Tuesday 28 August 2012

Russ Anderson Junior Joins The ARCA Team


Russell L. Anderson Memorial 100

True race fan Russ Anderson Junior is making his mark on auto racing in BC. Russ stepped up to sponsor the ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Series points championship night on September 8th. In memory of Russ’s dad, the race will be the Russell L Anderson Memorial 100. Russ has also included a bonus of 1000.00 dollars to any of the racers who raced the WCSS event on August 25th If they win the main event on the September 8th weekend.
With a very tight points battle at play, every lap will be important to ARCA regulars. Only 16 points separate Mark Berriau and Ian Graham for the top spot. Positions third to ninth are hotly contested with less than ten points separating each position. This has been one of the tightest points battles in the history of the series and all racers will be bringing their A game.
The rookie of the year points battle also wages on with Jeff Cameron leading Barry Clayton by 3 points. Not to be left out of the mix is Cassandra Walker, only 15 points out of the top spot. Finding the balance of aggression and conservation will be the challenge.
The list of possible winners is a long one, past champions, visiting champions, hungry young guns, and seasoned veterans all have hoisting the big trophy in mind. Come on out and see who collects the ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Series Championship.

Monday 13 August 2012

Graham loves His Home Track

ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Series – Race 5 - Agassiz Speedway Race Overview
Race five of six took place this weekend at Agassiz Speedway. The Merton GM Performance Parts 100 brought out some of the fastest sportsman cars in BC. The fore shadow of how the race would play out may have come in practice with the 22 car of Chris Babcock spinning out and the 47 of Trevor Adelman making hard contact with him. Both cars sustained heavy damage, but hard work and commitment from both teams had the cars patched back together for qualifying. Just when we thought the prerace situation was under control, the 67 of Jeff Cameron caught fire. A broken fuel fitting had the safety crew on their toes. Some new parts and hard work also had Jeff back in the action for qualifying. Ian Graham, local favorite was focused on taking the track record from fellow racer Ryley Seibert, but a hot slick track left him a few hundredths off of the record. Logan Jewel set second fast time with Mark Berriau third.
Heat Races continued the bent and twisted theme of the day with the 7 car of Bobby Mear making a three wide pass out of turn two and connecting with the 67 of Jeff Cameron into three. The right front suspension was heavily damaged and the 7 crew was hard at work to repair the car for the main. Chris Babcock was able to pass Cass Walker for the lead and hold on for the win. The A heat went all green with Matt Stephenson claiming the checkered flag.
With all cars back together and ready for the main, Brent Morris brought the field to green with Sarah Cornet-Ching on the outside pole. A missed shift by one of the front cars had the field re-grouping  for another restart. Morris held the lead and began to move away from the field. On lap 6 the 47 of Trevor Adelman hit the backstretch wall after something in the rear suspension failed. He was done for the night. Restart on lap 12 has the 27 and 5 cars pushing towards the front, the five car of Thomas suddenly slowed on the front stretch and headed to the pits for a new right front tire. The green continued with Morris strong out front and Berriau biding his time. The red flag flew into turn one as the lead cars began to work through lapped traffic. Cars were spinning and crashing into the corner. The leader Brent Morris is spun sideways and tangled up . The 92 of Logan Jewel hammered the the front end of the 25 hard. Both cars sustained heavy damage and were unable to continue. In the fray, Cornett-Ching slowed high to avoid the mess and the 27 of Berriau crashed under the 99, lifting the car into the air stopping with the rear tire of Cornet-Ching sitting on the window of the 27. Safety, fire crew and tow truck attended, but everyone is ok.
The 99 is lifted off of the 27 and the championship contender limped to the pits for service. With the contents of three rads and assorted liquids on the track, a big track cleanup ensued. The extended red allowed the crew to patch up Berriau’s car, and he returned to the track. Missing the wreck was second place points contender, Ian Graham, Matt Stephenson,  the 09 of Ryley Seibert, and local champion Paul Turond. Back to green the 1 of Stephenson gives Graham fits with a strong restart on the high side. Graham fended him off. A couple laps later, in a cloud of smoke, something in the engine of the 1 car failed as a possible podium finish is dashed. Another double file restart, Graham and Turond are first and second. Jeff Cameron spins bringing out another caution and resets the field. Berriau is in the mix now and clearly a contender in the fenderless 27 car. Back to green, 18, 09, 27 and the x of Turond fourth, Cass Walker rounded out the top five. The mid pack continued to battle. A spinning 2 car brings out the caution on lap 82. With just over ten to go, Graham has the field covered, Berriau in Second with Seibert looking for every chance to gain a spot. A tight battle with the 27 and 09 continues for lap after lap. Turond in fourth, waiting to capitalize. The checkered waved with Ian Graham winning a perfectly driven race. Berriau with the come back of the night in second. Seibert third, the X of Turond in fourth. Bobby Mear fifth, Ursel into sixth, Cass Walker top finishing rookie in seventh. Barry Clayton eighth,  Korbin Thomas in ninth, and Cornett-Ching surviving the night in tenth. 11th John Ross, 12th Jeff Cameron, 22 Chris Babcock 13th, Stephenson 14th, Morris 15th, Jewel 16th, and Adelman 17th      


Thanks to all of the sportsman racers who came out to support the ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Series. The hard work and dedication from all racers, volunteers, and track workers is greatly appreciated. Thanks also to the fans of Agassiz Spoeedway and Mertin GM Performance parts. Come on out and see the WCSS in action on August 25th with the Hot August nights PIT STOP RACE in Vernon. Catch the ARCA OK Series Championship night on September 8th at Motoplex speedway in Vernon.  

Sunday 12 August 2012

Graham wins on home track

Ian graham put together a great race Saturday night for his first win of 2012. Points leader mark Berriau came back from a big wreck early in the race to finish second. Ryley Seibert with a solid run for third. Local Paul Turond had a great race with a fourth place finish and bobby mear drove his fenderless Chevy to a fifth place.

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Thursday 9 August 2012

Camping in Agassiz

There is camping available at Agassiz speedway at Alm park right across from the track. It is open 24 hours. If campers could please put a few dollars into the donation jar at the pit gate saturday, as the track looks after the park during race weekends and pays for the portable washrooms. Thanks from Agassiz speedway and the Arca racing series.

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Wednesday 8 August 2012

RACE 5 AGASSIZ SPEEDWAY... WHO WILL IT BE?

The ARCA OK Tire Sportsman series heads to Agassiz Speedway this weekend. Many thought that race 3 in Quesnel would be a deciding factor in the race for the 2012 ARCA championship, but not so much. The top 3 in points found themselves on the podium with few points gained or lost between the three. All of the top teams are firing on all cylinders and are ready for race 5 this Saturday. Local Ian Graham in the 18 car is looking forward to a solid run on his home track, however Mark Berriau is the defending winner of the race. Dave Olson, putting together a great season sits in third place, and we can't leave Ryley Seibert out for a possible win as he is the current track record holder. Points are tight all of the way through the top ten. Logan Jewel sits just out of the coveted top three and has been super consistent. Any issue with the top three and the 92 will break into one of the podium spots for sure. Bobby Mear, Trevor Adelman, Chris Babcock, and Sarah Cornett-Ching are separated by only 20 points and any one could find the fifth championship spot. Jeff Cameron sits in tenth overall with Barry Clayton in the 19 car only 15 points out of the top rookie spot. Cassandra Walker continues her rookie season learning the tracks and logging precious laps. Dan Ursel has the Lordco Ford running hard after mechanical issues early in the season. We expect to see some visiting cars in Agassiz, with the possibility of a couple past winners/champions making the starting list. This race will be pivotal for all of the ARCA series regulars. The top ten spots may well be sorted by the competitors' ability to make the best of their worst night. Will it take patience, aggression, or luck to win this championship? Come on out and see this Saturday night at Agassiz speedway.

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Agassiz Raceday Schedule, August 11



Race Day Schedule Aug 11   

1:30     Pit gate opens for ARCA LATE MODEL SPORTSMAN
2:30     ARCA HOT LAPS
3:00     PIT GATE OPENS FOR ALL CLASSES
3:30     ARCA HOT LAPS
4:00     TRACK GATE OPEN
4:15     STREET HOT LAPS
4:20     WMRA HOT LAPS
4:25     TRACK GATE OPEN
4:45     ARCA HOT LAPS
5:00     TRACK GATE OPEN
5:15     STREET HOT LAPS
5:20     WMRA HOT LAPS
5:30     ARCA Driver's Meeting - TRACK GATE OPEN
5:45     Drivers  meeting - Local
6:00     Time Trials - STREET-WMRA MIDGET
                    ARCA LATE MODEL
7:00     National anthem
Dashes STREET
            Midgets
Heats   STREET B THEN A
            WMRA
            ARCA B THEN A
            Midget
Mains STREET -
            WMRA MIDGETS
            ARCA - 100 LAPS

* Reminder, the ARCA no practice at the racing venue 5 days prior to raceday policy continues.