9/2/2019
Cottage Grove Speedway
Graig Osborne Wins 2019 Froggy 44 Tribute To Mel; Chad Groves Sweeps Late Model Weekend
Graig Osborne Wins 2019 Froggy 44 Tribute To Mel; Chad Groves Sweeps Late Model Weekend
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Deatherage)
Cottage Grove, Oregon- Sunday, September 1st witnessed the final race of Labor Day weekend at Cottage Grove Speedway. In addition to the Interstate Sprint Car Series in town, the famous ¼-mile clay hosted the Froggy 44 Tribute To Melvin Walker as well as Late Models. The Froggy 44 is the biggest race at CGS for the Hornet class.
Before we get into the race report we do want to offer congratulations to the 2019 Kage Kart champions. Those drivers were Emmett Lowry (Pee Wee), Mason King (5HP Intermediate), Carter Patterson (250cc), and Brody Sim (Open Kage).
In the opening start of the Froggy 44, Eddie Farness, of Sandy, took control of the top place position. Graig Osborne made a quick pass for the lead on lap five, but it was negated due to a caution occurring. It was caution flags galore with eight total taking place. That would take lapped traffic out of the equation and emphasized drivers to do well on all of the restarts or in open racetrack.
Farness held down the lead for an abundance of time until lap twelve. Osborne once again made it past him, and this time it would count. But it was a short tenure of the coveted position for Graig. The Creswell driver ran over some debris and cut down a tire resulting in him coming to a halt. Farness went back to the lead.
But, Farness suffered mechanical issues on the ensuing restart and had to pull into the pit area. That handed the lead over to Eric Ashley. Ashley, of Jasper and racing for car owner Randy Kuhl, stayed upfront only to lose the top spot on lap twenty-four.
Graig Osborne once again took over as the trailblazer, but this time he ended up holding down the spot for the balance of the distance. It was Osborne’s second straight win and the fourth overall triumph of the entire 2019 season. It ties him for the most wins in the class in the current campaign.
Sutherlin’s Burnie Bryant was the runner-up with Eric Ashley ending his night, in third. Ricky Ashley, from Thurston and also in a Randy Kuhl entry, ended his evening in fourth with Dexter native Barry Cannon completing the top five, in fifth.
The Late Model main event was a non-stop affair. Chad Groves picked up from where he left off from the night before and just like on Saturday led every single lap of the feature. Groves, of Bend and racing for car owner Jerry Casey, won his second race of the season.
Thomas Hunziker, also from Bend, crossed the wire in second while grabbing third would be Grove’s teammate Brian Smith, of Sweet Home. The rest of the top five finishing order comprised of Sweet Home’s Kye Frick and Mike Miller, of Springfield running for Ryan Ronning, in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Cottage Grove Speedway returns to racing on Friday, September 6th and Saturday, the 7th. It will be a big weekend of action with the Herz Precision Parts Wingless Nationals and the Wallbanger Cup. Both nights will feature the Wingless Sprint Series. The Street Stocks will have their biggest race on calendar, the Wallbanger Cup. Also on hand will be two evenings of co-sanctioned Dwarf Car races between the Northwest Dwarf Cars, Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association, and the Pacific Hardtop Racing Association. For tickets and times log on to www.cottagegrovespeedway.com.
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage