Cody Morris
April 13th, 2013 – One week removed from a two day season opener, I44 Riverside Speedway readied to begin a new chapter in the storied history of racing in the Oklahoma City area.
Headlining the first weekly Saturday night program of the 2013 campaign, the debut of the Midget division was the first of its’ kind to be tried on a weekly basis in central Oklahoma.
Also featured in action was the first full point card of the season for the A Class, Non Wing, Restricted, Turf Tire, and Junior Sprint divisions.
MIDGET
A half dozen regional Midget teams arrived at I44 Riverside Speedway to take part in the Midget launch. Following a double dip of heat race action split by the father-step son duo of Danny “The Caretaker” Smith and Kyle Clark; the pair of Sapulpa, Oklahoma open wheelers made the front row of the 20 lap main event a family affair.
However, inside second row starter Matt Johnson fought past the pair to reign in an early lead. Gauging grooves for a few circuits, Smith began turning up the heat for the point a handful of rounds into the 20 lapper and dogging the leader at the halfway point.
Swinging wide to gain momentum on each end, The Caretaker crept by to lead the 12th circuit and appeared poised to snare the $600 winner’s loot with ease until getting extremely loose in the turn 4 apex, allowing Johnson to close the gap with Clark and Arkansas native Nick Bailey also in tow.
The four raced in a tight group, working high and low in search of advantages until contact between Johnson and Clark ended with the latter terminally idled in the first turn with 3 laps remaining, setting up a 3 lap dash to the finish line.
But “The Caretaker” would not make the same mistake twice, pulling away on the lap 17 restart to place the Same Day Trucking no. 5$ in victory lane of the inaugural event of the I44 Riverside Speedway Midget division. Johnson held on to runner up honors with Bailey claiming the show position. Bobby Brewer also advanced two spots to claim fourth at the finish line with Durant native Brian Harvey completing the top five finishing order.
“Midget” A Feature (20 laps): 1. 5$ Danny Smith (1); 2. 85 Matt Johnson (3); 3. 07 Nick Bailey (5); 4. 1 Bobby Brewer (6); 5. 29s Brian Harvey (4); 6. 22 Kyle Clark (2)
Lap Leaders: Matt Johnson 1-11, Danny Smith 12-20
A CLASS
Fletcher, Oklahoma’s Tyler Gordon paced the pole position of the final show on the card, the 25 lap “A Class” main event.
Gordon settled into a narrow lead, but fellow front row starter Sterling Hoff shadowed the leader as the pair approached lapped traffic very early, with Hoff slipping by only to have the pass negated by the first yellow flag of the event for a dramatically slowed Jake Adams’ on the front stretch.
With Gordon privy to Hoff’s intentions on the high side of turns 1 & 2, the leader fought off advances by the Windthorst, Texas native until Hoff battled past near the midway point of the 25 lapper.
A pair of caution’s late in the race were of little consequence, as Hoff scored one for the Lone Star state aboard the Cecil Machine Shop, Cothran Trucking, and Pioneer Wildlife Studio sponsored no. 39.
Bethany, Oklahoma’s savvy veteran Greg Moore climbed from an outside third row starting spot to challenge Gordon late, securing runner up honors as an unsuspecting Gordon was nipped at the finish line by step-father and teammate Blake Dacus. Former track champion Jason Lair battled up from 12th to complete the top five finishing order.
“A Class” A Feature (25 laps): 1. 39 Sterling Hoff (2); 2. 7g Greg Moore (6); 3. 29 Blake Dacus (5); 4. 09 Tyler Gordon (1); 5. 23L Jason Lair (12); 6. 76 Cody Grissom (3); 7. 98 Derrick McBride (4); 8. 19 Dalton Terrel (9); 9. 13 Brady Courtney (13); 10. 22c Chad Koch (10); 11. 2 Jimmy Smith (8); 12. 7d Sierra Davis (7); 13. 41 Kaitlyn Martin (18); 14. 43 Matthew Nelson (20); 15. 22 Teri Burk (16); 16. 27 David Millwee (15); 17. 18 Michael Millwee (11); 18. 11k Michael Kerns (17); 19. 88A Jake Adams (14); DNS: 95 Michael Hall
Lap Leaders: Tyler Gordon 1-11, Sterling Hoff 12-25
NON WING
Always the first main event to run in weekly competition and with great anticipation and fanfare, defending I44 Riverside Speedway Non Wing champion Jim Woods paced the pole with young Blanchard shoe Dalton Terrel alongside.
A wild scramble marred the original start when Woods spun in front of most of the field, but quick reflexes by the collective allowed all to continue unscathed although Woods would have to tag the tail of the field for a complete restart.
The front row was similarly unkind to Tanner Ridge, involved in a scrum on the second lap that eliminated the Mustang racer. A coherent start to the event was thus reached with Terrel in front early over Greg Moore and Chad Koch. Terrel’s pace was strong, but Moore nevertheless frequently searched underneath the leader in pursuit of a line by.
The top five running became spread out in the mid-stages of the 20 lapper, before a lap 13 red flag flew for a tumbling Sterling Hoff (eventual winner of “A Class” feature). The red would silence the field once more just two laps later for the spilled mounts of Jason Adams and Brad Beers.
The top five resumed in a tight line over the next five caution free laps, with 19 year old Blanchard native Dalton Terrel turning in a wire to wire effort for Non Wing accolades aboard the T&T Auto Sales no. 19 machine. An eventual runner up finisher in winged 600 action (A Class), Greg Moore also raced to runner up honors in Non Wing 600 action with Chad Koch holding onto the show position.
Junior Vickman advanced five positions to claim fourth, with Derrick McBride earning Hard Charger honors with a run from 15th to complete the top five finishing order.
“Non Wing” A Feature (20 laps): 1. Dalton Terrel (2); 2. 7g Greg Moore (3); 3. 22c Chad Koch (5); 4. 28v Junior Vickman (9); 5. 98 Derrick McBride (15); 6. 2 Jimmy Smith (11); 7. 25w Tommy White (14); 8. 50 Shelby Burk (13); 9. 88 Brett Adams (8); 10. 50B Brad Beers (18); 11. 83 Jim Woods (1); 12. 88J Jason Adams (10); 13. 97v Brandon Oldham (19); 14. 39 Sterling Hoff (20); 15. 76 Cody Grissom (6); 16. 4R Tanner Ridge (4); 17. 69c Cody Carter (7); 18. 58 Philip Fessler (18); DNS 11 Robert Alberternst, 43 Matt Nelson, 83x Rocky White
Lap Leaders: Dalton Terrel 1-20
RESTRICTED
Following a statement victory in last Saturday’s 12th Annual Ryan Craighead Memorial Restricted finale; Decatur, Texas’ Lyndon Harvey made the long haul with plans of beginning a streak. Armed with a pole position starting slot, the odds were in favor of such an ending, but defending I44 Riverside Speedway Restricted Champion Tanner Conn was alongside with ideas of his own.
A two time I44 Riverside track champion (2012 Restricted, 2011 Junior Sprint and two time Dutton’s Speedway Junior Sprint champion before that facility closed in 2011, at eleven years of age, Conn is already one of the most decorated talents in the entire venue.
And Conn showed his metal, winning the drag race into the first turn and maintaining a very tight advantage over Harvey in the early rounds of the 20 lap main event. Harvey appeared poised to pass the leader on two occasions in the early going, but Conn beat back both challenges before Harvey suffered misfortune when his mount lost power on the 7th circuit.
Moore, Oklahoma’s Kaylee Cole became the next challenger to Conn, pressuring the leader in the midway stages before she slowed and pulled into the infield with mechanical woes. Carnegie, Oklahoma’s Logan Davis was next in line, but as the laps winded down Conn was cruising.
A late yellow for a muffler that Hunter Kirkes left behind in turn three set up a green-white-checkered finish, but Conn dismissed late race theatrics decisively, taking his first Restricted victory of the 2013 campaign aboard the Lyon Security, Factor One Racing, and Paul Albers Performance Plus driven no. 78.
Davis held on to runner up rights with Alison Slaton moving the Pole Position Raceway no. 2 forward a couple spots to claim the show position. Anadarko, Oklahoma’s Ryan Anderson crossed fourth with Choctaw’s Nathan Rainey completing the top five finishing order in his first career Restricted outing.
“Restricted” A Feature (20 laps): 1. 78 Tanner Conn (2); 2. 14d Logan Davis (3); 3. 2 Alison Slaton (5); 4. 00R Ryan Anderson (6); 5. 99 Nathan Rainey (9); 6. 17k Blake Kirkes (8); 7. 72c Kaylee Cole (4); 8. 99H Lyndon Harvey (1); 9. 11x Tyler Alexander (7)
Lap Leaders: Tanner Conn 1-20
JUNIOR SPRINTS
Minutes prior to his first career Restricted start, reigning I44 Riverside Speedway Junior Sprint titlist Nathan Rainey paced front row of the 20 lap Jr. Sprint main event with Matthew Austin on the inside pole position, but it was inside second row starter Chris Wells racing to an early lead.
In a Junior Sprint main event that ran caution free for the second consecutive week, Wells fought off repeated assaults from the defending champion in a style difficult to describe. Racing for his first career victory, Wells held on until the 18th lap, with Rainey using a seemingly veteran move in lapped traffic to place the K&F Collision, Factor One Racing, and KBR Engines sponsored no. 99R in victory lane for the second event in a row.
Staging a winning performance that will clearly come very soon, Wells settled for the runner up spot with Jacob Long moving three spots to claim the show position. Dylan Pendergrass and Trevor Lunsford completed the top five finishing order.
“Junior Sprints” A Feature (20 laps): 1. 99R Nathan Rainey (2); 2. 72 Chris Wells (3); 3. 007 Jacob Long (6); 4. 22 Dylan Pendergrass (4); 5. 0 Trevor Lunsford (7); 6. 88R Ryder Laplante (9); 7. 16 Brent Woods (10); 8. 72c Kaden Cole (8); 9. 27 Matthew Austin (1); DNS: 5T Ryan Timms
Lap Leaders: Chris Wells 1-18, Nathan Rainey 19-20
TURF TIRE
Late race theatrics were also on display in the 20 lap Turf Tire main event. Yukon’s Marcus Fleming and El Reno’s defending Turf Tire champ Jeremy Penick paced a Canadian County front row with Jeremy Penick gaining an early edge aboard his Western Flyer no. 28.
Penick led to the midway point with Fleming gaining ground on each round, with the leader aware of the challenge a few laps later. Interest overflowed when Penick got sideways with five laps to go, surprising Fleming into contact before the Yukon gasser sped off with the lead.
Penick ambitiously attempted to regain the lead, with contact this time relegating Penick and future challenge to Fleming’s lead for good as the 25 year old racer earned his first Turf Tire score of the season aboard the Meeks Diner and M&T Trucking sponsored no. 22.
El Reno’s Tony Penick advanced from the third row to earn runner up rights with Josh Bigger taking the show position. Defending champ Jeremy Penick recovered from his fracas for the lead to finish a frustrating fourth with Oklahoma City veteran Willie Vickman completing the top five finishing order.
“Turf Tire” A Feature (20 laps): 1. 22 Marcus Fleming (1); 2. 88 Tony Penick (5); 3. 21 Josh Bigger (4); 4. 28 Jeremy Penick (2); 5. 75 Willie Vickman (3); 6. 2c Casey Andrews (7); 7. 12 Chris Bartlett (6); DNS: 50H
Lap Leaders: Jeremy Penick 1-15, Marcus Fleming 16-20
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I44 Riverside Speedway is back next Saturday, April 20th for the second weekly Saturday showing of the young 2013 season, featuring $750 to win in a Midget main event that has already earned several more commitments along with the those present for the inaugural launch. The A Class, Non Wing, Restricted, Turf Tire, and Junior Sprint divisions will once again showcase their sensational racing in support.
Gates will open at 4pm, followed by hot laps at 6pm and green flag racing at 7pm sharp. General admission is $10, pit admission $20.
I44 Riverside Speedway is located ¼ mile east of Interstate 44 on SW 149th street. Please visit www.i44riversidespeedway.com or Like and Follow I44 Riverside Speedway on Facebook for further event news and details, including point standings.
Live even coverage will be featured throughout the season on the Oklahoma No Fender Network on Facebook. Like and Follow the ONFN to catch live updates of all open wheel events throughout the Sooner State.