4/20/2021
Cottage Grove Speedway
Thompson, Drager, Tanner, A. Bloom, And Evans April 17th Victors At Cottage Grove
Thompson, Drager, Tanner, A. Bloom, And Evans April 17th Victors At Cottage Grove
(Photo Courtesy of Cody Reeder/Rugged Photography)
Cottage Grove, Oregon- Cottage Grove Speedway got back to its racing ways on Saturday, April 17th. Five divisions filled the pit area including two classes a part of the Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly Racing program. Todd’s Auto Body Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, Late Models, Royalty Core IMCA Northern Sport Mods, and Street Stocks were all on hand.
In Todd’s Auto Body Sprint Cars action, Jake Wheeler took control of the lead on the opening start. Wheeler, of Central Point, paced the field but was unfortunately caught up in an incident in lapped traffic around lap six. That handed the top place position to Harrisburg’s Tyler Thompson.
Thompson was very quick out in front and the only thing to slow him down was two additional cautions. Despite the slowdowns, Tyler retained the top place position on the restarts. Grabbing the feature win, it is Tyler Thompson’s second win in as many Todd’s Auto Body Sprint Car races in 2021.
Jake Wheeler recovered to finish the night in second while Junction City veteran Shane Forte was third. Winston’s Tyrell Mead and Steven Sturdevant, from Roseburg, were fourth and fifth.
For the IMCA Modifieds, their main event was an absolute thriller. Chad Groves, of Bend, got his mount to the early race lead ahead of the rest of the pack. Matthew Drager managed to hunt him down and overtake him at the line on the third complete circuit. On lap four Grove went back in front but Albany’s Drager reclaimed the position on the following lap.
However, a caution would be waved before the fifth trip could be officially completed giving the first-place position back to Chad Groves. On the upcoming restart Drager was able to make it around Groves for the fifth lead change in as many laps. Drager would have his hands full with both Groves and Springfield’s Jake Mayden turning up the heat.
A couple of yellow flags would be waved around the halfway mark which kept the field tightly knit together. After a lap fourteen restart, Chad Groves stormed past Drager which was followed by another yellow flag incident but this time Groves remained the pacesetter.
The next time the green flag waved, Groves got the field back up to speed but went too high which allowed Drager to nab the top place position on lap sixteen. Three more additional cautions took place which once more took out lap traffic as well as the ability for Matthew Drager to construct a large gap over the rest of the field.
In the final three trips around the park, Drager had to not only deal with one but two cars trying to overthrow him from first. When the field came to the checkered flag the outside pole sitter held on to win his first race of the season by 0.080 seconds. He is the third different winner in as many races at CGS as well as the state of Oregon.
Collen Winebarger, from Corbett, was the runner-up with third going to Cottage Grove’s Curtis Towns. Jake Mayden ended the weekend fourth followed by Otis teenager Eston Whisler, in fifth.
The Late Model main event had Bob Dees set the tone early. The Rogue River regular remained in front of the rest of the pack until he was overtaken by Rob Campos, from Scio, shortly after a restart. Campos stayed up front for some time, but Joey Tanner managed to maneuver his way to the front on lap fifteen.
Tanner, out of Portland and racing for car owner Raymond Mitchell, checked out from the rest of the pack and won his first race of 2021. Eston Whisler, pulling double-duty, earned second while Bend veteran Darren Coffell collected third. Lebanon pilot Brian Smith wound up fourth over fifth-finishing Doug Elkins, from Salem.
The Royalty Core IMCA Northern Sport Mods had practically a non-stop main event. Despite just one yellow flag, the field witnessed complete dominance by Aaron Bloom. Now residing in Winston, Bloom took full advantage of his front-row starting position and led every single lap. The victory makes him the second driver in two races to win in the class at "The Grove" as well as the state of Oregon.
Aaron’s father Ray Bloom, out of Creswell, was scored second with Roseburg’s David Schmidt in third. Molalla racer Travis Pruitt and Doug Coffman, from Roseburg, were fourth and fifth. Doug Coffman was the winner of the consolation feature earlier in the night.
In the Street Stock ranks, Justin Evans showed a lot of strength. The Lebanon pilot seized the position on lap one and did not relinquish at any point during the race. He did have to deal with a number of restarts as six total stoppages happened in the main event. Evans' victory made him the second driver in three races to park it in the winner's circle.
Dakota Godard, from Albany, was a respectable second with third going to Dexter’s Taunton Swaim. Creswell chauffeur Graig Osborne placed fourth over Donald Schott, now residing in Eagle Creek, in fifth.
Cottage Grove Speedway returns to racing action this Friday, April 23rd, and Saturday, the 24th, for the Spring Fling doubleheader. Friday night will have 360 Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, and Street Stocks. Saturday divisions include the 360 Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, Royalty Core IMCA Northern Sport Mods, IMCA Sport Compacts. Tickets are on sale online on the track website and also is where you can find more information on prices and times.
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage
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