Rodgers Continues Ascent Up West Coast Sport Mod Ranks With Stellar 2021 Campaign

Chico, CA (11/16/2021) For 19 year old Tyler Rodgers, it hasn’t taken long to become a household name in Northern California IMCA Sport Mod competition. The 2017 Silver Dollar Speedway Rookie of the Year has rode a steady trajectory up the Nor Cal Sport Mod ranks over the past few years, firmly entrenching himself as a favorite to win each and every time his #44 Twyzted by Evo Northern Sport Mod hit the track.

Tyler’s 2nd win of the season at Quincy’s American Valley Speedway

2021 saw the family based Rodgers Racing team primarily focus their efforts towards the northeast portion of the state, with over half of the team’s 23 starts coming at Susanville’s Diamond Mountain Speedway and Quincy’s American Valley Speedway. That diligent focus paid off in a big way for Rodgers and the team, who after mechanical gremlins on opening night, went on to win 5 of the next 6 races at the Quincy venue en route to a dominant championship run.

The 2021 American Valley Speedway title would mark the first track championship in Rodgers’s young career, finishing in the runner up spot twice in his first 2 years at Silver Dollar Speedway before beginning to travel more the past 2 years.

Rodgers wouldn’t completely abandon his local track however, making 2 starts at the Dollar in 2021, highlighted by an awesome battle with Phillip Shelby on Pepsi Night that nearly saw Rodgers take home the prestigious trophy for a second consecutive season.

Despite a full slate of local racing, the team continued to travel this past season. Making the trip down for the inaugural Sport Mod show at Petaluma was one that meant a little more to the team, as the 3/8ths mile gumbo oval is what the team considers to be their true home track. With the unique Petaluma surface requiring a steep learning curve, the team was happy with their 4th place finish on the night.

While many would agree that Rodgers’s track title at Quincy was easily his top achievement, one underrated facet to his 2021 season was his ability to consistently run up front when out of state. The team made 3 trips across state lines to White City Oregon’s Southern Oregon Speedway, each trip proving that Rodgers could compete (and win) against the Northwest’s finest.

Rodgers’s first Oregon start of 2021 at the annual Haudenschild Tribute was nearly perfect. Out the gate the 44 machine was fast, posting quick time in qualifying by a whopping 3 tenths (setting a new track record in the process) before comfortably winning his heat race and trophy dash. The feature looked to be going the same way before lapped traffic played a factor late, dropping Rodgers to a 2nd place finish. Rodgers showed the same speed for the inaugural PSM Showdown a month later, but issues all weekend limited the team to a 6th place finish in the $2500 to win feature.

Just like in 2018, Rodgers rose to the occasion at the R Charles Snyder Salute, winning his heat race before outlasting multiple challenges from the likes of Ryan Peery and Matt Sanders to take the opening night win. Night 2 would not fare so well, getting spun on the 2nd lap of the main before limping home to a 6th place finish.

For 2022, Tyler’s plans are currently undecided.

Tyler would like to personally thank each and every one of his sponsors and supporters who made this season a possibility, including:

Twyzted Motorsport

Uncle Matt

Uncle Nick

Grandma & Bud

Superior Fuel Cells

Kevin’s Auto and Fleet

Gandy and Staley Oil Co.

Mom

Dad

Baker Trucking

Tahoe Pure Water

Top Notch Cleaning

KPR Racing and Fab

Aunt Toni

TnT Guide Service

Season Stats:

Starts: 23

Wins: 7

Top 5’s: 13

Top 10’s: 16

Best Finish: 1st (7 times)

Heat Race Wins: 11

Track Champion at American Valley Speedway

Marysville:

3/20: 4th

Susanville:

4/2: 2nd

4/3: DNF

5/7: 1st

⅝: DNF

7/3: 6th

Merced:

Al Miller Memorial 4/16: DNF

Al Miller Memorial 4/17: 13th

Quincy:

5/1: DNF

5/15: 1st

5/29: 1st

6/5: 2nd

6/18: 1st

6/19: 1st

7/18: 1st

Southern Oregon:

6/12: 2nd

7/23: DNF

7/24: 6th

9/3: 1st

9/4: 6th

Silver Dollar:

7/4: DNF

8/20: 2nd

Petaluma:

8/14: 4th

Johnson Sweeps Super Late Model Double Header, Lipke Grabs Modified Gambler

-Schmidt A Two Time Winner on Sunday

Coos Bay, OR (6/29/2020) With racing still mostly on hold across the State of Oregon, Coos Bay Speedway provided fans and competitors alike with an action packed doubleheader weekend this past Saturday and Sunday night on the NASCAR oval.

Though the America’s Mattress Super Late Models saw a slight drop in car count this weekend, the racing remained just as intense as ever. Following up a strong 4th place showing his last time out, Gresham’s Jason Johnson found himself sweeping both nights of Super Late Model competition.

Despite leading all 30 laps of Saturday’s feature, it certainly wasn’t a cakewalk for Johnson, who had to contend with rookie driver Braden Fugate knocking on the door lap after lap. Fugate would make one last attempt at getting around Johnson for the win on the last lap, but it would ultimately cost the Bandon racer as former track champ Brody Montgomery was able to capitalize on Fugate’s error to grab 2nd. Fugate, Doug Elkins and Mike Taylor would complete the Top 5.

Sunday’s race proved to be much less stressful for Johnson. After quickly dispatching of early leader Dennis Souza, Johnson set sail, with Elkins and Montgomery in hot pursuit. Johnson would go on to win comfortably, ahead of Elkins, Montgomery, Fugate and Taylor. Pescadero, California’s Souza would be the last car scored, as last week’s winner BJ Donofrio wasn’t able to make the call for the feature.

The IMCA Modifieds took to the track for their 2nd appearance Sunday, with Yreka, California’s Jimmy Lipke claiming the 35 lap feature. While Lipke led every lap from the pole position, a fierce battle waged behind in the form of Jon Debenedetti and Bricen James. Debenedetti, last Modified event’s winner, had his hands full with the Albany star. In the end, experience won out as Debenedetti held on for 2nd. James, Sam Potter and Paul Rea rounded out the Top 5. Debenedetti and James won the earlier heat races.

Saturday’s Dwarf Car exhibition proved to be a wild event from the start. Though the race struggled to get going early, to the tune of 5 cautions in the opening 7 circuits. Once the race began to settle down, it was Eagle Point’s Brock Peters who paced the running order. Fellow Southern Oregon racer Ryan Smith proved to be Peters’s lone adversary, briefly swapping the lead back and forth in the early going before Peters pulled away.

While that all happened up front, Josh King and John Chrisman were locked in a heated contest for 4th. Over the final 15 laps of the race, the duo would swap spots a total of 7 times, with King eventually coming out on top. In the end, Peters would pick up an impressive victory over Smith, Chad Cardoza, King and Chrisman. Peters, Camden Robustelli and Chris Kress won their respective heat races.

The Street Stocks continued their strong car count from a week ago, with 16 competitors signing in Saturday and 10 making it back on Sunday. North Bend’s Ken Fox would grab the spotlight on Saturday, grabbing the lead from Dakota Godard at the midway point and never looking back. Godard should be commended for having another strong effort in just his 2nd weekend at the speedway. With the Top 2 pretty much gone, former Sportsman champ Dylan Siewell and Graig Osborne decided to put on a show of their own. For the race’s final 22 laps, these 2 drivers raced each other hard but clean, with the two finishing in a dead heat that saw Siewell grab 3rd by a nose. Phil Lovvorn would complete Saturday’s Top 5.

Gresham native Kevin Roberts was the star of the show Sunday, driving up from 6th, methodically picking off cars one by one before taking the lead with 13 to go and opening up a huge lead back to Steve Dubisar. Dubisar, who struggled with mechanical issues Saturday night, rebounded strong with a 2nd place finish, ahead of Godard, Lovvorn and Fox.

The Sportsman Late Models saw a nice boost this weekend by a few IMCA Sport Mods who wanted some extra seat time. Saturday’s event saw Jordan Henry pick up his first ever win, holding off a strong charge from Dave Schmidt. Doug Coffman would take 3rd in his first race since blowing a motor in a practice session earlier this year, while Corvallis visitor and Willamette regular Ryan Emry grabbed 4th. KC Scott would complete the Top 5.

Sunday’s event wasn’t as competitive, with Roseburg racer Dave Schmidt leading all 25 laps for his first of 2 wins on the night. Coffman would come home 2nd, holding off a stellar run from Emry over the last 10 laps. Henry and season opener winner Trace Fugate would round out the Top 5.

Speaking of IMCA Sport Mods, Dave Schmidt would grab his 2nd win of the night over an 8 car field. Schmidt once again led all 30 laps from the front row. Doug Coffman would yet again finish 2nd, having his hands full with Aaron Bloom for the majority of the race. Jordan Henry and KC Scott would be your Top 5.

The Mini Outlaws features were claimed by northern visitors again this week, with Portland’s Scott Beaudoin and Albany’s Tahlan Rogers both finding victory lane. Beaudoin actually looked to have the weekend sweep in the bag, but issues with 2 to go allowed Rogers to sneak by for the win. Jason Kellam and Beaudoin won the class’s heat race each night.

The Hornet division provided the closest feature finish of the weekend Saturday night, with Issac Stere narrowly edging Hannah Robison for the top spot. Both drivers started near the back of the field, so fans were treated to an awesome show as they both climbed up the race standings. Roseburg’s Seth Christian would pick up a dominating victory Sunday, winning by over a straightaway ahead of Stere. Kevin Rockwell and Dan Briesacher would be Sunday’s only other finishers.

Coos Bay Speedway returns to action Wednesday night for Hump Day Havoc. The Winged Sprints return to headline the card, while the Dwarf Cars, Street Stocks and Jr Stingers will also be in attendance.

Coos Bay Speedway is located in Coos Bay, OR a short jump off Hwy 101 then two & a half miles east on Hwy 42. The facility currently houses a 3/8-mile NASCAR dirt track, 1/8 mile NHRA drag strip, and hosts yearly Mud Drag events. For breaking news and updates on the 2020 season, visit our website http://www.coosbayspeedway.us and like the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/coosbayspeedway

Rob Gallaher Captures 3rd Straight As Gallaher Racing Stays Perfect

Marysville, CA (6/26/2020)

For a first time Marysville starter, Rob Gallaher could have fooled anyone. A rare solo trip for the San Jose racer, Gallaher made the most of his first trip to the Nor-Cal ¼ mile oval, leading 16 of the 20 scheduled laps en route to a dominant victory.

The heat race was a difficult one for Gallaher. Though just 8 laps in distance, Gallaher fell behind the 8 ball early. Thanks to a late race issue for two cars ahead of him, Gallaher was able to sneak in a 4th place finish.

Luckily for Gallaher, 4th place would be just where he wanted to finish, as the invert lined him up 3rd in the 18 car field for the 20 lap feature.

At the drop of the green flag, Gallaher wasted no time moving forward, as he grabbed 2nd just one turn into the race.

After 4 laps of shadowing Rick Etcheson, Gallaher took advantage of Etcheson’s mistake in turn 2 to grab the top spot. Gallaher would lead the next 6 circuits uncontested before back to back cautions on Lap 10.

Gallaher would once again open a commanding lead before one last caution waved on Lap 14.

With just 6 laps remaining, Gallaher would hold off multiple charges by local veteran Jimmy Ford before pulling away one last time to clinch the victory.

After the race,Gallaher had this to say regarding his night and Marysville as a whole: “The Marysville racers welcomed us with open arms. We loved the track and the promoter had a well ran operation. We would love to come back with a couple of cars again for a big show.”

Gallaher Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors and supporters, including:

Gallaher Company

1 Hour Drain

Tire Time

Express Car Wash

Yeti Coolers

Coors

Snap On

Built by the Captain

Interested in having press releases like these written and dispersed for your race team throughout the season? Contact Daren Ricks of DRC Motorsports Media here on Facebook, at darenricks999@gmail.com or at (530) 828-0112 to discuss a plan that fits your team’s needs.

Gallaher Racing Looks To Build Off Exceptional 2019 Campaign

San Jose, CA (3/03/2020) Coming into 2020 with heaps of expectations after a stellar season this past year, the two headed monster of Rob and Joe Gallaher are ready to crush expectations and their competition. The San Jose, California based Father and Son Hobby Stock team once again claimed the Ocean Speedway Hobby Stock track championship in 2019, with Rob winning his 3rd in the past 4 years, and 4th total title in the previous 6.

The anticipation is building in the Gallaher camp as we grow closer to March 13th’s season opener at Ocean, and for good reason. The team was busy in the off-season building a completely new car for the patriarch of the Gallaher family, Joe. Pre-season testing this past Thursday at Merced Speedway couldn’t have gone much better, and the early results have the team ecstatic.

Gallaher Racing’s main goal for 2020 is simple, add another title to the family’s incredible list of accomplishments. They believe that putting a concerted effort to focus almost entirely on the local points chase will go a long way in helping accomplish the feat.

If 2019 is any indication, their fellow division racers will have trouble preventing another back to back title run for the Gallahers. Rob was phenomenally consistent in his latest championship winning season, finishing outside the Top 5 only twice across his 15 feature starts. While the consistency was certainly impressive, one could argue that his 7 main event wins were an even bigger achievement.

By far, the biggest win for either driver in 2019 was Rob’s win at the illustrious Pat and Jim Pettit Shootout. The Shootout is highly regarded as the most prestigious event at their home track, and Rob’s night 1 win last year marked his 2nd triumph in the race’s 9 year history.

Joe Gallaher wasn’t far from the track title himself this past year, but multiple early season mechanical gremlins ultimately wound up being the deciding factor in the title race. Even with the early season problems, only a 19 point gap separated the two after the final race. On top of that, both Gallahers were consistent to the point that there was over a 100 point difference between championship runner up Joe Gallaher and 3rd place in points, truly showing their stranglehold on the division in 2019.

In the midst of a stellar season, Joe also picked up career wins number 2 and 3 along the way in back to back races, including what has likely become their most infamous moment sharing the track. In late June, the two were racing intensely for the win in the late going, when Joe got a little aggressive and sent his son for a spin. Joe would hold off the competition for his 2nd win of the season. Joe acknowledged on the ride home that night that he “may have that one comin’ back around”.

When asked about his thoughts on the upcoming season, an excited Rob Gallaher had this to say: “We are fired up for the 2020 season. After Merced changed their hobby rules to exclude all the other hobby stocks in the state we decided to really focus on our home track in Watsonville. We have built a whole new car for my dad to maintain the competitive edge he had before damaging his frame at the McGowan race in Bakersfield last year. He has the pep in his step again that wasn’t there at the end of last year. Winning will be commonplace for both Gallaher cars again starting 2020. We have made setup changes and drivetrain improvements to help us stay on top. We know our competition is getting better so we have to be making changes to be better too. I can’t wait to hit the dirt circle on Friday the 13th of March.”

Gallaher Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors and supporters, including:

Gallaher Company

1 Hour Drain

Tire Time

Express Car Wash

Yeti Coolers

Coors

Snap On

Built by the Captain

Interested in having writeups like these done for your race team throughout the season? Contact Daren Ricks of DRC Motorsports Media here on Facebook, at darenricks999@gmail.com or at (530) 828-0112 to discuss a plan that fits your team’s needs.

Curran Scores 5th Victory on Emotional Weekend For The Curran Family

(7/8/2019)

While every victory obviously means a lot to a racecar driver, Saturday night at Antioch Speedway meant so much more for B Mod winner Brent Curran. In the past 4 years, Curran has lost 3 extremely close family members, each passing on in the first week of July. With Curran unsure if he’d be able to race Saturday, he knew they’d want him out at the track doing what he loves, thus Curran made the decision to race Saturday night.

The night kicked off with heat race action, with an unfortunate pill draw lining Curran up last in the 5 car race. In the first two laps Curran made 2 quick moves, passing last week’s winner Scott Savell and point leader Tommy Fraser to slide into 3rd position. Though he was able to catch 2nd place runner Les Friend, Curran would have to settle for 3rd in the heat.

For the feature, Curran would roll off 5th, but by the end of the opening lap, he was already up to 2nd. Just one lap later, Curran would capitalize on a mistake by race leader Kevin Brown to grab the top spot.

While Brown was able to hang close to Curran for a couple of laps, Curran quickly began pulling away and opening a huge gap back to 2nd. By the time the first caution waved 7 laps in, Curran had amassed a full straightaway’s length lead over Brown and the rest of the field.

Once the race got back underway it was right back to business for Curran, this time with a new challenger in Les Friend riding behind in 2nd. Just like before the caution, once a few laps had passed, Curran was once again ahead by a sizeable margin.

When all was said and done, Curran would go on to win the feature by nearly half a lap. The feature netted Curran an increased $500 win winnings, as well as narrowing the points battle with Fraser to just 2 points.

When asked for a comment about his night, Curran said “This last week has been a very tough week for me emotionally. I lost 3 family members very close to me within a few days of each other in the last 4 years. My Dena on 7/3/17, my Grandpa Barry on 7/5/17 and my Grandpa Jerry on 7/7/15… It was even up in the air that I was going to race Saturday with where my head was this week. They would’ve wanted me to race my heart out so I did. Had a solid heat race on one of the best track surfaces I’ve seen all year at Antioch. Car was solid and only needed to make a few minor adjustments for the main as the track dried out a bit. Went out with the intention in the main to take it easy the first few laps and keep the nose clean and go racing once everyone got sorted out. The car felt great the first few laps and within a couple laps found myself out front. Moved around a bit trying to see where the car felt the best but finally settled in on the bottom and never looked back. All in all another great week for points and an emotional win to top that.”

Brent would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:

Steel City Motorsports

Steadfast Construction

GRT Race Cars Inc.

Empire RC

89 Design

All Flow Muffler & Auto Repair

Jeff Fields (Brandit Designs)

Red Six RaceGear

Velocita-USA

Daren Ricks

DRC Motorsports Media

Sorensen Does it Again, Now a 5 Time Winner in 2019

(6/24/2019)

What a start to the 2019 race season it’s been for El Sobrante native Chris Sorensen. The defending Antioch Speedway Hobby Stock champ has set a ridiculous pace so far, picking up 5 wins and 5 runner up finishes across his 1st 10 starts of the season. Sorensen’s 5th and most recent win came this past Saturday night, extending his points lead to 50 points heading into the final weekend of June.

Sorensen’s night kicked off with heat race action, where he’d roll off 3rd of the 3 cars that made the call. Sorensen immediately took 2nd on the start, than settled in behind race leader Trevor Clymens. Though he looked to the inside of Clymens multiple times over the next 7 laps, he couldn’t find the right spot to make a pass, taking 2nd in the heat race.

For the feature, Sorensen would start 9th in the 11 car field. Sorensen was a busy man early, making 5 passes in the opening 2 circuits, including dodging a car that was sideways directly in front of him.

A lap later Sorensen found himself in 3rd, and knocking on the door for 2nd. The 10 lap battle for 2nd eventually evolved into a 3 car battle for the lead as Sorensen and Clymens tracked down race leader Breanna Troen.

With 8 to go, Sorensen grabbed 2nd from Troen, leaving just Clymens ahead. Sorensen and Clymens would race door to door lap after lap, with Sorensen gaining the upper hand as the leaders came to 2 to go. Sorensen would get lucky on the last lap. As he got out of shape coming out of turn 2, so did Clymens in 2nd, allowing Sorensen to maintain his advantage and walk away victorious yet again at Antioch Speedway.

Chris would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:

Brc Race Cars

GET OUT OF TOWN! Professional Pet Care

LRT Graphics

Lucky Dog Racing League

Hotshots Motorsports Photography

Montalvo Motorsports

Joe Gallaher Finally Reaches the Top as Gallaher Racing Places 1-2

(6/17/2019)

After a frustrating span of a year and a half without reaching victory lane, veteran racer Joe Gallaher is back on top. Joe had come close on numerous occasions throughout the early portion of the season, but late race issues always seemed to derail his hopes. That all changed Friday night.

The night started off with Rob Gallaher starting 3rd in the first heat, while Joe started on the pole for the 2nd heat. At the start of his heat race, Rob made it 3-wide for the lead in the first turn. Rob couldn’t get the drive off the turn to make the pass stick and fell back to 3rd. With 3 to go, Rob would pass Bobby Huckaby Jr for 2nd, and would go on to finish there.

Joe’s heat was much more of a breeze. After starting on the pole, Joe would lead all 8 laps to win by a healthy margin over Wally Kennedy, the driver he’s been battling for 2nd in points.

For the feature, Joe would roll off 3rd, while Rob had start last in 11th after winning the previous race. While Joe fell to 4th on the opening lap, Rob quickly passed two cars to take 9th.

Just 2 laps later, Joe would make a big move on the inside to pass both 2nd and 3rd, with a caution quickly waving after as the 3rd place car went around. For the restart, Joe would restart 2nd, while Rob had moved into 7th.

On the restart Rob was on the move, taking 6th and 5th in quick succession. All the while, Joe was all over race leader Bobby Huckaby Jr for the top spot. 2 short laps later, Rob was once again moving forward, this time claiming 4th.

After 6 laps of trailing, Joe finally took the lead on lap 7, using a big run on the high side to motor past Huckaby. Just after crossing the line as the leader, the 2nd and final caution of the race waved.

As he had done all night, Rob made quick work of his competition and swiped 3rd on the restart. While Rob began to work on Huckaby for 2nd, Joe began to pull away.

Once Rob took 2nd, he did everything he could to reel in Joe, but he just couldn’t find the speed as Joe finally overcame all the bad luck from the early portion of the season to find victory lane. Rob would ultimately finish 2nd to complete a stellar night of racing for Gallaher Racing.

Gallaher Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors and supporters, including:

Gallaher Company

1 Hour Drain

Tire Time

Express Car Wash

Yeti Coolers

Coors

Snap On

Built by the Captain

Daren Ricks

DRC Motorsports Media

Curran Returns to Victory Lane in Dramatic Fashion at Antioch Speedway

(6/17/2019) (PC Katrina Kniss)

In a wild finish that you’ll see discussed across social media over the next few days, Antioch native Brent Curran once again found victory lane at Antioch Speedway this past Saturday night. Curran’s last lap pass has already been a big point of discussion across Facebook the past two days, drawing loud responses from fans and friends on either side of the story.

Saturday night as always kicked off with heat race action, where Curran would start 2nd. Though pole sitter Tommy Fraser stayed side by side with Curran for the majority of the opening lap, Curran quickly found himself pulling away from the pack. Curran would hold a consistent four car-lengths lead for the remainder of the race, going on to win ahead of Fraser and Cameron Swank.

For the feature, Curran would roll off 5th. With the high line being the preferred line around the track Saturday night, Curran would fall back to 6th on the first circuit, before regaining 5th on Lap 2. A few seconds later, the first and only caution of the race would fly for a crash in turn 4.

Curran was on a mission on the ensuing restart, flying from 5th to 2nd in a matter of two turns. This left race leader Chris Sieweke as the only driver ahead of Curran. Once he had taken 2nd, Curran looked underneath Sieweke a few times before realizing there was little to no grip on the bottom, eventually settling in behind Sieweke.

While Curran practically traced Sieweke’s tire tracks for much of the next 16 laps, he began looking for a spot to make his move, trying to maybe find a weakness in the line Sieweke was running.

Curran would again look to the inside of Sieweke multiple times as the laps wound down, at one point pulling up to his door as the two battled through lapped traffic before having to back out to avoid a collision.

With one lap left, Curran had to make his move. Curran would carry a great run through Turns 1 and 2 as he sped down the backstretch. As both drivers drove into Turn 3, Sieweke left the bottom open, giving Curran the chance to dive to his inside. Curran would get just far enough ahead of Sieweke to complete the pass, and went on to take the win in one of the most thrilling finishes of 2019.

After the race, Curran said: “Well Saturday was definitely exciting to say the least. Already could tell in the heat that the car had speed and if the track was racey enough the fans were in for a good one to make up for the week before. Our invert draw set us back a bit but was confident enough in our long run speed that we could still get to the front. Had a great time racing the 74 car the whole race and sucks that the finish ended up the way it did but no racer shows up to finish second. I admit there was contact and rubbing involved but after asking officials and fellow racers I’m content moving forward. I’d expect the same hard racing from anyone when it comes to a win on the last lap. That’s what the sports about and it attracts fans one way or another. Everyone has their opinion and I respect all of them. Can’t make everyone happy. On to next week for 2 days in Oregon.”

Brent would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:

Steel City Motorsports

Steadfast Construction

GRT Race Cars Inc.

Empire RC

89 Design

All Flow Muffler & Auto Repair

Jeff Fields (Brandit Designs)

Red Six RaceGear

Velocita-USA

Daren Ricks

DRC Motorsports Media

Rob Gallaher Posts 2nd Consecutive Win, Joe Gallaher Loses Top 3 Run Late

(6/9/2019)

We’re just 6 races into the 2019 season for Gallaher Racing, and Rob Gallaher is staking his claim atop the Ocean Speedway Hobby Stock division. While his father Joe has followed close behind, the San Jose native has claimed 4 wins in his first 6 starts, heading into the 3rd weekend of June with a commanding 31 point lead over Joe.

Joe has been in a rather close points battle of his own, with just 10 points separating he and Wally Kennedy for the runner up spot in the standings. If not for a few late mishaps, Joe would be right there challenging for the points lead.

Friday night kicked off at Ocean Speedway with heat race action, slotting Rob to start 4th in the first heat, while Joe sat on the pole for heat two. Over the course of his 8 lap heat race, Rob was only able to pass two cars and settle for 2nd after winning a close battle with Nick Triolo in the closing laps of the race.

Joe’s heat was far less competitive. Joe would lead all 8 laps from the pole to win by nearly a quarter of a lap when it was all said and done. Since Rob had won the previous race, he would have to start 8th in the feature (Though a car dropping back would move him to 6th), while the invert had Joe starting 3rd.

Three laps into the race, the first caution would wave as Joe and DJ Keldsen got together and looped around in Turn 2. The incident would force Joe to restart 7th, while Rob was moved up to 3rd thanks to those two restarting in the rear.

On the ensuing restart, 2 cars would get together to bring out another yellow, which moved Joe up two spots into 5th. Just after Rob finally cleared Jerry Skelton for 2nd, another mid race caution waved to bunch up the field.

Once the race got back underway, Joe was also able to pass Skelton for 3rd, as both Gallaher Racing cars began hounding race leader Nick Triolo for the top spot. With just a few laps left, Rob used a strong run on the high side to pull a quick dive under Triolo for the lead. Joe would attempt to follow suit, but with just 4 laps left, he would spin, taking himself out of contention.

As the final laps clicked off, Rob would be able to hold off a hard charging Triolo to pick up yet another victory. After his spin, Joe was only able to climb back up to 6th, falling just short in a drag race to the finish line for 5th.

Gallaher Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors and supporters, including:

Gallaher Company

1 Hour Drain

Tire Time

Express Car Wash

Yeti Coolers

Coors

Snap On

Built by the Captain

Daren Ricks

DRC Motorsports Media

Curran Returns to Victory Lane at Antioch Speedway For the 3rd Time in 2019

(6/2/2019) (PC Katrina Kniss)

As we head into the month of June, Antioch’s Brent Curran has found himself right where he wants to be, tied for the Antioch Speedway B Mod points lead. It’s been a strong run of finishes as of late for Curran, including 3 wins in his past 5 starts. If Curran is able to continue to ride this wave of momentum, he could very well find himself as the track champ at the end of the season.

Curran would start 4th in his heat race, before moving to 3rd on the opening lap. Curran then went to work on Tommy Fraser for 2nd, but as he looked inside, he clipped an inside tire, bending a few suspension pieces in the process. Noticeably slower for the rest of the race, Curran would limp across the finish line in 4th.

With plenty of work to do for the main, Curran and his crew went to work, getting the car as close to where it had been as possible. The team’s hard work would be worth it as the inversion gave Curran the pole for the feature.

From the drop of the green flag, Curran was gone. Curran had managed to open a nearly 4 second lead before the lone caution of the race waved 7 laps into the event.

On the restart, 2nd place runner Kenny Shrader gave Curran a good run for his money, but Curran would again begin to pull away after a couple laps, leaving Shrader and Todd Gomez to battle over 2nd. From there it was smooth sailing for Curran, who would lead all 20 laps en route to his 3rd win of the season, and 8th of his B Mod career.

After the race, Curran said: “This weekend was probably the most laid back I’ve felt at the track in awhile. Walked in the gate with no pressure on my shoulders, was just excited to be there and drive my racecar. Car felt good in the heat just made a rookie mistake running the bottom and clipped the infield tire. Bent a few things in the front end but we were able to get it back in working condition in the main. Still had a couple bent parts but it was drivable. For the main we made some changes on the car that we weren’t really sure of with the rear end still being a bit new to us. Starting on the pole I knew if I could get the start I needed I could get out front and hopefully get some clean laps with the setup changes we made and see how the car reacted. First few laps I could tell that the car was now doing what I needed it to through the dry and it was our race to lose at that point and was able to pull off another win. 3 wins this year is obviously pretty cool but still a long way from our long term goal of a championship this year. We still have some work to do and still need some solid finishes but I’m just glad the last few races have been much better than our first 2. The whole team has needed the runs we’ve had lately.”

Brent would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:

Steel City Motorsports

Steadfast Construction

GRT Race Cars Inc.

Empire RC

89 Design

All Flow Muffler & Auto Repair

Jeff Fields (Brandit Designs)

Red Six RaceGear

Velocita-USA

Daren Ricks

DRC Motorsports Media

https://www.patreon.com/drcmotorsportsmedia (New laptop fund)

Gallaher Racing Sweeps Top 2 Spots at Ocean Speedway

(6/2/2019)

Through the first 5 events of the season, it’s beginning to look like a two horse race for the Ocean Speedway Hobby Stock championship, as the father and son team of Joe and Robert Gallaher have begun to distance themselves from the rest of the field. One of this season’s more pleasant surprises so far has been the improvement of the elder Gallaher, Joe, who has put a rough 2018 behind him with a strong start to the 2019 campaign.

Joe has been impressive to say the least, posting 3 Top 5’s in his first 5 starts. The lone 2 finishes outside the Top 5 were both no fault of his own, as he suffered tire failures to take him out of contention. Friday night, Joe again looked to have a shot at the win, but one mistake on a late race restart would shuffle him back to 3rd.

Friday night started off with both Gallaher Racing cars in the 1st of the division’s 2 heat races, with Rob starting 3rd and Joe starting 7th. Joe was noticeably fast from the start, moving up 3 spots to 4th behind Rob in the first 2 laps. Both drivers would move up another spot a lap later to take 2nd and 3rd respectively. Though Joe was able to reel in Rob with 3 to go, he wouldn’t be able to complete the pass, as Rob and Joe finished 2nd and 3rd.

For the feature, Rob would roll off 3rd, while Joe started 5th. After the initial start was called back, Rob would be moved up to the front row for the next attempt. Rob would briefly hold the lead for the first lap, but a big shove up the track allowed DJ Keldsen to move to his inside and take the lead.

While Rob had his hands full with Keldsen, Joe had moved into 3rd in the opening 2 laps, and was quickly pulling in the Top 2. After a lap 4 caution, Joe used this opportunity to pull to the inside of Rob to challenge for 2nd. The two would remain side by side for the next 4 laps, before Joe was finally able to clear Rob and set his sights on Keldsen.

Though Joe was running quicker lap times than the leader, he just couldn’t find a way around until another caution waved with 8 to go. On the restart, however, Joe slightly over drove the first turn, dropping him back to 6th as a result. Meanwhile up front, Rob found his way around Keldsen for the lead with 6 to go. While Rob did all he could to hold off Keldsen, Joe had quickly sliced his way back up to 3rd.

Joe was able to get back to the bumper of the front 2 drivers but just ran out of time, as Rob picked up his 3rd win of the season to extend his points lead over Joe.

After the race, Rob had this to say: “The last restart helped me big time, because Keldsen and my dad had started to pull away a little, causing me to panic and over drive the car a bit. I wasn’t the fastest car on the track, (Joe was putting down laps 2/10ths faster than my car) but I was able to get In to the right lane at the right time and block a hard charging Keldsen. I felt him a few times but knew he would have to wreck me or go on the outside of me to beat me. I knew if I could just stay down on the bottom I would be able to fend him off until the checkers came out.”

Gallaher Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors and supporters, including:
Gallaher Company
1 Hour Drain
Tire Time
Express Car Wash
Yeti Coolers
Coors
Snap On
Built by the Captain

https://www.patreon.com/drcmotorsportsmedia (New laptop fund)

Sorensen Back in Victory Lane For 3rd Time in 2019

(5/27/19) (PC Katrina Kniss)

For the 3rd time in the early portion of 2019, El Sobrante native Chris Sorensen found himself in victory lane Saturday night. The defending Antioch Speedway Hobby Stock champ has set a torrid pace through the first 6 races, posting 3 wins and 3 2nd place finishes. Sorensen’s hot start has also secured him a 42 point lead as we head into the month of August.

The night as always started off with heat race action, where Sorensen started 4th. After quickly dispatching of 2nd and 3rd, Sorensen found himself right behind race leader John Wacht. It wouldn’t take long for Sorensen to clear Wacht, setting sail to pick up his 5th heat race win on the season.

For the feature, Sorensen would roll off 7th in the 12 car field. From the drop of the green flag, Sorensen was on the move, picking off 6th and 5th in the opening two laps. Sorensen’s next two passes would come a couple of laps later, as the 3rd and 4th place cars got together, allowing Sorensen to slip by both for 3rd.

Two short laps later and Sorensen was on the move again, using the low line in turns 3 and 4 to pass Will Buirch for 2nd. With the rest of the field out of the way, that left just Breanna Troen ahead in the race for the lead.

After a mid race restart, that battle for the win was on, as Sorensen and Troen raced side by side multiple times, with Sorensen just unable to complete the pass. After briefly falling back, Sorensen began reeling Troen back in with just a few laps left.

With 3 laps left, Sorensen and Troen made contact multiple times on the frontstretch and in turns 1 and 2, resulting in Sorensen taking the lead. Sorensen would lead the last 2 laps uncontested to win the main event.

Chris will be back in action June 8th at Antioch Speedway for the Jerry Hetrick Memorial.

Chris would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:

Brc Race Cars

GET OUT OF TOWN! Professional Pet Care

LRT Graphics

Lucky Dog Racing League

Hotshots Motorsports Photography

Montalvo Motorsports

Brown Grabs 5th Win of the Season in Susanville, Follows Win With Runner Up Finish at Quincy

(5/14/2019)

Coming in off his 4th win of the season last weekend at Quincy’s American Valley Speedway, Pittsburg racer Keith Brown Jr rode a big wave of momentum into this past weekend. That wave of momentum would carry him to another win on Friday night. After Friday’s win at Susanville’s Diamond Valley Speedway, Brown has now won 4 races in the past 3 weeks.

Friday’s win was another hard fought race at Susanville, with Brown having to come from an 8th place starting position in the feature. It didn’t take Brown long to move forward, moving up four spots into 4th in the first 2 laps.

After a lengthy red flag delay on lap 3, Brown went to work on the restart, going from 4th to 2nd in one corner before a caution waved to negate the move. Once again Brown began making moves on the restart, quickly taking 3rd, then 2nd over a 3 lap span. Just a lap later yet another caution came out.

Brown was all over the leader on the restart but just couldn’t find the room to pass. The cautions just kept coming, and with 10 to go, Brown took the lead. Once Brown had the top spot under his control, there was no one who stood a chance at catching him. Even with 3 more late restarts to give the field a chance to pass him, Brown drove away from the field each time, ultimately walking away with an emphatic win.

Saturday at American Valley Speedway unfortunately didn’t bring Brown as much success. After having to come from the back twice, Brown would go on to finish 2nd in the lone heat race.

Brown’s heat race finish then lined him up 4th for the 20 lap feature. In the first turn, Brown went from 4th to 2nd. Within no time at all, Brown had pulled to the bumper of the leader, before the first caution came out. Unfortunately for Brown, a few laps into the restart, he would spin in turn 4 and heave to restart at the rear of the field.

Brown was determined to at least finish towards the front, as he climbed up to 3rd before a late caution. On the restart Brown took 2nd. While it looked as though Brown may have had something for the leader for a moment, the car wasn’t handling nearly as well as Brown would have licked, which cost him. At the end of it all, Brown would walk away with a 2nd place finish.

Keith would like to send a special thank you to Riley Simmons and the Simmons Family, as well as Ryan Svensson for their help this past weekend.

This weekend’s plans are currently tentative.

Keith would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:

My wife

Ricky Childress jr

My dad

Tim Barlow

Joe Glade

Darrell Hughes

Steel City Motorsports

JGE Motorsports

HRT Shock Service

Little J’s Burgers

Engine Quest

CTA Prints

Performance Bodies

Tire Demon

Competition Carburetors

Cooper Grabs First Win of 2019 at Bill Brownell Memorial

(5/5/2019)

While Yuba City’s Brian Cooper has certainly showed plenty of speed in the early portion of 2019, feature wins have just slipped out of his reach. Whether it’s been mechanical failures, or a terrible redraw not giving him enough time to get through the field, Cooper had been held winless. That all changed Friday night.

Friday night was the site of the annual Bill Brownell Memorial at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway, one of the most prestigious races in the state. Cooper would be slotted in to start 4th in his heat race, but he quickly found himself 2nd behind leader Phil Marino. Though Cooper felt he had a quicker car than Marino, he thought it wasn’t worth risking an incident, and followed Marino to the finish in 2nd.

For the main, Cooper would redraw a 6. In just 1 short lap, Cooper went from 6th to 2nd,moving like a hot knife through butter. Once Cooper settled into 2nd, he began following the tracks of leader Keith Brown Jr, waiting for Brown to make a mistake.

Multiple times, it looked as though Cooper had taken the lead, but a caution would come out and nullify the move, handing the lead back to Brown. Finally, with 10 laps to go, Cooper made the winning move, as he cleared Brown for the lead. It wouldn’t be a cakewalk, however, as both Brown and Micheli trailed closely behind.

With just a few laps left, a late caution would bunch up the field one last time. Cooper wouldn’t be fazed though, executing a perfect restart and pulling away with the win.

After the race, Brian said “This sport can be very humbling. With everybody in the class getting better which makes for better races and better competition the wins are harder to come by. So you have to be on top of your game each week and after trying a bunch of new stuff that didn’t quite work like we had wanted so far we went back to basically having the same thing we had in the car last year. Started 4th in the heat and finished P2. Had the fastest car just didn’t want to push it and risk damage so just settled in and cruised. Started P6 in the feature and jumped to 2nd on the opening lap. Was rolling around the bottom and was waiting for the leader to make a mistake. Had the pass for the lead twice and the caution came out. 3rd time was a charm with around 10 to go. The car was really good but still have to make it better. Thanks to everybody that makes it possible for us to do what we love to do. It’s always special to win the memorial races.”

Brian’s next race will be May 25th and 26th at Marysville Raceway.

Brian would like to thank all of his sponsors, including:

Automaxx
Victory Circle Chassis
Five 1 seven designs

Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabrication

R&J Landscaping

Alpine Roofing

And Supporters:

David and Rena cooper

My wife Stacey Bartlett-Cooper

Crew guy and friend Michael Sevigny
Interested in having writeups like these done for your race team throughout the season? Contact Daren Ricks of DRC Motorsports Media here on Facebook, at darenricks999@gmail.com or at (530) 828-0112 to discuss a plan that fits your team’s needs.

Daren Ricks
DRC Motorsports Media

Brown Puts Together Dominant Weekend; Sweeps Nor Cal Doubleheader

(4/29/2019) Image by Krazy KC Photography

While the previous weekend was one Keith Brown Jr would rather forget, the Pittsburg native turned things around in a big way this past Friday and Saturday. Since Brown is chasing IMCA state points, the team made the nearly 5 hour trek to race at Diamond Valley Speedway in Susanville Friday, before heading to Quincy’s American Valley Speedway.

Friday night started off pretty well for Brown. After starting 5th in the heat race, he quickly found himself running 2nd. Unfortunately for Brown, Craig Nieman would pass him on a late restart to reclaim 2nd, relegating Brown to 3rd where he’d ultimately finish.

Brown would roll off 9th in Friday night’s feature, but with the adjustments he made after the heat, he was confident he could make a charge to the front. Within the first lap, Brown had made his way up to 7th, before the first of what could only be described as a multitude of cautions waved.

On the restart Brown was on the move again, picking off 6th and 5th before the 2nd caution came out less than a lap into the restart. Once again Brown claimed two spots on the ensuing restart, moving into 3rd before yet another caution came out.

After a lengthy delay, Brown would wind up as the leader on the next restart. As soon as Brown was in the lead, it quickly became clear that there was not a car on track that could hang with him. Despite a few more cautions in the late stages of the race, Brown would go on to win convincingly. After the race, Brown was awarded with the Competition Carburetors fastest lap award. On top of the cash prize he earned that night, he was also entered into the year end drawing for a $500 grand prize.

Saturday Night, Brown would visit the scenic American Valley Speedway in Quincy to close out the weekend. The car was a rocket from the moment it was unloaded from the trailer. Brown made quick work of his heat race, going from 3rd to 1st in the blink of an eye. Brown would go on to win the heat race by a large margin.

Brown’s speed would then carry over into the main event. After starting on the outside front row, Brown quickly staked himself out to a commanding lead. Lap after lap, Brown’s lead would continue to grow. Though there was a mid-race caution, Brown would once again pull away on the restart. Brown was in a league of his own Saturday night and it was on full display in the feature. Brown would again go on to win the feature in dominant fashion, sweeping the weekend and picking up his 2nd and 3rd wins on the season.

When asked about the weekend, Keith said “This last weekend on Friday we climbed the mountain to go try our luck at Jeff and Kim Olschowka’s Diamond mountain speedway in Susanville ,Ca. Awesome facility. After several early cautious and a few good moves we end up out front and we were able to get the win. We were also awarded the Competition Carburetors fastest lap award for the main event. On Saturday we made the drive over to American valley speedway, in Quincy, Ca. Started 3rd in the heat and got the win, pulled the outside front row for the main and even with a very tight race car we were able to keep it out front and put ourselves in the winner’s circle for the second night in a row. Special thanks goes to Riley Simmons and his family for letting us use their shop to get the car cleaned up and ready for Saturday.”

Keith would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:

My wife

Ricky Childress jr

My dad

Tim Barlow

Joe Glade

Darrell Hughes

Steel City Motorsports

JGE Motorsports

HRT Shock Service

Little J’s Burgers

Engine Quest

CTA Prints

Performance Bodies

Tire Demon

Competition Carburetors
Interested in having writeups like these done for your race team throughout the season? Contact Daren Ricks of DRC Motorsports Media here on Facebook, at darenricks999@gmail.com or at (530) 828-0112 to discuss a plan that fits your team’s needs.

Daren Ricks
DRC Motorsports Media

Rob Gallaher Claims First Win of 2019 / Joe Gallaher Recovers From Late Problems to Salvage 4th

(4/27/2019)

Entering the season, Gallaher Racing’s stated goal was to run for as many wins as possible. Friday night at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway would provide the team’s first win of the season, but still left the team wondering what could have been.

The night as always started off with heat race action, with Joe and Rob Gallaher starting 2nd and 6th in the first 8 lap heat. At the drop of the green flag, Joe Gallaher took the lead, while Rob quickly moved to 4th on the opening lap. As Rob began working on DJ Keldsen for 3rd, Joe had his hands full with 2nd place runner Jerry Skelton.

As the laps ticked off, Joe started inching away. Behind him, Rob had settled into a 3 car battle for 2nd with Skelton and Keldsen, racing side by side with Keldsen for a couple laps before eventually completing the pass. Joe would go on to win the heat race by a comfortable margin, with Rob finishing 3rd.

The main event inversion would then line Rob up 2nd for the feature, while Joe would have to charge from 6th. Rob would use his front row starting position to immediately grab the lead as the race began. His father Joe wasn’t far behind, moving up to 3rd in the first 5 laps.

While the early portion of the race was littered with cautions, Rob maintained his steady pace up front. Under a lap 9 caution, 2nd place runner Jerry Skelton left the track, meaning Rob and Joe would be restarting 1st and 2nd. On the ensuing restart, Joe stayed right along side Rob, as the father and son duo raced side by side for a brief 2 laps before another caution waved.

This caution would bring an end to Joe’s chances at a win, as a flat tire forced him to restart 8th. While Rob would go on to easily win the main event, Joe was busy mounting a charge from the back. Though he ran out of laps, Joe was able to climb from 8th to 4th over the last few laps, settling for 4th as a consolation prize on a night where he very possibly could have won.

When asked about the night, Rob said “We tried something on the X car and it paid off but was very risky, we only weighed 3 pounds over the minimum. We will have to reassess that for next race and play it safer. Joe probably was better all around, he pulled up next to me for the lead, I got worried. If it wasn’t for his flat tire he might of won that race. Hopefully there is be many more 1-2 racing action for the Gallaher team this year. Both cars were fast!”

Gallaher Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors and supporters, including:
Gallaher Company
1 Hour Drain
Tire Time
Express Car Wash
Yeti Coolers
Coors
Snap On
Built by the Captain

Curran’s Run of Bad Luck Comes to a Close, Puts on Clinic at Antioch en route to Win

(4/22/2019)

Ever since Antioch’s own Brent Curran declared his intent to chase the Antioch Speedway B Mod title, his luck on the track had fallen off the rails. 2 consecutive DNF’s later and with doubts arising, he and the team decided to take one last shot on Saturday night to see if the title was worth chasing.

The night of course started off with his heat race, where Brent started 4th. After passing Mark Garner for 3rd, Curran went to work on Todd Gomez for 2nd. Unfortunately for Curran, he ran out of laps and had to settle for 3rd.

The inversion would help Curran tremendously, as he would slot in to start on the outside of the front row for the feature. At the drop of the green flag, Curran was gone. Within 2 laps, Curran had staked out an almost straightaway’s length lead back to 2nd place.

It only took Curran 4 laps to hit lapped traffic, and once he caught them, he began maneuvering through them like a hot knife through butter. Curran was making multiple lines work while the rest of the field predominantly ran the high side. As the laps clicked off, Curran began running into heavier traffic. Though 2nd and 3rd were slowly inching closer, they couldn’t reach Curran.

With 7 laps left, the lone caution of the race came out. This would give his closest challengers one chance to contend for the win. On the ensuing restart, 2nd place runner Fred Ryland was able to keep Curran within striking distance. Ryland would look inside multiple times over the next few laps, but just could not find a way past Curran.

Curran then began pulling away again. Curran would amass a big enough lead to go on to win the race comfortably, picking up his first win in 2019 in the process.

After the race, an excited, but relieved Curran said “On Saturday, we just wanted to go to the track and have a solid finish with a straight car at the end of the night. We didn’t want to have to make the decision to run somewhere else to lighten the load on our wallets. Having a home track minutes from your house to go to every week with a solid fan base is definitely way more ideal than traveling every week. To finally end the bad streak with a win though was that much more special and huge for keeping our points run alive. To see all the smiles on my crew and families faces that know what I’ve been going through the last couple weeks was very emotional and special for me. That monkey is finally off our back and hopefully we can just keep the momentum from here.”

Brent would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:

Steel City Motorsports

Steadfast Construction

GRT Race Cars Inc.

Empire RC

89 Design

All Flow Muffler & Auto Repair

Jeff Fields (Brandit Designs)

Red Six RaceGear

Velocita-USA

PC: Katrina Kniss

Gallaher Racing Looks to go Above and Beyond 2018 Performance in 2019

(3/24/2019)

The father and son team of Joe and Robert Gallaher comes into the 2019 racing season looking to once again pile on the wins and podium finishes. Gallaher Racing was a force to be reckoned with last year, claiming 7 wins and over 20 total Top 10’s before Robert had to bow out of the points hunt late in the season.

While his father Joe didn’t find the same success in 2018, the team made a move in the offseason to switch Joe from a Camaro, over to a new metric Medieval Chassis built to the Ocean Speedway rule specs. Robert himself had switched to a metric chassis this past season, and with the immediate success he found, the move to transition Joe over to a metric was a no brainer for the team.

Joe has already been to 1 practice session and 1 race with new car. The team was happy with the 30 or so laps they got in at Antioch last week, which lead to hauling the car down to the KCRP dirt track this past Friday for some racing action. While the car felt extremely competitive, the team’s main goal was to just get some solid laps in, so Joe held back throughout the race to avoid any unnecessary repairs.

Though Joe has only run roughly 60 laps on the new chassis, he is already raving about the improved handling, saying “the new car is much smoother and more obedient to drive. It’s not a arm wrestling match like my old car, she turns much easier” and “smooth is fast”. When asked if he was happy about the change, Joe answered ““I will be happier if the better results are there this next year compared to last year.”

Though last year brought a bit of a learning curve with the new style of chassis, Robert Gallaher is confident that the team’s speed and consistency will be much better out the gate in 2019. “We learned so much last year on the metric chassis’ setup and I know this year we will be much faster and more consistent right out of the gate. I learned some things the hard way in 2018 that Joe won’t have to learn thus hopefully speeding up his learning curve on the metric chassis. We have a firmer grasp on the setup this time around and it will show from Night 1. My car will be the same as we finished the Pat Pettit with a huge win and second place with the best field in Northern California minus some improvements we made for consistency and reliability. We made changes for the Petit to test for 2019 and they worked, moving forward we are better, faster and smoother. It will be tough to beat us every week.” commented Robert.

The team’s main goals for this season are to pick up as many main event victories as possible, and hopefully couple those with 2 solid points finishes. If Gallaher Racing has anywhere near the speed they had in 2018, this should be an easily obtainable goal.

Gallaher Racing is set to make their season debut at Ocean Speedway this Friday night, weather permitting.

Gallaher Racing would like to thank all of their sponsors and supporters, including:
Gallaher Company
1 Hour Drain
Tire Time
Express Car Wash
Yeti Coolers
Coors
Snap On
Built by the Captain

Brown Claims Sherm and Loree Toller Memorial for First Win in 2019

(3/10/19)

Keith Brown Jr’s patience has finally paid off. The Pittsburg racer had shown an abundance of speed in his first 11 starts of 2019, but one way or another, Brown had been taken out of contention in almost every race by mechanical gremlins or an incident with another racer. All of that changed this past Saturday night, as Brown led all but one lap en route to a Sherm and Loree Toller Memorial victory.

A total of 18 IMCA Sport Mods checked in for the night’s action, being split into three 6 car heat races. Keith Brown would roll off 4th in his heat race. Despite moving up to 2nd relatively quickly, Brown was unable to move any further forward, settling for 2nd behind Todd Cooper.

A great redraw lined Brown up on the outside of the front row, and at the drop of the green flag he was gone. Even with multiple early cautions, Brown would pull away on each ensuing restart. As the race went on, however, Guy Ahlwardt slowly began making his presence felt. With just 4 to go, Brown had issues with a lapped car, allowing Ahlwardt to get by for the race lead. This only appeared to light a fire under Brown, who drove right back by for the top spot with 2 to go. Brown would lead the final two laps to pick up his first win of 2019.

The race also served as the first race in the Pacific Sport Mods Nor Cal era. PSM Nor Cal is a club of racers who tally points for racing Chico, Marysville, Merced and Quincy to crown a club champion at the end of the season. With Brown’s victory, he now leads the club’s standings.

When Keith was asked about his thoughts on the night, he said: “We decided Saturday morning to go to marysville . Despite the bad weather, we headed out. After hot laps & me stuffing the car in the wall , I was kinda thinking it was a mistake. Thanks to Guy Ahlwardt who loaned me the A frame I needed to fix the car we stayed to race. Went out for our heat and made a good run at it . I felt we had a good car for the main. Just needed a good draw and we pulled the 2. Led most of the main till I made a mistake which gave the lead to Guy. But with 2 to go I saw an opportunity to take back the lead and I did, And finally got this car in to victory lane.”

Keith would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:

My wife

Ricky Childress jr

My dad

Tim Barlow

Joe Glade

Darrell Hughes

Steel City Motorsports

JGE Motorsports

HRT Shock Service

Little J’s Burgers

Engine Quest

CTA Prints

Performance Bodies

Tire Demon

Competition Carburetors

Another Exceptional Season Cements Braaten’s Status As Most Dominant Sport Mod Driver In Pacific Northwest

(3/1/2019)

It’s hard to understate just how dominant Jorddon Braaten has been in the Sport Mod class since the division made its way to the state of Oregon. The Central Point native has more than double the wins over 2nd place in the division’s existence in the state, racking up numerous track and state titles in the process.

Braaten’s dominance was on full display once again in 2018, putting together a 17 win campaign across a 30 race slate in Oregon and Northern California. Braaten’s high win totals and consistency helped rake in other accolades as well, including another state title, and a Top 10 placement in IMCA national standings.

The 2 time Southern Oregon Speedway Champ doubled his career number of championships in just 1 year. Braaten became the inaugural champ for the division at Willamette Speedway in 2018. Braaten took home 7 wins across the track’s 13 race schedule, 5 more than the next highest driver.

On top of his Willamette title, Braaten claimed the Cottage Grove Speedway championship in impressive fashion. After a rough early season run, Braaten went on a 7 race win streak to completely run away with the title. Braaten would wind up with 9 wins over the 13 race season, including an impressive weekend sweep of the Mark Howard Modified Nationals in late August.

Braaten kicked off his 2018 at the Arizona Mod Tour in Mid-February, and it was a big learning experience for the team. Facing some of the nation’s top talent in the Sport Mod division, Braaten made the feature on all but one night, finishing between 11th and 16th in the 6 features he started.

One accomplishment that Braaten couldn’t match in 2018 was repeating as the R Charles Snyder Salute winner. This past year’s edition saw over 50 cars enter, with Braaten coming up just short of a $2,000 payday, taking 2nd.

As we look to 2019, there’s no question that Braaten will once again be the favorite week in and week out wherever he decides to race. You can expect to see Jorddon Braaten in victory lane plenty again this season.

Jorddon Braaten Season Stats:

Starts: 37

Wins: 17

Top 5’s: 27

Top 10’s: 29

Best Finish: 1st (17 times)

Oregon IMCA Northern Sport Mod State Champion

10th in IMCA Northern Sport Mod National Points

Pacific Sport Mod Club Champion

Cottage Grove Speedway (Track Champion):

April 14th: 1st

May 5th: 2nd

May 19th: 14th

June 2nd: 1st

June 30th: 1st

July 4th: 1st

July 20th: 1st

July 21st: 1st

July 28th: 1st

August 4th: 1st

August 10th: 3rd

August 25th: 3rd

September 15th: 1st

Willamette Speedway (Track Champion):

April 21st: 1st

May 12th: 2nd

May 25th: 8th

May 26th: 1st

June 1st: 1st

June 16th: 3rd

June 23rd: 4th

July 6th: 1st

July 27th: 1st

August 11th: 1st

August 17th: 4th

August 18th: 2nd

September 22nd: 1st

Southern Oregon Speedway:

September 1st: 8th

September 2nd: 2nd

Siskiyou Motor Speedway:

April 14th: 1st

September 23rd: 2nd

Arizona Mod Tour:

February 9th: 12th

February 10th: 12th

February 11th: 11th

February 12th: 10th in B Main

February 15th: 16th

February 16th: 16th

February 17th: 15th