Monday, April 15, 2019

Holden Reigns At Inaugural NSMS Street Stock Race

Howard Holden (#41) passes Jo Jo Stearns (#6) and Mikala Stearns (#20) three wide on his way to his big win at Madera Speedway.

Via Nadine Strauss/NSCS Media

Madera, CA..... April 13, 2019.... Madera Speedway and the North State Modified Series partnered up to create the NSMS Street Stock / Madera Hobby Stock division for 2019. Saturday night was the inaugural event for this class, and when it was all over the night belonged to Howard Holden of Clovis. Holden set fast time of 16.185 seconds over the nine-car field and led the last 23 laps of the Gone Fishin' Marine 50 lap feature to pocket $750 for his impressive win.

Steve Schermerhorn of Oakhurst finished second, Chuck Dozhier of Tracy was third, Triston Hansen of Auberry fourth, and Stockton's Mikala Stearns fifth.

Dozhier was the $100 winner of the Buckhorn Bar & Grill Dash for Cash. Holden collected $50 for second place.

The fully inverted field saw Rodney Tripp and Triston Hansen share the front row for the feature, and when the green flag dropped Tripp bolted out into the lead. Schermerhorn came from fifth starting to steal the lead on the second go-round, and both Richard Herzog and Holden drove around Tripp on lap three.

Hansen and Dozhier moved into fourth and fifth on the fifth circuit as the top three were driving away from the pack. Jo Jo Stearn dropped out with engine problems on 16.

The race was slowed on lap 18 when Hansen spun in turn two. Herzog spun in his own oil the following round and retired to the pits with a blown engine.

Dozhier took over the lead on the restart and stayed there until lap 27 when Holden snuck under him here they ran side-by-side for six laps before Holden made the winning pass. The remainder of the race went without incident with Holden taking the win over Schermerhorn, Dozhier, Hansen and Mikala Stearns.

The next NSMS Street Stock / Madera Hobby Stock will be on June 15 at Madera Speedway.

HOOSIER TIME TRIALS: Howard Holden (16.185), Richard Herzog (16.206), Chuck Dozhier (16.257), Steve Schermerhorn (16.309); JoJo Stearns (16.598), Mikala Stearns (16.898), Triston Hansen (16.971), Rodney Tripp (16.998)

BUCKHORN BAR & GRILL DASH FOR CASH: Dozhier, Holden, Schermerhorn, Herzog, J. Stearns, M. Stearns

GONE FISHIN' MARINE MAIN EVENT: Holden, Schermerhorn, Dozhier, Hansen, M, Stearns, Tripp, Herzog, J. Stearns, C Aguirre

Houston Sets Fast Time, Wins NSMS Opener At Madera

Randy Houston being interviewed by Madera Speedway announcer “Outback Andy” after his $2000 win at Madera Speedway. (Photo by Curt Agustinovich)

Via Nadine Strauss/NSMS Media

Madera, CA..... April 13, 2019.... After setting fast time of 15.072, Randy Houston of Medford, Oregon started 10th in the field and collected $2000 for his big win at Madera Speedway Saturday night in the season opener of the North State Modified Series, presented by Protect the Harvest.

Sacramento's Jason Philpot finished a strong season, and a race-long battle between Cameron Austin of Santa Rosa and Darrin Sullivan of Kelsyville saw Austin beat Sullivan to the Sunoco checkered flag for third with Sullivan settling for fourth. Brian Collins of Camino finished fifth.

Houston's fast time was close to the Hoosier Tire track record of 15.059 set by Eric Price II of Rio Linda on June 9, 2018. Sullivan clocked in second fast at 15.085. Robbie Knittel was third fastest with a 15.114 second lap, Philpot fourth (15.121) and Austin fifth (15.165.)

The 60 lap feature saw Dave Campbell and Oregon driver Rich Cobb in the front row with Collins and 3-time NSMS champ Darrin Knight in row two. 2018 champion Kris Price and Austin shared row three. Cobb powered to the lead at the drop of the green flag with both Knight and Collins passing Campbell for second and third. Collins got around Knight on lap seven just before the yellow flew when Campbell and Ian Elliott made contact causing Campbell to spin in turn one.

