R.J. Johnson Leads ASCS Canyon Region to CSP!
Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (March 21, 2011) – If anyone is going to unseat Charles Davis, Jr., as the Sunoco Fuel ASCS Canyon Region champion, R.J. Johnson may just be in a prime position to take command of the top wingless Sprint Car ring in Arizona.
After opening the season with a win at USA Raceway on March 12, R.J. Johnson leads the Sunoco Fuel ASCS Canyon Region into this Saturday night’s tilt atop the 3/8-mile Canyon Speedway Park clay oval in Peoria, AZ in what CSP is calling the "OPEN WHEEL SHOWDOWN".
Canyon Speedway Park is a venue that has been kind to Johnson in recent times, as three of his six series wins last year took place at CSP. Johnson topped three of the last four ASCS Canyon events at CSP and the last two of the season in Peoria, with Chargin’ Charles Davis, Jr., winning the other pair of events contested at the Phoenix-area oval.
While Johnson’s ninth career ASCS Canyon Region triumph earlier this month put him out to the early lead just ahead of two-time series champ and all-time leading Canyon Region feature winner Jeremy Sherman, three-time winged ASCS Southwest champ Rick Ziehl of Las Cruces, Davis and Andrew Reinbold round out the current top five.
The balance of the current top ten in Sunoco Fuel ASCS Canyon points includes Brandon Lane, Matt Rossi, Thomas Ogle, Joshua Hodges and Justin Quinn.
Among those looking to bounce back from a rough opening night is Josh Pelkey. Fourth in last year’s ASCS Canyon points, mechanical gremlins kept Pelkey out of the March 12 “A” Main at USA Raceway.
Saturday night’s racing action is set to get under way at 7:30 p.m.
Peoria’s Canyon Speedway Park is located 25 miles north of Phoenix on I-17 to Exit 223, then 6.3 miles west. For more information, contact the track at 602-258-7223.
The ASCS Canyon Region brings the best of wingless Sprint Car racing action to fans in Arizona with 18 scheduled nights of competition at Tucson’s USA Raceway and Peoria’s Canyon Speedway Park.
The 2011 season marks the 20th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, with approximately 200 nights of competition at tracks throughout the nation and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.
SUPERMOON AFFECTS SOME AT CSP WHILE NOLL AND CAPPELLO REVISIT VICTORY LANE, STAFFORD AND THORNTON MAKE THEIR FIRST APPEARANCE TO WINNERS CIRCLE!
PEORIA, Ariz. (March 19th, 2011) – El Mirage, Arizona’s Jason Noll continues his early season surge towards the 2011 IMCA Modified championship as he thrilled fans with a last lap pass to win this Saturday night atop Peoria’s 3/8-mile Canyon Speedway oval. All of Noll’s hard work on his new T.R.E. ride a.k.a. the “Big Meaty Juicy” seems to be paying dividends thus far.
Noll thrilled the capacity crowd last Saturday night as he made his way to the front and held off track champion 4tw-Tim Ward who led all but the last lap of the feature. Noll started from the outside fifth row as he picked off over half of the eighteen-car field.
Ward won the first heat of the night followed by returning past champion “Showtime” 11x-Shawn Zelenka who knocked off heat two and HRC shoe 12-Guy Norton crossed the checkers first in heat three.
Sixteen cars finished the main event thriller in the following order: 1. Jason Noll 44, 2. Tim Ward 4TW, 3. Terry Belcher Jr 18, 4. George Fronsman 41, 5. Guy Norton 12, 6. DJ Wood 16W, 7. Jeremy Osbourne 75, 8. Steve Stultz 78, 9. Austin Black 71, 10. John Thwaits 17W, 11. Marlyn Seidler 7, 12. Robert Weimer 2AZ, 13. Ricky Bogart 7X, 14. Brody Center 2, 15. Jay Foster 09 & 16. Clifton Maggard 87
A stellar twenty-nine-car Pure Stock field filled the pits for stock car action. Team 40-Jeff Stafford held off the ”Frons” 41-George Fronsman for the win. Three-wide racing impressed the CSP fans as officials put 71-Scott Kleintop to the rear of the field for a tangle with 1-Ty Warner. Kleintop would have none of that though as he passed nineteen cars to place an impressive third. Fans also cheered on 49-Brandon Parker who won the semi-main to hard charge his way up to a fourth place finish. Number 22-Jesse Johnson rounded out the top five.
The full moon crazed 64-Vance Honea and 47-Daren Olney as they banged doors lap after lap. Olney after retiring to the pits for the night suddenly decided that he wasn’t quite done banging doors with Honea. Olney re-fired his stockcar, positioned himself to the side of Honea’s Dodge dually parked in the pits and BLAM-OOOO. Yep, he did it! He gunned the front of his car T-bone style directly into the driver side of the truck. Needless to say, Olney has been suspended from racing at CSP for the 2011 season.
Bomber Maniacs witnessed the “Chuckster” xx-Charles Thornton roll his way into his first victory this season. Thornton was followed by runner up 00-Doug Clark, 3. Jason Crowe 13, 4. David Jones 33Y & 5. John Wilt 72. Twenty-two bombers excited fans in the action packed main event.
Dylan Cappello wheeled his 11X machine to the front after tagging the field for skipping the post heat race tech inspection. Second place saw 69-Dave Van Ess return after a preseason tumble trashed his equipment. Teammate 61-Matt Jackson also returned and filled the podium positions. Fourth place went to 11g-Garrett Guilkey and 15-Joe Scheopner rounded out the top five.
A full twenty-car Southwest Modlite field raced side by side with kingpin 14-Tony Martin striking again. Martin won the season opener and followed up with a back-to-back win. Rounding out the top five were: 2. Mike Martin 24, 3. Nick Gann 55, 4. Nick Parker 115 & 5. Ricky Bobby 26.
ASCS CANYON REGION SPRINTCARS are on deck for their first race of the 2011 season at Canyon's "OPEN WHEEL SHOWDOWN". The speedy ASCS2 club returns, Desert Dwarf Cars and round two of Sportmod/Xmod dual will fill the ticket for an action packed Saturday night. The fun begins when general admission tickets go on sale at 5pm for only $15, racing will begin promptly at 7:30pm. All access pit passes are $30 each.
The 2011 Canyon Speedway Schedule can be previewed online at: http://www.canyonspeedwaypark.com/schedule.html
Canyon Speedway Park is located in North Peoria off Lake Pleasant Parkway, then 1.3 miles West on Carefree Highway. For more information please, contact the track at 602-258-RACE(7223) or additional information regarding Canyon Speedway Park can be found at www.canyonspeedwaypark.com
Canyon Speedway Park Gets a New Twist
PEORIA, Ariz. (March 15th, 2011) – Canyon Speedway Park, a racing icon for approaching 30 years, has been a stable for grass roots racing in Arizona with a long-standing commitment to the health of dirt track racing in the West. Overcoming many obstacles and many owners over the years Canyon Speedway has found a consistent supporter in owner Doug Gabbard who has placed the Peoria, Arizona facility on the map in the racing world.
Gabbard, who has operated and promoted racing at CSP for five years, has reached an agreement to turn operation of the facility over to the promotion team of Kevin Montgomery and Benji Lyons. While Gabbard will stay on as the owner of the facility that includes a motocross venue, he will turn his focus to overall facility improvements that are currently in the works.
“We (Kristi and Doug Gabbard) fully support Kevin and Bengy as they will bring their proven skills in track operations and focus on improving the overall racing experience at our track,” commented Doug Gabbard. “Benji and Kevin understand the sport in our market and without a doubt know how to promote. They have done an awesome job in Tucson with USA Raceway and my wife and I look for great things to come to Canyon.”
The co-promoters will take over immediately after the March 26th ASCS Canyon Region event and will continue forward with the operations of the racing facility.
“It is very exciting for us to have two very established race tracks in Arizona that we can showcase top notch professional level racing events,” commented Benji Lyons. “Canyon Speedway has been around for many years for the racers and we look forward to carrying on this tradition as well as bringing the best racing has to offer to both Tucson and the Phoenix area.”
Lyon’s and Montgomery will continue to operate USA Raceway as well as Canyon Speedway Park with CSP featuring a multitude of different racing divisions highlighted by IMCA Modifieds, ASCS Non Wing Sprint Cars, Total Seal Late Models and ASCS Wing Sprint Cars.
Lyons went on to say “We worked very hard over the off season to coordinate our schedules with Doug and the various sanction groups so that the health of racing in Arizona remained strong. We feel very confident in the schedule and the divisions that are currently in place and will stay committed to the racers that support Canyon Speedway.”
Canyon Speedway will host more than thirty action-packed racing events over the course of the 2011 season including the October Hall of Fame Classic and Novembers Desert Classic.
“It is our goal to bring the best race cars and drivers in the West to Canyon Speedway and give the fans of Arizona a place to call there own. We will continue to grow and bring the fan experience to a new level with hopes of making this facility one of the best in country,” stated Kevin Montgomery.
The Hall of Fame Classic will feature ASCS Wing competition on the Friday October 21st followed by the ASCS Non Wing bout the very next night while the IMCA Modifieds and Total Seal Late Models will spotlight the racing card for the Desert Classic the first weekend of November.
The full 2011 Canyon Speedway Schedule can be previewed online at: http://www.canyonspeedwaypark.com/schedule.html
The ground pounding IMCA Modifieds will race for $750 to win joined by Southwest Modlites and ASCS2 Micro Sprints. Fan favorite stockcar action will see the Pure Stock and Bomber Mania divisions fill the card for this Saturday night’s event. The thrills begin when general admission tickets go on sale at 5pm for only $15 for adults, Senior and Military $13 and children 12 under are always free. Racing will begin promptly at 7:30pm.
Canyon Speedway Park is located in North Peoria off Lake Pleasant Parkway, then 1.3 miles West on Carefree Highway. For more information please, contact the track hotline at 602-258-RACE(7223) or additional information regarding Canyon Speedway Park can be found at www.canyonspeedwaypark.com
Jason Noll Leads IMCA Modifieds Back to Canyon Speedway
PEORIA, Ariz. (March 9th, 2011) – El Mirage, Arizona’s Jason Noll will be looking for an early season surge towards the 2011 IMCA Modified championship as he goes for back to back wins this Saturday night atop Peoria’s 3/8-mile Canyon Speedway oval.
Noll thrilled the capacity crowd last Saturday night as he made his way to the front and held off Terry Belcher Jr. for his second win of 2011. Belcher emerged from the six car battle just behind Noll as they crossed the checkered flag ahead of a gang of fast cars that included Jay Foster, 2010 Champion Tim Ward, George Fronsman and Terry Belcher Sr.
The legendary Belcher Sr. aka Mr. Excitement made his first Modified start in many years missing the top five by one spot after a hard fought battle with Fronsman. Belcher is expected to return this Saturday night along with a large cast of IMCA Modified competitors all aiming for victory lane.
A $500 to win Super Stock Showdown, The speedy Southwest Modlites, Dwarf Cars and round two of Bomber Mania will join the IMCA Modifieds for an action packed Saturday night. The fun begins when general admission tickets go on sale at 5pm for only $15, racing will begin promptly at 7:30pm.
The 2011 Canyon Speedway Schedule can be previewed online at: http://www.canyonspeedwaypark.com/schedule.html
Canyon Speedway Park is located in North Peoria off Lake Pleasant Parkway, then 1.3 miles West on Carefree Highway. For more information please, contact the track at 602-258-RACE(7223) or additional information regarding Canyon Speedway Park can be found at www.canyonspeedwaypark.com
MADRID AND NOLL START SEASON OFF IN WINNERS CIRCLE… BOMBER MANIA ENTHUSES FANS, GEORGE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE XMOD & THE “FRONS’ CHALKS UP PURE STOCK VICTORY
PEORIA, Ariz., March 08, 2011 – Anthony Madrid certainly must be happy that his 2011 season is starting better than last year. Last season, bad luck plagued the 5m team but that is in the past. Anthony Madrid got an early victory at Canyon Speedway Park Saturday night.
The race saw Madrid and Paul Banghart on the front row of the feature with Madrid rocketing out to the early lead. Champion Ricky Thornton Jr. moved into second spot early on. Both of the top two cars looked pretty equal as they navigated the top line of Canyon Speedway.
If the two teammates could have seen behind them, they may have been a little nervous about what looked to be coming. Total Seal kingpin Joey Moriarty was on a tear towards the front from his 9th starting spot. High or low it did not seem to matter, as Moriarty made quick work of the field. After passing the always-fast Lonnie Parker Jr., Moriarty moved into 3rd three laps into the race.
That however was as far as Moriarty would get. " I thought I might have something for the two front guys, but once I got to them, I just couldn't do anything with them" Moriarty commented after the race. "Congratulations to Anthony and Jeff Manka (car owner), we all know they had a tough year last year".
A-Main
1 (2) 5M Anthony Madrid Phoenix, AZ
2 (4) 36 Ricky Thornton Jr Chandler, AZ
3 (9) 51 Joey Moriarty Tucson, AZ
4 (5) 8P Lonnie Parker Jr El Mirage, AZ
5 (3) 16 Tommy Hussak III Picacho, AZ
6 (1) 24 Paul Banghart Tucson, AZ
7 (10) 28 John Cornell Waddell, AZ
8 (6) 23 Brad Williams Arizona City, AZ
9 (
94 James Chavez Tucson, AZ
10 (11) 3T Jimmy Jelvik Tucson, AZ
11 (7) 1H Marty Hussak Picacho, AZ
dns (37N) Jerry Fincher Laveen, AZ
IMCA Modified heats begun with 44-Jason Noll taking the checkers first. Team 18-Terry Belcher Jr. took the win in heat 2 and 12-Guy Norton owned heat three. The 25-lap modified main event started off slow with four cautions in six laps. When things finally got going Belcher jumped out front and busted out a five-car lead on the pack. Noll sorted things out and when on a Belcher chase. On lap twenty-one, Noll crossed up off the apex in turn two and was able pull off a huge run for the pass. Noll had a great Winter Challenge run and opened the 2011 season batting a thousand. Belcher Jr. followed by past track champ Jay Foster, Champ Tim Ward and the always fast George Fronsman.
A-Main
1. Jason Noll 44
2. Terry Belcher Jr 18
3. Jay Foster 09
4. Tim Ward 4TW
5. George Fronsman 41
6. Terry Belcher Sr 77B
7. Duane Rogers DR89
8. Steve Stultz 78
9. Cody Center $
10. Clifton Maggard 87
11. Matt Martinez 45K
12. Dave Baker 38SP
13. Jim McNeil 84
14. DJ Wood 16W
15. Brody Center 2
16. Eric Yanas 33
17. Guy Norton 12
18. Billy Carron 34DD
19. Robert Weimer 2AZ
20. Shawn Zelenka 11X
The 2011 Sportmod/Xmod division saw 2-Jason George continue his win streak at Canyon. The 10-Danny Curry took second followed by 5c-Brian Cady.
George Fronsman in his #41 pure stock ran down 40-Jeff Stafford as the two battled it in a 7-lap duel. The third place war ended with 1.98-Cody Miller crossing the checkers followed by xx-Rick Thornton Sr. and 29-Greg Ambrose rounded out the top five.
An exciting Bomber Mania show brought fans to their feet as the 64 of Daniel Romero dominated the feature. Number 9-Paul O'Connor placed second after a fender banging battle resulted in a third place finish for 68v-Joe Vlasity. Fourth place went to 7x-Jesse Johnson and after winning the semi main 4f-Paul Foote hard charged his way into fifth place.
This coming Saturday March 12, 2011 CSP will host the IMCA MODIFIEDS, a $500 to win SUPER STOCK showdown, the speedy SOUTHWEST MODLITES, DESERT DWARF CARS and round two of the popular BOMBER MANIA division…
Come enjoy this fan friendly program! General admission opens at 5:00pm. These night races begin at 7:30pm… A live CSP audio stream of the event can be heard by clicking http://www.ustream.tv/channel/canyon-speedway-park
General admission tickets are $15, senior/military $13 and as always children 12-under are FREE.
Pit gates are open all weekend. All access pit passes are $30 per person each day with no age restrictions.
BYOB in cans only and FREE camping is permitted (no hook-ups).
Racer packages are available at the Holiday Inn Express Peoria, AZ.
For more information check out www.canyonspeedwaypark.com or call the track hotline at 602-258-race7223
CSP Track Champion Tim Ward Knocks Down 8-Race Winter Challenge Series Championship
PEORIA, Ariz. (Feb. 21) – Canyon's ten race winter challenge series racing ended one weekend earlier then scheduled. With eight races completed, mother nature rained out the final weekend of the series. Not disappointed was track champion 4tw-Tim Ward from Mesa Arizona who added another championship to his young racing resume. The Winter Challenge championship trophy will be awarded to Ward at the 2011 season opening night March 5th, 2010.
Nebraskan 95-Dylan Smith suffered an early series wreck that cost him crucial points as the final weekend approached. After chalking a win up on race six and again on race eight, Smith was in close pursuit. Smith and his 2009 IMCA national championship DSR team left today to get back for their 2011 season.
Third place competitor 18-Terry Belcher Jr. also chalked up two wins in the Winter Challenge. Belcher will also be awarded on March 5th.
Our staff at CSP appreciates the Winter Challenge race teams that supported this event. We wish the traveling teams a safe trip home and a great 2011 season!
1 Tim Ward 4TW Mesa AZ 293.00 Leader
2 Dylan Smith 95 Osceola NE 289.00 -4
3 Terry Belcher Jr 18 Rainbow Valley AZ 283.00 -10
4 Jason Noll 44 El Mirage AZ 278.00 -15
5 Will Brack 15 Meade CO 265.00 -28
6 Marlyn Seidler 7 Underwood ND 258.00 -35
7 Matt Brack 16M Meade CO 253.00 -40
8 Guy Norton 12 Peoria AZ 246.00 -47
9 DJ Wood 16W Surprise AZ 230.00 -63
10 George Fronsman 41 Chino Valley AZ 216.00 -77
NEXT UP.... SEASON OPENER MARCH 5th FEATURING TOTAL SEAL LATE MODELS & IMCA MODIFIEDS!!!!
CANYON SPEEDWAY PARK WILL HOST TWO DAYS OF RACING THIS WEEKEND AT 1:00pm!
FINAL IMCA MODIFIED WINTER CHALLENGE SERIES RACING ALONGSIDE THE 22nd ANNUAL DWARFCAR.COM NATIONALS…
PEORIA, Ariz. (Feb. 15) – The 2011 Modified Winter Challenge Series at Canyon Speedway Park has been exhilarating. The final two shows are fast approaching after four straight weekends of double-header IMCA modified day racing. The series sees track champion 4tw-Tim Ward of Mesa, Arizona in command.
After the lightning fast 18-Terry Belcher Jr. from Arizona pocketed two of the $1000 main event wins with the opener and race three early in the ten race series, Ward and Nebraska traveler 95-Dylan Smith have also each won two features by coming on strong in the past two weekends.
Individual show winners in the series include local racer 44-Jason Noll of El Mirage and Iowa’s 10m-Jeremy Mills.
Track champ Ward will have a four-point edge over 2010 winter challenge champion Smith as the series concludes on the scheduled Feb. 19-20 twin bill.
Below is the winter challenge top ten as of Feb. 14, 2011:
1 Tim Ward 4TW Mesa AZ 293.00 Leader
2 Dylan Smith 95 Osceola NE 289.00 -4
3 Terry Belcher Jr 18 Rainbow Valley AZ 283.00 -10
4 Jason Noll 44 El Mirage AZ 278.00 -15
5 Will Brack 15 Meade CO 265.00 -28
6 Marlyn Seidler 7 Underwood ND 258.00 -35
7 Matt Brack 16M Meade CO 253.00 -40
8 Guy Norton 12 Peoria AZ 246.00 -47
9 DJ Wood 16W Surprise AZ 230.00 -63
10 George Fronsman 41 Chino Valley AZ 216.00 -77
Friday February 11th will see an open practice for all divisions from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Front grandstand entry is free during practice; pit passes are $15 per person .
This coming Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 19-20) CSP will host the $1000-Win IMCA MODIFIEDS, the 22nd ANNUAL www.dwarfcar.com NATIONALS, the 2nd ANNUAL WESTERN OUTLAW DWARFCAR NATIONALS and the 2nd ANNUAL DESERT MODLITE NATIONALS.
Click on http://www.canyonspeedwaypark.com/dwarfcarnationals.html for more info on dwarf car and modlite rules/purse.
These are day races and a live CSP audio stream of the event can be heard by clicking http://www.ustream.tv/channel/canyon-speedway-park
Come enjoy the Arizona day racing series! General admission opens at 10:00am and racing begins at 1:00pm each day.
General admission tickets are $15, senior/military $13 and as always children 12-under are FREE.
Pit gates are open all weekend. All access pit passes are $30 per person each day with no age restrictions.
Chaplin’s from Racers For Christ will host a chapel service at Sunday’s event. The service will take place on the north end of the general grandstand seating area from 11:00am to 11:30am. All racing spectators, crewmembers and racers are invited to attend.
BYOB in cans only and FREE camping is permitted (no hook-ups).
Racer packages are available at the Holiday Inn Express Peoria, AZ.
For more information check out www.canyonspeedwaypark.com or call the track hotline at 602-258-race7223
Ward & Smith Repeat As Canyon Winter Series Victories
PEORIA, Ariz. (Feb. 12-13) – Just a week after picking up their first feature victories of 2011, Tim Ward and Dylan Smith both raced to their second IMCA Modified checkers of the young season.
Ward topped Saturday’s Winter Challenge Series at Canyon Speedway Park while Smith repeated his winning ways on Sunday.
Both shows paid $1,000 to win. Ward will have a four-point edge over Smith when the series concludes with a Feb. 19-20 twin bill.
Doubling his win total from all of last season, defending track champion Ward drew the fifth starting position on Saturday and dueled with Smith early for the lead. He went high following a restart to take the point before midway.
Fellow Arizona pilots Ricky Thornton Jr. and Terry Belcher Jr. moved up to challenge following a late caution, but Ward motored away. Thornton, Belcher, Smith and Matt Brack finished in that order behind Ward.
“We made some minor changes from last week and went with a slightly tighter setup,” Ward said. “The car was awesome. I could go anywhere on the track I wanted and the car was hooked up.”
Smith started from the lucky inside row three spot Sunday. He chased down Will Brack for the lead and stayed in front to the end of the 25-lapper. Cautions kept slower cars out of the mix, but a yellow with four to go set up a single file restart.
Going back to the top of the track, Smith left the pack behind to win by four car lengths. Will Brack, Ward, Belcher and Jason Noll rounded out the top five.
The defending series champion, Smith has two more shots at catching Ward in the point standings next weekend.
“He’s quick. He gets around this track real well,” Smith acknowledged after matching his 2010 series win total. “Tim is quick and he’s clean, and I have to respect that.”
Feature Results
Feb. 12 – 1. Tim Ward; 2. Ricky Thornton Jr.; 3. Terry Belcher Jr.; 4. Dylan Smith; 5. Matt Brack; 6. Jason Noll; 7. Will Brack; 8. Robert King; 9. D.J. Wood; 10. Marlyn Seidler; 11. Guy Norton; 12. Jeff Conner; 13. George Fronsman; 14. Matt Martinez; 15. Jeremy Osbourne; 16. Steve Stultz; 17. Kevin Faddis; 18. Cory Sample; 19. Joe Mullins; 20. Mike Strobl.
Feb. 13 – 1. Smith; 2. Will Brack; 3. Ward; 4. Belcher; 5. Noll; 6. Sample; 7. Seidler; 8. Conner; 9. Wood; 10. Fronsman; 11. Norton; 12. Bill Carron; 13. Martinez; 14. Thornton; 15. Matt Brack; 16. Faddis; 17. Osbourne; 18. Stultz.
Defending Canyon champions top Winter Challenge Series features
PEORIA, Ariz. (Feb. 5-6) – Both IMCA Modified drivers who won championships at Canyon Speedway Park in 2010 won their first features of 2011 over the weekend.
Defending track champion Tim Ward raced to the checkers in Saturday’s Winter Challenge Series main event while defending series champ Dylan Smith was fastest in the Sunday show. Both features paid $1,000 to win.
The current series point leader, Ward started fifth and tussled early in the lower lane with Smith while Ricky Thornton Jr. ran higher up.
A re-start sent Ward to the top. He inherited the lead after Thornton pulled off with a right rear flat and led to the end of the 25-lapper.
Matt Brack, Smith, Justen Yeager and D.J. Wood followed at the finish.
“I’ve had a dry spell so it’s awesome to get the win, especially because it paid $1,000,” said Ward, who’d made his most recent visit to victory lane at Canyon last June. “It seems like we came close a lot of times so it feels really good to finally get another win.”
Smith drew the outside front row start for the Super Bowl Sunday show, jumped out to a big lead in what played out to be a caution free contest, then got hung up by lapped traffic.
Thornton got inside on the final circuit and the front two made contact, but Smith was able to right the ship and take the win by a car length.
“The car was very, very good. Everything went good for us today and I’m glad we were able to hold on there at the end,” Smith said, after collecting his 58th career win in the class. “We were part of that big wreck on the opening weekend but we’ve had real good luck ever since.”
Jason Noll, Yeager and Cory Sample rounded out the top five.
With his win, Ward is new to the ballot for the 2011 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational. Smith was already vote eligible as the Allstar Performance Nebraska State champion.
The modified series at the Peoria, Arizona oval continues with Feb. 12 and 13 dates before concluding with a Feb. 19-20 doubleheader.
