S.C.F.T.A. Round #7
Perris Raceway
August 11th, 2012
Photos by Jamey Blunt
Tags and Article by Jamey Blunt
#12 Paul Ott has really picked up his pace. Ott came through
by the end of the race to take the hard fought victory in the Vet +35 class over
some very tough competition.
Lucas Oil's Gary Lane (#68) competed in a couple of classes
at Perris. Lane won the Premier Senior class and finished second in the
Vintage 360cc 2stk Novice final.
#42 Will Ott was the overall fastest of the Vintage
250cc-360cc 2stk nov., am., exp., field with a 16.10 second lap time. Ott
easily won his class and the overall victory.
#41 John Garcia had to fight through a large field of Senior +50 Novices to come out on the top step of the box. Garcia's
fastest lap was a 16.11 second time.
Former national #37 Jeff Johnson (riding Travis Petton's #82e
bike) posted theoverall fastest lap time of the night at 15.04 seconds on his
way to winning the Senior Vet +50 Expert main event... When he wants to the
"JESTER" can still win!
#43 A Jay Hateley captured his second Pro Main event victory
at Perris Saturday night with a thrilling battle that went down to the
last inch of race track real estate to win by inches over Brandon Bates....
26-Sixteen year old Dylan Morin is someone to watch. Morin not only
posted a 15.27 second lap time, he won both the Open Amateur and Open
Unclassified main events....!!!
#4
Vince Graves owns the Super Senior +60 class!Graves posted a 15.48
second lap time as he left the field in another time zone...
The
classic Vintage class my not have any brakes and the machines are truly
vintage, but the competition is fierce none the less as
shown here between #95 Tom Ferguson and #4 Joe Pape.
#82e
Travis Petton the 2nd turned the wrenches for his two grandsons, and
competed in two different classes himself. Petton topped the Bomber
class and finished third in the Senior Vet +50 expert main.
#117 Sean Heeney fought every lap of the 85cc 2st-4st combinednovice final for his victory. Heeney's fastest lap of the
race was16.36 seconds...
Results August 11, 2012
85cc 4 Stk Beginner
1. Evcan Harich
2. Frank Flores
3. Noah Bush
4. Reese Watowa
85cc 2 stk Novice
1. Allison Stacey
2. James Ott
3. Clayton Willams
4. Jace Callison
85cc 4 Stk Novice
1. Sean Heeney
2. Moncia Gil
3. Justin Hanson
85cc 2 stk Beginner
1. Travis Petton
2. Grant Holmes
3. Frank Flores
4. Alyssa Flores
5. Noah Bush
50cc 2 stk Beginner
1. Colin Petton
65-70 cc 4 stk Beginner
1. Ava Bush
65-70cc 4 Stk Novice
1. Evan Harich
2. James Ott
65cc 2 Stk Novice
1. Travis Petton
2. Grant Holmes
3. Jace Callison
Specialty Bikes /Peddlers
1. Andy Rust
2. James Rust
3. Jeff Fitzgerald
4. Jake Busey
Bomber
1. Travis Petton
2. Danny Perkins
3. James Wood
4. Keith Bradford
Vintage 750
1. Jim Ottele
2. Shannon Adams
Premier Senior
1. Gary Lane
2. Allan Girdler
Senior +50 Novice
1. John Garcia
2. Curtis Pimental
3. Fred Berger
4. Paul Claybaugh
5. Danny Mathis
6. Greg Powell
Senior +50 Amateur
1. John Perez
2. Larkin Wight
3. Bill Wright
4. Mike Cordero
5. Jimmy White
Open Unclassified Non Paying
1. Dylan Morin
2. Noah Jordan
3. Sean Heeney
Vintage 2stk 250 Novice
1. Michael Fritz
Vintage 2stk 360 Novice
1. Rick Logan
2. Gary Lane
3. Bryan Eademan
Vintage 2 stk 250 Expert
1. Will Ott
Vet’s + 35
1. Paul Ott
2. David Bush
3. Paul Herman
4. Sean Lambert
5. Eric Cleveland
Classic Vintage 500-750
1. Jim Ottele
2. Tom Ferguson
3. Joe Pape
4. James Kohls
5. Lenny Rodriquez
Classic Vintage 250
1. Fred Berger
Super Senior + 60
1. Vince Graves
2. De Wayne Jones
3. David Molitor
Senior Vet’s + 50 Experts
1. Jeff Johnson
2. Jim Wood
3. Travis Petton
4. Wes Powell
5. Jim Ottele
Open Novice
1. John Garcia Jr
2. Jimmy Gillen
3. Sean Lambert
4. Allison Stacey
5. Sean Heeney
6. Cory Cordero
7. Andrew Harding
8. Moncia Gil
9. Eric Cleveland
10. Jace Callison
11. Noah Jorden
12. Brian Bell
Open Amatuer
1. Dylan Morin
2. Paul Ott
3. Brad Rudy
4. Rich Hanson
5. Paul Herman
6. David Reinhard
7. Austin Williams
8. Jimmy White
9. Harly Legowski
Pro
1. A Jay Hateley
2. Brandon Bates
3. Robert Bush
4. Nick Armstrong
5. Jim Rosa
6. Nick Gil
7. David Bush
8. Casey Cahoon
9. Chris Cannon
S.C.F.T.A. Round #7
Perris Raceway August 11th, 2012
Article & Photos by Jamey Blunt
Perris California, in August, what did you expect? Yep; the high
temperature for the day was one hundred nine degrees (which is why
meteorologists have their driveways coated with non-stick Teflon so
they can fry eggs). But the real surprise that greeted the one hundred
twelve riders that entered round seven of the S.C.F.T.A. series was the
Thunder, Lightning, Hail, and Rain that started at 2:42 p.m. As
everyone who was already at the track scrambled for cover those enroot
had to be questioning whether there would even be a race on this
Saturday night. The skies above Perris would part and downpour two more
times before the freak little storm left the racetrack for good.
Immediately Freddie Edwards, Donnie Walters, and Keenan jumped into
action and worked their magic to save the racing surface. Practice was
started about an hour behind schedule, and then stopped, the track
worked on again as a small drizzle had fallen and then practice resumed
and all was well in the world of dirt track racing. Freddie and crew
had dodged the bullet and twenty three heats were slotted to start the
night's program.
Allison Stacey shot to the front off the line in the 85cc 2stk-4stk
Novice main event followed by Sean Heeney, James Ott, Justin Hanson and
Clayton Williams. Between turns three and four Heeney almost threw it
all away but made a stellar save to continue on. Within a lap the front
two (Stacey and Heeney) had opened up over an eight bike length gap
back to Ott. Two and a half laps' complete saw Williams and Jace
Callison both drop Hanson back two spots while Stacey turned her
fastest lap of the race at 16.39 seconds. By now the two leaders had a
full straight gap over third place and Heeney (who turned the fastest
lap of the race at 16.36 seconds) was showing Stacey a wheel at every
turn. At the white flag Heeney looked to have something planned but a
bobble exiting turn two cost him and gave Stacey the small gap she
needed to come home with the overall victory and first 2stk. Heeney
though was still first 4stk as they are scored separately, and did have
the fastest lap.
The 65cc 2stk Novice class is one Travis Petton the 4th has dominated
for the last two years. But there's a "new kid in town" in the form of
Grant Holmes who makes the trip from northern Calif. to Perris and
looks to be getting faster with each round. Jace Callison is also one
to watch from up north as he figures out the Perris racing surface and
proper bike set up. Petton Won the 65cc Novice and the 85cc 2stk Beg.
Main events with his fastest lap time of 16.68 seconds coming on the
85cc machine.
For the second time a new class was added at Perris, the "Specialty
Bikes/Peddlers", this time they appeared in greater numbers with Arrow
Motorized Cycles owner Dave Rust promising even more of a turnout as
the word spreads. With their under 65cc 2stk engines in basically
adapted bicycle frames, you pedal them to get started, hence rider
weight and size makes a huge difference. Andy Rust on a Jake Busey
machine was quickest off the line to lead into turn one and never
looked back. Rust was the only rider in the field to lap under twenty
seconds at 19.94 as we hope this class (fun to watch) continues to grow.
Danny Perkins led the Bomber field into turn one in front of Travis
Petton the 2nd, Keith Bradford and Jim Wood. This was Perkins race to
loose as he had posted the third fastest overall lap time of the night
at 15.24 seconds in his heat race. Entering turn three for the first
time Bradford went real wide leaving the door open for Wood to advance
to third, thank you very much, with almost the same mistake costing
Perkins the lead on the very next lap as he handed the front position
to Petton. Once up front Petton slowly pulled a gap over Perkins and
went on to the victory with Wood third and Bradford fourth.
The Premier Senior class is for racers over the age of seventy. It's to
their credit that they can still put on a show and twist the throttle.
Lucas Oil's Gary Lane aboard a pristine Bultaco painted in Astro attire
but in green was the top of the class over magazine editor and legend
Allan Girdler who has stated he's one of only a handful of racers "that
can complete an eight lap race in seven laps."
Greg Powell had a rough night at Perris as he went down hard between
turns one and two. But Powell re-grouped and thankfully was all right
as he competed in the Senior +50 Novice main event. John Garcia was the
class of the field though putting in the fastest lap of the race at
16.11 seconds for his victory over Curtis Pimental, Fred (my Triumph
burned at Sac.) Berger, Paul Claybaugh, Danny Mathis, and Powell.
Paul Herman led the Vet +35 pack into turn one with Paul Ott right
beside him on the outside as the headed down the back straight. Quickly
working his way forward not wanting the leaders to get a gap was David
Bush who is a new rider in this class. A lap complete saw Ott take over
at the front with Bush pushing past Herman as well in turns one and two
working an inside line. Herman wasn't going to give up second quite as
easily as Bush might have thought and fought back for another lap which
allowed Ott to pull out a gap at the front. Sean Lambert off the
leaders pace was back in fourth with Eric Cleveland in fifth. As the
laps wound down Lambert had caught up to Herman, who in turn was all
over Bush giving us a three way fight over the second place podium
position. Up front Ott was gone with a full straight away lead. At the
white flag Bush had gapped Herman by three bike lengths and would hold
on to second over Herman who in turn held third over Lambert. Ott with
another victory looks to be advanced to expert status soon.
Tom "TOO FAST" Ferguson nailed the start in the Classic Vintage
500-750-250 final, but for some reason checked up allowing the pack to
close on him into turn one. (Perhaps he thought he jumped the start)
Lenny Rodriguez ran in second with Jim Ottele third, Fred Berger
Fourth, Joe Pape fifth, and James Kohls sixth. One lap down Ottele
moved up to second and was going after Ferguson at the front. A lap
later had Berger and Pape both drop Rodriguez two positions. Ottele
desperate to catch Ferguson pulled out all the stops but in doing so
was on the edge and made some mistakes that cost him. At the white flag
it looked as though Ferguson had this one in the bag but Ottele pulled
a Hail Mary move squaring up turns one and two to get a drive and exit
turn four in a drag race to the checkered that Ottele won by just a few
feet. The overall fastest lap still went to Ferguson though at 16.24
seconds.
The Senior Vet Expert class is fast, very fast and stacked with talent!
Jim Wood from Southland Racing led the field into turn one with Jeff
Johnson and Travis Petton the 2nd glued to his rear wheel. Wes Powell
making a return to racing ran in fourth with Larry Earhart fifth and
Jim Ottele sixth. Up the front straight Johnson pulled alongside Wood
and took over the lead entering turn one for the start of lap two. Once
up front under pressure from Wood Johnson put his head down and turned
the overall fastest lap of the entire night at 15.04 seconds. Wood
picked up his pace this night as well and put in a 15.20 second lap
which would turn out to be the overall second fastest of the night. At
the white flag Powell had closed in on Petton in third as Earhart had
retired handing fifth over Ottele who was well off the front four's
pace. Johnson would go on to win over Wood with Petton holding off
Powell for third and Ottele lonely back in fifth.
Sixteen year old Dylan Morin is a rider to watch, this Simi Valley
talent led from the start over Brad Rudy, Paul Ott, and Paul Herman in
the Open Amateur main event. Morin quickly began to gap the field and
in fact turned the third overall fastest lap time of the night at 15.27
seconds. Behind him Ott was applying pressure to Rudy while Rich Hanson
was working his way forward from a poor start. On lap three around the
outside on the exit from turn two Ott went around Rudy to advance to
second while Hanson dropped Herman to fifth as he took over fourth the
next time through turn two. At the finish Morin was long gone for the
win with Ott secure in second, Rudy a solid third, Hanson in fourth,
Herman fifth, and Reinhard recovering from a last place start to finish
sixth.
Robert Bush nailed the start of the twenty lap pro main event from the
middle of the front row. A Jay Hateley slotted in at second with
Brandon Bates third and Jim Rosa fourth. Rosa was running a high line
and took advantage of a bobble by Bates to quickly move up into third.
David Bush was away in fifth with Chris Cannon sixth and Nick Armstrong
seventh. On lap three the high line was working for Rosa as he dropped
Hateley to third and took over at second. Bates saw this and changed
his lines as well and started to gain ground on Hateley. Just before
the halfway point Rosa looked to be getting tired and started to fade,
there's no question as to Rosa's speed, just his conditioning as
Hateley was back up to second. Bush at the front had to contend with
Hateley's new found energy as he was under attack just when he might
have thought this one's in the bag. On lap nine Bates was past Rosa
into third when a mistake from Hateley allowed Bates to pull alongside
him as well. Now we had a three rider battle for the victory with ten
laps to go. At this point Armstrong was into fifth, David Bush was back
to sixth and Nick Gil was in seventh and closing. A lap later Robert
Bush was in a Hateley/Bates sandwich going down the back straight and
on the next lap Bates shot from third to first on the exit from turn
two. Hateley not wanting a repeat of round sixes results quickly took
over second from Robert Bush as Cannon pulled out of the race. By lap
fourteen Hateley was showing Bates a wheel at every opportunity with
Robert Bush still in third watching for any mistake, with David Bush
loosing another position dropping to seventh looking to not have his
heart in this race. On lap fifteen Hateley was the first to cross the
stripe giving him the lead with Bates right beside in second while Rosa
slipped back yet another position to fifth advancing Armstrong to
fourth. Hateley put his head down attempting to get a gap over Bates
and turned his best lap of the race at 15.30 seconds. But Bates wasn't
through and was saving his move for the last lap and made a run at
Hateley to pull alongside going down the back straight for the final
time to enter turn three side by side. With the crowd on their feet
Hateley and Bates exited turn four for a drag race to the stripe which
Hateley (after conferring with scoring and starter Rudy Gil) won by
inches. This, probably the closest victory of a pro final ever at
Perris. Robert Bush was third with Armstrong fourth and Rosa fifth.
After the main Hateley had this to say of his victory, "I don't know
how I did that, Brandon was in there and I had the lead for about five
laps and saw his shadow right there for over four laps in a row and it
made me nervous. So I just tried not to make any mistakes and then the
last lap I bobbled and he got around me but still managed to get right
back by him, that was nuts. I was getting really tired but it was gonna
be either Brandon or me who was gonna give up, but then I guess we both
didn't give up. It wasn't a planned last lap move it just came out of
the bottom of the hat."
This concluded round seven's racing with round eight set for
the very next day.
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