When racing resumed Cobb continued to show the way with Collins second, Austin third and Price fourth. Collins took over the lead on lap 12, and two rounds later Price made an inside pass on Collins and began to pull away from the field. Knittel got around Cobb for third on lap 18 and Philpot joined the front runners on 21.

Meanwhile Houston was picking off cars, and at the half-way mark it was Price, Knittel, Philpot, Houston, Austin, Collins, Sullivan, Cobb, Knight, Keith Bloom, Elliott, Campbell, Donovan Cox, Rick Avila and Sal Lopez.

After a long green-flag run, the race was slowed again when Lopez's car bobbled and he spun in turn two. The restart saw Price and Knittel side-by-side, but when they motored down the back stretch, the two cars touched with Knittel brushing the wall and Price's car hitting the wall hard, ending his run. Knittel pitted for a tire change and rejoined the field to finish the race.

This left Philpot and Houston side-by-side for the restart with Houston taking the next two laps to inch by Philpot and into the lead. The final yellow flew on lap 54 when Bloom and Cobb made contact with Cobb turning around in turn four.

Houston raced the remaining laps flawlessly to take the win over Philpot, Austin, Sullivan, Collins and Knight. Rounding out the top 10 were Elliott, Knittel, Cobb, Bloom and Campbell. The $1000 win was boosted to $2000 courtesy of Madera promoter Kenny Shepherd.

Kris Price collected $100 for his win in the Lucas Oil Dash for Cash with Philpot earning $50 for second. Arce Racing Engines donated $50 each to third place Houston and fourth place Knittle.

The Keyser Hard Charger award went to Houston for passing the most cars. Donovan Cox picked up the Naake Shocks certificate, Price and Philpot earned the Scribner jugs, and the Frank's Radios gift cards went to Houston, Philpot and Austin.

Racing resumes for the North State Modified Series on April 27 at the Stockton 99 Speedway.

The North State Modified Series is presented by: Protect the Harvest, Lucas Oil, Hoosier Tire West, Sunoco Race Fuels, Naake Suspension, Five Star Bodies, Racer Bling, Keyser Racing Products, Scribner Plastics, Gone Racin' Marine, Buckhorn Bar & Grill, and Franks Radios.

NSMS modified rules, procedures, schedule, entry forms and other information are available on the web site www.northstatemodifieds.com.

HOOSIER TIME TRIALS: Randy Houston (15.072); Darrin Sullivan (15.085; Robbie Knittel (15.114); Jason Philpot (15.121); Cameron Austin (15.165); Kris Price (15.196); Darrin Knight (15.248); Brian Collins (15.314); Rich Cobb (15.382); Dave Campbell (15.486); Keith Bloom Jr (15.553); Ian Elliott (15.568); Sal Lopez (15.794); Donovan Cox (15.808); Rick Avila (N/T)

LUCAS OIL DASH FOR CASH: Kris Price, Jason Philpot, Randy Houston, Robbie Knittel, Darrin Knight, Cameron Austin

SUNOCO / SHEPHERD MAIN EVENT: Randy Houston, Jason Philpot, Cameron Austin, Darrin Sullivan, Brian Collins, Darrin Knight, Ian Elliott, Robbie Knittel, Rich Cobb, Keith Bloom, Dave Campbell, Rick Avila, Donovan Cox, Kris Price, Sal Lopez

Points Racing Continues Saturday At Delta Speedway


Via Delta Speedway Media

STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA (April 15, 2019) – The second night of championship competition at Delta Speedway presented by Financial Center Credit Union hits the track on Saturday night. Close racing across all four regular divisions – Super 600, Non Wing, Restricted, and Jr. Sprints – is expected to continue after a hotly contested opening night.

Drivers compete on a 1/7th mile dirt oval located at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton.

Non Wing has maintained its place as the largest division at the speedway with an average field of 33 so far in two events. Both main events have been won by the brand-new Ten-J Chassis, with veteran drivers Mitchel Moles and Brandon Carey behind the wheel. 2018 champion Tj Smith with his new Driven chassis and 2018 runner-up Caden Sarale have been locked out of victory lane thus far. Former champion Dan Mognaga has a pair of top-fives so far in the $500 to win, 30 lap features.

Super 600 saw a bit of a redemption story in the points opener when 2018 championship runner-up Raio Salmon scored the victory. Former track champion Jake Andreotti finished second ahead of 2012 Turkey Bowl winner Brad Hannum. No driver has finished in the top-five in both races, showing the competitiveness of the class. Super 600 also competes for $500 to win for 30 laps.

Logan Trevino has had a brilliant start to his 2019 Restricted campaign with a victory and a second place finish. His victory came ahead of Jeffrey Pahule, Jr. on the first points race while his runner-up was behind Jade Avedisian in the non-points special in March. Both Pahule and Avedisian are poised to compete for victories all season long. Reilee Phillips is entering his first full season of Restricted and posted a career best third on opening night as well. The young drivers in Restricted will compete for 25 laps for a minimum of $300 to win.

Jr. Sprints has attracted a surging turnout with 17 cars for their points opener. Lucas Mauldin earned a well-deserved first career victory over Colton Key. Kyle Fernandez has been third in both events this year. The Jr. Sprints will race for 20 laps and a guaranteed $200 to win on Saturday.

Pit gates open at noon with the drivers meeting set for 4:30 p.m. Hot laps begin shortly after with qualifying and racing to follow.

Pit passes are just $20 with no membership required. Grandstand tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids 6-12, seniors 55+ and military, with kids 5 and under free! Tickets and pit passes can be purchased in advance at deltaspeedway.myracepass.com

Race fans are invited to come early and stay late for great Royce Farms BBQ as well!

For more information on Delta Speedway presented by Financial Center Credit Union, follow us online at www.deltaspeedwaystockton.com or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Delta Speedway presented by Financial Center Credit Union also thanks Interstate Truck Center, Lovotti Air, Van De Pol Petroleum, Von Euw Trucking, Starr Property Management, Performance Electronics, Price Rite Restaurant Equipment, Genova Bakery, Bruno’s Peppers, and Panella Trucking for their support.

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Doss Outlasts Thorn To Take SRL Return To Roseville

Don Thompson Photo

Via All American Speedway Media

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (April 13, 2019) – Jeremy Doss withstood numerous challenges from Derek Thorn to win the JM Environmental 127 presented by 51FIFTY Energy Drink on Saturday night from All American Speedway, as the Roseville track welcomed both SRL and NASCAR races back to the one-third mile speedway. Matt Erickson and Jason Romero split entertaining season openers for the NASCAR Late Model division as well in a twin bill.

25 cars took the green flag for the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour contest with eight lead changes among three different leaders. Each and every division set new track records under the new highline layout, including Roseville’s Eric Schmidt who topped SRL time trials with a 13.193 second lap. He drew the pole for the feature after the redraw of the top-eight as well.

Thorn made early moves in turn three to advance several positions, finally clearing Linny White for second on lap 13. Thorn then went to work on reeling in Schmidt for the lead as the field snaked through lapped traffic by lap 30. A lap 33 caution for previous Roseville SRL winner Bobby Hodges saw Schmidt pick the inside line against Thorn.

After a three lap battle, Thorn went around the outside to lead lap 36. When the caution fell on lap 45, Thorn picked outside on Schmidt and lost the lead to him on lap 47. Two laps later, Thorn executed a crossover move to get the lead back on lap 49. Schmidt then spun with contact from Linny White for second, dropping them both to the rear when the caution waved on lap 50.

Doss assumed the second spot after the melee and went to work on Thorn. On a lap 60 restart, Doss used his inside line on a restart to grab the lead by lap 63. When the caution flew on lap 67, Doss chose the high line as drivers continued to search for the preferred positioning. Thorn took advantage, entertaining the fans with side-by-side racing that resulted in Thorn wrestling the lead away on lap 75.

Thorn looked poised to win, but chose the inside line on a restart and lost the lead again to Doss on lap 87. On lap 91, Thorn knifed underneath Doss to take it back. Thorn held court on a successive restart, while Schmidt had driven from the rear of the field up to fourth in the process.

Schmidt’s brilliant run through the pack ended in smoke on lap 119, setting the stage for an eight lap battle between Doss and Thorn – both with ties to the Clear Lake area. Thorn picked inside, and Doss made an incredible maneuver to cut inside and steal the lead on lap 121. Thorn attempted several times to apply his bumper to Doss, but Doss was undeterred. One last ditch attempt in turn four with two to go fell short and Doss ripped across the line with the win. Jacob Gomes rounded out an all former SRL champions podium in third ahead of Granite Bay’s Cole Moore and Linny White.

Both NASCAR Late Model Twin 30s pitched Madera champion Matt Erickson and PCS and Roseville champion Jason Romero head-to-head. The first 30 lap event saw Erickson jump out to the early advantage ahead of Jason Aguirre. They raced several laps alongside each other before Erickson had a solid hold on the lead by lap 12. Romero followed him up into second. Erickson accumulated a comfortable margin before Lance Halm brought out a yellow flag in turn two.

Erickson restarted inside Romero and held onto the lead despite some contact from behind with ten to go. The first 30 ended with Erickson returning to NASCAR victory lane, topping Romero, Aguirre, fast-timer Michael Mitchell, and Chris Scribner.

Scribner led the second 30 lap race from the opening lap, bringing a train of cars with him on the outside of Elk Grove’s Shane Butler. Butler was shuffled to fifth by lap three. Aguirre applied early pressure on Scribner before he too faded, and eventually retired to the pits on lap 20.

Scribner anchored a tightly wound four car lead pack and nearly had trouble while putting a lap on his father Rick Scribner just past halfway. Scribner continued on before Romero started peeking underneath. Erickson attempted as well down the backstretch with a brief three-wide move.

Romero took over the lead on lap 19 with Erickson all over his back bumper. Erickson hounded him all the way to the finish in an entertaining duel with Mitchell, Scribner, and Halm the top-five. Both NASCAR Late Model races included the $150 KHI Management 4 Award with the fourth place finisher receiving the cash prize.

Corey Englehardt of Granite Bay swept NASCAR Limited Modified action by taking the new track record in time trials on the new highline layout, winning the dash, and winning the main. But the sweep was not indicative of the competitiveness of the division.

Ralph Bailey led the first lap of the main event before Loomis’ Nick Lyons led lap two. A lap four restart gridded Lyons inside Englehardt. They raced side-by-side with Englehardt crossing over to the inside of Lyons. They made contact into turn one that sent Lyons around and placed Englehardt in the lead.

Lyons drove through the pack before a lap 27 caution set up the shootout to the finish. Englehardt narrowly completed a slidejob out of turn four to lead lap 28 and go on for the win. Derrick Doering debuted in third as well.

Josh Whitfield came from worst-to-first win the inaugural race for the combined NASCAR Super Stock division. Richard Lavallee led the first five laps which saw entertaining three-wide battling. Sacramento’s Andrew Peeler took over the lead on lap five and Dan Farrington used the outside to advance into second place as well. Whitfield himself used the outside line to take over second on lap ten.

Only five laps later, Whitfield clamped down on Peeler before a brief side-by-side battle. Whitfield led lap 16 and held on for a narrow .553 second win ahead of Peeler and Farrington while Lavallee was a close fourth.

Ray Molina of Roseville earned the F4 season opening win after taking the lead on the fourth lap. Molina swept around the outside of early race leader Dennis Crook of Fernley, Nev. Crook settled for third after the 20 lap contest.

14 year-old Aiden Daniels won his Jr. Late Model debut at the speedway. The Fort Bragg driver topped Smartsville’s Brody Armtrout, 13, and 12 year-old Lane Anderson of Fort Bragg.

Trey Daniels, 10 year-old younger brother of Aiden, made his debut at Roseville in the Mini Cup vs. Bandolero driving a Bandolero machine. The 15 lap contest saw Daniels pace Dylan Krug and Kenna Mitchell in a closely wound lead pack for the duration of the race with Daniels winning the fast-paced feature.

NASCAR racing continues at the All American Speedway on Saturday night May 4th including twin main events for the Limited Modifieds and the first Trailer Bash of 2019.

More information can be found on the track’s website www.AllAmericanSpeedway.com and by following the track on your favorite social media accounts. Additional details are available by calling the track info line at (916) 786-2025. All American Speedway is located at 800 All America City Blvd in Roseville.