the second heat while Marty Walsh, Angelo Marcelli and Pries completed the top five finishers. Delbiaggio took the lead early in the main event and was able to gain several car lengths over second place Walsh. Meanwhile, Moulton moved his way from mid-pack to third. After many laps of running in Walsh’s mirror, Moulton was able to maneuver by for second.

On lap 26, Moulton moved inside of Delbiaggio for the lead. The two made contact going into turn one sending Delbiaggio spinning. Officials placed Moulton at the rear of the field and now the race lead belonged to Barnwell over Walsh, Pries, Uselton and Hallis. With two laps left, Delbiaggio, Venza and Dias spun between turns one and two bringing out the yellow. The restart was a simultaneous green and white restart. Moulton tried to time his start perfectly and was able to move into second going into turn one. The race to the line was absolute chaos. In turn four coming to the checkered flag, Walsh and Pries made contact sending them spinning. Meanwhile, Barnwell crossed the line first with Moulton second, Uselton third and Hallis fourth. The action still wasn’t over as Venza’s throttle stuck and he drove over the side of Walsh’s car right at the start/finish line. Officals deemed Moulton to have restarted before the green flag waved which moved Uselton into the second finishing position, Hallis third and Marcelli fourth. In any case, Barnwell was still the winner.

Racing at the Acres take a break for one week before returning July 26th for more excitement from the five local divisions.

2006 Sportsman season: a look back

2006 Sportsman season: a look back

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2006 season for the Sportsman division was one of the most competitive in recent memory with seven different winners in 13 races. Although the points margin wasn’t as tight as some of the other local divisions, the racing proved to be as exciting. Marty Walsh was able to keep his car clean from the start of the season to its finish winning four main events, the most in the sportsman class, and taking the 2006 championship. Every Saturday night, Walsh proved to be the driver that every other driver knew they absolutely had to beat.

In only his second full season of racing, Brandon Barnwell was able to finish second in points and won one main event. Barnwell was constantly at or near the front in every race, and it wasn’t surprising to see he and Walsh battling for a top three position on any given night. Rick Fox was able to finish third in the standings scoring one main event win. While Fox was one of the fast drivers, many times he was the victim of circumstance, getting involved in incidents that weren’t of his own doing.

Fourth place in the standings went to Acres veteran Angelo Marcelli. As has been the norm for many years, Marcelli was a consistent top five finisher, taking two main event wins in 2006. Perhaps the driver with the hardest luck at the Acres in 2006 was veteran Larry Pries. He won three main events and was consistently one of the fastest cars, yet too often he was the victim of misfortune. Another Acres veteran Al Acuna finished sixth in points. Although Acuna surprisingly wasn’t able to take a main event victory, he made it a habit to finish every race. At one point in the season, Rick Fox kindly loaned his backup race car to Acuna when his car wasn’t able to race.

The rookie of the year in the sportsman division was seventh place points finisher Lissa Uselton. Although 2006 was her first year behind the wheel of a sportsman car, Uselton used her past experience as a real stock driver to help guide her around the track, and she was able to notch some impressive finishes as the season progressed. One driver that should be a real threat in 2007 is Donnie Brown who took the eighth spot in the standings. At the end of the 2006 season, Brown looked to have a good handle on his car and nearly won several main events.

Although Aaron Byers missed several races in 2006 due to accidents, he was able to get back on the track and finished ninth place in points. Byers notched one main event victory, and hopes to have better luck in 2007. Rounding out the top ten points finishers was Jerry Peterson. Much of the early part of 2006 for Peterson involved getting everything squared away so he could be among the fast cars. In 2007 he should do that.

One driver who took home a victory was multi-time champion, Glen Shewry. Shewry didn’t make it out to the Acres until the late stages of the season, but proved that the time off hadn’t hindered his ability behind the wheel. Other drivers of note who competed in the sportsman division in 2006 were former mini stock champion Joe Bonomini, Ken Hallis, Mike Bourbon, rookie Keith Dias and J.D. Frey who raced on one occasion.

The car count for the 2007 season looks to be quiet promising. Along with most of the drivers previously mentioned will be the addition of now former real stock driver Jason Belt and now former limited street driver Kavin Conn. With Marty Walsh moving on from the division there will be a new champion crowned in 2007. Whether it will be a past champion like Pries or Marcelli, or an uncrowned driver such as Barnwell or Fox is hard to say. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens at the Acres this season.