By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Madman Photography)
Cottage Grove Speedway would host a thriller of an American Sprint Car Series-Northwest Region event on Friday June 13th to open up the Relay For Life weekend. A total of twenty-five entries would sign in on the registration sheets to compete at the historic ¼-mile with drivers representing Oregon, Washington, and Idaho as well as the nations of Canada and New Zealand.
Jayme Barnes of Everett, Washington was super quick on the start of the thirty-lap feature. Barnes would put his R Transport/Speedmart Inc./Jayme Barnes Trucking #9 XXX out in front and lead several laps. It would be a caution plagued first third of the race with six of them taking place including several front runners being involved. After the sixth and final restart it would be smooth sailing for the entire field.
On the restart Barnes would pretty much stick to the high side of the race track but soon J.J. Hickle would get the bottom line to work. Hickle, in the Meyer Electric/Go Fast Stuff/Speedmart Inc./Don Ott Racing Engines #3 XXX, would pass Barnes for the lead on lap eighteen and would not give it up. Hickle would work lapped traffic brilliantly allowing him to develop a sizable lead.
J.J. Hickle, of Quilcene, Washington, would blaze the rest of the trail to win his first career feature with the ASCS-Northwest Region and also his first at CGS. With the victory he becomes the fourth different series winner in five events.
“This feels so good I’ve been trying to get one of these for so long and the whole goal to come down here this weekend was to try and get the win,” commented Hickle in victory lane, “the car was awesome anywhere I went and it was all great. We had a real good car and we nailed the set up.”
An awesome five car race for second would take place with Vern Wheeler Jr. of Central Point capturing the position in his Wheeler Racing/In & Out Gardens/Finishline LLC/Prather Racing #21W Maxim followed by Reece Goetz from Snohomish, Washington in third driving the Great Western Transport/Speedmart Inc./Elma Lanes/Goetz Brothers Racing #9R Eagle. The balance of the top five would consist of the Kovash Logging/Johansen Excavating/FK Shocks/Big Al Kids and Motorsports Foundation #33V A.R.T. in fourth, after coming from the back earlier due to a caution on lap three, and Jayme Barnes in fifth.
Earlier in the evening heat races were won by the TFC Plating/Shaver Specialties #50 XXX of Evan Margeson from Tacoma, Washington, Veneta’s Nick Tomlinson in the United Rentals/Jessica House at Beauty Boutique Salon of Roseburg #16 Maxim, and Henry Van Dam.
The Cottage Grove Speedway will host the second race of the Relay For Life weekend with the ASCS-Northwest Region on Saturday June 14th. For the latest news and information log on to www.ascsnorthwest.com.
Race Summary:
ASCS-Northwest Region Race #5
Friday June 13th, 2014
Cottage Grove Speedway
Cottage Grove, Oregon
A Feature: 1. 3-J.J. Hickle[7]; 2. 21W-Vern Wheeler Jr[11]; 3. 9R-Reece Goetz[13]; 4. 33V-Henry VanDam[4]; 5. 9-Jayme Barnes[1]; 6. 68-Rob Held[10]; 7. W5-Jesse Williamson[21]; 8. 6A-Kady Adelman[15]; 9. 50-Evan Margeson[3]; 10. 18-Mike Carrothers[14]; 11. 26F-Shane Forte[17]; 12. 16-Nick Tomlinson[2]; 13. 44-Daniel Anderson[16]; 14. 7K-Kyle Mehner[20]; 15. 8J-Brady Janson[12]; 16. 4J-Allison Journey[18]; 17. 4-Jesse Thistle[8]; 18. 84K-Wayne Kniffen[22]; 19. 22-Garen Linder[9]; 20. 71-Colin Baker[5]; 21. 17-Cameron (Cam) Smith[6]; DNS 5N-Seth Nunes; DNS 7N-Jared Peterson; DNS P12-Randy Pierce; DNS 23L-Rob Lindsey
Heat 1: 1. 50-Evan Margeson[1]; 2. 9-Jayme Barnes[3]; 3. 68-Rob Held[2]; 4. 6A-Kady Adelman[4]; 5. 8J-Brady Janson[7]; 6. 18-Mike Carrothers[8]; 7. 7N-Jared Peterson[5]; 8. W5-Jesse Williamson[6]; 9. P12-Randy Pierce[9]
Heat 2: 1. 16-Nick Tomlinson[2]; 2. 71-Colin Baker[3]; 3. 3-J.J. Hickle[4]; 4. 21W-Vern Wheeler Jr[5]; 5. 26F-Shane Forte[1]; 6. 44-Daniel Anderson[7]; 7. 5N-Seth Nunes[8]; 8. 84K-Wayne Kniffen[6]
Heat 3: 1. 33V-Henry VanDam[1]; 2. 4-Jesse Thistle[2]; 3. 17-Cameron (Cam) Smith[3]; 4. 22-Garen Linder[4]; 5. 9-Jayme Barnes[5]; 6. 4J-Allison Journey[6]; 7. 7K-Kyle Mehner[7]; 8. 23L-Rob Lindsey[8]
- Bryan Hulbert on Jun 15, 2014
- Article Date: 6/13/2014