6/29/2024
Southern Oregon Speedway
Southern Oregon Speedway Completes Opening Night Of Bigfoot Weekend
Southern Oregon Speedway Completes Opening Night Of Bigfoot Weekend
By Ben Deatherage
White City, Oregon—Southern Oregon Speedway had a full card of racing on Friday, June 28th, for the first night of the Bigfoot weekend presented by Toyota. Four divisions were on tap: Mini Stocks, Rapp Racing Super 4's, Stone Heating & Air Dwarf Cars, and Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods.
As the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods race unfolded, it was a battle of skills and strategies. Williams' Scott Chavez took an early lead, only to be challenged by Yreka's Ryan Peery, who took the lead with two laps down.
Central Point's Jorddon Braaten quickly got into second a few laps later, intensifying the competition. Seven laps into the main event, Braaten began pressuring Peery for the lead. Simultaneously on the track, Keno's Jeffrey Hudson and Ethan Killingsworth, from Yreka, California, battled for third, with Killingsworth eventually winning out. Braaten put up a brilliant crossover pass on Peery while exiting turn four on the eighth circuit added to the intense competition.
The race was far from over as Peery, determined to reclaim his position, made a strong comeback. The competition heated up when a caution halted the race, giving the racers a chance to regroup. On the restart, Peery made a swift move to slip underneath Braaten, while Killingsworth and Sanders battled it out for third.
Peery led the field back to the wire on lap eleven, and Killingsworth held onto third despite pressure from Sanders. As the race stayed green, the front runners began to get strung out a bit.
Peery hit lapped traffic with six circuits remaining. The slower cars did not hinder his efforts to stay healthy, but the race for second became interesting when Killingsworth got past Braaten. A caution with twenty laps down would set up a late-race shootout for the win.
As the race neared its end, the competition for the top positions intensified. Sanders and Killingsworth fought fiercely for second place, but Killingsworth managed to hold his ground. Meanwhile, Peery, who had led from the restart, maintained his position at the front, securing his victory.
It is the second win of the season for Peery at Southern Oregon Speedway and his fourth overall win in 2024 among the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods. Killingsworth was the runner-up, followed by Sanders in third. Braaten was fourth in the finishing order, with place going to Joby Shields of Gold Hill.
For the Rapp Racing Super 4's feature, Rikki-Lynn Knight put her mount in front of the rest of the field in the early stages to grab the early race lead. Her advantage would be eliminated due to a lap two caution. When the race got back underway, Knight continued her dominance and got out in front of everyone else again. The Central Point pilot would win with a convincing margin over second place.
Her husband Dustin finished behind her in second. Skyler Fuhrman, of Medford, managed to grab third, while Cliff Massey, also from Medford, was fourth. Cameron Morgan completed the Top 5 in fifth.
The Mini Stocks started with Eagle Point's Jim Woolridge pulling away from the rest of the pack to set a torrid pace in the opening circuits. Yreka, California's Marilyn Yawnick, would catch and overtake Woolridge on lap three to become the new race leader.
Medford motorist Taylor Fuller began to catch up with Yawnick to try and challenge for the top spot and would seize the position in traffic at the midway point, on lap ten. Fuller checked out from the rest of the field, but the margin would be trimmed down due to a caution with eight to go.
Ashtin Hedges came to call on the restart, and the White City native got around Fuller on the fourteenth circuit, with Fuller sticking with Hedges in the final laps. A late race caution took place with just a pair of laps to cover.
Hedges did well on the restart, but Fuller made it a race and beat out Hedges, coming to the white and holding on to finish first. Hedges was a respectable second, followed by Woolridge in third. Yawnick placed fourth, while Medford's Dawn Rich was fifth.
In the Stone Heating and Air Dwarf Cars, split features were run to determine the starting lineup for the grand finale on Saturday with the Top 3 in each race getting locked in.
Josh King won the race for the lead on the opening start of the first main event. King, from Medford, would be pestered by Roseburg's Chris Kress in the first few laps, but King held on with a caution on the third circuit, slowing things down.
King was perfect on the restart and powered away from Kress and the rest of the competition. A late caution happened with three laps remaining, throwing a late race plot twist. Kress would be clutch late on the restart and became the new race leader with a few to go.
Kress held on for the victory, placing Roseburg's Anthony Pope second. Portland pilot Bryson Smith was third, with Mason Lewman grabbing fourth. Kalvin Morton, of Medford, ended the night fifth.
In the second feature, Eagle Point's Cody Peters did his best to stay ahead of Camden Robustelli from Medford. Peters held on to the lead only for Medford's Cayden Smith to get around him on the third circuit.
A caution slowed things down, but Cayden Smith developed a sizable lead and began to check out from the rest of the frontrunners. Once it looked like it would be utter dominance, a stoppage occurred at the midway point.
Corning, California's Kinser Endicott pressured Cayden Smith immensely, but Smith somehow held on. Despite the challenge, Cayden Smith kept his composure and would score the victory when the checkered flags waved.
Peters recovered to second, with Central Point's Colby Bergquist completing the podium in third. Endicott and Robustelli were the rest of the Top 5, in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage