SCRAFAN.COM - Deb's WSS Report

(September 29, 2002) On Saturday, September 28, the #20 team returned to Orland to race with the Ca.Mod.Sprints. With the end of the racing season approaching, everyone wanted to squeeze in a little more fun, and that we did. There were 14 cars there, which was enough to run qualifying, with the #11 of Travis Moore making the fast time of 13.914, and our #20 second fastest at 13.962. As I explained last week, all of the cars in the division pit together, which just naturally makes it easier to help each other out, and made for a few nice photos when all of the cars were lined up in the pits. The drivers in this class welcomed us back, in fact I received a big hug from Dave Emery, Sr. at the sign in gate when we first pulled up, and we thank them for the hospitality they showed us, as well as the officials and fans.

Two 10-lap heat races ran after qualifying, both going flag to flag with no yellows, some awesome, fast racing! The first was won by #8 Rob Worthington, followed by #69 Josh Jacobo in 2nd, #11 Travis Moore in 3rd, # 75 Robert Baker in 4th, and #17 Nathan Johnson in 5th. Our #20 started in 4th in the second heat, made some smooth passes and finished 1st, #76 Bill Schroer was 2nd, #54 Dave Emery, Sr. was 3rd, #14 Doug Emery 4th, and #5 Stan Hansen was 5th.

The trophy dashes ran after the heats, with #76 Bill Schroer and #75 Robert Baker starting on the front row, # 11 Travis Moore and our #20 behind them. Racing four fast laps, our #20 won the dash, the orange #76 Bill Schroer finished 2nd. Tonight all of the drivers in all divisions were given yellow Frisbees when they signed in at the gate, and were asked to sign them w/ car # and division on them. After the trophies were presented by an adorable young lady accompanied by "Dirt Dawg" the track mascot, all of the drivers tossed the Frisbees into the stands to the fans. It looked like a UFO invasion, and the fans catching the dash winner's Frisbees were awarded prizes. Orland also offers a ride along in a track car to the fans, but with a little twist, as the passenger is armed with a super soaker and frequently soaks the flagman or the fans. While we were in the infield, we were pleased to see our #20 fans in the stands, some friends and family from the Chico area, and they enjoyed the show and the races at Orland immensely.

While we were waiting to see the lineup for the main, we met some people from Graeagle, a town near Truckee, who were very interested in the Wingless Sprint division, and were checking out the Orland Ca.Mods division, as they were planning on building a car. Our crew was flattered by their interest in our car, and removed the hood so they could take pictures of the engine and see just how everything was put together. Another "small world", continued, as I learned that one of them knew of my dad, who is a photographer in Graeagle! While the crew was getting the car ready, I watched the mini-stock main, as the young man I ran into last week that I had not seen in over 20 years was driving his car. He started in the back and finished 10th, but with a little front end damage to his car, and it was nice to see three other drivers helping him get the car loaded up on his trailer.

The 20 lap main event for the Ca.Mods started with #14 Doug Emery and #54 Dave Emery, Sr. on the front row. Dash winner #20 pulled a 10th invert, and started next to fast qualifier #11 Travis Moore. Without a score board to keep track of laps, I'm only guessing at the laps, but #69 Josh Jacobo took the lead early, with #8 Rob Worthington behind him in 2nd. I was watching through the video viewfinder, and focused on our #20 quickly moving up the field and by lap 15 he was amazingly in 3rd.The 1st yellow flag flew at lap 15 for the #14 Doug Emery, who unfortunately lost a wheel, and was done for the night. Another yellow flew at lap 17 when #20 braked hard to avoid hard contact with another car, and the #76 spun to avoid him, too. Both cars went to the back, but it looked like maybe there were some lapped cars in between. At the restart, with Josh Jacobo running hard in front, #8 Rob Worthington started closing in the gap, and our #20 moved through traffic with finesse, and cleanly worked his way up to 6th at the checkered. It was an exciting race, with Orland's Ca Mod point leader #69 Josh Jacobo taking a well earned win, #8 Rob Worthington 2nd, #11 Travis Moore 3rd, #2 Dudley Burrows 4th, #54 Dave Emery.Sr. 5th, #20 was 6th. These are not the official finishes, just what it looked like to me as there may have been lapped cars in there. We all had a great time, and it was fun to hear the feature winner tell our #20 that he wished there had been a few more laps so that he could have raced #20 to the checkered. This group of drivers has shown us such a great positive racing attitude, good sportsmanship, respect for each other as drivers, and it was an honor to be racing with you. You are all champions in our book. Thanks again, Orland racers, promoters, officials, and fans, we hope to see you again next season.

The #20 team will be back racing again next week, at the open show in Chowchilla on Oct. 4th and 5th.

Drive safe, have fun, and take care,
Deb