7/6/2024
Cottage Grove Speedway
Sanders And Hartman Double Up Freedom Cup Wins; Muth And Mayden Also Collect Wins
Sanders And Hartman Double Up Freedom Cup Wins; Muth And Mayden Also Collect Wins
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Jason Davenport Photography)
Cottage Grove, Oregon—Cottage Grove Speedway hosted the second leg of the 2024 Freedom Cup on Friday, July 5th. The same four divisions from the night before were in attendance, including the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds presented by Wheeless Trailer Sales Service & RV Repair, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods presented by Roadhouse Billiards & Brew, Todd's Auto Body Limited Sprints, and the Juniors.
The Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds presented by Wheeless Trailer Sales Service & RV Repair main event began with Brett Muth winning the battle for first place on the opening lap. The Cottage Grove native kept Coburg's Kevin Williamson in the Paul and Maria Culp-owned entry in check, and Bennett Bray of Roseburg in the third corner before he started to check out.
Despite the challenges, the race for second place was a testament to the resilience of the racers. Williamson, with a busted component on his right front, fought hard to maintain his position. He was soon challenged by defending track champion Jake Mayden. The Springfield racer, Mayden, showed his determination but couldn't make the necessary pass around Williamson and had his hands full with Aaron Sheelar, also from Springfield.
Mayden finally broke through on the eighteenth circuit with a double overtake. He had a lot of speed and began chomping into Muth's advantage but would run out of time. Muth would lead the entire non-stop feature to score his first win of the season at CGS and the Shaw Race Cars Western Region.
Mayden was a respectable second, with Williamson holding on to third. Sheelar would hit the line fourth over fifth, finishing Zane Miner of Graham, Washington.
The Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod presented by Roadhouse Billiards & Brew feature had Jason Ferguson from Sweet Home take control of the top spot at the drop of the green flag. A skirmish ensued between Roseburg's David Schmidt and Jesse Williamson of Coburg for second. Schmidt was able to keep ahold of the position before a caution on lap five.
Williamson was masterful on the restart and surged into second before trying to run down Ferguson. The Meridian, California transplant was under heavy fire on lap eight and briefly lost the lead, only for a yellow to come out.
As the race resumed, the excitement was palpable. Matt Sanders put together a thrilling run, passing Williamson for second on the eleventh circuit. Ferguson found himself under heavy fire, with Sanders, from Brookings, trying to work the bottom while Williamson tried the high side.
Williamson's determination was evident as he made the top work and drag-raced Ferguson on the backstretch to grab first place on lap fifteen. Sanders quickly dispatched Ferguson the next time around and began to run down Williamson.
The two would duel each other for a brief moment before Sanders was able to finally get to the front on the nineteenth pass across the line. He then took off from Williamson and company to dominate the rest of the distance to win his second race of the weekend and his fourth overall in 2024.
Williamson and Ferguson were second and third on the podium. Schmidt ended his night fourth, while Springfield's Daniel Ray completed the Top 5 in fifth.
T.J. Hartman took care of business again in the Todd's Auto Body Limited Sprints. Despite having to deal with a handful of cautions, the Olympia, Washington racer, running for car owners Axel and Kippy Walker, had nothing slow him down once he was in the top place position to grab his second win of the weekend.
Klamath Falls teenager Ryan Hirschbock was second, while Kenny Rutz of Langley, British Columbia, Canada, earned third. Medford's Skyler Caster posted a fourth-place result for car owner Don Waddell, followed by Tim Minter from Cottage Grove in fifth.
Domination would be witnessed in the Junior class by Tynlee Mayden. The Springfield driver got the lead from the get-go and took care of business to win the main event. Shane Dowty of Eugene was second.
Submitted By: Heather Boyce
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