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| Press Release |
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MRP victories to Lovell, Stein, Ollar and Gaioran Tight at the top for Wingless Warriors By Bob Burbach |
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Marysville CA - August 26, 2007 --- Paul and Kathy Hawes presented an
impressive, entertaining 5 division show that had drama all over the place
Saturday night. Yuba City Scrap and Steel’s 6th annual Ice Cream Night at
Marysville Raceway Park kept the large crowd refreshed and the racing kept a
large part of the crowd on their feet. The primary divisions feature events
included a last lap pass for a win in the KKCY Mini Stocks, both point leaders
crash out of the Wingless Sprint Car Series event, and twin brothers finish 1-2
in the Winged Sprint Car finale. The night was capped by some motorized mayhem
as the Extreme Bombers crashed and slammed their way over the figure 8 course
once again. If that’s not enough, by the end of the night only a single point
separated the two contenders in the Wingless Sprint Cars Series. That
fire-breathing division heads into next week’s final point race with high
anticipation. The KKCY Mini Stocks were the first of the primary divisions to run their feature event. 2006 Champion Joel Giusti of Sutter was the pole sitter and jumped to an immediate lead over fellow front row starter Robert Luster of Marysville. Luster has been tough lately with 2 feature wins under his belt coming into Saturday’s combat. Unlike the previous week’s race this one went green for a long time early on as 5 drivers diced for the top spot running side by side as Giusti held on to a paper thin lead. On lap six Yuba City’s Greg Prather muscled his way into the lead after a stirring battle with both Jamey Ollar and Gary Holsey. Prather was unable to shake the pair and, for good measure, a resurgent James Foster was closing and mixing it up with Ollar and Holsey. Giusti began to fade as the race went into its 2nd half. Later we learned that Giusti was having tire troubles and actually nursed a flat tire into a respectable 7th place finish. Luster also had tire woes and had to pit to have it changed near ½ way. With Giusti and Luster gone Prather, Holsey, Foster and Ollar put on a spectacular race. A yellow flag slowed the procession, one of only two all night. The race to the finish was awesome with first Prather then Holsey exchanging the lead. Foster stuck his nose in there as Ollar battled all three for the top spot. Surprisingly, point leader Lisa Shelby and her teammate Blane Baker seemed content to watch the frontrunners battle. Maybe they were doing some point racing as only Ollar was in the top 10 in points. Their patience was rewarded later on. The last 5 laps were worth the price of admission. As the lead trio, Holsey, Prather and Ollar, came to the white flag, Ollar made an astounding move in turn 3. He eclipsed Prather while creeping up beside leader Holsey. Holsey and Ollar were side by side at the white banner. Holsey had a nose on Ollar in turn 1 and the preferred outside line. Ollar dove for the bottom and had his best set of turns all night and stayed dead even with Holsey as they went onto the backstretch. They were STILL dead even in turn 3. Holsey was on the high side and fast approaching a high running lapped car. Holsey had an instant to make a decision and he turned under the lapped traffic. That gave Ollar the run on the inside in turn 4. Ollar hammered the gas and motored under starter Robin Davies checkered flag in 1st. Holsey settled for 2nd with Prather and Foster in his wake. It was a sensational finish to a thrilling race. The lack of caution flags kept the intensity in this event high. Starter Davies kept things flowing by ordering slow cars and cars with problems out of harms way or to the pits as necessary keeping the track green for long periods of time. Post race technical inspection would have another significant impact on the final standings as both Holsey and Prather were disqualified after the event. Holsey did not report to the tech area and went to his pit drawing an automatic D.Q. Prather was also disqualified in post race action for an infraction unknown to this observer. What all that did was move Shelby and Baker into 3rd and 4th behind Foster who was declared 2nd after the post race incidents. Shelby now has a firmer grasp on the point lead heading into the final three races for the KKCY Mini Stocks. The Wingless Warriors of the Wingless Sprint Car Series were next up. The pole sitter was 2005 Champion Steve Stein. Stein has a habit of winning races from the back, and here he was on the pole. In addition, series point leader Mark Hill would have to start last in the field as he needed a push to start his car. He should have started 4th. Hill took a 1 point advantage into the feature as both he and Pat Russum had won their respective heat races with stellar performances. As expected Stein jumped into a lead he would hold to the checkers. But the race itself was simply amazing as the drama unfolded before the eager fans that filled the stands. All eyes were on Hill to see if he could make the journey to the front. Russum’s 6th starting position looked to be a good one as he quickly motored into third behind newcomer Marcus Hardina of Santa Rosa in the early laps. Hardina would later play a pivotal role in the outcome of this one. Hill was on the move. He took his white #8 to the high side and began to systematically pick off competitors on his march to the front. Nearly perfect track preparation on a hot and windy day had the MRP surface hooked up and flying in ANY groove. Hill took advantage of that. The crowd reacted as Hill made each pass. The atmosphere was electric, as everyone knew the importance of Hill’s situation. Stein was turning qualifying laps as Russum got into 2nd nearing ½ way. Russum moved in on Stein, but Stein inched away every time he heard Russum’s motor. Stein was in complete control. Then, on lap 13 the first of two remarkable incidents threw a different complexion onto the race. 3rd running Hardina came off of turn four with his front end folded. He continued to accelerate while fighting for control. He hammered the outside wall off of turn 4 and once again accelerated across the track right in front of the field. Many took evasive action and saved their cars, but Hill coming like a rocket on the high side hit Hardina a ton with his right rear. Hill’s car bounced into the air, the impact tearing apart the rear end. Hill fought for control but the collision sent him into the path of luckless Jimmy Steward. The Colfax speedster, Steward, hit Hill, folded his front end and started to flip down the front stretch. His yellow 16 hit hard on the cage in the initial flip. Other cars piled into the wreckage or stopped with the track, that was, to a large degree, blocked. The crowd and all the motors were hushed as the red flag was displayed. Some anxious moments went by as the Steward car rested upside down in front of the starter’s stand. Then a mighty cheer went up as Steward popped out of his mangled racer and shook off the effects of his wild ride. Hill’s car was ruined in the crash, as were 3 others. Hill’s championship hopes seemed dashed after a gallant ride on the high side that had taken him from 19th to 9th. But, that’s why we run the laps. More drama was yet to come…and soon. The restart had Stein, Russum and Mark Ziske 1-2-3. Stein led the field into turn 1 with 7 laps left, but Russum pushed in turn 2 and Ziske got a run on him. Russum saved his position, but Ziske was on him as another lap went into the record books. Once again, Russum pushed in turn 2 and this time Ziske pulled even and passed Russum heading up the back chute. Russum tagged Ziske’s right rear and his front end folded. Russum’s nose dug in and launched him into a series of scary end over end flips that ended in turn 3. Russum’s white 7 stopped upside down and everything went quiet again. Like Steward before, Russum had to shake off the effects of this high, hard ride. He did and was OK, but done for the night. What this did was put Hill right back in the thick of the point battle as he would be positioned just 2 spots behind Russum in the final finishing tally. This evening’s remarkable series of events garnered Russum 2 more points than Hill. With Hill having a 1 point edge going in, Russum should have a 1 point edge going into next Saturday night’s explosive finale (all finishes and points become official at the close of business onTuesday). The race ran to its conclusion after Russum’s high-flyer without further trouble. Stein, from Davis, led Ziske over the line for a solid flag to flag victory. In 3rd with a great effort was Foster City’s Dave Press. Press, an accomplished modified driver made his 3rd appearance of the year his most impressive. The Winged Sprint Cars rumbled to life next. With an 8 inversion pill the front row was David Derr Jr. of Trowbridge and point contender Jim Marsh of Live Oak. Both drivers had excellent rides in their heat races and paced a talented field of hard charging racers. Marsh got the jump at the start. But Derr had a great turn 2 and led on the back chute. 