7/14/2020
Redwood Acres Raceway
Miller Withstands Late Race Pressure To Win RAR Season Opener
After a more than two-month delay and four races forced to cancelation due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 season for Redwood Acres Raceway finally began this past Saturday. There were many new faces throughout all six divisions with the afternoon’s event being presented by Harper Motors.
Kadence Toland was impressive in her first time ever in a Bandolero as she set fast time with a 20.816. Due to the current situation and fans being unable to attend the event, only heat races and main events were on the day’s docket. The finish of the heat race for the Bandoleros saw a bit too much excitement as Toland and Kadence Mace came together while racing down the backstretch on the final lap. Toland took a hard hit and while she was unharmed, her car was out for the rest of the day. Aiden Kimberling took the heat race victory. Mace took the lead early in the 15-lap main event and took the victory over Kimberling and Quentin Ikeya.
Bryan Brandt’s 20.158 was good enough to take fast time for the roadrunner division. Jeremiah Martin took the heat race victory. Martin dominated the 20-lap main event as he took the lead early and never looked back. At the finish, Martin had lapped the fourth-place car as he took the win over Bryan Brandt by seven seconds. JR Brandt finished third.
Quick time for the bomber division was set by Brandon White. His 17.477 time proved to be a new track record. White followed his fast time in qualifying with a win in the heat race. The 20-lap main event for the bombers began with a shorter field than expected as both Jordan Krupa and defending division champion Raquel Krupa were unable to make the start. White quickly maneuvered his way to the lead at the start of the feature. Meanwhile, Sam Brown had power issues from the get-go and was ultimately forced into the pits on lap 6. White’s car was dialed in and it was all second place Donnie Brown could do to maintain a somewhat close gap. White’s margin of victory over Brown was nearly nine seconds. Bridget Steeves had a solid third place finish in her first ever event while Brown was scored fourth.
The mini stock division saw its longstanding track record broken with Brett Murrell’s 18.549 being the new standard. Murrell was also the heat race winner. The field for the 25-lap feature was reduced a bit as Eric O’Ferrall, Shannon Palmer and C.J. Dalton all had issues that prevented them from starting. The race for the win came down to a familiar battle between two friendly rivals Jarrett Mayo and Brett Murrell. After a clean battle, Murrell was able to take the lead. Brian Murrell, Jr. suffered issues on lap 15 which brought out the caution flag. Mayo tried to use the restart to his advantage but did not have what he needed to match Brett Murrell on the day. At the finish it was Murrell winning over Mayo, Gary Klinetobe, Gannon Cyphers and Bubba Klinetobe.
The Legends had a stellar 13 car turnout with Chris Lawrence setting the pace in qualifying with a 17.907. The field was reduced to 12 with Brent Mack suffering issues in the first qualifying session. David Dunlap won the first heat race while Lawrence won the second. Late model veteran made his first start in a Legend at the Acres and quickly sliced through the field to the lead in the 35-lap main. Lawrence was a bit slower through the field but it didn’t take him long to catch Nissen. The front two drivers staged an exciting fight for the lead. Lawrence appeared to have the better handling of the two and it proved to be the advantage he needed as he moved past Nissen for the lead.
Meanwhile, Chris Sarvinski was beginning to make his presence known as he moved into third then past Nissen to second. As the finish loomed, Sarvinski began to close the gap on Lawrence. With three laps left, Sarvinski was all over Lawrence and tried to find a way by. On the final lap, Sarvinski tried to lay back and get a run on Lawrence coming off the fourth turn. Sarvinski moved low and tried to drag-race Lawrence to the finish but lost control and spun. Lawrence crossed the line first with Nissen second and Tyler Krupa third. Sarvinski finished fourth as he spun through the infield dirt while James Nichols was fifth.
Dustin Walters scored a bit of an upset in qualifying as he set fast time in the late model division with a 16.452. Craig Baker hit the turn one wall hard in practice and was out for the race. David Henderson won the heat race. In the 50-lap main event, Henderson quickly moved to the lead while Luke Hall had his hands full in second as he tried to fight off David Miller and Walters. Henderson pulled out to a full straightaway lead until lap 17 when Eugene Palmer’s day ended thanks to mechanical issues.
The restart was exactly what Miller needed as he was able to move past Hall off the double-file restart. On lap 23, Miller got under Henderson to take the lead. As the laps ticked off, Miller began to pull away while Henderson began to have a fight on his hands with Walters. After a brief duel, Walters moved to second and he began to slowly chip away on Miller’s lead. Walters closed the gap on Miller to just a handful of car lengths in the final few laps but a late slip gave Miller the advantage he needed to pull through to take the win. Walters was second with Henderson third, the final car on the lead lap. Ed Rasmussen ran a smart race in his debut and placed fourth while Hall was fifth.
The next race on the schedule is set for Saturday August 1. Thank you to Harper Motors for presenting this past weekend’s races. Also, a special thank you to track announcer Aaron Byers and his wife Nickoale Byers for their help video streaming the event. Those issues should be resolved by the next race. Stay current with everything going on at Redwood Acres Raceway by going to www.RacinTheAcres.com, by visiting RAR on Facebook or following RAR on Twitter @RacinTheAcres.
Submitted By: Matthew Sullivan