Spears SRL Southwest Tour returns to the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

For the third time in the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series’ history, the super late model touring division will visit Eureka’s Redwood Acres Raceway. The SRL tour cars first visited the Acres in 2013 and returned to the 3/8-mile paved oval in 2014.

Many of the top super late model drivers on the west coast are set to participate in the 125-lap main event presented by Renner Petroleum and Bear River Hotel and Casino. Perhaps the biggest name is SRL series point leader, Derek Thorn. Though he currently resides in Bakersfield, Thorn was born in Lakeport, California. Thorn has three wins in 2016 including in the most recent SRL race at Madera Speedway on July 16th. He was the 2013 NASCAR K&N West Series champion and has 27 career wins in the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series.

Thorn is no stranger to the Acres. The 30-year old driver raced IMCA modifieds at RAR in the early 00s before moving to the now defunct North State Challenge late model series. Thorn won three NSCS races at Redwood Acres Raceway between 2005 and 2006. More recently, Thorn has made a name for himself on the national stage, in particular the prestigious Snowball Derby in Pensacola, Florida where he has three top 10 finishes in four races including a third in 2014.

Another top driver who will be making only his second start in the SRL series this season is Upper Lake’s Jeremy Doss. At only 19-years old, Doss is making a big name for himself in super late model racing circles. Just a few weeks ago, Doss won the coveted Montana 200 at Montana Raceway Park in Kalispell, Montana. Doss is a member of the Kulwicki Driver Development program named after the 1992 NASCAR Spring Cup Series champion, Alan Kulwicki. Like Thorn, Doss also has experience taming Redwood Acres Raceway. Doss won a 2012 Pacific Challenge Series race at the Acres and currently holds the series’ fast time mark with a 15.413.

Eureka’s Brandon White will be looking for his second career win in the SRL series at his home track on Saturday night. White’s only win came in 2014 at Madera Speedway. The 2016 SRL season has not treated White so kind as it’s been a struggle for the 19-year old. White’s only top 10 so far in the season came at the season opening race at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. White hopes his victory at the Acres in the Don Graham Memorial Firecracker 100 in July will provide the momentum he needs to take a win in front of his home town fans.

Alderpoint’s Luke Hall will be making his first Spears SRL Southwest Tour start Saturday night. Hall is a regular in RAR’s late model division. Roseburg, Oregon’s Brandon Ash will also be racing as well as Stayton, Oregon’s Alan Cress. Ash finished third in the Don Graham Memorial Firecracker 100 earlier this season while Cress has numerous late model starts at Redwood Acres Raceway.

Gates open at 4:00 PM on Saturday with the qualifying for the Spears SRL Southwest Tour cars taking place at 6:00 PM. The local late model and Thunder Roadster divisions will have the night off. In between the heat races and main events, fans will have the opportunity to meet the stars of the SRL on the front straightaway. Presale tickets for this weekend’s Renner Petroleum/Bear River Hotel and Casino 125 are available at Fortuna Wheel & Brake. For more information on this weekend’s SRL race and everything going on at Redwood Acres Raceway please visit the track’s official website, www.racingtheacres.com

2014 titles on the line this weekend at the Acres

2014 titles on the line this weekend at the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 10th race of the 2014 season at Redwood Acres Raceway is only a few days away as the points season will conclude this Saturday night for Mid City Motor World Championship Night. Track championships will be decided in all five local classes and it should be a thrilling night of racing as drivers will be doing all they can to earn the best position they can in the final standings.

Gary Klinetobe has been the man to beat in the Humboldt Hydroponics roadrunner division in 2014. Klinetobe has earned five main event victories on the season and leads the standings by 29 markers over second place, Eugene Palmer who has won two main events this year. Palmer is the only driver who has a chance to overtake Palmer for the track championship but his odds are long given that Klinetobe will have to have incredibly bad luck to lose the title.

Tim Abeyta is third in points for the roadrunners while Robbie Robinson is fourth and Kayla Foster is fifth. None of those drivers has been able to find victory lane in a main event this season. Two drivers not high in the points standings have been the only other main event victors in the division in 2014. Jett Taylor pulled off a shocking win on July 19th while Dylan Ford won the most recent race on August 16th.

The track championship looks to be locked up for Leonard Ward in the John’s Used Cars and Wreckers bomber class. Ward holds a virtually insurmountable 61 point margin over Tyler Avelar. Rookie driver, James Moore is third in the standings only six points behind Avelar. The top three drivers have won all but one race this season with Ward taking five wins, Avelar two wins and Moore a win on May 25th.

Matt Simon is fourth in points while Donnie Hyman still holds on to fifth in spite of suffering a season ending injury in the July 19th feature event. Out of town visitor, David Dillinger is the only other driver who has won a main in the bomber class, coming home victorious on July 5th.

The point margin between first and second in the mini stock class is 38 points with Brian Murrell, Jr. holding the advantage over Rick Estes. Even though Murrell’s lead looks to be secure enough for him to take the track championship, Estes cannot be counted out. Both Murrell and Estes have won twice this season but Estes’ wins have occurred the past two races on August 2nd and August 16th.

Brett Murrell holds down third in points and is seven points in arrears to Estes in spite of having bad luck all year long. Chelsea Champagne is fourth in points, 15 behind Murrell while Jordon Paiment is fifth in the standings. Other main event winners in the mini stock class have been Nick Green who won on June 21st and July 19th and visiting driver, David Felch who won the July 5th event.

Unless Paul Peeples, Jr. happens upon some bad luck this Saturday night, it looks as though he will take the track championship in the Bear River Hotel and Casino Thunder Roadster division. Peeples has won five times this year and has a 34 point lead over David Henderson and Chris Sarvinski who are tied for second position. Henderson has three main event wins in 2014 including the most recent race on August 16th while Sarvinski’s lone win came on July 5th. Robbie Nelson holds down fourth in points followed by Thomas Payne in fifth who was involved in a serious incident on August 16th which severely damaged his car.

The closest points race at the Acres in 2014 is in the Mid City Motor World late model division. The intense racing that has happened on the track is mirrored in the standings as Mic Moulton leads Luke Hall by only 12 points. Both drivers have won four times this year with Hall having won the August 16th race. These two drivers have finished first and second to each other seven times this season and it will not be surprising to see the championship literally decided on the final lap.

Kenny Demello has not won a main event but has been consistent and is third in points but well out of the championship fight. Division rookie, Ryun Leazer has been steady all year long and sits fourth in points while Acres veteran, Al Acuna holds down fifth. Jerry Peterson is the only other driver to win in the late model division this year having done so on opening night, May 17th. Peterson sits sixth in the standings with a chance of getting into fifth.

Do not miss out on what promises to be a memorable night of racing this Saturday night at the Acres. Grandstands open at 5:00PM while racing begins at 6:30PM. Don’t forget that even though the points races are ending this weekend, there is still the season ending Fall Spectacular event Friday through Sunday September 26th, 27th and 28th. The local divisions of roadrunners, bombers, mini stocks and Thunder Roadsters will be joined by the IMCA modifieds and the 100-lap super late model race.

More information on this weekend’s event as well as the Fall Spectacular race can be found on Redwood Acres Raceway’s official website, www.racingtheacres.com .

Last lap contact gives Hall the win

Last lap contact gives Hall the win

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Racing action returned to Redwood Acres Raceway this past Saturday for what proved to be an intense night of thrills and spills. In addition to the exciting racing at Eureka, California’s 3/8-mile paved oval, it was Driver Appreciation Night. After all the heat races in the five local divisions, fans met drivers on the front stretch for a meet-and greet session. Every driver in every division greeted fans young and old, signed autographs and handed out goodies of all sort.

Ken Barrett was victorious in the trophy dash for the Humboldt Hydroponics roadrunners. Andrew Pementel won the first heat race while Gary Klinetobe won the second heat. Barrett led the first few laps of the 25-lap feature before giving way to Grey Ethridge. After a lap three restart, Dylan Ford and Chad Grammer moved into the first and second positions. Those two would be the dominant forces in the feature as they were able to pull away from the rest of the field. Grammer did all he could to stick with Ford but Ford proved to have the upper hand as he was able to take the victory. Grammer finished second followed by Ryan Ahrens who was driving Steve Kimberling’s car. Eugene Palmer took fourth while Klinetobe crossed the line fifth.

The John’s Used Cars and Auto Wreckers bomber trophy dash win was taken by James Moore. The heat race was won by Leonard Ward. The 25 lap feature began with Ward leading but Tyler Avelar looked to have the car to beat as he was able to take the lead from Ward and moved to a somewhat comfortable lead. Unfortunately, Avelar’s car began to suffer issues in the final few laps which allowed Ward to move back to the lead and take the win. Matt Simon placed second ahead of Rick Jelton, Moore and Avelar.

Rick Estes won the trophy dash in the mini stock division while Brian Murrell, Jr. won the heat race over Estes in a thrilling last lap duel. Murrell, Jr. was the dominant car in the feature event which was slowed several times. On what proved to be the final restart, Estes was able to get by Murrell from the outside starting position to take the lead and the eventual race victory. Murrell finished a hard fought second followed by Chelsea Champagne, Gary Klinetobe who was making his first start in the mini stock division and Cole Peterson.

