Round # 1
Willow Springs Raceway - Rosemond,
California
Sunday April 13th, 2008Page two - Pros
Page three - Pictures
The high desert of Southern Cal
once again delighted us with warm Spring-like temps for Saturdays
practice at the Willow Springs 3/8 mile cushion. The track was the best
its ever been we heard a lot of people say. Freshly cut and added DG
made it pristine for hours and hours of practice. There were people on
new bikes able to get lots of seat time and everyone got fine tuned for
Sunday's race. Sunday was hotter and so was the racing! Eddie raised
almost $2,000 for the Open Pros Dash-4-cash at the riders meeting. A
nice treat for the four winners 21-Jared Mees, 3-Joe Kopp, 43-Sammy
Halbert, 49y-Chad Cose. Thanks so much to all those who pitched in!
Some of the legends and sponsors in the pits were Digger Helm, Steve
and Cindy Vizzo, Bill Bartel, Jim Kelly, Tom Seymour, Scott Dunlavey,
Ray Abrams, Ron Wood. Lots of great racing all day and the 20 lap pro
main was fast and fun to watch. Willow
Rocks!!! Thanks. Eddie and Jodie
Senior


Senior
1. 63y Ken Thiebaud
2. 12e Jeff Lessley
3. 45e John Lundgren
4. 74r Gary White
5. 28d Ron Lessley
6. 27 Ron Alexander
7. 25d Steve Craft
8. 43y Tony Herrera
9. 45c Mark Stuckert
10. 22 Hugh Blacka
11. 7 Kyle Lessley
12. 45f Ed Bailes
Vet “A” Main


Vet “A” Main
1. 88 Jim Rosa
2. 748 Don Howard
3. 6 Joe Steffen
4. 17r Chris Cannon
5. 12 David Ehrhart
6. 19v Joel Kath
7. 571 Miike O’Neil
8. 77 Joe Suebert
9. 45e John Lundgren
10. 8z Gary Evans (dnf)
Vet “B” Main

Vet “B” Main
1. 42 Craig Johnson
2. 68x Lloyd McGregor
3. 28b Gary Ritchie
4. 44s Robert Bush
5. 55e Mark Davis
Super Senior/Sr Novice


Super Senior/Sr Novice
1. 19z Joe Brown
2. 17q Herb Wolff
3. 16 Ed Steffen
4. 50 Mel Stoner
5. 31z Tom Howard
6. 52c Dave Cheney
7. 80x Bob Harris
8. 14t Ted Hubbard
9. 43 Dale Johnson
Dino
Dino
1. 3 Mike O’Neil
2. 53 Brent Johnson
3. 33 Robert Koch
Classic 500


Classic 500
1. 50s Brad Holt
2. 19v Joel Kath
3. 86d Ross Stuckert
4. 96a Jack Alexander
5. 4r Lenny Rodriguez
6. 75z Joe Pape
7. 62e Matt Campbell
8. 14 James Kohls
Youth
Youth 50
1. 80 AJ Alves
Youth 60
1. 113e Kyle Raggio
Modern 250


Modern 250
1. 50s Brad Holt
2. 12e Jeff Lessley
3. 33e Marvin Moore
4. 122 Jason Lessley
5. 12 Paul Ott
6. 222 Margo King
Modern 500
Modern 500
1. 28d Ron Lessley
2. 13p Allan Malm
Modern 750


Modern 750
1. 68 Paul Herman
2. 77 Joe Suebert
3. 22 Craig Furman
4. 27 Ron Alexander
5. 74r Gary White
6. 45c Mark Stuckert
7. 35 Steve Furman
250 Open



250 Open
1. 33e Mikey Avila
2. 18h Tony Davila
3. 28f Zach Lenhoff
4. 122 Jason Lessley
5. 222 Margo King
6. 87 Landin King
500 Support




500 Support
1. 571 Mike O’Neil
2. 32y Mike Gonzales
3. 84j Jeff Gonzales
4. 6 Joe Steffen
5. 68e Pauly Herman
6. 80k Augie Alves
7. 42 Gabe Slatton
8. 12e Jim Steet
9. 44s Robert Bush
10. 79 Joey Alves
11. 40 Josh Travis
Open Amateur “A” Main


Open Amateur “A” Main
1. 22 Eric England
2. 33e Mikey Avila
3. 342w Jesse Sleeper
4. 45e Ian Foulds
5. 49w Dustin Pruczinski
6. 18m Wyatt Maguire
7. 12 David Ehrhart
8. 88 Dillon Allen
9. 87 Lindsey King
Open Amateur “B” Main

Open Amateur “B” Main
1. 8z Gary Evans
2. 86v Danielle Diaz
3. 3p Al Steele
4. 86d Ross Stuckert
5. 20z Ray Hensley
6. 45f Tom Sahli
7. 13 Tim Medvetz
Eddie Mulder's W.C.V.D.T. Series
Round #1 Walt James Stadium at
Willow Springs – Rosmond, Ca.
April 13th,
2008
Article by Jamey Blunt
What? The first national dirt track race in the west was
canceled, enter stage left Eddie Mulder. To keep the sport alive he took
matters in his own hands and once again stepped up to the plate to hold the
first significant dirt track race west of the Mississippi at the Walt James Stadium 3/8
mile Willow Springs facility. Eighteen heats, one semi, thirteen main events
and a dash for cash made up Sundays race program.
The Pro Dash for Cash started off the main event program for
the day with Joe Kopp, Steve Murray, Jared Mees, Sammy Halbert, Shaun Russell,
Chad Cose, Garrett Stout and Nicole Cheza staging for the six lap payday. By
virtue of the fastest heat race time Kopp chose to start from the outside of
the front row. Mees led into turn one followed by Murray, Halbert, Kopp and Cheza. Entering
turn one for the second time Murray
was pushed wide and went down in the hay bales, he was unhurt but his Harley
was bent and needed more repair than time allowed for the full restart. On the
restart, minus Murray,
Kopp held the front position with Mees counting the rings on his Super Trap
exhaust. Halbert ran third with Russell fourth, Cose fifth, Stout sixth, and
Cheza seventh. Kopp working the track up high was attempting to get away but
Mees was squaring the corners up and getting a little better drive biding his
time for an opening. On the entrance to turn three for the third time Kopp left
the door ajar which Mees slipped through making the order Mees, Kopp, Halbert,
Cose now Fourth, Russell fifth, Cheza up to sixth, and Stout in seventh. Kopp
would drop in behind Mees to study his lines staying three bike lengths back
waiting, but an opening nor a mistake never materialized and Mees went on to
claim the lions share of the $1,900 cash award as he extended the gap.
Fourteen riders over fifty years of age made up the
Barnett/Works Performance Senior final. Semi Valley
Kawasaki's John
Lundgren read starter Fred Allen to lead into turn one, but Kenny Thiebaud on a
browed Yamaha from Browns Cycles took over on the exit from turn two. Gary
White and Jeff Lessley quickly followed past a stunned Lundgren who now found
himself back to fourth. Ron Lessley ran in fifth with Ron Alexander sixth on a
C & J framed Triumph. On the exit of turn four on lap two Jeff Lessley was
challenging White for second which he secured. At the front Thiebaud put in a
22.40/100 second lap that no one could match while Steve Craft settled in at
seventh with Tony Herrera eighth. Entering turn one with two laps remaining
Lundgren put a wheel under White and took over the third place position. This
lap was also Lundgren's fastest as he turned a 23.89/100 second lap. At the
stripe the finishing order was Thiebaud, Jeff Lessley, Lundgren, White, Ron
Lessley, Alexander, Craft, and Herrera.
The AGV Helmets/Bartels H.D. Vet class marked the return to
racing of cancer survivor Jim Rosa. A field of twenty two fought through the
heat races for one of the ten spots in the "A" main that saw Don
Howard lead from the start through turns one and two. Rosa
dropped in at second with Joe Steffen, Mike O'Neil, Chris Cannon, David Ehrart,
and Joel Kath giving chase. Down the back straight for the second time Rosa pulled alongside Howard and dropped to the inside
entering turn three to take the lead. Lap three saw Rosa
put his head down and turn his fastest lap at 22.20/100 seconds as he pulled
away from Howard. With a lap remaining Rosa and Howard were gone, Steffen was
two seconds back in third and O'Neil had been dropped to seventh as Cannon
moved up to fourth, Ehrhart to fifth and Kath to sixth. The final lap held no
changes which made this the final tally.
In the Saddlemen/Browns Cycles Super Senior final Ed Steffen
led the pack on his 750cc Shell Yamaha followed by Mel Stoner, Herb Wolff, and
Joe Brown. Shifting of positions between turns three and four on lap two saw
Stoner get dropped back to fourth while Brown on a 250cc two stroke took the
lead away from Steffen and Wolff stayed at third. Triumph mounted Tom Howard
ran fifth, with Dave Cheney sixth, and stunt legend Bob Harris seventh. Brown
once up front put his talent to work and posted a 24.20/100 second lap as he
pulled away. Wolff meanwhile was attacking Steffen for the second place spot
which he attained working an outside line through turns three and four. This
cemented the running order to the finish at Brown, Wolff, Steffen, Stoner, Howard,
Cheney, and Harris.
1967 and earlier machines make up the ARD Ignitions/San
Diego off Road Classic 500/Dino classes. Another interesting note is these
machines run no brakes. Arizona's Ross Stuckert put his 500cc BSA up front into
turn one with Joel Kath, Brad Holt, Lenny Rodriguez, and Mike O'Neil giving
chase. Down the back straight Kath was firmly in control over Stuckert at the
front with Holt dropping Stuckert another notch by the stripe. Kath on a 1958
BSA Gold Star lapped at 24.08/100 seconds as he inched away from Holt's potent
H.D. Sprint. By the half way point the front two had a full straight gap and
Jack Alexander was moving forward from a bad start. With a lap remaining Kath's
bike began to sputter which allowed Holt to close in. On the last lap Alexander
pushed past Stuckert into third as Holt had caught and passed Kath for the
lead. But Stuckert fought back and regained third on the run to the stripe as
Kath held on for second to Holt's first victory aboard the little Harley.
Gary White and Joe Suebert hit turn one side by side in the
Motion Pro/Tuffplates Modern 750 main event. But before the completion of the
first lap Paul Herman took over the lead and moved on to another zip code. This
left Suebert, Craig Furman, White and Ron Alexander to fight over what was
left. Herman was some two seconds a lap faster than the field turning 22.33/100
second lap times. With two laps remaining Alexander got past White to take over
fourth while Craig Furman was fighting with Suebert for second. At the finish
it was Herman by half a lap, Suebert holding on to second over Furman,
Alexander fourth and White fifth.
Three rows deep staged for the A&A Racing/Maxxis Tires
Modern 500 war. Jeff Gonzales sat on pole but it was Mike O'Neil and Joe
Steffen who led into turn one. Exiting turn two O'Neil pulled ahead as Jeff
Gonzales dropped Steffen to third, with Mike Gonzales joining the party as
well. Exiting turn four Steffen would regain second briefly until he hit a rut
allowing Jeff Gonzales back by. Mike Gonzales running a low line slipped under
Steffen in turn one moving him back another spot. Lap three O'Neil put in the
fastest lap of the race at 22.51/100 seconds with the front four now a full
straight ahead of the field. The running order at this point was O'Neil, Mike
Gonzales, Jeff Gonzales, Steffen, and way back Augie Alves Jr. and Pauly
Herman. O'Neil under intense pressure turned in one of the finest rides of his
life to hold Mike Gonzales at bay for the victory. Jeff Gonzales held off the
late charge from Steffen for third and Herman made the pass for fifth on Alves
on the last lap.
The Vizzo Racing/Berkeley Honda-Yamaha Open Amateur class
had twenty one riders attempting to transfer to one of ten spots in the
"A" main. Jesse Sleeper jumped off the line to lead through turns one
and two only to have Eric England take it away from him going into turn three. Mikey
Avila ran
third, with Ian Foulds and Dustin Pruczinski banging bars over fourth. On lap
three Avila
made his move between turns one and two to take second away from Sleeper while England put in
a 21.86/100 second lap time on a clear track. Foulds who was now solidly in
fourth was closing ground on Sleeper as well but time was running out. At the
checkered flag England
picked up a disserved victory, Avila
was a solid second, Sleeper held off a closing Foulds for third, and Pruczinski
settled for fifth.
Twenty four pros went at it via four heat races and a semi
for a spot in the Digger Helm Open Pro Main. Seven of which were Nationally
ranked riders from across the United States, with one being former Grand
National Champion Joe Kopp from Mica, Wa. Eighteen riders thundered from three
rows off the starting line into turn one for this twenty lap final. Joe Kopp
and Jared Mees hit turn one side by side with Mees taking point by the exit of
turn two. Shaun Russell ran third, with Steve Murray fourth, and Chad Cose
fifth. Lap three Cose went past Murray
on the Jim Kelly H.D. to take fourth while Mees and Kopp (both on their H.D.
twins) were gaping the field. On the next trip down the back straight Cose put
his A&A Racing 450cc single past Russell for third. All the while Sammy
Halbert recovering from a less than desirable start was starting a march and
was up fighting for fifth. For the next few laps Cose and Russell would swap
third place while Murray
and Halbert would swap fifth. At the half way point Mees had a four second gap
over Kopp who in turn had gapped the rest of the field. Mees had also turned
his fastest lap of the day at 20.67/100 seconds. National number fifteen Nicole
Cheza meanwhile had climbed as high as she could to seventh, but by races end
would drop back to twelfth. Kayl Kolkman's march would stop at eighth as Mees
was now getting into lappers. By lap twelve Murray found his rhythm and shot past Russell
for fourth and Cose looked to be tiring as his lap times were slowing. On lap
fourteen Cose was done while Murray and Kopp both picked their pace up. Murray
who took third away from Cose and Kopp who was gaining ground back from Mees.
Halbert also dropped Russell a notch to take over at fifth. On lap sixteen
Halbert had caught Cose and dove underneath into turn three to take fourth
place away. This pushed a tired Cose high which allowed Russell past as well,
leaving Cose to finish in sixth. At the front Mees was on cruise control and
even though Kopp was gaining time was short and in the end Mees still had a
second and a half gap for victory. Kopp was a lonely second with Murray a
strong third, Halbert a hard fought fourth, an injured but tough Russell fifth,
and a worn out Cose sixth. Kopp who had never raced a Mulder event or been to
Willow had this to say, "Jared kind of got out on me the first few laps
then we kind of held our own, then the final few laps we were gaining a bit chasing
him back down, but he out gunned me today. I was kind of skeptic coming here
with the Harley but this is a killer track for a Harley. Eddie puts on a great
race and I'm glad we came; now if he'd just drive my truck home for us it would
be great."
Page two - Pros
Page three - PicturesJimmy Wray's Photos
http://www.jrpix.com
