9/24/2023
Redwood Acres Raceway
Elliott Wins Big, Barnwell, Krupa Win Championships
It was a wild and crazy conclusion to the 2023 season Saturday night at Redwood Acres Raceway. O’Reilly Auto Parts presented the season-ending Fall Spectacular which proved to have a little bit of everything throughout the night. There was plenty of great racing and even some controversy as the North State & Upstate Modifieds joined late models, Legends, bombers and mini stocks.
Before racing took place, North State and Upstate Modified drivers took to the front straightaway adorned with American flags in honor of the late Steve Taylor and Dale Baldwin.
Brandon White lowered the track record for the North State & Upstate Modifieds with a 16.148 qualifying lap. Eric Price took the $100 victory in the North State Modified Series Sunoco Dash for Cash while White won $50 by placing second. Cole Brown won the heat race for the Upstate Modifieds.
The inversion for the 60-lap Dale Baldwin Challenge was four which gave Ian Elliott pole position. White opted to the back to start the race. After a back-and-forth battle, Elliott was able to secure the lead from Scott Winters. Meanwhile, White was blitzing through the field and by the time of the first caution on lap none, a spin off turn four by Richie Potts, he was in seventh position.
Elliott retained the lead on the restart while White continued his tear to the front. On lap 14, Winters turned up the wick and moved past Elliott for the lead just as White moved to fourth. Winters tried to build his lead as White tried to advance his position. 20 laps into the feature, White was in second while Winters had a half a straightaway lead and was beginning to enter traffic.
As Winters continued to maneuver through the trail of the field, White was able to close the gap. On lap 35, White was nose-to-tail with Winters as they encountered Tom Elam going into the first turn. Elam and Winters made contact resulting in a caution flag. Following the restart, Winters and White had a hard-fought side-by-side duel for the lead. A multi-car wreck on lap occurred just as Winters secured the lead from White.
Following a false-start restart, chaos ensued. In turns one and two, Kylei Keown got sideways and Cole Brown’s car was collected sending his car on hers for a moment. Amazingly things were able to get sorted out but up front Winters and White made contact in turn three with White hitting the wall. White’s car was knocked out while Winters was sent to the rear for his involvement in the incident.
Elliott inherited the lead and made full use of his position as he took the top spot on the restart. Elliott pulled out to a comfortable lead while Winters made a late race push to get back to the front. At the finish it was Elliott taking his first ever modified series victory. Keown held on for second while Winters placed third, Charlie Collins was fourth and Sierra Furia finished fifth.
The late model championship was up in the air with Brandon Barnwell leading Luke Hall by only six points. David Miller was quickest in qualifying with a 15.895. Hall did everything in his power to overtake Barnwell in the points as he won the trophy dash and heat races. Hall held off Miller in a race-long duel in the main event to win his first race of the season. Ryan Walters finished third while Barnwell’s fourth place finish helped him secure the track championship by one point. Romeo Venza placed fifth.
Things were much the same in the Legends with Tyler Krupa led Landen Green by seven points going into Saturday night’s event. Cole Brown’s 17.662 put him at the top of the qualifying sheet for the division. Green was able to cut into Krupa’s lead thanks to victories in the trophy dash and heat races. Green led the opening portion of the feature but Brown was able to get by and pull away for the victory. Green placed second while Krupa’s third place effort was enough to earn the division championship for the season. Tyler Avelar and Chris Lawrence rounded out the top five.
Doug Way clinched the bomber championship by starting Saturday’s event. Jordan Krupa was quickest in qualifying with a time of 18.369. Kobe Taylor was the trophy dash winner while the heat races were won by Tanisha Ratzlaff and Tony Ramazzotti. The 30-lap feature saw spectacular back and forth racing for the lead between Ramazzotti and Krupa. Eventually Krupa was able to secure the lead and would go on to take the win. Chris Sarvinski placed second followed by Taylor, Ramazzotti and Sam Brown.
In mini stock action, Gary Klinetobe swept the night taking the dash, heat and main event victories.
Full results and points are available at RacinTheAcres.com. You can also find Redwood Acres Raceway on Facebook and Instagram.
Submitted By: Matthew Sullivan