Curtice, Fuller Big Winners On Fair Night

By Matthew J. Sullivan

It was a special night for Redwood Acres Raceway outlaw kart drivers this past Friday night as the speedway hosted its first ever outlaw kart races during the Redwood Acres Fair. Drivers in the four divisions put on an exciting show for the fans in attendance, many of whom were witnessing their first outlaw kart races ever.

Qualifying in the beginner box stocks was paced by Taylor Fuller with a 10.409. T.J. Sorrels was the winner of the dash while the heat was won by Fuller. In the 20-lap main, Fuller got the jump into the lead and was gone from there. The best battle on the track was for second place between Drew Barry and Sorrels with Barry eventually gaining the upper hand in the latter stages of the race. At the checkered, it was Fuller winning by nearly a second over Barry and Sorrels. Jacob Boldway crossed the line fourth while Kai McCrady-Hirsch rounded out the top five.

Speedway karts returned to the Acres for the night with Ed Gurbb setting the fast time in qualifying with a 9.991. Nick Davis was the winner of the trophy dash and heat races. The 15-lap main event was dominated in the opening half by Larry Fuller. However on lap nine, Gurbb took the lead. Gurbb was able to pull out to a massive lead and was the winner at the checkered flag by over 3 seconds. Larry Fuller placed second followed by Davis and Lori Fuller.

The 250 and 500 karts were combined for another night with Daniel Whitley setting fast time at a 8.511. Redding’s Ken Mahoney won the dash while Sean Fuller took the heat race. Fuller led the opening six laps in the 30-lap main. Brad Curtice took over on lap seven and looked to be dialed in on the night. Nobody was able to mount a serious attack on Curtice even with a few restarts. At the checkered flag it was Curtice taking the win followed by Kyle Whitley, Mahoney, Anissa Curtice and Steve Rambo.

Lower Lake native, Dryver Dothage was fast time in the box stock class with a 9.814. Natalie Richard won the trophy dash while the heat races were taken by Brianna Fuller and Dothage. The first half of the 20-lap main featured a fantastic duel between Richard and Dothage for the race lead. Unfortunately on lap 15, the two collided with Dothage suffering irreparable damage to his kart. The restart saw the renewal of the rivalry between Richard and Fuller. With five laps remaining, Fuller was able to sneak by Richard for the lead. From there on out it was Fuller taking the checkered flag over Richard, Maleesa Miles, Derek Kessler, Jr. and Quintin Ikeya.

Outlaw kart racing at the Acres takes a break for a few weeks before returning Saturday July 16th. After that event, there will only be two more chances to see the karts in action. Saturday July 30th is the second to last event for the karts while Saturday August 27th is the final event of the year. For more information on the outlaw karts at Redwood Acres Raceway, please visit the track’s official website www.racingtheacres.com

Outlaw karts debut at the Acres

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The highly anticipated debut of the outlaw karts at Redwood Acres Raceway took place this past Saturday night. A great crowd was on hand to watch the group of young drivers, most between the ages of five and nine years old. The event was staged on a 1/10-mile dirt oval in the infield of the 3/8th-mile paved oval which fans normally see racing action.

Due to this being the inaugural season of karting action at the Acres and since all races this year are non-point events, concessions were made in the rules to allow for better competition on the track. The 250 and 500/open karts were combined for the night which featured racing between the father/daughter pairing of Brad Curtice and Anissa Curtice. Brad set fast time with a 9.247 lap time while Anissa qualified at 9.623. When it came to race time, Anissa dominated winning the trophy dash, heat race and feature over her father.

T.J. Sorrels of Ukiah set quick time for the beginner box stocks with a 10.583 lap in qualifying. Taylor Fuller of Medford was the heat race winner over Jacob Boldway of Eureka, Sorrels, Adrian Richard of Myrtle Creek and Kai Hirsch of Garberville. Fuller quickly maneuvered his way to the lead of the 20-lap feature while Hirsch had issues on lap two which forced him out of the race. Fuller was absolutely dominant, leading every single lap of the race en route to winning by a full lap over second place Sorrels. Boldway placed third over Richard and Hirsch.

Brionna Fuller was the fastest qualifier for the box stocks setting a time of 10.312 seconds. Natalie Richard took the victory in the trophy dash. Maleesa Miles won heat race one followed by Quentin Ikeya Bailey Jackson, Timmy Walters and Derek Kessler, Jr. Richard won heat two over Fuller, Jeremiah Boldway and Jackson O’Ferrell. The 25-lap main featured a scary accident on lap six when, Timmy Walters got out of control and hit the front straightaway wall. Thankfully Walters was unharmed.

O’Ferrell got to the lead on lap one and ran away from the field. He looked to have the race well in hand until two laps remaining when he lost control in turn four. Fuller moved to the lead and was able to withstand a late charge from Richard to take the win. O’Ferrell finished third while Boldway and Jackson rounded out the top five.

Redwood Acres Raceway would like to thank Scott Hammond State Farm for sponsoring the evening’s races. Also, a special thank you to Kenny Demello Racing, Wendt Construction and Michael Buell for their help in getting the races going. The outlaw karts return to the Acres on June 18th. Grandstands open at 5:00 PM while racing begins at 6:30 PM. For more information on everything going on at Redwood Acres Raceway, please visit the track’s official website, www.racingtheacres.com.