Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion
The Dwarf Car Nationals Return
To Southern Oregon Speedway This Weekend
White
City, Oregon...The start of August signals the return of the Western
States Dwarf Car Association Nationals at Southern Oregon Speedway. The
event is hosted annually by the locally-based Southern Oregon Dwarf Car
Association. It brings some of the best drivers from throughout the West
Coast to one place to enjoy some great competition.
It
was over 20 years ago when then NorCal Dwarf Car Association President
Frank Munroe saw the potential for big Dwarf Car events. He chose
Marysville Raceway in California as the first track, and within a couple
of years, there were over 100 Dwarf Cars competing. As the years went
on, new tracks were added to the series, and eventually Southern Oregon
Speedway got one of these dates.
Within the last 10
years, the format was changed just a bit to make things more competitive
within the different groups. The Pro Division was created, and it
pitted the very best drivers from the various associations against each
other. Generally speaking, this is the category that gets the most
entries at every race.
The Veterans Division is for the
drivers who are a bit older. Many of these drivers would do well in the
Pro class, but they run with the veterans and have some very good races
as well.
Then, you have the Sportsman Division. Some
drivers might be a little intimidated going to a big event like the
Nationals when they just get started driving a Dwarf Car. This category
was created for the drivers with just a few years of experience.
The
format puts the emphasis on Saturday night while making Friday
important as well. Drivers will run their heat races on Friday as well
as a Preliminary Feature. If car count dictates, there will also be B
Main events. The Top 10 finishers in the Preliminary Feature then earn
spots in Saturday's Fast Dash to determine the front rows of the Main
Event. That number can be adjusted from 10 cars depending on car count.
On Saturday, in addition to the Fast Dash, the remaining drivers run heat races and B Mains before running the Main Event.
Last
season saw about 70 competitors come in from throughout Oregon,
California and Nevada. Through the years, some very good drivers from
the Medford area have tried to win a Nationals race. Last year, an
unlikely winner stepped forward to claim the prize. Just a year earlier,
Cody Peters was winning a Preliminary Sportsman Main Event. Last year,
he made a last turn pass on NorCal Champion Danny Wagner to steal the
victory. It was his first start in the Pro Division. Kevin Bender won a
very competitive Veteran's Main Event that night as well.
From
Southern Oregon, stars such as Cody Peters and his two-time champion
father Brock Peters, Camden Robustelli, Kalvin Morton, Chad Cardoza,
Fred Hay, Ryan Smith and two-time champion Josh King will be on hand.
Randy Slater will be competing as well, but the club president will also
find himself organizing the after race banquet and keeping things going
behind the scenes.
From outside of the state, such
noteworthy competitors as Danny Wagner, Ryan Winter, Shawn Jones, Scott
Dahlgren, Buddy Olschowka, Kevin Bender and Mike Reeder will be coming
from the NorCal group. South Bay will be represented by such champions
as Gene Punky Pires, Mark Biscardi and reigning SBDCA champion Cameron
Diatte. Other noteworthy drivers from outside the state, such as
champions Matt Sargent and John Isabella, are anticipated. There will
also be stars coming in from the north, such as James Brinster, Ryan
Martinez and Jake Van Ortwick.
Getting back to the
local Southern Oregon group, the car count has grown this season in part
due to the new drivers on the roster. This means the Sportsman division
may see such locals as Joe Sanders, Andrew Hall and young up and comers
Ashleigh Strain and Michael Johnson out there going for their first
wins. Some of the best Southern Oregon racers, such as Brock Peters,
Camden Robustelli and Kaycee Sheeler, got their first wins in the
Sportsman Division.
On Friday night, the Dwarf Cars
will be joined in support by the JOAT Labs Hornets. The Hornets are the
entry-level class at Southern Oregon Speedway, and they have been having
a wide-open battle all season long. 2016 champion Tim Hedges gained the
point lead from his two time Main Event winning son Ashtin Hedges by
winning the most recent Main Event. With three second place finishes in a
row, Bree Tritchler is on the verge of victory, and other drivers to
watch this week include Jason Stoutenburgh, Dylan Irving, Chris Boynton
and Zach Nelson.
The Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars
will be there on Saturday night, and David Hibbard is on fire this year.
He has won all but one of the Main Events held so far as he continues
to stretch his point lead. Jeffrey Hudson and rookie Blaine Cory are on
the verge of victory and providing Hibbard with his closest competition
in the standings so far. David's son Bailey Hibbard is the only other
driver to win a Main Event, but racers such as Charlie Thompson, Enrique
Jaime and Aaron Miller will be out there giving it their best.
Rounding
out Saturday's program will be the Valley Store All Late Model Lite.
With three feature wins so far, Charlie Eaton is the point leader. He's
getting pressure from one time winner Greg Arnold in the championship
battle. However, 2016 champion Lee Doty and reigning champion Bob
Burkett are shaking things up with second place finishes in recent
weeks. The cars are fast and the competition is close.
Gates
open at 5 p.m. on both nights with the first race scheduled to start at
7 p.m. General Admission for Friday is $12 with Seniors, Veterans and
Juniors (7 to 12) $6. Children 6 and under are free. On Saturday,
General Admission is $15 with Seniors, Veterans and Juniors (7 to 12)
$10. Children 6 and under are free. For further information, go to
www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Dwarf Car Nationals Finale Top 5’s Since 2009
Pro First Second Third Fourth Fifth
2009 Brian Quilty Kevin Bender Ryan Winter Henry Corbin III Patrick Weger
2010 Monte Morris Ryan Winter Patrick Weger Gene Pires Jr. Chance Damron
2011 Ronnie Williams Ryan Diatte Michael Grenert Ryan Winter Henry Corbin III
2012 Shawn Jones Cameron Diatte Ronnie Williams C.J. Putnam Ryan Diatte
2013 Ryan Winter Josh King Gene Pires Jr. Michael Grenert Shawn Jones
2014 Shawn Jones C.J. Putnam Ronnie Williams Matt Sargent Ryan Diatte
2015 Shawn Jones Josh King Joe Frock Matt Sargent Ronnie Williams
2016 Shawn Jones Josh King Gene Pires Danny Wagner John Isabella
2017 Cody Peters Danny Wagner Chad Matthias Brock Peters John Isabella
Vet. First Second Third Fourth Fifth
2009 Kelly Gutches Terry Kendrick Stanley Meeks Ted Stinson Chuck Conover
2010 Kelly Gutches Dan Van Acker Mike Miller Scott Dahlgren Fred Hay
2011 Kelly Gutches Fred Hay Neil Stinson Henry Corbin III Leroy Kay
2012 Gilbert Toste Kevin Bender Kelly Gutches Jerry Hauck Don Mortensen
2013 Kevin Bender Fred Hay Dan Van Acker Kelly Gutches Mike Miller
2014 Kelly Gutches Fred Hay Kevin Bender Angel Figueroa Buddy Olschowka
2015 Angel Figueroa Scott Dahlgren Gary Tow Sr. Buddy Olschowka Jerry Hauck
2016 Tim Fitzpatrick Kevin Miraglio Scott Dahlgren Mark Biscardi Kevin Bender
2017 Kevin Bender Jack Haverty Kevin Miraglio Scott Dahlgren Mark Biscardi
Sports. First Second Third Fourth Fifth
2009 R.J. McGahuey Chris Thresher Dean Pires Glen Perry Jason Bartholomew
2010 Henry Corbin II John Chrisman Cecilia Dille Igor Gradziuk Mason Lewman
2011 Cecilia Dille Brock Peters Henry Corbin II John Chrisman Alicia Youngblood
2012 Brock Peters Dylan Chrisman Michael Quilty Hannah Mayhew Jeff Fitch
2013 Kaycee Sheeler Tom Fitch Randy Slater Dylan Chrisman Dan Geil
2014 Camden Robustelli Kalvin Morton Jesse Lorenz Adam Teves Sam Bender
2015 Joey Dale Jesse Lorenz Rob Gergel Chris Kenner Cody Peters
2016 Ben Wiesz Cody Peters Kyle Jones Ken Radabaugh Tim Reeder
2017 Josh Wiesz Teagon Fisher Clayton Parsons Chris Wright Travis Gergel
Pit Stops
Southern
Oregon Speedway ended July with a five division offering for the fans.
With the IMCA Modifieds having some big events elsewhere, car count took
a little bit of a hit, but 10 racers still came out there to do battle.
One of the drivers missing in action was the bounty hunter of the
group, Nick Trenchard. Nick has won some big races through the years and
had his eyes on a bigger prize out of town.
In
Trenchard's absence, two-time champion Albert Gill was poised to take
over the point lead. In the IMCA point structure, Gill's heat race and
Trophy Dash wins didn't matter. There has been talk about possibly going
to the track's regular point format for the IMCA Modifieds when it
comes to who is honored at the banquet in 2019, but for now, the track
honors the IMCA point format. Gill needed to get his points in the Main
Event like everybody else.
When he spun on lap 24, Gill
was going to drop a couple of spots in the finish. Zach Fettinger had
already taken the white flag, but instead of a checkered flag the next
time by, he got a yellow flag. This set up a wild finish that left
Jantzen Knips coming out on the bad end of the deal. Gill managed to get
himself a third place finish and stepped into the point lead as a
result.
It's been since 2015 since we've had a triple
Main Event winner for the IMCA Modifieds. Zach Fettinger has been on
fire this year. By all rights, he should be the point leader, but the
team elected not to come to the Wild West Speedweek race. Nonetheless,
Fettinger has moved all the way to second in the standings with his
third Main Event win. He's having a huge breakout season. Like Gill, he
was also a heat race winner. Though Fettinger missed a race, he could
still end up winning the championship.
The pressure
will be on during the R Charles Snyder Salute weekend. With all of the
talent coming in from out of town, the locals will have a challenge just
making it into the Main Event. This could be what shakes things up at
the end, and even Trenchard is in this battle. But the way Fettinger is
looking right now, you have to wonder how many more Main Events he might
win before the season ends.
Another driver looking
good out there all race long was "Cowboy" Duane Orsburn. He had a race
earlier this year that saw him run second for several laps and spin from
third on the last lap. This time, the two-time Street Stock champion
wasn't going to let a good finish get away. He kept it smooth and fast
and was rewarded with a strong second place finish. It appears as if
Orsburn has his car dialed in, and his first Main Event win since 2016
is certainly not out of the question.
After the races,
Jantzen Knips was understandably a little bit upset with the outcome and
the fact that there was a one lap shootout to the checkered flag at
all. He was on his way to a third place finish when he got turned around
in the second turn. Though he managed a fourth place feature finish to
stay within seven points of Fettinger for second in the standings,
Jantzen had quite a bit of work to do on his car to get it ready for the
next race.
David Satterfield quietly continues to
enjoy a good season. Though he's raced Pro Stocks in the past, David is a
rookie in the IMCA Modifieds. He's going out there and making his laps
and improving with each race. With his sixth place finish last time out
behind James Welshonse, Satterfield is still third in the standings, two
ahead of Trenchard and two behind Fettinger.
The IMCA
Sport Modifieds continue what has been a strong season for the group.
The roster now reaches into the twenties, and even if there are certain
drivers missing on any given week, there are enough competitors to keep
the car count in the teens most of the time. Fourteen racers showed up
on Saturday, and this included a surprise visitor from California named
Tyler Rodgers. Rodgers races at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico and
Marysville Raceway.
2016 Yreka champion Jimmy Lipke
announced his plans to come out and try for another win. Even when his
home track made an announcement a couple days later that their race was
on, Jimmy still wanted to come to Southern Oregon Speedway. The fact is,
his car has been running strong this year, as his recent win down in
Chico can attest. He's also picked up a pair of victories in Yreka, and
he came within a few inches of winning the previous Southern Oregon
Speedway race. Jimmy led most of the way, only to be surprised on the
last lap by Branden Wilson.
On Saturday night, Lipke
raced into the lead. However, that lead was short-lived. After winning
his heat race in dominant fashion, Rodgers charged past Lipke for the
lead and began to pull away. Even the few yellow flags the race had were
not enough to slow Rodgers down. In his very first trip to Medford,
Rodgers left with the winner's paycheck and the trophy. Lipke,
meanwhile, settled for second. But, the car is running well and he
didn't have a bunch of damage to repair.
Two-time
reigning champion Mike Medel can attest to having to repair damage. He's
been racing everywhere this year, and his car has been put through its
paces. After a recent visit to Willamette, Medel had a broken frame to
deal with. His return to Southern Oregon Speedway left him less than
happy. However, Mike still wants to support his home track and came back
for the most recent race. He gave it a good run at Lipke, but third was
all he had for the night. Still, he drove it up on the trailer and will
bring it back to go for another win.
Perhaps Branden
Wilson was creeping along under the radar after the first few races, but
people know who he is now. After winning the previous race, Wilson
brought it home to a respectable fourth place finish. The finish should
move him into second in the standings, but only three points separate
he, Willie McFall, Tony Duste and Tony Bartell in what has been a really
good battle. He'll still have to keep up with David Marble, who is
sitting about 32 points ahead of him in the lead.
Marble
has done the point racing thing before. With some 20 Mini Stock Main
Event wins to his credit as well as the 2015 championship, he knows what
it takes. David won top rookie honors in 2016, but this year he had a
bigger plan. He wants the Sport Modified championship. He came into the
season with much confidence, and an impressive feature victory at the
opener did nothing to change that. Marble knows that in a point battle,
you need to finish. His goal is to keep getting Top 5 finishes. On
Saturday night, he got it to the checkered flag in fifth. With Wilson
gathering some momentum, David knows he needs to keep this up.
The
Tony's continue to do well. Bartell has been around the speedway for a
while and is a past Late Model Lites Main Event winner. However, he's
enjoying one of his best seasons yet as a Top 5 competitor. It was a
solid point night for him in eighth, but Duste did just a little bit
better in sixth. Duste is the third generation of his family to go
racing, and though he ran a little bit last season, he is still pretty
much a rookie in the Sport Modifieds.
We only saw Toby
Judd once or twice in 2016 in his Sport Modified. He was excited to get
back out there and go racing again at the most recent event. Though he
had to come from the back in all of his races, Toby still got it to the
checkered flag in seventh. Not a bad effort for the 2012 Mini Stock
champion. Another driver looking good with his second straight Top 10
finish was rookie Michael Rule. Rule got it to the checkered flag in
ninth. Michael had no prior racing experience before getting into Sport
Modifieds, and he hasn't really looked too bad so far.
Lee
Doty has been the leader of the effort to reestablish a presence for
the Valley Store All Late Model Lites at Southern Oregon Speedway. Doty
was the one who pushed for the division to be added to the roster in
2016, and he ended up having a rather dominant performance that season
in winning the championship. Fast forward to 2017, and the year was
anything but good for Lee. Though he won the season opener and finished
second in the next race, he had a broken axle in mud laps one week and
he flipped his car while leading a heat race on another occasion. He
didn't run the remaining races of the season after that.
But
Doty continues to do what he can to get cars to the track. At the
previous race, he mentioned that the #99 car was being retired as Dusty
Aos would return to his #3 car. However, Danny Prewitt came back to
drive the #99 car at the recent race. Doty has the rather fast #40 car
that was driven to victories by Randy Hansen and Bob Westcott last
season. Everything is for sale, including Lee's #7 car, if there is
anybody looking to get into Late Model Lites.
