7/5/2019
Cottage Grove Speedway
B. Hand, Thompson, And James Strike Pay Dirt In First Night Of Hoppes Construction Freedom Cup
B. Hand, Thompson, And James Strike Pay Dirt In First Night Of Hoppes Construction Freedom Cup
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Deatherage)
Cottage Grove, Oregon- Cottage Grove Speedway kicked off a tripleheader Independence Day weekend on Thursday, July 4th for the 2019 Freedom Cup presented by Hoppes Construction. The Independence Day bout had three divisions on the card including the IMCA Sport Mods, Todd’s Auto Body Sprints, and the Mohawk Metal IMCA Modifieds. Once all the racing had concluded fans were treated to an awesome spectacle of fireworks.
In the IMCA Sport Mods Branden Wilson, of Medford, showed the way early. Wilson received constant pressure from behind eventually losing the lead on the fifth circuit to David Schmidt. Schmidt, now residing in Roseburg, held the top spot for a significant amount of time. Shortly after a lap sixteen restart Braedon Hand got by the leader in turn number one and secured the coveted position on the eighteenth lap.
Hand, of Cottage Grove, would hold back the advances of several challenges and went on to win his first race at CGS in 2019. Hand rebounded nicely after being involved in a caution on the opening lap. Also getting caught up in an early race wreck and bouncing back to second was Central Point’s Jorddon Braaten with David Schmidt grabbing third. Roseburg’s Doug Coffman posted a respectable fourth while Grand Junction, Colorado racer Matt Ruff came out of the B Main to end his evening in fifth.
In the Todd’s Auto Body Sprints, Camden Robustelli showed the way for the first twelve laps. The Medford driver set a pretty good pace until some heavy lapped traffic came into the picture. While in the thick of the tail end of the field Rosbustelli was passed via the inside on lap thirteen by Tyler Thompson. Thompson, from Harrisburg, was not out of the woods just yet as several drivers tried to get around him.
A couple of late race cautions gave Tyler some open racetrack to work with and took out the factor of lapped traffic. Thompson mastered both restarts and went to claim his second straight win at the historical ¼-mile clay oval and his third overall at “The Grove” in 2019. Kinzer Cox, of Cottage Grove, started a deep twelfth to finish runner-up while Eugene’s Raquel Ivie posted a third-place result. Roseburg native Jake Waddell ended his evening in fourth while Gold Hill veteran T.J. Winningham was fifth.
Lastly, the Mohawk Metal IMCA Modifieds had a thriller of a main event. With several competitors fresh off of the Wild West Modified Shootout tour some were races for the ninth time in fifteen days. Cottage Grove youngster Evan Britton showed the way on the opening lap only for Paul Rea to take over the lead on the second circuit. Rea, a resident of Eugene, tried to establish a healthy lead but four straight cautions forced the field to stay all bunched up. On lap six Bricen James got around Paul Rea for the top spot. James, of Albany, had an impressive battle to the end with Collen Winebarger as the two dueled one another on a twenty-one-lap green flag run.
Bricen James managed to beat Winebarger out at the line while Corbett’s Winebarger was second for James’ first win at Cottage Grove this season. Paul Rea stayed in the top five and ended his night in third over fourth and fifth finishing Jake Mayden, from Springfield, and Cottage Grove’s Curtis Towns.
The 2019 Hoppes Construction Freedom Cup continues on Friday, July 5th, and Saturday, the 6th. All three same classes will be on the card for both nights. Friday and Saturday the Pit Gates open at 1:00 PM, Front Gates 3:30, and Time Trials at 5:30 with Racing beginning at 6:00. Tickets are $13.00 for Adults, Seniors/Juniors/Military $10.00, Youths (6-12) $5.00, and Children (5 & Under) are FREE. For more information and updates log on to www.cottagegrovespeedway.com or check out the official Facebook page.
2019 Cottage Grove Speedway Sponsors/Marketing Partners
Archer Floor Covering
Bonanza Drive-Up
Boyce & Sons Landscape & Building Materials
Columbia Distributing
Comfort Suites of Creswell
Farmlands Market
Giant Burger
Goofy's Muffler, Customs, & More
James Heating & Air Conditioning
Maximus Unlimited
Mohawk Metal
O'Reilly's Auto Parts
Pink House
Todd's Auto Body
Welt & Welt
Wenzel's Farm Sausage
Dot’s Trophy Shop
Todd’s Auto Body
Mohawk Metal
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage
