A new racing surface greeted the one hundred entrants that came through the front gate at Perris Raceway for round five of the Lucas Oil S.C.F.T.A. event. More clay was added to the racetrack, some liking it, while others voiced their displeasure. Either way both sides of the fence agree, time will make the overall condition better. The temperature as predicted by the weather channel, hit eighty degrees on the nose for the day's high, but this being a night race, the conditions were perfect. After the 4:45 p.m. mandatory riders meeting and practice the racing program began with the spectator base from town growing for each round as the word spreads.

Youth Classes

The youth 50cc class is usually spread out around the track but on this night #6 Michael Iler and #14 Courtney D'Avignon fought all the way to the stripe. Iler held on for the hard fought victory.

 #53 Frank Flores took this close victory over Alyssa Flores in the youth 65cc main event. Frank worked hard for the win and had to ride mistake free, which he did!

#3nw Allison Stacey left the rest of the 85cc field in a black hole and dissapeared. Good thing she had a video camera on her helmet to show the rest of the riders she was really in the race.

The youth classes always start off the programs main events, with the 65cc class up first on this night. Frank Flores stated that all he wanted for his birthday was to race Perris, which was at round four. Well he may be a round late but he took the victory in the 65cc class by inches over Alyssa Flores and was one happy camper. There was a large field for the 50cc class, which usually spreads out all around the racetrack. But Michael Iler may have won the main event but it wasn't without a fight. Courtney D'Avignon had a terrible start and had to pass everyone on the track to move up to second by the white flag. The question was, could Iler hold tough to the checkered flag, he did, but just by inches. This made for one of the closest 50cc races in memory. As for the 85cc class, this was the Allison Stacey show start to finish. Monica Gil, Jaycee Jones, and Alyssa Flores could only fight over second place as Stacey left them all in a black hole.

Mens 4 Stroke & +70 Classes

 Ian Foulds (Wheel in the air) used this unusual starting method to capture the victory
in the Men's 4-Stroke Main event.

The Men's 4-stroke and Premiere Senior +70 classes ran combined but scored separately. Mel Stoner (+70 Class) led the field off the line but by the completion of the first lap Billy Katkov (men's 4-stroke class) was the overall leader. Katkov was on a mission and lapping the ¼ mile oval at 16.20/100 seconds pulling away from the rest of the field. Back fighting for third place on the track and second in the men's 4-stroke were Mark Cernicky and Ian Foulds, while Stoner settled in no mans land at second on the track. After a couple laps of trading paint Foulds pushed ahead of Cernicky for the spot, while Katkov was gone at the front with a three second gap. Then with just under two laps remaining disaster struck Katkov. Exiting turn two Katkov went down and slammed the crash wall ending his night and costing him the overall victory. This handed the front position and win to Stoner for the +70 class and Foulds closing in on Stoner picked up the victory for the men's 4-stroke over Cernicky.

Vintage 250-360

#3 John Kocinski added another notch on his flat track gun in the Vintage 250cc-360cc expert class. Kocinski also had the overall fastest lap time of the evening at 14.54/100 seconds. Will Kocinski go undefeated for the rest of the season?

Before the evening started Ryan Gifford and Jeff Lessley both indicated they just might have something to stop the John Kocinski show, or at least give it the good old college try. But before you can ever hope to beat Kocinski you first had better lead the pack into turn one, because if you let John lead he's usually gone. Off the line from pole position Kocinski led with Gifford dropping in behind in second with Jim Wood in third. Starting from the second row (penalty line) Lessley needed to make up ground fast and quickly got past both Wood and Gifford on the exit from turn two on the second lap. But this was too little too late as Kocinski was gone. On lap three Kocinski clocked a 14.54/100 second lap, the fastest of the entire night as he pulled away from the rest of the field. With two laps remaining the running order was Kocinski, Lessley, Gifford, Wood, Joe Steffen and Nick Armstrong. At this point Kocinski had a three second cushion over second place Lessley and the finishing order was set. The question is; will Kocinski go undefeated for the rest of the season? This is not to say the other racers in this class aren't talented, because they are! They are all very fast individuals in their own right. Kocinski has just upped the anti and pushed the class to the next level. Time will tell as Lessley, Wood, Steffen, Gifford, and Armstrong figure out what it is they need to do to beat Kocinski. One can be sure they are working on it.

