The inaugural Ultra 4 Stampede held on September 11, 2010 was challenging and exciting. To mark the day with such a positive event was poignant. With 54 cars starting and only 18 finishing the race, the final conclusion of all the teams was that this was one of the toughest and most brutal courses they had ever run. The Trent Fabrication team was no exception, as Derek put it “it was a different track each lap, due to all the loose rocks moving around and the nature of the terrain.” The track itself had three different driving styles consisting of fast, air, and rocks. From the motocross section, to the speed, and rock sections the teams had their hands full; a finish at this event was being marked as a win by all the teams.

The event began September 10, 2010 with qualifying day. Chris Ridgway qualified the car with Derek in the Co-Drivers seat, the team was the fastest on the motocross section for sure, but then were slightly out powered in the straight-away’s, they qualified 5th for the race putting the team in a great position, they didn’t have to deal with as much dust and or as many vehicles. After qualifying the team participated in the “Raceline Wheel Show and shine”, the #22 won the show with ease…….September 11, 2010 “Race Day” The day started with Chris in the drivers seat and Derek Co-driving, when they reached the Shotgun trail the two switched seats and Derek traversed the trail. From that point on Chris was at the wheel. The buggy ran fast and furious over this brutal course.

The first lap was clean until they reached the Giants Thrown where a traffic jam had ensued. Even though the Trent Fabrication Buggy was being driven hard, the Griffin Radiator and coolers kept the engine temperatures at bay, and the transmission never hinted at getting hot. Unfortunately zn air line failed, so they
had to run the hardest section of the track with no air lockers, but the duo were able to work together Derek spotting and Chris driving through the obstacles. The pit crew fixed the air leak at the end of lap one and they
were off and running. Lap two began quite smooth for the team, their “Goodyear” tires and “Raceline” wheels held up to the razor sharp rocks and impacts of the lap, when the team reached the Giants Thrown
section things would get a bit tougher
having the gear set brake, as Derek explained “the set had been in the car since the buggy was new and had 16 races on it, the fact it made it this long is a testament to the quality of the Randy’s Ring and Pinion gear set”. Upon finishing the second lap the decision was made that Chris would get out of the car and
Taylor Tracy would get in and Co-drive the remaining lap with Derek at the wheel. As Derek put it “Chris is an incredible racer and wouldn’t have gotten out, but his leg was hurting very badly and since Taylor was there and ready to go the swap was made. Chris would have just toughed it out had Taylor not been there, he is a tough guy and has driven through the pain before”. While the team was in the pits changing drivers the crew chief Dave Schneider and the pit crew realized there was a problem in the front end. Since repairing this problem couldn’t be done in the pits Dave advised Derek that given their position in the
race at that point and how many vehicles that were already out of the
race, to just run it till it broke. (The team’s main goal in this event was to finish well but in addition, to qualify for the 2011 King of the Hammers event which happens in February,
the event that is the equivalent of the “Baja 1000 or the Superbowl”.) So Derek did just that, Derek and Taylor did really well, that is until they came to a stuck vehicle in the middle of the road, as they tried to get around him the front end bound up and the drive shaft broke. They got out of the buggy and replaced the part, by the time the repair was done the stuck racer in front of them had gotten free and was out of the way. The two had to winch a couple times to get up the second trail, they got through it and through the check point and on to Giants thrown, which according to all the racers in the event was truly the hardest trail in the race. Derek was able to pass 4 cars, got down the final rock crawling area, mind you on a dead front end, winched one of the big climbs, then it was a race to the finish, there was one big drop off that had to be run with only rear wheel drive, which was rather scary, but the car was really stable and it came through with no problems. The team felt very fortunate to have just finished this race, it was an absolutely
grueling event. The course was brutal, with lots of loose rocks rolling around, the track changed every lap, between that, the steep climbs, drop offs, and broken cars all over the track only 18 of the original 54 cars were able to finish. Chris and Derek reiterated the feelings of 90% of the fields view of the course “this is one of the toughest tracks we have ever run, great job on the course set up, to Donny Gilman, Jeff Knoll, and Tim O’Brien.”

When asked if this event will be on the Trent Fabrication team Calendar for next year, the response was an overwhelming “Yes”. A very special thank you to all their sponsors and say how great it was to see Tom and Steve from “Griffin Radiator” here for this exciting event. With their finish at the Ultra 4 Stampede, the Trent Fabrication team is excited to announce they now have 2 spots in the 2011 “Griffin King of the Hammers” set for the second week
of February. Be looking for the two car team to excel.

Cajun Captures Checkered Flag at Houston Raceway Park

BAYTOWN, Texas (September 18, 2010) The month of September is scorching in Texas for Jason Johnson and the JJR #41 team. After heading to Houston Raceway Park (HRP), the Cajun Sensation captured another checkered flag in ASCS Gulf South competition. The win is his 18th overall win in the United States, with an additional two more in Australia, and his fifth win in the six races that he has
competed in during the month of September.

With 33 cars in the pit area, the competitors were focused on ensuring Johnson would not capture his third checkered flag in as many visits to the Baytown oval. Slated for the first heat race, Jason guided the #41 Maxim around the quick racing surface closely following heat race winner, Kent Lewis, Sr.’s #22L, across the line with Michael Dupuy, J.J. Simmons, and 2010 ASCS Gulf South champion Ray Allen Kulhanek rounding out the top five. Brandon Berryman, Mike McNeil, and Gary Watson would win the remaining eight lap heat events.

