Visalia, Ca.

November 28, 2009

By Paul Vetter 

      The highly successful 2009 racing season at Giant Chevrolet Raceway at Plaza Park concluded Saturday night with the running of the annual Turkey Shoot Out for Super 600, Restricted 600 and Junior Sprint racers.  Nearly eighty cars were in the pits from Central and Northern California, Arizona and Washington  with both the Super 600 and Restricted 600 classes running non-winged for the only time of the year on the 1/5 mile clay oval.

      The forty six Super 600’s were led by fast timer Koen Shaw.  Four heats were run with the top four drivers going into the main event.  Heat wins went to Raio Morgan, Richard VanderWeerd, Dylan Black and Shaw as Plaza Park local racers dominated action.  A pair of semi main events which saw the top three finishers transfer into the main event went to Nick Kemmer and Washington’s Reece Goetz.

      The 30 lap feature for the Super 600’s saw pole sitter Cody Bogan jump to an immediate lead followed by R. VanderWeerd and Shaw.  Lap three saw Shaw nearly spin in turn four and the ensuing melee resulted in both Justyne Hamblin and visitor Clinton Heck headed to the infield with broker racers.

      Bogan led through lap six with VanderWeerd taking over the top spot on lap seven before Austin Stone spun for a yellow and Jason Rogers exited with a broken front end.  With R. VanderWeerd leading Bogan, brother Jace VanderWeerd moved into third ahead of Shaw whose mount began smoking with some sort of water leak.  Another yellow for spinners occurred just before the halfway mark after both Dominic Scelzi and Raio Morgan pitted under green flag conditions.

      The final yellow for Blain Smothermon after contact set up an eight lap run to the finish.   Making his move late in the race was Washington visitor Trey Starks who moved into fourth from twentieth starting with six circuits remaining.  R. VanderWeerd was not to be denied as he led the closing laps to take the double checkered flags and the victory ahead of Bogan, J. VanderWeerd, Starks and Trent Carter who started thirteenth with his number thirteen racer.

      Shaw, Goetz, Kemmer, Knute Mynderup and Joey Greenberg rounded out the top ten.  Sixteen drivers finished the event all on the lead lap.

      All eighteen Restricted 600 drivers started their 20 lap main event.  First time visitor and double duty driver Reece Goetz spanked the field by taking a clean sweep of the events.  After setting fast time, Goetz also won a heat race along with Lauryn Brown and Conley Scott.

      Scott led the opening laps from the coveted pole position starting spot being chased by Trent Reed.  A multi car tangle in turn three on lap three saw Justin Rich take a bone jarring flip ending his night and visitor Atley Tafoya also pitted.  Scott led through lap five before fourth starting Riley Simmons surged to the top spot.

      In a race destined to go nonstop following the lap three red, Simmons hung onto his lead over Reed with eighth starting Goetz moving into third at the ten lap mark.  Scott began to fall back before Goetz then made quick work of Reed and began closing in on leader Simmons. 

      Only one car was lapped with a trio of circuits remaining and Goetz made his move on leader Simmons with two laps to go.  The Washington visitor Goetz led the final pair of laps to take the well deserved win ahead of Simmons, thirteenth starting John Collins who was coming on strong late in the event, Derrick Netto and Reed.

      Arizona’s Tye Mihocko ran sixth followed bySeth Hancock, Clint Reichenbach, Scott, and Ethan Evans.  Fifteen drivers finished lead lap.

*Post race inspection lead to a disqualification of Goetz, giving the race win to Simmons.

      In Junior Sprint action after local runner Josiah Ribeiro set a new track record in qualifying, heat race wins went to Dahne Lynn McKay and visitor Alex Panella.  Fourteen drivers signed in but Drew Bachtelle failed to start the main event.

      The Juniors can run some amazing events and tonight was no exception.  Pole sitter Ryan Delisle led the opening laps over Garrett Fine with McKay moving her mount from fifth starting into third by lap five.  She then took over second on lap nine before near disaster struck the top runners.

      A wheel bumping incident with the leaders saw Delisle fall back and newcomer Travis Talbot make an infield excursion that provided some anxious moments for infield personnel.  With no need for a yellow, McKay took over the lead during the incident ahead of Fine and Panella with Giovanni Scelzi maintaining fourth.

      Scelzi moved around Panella for third with only two laps remaining and could not take up the challenge as McKay took the win over Fine, Scelzi, Panella, and eleventh starting Alex Coronado in one of his best drives of the year.  Twelve drivers finished the race, all on the lead lap as the 20 lap distance went non stop.

      Tonight’s action concluded the season for promoters Bubby Morse, Don Chambers and all the other officials who make the venue so successful.  Watch the website for updates and of course, the 2010 season schedule which will come out soon. 

RESULTS

VISALIA, CA.

NOVEMBER 28, 2009 

SUPER 600

      FAST TIME Koen Shaw 11.57 seconds

      FIRST HEAT Raio Morgan, Paul Javaux, Knute Mynderup, Cody Bogan

      SECOND HEAT Richard VanderWeerd, Justyne Hamblin, Jace VanderWeerd, Austin Stone

      THIRD HEAT Dylan Black, Dominic Scelzi, T.J. Smith, Clinton Heck

      FOURTH HEAT Shaw, Blain Smothermon, Joey Greenberg, Trent Carter

      SEMI MAIN 1 Nick Kemmer, Gino Celli, Kolby Araki, Chris Kemmer, Jimmy Herd, Mike Rich, Cody Key, Robert Hunter, Jr., Shayna Sylvia, Jenna VanderWeerd, Taylor Dougherty, Shane Broers, Andy Thompson, Cody Smothermon, Jordan Casey (DNS)

      SEMI MAIN 2 Reece Goetz, Trey Starks, Jason Rogers, Austin Liggett, Kenny Taylor, Rick Cook, Rick Cook II, Garrett Netto, Brandon Carey, Colton Slack, Dace Taylor, Skip Sisson, Rodney Jared, Cory Eliason (DNS), Jason Webb (DNS)

      MAIN EVENT R. VanderWeerd, Bogan, Jace VanderWeerd, Starks, Carter, Shaw, Goetz, N. Kemmer, Mynderup, Greenberg, Javaux, Araki, Black, Celli, Stone, Smith, B. Smothermon, Morgan, Scelzi, Rogers, Hamblin, Heck 

RESTRICTED 600

      FAST TIME Reece Goetz 12.27 seconds

      FIRST HEAT Lauryn Brown, Clint Reichenbach, Justin Rich, Ethan Evans

      SECOND HEAT Conley Scott, Derrick Netto, Sean Watts, Tristan Guardino

      THIRD HEAT Goetz, Trent Reed, Riley Simmons, Tye Mihocko

      MAIN EVENT Simmons, John Collins, Netto, Reed, Mihocko, Seth Hancock, Reichenbach, Scott, Evans, Brown, Watts, Guardino, Garrett Long, Brandon Collins, Rich, Atley Tafoya (Goetz DQ)

JUNIOR SPRINTS

      FAST TIME Josiah Ribeiro 13.09 seconds (New Track Record)

      FIRST HEAT DahneLynn McKay, Garrett Fine, Christopher Silva, Michael Wagner

      SECOND HEAT Alex Panella, Ribeiro, Giovanni Scelzi, Ryan Delisle

      MAIN EVENT McKay, Fine, Scelzi, Panella, Alex Coronado, Ribeiro, Silva, Delisle, Tyler Shaw, Wagner, Ryan Brown, Hunter Corbitt, Travis Talbot, Drew Bachtelle (DNS)