6/20/2024
Cottage Grove Speedway
Duty, Osborne, M. Bryant, and T. Mayden Dad's Night Winners At CGS
Duty, Osborne, M. Bryant, and T. Mayden Dad's Night Winners At CGS
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Jason Davenport Photography)
Cottage Grove, Oregon-Cottage Grove Speedway had its second Father's Day Weekend race when the historic 1/4-mile clay oval hosted Dad's Night Out. Classes on the card included Late Models, Street Stocks, Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts presented by Kiefer, and the Juniors.
The Late Models would put on a thriller of a feature. Molalla motorist John Duty snatched the lead on the opening lap. While Duty checked out, the fight for second became intense between Nate Augustine of La Pine and Salem's B.J. Donofrio. Donofrio eventually secured the runner-up position. The first incident of the main event took place on lap five, only for the second one happening on the ensuing restart.
Once things finally got back underway, Jake Mayden, in the Tim Morgan-fielded entry, tried to take the lead from Duty, but the Springfield racer had to settle for second as the green flag run developed. The pursuit of the lead would be interrupted by the third stoppage of the feature with ten laps down.
Duty had his hands full again with Mayden, but Mayden wasn't quite able to seize the spot. He would get another shot with a restart due to yet another caution. When things got going again, Mayden stayed dedicated to the high side and eventually beat Duty to the line at the halfway point. The fourth yellow flag would be waved with thirteen circuits left to run.
On the restart, Mayden, the new pace setter, would pull away from the rest of the field but frustratingly had to slow down for the final stoppage on lap nineteen. Duty tried to regain the lead when the green flag was released. Duty eventually reclaimed the top spot on lap twenty-two.
Duty would check out from the rest of the field and showed Jungle Cat quickness to score the big win. Donofrio rallied to earn second, while Mayden settled for third. Sweet Home's Kye Frick ended the race fourth, with Rob Campos of Scio behind him in fifth.
The Street Stock feature fired off Dexter's Mike Swaim, took the torch, and ran with it by seizing the race lead. On lap two, he'd be pressured significantly by Graig Osborne from Creswell. Still, before he could make the lead change officially count, a caution would come out letting Swaim retain the lead.
On the restart, Osborne was determined to try to get the top spot and did so to lead lap three. Osborne looked to take off from the rest of the field, but Taunton Swaim did his best to stick with him. The race would be slowed down on the seventh circuit due to the race's second caution.
Osborne was good on the restart, while Taunton Swaim was preoccupied with trying to hold on to second and keep it away from Adam Applebee of Eugene. Applebee eventually got into the runner-up position. Lap eleven saw the yellow return to set up an interesting restart.
When things returned to full speed, Osborne continued to assert his dominance over the rest of the competitors. Applebee tried to keep the leader in his sight, but Osborne was just a little bit quicker. Osborne was first at the line and earned his second win of the season.
Applebee was second, while Taunton Swaim held onto third. Camas Valley's Shannon Collins recovered from an early race spin to score a fourth-place result, with Mike Swaim behind him in fifth.
The Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts presented by Kiefer race kicked off with a burst of energy as Sutherlin racers Melissa Bryant and Michael Kennerly battled for the lead. By showing her mettle, Bryant managed to outpace the defending track champion on the first lap. Kennerly, not one to back down, kept the pressure on, gaining an advantage in turn two, but Bryant's skill and determination saw her beat him back to the line.
Cottage Grove's Jeremy DeGroot lurked behind both of them, awaiting a mistake from either party. Still, the front two runners continued to set a quick pace. Despite Kennerly's best efforts on the high side, Bryant was a little better on the bottom.
While things were heating up for first, the battle for fourth was entertaining between Cottage Grove's Tiffany Towns and Burnie Bryant of Sutherlin. Burnie Bryant was able to secure the position on lap four. By the ninth circuit, Burnie Bryant would get around DeGroot for third, and Springfield's Randy Kuhl overtook Towns for fifth around the same time.
Melissa Bryant would get a little out of shape in the final set of corners on lap eleven, allowing Kennerly to beat her out for the top place position, but the pass would be negated due to a caution. When the green flag returned, Melissa Bryant was good on the restart, with her father Burnie on the offensive for a second to try and get around Kennerly. However, returning to the line on the twelfth trip to the flag stand, the three frontrunners went three-wide for the lead. Melissa Bryant held both challengers back but was not out of the woods yet. The second and final yellow flag would come out on lap thirteen.
In the shootout for the final seven circuits, Towns got back into the Top 5 and made it past DeGroot for fourth, but before too long, it would be a melee for the position. Meanwhile, it would be the daughter-father battle for the win. Melissa Bryant eventually constructed a healthy lead, beating all challengers to the checkered flag for her second win of the season.
The race for second was a photo finish, with Kennerly edging out Burnie Bryant. Cottage Grove chauffeurs Kerry Cooper and Dusten Henderson made late Top 5 runs and finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Eugene's Shane Dowty was the early race leader in the Junior main event. Tylnee Mayden from Springfield kept things close and soon threatened Dowty for the top spot. On lap six, Mayden overtook the pacesetter to become the new race leader.
Mayden dominated the caution-free feature to win her first race of the season with a gap of over five full seconds. Faith Bryant of Sutherlin was second, while Creswell chauffeur Kasey Simmons was third. Dowty wound up fourth, while Rowan Lancaster, representing Eugene, ended the night fifth.
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage
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