It was a rare night in Lakeport as the community came together for
Makenna Rose Enger and the Make A Wish Foundation. Makenna was
beautiful in her red ball gown and gave a heart rendering rendition of
Star Spangled Banner. She sang to a packed house as the stands and
infield were full of her fans, who were all a part of making her wish
come true. She made every one of us proud to be an American and it was
an honor to hear her. She in turn was honored with several gifts from
her admirers and well wishers; The Airport Auto Brokers Late models
were lined up on the front stretch when Bill and Bev Mcvey gave
Makenna a spring bouquet of flowers. Nolan Forsythe, representing the
jammer division, presented her with a checkered flag signed by all the
drivers. David Furia, Lakeport Speedway promoter, presented an
honorary Speedway officials shirt and Mike Doss, representing the late
model division, gave a stuffed bear sporting the AABLM logo. Our
songstress was then put into the pace car and gave the order,
“Gentlemen, start your engines!” Makenna took her parade lap and was
cheered off the track.
The Airport Auto Brokers Late models rolled back into town; you would
think that the circus was here with all colorful cars, the talented
driver and the crews sporting their new AABLM shirts. AABLM is one of
the elite Late Model series in California and is based in Lake County,
originating at Lakeport Speedway. The series is sponsored by Lake
County’s own Airport Auto Broker and many other local Businesses. We
should all be proud of all the AABLM drivers, crew, staff and fans,
for making this an awesome series to watch.
The fast time plaque sponsored by Speedy Signs went to Mike Doss for
qualifying the quickest with an 11.816, followed by Kevin Ostern, 2009
Champion with 11.924, Mike Lovell 11.927, Noel McCormack jr, 2008
Champion with 11.946 and Jeremy Hopkins rounding out the top 5 with an
11.964. Rookie driver Dallas Shane won the B dash and McCormack took
the A dash.
When we heard “Gentlemen start your engines” we knew the Gifford’s
Backhoe 75 lap feature late model race was going to be exciting. With
a 10 invert, Dallas had the pole and Jim Stillman was on his outside.
The first caution on lap 5 was for Hopkins’ spin turn in 2 and another
3 laps later for Kevin Estep and Doss in turn 4, Doss hit the turn 4
wall hard, and was done for the night. With a long green flag run,
Corey James made his way to the front and was able to put a few
lappers behind him when the 3rd and final caution came out for Eric
Graham’s spin in turn 4. The field bunched up again and James had to
hold off hard charging Hopkins and Forrest Kuecker for the next 20
laps. James took the checker over Hopkins, Kuecker, Lovell, McCormack
and Ken Gifford rounding out the top 5.
Sean Keown qualified the fastest in the NCRA Mini Stocks, with a time
of 13.764, followed by Jay Strugnel with 14.175, Anthony Esberg
14.339, Rich Schramm jr 14.404, David Aceves 14.933, Thomas Esberg
15.287 and John Johnson with a 15.955 rounding out the field. Schramm
won the dash and Sean Keown won the heat race. Aceves and Schramm led
the field to the green flag; the first and only caution was on lap 17
for Aceves #65 in turn 2. Keown took the lead on lap 9 and never
looked back, winning the feature, making it 2 in a row for him; he was
followed by Schramm, Strugnel, A. Esberg, Aceves, Johnson, and T.
Esberg
Wade Coleman qualified the fastest in the NCRA Street Stock with a
time of 13.484, followed by Terry Pittman with 13.491, Tony Ramazzotti
13.553, Ron Duke Jr 13.748, and Mike Bray with a 13.977 rounding out
the field. Duke won both the dash and heat race. Bray and Duke lead
the field to the green flag; Duke got the jump and led the next 9 laps
until Pittman was able to make the pass. Pittman led the next 6 laps,
when Ramazzotti took the lead from him. On lap 24 Coleman took the
lead and won the caution free 30 lap feature. Coleman was followed by
Pittman, Duke, Ramazzotti and Bray.
Charlie Collins qualified the fastest in the Snake Pit Development
Bombers with a time of 14.140, followed by Mike Neilson 14.155, Mike
Swaney 14.210, Mark Mains 14.216, Scott Griffon 14690 and Ryan Sweeney
with a 14.741 rounding out the top 6.Swaney once again won the dash
and his heat race, Chuck Hackbarth won the other heat race.
12 Snake Pit Development Bombers qualified for the feature event. K C
Norton’s #69 and Justin Dutcher #19 led the field to the green flag,
the first and only caution was on lap 1 for Caity Miller #84 spin in
turn 4. Dutcher got the jump over Norton and led the first 5 laps
until Neilson made his way to the front. The next 25 laps was a lot of
side by side racing in and out of lap traffic, everyone was one the
edge of their seats for the last lap, watching Collins and Neilson
maneuver through traffic. Collins took the checkered over Neilson,
Swaney, Dutcher and Sweeney rounding out the top 5.
16 Clover Hydro Jammers in all (7) Juniors and (9) Pro’s. Britney
Tommila won the Juniors Dash and Ellis Thornton won the Pro Jammer
Dash. Jimmy Foley’s #88 started on the pole with Deake Lyndall’s #3 on
his outside, to lead the full field of Jammers. The race was stopped
on lap 16 for Tommila’s #15 spin out in turn 4, and again on lap 27
for Nolan Forsythe’s # 21 spin on the front stretch. When the
checkered flag dropped, Mike Peterson was in the lead for the Pro’s
and Kayleigh Sullivan was the first Junior Jammers to take the
checkered flag. Peterson was awarded the win for the Pro-Jammers,
followed by Thornton, Eddie Klein, Casey Crawford, and Lyndall
rounding out the top 5.
Sullivan was awarded the win for the Junior Jammers followed by Hayley
Bishop, Caity Miller, Jackson Long and Alisha Herron rounding out the
top 5.
Racing resumes next Saturday May 15, 2010 with a full night of
entertainment featuring the Lake County off Road Truck Demolition
Derby, Coors Light Modifieds, Snake Pit Development Bombers, Clover
Hydro Pro-Jammers, Clover Hydro Junior-Jammers and NCRA Mini Stocks
and also Kids Tire Race.
Lakeport Speedway and I would like to thank Makenna Rose Enger and her
family for making a good night of racing into a wonderful night for
all.
See You at the Track
Bob Cook
Lakeport Speedway your community based not for profit Speedway
