9/12/2021
Redwood Acres Raceway
Mucci, Winchel Thwart Powers And White’s Bonus Dreams
It was a busy and race-filled weekend this past Friday and Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. The Legends Of The Redwoods Shootout was the feature attraction for both nights thanks to Buddy’s Towing, Cook’s BBQ and Shafer’s Ace Hardware.
Friday’s event included all local divisions with the Legends, bombers, mini stocks and roadrunners racing. Saturday had the addition of the Upstate Bomber Series and the late models with both holding their final points races of the season. A special 9/11 memorial tribute occurred before the start of Saturday races featuring the Marines, Army, Coast Guard, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team as well as the vocal talents of Sabrina Francis Gasdik.
Friday began with Ryan David setting fast time in qualifying for the roadrunners with a 19.923. Nick Ford took the victory in the heat race. The 25-lap main event was won by David, his first ever main event victory. Jeremiah Martin finished second followed by Nick Ford, Tanisha Ratzlaff and Bob Ratzlaff.
Brian Murrell, Jr. set a new standard in mini stock qualifying with a new track record of 18.467. Gannon Cyphers was the winner of the heat race. Murrell, Jr. was able to score the main event victory beating Jarrett Mayo, Cyphers, Jerry Peterson and Eric O’Ferrall.
Quick time for the bombers was Loren Powers, Jr. with an 18.045. Ed Rasmussen held on to take the heat race win. Powers took the feature win in dominating fashion beating Shelby Helm by over two seconds. Raquel Krupa placed third followed by Donnie Brown and Raymond Taylor, Jr. Power’s victory earned him $750 on the night and the opportunity to win an additional $1,000 if he was able to take the win in the following night’s Upstate Bomber main event.
Brandon White set fast time for the Legends division on Friday with a time of 17.768. Tyler Peach and White took the heat race wins. White jumped to the lead early in the 35-lap event and dominated. His closest challenger was Cody Winchel but while Winchel was fast, he didn’t have the speed or handling that White had on the night. White took the win over Winchel, Chris Lawrence, Cameron Austin and Peach. White won $750 and as with Powers in the bombers, White’s Friday win gave him a chance at winning an additional $1,000 bonus if he won the Saturday night Legends main event.
Saturday evening’s event began much the same with Ryan David setting fast time once again with a 20.152. Bob Ratzlaff won the first heat while Dylan Ford won the second heat. Nobody had anything for Dylan Ford in the feature as he dominated to take the win. Nick Ford finished second followed by Brian Hopkins, Jeremiah Martin and Jeff French.
The track record for the mini stocks was broke again Saturday with Gary Klinetobe taking the helm with a 18.454. The heat race was won by Eric O’Ferrall. Gannon Cyphers pulled through to win the main event over Klinetobe, Brian Murrell, Jr., Jarrett Mayo and Eric O’Ferrall.
It was championship night for the late model division and points leader David Henderson was quickest in qualifying with a 16.549. Henderson won the heat race and followed up with a flag-to-flag win in the main event earning the veteran the 2021 late model track championship. Dustin Walters was second with David Miller third, Eugene Palmer fourth and Scott Baker fifth.
Loren Powers, Jr. paced a strong field of Upstate Bombers with an 18.076 qualifying lap. Series points leader Trystan Mucci was the winner of the first heat while Mike Lovell won the second. The 40-lap feature went green from start to finish and featured a thrilling battle for the win and the series championship between Mucci and Powers. The two traded the lead several times before Mucci was able to take control. Powers pressured Mucci all he could but was not able to force Mucci to make an error. At the checkered flag it was Mucci taking the win and the Upstate Bomber Series championship in 2021. Powers finished second with Lovell third, Raymond Taylor, Jr. fourth and Shelby Helm fifth. Mucci earned $1,000 for his victory.
Fast time for the Legends on Saturday was Cody Winchel with a 17.772. The heat race winners were Andy Thornton and Winchel. The main event came to a stop on lap 12 when Emily Vest hit the backstretch wall. The race was halted for over half an hour as safety officials tended to Vest. She was taken to the hospital as a precaution and suffered injuries to her right shoulder and left leg but thankfully nothing serious.
A lap 30 caution involving Chris Lawrence and Tyler Krupa forced track officials to prematurely call the race to avoid curfew. Winchel took the win and the $2,000 purse that went with it. White placed second with Cameron Austin third. Lawrence was listed fourth as scoring reverted to the previously completed lap with Brett Murrell fifth.
The 2021 season at Redwood Acres Raceway will close out in style at the end of the month with the annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Fall Spectacular on Friday September 24 and Saturday September 25. Friday’s show will feature late models, Legends, and bombers with the mini stocks and roadrunners having their final race of the year. Saturday’s event will have the addition of the North State Modified Series which will hold their richest event in series history, the $5,000 to win Dale Baldwin Challenge. The season will conclude with the 100-lap late model feature with the winner receiving a healthy $5,000. For more visit RacinTheAcres.com or visit RAR on Facebook or on Twitter @RacinTheAcres.
Submitted By: Matthew Sullivan