By Ben Deatherage
Cottage Grove, Oregon- The Interstate Sprint Car Series rolled into Cottage Grove Speedway on Tuesday, August 13th. The race was the second round of the 2019 “Week of Speed” and the first of two straight nights at the historic 1/4/-mile clay oval. Thirty entries made up the field with drivers from Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho.
The main event began with Shane Forte taking control of the lead. The Junction City veteran set a rapid pace early but lost control of the position on lap six. However, a caution came out shortly after the pass officially counted. It meant Forte resumed the lead.
A couple of more yellow flag incidents took place, but Shane retained the lead each time. On a lap seven restart, Jake Wheeler came out of nowhere and toward the front. Wheeler, racing for car owner Ron Osborne, officially passed Forte on lap ten for the coveted top spot.
The Central Point chauffeur intelligently navigated his way through slower traffic to keep all challengers at bay. When the checkered flag dropped Wheeler was the winner and became the fourth different driver to win with ISCS in 2019 and his first of his career with the group. He is the third different pilot to be triumphant in series action at Cottage Grove this year. Jake is also the second different driver in as many nights to win on the current speedweek schedule.
Jake’s uncle, Mike Wheeler of White City, had an outstanding run and ended the night the runner-up. Cottage Grove’s Kinzer Cox placed third over fourth finishing Shane Forte. Rounding up the top five, in fifth, would be Jacksonville teenager Tanner Holmes.
Group qualifying was implemented earlier in the evening. Earning quick time in their respective groups were Tanner Holmes, Central Point veteran Charlie Thompson, Thurston’s Ricky Ashley, and Mike Wheeler. Heat race victors included Steven Snawder from Roseburg, Shane Forte, Kinzer Cox, and Eric Turner of Lake Stevens, Washington. Raquel Ivie, of Eugene, won the consolation feature.
The ISCS Week of Speed remains at Cottage Grove Speedway on Wednesday, August 14th. The date was initially intended to be at Willamette Speedway, but the race transferred to CGS. The ISCS has been to Cottage Grove three time in 2019.
Pit Gates open at 2:00 PM, Front Gates 4:30, and Time Trials at 5:30 with racing beginning at 6:00. Tickets are $13.00 for Adults, Seniors/Juniors/Military $10.00, Youths (6-12) $5.00, and Children (5 & Under) are FREE. For more information and updates log on to www.cottagegrovespeedway.com or check out the official Facebook page.
Race Results:
ISCS Speedweek Race #2
Tuesday, August 13th, 2019
Cottage Grove Speedway
Cottage Grove, Oregon
Group Qualifying: Tanner Holmes (1), Charlie Thompson (2), Ricky Ashley (3), Mike Wheeler (4)
Heat Race Winners: Steven Snawder (1), Shane Forte (2), Kinzer Cox (3), Eric Turner (4)
B-Feature: 1. Raquel Ivie; 2. Anthony Pope; 3. Cory Swatzina; 4. Emily Williams; 5. Tyrell Mead; 6. Heath Shelton; 7. Brody Sim; 8. Trent Estes; 9. Melissa Solesbee; 10. Ian Bandey; 11. Enrique Jaime; 12. Morgan Burks; 13. Brian Boswell; 14. Scott Fox
A-Feature: 1. Jake Wheeler; 2. Mike Wheeler; 3. Kinzer Cox; 4. Shane Forte; 5. Tanner Holmes; 6. Tyler Driever; 7. Steven Snawder; 8. Tyler Thompson; 9. Eric Turner; 10. Brett McGhie; 11. Emily Williams; 12. Charlie Thompson; 13. Anthony Pope; 14. Bill Rude; 15. Raquel Ivie; 16. Cory Swatzina; 17. Kyle Alberding; 18. Ricky Ashley; 19. Ashleigh Johnson; 20. Nickye Mendenhall
2019 ISCS Speedweek Schedule:
August 12th-Coos Bay Speedway-Coos Bay, OR (Tanner Holmes)
August 13th-Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, OR (Jake Wheeler)
August 14th-Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, OR
August 15th-Sunset Speedway Park-Banks, OR
August 16th-Grays Harbor Raceway-Elma, WA
August 17th-Grays Harbor Raceway-Elma, WA