SCFTA Perris
Nite Before Pomona
October 11, 2013
Photos by Janice Blunt
Article by Jamey Blunt
The start of the 20 lap Pro Main had from pole Nat. #54 Mikey Rush,
Nat.# (but riding #66) Rob Pearson, #12 Scott Baker, Nat.#1 (Grand National
Champion riding #69) Jared Mees, #67 Doug Fisher, #44e Nick Armstrong.
Back Row - Nat.#98 Kayl Kolkman, #47 Conner Anderson, and #49m Dustin
Pruczinski.
On the first run through turn one #66 Rob Pearson leads #54 Mikey Rush, #69 Jared Mees,
#44e Nick Armstrong, #12 Scott Baker, and #26 Dylan Morin.
At the half way point #66 Rob Pearson still led with
#54 Mikey Rush second and #69 Jared Mees third
studying the others lines biding his time.
The pass for the lead came on the run to the white flag where Mees #69
made the move under #66 Pearson out of turn four and secured the
front position through turn one.
At the checkered flag it was #69 Jared Mees, #66 Rob Pearson,
and #54 Miket Rush. Mees led the only lap that counted, the last lap!
#29 Zach Johnson fought hard for the win in the Open Amateur
class. His 15.24 second lap time was the fastest lap of the race.
The start of the Open Novice "A" main event from pole,
#112a Jace Callison, #67 Brian Harmon, #888x Neal Hartman,
#44 Scott Hanson, #112x Dominic Fabiani, #83 Paul Claybaugh,
Back Row #208 Jeremy Templeman, and #488 L J Gronek.
World Champion John Kocinski had mechanical gremlins with
his 250cc mount, so he borrowed a 450cc DTX mount from Southland Racing
and raced a bike he'd never ridden to win the Vet 35+ class, keeping
his unbeaten streak alive. Kocinski turned a 15.15 second lap time.
It was wonderful to see the big 750cc twins at Perris.
#49 Chris Fitzhugh beat out Andy Hardan and #73
Gary Beach. All three dipped into the fifteen second
bracket in lap times.
#68 Gary Lane from Lucas Oil just hammered the
Premier Senior +70 field on his GREEN Bultaco.
Lane's fastest lap was a 16.62 second time.
#25 Steve Pruczinski won the Senior +50 Nov. "A" main over
#21 Andy Harden and #12 John Clayton the 3rd. However,
Harden had the single fastest lap of the race at 15.73 seconds.
Things were wild in the Open Unclassified field. From pole,
#22 Jimmy Gillen (4th), #67x Davis Fisher (1st), #112a Jace
Callison (6th), #29 Zach Johnson (2nd), and #16m Austin Helmholz
(5th). Fisher had the fastest lap of the race at 15.19 seconds.
#82 Travis Petton the 4th (at just eight years old) topped
#95 Clayton Williams in the Youth 85cc-100cc 2-stk Nov.
main event. Petton's fastest lap was 15.80 seconds!!!!!
#7 Zach Gross picked up his pace at round ten to take the win in the
youth 50cc class. #25 Travis Horn, round nine's winner was a close second.
Grosses fastest lap was 19.96 seconds.
#112a Jace Callison was a double winner at Perris
capturing the victory in the Youth 250cc and Open
Nov. "A" main events. His fastest lap time of the
night was 15.93 seconds.
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As #87 Jeff Johnson gets his new bike sorted out he just keeps
getting better. Jeff took victories in the Senior Vet +50 Expert
and the Bomber classes. His fastest lap time was 14.74 seconds!
On a Yamaha TT-500!
#95 Clayton Williams rode several classes at Perris.
Here he gives photographer Janice Blunt the thumbs up
on his way to the victory in the 85cc Open class.
Grand National Champion Jared Mees was this happy
before practice had even started. Imagine how he was
after he had won the twenty lap pro main event.....
Nichole Cheza's truck was the biggest rig in the pits.
Nichole wasn't at Perris, but newly married husband
Jared Mees represented the family well.
National #98 Kayl Kolkman came to Perris with this
cool Kawasaki twin. He rode his Simi Valley Kawasaki
single in the Pro final and even has his Harley in the van
with bright pink wheels! (For Breast Cancer)
Michelle Di Salvo has been racing in Europe for the
last six years. She showed up at Perris, borrowed a
motorcycle and just missed transferring to the pro
main event.
Dogs are all through the pits at Perris. Joey (Jimmy
Wood's pup) has earned a special place in the hearts
of many and is round ten's pet pick..
Hard to catch with a camera and even harder to catch
on a motorcycle are Vince Graves and Freddie Edwards.
Two of the farces behind the scenes at Perris.
Every time John Kocinski shows up at Perris with "ELSIE"
his Knight framed 250cc Honda something new has been done.
Guess that's why he was a World Champion, always improving!!
John Kocinski and Andy Bondio
National #54 Mikey Rush even changes his own tires
as seen here. Well, he does something right as this two
time Daytona Short Track winner had the fastest lap time
of the night at 14.64 seconds.....
Marty Lewis of Lazer Racing Frames has had
health issues this year, but has turned the corner
and is looking great. Good to see Marty at Perris.
Bob Hill has done it all in Dirt Track, he's driven
semi's for the AMA, put up fences and probably even
sold hot dogs. It was great to see him at Perris.
Country Western recording artist and long time
dirt track fan Beau Braswell shot parts of a music
video at Perris early in the day. Then stayed for the
races an sung the National Anthem.
S.C.F.T.A. Round #10
Perris Raceway ¼ Mile Oval
October 11, 2013
Photos by Janice Blunt
Article by Jamey Blunt
WOW! What a night! As has become tradition Perris Raceway held round
ten of their S.C.F.T.A. series the Friday night before the last Grand
National of the year at Pomona, Ca. the following night. The front
gates were open prior to 11:00 a.m. so as to allow the anticipated
large turnout more time to settle in the pits. The entire night's
program was also moved forward in time to accommodate what turned out
to be one hundred seventy seven entries that filled thirty two heat
races, two semis, a dash for cash and twenty six main events. All of
this action had to be completed by the mandatory 10:00 p.m. curfew.
Hence the riders meeting was held at 2:30 p.m. with practice
immediately following. Earlier in the day country music artist Beau
Braswell made the trip west to Calif. from Tenn. to shoot some video at
the race track for his new song "sideways". Braswell, a long time dirt
track fan, rider, and friend of the Haydens was well aware of the time
constraints and finished his work without any interference to the
schedule. Beau then stayed for the night's program and sang the
National Anthem to kick off round ten. Another added feature to the
schedule was the California Championship Series, a new association
attempting to build dirt track racing on the west coast, mixing five of
their classes among the existing S.C.F.T.A. classes in the night's
program. So it was that by 4:00 p.m. with the pits full, the overflow
parking lot packed, practice completed and the racing surface freshly
groomed, it was race time.
The four pro heat race winners from a field of twenty two made up the "Dash for Cash".
Rob Pearson burst like supermen out of a phone booth from second off of
pole to lead into turn one. Scott Baker slotted in at second with fast
heat time winner Mikey Rush third and Jared Mees fourth, on the first
exit from turn four Mees dropped Rush to fourth and on the next run
through turn two was underneath Baker for second. Pearson at the front
though had established a bit of a gap and it was questionable if Mees
could make up that much real estate. With a lap remaining Rush was past
Baker for third and Mees had closed to within four bike lengths of
Pearson at the front. But in a short four lap race this was all that
was going to happen on this night as Pearson flew home for the victory
and first blood drawn in the pro ranks over Mees, Rush, and Baker.
Jace Callison led Allison Stacey into turn one in the Youth 250cc
class. By the end of the first lap the front two had gapped the rest of
the field and it was clear this was a two rider battle for the victory.
Then suddenly on lap four Stacey pulled up against the crash wall in
turn four and went off the track leaving Callison alone at the front
with over a full straightaway lead, which he easily maintained to the
finish.
In the 85cc Open main Clayton Williams nailed the start to lead the
field through turns one and two. Williams quickly pulled out a six bike
length gap within the first lap over Hunter Goodwin, Travis Petton the
4th, Grant Holmes, and Evan Harich. Both Petton and Holmes made short
work of Goodwin moving up to second and third with Harich starting to
fade. This order would remain unchanged all the way to the checkered
flag with Williams even giving the thumbs up with his left hand to
infield track personnel.
Round nine's Youth 50cc overall victor Travis Horn had some competition
at round ten. Zach Gross regrouped and came out ready to race at round
ten as the two swapped the lead several times not only in their heat
race, but in the main event. Horn seemed to have the horse power, while
Gross could carry more corner speed. In the end Gross prevailed over
Horn by a mere bike length to capture the victory and throw down the
gauntlet in the 50cc class.
Clayton Williams once again got the start to lead in the 85cc-100cc
2-stk Novice class over Travis Petton the 4th, Grant Holmes, Tyler
Raggio, and Hunter Goodwin. Petton started working an inside line on
Williams as the front two started leaving the rest of the field in the
distance. Then with a lap and a half remaining on the entrance to turn
three Petton made his move past Williams for the lead while turning a
15.80 second lap time. Petton went on to this well planned victory over
Williams with Holmes third, Goodwin up to fourth over Raggio in fifth.
On the first start of the Open Unclassified main event Zach Johnson
went down between turns one and two bringing out the red flag and
stopping the race. On the full re-start Aaron Colton this time led the
field over Davis Fisher and Jimmy Gillen. On the second run through
turn four Gillen hit a rut and stood the bike up which allowed Johnson
to move up to third. At the front Fisher was trying to find a way
around Colton as Johnson now a lap later had caught them both and it
was a three way fight for the win. On the next trip through turn four
Colton went wide leaving a barn door sized opening which Fisher went
through to take over the lead. Once up front with a clear track Fisher
put in the fastest lap of the race at 15.19 seconds. A lap later, just
before the white flag Johnson put a move on Colton to take over at
second position, all while Gillen turned the second fastest lap of the
race at 15.23 seconds but it was too little too late as time had run
out; Fisher took a well earned victory over Johnson, Colton, Gillen and
Austin Helmholz.
Thirteen racers made up the Senior +50 Novice main event. Steve
Pruczinski led from the start over John Clayton the 3rd and Andy
Harden. From the beginning Clayton and Harden were swapping second
position which only allowed Pruczinski to stretch his lead at the
front. Just off the leaders pace running in fourth was Steele Fredrich
with Patrick Hayes in fifth. At the checkered flag Pruczinski took the
win with Harden winning the fight for second over Clayton, with
Fredrich fourth and Hayes staying in fifth.
In the Senior +50 expert final Dana Perri jumped the start and was sent
back to the penalty line. On the next attempt Jeff (The Jester) Johnson
put his Yamaha TT-500 up front followed by Jim Ottele, and Jeff
Lessley. Perri doing a tremendous job coming from the third row was
away in fourth in front of John Perez, Larry Earhart, and Dan Kane who
all started in front of him. After one lap of racing Perri passed
Lessley for third as Johnson changed zip codes with an eight bike
length gap at the front. On the exit from turn two on lap three Perri
got a drive and passed Ottele like he was tied to a post to take over
at second position. Meanwhile at the front Johnson turned a 14.74
second lap time setting a new track record for a Yamaha TT-500cc
machine. The best lap for Perri at 15.18 seconds was also a blistering
time especially for a vintage Honda single. In the end Johnson would
take the victory with a three second cushion over Perri, with Ottele
off their pace in third and Lessley well back in fourth. Johnson would
also go on to an easy victory in the Bomber final giving him a perfect
night of racing.
Six riders were on hand for the Premier Senior class for riders over
the age of seventy. On this night Gary Lane from Lucas Oil showed up
with his game face and ready to take names and numbers. Lane on his
green Bultaco Astro (yes green) was never challenged and his 16.62
second lap time was the fastest of the field. Try as he might Preston
Petty could do nothing to catch up to Lane. Jack Neeley though worked
long and hard to move forward to finish in the third place position.