For the feature finale, Jason would climb into the cockpit of his Maxim chassis and tighten
his Crow Enterprizes’ safety seat belts to grid the starting field from the third starting position. At the drop of the green, polesitter Brandon Berryman jumped out to the early
lead with Johnson close behind in the runner up spot. Patiently making left hand turns and
keeping the car straight as he hustled down the front chute and back chute, Johnson
never gave the leader too much room to get comfortable. Throughout those early laps, the
Louisiana native was plotting his next strategic move. On lap six, he executed the well
planned out strategy to overtake the lead from Berryman. Not one to give things away,
he had no future plans to relinquish this lead either. With the #41 setting a quick pace around HRP after taking the lead, the fans would have to be content on watching the race for second through fifth between Berryman, Kolt Walker, Michael Dupuy, and Ray Allen Kulhanek. The Cajun would lead the last 19 laps and capture Houston Raceway Park’s checkered flag in the ASCS Gulf South finale. Kolt Walker claimed the second spot in his #45k followed Michael Dupuy’s #3x, Brandon Berryman’s #31, and Ray Allen Kulhanek’s #21T completing the top five. The win was Johnson’s third in three visits to HRP this season and after the victory Johnson commented, “This is a really nice place to race. The track is fast, the crowd is always great, and the competition is tough.” He continued, “I am really happy with this win for the JJR team and our sponsors. The JJR team is giving me great cars to compete in night-in and night-out. And, without our sponsors we couldn’t do this the way it needs to be done.”

Ice, May Motorsports win MSA Non Wing Thriller at Sandusky

Coming off an injury just six weeks ago at Lorain County veteran racer Tim Ice kept the pedal down and stayed out of trouble to win a wild one at Sandusky (OH) Speedway in the Midwest Supermodified Association (MSA) special Non Wing Challenge race. Finishing third in his heat race, Ice would set sail from the seventh starting position for the special 50 green flag laps feature event. Drawing several strong cars from the Oswego (NY) area, as well as several MSA regular teams,

Ice would have his work cut out for him, however, he was not to be denied. By the end of the 50 lap marathon Ice would roll his bright red trademark May Motorsports Advanced Auto Parts mount into the winners circle capturing his second career MSA checkered flag in front of a thrilled and excited crowd of fans. From start to finish this 50 lap feature quite possibly could go down as the most bazaar in MSA history.

Pole sitter Jack Smith would bring the field of 21 fire breathing Big Block Monsters to the start with Gene Lee Gibson along side. When the green flag dropped Gibson immediately shot to the lead with Oswego regular Otto Sitterly on his heels. Gibson wasted little time as he started laying down some very fast lap times until lap 14 when he developed engine issues. Suddenly slowing on the front stretch and trying to get to pit road Gibson was tagged by Joe Gosek who sailed off turn one and into the grass outside the track bringing out the yellow flag that would turn red. Both cars where now eliminated from action. Randy Burch and Trent Stephens also where caught up but made some quick repairs and rejoined the field at the tail. Now in command on the restart Sitterly started putting down some amazing lap’s times of his own. At lap 38 coming through turn one and two Sitterly and the lapped car of Burch would make contact sending both spinning, bringing out the second caution of the night and ending Sitterly bid for the win sending him to the trailer. Coming back to the green for the restart it was now Shawn Gosselin, Dave Gruel, Ice, Dave Shullick Jr., and Pat Lavery rounding out the top five. Just after the restart Gosselin and Gruel would touch wheels going into turn one racing for the lead. Gosselin shot straight up into the air and flipped wildly off the track and out into the grass area outside of the racing surface. Gruel’s car came to rest in the middle of the race track and the red flag would fly immediately freezing the field. After some very extensive clean up by the Sandusky track crew the cars where re-fired and lined up. It was now Ice, Shullick Jr., Lavery, Jack Smith, and Trent Stephens whom had come from the tail, with just 12 laps to go. When the green was redisplayed Ice stood on the gas and blistered through turn one. Shullick Jr. hung right with the cagey veteran and made a challenge inside of ten laps to go, however Ice held the proffered line and maintained the top position. Before Shullick Jr. could mount another charge Stephens had disposed of both fifth and fourth moving into third. Stevens seemed to have the fast car as he moved to the outside of Shullick Jr. and the two fought wheel-to-wheel for the second position. As these two went at it Ice was able to maintain his perfect line and open up a little giving himself some breathing room. On the white flag lap Ice was in cruise control and paced to the checkers. Shullick Jr. would beat Stephens to the flag for second. Lavery and Smith would round out the top five in the MSA special event.

With Horses provided by Fast Racing Engines and still wearing the cast support for the broken wrist from Lorain Ice was very pleased with the win. “It was a wild race,” stated the many time Late Model Stock Car Champion. “We had a pretty decent car, there were some cars that where a lot faster, Gosek and that six car where really good. We just kept maintaining and try to keep the car underneath us, it just kept getting a little better and a little better. There was that one point where I tried so hard to get around those two cars in front of me, they were holding me up really bad and I just couldn’t get it. Then they got in that wreck just after that restart. I just missed that wreck, it was so close. I was going to stay right on that 50, I saw him get under the 26 car. Then he wiggled, so I backed off a little. I guess at the end, they (Shullick and Stephens) where there and I just decided to go to the bottom. If they were going to beat me they would have to go to the outside. It’s a lot like the Late Models without the wing, you just have to be careful how you get in the corners and accelerate. The wrist is doing pretty good, it’s been six weeks so it’s getting better,” finished the Champion driver.

“It was a crazy one, I don’t know how we got through it with all the wheels still on,” said runner up Shullick Jr. “We were in about three wrecks, I don’t think there are many scratches on the car, we were pretty lucky. It was a good race, the cars where really racing hard. We did not have a great car, but it changed two or three times during the race. It was tight to start, then it got loose, then it got looser, it was just really weird to drive the car. It was really our first full race on the car, and now we have something to build on. I heard Trent there once or twice; on the restart the car was good for the first five laps. After that it just kept getting looser and Ice was able to get away a little bit. I had one run on him in turns one and two one time. If I could have gotten off four better I probably could have passed him, but I was never really good off four,” finished the former MSA Champion.

Youngster Stephens was happy with third and also had some thoughts. “It was a crazy race. Between missing all the wrecks and trying to pass all those cars again, it wore me out. By the end of the race I was pretty tired. The car was really, really good, then the left front spring broke. So, we had to replace that, by the time I got back up front I didn’t have any tire left. I need to thank the crew they where awesome, they fixed the car in a pinch. We need to thank the fans, Kevin Jaycox, and all the Oswego guys, this was really cool. I tried the bottom the whole race and it was working, but when I got to first and second they were down there so I had to go high. It was kind of working; I couldn’t get through the center of the turns on the outside. Third place, coming from the tail, after starting eighth, I can’t complain too much,” finished Stephens.

22 cars were on hand for the second annual Sandusky MSA Non Wing Challenge race, as all MSA regulars received 20 show up points towards the MSA Championship which will be decided in two weeks at Lorain County (OH) Speedway. The three heat winners included Gosek, Stephens, and Brian Sobus. Shullick Jr. set fast time with a lap of 16.044 around the track by the lake setting a new Non Wing track record. The race was slowed by just four cautions flags in which two turned red flag. MSA points leader Charlie Schultz was sixth, Bob Reis was seventh in the Stout team car No. 49, Jim Paller, Brandon Fisher, and Kody Graham rounded out the top ten. Coming down to the wire Schultz holds a lead over the 49 car, while Stephens is third and Ice fourth just three points out of third spot in MSA Championship points. It will all end in two weeks, who knows what will happen.

Mikey Hays Sweeps Merrittville Speedway

Evening 1 - Sept. 11

HAY REPEATS AS OPENING NIGHT MODIFIED LITE INTERNATIONAL WINNER AT MERRITTVILLE

Thorold, Ontario (September 11) – For the first time in four years – weather didn’t play a factor in the opening round of the J&S Heating and Air Conditioning Modified Lite International Championship. For the second straight edition however, Mikey Hay did.

Hay of Somerset Pennsylvania took the early lead in the 11th annual event that was formerly known as the Rose Webber International after winning the opening night 25 lap event. Ken Sargent also got the jump on the Hoosier Stock field as well after the 2010 Champion won the 25 lap Feature which leads up to Saturday Night’s 50 lap Duel on the Dirt Big 6 Event against the Brighton Automotive Pro Stocks.

The final event of the season for the Turn 4 Collision 4 Cylinders saw Aaron Wiley take the victory while in their first appearance of the year for the Pro 4 Trucks found Kevin Conley taking home the win.

The rare Friday Night also featured the final point event of 2010 for the Southern Ontario Sprints and while it was Kevin Job taking his first win of the campaign – Glenn Styres won his fourth Series Title.

“I wish I could get here more,” wished Hay in Victory Lane for the second straight year, “everyone that races here every week is fortunate ... and we are real fortunate to have to great event to come to.”

Hay was involved in quite a battle with Lyn Knepper for top spot throughout the event until a late race restart. In the final sprint to starter Doug Leonard’s double checkered flag – Hay was able to get by Knepper for good – pulling away to a comfortable lead and sailed to the win by a couple car length advantage.

“I knew he wasn’t going to come off the bottom ... so after that last restart I decided it was time to get with the program and make a move around the top,” added Hay, “it’s was a big cushion for us ... it can be fun but it’s easy to make a mistake too.”

The lap 19 caution unfortunately came when Paul Klager and Tracey Fritter came together in turn 4 – dropping the two front runners from third and fourth positions. Knepper and Hay Swapped the lead some 5 times before Hay took control to the checkers.

Hay and Knepper were followed by Butler PA’s Levi Spinneweber and two Merrittville drivers – former division champ Shawn Sliter and Chris Steele. Tim White, (Salisbury Maryland), Bobby Watkins, (Harrington Delaware), Clayton Brewer, (Fulton NY), Nick Nash, (Smyrna Delaware) and Mark Marcucci of West Middlesex PA rounded out the top 10.

Jason Fontaine set the pace at the start of the 25 lap Hoosier Stock Event and despite an early challenge from second generation driver Larry Czinege Jr – was able to pull away to couple car lead. The battle through the pack was quite intense in the early stages including a four wide tilt that saw the first caution slow the field after Ron Loggie off the pace.

With Fontaine out front – Kevin Aube soon challenged Czinege with Sargent joining in as well. The race for the runner up spot allowed Fontaine to pull away to a 20 car lead until a lap 12 caution again slowed his pace. Debris on the track was the cause with Fontaine just missing the stranded muffler off one the cars.

Unfortunately however for Fontaine – the leader retired to the pits with a flat tire before racing resumed. When it did – the new leader was eventually Sargent. With Aube challenging Sargent to lap 20 – one driver on the move was Brighton Speedway Pro Stock Driver Doug Anderson who was trying to advance from his fourth spot in a great run against the home track drivers.

As the laps would down Sargent opened up a 5 car advantage on Aube with Graham MacKay, Doug Anderson and Larry Czinege as the top 5.

“It’s really too bad to fall victim to a bad break like that,” consoled Sargent in Victory Lane, “in any race sometimes patience is key though ... this is an awesome division and the competition is second to none!”

In only his second ever race at the Thorold track, pole sitter Kevin Conley literally drove away from the field in the 15 lap event for the Pro 4 Trucks. By the time he saw the checkered flag – he was able to stretch his margin of victory to about a half lap on Billy Beales with Merrittville Tuesday Night Kart Racer Kameron Kocarik in third. Veteran Andy Imbeault and Jeff Mark rounding out the top 5.

The Turn 4 Collision 4 Cylinder Division has their final event of the season and right from the drop of the green – it was all Aaron Wiley.

At the start Wiley outraced invader Brandon Iudiciani to the green flag and by the halfway point – Wiley was into lap traffic. A lap 10 caution would slow the field with Wiley out front once again on the restart.

Wiley was followed by Rob Goulding, Austin Wood, Kyle Pelrine and Iudiciani.

“Racing for us is a family thing,” relayed Wiley, “my wife (fellow 4 Cylinder racer Jocelynne Wiley) and I had good seasons Saturday Nights and what can you say about Kurtis’ Kart Season ... hats off to Merrittville – you couldn’t ask for better tracks to race on.”

The final event of the evening was the final point event for the Southern Ontario Sprints who had not competed at the Thorold track since 2003.

Kevin Job had to be watching the Modified Lite Feature prior to strapping into his Sprint Car as he pulled off almost a carbon copy move that Mikey Hay had used earlier on lap 11 to overtake former Merrittville Sportsman competitor Brad Malloy to take top spot.

“It’s nice to get a win this year,” prided Job, adding “we wrecked a lot of stuff last week and I was so busy at work … I didn’t even wash it until this afternoon – I even thought our finale was tomorrow!”

Ohsweken Speedway owner Glenn Styres finished second in the race and wound up taking home his 4th Southern Ontario Sprints Championship but almost met with disaster in the late stages of the race.

Trying to overtake Job for the lead Styres got real high down the front stretch and almost made contact with the front stretch wall, “it’s awesome to take home the title but I wanted a win too … I really thought I was going to lose it … but I was able to keep it on all 4 wheels … I almost pulled it off.”

Evening 2 - Sept. 12

HAY BACKS UP OPENING NIGHT WIN AT MERRITTVILLE – SMALL AND SEARS TAKE 50 LAP EVENTS IN FINAL SATURDAY NIGHT OF 2010

Thorold, Ontario (September 12) – A great final Saturday Night crowd of 2010 enjoyed quite an action-packed J&S Heating and Air Conditioning Weekend Finale at Merrittville Speedway September 11th.

Mikey Hay of Somerset Pennsylvania picked up right where he left off about 24 hours earlier in the 11th Annual Modified Lite Championship Weekend after backing up opening night win with another 25 lap win – earning more than $3000 in the two day.

Dave Small drove the Devin Habiuk #5 Hoosier Stock to Victory in the 50 lap combined Duel on the Dirt Event earning $1000 against the Brighton Automotive Pro Stocks.

Tim Sears first visit to the Thorold facility found the second generation driver winning the 50 lap 50 lap Sportsman Super DIRTcar Series Event.

Former Champion Shawn Sliter was back behind the wheel of a Modified Lite in his brother’s car and joined James Hill of Laurel Delaware on the front row at the start. Hill would lose control of his car immediately in front of the field slowing the pace before it even got going. Miraculously noone made contact with the stranded car. Officials called for a complete restart when action resumed and the new leader was Tracey Fritter.

Quickly Merrittville driver Chris Steele was in control in the Dean Pronovost car but he too would fall off the pace right away slowing the field once more.

Josh Sliter had just taken over the lead before the caution flew and on the restart it was Lynn Knepper in control. Sliter regained the lead on lap 7 before Mikey Hay took over the top spot on lap 10.

With Hay nearing the halfway point a light drizzle began to fall but quickly it cleared with caution again slowing the pace on lap 14. Hay was again out front on the restart and pulled away to a comfortable lead – one that Josh Sliter would erase. While Sliter and Klager were racing for the runner up spot the pair would catch Hay with Sliter regaining the lead on the backstretch of lap 16.

On the return to racing – it was Hay out front once more however and at the finish – opened up a ¼ lap lead.

By virtue of his two wins – Hay was named the overall champion for the second straight year.

Hay was followed by Josh Sliter, Chris Steele, Paul Klager and Sylvain Erickson.

Hay’s winnings included a bonus for being the overall two day top Mod Lite Driver.

Jason Fontaine was first to lead the 50 lap Duel on the Dirt Big 6 Series Combined Event that puts the challenge to Merrittville’s Hoosier Stocks and the Brighton Speedway Pro Stocks.

Looking to rebound from Friday Night’s flat tire dropping him from the lead – Fontaine, Ken Sargent and Brad Herron quickly broke away from the field before a lap 5 caution slowed the event for the first time.

On the restart Ken Sargent was the new leader with Fontaine staying with the newly crowned Points Champion. The two ran side by side for a number of laps and back through the pack – there were a number of two and three wide battles for position. Debris on the track on lap 9 would slow the pace once more with Fontaine back in control but only for a lap.

