7/1/2024
Douglas County Dirt Track
James, Shandy, And Dickenson Capture Friday Night Wins At DCDT
James, Shandy, And Dickenson Capture Friday Night Wins At DCDT
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy Of Michelle Bowman)
Roseburg, Oregon—The Douglas County Dirt Track was back in action on Friday, June 28th, for another thrilling round of racing. The night was a showcase of diversity, featuring three Speedway Motors IMCA Weekly racing divisions: the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, and the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. The races were also filled with excitement and kept the audience on the edge of their seats.
The Friesen Performance IMCA Modified finale began as a nail-biter, with Roseburg native Bennett Bray and Brett Muth of Cottage Grove battling it out. Muth took the lead after the first lap. Trevor La Barger from Forest Grove overtook Bray for the second position. But before too long came Bricen James from Albany, racing for Jerry Schram. He would make a stunning move to secure the third position and eventually climbed to the second spot after a couple of well-timed overtakes with just a few circuits completed.
James mastered the bottom of the track, ran down, and got around Muth on the completion of the seventh lap around the 3/10th mile oval. Once in control of the pacesetting position, he pulled away from the rest of the field.
The race for the Top 5 positions was intense. Lane Zerbin from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, made a strategic move to overtake Matt Jenner from Vancouver, Washington, and then managed to secure the fourth position by overtaking defending Oregon State champion Carter Patterson with four laps to go. Meanwhile, La Barge made a bold move to overtake Muth and secure the second position on lap twenty.
James, who started sixth, dominated and scored his third win at DCDT. In the current campaign, this is his seventh trip to the winner's circle in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region.
La Barge wound up second, and Muth ended the night third. Zerbin and Patterson got fourth and fifth.
Roseburg's Chad Knee took an early lead in the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod main event. However, his lead was short-lived as Jacob Shandy, hailing from Arlington, but now a Corvallis resident, swiftly overtook him on the second circuit. This marked a significant turning point in the race.
The race for second would be entertaining as Jordan Henry, also from Roseburg, performed a double overtake around Knee and fellow Roseburger Don Moore in turn four with three laps successfully completed. Fortunately for Henry, a caution came out after the lap was officially counted, and it put him in a position to try and challenge Shandy.
However, on the ensuing restart, Moore tried to get around Henry for the runner-up position. But while submitting a bid, Moore would get sideways in turn two. Henry tried his best to stay in stride with Shandy on the next restart, but the leader was a little quicker. Eventually Henry got in a good rhythm on the high side as the race remained green and swept around Shandy in turn two on the eighth circuit to be the new trailblazer.
Meanwhile, Moore, after a brief setback, managed to reclaim the third position by overtaking Knee and Central Point teenager Lain McCoy. The race continued without further incidents, with Shandy keeping the pressure on Henry, ensuring the competition remained fierce.
They hit some lapped traffic with four trips around the flag stand left to cover, tightening the race for the lead. With just a trio of laps remaining, a late caution came out, which turned out to be the race's final caution.
On the crucial restart, Henry stuck to his guns on the higher portion of the race track while Shandy tried to utilize the middle to low lines. Shandy, who began the race fourth, threw a last-lap claymaker in the final set of corners to bring the crowd to their feet and score the victory. It is Shandy's second victory of the whole season and of the week but the first time he's done so at Douglas County.
Henry was a respectable second, and McCoy made a late race move to get into third. Moore and Knee, the balanced out the Top 5, as they hit the line fourth and fifth.
Lastly, the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts hummed to life, with Ryan Dickenson capturing the early lead. The Roseburg racer would have the pedal to the metal to create space ahead of any potential pursuers. Randy Kuhl of Springfield and Winston's Bid Van Loon went after it for second. Kuhl eventually would get second before North Bend native Jordan Stevens performed a double overtake in the first set of turns on lap six.
Stevens eventually moved up into second after persistently closing in on Kuhl, finally getting around him on the eighth circuit. Stevens wasn't quite done as he cut into the significant advantage that Dickenson had built and got around him on lap fourteen.
Stevens tried his best to secure the top spot, but Dickenson did not go away quietly. Dickenson reclaimed the position on the seventeenth time around, and Stevens slowed down shortly after being passed, resulting in a caution. The late race restart created some script flipping.
Burnie Bryant, from Sutherlin, was all over Dickenson in the closing laps. Every time Bryant tried to make his move, Dickenson had an answer. Bryant did lead briefly, but not for an extended period, as Dickenson could mount a successful counterattack. The two would drag race off the final corner and down the front stretch, with Dickenson winning the race to the line.
It was Dickenson's first win of the season. Bryant was a valiant second, followed by his daughter Melissa in third. Stevens recovered to end the night fourth, while Kuhl completed the Top 5 in fifth.
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage
