
SCFTA Round 6
June 22nd, 2013
Photos by Janice and Jamey Blunt
Article by Jamey Blunt

Just five weeks after having a new pace-maker installed Jeff
Lessley was back at Perris. He even raced and won the 360cc 2-stk
expert class!!!!

At the half way point of the twenty lap pro main this is
how close the top three were. #54 Mikey Rush, #44e Nick Armstrong, and #26 Dylan Morin.

About lap fifteen #26 Dylan Morin passed #44 Nick Armstrong
for second place entering turn three only to have Armstrong run
it up the inside on the next run into turn one to retake second. #54
Mikey Rush led all twenty laps.

This is how close Armstrong #44 got to Rush #54. At the white flag they were almost side by side.

In the end two time Daytona short track winner Mikey Rush
prevailed, as experience does. Rush also had the fastest lap of the
main event at 15.02 seconds. Here Rush gives Starter Rudy Gil a victory
lap ride.....

The Open Novice class had the biggest field of the night with
sixteen riders. Here in the A Main at the start are #92
Brandon Waters, #558 William Purgason, #62 Derrick Porter, #208 Jeremy
Templemen, #112 Jace Callison, #6 Aaron Guidaean, #16e Greg Powell, #44
Scott Hanson, and #67 Brian Harmon. (Brandon Watters won and had the
fastest lap at 15.90 seconds.)

Even though half the field didn't make it to the main event after
the crash in the heat race, #82e Travis Petton the 2nd and #6 Joe
Steffen put on a show in the Bomber class finishing one - two.

Link to crash sequence in the Bomber heat race captured by Madison Margeson

The Ott's put on a show in the Vet 35+ class. #12 Paul
Ott barely squeaked out the victory over #42 Will Ott. This in spite of the fact Will had the overall fastest lap of the
race at 15.34 seconds.

The start of the 50+ Novice final had #26
Steele Fredrich, #558 Brandon Waters, #97 Fred Berger, #8 Scott Clark, #58
Mark Hesse, #178 Robert Stettler, # 0 Greg Powell, #51 Rich Barnes, #17d
Danny Mathis, #83 Paul Claybaugh, and #189 Wes Zuber all go at it.

#26 Steele Fredrich made the pass on
#558 Brandon Waters entering turn one to take the victory in the Senior 50+ Novice Main event.

#84 Colt Foster worked his way forward to just nip
#141 Chad Foster for the Open Unclassified victory. #22 Jimmy Gillen was
third with #07 Allison Stacey, #112 Jace Callison, #12e Jimmy Steet,
and #488 John Gronek rounding out the field.

The Premier 70+ and Super Senior 60+ classes were on
the race track at the same time but scored separately. #3j DeWayne Jones
won the 60+ race with #0 Preston Petty topping the 70+ filed. Jone's lap
time was 16.43 sec. while Petty's was a 17.48 seconds.

#28 Ron Lessley on his Bultaco took the Classic Vintage victory over #95 Tom Ferguson in spite of Ferguson's last
ditch efforts in turn one that took them both out.

The start of the 85cc 2-stk Novice Main had
#95 Clayton Williams on pole. #12 James Ott, #7x Grant Holmes, #17 Noah
Bush, #82 Travis Petton the 4th, #21 Matthew Ott, #98 Evan Harich, and
Monica Gil hidden.

At the finish, with loud cheers from the
bleachers, #7x Grant Holmes just edged out #95 Clayton Williams for the
win in the 85cc 2-stk Novice final.

#98 Evan Harich won both the 85cc 4-stk Beg. and the
85cc 2-stk Beg. classes. Evan's fastest lap was 17.81 seconds. #11 is Reece
Watowa, #222 is David Seminaro.

#7x Grant Holmes made the people of Porterville, Ca. proud. He started his night off with the victory in the
65-70cc 2-stk Novice main with a fastest lap time of 17.42 seconds.

#214 Dylan Price of Porterville, Ca. topped the 50cc 2-stk Novice class with a lap time of 21.62 seconds.

#2 Young Cody Morin was fast all night at Perris. His fastest
lap time was 21.80 seconds on a 50cc mount! #46 is Colin Petton, a
fourth generation racer of dirt track.

#95 Clayton Williams topped the Youth 250 Open field of ten racers. #112 Jace Callison was a strong second place!
Williams fastest lap was 15.62 seconds.

Two time Daytona short track winner Mikey Rush
displayed his favorite tool at S.C.F.T.A. round six. Rush was still
all smiles after the Pro main as well as he led all twenty
laps...

National number 54 Mikey Rush ( 2 time Daytona short
track winner ) came to Perris to test with National number 37, Jimmy
Wood (on National number 69 Jethro
Halbert's bike ) who runs Southland Pro suspension. Wood who only rode
practice and the heat race still turned a fifteen second flat lap
time and did win his heat race. But opted not to take part in the main
event, but rather
concentrate his energy on bike set up for Rush prior to heading east in
a couple of
weeks for some grand national events. Rush who has raced at Perris in
the
past, but has only finished as high as second in a pro main event at
Perris wasted
little time as he launched from pole on the front row into the lead and
never looked back. However this
was no walk in the park for Rush as he was hounded by Nick Armstrong
and Dylan Morin
the entire twenty laps. On a side note; a big thanks goes out to
Ashleigh who
saved the entire nights racing when she stepped in to take the place of
the two
EMT's who were a no-show at Perris. Ashleigh an EMT herself was the
best S.C.F.T.A.
has ever seen. Hopefully she can become a fixture at Perris.

Best T-Shirt award goes to Ian Foulds. Guess who's on the front of his shirt???

Spotted in the pits prior to practice were Cody and Dylan Morin. Guess who's who......
June 22nd 2013
S.C.F.T.A. Round #6
Perris Raceway ¼ Mile Oval
Article by Jamey M. Blunt
Photos by Janice M. Blunt
"Rush Hammers the Completion, and Nails the Victory"
June at Perris; ninety degrees with a slight wind, for
someone living within a mile of the ocean that's hot and right from the start
one could tell this was not going to be a normal S.C.F.T.A. event. Some might
say the full moon had something to do with it, full it was and the largest moon
of the year as it was the closest it would come to the earth in a long time.
Whatever the reason right from the start things seemed just a little tilted as
riders were signing up in the wrong classes, the EMT's that were thought to be
on hand got mixed up and thought the race was on Sunday not Saturday
(thankfully Ashleigh, the best EMT Perris has ever had, stepped in and saved
the day.) None the less the show must go on; hence the one hundred thirty two
entries filled twenty two heat races and eighteen main events. It's great to
see that there is now a dirt track core of riders that have kept the entry
count at Perris above the one hundred mark for over two years. Some have said
dirt track is dead, well perhaps a trip to Perris might shed some light on the
fact that it's alive and filled with some of the most talented riders on the
planet. On a personal side note, I was approached at intermission by a family
who had never attended a short track race, but rather been involved in the motocross
side of racing. The father of the family (who raced moto-cross) stated he'd
never seen such camaraderie and was very impressed with the whole dirt track
scene.
The Main Events
The Youth 250cc class that was established this year has
fast become a proving grounds for up and coming hot shoes. This is evident by
the lap times some of these kids are turning in spite of hardly being able to
touch the ground with their feet, many are lapping the Perris ¼ mile in the
fifteen second bracket. Jace Callison nailed the start to lead the field
through turns one and two in front of heat race winner Clayton Williams. James
Ott dropped in behind in third with Jaycee Jones fourth and Allison Stacey
fifth. On the exit from turn four for the third time Williams found traction
and got a good drive to take the lead away from Callison on the run up the
front straight. Once up front Williams with a clear track turned his fastest
lap of 15.62 seconds while Stacey had worked her way past Jones into fourth. When
the checkered flag flew Williams had a four second gap over Callison for the
victory with Ott a solid third over Stacey, Jones, Monica Gil, Alex Crosby and
Evan Harich.
The spectators always go wild for the Youth 50cc classes.
These young racers, despite some being four years of age give it their all.
Cody Morin topped the 50cc 2-stk beginner field due to his superior corner
speed, but can use more horsepower on the straights. In the 50cc 2-stk novice
class Dylan Price stood on the top steep. The night's first double class winner
was Evan Harich as he captured victory in both the 85cc 4-stk beginner class
and the 85cc 2-stk beginner category with a fastest lap time of 17.81 seconds.
The next double winner to emerge was Grant Holmes, first in the 65cc 2-stk
novice class where he waged war with Travis Petton the 4th. Then in
the highly contested 85cc 2-stk novice final that saw James Ott nail the start
to lead into turn one only to have Clayton Williams steel the lead away by the
first run down the back straight. Quickly from a fourth place start Grant
Holmes shot into second by the completion of the first lap. Also on the move
was Travis Petton the 4th who on the second run through turn one put
a wheel under Ott to take over at third. Monica Gil ran in fifth with Noah Bush
in sixth. By lap four it was apparent the race was for the win as Williams and
Holmes had separated themselves from the rest of the field. Holmes was matching
Williams pace looking for an opportunity to pounce. With a lap and a half
remaining on the exit from turn two Holmes put his wheel under Williams and got
a drive down the back straight and took over the lead going into turn three.
Williams seemed rattled just for a split second, but made a mistake between
turns three and four which gave Holmes a couple bike lengths breathing room as
the took the white flag. From this point Holmes only had to ride mistake free
and protect his line, which he did to take his well earned second victory of
the night. Williams was a very close second with Petton third, Ott fourth, Gil
fifth and Bush sixth.
The Classic Vintage, or brakeless class had fewer entries
this night but wasn't short on talent or action. Ron Lessley on his Bultaco El
Bandito led Triumph mounted Joe Pape, H.D. pilot Tom Ferguson, Bultaco veteran
Fred Berger and Triumph jockey James Kohls into turn one. Exiting turn two Ferguson quickly disposed
of Pape for second and set off after Lessley. Ferguson pulled out all the stops and
appeared more desperate than usual as he stayed within one to two bike lengths
of Lessley. But Lessley been in this game a long time and isn't rattled by a
little pressure and stayed mistake free at the front. As the laps wound down
the front two separated themselves from the rest of the field while Kohls found
a way past Berger for fourth. Then entering turn one with two laps remaining Ferguson made a desperate
move hoping to make something happen, which did. Ferguson took himself and Lessley both out of
the race and put them both on the ground bringing out the red flag stopping the
contest. Lessley was quickly to his feet but Ferguson was laying on the race track being
attended to. After a short time Ferguson
too was on his feet and thankfully not seriously hurt. The race was called and
the victory awarded to Lessley and rightfully so.
The Premier Senior +70 and Super Senior +60 classes were
combined but scored separately. Thanks to his good starting ability Preston
Petty aboard the all electric Zero motorcycle was fighting with DeWayne Jones
in the +60 field from the start. But since Jones has switched from his CR-500cc
2-stk mount of past, he has yet to be beat aboard his trusty new 450cc 4-stk
ride. None the less Petty's performance as he captured the victory in the +70
class was impressive, more work is needed on the Zero but with every race the
bike appears better. As for Jones, he handily won the +60 class over regular
David Molitor who seemed to be having an off night.
Chad
Foster led Jimmy Gillen and Colt Foster into turn one in the Open Unclassified
main event. Giving chase in fourth and fifth were Allison Stacey and Jace
Callison. By lap three Stacey was loosing touch with the leaders as Chad Foster
turned the fastest lap of the race at 15.33 seconds. On the exit from turn two
on lap four Colt Foster pushed Gillen wide to move into second, which made
apparent that this was going to be a three way battle until the end for the
victory. All while Callison was applying pressure on Stacey for her fourth
place position. At the white flag Chad Foster still led with Colt Foster second
and Gillen third. Then through turn three both Fosters were side by side with
Colt having the better position by virtue of being on the inside. On the run to
the checkered, Colt squeaked out the win over Chad by feet with Gillen watching
this unfold from third as Stacey held off Callison for fourth.
Thirteen riders made up the Senior +50 class where Tim
Watters led the pack into turn one. Steele Fredrich running in second was about
to make a move when on the second run through turn one his foot got hung up in
the dirt and about pulled him off the bike costing him a few bike lengths. New
comer to dirt track Scott Clark (running a 21" front wheel) ran in third
with Robert Stettler fourth. Then on the third trip through turn one just as he
had planned previously Fredrich made his move on Watters and took over at the
front. Once up front Fredrich put his head down and turned a 16.55 second lap
time as Clark was closing in on Watters for
second. On the next go round Fredrich appeared to bounce slightly off the crash
wall going up the front straight which cost him some real estate as Watters and
