by Dennis Daniel
Sept. 6, 2011 – Southern Oregon Speedway (Medford, OR) – On Sunday night, White City, OR’s Brian Poppa became only the second person to win three Lon Skinner Memorial races. Sunday’s win dethroned reigning three-time defending champion Bobby Hogge IV and gave Poppa and his Ron Martin Racing team a huge payday, taking home $8,000 for the win. Hogge gave up his time as reigning champ when his engine blew on lap 25 of the feature.
“Thanks to Ron Martin and my whole crew,” Poppa said during his victory lane interview. “I challenged my crew and they came through,” he added. Poppa took the lead on lap 43 of the grueling 100 lapper and held off several late race challenges to secure the victory. Poppa, who started 9th, had to fight back late charges by Justin Holt and Alex Stanford but was not to be denied his third Skinner win.
The feature got started after a C Main, a B Main and two Last Chance races were contested. The field of 24 cars was set to battle over 100 laps, with yellow flag laps being counted during the first 85 laps. It would be Ryan McDaniel and Dave Duste leading the field to the green flag of the 16th annual Lon Skinner Memorial.
Duste grabbed the lead from the outside groove on lap one and led the field until an early caution flew on lap 3. As the cars were stopped on the back straight to be lined up, Duste’s car began to smoke and track officials saw oil leaking from the bottom of his car. Duste left the track, giving the lead to McDaniel.
When the race resumed, it was McDaniel leading while 5th starting Troy Foulger moved into 2nd, followed by Poppa and Holt. Dennis Silva, who started 4th, charged to the bottom and moved by Poppa and took over 2nd on lap 22, when he got under Foulger. Silva gave chase to the leader and on lap 27 was able to put a slide job on McDaniel in turn 3 and take over the point.
Another caution flew on lap 31, as Kyle Casson spun out of 5th place in turn 2. Silva continued to lead over McDaniel, Holt, Foulger and Poppa. As the race restarted, track point leader Mark Wauge slowed exiting turn 2 of the restart after he had lost his steering. As the field tried to race by the slowing Wauge, Merced, CA’s Chris Shannon was clipped by Wauge, causing his car to slide sideways and roll over, landing upside down. The red flag brought the race to an abrupt stop. Shannon’s car was rolled over and he was able to climb out without injuries but his car was destroyed in the accident.
When racing resumed, Holt was able to race by Silva for the lead, as Poppa also charged into 2nd, shuffling Silva back to 3rd. A lap later, Poppa race around the outside of Holt and took over the lead on lap 43. The race continued on until the lap 50 break and pit stop. Poppa led over Holt, Silva, Paul Stone and Stanford.
The half way break gave drivers and two crew members a chance to make changes to the car and refuel. Many drivers and crews thrashed during the 15 minute break to make changes, getting ready for the final 50 laps. Poppa felt really good with his car, and chose not to make any changes, only adding fuel and more tear-off’s to his helmet. Another driver choosing to keep his car on the same setup was 18th starting Randy McDaniel, who was running in 8th at the half way break.
During the second 50 lap segment, Poppa continued to show his strength, as he continued to pace the field over Holt, Silva, Stanford and Stone. On lap 65, Randy move by Foulger for 5th, as Stanford has gotten bye for 4th. After a lap 70 caution flew when Michael Paul Jr. spun in turn 4, Silva would restart still in 3rd. As the race was restarted, Silva got crossed up and was hit, causing him to spin while running in 3rd.
Poppa was still leading, while Holt, Stanford, Randy McDaniel and Foulger were in chase. Poppa continued to use the Texas restart to lead the field, having the advantage of restarting alone up front, with the field double file behind on restarts. After a lap 85 restart, Holt looked under Poppa but could not take over the lead. The field looked to get to the finish, with mostly single file action throughout the remaining 17 cars out of the 24 starters.
Holt restarted the race on the bottom groove and continued to give chase to Poppa, while trying to fight off challenges from Stanford, McDaniel and Foulger. On lap 98, Holt entered turn 2 and the car spun out, ending his tremendous 2nd place run.
With a green-white-checkered flag setup for the finish of the Lon Skinner Memorial, Poppa held the lead over Stanford, McDaniel, Foulger and Jeremy Richey. As the race was attempted to be restarted, Poppa looked to lead the field to green but bobbled slightly, allowing Stanford for pull alongside entering turn 1. Track officials flew the yellow flag, believing Stanford had jumped the start. After moving Stanford back to 4th for the believed jumped, the field was realigned for the final green flag. Review of the restart showed that Stanford hit the gas as soon as Poppa but Poppa’s bobble looked like Stanford gained an unfair advantage.
The race was restarted with Poppa leading over McDaniel, Foulger, Stanford and Richey. On the restart, Poppa was able to motor away to the lead, with Stanford fighting back to get under Foulger for the 3rd spot. After his early race spin, Casson raced by Richey for the 5th spot. Poppa held on to take the checkers 3 car lengths in front of McDaniel, Stanford, Foulger and Casson.
Stanford was extremely disappointed with the caution being flown and him being set back, when a review of tape showed he had not jumped the start. He maintained his composure and earned a solid 3rd place finish. Although he had a chance to pull alongside Poppa with only 2 laps remaining, Poppa had shown all race long that he had the power and the handling to be able to maintain the lead. On Sunday, Poppa was the class of the 49 car field and raced to a well earned victory. Well done Brian!
Official Results
100 lap Lon Skinner Memorial
Pos. Car # Name (laps)
1. 0p Brian Poppa (100) $8,000
2. 1 Randy McDaniel (100) $3,000
3. 98a Alex Stanford (100) $2,000
4. 49 Troy Foulger (100) $1,000
5. 11k Kyle Casson (100) $700
6. 15j Jeremy Richey (100) $600
7. 66t Jeff Taylor (100) $500
8. 73m Dave Duste, Jr. (100) $450
9. 54n Nick Trenchard (100) $400
10. 45 Aaron Sheelar (100) $350
11. 35 Scott Lenz (100) $300
12. 10 Ryan McDaniel (100) $300
13. 12s Dennis Silva (100) $300
14. 25 Justin Holt (100) $300
15. 34m Albert Gill (100) $300
16. 4p Richard Papenhausen (100) $300
17. 50 Michael Paul, Jr. (96) $300
18. 1m Mark Wauge (91) $300
19. 66p Paul Stone (56) $300
20. 5j Preston Jones (56) $300
21. 32s Chris Shannon (35) $300
22. 6p Travis Peery (31) $300
23. 2h Bobby Hogge IV (24) $300
24. 23 Matt Duste (5) $300
Sept. 6, 2011 – Southern Oregon Speedway (Medford, OR) – On Sunday night, White City, OR’s Brian Poppa became only the second person to win three Lon Skinner Memorial races. Sunday’s win dethroned reigning three-time defending champion Bobby Hogge IV and gave Poppa and his Ron Martin Racing team a huge payday, taking home $8,000 for the win. Hogge gave up his time as reigning champ when his engine blew on lap 25 of the feature.
“Thanks to Ron Martin and my whole crew,” Poppa said during his victory lane interview. “I challenged my crew and they came through,” he added. Poppa took the lead on lap 43 of the grueling 100 lapper and held off several late race challenges to secure the victory. Poppa, who started 9th, had to fight back late charges by Justin Holt and Alex Stanford but was not to be denied his third Skinner win.
The feature got started after a C Main, a B Main and two Last Chance races were contested. The field of 24 cars was set to battle over 100 laps, with yellow flag laps being counted during the first 85 laps. It would be Ryan McDaniel and Dave Duste leading the field to the green flag of the 16th annual Lon Skinner Memorial.
Duste grabbed the lead from the outside groove on lap one and led the field until an early caution flew on lap 3. As the cars were stopped on the back straight to be lined up, Duste’s car began to smoke and track officials saw oil leaking from the bottom of his car. Duste left the track, giving the lead to McDaniel.
When the race resumed, it was McDaniel leading while 5th starting Troy Foulger moved into 2nd, followed by Poppa and Holt. Dennis Silva, who started 4th, charged to the bottom and moved by Poppa and took over 2nd on lap 22, when he got under Foulger. Silva gave chase to the leader and on lap 27 was able to put a slide job on McDaniel in turn 3 and take over the point.
Another caution flew on lap 31, as Kyle Casson spun out of 5th place in turn 2. Silva continued to lead over McDaniel, Holt, Foulger and Poppa. As the race restarted, track point leader Mark Wauge slowed exiting turn 2 of the restart after he had lost his steering. As the field tried to race by the slowing Wauge, Merced, CA’s Chris Shannon was clipped by Wauge, causing his car to slide sideways and roll over, landing upside down. The red flag brought the race to an abrupt stop. Shannon’s car was rolled over and he was able to climb out without injuries but his car was destroyed in the accident.
When racing resumed, Holt was able to race by Silva for the lead, as Poppa also charged into 2nd, shuffling Silva back to 3rd. A lap later, Poppa race around the outside of Holt and took over the lead on lap 43. The race continued on until the lap 50 break and pit stop. Poppa led over Holt, Silva, Paul Stone and Stanford.
The half way break gave drivers and two crew members a chance to make changes to the car and refuel. Many drivers and crews thrashed during the 15 minute break to make changes, getting ready for the final 50 laps. Poppa felt really good with his car, and chose not to make any changes, only adding fuel and more tear-off’s to his helmet. Another driver choosing to keep his car on the same setup was 18th starting Randy McDaniel, who was running in 8th at the half way break.
During the second 50 lap segment, Poppa continued to show his strength, as he continued to pace the field over Holt, Silva, Stanford and Stone. On lap 65, Randy move by Foulger for 5th, as Stanford has gotten bye for 4th. After a lap 70 caution flew when Michael Paul Jr. spun in turn 4, Silva would restart still in 3rd. As the race was restarted, Silva got crossed up and was hit, causing him to spin while running in 3rd.
Poppa was still leading, while Holt, Stanford, Randy McDaniel and Foulger were in chase. Poppa continued to use the Texas restart to lead the field, having the advantage of restarting alone up front, with the field double file behind on restarts. After a lap 85 restart, Holt looked under Poppa but could not take over the lead. The field looked to get to the finish, with mostly single file action throughout the remaining 17 cars out of the 24 starters.
Holt restarted the race on the bottom groove and continued to give chase to Poppa, while trying to fight off challenges from Stanford, McDaniel and Foulger. On lap 98, Holt entered turn 2 and the car spun out, ending his tremendous 2nd place run.
With a green-white-checkered flag setup for the finish of the Lon Skinner Memorial, Poppa held the lead over Stanford, McDaniel, Foulger and Jeremy Richey. As the race was attempted to be restarted, Poppa looked to lead the field to green but bobbled slightly, allowing Stanford for pull alongside entering turn 1. Track officials flew the yellow flag, believing Stanford had jumped the start. After moving Stanford back to 4th for the believed jumped, the field was realigned for the final green flag. Review of the restart showed that Stanford hit the gas as soon as Poppa but Poppa’s bobble looked like Stanford gained an unfair advantage.
The race was restarted with Poppa leading over McDaniel, Foulger, Stanford and Richey. On the restart, Poppa was able to motor away to the lead, with Stanford fighting back to get under Foulger for the 3rd spot. After his early race spin, Casson raced by Richey for the 5th spot. Poppa held on to take the checkers 3 car lengths in front of McDaniel, Stanford, Foulger and Casson.
Stanford was extremely disappointed with the caution being flown and him being set back, when a review of tape showed he had not jumped the start. He maintained his composure and earned a solid 3rd place finish. Although he had a chance to pull alongside Poppa with only 2 laps remaining, Poppa had shown all race long that he had the power and the handling to be able to maintain the lead. On Sunday, Poppa was the class of the 49 car field and raced to a well earned victory. Well done Brian!
Official Results
100 lap Lon Skinner Memorial
Pos. Car # Name (laps)
1. 0p Brian Poppa (100) $8,000
2. 1 Randy McDaniel (100) $3,000
3. 98a Alex Stanford (100) $2,000
4. 49 Troy Foulger (100) $1,000
5. 11k Kyle Casson (100) $700
6. 15j Jeremy Richey (100) $600
7. 66t Jeff Taylor (100) $500
8. 73m Dave Duste, Jr. (100) $450
9. 54n Nick Trenchard (100) $400
10. 45 Aaron Sheelar (100) $350
11. 35 Scott Lenz (100) $300
12. 10 Ryan McDaniel (100) $300
13. 12s Dennis Silva (100) $300
14. 25 Justin Holt (100) $300
15. 34m Albert Gill (100) $300
16. 4p Richard Papenhausen (100) $300
17. 50 Michael Paul, Jr. (96) $300
18. 1m Mark Wauge (91) $300
19. 66p Paul Stone (56) $300
20. 5j Preston Jones (56) $300
21. 32s Chris Shannon (35) $300
22. 6p Travis Peery (31) $300
23. 2h Bobby Hogge IV (24) $300
24. 23 Matt Duste (5) $300
