I44 Riverside Speedway / Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Saturday, September 7th / Event 14 of 19 / Points race 10 of 13
The kind of night that forced reminders. A reminder of the road we’ve been on. A reminder of why we built that road so we could keep going.
That road can’t always be smooth. Such was seen and heard as the PA system passed two sound checks during the week, but failed on race day. A few hundred race fans didn’t complain - neither did any of the 96 teams on hand for Prelude to Nationals Midget event and first of four September specials. Most of the staff didn’t either.
Instead it was the night that reminded all why this was done. Why in the aftermath of a speedway laid waste by an EF5 tornado, speedway promoter Mark Banister, with his home also destroyed, chose to rebuild. No matter how hard it would be or what it would take.
The effort was covered extensively, just as this journalist likes it, in the #Restore44 volumes. In less than 75 days, an around the clock effort got the grounds in racing shape just in time for a huge reopening with the 14th Annual Mini Sprint Nationals. The next 3 weekly shows stood out in quality of racing, finishing time, and large crowds on hand.
Following a week off in honor of Port City Raceway’s 2nd Annual Donnie Ray Crawford Memorial, I44 Riverside Speedway welcomed another hearty crowd to the Prelude to Nationals Midget event, the fourth and final Saturday night Midget outing before the huge Stock600 & Midget Nationals on October 11-12. The result was the largest gathering of Midgets yet on the 1/5th mile high banked, red clay oval. And they came from five states too.
Also in store for several hundred true race fans that opted for I44 Riverside racing over both the Nascar race at Richmond International and a lackluster Oklahoma football game - was nearly 100 cars primed for a fight on an exceptionally fast surface. The surface took a weeklong effort by Mark Banister as summer struggles to exit stage right and allow for cooler weather.
This first Saturday in September was a rather hot 96 degrees with next to no wind. Such weather usually forces dusty, dry slick/rubber down, one lane racing at most tracks. But I44 Riverside is not like most tracks. Fans and racers alike can gather for a damn fine time thanks to a captain that goes the extra mile for each event much like he did in the massive effort to reopen the Temple of Speed.
The PA system be damned to a next week fix, we heard that most beautiful sound and took part in a special night of America’s greatest past time. Rooster tails of mud spraying high into the air, slide jobs, rim riding, and all the thrills and spills that follow. It’s all minor inconveniences when you see the big picture. And what a beautiful sight it is.
This review rolls off in Main Event order.
MIDGETS - Prelude to Midget Nationals
Two heats and two qualifiers set the stage for Midget main event with Choctaw, Oklahoma’s Cody Brewer earning the pole position start with Tulsa’s Johnathon Halford alongside.
A yellow flew on the first attempt as Brian Harvey was kicked down to the infield. The second attempt fared better with Brewer attacking the top side with vigor to earn the early lead.
Halford and Edmond’s Matt Johnson followed suit, but Brewer had checked out. The final stoppage came 8 rounds into the 20 lapper as Harvey would need a tow off the track, but the stoppage proved irrelevant as Brewer took off once more.
Johnson battled past Halford for the runner up spot, but without a slowdown was unable to catch a streaking Cody Brewer who took the win and cool $600 by over a half track’s margin.
Matt Johnson earned runner up rights with Halford settling for the final podum spot. Richland Hills, Texas racer Aaron Dromgoole shared the Hard Charger effort with Johnson, netting a 4th place finish in his first career Midget start while Tulsa’s Coby Hughes nabbed fifth in his first Midget outing at I44 Riverside Speedway.
Cody Brewer and Coby Hughes earned heat wins over the 12 car field with Brian Harvey and Matt Johnson claiming qualifier honors.
“Midget” A Feature (20 laps): 1. 96 Cody Brewer (1); 2. 85 Matt Johnson (7); 3. 83 Jonathon Halford (2); 4. 2p Aaron Dromgoole (9); 5. 87c Coby Hughes (6); 6. 29s Brian Harvey (3); 7. 9u Doug McCune (5); 8. 1 Bobby Brewer (4); 9. 0z Brock Elliot (8); DNS: 07 Nick Bailey, 14 Eric Fenton
Lap Leaders: Cody Brewer 1-20
Hard Charger: Johnson, Dromgoole +5
NON WING
Cyril, Oklahoma’s Cord Dodson paced the pole position of the 20 lap Non Wing main event with Anadarko’s Ryan Padgett alongside, but it was all Dodson in this one.
Dodson dropped dime quickly with Dean Drake and Padgett delivering fast pursuit. Pulling double duty in Non Wing and Midget, Aaron Dromgoole gave chase in fourth.
