Shawn Miller, MEDFORD, Ore. (May 8, 2009) - It's not his home track, but it'd be hard to convince the competition otherwise. Roger Crockett claimed the American Sprint Car Series Northwest Region season-opening race Friday night at Southern Oregon Speedway.
Crockett, who lives approximately 10 minutes from the 3/8th mile, semi-banked clay track, led all 30 laps in a feature race that was determined by who missed the ruts the most.
"The track was really wet, and sticky and rough," said Crockett, who has won six consecutive sprint car features.
"The key was definitely keeping your car smooth. We hit the setup really good on the car and we were able to go pretty much anywhere on the race track, through the ruts without bouncing too much."
Crockett, who earned $1,500 for the victory, was the smoothest on a track that featured more vehicles on two wheels than a motorcycle show. He lapped all but six of his competitors.
"He's definitely the smoothest driver," said Tacoma, Wash., resident Mitch Olson, who finished third.
Placerville, Calif., resident Andy Gregg started ninth and placed second in the feature.
"You really had to change your entry in (turns) one and two to miss the ruts," Gregg said after his first career ASCS race. "You have to drive across the rut, and not through the rut.
"This was my first ASCS race and I'm super pumped. I plan on continuing to do some more of them. I'm just really happy to be here."
Steven Tiner of Valencia, Calif., placed fourth and Henry Van Dam of Enumclaw, Wash., was fifth.
After only one caution flag in the three heat races, the main event featured six cautions.
A red flag stopped the race on the first lap when Phillip Del Rosa and Vern Wheeler, a pair of Medford residents, wrecked into the frontstretch wall.
It was the first of three cautions before the first lap was completed, which included a false start by Olson, the polesitter, and 15 year old Logan Forler of Orting, Wash.
On lap six, the right rear tire of Medford's Charlie Thompson came off his car in turn two.
One lap later, Central Point, Ore., residents Garen Linder and Chadd Noland brought out a caution. Linder stopped on the backstretch and Noland, who drove off the track in turn four, had to fix a flat tire.
The race resumed with 15 consecutive green-flag laps before Forler, who was running sixth, stopped in turn one for the final caution.
Three lapped cars were between Crockett and Gregg on the restart, which allowed Crockett to jump to an insurmountable lead and win by more nearly one-third a lap.
"Hopefully it was a good race for the fans," Crockett said. "The track got rough, which probably made it a better race than if it was smooth."
The two-day opening event resumes on Saturday at Southern Oregon Speedway. The front gate opens at 4 p.m. with racing scheduled for approximately 6 p.m.
The cost is $15 for adults and $12 for seniors, veterans and children aged 7 to 12.
Former Northern Sprint Tour champion Billy Nutter of Central Point is scheduled to make a special appearance, racing Medford resident Charlie Cash's sprint car.
Southern Oregon Speedway, Medford, Ore. (May 8, 2009):
Heat race #1 (car number) (start): 1. Henry Van Dam (33v) (1), 2. Roger Crockett (11) (3), 3. Dan Menne (75) (4), 4. Andy Gregg (53) (5), 5. Vern Wheeler (21w) (7), 6. Garen Linder (22) (6), 7. Dave Hibbard (3) (2).
Heat race #2 (car number) (start): 1. Jared Ridge (12) (2), 2. Charlie Thompson (101) (1), 3. Mitch Olson (98m) (4), 4. Phillip Del Rosa (6m) (3), 5. Steven Tiner (94) (5), 6. Todd Zeitler (2z) (6), 7. Justyn Cox (5h) (7), 8. Kyle Miller (10) (8).
Heat race #3 (car number) (start): 1. Charlie Cash (4c) (2), 2. Logan Forler (2l) (4), 3. Randy Pierce (12p) (1), 4. Ron Crume (911) (3), 5. Chadd Noland (7n) (5), 6. Randy Rodgers (110) (7), 7. Rob Held (68) (8), 8. Chad Groves (25c) (6).
B Main (car number) (start): 1. Randy Rodgers (110) (2), 2. Chadd Noland (7n) (1), 3. Todd Zeitler (2z) (4), 4. Garen Linder (22) (3), 5. Rob Held (68) (5), 6. Justyn Cox (5h) (6), 7. Kyle Miller (10) (7), 8. Chad Groves (25c) (9), 9. Dave Hibbard (3) (8).
A Main (car number) (start): 1. Roger Crockett (11) (4), 2. Andy Gregg (53) (9), 3. Mitch Olson (98m) (1), 4. Steven Tiner (94) (14), 5. Henry Van Dam (33v) (6), 6. Jared Ridge (12) (8), 7. Randy Pierce (12p) (10), 8. Randy Rodgers (110) (15), 9. Chadd Noland (7n) (16), 10. Logan Forler (2l) (2), 11. Charlie Cash (4c) (7), 12. Ron Crume (911) (13), 13. Justyn Cox (5h) (20), 14. Charlie Thompson (101) (3), 15. Dan Menne (75) (5), 16. Garen Linder (22) (18), 17. Rob Held (68) (19), 18. Vern Wheeler (21w) (13), 19. Phillip Del Rosa (6m) (14), 20. Todd Zeitler (2z) (17).
*Heat races = 10 laps
*B Main = 12 laps
*A Main = 30 laps
ASCS Northwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Roger Crockett 150, 2. Andy Gregg 146, 3. Mitch Olson 144, 4. Steven Tiner 142, 5. Henry Van Dam 140, 6. Jared Ridge 138, 7. Randy Pierce 136, 8. Randy Rodgers 134, 9. Chadd Noland 132, 10. Logan Forler 130.
Crockett, who lives approximately 10 minutes from the 3/8th mile, semi-banked clay track, led all 30 laps in a feature race that was determined by who missed the ruts the most.
"The track was really wet, and sticky and rough," said Crockett, who has won six consecutive sprint car features.
"The key was definitely keeping your car smooth. We hit the setup really good on the car and we were able to go pretty much anywhere on the race track, through the ruts without bouncing too much."
Crockett, who earned $1,500 for the victory, was the smoothest on a track that featured more vehicles on two wheels than a motorcycle show. He lapped all but six of his competitors.
"He's definitely the smoothest driver," said Tacoma, Wash., resident Mitch Olson, who finished third.
Placerville, Calif., resident Andy Gregg started ninth and placed second in the feature.
"You really had to change your entry in (turns) one and two to miss the ruts," Gregg said after his first career ASCS race. "You have to drive across the rut, and not through the rut.
"This was my first ASCS race and I'm super pumped. I plan on continuing to do some more of them. I'm just really happy to be here."
Steven Tiner of Valencia, Calif., placed fourth and Henry Van Dam of Enumclaw, Wash., was fifth.
After only one caution flag in the three heat races, the main event featured six cautions.
A red flag stopped the race on the first lap when Phillip Del Rosa and Vern Wheeler, a pair of Medford residents, wrecked into the frontstretch wall.
It was the first of three cautions before the first lap was completed, which included a false start by Olson, the polesitter, and 15 year old Logan Forler of Orting, Wash.
On lap six, the right rear tire of Medford's Charlie Thompson came off his car in turn two.
One lap later, Central Point, Ore., residents Garen Linder and Chadd Noland brought out a caution. Linder stopped on the backstretch and Noland, who drove off the track in turn four, had to fix a flat tire.
The race resumed with 15 consecutive green-flag laps before Forler, who was running sixth, stopped in turn one for the final caution.
Three lapped cars were between Crockett and Gregg on the restart, which allowed Crockett to jump to an insurmountable lead and win by more nearly one-third a lap.
"Hopefully it was a good race for the fans," Crockett said. "The track got rough, which probably made it a better race than if it was smooth."
The two-day opening event resumes on Saturday at Southern Oregon Speedway. The front gate opens at 4 p.m. with racing scheduled for approximately 6 p.m.
The cost is $15 for adults and $12 for seniors, veterans and children aged 7 to 12.
Former Northern Sprint Tour champion Billy Nutter of Central Point is scheduled to make a special appearance, racing Medford resident Charlie Cash's sprint car.
Southern Oregon Speedway, Medford, Ore. (May 8, 2009):
Heat race #1 (car number) (start): 1. Henry Van Dam (33v) (1), 2. Roger Crockett (11) (3), 3. Dan Menne (75) (4), 4. Andy Gregg (53) (5), 5. Vern Wheeler (21w) (7), 6. Garen Linder (22) (6), 7. Dave Hibbard (3) (2).
Heat race #2 (car number) (start): 1. Jared Ridge (12) (2), 2. Charlie Thompson (101) (1), 3. Mitch Olson (98m) (4), 4. Phillip Del Rosa (6m) (3), 5. Steven Tiner (94) (5), 6. Todd Zeitler (2z) (6), 7. Justyn Cox (5h) (7), 8. Kyle Miller (10) (8).
Heat race #3 (car number) (start): 1. Charlie Cash (4c) (2), 2. Logan Forler (2l) (4), 3. Randy Pierce (12p) (1), 4. Ron Crume (911) (3), 5. Chadd Noland (7n) (5), 6. Randy Rodgers (110) (7), 7. Rob Held (68) (8), 8. Chad Groves (25c) (6).
B Main (car number) (start): 1. Randy Rodgers (110) (2), 2. Chadd Noland (7n) (1), 3. Todd Zeitler (2z) (4), 4. Garen Linder (22) (3), 5. Rob Held (68) (5), 6. Justyn Cox (5h) (6), 7. Kyle Miller (10) (7), 8. Chad Groves (25c) (9), 9. Dave Hibbard (3) (8).
A Main (car number) (start): 1. Roger Crockett (11) (4), 2. Andy Gregg (53) (9), 3. Mitch Olson (98m) (1), 4. Steven Tiner (94) (14), 5. Henry Van Dam (33v) (6), 6. Jared Ridge (12) (8), 7. Randy Pierce (12p) (10), 8. Randy Rodgers (110) (15), 9. Chadd Noland (7n) (16), 10. Logan Forler (2l) (2), 11. Charlie Cash (4c) (7), 12. Ron Crume (911) (13), 13. Justyn Cox (5h) (20), 14. Charlie Thompson (101) (3), 15. Dan Menne (75) (5), 16. Garen Linder (22) (18), 17. Rob Held (68) (19), 18. Vern Wheeler (21w) (13), 19. Phillip Del Rosa (6m) (14), 20. Todd Zeitler (2z) (17).
*Heat races = 10 laps
*B Main = 12 laps
*A Main = 30 laps
ASCS Northwest Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Roger Crockett 150, 2. Andy Gregg 146, 3. Mitch Olson 144, 4. Steven Tiner 142, 5. Henry Van Dam 140, 6. Jared Ridge 138, 7. Randy Pierce 136, 8. Randy Rodgers 134, 9. Chadd Noland 132, 10. Logan Forler 130.
