Spencer holds off Walker to win
By Matthew J. Sullivan
The late model cars made their fourth visit to the 3/8-mile paved oval in Eureka, California and they didn’t disappoint. Though there was a low turnout of cars there was not at a low level in the action as Rick Spencer held off local favorite, Jimmy Walker to take the win in the main event. In the local action, young Gary Adams took the victory in the popular real stock division. Veteran driver, Pat Walsh, made a bold pass and won the main event in the sportsman division while Phil Wood once again showed his strength in the mini stock division taking home the top honors.
Jaison Chand took the mini stock trophy dash victory over Dan Brown. In the first of the two heat races in the division, Matt Wolfe took the win over Tai Frye who was making his first appearance of the season and Brian Murrell. Phil Wood won the second heat over his season long challengers Jason Rhodes and Chand. In the main event, Wood showed his strength early as he took the lead in the first few laps of the race; a lead he would not relinquish. On lap 3, Rhodes made his way to second and tried to chase down Wood along with Brown and Chand. Wood, was just too strong and he took the victory over Rhodes, Brown and Chand.
Rick Fox broke the real stock track record for the second race in a row with a new fast pace of 19.531. In the trophy dash, Mike Peters won over Dan Maxwell, Shawn Craig and Fox. Craig Huffman won the first of the three heat races for the real stock class over Carl Bowling and Brett Alverson who was driving in Bill Middleton’s car. There was a alarming event in the second heat race when Jimmy Thornbury and Lissa Uselton made contact coming off of turn four. Uselton’s car looked as if it were going to hit the wall severely but fortunately she suffered only minor damage to her right front quarter panel. Thornbury also escaped major damage to his car. James Henry took the win over Travis Maytanes and Ryan Thompson. In the third heat, Rick Fox had radiator troubles. Dan Maxwell won over Fox’s title rival Craig and Donnie Hyman.
Four spots were open for the drivers in the ‘B’ main event to move on to the ‘A’ main. Filling those four places were winner, Huffman, Ryan Walters, Chad Trump and Cecil Arispe. The main event was tempestuous to say the least. Chad Gurney and Uselton led the field to the green flag. A full first lap would not be completed however as a major accident in turn three involving several cars ensued. Among the most heavily damaged were Fite, Fox, Craig, Peters, Curt Vance and Hyman. Under the caution flag, Maxwell and Doug Way had an exchange in which Maxwell spun out Way. Both were black flagged and parked for the evening.
After the restart and a few laps of racing, Uselton spun while trying to pass another car bringing out a caution flag. Fortunately for her, she did not loose a lap and was able to continue on. Once the green fell again, Gary Adams began to show his muscle. On lap 8 Adams took the lead from Aaron Byers. On lap 12, Byers and Dana Porter spun while fighting for second position. That same lap, Maytanes pulled his car into the infield. Under the caution Byers was not pleased with his placement in the lineup for the restart. He showed his discontent and he was black-flagged and parked for the rest of the night.
After another restart, Gurney spun and almost collected Craig who had returned to the track to run for valuable points. The green fell again and Adams pulled away from the rest of the pack. Another incident developed for second between Henry and Mike Peeples. Both spun but the caution flag was not brought out. Adams ran clean the whole night and ended up with the winner’s trophy. Finishing second making a great charge from his win in the ‘B’ main was Huffman, followed by Arispe, Uselton and Fite.
It seemed to be a night for the veterans in the sportsman division as a veteran driver took each victory in the class. Angelo Marcelli won the trophy dash over David Henderson and Pat Walsh. Ed Peters, who had been out of competition for several years, took the heat race win over Walsh and Marcelli. The main event had the most exciting episode in the first corner of the first lap. Peters and Henderson brought the field to the green flag. Going into that first corner, Walsh made a daring move to the inside of Peters and Henderson to make it three wide. Fortunately for everyone, Walsh made it through unscathed in what turned out to be the winning move. On lap two, Peters got loose and spun off of turn two but there wasn‘t a caution flag thrown. Walsh stretched out his lead while Marcelli, Henderson and Scotty Turner tried to chase him down. Henderson had problems on lap 20 and was forced to retire. Walsh held his lead and took the win over Marcelli, Turner and Peters.
In a fight between two Ferndale, California drivers, Larry Pries took the heat race win over Jimmy Walker, Rick Spencer and Shawn Hayes. Pries made the heat race action even more exciting as he took the lead and the victory away from Ed Peters on the last lap over the race. Second was Spencer followed by Hayes and Walker.
Peters and Preston O’Dell brought the field to the green flag in the main event. It was short lived for Peters though who broke on the first lap and was done for the night. On the restart, O’Dell took the early lead. While racing with Pries, Hayes made contact with him and spun Pries out. The caution was thrown and Hayes was sent to the rear of the field. On the restart, O’Dell led over Spencer and Walker. On lap 12, Chuck LaHorgue had problems and went into the pits. Three laps later, Pries spun between turns three and four. Coming to the caution flag, Spencer made a bold pass on O’Dell and took the lead. After a few laps of green racing, O’Dell spun forcing another caution flag.
After the restart, Hayes got loose and spun off of turn four, billowing smoke from his tires trying in vain to save his car. Eureka driver, Jason Winfrey drove into the smoke but didn’t make it through as his front end slammed in to the right front wheel of Hayes car. Both Hayes and Winfrey were done for the night. Walker tried his best to make a move on Spencer. Both had a lot of horsepower down the straight-aways but it was Spencer’s better handling car that helped him hold off Walker for the lead and the eventual victory. Second was Walker followed by O’Dell and Pries.
The next race at the Acres is the regular show of mini stocks, real stocks and sportsman cars on August 17. The late models return two weeks later on August 24.
Historic videos, race reports and race results from various Northern California race tracks
Gary Jacob Archives
Showing posts with label Pat Walsh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pat Walsh. Show all posts
Thursday, August 1, 2002
Tuesday, July 2, 2002
Fair Night Races Exciting At The Acres
Fair Night Races Exciting At The Acres
By Matthew J. Sullivan
With a packed grandstand and the fair atmosphere in the air, a nice field of late model cars arrived for two thrilling nights of racing at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka, California. Night one saw Myrtle Point, Oregon’s Mike Sackett take the main event honors while night two saw another Oregonian, David Miller take the victory and the overall fair race bonus.
Along with the late models, the real stock, mini stock and sportsman divisions showed up for their regular night of racing action. The first race of night one was a prelude of the racing action to come for the next two nights as Rick Fox took the trophy dash victory over Shawn Craig by a bumper. In heat racing action, Jimmy Thornbury, Dana Porter and Donnie Hyman each took the trophies in their respective heat races.
The high turnout of real stocks forced a “B” main event with the top two cars transferring to the main event. Taking those positions were Mike Peeples and Thornbury in that order. The “A” main event action got started with a bang... literally as Keith Conn and Ryan Thompson made contact going into the first turn on the first lap. Chad Gurney trying to avoid the incident spun and Travis Maytanes, who had nowhere to go rammed into the back of Gurney’s car ending the night for both drivers. Fox took his car to the lead after the restart and fought off several challenges from defending champion, Craig, winning the first night of racing for the real stocks. Third was Porter and fourth was Doug Way.
There was a larger field of mini stocks for both nights. In the first night, Jason Rhodes took the trophy dash victory over Phil Wood and Dan Brown. In the heat race, Rhodes and Wood raced wheel-to-wheel in an exciting race which saw Rhodes win again over Wood, this time by about a foot. These two continued their battle into the main event.
Rhodes took the lead on lap one and tried to stretch his lead over the rest of the field. Wood worked his way through traffic and caught up to Rhodes and began to make an attempt to pass him on the outside. Lap 9, Wood took the lead but didn’t pull out to a big margin over Rhodes and Brown who made his way to third. While working traffic on lap 12, Wood lost the lead to Rhodes. By lap 18, however, Wood regained the lead and never looked back taking the victory over Rhodes, Brown and Jerry Shaha who was making his first appearance of the season.
In the sportsman trophy dash, David Henderson took the win over Roger Sanderson and Shawn Andrews. Points leader going into the night, Scotty Turner won the heat race over Pat Walsh and Al Acuna. The main event action was bumper to bumper and rousing to say the least as Walsh and Henderson brought the field to the green flag. Ed Peters, who had been having problems with his car smoking all afternoon pulled his car into the pits and was done for the night. Sanderson and Jacob Winfrey made contact coming off of four early in the race but both continued on. Lap 9, rookie Joe McDonald spun for a caution. On the restart, Walsh continued to hold his lead over Henderson.
Lap 24, Andrews who had been working on passing Sanderson got too aggressive and spun Sanderson off of turn two. Sanderson let Andrews know how he felt about the incident and because of that, Sanderson was given a one lap penalty while Andrews was sent to the rear of the field. After the restart, Henderson tried his best to make a move on Walsh but all attempts were thwarted as Walsh won over Henderson, Angelo Marcelli, and James Norris.
The late model trophy dash was fast as Crescent City driver, Howard Ford took the victory over David Miller, Larry Bayless and Randy Hvall. Roger LaHorgue took the first late model heat race win over Preston O’Dell. Unfortunately, LaHorgue had car problems and didn’t race the rest of the two nights. An accident in the second heat race between Ford and Dennis DelBiaggio took both cars out of racing action for the rest of the weekend. Shawn Hayes of Redding won over Mike Sackett and Miller.
Local favorite, Larry Pries and Sackett led the field to the green flag in the main event. Sackett took the early lead over Pries as the field sorted itself out. Lap 3, Paul Peeples had a motor problem and was done for the night. On lap 7, Hayes spun in turns three and four. After the restart, Sackett stretched out a tremendous lead over the field. On lap 31, Hayes spun in turn 3 while trying to move out of the leaders way. A few laps later, Bill Ward hit the wall coming off turn two. On the same lap, Mic Moulton spun his car in turn four. The rest of the race was clean as Sackett took the victory over Bayless, Miller and Hvall.
The second night of racing was even more exciting. Doug Way took the trophy dash victory in the real stock class over Rick Fox and Travis Maytanes. Mike Peeples, Jimmy Thornbury and Way took the trophies home in the three heat races. The main event action got off to a rough start as Fox had problems with his car going into turn one on the first lap and spun into the infield. Later that same lap, Gary Adams and Way made contact and spun. Adams, who had a flat tire was slow on the inside coming to the caution flag. Behind him came Thornbury who had nowhere to go and rammed into the back of Adams ending the night for both drivers.
After the restart, a battle for the lead ensued between Mike Peeples, Travis Maytanes and Donnie Hyman. Peeples took the lead on lap 19 and looked to stretch his lead over Hyman, Maytanes and Shawn Craig who had moved his way through the field. While working his way through traffic, Peeples was slowed. Hyman took advantage of Peeples’ unfortunate break and took the lead. Craig also took advantage and made his way to second. Hyman took the victory over Craig, Peeples and Maytanes.
Dan Brown took trophy dash honors over Jason Rhodes, Phil Wood and Brian Murrell. In the first of the two mini stock heat races, Chad Grammer held off a hard charge by Mac Collado and Jason Shaha while in the second heat Brown held off Rhodes, Murrell and Matt Wolfe.
Jaison Chand, who had been having motor problems all weekend and Grammer led the field to the green flag in the main event. Wood made a quick charge to the front as he began to chase down Chand. Shaha began to leak fluid on the track and a yellow flag was thrown to check his car as well as the track for any fluids. After the restart, Wood again made a challenge on Chand and by lap 11 he took the lead. Lap 17, Collado who had been making a strong charge through the field lost his power plant and pulled his car into the infield. Wood took the victory over Rhodes, Brown and Chand.
Scotty Turner won the sportsman trophy dash. Second was Shawn Andrews followed by David Henderson and Pat Walsh. Roger Sanderson took the heat race win over James Norris, Al Acuna and Angelo Marcelli. Joe McDonald and Sanderson led the field in the main event. Early, Acuna and Sanderson made contact in turn three resulting in a caution. After a lap five restart, Andrews took advantage of cool tires and after several attempts at passing leader Norris he took the lead on lap 10. On lap 15, Acuna and Sanderson again made contact. Acuna was black flagged and done for the night. Andrews went unchallenged for the rest of the race as he took the victory over Norris, Henderson and Walsh.
The late model trophy dash was fast. Randy Hvall won it over Bill Ward, Larry Pries and Mike Sackett. The most exciting event happened in the first of the two heat races when Shawn Hayes and Luke Hall made contact in turn 3. Hayes car climbed over the hood of Hall and flipped over Hayes’ car. Hayes clambered out of the car uninjured. To his delight, his car suffered only slight body damage and he was able to make it back out for the main event.
Fan favorite, Jimmy Walker, who had been having problems with his car all weekend, took the victory over Ron Peters, Preston O’Dell and Mic Moulton. Walker did not make a qualifying attempt earlier in the day has he and his crew took the car back to the shop for an engine change. The second heat race had it’s share of the action as well as Larry Bayless and David Miller made contact coming off of turn two. Mike Sackett ran into the back of Randy Hvall trying to avoid the incident and tore up the whole front wrap of his car. On lap 9 of the 10 lap race, Miller made a bold pass on the outside of Eric Graham going into turn one and took the victory over Hvall, Graham and Rick Spencer.
Miller and Spencer brought the field to the green flag in the main event. Miller took the advantage as Spencer fell in behind him. On lap 16, Hall and Pat Walsh, who was running in the late model class as well made contact in the backstretch. Both cars slid onto the track in turn three but nobody was damaged. At the same time, Walker broke a rear-end and made contact with the wall going into turn 3. A few laps later, O’Dell spun in turn one from some fluid that Walker had left on the racetrack as a result of his problem.
After the restart, Spencer again tried to put the pressure to Miller. On lap 31, Graham got into the wall. Once the field got going again, Sackett passed Ward on lap 36 after a long battle with him. A few laps later, Pries moved Ward out of his way for position. On lap 47, Sackett passed Hvall for third. Two laps later, Ward went into the pits. With five laps to go in the sixty-lap feature, Moulton and O’Dell made contact resulting in Moulton hitting the wall in turn 3.
Miller got a good jump on the field on the restart as Spencer tried to hold off Sackett for the second spot. On the last lap coming off of turn two, Sackett got loose trying to get under Spencer. When Sackett lifted off of the throttle to save his car, Hvall got into the back of him and sent him into the infield. Sackett came through the infield and back onto the track on the front straightaway, luckily with nobody hitting him. Miller took the victory over Spencer, Hvall and Pries.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
With a packed grandstand and the fair atmosphere in the air, a nice field of late model cars arrived for two thrilling nights of racing at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka, California. Night one saw Myrtle Point, Oregon’s Mike Sackett take the main event honors while night two saw another Oregonian, David Miller take the victory and the overall fair race bonus.
Along with the late models, the real stock, mini stock and sportsman divisions showed up for their regular night of racing action. The first race of night one was a prelude of the racing action to come for the next two nights as Rick Fox took the trophy dash victory over Shawn Craig by a bumper. In heat racing action, Jimmy Thornbury, Dana Porter and Donnie Hyman each took the trophies in their respective heat races.
The high turnout of real stocks forced a “B” main event with the top two cars transferring to the main event. Taking those positions were Mike Peeples and Thornbury in that order. The “A” main event action got started with a bang... literally as Keith Conn and Ryan Thompson made contact going into the first turn on the first lap. Chad Gurney trying to avoid the incident spun and Travis Maytanes, who had nowhere to go rammed into the back of Gurney’s car ending the night for both drivers. Fox took his car to the lead after the restart and fought off several challenges from defending champion, Craig, winning the first night of racing for the real stocks. Third was Porter and fourth was Doug Way.
There was a larger field of mini stocks for both nights. In the first night, Jason Rhodes took the trophy dash victory over Phil Wood and Dan Brown. In the heat race, Rhodes and Wood raced wheel-to-wheel in an exciting race which saw Rhodes win again over Wood, this time by about a foot. These two continued their battle into the main event.
Rhodes took the lead on lap one and tried to stretch his lead over the rest of the field. Wood worked his way through traffic and caught up to Rhodes and began to make an attempt to pass him on the outside. Lap 9, Wood took the lead but didn’t pull out to a big margin over Rhodes and Brown who made his way to third. While working traffic on lap 12, Wood lost the lead to Rhodes. By lap 18, however, Wood regained the lead and never looked back taking the victory over Rhodes, Brown and Jerry Shaha who was making his first appearance of the season.
In the sportsman trophy dash, David Henderson took the win over Roger Sanderson and Shawn Andrews. Points leader going into the night, Scotty Turner won the heat race over Pat Walsh and Al Acuna. The main event action was bumper to bumper and rousing to say the least as Walsh and Henderson brought the field to the green flag. Ed Peters, who had been having problems with his car smoking all afternoon pulled his car into the pits and was done for the night. Sanderson and Jacob Winfrey made contact coming off of four early in the race but both continued on. Lap 9, rookie Joe McDonald spun for a caution. On the restart, Walsh continued to hold his lead over Henderson.
Lap 24, Andrews who had been working on passing Sanderson got too aggressive and spun Sanderson off of turn two. Sanderson let Andrews know how he felt about the incident and because of that, Sanderson was given a one lap penalty while Andrews was sent to the rear of the field. After the restart, Henderson tried his best to make a move on Walsh but all attempts were thwarted as Walsh won over Henderson, Angelo Marcelli, and James Norris.
The late model trophy dash was fast as Crescent City driver, Howard Ford took the victory over David Miller, Larry Bayless and Randy Hvall. Roger LaHorgue took the first late model heat race win over Preston O’Dell. Unfortunately, LaHorgue had car problems and didn’t race the rest of the two nights. An accident in the second heat race between Ford and Dennis DelBiaggio took both cars out of racing action for the rest of the weekend. Shawn Hayes of Redding won over Mike Sackett and Miller.
Local favorite, Larry Pries and Sackett led the field to the green flag in the main event. Sackett took the early lead over Pries as the field sorted itself out. Lap 3, Paul Peeples had a motor problem and was done for the night. On lap 7, Hayes spun in turns three and four. After the restart, Sackett stretched out a tremendous lead over the field. On lap 31, Hayes spun in turn 3 while trying to move out of the leaders way. A few laps later, Bill Ward hit the wall coming off turn two. On the same lap, Mic Moulton spun his car in turn four. The rest of the race was clean as Sackett took the victory over Bayless, Miller and Hvall.
The second night of racing was even more exciting. Doug Way took the trophy dash victory in the real stock class over Rick Fox and Travis Maytanes. Mike Peeples, Jimmy Thornbury and Way took the trophies home in the three heat races. The main event action got off to a rough start as Fox had problems with his car going into turn one on the first lap and spun into the infield. Later that same lap, Gary Adams and Way made contact and spun. Adams, who had a flat tire was slow on the inside coming to the caution flag. Behind him came Thornbury who had nowhere to go and rammed into the back of Adams ending the night for both drivers.
After the restart, a battle for the lead ensued between Mike Peeples, Travis Maytanes and Donnie Hyman. Peeples took the lead on lap 19 and looked to stretch his lead over Hyman, Maytanes and Shawn Craig who had moved his way through the field. While working his way through traffic, Peeples was slowed. Hyman took advantage of Peeples’ unfortunate break and took the lead. Craig also took advantage and made his way to second. Hyman took the victory over Craig, Peeples and Maytanes.
Dan Brown took trophy dash honors over Jason Rhodes, Phil Wood and Brian Murrell. In the first of the two mini stock heat races, Chad Grammer held off a hard charge by Mac Collado and Jason Shaha while in the second heat Brown held off Rhodes, Murrell and Matt Wolfe.
Jaison Chand, who had been having motor problems all weekend and Grammer led the field to the green flag in the main event. Wood made a quick charge to the front as he began to chase down Chand. Shaha began to leak fluid on the track and a yellow flag was thrown to check his car as well as the track for any fluids. After the restart, Wood again made a challenge on Chand and by lap 11 he took the lead. Lap 17, Collado who had been making a strong charge through the field lost his power plant and pulled his car into the infield. Wood took the victory over Rhodes, Brown and Chand.
Scotty Turner won the sportsman trophy dash. Second was Shawn Andrews followed by David Henderson and Pat Walsh. Roger Sanderson took the heat race win over James Norris, Al Acuna and Angelo Marcelli. Joe McDonald and Sanderson led the field in the main event. Early, Acuna and Sanderson made contact in turn three resulting in a caution. After a lap five restart, Andrews took advantage of cool tires and after several attempts at passing leader Norris he took the lead on lap 10. On lap 15, Acuna and Sanderson again made contact. Acuna was black flagged and done for the night. Andrews went unchallenged for the rest of the race as he took the victory over Norris, Henderson and Walsh.
The late model trophy dash was fast. Randy Hvall won it over Bill Ward, Larry Pries and Mike Sackett. The most exciting event happened in the first of the two heat races when Shawn Hayes and Luke Hall made contact in turn 3. Hayes car climbed over the hood of Hall and flipped over Hayes’ car. Hayes clambered out of the car uninjured. To his delight, his car suffered only slight body damage and he was able to make it back out for the main event.
Fan favorite, Jimmy Walker, who had been having problems with his car all weekend, took the victory over Ron Peters, Preston O’Dell and Mic Moulton. Walker did not make a qualifying attempt earlier in the day has he and his crew took the car back to the shop for an engine change. The second heat race had it’s share of the action as well as Larry Bayless and David Miller made contact coming off of turn two. Mike Sackett ran into the back of Randy Hvall trying to avoid the incident and tore up the whole front wrap of his car. On lap 9 of the 10 lap race, Miller made a bold pass on the outside of Eric Graham going into turn one and took the victory over Hvall, Graham and Rick Spencer.
Miller and Spencer brought the field to the green flag in the main event. Miller took the advantage as Spencer fell in behind him. On lap 16, Hall and Pat Walsh, who was running in the late model class as well made contact in the backstretch. Both cars slid onto the track in turn three but nobody was damaged. At the same time, Walker broke a rear-end and made contact with the wall going into turn 3. A few laps later, O’Dell spun in turn one from some fluid that Walker had left on the racetrack as a result of his problem.
After the restart, Spencer again tried to put the pressure to Miller. On lap 31, Graham got into the wall. Once the field got going again, Sackett passed Ward on lap 36 after a long battle with him. A few laps later, Pries moved Ward out of his way for position. On lap 47, Sackett passed Hvall for third. Two laps later, Ward went into the pits. With five laps to go in the sixty-lap feature, Moulton and O’Dell made contact resulting in Moulton hitting the wall in turn 3.
Miller got a good jump on the field on the restart as Spencer tried to hold off Sackett for the second spot. On the last lap coming off of turn two, Sackett got loose trying to get under Spencer. When Sackett lifted off of the throttle to save his car, Hvall got into the back of him and sent him into the infield. Sackett came through the infield and back onto the track on the front straightaway, luckily with nobody hitting him. Miller took the victory over Spencer, Hvall and Pries.
Tuesday, June 4, 2002
Acres Action Sharp And Prompt
Acres Action Sharp And Prompt
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Racing at Redwood Acres was exciting on Saturday, June 1, as the late model tour cars made their first visit to the fast 3/8-paved oval in Eureka, California. Originally, the cars had been scheduled to make a visit earlier in the year; however, the race was rained out. Mike Sackett of Myrtle Point, Oregon took the hard fought victory over Rick Spencer. All of the defending champions of the Acres regular racing action won; Shawn Craig in the real stock division, Shawn Andrews in the sportsman division and Phil Wood in the mini stock class.
The racing action was fast in all of the classes, in fact the entire race time lasted from 7:00 to about 9:45. In the mini stock trophy dash, Wood took the victory over Jason Rhodes and Dan Brown. Jason Chand who was also in the race had motor problems; something that would plague him for the rest of his evening.
Racing action was intense in the heat race. Wood quickly made his way to the front as Rhodes and Troy Boyce attempted to chase him down. Bad luck struck both drivers; on lap 2 Rhodes spun between turns three and four, a lap later in the same part of the track, the same thing happened to Boyce. Boyce was fortunate enough not to loose any positions to cars but he lost a lot of track position to Wood who went unchallenged. Boyce finished second with Mac Collado third.
The 20 lap mini stock main event was fast and furious as Brian Murrell led the field to the green. Soon after, Boyce took the lead and made an attempt to move out to a sizeable lead. That wouldn’t be the case though as Wood made a charge to the front from the back and passed Boyce on lap seven. A few laps later Boyce went into the pits and didn’t return. Wood took the sizeable advantage and won the race over Brown, Rhodes and Collado.
The real stock field was strong again at the Acres. Rick Fox won the trophy dash over Shawn Craig, Donny Hyman and young driver Travis Maytanes. In the first of the three heat races another youngster, Gary Adams fought off a hard charging Marty Walsh. The second heat consisted of a lot of bumping and grinding. On lap 3, Aaron Byers and Mike Peeples made contact resulting in a caution flag. On the restart a tight battle ensued between leader, Chad Gurney, Steve Kimberling and Byers. Gurney held off the challenge for the victory. The third heat was calmer with Doug Way taking the victory over Craig and Fox.
Because of the high car count, a B-main event was held allowing only the top two in the race to transfer to the main event. Adams and Walsh continued their hard fought battle in the first heat with Walsh coming out the victor with Adams taking the second transfer position. The 25 lap main was very exciting as Peeples led the field to the green flag. On lap 6, Bill Middleton spun to bring out the caution. After the restart, Craig who had made his way quickly through the field took the lead. By lap 14, Rick Fox had made the pass for second and set his sights on Craig.
On lap 20 when going into turn three, Peeples blew his motor. Keith Conn and Doug Way hit the oil and hit the wall ending both of their nights. On the restart, Fox applied as much pressure as he could on Craig, trying to force him into making a mistake. Maytanes spun on lap 22 but there was no caution. Shawn Craig took the checkered flag with Fox, Hyman, Walsh and Lissa Uselton behind him.
Defending sportsman track champion, Shawn Andrews took the trophy dash victory over Acres veteran Pat Walsh, sportsman rookie Scotty Turner and second year sportsman driver David Henderson. Angelo Marcelli, Walsh and Andrews were closely contesting the lead in the heat race. Marcelli held off all challenges and took the heat race victory. Rookie Jim Norris led the field to the green flag, disaster struck in turn four on the first lap when rookie Joe McDonald spun. Al Acuna tried to avoid McDonald’s spun vehicle but ended up hitting the wall ending his night of racing. Ed Peters also spun his car but avoided damage to his car.
After a restart, Peters took the early lead. On lap 7, Turner lost his car coming off of turn two. Peters slowed up for the incident but was spun by Walsh also trying to avoid Turner’s car. After a quick restart, Andrews took advantage and passed Norris. He quickly caught up to Walsh and began to make an attempt for the lead. On lap 16, Andrews was successful and passed Walsh. That same lap, Norris lost power and took his car to the pits. Lap 18, Henderson spun but he continued on. Andrews held off Walsh on the restart and took the victory with returning driver Roger Sanderson third and Marcelli fourth.
In late model action, Mike Sackett won the six-lap trophy dash over fan favorite, Jimmy Walker, Mic Moulton and Larry Pries. The heat race was fast as David Miller took the victory over Rick Spencer, Bill Ward and Sackett. The main event action was exciting to say the least as Spencer led the field to the green flag. Paul Peeples who started on the outside got a good start and took the lead going into turn one and led the field for the first twelve laps however on lap thirteen he had car problems and pulled his car into the pits allowing Spencer to take the lead.
On lap 21, Walker pulled his ill handling racecar into the pits and did not return. Sackett made his way to second and began to apply pressure to leader Spencer. Several times Sackett tried to make the pass on Spencer but he couldn’t get the run. The two fought tooth and nail for many, many laps bumper to bumper. Finally on lap 27, Sackett saw his opportunity and took it passing Spencer for the race lead. Though it seemed that he was faster, Sackett didn’t draw a very large lead over Spencer.
As the two hit the “slower” cars Sackett pulled out to a larger margin. Sackett had trouble passing Miller however allowing Spencer to close back up to him. Sackett made the pass with Spencer passing Miller a few laps later. With only a few more circuits left in the race, Pries, Luke Hall and Preston O’Dell were collected in a wreck with Pries suffering the brunt of the damage. Mike Sackett held off the rest of Spencer’s challenges for the lead as he took the victory with Moulton third, Bill Ward fourth and David Miller fifth.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
Racing at Redwood Acres was exciting on Saturday, June 1, as the late model tour cars made their first visit to the fast 3/8-paved oval in Eureka, California. Originally, the cars had been scheduled to make a visit earlier in the year; however, the race was rained out. Mike Sackett of Myrtle Point, Oregon took the hard fought victory over Rick Spencer. All of the defending champions of the Acres regular racing action won; Shawn Craig in the real stock division, Shawn Andrews in the sportsman division and Phil Wood in the mini stock class.
The racing action was fast in all of the classes, in fact the entire race time lasted from 7:00 to about 9:45. In the mini stock trophy dash, Wood took the victory over Jason Rhodes and Dan Brown. Jason Chand who was also in the race had motor problems; something that would plague him for the rest of his evening.
Racing action was intense in the heat race. Wood quickly made his way to the front as Rhodes and Troy Boyce attempted to chase him down. Bad luck struck both drivers; on lap 2 Rhodes spun between turns three and four, a lap later in the same part of the track, the same thing happened to Boyce. Boyce was fortunate enough not to loose any positions to cars but he lost a lot of track position to Wood who went unchallenged. Boyce finished second with Mac Collado third.
The 20 lap mini stock main event was fast and furious as Brian Murrell led the field to the green. Soon after, Boyce took the lead and made an attempt to move out to a sizeable lead. That wouldn’t be the case though as Wood made a charge to the front from the back and passed Boyce on lap seven. A few laps later Boyce went into the pits and didn’t return. Wood took the sizeable advantage and won the race over Brown, Rhodes and Collado.
The real stock field was strong again at the Acres. Rick Fox won the trophy dash over Shawn Craig, Donny Hyman and young driver Travis Maytanes. In the first of the three heat races another youngster, Gary Adams fought off a hard charging Marty Walsh. The second heat consisted of a lot of bumping and grinding. On lap 3, Aaron Byers and Mike Peeples made contact resulting in a caution flag. On the restart a tight battle ensued between leader, Chad Gurney, Steve Kimberling and Byers. Gurney held off the challenge for the victory. The third heat was calmer with Doug Way taking the victory over Craig and Fox.
Because of the high car count, a B-main event was held allowing only the top two in the race to transfer to the main event. Adams and Walsh continued their hard fought battle in the first heat with Walsh coming out the victor with Adams taking the second transfer position. The 25 lap main was very exciting as Peeples led the field to the green flag. On lap 6, Bill Middleton spun to bring out the caution. After the restart, Craig who had made his way quickly through the field took the lead. By lap 14, Rick Fox had made the pass for second and set his sights on Craig.
On lap 20 when going into turn three, Peeples blew his motor. Keith Conn and Doug Way hit the oil and hit the wall ending both of their nights. On the restart, Fox applied as much pressure as he could on Craig, trying to force him into making a mistake. Maytanes spun on lap 22 but there was no caution. Shawn Craig took the checkered flag with Fox, Hyman, Walsh and Lissa Uselton behind him.
Defending sportsman track champion, Shawn Andrews took the trophy dash victory over Acres veteran Pat Walsh, sportsman rookie Scotty Turner and second year sportsman driver David Henderson. Angelo Marcelli, Walsh and Andrews were closely contesting the lead in the heat race. Marcelli held off all challenges and took the heat race victory. Rookie Jim Norris led the field to the green flag, disaster struck in turn four on the first lap when rookie Joe McDonald spun. Al Acuna tried to avoid McDonald’s spun vehicle but ended up hitting the wall ending his night of racing. Ed Peters also spun his car but avoided damage to his car.
After a restart, Peters took the early lead. On lap 7, Turner lost his car coming off of turn two. Peters slowed up for the incident but was spun by Walsh also trying to avoid Turner’s car. After a quick restart, Andrews took advantage and passed Norris. He quickly caught up to Walsh and began to make an attempt for the lead. On lap 16, Andrews was successful and passed Walsh. That same lap, Norris lost power and took his car to the pits. Lap 18, Henderson spun but he continued on. Andrews held off Walsh on the restart and took the victory with returning driver Roger Sanderson third and Marcelli fourth.
In late model action, Mike Sackett won the six-lap trophy dash over fan favorite, Jimmy Walker, Mic Moulton and Larry Pries. The heat race was fast as David Miller took the victory over Rick Spencer, Bill Ward and Sackett. The main event action was exciting to say the least as Spencer led the field to the green flag. Paul Peeples who started on the outside got a good start and took the lead going into turn one and led the field for the first twelve laps however on lap thirteen he had car problems and pulled his car into the pits allowing Spencer to take the lead.
On lap 21, Walker pulled his ill handling racecar into the pits and did not return. Sackett made his way to second and began to apply pressure to leader Spencer. Several times Sackett tried to make the pass on Spencer but he couldn’t get the run. The two fought tooth and nail for many, many laps bumper to bumper. Finally on lap 27, Sackett saw his opportunity and took it passing Spencer for the race lead. Though it seemed that he was faster, Sackett didn’t draw a very large lead over Spencer.
As the two hit the “slower” cars Sackett pulled out to a larger margin. Sackett had trouble passing Miller however allowing Spencer to close back up to him. Sackett made the pass with Spencer passing Miller a few laps later. With only a few more circuits left in the race, Pries, Luke Hall and Preston O’Dell were collected in a wreck with Pries suffering the brunt of the damage. Mike Sackett held off the rest of Spencer’s challenges for the lead as he took the victory with Moulton third, Bill Ward fourth and David Miller fifth.
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Racing At Redwood Acres Raceway Off To Exciting Start
Racing At Redwood Acres Raceway Off To Exciting Start
By Matthew J. Sullivan
An exciting Saturday night at Redwood Acres saw some old faces in familiar places as defending mini stock champion, Phil Wood, defending real stock champion, Shawn Craig and Acres racing veteran, Al Acuna each claimed main event victories.
The mini stock cars had a turnout of 10 cars total. In the trophy dash, Wood took the victory over Jason Chand who passed Jason Rhodes on the final corner of the final lap of the race. The heat race saw the car of driver Chad Grammer lead the field into turn one, however at the end of the first lap, Jason Rhodes took command of the field. The next lap, Wood took the lead. On lap 5, the cow car driven by, Dan Brown spun. The rest of the race was clean as Wood took the victory over Rhodes, Grammer and Chand.
The 25 lap mini stock main event had the 13 car of, Brian Murrell on the pole. On the start Grammer and Murrell made contact. Rhodes, trying to avoid the incident ended up spinning but all were able to continue on. The restart had Brown and Wood pacing the field. Off the start, Wood took the lead. On lap 3, the 19 truck of, Mat Wolfe had radiator problems and pulled off of the track and the 09 of Joe McDonald pulled into the pits. On lap seventeen, the Grammer spun resulting in a caution. After the restart, Wood pulled out to a large lead and into victory. Second was Jason Chand, third was Jason Rhodes and fourth was Brown.
The pure stocks had a large turnout of 21 cars. Defending champion, Shawn Craig paced the field with a 20.248 lap around the 3/8 mile paved oval. In the trophy dash, Rick Fox held off a hard charging Craig for the victory. In the first of two heat races, the 45 of, Curt Vance sat on the pole next to the 8 of Keith Conn. After a restart, Conn took the lead going into turn one. By lap three however, Mike Peters took the lead going into turn three. That same lap saw a multi car wreck. After a restart and two green laps, the 73 of Hymie Yellon spun for a caution flag. The rest of the race was tight as Peters took the victory over Steve Kimberling, Brad Fite and Daren Gallagher.
The second pure stock heat was exciting and the first five laps were tight however the fifth lap was a little too tight as Gary Adams and Don Hyman made contact resulting in a flat tire for Adams and no more racing action for Hyman for the rest of the evening. The rest of the race was full of excitement as Fox made it two for two with the heat race victory. He was followed by Craig who passed Aaron Byers for second off of the last turn on the final lap.
The 87 of Jimmy Thornberry had the pole for the 25 lap main event. On lap 4 the Curt Vance slowed to a stop in turns one and two resulting in a caution. After a restart, the side-by-side was intense and at times too intense. On lap 11, Lisa Uselton made contact with another driver and the result was Uselton in the grass; there was no caution however. By lap 12, Craig who had started 14 had moved his way to second and began an assault on first place Brad Fite. Lap 15 the 7 car of, Carl Bowling and Gary Adams collided resulting in the 7 car out of the race. Adams continued on. After the restart, Craig took advantage of it and took the lead. He went unchallenged for the rest of the event and took the victory. Second was Fite, third was Rick Fox and fourth was the Aaron Byers.
The sportsman cars had a turnout of 8 cars, however there is an expectation of more cars for the upcoming season. In the trophy dash, sportsman rookie, Scotty Turner won followed by David Henderson, veteran Pat Walsh and Ronnie O’Neill. The heat race was fast paced as Al Acuna led the field to the green. Early in the heat, defending champion, Shawn Andrews and O’Neill made contact resulting in a dinged up fender for Andrews. On lap 8, Andrews and Walsh made contact resulting in a spin for Andrews, there was no caution as Andrews continued on. Acuna took the victory over 2000 champion Angelo Marcelli, Walsh and Henderson.
During tire warm ups, rookie Jim Norris spun and pushed the nose a bit on his car. This gave the pole to Marcelli with Acuna at his side. Marcelli jumped to the lead off the start. On lap 2, O’Neill pulled into the pits and was done for the night. It was close racing up front for most of the race with the cars nose to tail within inches of each other. On lap 10, Norris pitted and was done and a lap later Henderson visited the pits as well. On lap 14, Scotty Turner got a little loose and Andrews took advantage and moved by. Turner got loose again but couldn’t save it and spun. The car was not damaged and he was able to continue on. After the restart, Andrews tried to make the outside work on Acuna who was running second. Going into turn one, Andrews spun for another caution, he continued on. After the restart, Acuna took advantage of cool tires and made a charge on Marcelli going into turn 3. The two made contact and Marcelli spun into the infield as Acuna continued on with Walsh by his side. Acuna with the inside line took the lead back and held on for the victory over Walsh.
By Matthew J. Sullivan
An exciting Saturday night at Redwood Acres saw some old faces in familiar places as defending mini stock champion, Phil Wood, defending real stock champion, Shawn Craig and Acres racing veteran, Al Acuna each claimed main event victories.
The mini stock cars had a turnout of 10 cars total. In the trophy dash, Wood took the victory over Jason Chand who passed Jason Rhodes on the final corner of the final lap of the race. The heat race saw the car of driver Chad Grammer lead the field into turn one, however at the end of the first lap, Jason Rhodes took command of the field. The next lap, Wood took the lead. On lap 5, the cow car driven by, Dan Brown spun. The rest of the race was clean as Wood took the victory over Rhodes, Grammer and Chand.
The 25 lap mini stock main event had the 13 car of, Brian Murrell on the pole. On the start Grammer and Murrell made contact. Rhodes, trying to avoid the incident ended up spinning but all were able to continue on. The restart had Brown and Wood pacing the field. Off the start, Wood took the lead. On lap 3, the 19 truck of, Mat Wolfe had radiator problems and pulled off of the track and the 09 of Joe McDonald pulled into the pits. On lap seventeen, the Grammer spun resulting in a caution. After the restart, Wood pulled out to a large lead and into victory. Second was Jason Chand, third was Jason Rhodes and fourth was Brown.
The pure stocks had a large turnout of 21 cars. Defending champion, Shawn Craig paced the field with a 20.248 lap around the 3/8 mile paved oval. In the trophy dash, Rick Fox held off a hard charging Craig for the victory. In the first of two heat races, the 45 of, Curt Vance sat on the pole next to the 8 of Keith Conn. After a restart, Conn took the lead going into turn one. By lap three however, Mike Peters took the lead going into turn three. That same lap saw a multi car wreck. After a restart and two green laps, the 73 of Hymie Yellon spun for a caution flag. The rest of the race was tight as Peters took the victory over Steve Kimberling, Brad Fite and Daren Gallagher.
The second pure stock heat was exciting and the first five laps were tight however the fifth lap was a little too tight as Gary Adams and Don Hyman made contact resulting in a flat tire for Adams and no more racing action for Hyman for the rest of the evening. The rest of the race was full of excitement as Fox made it two for two with the heat race victory. He was followed by Craig who passed Aaron Byers for second off of the last turn on the final lap.
The 87 of Jimmy Thornberry had the pole for the 25 lap main event. On lap 4 the Curt Vance slowed to a stop in turns one and two resulting in a caution. After a restart, the side-by-side was intense and at times too intense. On lap 11, Lisa Uselton made contact with another driver and the result was Uselton in the grass; there was no caution however. By lap 12, Craig who had started 14 had moved his way to second and began an assault on first place Brad Fite. Lap 15 the 7 car of, Carl Bowling and Gary Adams collided resulting in the 7 car out of the race. Adams continued on. After the restart, Craig took advantage of it and took the lead. He went unchallenged for the rest of the event and took the victory. Second was Fite, third was Rick Fox and fourth was the Aaron Byers.
The sportsman cars had a turnout of 8 cars, however there is an expectation of more cars for the upcoming season. In the trophy dash, sportsman rookie, Scotty Turner won followed by David Henderson, veteran Pat Walsh and Ronnie O’Neill. The heat race was fast paced as Al Acuna led the field to the green. Early in the heat, defending champion, Shawn Andrews and O’Neill made contact resulting in a dinged up fender for Andrews. On lap 8, Andrews and Walsh made contact resulting in a spin for Andrews, there was no caution as Andrews continued on. Acuna took the victory over 2000 champion Angelo Marcelli, Walsh and Henderson.
During tire warm ups, rookie Jim Norris spun and pushed the nose a bit on his car. This gave the pole to Marcelli with Acuna at his side. Marcelli jumped to the lead off the start. On lap 2, O’Neill pulled into the pits and was done for the night. It was close racing up front for most of the race with the cars nose to tail within inches of each other. On lap 10, Norris pitted and was done and a lap later Henderson visited the pits as well. On lap 14, Scotty Turner got a little loose and Andrews took advantage and moved by. Turner got loose again but couldn’t save it and spun. The car was not damaged and he was able to continue on. After the restart, Andrews tried to make the outside work on Acuna who was running second. Going into turn one, Andrews spun for another caution, he continued on. After the restart, Acuna took advantage of cool tires and made a charge on Marcelli going into turn 3. The two made contact and Marcelli spun into the infield as Acuna continued on with Walsh by his side. Acuna with the inside line took the lead back and held on for the victory over Walsh.
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