Brighton Speedway driver Doug Anderson fresh off a fine finish Friday Night fell victim to a flat tire and with Sargent out front – another debris caution again slowed the event.

Sargent was again out front with Fontaine again following the leader to a good margin over the field. Brent Begolo was attempting to hold off DaveSmall and Billy Bleich for third spot. Eventually Small would take over third spot by lap 20 with Fontaine pressuring Sargent once again for top spot through the halfway point.

With Sargent still leading Fontaine the driver on the move was Dave Small. Running right on the edge around the top – Small took over second on lap 34 before caution on lap 35 slowed his momentum.

Small would take over top spot out of Turn 4 to complete lap 39 and opened up a healthy lead until caution closed the gap on lap 44. Small again out front ran away to a lead of almost a ¼ lap by the time he got to lap 50.

Small was followed by Sargent, Fontaine, Brad Herron and Kevin Knapp.

The 2010 Duel on the Dirt Big 6 concludes at the Brighton Speedway Saturday September 25th as part of the Cool 100FM Applefest Weekend presented by Benson Auto Parts.

24 hours after winning in his first time ever to the Ransomville Speedway – second generation driver Tim Sears has got to like his first ever visit to Merrittville Speedway as much.

Sears cruised to victory in the 50 lap Event – holding off local drivers Brandon Easey and Rob Knapp.

Justin Barger Bags Black Rock’s Fall Sprint Nationals

Justin Barger had not made up his mind until earlier in the morning that he was coming to Black Rock, but he is sure glad afterwords that he did.

Barger, of Montrose, NY, captured the $5,000 top prize in Black Rock’s Fall Sprint Nationals. The No. 32 starting on the pole and leading all 30 laps would make it seem as if was a boring and easy win for Barger, but it was anything from that.

“It was real tough out here tonight,” noted Barger in his third career trip to BRS Victory Lane. “The lapped traffic was tricky but it seemed like I got a number of cautions at the right time tonight.”

The track was superb for a second-straight night, but this time it gave up in the feature, allowing for different grooves to be explored. It also allowed Justin Barger to be challenged, but each time he would be up to the task.

The polesitter had to hold off Alain Bergeron for the first half of the race and then had serious challenges from Bryan Howland in the late stages before he could run free to the win.

After winning the Dan DeMaree Fruit Farms Pole Dash for the Inside Row, Barger pulled in front of Alain Bergeron on the start. Bergeron stalked him all the way up to a lap seven caution period that came out when fourth place Bobby Breen spun in front of Bubba Broderick. Another stoppage would not occur until lap 19, and Bergeron was pressuring most of the way.

The No. 8B would stay in the tire tracks of the leader most of the way around the track, attempting a myriad of maneuvers around the 4/10-mile oval. With a dozen laps complete, Bergeron’s front wing support brace broke and affected the handling of his car. This allowed Bryan Howland to grab second on lap 19.

Just after Howland took second, the red flag was shown when Jared Zimbardi, who was running fifth at the time, had a major issue and went straight off turn four and down the embankment near the parking lot. The car was sitting upside-down and required a lengthy extraction process for both Zimbardi and the car. He would have to be taken to the local hospital for evaluation but was alert on the scene.

During that red flag, two crew members were allowed to service each car for five minutes. Bergeron attempted to change the support arm while Barger and Howland made sure their tire pressures were correct.

After one more lap was completed, the caution reappeared when two-time Fall Nationals Champion Trevor Lewis spun in turn two. On the ensuing restart, Howland got after Barger and the two youngsters duked it out for the lead.

Lap after lap, Howland tried to set up the No. 32, but each time Barger had the rebuttal to stay in front. On lap 23, Howland crossed over coming out of turn four and nearly lead at the line, but Barger would drive around. It appeared that it would just be a matter of time until Howland inherited the lead, especially with lapped traffic imminent, but that is when Barger was at his best.

“I saw (Howland) on the scoreboard and knew he was coming up through pretty good,” said Barger afterwards. “We had a good battle here before and I knew he runs pretty well here.”

On lap 27, the leaders hit the lapped cars and Barger not only stayed in front, he made moves that allowed him to get a buffer over Howland. He was set to come to the white flag with a healthy advantage when one final caution waved.

“I liked seeing the cautions tonight, but not that last one,” admitted Barger.

Rick Wilson, who was in sixth, along with Robbie Stillwaggon and Lance Yonge got collected together in turn four, setting up a two-lap dash to the finish. With no lapped cars between the top-three Howland had new life, but he gave the chance away on the restart.

When the leaders hit the second turn, Howland jumped over the cushion, allowing Bergeron to scoot back in to third and allowed Barger to pick up the win.

Barger’s night started off modestly, as he was fourth best among his heat race in time trials. He would move up to finish second in his heat, allowing him to run the dash, where he drew the outside pole. The 2008 April and August winner drove to the win in that race and then just had to hold off the stacked field in the 30-lap feature.

It was Barger’s fourth feature win of the season, with this being the largest payday. After sweeping the sprint shows in 2008, Barger had struggled somewhat at Black Rock, where he has 24 career starts, but that changed after tonight.

Bergeron’s second-place effort completed a quality weekend for the veteran sprint car shoe who has announced 2010 will be his final season as a sprint car owner. Despite being able to attempt to replace his front wing support, it was not securely fastened and the clamp allowed the wing to shift back once again in the closing laps. Had he not had this issue that has nagged him for years reoccur, he might have had something for the win.

Like Bergeron, Blake Breen was able to drive underneath Bryan Howland on the final restart to finish in third. Breen started in eighth but was solid all feature long, particularly on restarts. The night before his car was way off in his Sweet 16 and nearly was lapped by his brother Bobby; on the night when it counted though, he was nearly perfect.

Howland would cross in fourth but made everyone realize his presence as it appeared with about eight laps remaining that eventually he would get the win.

Josh Weller crossed in fifth after battling brake issues in the A-Main in the No. 63. He ran either third, fourth or fifth place the entire event.

Trevor Lewis would rebound from a poor heat race and a spin on lap 20 to come back up to finish sixth. Fellow two-time Fall Nationals Champion George Suprick also charged forward, finishing seventh. Local Tim Kelly, New Jersey’s Robbie Stillwaggon and Penn Yan’s Lance Yonge completed the strong top-10.

Gold Strike: Jason Meyers and Elite Racing keep the Gold Cup in California

Saturday night, there may have been more than 49 prospectors on the track, but at the end of the evening Jason Meyers was the one who struck gold. The last time that a Californian had won the Gold Cup Race of Champions was 21 years ago, but Jason Meyers and his Elite Racing team broke the streak. Going into the night's main event, Meyers was on the pole in his #14 DDNI KPC and with 40 laps around Silver Dollar Speedway sitting before him, he knew all he would have to do is drive a clean race to take the 57th Gold Cup Race of Champions and he did just that.

As a result of Meyers two top-five finishes and setting quick time in the first two nights of racing action, the Californian led the point standings going into the main event. As a result Meyers would start the race from the pole position. Lined up to his outside was Jason Sides. When the Green Flag was unfurled, Sides would try to make a move to Meyers inside, but before it could be settled the Yellow Flag would come out.

On the restart, Meyers would choose the inside line and when the race resumed Meyers would take the lead on Lap 1 and never look back. "Hot Foot" quickly opened up a 2 second lead by lap 5 and was just encountering lapped traffic for the first time when racing action was slowed again on Lap 9.

As the field jumped back into action, Paul McMahan would get past Sides to take over the 2nd position. Meyers would hold on to the lead even through lapped traffic. McMahan would close several times and the duo would run nose-to-tail, but the #14 GLR Investments KPC was the dominant car.

Meyers and McMahan would put on a show at the front of the pack in traffic. There were several breaks in racing action, but on each restart Meyers would choose the inside lane and then once the Green Flag flew the two would pick up where they left off. A few times McMahan was able to nearly take the lead coming off of Turn 4, but Meyers would battle back every time beating McMahan to the line.

The race would end with a Green, White, Checkered situation and Meyers was up to the challenge. With a clear race track in front of him "Hot Foot" put the pedal to the metal leaving McMahan and Steve Kinser to decide who would finish second. At the line Meyers would cross it 0.964 of a second in front of the two. Kinser would go on to finish second with McMahan taking home the third position.

"To win the Gold Cup is absolutely awesome," said Meyers. "To be on the list of drivers that have won this prestigious race over the years is pretty incredible. Growing up out here, I won my first ever sprint car race at this race track in the Mini Gold Cup. We finally have the Gold Cup. This is amazing. I had a good car and it was taking off great on the restarts. I just got into a groove and just found a line that worked great for the car."

Meyers not only broke the streak of not having a Californian win the Gold Cup since 1989, but he also became only the 3rd Californian in history to win the title. Meyers would take home a $50,000 payday along with the cup and most importantly add his name to the racing legends who have won the Gold Cup.

"We want to bring this championship home to California," Meyers stated. "Winning this race is just the first step toward doing that. My guys Brian (Bloomfield) and Glen (Beaton) are doing a great job on the car. My three biggest fans are at home tonight, my wife Robyn, Delaney and my new daughter Presley. I have to say hi to them. Chris Luck and Guy Stockbridge my car owners, Charlie Garrett at home, everyone works so hard on this team. We are having fun out here and as a result we are winning races. Winning is fun, but we have been having fun out here win, lose or draw and that is what is turning this program around right now. There are so many people out there who make this happen and put this car on the race track: GLR Investments, Elite Landscaping, DDNI TriQuint, Tarlton and Sons. To the fans out there who have supported me for years, thank you and we are going to do our best to bring the championship home."

"This is a race we have wanted to win for a long time," said Co-Team Owner Chris Luck. "Jason (Meyers) and Guy (Stockbridge) started this team and I am so lucky they let me be a part of it. I am just so proud of our team. This has been on our list for a long time and I want to thank Brian Bloomfield, Glen Beaton, Sam Matthews, Rene North, and everyone that stands behind this team. Charlie Garrett creates great horsepower for us. I just cannot tell you how excited I am for this team to be from California and win the Gold Cup."

Up Next :

With just two points separating Jason Meyers and Joey Saldana in the point standings, the battle to the championship is on. The race for the title will resume Friday night September 17 at Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa. After one night in the Hawkeye State Meyers and his Elite Racing team will travel north to Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minnesota for a single event on Saturday night September 18.

Shaver edges Richards, stays perfect at WVMS

MINERAL WELLS, W.Va. (Sept. 2) — Steve Shaver stayed perfect in Super Late Model action at West Virginia Motor Speedway on Thursday with his third straight victory at the 5/8-mile oval.

The 46-year-old driver from nearby Vienna, W.Va., won Thursday's Mark Balzano Memorial in dramatic fashion, slipping past Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., amid traffic at the white flag and edging away over the final lap to win the race to the checkers.

Shaver, who overtook fast qualifier Kenny Compton Jr. and then Richards in the race's late stages, earned $5,000 for his first victory on the O'Reilly All Star Late Model Series. Shaver added the victory to a pair of World of Outlaws Late Model Series triumphs May 29-30 at WVMS, which reopened in 2010 after being shuttered since '07.

"That had to be fun to watch. I'll tell you, it was pretty fun from where I was sitting," said Shaver, who started with Richards on the second row of a race postponed by rain on May 16. "I just had to make some good laps. I kept pushing up into the cushion, but I had my old buddy Balzano over there riding with me, so I gave it a little extra effort for him."

Richards settled for second while 11th-starting John Blankenship of Williamson, W.Va., was third. Compton, of Bland, Va., and Matt Lux of Franklin, Pa., rounded out the top five. Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky., led the first 15 laps before mechanical difficulties forced him out, handing the lead to Compton, who stayed out front until Richards took over on lap 31 of the 40-lapper. Davey Johnson of Latrobe, Pa., started on the front row but was also an early dropout after a lap-15 flat tire.

Three cautions slowed the action, none for serious incidents. The makeup event kicked off four nights of action at WVMS that will be capped by the 42nd annual Hillbilly 100 on Sunday, a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event paying $42,000 to the winner.

Congratulations Kody!!

Last Sunday Night, Sept 4th, Kody Swanson scored his first career USAC Silver Crown victory, and his first career USAC dirt win, on the "Magic Mile"at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. After starting 16th, Kody moved his Team 6R Racing, powered by Toyota #23 to the 11th position by the half-way mark and the mandatory red flag. After the first 10 cars in the running order elected to change tires, Kody restarted the race in the lead on lap 51! With a field full of fast racecars, with new tires, behind him, Kody was able to lead and hold off a "hard-charging" Jon Stanbrough in the closing laps to score the victory! With Kody's win, the Swanson brothers have scored back-to-back victories with Team 6R and Toyota in the USAC Silver Crown series, as Tanner scored his first career win less than one month ago in Marne, Michigan's "Great Lakes 150!" Tanner also competed at the DuQuoin Mile, and after starting 15th began moving forward in the opening laps. Unfortunately, on lap 13 Tanner's #19 began to experience mechanical issues and he was sidelined for the remainder of the event.

Barlow Motorsports Secures 2010 Championship

Barlow Motorsports takes the 2010 TORC Series PRO 2WD Championship title by nine points over Rob MacCachren!

Ricky Johnson finished second in the final race after closing out the season with three consecutive wins.

Patient Ferguson collects $10,000 at Cherokee

GAFFNEY, S.C. (Sept. 5) — At last year's Hall of Fame race at Cherokee Speedway, Chris Ferguson led 69 laps before his tires gave up in the 75-lap event, dropping him to third at the finish. The 20-year-old driver from Mount Holly, N.C., was determined that wasn't going to happen in this year's 60-lap Southern All Star East-sanctioned event at the 4/10-mile oval.

Choosing a harder tire compound than his competitors to endure the long-distance race, the outside front row-starting Ferguson survived a late-race scrape when polesitter Casey Roberts blew a tire in the late stages at Cherokee to earn $10,000, the richest victory of his young career.

"I knew if I could just hang with (Roberts and series points leader Johnny Pursley), at the end, I'd be better than both of 'em," Ferguson said, crediting knowledge he's gleaned over the past year since finishing behind Chris Madden and Roberts. "Last year I led all those laps, and I wasn't patient at all, and it cost me in the end. You've gotta be patient in these longer races, especially at Cherokee, where it's kind of abrasive on the tires."

Hometown driver Dennis Franklin finished second followed by Will Vaught of Crane, Mo. Roberts pitted to change his late-race flat and got back up to fourth while 14-year-old Zack Mitchell of Enoree, S.C. rounded out the top five in the caution-plagued race.

Roberts, Johnny Pursley of Clover, S.C., and Ferguson ran in the top three all the way with Ferguson gaining the second spot near the end. But when Roberts got his flat on the frontstretch in the waning laps, Ferguson went high to squeeze between him and the wall while Pursley tried to dive low under the slowing Roberts. The scramble left Ferguson with a bent rim — but with no damage to his tire — while Pursley suffered a bent tie rod and fell from contention.

"It was a pretty wild deal right there down the frontstretch with Casey having the flat right in front of us," said Ferguson, relieved he didn't have a flat himself from the contact.

Ferguson led the rest of the way and credit patience and tire management for helping him to a special victory. "I think it paid off," he said. "That's what really won the race for us."

Ferguson's victory helped him highlight the memory of two late members of the racing community close to him and his family as his car's decal scheme served as a tribute to car owner Jack Starrette, who died just two early, and late Cherokee Speedway photographer Mike Butler, who was amonh five inductees into the track's Hall of Fame. Ferguson donated his trophy to Butler's family members.

Besides Butler, others inducted before the fourth annual Hall of Fame race were chassis builder Barry Wright and drivers Paul "The Ghost" Gose, Jack Pennington and Ricky Weeks, who finished seventh in the night's race.

Dominant Birkhofer rules Tyler County for $10,000

By Todd Turner

MIDDLEBOURNE, W.Va. (Sept. 3) — Dirt Late Model racers with big leads often play it conservative to avoid making mistakes. In his debut at Tyler County Speedway on Friday, Brian Birkhofer wasn't playing it conservative. Then again, the 38-year-old driver from Muscatine, Iowa, didn't realize he had a half-track lead in the late stages of the 51-lap feature.

"I didn't know we had that dominant of a car," Birkhofer said. "The car just drove so dang good, if I slowed down, I was afraid I'd push, so I just was trying to attack lapped traffic."

Birkhofer's attack resulted in a flag-to-flag victory in the opening race of the Black Diamond weekend at the quarter-mile oval in West Virginia as he pocketed $10,000 for his first victory on the Pennsylvania-based UFO Race Championship Series.

"It's just good to actually win again. It's been a long time," said Birkhofer, who has three main event victories this season but none since mid-June. "I'd get to them (lapped cars) and my car was so positive, man, when you're that good, it's just fun to race. It's been a while since I've had that a lot of fun racing."

Fourth-starting Steve Shaver of Vienna, W.Va., made a few mild challenges on restarts, but Birkhofer, who started outside the front row, cruised after a flurry of six cautions between laps 14-19 kept the 24-car field bunched.

Birkhofer cruised the rest of the way, lapping all but four competitors in completing the domination of the first race of the lucrative weekend at Tyler County. Hall of Famer Rick Aukland of Zanesville, Ohio, restarted sixth after the final mid-race caution, but by the time he reached the second spot with about 10 laps remaining, he was a half-track behind the leader.

"I don't know that it felt much better at the end than it did the middle part of the race," said Aukland, who started ninth in his first Late Model race in more than a month. "I think some people's tires were getting really bald — and mine were just sort of bald — and we were getting a little better at the end.

"Birky was awful good. I couldn't even see him when I got to second. There wasn't much sense in trying to run over a lapped car to get to him. I couldn't even find him. He must've been real good."

Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., finished third, one spot ahead of 14th-starting Jamie Lathroum of Mechanicsville, Md., who ran as high as third. Dave Hess Jr. of Waterford, Pa., rounded out the top five.

Polesitter Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., slipped back to third early — the outside lane was the preferred starting spot — and was battling Madden for that spot when he spun on a lap-17 restart. Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., crept from eighth to fourth early in the race before slowing and heading to the pits.

Birkhofer, meanwhile, had no trouble and enjoyed his first visit to the action-packed West Virginia bullring.

"Thanks to all the great fans for taking all that dust up there, but man I tell you, it's sure fun racing out here," Birkhofer said in victory lane. "You come out here and look at it and it looks kind of small, but you get out here and drive it, it drives big. It drives like a circle. I grew up in Iowa on those big half-miles. They say you counter-steer a lot here. Well, I didn't have to counter-steer a whole lot, but tomorrow night might be a different situation."

Friday's feature was just the beginning of three nights of Labor Day weekend action at Tyler County, highlighted by a pair of $20,000-to-win unsanctioned Late Model features on Saturday night.

Great Weekend! Win #6 and Championship #8

On Friday September 3rd the Forsberg #92 made its 2010 debut at the Petaluma Non Wing 360 Run What You Brung 360 open competition race. As the team unloaded the radically designed car it was obvious that the rest of the pits were not happy and the team was going to be in for a long night. The team decided to not show how fast the car was after Andy was a full second faster then the whole field in hot laps. The crew tried messing the set up all around for qualifying but Andy still timed in 2nd quick, and finished 3rd in his heat so as not to stir the pot anymore but to the dismay of the rest of the field was scheduled to start on the pole of the A main event. After an entire night of hearing everyone complain, promoter Jim Soares pleaded with Andy to take off all the body panels just to make everyone happy, but with running the car all night with the panels it would have been very tough to just start all over without them, so Andy told Jim he would just start dead last to make everyone happy and the show was about to begin. Andy started 19th and by lap 18 was in the lead and he would eventually lap up to the 8th place car during the 30 lapper and pocketed $2500 for his 6th win of the year.

On Saturday September 4th the Brian Cannon Motorsports, Steve & Scott VanDenBroeke, Autism Awareness, Coors Light #47 headed to Placerville CA for the final night of the 360 point season. Andy was 21 points in the lead heading into the night so the team just needed to be consistent and not do anything stupid. Andy timed in 6th quick was 4th in his heat and would start 6th in the A main event. At the start of the event the outside rows got a horrible start and Andy dropped to 10th place. The bottom had moisture and the top had no cushion so passing was tough, but with 10 laps to go the bottom had slowed just enough so Andy was able to make the top work and move up to a 5th finishing spot and Clinch the Track Championship at Placerville.

On Sunday September 5th the Forsberg #92 made its 2nd non wing appearance of the weekend in night #2 of the Louie Vermeil Classic USAC 410 Non-Wing race at the Calistoga half mile. The team struggled with the car being to loose all night , Andy was 22nd quick, 7th in his heat, 5th in the B main and would start 19th in the A-main event. By the time the A main event came around set up was not going to be an issue as the track was taking rubber and tire conservation was the name of the game. Andy just made laps and never raced anyone the entire event and during a lap 27 red he was in 6th place, during the red the Tac in Andy’s car showed a high RPM of 6800 and for a team that normally has highs of 8500 to 8800 RPM’s it was clear how easy Andy was really taking it. Unfortunately during the last 3 laps 2 cars that had put new tires on during the red got by Andy but he did manage to finish 8th and received the 360 bonus cash as well as a great finish.

Andy wanted to say thanks to everyone whom helped with his non-wing car this weekend he had a great time and could not have done it with out all of you!

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