The Bear River Hotel and Casino Thunder Roadster trophy dash victory went to Paul Peeples, Jr. The heat race proved to be the biggest incident of the night. Going into the third turn on lap one, Scott Baker looked to have trouble as he locked up his front brakes. Several cars were collected in the melee including Mike Ward, Thomas Payne, Peeples, Jr. and Reno, Nevada visitor, Jack Randall. Both Payne and Baker’s cars looked to be complete write offs while Randall suffered major damage to his car. Ward and Peeples were able to start the main. None of the drivers were injured in the scary incident.

The 30-lap main featured another unfortunate incident between Chris Sarvinski and Peeples. The two drivers made contact in turn three with Peeples hitting the wall in turn four and ending his night prematurely. David Henderson led from start to finish taking the main event victory. Sarvinski finished second followed by Robbie Nelson, Belinda Ward and Chris Lawrence.

Luke Hall won the trophy dash for the Mid City Motor World late model cars. Kenny Demello took the victory in the first heat race. The second heat saw an incident between Kevin Estep and Dennis DelBiaggio. The two made contact while racing into turn three and both cars went in the wall. Neither driver was able to make it out for the feature. Late model touring series veteran, Junior Roddy made a surprise visit to the Acres for the weekend and won the second heat.

As has been the case for the entire 2014 season at Redwood Acres Raceway, the 35-lap late model main event featured some of the most intense action on the night. Hall drove to the lead early and pulled out a sizeable gap over the field. A spin by Ken Hallis on lap six bunched the field and forced a restart. Hall again pulled out to a substantial lead while Mic Moulton and Roddy slid into the first and second positions. Moulton slowly but surely began to reel in the gap on Hall as the race progressed.

On lap 19, Moulton got sideways off turn four and went through the infield to save his car. Roddy moved into second while Moulton was able to safely get back on track into third. Hall looked to have a clear path to victory until Donnie Brown and Demello spun in turns one and two forcing a restart on lap 27. The top three of Hall, Roddy and Moulton raced closely nose-to-tail until the final two laps.

Roddy got under Hall coming off turn four with two laps remaining. The two raced door-handle to door-handle down the back stretch until Roddy was able to get the advantage going into turn three. Hall got inside of Roddy coming to the white flag and going into turn one the two came together sending Roddy spinning out of the lead. Hall was able to hold off Moulton’s fight to the line to take what proved to be a controversial victory. Todd Lands from Cloverdale took third ahead of Demello and Brown.

The next action on the oval will be Mid City Motor World championship night, Saturday September 13^th. Before that, Redwood Acres Raceway will host monster truck action Friday August 29^th, Saturday August 30^th and Sunday August 31^st. Also don’t forget that the annual Fall Spectacular has been moved to its traditional weekend on Friday September 26^th, Saturday September 27^th and Sunday September 28^th. Along with super late models, modifieds, Thunder Roadsters, bombers, mini stocks and roadrunners, there will be another boat race after the races on Sunday afternoon. Information for all upcoming events can be found at Redwood Acres Raceway’s official website, www.racingtheacres.com.

Moulton, Hall, Peeples fair night winners at the Acres

Moulton, Hall, Peeples fair night winners at the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

For the first time in several years, fair night races returned to Redwood Acres Raceway this past Friday and Saturday night. There was plenty of close and exciting racing in all five local divisions which thrilled the crowd both evenings. In addition to the races, there were also special post-race events on both nights. Friday night featured the quad wars while Saturday night was concluded with a destruction derby.

Heat races were eliminated in all five divisions on Friday while laps were added to each classes feature event. Eugene Palmer took the trophy dash victory in the Humboldt Hydroponics roadrunner division. The 30-lap feature was highlighted by a battle for the win between Palmer and division point leader, Gary Klinetobe. In the end, Klinetobe was able to take the victory over Palmer, Tim Abeyta, Grey Ethridge and Rob Robinson.

Leonard Ward won Friday’s trophy dash for the John’s Used Cars and Wreckers bomber division. The main event saw misfortune for two drivers. Matt Simon broke a rear end part which caused his right rear wheel to leave his car, ending his night prematurely. Later on, Michael Lawrence and Tyler Avelar got together going into the third turn. After the ensuing restart, Avelar took Lawrence into the turn one wall ending up with Lawrence’s car out for the rest of the weekend and Avelar disqualified from the event. At the checkered flag it was Ward over James Moore, Donnie Hyman, Lawrence and Simon.

Rick Estes stepped up from the roadrunners to the Humboldt Motorsports and Humboldt Bay Coffee Company mini stock division, taking the trophy dash win on Friday night. The main event was featured a fantastic duel for the win between Nick Green and Brian Murrell, Jr. The two swapped the lead in the late stages and just as Green began to close back up to Murrell to challenge for the top spot, he spun off the fourth turn. Murrell went on to take the win ahead of Green, Estes, Chelsea Champagne and Sam Brown.

The Bear River Hotel and Casino Thunder Roadster trophy dash victory was taken by Paul Peeples, Jr. The 40-lap main event was a repeat of what has been seen in the division all season long as well as in recent years; a duel for the victory between Peeples and Henderson. At the finish it was Peeples beating Henderson, Chris Sarvinski, Thomas Payne and Robbie Nelson.

Luke Hall won the Mid City Motor World late model trophy dash. The 45-lap feature started off bad for several drivers. On the initial start, Ryan Peeples got loose and spun coming to the green along with Kenny Demello. The next start saw Demello come together with Kevin Estep resulting in Estep receiving damage that ended the rest of his weekend. Hall was the early leader but lost the lead when Demello’s car developed issues and slowed in front of him. Mic Moulton was able to take advantage of Hall’s misfortune and take the win. Hall placed second, Ryun Leazer third, Jed Ambrosini fourth and Demello fifth.

The post-race quad wars event was a new attraction at the Acres. A special short oval was created in the infield for the quads to run in. Aiden Kimberling was the winner in the junior event over MKinzy Uselton while the team of Anthony Rosa and Nick Hanson were victorious in the adult event.

Saturday’s Humboldt Hydroponics roadrunner trophy dash went to Gary Klinetobe while the heat races were won by Rob Robinson and Eugene Palmer. The main event was slowed several times but produced a thrilling finish between Klinetobe and Palmer. The two came off the final corner side-by-side with Palmer just edging Klinetobe for the win. Former real stock driver, Steve Kimberling placed third while Tim Abeyta and Dillon Ford rounded out the top five finishers.

James Moore won the John’s Used Cars and Wreckers bomber dash while Leonard Ward took the heat race victory. Early in the main event, it appeared as though Donnie Hyman might be able to hold off Ward who has been the dominant force in the division this season. Ward was able to overpower Hyman eventually and cruised easily to the win. Moore took second, Tyler Avelar third, Hyman fourth and Matt Simon fifth.

The Humboldt Hydroponics mini stock trophy dash win was taken by Nick Green. He was able to follow that victory up with another in the heat race. Rookie, Rick Estes gave Green all he could handle for the win but Green’s previous experience in the real stock class paid off as he swept the night beating Estes, Chelsea Champagne, Sam Brown and Brett Murrell.

The Bear River Hotel and Casino Thunder Roadster division was dominated once again by Paul Peeples, Jr. who won the trophy dash. Peeples took the heat race win which saw an accident that involved Thomas Payne and Mike Ward. Payne and Chris Sarvinski spun off the fourth turn. While coming to the yellow flag, Ward hit Payne’s car knocking off the right front suspension and ending his night. Just like the night before, the main event saw a duel between Peeples and David Henderson. Once again it was Peeples winning ahead of Henderson, Robbie Nelson, Thomas Payne and Sarvinski.

Mic Moulton won the Mid City Motor World late model trophy dash Saturday night. He was able to follow that win up with another in the heat race. The main event saw close nip and tuck racing between Luke Hall and Moulton for the race lead. On the final lap, Moulton got inside of Hall going down the back stretch. The two raced side-by-side coming off turn four with Hall narrowly defeating Moulton for the win. Kenny Demello finished third, Ryan Peeples fourth and Jed Ambrosini fifth.

Following the racing on the oval, Redwood Acres Raceway held its first demolition derby in many years in the track’s in field. Doug Emery made the long tow from Butte City to participate in the event and was able to take the derby win.

Racing returns to Redwood Acres Raceway for a special fireworks show on Saturday July 5^th. Joining the five local divisions will be the return of the North State Modified Series which raced at the Acres earlier this season on May 25^th. Grandstands open at 5:00 PM while racing begins at 6:00 PM. For further information, visit Redwood Acres Raceway’s new and official website, www.racingtheacres.com.

Championship favorites making early season push

Championship favorites making early season push

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2014 season at Redwood Acres Raceway has started off in fine fashion. The action on the track has been thrilling the first three races.  Between the door-to-door action and the close finishes, fans have witnessed great racing in all five of the Acres local divisions. Things should prove to get even more exciting in the coming weeks.

Gary Klinetobe has been the dominant factor in the Humboldt Hydroponics roadrunner division thus far in 2014. In the first three races this season, Klinetobe has won the trophy dash, heat race and main event, going 9-for-9. His dominance in the division shows in the point standings as he holds a comfortable 21 point margin over second place, Eugene Palmer. Third in the standings is rookie, Rick Estes, 29 points behind Klinetobe. Robbie Robinson and Tim Abeyta are tied for fourth position 33 points in arrears of Klinetobe.

The John’s Used Cars and Auto Wreckers bombers class has been Leonard Ward’s playground so far in 2014. Ward has won two main events in the former real stock division and has a 12 point lead ahead of rookie driver, James Moore whom already has a main event victory this season. Tyler Avelar and Michael Lawrence are tied for third 19 points behind Ward while Matt Simon is fifth, 52 markers behind.

The Renner Petroleum mini stocks have return to the Acres in 2014 but unfortunately the division has struggle with the car count. It is expected that more cars and drivers will be filling the division in coming races. Brett Murrell holds a 20 point lead over his older brother, Brian Murrell Jr. Craig Baker sits third 25 points back, Brian McIntosh is fourth 31 points behind and Jordon Paiment is fifth 36 points behind Murrell.

Paul Peeples, Jr. is the point leader for the Bear River Hotel and Casino Thunder Roadster class having won two main events. Peeples leads David Henderson by only two points. Henderson was the opening night main event victor. Chris Sarvinski is third in standings 18 points behind Peeples. Thomas Payne is fourth, 20 points behind. Robbie Nelson holds down fifth and is 57 points back of the leader.

The Mid City Motor World late model division has arguably had the most exciting racing of all five classes so far this season. The top three in points are separated by only five points and each driver has one main event win this season. Mic Moulton holds a slim two point margin over Luke Hall while Jerry Peterson is third. Veteran driver, Al Acuna is fourth in points, 21 behind Moulton and Kenny Demello is fifth, 23 behind Moulton.

One of the biggest weekends of the year for Redwood Acres Raceway takes place this weekend, Friday June 20^th and Saturday June 21^st for the Fair Classic. In addition to the five local divisions there will be special action both nights. Friday night will feature the Quad Ward while Saturday night will feature a demolition derby. More information on this weekend’s events can be found at www.racingtheacres.com. Grandstands open at 5:00 PM while racing begins at 6:30 PM.

Hall thrills crowd, wins first feature of 2014

Hall thrills crowd, wins first feature of 2014

By Matthew J. Sullivan

Beautiful weather welcomed another fantastic crowed to the third night of racing in the 2014 season at Redwood Acres Raceway. As has happened on the track thus far this year, the racing action in the roadrunner, bomber, Thunder Roadster and late model divisions was intense and exciting.

The Humboldt Hydroponics roadrunner races proved to be a repeat of what has been happening all year long in the division. Gary Klinetobe set fast time with a 20.386 laps then took the victories in the trophy dash and the heat races. The 20-lap feature started off badly for Kayla Foster, Eugene Palmer and Brett Murrell as the three tangled in turn four on lap one. After the restart, Gray Ethridge took the lead briefly before being overtaken by Robbie Robinson, Jr. who was piloting the car normally driven by his father.

After a restart for a spin by Murrell, Rick Estes grabbed the lead from Robinson. On lap five, Robinson got loose and spun in turn three. Behind him, Nick Vellis got sideways which forced Palmer to slow. Foster rammed the bumper of Palmer’s car sending him spinning but fortunately everyone was able to continue. Estes did all he could after the restart to hold off Klinetobe but did not have enough as Klinetobe ended up taking the lead and walking away to take the win handily going 9-for-9 on the season. Estes placed second while Robinson, Tim Abeyta and Ethridge rounded out the top five.

After suffering issues in the previous event several weeks ago, Leonard Ward came back with a vengeance in the John’s Used Cars and Wreckers bomber division. While James Moore was fast time with a 19.174 qualifying lap, Ward was the winner in the trophy dash and the heat race. Tyler Avelar led early on in the 25-lap main event over Matt Simon and Ward. Unfortunately for Avelar and Simon, Ward’s strength proved to be too strong. Avelar held off Ward until lap eight when Ward took the lead for good.

The best action for the rest of the race proved to be between Simon and Moore. The two raced nose-to-tail for several laps. Late in the going, Moore tried to make a move to Simon’s inside off turn two. Unfortunately both drivers touched wheels which sent Moore’s car up into the air briefly before setting down on the track. The contact caused suspension damage to Moore’s car which forced him out of action. At the checkered flag it was Ward winning over Avelar, Simon and Michael Lawrence.

David Henderson set fast time for the Bear River Hotel and Casino Thunder Roadsters with a 17.160 qualifying lap, narrowly beating Paul Peeples, Jr. by three-thousands of a second. Although Henderson was the quickest in qualifying, Peeples was the man to beat when it came to the racing action as he won both the trophy dash and heat races. Mike Ward took the lead at the start of the 30-lap main but by the end of the first lap, Tommy Payne was the leader followed by Peeples. On lap two, Peeples maneuvered by Payne for second while Henderson tried to get by both Payne and Mike Ward.

Payne and Henderson fought hard in a side-by-side duel for several laps until Henderson finally took the second position away. Henderson was able to close in on Peeples but was never quite able to mount a serious challenge for the lead. Even after a caution flag for an incident off turn two involving Rob Nelson and Les Barnwell, Henderson could not use the double-file restart to his advantage. At the checkered flag it was Peeples winning followed by Henderson, Payne, Chris Sarvinski and Belinda Ward.

Mic Moulton’s 16.135 lap set the standard in qualifying for the Mid City Motor World late models over Luke Hall’s 16.141. Jerry Peterson won the trophy dash and was able to follow that win up with another in the heat race. The racing in the 35-lap feature was intense as the previous two races in the division this season. Kenny Demello led from the start but was challenged off the bat by the faster cars of Peterson and Moulton. After trying to utilize the high line for the first few laps, Moulton was able to get the grip he needed off turn two on lap five to take the lead away from Demello.

Moulton pulled away from the field as Peterson and Hall moved to second and third on lap six. It looked as though Moulton was on cruise control to the victory but everything changed on lap 19 when Joe Bonomini spun and hit the wall off the bumper of Jeb Ambrosini. After a brief restart, Peterson’s car slowed and came to a stop bringing out another yellow. After the next restart, Hall found a run on the inside of Moulton off turn four on lap 21 to take the lead.

For the next 14 laps, the top two cars ran bumper-to-bumper with Moulton gaining more and more as each lap progressed. Moulton’s best chance at the win came on the last lap coming off turn four. The two were side-by-side coming off turn four with Hall winning the drag race to the line ahead of Moulton. Demello finished third, Al Acuna fourth and rookie Ryun Leazer fifth.

Racing returns to the Acres for the annual Big 5 Fair Classic on Friday June 20^th and Saturday June 21^st. The five local divisions will be set to race both nights with Friday featuring the Quad Wars and Saturday featuring a demolition derby. As always, the grandstands open at 5:00 PM while the racing will get going at 6:30 PM. You can find more information about the 2014 season at Redwood Acres Raceway by visiting the track’s new and official website, www.racingtheacres.com.

2010 season looms at the Acres

2010 season looms at the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2010 racing season at Eureka, California’s Redwood Acres Raceway begins in just a few short weeks. It will be the 23rd year of racing on the pavement at the 3/8 mile facility. The track was converted from dirt to asphalt between late 1987 and early 1988. Many folks may be surprised to know that Redwood Acres Raceway is among the oldest race tracks not only in California, but on the west coast. The track’s first races were held in 1947 on dirt, a year after Merced Fairgrounds Speedway came to be and around the same time that Stockton 99 Speedway began holding events. In 1956 and 1957, the track was known as Eureka Speedway and was converted to a 5/8 mile track and hosted two NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) events. Herb Thomas won the ’56 race while Lloyd Dane won in ’57. The facility also hosted the Pacific Coast Late Model series/Winston West in its dirt days. Bill Amick won in 1964, Harold Hardesty in 1968 and legendary driver, Hershel McGriff won in 1972.

After years of success on the dirt, the cost to keep up and maintain the track became too much to handle and it was decided to pave the track. Along with NASCAR’s sanctioning, Redwood Acres Raceway “reopened” in 1988. Between 1988 and 1995, the Acres hosted 7 NASCAR Southwest Tour events and 2 Winston West races. Mike Chase won the inaugural tour event in July of 1988. The next season, Bill Sedgwick won the West race while Chase won the tour race yet again. In 1990, Troy Beebe took the tour race while Sedgwick won the final West race at the Acres. Ron Hornaday, Jr. won the ’91 event over Rick Carelli who won the ’92 event. Hornaday won the 1993 race and after a year away from the raceway, M.K. Kanke won the final tour event in 1995.

Since the track was paved, Redwood Acres Raceway has produced several well-known drivers. Though Jim Walker and Randy Olson had established themselves prior to the 1988 season, they both honed their skills at the Acres for several years and are a huge part of the track’s pavement history. 1997 NASCAR Southwest Tour champion, Bryan Germone ran at the Acres to prepare himself for the tour. Rusty Olson moved from the Acres to win numerous late model events and a truck title. Paul Peeples, Jr. drove in the mini stock class before winning the 1994 NASCAR Pacific Coast Region title. Current well-known alumni include late model touring champion, Howard Ford, late model racer, Mic Moulton and Luke Hall who has raced in two ARCA events.

The 2010 season at the Acres officially begins April 24th but there is an open practice this Saturday, April 10th. Local classes include the sportsman (late model) division, Thunder Roadsters, real stocks, mini stocks, roadrunners and limited street stocks. The AABLM series is scheduled to race May 22nd, July 31 and September 25th for the Fall Spectacular while the Northern California Pro-4 Modifieds are scheduled for June 5th, August 28th and September 25th. These events are subject to change if the car count is lacking.

Redwood Acres Raceway 2010 Schedule
April 10th - Practice
April 24th
May 1st
May 8th
May 22nd – AABLM series
June 5th – Pro-4 Modifieds
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
Past Track Champions at Redwood Acres Raceway
1988
Super Stock – Jim Walker
Street Stock – Tim Standifer

1989
Super Stock – Jim Walker
Street Stock – Rusty Olson
Mini Stock – Doug Pulver

1990
Super Stock – Randy Olson
Street Stock – Glenn Shewry
Mini Stock – Doug Pulver

1991
Sportsman – Randy Olson
Mini Stock – Matt Kunkler/Jerry McCurtain

1992
Sportsman – Randy Olson
Mini Stock – Tony Pulver

1993
Sportsman – Steve Moulton
Mini Stock – Ron Borges

1994
Sportsman – Rusty Olson
Mini Stock – Bert Guthridge

1995
Sportsman – Glenn Shewry
Mini Stock – Mic Moulton
Pure Stock – Ray Rapp

1996
Sportsman – Glenn Shewry
Mini Stock – Bernard Burns
Pure Stock – Ray Rapp

1997
Sportsman – Tim McCracken
Mini Stock – Bernard Burns
Pure Stock – Otis Stabler

1998
Sportsman – Larry Pries
Mini Stock – Bernard Burns
Pure Stock – Craig Johnson

1999
Sportsman – Otis Stabler
Mini Stock – Phil Wood
Pure Stock – Craig Johnson

2000
Sportsman – Angelo Marcelli
Mini Stock – Jason Shaha
Real Stock – Rusty Turner
Pure Stock – Jeff Broderson

2001
Sportsman – Shawn Andrews
Mini Stock – Phil Wood
Real Stock – Rusty Turner
Pure Stock – Jeff Broderson

2002
Sportsman – Angelo Marcelli
Mini Stock – Phil Wood
Real Stock – Rick Fox

2003
Sportsman – Roger Sanderson
Mini Stock – Jaison Chand
Real Stock – Aaron Byers
Limited Street Stocks – Lee Branstetter

2004
Sportsman – Angelo Marcelli
Mini Stock – Jerry Peterson
Real Stock – Cecil Arispe
Limited Street Stock – Ron Brown

2005
Sportsman – Geoff Brandon
Mini Stock – Jaison Chand
Real Stock – Trevor Miller
Limited Street Stock – Duane Mayo

2006
Sportsman – Marty Walsh
Mini Stock – Chad Grammer
Real Stock – Bill Bradbury
Limited Street Stock – Adrien Betournay
Thunder Roadsters – David Henderson

2007
Sportsman – Brandon Barnwell
Mini Stock – Byron McIntosh
Real Stock – Bill Middleton
Limited Street Stock – Scott Lyons
Thunder Roadsters – Paul Peeples, Jr.

2008
Sportsman – Brandon Barnwell
Mini Stock – Craig Baker
Real Stock – Jim Redd
Limited Street Stock – Fergy Ferguson
Thunder Roadsters – Paul Peeples, Jr.

2009
Sportsman – Dennis DelBiaggio
Mini Stock – Craig Baker
Real Stock – Ryan Walters
Thunder Roadsters – David Henderson
Roadrunners – Charlie Anderson

Barnwell finally beaten, Peeples still unbeaten

Barnwell finally beaten, Peeples still unbeaten

By Matthew J. Sullivan

It was another typical night of action packed racing at Redwood Acres Raceway this past Saturday night as all five local classes returned to put on the fourth race of the 2007 season. All but one of the five divisions had a repeat winner from this season’s first three races. Paul Peeples, Jr., Bill Middleton, Byron McIntosh and Orion Mosher each returned to claim main event victories in the thunder roadster, real stock, mini stock and limited street stock divisions while North State Challenge Series driver Luke Hall won in the sportsman division.

Fast time for the limited street stocks was set by Orion Mosher with a 17.513. Mosher took the dash win over Robert Miller, Scott Lyons and Todd Freeman. Mosher continued his winning ways in the heat race winning over Duane Mayo, Kenny Demello, Stan Young and Freeman. Unfortunately during the heat race, contact between Demello and Miller on the back stretch sent Miller into the wall and taking him out for the rest of the night. Mosher made quick work of his competition in the main event, taking the lead on lap five and scoring his third straight victory for the season.

Jason Shaha set the fastest lap for the mini stock division with a 19.004 lap. Shaha won the dash followed by Brian Murrell, Byron McIntosh and Max Capps. McIntosh won the heat over Shaha, Murrell, Brian McIntosh and Capps. The main event was almost over as quickly as it started. By lap three, Byron McIntosh took the lead away from Glenn Bernald and built up a substantial lead. By the time Shaha and Murrell moved into second and third, there wasn’t enough time for either driver to close the gap on McIntosh. The win was McIntosh’s third of the season.

The quickest qualifier for the real stock division was Steve Kimberling who set a lap of 19.488. Barry Barnwell won the trophy dash over Kimberling, Ryan Peeples and Troy Wood. Chuck Essex won the first heat race over Wood, Marvin Savage, Peeples and Ray Robinson. Jim Redd took the win in the second heat followed by Bill Middleton, Kimberling, Barnwell and Mark Mullan. Savage took the lead early in the main event and held it comfortably for the entire race. The best battles on the track proved to be between Middleton and Barnwell along with Kimberling and Chuck Essex who raced side by side for many laps. Savage crossed the line first, but in post race inspection, his car was deemed illegal giving the win to Middleton who had finished second.

Paul Peeples, Jr. set what was a relatively slow fast time for the thunder roadsters with a 17.249 lap. Peeples won the dash over Mark Arroyo, Chris Banfill and Jay Bahner. The win in the first heat race went to Rob Nelson over Donn Cole, Gerhy Foster, Fred Hanks and Chris Lawrence. Peeples took the second heat in a close finish over Mike Ward, Leroy Marsh, Jr., David Henderson and Banfill. The main event proved to be an exciting one as it featured an exciting battle for the lead between Marsh, Peeples and Henderson. Peeples was able to gain the upper hand, but had to hold off Henderson who followed closely but could never mount a challenge. At the line it was Peeples winning his fourth straight race.

Rick Fox set the fast lap for the sportsman cars with a 16.493 lap. Larry Pries won the trophy dash followed by Luke Hall, Rick Fox and Jerry Peterson who was making his first start of the season. The heat race saw a bit too much excitement when Ken Hallis spun collecting Hall, Peterson, Donnie Brown and Joe Bonomini, the worst damage going to the cars of Hallis and Bonomini. Luke Hall won the heat over Angelo Marcelli, Pries, Fox and Aaron Byers. Hall used his experience to dice his way to the lead by lap three and pull away to a sizeable gap. Brandon Barnwell, winner of the previous three main events put on a show moving from the back of the field to the front by the time there were ten laps left in the race. As time ran down, Barnwell edged closer and closer to Hall’s car. Barnwell was able to get within car lengths with two laps remaining but got loose off the second turn, ending his chances at the win. Hall was able to break Barnwell’s stranglehold on the division to take the victory.

As quickly as the show ran this past Saturday night, starting at 6:30 and ending just after 9, the drivers and crew members have a quick week to fix any damage and get back out for this weekend’s race. Along with the five local divisions will be a special Powder Puff race, so it will only add more excitement to should already be a great show.

Race Results
Limited Street Stocks
Fast Time: Orion Mosher 17.513
Dash: Mosher, Robert Miller, Scott Lyons, Todd Freeman
Heat: Mosher, Duane Mayo, Kenny Demello, Stan Young, Freeman, Lyons, Romeo Venza, Miller
Main: Mosher, Demello, Mayo, Young, Lyons, Freeman, Venza

Mini Stocks
Fast Time: Jason Shaha 19.004
Dash: Shaha, Brian Murrell, Byron McIntosh, Max Capps
Heat: By. McIntosh, Shaha, Murrell, Brian McIntosh, Capps, Bernald, Nick Karanopoulas
Main: By. McIntosh, Shaha, Murrell, Capps, Bernald, Karanopoulas, Br. McIntosh

Real Stocks
Fast Time: Steve Kimberling 19.488
Dash: Barry Barnwell, Kimberling, Ryan Peeples, Troy Wood
Heat 1: Chuck Essex, Wood, Peeples, Ray Robinson, Mike Cataldi, Donnie Hyman
Heat 2: Jim Redd, Bill Middleton, Kimberling, Barnwell, Mark Mullan, Nick Mitchell, Rick Stone
Main: Middleton, Barnwell, Kimberling, Essex, Wood, Robinson, Mullan, Mitchell, Redd, Peeples

Thunder Roadsters
Fast Time: Paul Peeples, Jr. 17.249
Dash: Peeples, Mark Arroyo, Chris Banfill, Jay Bahner
Heat 1: Rob Nelson, Donn Cole, Gerhy Foster, Fred Hanks, Chris Lawrence, Thomas Payne, Bruce Ziemer, Belinda Ward
Heat 2: Peeples, Mike Ward, Leroy Marsh, Jr., David Henderson, Arroyo, Bahner, Sarvinski
Main: Peeples, Henderson, Marsh, M. Ward, Sarvinski, Banfill, Bahner, Ziemer, Foster, Cole, Hanks, Nelson, Arroyo, B. Ward, Lawrence, Payne

Sportsman
Fast Time: Rick Fox 16.493
Dash: Larry Pries, Luke Hall, Fox, Jerry Peterson
Heat: Brandon Barnwell, Angelo Marcelli, Pries, Fox, Aaron Byers, Peterson, Lissa Uselton, Donnie Brown, Ken Hallis, Joe Bonomini, Hall
Main: Hall, Barnwell, Pries, Marcelli, Byers, Fox, Brown, Peterson, Uselton.

Hall breaks Barnwell’s stranglehold, Peeples continues dominance

Hall breaks Barnwell’s stranglehold, Peeples continues dominance

By Matthew J. Sullivan

One winning streak ended while another continued this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. With the race track under cloudy and cold conditions, fans were treated to another night of spectacular racing and close finishes. North State Challenge Series competitor Luke Hall broke Barry Barnwell’s winning streak in the sportsman division to win the 30-lap main event. Paul Peeples, Jr. notched his fourth consecutive win in the thunder roadsters continuing his season of dominance. Bill Middleton was declared the winner of the real stock main event after Marvin Savage failed post race tech inspection. Byron McIntosh and Orion Mosher each won their third main event of the season in the mini stock and limited street stock divisions respectively.

In what has become the norm for the limited street stock class, Orion Mosher set fast time clocking in at 17.513. Mosher took the dash win over Robert Miller, Scott Lyons and Todd Freeman. Mosher continued his winning ways in the heat race winning over Duane Mayo, Kenny Demello, Stan Young and Freeman. Unfortunately during the heat race, contact between Demello and Miller on the back stretch sent Miller into the wall and taking him out for the rest of the night.

With Miller unable to make the main event, seven cars took the green flag in the 15 lap feature. Off the start, Young took the lead while Demello moved by Freeman into the second position. Meanwhile, Mosher quickly threaded his car though the field. On lap three, Mosher moved by Freeman for third. On lap four, Mosher passed Demello on the outside to take second while Mayo got by Freeman for fourth at the same time. On lap five, Mosher took the lead away from Young and began to pull away.

Demello got by Young for second on the eleventh lap bringing Mayo with him. With two laps to go, Freeman spun off the fourth turn bringing out the yellow. Under caution Romeo Venza took his car into the pits smoking heavily. The restart only delayed the inevitable victory for Mosher who crossed the line first, several car lengths ahead of Demello, Mayo, Young and Lyons. Mosher’s main event win sealed a perfect night for him in addition to setting quick time and the trophy dash and heat race victories.

Jason Shaha set the fastest lap for the mini stock division with a 19.004 lap. Shaha won the dash followed by Brian Murrell, Byron McIntosh and Max Capps. McIntosh won the heat over Shaha, Murrell, Brian McIntosh and Capps. The seven car field was brought to the green flag of the 15 lap main event by Nick Karanopoulos and Glenn Bernald. Bernald took the lead off the drop of the green flag. On lap two, Brian McIntosh spun off the fourth turn, but the yellow flag did not come out. On the third lap, Byron McIntosh took the lead position away from Bernald.

With Bernald fighting with Murrell and Shaha for second, McIntosh pulled out to what would be an insurmountable lead. On lap five, Murrell moved inside Bernald for second allowing Shaha to follow though into third. After several laps of racing, Shaha moved inside and by Murrell on lap seven going into the third turn. By this time, McIntosh had almost a full straightaway lead on Shaha. On lap nine, Capps moved past Bernald for fourth. With the field stretched out and no pressure from behind, McIntosh was able to cruise and take the victory followed by Shaha, Murrell, Capps and Bernald.

The quickest qualifier for the real stock division was Steve Kimberling who set a lap of 19.488. Barry Barnwell won the trophy dash over Kimberling, Ryan Peeples and Troy Wood. Chuck Essex won the first heat race over Wood, Marvin Savage, Peeples and Ray Robinson. Jim Redd took the win in the second heat followed by Bill Middleton, Kimberling, Barnwell and Mark Mullan. 11 real stock cars took the green flag in the 25 lap feature event. Robinson and Mullan lead the field to the green. Immediately after taking the green, Peeples pulled his car into the pits. Robinson took the early lead while everyone jockeyed for position.

On lap three, Savage moved by Essex for third. Later that same lap, Savage moved by Mullan into second. On lap four, Middleton moved into third. Barnwell moved by Mullan into fourth on lap six. On lap seven the caution flag flew for Kimberling who had spun in the second turn. On the restart, Middleton and Barnwell fought for the third spot, while Savage moved outside of Robinson to take the lead. Middleton followed through into second immediately after, but Barnwell had to wait until the next lap to take third from Robinson. Redd moved into fourth passing Robinson on lap 10. On lap 11, Barnwell moved to the outside of Middleton but got too high and lost several spots. On lap 13, Mullan and Nick Mitchell spun in the fourth turn resulting in the yellow flag.

Under the yellow flag, Redd pulled his car behind the wall with heavy smoke trailing. The green flag flew again and the field went racing once more. Essex moved inside of Robinson for fourth while Barnwell made his way back to third and challenged Middleton for second. Their duel allowed Savage to stretch his lead out. On lap 17, Kimberling moved outside of Essex for fourth. Their battle lasted all the way up until lap 23 when Kimberling finally cleared Essex. Meanwhile, Savage maintained a comfortable lead over Middleton and crossed the line first, while Barnwell, Kimberling and Essex completed the top five. However, Savage failed post race tech inspection and Middleton was awarded the win. The change in position moved everyone else behind him up one spot, moving Troy Wood into fifth.

Paul Peeples, Jr. set what was a relatively slow fast time for the thunder roadsters with a 17.249 lap. Peeples won the dash over Mark Arroyo, Chris Banfill and Jay Bahner. The win in the first heat race went to Rob Nelson over Donn Cole, Gerhy Foster, Fred Hanks and Chris Lawrence. Peeples took the second heat in a close finish over Mike Ward, Leroy Marsh, Jr., David Henderson and Banfill. Ward and Thomas Payne lead the 16 car field to the 30 lap main event. After the initial start was waved off, the green flew and Ward took the early lead over Marsh. On lap five, Henderson moved inside of Payne for third. On lap seven, Peeples moved inside of Chris Sarvinski for the fifth position. That same lap, Peeples moved past Payne to take fourth.

On the ninth lap after several laps of battling, Marsh moved inside of Ward to take the lead bringing Henderson and Peeples with him. Coming off the fourth turn, Payne hit the wall and pulled his car into the pits. On lap 12, Peeples moved to Henderson’s outside but fell back. Two laps later, Peeples tried the same maneuver and made it work taking second on lap 15. On lap 17, Peeples moved to the outside of Marsh for the lead. Henderson briefly moved inside of Marsh to make it three wide, but used better judgement and fell back.

Marsh and Peeples raced side-by-side until lap 20 when Peeples was able to compete the pass for the top spot. A few laps later, Henderson moved inside of Marsh for second. Unlike the previous three races this season, Peeples did not pull away from Henderson. Henderson stayed locked on Peeples’ bumper, but could never mount a charge for the lead. The best action as the race concluded was the battle for fifth between Sarvinski, Arroyo and Banfill. On lap 28, Arroyo spun off the fourth turn but did not bring out the yellow. In the end, Peeples had enough to hold off Henderson to take the win. Marsh finished third over Ward and Sarvinski. Like Orion Mosher, Peeples’ win made for a perfect evening as he also took quick time, the trophy dash and heat race win.

Rick Fox set the fast lap for the sportsman cars with a 16.493 lap. Larry Pries won the trophy dash followed by Luke Hall, Rick Fox and Jerry Peterson who was making his first start of the season. The heat race saw a bit too much excitement when Ken Hallis spun collecting Hall, Peterson, Donnie Brown and Joe Bonomini, the worst damage going to the cars of Hallis and Bonomini. Brandon Barnwell won the heat over Angelo Marcelli, Pries, Fox and Aaron Byers.

The nine car, 30 lap feature was brought to the green flag by Brown and Byers. Byers got the jump off the drop of the green and took the lead. On lap two, Brown spun off the fourth turn bringing out the yellow flag. Hall took advantage of Byers on the restart and moved by to take the lead bringing Pries into second. On lap eight, Fox moved outside and by Lissa Uselton for the fourth spot. Marcelli moved inside and by Uselton for fifth on lap 10. Hall began to pull away from Pries until lap 13 when Uselton and Brown spun bringing out the yellow flag.

Two laps after the restart, Fox and Peterson made contact sending Peterson into a spin off turn four. Peterson got going again and the yellow flag was not thrown. On lap 18, Barnwell moved inside of Byers for third. Two laps later, Barnwell moved by Pries to take second. It was nearly a mirror image of the previous race, just with the roles reversed as Hall held a large lead over Barnwell with 10 laps remaining. Slowly but surely Barnwell closed the gap. With two laps to go and only four car lengths behind Hall, Barnwell got loose off the second turn severely diminishing his hopes to win a fourth straight race. Meanwhile, Marcelli was picking his way past cars. With two laps to go he got by Fox for fifth. On the white flag lap, Marcelli moved by Byers for fourth. Up at the front, Hall was able to take the win over Barnwell and Pries with Marcelli taking fourth over Byers in fifth.

The drivers and teams have a quick turnaround this week as the next event at the Acres is set for this Saturday, June 9th. Joining the five local classes will be the first of two Powderpuff Races scheduled for the 2007 season.

Barnwell and Peeples remain perfect

Barnwell and Peeples remain perfect

By Matthew J. Sullivan - Eureka, CA

Another night of racing at Redwood Acres Raceway, another main event victory for sportsman driver Brandon Barnwell and thunder roadster ace Paul Peeples, Jr. In a story which had already been told twice this season, both drivers resumed their winning ways this past Saturday night in dominating fashion. Another driver who made his main event victory look easy was Orion Mosher, winning the limited street stock main event giving him two in a row. Mini stock winner Brian Murrell and real stock winner Barry Barnwell appeared to have more difficult tasks than their fellow main event winners, but both were able to score close wins.

Fast time for the limited street stock division on this night was set by Orion Mosher with a 17.510 mark. Mosher won the dash, while the heat race saw the return of former pure stock and sportsman champ Otis Stabler who took the win closely followed by Mosher and Trevor Miller. The 15 lap main event was almost over as quickly as it started. By lap two, Mosher moved from the back of the grid to the second position. Mosher then maneuvered his way by the leader Duane Mayo on the third lap and never looked back. By the time Miller and Stabler made their way by Mayo, Mosher was nearly a straightaway ahead. At the race’s conclusion it was Mosher the winner followed by Miller, Stabler, Scott Lyons and Stan Young.

18.793 was the quick lap set by Jason Shaha for the mini stock cars. Brian Murrell won the trophy dash but Shaha took the win in the heat race. The mini stock main proved to be the closest finish of the night. Early on, Scott Baker took the lead and stretched out to 20 car lengths or so over second position. Murrell and Shaha methodically worked their way to the front and as the laps wound down, they began to close on Baker. With six laps left, the duo had caught Baker and began to have a real race with him. With three laps remaining, Shaha moved outside of Murrell to pass and tried to get by Baker. In turn one, Baker got loose getting into Shaha and allowing Murrell to get by both to take the lead. Shaha would be right on Murrell’s bumper, but that’s as close as he would get to winning as Murrell took the victory. Baker was third, Glenn Bernald fourth and Stacy Minnick fifth.

Barry Barnwell was quickest in real stock qualifying setting a 19.585 lap. Barnwell won the dash while Bill Middleton and Steve Kimberling won their respective heat races. Chad Grammer gained the early advantage in the 25 lap main event and pulled away from the field. By lap nine though, Barnwell had moved his car into the second position. After 11 laps of catching up to do, Barnwell and Grammer really began to make a race for the lead position. Barnwell didn’t take long to strike, moving by Grammar to take the lead with four laps remaining. With Barnwell pulling away, Grammer had to battle Marvin Savage for second, eventually losing that position. At the finish line, Barnwell was the victor over Savage, Grammer, Kimberling and Middleton.

For the third straight race of the 2007 season, Paul Peeples, Jr. set fast time with a 17.021 lap time. Peeples took the dash victory while Randy Olson and Bill O’Neill won the two heat races. Early on in the 30 lap feature, Mike Ward looked to be the man to beat. However, as David Henderson, Peeples and Olson freight-trained their way from the back to the front, it seemed apparent that Ward would have his hands full holding off those three drivers. Peeples made a move by Henderson on the thirteenth lap for the second position. On lap 14, Peeples quickly made his way past Ward to take the lead. Henderson and Olson would follow Peeples into second and third, however the closest both would come to taking the lead would be after a lap 17 restart. That wasn’t enough though for either driver as Peeples comfortably held command and took the win over Henderson, Olson, Ward and Leroy Marsh, Jr.

Brandon Barnwell set the fast lap for the sportsman division with a 16.751 time. Barnwell notched the win in the trophy dash while North State Challenge Series driver Luke Hall made a rare appearance and won the heat race. Early on in the 30 lap feature, it appeared as if there would be a new winner in the sportsman division in 2007 as Angelo Marcelli held the early lead. However, Barnwell made sure that any of those ideas were quickly put to rest. On lap six he moved outside of Marcelli to take the lead. While Barnwell walked away from the competition, the best racing proved to be from Hall who methodically moved his way past each driver, finally making it to second on lap 20. Hall seemed to have the faster car, but Barnwell’s lead proved to be insurmountable as he took the win. Marcelli finished third while Aaron Byers and Lissa Uselton rounded out the top five finishers.

The next race at the Acres is June 2nd. As always, drivers in the five local divisions will be back to provide more of the same action that’s been seen so far in 2007.

Race Results
Limited Street Stocks
Fast Time: Orion Mosher 17.510
Dash: Mosher, Trevor Miller, Duane Mayo, Scott Lyons
Heat: Otis Stabler, Mosher, Miller, Stan Young, Lyons, Mayo
Main: Mosher, Miller, Stabler, Lyons, Young, Mayo, Romeo Venza

Mini Stocks
Fast Time: Jason Shaha 18.793
Dash: Bryan Murrell, Byron McIntosh, Shaha, Max Capps
Heat: Shaha, Scott Baker, Murrell, Glenn Bernald, Capps, By. McIntosh, Brian McIntosh, Stacy Minnick
Main: Murrell, Shaha, Baker, Bernald, Minnick, Capps, By. McIntosh, Br. McIntosh

Real Stocks
Fast Time: Barry Barnwell 19.585
Dash: Barnwell, Ryan Peeples, Marvin Savage, Bill Middleton
Heat 1: Middleton, Barnwell, Ray Robinson, Peeples, Troy Wood, Chad Grammer, Mark Mullan
Heat 2: Steve Kimberling, Jim Redd, Savage, Ray DeMello, Mike Cataldi, Jim Bailey, Rick Stone
Main: Barnwell, Savage, Grammer, Kimberling, Middleton, DeMello, Nick Green, Peeples, Wood, Mulla, Cataldi, Robinson, Redd, Stone

Thunder Roadsters
Fast Time: Paul Peeples, Jr. 17.021
Dash: Peeples, Randy Olson, David Henderson, Ron Borges
Heat 1: Olson, Peeples, Leroy Marsh, Jr., Henderson, Mic Moulton, Borges, Jay Bahner, Bill Bradbury, Thomas Payne, Ray Elliott
Heat 2: Bill O’Neill, Dave McMurray, Mike Ward, Donn Cole, Gehry Foster, Bruce Ziemer, Belinda Ward
Main: Peeples, Henderson, Olson, M. Ward, Marsh, Foster, Elliott, Ziemer, Bahner, Borges, Moulton, O’Neill, McMurray, Cole, Payne, Bradbury, B. Ward

Sportsman
Fast Time: Brandon Barnwell 16.751
Dash: Barnwell, Luke Hall, Donnie Brown, Aaron Byers
Heat: Hall, Angelo Marcelli, Larry Pries, Rick Fox, Barnwell, Brown, Joe Bonomini, Lissa Uselton, Mike Bourbon, Byers
Main: Barnwell, Hall, Marcelli, Byers, Uselton, Fox, Pries, Bonomini, Bourbon, Brown.

Three is a magic number for Barnwell and Peeples

Three is a magic number for Barnwell and Peeples

By Matthew J. Sullivan

After racing the previous Saturday night at the Acres, drivers and teams had to make a quick turnaround to prepare for this past Saturday night’s action. The racing was clean, and there were very few incidents in all five local divisions. However, in the sportsman and thunder roadster divisions, it seemed as if it was the same story that had already been told twice before in the two previous races this season. Both Brandon Barnwell and Paul Peeples, Jr. once again won their respective main events bringing their streak to three wins. Another Barnwell claimed victory as well as Barry Barnwell took the main event victory in the real stock division. Orion Mosher scored his second main in a row sealing the win in the limited street stock class, while Brian Murrell held off his challengers in the mini stock main.

Fast time for the limited street stock division was set by Orion Mosher with a time of 17.510. Mosher took the dash victory over Trevor Miller, who was making his first start of the season, Duane Mayo and Scott Lyons. Former pure stock and sportsman champion Otis Stabler held off Mosher and Miller to win the hotly contested heat race, while Stan Young and Lyons rounded out the top five. Seven cars started the 15 lap main event. Duane Mayo was able to use his pole position to his advantage as he took the early lead. However, Orion Mosher wanted to get to the front as soon as possible, and get to the front he did. On lap two, Mosher moved to the outside of Mayo and powered past to take the lead. Miller made the pass on Mayo for second on lap three, but by then Mosher had already built a substantial lead. With Mosher walking away from the field, the rest of the excitement was left between Mayo, Stabler, Lyons and Young. Unfortunately for Mayo, between laps eight and ten he was passed for third fourth and fifth. At race’s end, Mosher had made it looked easy as he took home the victory followed by Miller, Mayo, Stabler, Lyons and Young.

Eight cars took time in the mini stock division. Jason Shaha set the fast mark at a 18.793. Brian Murrell won the dash followed by Byron McIntosh, Shaha and Max Capps. Shaha would go on to win the heat race followed by Scott Baker, Murrell, Glenn Bernald and Capps. Minnick and Baker lead the field to the green in the 15 lap feature. Baker got the jump off the start and immediately started to build his lead while Minnick slotted into the second position. As the field got into single file, Murrell and Shaha began to pick their way to the front. On lap three, Murrell moved inside and by Bernald while Shaha followed in his tire tracks. While Baker continued to build his lead, Murrell moved under Minnick on lap four and completed the pass, once again bringing Shaha with him.

For a moment, the cars of Murrell and Shaha looked to be at Daytona or Talladega, as they ran nose to tail and began to close on the leader Baker. On lap 9, the duo had caught Baker and Murrell decided to make his move quickly. He got under Baker on lap 10, but momentarily went into the grass and fell back allowing Shaha to make a move on the high side of Baker. The two raced side by side for the lead until lap 12 when Shaha seemed to have the edge. However, going into the first turn, the two made contact giving Murrell the inside line allowing him to take the lead. For the last two laps, Shaha tried to pressure Murrell, but he couldn’t find the running room. When the checkered flag fell, Murrell was the winner followed by Shaha, Baker, Bernald and Minnick.

Barry Barnwell set the pace for the real stock class in qualifications with a 19.585 lap time. Barnwell took the win in the dash over Ryan Peeples, Marvin Savage and Bill Middleton. Middleton won the first heat holding off Barnwell, Ray Robinson, Peeples and Troy Wood who was driving Chuck Essex’s car. Steve Kimberling took the second heat followed by Jim Redd, Marvin Savage and Ray DeMello.

Mark Mullan and DeMello lead the 13 car field to the green for the 25 lap main event. Mullan grabbed the early lead over Chad Grammar. On lap two Middleton moved inside to get by Redd for fourth. Grammar made his way by Mullan for the lead on lap five, while Redd went for a spin off the fourth turn at the same time. No yellow was thrown as Redd was able to continue. On lap six, DeMello got under Mullan for second and brought a train of cars with him including Middleton and Barnwell. At this time, Grammar held about a 10 car length gap over second place DeMello.

Barnwell began to really show his strength on lap eight moving outside of Middleton and completing the pass a lap later. Later that lap, Barnwell made his way by DeMello to take second. Now he set his sights on the leader Grammar. On lap 11, Middleton moved his way to third getting by DeMello. On lap 13, Savage began to move to the front passing Peeples and DeMello. On lap 16, Middleton got sideways in turn two allowing Savage to get by for third. The next lap, Kimberling took advantage of Middleton’s handling issues and moved by him for fourth. By lap 20, Barnwell had finally caught up to Grammer’s rear bumper. On lap 21, Barnwell took a look to the high side of Grammer on the front stretch. Coming off of turn two, Barnwell drove his car to Grammer’s inside to take the lead. With two laps left, Savage was able to get under and by Grammer for second, but it was too late as Barnwell had built a comfortable lead and took the checkered flag first followed by Savage, Grammar, Kimberling and Middleton.

Paul Peeples, Jr. set quick time for the third straight race for the thunder roadsters with a 17.021 lap. He followed his fast lap up with a win in the trophy dash over Randy Olson, driving the car normally wheeled by his brother Rusty, David Henderson and Ron Borges. Leroy Marsh, Jr. won the first heat over Olson, Peeples, Henderson and Mic Moulton who was subbing for Chris Banfill. Bill O’Neill won the second heat over Dave McMurray, Mike Ward, Donn Cole and Gehry Foster.

Ward and Cole brought the 17 car field to the green for the 30 lap main event. Ward was able to grab the early lead while behind him the field jockeyed for position. On lap 7, Bill Bradbury and Borges made contact in the first turn bringing out the yellow flag and tightening up the field. At this time Ward lead over Cole, Bruce Ziemer, Foster and Marsh. On the restart, the trio of Henderson, Peeples and Olson hooked up together. All three got by Marsh, Foster and Ziemer by lap 9 and closed in on the two leaders.

On lap 11, Henderson moved outside of Cole bringing Peeples and Olson with him. The next lap, Peeples found the inside groove under Henderson, completing the pass for second on lap 13. The battle for the lead was a short one as Peeples moved by Ward on lap 14 with Henderson following. On lap 16, Olson moved to third getting by Ward. On lap 17, Marsh and Cole made contact sending Cole spinning and bringing out the yellow.

On the restart the front three pulled away while Ward and Marsh battled for fourth. With the lap winding down, Peeples held a comfortable gap over Henderson, while Olson fell behind the two leaders but maintained a gap over Ward and Marsh. While the front five were spread out, the best racing was from sixth on back as drivers raced side by side battling for position. Unfortunately, the good racing was overshadowed by the dominance of Peeples as he took his third straight main event win followed by Henderson, Olson, Ward and Marsh.

Brandon Barnwell was the fastest of the sportsman cars in qualifying with a 16.751 lap. Barnwell won the dash over North State Challenge Series racer Luke Hall, Donnie Brown and Aaron Byers. In the heat race, Hall took the victory with Angelo Marcelli, Larry Pries, Rick Fox and Barnwell completing the top five. Unfortunately during tire warm-ups in the heat, rookie driver McKenna Bell making her first start at the Acres spun and hit the wall on the back stretch ending her evening.

10 cars started the 30 lap sportsman main event with Marcelli and Lissa Uselton leading the field to the green flag. Uselton was driving a backup car previously driven by Fox in prior seasons. Marcelli took the early lead. Barnwell was quickly making his way to the front as he moved by Byers on lap two for third, then moved outside of Uselton for second on lap three. On lap 4, Mike Bourbon and Joe Bonomini spun in turns one and two necessitating a caution flag.

On the restart it was Marcelli leading Barnwell, Byers, Brown and Uselton. On lap six, Brown moved outside of Byers for third. At the same time, Barnwell moved inside of Marcelli to take the lead. On lap seven, Brown slowed and headed into the pits calling it a night. Hall began to show his strength on lap 10 moving by Fox for fifth. On lap 12, Hall passed Uselton for fourth. Five laps later, Hall moved outside of Marcelli and completed the pass on lap 20.

With the field spread out, the best action for the rest of the race was to see if Hall could close the gap on Barnwell who had a substantial 3/4 of a straightaway lead. As the laps wound down, Hall closed the gap to about three car lengths, but by then time had run out. Barnwell took the win over Hall, Marcelli, Byers and Uselton.

Racing at the Acres takes a break before returning June 2nd with all five local classes running once again.

Rain wipes out opening night at the Acres

Rain wipes out opening night at the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

With stormy skies and the wind blowing furiously, Redwood Acres Raceway officials cancelled the 2007 April 21 season opener early Saturday. Unfortunately, that meant that there wouldn’t be any racing action, but fortunately it only meant that there would be a week’s delay until the next scheduled event which is set this Saturday night, April 28 at 6:00 PM.

The weather is looking very good for what will now be an even bigger season opener at the 3/8 mile paved oval. Joining the local classes of limited street stocks, mini stocks, real stocks, thunder roadsters and sportsman cars will be the North State Challenge Series late models. Ironically, the NSCS also had their season opener at Anderson, California’s Shasta Raceway Park washed out, so they too will be holding their first race this weekend. Among the drivers expected to show are Howard Ford from Crescent City, CA, Mike Doss from Lakeport, CA, Luke Hall from Fortuna, CA, Randy Houston from Portland, OR and C.J. Bawden from Carson City, NV. These drivers are just a few of the ones that are capable of bringing home the trophy at the end of the 100 lap feature event.

One of the unfortunate casualties of the April 21 rain-out was the much anticipated Best Appearning Car Contest, as voted on by the fans. That event has been moved to May 12th. Perhaps it will give drivers a bit of incentive to keep their cars clean going into their next race.

Pries beats Walsh, Peeples wins again

Pries beats Walsh, Peeples wins again

By Matthew J. Sullivan

It was an unusually chilly, foggy and damp August night at the Redwood Acres Raceway Saturday evening, and with the threatening weather, the show was hurried along in order to complete all of the racing. A fairly clean night with no major incidents or oil-downs helped move the show along and provided great racing action. Jason Belt brought his real stock out to the track and held off Bob Lima to take the win in a thrilling main event. Trevor Miller was able to pull away in the limited street stock class to handily win. After losing the lead due to contact, Craig Baker muscled his way back to the top spot to claim victory in the mini stock class. In the thunder roadsters, Paul Peeples, Jr. fought hard to get by Luke Hall, then held him off to win the main. After a victory lane drought, Larry Pries quenched his thirst in the sportsman division fighting off the challenges of Marty Walsh.

The second of two Powder Puff races sponsored by Lima’s Pharmacy was held during the evening with the female drivers driving real stock cars. Toni Browne looked more like a real stock regular than an inexperienced driver as she easily won the $200 first prize driving Dan Browne’s car. Courtney Mitchell took the $100 second place money driving Steve Kimberling’s car, while Marcia Bradbury behind the wheel of Bill Bradbury’s car won $50 for third.

The real stock division had a great 18 car turnout. Jim Bailey won the dash followed by Ryan Walters, Bob Lima and Bill Bradbury. Lima was able to win the first heat over Bailey, Barry Barnwell, Ray DeMello and Nick Green, while Walters took the second over Bradbury, Bill Middleton, Steve Kimberling and Jason Belt. The 25-lap main event was lead to the green flag by Belt and Ray Robinson. Unfortunately trouble occured in the first turn when Jim Redd, Wood and Kelly McBride.

For an unknown reason, Robinson moved to the back of the field, giving up his outside front row starting position to Barry Barnwell as the field took the restart. Belt and Barnwell raced side by side for the first lap and a half until Belt gained a bit of an advantage. Barnwell moved his car to Belt’s outside again while Lima closed in to make it a three way scramble. On lap five, Lima moved to Barnwell’s inside while Barnwell tried to find grip outside to get by Belt. The battling allowed Walters in fourth to close up. On lap seven, Lima finally moved by Barnwell and tried his hand on the outside of Belt but to no avail. The field jumbled up getting past Dana DeVane as Belt and Lima pulled away from the pack while Walters took third followed by Doug Way in fourth and Barnwell fifth. Barnwell made contact with DeVane’s car, but the race continued under green.

Lima moved outside of Belt on lap 11 but decided to bide his time, while Walters was quickly making up the deficit between he and the two leaders. By lap 13, Walters was on Lima’s bumper and looking for a way by. On lap 14, Walters moved inside and by Lima going into the third turn. Lima then pulled back outside by Walters to challenge Belt for the lead. The great battle up front was put to an end sadly when Walters right rear tire went flat in the fourth turn on lap 16 causing him to spin. Middleton also spun into the infield. Both drivers were done for the rest of the race.

Under the yellow, Way went to the pits after being in the top five. The restart came and Belt and Lima resumed their battle for the victory. Lima tried once again on Belt’s outside lap 18 but couldn’t pull it off. On lap 20 going into turn three, Bailey moved by Kimberling for the fourth slot. Lima’s last good challenge for the lead would come on lap 21 as he moved outside of Belt, but once again he couldn’t muster enough strength in the high line. On the last lap, Lima drive his car hard off the second turn and got extremely loose but was able to maintain the second position. Crossing the finish line first was Belt over Lima and Barnwell while Kimberling finished fourth over Bailey who got loose off the fourth turn and lost the position.

Eight cars took time in the limited street stock division. Nine cars were at the track initially but Fergy Ferguson only took hot laps. Trevor Miller set the quick pace, cutting a lap of 17.281. Adrien Betournay won the dash over Orion Mosher, Miller and Kenny Demello. Miller won the heat race which had an unfortunate accident between newcomer Romeo Venza and returning driver Kavin Conn. Venza made contact with Conn’s car coming off the second corner, then Venza ran over the right front of Conn. Venza was able to start the main while Conn was finished for the evening. Mosher took second in the heat followed by Demello, Betournay and Stan Young.

Demello and Betournay comprised the front row in the 10-lap main event. After the initial start was waved off, the green flag flew with Demello taking the early lead. Miller dove inside Betournay for second. On lap two, Venza spun off the fourth turn but was able to continue. Miller moved inside of Demello to take the lead on the third lap as the field shuffled going by Venza’s slower car. Miller pulled away while Demello tried to hold off Betournay and Mosher. It was to no avail as both were able to get by, but by then it was too late. Miller easily won the main followed by Betournay, Mosher, Demello and Young.

Craig Baker returned to the mini stock class after a several race hiatus, setting the pace with a 18.963 lap. Baker won the dash over Chad Grammer, Brian Murrell and Byron McIntosh. Grammer took the honors in the heat race followed by Byron McIntosh, Denzel Barrett, Stacy Minnick and Brian McIntosh. Barrett and Max Cap lead the 10-car field to the green flag in the 20-lap main event. Barrett was able to take the lead over Glen Bernald and Murrell. Baker moved to the outside of Murrell for third on lap two bringing Grammer with him. The duo of Baker and Grammer would never be far apart on the night, as the two moved by Bernald on the third lap. Just as they got by Bernald, Baker was able to take the lead away from Barrett, once again bringing Grammer with him.

Bernald spun in turn four on lap five but the yellow flag didn’t come out to his aide. The front duo of Baker and Grammer pulled away with Grammer working Baker’s bumper. Minnick moved herself into the fifth position getting by Brian McIntosh on lap seven. On lap nine, Murrell got by Barrett to take third. On the eleventh lap, Grammer made contact with Baker sending Baker into the infield and bringing out the yellow flag. Grammer was sent to the rear of the field giving the lead to Murrell over Barrett and Minnick.

The green came out with Baker looking to quickly regain his lost lead. He got by Brian McIntosh on the restart, then picked off Byron going into turn three, with Grammer following his moves. On lap 13, Baker moved by Minnick. The next lap he got by Barrett for second, while Grammer moved by Minnick. On lap 16, Baker regained the lead, taking the high line by Murrell. Barrett spun out in turn three on lap 17 but the racing continued. On lap 19, Murrell spun in the fourth turn costing himself several spots. When the checkered flag fell, it was Baker taking the victory over Grammar, Minnick, Byron McIntosh and Brian McIntosh. After the race, officials questioned whether Baker had illegally gained positions before the green flag dropped after the race’s only caution, however it was ruled he did not and the win stood.

The thunder roadsters had another great field of cars with 19 taking qualifying laps. Missing was Fred Hanks who suffered problems in hot laps. Randy Olson took fast time for the third race in a row with a 16.971 lap. LeRoy Marsh, Jr. won the thrilling dash over Olson, Paul Peeples, Jr. and Jay Bahner. Bahner unfortunately hit the wall off the fourth turn on the last lap damaging his right front, but he was able to make it back out. Bill O’Neill won the first heat over Donn Cole, Ray Elliott, Mike Ward and Bruce Ziemer. Troy Combs took the exhilarating second heat followed by Peeples, Luke Hall driving the rent-a-racer, Olson and David Henderson.

The 30 lap main event was brought to the green flag by Ward and Mark Arroyo. Unfortunately a huge jam up in the first turn caused Dave McMurray to spin while O’Neill and Olson both took hard shots, Olson’s in the wall. The restart came with Ward taking the lead while the field jostled for position behind him. Hall took the lead away from Ward on the first lap while Henderson moved to third. Combs muscled his way by Henderson on lap three bringing Peeples with him. On lap five, Combs moved inside and by Ward allowing Peeples and Henderson to follow in his wake. Elliott spun off turn two on lap seven but was able to get his car going again.

The front three of Hall, Combs and Peeples pulled away from Henderson who appeared to be struggling with his usually fast car. On lap 11, Combs spun on his own in turn three bringing out the yellow flag. The race resumed with Hall and Peeples battling for the lead while Henderson stayed in the fight in third. On lap 15, Chris Sarvinski moved into fifth by Arroyo. Just as Peeples moved into the inside of Hall to challenge for the lead again, the yellow flag flew when Arroyo and Marsh spun in the third turn on lap 18.

The caution allowed Peeples to cool his tires and on the restart he took advantage, moving to the inside of Hall. The two raced side by side until lap 20 when Peeples took the lead. Peeples began to stretch his lead, but as the laps wound down Hall began to close the gap. But at race’s end it wasn’t enough as Paul Peeples, Jr. took the win over Hall, Henderson, Combs and Ward.

Marty Walsh continued his dominance in the sportsman division setting quick lap with a 16.383. Brandon Barnwell driving Glen Shewry’s car won the dash over Walsh, Fox and Aaron Byers who was returning after a long stay away from the Acres. Larry Pries won the heat race followed by Donnie Brown, Walsh, Al Acuna and Barnwell. With severe fog rolling in, the usual 30-lap main was cut to 25 laps. Pries and Fox lead the 10-car field to the green flag. Pries was able to take the lead while Fox got loose off turn two allowing several cars to get by him. Pries pulled away from second place Byers who had his hands full with Walsh. On lap five, Walsh moved by Byers and set his sights on Pries.

The field stretched out as Walsh closed on Pries’ bumper. For the duration of the race, Walsh would ride in Pries’ mirror, hoping to force Pries into a mistake. On lap 15, Barnwell made his way by Brown for fifth. Three laps later Barnwell got by Fox for fourth. The only major drama occurred when Keith Diaz spun in the third and fourth turns while trying to stay out of the way of the leaders. Diaz’s spin did not bring a yellow flag out however. Walsh and Pries raced cleanly without any contact. Pries didn’t make any mistakes and was able to hold off Walsh followed by Byers, Barnwell and Fox.

The next race at the Acres will be September 16th with all five classes of cars returning to race. It will be the final points paying event for the sportsman division, but it appears that Marty Walsh has the title well in hand.