SCFTA Perris - Round 9
September 21, 2013
Photos by Janice Blunt
Article by Jamey Blunt
#12 Steve Nichols made the trip all the way from Oklahoma worthwhile as he took top honors in the Super Senior +60 class.
#47 Jim Wood and #4 Vince Graves give chase. Nichols fastest lap time was 16.03 seconds.
#42 Will Ott has really picked up his pace lately and matched the
overall second fastest lap time at 15.18 seconds on his way to victory in the
Vet +35 main event.
#26
Steele Friedrich found his way back to the front at round nine. #178v
Robert Stettler kept Friedrich honest, but couldn't quite match
Steele's 16.03 second lap time.
#22
Jimmy Gillen was a double winner at Perris taking the victory in the
Open Unclassified and Open Amateur main events. His fastest lap time of
the night was a blistering 15.18 seconds!
A
real uplifting for everyone at Perris was the return of Coleen Douglas.
Coleen has been absent from her duties in turns three and four due to
illness, but came back at round nine looking great! Welcome back Coleen
things weren't the same without you!!
One
things for certain, whenever #1 Jeff Johnson is on a motorcycle it's
all about having fun! Johnson won the Senior Vet +50 expert class and
also set the overall fastest lap time of the entire evening at 15.17
seconds......
Shown
at the start of the Pro Main event from pole are, #26e Dylan Morin, #84
Colt Foster, #17r Nick Gil, #45e Ian Foulds, #44 Robert Bush, #46 Andre
Ochs. On the second row, #44e Nick Armstrong and #12e Paul Ott.
At the finish starter Rudy Gil get's fancy using two flags for Pro Main event winner Dylan Morin who led every lap of the final.
#4 Henry Canan came all the way from Yuma Arizona to race at Perris. It was worth his while as Canan topped #151 Billy
#7x
Grant Holmes was a double winner at Perris taking the top step in both
the 85cc open and 65cc 2-stk classes. Holmes fastest lap was a 16.25
second one aboard his 85cc mount. #82 Travis Petton the 4th finished
second and #95 Clayton Williams was third.
#07
Allison Stacey pulled it altogether at round nine. She picked up her
pace and took top honors in the Youth 250cc class. She also poster the
overall fastest lap of the race at 15.47 seconds.
#25
Travis Horn in his first flat track race hammered the competition. His
fastest lap time of 21.93 seconds was more than three seconds faster
than anyone else on a 50.
A
legend in the motorcycle industry and still racing well into his
seventies is "THE" Preston Petty... He competes and wins on an electric
motorcycle (ZERO) which he helps develop.
Hows
Preston Petty doing these days? Quite well thank-you, sharp as
ever. Shown here with Jamey the voice of Perris raceway.
#82e Travis Petton II rarely makes it through a nights program without hitting the dirt. Sometimes it's not his fault though.
#89 Danny Perkins came into turn one way too hot due to a brake failure.
Here Petton #82e (outside) and Perkins #89 (inside) are coming together hard.... Nothing good can result from this...
Frame
three shows Petton and Perkins going into the turn one crash wall.
NOTE: This was just heat race action! The Bomber class always provides
a show.
In
frame four notice Perkins #89 still has his clutch lever pulled in,
while Petton #82 has his left hand off the handle bar because at this
point it has already been injured. Both riders made it into the main
event!
#26e Dylan Morin has finished second in the pro main event several times, but at round nine he stepped it up to lead each and
every lap of the pro final for his first pro main event victory..
Simi Valley Kawasaki's Dylan Morin won his first pro main event at Perris at round nine. His fastest lap time was 15.24 seconds.
Here Dylan takes a victory lap from his well earned victory.
In a move of true sportsmanship #1 Jeff Johnson and #82 Travis
Petton the 2nd went to the back row with #89 Danny Perkins after he was
sent back for jumping the start. Perkins went on to win the event. #70l
Jimmy Lundgren sits alone on the front row.
#44 Scott Hanson leads #112 Jayce Callison to the checkered flag in the three time re-started Open Novice Main event.
