Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion
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Valley Store All Returns As Late Model Lites Sponsor
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...Southern Oregon Speedway has three divisions of 4 Cylinder racing on the 3/10 mile clay oval. At the upper echelon is the Late Model Lites division. These days, the drivers are running on older Late Model chassis with 4 Cylinder motors that allow a little bit more than you'll find in the Mini Stocks or Hornets classes. This also makes the division one of the faster classes at the speedway and at times very entertaining.
For the third straight year, Lee Doty and Valley Store All Self Storage in Medford has returned as the title sponsor of the division. Doty played an intrical role in bringing this division back to the speedway after a two-season hiatus. In 2015, Doty led a group of drivers back to the track for a special race at the end of the season. When Mike McCann and KJE Enterprises stepped forward as the new track promoter, Doty and McCann struck a deal to bring the division back to the lineup.
Doty responded with an impressive season that resulted in the 2016 championship. That season was followed up by a year that did see him win a Main Event, but he also suffered some difficult luck that had him finishing out of the running. Last season, Doty was a Main Event winner and won three Trophy Dashes before finishing fifth in the standings. Unfortunately, Doty has decided to step back and play the role of car owner. He has picked one of the top Stock Car drivers of the 1980's, Ross Payant, to wheel his #7 car.
The Late Model Lites will run an eight race schedule, starting their season on May 11th. The other dates include, May 25th, June 29th, July 6th, July 13th, August 3rd, August 24th and September 7th.
Leading the charge this season will be reigning champion Charlie Eaton. Eaton has been a model of consistency with more Top 3 finishes in the Main Event since 2016 than any other driver in the field. After back-to-back Top 3 seasons, he rode the wave to the championship with a division-leading three Main Event wins last year. Charlie is looking forward to coming back and taking on the competition.
Though he was not the top contender in points to Eaton last season, division veteran Eric Aos may be the top contender. Aos had miserable luck to kick off last season, but he matched Eaton with three feature wins. This resulted in a solid third-place ranking ahead of son Dusty. Young Dusty Aos started his season pretty well, but he ended things with disastrous luck. However, he gave a glimpse of what he can do at the end of the 2017 season when he won his first Main Event.
Greg Arnold is no stranger to championship contention. He won the 2002 Truck championship at the speedway and followed that up the next year by ranking third in Late Model Lites points. That was his best ranking until last season when he finished second and was a Main Event winner. When things held together, Greg was in contention for more victories last season, and that should be the case again this year.
The driver who sits atop the All Time Main Event winner's list in this division is Terry Hadley. Word is that Hadley will be making a return this season. Hadley has ranked as high as second in division points three times. With him will be his wife Krista Hadley, and she has been Top 5 ranked on multiple occasions. She is also a past Main Event winner at the speedway. Because of a busy schedule, the Hadley team only competed one time last season.
Another driver rumored to be a part of this year's roster is Bob Wescott. The Wescott name may be familiar to fans of this division as Bob has won at just about every track in the state of Oregon and has a reputation of bringing the fastest car to the show. He won a Main Event at Southern Oregon Speedway two years ago and has won a couple of big races for this class at the track through the years.
Before the division took a two-year hiatus from the speedway, John Barger was the 2013 champion. Barger finished second in the standings back in 2016 and was a feature winner. He's been absent from the roster for the past couple of seasons, but he is rumored to be returning this year. He will certainly make things more exciting anytime he's at the speedway.
Another driver said to be a part of the roster this season will be Danny Prewitt. Prewitt had the worst luck of any driver in the field in 2017 after being a feature winner the year before. His car was destroyed by the end of the 2017 season, but he made two appearances in the former Bill Spencer car and finished third both times last year.
The Late Model Lites offer a nice attraction for the speedway with their unique looking bodies that are a throwback to the days of the POSSE Super Stock Tour with their sideboards and big tires. The Late Model Lites make good time around the speedway and will add to an already exciting program anytime they are in action. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
2019 Southern Oregon Speedway
Valley Stor-All Late Model Lites Schedule
April 13 - Playday
April 27 - Playday
May 11
May 25
June 29
July 6
July 13
August 3
August 24
September 7
2018 Southern Oregon Speedway
Valley Store All Late Model Lites
5 Charlie Eaton 273
39 Greg Arnold 216
66 Eric Aos 190
3 Dusty Aos 181
7 Lee Doty 132
43 Bob Burkett93
99 Danny Prewitt 63
99 Jim Cunningham 251
8 Terry Hadley 24
16 Krista Hadley 24
Past Late Model Lites Champions
2003 Brian Barns
2004 Brian Barns
2005 Reggie DeVore
2006 Joe Guider
2007 Jacob Cole
2008 Brian Johnsen
2009 Parker "Hollywood" Jones
2010 Brian Johnsen
2011 Joe Guider
2012 Jamie Guider Newberg
2013 John Barger
2016 Lee Doty
2017 Bob Burkett
2018 Charlie Eaton
All Time Late Model Lites Main Event Winners*
Terry Hadley 26
Brian Johnsen 22
Bryan Barns 12
Parker Jones 10
Steve Thompson 8
John Barger 7
Rick Rapp 7
Lee Doty 7
Joe Guider 5
A.J. Salyer 5
Tony Christopher 5
Reggie DeVore 5
Pat Akins 5
Jamie Newberg 5
Bob Westcott 5
Eric Aos 4
Preston Jones 3
Charlie Eaton 3
Skipper Klimcheck 2
Tyler Jensen 2
Dan Estremado 2
Chris Salyer 2
Randy Hansen 2
Greg Arnold 2
Danny Prewitt 1
Nick Camus 1
Tony Bartell 1
Krista Hadley 1
Belinda Duste 1
Jake Cole 1
Vicki Macormic 1
Bob Burkett 1
Dusty Aos 1
Patrick Lanigan 1
All Time Super Trucks Main Event Win List*
Lindsey Bryant 11
John Wayne Cahill 11
Patrick Lanigan 8
Harvey Foster 5
Roger Lee Jr. 5
Bryan Barns 5
Brian Merriman 4
Greg Arnold 3
Travis Holt 3
Shawn Gillespie 2
Terry Townsend 1
Buck Hornbaker 1
JOAT Labs Returns As Hornets Sponsor
At Southern Oregon Speedway
White City, Oregon...Every track needs an entry-level division. This is the gateway division for new drivers to get into the wonderful world of auto racing. For Southern Oregon Speedway, this is the Hornets division. These are front wheel drive, stock 4 Cylinder cars. There have been five championship seasons so far for the class with last season being the strongest year yet.
For this year, the Hornets will once again be sponsored by JOAT Labs. JOAT Labs has built several of the cages for the cars in this division and has played an important part in helping the class grow. The division will offer up an 11 race championship season. The opener is set for May 4th, and other dates include May 11th, May 18th, June 15th, June 29th, July 6th, July 13th, August 10th, August 17th August 24th and September 7th.
Leading the charge this year is second-year competitor Bree Tritchler. Tritchler surprised everybody last year by picking up five second places and a win to notch not only top rookie honors but the championship as well. The hottest driver in the field last year may have been Brandyn Wonsyld, who also had five second place finishes and four wins to go along with it. Wonsyld missed a pair of races last season or likely would have won the championship. At press time, we haven't heard if Wonsyld will be competing in this division for another season.
This is because Wonsyld's teammate, second-generation competitive Dylan Irving, will be running a Mini Stock this year. Another Top 10 Hornets competitor, Ashtin Hedges, is also running full time in the Mini Stocks this season. This was exactly the intent of this division when it was added to the roster. Michael Johnson and Joby Shields are other notable drivers who have gotten their starts in racing at Southern Oregon Speedway in this division in the past.
One of the biggest boosters of the Hornets division since it really got some momentum going is 2016 champion Tim Hedges. It seems as if the road to the championship goes through Hedges as he finished third the next year and second last season and was a Main Event winner both years. Hedges intends to field multiple cars again, including one that will be driven by his wife Jenna Hedges. Jenna ranked second as the top rookie in the points back in 2017.
Another family that has been very supportive of Hornets racing since 2016 is the Nelson family. Derrel Nelson Jr ranked second in points in 2016 and was top five a year later. Bad luck last season saw him run a limited schedule. Son Zach Nelson ran several races, but the Top 10 competitor had his share of bad luck as well. Both should be in the field some this year, and we may also see Ryan Nelson make his return behind the wheel.
Second-year competitors Chris Boynton and Dylan Sauer are both anticipated for the coming season. Boynton was fourth in points last year and a two-time feature winner. Sauer started mid-season but came on strong with a pair of Top 3 finishes to move him into the Top 10 in the standings. He will be one of the drivers to watch in the race to get a feature win. Another driver to watch is newcomer Jenia Silva in the former Jenna Hedges car. Also not to be forgotten are the Ashland High School cars that were driven by John Ferreira and Ethan Doty last season.
There are other drivers to watch for in the coming season, and the status of 2017 champion Jason Stoutenburgh is unknown at press time. Word it is that more cars are being built as the class is expected to continue to grow. The affordability and a limited rules package makes this an exciting show to watch anytime the Hornets are there. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
2019 Southern Oregon Speedway
JOAT Labs Hornets Schedule
April 13 - Playday
April 27 - Playday
May 4
May 11
May 18
June 15
June 29
July 6
July 13
August 10
August 17
August 24
September 7
2018 Southern Oregon Speedway
JOAT Labs Hornets
17 Bree Tritchler 352
14t Tim Hedges 330
7 Brandyn Wonsyld 329
28 Chris Boynton 298
11 Dylan Irving 295
27j Jenna Hedges 231
7s Dylan Sauer 170
54d Ashtin Hedges 163
26 Zach Nelson 150
007 Jason Stoutenburgh 139
Hornet Champions
2014 Robert Jones
2015 Drew Fielder
2016 Tim Hedges
2017 Jason Stoutenburgh
2018 Bree Tritchler
Past Hornet Main Event Winners
Robbie Jones 8
Joby Shields 5
Jason Stoutenburgh 5
Brandyn Wonsyld 4
Drew Fielder 3
Dale Tarp 3
Tim Hedges 3
Derrel Nelson Jr. 2
Chris Boynton 2
Ashtin Hedges 2
Dylan Irving 1
Bree Tritchler 1
Tanton Swaim 1
Lon Fox 1
Brian Dickens 1
Jason Peeble 1
David Coggins 1