Clark closed the gap. On the exit from turn four to the white flag Fredrich
went wide which left the door open for Watters who closed the gap and made a
move to the inside entering turn one attempting to slip under Fredrich for the
lead. But Watters was carrying a lot of speed and in the attempt to hold his
inside line the front wheel lost its grip sending Watters to the ground. Fredrich
went on to the victory over Clark, Stettler, Berger and Mark Hesse who all
advanced a position with Watters departure.
Brad Rudy is usually always found at or near the front in
the vet +35 class and tonight was no exception as he nailed the start to lead
into turn one. Will Ott settled in at second with Paul Ott quickly up to third
from a third row penalty starting position. Sean Lambert was away in fourth
with Joel Kath mid-pack in fifth. On the second lap exit from turn four Will
Ott got a drive to take the lead away from Rudy as they crossed the stripe. About
this same time Kath made contact with Lambert knocking him out of the way
between turns three and four to take over at fourth. Up front Will Ott turned
the fastest lap of the race at 15.34 seconds as Paul Ott found his way around
Rudy to move up to second. Then a bobble and some lost traction and Will and
Paul Ott were side by side fighting for the win. With two laps remaining Paul
dove inside Will entering turn one to steal the lead. As they headed down the
back straight less than a bike length apart it was anyone's race. Paul was
first to take the white flag but by less than a bike length as he protected his
inside line. For the final lap all Paul needed to do was keep Will to the
outside of him and ride mistake free, which he did, to claim the victory. Will
was a very close second as Rudy had faded somewhat in third with Kath secure
over Lambert in fourth and Eric Cleveland in sixth as Derrick Porter faded at
the end.
Those left standing in the Bomber class (see crash sequence
and explanation) staged for their main event. Travis Petton jr. (the only one
from the crash to start the main) led Joe Steffen into turn one from the
outside of the front row. Keith Bradford slotted in at third with Jimmy
Lundgren fourth. On the first run up the front straight Lundgren wasted no time
and shot past Bradford into third. Back up
front Steffen was glued to Petton's back side waiting for any opportunity to
pass. As the laps wound down Steffen appeared to tire allowing Petton to start
and stretch out his lead while Lundgren was now about a full straight back in
third. Petton would go to the victory with Steffen far enough ahead of Lundgren
not to have any danger of losing his second place position.
The biggest class of the evening was the Open Novice, having
sixteen riders and needing both an "A" and "B" main. In the
"A" main John Gronek was left sitting on the starting line as the
pack thundered into turn one, his race night over before it started. William
Purgason was the one who nailed the start to lead over Brandon Watters, Jayce
Callison, Jeremy Templemen, and Derrick Porter. Purgason would lead for two
laps until the entrance of turn one for the third time when Watters made his
move and took over at the front. Once up front Watters wanting to get away
turned a 15.90 second lap time, the only rider in the class to go under the
sixteen second mark. A lap later Gronek who had joined the race in last went
down between turns three and four and was up quickly and off the track. With
two laps remaining Callison moved into the second place spot while Templemen
lost a spot to Aaron Guidaean giving up fourth. On the white flag lap another
rider went down in turn one which thankfully everyone avoided. The final tally
was recorded at Watters, Callison, Purgason, Guidaean Templemen, and Porter.
The twenty lap pro final was supposed to have two national
numbers squaring off, however heat race winner Jimmy Wood (who was just riding
to test suspension settings) elected not to participate in the main event. Sitting
on pole, two time Daytona short track winner Mikey Rush had to be the favorite
as he led into turn one in front of Nick Armstrong and Dylan Morin. Chad Foster
was away in fourth with Paul Ott fifth, and Nick Gil sixth. Within the first
two laps Chad Foster was losing touch from the front three while Colt Foster,
David Bush and Robert Bush were fighting at the back of the field. Five laps in
the record books and it was clear the victory would be between one of the front
three as Rush couldn't seem to shake either Armstrong or Morin. Although of the
front three Rush looked to be the most relaxed even though this was his first
race back after surgery from an injury. On lap nine in turn two Gil tagged the
back wheel of Ott as he struggled to find his rhythm and work his way forward.
