6/20/2024
Douglas County Dirt Track
James, Berkeley, And Killingsworth Double Up Roseburg WWS Winning Accounts
James, Berkeley, And Killingsworth Double Up Roseburg WWS Winning Accounts
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Jeremy Means)
Roseburg, Oregon—Round four of the 2024 IMCA Wild West Speedweek took place on Tuesday, June 18th, at the Douglas County Dirt Track. A full pit area complemented the event, which featured the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Sunoco IMCA Stock Cars, and Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods.
Fans were treated to an exciting start to the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event. A pair of former Speedweek champions made up the front row, with Bakersfield's Troy Morris III and Kellen Chadwick of Oakley, California, fighting for the initial lead. Morris used the top of the track to his advantage and beat Chadwick to the line to pace the field on lap one. Chadwick would settle in second while Jacob Mallet Jr., also from Oakley, California, settled in third, followed by Albany native Bricen James, running fourth in the early laps.
Fifth place running Timothy Allerding, representing Prescott Valley, Arizona, had his hands full with Stayton's Grey Ferrando challenging him on the bottom. Ferrando would eventually procure fifth from Allerdings on lap four. Lapped traffic became a factor, with eight circuits successfully negotiated around the 3/10-mile clay oval. It would set up an exciting battle between Mallet and Chadwick, with Mallet getting the second spot on lap nine. While that happened, Ferrando was under heavy fire for fifth from Corbett's Collen Winebarger.
Just when it seemed Mallet had second secured, James, racing for car owner Jerry Schram, and Chadwick came to call to challenge. The 2022 Speedweek champion, James, successfully obtained second on the twelfth trip past the flag stand, while Winebarger, the 2021 Speedweek title winner, got around Chadwick for fourth. Morris was out in front with quite a significant margin when all this pandamonium occurred.
The long green flag run would be interrupted by a pair of yellows on lap five that set things up for a potential lead change. James tried to roll the bottom on the restart as Mallet and Winebarger duked it out for third. Winebarger would throw a slider on Mallet to try and perform the overtake on lap seventeen, but Morris held on to the lead. As things settled down in the front three positions, Allerdings and Chadwick cranked up the intensity for fifth a few laps circuits later, with Allerdings moving into the position on lap twenty. The final stoppage happened on the same lap.
When things got back underway, Winebarger, Morris, and James would handsomely go three-wide in the first set of corners. The battle would be narrowed down to James and Morris. Morris kept his faith up top but had zero room for error, as any bit of loss of control would put him in the fence.
James tried to run the middle and slide Morris, but when he couldn't complete the pass, Winebarger tried to pounce to capture second. When that battle cooled down briefly, Chadwick was back around Allerdings to get fifth place again.
With six to go, James was again in hot pursuit of the lead. On lap twenty-one, Morris got into the wall slightly in turn four. It was just enough to present the perfect opportunity for James to get around him and become the new trailblazer.
Morris tried to recover, but James had built up too much of a gap. Despite lapped traffic, James, who started fifth cruised to the win to become the first repeat winner of the 2024 IMCA Wild West Speedweek. He has had two straight wins at the Roseburg oval when Speedweek came to town, and it was the ninth career series win. James now has four wins on the current campaign in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region.
Morris was a noble second, while Winebarger was third in the other Jerry Schram-owned entry. Mallet held on to fourth, and Ferrando made a late charge to grab fifth with a few laps to go.
The Sunoco IMCA Stock Car main event kicked off with a thrilling start, as Madras teenager Tyler Pagel swiftly maneuvered to the front of the field, outsmarting Anderson, Texas, traveler Richard Mills. However, Pagel's lead was short-lived as B.J. Wild, racing for car owner Dwayne Klein and now residing in Colville, Washington, overtook him on the second lap. The race intensified as the first caution was raised on the third circuit. Chase Berkeley made a remarkable leap from eleventh to third place in just a few laps.
On the restart, an incredible battle for fourth would be between Mills, Donald Schott of Eagle Creek, and 2019 Oregon State champion Sean Gentry. Gentry eventually would secure the position on lap four, but before too long, Schott made the top side of the racetrack work, passed Gentry, and began to threaten Berkeley for third. As Berkeley felt the pressure, he tried to get around Pagel for second. The race began to develop into a three-car struggle for the runner-up position. On lap nine, Schott and Berkeley both got around Pagel, and the two drivers went at it for a second. The second and final caution came out with ten laps successfully completed.
When the green flag returned, Schott kept rolling the top of the track and tried to build positive momentum to grab the lead. Before that could take place, he had to deal with Berkeley. On lap thirteen, he would finally secure second, and on the fifteenth trip past the flag stand, he snatched the lead from Wild with a blazing move around the top part of the racetrack.
The final ten laps saw some movement among the Top five. Culver teenager Mason Myers got past Pagel for fifth with seven laps remaining. Berkeley and Wild would go after it for second, with Berkeley finally capturing the position on the twentieth circuit.
The race climaxed as Berkeley, demonstrating unwavering dedication to the bottom line, pulled alongside Schott. The two drivers fought fiercely for the coveted position, with Berkeley finally seizing the lead on the twenty-second lap. Berkeley's victory marked his second consecutive win at Roseburg and of the 2024 schedule with the tour, adding to his impressive tally of three victories in the EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region action. He has eight career IMCA Wild West Speedweek wins, the most all-time for the two-time defending Speedweek champion.
Schott was second, with Wild ending the night third. Gentry, of Lafayette, held on to fourth, with Myers getting fifth.
The Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod finale was a caution-plagued affair. Despite the many stoppages, the race was an entertaining one. 2022 Oregon State champion Matt Sanders took off with the race lead after a brief battle with Corvallis' Jacob Shandy. The Brookings driver, Sanders, tried to build a significant lead only for the field to be scrunched up after a lap one stoppage.
Sanders acted like he was shot out of a cannon on the restart. Defending series champion Ethan Killingsworth quickly got around Shandy and Aaron Bloom of Creswell. As the Yreka, California chauffeur, tried to chase down Sanders, a three-car battle began between Bloom, Shandy, and Oakley, California's Buddy Kniss for third took place. Kniss would beat the trio at the line on lap three.
Matthew Hagio, of Prunedale, California, surged towards the Top 5 and took fifth away from Shandy on lap four. The race would experience a prosperous green flag run before another yellow flag was released on lap ten just as traffic was thicker. Unfortunately, a lapped car would collect the fourth-place runner, Bloom, putting Shandy back in the Top 5.
From the tenth circuit to lap fifteen, three more yellows occurred. The stop-and-go action would keep the field nicely packed together, allowing both Killingsworth and Kniss an opportunity to threaten Sanders. Killingsworth would put a significant challenge on Sanders on lap twelve and nearly seized the lead, only for the yellow to come out.
The best race on the following restart was between Hagio and Springield's Hunter Bloom, with Hagio eventually keeping him back. Fans were on the edge of their seats as Killingsworth threw another claymaker at Sanders in turns three and four on lap fifteen, but somehow Sanders was able to get back around him, and once more, the yellow came back out.
Killingsworth didn't let up on the pressure on the leader. It took him about a lap to get the momentum swinging in his favor again, and he tried to get around him in turn two with a slider. Killingsworth made the proper clearance to lead the eighteenth circuit. While that happened, Hagio and Kniss were locked in a dogfight for third, but once again, Kniss held tough. With a renewed sense of urgency, Kniss closed down on Sanders and began to threaten him for second. This allowed Killingsworth to take off.
Another entertaining battle occurred with five to go for fifth between Salem driver Trevor Points and Baypoint, California's Danny Wagner. Wagner somehow managed to keep the defending Oregon State champion behind him.
Just before the white flag waved, a lapped car made an unfortunate collision with third-running Kniss, ending their efforts for the evening. The green-white-checkered conclusion set up a showdown between Sanders and Killingsworth.
Sanders did his best to retrieve the lead and threw a divebomb pass on Killingsworth, but Killingsworth would counterattack on the inside and held back Sanders at the line for his second straight IMCA Wild West Speedweek win at DCDT. Killingsworth, who started fifth, scored his fifth career IMCA Wild West Speedweek triumph and his sixth win of 2024.
Sanders was a respectable second, followed by Hagio in third. Points would beat Wagner at the line for fourth.
The IMCA Wild West Speedweek returns to racing on Thursday, June 20th, at Cottage Grove Speedway.
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage
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