3rd starting Kevin Loved got to 3rd right away as 4th starting Jeremy Burt stayed there for the first lap. Derr had 5 car lengths on Marsh at the line. Derr started to leave the pack behind as Mike Wasina Jr. got by Burt in turn 1 on lap 2. Then it all ended for Derr as he hooked up hard out of turn 2 and pulled a wheelie. His black 7 came down and broke the front suspension. Derr pulled off in turn 3 finished for the evening after a brilliant run in the lead. Marsh would lead Kevin Lovell to the new green. Marsh was flying and led the next 6 laps unchallenged. Marsh’s remarkable stretch of consistency was in tact and he was leading some formidable opponents. It was some of Marsh’s best driving to date. As lap 8 began Lovell was close and had a great turn 2. Lovell’s familiar #81 picked up Marsh with a daring high side pass and was the leader as the race approached ½ way. Blistering the well prepared ¼ mile, Lovell began to quickly move away from the rest of the field. The yellow flag flew for a tangle that had Geoff Duppman on top of point leader Jeremy Burt. Grass Valley’s Burt didn’t need this as he could have clinched the title. Tonight it wasn’t going to happen. Marsh was fast and Burt wasn’t having any luck. Burt’s car may have been damaged in the incident as he did little passing thereafter finishing a distant 12th, the last car running. The next few laps after the restart were thrillers. Kevin Lovell rocketed away, but Marsh was in a monster battle with racers that represented 7 championships at MRP. 2-time champ Wasina was just behind Marsh and 3-time champ Korey Lovell was pressing them both. In one big move at ½ way in turn 3 Marsh was passed by Korey Lovell on the inside and Wasina on the outside. It was a moment to hold your breath, but they all made it. Korey Lovell soon flashed by Wasina for 2nd as 2-time champion Brent Dothage relegated Marsh to 5th with a pass on the backstretch shortly thereafter. Lapped traffic helped Korey Lovell get right behind brother Kevin, but tonight it was Kevin’s turn to shine. In only his 2nd appearance of the year Kevin Lovell took the checkers in 1st. Brother Korey stayed 2nd with Wasina a solid 3rd. Burt will have to wait a week to grab his 1st championship, and as quick as Marsh has been of late, the local schoolteacher thinks this isn’t over yet. Marsh continued his string of perfect consistency. Marsh has no DNF’s this season. The Sprint 100 Racing Association put on a strong show in preliminary feature racing action. Another great performance by Tony Gaoiran put his familiar #65 in the winners circle again. A nifty performance by young Nick McColloch made it tough for Tony G this time. McColloch finished a fine 2nd ahead of the “Colusa Comet” Tim McLaughlin. Cameron Haney got everyone’s attention with a wicked flip on the front stretch at mid-race. The video shows Haney getting over the left rear wheel of a fellow competitor and nosing into the surface, then bouncing high in the air before stopping right side up. Haney was out of the wreck quickly with no obvious personal injury and walked back to the pits under his own power. The awesome mayhem of the Extreme Bombers brought down the curtain on the ambitious 5-division show. True to form, awe inspiring close calls at the intersection punctuated the event. One day we’ll actually find out who drives the black camaro that won. Until then, a tip of the hat to the, now, 2 time winner of the Extreme Bomber competition. Next week it’s all on the line for our two open wheel divisions. The mighty alcohol burning Winged Sprint Cars will decide their champion and the Wingless Sprint Car Series will be back to decide theirs. With a single point between Yuba City’s Mark Hill and Sacramento’s Pat Russum it’s an event not to be missed. The KKCY Mini Stocks and the KKCY Street Stocks will also be on the card. Pit gates always open at 3PM. Spectator Gates Open at 5PM with racing getting underway at 7PM. Contact the promoters at 1.530.743.1327 or email as indicated on the home page. Put www.marysvilleracewaypark on your “favorites” button on you computer. Watch this site for press releases, updates and complete results. Note: Please make this observer aware of any names that are misspelled. The text is based on information we have at the time of its release. All finishes and points become official at the close of business on Tuesday. |
