Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion
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Extreme Sprint Cars Come To Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...On the heels of last week's IMCA Modified excitement at Southern Oregon Speedway, the third round of the Extreme Sprint Car Triple Crown Series comes to town this Saturday night. Also joining the program will be the Sport Modifieds, SODCA Dwarf Cars, Mini Stocks and the Hornets.
At a couple of other tracks in Oregon, the Extreme Sprint Car division has taken hold. The idea behind this Winged Sprint Car class is to make the division more affordable to racers on a budget. There's another interesting phenomenon taking taking place. In the Medford Area, there are several racers putting race cars together for this class. Recently, Top 5 Mini Stock point runner Merissa Henson got a car. Merissa has raced Outlaw Karts for several years. There are a couple of other Outlaw Kart teams putting cars together for next season as well.
Several teams from the Medford area have expressed an interest in starting the Extreme Sprint Car division at the track, and that includes David Hibbard. Hibbard has won the Extreme Sprint Car Championship at Cottage Grove Speedway, and he was on his way to doing so again this season when he turned the wheel of his car over to his young son Bailey, who was without a ride after blowing his motor the week before.
Establishing this class in Medford is the more important goal to the older Hibbard. "I think it's needed here, " Hibbard explained. "There are a lot of drivers who want to go Sprint Car racing, but they can't afford to build a competitive car. It's gotten pretty expensive. The motor rules in this class are a little more reasonable. It's allowed us to field a second car."
Earlier this season, David made an appearance in a Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car race and made a surprise pass on Jake Wheeler late for an exciting win. The realty is, he wants to get back to racing in front of his home crowd again. Because he wants to see the Extreme Sprint Car class get dates on the schedule in 2017, Hibbard put together an end of the season three race series.
The Cottage Grove Speedway season came to a close two weeks ago, and it doubled as the Triple Crown Series opener Ricky Ashley won that race ahead of D. Hibbard and Kinzer Cox. Coos Bay Speedway hosted Round #2 last week, and Hibbard won a photo finish with Cox for the thrilling victory. The race this week is for all the marbles. Thanks to some generous sponsorship, the series has a $1,000 championship. Hibbard leads Cox by 15 points with another past Cottage Grove champion, Raquel Ivie, third in the standings.
Not only is David hoping this race will open the door for the division to race more often at Southern Oregon Speedway, he is also hoping this mini series will become an annual tradition. "I think that there is enough interest in what we're doing here that this class can be successful at this track, " Hibbard predicted. "The racing is close and competitive. I think the fans see that every time we're on the track. Most of the drivers have a real shot at winning on any given night, and that can happen here too."
Joining David and his son Bailey Hibbard for this race will be some of the top drivers in the movement, including two time reigning champion Patrick Dills and Kinzer Cox. Another Extreme Sprint Car champion, Raquel Ivie will be coming. Two of the young guns of the division, Camden Robustelli and Jeffrey Hudson, are also among those expected for this race. Robustelli won a race at Cottage Grove this year, and Hudson is currently second in the Pennzoil Winged Sprint Car point race in his rookie season. Cooper Desbiens, Don Waddell and newcomer Steve Smith are others anticipated for this race.
The Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association has been very busy this year racing all over Oregon and even into parts of Washington and California. At this point in the season, the two stars in the championship battle have been Brock Peters and Kalvin Morton. Unofficially, Peters leads as he has won four races at Southern Oregon Speedway. Morton has three wins in Yreka and picked up another win at Coos Bay Speedway recently.
Fans are generally treated to some close action on the race track with Morton, B. Peters, two time champion Josh King, Chad Cardoza, Ryan Smith and young Cody Peters among the drivers doing battle. Another driver who makes things exciting is double division racer Camden Robustelli, who is currently one of the Top 3 drivers in the standings this year after finishing second in points last year. Robustelli won last Sunday's race and will be out to make it two in a row.
The Sport Modified division is running what will be considered a non point race with IMCA rules. Due to the IMCA rules restricting any tracks from running a point race while the IMCA has their Boone, Iowa Nationals event this weekend, a point race was not possible. Also, two of the top stars of the division, Jorddon Braaten and new point leader Mike Medel, are at the big race. Braaten is making his first start there while Medel volunteered to be part of his pit crew. These two drivers are close competitors on the track and good friends off the track.
Though there are no points on the line, there is still the bragging rights of winning the race.. Drivers we could be seeing this week include impressive rookie David Mable, A.J. Parker, Tony Bartell, Willie McFall, Mike Johnson, Jon Rouden and Rich McCoy.
Points are on the line in the Mini Stock division, and three time winner Bob Burkett can clinch his first career championship with a good finish this week. Bob has finished second four times in the point battle through the years, and he has won many races during that time. Likewise, 2014 champion Gary Anderson can lock up second in points with a good finish. Anderson was on fire last time as he swept the heat race, Trophy Dash and his second Main Event of the year.
Relieved to be out of the championship battle after winning the Yreka title last year, David Steele is nonetheless climbing rapidly in points after a late start. With four feature wins, at times Steele seems unbeatable. He has a shot at third, which is currently held by Andrew Hall by just two points over Merissa Henson. Steele is just nine points out of third. There is a whole field of hungry racers vying to become the first driver not named Burkett, Anderson or Steele to win a Main Event at Southern Oregon Speedway this year. Last year, Anderson, Burkett and David Marble were the only winners at the track.
It's still a work in progress in the Hornets division, but the numbers show the class is having its best average in its three year existence. The racing has been close between the drivers who have shown up. Joby Shields and Derrel Nelson Jr. each have two wins, and Nelson leads a close point battle with Tim Hedges and John Hoult. All four of these competitors are anticipated this week along with Heather Menzel newcomer Jordan Hull.. The Hornets are the economical entry point into racing at Southern Oregon Speedway as they can cost less than $1,000 to go racing.
It will be an exciting night of racing at Southern Oregon Speedway with Sprint Cars in action. Gates open at 5 p.m. with the first race starting at 7 p.m. Adult tickets are $12 with Juniors and Seniors $6. Children 5 and under are free. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Point Standings
Extreme Sprint Car Triple Crown!
David Hibbard 292
Kinser Cox 277
Raquel Ive 254
Copper Desbiens 238
Patrick Dills 233
Eric Bowers 220
Rickey Ashley 150
Tyler Thompson 130
Dave May 130
John Black 125
IMCA Sport Mod
Mike Medel 336
David Marble 322
Jorddon Braaten 304
A.J. Parker 278
Jimmy Lipke 250
Willie McFall 249
Tony Bartell 206
Bob Nelsen 204
Rich McCoy 181
Dwayne Melvin 177
Mini Stock
Bob Burkett 317
Gary Anderson 269
Andrew Hall 219
Merissa Henson 217
David Steele 210
Kristopher Mix 188
Eric Hanson 147
Ethan Killingsworth 139
Dillen Lausen 131
Mike Cloud 124
Hornets
Derrel Nelson Jr. 134
Tim Hedges 131
John Hoult 123
Joby Shields 103
Heather Menzel 76
