8/17/2020
Redwood Acres Raceway
Walters Wins Upstate Thriller, Copeland Survives Legends Chaos
It was a hot afternoon at Redwood Acres Raceway this past Saturday. High temperatures created a slick racing surface which made traction difficult and handling a premium for drivers. Vern’s Furniture presented the action for the afternoon which featured local roadrunners, mini stocks and Legends. The Upstate Bomber Series headlined the event with the first race of a two-race challenge series between RAR and Ukiah Speedway.
The roadrunners were paced by Bryan Brandt in qualifying with a 20.249 lap time. Brandt followed up his quick time with the win in the heat race. Nick Ford scooted out to the lead at the start of the 25-lap main event while Daniel Buell, JR Brandt and Bryan Brandt slotted themselves in second through fourth. Ford’s lead evaporated quickly and by lap three Buell was within a car length while Bryan Brandt moved to third.
On lap four, Bryan Brandt moved under Buell for second going into the third turn. Coming off turn four, Brandt was able to power under and past Ford for the lead. Ford was able to maintain a five to six car length gap between himself and the leader while also holding off Buell’s challenge. That was as close as Ford would be able to get as the race went clean from start to finish. At the checkered flag it was Bryan Brandt winning his second main event in a row. Ford placed second while Buell, Joseph Brown and JR Brandt rounded out the top five finishers.
Gary Klinetobe qualified with a 19.199 for the mini stocks making him fast time for the afternoon. Klinetobe took a narrow victory in the heat race. Sophomore driver, C.J. Dalton led from the drop of the green in the feature and had his hands full trying to hold off Klinetobe in the first half of the race. Two caution periods slowed the action at the race’s mid-point. The first was due to Brian Murrell, Jr. coming to a stop off turn four. The second came right after the subsequent restart when Allison McCarty spun off the fourth turn.
Klinetobe’s experience came to light on the restart as he was able to move to the lead while Dalton fell back to second. Dalton gave it all he could but he didn’t have the handling or horsepower to catch Klinetobe. The win went to Klinetobe with Dalton finishing second. Eric O’Ferrall had a solid third place effort while McCarty was fourth and Murrell, Jr. was fifth.
A strong field of Legends cars was led by Derek Copeland in qualifying. Copeland’s time was 17.969. The Legends had a special five-lap dash for cash with the winner receiving $100. Copeland was able to win the dash. The first heat race was won by Ethan Imperatrice while Copeland won the second. The start of the 40-lap main event was caution plagued as numerous incidents slowed the field. The first caution featured Nick Pappas getting into David Dunlap. Pappas was unable to continue. The next caution saw several cars come together with Buddy Cox suffering race-ending damage to his car.
The race ran green for a few laps after the restart until the caution fell once again due to Tom Stevens’ spin in turns three and four. Another restart saw another immediate caution with Jason Pedrotti spinning off turn two. Race leader Dunlap nearly spun while getting to the gas on the restart which allowed Steve Davis to move to the lead. Dunlap was able to close on Davis within a lap while Copeland was already in the third position. Dunlap moved under and past Davis going into turn three on lap two while Copeland followed into second. Dunlap’s time in the lead was short as Copeland used the same tactic as Dunlap had used earlier in turn three to take the lead.
A spin by Imperatrice resulted in another caution and another restart. On lap five, Andy Thornton’s engine went in a big way off turn four resulting in a lot of smoke and a lengthy cleanup. Racing resumed briefly until Scott Taylor spun off turn four. While coming back to the green, Taylor’s engine expired and another long cleanup was necessitated. Another multi-car pileup occurred on the restart when Imperatrice got into the infield and came back on the track going into turn one collecting Stevens and Pedrotti. The rest of the race thankfully went green as Copeland was able to run away from the pack to get the victory. Dane Nissen used his experience to avoid the multiple incidents to place second. Dunlap finished third with James Nichols fourth and Pappas fifth.
The first leg of the two-race Upstate Bomber Series challenge took place at the Acres with Loren Powers, Jr. taking fast time with an 18.174. The bombers had their own dash for cash with Sam Brown taking the $100 victory. Brown won the first heat race while Brenton Smith took the second heat. Josh Smith moved to the lead at the start of the 50-lap feature as faster qualifiers tried to move to the front as quick as possible. On lap three, David Furia suffered a flat tire and stopped in turn two. At the same time, Donnie Brown and Charley Tour got together and spun off the second corner resulting in a caution period.
The race ran clean from the restart on as Josh Smith led Powers, Brown and Dustin Walters. Powers took the lead on lap four while Josh Smith had his hands full with Brown and Walters. Walters jumped to third on lap five while Brenton Smith moved into the picture. Walters made a daring pass going into turn three on lap nine for second while Brenton Smith followed him past Josh Smith into third. Powers’ lead of nearly half a straightaway began to diminish lap after lap as Walters slowly reeled him in.
On lap 26, Walters was on Powers’ rear bumper as the handling of Powers’ car seemed to be fading. After several laps of nip-and-tuck racing, Walters was able to move inside of Powers off turn two to take the lead. A few laps after that, Brenton Smith was able to pass Powers for second. Walters was able to maintain a comfortable gap in the remaining laps and at the finish it was Walters winning over Brenton Smith and Powers. Tour finished fourth while Donnie Brown placed fifth. Walters’ win earned him $500 and if he chooses to race in the second leg of the Upstate Bomber Series Challenge at Ukiah Speedway on September 5, he will receive $500 for showing up.
The 2020 season is quickly coming to and end at Redwood Acres Raceway. Only four races remain on the schedule with the next taking place Saturday August 29. All five local divisions will be in action including the late models who had this past weekend off. For more information about Redwood Acres Raceway, visit RAR on Facebook or on Twitter @RacinTheAcres.
Submitted By: Matthew Sullivan