by Tim Anderson
(06/23/01) Yakima,Wa- Even though Jason Jefferson holds a significant lead over Brandon Riehl in the MidState Series race for the championship, he never stops looking over his shoulder for Riehl’s shadow. Saturday night’s race at Yakima Speedway was no different.
Pole-sitter Alden Hamilton set the early pace with an eight-car lead that held for more than 10-laps in the MidState Late Model Series’ 75-lap main event. But with Jefferson and Riehl hot on his bumper all he could was hold his line and hope for the best.
After a caution on lap 13, Hamilton was reeled in with the rest of the field and Jefferson and Riehl were poised to make their collective move. Within three laps, they had taken the lead and moved to an immediate 12-car lead.
For almost five laps Jefferson held Riehl at bay until another yellow flag served to slow the leaders and tighten the pack. At the drop of the green flag on the restart it took Riehl only one lap to pass Jefferson on the frontstretch of lap 21. By lap 31 Riehl built a commanding lead of eight-cars on Jefferson and the twosome had almost a quarter lap on the rest of the field.
Riehl held the lead until lap 48 when he had go to the pits as the result of a low tire, enabling Jefferson to take the point once again. Once his tire was replaced he was hot on Jefferson’s trail. But destiny was not looking upon Riehl with good favor.
On lap 57 another caution came out. After the restart at lap-59, just as Riehl was beginning to move through the pack, he and Ted Mickleson came together on turn two, sending both to the pits for the remainder of the race.
Jefferson took command of the race on the restart and soon afterward claimed his fifth victory of the season. Mel Shenyer ran a steady race to grab second, with Brad Rhoads, Bill Brock, Jr., and Rod Schultz rounding out the top five.
Saturday night’s main event marked the first appearance of Amber and Angela Cope in their own cars. Both ran a good race with Amber driving through several multi-collision incidences to enjoy her first top-ten finish (seventh). Angela experienced a couple of pit stops but managed to regain enough ground to capture twelfth place. Brock came from a thirteenth place start for his second top-five finish of the season.
Also on hand were the MidState Limited Sportsmen with B.J. Tidrick having to drive a back-up car because of mechanical problems with his main ride. Winning three of the first four races of the season, John Rose served notice in the 50-lap main event that the season is not over yet. After suffering several finishes out of the top-ten Rose was ready to visit Victory Circle once again.
On lap 10 Chuck Roberts muscled into the lead when he went under four cars between turns one and two. But his lead would be short-lived.
Beginning the race in sixth place, Rose had moved into second place by lap 19, and had set his sights on the lead, which was now held by Roberts. Prior to that point, there had been no less than three lap changes between Randy Marshall, Tim DeWeese and Roberts, now it was time for Rose to make his move.
On lap 22 Rose shoe-horned his way around Roberts for the lead and built an immediate four-car lead. From that point on and through several cautions, Rose held off challenges by Roberts, Shawn Mathews and Rod Schultz, Jr., to claim his fourth victory of the season.
Division leader and top-qualifier Schultz began the race in tenth place as the result of an invert, but skillfully made his way through the largest Limited Sportsman class of the season. After coming together with Roberts on lap 32, Schultz fell in at the back of the pack. He steadily improved his position until lap 43 when took control of second place for good. Jeff Estabrook ran his best race of the season to grab third, with Norb Barthel and Tidrick claiming fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Filling out the schedule for Saturday night was the very popular Bomber class. On the pole for the 25-lap main event was Gary Haley. He only had three laps in which to enjoy that position though as Ralph Smith took the lead from him on lap three.
Smith, who began the race in tenth place, quickly moved through the field to take the point and a commanding ten-car lead. After ten laps had elapsed, however, top qualifier Jeremy Lennartz was knocking on his bumper and challenging for the lead. And at this time, Ashley Beaman, who was in third place, was vying for the top spot as well.
Beaman’s challenge was only momentary but Lennartz and Smith would battle for position throughout the latter stages of the race. On many occasions, to the delight of those in attendance they ran several laps side-by-side.
But when the checkered flag fell, it was Smith, Lennartz, Erick Hargraves, Buck Noel, Jr., and David Denton across the line in that order. As a result of his podium finish, Hargraves took over first place in this division. Smith, with two wins in a row, is steadily climbing up the standings ladder and now sits in eighth place.
