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Round #6
Perris Raceway – Perris, Ca. July 9th, 2011 Article by Jamey Blunt Photos by Janice Blunt The break between rounds of the S.C.F.T.A. at Perris Raceway must have been too long or the moon too full or something was in the air as the one hundred nineteen participants that filled the twenty heat races, fifteen main events and the Dash 4 Cash seemed over anxious. July in Perris is HOT, usually triple digit hot. But on this Saturday ninety-four degrees was the high for the day. Freddie Edwards and Kenyan labored from early morning and through the night to provide the best possible racing surface for the LUCAS OIL S.C.F.T.A. round six. The top two finishers from each of the two Pro heat races earned a berth in the four lap Dash-4-Cash. Kayl Kolkman, Mark Cernicky, David Bush, and Jess Garcia making his first appearance at Perris were the top four. Cernicky nailed the start from starter Rudy Gil's watchful eye to lead into turn one (Garcia had at first over anticipated Gil and started from the back row). Kolkman dropped in behind in second with Bush third and Garcia fourth. Cernicky really put his head down and was getting away, by lap two Garcia briefly made a showing in the second place position but on lap three made a mistake and dropped like a rock back to fourth. At the front Cernicky turned a 14.76 second lap, the fastest of the race as Kolkman and Bush tried to make up the real estate towards the front. Cycle World's Cernicky was not to be denied though and took home $64.50 for each lap of the race he had just won. ($258.00)  The 65cc final started off the Youth classes where Clayton Williams from Bakersfield made his presence known despite riding on smooth dirt track tires (replacing knobbies) for the first time. Williams turned 18.20 second lap times that Frank and Alyssa Flores couldn't match, so they settled for second and third. In the 50cc class after a re-start that saw Drake Bondio get the best start he's ever had (bummer all for not) Travis Petton the 4th made his way to the front and never looked back. Toby and Courtney D'Avignon tried to keep him in check and are talented in their own right but seem to lack the horse power of Petton's KTM.  Three riders in the 85cc class all put in sub eighteen second laps. Allison Stacey's 17.14 was the fastest but Clayton Williams 17.24 was close as was Monica Gil's 17.82, which is exactly how the finished in the main event.  Billy Katkov was on fire in the men's 4-Stroke race. Mark Cernicky may have led off the line and through turns one and two but there was no denying Katkov on this night. Katkov went around Cernicky to take the lead on the outside through turns three and four while Ian Foulds sat back in third and watched while Bobby Hill from Ventura ran in fourth. By the second run through turn three Foulds was showing Cernicky a wheel but just couldn't make the pass stick. At the front Katkov left the others time zone turning a 16.42 second lap time. Foulds continued to hound Cernicky, even pulling alongside on the straights and made his move coming to the white flag up the inside to take over at second. Cernicky tried to come back at Foulds but lost his drive out of turn two and came up short at the checkered by a bike length. Oh and Katkov, he took the victory by over a full straightaway.  David Molitor got the perfect start in the Super Senior +60 main event to lead through turns one and two. Vince Graves who was away in fourth squared up the corner for a drive down the back straight and shot past Tim Thomas and DeWayne Jones into second by turn three. Through turns three and four Thomas also made a move and dropped Jones to fourth as he put his BSA past Jones's Honda Cr-500. On the exit from turn two for the second time Graves got another good drive and dislodged Molitor from the lead. Once out front Graves turned the fastest lap of the race at 15.49 seconds compared to Molitor's 16.62. Lap four saw disaster strike Thomas between turns three and four as he went down leaving Jim Ottele on a charge from a poor start no where to go but over the top of Thomas. Thankfully both riders were all right and walked away from what could have been very ugly. This brought out the red flag stopping the race as Thomas's gas tank left his pristine BSA and was ten feet away in the middle of the racetrack. The race was called complete making the finishing order Graves, Molitor, and Jones.  At the club level rarely does one see the determination, drive and intensity demonstrated in such a professional manner as John Kocinski puts in for the Vintage 250-360 2-Stroke Expert class. Not wanting to disappoint his father Jerry visiting from Arkansas John shot into the lead from the start with Ryan Gifford in second and Jeff Lessley on the Champion framed Hodaka in third. Nick Armstrong ran in fourth with Jim Wood fifth. Kocinski immediately began to leave the field behind as he put his Knight framed Honda through its workout. On lap three Lessley moved past Gifford the only 360cc in the field for second and he too dropped below the fifteen second mark at 14.96 in an attempt to keep Kocinski in sight. On lap four Kocinski turned the fastest lap of the race and the entire evening at 14.34 seconds tying Jimmy Wood's overall track record. At the finish Kocinski won over Lessley by a full straight with Gifford third, Armstrong fourth and Wood fifth.  The Classic Vintage 500-750 class saw Jeff Apple on a non-smoking Triumph lead from pole into turn one. Now that Apple's oil burning smoke screen is fixed the rest of the field can see him and Lenny Rodriguez, Joe Pape, and James Kohls all gave chase. Two laps in had Apple in the lead but looking at his mount as it began running on one cylinder. This handed the lead to Rodriguez but starting from last position charging through the field on the Dodge Brothers Indian was Kayl Kolkman who at the white flag took over the lead. Kolkman put the vintage Indian below the fifteen second mark taking the victory over Rodriguez with Kohls third, Pape fourth, and Apple still running on one nursing it home in fifth.  When you think of Bombs you think of war, that’s what the Bomber class is, a war. Danny Perkins led off the line but it was all for nothing as Jim Steet and David Reinhard went down between turns three and four bringing out the red flag. On the way to restaging David McNeeley pulled the laugh-in tricycle trick and tipped over more embarrassed than hurt. On the full re-start Travis Petton the 2nd was first into turn one with Perkins charging hard down the back straight to lead briefly on the outside entering turn three. Jimmy Lundgren ran in third with McNeeley fourth and Keith Bradford finding some of his old speed fifth. Exiting turn four Perkins went wide handing the lead back to Petton through the barn door Perkins left open. Through turn two Perkins showed Petton a wheel but couldn't make the pass. Then in turn four coming to start lap four McNeeley was down once more with other riders which brought out the red flag for the second time, this time the field was staged for a single file re-start which would be a white / checkered flag race. The field keyed off of Petton for the re-start which he led with Perkins in tow. Petton stretched his lead to five bike lengths by the finish while Lundgren made a run at Perkins on the final trip through turn three and only came up a couple feet short of second at the stripe to finish third. Bradford was alone in fourth with Neal Hartman fifth and Steet besting McNeeley for sixth.  Robert Bush out of Acton Ca. chose his Triumph to ride in the Vet +35 class. In spite of the much heavier machine and the extra effort it requires to man handle it Bush had the fastest lap of the race at 15.78 seconds. Bush led from the start with Brad Rudy away in second, Ryan Reed third, Gary Williams fourth, and Jeff Apple away in seventh. Through turn two for the second lap Williams who had passed Reed for third almost threw it away but somehow saved it to drop back in line in fifth. With two laps complete Apple had progressed up to fourth and was closing in on Reed. At the front Bush was flawless as he needed to be because Rudy was five bike lengths back waiting for a mistake. With a lap remaining Reed was closing in on Rudy but time ran out making the finishing order Bush, Rudy, Reed Apple, Williams, and Jess Flores.  Lloyd McGregor led Jim Wood through turns one and two in the Senior Vet +50 main event. Starting from the back row and entering turn one in twelfth position was former national #37 Jeff (the jester) Johnson. By the completion of the first lap Johnson was up to fourth behind Jim Ottele. Johnson quickly ran up under Ottele to take third position, Ottele then almost threw it all away and allowed Larry Earhart past for fourth as he recovered. Next for Johnson was Wood who he dove underneath entering turn three while also posting the fastest lap of the race at 14.88 seconds (the only rider in the class to dip below the 15 second mark) while it was looking questionable if McGregor's five bike length lead would hold up. Then as the white flag came out Wood went down between turns three and four and appeared trapper under his bike. On the last lap Wood was still on the track trying to be small and out of harms way as McGregor took the victory over Johnson with Ottele back into third over Earhart and Kyle Lessley working his way forward for a fifth place finish.  