S.C.F.T.A. Round #5
Perris Raceway June 11th,2011
Article by Jamey Blunt
Photos by Janice Blunt
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

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