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CGS Beats Weather To Complete Armed Forces Night

CGS Beats Weather To Complete Armed Forces Night
By Ben Deatherage
The Cottage Grove Speedway once again was able to win the battle with the weather on Saturday May 25th. Armed Forces Night started out as a gorgeous sunny day until around 7:30 PM when some light sprinkles started to come down from the sky. There would be some moments when the precipitation would intensify but not enough for the racing to stop. Classes in action were the Northwest Extreme Sprints, Midgets, Dwarf Cars, and Hornets.

By the time the Northwest Extreme Sprints were getting pushed onto the track for their main event the rain was the heaviest it had been all night. But the foul weather would taper off and produce a very entertaining race. Two young ladies would wage a terrific battle for the majority of the race with the event being decided in the final laps.

Teenager Kady Adelman has been fast all season but had yet to win a feature in the division. The young lady from Salem in the BC Motorsports/K&S Motorsports #6A Maxim would have a close quarter battle with Raquel Ivie of Eugene. Ivie, in her Three Rivers Casino/Bi-Mart/Brook’s Cut Rate Auto Parts #70 Maxim, several times would have a great run on Adelman but couldn’t quite get around her.

The race would come down to lapped traffic which Adelman was able to get through first and have some breathing room. A caution would occur on lap seventeen to bunch the field up one last time. In the closing laps Adelman would continue to pace the field and would go on to hold off Ivie to earn her first career Sprint Car victory.

“The track was slick at first with all that rain but I found the grip,” said Adelman, “it was a good race I’m glad we got our first win in the Sprint Car. I have to thank my mom and dad and all my sponsors.”

Ivie would finish a respectable second and crossing the line in third was Mike Griffith from Fall Creek in the 1st Choice Construction/Crossfire Ministries #21 Gambler. Completing the top five was Dusty Redmond of Roseburg in the Redmond Trucking #57 Rocket followed by Fall Creek’s Nathan Ellertson in his 1st Choice Construction/4 His Glory Racing #4E Rocket.

Earlier in the evening Kady Adelman was fast time of the night at 13.325 seconds. Winning the trophy dash was the Eveland Sandblasting/Double R Powdercoating/Brothers Auto Body and Paint #29 Rocket of Glide native Dan Philpott while Adelman would win the heat race.

Despite a low car count for the Midgets a wonderful race was put on. Springfield’s Glenn Bittrolf and McMinnville pilot Lance Hallmark would duke it out for the win. In the caution free race Hallmark would put his Foster Fab/G.W. Machine/Jason Ocker Machine and Fabrication #8 Spike in the race lead early but had fast company trailing him. Glenn Bittrolf would work the low line looking to get by Hallmark.

On lap three Bittrolf would put his #15 Beast in front and would hold the lead for several laps as Hallmark tried to regain the top spot. Hallmark would recover his lead on lap thirteen and would keep Bittrolf behind him for the rest of the way to win the first Midget race at Cottage Grove in 2013.

“Our car count was a little low but the guys we raced with we have ran with for awhile,” said Hallmark, “we put this car together this last week and fired it off this morning at noon. I have to thank my sponsors and Tim and Warren Pyle for setting up the chassis.”

Bittrolf would finish in second place followed by the Fontana Racing Engines #27 Edmonds Autocraft of Mike Geringer from Pismo Beach, California. Geringer was quickest in qualifying at 14.705 seconds while Bittrolf won both the heat race and trophy dash.

In the Dwarf Car main event Kelly Gutches of Medford put his mount in front for the early lead. The Medford driver, piloting the Advantage Tire/Visual EFX Graphics/M&M Racing Chassis #07S, set a quick pace on the bottom of the race track. He would lose the lead on lap four to fellow southern Oregon native C.J. Putnam. Putnam, out of Eagle Point, started to check out with the lead in his Visual EFX Graphics/Payroll Specialties/AMSOIL #14P and appeared to have the race won.

That was until a passing shower started to make the track surface very slick. Gutches would start to reel in Putnam and before too long was challenging for the win. Gutches would make the pass on lap seventeen and would hold on the rest of the distance to win the first Dwarf Car race at “The Grove” this year.

“The track was getting a little slippery and he (C.J.) was pushing quite a bit I was close enough to get around him,” stated Gutches, “it really could have gone either way.”

Putnam would finish in second while earning third was the Cindy Sew It/The Wright Shop #78 of Creswell chauffer Kevin Hicks. Completing the top five finishing order was Waldport’s Robert O’Neil in his Hicks Family Racing/Lynch Brothers Proformence Products #14 in fourth and the B-Rad’s Motorsports/The Wright Shop #76 of Brian Hicks from Creswell in fifth.

C.J. Putnam was fast timer of the night at 15.458 seconds. Winning the trophy dash was Kelly Gutches and earning the triumph in heat race action was Putnam.

The Hornets were in action for the fifth time in 2013 last Saturday. Cottage Grove native Mike Simmons set the pace early in his Industrial Finishes/Kimwood Corporation #34 after grabbing the initial lead. Simmons would stay out in front but Joe Maricle from Veneta was quickly coming to challenge for the top spot. Maricle, piloting the Ram Jack Foundation Repair #11, would make the pass on Simmons for the lead on lap nine.

The race would see a total of four cautions and some great action from positions three on back. Maricle would win the race to earn his second victory of the year. The win puts him level with Kolby Clay for most wins this year in the Hornet division.

“There was a lot of cautions and carnage today,” commented Maricle in victory lane, “I feel pretty good right now to get the win.”

Mike Simmons would place second followed by the D&D Automotive/Harris Machine and Design #7D of Cottage Grove’s James Deatherage in third. Cottage Grove drivers would round out the top five with Evan Britton, in the Kent Crump owned #32, finished fourth in his first ever race and in fifth was Chris Pierce in his Material Fabrication/Meineke Car Care #28.

The #7C of Josh Corley from Veneta was fast time of the night at 17.032 seconds. Heat race winners were James Deatherage and Joe Maricle while Corley was the trophy dash winner.

The Cottage Grove Speedway returns to action Friday May 31st for the third Kage Kart race of the season. Then on Saturday June 1st the American Sprint Car Series-Northwest Region will be in town along with IMCA Modifieds and Street Stocks. General admission to the Friday Kart event will be FREE of charge. Pit passes are $10.00 and car/driver fees will be $35.00. The pit gates open up around 4:00 PM, the pill draw for drivers will close at 5:45, and the pit meeting is at 6:00 with hot laps and racing to follow.

Tickets for the races on Saturday are $15.00 for Adults, Senior/Military/Junior (13-17) $13.00, Youths (6-12) $5.00, and Children under the age of five are FREE. Pit gates open at 2:00 PM, front gates 4:00, time trials 5:30, and racing stats around 6:45. For more information be sure and visit the venue’s homepage www.cottagegrovespeedway.com or call the brand new Northwest Tracks Hotline at (360)-699-RACE.

Race Summary
Armed Forces Night
Saturday May 25th, 2013
Cottage Grove Speedway
Cottage Grove, Oregon

Northwest Extreme Sprints
6 Entries
Fast Time: Kady Adelman, 13.325
Trophy Dash: Dan Philpott
Heat Race Winner: Kady Adelman
A-Feature: 1. Kady Adelman, 2. Raquel Ivie, 3. Mike Griffith, 4. Dusty Redmond, 5. Nathan Ellertson, 6. Dan Philpott

Midgets
3 Entries
Fast Time: Mike Geringer, 14.705
Trophy Dash: Glenn Bittrolf
Heat Race Winner: Glenn Bittrolf
A-Feature: 1. Lance Hallmark, 2. Glenn Bittrolf, 3. Mike Geringer

Dwarf Cars
6 Entries
Fast Time: C.J. Putnam, 15.458
Trophy Dash: Kelly Gutches
Heat Race Winner: C.J. Putnam
A-Feature: 1. Kelly Gutches, 2. C.J. Putnam, 3. Kevin Hicks, 4. Robert O’Neil, 5. Brian Hicks, 6. Brad Hicks

Hornets
16 Entries
Fast Time: Josh Corley, 17.032
Trophy Dash: Josh Corley
Heat Race Winners: James Deatherage (1), Joe Maricle (2)
A-Feature: 1. Joe Maricle, 2. Mike Simmons, 3. James Deatherage, 4. Evan Britton, 5. Chris Pierce, 6. Craig Alexander, 7. Melvin Walker, 8. Mike Swaim, 9. James Simmons, 10. Kayla Simmons, 11. James Donaldson, 12. Jim Simmons, 13. Josh Corley, 14. Kieli Bond, 15. Diana Marshall, DNS Taunton Swaim

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