S.C.F.T.A. Round #9 Perris Raceway
September 21, 2013
Photos by Janice Blunt
Article by Jamey Blunt
The sun is setting earlier, the
night's are getting cooler, but the racing action is heating up as the
S.C.F.T.A. season winds down for 2013. Many class championships are
still undecided with every point counting toward an overall class
championship and the accolades that follow. As previously stated in the
"Dateline" section there were one hundred eleven entries that filled
twenty one heat races and eighteen main events. Worth noting here is
the gate fee increase just for round ten on Friday Oct. 11th. To $15.00
form the regular $10.00 fee. The added five dollars will go directly to
the Pro Purse which currently stands (as of this writing) at $2,000.
Many of the top Grand National racers usually attend this Friday night
event just prior to the last National of the year held at Pomona. If
you have never been to Perris for this traditional event it's well
worth the trip as you will see some of the best short track racing on
the planet on the Lazer flat Perris ¼ mile oval. Perhaps the track
record of 14.06 seconds that has stood for two years (set by John
Kocinski) might even be broken.
Making his first ever appearance
at Perris, and his first race for that matter was Travis Horn. Horn
competed in the Youth 50cc 4-stk beginner class and has one of the
fastest 50cc mounts to turn a wheel at Perris. Horn turned 21.93 second
lap times that were over three full seconds faster than anyone else in
the field as he easily won the main event. Andrew Vareela, Cody Morin,
and Graby Fiscitter gave chase but couldn't keep Horn in the same zip
code.
Eight riders entered the Youth
250cc class, newly formed this year for riders under sixteen years of
age. This class has produced several different winners and is highly
completive with over half of the field lapping in the fifteen second
bracket. On this night Allison Stacey really had her head in the game
and led from pole into turn one over Jace Callison, Clayton Williams,
and Jaycee Jones. A few laps in had Stacey pulling away at the front
and turn a 15.47 second lap time as Jones was now under pressure from
Justin Hanson wanting her fourth place position. At the white flag
Stacey held a two second gap over Callison while Jones kept going wider
and wider in the corners leaving the door open which Hanson finally
went through to take over at fourth. On the last run through turns
three and four Callison went wide leaving room for Williams to make a
run at him and as the two exited turn four side by side Williams won
the drag race to the stripe to take second place away by a few feet.
Stacey though had long since received the checkered flag to notch
another victory for her resume.
Grant Holmes nailed the start of
the Youth 85cc Open main event followed by Clayton Williams, James Ott,
and Travis Petton the 4th. Petton quickly displaced Ott from third on
the first run through turn three and locked in on Williams just in
front of him. Two laps down put Holmes at a five bike length gap over
the fight between Williams and Petton and turning a 16.16 second lap.
(His fastest on the 85cc bike) As the laps wound down Petton was
working the inside then the outside doing everything he could to find a
way around a rock solid Williams. But it's not over until the checkered
flag falls and Petton gave it his all on the exit from turn four to the
stripe which paid off as he stole second away from Williams. Ott came
home fourth with Evan Harich fifth falling off the leaders pace.
(Holmes also won the 65cc 2-stk class making him a double winner at
round nine.)
The Men's 4-stk field was light
at round nine, but the fight at the front for the win was a war. Round
eight's winner Henry Canan made the trip from Arizona to do battle
again with Billy Katkov of Fountain Valley Ca. Canan would lead from
the start only to have Katkov take it away, until past the half way
mark of their main event when Canan stepped it up just a bit and turned
the fastest lap of the race at 16.25 seconds to Katkov's 16.54 seconds.
This was all Canan needed as he went on to the victory. Making a rare
appearance and finishing in third was Don Frauenberger whose been
absent from the dirt track scene for too long.
Jimmy Gillen has really come of
age so to speak, at least as far as his racing goes. Gillen led the
Open Unclassified, a race whatever you want class, into turn one
followed by Colt Foster and Andre Ochs (on a 250cc machine). Christian
Olguin riding a framer (who has made the transition from super-moto to
dirt track) displaced Ochs for third in turn three as Jace Callison
joined this fight as well. As they crossed the stripe for the
completion of the first lap Ochs made a run and crossed the line back
up into third. Olguin on the inside though ran it up under Ochs in turn
one then hit a rut and stood his bike up causing Ochs to check up, this
all allowed Callison to pass them both and take over at third, heads up
racing from Callison indeed. Meanwhile at the front Gillen held a half
of straightaway lead and put in a 15.57 second lap time which would not
be his fastest of the night. (Callison also turned a 15.57 second lap
matching the fastest lap of the race). Then with a couple laps
remaining Ochs ran it in hot entering turn three to close in on
Callison but couldn't hold it as he laid the bike down. This moved
Olguin up to fourth with Allison Stacey fifth. Ochs was to his feet
quickly and off the race track, good thinking from this sixteen year
old who hasn't raced a dirt track race in years while he was off
setting road race records and winning asphalt championships. Forgotten
in second was Foster who was holding his own and going very fast, but
alone in second. In the end Gillen won by a full straightaway, Foster
maintained his lead over Callison for second, Olguin stayed in fourth,
Stacey fifth, and Alex Crosby sixth.
One thing is for certain, if
Jeff Johnson throws a leg over a motorcycle he is doing it for fun!
With his Pro days behind him Johnson solely wants to enjoy himself, but
still is very fast. In the Senior Vet +50 expert class Johnson launched
from pole on his newly built Yamaha TT-500 framer mount into the lead
with Jim Wood in second and Jeff Lessley (recovering from several
medical issues this year) in third. On the second run through turns one
and two Johnson who likes to run a "V" through the corners so as to
square them off and get to slide more saw Wood pull alongside on the
inside as they exited turn two for the back straight. Then entering
turn three Lessley on his Bultaco 360cc ran on the outside past Wood to
move up to second. On the next go round Lessley put in a 15.36 second
lap while Johnson turned the overall fastest lap time of the night at
15.17 seconds. On the next lap Johnson was back to his way of having
fun and putting on a sliding show through the corners which was
allowing Lessley to close the gap. Just after the white flag Wood shot
past Lessley back into second and the two started a drag race down the
back straight. Entering turn three Lessley dove to the inside to steal
position and pinned his throttle on the run to the checkered. The final
tally had Johnson with the win and Lessley just edging out Wood for
second. A straightaway back Jim Ottele finished in fourth with Larry
Earhart fifth, and Dan Kane sixth.
Bill Wright stalled at the line
in the Senior +50 Novice/ Amateur class while Steele Friedrich led
Robert Stettler, Greg Powell, and Paul Claybaugh into turn one. Within
the first lap Friedrich and Stettler opened up a half straight gap from
the rest of the field. It was clear the battle would be for the win
between these two. A lap later Claybaugh was up to third as Tim Watters
was trying to make his way forward from a poor start. Friedrich put his
head down and turned the fastest lap of the race at 16.03 seconds to
pull a six bike length gap from Stettler and go on for the victory.
Claybaugh held onto third with Mike Boal getting around Powell for
fourth.
Will Ott has abandoned his 2-stk
ride in favor of a more modern mount. Ott shot to the front in the
Vet+35 final in front of Jeff Lessley and Jim Rosa. Right from the
start the front trio separated themselves from the field and Ott turned
a 15.18 second lap putting him in a three way tie for the second
fastest lap time of the night. Lap after lap the positions stayed the
same with Rosa matching Lessley's lap times of 15 .74 seconds. In the
end the finishing order remained unchanged.
Launching from the outside of
the front row Oklahoma's Steve Nichols closed off everyone's line
entering turn one to lead the Super Senior +60 field. Jim Wood ran in
second with Vince Graves third and David Molitor fourth. Both Wood and
Graves had posted faster lap times than Nichols in the heat race, but
were having trouble finding a way around this retired former Pro.
(Nichols after the race stated his gearing was way off and all he could
do was ride around on the pole waiting to be passed). On lap three
going down the back straight Graves went past Wood for second only to
have Wood take the position back in turn three. Nichols at the front
turned a 16.00 second lap time, far removed from what he is capable of
turning. Wood pulled alongside Nichols on the next run down the back
straight but couldn't get around Nichols as Graves was still right
there as well. Then entering turn four Wood pulled up high and out of
the race leaving Graves alone to find a way around Nichols. This in
turn moved Molitor up into the third place spot with DeWayne Jones now
in fourth. Graves would hound Nichols until the finish of the race but
just couldn't find a way past him for the win. This showing, at least
in this case the start was everything, Molitor would finish third with
Jones fourth and Wood fifth.
In the Bomber class Danny
Perkins got caught jumping the start and was put back to the penalty
line, Jeff Johnson and Travis Petton the 2nd both elected to go back
with Perkins displaying the sportsmanship that has come to signify this
class. This left Jimmy Lundgren alone on the front row, the lone Honda
in the field. Lundgren led with Perkins second, Johnson third, and
Petton fourth. On the exit from turn two Perkins took the lead from
Lundgren and wanted to pull a gap quickly keeping Lundgren between
himself and Johnson and Petton. As Johnson fought with Lundgren over
second he had to hold off Petton on his backside which slowed the trio
down as Perkins checked out at the front. Three laps complete saw
Johnson wave Petton past as they came up the front straight taking
Johnson out of the mix and allowing him to pull straightaway long
wheelies and have more fun. Now in third Petton went to work finding a
way past Lundgren as Perkins now held a 1.20 second gap at the front.
Then entering turn one Petton shot to the inside of Lundgren to take
second away but time was short and only a lap and a half remained.
Perkins cruised to the victory with Petton second, Lundgren third, and
Johnson only needing one wheel most of the time fourth, but having fun!
Ten riders staged for the Open
Novice main event and staged again, and staged again, and staged again.
This time (after at least six of the riders had tasted dirt) Scott
Hanson led the field in front of Jace Callison, Mike Boal, and Jeremy
Templeman. Entering turn one for the second time Templeman moved up to
third as Cameron Brewer displaced Boal from fourth. On the third exit
from turn four Callison went very wide handing second to Templeman. As
Templeman was showing Hanson a wheel Callison caught back up and
reclaimed second after the white flag. The final order was Hanson
holding on for the victory with Callison second and Templeman third. He
may have finished second however Callison did post the fastest lap of
the race; this young man has really picked up his game and promises to
be a force in dirt track racing.
The Open Amateur main event was
short on entries but long on talent. Jimmy Gillen picked up his second
win of the night and he and Rich Hanson both turned 15.18 second lap
times tying them with Will Ott for a three way tie for second overall
fastest lap time of the night.
Seventeen year old Dylan Morin
has been knocking on the victory door all year in the Pro ranks. He
usually needs a better start to help his cause and by the time he works
his way to the front it's too late and he has settled for second many
times. Well, Morin apparently has been paying attention as the Simi
Valley Kawasaki rider nailed the start for the first time in his short
Pro career to lead the pack through turn one. Nick Gil (taking a break
from school in Arizona) ran second with Colt Foster third, Robert Bush
fourth, Nick Armstrong fifth, Ian Foulds sixth, Paul Ott in seventh and
Andre Ochs eighth. A lap in had Armstrong up to fourth dropping Bush to
fifth as Gil and Foster were only a couple bike lengths behind Morin.
Lap three Ochs slammed into the back wheel of Foulds and was lucky to
save it and continue on. By lap five Morin held an 8/10's of a second
gap at the front as Gil and Foster fought over second. This allowed
Armstrong to catch the duo and move past Foster into third. At the
front Morin turned a 15.24 second lap to Gil, Armstrong, and Foster's
15.20 seconds, but lap times and heads up racing are two different
things as Morin was doing what he needed to do to win. By the half way
point Morin held a two second gap at the front and was on cruise
control, Gil had a second gap over Armstrong, but Foster in fourth was
now under pressure from Bush who had regrouped and found his rhythm.
With the finishing order set Morin went on to victory stretching his
lead even a little further to 2.20 seconds at the checkered. Gil was a
solid second in front of Armstrong in third with Foster holding off
Bush for fourth. As stated at the opening of this article round ten of
the S.C.F.T.A. will be a Friday night event on Oct 11th., the night
before the last Grand National of the 2013 season. Remember the gate
fee for this special event is $15.00.
Race Results
September 21,2013
Youth 250 Open
1. Allison Stacey
2. Clayton Williams
3. Jace Callison
4. Justin Hanson
5. Jaycee Jones
6. Alex Crosby
7. Moncia Gil
Youth 50cc 2stk Novice
1. Colin Petton
Youth 50cc 2 Stk Beginner
1. Rayson Normandin
50cc 4 Stk Beginner
1. Travis Horn
2. Andrew Vareela
3. Cody Morin
4. Graby Fiscitter
5. Zach Templeman
85 Open
1. Grant Holmes
2. Travis Petton IV
3. Clayton Williams
4. James Ott
5. Evan Harich
85cc 2 Stk Nov
1. Clayton Williams
2. Travis Petton IV
3. James Ott
4. Grant Holmes
5. Noah Bush
85cc-100cc 4 Stk Novice
1. Monica Gil
85cc 2 Stk Beg
1. 98 Evan Harich
65cc Stk Nov
1. Grant Holmes
2. Travis Petton IV
65cc Beginner
1. Emme Fisciter
85 4 Stk Beg
1. Evan Harich
2. David Seminaro
Men’s 4 Stk
1. Henry Canan
2. Billy Katkov
3. Don Framenberger
4. Dee
Vintage 250cc 2 stk Nov
1. Harley Legowski
Vintage 360 cc 2 Stk Nov
1. Tim Watters
Premier Senior +70
1. Preston Petty
2. Jack Neely
3. Mel Stoner
4. Allan Girdler
Open Unclassified
1. Jimmy Gillen
2. Colt Foster
3. Jace Callison
4. Chritian Olguin
5. Allison Stacey
6. Alex Crosby
7. LJ Gronek
8. Andre Ochs
Senior Vet’s +50 Experts
1. Jeff Johnson
2. Jeff Lessley
3. Jim Wood’
4. Jim Ottlele
5. Larry Earhart
6. Dan Kane
7. John Perez DNS
Senior + 50 Novice
1. Steele Friedrich
2. Robert Stettler
3. Paul Claybaugh
4. Mike Boal
5. Greg Powell
6. Tim Watters
7. Danny Mathis
8. Kelly Surplice
Senior + 50 Amateur
1. Bill Wright
Classic Vintage
1. Tom Ferguson
2. James Kohls
3. Joe Pape
Vet’s + 35
1. Will Ott
2. Jeff Lessley
3. Jim Rosa
4. Joel Kath
5. Robert Stettler “BBQ Bob”
Super Senior + 60
1. Steve Nichols
2. Vince Graves
3. David Molitor
4. De Wayne Jones
5. Jim Wood
Bomber
1. Danny Perkins
2. Travis Petton
3. Jim Lundgren
4. Jeff Johnson
Open Novice
1. Scott Hanson
2. Jace Callison
3. Jeremy Templeman
4. Cameron Brewer
5. Aaron Guidachn
6. Mike Boal
7. Paul Claybaugh
8. Joseph Hierro
9. LJ Gronek
10. Joe Melton
Open Amateur
1. Jimmy Gillen
2. Rich Hanson
3. Brandon Watters
4. Allison Stacey
5. Joel Kath
6. Cristian Olguin
Pro
1. Dylan Morin
2. Nick Gil
3. Nick Armstrong
4. Colt Foster
5. Robert Bush
6. Paul Ott
7. Ian Foulds
8. Andre Ochs
9. Will Ott
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