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Herrera, Reid, Hodges and Bell take wins at Hollywood Hills Speedway
7-14-2007
Bob Ingram / Beth Hazlewood
San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico. Hollywood Hills Speedway had one of the best nights of the year for racing after fighting some very nasty weather the last few weeks, including tornadoes within a few miles of the track. Racers in 4 divisions took advantage of the great weather and near perfect track conditions to put on one of the best dirt track shows in a long time.
The Non-Wing Sprints ( Traditional Sprints ) brought out a very fast group of 22 cars tonight, with all of the cars being local except newcomer from 2 weeks ago, Billy Page towing down from Chama, N.M. Local star Johnny Herrera again was the class of the field but is feeling more and more pressure every week from several drivers. Some of the drivers stepping up to the plate to do battle with Herrera are the father and son duo of Bo & Jessie Baker, Rick Johnson, Jason Tanner, Kelly Denison, Scott Box, David Burns and others. Practice laps got off to a rough start as the car of rookie driver Cody Mansfield in the #11M did a soft rollover ( is there such a thing as a soft rollover ? ). However the Mansfield car was able to be repaired and ran both his heat and the Main Event. Heat #1 went caution free with Herrera in the family owned #45X taking the win over the #93 of past champion Jon Taylor with the #40X of Scott Box coming home in the 3rd position. Heat #2 saw Bo Baker in the Charlie Fegan owned #611 take the win over the #9X of Kelly Denison with the #7 of Jason Tanner in the Bill & Deb Richards owned car crossing the stripe in the show position. Heat #3 had Santa Fe driver Dave Burns in the #52 having one of his best runs of the year taking the win over the #22 of Jessie Baker with the #29 of Ronnie Smith, another Father Son combo taking the 3rd spot. The Dash-For-Cash saw a VERY close race among all six drivers with the #9X of Denison taking the win over J. Baker and Jon Taylor. This 4 lap race paid $200.00 which was sponsored by A-1 Transmissions of Santa Fe. The Main Event saw 21 of the 22 cars take the green as the K2 of Kevin Faber was unable to start after having mechanical problems at the beginning of his heat race. After a restart for a lap 1 spin there were only 1 more yellow and 1 red flag for a rollover by the #01 of Larry Stoerkel. Stoerkel who runs on a very limited budget could definitely use some extra Sponsor help to keep his always fast Sprinter in competition for the rest of the year. Herrera came up from his outside 3rd row start to take the lead in the early laps but had a gaggle of cars nipping at his heals. The top 8-10 cars exchanged positions on every lap with all of the drivers searching high and low for the fastest way around the track. Most of the cars in the entire field were lifting the left front coming out of both turn 2 and turn 4 all race long. After the dust had settled Herrera took the win over last weeks winner #22 Jessie Baker with #65 Rick Johnson, #9X Kelly Denison and #7 Jason Tanner filling out the top 5 positions.
The Late Models had one of their best showings in several years as 15 cars were on hand to put on some fantastic racing. Eleven local drivers were joined by 3 cars from Colorado and 1 from Aztec N.M. New to HHS this weekend were the #68 of Dan Shepard from Greely Colorado and #93 Terry Bushee from Aurora Colorado who were joined by Buena Vista Colorados #47 of Kyle Hill and Aztec New Mexicos #40 Jeff Davis. Several of these cars were doing some of the wildest wheelies ever seen coming out of the #4 turn. Most notably the #5B of Edgewood New Mexicos Butch Reid and the #93 of Bushee. Susan Valdes who is Web-Mistress for www.ovalracin.com and also a track photographer, said that she could see the oil pan on the #93 at times. Heat #1 had Reid in the #5B Coaches Chassis car take the win over the #47 of Hill with the #99 of Eloy Romero a very close 3rd. Heat #2 saw the newcomer #68 Dan Shepard take another very close win over #40 Jeff Davis with local star and multi-division driver #28 Cooder Frazier coming home in the 3rd position. The 4 lap Dash-For-Cash, Sponsored by J&R Clutches of Santa Fe saw Davis take the win over Reid, Shepard and Hill. The Main Event had only 13 starters as the cars of #27 Steve Suber and the #48D of David McDaniel were unable to make the call. These 13 cars put on one of the most exciting races seen in a long time. In the early going the #5B of Reid who had won the last two Main Events was having a battle royal with the #68 of Shepard until a flat tire took Shepard out of the race. Moriarty New Mexicos Marc Herrera in his beautiful new Purple & White #38 led for several laps and stayed in the hunt for the win until the very end. Once again, as in the heats Reid and Bushee were putting on quite a show of lifting the left front WAY off the track in both turns. Several of the local drivers were having one of their best performances as the # 99 of Eloy Romero and the #25 of Tony Martinez were never far from the front. With about 10 laps to go there was a big tangle on the frontstretch between the #47 of Kyle Hill and the #93 of Boushee that eventually brought out a red flag as track personnel tried to separate the two cars. In the end track promoter Bobby Seals seemed to single handedly separate the two cars as they dangled from a wrecker and the race continued with both cars being able to continue. During this caution period the #40 of Jeff Davis was searching the track for the area with the best grip. When the race resumed Davis was able to move up from his 6th spot to the 2nd position by using the high groove and was making a valiant attempt to chase down Reid but ran out of laps before he could catch him. In the end Reid took his 3rd straight Main Event win with Davis a close 2nd followed by the #38 of Marc Herrera, #99 Eloy Romero and the #25 of Tony Martinez filling out the top five spots.
Once again the Mini-Sprints brought out a very good field of 18 very fast little cars. These small size cars with their wings and 600cc motors are unbelievably fast and put on some great side by side racing. Where the Late Models had 3 visiting drivers from Colorado, the Mini-Sprints had 3 drivers from Arizona and 1 from Colorado to join our local heroes. Heat #1 again saw 12 year old Josh (The Jet) Hodges come from his customary last row starting spot in the #74X take the win over the #00 of Phoenix driver Ken Caskey with the #17 of Pagosa Springs young D.J. Snyder coming home in the 3rd position. This race was a heartbreaker for another Phoenix driver as the #20 of Dustin Cormany had a sizeable lead at the white flag but exploded his motor between turns 3&4 and came to an abrupt halt ending his racing for the night. Heat #2 had the very fast #19X of Jordan Matson take the win over yet another Phoenix driver as the #70 of Dwayne Adams came home in 2nd with a very good running Brian Perea in the #68 taking home the 3rd position. The Main Event had only 16 starters as the cars of #4 Cody Mansfield and the #20 of Cormany were unable to make the call. This was one of the best of many great races that the Mini-Sprints have run this year with the top 8-10 cars running side by side, lap after lap. For awhile it looked as if young Hodges streak of 4 wins might come to an end as he was mired back in around 8th place for several laps. But as is Hodges style he began picking the cars off one at a time and took a very close victory over the #00 of Caskey with #19X Matson, #17 Snyder and the #5 of up and coming rookie driver Jeremy Schofield filling out the top five spots. There were a couple of scary moments as the #45 of Ryan Culpepper and the #12 of Paul Whitehead came together hard in turn 3 and nearly hit the wall head on. Fortunately both cars and drivers were able to continue, although the Culpepper car was not able to finish the race. Another scary moment came as the #22X of David Gay got turned around at the flagstand and was clipped by another car sending both of them into the air. Once again both cars avoided flipping over but it did end Gays night.
The Street Stocks had the smallest field of the night with 12 cars to run 1 heat and their Main Event. Even though the car count was a little low the racing was terrific. The heat race had a great duel among the top 4 drivers with lap after lap of nose to tail and side by side action. In the end the #96 of Santa Fes Joe Smithberger took the win over the #66 of Clay Moseley with the #1 of Ronnie Bell taking the 3rd position. In the 4 lap Dash-For-Cash the 4 cars in the race were never more than one or two car lengths apart as the #1 of Ronnie Bell took the win over the #72 of Jeff Whyman, #66 Moseley and #96 Smithberger. This 4 lapper for $100.00 was sponsored by a.b.e.t. automotive of Santa Fe. The Main Event had 12 starters as the #43 of Dan Gross was unable to start but the late arrival of #58 Andy Tanner brought the field up to the original 12 cars that started the night of racing. As in the heat race the battle for this race was a humdinger among the top 6 or 7 cars with all of the competitors running door handle to door handle without ever touching each other. James Tyrrell in the #4 took and early lead and was doing a great job of holding off all challengers until mechanical failure sidelined him for the night. Also the #96 of Smithberger suffered a flat right front tire while running under caution and had to leave the race while holding down the 3rd position. At the checkered flag the #1 of Ronnie Bell held off the very close #72 of Jeff Whyman with rookie Lalo Saenz taking his best finish of the year in 3rd spot.
