Kyle Tellstrom Wins the 2009 Mini-Stock King of the Hill Championship
Lakeport CA, Lakeport Speedway hosted the next King of the Hill Challenge Series event last Saturday. Featured was a Jammer Road-Course Rally. King of the Hill racing included the Modifieds, Mini-Stocks, Street Stocks, and Bombers.
A memorial was observed before the main events for Mike Bubba Silva who had passed only a little more than a week ago. Mike has been involved in racing for a long time and was currently the flagger at the Ukiah Speedway. The cars that night all had silver ribbons which was Mike’s racing color. Everyone from the pits gathered in the infield holding white balloons printed with checkered flags, while a track full of cars, also holding those balloons, performed a double-file memorial lap. When the cars reached the backstretch, everyone released their balloons into a giant cloud of checkered flags that faded into the night.
Jammers
This was a special night for the Jammers, one everyone had been anticipating all season. No more ovals with all left turns or right turns. Two chicanes were created with giant tires for both the front and back stretches creating a peanut-shaped road course. The racers had to turn into and through the infield dirt instead of the stretches, and then back out onto the asphalt for the turns. Right and left turns, dirt and asphalt, all in one tight 20 lap course. Kelsie Kennedy and Daryl Levier were on the poll row when the green flag fell for their standing start. Levier led Kennedy through the turns as Mike Sullivan, Carl Gronroos, and Randy Portlock shuffled Eddie Klein on back. The trucks, with their light back-ends, were having a terrible time with the tighter turns and slippery dirt, but Corey Crawford was somehow holding it all together in seventh. Johnathan Tims had apparently given up and was blazing his own trail. Kennedy started to slow and was passed by Sullivan. Levier led Sullivan into the back chicane when they came up on a spun-out Nolan Forsythe. Levier dodged inside into the nose of Sullivan. Sullivan dug in and turned the rear of Levier around to pass for the lead. Levier recovered and gave chase. In lap seven, a red was thrown (no yellows in (jammers) when Kennedy stalled out inside the back chicane. She retired and the field was restarted from where they had stopped. Portlock and Gronroos shuffled Levier on back but, when they came up upon Forsythe spun out in the front chicane, Levier pinned Gronroos and got by. However, Klein followed and swung around Levier through the chicane to take third. One more red was thrown when Forsythe stalled in the entrance to the front chicane. As the race ground on, Sullivan still led but Portlock and Klein succumbed to the track. Scott Sabol had made his way to the rear of Sullivan to challenge for the lead. In turn three, Sullivan came up upon the lapped car of Anthony Esberg who had just broken loose and started to spin. When Sullivan tried dodge up high, Sabol was already there and clipped the rear of Sullivan, turning him sideways. Sullivan whipped his tail back around, dug in, and shot up the track into the rear of Sabol in turn four, spinning both. Sabol quickly recovered and surged forward just inside Sullivan which pinned Sullivan behind one of the giant tires. When Sullivan was clear, he accelerated back into the chicane, gave Sabol a friendly whack on the rear bumper that sent Sabol outside the chicane tires. By the time Sabol got back in, Sullivan had reclaimed the lead. With only a few laps to go, Forsythe stalled on the turn four apron, but there was plenty of room to get around him so no flag was thrown. Sabol was eventually forced to retire. At the checkers, it was Sullivan, Levier, Gronroos, Crawford (the top finishing truck), and Sweeney.
Modifieds
Gary Lowblad from Upper Lake set the Modified fast time of 12.631s. Corey James and championship points leader Dustin DeRosier led the 17 car field to the start of the main event. James and Bob Strauss took off from the inside and DeRosier fell into third inside Mark Marek and ahead of Sean Sweeney. Marek advanced into third followed by Noel McCormack Jr. As Marek took to the outside of second-place Strauss, Lowblad wove under Sweeney and over DeRosier into fifth followed by Sweeney. In lap 16, Marek had second outside Strauss when, in turn four, Strauss broke loose, wobbled, and slowed to inside McCormack. Strauss was put back into fourth when they lapped Andy Vander Veer. In lap 23, Marek was battling outside James for the lead followed closely by McCormack when they came up fast upon the back of the field. Mike Smithhart was outside Rick Tommila in turn four. Marek slowed behind Smithhart while James also slowed seeing there was no room to weave between Tommila and Smithhart. McCormack swung outside to avoid James but clipped the rear of a slowing Marek. This spun Marek down the frontstretch on the nose of McCormack for the only caution of the race. Marek and McCormack were sent to the back, but McCormack retired to the pits. Since this restart was within 10 laps of the end of the race, James, Strauss, Lowblad, and Sweeney restarted them single-file. The top three out-paced the field while Thomas Wright swung outside Sweeney to battle for fourth. James, from Laytonville, claimed the checkers followed by Strauss, Lowblad, and Wright beat out Sweeney for fourth on the last lap.
Mini-Stocks
The Mini-Stock track record fast time of 13.732s was set by Robert Schmidt from Lucerne. The racers took the main event green flag led by Jay Strugnell and Marcus Hatfield. Strugnell took the inside lead followed by Kyle Tellstrom and Don Presler while Hatfield pushed back the outside line of R. Schmidt and Fast Freddy Schmidt. R. Schmidt peeled off from behind Hatfield to the inside of Presler. They battled side-by-side for third even when lapping F. Schmidt three-wide. R. Schmidt finally advanced, got under Tellstrom, outside Strugnell, and took off with the lead in lap 11. Strugnell was in second while Hatfield was battling Presler for third followed closely by Tellstrom. In turn four, Hatfield and Presler lapped F. Schmidt three-wide but Hatfield broke loose and turned sideways on the track right in front of Tellstrom. Hatfield kept his cool and continued to slide his car to the inside while Tellstrom dodged safely outside. Hatfield recovered from the infield back to the track, but was quickly lapped by the leader. R. Schmidt took the win, and Presler and Tellstrom slowly passed Strugnell for second through fourth followed by Hatfield in fifth.
This was the final King of the Hill Mini-Stock championship points event for the 2009 regular season. Kyle Tellstrom, with 10 main event starts, 9 top-fives, and two wins, was crowned champion with 968 points. Robert Schmidt (837) came in second followed by Jay Strugnell (803), Don Presler (744), and Marcus Hatfield (618) moved up to fifth after this event.
Street Stocks
Tony Ramazzotti from Colverdale set the Street Stock fast time of 13.677s. Wade Coleman and Mikey Snider were in the poll row at the start of the main event. Snider took the outside lead as Coleman had trouble holding the inner groove, eventually breaking loose and wobbling back behind Ron Duke Sr. to the inside of Ramazzotti. Duke tried to steal the inside of Snider but Snider was wise to this and slammed the door shut. In lap three, David Jones spun out in turn two for the only caution. This put Duke outside Snider on the restart and Duke took the lead followed by Ramazzotti. For 26 laps, like two pit-bulls running down a pheasant, these two dueled for the lead. Ramazzotti tried it all: outside, inside, bumper, fender, but Duke either fended, blocked, or recovered from it all. Duke finished first, followed by Ramazzotti, Snider, Coleman, and Jones.
Bombers
The Bomber track record fast time of 14.064s was set by Terry Pittman from Redwood Valley. Theresa Sorrels and Mike Swaney held the poll row as the pack took the main event green. Swaney surged ahead followed by Kevin Brackett as T. Sorrels faded back. Robert Byers (driving for Richard Schwarm) and Mike Bray dove from behind her to the outside behind Brackett as Jimmy Sorrels moved up behind his wife. Jodi Snider’s car died on the frontstretch for a caution. One more quick caution followed when T. Sorrels spun out in turn one. Swaney and Brackett got them going again, and Swaney and Byers advanced on the inside leaving Brackett outside Bray. Byers could not hold the outside line and moved back outside Bray. This put Bracket outside Brandon Smith, J. Sorrels outside George Abella, Mike Neilson outside Roman Rose, and Dylan Rose outside Terry Pittman. In turn four of lap five, Brackett broke loose and was turned down into Smith. This turned them both up into the turn four wall. J. Sorrels spun sideways and collected Neilson. Abella, R. Rose, and Pittman barely dodged low in time as D. Rose slammed on the brakes to stop just short. Smith suffered severe front-end and radiator damage and had to retire, which was a hard blow to his third place championship points. Brackett, J. Sorrels, Neilson, D. Rose, Pittman, KC Norton, and Cindy Allen all visited the pits.
Swaney and Byers got them all started again. Byers still had trouble with the outside groove, especially with all the grease-sweep from the cleanup in turn four, and pushed the outside line of Abella, J. Sorrels, and D. Rose on back. R. Rose swung outside second-place Bray and advanced into the lead. Swaney and Bray were shuffled on back by Neilson, Pittman, and D. Rose. Pittman worked the rear and inside of Neilson hard, but could not advance. In lap 15, the last caution was thrown when Allen blew smoke and stopped in the exit gate. R. Rose and Neilson led the restart. Neilson slowly lost position on the outside to Pittman and D. Rose. Pittman swung outside to challenge R. Rose for the lead but found the groove too slippery. He faded back by D. Rose to outside Neilson, and settled behind when Allen was lapped. When the white flag fell, D. Rose moved outside R. Rose in turn one as Pittman tried to snatch the inside from Neilson but was denied. The Roses were side-by-side through the backstretch and turn three. D. Rose got a nose ahead in turn four, kept his grip through the grease-sweep, and whipped the horses coming into the home stretch. D. Rose beat out his brother R. Rose by only half-a-car. Neilson fended off Pittman for third, and Abella finished fifth. This puts championship leader D. Rose a scan 13 points ahead of R. Rose for the final regular season event.
Coming Up
King of the Hill Challenge Series racing returns to the Ukiah Speedway this Labor Day Weekend September 5th & 6th with the King of the Hill Championship Night. Racing will feature the Airport Auto Brokers Late Models, Legends, and Bandoleros. This will be the final King of the Hill regular season event for the Modifieds, Street Stocks, and Bombers. Two full days of racing with trophy dashes, heat races, and a Legends main event on Saturday, and more trophy dashes and main events for all classes on Sunday. For more information, browse http://www.KingOfTheHillChallengeSeries.com.