The first of three yellows flew on the 8th round as Cory Wiegart spun to a stop. Dodson checked out immediately on the restart. The final caution flew on lap 12 as Dromgoole’s bid for back to back top five performances was ended when he was spun around in turn 4 with much of the field luckily missing the stalled P51.
The remaining laps were never in doubt as Dodson romped to victory aboard the MelMark Pipe & Supply, MudX, Drilling Mud Supply, Northwest Energy Services, Orr Enterprises, and Guardian Tubular sponsored no. 7.
Drake followed for the runner up spot with Sterling Hoff claiming third and moving into the lead in the Non Wing Championship campaign. Ryan Padgett and Tommy White completed the top five finishing order.
Cord Dodson, Sterling Hoff, and Shelby Burk each claimed heat wins over the 23 car field.
“Non Wing” A Feature (20 laps): 1. 7 Cord Dodson (1); 2. 77D Dean Drake (7); 3. 39 Sterling Hoff (16); 4. 777 Ryan Padgett (2); 5. 25w Tommy White (12); 6. 98 Derrick McBride (15); 7. 51 Anton Hernandez (6); 8. 83 Jim Woods (19); 9. 007 Cody Carter (14); 10. 79T Tim Kent (20); 11. 2 Jimmy Smith (10); 12. 7x Jordan McPherson (13); 13. 50 Shelby Burk (11); 14. 28v Junior Vickman (18); 15. 58 Philip Fessler (8); 16. 10 Matt Pagel (3); 17. 70w Brady Wertz (9); 18. P51 Aaron Dromgoole (4); 19. 43w Cory Wiegart (5); 20. 111s Sam Tolley (21): DNS: 00 Brock Diamond?, 7g Greg Moore, 2B Brandon Boggs
Lap Leaders: Cord Dodson 1-20
Hard Charger: Sterling Hoff +13
JUNIOR SPRINTS
Connor Thompson paced pole position for the 15 lap Junior Sprint main event with Emme Johnson alongside.
Johnson jumped into the early lead, but Bridge Creek, Oklahoma’s Chris Wells was up from the 11th to the runner up spot by lap two.
Wells began tracking down Johnson in a bid for his 4th consecutive win. Wells rocketed by to lead lap six with Kale Drake fighting off Brant Woods and Ryder Laplante for third.
Wells disposed of the first wave of lapped traffic before Ardmore’s Jessie Kelley turned over on the bottom of turn 4 to bring out the red flag.
Sporting Team Green in victory lane each week since I44 Riverside, Wells has become a riddle the field can’t solve - powering to his season best fourth consecutive win aboard the HasWells Enterprises Team Green no. 72.
Emme Johnson held on for a season best runner up finish with Choctaw’s Nathan Rainey advancing from 13th to third as the defending Junior Sprint champ does as much as he can to fend off Wells in the 2013 title chase. Wells is now only 90 markers back with three events remaining and the momentum has clearly been with Team Green in the 2nd half of the season.
Kale Drake advanced six spots to finish fourth with Brant Woods getting stronger each week, this time moving up a couple positions to complete the top five finishing order.
Chris Wells and Emme Johnson claimed heat wins over the 13 car field as the Junior Sprint division continues to grow. The drivers are getting sharper as the season goes on and the crowd is loving the action and the heralded racers. The future is very bright thanks to you guys, several hundred fans can’t wait for more each week.
“Junior Sprint” A Feature (15 laps): 1. 72 Chris Wells (11); 2. 12E Emme Johnson (2); 3. 99 Nathan Rainey (13); 4. 77 Kale Drake (10); 5. 16 Brant Woods (7); 6. 88R Ryder Laplante (6); 7. 22 Dylan Pendergrass (8); 8. 7 Treyton Gann (12); 9. 007 Jacob Long (9); 10. 72c Kayden Cole (4); 11. 125 Macy Roulain (3); 12. 12s Jessie Kelley (5); 13. 85T Connor Thompson (1)
Lap Leaders: Emme Johnson 1-5, Chris Wells 6-15
Hard Charger: Chris Wells, Nathan Rainey +10
RESTRICTED
Justin, Texas’ Noah Key paced the pole for the 12 lap Restricted main event with Kaylee Cole alongside. Key settled into the early lead, but Anadarko’s Logan Davis began pressing Cole for the runner up spot midway through the 12 lap affair.
Davis is locked in an extremely tight battle in the 2013 Restricted Championship hunt with defending champ Tanner Conn. Davis entered the night just 10 points behind Conn as the best friends battle for the title.
Davis disposed of Cole and began dogging Key for the top spot. Key fought off the first two assaults, but Davis’ bid on the high side gained him the lap 8 lead.
Dedicating his first Restricted win of the season last week to Jeremiah Green in during trophy presentation at intermission, Davis added another in trubute to Jeremiah, scoring two in a row aboard the RPM Powersports, A&J Auto Salvage (Marlow), and Don’s Garage (Altus) sponsored no. 14D.
A heat race winner earlier in the evening, Noah Key held on for the runner up spot for the second time this season with Tanner Conn advancing from fifth to third at the line. Kaylee Cole and Kyle Thompson completed the running order.
“Restricted” A Feature (12 laps): 1. 14D Logan Davis (4); 2. 14 Noah Key (1); 3. 78 Tanner Conn (5); 4. 72c Kaylee Cole (2); 5. 57T Kyle Thompson (3); 6. 7 Justin Rogers (6)
Lap Leaders: Noah Key 1-7, Logan Davis 8-12
Hard Charger: Logan Davis +3
TURF TIRE
Junior Vickman paced the pole position of the 15 lap Turf Tire main event with Chris Bartlett alongside. Vickman settled into a big lead early on with Scott Patraw, Willie Vickman, and Josh Bigger fighting for 2nd in his wake.
A mechanical issue appeared to affect Junior Vickman as his 28x began slowing considerably, handing the lead to Patraw as Vickman and Bigger fought hard for first challenger rights.
Bigger found the better groove and disposed on Willie Vickman, setting his sights on the leader with two laps remaining.
Bigger shadowed the leader before using a monster run coming off turn 2 on the final lap to deliver a committed slider to Patraw and take the last lap turn 4 pass for the wild win.
The victory marked Bigger’s 2nd consecutive score following his first career win back on August 24th aboard the A&J Auto Salvage, 3 Brothers trucking, and Penick Family Racing sponsored no. 21.
Also making huge strides in his rookie campaign, Patraw led laps once again in another runner up finish with El Reno’s Tony Penick claiming third. Both Tony and Jeremy Penick were back on the track following incredible flips back in August. Glad to have PFR back and in form.
Willie Vickman and Jeremy Penick completed the top five finishing order.
Willie Vickman and Chris Bartlett scored wins over the 12 car field.
“Turf Tire’ A Feature (15 laps): 1. 21 Josh Bigger (5); 2. 5m Scott Patraw (3); 3. 88 Tony Penick (10); 4. 75 Willie Vickman (6); 5. 28 Jeremy Penick (7); 6. 6 Randall Gilmore (4); 7. 14v Zach Van Zant (9); 8. 12 Chris Bartlett (2); 9. 28x Junior Vickman (1); 10. 4 Landon Bruce (8); DNS: 15 Kasey Gilmore, Jonathon Doyle
Lap Leaders: Junior Vickman 1-7, Patraw 8-14, Bigger 15
Hard Charger: Tony Penick +7
A CLASS
Texas’ Drew Salisbury and Tulsa’s Dean Drake started front row of the 20 lap A Class main event in what would prove to be the most wild feature of the evening.
Drake appeared poised to lead the first lap before losing a left front tire and collecting Salisbury, ending Drake’s night and moving Salisbury to the tail of the field.
That would prove woeful for Salisbury, who got a sharp bite on the field in the ensuing restart, too sharp it turned out as she jumped Alan Whitehead’s right read tire and smashed hard into the front straightaway wall, flipping wildly with Whitehead and forcing spectators to tuck and shield as the tangled mass of metal skirted along the front straight fencing and sending flag man Cody Claxton into a wild dodge.
One of the scarier wrecks seen at I44 Riverside this year, both drivers emerged safely. Especially good news for Salisbury, in her first race back following a leg injury a couple months ago.
Bryan Nebgen led a lap before chaos reigned once more, this time for Bushland, Texas racer Greg Reynolds who tumbled in turn one. A small fire was spotted and quickly extinguished by I44 Riverside’s reputable infield workers.
A streak of fluid was spilled on the track through turn 1 and an open red issued while dirt was put on top and the 12 cars remaining pacing over it to pack it in.
Nebgen resumed his lead, a fast lead even by I44 Riverside standards, the fastest in regional mini sprint racing. Newcastle’s Derrick McBride trailed with Windthorst, Texas racer Sterling Hoff moving into third six laps in.
Hoff moved into 2nd and began dogging Nebgen for the point. Nebgen was stubborn and used lapped traffic to his advantage, but Hoff gave enough hell to storm by on the 16th round.
Hoff scored his first A Class win since April 28th aboard the Cecil Machine Shop, Cothran Trucking, and Pioneer Wildlife Studios sponsored no. 39. The win moves Hoff just 20 points back on Fletcher’s Blake Dacus.
An A Class winner on August 24th, Jim Woods took 2nd having found a groove the OKC local wished he had just a few more laps to navigate as he was charging hard. Blake Dacus completed the podium with Nebgen and Ryan Padgett completing the top five running order.
Drew Salisbury, Chris Lloyd, Dean Drake, and Sterling Hoff each took heat wins over the 30 car field with Amarillo’s Brady Wertz snaring last lap lead transfer in the 12 lap B Feature.
“A Class” A Feature (20 laps): disclaimer - original starting spot in parenthesis
- 39 Sterling Hoff (11); 2. 83 Jim Woods (10); 3. 29 Blake Dacus (12); 4. 60 Bryan Nebgen (4); 5. 898 Ryan Padgett (8); 6. 98 Derrick McBride (7); 7. 7D Sierra Davis (5); 8. 70w Brady Wertz (17); 9. 72R Logan Reynolds (15); 10. 7x Jordan McPherson (16); 11. 58 Philip Fessler (20); 12. 67 Joe Martin (19); 13. 72 Greg Reynolds (14); 14. 28c Chris Lloyd (13); 15. 09 Tyler Gordon (9); 16. 11 Michael Kearns (3); 17. 11x Alan Whitehead (18); 18. 12s Drew Salisbury (1); 19. 4T Caleb Thompson (6); 20. 77D Dean Drake (2)
Lap Leaders: Nebgen 1-15, Hoff 16-20
Hard Charger: Hoff +10
“A Class” B Feature (12 laps - top 4 transfer): 1. 70w Brady Wertz (6); 2. 11x Alan Whitehead (4); 3. 67 Joe Martin (1); 4. 58 Philip Fessler (5); 5. 11D - late sign in (9); 6. 27 David Millwee (3); 7. 27d Jared Dunkin (2); 8. 111s Sam Tolley (8); 9. 29w Mike Motherly (7); DNS: 18 Mike Millwee, 00 Brock Diamond, 96 Jeff Rury, 7g Greg Moore
Lap Leaders: Joe Martin 1-11, Brady Wertz 12
I44 Riverside Speedway will be back, live and loud, next week Saturday September 14th. Stay tuned to www.i44riversidespeedway.com or Like and Follow I44 Riverside Speedway on Facebook for all news and updates. Thanks to all racers and fans who spent their evening with us and took part in a great night of racing.
Enjoy some interesting season statistics below!
Event Winners as of September 8th:
A Class - Steven Shebester 2, Trey Marcham 2, Sterling Hoff 2, Chris Andrews 1, Blake Dewberry 1, Jason McDougal 1, Frank Flud 1, Blake Dacus 1, Jim Woods 1
Non Wing - Steven Shebester 4, Chris Cochran 1, Dalton Terrel 1, Trey Marcham 1, Sterling Hoff 1, Josh Toho 1, Derrick McBride 1, Cody Carter 1, Jimmy Smith 1, Cord Dodson 1
Restricted - Tristan Oakes 3, Lyndon Harvey 2, Logan Davis 2, Mason McGuire 2, Joey Schmidt 1, Tanner Conn 1, Nathan Weida 1,, Kaylee Cole 1
Turf Tire - Mike Daft 3, Bobby Chapa 3, Josh Bigger 2, Tony Penick 2, Willie Vickman 2, Marcus Flaming 1,
Junior Sprints - Chris Wells 4, Nathan Rainey 4, Kale Drake 1, Blake Battles 1, Holley Hollan 1, Treyton Gann 1, Hank Davis 1,
Outlaw - Nate Flaming 1, Grady Chandler 1, Jake Rosario 1
Midgets - Cody Brewer 1, Danny Smith 1, Tyler Thomas 1, Andrew Felker 1
I44 Riverside Event Car Counts as well as official finishing times:
April 5th -119 - 1215am (12th Annual Ryan Craighead Memorial - Night 1 full show)
April 6th -112 - 1040pm (12th Annual Ryan Craighead Memorial - Finale)
April 13th -80 - 1015 pm
April 20th - 98 - 1230am
April 27th - 93 - 1035pm
May 4th - 144 - 1225am
May 11th - 92 - 1020pm
May 18th - 65 - 930pm
August 2nd - 167 -1230am (14th Annual Mini Sprint Nationals - Night 1)
August 3rd - 170 - 1155pm ( 14th Annual Mini Sprint Nationals - Features)
August 10th - 65 - 950pm
August 17th - 73 - 1020pm
August 24th - 65 - 955pm
September 7th - 96 - 1150pm