Twelve riders made up the Open Novice main event. Jess Flores led from the start over Emmy Bush and Andy Williams. Nick Ottele who was away in sixth worked his way up to fourth just after the completion of the first lap. At the front Flores was gone making the race a battle for second between Bush, Williams, and Ottele. All while Pat Madore and Ron Sneed were fighting over fifth. Flores easily took the checkered flag first, but what was very impressive was how young Emmy withstood the pressure to earn the second podium position over Williams and Ottele who threw it on the ground after the checkered flag in his successful attempt to not take Bush out.  In the Open Amateur main Christian Hickman nailed the start to lead Kyle Lessley and Nick Gil through turn one. Gil quickly disposed of Lessley not wanting Hickman to get away at the front while John Perez moved up to third from his fifth place start. A lap and a half complete saw Lessley drop yet another position as John Lundgren fought his way into fourth. Lap three Hickman put in the fastest lap of the race at 15.33 seconds as he inched away from Gil. In the end the finishing order had been set at Hickman, Gil, Perez, and Lundgren.  The Pro main event was shortened to ten laps due to time constraints (a 10:00 p.m. curfew). Kayl Kolkman on the Simi Valley Kawasaki led from pole with Ian Foulds second, David Bush third and Jon Nunes fourth. On lap two Foulds who was running a very high line left an opening for Bush which he couldn't resist and he went past Foulds for second. Nunes seeing this followed the move past Foulds for third and in the blink of an eye Foulds found himself in fourth. Mark Cernicky from a mid pack start was now knocking on the backdoor of Foulds as Kolkman who with a clear track turned his fastest lap of 14.64 seconds. A lap later Cernicky was up into fourth dropping Foulds to fifth that now had Jess Garcia and Robert Bush applying pressure. At the halfway point Nunes tapped the back wheel of David Bush making a bid for second which stood Nunes up costing him a few bike lengths. Out front Kolkman had a twelve bike length gap and went into cruise mode. With a lap and a half remaining Foulds found some steam and passed Cernicky to take fourth back, but Cernicky came right back at him and reclaimed fourth across the stripe for the white flag. Foulds was taken out wide in turn one to the wall and then pulled out of the race making the final tally Kolkman, Bush, Nunes, Cernicky, Garcia, Robert Bush and Brandon Rothell. The 10:00 p.m. curfew was meet; the awards were handed out after the races, and track preparation started for tomorrows round seven before the clocks hands struck 11:00 p.m. |
Youth 65cc
1. Clayton Williams
2. Frank Flores
3. Alyssa Flores
4. Travis Petton IV
5. Noah Bush
Youth 50cc
1. Travis Petton
2. Toby D’avignon
3. Courtney Davignon
4. Luke Shaffer
5. Sara Cords
6. Ava Bush
7. Ana Bush
8. Drake Bondio
Youth 85cc
1. Allison Stacey
2. Clayton Williams
3. Moncia Gil
4. Frank Flores
5. Travis Petton
6. Alyssa Flores
7. Jaycee Jones
Men’s 4 Stroke
1. Billy Katkov
2. Ian Foulds
3. Mark Cernicky
4. Bobby Hill
Premier Senior +70
1. Allan Girdler
2. Jeff Evans Tie
Peter Bodette Toroian Tie
Super Senior + 60
1. Vince Graves
2. David Molitor
3. Dewayne Jones
4. Tim Thomas
Vintage 750
1. Shannon Adams
2. Jim Ottele
Vintage 250 2 Stk. Expert
250cc
1. John Kocinski
2. Jeff Lessley
3. Jim Wood
4. Nick Armstrong
360cc
1. Ryan Gifford
Classic Vintage 500-750
1. Kayl Kolkman
2. Lenny Rodriquez
3. James Kohls
4. Joe Pape
5. Jeff Apple
6. Johnny McClune
7. Tommy Koff
Bomber
1. Travis Petton
2. Danny Perkings
3. Jim Lundgren
4. Keith Bradford
5. Neal Hartman
6. Jim Steet
7. David McNeely
8. Bobby Hill
9. David Reinhard
Vet+35
1. Robert Bush
2. Brad Rudy
3. Ryan Reed
4. Jeff Apple
5. Gary Williams
6. Jess Flores
7. Steve Zamoras
8. Rolf Greenhill
9. Eric Cleveland
Senior Novice +50
1. Larkin Wight
2. Fred Berber
3. Corey Bauman
4. Dennis Ackland
5. Shell Borden
Senior Vets +50
1. Lloyd Mcgregor
2. Jeff Johnson
3. Jim Ottele
4. Larry Earhart
5. Kyle Lessley
6. Steve Zoumaras
7. Rolf Greenhill
8. Ryan Gifford
9. Jim Wood
Vintage 2 Stk 250 360cc Novice
360
1. Gary Lane
2. Rick Logan
3. Monte Roberts
250
1. Steele Friedrich
2. Michael Fritz
Open Novice
1. Jess Flores
2. Emmy Bush
3. Andy Williams
4. Nick Ottele
5. Pat Madore
6. Ron Sneed
7. Allison Stacey
8. John Tinsley
9. Tim Vaughn
10. Eric Cleveland
11. Corey Bauman
Open Amateur
A Main
1. Christian Hickman
2. Nick Gil
3. John Perez
4. John Lundgren
5. Kyle Lessley
6. Dennis Royle
7. Joel Kath
8. Roy Vaughn
9. Steve Zoumaras
B Main
1. David Mcneeley
2. Austin Williams
3. Greg Pts
4. Mark Prentice
5. Michael Wilson
6. Harley Legowski
7. #36 ?
8. Bill Wright
Pro
1. Kayl Kolkman
2. David Bush
3. Jon Nunes
4. Mark Cernicky
5. Jess Carcia
6. Robert Bush
7. Brandon Rothell
8. Frank Garcia
9. Ian Foulds
Dash For Cash
1. Mark Cernicky
2. Kayl Kolkman
3. David Bush
4. Jess Garcia