6/20/2021
Redwood Acres Raceway
Winchel Bests White In Electrifying Legends Feature
It was a glorious afternoon at Redwood Acres Raceway Saturday night. Beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures graced drivers and fans on what proved to be an exciting evening of racing action. It was the fourth event of the season with Legends, bombers, mini stocks and roadrunners racing on Bear River Casino Resort Night At The Acres.
Jeremiah Martin was fast time for the roadrunners with a 20.096 qualifying lap. Riley Honzik won the first heat race in his first-ever start while the second heat went to Martin. Dylan Ford took the lead early and gapped the field in the opening stages of the 25-lap main event. Martin carefully carved his way from the back to the front, closed in on Ford and was eventually able to snag the lead away. The race was slowed a few times. The biggest incident involved contact between multiple cars including Tanisha Ratzlaff and Steve Kimberling in turns three and four. Kimberling took a hard hit to the wall but was unharmed. Martin held on to take the win over Dylan Ford, Bob Ratzlaff, Tanisha Ratzlaff and Nick Ford.
Sam Brown’s time of 19.327 was just enough to allow him to take fast time for the mini stock division. Eric O’Ferrall took the heat race victory. O’Ferrall took the lead early on in the 20-lap feature and stretched out to what proved to be an insurmountable lead. The best race was for second as Colton Kinsey and Brown dueled all race long for the position. Brown was eventually able to take the position. At the finish it was O’Ferrall winning over Brown, Kinsey, Cole Peterson and C.J. Dalton.
Fast time for the bombers was Tyler Krupa with an 18.699. The heat race was won by Jordan Krupa. The 30-lap main event featured a fantastic duel for the lead between Raquel Krupa and Ed Rasmussen who was driving Bridget Steeves’ car for the evening. Rasmussen pressured Krupa for the majority of the first half of the race and was able to take advantage when Krupa got sideways off turn four to take the lead. The last half of the race saw Rasmussen playing defense as he had Tyler Krupa pressuring him for the lead. Krupa did all he could but Rasmussen never folded. At the checkered flag it was Rasmussen taking his first bomber main event victory. Tyler Krupa placed second followed by Raquel Krupa, Jordan Krupa and Brandon Katri.
The Legends had a great turnout on the night with Brandon White setting the fast lap with a 17.739. Andrew Thornton was the winner of the first heat race with the second taken by White. As usual, the race to the front for the faster qualifiers was intense in the 35-lap main. White was able to get to the front by lap four while his prime competition on the night, Cody Winchel had a more difficult time. Everything changed after a caution for a spin by Scott Taylor off the fourth turn. With the choose rule in effect, all the drivers ahead of Winchel restarted on the inside line while Winchel took the high line moving him to second position. It was just the break he needed.
White and Winchel had a spectacular nip-and-tuck duel for the lead after the restart. Winchel was able to finally find the line under and past White but wasn’t able to pull away. White stayed within striking distance and when Winchel began to lap slower traffic, White attempted to use it to his advantage. Unfortunately for White, Winchel never faltered. At the finish it was Winchel winning over White. Chris Lawrence placed third followed by Blake Borchers and Tyler Krupa.
Racing at Redwood Acres Raceway returns Saturday July 10 for the Harper Motors Firecracker 100 featuring the late models and the Upstate Bomber Series. Legends, mini stocks, and roadrunners will also be in action. The event will be capped off with a fireworks display. For more information, visit www.RacinTheAcres.com or find RAR on Facebook or Twitter @RacinTheAcres.
Submitted By: Matthew Sullivan