February 13, 2016, Perris California, Perris Raceway,

 Southern California Flat Track Association's

Championship Series, Round 1 

Photos and text by Rodney Rutherford

now on stage at the Perris Raceway Flat Track facility. Over one-hundred and sixty entrants sorted over the
 buffet of thirty-one classes and over twenty-eight Main events including the Open Novice B Main on the night's grid.


Vera the gate keeper, has been greeting racers and fans at Perris Raceway for over twelve years and
keeps on smiling.

"Hush, Hush" as part of the chorus in the 1967 song "Hush", written by Joe South and played by
Billy Joe Royal, then made a bigger hit by the band Deep Purple in 1968. Hush is the word, we need
to quiet the machines down with a mandatory target sound range of 96 decibels or less. For a short
time SCFTA will let you run your bike if the sound test has a rating of 100 decibels or less, but
this is only temporary. The 96 decibel goal will become mandatory very soon and some of the
companies that can help your quiet time are: Cone Engineering (coneeng.com),
 Southland Racing/Rocket Exhaust, Mr.Ed's, FMF, Dr.D's Exhaust, Pro Circuit, Yoshimura and a
 catalog of others in the fabrication world.



Cody Morin #2, Sierra Hickerson #3, Jasper Heathfield #713 and the 2016 SCFTA season begins
with the racers of tomorrow getting the beginning heats rolling. Cody Morin, rolled to the win in
the 65cc 2-Stroke Novice. Heathfield and Hickerson finished second and third respectively in the
65-70cc Open. Heathfield rolled to the Main win in the 65-70cc 4-Stroke Beginner.



Kristian Daniel, taking the round one 50cc 4-Stroke Beginner Main.



Hannah Jones #116, railing the outside and Chase Gray #5 angling in to the bar of turn one. Jones
rode to a fifth in the 50cc 4-Stroke Beginner, Gray looped the win in the 50cc 2-Stroke Beginner.



Travis Horn, the Motorsports Junkie slider is back to his leading ways, baring down for the 65cc Open Main win.



Travis Petton IV, tacking the inside line out of turn four while Grant Holmes #7X, eyes the line
from the front stretch into turn one. Petton prevailed in the 250 Youth Open for his first win of
the night. The well promoted scrapper received his second win of the night in the 85cc 2-Stroke
Amateur Main, he also placed second in the 85cc Open and third in the 250 Expert in a busy but
fruitful night for the preteen.



IV Flat Track League's Tanner Richey, adapting to the 85cc in 2015 in SCFTA action, after racing in
various 85cc classes he finished the last two rounds with a pair of fifths in the 85cc 2-Stroke
Amateur. Slowly growing into the taller frame of the 85cc bike, Richey raced to a fourth in the
85cc Amateur at this round one. Richey worked himself into third by lap three of the eight lap Main
for an uplifting third in the 85cc Open and he will only get faster.



Conner Hickerson rode in the Beginner classes, but looked more like an Amateur class racer in
winning the 85-100cc 2-Stroke and 85-100cc 4-Stroke Beginner. Hickerson with a new found aggression
for his 2016 SCFTA run, may be near the front of the 85cc Open class before the season closes.



Rosa Plates racer Jaycee Jones went away with the SCFTA 2015 Woman's (Powder Puff) title, and
judging by her performance at this opening round of the 2016 SCFTA series, she wants another one.
While leading she held off Jeanette Griggs and locked up the Woman's Main win, Griggs second and
Monica Gil third.



Chris Osborn #12, Travis Friedrich #26, and Arnie Fry #45 jet into the evening air of the Open
Novice "A" Main. Fry freezes the top spot from the opening charge on lap one. Osborn takes up the
second slot and Friedrich races in the thirds spot. The leaders remain the same to the last lap as
Fry takes the win, Osborn second, and Friedrich third in the Open Novice "A" Main.



"Galloping" Grant Holmes putting it to the competition in his first off
ride in the SCFTA Open Expert. The Southland Racing/RM Parks Inc./Paint by Smokey/X-Brand goggles
Holmes has been growing enough to nicely fit in his Yamaha YZF250 seat and have good controls on
the corners with geometric symbiosis between his body and the Yamaha ride. Holmes sliced the pack
and ate it up for his first win in the SCFTA Open Expert in his first attempt. He also won the 85cc
Open, second in the 250 Youth Open and second in the 85cc 2-Stroke Amateur. Holmes will be facing a
tight 2016 schedule racing the SCFTA, California Flat Track Association, IV Flat Track League, West
Coast Dirt Track, American Motorcyclist Association's Dirt Track Grand Championship, and maybe some
Big 6 Grand Prix racing as well.



S & S Off Road's Byron Kukla #92 breaks the night with Evan Markus #54 at the start of the Open
Unclassified. Markus moved into the lead in the early going for the win. Kukla retained the second
spot to the finish and LJ Gronek third. Kukla shot to good starts in most of his races and also
went on to a fourth in the Open Expert racing in the top two for the first three laps.



Evan Markus finished up his second win of the night, taking advantage of Chris Jones going wide out
of turn two on lap two. Markus took the lead in the Open Amateur Main and that was all she wrote
for the win. Charlie Vanderlaan weaves his way into second at the checkers, and the always fast
Jones for third.





Vet +35 Novice line off with Jim Bandelin #71, Chris Ayers #57, Shawn Chamlee #3 and company in the
Main. Bandelin rides out of turn two with nothing but space in front of him, Anders taking in second Chamlee third. Anders takes over the lead, in a “predator pounces on prey scenario” as he tracked and attacked for the lead with less than three laps remaining and riding it out for the win, Bandelin second at the checkers and Chamlee third.



Kevin Jordan raced to Main wins in the Vet +35 Amateur and the Vet +50 Amateur.



Senior Vet +50 Amateur athletes Robert Stettler #57,  and John Garcia #84 in the heat race. Garcia
finished up fourth in the Main and Stettler following in at fifth.



Joe Steffen #6, Ron Pollock #59, and Jim Medlin #11 get underway in the Senior Vet +50 Expert heat
race. Medlin chiseled the lead out by lap two and we have John Dupree and Jim Ottele holding on to
the Medlin tow line in second and third respectively. Ottele slides around Dupree and now honing in
on Medlin. Locking in behind Medlin on lap six, Ottele was cuffed up as Medlin rode shrewdly
keeping the passing lines blocked for Main event win. Ottele right behind Medlin at the finish for
second and Dupree hanging on for third.



MuleMotorcycles.net racer Richard Pollock, has a rich history with SCFTA as a former SCFTA Pro
Champion many moons ago. Pollock takes up the race while taking off time from building beautiful
bikes. On this night he raced to a fifth in the Senior Vet +50 Expert and fourth in the Super
Senior +60.



Dwayne Locke racing for a fifth in the Bomber Novice.



Rolf Greenhill shut the field down for the Vintage 250-360cc Main win.



2015 SCFTA Premier Senior +70 Champion Ron Moore and Richard Pollock #59 in Super Senior +60
action. Moore, beginning where he left off, winning, taking the Main event victories in the Super
Senior +60 and the Premier, and starting off his 2016 season with a double win night. 



Ken Shilling #26B, followed in the leader's Shawn Chamlee slipstream for the first two laps of the
Bomber Novice, knifing inside on lap three Shilling went inside of Chamlee in turn one following
through and exiting turn two with the lead. Shilling kept the bike off the dirt for the Main win in the Bomber Novice.



Mike Brooks #672, Ken Shilling #26B, and John Farmer #26. Farmer raced in for a
third in the Main and Brooks finished up fourth in the Bomber Novice Main.



John Vanderlaan, came in the 2015 SCFTA season for his first complete run at the SCFTA Pro title
and went out with the SCFTA 2015 Pro number one plate. Involved in a serious crash at the very end
of the 2015 season, as in crashing into the finish line wall on the checker flag in the last round
of the season. Vanderlaan has since recovered and came back for another SCFTA season and possibly a
repeat title. Fontana Radiator's Jeff Johnson, guides his bike off the chalk on the start and into
turn one of the 20 lap Main. Vanderlaan not showing a whole lot of respect for former National
number Johnson, plowing into the lead past Johnson and screeching into the back stretch and on a
mission. Going into the lap eight of the frenzied Main, Vanderlaan has about a twenty bike length
over Joe Roberts in second, Dylan Morin, and Foster Brother's Racing's Colt Foster at the end of
the second through fourth place column.



Joe Roberts #27E and Colt Foster #84E in a Pro heat. They finished second and fifth respectively in the Pro Main.


Riding smooth as glass Vanderlaan goes into the zone and leaves the pack behind for the win.
Roberts closes out second with an unrelenting Dylan Morin in third at the checkers. Foster's
teammate Alex Crosby was not so brotherly beating out Foster near the finish for fourth, Foster
closes out the top five of the Pro Main.



After competing regularly at SCFTA events, Dylan Morin, took some time off but raced in the last
two rounds of the 2015 SCFTA Pro class and looks to be back for 2016. Morin is looking better than
ever at Perris and raced to a third in the Main on this night.


Please go to SCFTAracing.com for schedule information as we race into the round two on March 12.

2016 SCFTA ROUND 1 RESULTS: