Eddie Mulder's West Coast Vintage Dirt Track Series

Round #6 Walt James Stadium – Willow Springs

9-28-2008

By Jamey M. Blunt Photos by Janice M. Blunt

With double points up for grabs in the final round of the W.C.V.D.T. series and many championships still undecided tension was thick in the ninety degree desert air.

The Rod Lake Racing/Megacycle Cams Senior class had fourteen riders all over the age of fifty on machines from 1974 or earlier. As they left the line Tom Horton got a flier while Kenny Thiebaud was asleep and would have to play catch up. Joe Suebert dropped into second behind Horton while Thiebaud who was away in eighth had already worked his way up to fourth by the entrance to turn three. At the end of one the running order was Horton, Suebert, Jeff Lessley, Thiebaud, Ron Lessley, Gary White, and Steve Craft. A half lap later Ron Lessley was by Thiebaud for fourth as Thiebaud pulled off the track with a mechanical problem. Suebert was tough and hounded Horton as he turned a 22.62/100 second lap on his 750cc Triumph. The front two were pulling away from the rest of the field as Jeff Lessley struggled to keep touch. Three and a half laps in White made a move on Ron Lessley to take over fourth and out of nowhere Craft found some new speed and was threatening them both. Ron Alexander was running in seventh as the white flag came out and White was starting to fade as Ron Lessley took fourth back and Craft went by White as well for fifth. At the front the top three were set at Horton, Suebert, and Jeff Lessley as the battle was for fourth position. On the entrance to turn three for the last time Craft ran it hard up the inside to take the spot leaving Ron Lessley to finish fifth, Alexander moved past White to sixth which left White back in seventh.

Twenty one riders attempted to qualify for one of ten spots in the MAXXIS Tires/A&A Racing Vet "A" main event. From the front row Steve Nichols and Joe Steffen hit turn one side by side, with Nichols taking the lead on the exit from turn two. Mike O'Neil settled in at third with Lloyd McGregor fourth, and Mike Besemer fifth. By lap two a battle was shaping up for the sixth place position which John Lundgren occupied and Art Guilfoil wanted while Elliott Iverson watched from eighth. Lap three with his head down and pulling away Nichols turned a 22.18 second lap as he moved to another zip code. At the white flag McGregor showed O'Neil a wheel entering turn one as they both closed in on Steffen in second. At the front Nichols won with over a two second gap as the three behind him bunched up in the fight for second, third and fourth. At the stripe Steffen held strong for second, O'Neil was third, McGregor fourth, and some distance back Besemer was fifth, with Guilfoil winning the fight with Lundgren for sixth.

Who is Merritt Moore? Where does he come from? Well, Merritt Moore from McArthur, Calif. is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the Motion Pro/Bartels H.D. Super Senior class for racers over the age of sixty. Ten riders staged for the final that saw Joe Brown and Moore go at it head to head as they hit turn one next to each other. Moore's Triumph had the horsepower and he took the lead from Brown. Herb Wolff ran in third with Dave Cheney fourth, Bill Flett fifth, Ted Hubbard sixth, and Bob Harris seventh. Brown went to work on Moore but just couldn't quite match his 24.03/100 second lap times as the front two pulled away from the field. By lap four Brown was falling off Moore's pace and looked to have made up his mind to settle for second. In the final tally it was Moore, Brown, Wolff, Cheney, Flett, Hubbard, and Harris.

Brad Holt aboard a H.D. Sprint nailed the start in the Barnett/K&N Filters Classic 500 main event with Ross Stuckert second. Through turns one and two Tom Horton and Mike O'Neil both dropped Stuckert back to fourth. Down the back straight Horton took over at the front from Holt as O'Neil was making his presence known as well. Upon the exit from turn two for the second time O'Neil got a drive down low and shot past Holt to take away the second place position. This lap would see the fastest lap of the race at 23.00/100 seconds flat compared to Horton's best of 23.27/100. But it was too little too late as Horton a very experienced racer was gone at the front and would never look back. The front two would maintain their gap to each other and finish first and second with a full straight length gap over Holt in third. Stuckert was a solid fourth on his trick BSA, and Robert Bush held down fifth.

People have come to expect good starts from Joe Suebert, and he rarely disappoints as he led into turn one in the AGV Helmets/Berkeley Honda Yamaha SeaDoo Modern 750 main event. Tom Horton gave chase in second while Paul Herman who was away in fourth shot down the back straight past everyone to lead entering turn three. The first trip across the stripe had the order at Herman, Suebert, Gary White, Horton, Jim Ottele, Ron Alexander, Ross Stuckert, and Merritt Moore. Once out front Herman was gone and was the only rider to post a lap time under twenty-three seconds at 22.33/100. But a battle for second position was shaping up by lap three as Horton who had dropped all the way back to fifth was now regrouped and charging forward. He made short work of Ottele for fourth, and White who had claimed second went wide in turn two handing it back to Suebert and allowing Horton easy access to third. With a lap remaining Horton was pressuring Suebert for second which he stole on the exit from turn four to the flag making Suebert third, White fourth, Ottele a distant fifth, Alexander sixth, and Mark Stuckert seventh.

Mike Gonzales and Mike O'Neil were tied in points for the Maxima Racing Oils/Simi Valley Kawasaki 500 Support title. Gonzales led into turn one off the line with O'Neil on his heels followed by Jim Steet, Joe Steffen, Jeff Gonzales, and Mike Besemer. With only one lap down the front two had pulled away from the pack with Mike Gonzales posting a 23.04/100 second lap time. The track being a little on the dry side for this particular race was making it hard to gain ground, but O'Neil stayed two bike lengths behind Mike Gonzales waiting for something to happen. By lap three Jeff Gonzales found his rhythm and had leapt up to third as O'Neil turned the fastest lap of the race at 22.80/100 seconds. With two to go Steet was back to fourth, Steffen was fifth, and Gabe Slatton was up to sixth. Leaving nothing on the table O'Neil gave it his all but just couldn't find a way past Mike Gonzales as they took the checkered flag a bike length apart. Jeff Gonzales held on to third over Steet, Steffen and Slatton.

followed by Eric England, Garrett Stout, and Dillon Allen. Down the back shoot and into turn three Stout and Allen both dropped England to fourth. While Luke Gough who was away in sixth shot all the way up to third by the end of the first lap. Brad Baker out of Washington started poorly and almost threw it away on the second trip through turn one but then settled down and started a march toward the front. Two laps in Gough the only rider other than Davila capable of running under the twenty-two second mark pulled out of the race. At the front Davila put in a 21.93/100 second lap as he opened up a three second gap over his closest rival. Four laps down saw Allen and Baker going at it for the third place position, which Baker would take. Lindsey King had also settled in and was now up to sixth with England slipping back to seventh. Alone in second was Stout who put in a 22.40/100 second lap time but just couldn't keep pace with Davila. As Davila took the victory over three seconds ahead of Stout Baker was closing from third, with Allen rock solid in fourth, and P J Osmer sneaking up to fifth on the final lap.

The fastest lap time of the day was turned during the $2000 Vizzo Racing "Dash for Cash" where the four heat race winners went at it for five laps. On a freshly groomed track, pole sitter Sammy Halbert led into turn one with Kayl Kolkman second, Jared Mees third and Brandan Bergen fourth. It took Mees a lap to get past Kolkman and by then Halbert had a four bike length gap. Lap four was the fastest of the day as Halbert put in a 20.92/100 second lap to seal the victory, while Bergen was all over Kolkman but still had to settle for fourth.

Ten points separated Jared Mees from his closest rival for the MAXXIS Tires $5000 point fund money in the Digger Helm Open Pro main event. Sammy Halbert led the field of nineteen into turn one for the first of twenty laps. Kayl Kolkman, Jared Mees, and Luke Gough dropped in behind as things settled down. Mees and Gough both made short work of Kolkman as Brandan Bergen running fifth was now after him as well. Shaun Russell with a fair start ran in sixth with David Brown in seventh. On lap four in turn two Bergen almost kissed it goodbye, but made the save to continue on. Lap five had the order at Halbert, Mees, Gough, Kolkman, Bergen, Russell, Michael Kirkness, Steve Murray, David Brown, and Jake Mataya. Exiting turn four on the sixth lap Bergen made his move into fourth past Kolkman, and went on to move up to third past Gough the next time into turn three. By lap eight Kyle Snyder out from Ill. Went a lap down as he wrestled with his BMW. At the half way point Halbert had a one second advantage over Mees who in turn had a second and a half over Bergen. All the while Russell was quietly finding his rhythm and picking up his pace. Lap fourteen saw Halbert with a big bobble between turns three and four allowing Mees to close the gap. With five laps remaining lappers were everywhere and Russell was all over Kolkman and Gough. When Kolkman made his move past Gough for fourth Russell followed him forward to fifth. Entering turn one on lap seventeen Kolkman lost it moving everyone up a spot. Halbert led across the stripe to take the white flag but a lapper got in the way allowing Mees to take Halbert high between turns one and two and park him. Mees had the lead out of turn two and took the last lap victory, with a stunned and upset Halbert second. Bergen was third, with Russell fourth, and Gough fifth. Afterward Mees said, "I thought I was going to have to settle for second then a lapper got Sammy really bad and I caught up so I had to do a block pass and that's the race." Halbert's take was, "Man it was not a clean pass by any means, but I can take it. Lappers were everywhere but overall I'm happy. He (Mees) surprised me a little bit but there was nothing I could do about it when you're pushed up in the bales."