Eleven laps complete saw the front three hold a four second gap over Chad
Foster in fourth with the running order being Rush Armstrong, Morin, Chad
Foster, Ott, Gil, Cole Croulen, Colt Foster, Robert Bush, and David Bush. Two
laps later Morin put a wheel under Armstrong on the exit from turn two and ran
down the back straight side by side taking away second on the entrance to turn
three. This was short lived though as Armstrong came right back at Morin diving
to the inside entering turn one moving Morin high as he regained second. This
also served to rejuvenate Armstrong as his pace seemed to pick up just a bit
more as he closed in on Rush. With two laps remaining the front three were into
lappers as both Armstrong and Morin had closed in on Rush. Gil by this point
had also found a way into fourth past Chad Foster which is where he would
stay; the best he could do on this night. At the white flag it was anyone's
race at the front but the odds were in Rushes favor due to experience and
racing history, he's been here before and doesn't make mistakes. However as
they took the white flag Armstrong pulled alongside Rush on the outside as they
crossed the stripe judging what it might take to steal the victory coming out
of the final turn on the last lap. But Rush was not to be denied and went on to
the victory and had led all twenty laps, Armstrong was a close second with
Morin impressing more every time out third, and Gil fourth in front of Chad
Foster and Ott. Catching up with Rush just after he took starter Rudy Gil on a
victory lap ride and got his helmet off, he had this to say; " you know I
felt the pressure from the guys behind me the whole time. We are here doing
some testing, Jimmy Wood and me, trying some new stuff and we found some stuff
that works and some stuff that doesn't work but overall I'm happy. We came here
and did what we needed to do so we got a win and it's all cool. I've got to
thank Southland Pro Suspension and Race-Tech; they helped me out, my hats off
to those guys. They help me out so much along with Jimmy Wood and TKB Sports
Medicine; they keep me healthy and stuff."
Thus closed a full moon of racing, perhaps at round seven on
July 20th things might return to normal, or as normal as one would
want racing to be.
Results
June 22, 2013
Youth 250 Open
1. Clayton Williams
2. Jace Callison
3. James Ott
4. Allison Stacey
5. Jaycee Jones
6. Moncia Gil
7. Alex Crosby
8. Evan Harich
50cc 2 Stk Beginner
1. Cody Morin
50cc 2 Stk Novice
1. Dylan Price
2. Colin Petton
50cc 4 Stk Beginner
1. Zach Templeman
65-70cc 2 Stk Beginner
1. Ava Bush
65-70cc 2 Stk Novice
1. Grant Holmes
2. Travis Petton
85cc 4 Stk Beginner
1. Evan Harich
2. Reece Watowa
3. Matthew Ott
4. David Seminaro
85cc 2 Stk Beginner
1. Evan Harrich
2. Matthew Ott
85cc 2 Stk Novice
1. Grant Holmes
2. Clayton Williams
3. Travis Petton
4. James Ott
5. Moncia Gil
6. Noah Bush
Classic Vintage 500-750cc
1. Ron Lessley
2. Tom Ferguson
3. Joe Pape
4. James Kohls.
Classic Vintage 250cc
1. Fred Berger
Premier Senior + 70
1. Preston Petty
2. Mike Brocks
3. Mel Stoner
4. Allan Girdler
Super Senior +60
1. De Wayne Jones
2. David Molitor
Open Unclassified Non Paying
1. Colt Foster
2. Chad Foster
3. Jimmy Gillen
4. Allsion Stacey
5. Jace Callison
6. James Steet
7. John Gronek
Men’s 4 Stk
1. Henry Canan
2. Harley Legowski
3. Joe Pape
Vintage 750
1. Jim Ottele
Senior + 50 Novice
1. Steele Fredrich
2. Scott Clark
3. Bob Stettler
4. Fred Berger
5. Mark Hesse
6. Rich Barnes
7. Paul Claybaugh
8. Danny Mathis
9. Wes Zuber
10. Jerry Morehead
11. Greg Powell
Senior Vets + 50 Experts
1. Jim Ottele
2. John Perez
3. Larry Earhart
4. Jeff Lessley
Senior +50 Amateur
1. Corey Bauman
2. Larkin Wight
3. Doug Reyes
4. Bill Wright
Vet’s +35
1. Paul Ott
2. Will Ott
3. Brad Rudy
4. Joel Kath
5. Sean Lamvert
6. Eric Cleveland
7. Derrick Porter
8. Bob Stettler
Bomber
1. Travis Petton
2. Joe Steffen
3. Jim Lundgren
4. Danny Perkins
Vintage 250 2 Stk Novice
1. Michael Fritz
2. Harley Legowski
Vintage 250 2 Stk Expert
1. Will Ott
2. Joe Steffen
Vintage 360 2Stk Expert
1. Jeff Lessley
Open Novice A Main
1. Brandon Watters
2. Jace Callison
3. William Purgason
4. Aaron Guidaean
5. Jerry Templeman
6. Derrick Porter
7. Scott Hanson
8. Brian Harman
9. Greg Powell
10. Kerri Clark
11. Monty Watowa
12. John Gronek
Open Novice B Main
1. Paul Claybaugh
2. Joe Melton
3. Jim Randelin
4. Danny Mathis
5. Eric Cleveland
Open Amateur
1. Jimmy Gillen
2. Eric Ryke
3. Sean Lamvert
4. Allsion Stacey
5. Corey Bauman
6. Joel Kath
Open Pro Class
1. Mike Rush
2. Nick Armstrong
3. Dylan Morin
4. Nick Gil
5. Chad Foster
6. Paul Ott
7. Colt Foster
8. Robert Bush
9. Cole Croulen
10. David Bush

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