7/18/2024
Cottage Grove Speedway
Mayden, Points, And Potter Midweek Mayhem Winners At Cottage Grove
Mayden, Points, And Potter Midweek Mayhem Winners At Cottage Grove
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Heather Boyce)
Cottage Grove, Oregon—Wednesday, July 17th, would be the second installment of the brand-new Midweek Mayhem series at Cottage Grove Speedway. The night featured some excellent racing produced by the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, presented by Wheeless Trailer Sales Service & RV Repair, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, presented by Roadhouse Billiards & Brews, and the Street Stocks.
When the green flag dropped for the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds presented by Wheeless Trailer Sales Service & RV Repair, it was Eugene's own Paul Rea who led the pack. The veteran driver showed his speed early on, but soon found himself in a heated battle with Jake Mayden, a Springfield native, who was determined to challenge for the race lead.
Before that, Mayden quickly overtook Cottage Grove's Brett Muth to move into second on the first trip around the 1/4-mile clay oval before concentrating his efforts on the leader, Rea. Rea would get some breathing room, but before too long, Mayden worked the bottom of the racing surface brilliantly to beat Rea to the wire on lap four by a mere 0.030 seconds.
The Springfield chauffeur, Mayden, peddled hard to separate from the runner-up, and the race for second erupted into a complete melee. Carter Patterson, from Lebanon, threaded the needle under Rea on the eighth circuit, but Rea was able to get back around him on the following lap.
As Rea and Patterson battled it brought Kevin Williamson, from Coburg, and piloting the Paul and Maria Culp entry, into the fold to create a three-car contest for second with eleven laps into the contest. The trio would go three-wide on a number of occasions, with Rea comfortable up high, Williamson on the bottom, and Patterson making the middle work. Behind them would be fifth-running Curtis Towns, trying to exploit the spaces to advance further in the Top 5 as Rea eventually had the advantage for second.
The Cottage Grove charger, Towns, wound up third on the seventeenth trip around the park. While that maelstrom occurred, Mayden checked out to a half-of-a-lap advantage ahead of his closest challenger. Towns made a late race move to capture second with four to go and tried to chase down the leader.
However, the third starting Mayden was just too far ahead as he amassed a nine-second plus advantage at the drop of the checkered flag. It is his third triumph at CGS in Friesen Performance IMCA Modified action presented by Wheeless Trailer Sales Service & RV Repair, all of which have been in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region.
Towns was second, while Patterson charged late to end his night third. Rea and Muth were the balance of the Top 5, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
When the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods presented by Roadhouse Billiards & Brew came out for their finale, Creswell's Jason Kocks powered his way to the point to lead the first trip around the speedway. Jacob Shandy of Corvallis tried to stay in stride with Kocks, but the leader was a little quicker.
Daniel Ray, also from Creswell, fought hard with Hunter Bloom for third and managed to secure the position two laps into the contest. Ray and Shandy then engaged in a fierce battle for second, allowing Kocks to build a substantial lead. As Ray attempted to pass Shandy, Shandy found a burst of speed on the high side, resulting in him closing the gap with the leader and mounting a challenge as they entered lapped traffic on lap seven.
Shandy swept around Kocks to capture the trailblazing position on the eighth trip past the flag stand. Shortly after that, Ray gave chase to Kocks while at the same time, Salem teenager Trevor Points caught up with Ray to challenge for third.
Points performed a claymaker on Ray in turn two, on lap thirteen, and unfortunately for Ray had to take his mount pit side, ending his evening early. Points had Kocks in his sights beginning his pursuit for second and procured the position with another slider with eight to go.
While all of this occurred, Shandy was lightning fast ahead of the rest of the competition. Tragedy struck with two laps to go, as the race leader spun out in the final set of corners. Points would be placed as the pacesetter.
On the restart, Points, who started sixth, was perfect as he went on to capture his second win at Cottage Grove this year and his fourth overall victory of 2024. Kocks was a strong second while Bloom, representing Springfield, was third at the line. Jasper's Madilynn Ashley ended her night fourth followed by fifth finishing Shandy.
Brad Hicks, from Creswell, took the lead in the Street Stock main event, narrowly beating out Monmouth motorist Sam Potter at the line by 0.015 seconds on the opening circuit. The race saw its only stoppage shortly after the completion of lap one. When the race resumed, Hicks fought hard to maintain his lead, but Potter, determined and relentless, applied pressure from the bottom while Hicks' brother-in-law Jared Simmons attempted to make a move around the top.
Potter beat out Hicks for first place on the third trip past the flag stand and began to create a healthy lead. Eventually, Cottage Grove racer Simmons got into second place, closed down on the distance of Potter and offered a challenge late in the feature.
Despite the pressure, Potter was money on the inside line and held off any attempts to be overtaken to score the triumph. Simmons was a respectful second, followed by Eugene's Adam Applebee in third. Shannon Collins, making the trip from Camas Valley, earned fourth, while Hicks completed the Top 5.
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage
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