Super Senior +60

 #4 Vince Graves dropped his lap time to 15.06/100 seconds on his way to the victory in the Super Senior +60 main event on his J&M framed Honda. #3j DeWayne Jones gives chase
but ended up finishing fourth in the final.

The third fastest lap time of the night went to Vince Graves at 15.06/100 seconds during the Super Senior +60 main event. Graves led from pole into turn one with Dennis Kanegae (on a borrowed motorcycle from Corey Bauman) slotting in at second. Ron Moore who's usually near the front in this class opted to go home after his heat race and was absent from the main event, David Molitor ran in third with Tim Thomas making the trip from Arizona putting his BSA in fourth. A couple laps in and Molitor was under extreme pressure from Thomas while Graves was pulling away at the front. By lap three Graves slowed slightly which allowed Kanegae to close to within four bike lengths as Molitor and Thomas were a full straight behind the leaders. Realizing Kanegae was close Graves put his head down and doubled the gap between them while on the exit from turn two Thomas squared up Molitor and got a drive to take over the third place position. As the checkered flag flew Graves had a two second margin of victory over Kanegae with Thomas a solid third over Molitor and DeWayne Jones.

Senior Novice +50

#4 Daniel Stinson broke through the sixteen second barrier on his way to the hard fought
victory in the Senior Novice +50 main event. Stinson turned a 15.96/100 second lap during the main.

Daniel Stinson Led into turn one in the Senior Novice +50 final with Shell Borden second and Larkin Wight third. On the second trip through turn one Wight moved past Borden for second while Corey Bauman was up to third from a sixth place start dropping Borden back to fourth, a lap later Fred Berger would take over fourth moving Borden back yet another position to fifth. Up front Stinson had the fastest lap of the race at 15.96/100 seconds which made him the only rider in the class to go under the sixteen second mark. With two laps remaining Bauman was showing Wight a wheel and even made contact with Wight who seemed to be tiring. At the finish Stinson had a three second gap over the battle for second which Wight held on to (bouncing off the front straight wall) over Bauman with Berger fourth and Borden fifth.

Bomber

#82 Travis Petton held of the advances of #89 Danny Perkins to capture the victory in the large Bomber class. Petton and Perkins are the top contenders for the championship at the end of the season and both run in the low fifteen second lap time range on their Yamaha TT-500's.

Travis Petton the second continued his war with Danny Perkins in the Bomber main event. These two are clearly the class of the field at this point in the season. Petton led into turn one with Perkins on his heels (or steel shoe). David McNeeley made a charge down the back straight and shot underneath Perkins entering turn three but had way too much speed and couldn't hold it as he got his front wheel clipped and made a miraculous save up against the wall to rejoin the race in eighth. Jim Steet ran in third with David Reinhard fourth and Ron Lessley fifth. Up front Petton and Perkins separated themselves from the field as Reinhard got past Steet for third entering turn one on lap three. By this point McNeeley had regrouped and was up to sixth as he had passed Keith Bradford and Dan Kane. With two laps remaining Petton had opened up a one second gap over Perkins and McNeeley was now pressuring Steet for his fourth place spot. With one lap until the checkers the order was set; Petton cruised home first with Perkins settling for second, Reinhard third with a closing McNeeley fourth and Jim Steet fifth.

Classic Vintage Brakeless

The overall victory in the Classic Vintage 750,500,250cc class came down to the last lap
between Ron Lessley #28D and Bruce Reynolds #28Z. Both riders were Bultaco mounted.
Lessley just edged Reynolds for the win.

