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| Chowchilla's 3rd Annual Open Wheel Roundup by Debbie Shipherd |
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Chowchilla, Calif. Oct.17-18…Danny Olmstead from Tracy emerged the final winner at Chowchilla’s 3rd annual Open Wheel Roundup on October 17 and 18 on the well prepared and fast 1/3 mile dirt oval. Olmstead powered his Stealth Motorsports sprinter to victory in the heat race, trophy dash, the preliminary A main, and Saturday’s feature, but everyone in attendance shared in the fun and excellent racing for the last wingless sprint races of the ‘03 season. Twenty wingless sprints filled the pits with 34
BAD dwarf cars, about 10 BCRA vintage midgets, and on Saturday, the
SORA sprint 100’s and a few mini outlaws. The sprints had a few
long tows, including Josh Jacobo , Orland’s ’03 champion, who
was driving the Jacobo Racing’s #75 car, and John Fenton, NCMA’s
rookie of the year, who towed from Bakersfield. It was great to see
drivers from all of the wingless sprint tracks and divisions
represented; many from the NCMA, some from Antioch, the CSRA group
from Sacramento, and the Jacobo team from Orland. Marysville’s
Twin Cities Speedway race director Bob Burbach was also in
attendance, and he videotaped the event for Checkered Flag
Productions after spending time in the pits getting to know drivers
and crews. The pits were filled with an array of people, cars,
quads, colorful awnings and noise, and charged with the anticipation
of a full weekend of great racing. Promoters Tom and Cindy Sagmillar welcomed everyone at the drivers meeting and outlined the format. Heat race lineups were decided by a pill draw as drivers signed in, and finishes determined where drivers started in Friday’s preliminary main. Another pill draw determined the invert for Saturday’s feature. Tom Sagmillar also explained that he had moved the tractor tires closer to the infield and replaced them with cones in order to prevent front end damage to the open wheeled cars. Any driver hitting a cone would be penalized 2 spots in the race. The 1st heat race ran fast with a single caution for a spun car, and Cargill’s Welding John Fenton took the win from a front row start, followed by the Flying Farmer Ed Amador and Brandy Ford in the SCS car owned by Steve Sutherland. Danny Olmstead won the fast paced 2nd heat from a 6th place start, followed by Chris DeRuyter and C.C. Auto Parts Keith Shipherd. Olmstead also took the win in the 4 lap trophy dash. The excellent track preparation gave racers a semi tacky 3 grooved surface for Friday’s preliminary A main. The 20 lap race lined up with Tim Sherman and TBS’s Scott Holloway in row 1, Keith Shipherd and Brandy Ford in row 2, and dash winner Danny Olmstead started in the 7th spot. At the green Sherman took the lead with Holloway and Shipherd side by side behind him. Shipherd launched into the lead on lap 3 with Olmstead and Holloway on his tail. The thrilling action slowed on lap 10 for 2 spun cars, followed by another spin soon after. On the restart, Olmstead grabbed the lead in turn 4 and held it to the checkers. Shipherd, Holloway, Sherman, and Ford rounded out the top 5 and were all paid for their finishes. Some racers left for motels, but many were camping in the pits. As dinners and drinks were shared, campfires started up and a wide variety of camping set ups as well. One crew had a luxurious 40’ motor home, some slept in car trailers, and some even slept on the ground with a tarp strung between their truck and race car. While Tom Sagmillar ran the grader and water truck until well after midnight, there was an entertaining caped streaker on a quad and sporadic sounds of firecrackers and laughter throughout the night. Saturday morning teams were grateful to have the use of the fairground showers and the water hoses to wash the race cars. Chowchilla’s track crew was busy preparing the track at 8A.M.and breakfast was served at 9. Good sportsmanship was in display again; the Jacobo team repaid the Shipherd team for some welding and a front nerf bar with a 6 pack of beer as a thank you. Friday evening driver Russ Wullenwaber was squirming in the stands trying to just be a spectator since his car was without a motor. He received a call from fellow NCMA driver George Terry on Saturday morning with an offer to drive George’s other car. Wullenwaber arrived Saturday afternoon and was busily setting the car up for dirt, a happy camper just to be racing. Several teams did some traveling for parts; Billy Nichols had to scratch from Friday’s action with brake problems, but returned Saturday after finding the needed part in Sacramento. Rich Sedgewick drove back to Bakersfield for parts for John Fenton’s car. Matt & Glass in Merced helped out a few teams, and when Sam Fries learned they were out of the rear tire he needed, promoter Tom Sagmillar sold him one he had originally planned on giving to the trophy dash winner. The SORA sprint 100’s began arriving in the afternoon and soon another full program was underway, with heat races, dashes and mains for dwarfs and sprint 100’s as well as the consy dash and 30 lap feature for the wingless sprints. The last 6 finishers from Friday’s preliminary main lined up to run the dash on Saturday. Rookie driver Steve Bruno was happy, as he had planned on” just getting more seat time “during the weekend’s races. Pole starter Billy Garcia drove his Bob Dias owned sprinter into the lead at the start, followed by Steve Bruno and John Keith from Antioch. Garcia held the lead until the last lap when he got up too high in turn 1 which gave the lead to Bruno. A happy Bruno took home a trophy and $50 for the win. With a straight up start pulled for the invert for the 30 lap feature, Danny Olmstead had the pole with Keith Shipherd also on the front row. Olmstead took the lead at the green followed closely by Shipherd, Holloway, and Ford. An early caution saw John Keith and Scott Pierson leave the track and then Gandy pulled off with mechanical problems. Action slowed for a caution when officials discovered that George Terry had lost his rear nerf bar. Olmstead continued to lead on the restart with Shipherd and Holloway on his tail. On lap 15 Shipherd lost his 2nd spot with steering box failure and pulled off safely as Holloway moved into 2nd. The Rim Rider Holloway persistently challenged Olmstead on the outside, and Olmstead held the lead at the checkers with Holloway, Ford, DeRuyter, and Amador rounding out the top 5, and a happy Josh Jacobo scoring a 6th place finish. It was an entertaining weekend of racing, with yet another day of racing on Sunday scheduled for Chowchilla’s hard working crews. No driver was penalized for hitting the cones, and everyone visited while waiting for their pay for the night’s races. We thank Chowchilla Speedway for hosting another successful Open Wheel Roundup, our crew, fellow racers and teams for their sportsmanship and good company, and look forward to a busy winter preparing for next season. As always, take care, have fun, and drive safe. Summary: Fri.10/17 Heat 1: John Fenton, Ed Amador, Brandy Ford, Scott Holloway, Roy Fisher, Josh Jacobo, Charlie Correia, Steve Bruno, Doug Gandy, Scott Pierson Heat 2: Danny Olmstead, Chris DeRuyter, Keith Shipherd, Tim Sherman, George Terry, Sam Fries, John Keith, Billy Garcia, Bobby Nichols (DNS) Trophy Dash: Olmstead, DeRuyter, Amador, Fenton Preliminary A main: Olmstead, Shipherd, Holloway, Sherman, Ford, DeRuyter, Amador, Fisher, Terry, Gandy, Pierson, Fries, Jacobo, Correia, Bruno, Fenton, Keith, Garcia Sat.10/18 Consy dash: Bruno, Correia, Keith, Jacobo, Fenton, Garcia Feature Main: Olmstead, Holloway, Ford, DeRuyter, Amador, Jacobo, Correia, Fries, Fenton, Sherman, Fisher, Nichols, Wullenwaber, Shipherd, Terry, Pierson, Gandy, Keith, Bruno, Garcia |