Doty
kicked off the night with a Trophy Dash win and then outran Bob Burkett
to win the heat race. The two champions were going to share the front
row of the Main Event, but Burkett revealed that he had a hole in his
radiator. He was just going to make a few laps and head to the pits.
Doty was planning to make it more than a few laps. He was going for the
clean sweep. What he didn't count on was Charlie Eaton making the move
and getting the victory.
In the prior two seasons of
this division's revival, Eaton has had a fast car. He has racked up
numerous Top 3 finishes, but the wins have always been elusive. This
year, everything is coming together, and his beautiful blue #5 car has
been seen more often in the winner's circle. Eaton made the pass on Doty
on lap six and went from there to his third win of the season. This
enabled him to add more points to his lead over Greg Arnold in a still
close championship battle.
Arnold looked strong as the
season got started, and he won a Main Event early. However, his luck has
gone the other way in the most recent races. On Saturday night, he was
battling Prewitt for third, but Prewitt came out ahead. Prewitt was just
happy to be making Main Event laps at all. His own car, which has been
junked, kept having problems last year that prevented him from even
starting. He had fun taking the wheel of the #99 car and getting a good
finish on the podium.
The Old Time Racers of Oregon
were back for their fourth Hardtop race at Southern Oregon Speedway.
This time, there were a couple of drivers missing in action as father
Bill Trotter and son Dusty had prior engagements. However, Bill still
sent his truck to the track with Jay Smith again behind the wheel. Car
count was going to be light, but PRA Hardtop competitors Greg Hickman
and Jamie Britton made the visit. Hickman won the 2016 championship in
Roseburg. OTRO does not race for points, just trophies and the fun of
it.
Dusty Trotter's old car was looking good with
Justin Krossman behind the wheel. Krossman won both the Trophy Dash and
heat race. The Main Event looked like it would go to Justin as well. He
led for 13 laps as Mark Minter worked his way to the front. Krossman got
his start In racing when Minter got him involved in the sport. The two
are longtime friends. They ran a side-by-side lap at the white flag, but
Minter moved the Harold Minter #33 car into the lead on the final lap
to get the victory. It was his second straight win and makes him the
only driver in the group to win a Main Event in Medford in all of the
last three seasons.
Krossman still got it to the finish
line in second, and that's indication that a feature win may be just
around the corner. Meanwhile, Britton and Hickman were having a
challenging time negotiating the track. The two drivers battled for
third. Britton actually had a feature win earlier this season and was a
Main Event winner with OTRO last year as well. However, Turn 2 was his
nemesis as he had multiple spins. Hickman ended up getting third with
Britton settling for fourth.
People might need to start
taking Cody Peters a little more serious this year. His rise over the
past couple of years in the Southern Oregon Dwarf Car group has been
amazing. He won a Sportsman Preliminary Main Event at the Nationals in
2016, but then he won the Pro Division Main Event last year. This makes
him the only driver In the area to win the big one. Cody was the point
leader going into the most recent race. However, It was his father Brock
Peters picking up the win in their heat race. Cody came back to win the
A Dash.
It was another heat race that was giving the
fans a preview of the Main Event. Chad Cardoza, who has come so close to
winning some races in the past couple of years, was leading the heat
race with Mason Lewman in close pursuit. Lewman made a slide job attempt
in the final turn, and had Cardoza not backed off, it could have gotten
ugly. Lewman won the heat race, but Cardoza was getting ready to have
the last laugh.
Cardoza jumped into the lead at the
start, but Lewman was soon in very close pursuit and looking high and
low for a way by. As the race neared the midway point, Mason made his
move. He actually led a pair of laps before Cardoza went low In the
third turn on lap 13. Lewman had problems and pitted. Cardoza had his
hands full with two-time reigning champion Brock Peters knocking on the
door, but there was no way he was letting this one get away.
The
Main Event winners list at Southern Oregon Speedway continues to grow.
To date, victories have been earned by Kalvin Morton twice, Guy Tow,
Brock Peters, Cody Peters and now Cardoza. Another driver on the
winner's list this year is two-time champion Josh King. He picked up a
win in the Jerry Houck car earlier this year and found himself second
when Lewman pitted. The car is getting a little bit quicker, as King's B
Dash win earlier in the evening would attest, but he was passed late by
both Brock Peters and Camden Robustelli and settled for fourth. Though
Robustelli hasn't won at Southern Oregon Speedway this year, he has a
pair of wins in Yreka.
Bringing it back to Cody Peters,
he ended up fifth at the finish line in a good race with Morton. Both
of these young guns are making a serious challenge for the championship
this year. He may not be one of the young guns in the field, but Fast
Freddie Hay is giving a good accounting of himself this year. Fred was
coming off of back-to-back Top 3 finishes. Though this race didn't go as
well, he managed an eighth place finish behind Steve Walker. Hay may be
somebody to watch in the Veterans Division at this year's Nationals.
The
Dwarf Cars continue to be a highlight at the speedway in the car count
department. They again produced a 20 car field last week. With these
kind of numbers, it could signal an increase in car count in this year's
Nationals event. Another thing to keep an eye on is the Sportsman
Division for the Nationals. There are several new and young drivers on
the roster this year, and it just may be that a driver like Ashleigh
Strain, Michael Johnson, Andrew Hall or Joe Sanders could win the
Sportsman race. It would certainly be a prime opportunity for a little
bit of glory for these up-and-comers.
Outlaw Kart Pit Stops
Speaking of
up-and-coming racers, Little Southern Oregon Speedway is bringing the
next generation of superstars into the sport. The Beginners Box Stock
division has grown by leaps and bounds this year, and a couple of those
drivers have been setting a rapid pace around the track. Reigning
champion Malachi Johnson was riding a three-race winning streak. There
had been some talk about him moving up to the Box Stock division, and
the team made that decision. Malachi made his Box Stock debut at the
latest race.
Because of the concern over the youngest
beginners getting run over by the faster karts, officials decided to try
a new approach. A Novice Beginners Box Stock class race was held on
Friday night. Four drivers were chosen to be a part of this, and three
of them were ready to race on Friday. Bhaltair Edwards and Isaac Grimes
took turns winning the heat races, and the Main Event turned out to be
very entertaining as both drivers exchanged the lead. Grimes looked to
be headed for the win, but Edwards surprised him by beating him to the
checkered flag with a last lap pass. Even young Caleb Ranney made some
good laps and was all smiles as he received his framed certificate for a
third place finish.
With Johnson making the move up,
it meant the Beginners Box Stock division would be getting a new point
leader. The question was, who would it be, reigning Yreka Indoor
champion Carson Henson or Uriah Sanders? Both drivers have had their
moments this year. Sanders was hoping for his first feature win. He and
Crescent City visitor Austin Bartholomew were the heat race winners, and
Sanders charged into the early Main Event lead. There has been some
really good racing up front in this class, and Sanders, Bartholomew and
Grant Proctor had a close battle going for the lead. Bartholomew finally
made the pass and took the win on lap 9, but Sanders held off Proctor
for a second place finish. When the points were tallied, it was Sanders
taking over the lead.
Another driver looking really
good with her fourth place finish was Yreka point leader Shailene Horn.
Horn missed the previous race as her grandfather is a volunteer
firefighter and was helping fight the fires in Hornbrook. However, she
came back strong with a solid fourth place finish ahead of Henson.
Henson keeps the pressure on Sanders in a very close championship race.
Horn isn't too far behind Jayme DeBenedetti in the race for fourth,
which will become the race for third when they pass Johnson in the
standings. DeBenedetti did a good job of getting her kart to a sixth
place finish.
