John Henry Scores The Win At SSP Iron Man 100; Case, Potter, And Martinez Also Victorious
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Christine O'Neil/Kenny's Photography)
Sunset Speedway Park would host the Pure Stock Iron Man 100 on Saturday June 6th. There we would be some great racing that thrilled the folks in attendance. Classes in the house included the Pure Stocks, Street Stocks, IMCA Sport Mods, and Dwarf Cars.
Tillamook's Aaron Blanchard was ultra quick in the first half of the Pure Stock feature lapping everyone but second place. But during the mandatory fuel stop at lap fifty Blanchard would switch drivers of the AB Repair/Burden Muffler And Towing/PAPE John Deere/Peterson Cat #30 Camaro . Adam Hopkes, also of Tillamook, would get behind the wheel but became the last car on the lead lap.
Inheriting the lead was Hillsboro's John Henry, in his Ernest Racing/Henry Racing/TK's Auto Repair/Joe's Auto Body and Paint #68 Camaro, Henry would stay out in front for the rest of the distance to hold off the competition and win his third race of the 2015 campaign.
Adam Hopkes was second while Yamhill's Tyler Smith was third in his Trask Mountain Outpost/H&H Racing #8 Camaro. Forest Grove driver Kendall Lee was fourth in the Lee Racing #66 machine and behind him in fifth would be the Peterson Racing #33 entry of Jim Peterson.
Vancouver, Washington's Arnie Case was the car to beat in the Street Stock feature. Case, in his Coast Aluminum/Big Sky Landscaping/Challenge Fitness by Mike Case #18C Camaro, would end the night in first place for his second win of the season.
The Ireland & Ireland at Law/Privateer Racing #88 Monte Carlo of veteran racer John Ireland, from Banks, was the runner-up and in third would be Forest Grove's Tony Catalano in his DVC Machine/Transaction Transmissions/Hair Designers of Forest Grove #19 Monte Carlo . The remainder of the top five included Doug Pitsch, in the Pitsch Racing #7 entry, in fourth and West Linn driver Brian Roden in fifth in the JNR Construction/Molecular Motions #14 Camaro.
The IMCA Sport Mods would be back at the “Banks Bullring”. Pamela Graham, of Vancouver, Washington, was out in front for a decent amount of time. Unfortunately Graham would spin her Perfection Automotive/21st Century Towing/Meyers Auto Body/Freeman Tile #12X FR1 and give the lead to Jim Potter. Potter, in the Ri-Ky Roofing/Hope House #11 Pro, would stay out in front of the field despite Graham chasing him down. It would mark the second time this season that Potter has won in the IMCA Sport Mod division.
Pamela Graham was a respectful second while Medford's Michael Meldon would place third in his Meldon Racing #30M machine. George Daniels Jr. managed to finish the Daniels Racing #15 in fourth while Vernonia's Brandon Penney crossed the stripe fifth in his Advocare/Perfection Automotive/Duncan Automotive/Vernonia Free Wheelers #00 car.
Finally the Northwest Dwarf Cars would invaded SSP. Ryan Martinez, of Portland, would make a move around lap eleven to secure the lead. Martinez would stay out in front in his Auto Truck Wholesale/St. John's Tire Factory/Van Raden Industries #9 M&M to pick up the second win of the season for the team.
Shane Youngren, in the Youngren Racing #18 entry, was second and Creswell's Kevin Hicks managed to finish his Hicks Family Racing/The Wright Shop/B-Rrad Motorsports #78 Phillpott in third. Fourth belonged to the Coutts Racing #51 of Dan Couts while the Lamm Motorsports #33 of Bill Lamm was fifth.
Sunset Speedway Park's next event is on Saturday June 13th for the Dwarf Car Nationals presented by 98.7 The Bull. Classes in action include the Northwest Dwarf Cars vs. the PHRA regulars, Street Stocks, 4-Bee's, and both classes of Micro Sprints.
Pit Gates will open at 2:00 PM, Front Gates open at 4:00, and racing starts at 6:30. Tickets for this event are Adults $13.00, Seniors/Military/Juniors (13-18) $10.00, Youths (Ages 12-6) $5.00, and Children under the age of 5 are FREE and a family pass will be offered for two Adults and up to four Youths for just $35.00.
On Sunday June 14th Sunset Speedway Park will be hosting the rescheduled practice event lasting from Noon to 5:00 PM. Folks that want to watch from the grandstands there is no charge and it's FREE. Pit Passes are $25.00 each and so are Car/Driver fees. For more information log on tohttp://www.sunsetspeedwaypark.com.
Race Summary:
Iron Man 100
Saturday June 6th, 2015
Sunset Speedway Park
Banks, Oregon
IMCA Sport Mods
A Feature: 1. 11-Jim Potter; 2. 12X-Pamela Graham; 3. 30M-Michael Meldon; 4. 15-George Daniels Jr.; 5. 00-Brandon Penney; 6. 38-Randy O'Connor
Street Stocks
A Feature: 1. 18C-Arnie Case; 2. 88-John Ireland; 3. 19-Tony Catalano; 4. 7-Doug Pitsch; 5. 14-Brian Roden; 6. 10-James Baker; 7. 21-Travis Koch; 8. 71-Ben Sauter; 9. 5-Marc Farrar
Pure Stocks
A Feature: 1. 68-John Henry; 2. 30-Aaron Blanchard; 3. 8-Tyler Smith; 4. 66-Kendall Lee; 5. 33-Jim Peterson; 6. 02-Marcie Treat; 7. 24-Cori Vandercoevering; 8. 58-Terry Houck; 9. 17-Bert Pegg
Dwarfs
A Feature: 1. 9-Ryan Martinez; 2. 18-Shane Youngren; 3. 78-Kevin Hicks; 4. 51-Dan Coutts; 5. 33-Bill Lamm; 6. 37-Guy Tow Jr.; 7. 40-Kyle Thompson; 8. 1-Scott Sullenger