Have A Great Day
God Bless Everybody
Sprints
Heat #1
#45X Johnny Herrera, #93 Jon Taylor, #40X Scott Box, #77 Colt Treharn, #26 Randy Smith, #5J Jeff Brumfield Jr., #K2 Kevin Faber DNF
Heat #2
#611 Bo Baker, #9X Kelly Denison, #7 Jason Tanner, #65 Rick Johnson, #16 Billy Page, #24 Russell Gossett, #17 Chris Spiak, #8 J.C. Powell DNF
Heat #3
#52 David Burns, #22 Jessie Baker, #29 Randy Smith, #11W Tim West, #78 Jody Williams, #11M Cody Mansfield, #01 Larry Stoerkel
Dash For Cash
#9X Kelly Denison, #22 Jessie Baker, #93 Jon Taylor, #45X Johnny Herrera, #611 Bo Baker, #52 David Burns
Main Event
#45X Johnny Herrera used every inch of the track as usual
#22 Jessie Baker not far behind, great battle with several cars
#65 Rick Johnson made some of the most exciting moves of the night
#9X Kelly Denison in the hunt for another win, never far from the front
#7 Jason Tanner up front early, faded a little at the end
#611 Bo Baker
#40X Scott Box
#52 David Burns
#8 J.C. Powell
#29 Ronnie Smith
#11M Cody Mansfield
#93 Jon Taylor
#78 Jody Williams
#24 Russell Gossett
#11W Tim West
#17 Chris Spiak
#77 Colt Treharn DNF
#16 Billy Page DNF
#5J Jeff Brumfield Jr. DNF
#26 Randy Smith DNF
#01 Larry Stoerkel DNF
#K2 Kevin Faber DNS
Late Models
Heat #1
#5B Butch Reid, #47 Kyle Hill, #99 Eloy Romero, #38 Marc Herrera, #48D David McDaniel, #72 Bob Suber, #24 Curt Neff, #27 Steve Suber DNF
Heat #2
#68 Dan Shepard, #40 Jeff Davis, #28 Cooder Frazier, #93 Terry Bushee, #25 Tony Martinez, #26 Monte Neff, #40K Harry Kent
Dash For Cash
#40 Jeff Davis, #5B Butch Reid, #68 Dan Shepard, #47 Kyle Hill
Main Event
#5B Butch Reid Edgewood - three in a row, this new Coaches Chassis car is hooked up
#40 Jeff Davis Aztec great run at the end but ran out of laps
#38 Marc Herrera Moriarty Best run this year in new car, a win soon ????
#99 Eloy Romero great run, in the hunt all the way
#25 Tony Martinez 2nd time out, kept the leaders close all night
#47 Kyle Hill Monte Vista, Colorado
#93 Terry Bushee Aurora, Colorado DNF
#40K Harry Kent DNF
#28 Cooder Frazier DNF
#68 Dan Shepard Greely, Colorado DNF
#26 Monte Neff DNF
#72 Bob Suber DNF
#24 Curt Neff DNF
#27 Steve Suber DNS
#48D David McDaniel DNS
Mini-Sprints
Heat #1
#74X Josh Hodges, #00 Ken Caskey, #17 D.J. Snyder, #12 Paul Whitehead, #95 Aaron Wheeler, #20 Dustin Cormany DNF, #7H Jerry Higginbotham DNF, #2 Matthew Cordova DNS, #4 Cody Mansfield - DNS
Heat #2
#19X Jordan Matson, #70 Dwayne Adams, #68 Brian Perea, #5 Jeremy Schofield, #45 Ryan Culpepper, #19 Ronnie Smith, #22X David Gay, #8 Chris Perea DNF, #77 John Massey DNF
Main Event
#74X Josh Hodges 5 wins in 5 tries, is this the next Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart ??
#00 Ken Caskey Phoenix Very fast, a threat to end Hodges streak ?
#19X Jordan Matson Always fast, should get a win soon
#17 D.J. Snyder Pagosa Springs Getting faster every week, close all the way
#5 Jeremy Schofield Great run for this rookie, look for better things to come
#95 Aaron Wheeler In the mix with the top 5 all race long
#7H Jerry Higginbotham
#12 Paul Whitehead
#19 Ronnie Smith
#8 Chris Perea
#77 John Massey
#45 Ryan Culpepper DNF
#22X David Gay DNF
#68 Brian Perea DNF Very good run early
#70 Dwayne Adams DNF Also fast early
#2 Matthew Cordova DNF
#20 Dustin Cormany Phoenix DNS
#4 Cody Mansfield DNS Busy with Sprint Car ???
Street Stocks
Heat 1 and only
#96 Joe Smithberger, #66 Clay Moseley, #1 Ronnie Bell, #72 Jeff Whyman, #4 James Tyrrell, #619 Lalo Saenz, #9Z David Zorn, #M7 Cameron Martin, #15Z Jennifer Zorn DNF, #1C Trevor Combs DNF, #43 Dan Gross DNF, #3 Josh Cain DNF
Dash For Cash
#1 Ronnie Bell, #72 Jeff Whyman, #66 Clay Moseley, #96 Joe Smithberger
Main Event
#1 Ronnie Bell had to work hard for this win, good close racing
#72 Jeff Whyman great side by side action the entire race
#619 Lalo Saenz great comeback from early spin
#15Z Jennifer Zorn hung in for a good finish
#M7 Cameron Martin good finish for first night out this year
#Z9 David Zorn last car to finish
#96 Joe Smithberger DNF - flat tire while running a close 3rd
#66 Clay Moseley DNF also in the hunt early before breaking
#58 Andy Tanner DNF late arrival, did not run heat race
#4 James Tyrrell DNF looked good early, led several laps
#3 Josh Cain DNF
#1C Trevor Combs DNF
#43 Dan Gross DNS
These results are unofficial and we apologize for any errors.
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