‘Go North’ – Redwood Rally Departs Lone California Track Visit with Oregon and Coos Bay Speedway for Day Three Racing
After getting its start in Medford, Oregon, the second annual Redwood Rally made its way west to the coast of California and Samoa Dragstrip for day two of the event.
For day three, competitors would hit the road north, and follow the Pacific coastline 215 miles back into Oregon and Coos Bay Speedway.
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In the Unlimited class, Shayne Propst came into day three with a solid lead. And although the ’67 Chevrolet Nova clocked its slowest pass of the week with a 5.085 at 137.71 mph on day three, the resulting 4.6986 average keeps Propst ahead of Mike Grady and Ryan Nystrom in the standings.
The Slightly Unlimited class opened with a pair of racers running near-identical 5.494-second passes, but the little numbers favored Devin Stephens and his ’67 Ford Mustang for day one.
The other guy with a 5.494 pass, AJ Jennen, took the lead with his Vega wagon on day two when Stephens slowed. Jennen made his quickest pass of the week on day three, 5.480 at 132.99 mph, to move his average to 5.6026 and keep him first.
The Redwood Radials class opened with defending champion Donavan Linwood in the lead with a 5.22 at 119 mph blast. But he slowed and was out of competition by day three, ensuring a new champion will be crowned this year.
Jaden Shelton took the lead on day two, and has kept it since. His Volvo 240 DL produced a 5.746 on day one, a 5.825 on day two, and a 5.744 at 123.32 mph on day three for a 5.7716 average, the lone car in the small tire class with a 5-second average.
Stick shift enthusiasts have flocked to the 3 Pedal class at Redwood Rally, and Nate Curran was the leader after one day of competition. But that lead changed from Curran on day one to Jared McMorrow on day two, when his 2001 Ford Mustang produced the only 8-second run of the class.
McMorrow continued to lead on day three, where a 6.143 at 116.56 mph pass on the eighth-mile distance, combined with his 9.404 pass from day one, and the 8.916 on day two for a 24.463 total and the class lead.
Although he slowed to a 6.626 at 108 mph pass on the eighth-mile on day three, Micky Buerger stayed in command of the American Graffiti Naturally-Aspirated class. His 6.456 average gives him over a tenth of-a-second lead over Daniel Field in second.
The leader in the American Graffiti Hard Tire class also retained the lead after day three festivities, as Jason Rellinger and his 1999 Chevy Silverado pick-up remained the lone vehicle in the class with a 6-second average. A day three pass of 6.788 at 102 mph moved his average to 6.781.
The Glory Days Gasser class continues to see Walt Hooker in the lead with his 1965 Ford Falcon, and his combination increased to a 28.8 total after running a 6.864 at 98.54 mph on day three.
The new Tailgate Racers class started with Danny Crownover in the top spot with a 5.765 at 131.23 mph from his 1992 Chevy pick-up. But Danny vacated the seat on day two when he slowed to a 6.01, and Brady Davis slid into the top spot with a 5.678 average. Davis stayed on top on day three with a 6.081 at 123.10 mph pass, moving his average to 5.812.
Another new class, Speed Queens, had Kelli Eyra and her 1994 Ford Lightning taking over the lead on day two. After only being .072 of-a-second off her base pass of 15.735, Eyra stayed consistent on her first two days of work with a day three run .032 off her base, moving her total to .104 of-a-second and retaining first place.
While we witnessed less leader shake-up on day three compared to day two, four classes at Redwood Rally had new names at the top after day three racing activities were completed.
The biggest change would be the Mind Over Matter class, which had already seen a leader change on day two. Vinny Lombardi, one of three racers just .001 of-a-second off his base run, stood atop the field on day one.
But Lombardi got displaced on day two by Brian Jennen with an impressive .007 of-a-second total after two days of competition. But Jennen would slip on day three, only able to get within .184 seconds of his base time.
That meant the leader would change again, and we got not just one, but two racers to take that place with .074 of-a-second totals! One was defending class champ Jordan Pierce, and the second was Bean Garner. Can either hang on for the day four lead?
A pair of the American Graffiti classes got new leaders. The American Graffiti Power-Adder class had the ’79 Malibu of Lane Cavar at the front the first two days, but on day three, Cavar slowed to 5.91 pass, giving fellow Chevrolet runner Ryan Saiki room to slide into the top spot. Saiki had to overcome a broken trailer axle just to get to the track, but the turbocharged ’72 Corvette produced a day three 5.578 at 120.90 pass to tally a 5.561 average and snag the lead.
The American Graffiti Magnum class also saw its initial leader surrender the lead after two days. Tyler Koranda had slowed from his 5.377 day one pace on day two, but a 5.701 day three run got him a 5.583 average. And when Will Rusca pushed his 1970 Plymouth Satellite to a 5.604 on day three, his average came in at 5.579 to sneak ahead of Koranda.
After leading the new Junior Street class for the first two days, Dylan Ellsworth’s 2011 Crown Victoria could only deliver a .219 of-a-second pass off his base time slip. That gave him a .246 total, and by just a thousandth of-a-second, Austin Allsup assumed the lead with a .245 total!
For day four, Redwood Rally leaves Coos Bay Speedway and takes a 211 mile trip to Woodburn Dragstrip. We’ll have results of that here on Sick the Magazine tomorrow!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Redwood Rally.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com