June 23rd Yakima Speedway Mid State Series Results:
MidState Late Models: 1. Jason Jefferson (Naches), 2. Mel Shenyer (Ellensburg), 3. Brad Rhoads (Kennewick), 4. Bill Brock, Jr. (Union Gap), 5. Rod Schultz (Woodland), 6. Mike Zamora (Kennewick), 7. Amber Cope (Puyallup), 8. Christopher Kalsch (Hillsboro, OR), 9. Lenard Barthel (Yakima), 10. Jim Dobbs (Yakima), 11. Derek Lusk (Kennewick), 12. Angela Cope (Puyallup), 13. Jody Tanner (Portland, OR), 14. Ron Bemis (Yakima), 15. Alden Hamilton (Kennewick), 16. Ted Mickleson (Amboy), 17. Brandon Riehl (Boring, OR), 18. Ed Thomsen (Richland).
Top Qualifier: Brandon Riehl (18.959)
A Trophy Dash: Schultz, Riehl, Jefferson, Rhoads
B Trophy Dash: Brock, Dobbs, Zamora, Mickleson
MidState Limited Sportsman: 1. John Rose (Yakima), 2. Rod Schultz, Jr. (Woodland), 3. Jeff Estabrook (Maple Valley), 4. Norb Barthel (Yakima), 5. B.J. Tidrick (Yakima), 6. Darrell Hanson (Portland, OR), 7. Tim DeWeese (Selah), 8. J.C. Wofford (Wapato), 9. Jack Anderson (Yakima), 10. Chuck Roberts (Yakima), 11. Ted Wilburn (Yakima), 12. Tom Kargman (Portland, OR), 13. Todd Connell (Yakima), 14. Shawn Mathews (Selah), 15. Rich Peters (Yakima), 16. Jack Mondor (Wapato), 17. Randy Marshall (Selah), 18. Kriss Clark (Yakima).
Top Qualifier: Rod Schultz, Jr. (21.539)
A Trophy Dash: Mathews, Rose, Schultz, Clark
B Trophy Dash: Hanson, Estabrook, DeWeese, Mondor
Heat Race 1: Anderson, Estabrook, Hanson, Wofford, DeWeese, Wilburn, Mondor, Kargman, Connell
Heat Race 2: Barthel, Mathews, Peters, Marshall, Clark, Tidrick, Roberts, Schultz, Rose
Bombers: 1. Ralph Smith (Yakima), 2. Jeremy Lennartz (Yakima), 3. Erick Hargraves (Toppenish), 4. Buck Noel, Jr. (Selah), 5. David Denton (Yakima), 6. Don Klang (Yakima), 7. Ryan Williams (Toppenish), 8. Gary Haley (Yakima), 9. Paul Marshall (Yakima), 10. Ashley Beaman (Yakima), 11. Derrick Denton (Yakima), 12. Don Sowder (Yakima), 13. Jason Trujillo (Union Gap).
Top Qualifier: Jeremy Lennartz (24.849)
A Trophy Dash: Trujillo, Noel, Lennartz, Beaman
B Trophy Dash: Smith, David Denton, Derrick Denton, Williams
Heat Race 1: Smith, Klang, David Denton, Derrick Denton, Haley, Marshall, Williams
Heat Race 2: Trujillo, Beaman, Hargraves, Noel, Lennartz, Sowder
Being the model of consistency has been of great benefit to Jason Jefferson in his pursuit of the State Transmission MidState Late Model and Limited Sportsman Series.
During the early part of the season, the aggressive Naches driver has had four top-three finishes, including a victory at the Series race last Saturday night at the Tri-City Raceway (TCR) half-mile oval. The only time he didn't finish high was when a tire kept losing air. But he was still able to finish seventh.
At TCR, Jefferson began the race in fourth place, with Jeff Bailey, third; Mike Longton, second; and Brandon Riehl in the lead. He played a waiting game for more than 30-laps. At that point, Jefferson and Bailey switched positions, and kept their respective places for another 15-laps until, as the result of a caution, Riehl had to retire to the pits. That left Jefferson in the lead with Longton and Bailey close behind.
For the remainder of the 75-lap main event, the lead pack led the field all the way to the checkered flag. Top qualifier (18.312) Brad Rhoads and Richard Worley rounded out the top-five. His win left Jefferson with a 28-point lead over Rod Schultz.
For the Limited Sportsman division of the MidState Series, John Rose has also been the model of consistency. The veteran racer has been in the top three of all races so far in the Series, and has made it to the Winner's Circle three times.
In the race at TCR Saturday night, however, Rose came from the rear of the pack and was able to move into the lead pack by lap 10, but would not have sufficient power to overtake the leaders, Rod Schultz, Jr. and B.J. Tidrick.
Throughout the 30-lap main event, there were three lead changes and six cautions, that served to slow the pace and keep the filed in check. Rose, Brian Lambert and Jeff Estabrook finished in the to-five.
The other main event of the evening was held by the Northwest Late Model 4s. These scaled-down versions of Late Model racers put on a fast and furious show. With a field of 16 cars, early leader, Mark Jones would hold the lead for almost 30 laps of the 40-lap main event before being taken out in a collision with a car he was about to lap. At that point, Chris Yochum took the lead and the momentum all the way to the checkered flag. Gene Kaufman and Brett Santa Roasa rounded out the podium finish.
Newt week, the NSRA Sprint cars will make their first of two appearances at Tri-City Raceway. High horse-power and tremendous speed make these racers a must see event. Also on the card will be Mini Stocks, Bombers and Pure Stocks. Pit gates will open at 2:00 pm, with the main gate opening at 5:00 pm, qualifying at 6:00, and racing set to begin at 7:00 pm.
A Trophy Dash: Zamora, Tanner, Mickelson, Jeff Jefferson
B Trophy Dash: Bailey, Worley, B. Rhoads, Jason Jefferson
Limited Sportsman Main Event: 1. Rod Schultz, Jr., 2. B.J. Tidrick, 3. John Rose, 4. Brian Lambert, 5. Jeff Estabrook, 6. Tim DeWeese, 7. Nathan Hudson, 8. Rob Claphin, 9. Ken Schuch, 10. Todd Connell
A Trophy Dash: Rose, Shultz, DeWeese, Tidrick
B Trophy Dash: Hudson, Lambert, Estabrook, Schuch
Heat Race: Lambert, Tidrick, Estabrook, DeWeese, Claphin, Hudson, Shuch, Rose
NW Late Model 4s Main Event: 1. Chris Yochum, 2. Gene Kaufman, 3. Brett Santa Rosa, 4. Bob Winker, 5. Mark Jones, 6. Joe Ruddach, 7. Travis Ulrich, 8. Chris Whipple, 9. Dana Herbersholz, 10. Tim Corbett, 11. Rich Law, 12. Lonnie Stocker, 13. Cliff Campbell, 14. Cameraon McKeehan, Kevin McKeehan, Kathy Evans.
A Trophy Dash: McKeehan, Jones, Kaufman, McKeehan, Yochum
B Trophy Dash: Ruddach, Winker, Law, Herbersholz
Heat Race 1: K. McKeehan, Jones, Winker, Yochum, Kaufman, Campbell, C. McKeehan, Corbett
Heat Race 2: Whipple, Santa Rosa, Ulrich, Law, Herbersholz, Stocker, Evans, Ruddach
Yakima Speedway
Saturday April 7th 2001 -Sponsored by State Transmission and Tanner Racing Products, the MidState Late Model and Limited Sportsman Series is comprised of 12 races between Yakima Speedway and Tri-City Raceway for a total of 24 races. The series champ will be decided from the best 16 overall finishes. With two races in the books, Brandon Riehl and Jason Jefferson are tied for the lead with 96 points each. Jeff Bailey, Richard Worley and Rod Schultz, Jr. round out the top five in that series.
Since his home track of Portland has been converted to dirt, Riehl has been blistering other tracks in the Northwest, most notably Yakima Speedway and Tri-City Raceway (TCR). Qualifying first, but finishing third behind Mike Nelson and Jason Jefferson at TCR the previous weekend, Riehl made up for lost time Saturday night at Yakima.
For Saturday night's race at Yakima, a record regular season field of 28 racers took to the quarter-mile oval. But in less than 10 laps, no less than six cars had to watch the race from the pits, as four red and seven yellow flags kept the pack tight throughout the evening. And by the time the checkered flag fell, less than 20 cars crossed the finish line, with less than 10 on the lead lap.
Riehl began the 75-lap main event in fifth place due to a six-car invert, but wasted little time in taking the point from pole-sitter Jason Stowe. Stowe, in his second year as a Late Model racer, and Luke Ledgerwood held off top guns Riehl and Jefferson, who was the top qualifier (19.279), through several cautions, but finally gave way on lap 13.
Even though the flags served to slow the race, they allowed Jefferson and Bailey, who finished second and third, respectively, several opportunities to catch Riehl, who took home a $2,000 paycheck. But the yellow and black Ford of Riehl had the power to outdistance the challengers each and every time. With each restart he would power out of turn four and into immediate leads of up to eight cars.
Stowe managed to race well enough to hold on to a fourth place finish and Schultz, who began the race in sixteenth place, managed to capture fifth. The MidState Series will move to Tri-City Raceway next week.