The Classic Vintage 750-500-250 class combines a lot of motorcycles, but the racing is fierce. Ron Lessley and Bruce Reynolds both Bultaco mounted hit turn one side by side with Lessley establishing a slight lead on the entrance to turn three by virtue of having the inside line. Smoking Jeff Apple (his Triumph needs a quart of oil every race) settled in at third with Lenny Rodriguez and James Kohls giving chase. On the first trip up the front straight Reynolds took the lead away from Lessley to lead across the stripe. Exiting turn two Lessley showed Reynolds a wheel and they came down the back straight side by side. Only to have Reynolds make the same squared up move and drive out of turn four to once again lead at the stripe. By this time someone might have called the E P A over the smoke cloud Apple was leaving around the racetrack, perhaps Lucas oil has a product he could use. Lessley sat behind Reynolds for the next couple laps studying his lines, going to school, not wanting to show his hand just yet. Reynolds turned his fastest lap at 16.11/100 seconds as the laps wound down. Kohls also found some new speed and was all over Rodriguez for his fourth place position. Entering turn three just before the white flag Lessley made his move and took over the lead, put his head down and turned a 16.04/100 second lap to hold on for the victory over Reynolds by a bike length. Apple was alone in third (no one could see through the smoke) Rodriguez held on for fourth by half a bike length from the advances of Kohls in fifth.

Senior Vet +50

 #47 Jim Wood launched off the line in the Senior Vet +50 final and never looked back. Wood turned his fastest lap not once but twice at 15.00/100 seconds! All the rest of the field could do was stare at the back of the Southland Racing/Mr. Ed's jersey.

The Senior Vet +50 class produced the second fastest lap time of the night from Jim Wood at 15.00/100 seconds. Wood led from the pole starting position over Lloyd McGregor, Jim Ottele, Ryan Gifford, and Joe Steffen. Ottele quickly dropped McGregor to third on the first lap not wanting to give Wood any kind of a gap. Three laps in saw McGregor close back up on Ottele while Ottele in turn was showing Wood a wheel every time he could. Gifford and Steffen back in fourth and fifth were dropping off the front three's pace as it was still anyone's race. Ottele made a slight bobble just before the white flag which gave Wood a small amount of breathing room and made McGregor check up, dropping him three bike lengths back of Ottele. Wood would go on to the victory by three bike lengths over Ottele who had the same gap over McGregor. Wood also had the honor of the fastest lap of the race.

Open Novice
Patrick Madore nailed the start in the Open Novice main to lead into turn one. Corey Bauman was away in second with Isiah Canales third. Bauman running a high line took over at the front on the second trip down the back straight while 85cc class winner Allison Stacey moved into fourth. Once out front Bauman still running the high line carrying allot of corner speed began to stretch his lead. On lap four between turns one and two Devan Baris hit the dirt but thankfully was up and ok. On the last go round Canales showed great strength and found a way past Madore for second making the finishing order Bauman, Canales, Madore, Stacey, and Nick Ottele.

Open Am

#17r Nick Gil overcame this crash in practice with #45e Ian foulds to come back and win the Open Amateur main event. Gil is fast becomming a force to be reckoned with in dirt track racing....

Bill Wright is fast becoming a hole shot expert. Wright led off the line in the Open Amateur main event followed by John Perez, Nick Gil, Jeff Apple, Kyle Lessley, and Ray Hensley. On the entrance to turn three for the second time Perez took over the lead from Wright who lost his new found second place position just as fast to Gil the next trip into turn one. Entering turn three on the next lap Wright lost yet another spot to Apple as he took over third and now had Lessley to contend with for his fourth place spot before he had a chance to take a breath. The next lap on the entrance into turn one Lessley slipped past Wright for fourth while Perez put in the fastest lap of the race at 15.42/100 seconds. Two laps remaining saw Perez blow turns three and four going way wide leaving a barn door open and allowing Gil to close the gap. All this while Lessley found some new speed and was closing fast on Apple for third. With a lap remaining Gil took the lead away from Perez in turn one and held on for the win with Perez second, Apple third (1st Vet 35+),  Lessley fourth, and Wright fifth.

Pro

#88b David Bush might just be bright eyed and Bush tailed??? Check out his eyes and concentration entering turn one in the twenty lap pro main event. Bush easily won the feature posting the fourth fastest lap time of the night at 15.12/100 seconds.

The twenty lap Pro Main had Jeff Evans Jr. back in action and leading the field into turn one with David Bush right behind. Brandon Bates settled in at third with Mark Cernicky fourth and Ian Foulds fifth. Bush quickly took over from Evans at the front and slowly began to inch away. Three laps in Cernicky slid out in turn four but couldn't get going again until the leaders had put him a lap down. Five laps down and Bates was fading while Bush and Evans stayed three bike lengths apart. Then for the second time in the same race Cernicky lost it again between turns three and four but was back in the race once again in the blink of an eye. About this time Foulds hand shot skyward indicating a problem and he was out of the race. By the half way point Bush and Evans both appeared tired as their lap times slowed. Bush had turned his fastest lap much earlier at 15.12/100 seconds and now was running up in the low sixteen's. But neither Evans nor Bates could pick up their pace and settled in where they were. All the while Cernicky was spending a lot of time looking down at his bike trying to figure out what he broke. As the laps wound down the order was set, Bush won with a three second gap over Evans who in turn had a three second gap over Bates in third.











The July round is a double header (Saturday night & Sunday) on the 9th & 10th. This will be S.C.F.T.A. rounds six and seven, and remember Goodyear tires are available at the racetrack. 

 Race Results 6/11/2011

Youth 65cc
1.    Frank Flores
2.    Alyssa Flores
3.    Noah Bush
4.    Travis Petton IV


Youth 50cc
1.    Michael Iler
2.    Courtney D’Avignon
3.    Toby D”Avignon
4.    Drake Bondio
5.    Ava Bush
6.    Ana Bush

Youth 85cc
1.    Allison Stacey
2.    Moncia Gil
3.    Jaycee Jones
4.    Alyssa Flores
5.    Frank Flores
6.    Travis Petton IV

Men’ s 4 Stroke
1.    Ian Foulds
2.    Mark Cernicky
3.    Brett Bumis
4.    Billy Katkov

Premiere Seniors + 70
1.    Mel Stoner
2.    Peter Toroian
3.    Jeff Evans
4.    Allan Girdler

Vintage 2 stk 250 Expert
1.    John Kocinski
2.    Jeffy Lessley
3.    Jim Wood
4.    Joe Steffen
      5.  Nick Armstrong


Vintage 2 stk 360 Expert
1.    Ryan Gifford

Super Senior +60

1.    Vince Graves
2.    Dennis Kanegae
3.    Tim Thomas
4.    DeWayne Jones
5.    Ron Moore DNS

Senior Novice + 50
1.    Daniel Stinson
2.    Larkin Wight
3.    Corey Bauman
4.    Fred Berget
5.    Shell Borden
6.    Shane Van Sickle

Bomber
1.    Travis Petton
2.    Danny Perkins
3.    David Reinhard
4.    David McNeely
5.    James Steet
6.    Ron Lessley
7.    Keith Bradgard
8.    Dan Kane
9.    Steele Freidrich

Classic Vintage 500-750
1.    Ron Lessley
2.    Jeff Apple
3.    Lenny Rodriquez
4.    James Kohls
5.    Joe Pape

Classic Vintage 250
1.    Bruce Reynolds

Senior Vets +50
1.    Jim Wood
2.    Jim Ottele
3.    Lloyd McGregor
4.    Ryan Gifford
5.    Joe Steffen
6.    Keith Tennis




Vintage 2 stk 250 Novice
1.    Shane Van Sickle
2.    Steele Friedrich

Vintage 2 Stk 360 Novice
1.    Monte Roberts
2.    Rick Logan
3.    Daniel Stinson
4.    Fred Berger

Open Novice
1.    Corey Bauman
2.    Isiah Canales
3.    Patrick Madore
4.    Allison Stacey
5.    Nick Ottele
6.    Bret Bemis
7.    Joe Melton
8.    Devan Baris

Vet + 35

1.    Jeff Apple
2.    Joel Kath

Vintage 750

1.    Shannon Adams

Open Amateur
1.    Nick Gil
2.    John Perez’
3.    Kyle Lessley
4.    Bill Wright
5.    Eric Ryke
6.    Ray Hensley
7.    Michael Wilson
8.    Harley Legowski

Pro
1.    David Bush
2.    Jeff Evans Jr
3.    Brandon Bates
4.    Mark Cernicky
5.    Ian Foulds