4/12/2021
Cottage Grove Speedway
T. Alberding, C. Towns, D. Comer, Osborne, And Kennerly April 10th Winners At Cottage Grove
T. Alberding, C. Towns, D. Comer, Osborne, And Kennerly April 10th Winners At Cottage Grove
By Stephanie Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of JRP Racing Photos)
Cottage Grove, Oregon- Saturday, April 10th would be the second race of 2021 at Cottage Grove Speedway. Once again five classes were in action, three of which were a part of the Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing program. They were the Wingless Sprint Series, IMCA Modifieds, Royalty Core IMCA Northern Sport Mods, Street Stocks, and IMCA Sport Compacts.
The Wingless Sprint Series made its 2021 debut at CGS. Only two yellows took place in the thirty-lap main event. Tim Alberding, now residing in Stayton, took control of the top place position on the first lap. There he would remain the rest of the distance and never experienced any sort of issues, even in lapped traffic.
Tim Alberding remained the leader to win for the first time this season. Cottage Grove’s Kinzer Cox ended the night in second with third going to Sherwood veteran Rob Lindsey. Chad Lindsey, from Wilsonville, hit the finish stripe in fourth while Lance Hallmark, of McMinnville, placed fifth. Cox was quickest in qualifying and won the Dot’s Trophy Shop Dash. Heat race winners were Cox and Winston’s, Tyrell Mead.
The lone main event of the night to go non-stop was the IMCA Modifieds. Matthew Drager, of Albany, set the pace from the get-go but would soon be in an exciting battle with Paul Rea. Rea, the longtime racer from Eugene, got around Drager on lap two only for Matthew to reclaim the top spot, on lap seven. Drager held first place for some time until Paul once again got around him on lap eleven.
Paul Rea paced the field at a rapid pace using the high side of the race track. Slowly but methodically a couple of cars gave chase including Curtis Towns. On lap twenty-three Towns, from Cottage Grove, worked the bottom of the race track seizing the top place position and went on to win his first race of the year. It makes two different IMCA Modified winners in as many races at “The Grove” as well as the state of Oregon.
Paul Rea ended the night in a respectable second with the third spot going to Albany’s Bricen James. Steven Sturdevant, of Springfield, ended the race fourth while rounding up the top five, in fifth, was Matthew Drager. Keno pilot Jeffrey Hudson, in the Don Roemer-owned machine, was the Dot’s Trophy Shop Dash winner with heat victories were credited to Drager and Sturdevant.
The Royalty Core IMCA Northern Sport Mods were in the house for the first time in the new campaign. Springfield’s Dustin Comer showed a lot of speed and managed to stay out in front after obtaining first on the initial start. Just two yellows were to be seen but Comer kept up his dominance as he went on to pick up the victory.
Brothers Matt and Isaac Sanders, both from Brookings, were second and third. The rest of the top five was made up of Dustin’s father, Ray Comer Jr., also out of Springfield, followed by Roseburg racer Doug Coffman, in fourth and fifth. Isaac Sanders was victorious in the Dot’s Trophy Shop Dash while heat race winners were Gavin Ropchan from Veneta, Dustin Comer, Roseburg’s Jordan Henry, and Matt Sanders.
In the Street Stock ranks, Dexter native Taunton Swaim got to the front from the drop of the green flag. He would remain there until lap five when it was Donald Schott, from Eagle Creek, who put his mount into first place. The lone caution of the main event occurred on lap five and on the restart Schott would find himself under fire. Graig Osborne, from Creswell, maneuvered his way around Schott to claim the top spot on the completion of the seventh circuit.
Graig Osborne held on to win his second consecutive main event in the Street Stock ranks. He is the first repeat winner in any of the divisions at CGS. Donald Schott and Taunton Swaim ended their night in second and third. Andrew Mathers, from Eugene, posted a fourth-place result with Bob Bloom, from Coburg, collecting fifth. Andrew Mathers was fastest in time trials, St. Helens racer Terry King got the job done in the Dot’s Trophy Shop Dash, and heat race winners were Mathers and Osborne.
In the IMCA Sport Compacts, Andrew Langan was the trailblazer at the drop of the green flag. Langan, from Jasper and racing for car owner Randy Kuhl, held on to the point until lap six. Sutherlin’s Burnie Bryant managed to make the pass on Andrew shortly after a restart. Bryant was looking to make it two consecutive wins in the class but he would be overtaken on lap thirteen.
Eugene chauffeur Brad Moffitt was the one make it around Bryant but Moffitt had his hands full with a hard-charging Michael Kennerly. Kennerly, out of Oakland, eventually got around Moffitt on the fourteenth trip past the flag stand. Kennerly held on to win the race to become the second different winner in as many events in the IMCA Sport Compacts.
Brad Moffitt was a respectable second with Kerry Cooper, of Cottage Grove, claiming third. Dexter youngster Bradley Martin ended the race fourth followed by Andrew Langan, in fifth. Langan was the winner of the Dot’s Trophy Shop Dash and getting the job done in the heat races were Martin and Eugene driver Jack Vicari.
Cottage Grove Speedway returns to racing on Saturday, April 17th for the third race of the campaign. Classes on the card include Todd’s Auto Body Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, Late Models, Royalty Core IMCA Northern Sport Mods, and Street Stocks. To purchase tickets or more information log on to www.cottagegrovespeedway.com .
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage
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