Kyle Woodcock has been off to a hot start in the Open Intermediate Class this year. He now has four fast times, four trophy dash wins, and after Saturday night’s race he has two Main Event Victories. The Main Event got off to a rough and tumble start as Keagan Medeiros who was starting on the outside of the front row got sideways and spun in front of the field on the front straightaway. With nowhere to go about 8 cars got caught up in the melee with Coletyn Hunderman getting on his lid. Everyone would be ok, and the race would restart single file with Colton Raudman as the race leader. Dawson Hammes though would make a bid for the race lead and looked as though he may have had the car to beat. Hammes took over the lead and was beginning to stretch out the lead a little before the wheels came off, literally. Going into turn three the right front spindle broke causing the tire to go flying off and Dawson went straight into the outside wall ending his night. It was a tough break as he has really needed some luck to go his way. With Hammes out of the race it looked as though the race was between Kaiden Butler and Josiah Ribeiro up front. Kyle Woodcock though was lurking in the shadows and waiting for the right time to pounce. Butler took the white flag as the race leader, but Ribeiro made a move for the lead, the two got together in turns one and two allowing Woodcock to squeeze by and take over the race lead. Ribeiro gave him one last shot in the final corner but it was all Kyle Woodcock down the homestretch as he would pick up the big win in the Oroville Cycle #9 kart. Josiah Ribeiro was so close to victory but came up short, finishing in the second spot. The #2C of Colton Raudman had a solid run after starting on the pole, he kept his nose clean and came home third. Carson Sousa continues to impress, he has little experience in the Open Intermediate kart but has had no problem transitioning to the faster kart as he finished in the fourth position. The top five was rounded out by the #31 of Kinden Peacock who was the Hard Charger of the Main Event after starting dead last (21st) in the Main Event he charged ahead 16 positions to get himself into the top five.
The night began with Carson Sousa setting fast time in qualifying behind the wheel of the Sal Calderon Racing #02 kart. Sousa’s lap of 10.759 seconds was good enough to top the 21 kart field. As mentioned above Sousa has had no problem getting acquainted with the faster 500 kart. He will be one of the drivers to keep an eye on the rest of the year.
Heat race competition saw Colton Raudman secure his third heat race win of the season in the first heat race. While Keagan Medeiros piloted his brand new racecar to the heat race win in the second heat race. It was great to see him get a heat race win in that car. The car was presented to Keagan in the pit area before the races started on Saturday night. Justin Reinolds with Victory Racing Chassis, Mike Moore and Leana Kenyon with Moore Performance Engines, and Kody Hunderman with K&K Motorsports all got together to build the kart in an act of extreme sportsmanship that did not go unnoticed.
Trophy dash competition saw Carson Sousa once again put together a great performance as he picked up the dash win. His first in the Open Intermediate Class. Ever since climbing behind the wheel of the SCR #02 kart he has shown speed. Look for him to be a contender for the Main Event win before the end of the season.
The Championship points race right now is led by Kyle Woodcock, driver of the Oroville Cycle #9. Woodcock currently holds a 67 point edge over second place driver Josh Wooten. It has been great to see Wooten running up front and contending for wins this season. Kaiden Butler has two main event wins this year and nearly won a third this weekend before problems on the final lap. He sits third in the standings just 93 markers out of the lead. Dawson Hammes had a chance to close in on the points lead before the broken spindle ended his run. He sits fourth in the standings, 114 points out of the lead. Colton Raudman sits fifth in the standings, helped out by a Main Event win earlier this season. He is 140 points out of the top spot in the standings.
We will be back in action this Saturday night with Points Race #7 on tap. Action is set to kick off at 5:30pm with Open karts hitting the track for Hot Laps. With Qualifying and Heat Races to follow for all classes. For ticket information and/or directions to the racetrack please visit www.cyclelandspeedway.com or call the track phone at 530-342-0063.