The Box Stock racers also continue to
impress. The Augustine family has been racing for generations. Young
Keaton Augustine's father is the current Late Model champion on the big
track, and Keaton is making him proud. He came into the night as the
point leader and joined Jacob James as a heat race winner on the night.
Augustine got the lead at the start of the Main Event, but he had all
kinds of pressure coming from one-time feature winner Ryan Hirschbock.
However, this kid is as cool as ice, and he held off Ryan's every effort
for his third straight feature win. Hirschbock managed to grab second
in the standings with his runner-up finish, trailing Augustine by just
12 points in a close battle.
James, meanwhile, had
Taylor Fuller and Malachi Johnson to contend with in the race for third.
Jacob had posted back-to-back second place finishes, and he's still on
the verge of his first win in this division. He ended up third and
maintains third in the standings. Fuller managed to hold off Johnson to
get fourth. Johnson missed a heat race as the team got his kart ready,
but he did pretty well for his first start in the division. Also making
good laps and hanging in there to the finish line was Kiley Grimes in
sixth.
Trevor Grimes served notice to the rest of the
competition. He is still the point leader and the reigning champion in
the 250 Kart division. The previous two races did not go well for the
hard charger. It turned out that his departure early in the previous
Main Event was because of brake issues. Trevor joined Brenden Bartlett
in the heat winners department earlier in the evening. Bartlett had
taken the wheel of Brionna Fuller's kart as she is unable to drive the
Cage Kart due to her broken arm. Bartlett provided Grimes with serious
pressure for most of the race. When Bartlett spun on lap 18, Grimes went
on to post his third win of the season.
Landon Green
was making his first start at Southern Oregon Speedway. Green had a
second place finish in his second heat race, and with Bartlett spinning,
he also managed a second in the Main Event. Not bad for his first start
here. After some issues in one of his heat races, the Smith team got
the #26 Kart back together, and Cadyn Smith drove it to a solid third
place finish as he moves into the Top 5 in the standings. Cadyn is the
reigning Yreka Indoor champion.
After back-to-back
feature wins, Vinny DeBenedetti came back to Earth with his fourth place
finish ahead of the steady Taylor Fuller. While Fuller is making his
first laps and getting comfortable in his 250 Kart, DeBenedetti is
making a more aggressive challenge. He now trails Grimes by 20 points.
Earlier in the afternoon, DeBenedetti and Reece Slyter were fighting for
the same piece of real estate as they went down the front straightaway.
Unfortunately, Slyter got airborne, hit the front fence and flipped.
The good news is he was uninjured. Reece was campaigning a 500 Open Kart
with the 250s. Had he been able to start the Main Event, he would be
listed as the point leader in his division.
With the
500 Open Kart drivers still not rushing the gates to come racing, the
UAS Speedway Karts are providing the speed at the end of the night.
Larry Fuller Is just about unstoppable. In fact, the only thing that
seems to stop him is mechanical issues with his kart. Fuller and Ed
Grubb won heat races, but both drivers had their issues in the Main
Event. In fact, Fuller didn't even get a Top 5 finish.
Grubb
was giving it a good run until he too had issues. This left Steve Rambo
to lead the charge. The Rambo Motorsports team brings two karts to the
speedway, and it just so happened that Steve grabbed the victory ahead
of teammate Johnny Hoult. In doing so, he took the point lead from Larry
Fuller by just one point. For Hoult, it was also his best finish so far
at Little Southern Oregon Speedway.
While Lori Fuller
continues to be a story in herself as the driver in a 4 Cycle Kart
holding down third in points, her daughter Brionna Fuller returned.
Brionna has a broken arm, so hot laps were her test. Could she handle
her kart, and would she be able to race it? When Lori found out that her
daughter was clocking laps faster than most of the other competitors,
she gave her the green light to go racing. Brionna lost a lap making a
brief pit stop, but she went back out there and finished third ahead of
her mother. Not bad for driving with one arm.
