WCVDTS Bakersfield Kern County Fair September 24th, 2011

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
250 Open
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	51	Casey Cahoon	Santa Maria, CA	05 Hon 250
2	595	Allen Smith	Shandon, CA	2006 honda 250
3	56	Damon Coca	Windsor, CA	2008 Honda 250
4	07	Allison Stacey	Ridgecrest, CA	2007 250CC
5	137	Kayla Smith	Bakersfield, CA	2011 Kaw 250
500 Support 500 Support
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	77v	Jason Craven	Madera, CA	LAZER FRAME 500
2	70L	Jim Lundgren	Santa Clarita, CA	78 Yam 500
3	84j	Jeff Gonzales	Tulare, CA	76 Champion Yamaha T 500
4	28b	Gary Ritchie	Santa Maria, CA	yamaha 500
5	10	Keaton Hendrickson	Riverside, CA	74 Yam tt500
6	87	Shawn Culp	Scottsdale, AZ	Yamaha TT 540 540
7	9t	Dave Tice	Templeton, CA	1976 Yamaha TT 500
Classic 250
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	97	Fred Berger	Bakersfield, CA	1967 bultaco pursang 250
2	56	Casey Lessley	Bakersfield, CA	1967 Bultaco Pursang 250
3	60	Clay Van Deren	Snowflake, AZ	1967 BSA 250
Classic 500 - 750 Classic 500 - 750
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	87y	Chris Rudy	Boulder Creek, CA	1962 Harley Davidson 750
2	28d	Ron Lessley	Bakersfield, CA	67 Bul 360
3	96a	Jack Alexander	Bakersfield, CA	1957 KR 750 750
4	19z	Joe Brown	Paso Robles, CA	bsa 500
5	90	Randy Griffith	Taft, CA	hon 500
Digger Open Pro Digger Open Pro
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	42e	Kayl Kolkman	Ventura, CA	kaw 450
2	69	Jethro Halbert	Graham, WA	yam 450
3	10	Briar Bauman	Salinas, CA	08 Suz rmz 450
4	47	Mike Rush	Gilroy, CA	hon 450
5	71m	Jon Nunez	King City, CA	2007 Yamaha 450f
6	15	Garrett Stout	Visalia, CA	hon 450
7	30	Bronson Bauman	Salinas, CA	08 Hon crf 450
8	26v	Jeremy Hannah	Madera, CA	hon 450
9	88b	David Bush	Valencia, CA	05 suz 450
10	151	Mike Dillard	Salinas, CA	yam 450
11	28	Zachery Lenhof	Fresno, CA	2008 Honda 450
12	10Zx	Josh Chisum	Bakersfield, CA	hon 450
13	54	Steven Bonsey	City, CA	Unknown 450
14	83y	Chris Podergois	Clovis, CA	2008 HONDA 450
Dinosaur:
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	17q	Herb Wolff	Yuba City, CA	1950 AJS 500
Modern 250 Modern 250
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	12e	Jeff Lessley	Delano, CA	74 Hodaka Champ 250
2	42o	Will Ott	Simi Valley, CA	1973 Yamaha 250
3	56	Casey Lessley	Bakersfield, CA	1972 Honda XL 250 250
4	12o	Paul Ott	Simi Valley, CA	78 Yam 250
5	180	Malcolm Roe	Santa Margarita, CA	76 Bul Hagon 250
Modern 500 Modern 500
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	70L	Jim Lundgren	Santa Clarita, CA	74 Hon 350
2	28d	Ron Lessley	Bakersfield, CA	74 Hon 350
3	25d	Steve Craft	Bakersfield, CA	1974 Honda 412
4	75	Ryan Gifford	Bakersfield, CA	74 Bul Astro 360
5	5	Hadley Melton	Bakersfield, CA	74 hon 500
Modern 750 Modern 750
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	68	Paul Herman	Paso Robles, CA	triumph 750
2	44s	Robert Bush	Acton, CA	tri 750
3	12x	Patrick Hayes	Snohomish, WA	yamaha 750
4	34d	Keith Bryant	Kingman, AZ	Yamaha 650
5	12	John Clayton III	Lake Forest Park, WA	1976 YAMAHA 750
6	21	Andy Hardan	Snohomish, WA	74 Yamaha 750
7	62	Shawn Culp	Scottsdale, AZ	74 YAMAHA 650 000
Open Amateur Open Amateur
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	30	Bronson Bauman	Salinas, CA	08 Hon crf 450
2	151	Mike Dillard	Salinas, CA	yam 450
3	40	Andrew Luker	King City, CA	hon 450
4	4	Dan Brown	Paso Robles, CA	yam 450
5	28	Zachery Lenhof	Fresno, CA	2008 Honda 450
6	88	Dillon Allen	Tulare, CA	hon 450
7	48z	Michael Birchfield	Bakersfield, CA	hon 450
8	56	Dean Coca	Windsor, CA	hon dtx 450
9	83y	Chris Podergois	Clovis, CA	2008 HONDA 450
10	51	Mike Lucio	Tulare, CA	suz 400
1 (B Main)	50	Alfred Florez	Marina, CA	03 Hon 450
2 (B Main)	92	Austin Williams	Bakersfield, CA	2005 HONDA 450
3 (B Main)	12o	Paul Ott	Simi Valley, CA	73 Bul Champ 360
4 (B Main)	79s	Corey Bauman	Los Angeles, CA	03 Hon J&M 450
5 (B Main)	99	Andy Williams	Bakerdsfield, CA	05 Hon 450
6 (B Main)	4	Kruz Griffith	Bakersfield, CA	hon 450
7 (B Main)	97	Nathan Howard	Fresno, CA	2007 Suzuki 450
8 (B Main)	98	Rod Lake	San Jose, CA	2007 RMZ450 450
Senior Novice - Super Senior Senior Novice - Super Senior
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	33u	Tim Thomas	Chandler, AZ	1969 BSA Trackmaster 650
2	21	Andy Hardan	Snohomish, WA	74 Yamaha 750
3	17q	Herb Wolff	Yuba City, CA	1970 Triumph EMR 750
4	96a	Jack Alexander	Bakersfield, CA	1974 HONDA 412
5	97	Fred Berger	Bakersfield, CA	1974 honda 350cc 412
6	52c	Dave Cheney	Nipomo, CA	73 Hon XL 350
7	7	Larry Melton	Bakersfield, CA	74 Hon XL 125
8	14t	Ted Hubbard	Wrightwood, CA	Eddie Mulder Special 540
Senior Senior
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	25d	Steve Craft	Bakersfield, CA	1974 Honda 412
2	12x	Patrick Hayes	Snohomish, WA	Yamaha 750
3	90	Randy Griffith	Taft, CA	Hon 360
4	12	John Clayton III	Lake Forest Park, WA	1976 YAMAHA 750
5	75	Ryan Gifford	Bakersfield, CA	74 Bul Astro 360
6	34d	Keith Bryant	Kingman, AZ	Yamaha 650
7	21	Andy Hardan	Snohomish, WA	74 Yamaha 750
8	12e	Jeff Lessley	Delano, CA	74 Hodaka Champ 250
Vet Vet
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	4	Don Howard	Fresno, CA	1988 Woods Rotax 600
2	56p	Jason Cahoon	Santa Maria, CA	05 Hon 450
3	24p	James Abrams	Redwood City, CA	hon 450
4	44s	Robert Bush	Acton, CA	tri 750
5	16e	Larry Earhart	Panorama City, CA	03 Hon 450
6	10Zx	Josh Chisum	Bakersfield, CA	hon 450
7	77v	Jason Craven	Madera, CA	WOOD ROTAX 600
8	38	Lloyd Mcgregor	Lakeside, AZ	00 Hon 650
9	28b	Gary Ritchie	Santa Maria, CA	yamaha 500
10	51	Mike Lucio	Tulare, CA	suz 400
1 (B Main)	7x	Kyle Lessley	Bakersfield, CA	05 Hon 450
2 (B Main)	29	Gary Williams	Bakersfield, CA	suz 450
3 (B Main)	79s	Corey Bauman	Los Angeles, CA	03 Hon J&M 450
4 (B Main)	92	Dan Dowding	Bakersfield, CA	02 Yam 450
5 (B Main)	12	Shell Borden	Bakersfield, CA	07 Suz 450
6 (B Main)	25z	Shane Adams	Bakersfield, CA	06 Hon 450
7 (B Main)	505	Al Machado	San Juan Bautista, CA	hon 450
8 (B Main)	87	Shawn Culp	Scottsdale, AZ	Yamaha TT 540 540
Youth 50 Youth 50
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	7x	Grant Holmes	Porterville, CA	2010 COBRA 50
2	25	Cheyenne Peebles	Bakersfield, CA	07 KTM 50
3	199	James Alexander	Bakerdsfield, CA	ktm 50
Youth 60 Youth 60
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	601v	Nolan Reitz	Madera, CA	2008 Kawasaki 65
2	4	Hunter Stanley	Tulare, CA	Kaw Champion 60
3	715	Sahaelynne Smith	Bakersfield, CA	08 kaw 65
4	7x	Grant Holmes	Porterville, CA	2010 COBRA 50 50
5	9	Kalli Klassen	Bakerdsfield, CA	hon 60
6	95	Clayton Williams	Bakersfield, CA	2005 KAWASAKI 65
7	4p	Dakota Peebles	Somewhere, CA	04 KTM 65
Youth 80 Youth 80
Finish	Number	Rider	Hometown	Machine
1	51	Casey Cahoon	Santa Maria, CA	07 Hon 150
2	601v	Nolan Reitz	Madera, CA	2003 Honda 85
3	5	Colt Stanley	Tulare, CA	08 Hon 150
4	95	Clayton Williams	Bakersfield, CA	2004 HONDA 85
5	4	Hunter Stanley	Tulare, CA	05 Hon 85
6	23	Christian Payne	Bakerdsfield, CA	xr 100
7	3nw	Allison Stacey	Ridgecrest, CA	2006 85CC
8	422	Ashley Smith	Bakerdsfield, CA	hon 150
9	17	Noah Bush	Acton, CA	05 Kaw 85
10	6	Kaitlyn Sartuche	Tulare, CA	09 Hon 150
11	199	Juan Mercado	Bakersfield, CA	05 Hon 80

9-24-2011 Eddie Mulder's

W.C.D.T.S. Round #5

Kern County Fairgrounds

Bakersfield, California

Article & Photos by Jamey Blunt

For the seventh year in a row Eddie Mulder's West Coast Dirt Track Series held a short track race at the Kern County Fairgrounds in Bakersfield California. In this ever changing world; and troubled times in which we live in, epically for a motorcycle race promoter Mulder still attracts the lions share of quality sponsors. Top Sponsors Digger Helm, Rod Lake Racing, Motion Pro, K&N Filters, JRC Engineering, Penton Racing Products/PVL, Megacycle Cams, Brown's Cycles, Maxima Racing Oils, Coventry Spares, A&A Racing, Barnett, Tuffplates, Todays Cycle Coverage, Works Performance Shocks, Coors Light, and S&S Off Road Magazine make this series possible. On this night one hundred forty entries filled twenty heat races and eighteen main events on the Dustin Allen / Eddie Mulder designed oval built over three days of intense preparation inside a rodeo arena.

The winner from each of the four Pro heat races made up the Eddie Swortzfigeur Dash-4-Cash, starting off the nights main events. With $1,000 up for grabs Kayl Kolkman sat on pole by virtue of the fastest heat race time with Stevie Bonsey, Mikey Rush, and Jethro Halbert all lined up to Kolkman's right. Starter Fred Allen turned them lose with Kolkman leading into turn one. Rush was away in second with Halbert third and Bonsey fourth. Bonsey made a move up the inside through turn one and two on Halbert and had his front wheel taken out (when he made contact with Halbert) which caused Bonsey to go down, his race over. Kolkman would lead for two and a half laps until the entrance into turn one for the third time when Rush charged up the inside making contact with Kolkman knocking him out wide and taking over the lead on the exit from turn two. Down the back straight Kolkman made a run at Rush but couldn't get close enough to make anything happen in turn three, he then stalked Rush all the way to the checkered flag but never had an opening for a pass. Rush picked up the victory with Kolkman second, Halbert back a few bike lengths in third and Bonsey fourth with a dnf.

The http://www.todayscyclecoverage.com youth classes bring out some of the loudest cheers from the estimated 2,500 spectators in the huge grandstands. Young Grant Holmes topped the 50cc main in front of Cheyenne Peebles and James Alexander (who got screams every lap as he almost nailed the hay bales in every corner). Holmes was also the one who earned Digger Helm's $100 that is awarded to each of the youth class winners. In the 65cc main Nolan Reitz a newcomer to the series was fast. So fast in fact that he was almost two seconds a lap faster that second place finisher Hunter Stanley. Reitz picked up his $100 reward for the 65cc victory and looked a good bet for the 85cc final as well. But enter Casey Cahoon another new face in the W.C.D.T.S. who shot to the front and never looked back. Reitz gave it his all just to keep Cahoon in sight. For his stellar performance Cahoon also took one of Helm's $100 dollar bills. Cahoon then backed up his winning ways in another stunning ride by winning the 250cc Open main event.

The Motion Pro/K&N Filters Senior main event staged ten racers all over the age of fifty. Patrick Hayes led from the pole starting position only to have Steve Craft ride the hay bales around the outside of turns one and two and settle into second upon entering turn three. Ryan Gifford ran in third with John Clayton III fourth, and Randy Griffith fifth. Within a lap there was a three way battle at the front with Craft working a high line putting pressure on Hayes. On the next trip down the back straight Craft pulled alongside Hayes and took his line away entering turn three to take over the lead. While all this was going on Griffith quietly moved from fifth up to third and Jeff Lessley had moved up to fifth from a very poor start only to high side between turns three and four ending his race. This also caused Andy Hardan to lay his bike down to avoid contact with Lessley ending his race as well. At the white flag Craft had a three bike length gap at the front and Hayes had both Griffith and Clayton all over him for second, try as they might nothing in the last lap order changed which made it enter the record books with Craft first, Hayes second, Griffith third and Clayton fourth.   

Eighteen riders made up the A&A Racing/Maxima Racing Oils Vet class for riders over the age of thirty-five on any machine of their choosing. This field is split into an "A" and "B" main, with the fastest ten riders transferring to the "A" main. Don Howard who has shown his talent in both Dirt Track and Supermoto led the "A" main field into turn one with Lloyd McGregor second, Jason Cahoon third and Robert Bush in fourth. On lap three between turns one and two McGregor stalled his mount and was out of the race, while from a mid pack start Josh Chisum moved through to third with Jimmy Abrams glued to his backside. Up front Howard smooth as ever had a four bike length lead over Cahoon. By lap four Jason Craven moved past Bush to capture fifth and Larry Earhart was finding a rhythm back in seventh. With a lap remaining two riders went down between turns one and two (Craven & Chisum) which advanced Bush and Earhart into fourth and fifth. As the checkered flag fell Howard went wire to wire with Cahoon second, Abrams third, Bush fourth and Earhart fifth.

After being beat in the heat race Tim Thomas came out much more aggressive in the Penton Racing Products (PVL)/JRC Engineering Sr. Novice, Super Sr. final. Thomas left the starting line with his front wheel skyward but still managed to lead the pack through turns one and two. Andy Hardan settled in at second with Jack Alexander third, Herb Wolff fourth and Dave Cheney fifth. On the entrance to turn three for the second time Wolff was showing Alexander a wheel but couldn't make a pass stick. Wolff was persistent and on the next go round secured the third place position for good. Back up front Hardan was trying to find a way around Thomas and actually turned the fastest lap of the race at 13.28 seconds to Thomas's 14.01 seconds. But being faster and making a pass for the lead is two different things, and Thomas wasn't going to make it easy for Hardan. At this point Ted Hubbard about to go a lap down also came into the picture as the white flag came out. The two leaders went around Hubbard on different sides with Thomas choosing the better line and coming home with the victory over Hardan. Wolff was alone in third with Alexander a solid fourth, and Fred Berger taking fifth away from Cheney at the stripe.

In the Works Performance Shocks Classic 500/750 S.V. Chris Rudy showed up with a new 1962 Harley Davidson 750cc mount. What was different for Rudy who is a staple in this class with his show quality Harley K.R. is this bike has rear suspension, what a concept. Rudy nailed the start and led the pack through turns one and two with Bultaco mounted Ron Lessley second and Harley K.R. mounted Jack Alexander third. Away in fourth was Herb Wolff on (when is the last time you saw one of these race?) a 1950 AJS single cylinder 500cc machine. On lap three Lessley tagged Rudy's back wheel in turn one standing Lessley up and giving Rudy about three bike lengths of a gap. Rudy then turned the fastest lap of the race at 13.18 seconds attempting to get away from both Lessley and Alexander. On the last lap Lessley had caught up to Rudy and dropped Alexander, Lessley made a run at Rudy down the back straight, squared up turns three and four for a drive to the line but came up a half bike length short to finish second to a solid Rudy. Alexander came home a lonely third with Wolff fourth.

Brown's Cycles Modern 500 class saw Jimmy Lundgren lead from pole with Steve Craft once again pull his patented outside run through turns one and two dropping in behind Lundgren in second. Ryan Gifford, Ron Lessley, and Hadley Melton gave chase in that order. Gifford and Lessley were all over Craft's backside by lap two as Lundgren turned the fastest lap of the race at 13.37 seconds. Coming to the white flag Lessley in one big move running a high outside line went by both Gifford and Craft to leapfrog into second place. Lessley carried this drive to the checkered flag to finish second to Lundgren with Craft third and Gifford fourth.

The Barnett/Tuffplates Modern 750cc class had eight potent twins staged for their main event. Impressive through practice and the heat races was Robert Bush who seemed to raise a level higher for this event. On the first start Andy Hardan slid out while leading into turn one bringing out the red flag for a full re-start. This time Paul Herman launched off the line to lead and never looked back, the team of Herman and Berg proving almost unbeatable over many years is still on form. With Herman up front the race became for second between John Clayton, Bush, Patrick Hayes, and Keith Bryant. With four laps complete Clayton had mechanical issues and pulled out while Herman put in the fastest lap of the race at 13.38 seconds. At this point as well Bush was up to second with Hayes in third and Bryant fourth, which is how the field would finish.

Jason Craven led the Megacycle Cams/ S&S Off Road 500 Support field off the line. Jimmy Lundgren slotted in at second with Jeff Gonzales third, Gary Ritchie fourth and Keaton Hendrickson fifth. Craven would get away at the front and go on to victory by over a two second gap with the rest of the running order not having any changes through the entire race.

The Rod Lake Racing Open Amateur class also had "A" and "B" mains, with the fastest ten of the sixteen riders transferring to the "A" main. Bronson Bauman flew off the starting line from the first slight bit of motion from starter Fred Allen's hand to lead the field into turn one. However two riders went down between turns one and two stopping the race. Bauman repeated his feat on the full re-start to lead with Mike Dillard running second. Andrew Luker ran in third until the second lap when Chris Podergois took the position away in turn one. Dan Brown running in fifth had a big scare between turns three and four but made a miracle save to rejoin the race in seventh. Back up front Bauman was the only rider in the field to drop under the thirteen second lap time mark with his 12.96 second time. At the white flag the order had been settled and would remain the same to the finish at Bauman, Dillard, Luker, Brown, and Zach Lenhof.

The twenty lap Digger Helm Open Pro main event had fourteen finalist transfer through four heat races and a semi for a spot in the main. Kayl Kolkman by virtue of the fastest heat race time sat on pole. The Simi Valley Kawasaki pilot didn't disappoint as Kolkman led into turn one with Stevie Bonsey in second. Jethro Halbert from a so - so start quickly shot up to third bringing Briar Bauman with him to fourth. With two laps complete Bauman was working the pole with his inside line and passed Halbert for third while Mikey Rush was now up into fifth place position. Also on the move from a mid pack start was Jon Nunes and Garrett Stout who were running sixth and seventh. By lap five Kolkman had put in what would be the fastest lap of the race and the night at 12.01 seconds while Bauman began what would be a fourteen lap fight with Bonsey. Also by this point Rush had gotten by Halbert for fourth only to have Halbert return the move a lap later. By lap seven Bonsey and Bauman began swapping the second place position which only slowed their progress to Kolkman letting him extend his lead even further. By lap ten the half way point Kolkman was into lappers as Bonsey and Bauman had slowed each others progress into the thirteen second lap time range. With five laps remaining Kolkman hap lapped half the field and had over a three second cushion. The battle for second raged till the white flag when both Bauman and Bonsey slid out in turn two only a few feet from each other with neither making any contact with the other. Bauman was able to re-join the race quickly with only Halbert going past into second and Rush alongside Bauman for third. On the run down the back straight Bauman shot to the inside of Rush and made a hard contact pass entering turn three moving Rush out wide (Rush had little choice). As for Bonsey he couldn't get his bike started and was out on the last lap. This made the final tally Kolkman (wire to wire) Halbert, Bauman, Rush, Nunes, and Stout. Just after Kolkman's victory lap with Digger Helm aboard Kolkman had this to say. "It was a long race, I hole shot off the start and almost pitched it away going into the first corner and kinda closed my eyes a little bit. I put my head down and tried to go a few good laps and get a little gap, it seemed to work, I had a pretty good line. I want to thank Simi Valley Kawasaki, Digger Helm he really stepped up, Barnett, and Troy Lee Designs. Later in the pits Briar Bauman had this take on his incident, "I was just trying to get the fans into it, I wanted to make it interesting, so I decided to do a 180, no I came out of the corner and grabbed a hand full and it's real slick out there and was nervous and thought here comes Bonsey and just did a 180 but luckily the bike stayed running and I thought I still have a chance for third and then Mike Rush came up on me but I just got in there and was able to get third. I want to thank everybody."