Post by cw on Aug 2, 2018 14:19:06 GMT -6
Jinkerson, Shelby, Crain Win Orland Raceway Main Events
Orland, CA...July 28...Dan Jinkerson scored the victory in the Pure Stock Main Event Saturday night at Orland Raceway. This was the reigning Placerville Speedway champion's first visit to the speedway this year. Jinkerson won his heat race earlier in the evening and then held off point leader Paul Stevens for the feature win. Reigning track champion Jeremy Langenderfer rebounded from motor issues a night earlier in Chico to get a third place finish, followed by Thomas Pavlik and Shannon Collins. The other heat race win went to Steve Martin.
The popular Sport Modifieds made their final appearance at the speedway, and reigning Chico and Marysville champion Philip Shelby brought home the victory. Shelby was in close pursuit of Jimmy Ford for the first 10 laps before making his move In Turn 2 to claim the lead. Shelby went on to win with Ford closely following in second as Mike Merritt, Tyler Rogers and Jeremy Phillips completed the Top 5. Rogers and Chris Sieweke won heat races.
Barbara Crain continued her Cinderella Season with another Mini Stock feature triumph. She served notice to the competition that she intends to win this championship with her fourth Main Event victory of the season. Reigning champion Tom Davis found himself in a familiar position, chasing Crain across the finish line in second. Sean Perry, Dustin Hills and Jason Libbee rounded out the Top 5 at the checkered flag. Davis and Crain were the heat race winners.
Keith Ross continued his bid for a repeat Mini Truck championship by winning the Main Event. Ross was chased across the line by previous winner Dan Webster, Justin Vance, William R and William Fogle. Vance and Ross were the heat race winners.
2016 champion Jess Garland won the 250 Micro Sprint Main Event. Mike Gonzalez provided the closest competition in second and Ronnie Heyer, Pax Gonzalez and point leader James Barnes rounded out the Top 5. Barnes was the heat race winner.
During the evening, the track took up a collection for the victims of the Carr Fire. Various supplies were donated throughout the night. Racing resumes next Saturday night with the Annual Thomas Schmitke Race For A Cure event. The Pure Stocks will be back in action along with the Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, Wingless Gas Sprints and 250 Micro Sprints. For further information, go to the Orland Raceway Facebook page.
Schmitke Memorial Race At Orland Raceway Saturday Night
Orland, CA...It's time for one of the more special events of the season at Orland Raceway. It's the annual Thomas Schmitke Memorial Race For A Cure event. Schmitke was the father of a two-year-old daughter when he lost his battle with Cancer in 2010. His family began doing fundraising events as a way to raise money for his daughter and has since used this effort to raise money for various charities that fight cancer. This is yet another commitment promoter Rich Hood has made to use the race track as a positive within the community.
Divisions scheduled to compete this Saturday night will include the Wingless Gas Sprints, Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Trucks and 250 Micro Sprints.
The Wingless Gas Sprint championship battle has become a three-car race between multi-time champion Josh Jacobo, Tanner Thomson and RJ Baker. Jacobo has been leading, but there's only about 20 points separating the three drivers. Jacobo won the first two races of the season, but he's been shut out of the win column over the last four events. Thomson has yet to win, but he has finished as high as second on multiple occasions. Josh Tucker sits fourth in the standings with a pair of wins, and past champion Tony Richards has only recently joined the battle with a pair of feature wins in the most recent races. The Wingless Sprint Car division has had a presence on the Orland schedule since 2001.
Thomas Pavlik is out to get his first win on the race track. It turns out the Pure Stock competitor got a win two races ago after the Top 2 drivers were disqualified after the race. He's been running strong lately and finished fourth at the checkered flag last Saturday night. The two drivers having a hotly-contested championship battle so far are 2015 champion Paul Stevens and reigning champion Jeremy Langenderfer. Stephens grabbed yet another second place finish last week while Langenderfer settled for third. Jeremy leads the division with four wins, but his two bad nights have him playing catch up with Stevens. Stevens has finished in the Top 3 in almost every race.
Another driver in a battle for position is 2016 champion Steve Martin. Martin has his hands full fighting off Amanda McAbel, who finished sixth in the most recent race as he finished further back in the lineup. McAbel had a post checkered flag tangle with fifth place point competitor John Camper last week. Some of the racing got a little bit too close for comfort last week, but the drivers will be an out to show what they can really do this Saturday night.
After pretty much dominating the Mini Stock division last year enroute to a second division championship, Tom Davis finds him in the position of playing catch-up. That's because Barbara Crain has been on a roll. The wife of long time Orland Raceway competitor Olin Crain won her fourth Main Event of the season last week, and all Davis could do was chase her across the line in second. With his third place finish, Sean Perry is keeping this three-car championship battle relatively close as the season enters its final two-month stretch. Jason Libbee did well in finishing fifth last week as he has his sights set on a win. Other drivers to watch for include past champion John Kirkpatrick, Scott Camper and Paul Stevens.
The Mini Truck division seems to be falling more into the hands of reigning champion Keith Ross. Ross drove a great race last week and ended up with another feature win ahead of past champion Dan Webster. Because Webster has missed a race, he's further back in the standings as the steady William Fogle, Justin Vance and Kevin Kvalick battle for second. The trucks have seen an increase in count this year, which has led to some great racing all season long.
Likewise, James Barnes and Pax Gonzales have a good race going for the 250 Micro championship. Both drivers missed the Top 3 last week as past champion Jess Garland scored the victory ahead of Mike Gonzalez. Ronnie Heyer also had a good night in third as he tries to work his way up to a Top 3 position in the standings.
The Thomas Schmitke Memorial Race is a good opportunity to raise money for a worthy cause. The racing has been exciting on 1/5 mile dirt oval all season long, and this five division program promises more of the same for the fans. For further information, go to the Orland Raceway Facebook Page.