For the Limited Sportsman, it was B.J. Tidrick all the way. The talented young driver who has already won just about every event at Yakima Speedway, held off John Rose, repeatedly, throughout the 35-lap main event. Rose, who won last week's Series race at TCR, brought those in attendance to their feet on several occasions in the latter stages of the race.
While Rose put on his best move on lap 30 for the lead by going low into turn four, just below Tidrick, who was the top qualifier (21.285), he just couldn't close the door on the 2000 Yakima Speedway Limited Sportsman champ. Rod Schultz, Jr., Kriss Clark and Brian Lambert rounded out the top-five. John Rose is the leader in the MidState Series, with Tidrick, Schultz, and Lambert close behind.
In the Bomber 25-lap main event, Jeremy Lennartz, on the pole, set the initial pace. But it was Jody Crivit's move to first on lap three that served to reawaken Lennartz, who recaptured the lead only two laps later. But that lead would evaporate only one lap later.
Crivits sprinted to leads of four car-lengths, while Mark Hitchcock, who started the race in eighth place, began to close on the leaders in the middle stages of the race.
But on lap 14, both Crivits and Don Klang, who finished second in last year's standings, were black-flagged for breakouts, and had to go to the rear of the field. That left the door open for Lennartz, who answered the call and grabbed the checkered flag for the win. Jason Trujillo drove a good race to take second, even though he was losing air pressure on his left rear tire. Joe Luther, Art Prall and Crivits rounded out the top-five.
Next weekend the Friday Night Family Night races return to Yakima Speedway. Factory Stocks and Bombers will hold their first of 14 Friday main events. Saturday's racing events will include Hobby Stocks, Foreign Stocks and Northwest Super 4s. On both days, the pit gates will open at 1:00 p.m., main gate at 4:00 p.m., with qualifying scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. Racing will get underway at 6:00 p.m.
A Trophy Dash: Beaman, Riehl, Jason Jefferson, Stowe
B Trophy Dash: Shenyer, Constance, Roeder, Jerry Jefferson
Limited Sportsman Main Event: 1. B.J. Tidrick (Yakima), 2. John Rose (Yakima), 3. Rod Schultz, Jr. (Woodland). 4. Kriss Clark (Yakima), 5. Brian Lambert (Kennewick), 6. Jack Mondor (Wapato), 7. Tim DeWeese (Selah), 8. Nathan Hudson (Yakima), 9. Rich Peters (Yakima), 10. Norb Barthel (Yakima), 11. J.C. Wofford (Wapato)
A Trophy Dash: Barthel, Schultz, Tidrick, Rose
B Trophy Dash: Peters, DeWeese, Clark, Mondor
Heat Race 1: Mondor, Clark, DeWeese, Peters, Lambert
Heat Race 2: Barthel, Rose, Schultz, Tidrick, Hudson
Bomber Main Event: 1. Jeremy Lennartz (Yakima), 2. Jason Trujillo (Union Gap), 3. Joe Luther (Outlook), 4. Art Prall (Yakima), 5. Jody Crivits (Yakima), 6. Erick Hargraves (Toppenish), 7. Mark Hitchcock (Yakima), 8. Dave Denton (Yakima), 9. Don Klang (Yakima), 10. Derrick Denton (Yakima), 11. Ashley Beaman (Yakima), 12. Ryan Williams (Toppenish), 13. Don Sowder (Yakima)
A Trophy Dash: Lennartz, Trujillo, Crivits, Hargraves
B Trophy Dash: Luther, Sowder, Dave Denton, Beaman
Heat Race 1: Prall, Klang, Williams, Beaman, Sowder, Luther, Derrick Denton
Heat Race 2: Hitchcock, Trujillo, Hargraves, Dave Denton, Lennartz, Crivits
The start of the 2001 Apple Cup Late Model 100 Lap Feature Race
Mike Hedges Photo- Bj Tidrick from Yakima, Wa wins the Street Stock division feature the 2001 Apple Cup at Yakima Speedway at 2:05pm
Many times we are reminded how time repeats itself. This fact was definitely in evidence at Sunday's Les Schwab Tire Centers' 35th annual Apple Cup as Garret Evans won his second straight Apple Cup at Yakima Speedway.
Picking up where he left off after winning last year's Fall Classic $55,000 payout at the Speedway and capturing the Raybestos Brakes NW Series (Series) title just a few weeks earlier, Evans is, again, on a roll.
For his third Apple Cup win in the last five years, the all time leading winner on the Series circuit won the pole position with a qualifying time of 19.086, barely edging out Brandon Riehl (19.180).
Under threatening skies, the one-two qualifying team took their starting positions all the way to the checkered flag in the 100-lap main event. Despite a stiff challenge from Riehl, who overtook Evans on lap 35, and held that position for more than 40 laps, Evans was unflappable in his pursuit of victory.
"I knew he was there and I knew he'd be pushing hard," Riehl said of Evans in a post-race interview with Yakima Herald reporter Scott Spruill. "We had a good car today, but they were just a little better."
Besides Riehl, the only other competition Ardenvoir's favorite son faced was in the form of yellow and red flags. More than five flags dropped, serving to tighten the pack, but once the green fell only Evans and Riehl appeared to be dialed in for the Speedway on Sunday.
"Our set-up was a little off in the first half of the race, and Brandon was running real fast," Evans pointed out to Spruill. "It's the first race of the season, and we had a lot of new parts on the car. It took a little while to settle in, but at the end the car was better."
Selah's Ron Dexter, who started seventh, was the only local racer to finish in the top-ten (third), as Both Chris Hart (19.318) and Jason Jefferson (19.213), despite qualifying well, suffered mechanical problems and had to watch the race from behind the pit wall. Dexter ran well and steady and avoided several collisions, but was unable to catch the leaders.
"I'm just amazed - none of us expected top three," he said while joining Evans and Riehl in the post-race winner's circle. "The car was strong all week and we qualified seventh, so I was thinking the top 10 would be pretty good. But we ran steady and consistent all the way." Ken Kaltschmidt (Auburn) and Portland's Dan Obrist rounded out the top-five.
Obrist, who qualified for the main event as a result of finishing second in Saturday's B-Main started the race in 28th place. The veteran racer drove through the many caution flags and around the scattered debris to move up close to the leaders in the latter stages of the race, but couldn't garner enough "car" to catch the lead pack.
In the Street Stock division, Yakima's BJ Tidrick should be answering to a new nickname, "The Dominator." Like Evans, the year 2000 was a banner one for the young Yakima Driver. He won 10 out of 19 races on his way to the Yakima Speedway championship in that division, and finished sixth in NASCAR Short-Track standings for the West Coast, in addition to winning last year's Fall Classic.
Starting in eighth place because of an invert, the top qualifier (21.304) paced himself for several laps before overtaking early leader John Rose. Hoping to win his first Apple Cup, Rose's chances for victory were short-lived when his car had to enter the pits on lap 20 due to mechanical problems.
With Rose out of the way, Tidrick established the lead, and never looked back, building leads of up to 10 car-lengths. Don Martin (Yakima) drove a hard race in the 50-lap main event, but was black-flagged in mid-race and sent to the rear of the pack. Despite weaving his way through the field and moving up to fifth place within a few laps, Martin ran out of laps and had to settle for that position.
Rounding out the Sunday's Main Events, the Northwest Late Model 4s brought those in attendance to their feet on several occasions with their speed and driving ability.
As in the other two races of the day, early leads evaporated as eventual winners captured the point and seldom looked back. Despite starting in eighth place, Kevin McKeehan, who was the top qualifier (21.237), overtook pole-sitter Steve Cone within five laps and held that position all the way to Victory Lane. Mark Jones, Chris Yochum, Don Walker, and Bob Winkler finished in the top-five.
Yakima Speedway will take a week off before beginning its 39th year of NASCAR sanctioned racing on April 7 with Late Models, Street Stocks and Bombers. But even though the Speedway will be quiet, many of its Late Model and Street Stock racers will be at Tri-City Raceway this weekend as the State Transmission MidState Series between those two divisions begins.
Visit www.yakimaspeedway.com or call 509-248-0647 for additional information.
A Trophy Dash: Kaltschmidt, Riehl, Evans, Schultz
B Trophy Dash: Olson, Roeder, Thomas, Doehling
Street Stocks (50 laps) - 1. B.J. Tidrick (Yakima), 2, Dan Riehl (Boring, Ore.), 3. Darrell Hanson (Portland), 4. Rod Schultz, Jr. (Woodland), 5. Don Martin (Yakima), 6. Ron Prejost (Hillsboro, Ore.), 7. Mike Gummus (Ridgefield), 8. Tim DeWeese (Selah), 9. Dave Lund (Everett), 10. Brian Lambert (Kennewick), 11. Jerry Markee (Kennewick), 12. Brad Tidrick (Yakima), 13. Paul Douglas (Princeton, B.C.), 14. Dan Schlatter (Bellevue), 15. Tom Kargman (Clackamas, Ore.), 16. John Rose (Yakima).
A Trophy Dash: Rose, Tidrick, Schlatter, Riehl
B Trophy Dash: Schlaht, Markee, Lambert, Douglas