It was great to see six machines in the 750cc Vintage class, as this
has been a rather empty field of late and watching these talented
riders throw the heavy 750cc bikes around the Perris ¼ mile is
exciting. Gary Beach almost got caught jumping the start, I say almost
because as he was backing his bike up just a bit starter Rudy Gil threw
the green. Patrick Hayes led into turn one over John Clayton, Andy
Hardan, Chris Fitzhugh, Beach and Jim Ottele. Then on the exit from
turn four on lap three there was a rider down bringing out the red flag
stopping the race. Ottele who was in last place threw it away all by
himself and was laying on the race track waiting for EMT attention.
Ottele was helped off the track and did not make the re-start. At Press
time there is no word as to his condition or extent of injury. This
time Hardan would lead the field with Beach and Fitzhugh in tow. Going
through turns three and four Beach looked to hook his foot causing him
to come close to falling, but making the save, though shaken. This gave
Fitzhugh all he needed as he moved to second position and dove to the
inside on the exit from turn four on the run to the white flag to take
the lead away from Hardan. Positions stayed the same for the final lap
giving Fitzhugh a well earned win over Hardan, Beach, and Hayes.
Two time world champion (road racing) John Kocinski came to Perris with
his Knight Framed Honda 250cc 2-stk but had a seizure in practice
leaving the machine out of commission. He then barrowed a 450cc
DTX mount from Jim Wood of Southland racing so as to compete in the Vet
+35 class. On the first start Brad Rudy went down in turn one stopping
the race and was thankfully up and none the worse for the incident,
making the full re-start. This time Kocinski on a bike he had never
thrown a leg over, and never having even ridden a DTX bike led into
turn one with Jason Craven right beside him. Exiting turn two Kocinski
had to check up which gave Craven the lead with Rudy just feet behind
them both. Down the back straight Kocinski made a run to carry corner
speed and got a drive out of turn four to take over the lead by the
time they completed the first lap. Then on the entrance to turn two the
second time Craven stalled his ride taking him out of the contest and
was visibly upset with himself. This gave Kocinski over a full second
gap at the front as Jim Rosa by this time was on a march forward and
passed Rudy to move into second. By the white flag lap Craven had
gotten his bike re-started and rejoined the race, only two laps down
and would be credited with eighth place. Kocinski had already posted
his fastest lap of 15.13 seconds and went on to win by over a full
straightaway over Rosa and Rudy keeping his undefeated streak in tact.
Sixteen riders made up the Open Novice field but only the fastest nine
would transfer to the "A" main event. Jace Callison emerged from the
chaos that was in turn one to lead the field down the back straight.
Scott Hanson settled in at second with Neil Hartman third. On lap two
Callison turned the fastest lap of the race at 15.93 seconds as he
opened up a ten bike length gap over Hanson. Dominic Fabiani meanwhile
was fighting with Brian Harmon over fourth as Jeremy Templeman from a
second row start was making his way forward. A lap later Templeman
would displace Fabiani to take over at fifth and attempt to inch his
way forward to Harmon. Lap after lap Callison was extending his lead at
the front and with two laps remaining held a 2.8 second gap. On the
last lap Callison could have walked it home for the win, which gave him
his second victory of the night, and Hanson held onto second over a
closing Hartman by two and a half bike lengths. Templeman closed
slightly on Harmon in fourth but settled for fifth with Fabiani sixth
and Monty Watowa seventh.
Aaron Colton had great starts all night and the Open Amateur main event
was just another example as Colton led the field into turn one. Zach
Johnson quickly went past Colton on the first run down the back
straight to take over at the front dropping Colton to second with Rich
Hanson in third and Jimmy Gillen in fourth. Then on the exit from turn
two on the second lap Gillen stuffed it under Hanson to advance up to
third. By now though Johnson already had a twelve bike length lead at
the front and with his head down turned the fastest lap of the main at
15.24 seconds. Colton had the second fastest lap time at 15.35 seconds
to Gillen's 15.48 seconds. On lap three Hanson shot past Gillen to
reclaim third as Brandon Watters was up to fifth. A lap later Hanson
really picked up his pace as Colton went wide entering turn three
allowing Hanson to advance to second, making this a three rider battle
for the second place position as Gillen regrouped to join the fight.
Colton came right back at Hanson showing him a wheel in every corner
and finally making it stick to reclaim second on the white flag lap.
Gillen wasting no opportunity shot past the stunned Hanson into third
making the final finishing order Johnson, Colton, Gillen, Hanson, and
Watters.
Twelve riders fought through four heat races and two semis to get a
spot in the $5,000 twenty lap pro main event. Two time Daytona short
track winner Mikey Rush sat on pole by virtue of the fastest heat race
time. As the light went green Grand National champion Jared Mees had
the quickest reaction time and left the line first only to be push wide
dropping him to third as Rob Pearson took over to lead the first lap in
front of Rush. Perris local Nick Armstrong ran in fourth with Scott
Baker fifth and Dylan Morin sixth. A few laps in Pearson appeared to be
getting away at the front as Rush was fighting to hold Mees at bay
which was costing them both valuable time and real estate. By lap six
the top three positions had separated themselves from the rest of the
field and it was clear this would be the podium, but not what the order
would be. Conner Anderson by this point had gotten past Baker for fifth
as Doug Fisher who looked fast all night was moving forward from a poor
start as well. At the half way point it was Pearson, Rush and Mees,
however on the next exit from turn four Mees had figured out a line
that gave him a good drive and used it on Rush to take away the second
place position. Armstrong was a full two seconds back in fourth but
turning in the race of his life, though looking to be tiring. With
eight laps remaining Pearson held an 8/10th second gap over Mees, who
in turn had a 6/10ths second gap over Rush. A lap later Armstrong
succumbed to the pressure from Fisher and gave up fourth as Anderson
went down entering turn three and was on the racetrack. Yellow flags
were quickly thrown as the situation was accessed and Anderson showing
great presence of mind quickly drug his bike and himself out of harms
way allowing the race to continue. By this point in the race Mees was
within two bike lengths of Pearson and Rush had dug deep and closed in
as well, it was clear it was still anyone's race among these three to
the finish. On the exit from turn four on the run to the white flag
Mees used the same move he had put on Rush to go under Pearson, pushing
Pearson wide on the entrance to turn one as Mees took the lead. The
crowd jumped to their feet, with not a single person still sitting as
the top three shot down the back straightaway. Pearson had led the
first nineteen laps with Mees leading the only lap of the race that
really counted, the last lap as he went on to the victory over Pearson
with Rush a close third. Further back Fisher would finish a hard fought
fourth over a solid ride from Armstrong in fifth, with Kyle Johnson
just edging out Bronson Bauman for sixth. Some of the fastest lap times
were: Rush – 14.64 sec. Pearson 14.74 sec. Bauman 14.77 sec. Johnson
14.90 sec. Armstrong 14.99 sec. and Mees 15.00 sec. As displayed
consistent lap times win races, not just the fastest single lap time,
as well as the experience a Grand National champion brings to the
table. Mees was aboard a Southland Pro Suspension DTX Honda he had
never ridden prior, but still managed to do what needed to be done to
capture a victory on his first ever appearance at Perris. Let's hope he
returns next year to defend this victory, he puts on a great show!
Results Rd. 10
Youth 250
1. Jace Cllison
2. Clayton Williams
3. #9
4. Parker Fitzhugh
5. Monica Gil
6. Jaycee Jones
85 Open
1. Clayton Williams
2. Travis Petton
3. Grant Holmes
4. Hunter Goodwin
5. Evan Harich
85cc-100cc 4Stk
1. Monica Gil
50cc 4 Stk. Beg
1. Zach Gross
2. Travis Horn
3. Zach Templeman
50 cc 2 Stk Nov
1. Colin Petton
50cc 4Stk Nov
1. Shana Maquire
85cc-100cc 2 Stk Nov
1. Travis Petton
2. Clayton Williams
3. Grant Holmes
4. Hunter Goodwin
5. Tyler Raggio
85cc-100cc 4 Stk Beg
1. Evan Harich
65cc-70 cc 2 Stk Nov
1. Grant Holmes
2. Travis Petton
3. Tyler Raggio
4. Joey Kosko
65cc 2 Stk Beg
1. Ava Bush
65 4Stk Beg
1. Zach Gross
2. Natalie Gross
85cc-100cc 2 Stk Beg
1. Evan Harich
2. Joe Kosko
3. Outlaw Davis
Senior + 50 Amateur
1. Bill Wright
Super Senior +60
1. Vince Graves
2. Joe Baggott
3. De Wayne Jones
4. David Molitor
Open Uncloassified
1. Davis Fisher
2. Zach Johnson
3. Aaron Colton
4. Jimmy Gillen
5. Austin Helmholz
6. Jace Callison
7. LJ Gronek
Senior + 50 Novice Div 1
1. Steve Pruczinski
2. Andy Harden
3. John Clayton
4. Steele Fredrich
5. Patrick Hayes
6. David Crivillo
7. Robert Stettler
Senior+50 Novice Div 2
1. Neal Hartman
2. Tim Watters
3. Fred Berger
4. Joe Baggot
5. Kelly Surplice
6. Mike Boal
7. Paul Claybaugh
8. Danny Mathis
Senior Vet’s +50 Experts
1. Jeff Johnson
2. Dana Perri
3. Jim Ottele
4. Jeff Lessley
5. John Perez
6. Larry Earhart
7. Dan Kane
California Championship Series
85cc-150cc Experts
1. Clayton Williams
2. Grant Holmes
3. Tyler Raggio
4. Travis Petton
Men 4 Stroke
1. Henry Canon
2. Pat Neilson
3. Dee Kilroy
4. Billy Katkov
California Championship Series
Vet’s + 35 Experts
1. Steve Hill
2. Anthony Mitchell
3. Will Ott DNS
4. Paul Ott DNS
Premier Senior + 70
1. Gary Lane
2. Preston Petton
3. Jack Neeley
4. Mel Stoner
5. Wm Morgan
6. Allan Girdler
750 Vintage
1. Chris Fitzhugh
2. Andy Hardan
3. Gary Beach
4. Patrick Hayes
5. John Clayton
6. Jim Ottele
Vet’s + 35
1. John Kocinski
2. Jim Rosa
3. Brad Rudy
4. Robert Steller
5. David Crivello
6. Robert Bocosa
7. Eric Cleveland
8. Jason Craven
California Championship Series
250 Open
1. Jace Callison
2. Allison Stacey
3. Clayton Williams
California Championship Series
Open- NON Paying
1. James Monaco
2. Paul Ott DNS
California Championship Series
Vintage
1. Jim Lundgren
Classic Vintage
500cc
1. David Bush
2. Tom Ferguson
3. James Kohls
250cc
1. Fred Berger
Bomber
1. Jeff Johnson
2. Dana Perri
3. Danny Perkins
4. Jim Lundren
Vintage 250 2Stk
250 Experts
1. Jeff Lessley
2. Will Ott DNS
250 Amatuer
1. Jim Monaco
250 Novice
1. Harly Legowski
2. Michael Fritz
Vintage 360 2Stk
1. Gary Lane
Open Novice A Main
1. Jace Callison
2. Scott Hanson
3. Neil Hartman
4. Brian Harmon
5. Jeremy Templemen
6. Dominic Fabiani
7. Monty Watowa
8. LJ Gronek
9. Paul Claybaugh
Open Novice B Main
1. Cameron Brewer
2. Joseph Hierres
3. Jaycee Jones
4. Kevin Neilson
5. Joe Melton
6. Eric Cleveland
7. Alexandra Fabiani
Open Amateur
1. Zach Johnson
2. Aaron Colton
3. Jimmy Gillen
4. Rich Hanson
5. Brandon Watters
6. Allison Stacey
7. Kenny Alderden
8. Parker Fitzhugh
9. Bryan Rowlett
Pro
1. Jared Mees
2. Rob Pearson
3. Mike Rush
4. Doug Fisher
5. Nick Armstrong
6. Kyle Johnson
7. Bronson Bauman
8. Scott Baker
9. Dylan Morin
10. Dustin Pruczinski
11. Kayl Kolkman
12. Conner Anderson
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