cottagegrovespeedway Archives

IMCA Sport Compacts are new to Saturday shows at Oregon’s Cottage Grove Speedway

COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. – IMCA Mach-Sport Compacts have their first weekly home in the Pacific Northwest with the new sanction at Cottage Grove Speedway. The 4-cylinder class will run on 15 nights during the IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season, beginning on opening night March 21 and running through Sept. 6. “We like everything about the Sport Compacts as an entry level class, especially the rules,” said promoter and new track owner Heather Boyce. “This is a class that is very affordable for young drivers or for fans who may not have family experience racing but want to get a car and have fun on a Saturday night.” The division replaces a local hornet class. “Sport Compacts work both ends of the spectrum for us,” Boyce noted. “They’ll be a great stepping stone for drivers who want to move up to IMCA Modifieds or Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods. It’s also a class that veteran drivers who want to race less often can get into.” The division headlines the July 11 program at Cottage Grove, [Read More]

James collects top check at Mark Howard Memorial

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Aug. 24) – The top driver in Shaw Race Cars Western Region standings raced to the top payday of his IMCA Modified career Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway. Bricen James got the best of 40-plus Mark Howard Memorial Modified Nationals foes from across the Pacific Northwest in earning the $2,600, 2020 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot qualifying victory. Collen Winebarger ended in second after running down and challenging the leader for the vast majority of the event. James took advantage of the pole start and put his mount in front of the rest of the field to lead the first lap. He had some fast company behind him but numerous cautions over the first 26 circuits took lapped traffic out of the picture. The second half of the feature became an all-out battle for the top spot. James briefly lost the lead with a handful of laps remaining before reclaiming the position on the next corner. James held all challengers at bay to win his first career Mark [Read More]

Trenchard is 10th to top Cottage Grove Modified main

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Aug. 3) – Nick Trenchard became the 10th different Mohawk Metal IMCA Modified winner of the season at Cottage Grove Speedway on Saturday night. Eston Whisler was ultra-quick at the start, pacing the first 10 circuits before being overtaken by Evan Britton. Britton was collected in a wreck in lapped traffic on the next trip around the track and that put Whilser back in front. He led until lap 16 when John Campos got around him. Campos had to battle for the lead after a restart with 17 circuits completed. Trenchard powered his way underneath Campos to take over the top spot. However, Campos was not going to go into the night quietly, dueling with Trenchard throughout the closing laps. Trenchard came out on top to win his first victory at CGS in 2019 and become the 10th different driver to best the competition at The Grove. Campos was second over third finishing Aaron Sheelar. Posting a fourth-place result was Whilser while Kevin Williamson ended his evening in fifth.

Hand completes Freedom Cup weekend sweep

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (July 6) – Braedon Hand completed a 3-for-3 weekend with his Saturday night Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod victory at Cottage Grove Speedway’s Hoppes Construction Freedom Cup. Californian Jason Ferguson got out to the early race lead and resided there until getting passed on lap four by Gavin Ropchan. Ropchan kept back many challenges but was eventually overtaken on the 13th circuit, shortly after a restart, by Travis Pruitt. Pruitt had the car to beat for much of the race. He constructed a sizable lead that was erased due to a lap 20 stoppage. Hand made the decisive pass on Pruitt on the 23rd trip past the flag stand. The hometown driver won the race to sweep the entire Freedom Cup weekend and win the point fund title. Pruitt was second over Matt Ruf, Ropchan and Matt Sanders. In the Mohawk Metal IMCA Modifieds, the party got started with Andy Freeman leading the first lap. Gus Cooper made it around Freeman on lap two to take control of the field. Cooper [Read More]

Williamson wins first of season at Freedom Cup

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (July 5) – Jesse Williamson raced to his first Mohawk Metal IMCA Modified feature win of the season on the second night of Cottage Grove Speedway’s Freedom Cup. Paul Rea set the tone early, blazing the trail the first four laps before Grey Ferrando took control. Ferrando navigated his machine in the top spot until lap nine. Williamson was the one to make the pass, driving his younger brother Kevin’s car, and held on for the balance of the distance for his first victory of the year. Collen Winebarger ended his evening in second while Bricen James posted a third-place result. Finishing fourth was Rea and rounding out the top five was Jake Mayden. The Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod feature began with Jimmy Ford showing the way. Ford battled hard with Aaron Bloom for some time. Bloom edged Ford at the line of lap three before Ford regained the position on lap 10. Ford suffered a mechanical issue while in front of the pack on lap 13, handing the [Read More]

Cottage Grove win is third of Wild West Shootout for Winebarger

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (June 25) – The late-race scenario was the same Tuesday but this time Collen Winebarger held Kellen Chadwick in check to win the Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout feature at Cottage Grove Speedway. Chadwick had reeled in Winebarger in lapped traffic late for the Monday victory at Cottage Grove. Winebarger caught up with the back of the pack again on Tuesday, but held on to earn his third tour feature of the week and another $1,000. Chadwick was a close second while Jake Mayden ended his evening in third. Bricen James collected a fourth while posting a fifth-place result was Gus Cooper. Cooper had motored his way to the front of the field in the opening laps before getting passed on lap four by Mayden. The lone stoppage of the race was a caution on lap nine bunching the field right up. Shortly after the restart, Winebarger maneuvered around Mayden and took over the role as the trailblazer. Winebarger set a torrid pace in open racetrack and as in [Read More]

Checkers fly for Chadwick in Wild West Shootout round 4

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (June 24) – After runner-up finishes each of the last two nights, Kellen Chadwick stood on the top step of the podium following Monday evening’s Wild West IMCA Modified Shootout at Cottage Grove Speedway. Chadwick ended Collen Winebarger’s winning streak at two with the $1,000 victory, putting his name of the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot in the process. Winebarger looked primed to three-peat, setting a rapid pace from his outside pole start and building a huge lead over the rest of the field. The leader encountered heavy lapped traffic in the final half of the main event and began to come under pressure from the second-running Chadwick. The California challenger tried several times to make a pass underneath or around the outside, but each time Winebarger thwarted those advances. Unfortunately, the two touched briefly in turn one on lap 32, resulting in Winebarger spinning. Winebarger went to the tail of the field, Chadwick inherited the lead with three laps to go and held onto the top spot [Read More]

Williamson dominates at Cottage Grove

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (June 8) – Kevin Williamson dominated the Mohawk Metal IMCA Modified main event Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway. Williamson grabbed the top spot on lap four and never gave it back to win his first ever Modified race. Jake Mayden was second and Paul Rea third. In the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods a number of different drivers paced the field but it was Jorddon Braaten obtaining the lead on lap 15 with a late-race pass. Braaten parked his mount in victory lane for the second occasion of the 2019 season at Cottage Grove. Braedon Hand and Doug Coffman were next across the stripe.

Ashley, Schmidt collect Cottage Grove checkers

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (June 1) – Eric Ashley and David Schmidt were IMCA feature winners on driver appreciation night at Cottage Grove Speedway. Curtis Towns had a good handle on the Mohawk Metal IMCA Modified ranks. Unfortunately, a mechanical failure with the left front would cripple his efforts for the night. Ashley made it past Towns on the final restart to park his mount in the winner’s circle for the first time in the current campaign. Also getting his first win in the Karl Kustoms Northern SportMods, Schmidt led from lap six on to score the triumph. It is his second overall victory this year after winning a street stock main event a few weeks earlier.

Spring Fling night two win goes to Young

By Ben Deatherage COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (April 27) – Derik Young was the Mohawk Metal IMCA Modified winner Saturday, on night two of Cottage Grove Speedway’s season-opening Spring Fling. Ray Bloom had a great start and paced the field the first three laps before being overtaken by Young. Young had no issues once in front of the pack as the only things slowing him down were four cautions. Despite the stoppages, Young maintained the top place position to achieve his first win of the season. Curtis Towns was yet again the runner-up while B.J. Wild posted a third-place finish. In Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod action it was all about Matt Sanders. The Brookings ace held onto the coveted top spot the entire race despite five cautions and a handful of challenges. Buddy McHargue was second while grabbing third was the previous night’s winner Jorddon Braaten.