RENO, NV (Oct 5) – This weekend Rattlesnake Raceway in Fallon ended its 2020 season with the annual Dirt Track Championships. The two-day event began late Saturday afternoon then resumed in the early afternoon Sunday.
Six classes were on hand Saturday to do battle and the Hobby Stocks led the program.
Soon after the green there was a quick caution due to spins. Later there was another scramble causing a red flag when the car of Dan Dias had a small fire.
After it was put out the field got reordered and the green waved again. There would be three more cautions leading the officials to order single file restarts.
At the checkered flag Chris Christiano won the race with Shane Cazel in second followed by Dias.
Next up were the Gen-X cars. Soon after the green Mikki Beuchat used his patented outside line to take the lead. Only two more cautions slowed the race but in the end Beuchat scored the victory followed by Cooper Lee.
After the race Beuchat said, “The track just worked in my favor tonight. I was just able to find the right spot to be, it was up high. I tried to stay off the bottom of 4 as the car pinches real hard. A little bit of steering and keep the momentum up.”
Then he thanked everybody that helps him out.
When the 14-car Dwarf field started its main Shaun Jones jumped into the lead with the others chasing him. Only two cautions for spins slowed the pace as the cars tore around the oval.
In the end Jones, who came up from San Jose, won the night followed by Ryan Winter.
“It was fun, the track was great, hammer down, just like home. Came out here to try some dry slick stuff and got another tacky track.” Jones said back in the pits. “Lappers were not really problems, just part of racing you have be able to get around them and he (Winter) almost got me because of lap traffic.”
Then he thanked his parents, DRI and M&M Chassis.
When the green waved to start the A Mod main Shawn Natenstedt, Chris Nieman and Zach Cail led the field. Things slowed due to a pair of cautions but after that racing resumed.
Up front Dave Sciarroni took over second to soon lost it to the now charging Nieman, who at one point slipped back to fourth. Soon he and Natenstedt were dueling for the lead.
Exiting Turn 2 there was some contact but Nieman took the lead and raced off to claim the victory. Dave Sciarroni ended up second while Jeff Olschowka was third in a brand new car.
After the race Nieman said, “It was a battle then we dropped back to fourth for a while. We ended getting it there on the bottom, it was pretty slick they watered it a little bit you couldn’t get hooked on the bottom coming out of 2.
“I thought we were pretty good coming out of 4 on the bottom. For the winning pass I was just able to get the inside and just made it happen. The car was good, I just need to get out there in clean air and we were good.”
Then he thanked Lonnie, Grandma Cheryl as well as sponsors Pit Stops, Simon Graphics, Nieman Metal Works and everybody that helps out.
Only five Sports Mods were on hand and after a short duel Richard Longacre made the winning pass and stormed off to claim the victory. Shaun Merritt was second ahead of Collin Sanford.
After the track was watered the Boot Leggers began their main. These full size cars race on a slick track as it’s a contact class where one can push another out of the way if necessary.
First on point was Ray Blankenship but soon Glenn Lee took over. After a caution Blankenship took off and began to put distance between the others.
During these races the faster cars were weaving their way through slower lap traffic. Sometimes doing this can be a real gamble as no one has mirrors on their cars.
Blankenship had a scary moment while going into Turn 3 his car began to whip side to side but never spun out. Fortunately his lead was big enough he had time to recover and went on to win the race.
Logan Sage was the runner up while Shana Rasmussen ended up third.
Asked about the race Blankenship said, “That was interesting asI was on the pole. If you let off with the big cars the back wants to pass the front. I let off in Turn 3, and not using the brakes it started spinning out.
“I recovered the best I could and barely got bumped. Honestly I didn’t know. All I know is that I heard motors behind me and I kept pushing.”
He thanked his wife and boss at WT Auto Sales and WT Auto Salvage.
• Sunday was the second and money round for the class championships.
Chris Nieman won again with Olschowka second and Wade Lumsden coming home third. In Hobby Stocks Dan Dias won followed by Shane Cazel with Keith Marson taking third.
Mikki Beuchat scored his second win in Gen-X followed by Cody Thunder and Cooper Lee. In Sports Mods Richard Longacre made it two in a row.
Ryan Winter was the Dwarf Car winner followed by Shawn Jones. In Boot Leggers veteran Glenn Lee won followed by Ace Green.
• The Dirt Track Champions are listed below. Congratulations to one and all.
REPORTER’S NOTE: I apologize if I’ve gotten anyone’s name spelled wrong. The results were such low resolution it was difficult to make out some of the names, even with a magnifier so I chose not to butcher any other names. Once again I’m sorry for this.
OTHER RACING NEWS:
• The final oval track event in Northern Nevada is the two-day show at 95 Motor Sports Complex. On Saturday racing begins at 6 p.m. then resumes at noon on Sunday.
• Teresa’s Garage Radio Show is on from 2 until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. In the Reno/Sparks area the show can be heard over the air on 1180 AM.
The show can also be heard in a Podcast at amm.streamon.fm or can be watched live on Face Book.
RESULTS:
Dirt Track Championships – October 3/4
Rattlesnake Raceway
• Dirt Track Class Champions:
+ A Mods- Chris Nieman.
+ Sport Mods – Richard Longacre
+ Hobby Stocks – Dan Dias
+ Dwarf Cars – Shawn Jones
+ Gen-X – Mikki Beuchat
+ Boot Leggers – Taggert Garland.
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Our newest sponsor is G.I.S.L Land Services that, while having a global client base it has a Western U.S.A. Focus. Owner Greg Ekins is a long time off road motorcycle racer competing in the MRANN Series as well as the AMA National Hare and Hound series.
Among the services offers are Surface and Mineral Title Reviews and Cartographic Services. The website is www.gislandservices.com.
Another great sponsor is General Transmission and Power Train Specialists. The shop is located at 2515 Sutro Street in Reno, a few blocks below Hug High School.
Former motorcycle racer Pete Attashian is the owner and they not only service older and newer transmission but now have a section dealing with high performance units including those used for towing.
The phone number is 775-786-5888 and the shop’s website is www.generaltransmissionreno.com.
Another sponsor is fantastic race photographer Melissa Coker. If you have raced at Summit in Elko, Battle Mountain, Lovelock, Rattlesnake Raceway or Diamond Mountain Speedway she probably has a photograph of your car on the track.
She’s also been at the IMCA Duel in the Desert was well as the Wild West Tour and IMCA Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa. Melissa not only has photos of the cars, and many times drivers, but she can produce hero cards and even a book covering from your season.
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Their location is at 964 Terminal Way, by the intersection with Mill Street. Store’s phone number is 775-322-1499 and the site is, www.rms-renomotorsports.com.
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The phone number is 775-856-3855 and the website is, www.moto-source.com.
The next sponsor is an excellent place if you need collision repair on your car or truck. It’s Concours Body Shop, located at 250 Telegraph Street in Reno and has a long history of first class repairs.
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Hungry, want a great place to eat, then try PJ&CO for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and it’s a great place to watch your favorite sports. If you’re a rider, well Wednesday evening is Bike Night, always a great time to see some great looking bikes and meet like-minded people.
The location is 1590 South Wells Avenue, just north of the round about. Phone number is 775-323-6366 and their website is www.pjandco.net.
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