By Ben Deatherage
Cottage Grove, Oregon- Cottage Grove Speedway completed the 2019 Herz Precision Parts Wingless Nationals on Saturday, September 7th. The ¼-mile clay oval also hosted the track’s biggest Street Stock race of the season, the Wallbanger Cup. In addition to Wingless Sprints and Street Stocks so were the Dwarf Cars (which is covered in a separate race report).
In the Wingless Sprints main event drivers that had earned the most points in Friday’s time trials, heat races, and the main event, as well as additional heats on Saturday, started in the back of the field. Drivers that had the least amount of points had the luxury of beginning the race upfront. However, after the final feature, when all the points got tallied the driver with the most points would be declared the overall champion.
At the drop of the green flag, Mark Herz seized the early race initiative. The Sandy veteran maintained the position until lap five in which Lance Hallmark took possession of the top spot. The only thing to slow him down was a lap thirty flip in turns one and two.
It was the only stoppage of the entire fifty-lap affair. Hallmark went on to dominate the balance of the distance to win the main event. It is his first victory at Cottage Grove in the current season for the longtime McMinnville racer.
Redmond’s Brent Rich, running for car owner Nickye Mendenhall, had an incredible performance and ended his night in second-place. Third went to Ricky Ashley, of Thurston, with Redondo Beach, California traveler Trent Carter coming across the wire in fourth. Salem racer Tim Alberding completed the top five finishing order posted a fifth-place effort.
When all of the points were combined, Trent Carter was declared the Herz Precision Parts Wingless Nationals champion. He is the second person ever to claim the honor of winning the event as Kyle Miller won the seven previous editions.
In the Street Stocks, they raced for fifty-two laps for the 2019 Wallbanger Cup. The race is run of Mark Howard a significant figure that helped establish the Street Stock class in 2005. The feature featured six yellows in the first eighteen laps.
Despite all of the cautions, one thing remained the same. Brian Cronk laid down the smackdown in the main and led all fifty-two laps. Cronk, of Portland, mastered every restart despite a couple of challenges. It is the first time that Brian has won the race and is the seventh different driver to hoist the winner’s trophy at the end of the race. He now has two wins in CGS competition this season.
Justin Evans, of Lebanon, wound up the runner-up followed by Creswell’s Garrett Barth, in third. Albany youngster McKenzie Lockhart put in a fourth-place result over fifth finishing Troy Chamberlain, from Junction City.
Cottage Grove Speedway returns for an incredibly action-packed culminating two rounds on Friday, September 13th, and Saturday, the 14th. It is the final two nights of racing for 2019 at CGS. Tickets each night are $13.00 for Adults, Seniors/Juniors/Military $10.00, Youths (6-12) $5.00, and Children (5 & Under) are FREE. Both nights the Pit Gates open at 1:00 PM, Front Gates 3:30, and Time Trials at 5:30 with racing beginning at 6:00. For more information and updates log on to www.cottagegrovespeedway.com or check out the official Facebook page.
Race Results:
Herz Precision Parts Wingless Nationals Night #2/Wallbanger Cup
Saturday, September 7th, 2019
Cottage Grove Speedway
Cottage Grove, Oregon
Wingless Sprints
A-Feature: 1. Lance Hallmark; 2. Brent Rich; 3. Ricky Ashley; 4. Trent Carter; 5. Tim Alberding; 6. Nate Geister; 7. Lindsay Barney; 8. Rob Lindsey; 9. Mark Herz; 10. Ian Bandey; 11. Daysen Thomas; 12. Johnnie Butler; 13. Kevin Cory; 14. Don Trent; 15. Tim Kennedy; 16. Gene Cannon; 17. Jonathan Jorgenson; 18. Tony Offutt; 19. Kyle Alberding