9/13/2016
Cottage Grove Speedway
Crockett, Hanson, James, And Maricle Get Championship Night Wins; Last Three Champions Crowned
Crockett, Hanson, James, And Maricle Get Championship Night Wins; Last Three Champions Crowned
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Dirt Monkey Productions)
Cottage Grove, Oregon- Saturday, September 10th would be the final round of competition for drivers at Cottage Grove Speedway. With August 27th the last race of the season for the Clark Printing Extreme Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, and Street Stocks the other three championships were still up for grabs. 360 Sprints, Late Models, and the Quality RV Repair Hornets would all be on the card with Modifieds joining as well but not racing for points.
The 360 Sprints would enter the evening with Kyle Miller with the advantage in the points table. But prior to the start of the main event Miller, of Eugene, would experience some mechanical problems resulting in him not being able to start the feature.
Roseburg’s Orion Redmond paced the field for the first ten laps. He would get passed by Greg Hamilton, from Burlington, Washington, on lap eleven. Hamilton would hold down the position before getting passed himself on lap nineteen. Roger Crockett was the man with the late race move and would win the race.
It would be Crockett’s fourth victory at CGS in 2016. With Kyle Miller’s absence in the main event and Crockett finishing in first place, it would shake the title race up big time. Crockett would earn enough points to pass Miller and edge him by seven markers. It would be the fifth championship Crockett has earned at Cottage Grove and his first since 2013.
Greg Hamilton would place second followed by Orion Redmond in third. Teenagers Bricen James, from Albany and driving for Tim Galloway, and Harrisburg’s Tyler Thompson would finish fourth and fifth, respectively, completing the top five.
With all of the IMCA Modified racing done for the year “The Grove” would host a non-sanctioned/non-point race to give everyone one last race this season. Springfield native Steven Sturdevant paced the field for a good portion of the main event. However, on lap sixteen Sturdevant would get passed by Craig Hanson. Hanson, out of Albany would hold back the competition for the rest of the way to secure his third win of the campaign.
Eric Ashley, from Jasper, was the runner-up while Steven Sturdevant ended his evening in third. Springfield’s Jake Mayden got fourth followed by Gus Cooper, of Creswell, in fifth.
In the Late Models, a strong seventeen car field would be in attendance. Coos Bay’s Preston Luckman and Sweet Home native Kye Frick would battle with one another for the lead in the opening laps. Frick would secure it before he would be in danger of losing the top spot. Bricen James, doing double duty, would get around Frick and stayed there once he secured the position.
Rob Campos, of Scio, finished second while Kye Frick ended the night in third. Salem’s Britton Donahoo wound up fourth followed by Dan Deibele, of Lebanon, in fifth. Earlier in the evening, in qualifying, Bricen James would set a new track record with a time of 12.373 seconds. At the end of the night, Donahoo would be the 2016 CGS Late Model champion. It was his first time ever winning a title at Cottage Grove.
Last but not least were the Quality RV Repair Hornets. James Simmons, of Eugene, got to the front in the early beginnings but would lose the lead on lap six. Josh Corley, out of Westfir, would stay there for a long time and looked to be on his way to his seventh win. But with just a couple of laps to go Veneta’s Joe Maricle would get around him and get to the checkers. It was Maricle’s eighth victory of the season.
Chris Pierce, of Cottage Grove, was the second place finisher while Sutherlin’s Bernie Bryant got third. James Simmons crossed the wire in fourth place and Springfield’s K.C. Scott completed the top five in fifth. Maricle would also win the track championship for the second time in his career and his first title since 2013.
Cottage Grove Speedway is done racing in 2016 but will be having a Monster Truck/Freestyle Motocross event coming up. The dates are Friday, September 16th and Saturday, the 17th and more information can be found at www.cottagegrovespeedway.com or by visiting the track’s Facebook page.
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage