Monday, September 10, 2018

Henderson, Sullivan Survive Wild Fall Spectacular Finishes

Late model feature winner David Henderson (Photo Courtesy Sherie Bialous)

Eureka, CA (September 10, 2018) – It was a wild and crazy 2018 season finale this past Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. The 26th annual Mid-City Motor World Fall Spectacular once again concluded racing at the 3/8-mile paved oval with champions being decided in all of the Acres’ divisions. In addition, the North State Modified Series raced for the third time at RAR this year.

The Thunder Roadster cars returned to race with Paul Baker setting fast time with a 17.658. Katina Baker won the trophy dash which featured an incident that knocked out Paul Baker for the rest of the evening. The 15-lap feature was won by Katina Baker over Dax Kinsey and Mac Collado.

The Bandoleros were led in qualifying by Ethan Imperatrice with a time of 21.459. The trophy dash was taken by Imperatrice while Lane Anderson was the heat race victor. Maleesa Miles led the field to the green but Trey Daniels took the lead on lap one. Imperatrice briefly led on lap two but spun resulting in a caution flag. Daniels led the restart and the remainder of the 15-lap event featured a thrilling nip-and-tuck duel between he and Anderson. Finally, with four laps remaining Anderson was able to find the line under Daniels to take the lead. Anderson was able to cross the finish line first over Daniels, Aiden Kimberling, Imperatrice and Kadence Mace. Anderson’s main event win sealed him as the 2018 Bandolero champion at the Acres.

Nick Ford wrote his name in stone for the Compass Community Credit Union roadrunners not only in qualifying but as well as the season-long title fight as all he needed to do was start to win the division crown. Ford’s qualifying time as a 20.620. The two 15-lap main events occurred back-to-back with the first being ran around the track backward. Tim Ratzlaff jumped to the lead over Patrick Sproul and never looked back. Ratzlaff was able to dominate and win main one over Sproul, Amanda Lohr and Daniel Tomlinson and Ford. Main two looked to be Ratzlaff’s as well as he was able to hold off Sproul and Ford for most of the race. On lap nine, Ratzlaff broke the 21-second rule which forced him out of the lead. Ford took over and was able to hold off a last lap fight from Ratzlaff to win. Sproul held on to third over Lindsey Zito and Amanda Lohr.

Brad Curtice led a strong field of NorthCoast Lighting & Electric Legends in qualifying setting fast time with a 18.071. Trophy dash honors went to Kylie Daniels while the heat races were won by Buddy Cox and Brian Kamisky. David Dunlap held the lead the first handful of laps until Kylie Daniels took over the top position. Her time up front was short as Curtice maneuvered to the lead on lap nine. Kamisky moved to second on lap 15 but it appeared as though Curtice had the race well in hand. Lap 20 saw several cars spun as fluid leaked from Tyler Peach’s car. Kylie Daniels’ was the main victim as she spun and hit the wall in turn three ending her race. The restart proved to be exactly what Kamisky needed as he was able to snatch the lead from Curtice. Kamisky held on the rest of the way to take the win over Curtice, Brent Mack, Chris Lawrence and Cox. Lawrence’s fourth place was more than enough to give him the track championship in the Legends.

The season-ending bomber race had a bit more prestige thanks to division sponsors Fortuna Wheel & Brake and Four-Star Realty. Drivers who visited RAR from 50 miles or more away received a tow bonus of $250. In addition, the main event purse jumped with the winner receiving $800. R.J. Randall took fast time with an 18.033. Terry Pittman was the winner of the trophy dash. Two of the favorites had issues in the early stages of the 40-lap feature as teammates Randall and Denny Cashada both had issues that forced them out of the event.

Brian King moved to the lead on lap six and was clearly the best car on the track as he was able to pull away steadily from the rest of the field. Pittman was King’s closest competition most of the race but late caution flags allowed Jeremy Doss to get into contention. Doss was scheduled to race in the Speed51 Super Select Super Late Model All-Star invitational race at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis on Saturday but rain cancelled that prestigious event. A restart in the final five laps saw Doss give King his toughest challenge all race long but after a hard fought few laps, King’s handling prevailed. At the checkered flag it was King winning over Doss, Sam Brown, Pittman and Jim Redd who took the bomber track championship for 2018.

Fast time for the Humboldt Hydroponics mini stocks was Dylan Hagmann with a 19.037. Rick Estes was the trophy dash winner. The 30-lap feature got off to a rough start for points leader Brian Murrell, Sr. as he was a victim in a multiple car crash that severely damaged his right front. Murrell, Sr.’s misfortune was what Eugene Palmer needed for his chance at the track title. Unfortunately for Palmer, several issues plagued his truck in the feature and he was unable to finish high enough to gain enough points on Murrell, Sr. who won his first mini stock title after many years in the division. Cautions plagued the main event as nearly every car was involved in one incident or another. Nick Ford seemed to be the only one to get out of everything unscathed at it proved to be exactly what was needed to get the victory on the night. Ford crossed the line first for his first mini stock main event win. Brett Murrell placed second followed by Trevor Eacret, Gary Klinetobe and Rick Estes. With his win, Ford became the first driver in recent memory to win main events in two different divisions on one night.

Darrin Knight was quickest in qualifying for the North State Modified Series with a 16.482. The Lucas Oil Dash For Cash was taken by Dustin DeRosier. The 60-lap main started off with a scary incident in the middle of the field with Randy Houston spinning. Thankfully, Houston was able to continue and nobody suffered damage. Kris Price took the lead from Cameron Austin after a brief early exchange. Darrin Knight got to second on lap eight and the two raced nose-to-tail all race long. It was a fantastic duel between the two front-runners as each had to try his best to maneuver and utilize slower and lapped traffic to their advantage. The drama built to the very last lap going into the third turn when Knight made contact with Price. The two drivers spun sending dirt and smoke up in the air. Third place Darrin Sullivan who was a quarter of the track behind the two was able to drive through the mess and was first back to the finish line. Cameron Austin took second with Eric Price, Jr. third. Kris Price was able to recover for fourth with Dustin DeRosier rounding out the top five.

Qualifying for the Mid-City Motor World late models was paced by Brandon White with a 15.969. Heat race one was taken by Shawn Andrews with Derek Copeland winning heat race two and pole position for the 60-lap NorthCoast Lighting & Electric Dennis Wendt Memorial main event. The feature was littered with caution flags. White was one of the favorites going into the night but mechanical issues forced him out of the lead before lap 10. The main story in the first third of the race was Derek Copeland who utilized each restart to his advantage to hold on to the lead. On lap 20, David Henderson moved to the lead, a position he would never relinquish. The most controversial moment of the race occurred with 12 laps remaining following a restart between Henderson and Dane Nissen. Coming off turn two, Henderson got sideways with Nissen driving over Henderson’s left rear. Henderson was able to continue but Nissen spun which forced a caution flag. Nissen was able to recover and get back to second in the final 10 laps but Henderson’s handling prevailed. At the line it was Henderson winning over Nissen, Mic Moulton, Kenny Demello and Andrews. Moulton’s third place effort made him the 2018 late model champion.

Full race results and points can be found at Redwood Acres Raceway’s website www.RedwoodAcresRacing.com or visit #/RedwoodAcresRaceway We would like to thank all of our sponsors for a fantastic season and drivers in crew members in each division for making 2018 so successful. A special thank you as always to our fans. Without your support, racing at Redwood Acres Raceway would not exist. We look forward to 2019 being even better!