Busy Weekend Planned At Southern Oregon Speedway
Reigning Late Model champion Nathan Augustine #24 will be gunning for a win this Saturday night.
Greg Arnold is running #39 this year in memory of his friend and former Pro Stock racer Tim Law, who lost his battle with Cancer during the off-season.
Kyle Yaeck #47 is the reigning Iron Giant Series champion and the driver to beat this week.
On the heels of last week’s Four Cylinder Frenzy event, Southern Oregon Speedway has an amazing lineup of racing on tap for this weekend. In addition to a big Outlaw Kart program on the little track on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, the Iron Giant Street Stocks are coming to town for the first round of their big eight race tour of various Oregon tracks. Joining the Street Stocks on the big speedway will be the Late Models, Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars, Valley Stor-All Late Model Lites and Mini Stocks.
The Iron Giant Street Stock Series, which is the brainchild of James Whitehouse and Chris Sine, brings together some of the best Street Stock racers from Oregon to run eight races at eight different tracks. Southern Oregon Speedway gets the season opener once again. Last season, it was Donald Schott winning the 50 lap race for the $1,000 first prize. Once again, the drivers will be running for $1,000 and a nice $500 runner-up prize.
Kyle Yaeck comes into this event as the driver to beat. He has won some of the biggest Street Stock races in the state over the past few seasons and is the reigning tour champion. Kyle finished second in last season’s race and was perhaps the most interesting driver to watch on the track. Eric Jarnport won a good battle for second in the final standings ahead of Whitehouse last season as Sine and James Yankee rounded out the Top 5. Reports are that a field of 15-20 competitors are anticipated as drivers are itching to get a chance to race on the Jim Rodgers prepared 3/10 mile clay oval.
Not to be ignored in the mix is the exciting Late Model division. When 2014 Street Stock champion Miles Deubert had an opportunity to acquire the 2017 Madras Late Model championship car from Kyle Coen, he jumped at the chance. Running a little bit late on Saturday night, he made it in time to run his heat race. That race didn’t go very well, but adjustments made leading up to the feature resulted in Deubert earning an impressive win ahead of reigning champion Nathan Augustine. John Dees and Mike Linder were looking good as well, and both drivers will be looking to win the Trophy Dash when the program starts this week. Other competitors to watch for include Bob Dees, Garrett Dees, Dave Foote and Don Garrett Jr.
David Steele has won the last eight Mini Stock Main Events in which he has started. This includes a five race win streak at Southern Oregon Speedway. Steele swept the event last week. Reigning champion Kristopher Mix had to settle for second, and he’ll be looking to knock Steele out of the Winner’s Circle this week. The rapidly improving Hunter Magnan, Michael McCloud, Garrett Fredrickson and 2013 champion Steve Goetz will be among the others to watch this week.
Eric Aos looked impressive in winning the Valley Stor-All Late Model Lites Main Event last week. He had smooth sailing ahead in winning by a wide margin. Championship hopeful Charlie Eaton struggled with motor problems early on, but he rebounded with a second place finish by making a last lap pass on Dusty Aos. Other drivers to watch for this week include Greg Arnold, Danny Prewitt and 2016 champion Lee Doty. Arnold is running #39 this year in memory of his friend and former Pro Stock racer Tim Law, who lost his battle with Cancer during the off-season.
The Southern Oregon Dwarf Car competitors have run a pair of races this season. It was Camden Robustelli getting it done with back-to-back Yreka wins. He is the early point leader, but he knows the competition will be tough. Some of the best Oregon racers converged on Cottage Grove last week, and SODCA championship hopeful Kalvin Morton held off two-time club champion Brock Peters to get the win. These two will be out to snap the Robustelli two race win streak, and other drivers to watch for this week include two-time champion Josh King, Ryan Smith, Chad Cardoza, Fred Hay, Randy Slater and Joe Sanders.
If you’re looking for more racing, the little track will roar into action on Friday night with a two-day event that concludes on Saturday morning. The KT100s are coming in from Northern Oregon and Washington with a field of 20-plus competitors anticipated. The 206 Karts are also coming down. There will be big money on the line. The track will also run its various Cage Kart classes, and word is that we will be seeing several of the youngest drivers competing in the Beginners class. The Saturday portion of the show will also include the UAS Speedway Karts. The Main Events will run on Saturday based on the finishes from the preliminary races on Friday night. KT100s will also run a preliminary feature on Friday.
On the big track, gates open on Saturday at 5 p.m. with the Trophy Dashes scheduled to fire off at 7 p.m. General Admission is $12 with Seniors, Veterans and Juniors (6-12) $6. Children 5 and under are free. For the Kart program, General Admission is $10 and includes pit access. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
