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| Blue Moon over Orland as Media reps compete in Hornet division |
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While the effects of the full moon clearly played a part for the evening, racers chose to ignore that mysterious pull and gave it their best to produce another great night of racing on the small 1/4 mile clay oval at Orland Raceway. One of the highlights of the event was the track's annual Media Race, pitting representatives from various media against their competition for a trophy and bragging rights as the best Media driver in the North Valley. The drivers were allowed to compete in the track's Hornet division with cars donated for the cause by generous drivers. Although the majority of Orland drivers were hesitant to loan their vehicles out, Redding car owner Willie West stated his position eloquently: "This is all for fun; some of the Orland guys need to remember that!" So it was more than appropriate that the car owned by West and driven by Tony Hazlett of Tri-County Newspapers was the victor over the six car field. But it looked like the #2s car of Terri Dinsmore, driven by Bill Husa of the Chico Enterprise-Record had it in the bag until the last turn of the last lap when Hazlett overtook Husa to take the checkered flag. The pair then spun out right in front of the crowd, much to the enjoyment of the fans. Hazlett said he'll share the trophy with his co-workers for a few days, but plans to take it home for safe keeping. And he enjoyed his experience so much, he's considering putting together his own Hornet for real competition. Other Media drivers included Coyote McGee of KALF Radio, Bill Kelly and Tony Cox of KHSL Radio, and Dan Hammer of Tri-County Newspapers. Kevin Pendergrass seems to have found a home in the #63 Pure Stock of Phil Shelby, driving away with three-for-three main event victories over a very competitive field. Kevin started the event dead last after suffering a heat race malfunction, and charged hard in the feature, calling on some luck to avoid problems, and garnering the lead by the half-way mark. Defending track champion and point leader Wes Dinsmore called in some luck markers too, and finished right behind Kevin for the second spot. Rich Champan of Willows continued his steady streak of good driving, and chalked up a third place finish. Orland's Steve Martin. currently running second in points, followed Chapman through lapped traffic to take the fourth position, with Earl Adams finishing in fifth. Phil Metz had a mission to further his Mini Truck point lead while he hoped for a second main event win, but it looked like a sure win for defending track champion Mario Romano until Romano was slammed into the front crashwall by Leonard Burrows on lucky lap number 13. The Full Moon gave Romano some luck, and in spite of starting at the back, Mario finished in second. At the restart, Metz took the lead and never looked back until he saw the black-and-white fly at the completion of 20 laps. Trophy Dash winner Romano took second for the field, with Olin Crain, Michael Ray and Buddy Skaggs rounding out the top five. Pendergrass was back in action in the Mini Stock
division, and made the transition a smooth one with a clean sweep for
the division, starting mid-way and capturing the top spot by the 12th
circuit. Ken Lewis, a former track champion in the Mini Stocks, worked
his way into second after edging past Olin Crain who was driving the
#28 machine for the night. Crain took over the ride vacated by his son
Ben who was prevented from further racing due to work commitments, and
the elder Crain fit nicely in the seat with a third place finish for
the night. Nick Boucher, visiting from Susanville, liked the Orland
welcome he received and took home a fourth place finish, with Blane
Baker crossing the line in fifth. Sprint car point leader Tony Richards furthered his lead with a feature event victory, a heat race win, and took home some more hardware with a Trophy Dash win. Richards started last in the main, which saw Chris Webber charging to the front by the end of the first circuit. He held the position until Richards sliced his way through the field and took the lead position by the ninth lap. The duo battled their way through lapped traffic and ended the 20-lap event with Webber right behind Richards for the checkered flag. Adam Schroer took third position, followed by Randy Lithrop driving the #41 Sprinter of Jack Clark, and Ed Butterfield rounding out the top five finishers. A dozen Hornets were anxious to try their hand at racing, and were required to run their ten lap event going the opposite direction on the track. Jeremiah Peduzi of Ono topped the field and was awarded a trophy for his conquest. Grandstands will open Saturday, August 7th at 5PM with
racing at 7, with A-1 Check Cashing of Orland as sponsor for the
night. Adult admission is $8; kids and seniors are $4. Under six or
over seventy are free, and Military personnel in Uniform are always
welcomed free of charge. For more information about racing at Orland
Raceway, call 530/865-2409. Mini Trucks Mini Stocks Mini Mods Wix Filters Sprints Hornets MEDIA / HORNETS |