Feature Results
Feb. 5 – 1. Tim Ward; 2. Matt Brack; 3. Dylan Smith; 4. Justen Yeager; 5. D.J. Wood; 6. Cory Sample; 7. Terry Belcher Jr.; 8. Marlyn Seidler; 9. Guy Norton; 10. Jason Noll; 11. J.J. Harpole; 12. Mark Stewart; 13. Phil Penney; 14. Dave Baker; 15. Joe Mullins; 16. George Fronsman; 17. Jeff Anderson; 18. Steve Stultz; 19. Jeff Conner; 20. Will Brack; 21. Matt Martinez; 22. Ricky Thornton Jr.; 23. Terry Belcher Sr.
Feb. 6 – 1. Smith; 2. Thornton; 3. Noll; 4. Yeager; 5. Sample; 6. Wood; 7. Will Brack; 8. Matt Brack; 9. Harpole; 10. Terry Belcher Jr.; 11. Ward; 12. Norton; 13. Stewart; 14. Penney; 15. Mullins; 16. Seidler; 17. Fronsman; 18. Conner; 19. Baker; 20. Martinez.
Anthony Madrid completed a hat trick Saturday by winning his third $500 main event in a row with his number 5m pure-stock.
Promoter Doug Gabbard then challenged Madrid to tag the field on Sundays feature with a $200 additional bonus payout. Madrid accepted the challenge and with six laps remaining passed 2009 track champion Steve Bitting Jr. to take the lead and pocket the $700 payout.
Chris McCurdy Jr. scored back-to-back wins in the super stock division after Joe Sargenger pulled off the set of victories in the previous outings.
Bomber fans witnessed 99-Trenton Setelin take home his first ever trophy after he won a close battle to the finish line with 96-Ron Neis.
Sundays bomber mania field excited fans with another thriller after 7x-Jesse Johnson pulled an all-nighter preparing a new car for the event. Johnson’s motor let go on the final lap but he was able to hold off 68v-Joe Vlasity and 9-Paul O’Connor.
Friday February 11th will see an open practice for all divisions from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Front grandstand entry is free during practice; pit passes are $15 per person.
Divisions’ running this coming Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 12-13) are the $1000-Win IMCA MODIFIEDS, ASCS2, and IMCA SOUTHERN SPORTMODS/X-MODS.
Come enjoy the states only day racing series! General admission opens at 10:00am and racing begins at 1:00pm each day; General admission tickets are $15, senior/military $13 and as always children 12-under are FREE.
Pit gates are open all weekend. All access pit passes are $30 per person each day with no age restrictions.
Chaplin’s from Racers For Christ will host a chapel service at Sunday’s event. The service will take place on the north end of the general grandstand seating area from 11:00am to 11:30am. All racing spectators, crew-members and racers are invited to attend.
BYOB in cans only and FREE camping is permitted (no hook-ups).
For more information check out www.canyonspeedwaypark.com or call the track hotline at 602-258-race7223
Mills, Belcher are main men in week 2 of Canyon Winter Challenge Modified Series
PEORIA, Ariz. (Jan. 29-30) – Jeremy Mills was in the right place at the right time to top Saturday’s Winter Challenge Series feature for IMCA Modifieds, while Terry Belcher Jr. bounced back to take the Sunday checkers at Canyon Speedway Park.
Mills was running a close third when front-running Belcher and J.J. Harpole tangled with five laps left in the first show of the weekend. Belcher chased Dylan Smith into lapped traffic, took the lead near midway and beat the defending series champion to the stripe by a comfortable margin.
Each race paid $1,000 to win and both drivers were already qualified for the 2011 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot.
Patience provided dividends for Mills on Saturday as he dropped as far back as eighth from his third starting spot, then worked his way back up behind Belcher and Harpole.
Belcher’s brief turn at the front ended when he got together with Harpole. Mills motored by and held Tim Ward off for the victory. Smith, Jason Noll and Will Brack rounded out the top five.
“I waited just long enough. I was right on the front two when they wrecked and I had plenty of tire left for the rest of the race,” said Mills, on his way home after four series events to trade the Arizona sunshine for snowy northern Iowa. “You’ve got to be in the right place at the right time. I would have liked to have finished without the front two wrecking but we’ll never know what would have happened if they hadn’t.”
Belcher was still wrenching when the Sunday drivers’ meeting started. He’d draw the outside row four start for the main event and slowly reeled in Smith before edging ahead.
Getting a backrunner between his car and Smith’s, Belcher pulled away to win for the second time in four series starts so far in 2011.
“It was a real good race for us. We had just a couple cautions and green flag racing for a long while,” he said. “The track was racy and that was great.”
Following at the finish were Marlyn Seidler, Mills and Noll.
Their wins were the career 58th in the class for Mills and 37th for Belcher.
The Weekends Feature Results:
Jan. 29 – 1. Jeremy Mills; 2. Tim Ward; 3. Dylan Smith; 4. Jason Noll; 5. Will Brack; 6. Matt Mar tinez; 7. Guy Norton; 8. D.J. Wood; 9. Phil Penney; 10. J.J. Harpole; 11. Matt Brack; 12. Marlyn Seidler; 13. Jeff Conner; 14. Jeremy Osbourne; 15. Norman Upton; 16. Steve Stultz; 17. Terry Belcher Jr.; 18. Dave Baker; 19. George Fronsman; 20. Ricky Thornton Jr.; 21. Stacey Mills.
Jan. 30 – 1. Belcher; 2. Smith; 3. Seidler; 4. Jeremy Mills; 5. Noll; 6. Thornton; 7. Ward; 8. Will Brack; 9. Matt Brack; 10. Wood; 11. Harpole; 12. Martinez; 13. Conner; 14. Penney; 15. Stacey Mills; 16. Norton; 17. George Fronsman; 18. Stultz.
Friday February 4th will see an open practice for all divisions from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Front grandstand entry is free during practice; pit passes are $15 per person.
Divisions’ running this coming Saturday and Sunday are the $1000-Win IMCA MODIFIEDS, SUPER STOCKS, $500-Win PURE STOCKS and BOMBERS.
Come enjoy the states only day racing series! General admission opens at 10:00am and racing begins at 1:00pm each day; General admission tickets are $15, senior/military $13 and as always children 12-under are FREE.
Pit gates are open all weekend. All access pit passes are $30 per person each day with no age restrictions.
BYOB in cans only and FREE camping is permitted (no hook-ups).
Call 602-258-race(7223) or checkout http://www.canyonspeedwaypark.com for more info.
Belcher, Noll are opening weekend IMCA winners at Canyon Winter Challenge Series
PEORIA, Ariz. (Jan. 22-23) – Both feature fields were stocked with out of state talent, but drivers close to home were opening weekend winners in the Canyon Speedway Park Winter Challenge Series. Terry Belcher Jr. topped Saturday’s $1,000 to win main event for IMCA Modifieds, then ran second to fellow Arizonan Jason Noll in the Sunday show.
Showing the same speed that netted him the big check at Canyon’s Desert Classic special in November, Belcher started seventh in the Saturday feature, passed Guy Norton and 2010 track champion Tim Ward following a lap five restart and led the last 20 times around the track. A multi-car pileup before midway took a toll on Belcher’s closest pursuers. Norton charged back to finish second with out-of-staters Jeremy Mills, Stacey Mills and Will Brack rounding out the top five.
“I’m excited about this series,” said Belcher, who’d eke into the national and ButlerBuilt Western Region standings lead with his second place showing on Sunday. “I want to run for points this year. Hopefully we can get enough starts to get into the top five nationally.”
Defending series champion Dylan Smith was part of the mid-race melee and ended in 19th. Noll made a couple runs to the front, getting up to sixth before exiting with a flat tire, then restarting at the rear and driving to seventh before getting stacked up behind a spun car and breaking the J-bar mount.
The second installment of the Winter Challenge Series for IMCA Modifieds at Canyon Speedway Park went to Jason Noll. Repairing the damage took four hours but Noll and his crew were ready when the green flag flew on Sunday. Noll started outside Belcher on the front row, gave chase on the lower groove the first four laps, then moved up a line and took the lead for good on the seventh circuit. The only two cautions of the contest came out early. The front pair was in lapped traffic late in the race, with Noll holding Belcher at bay to win by a car length. Ward, Matt Brack and Marlyn Seidler followed.
“All the work really paid off for us. We got the car working good on Sunday and were really happy to get the win,” noted Noll, now qualified for the 2011 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot. “There’s a lot of good competition here.”
The second of five weekend series doubleheaders is Jan. 29-30 with an individual purse paid out each night. Modified teams will race for $2000 in winnings ($1000 to win each night).
Feature Results
Jan. 22 – 1. Terry Belcher Jr.; 2. Guy Norton; 3. Jeremy Mills; 4. Stacey Mills; 5. Will Brack; 6. Norman Uptain; 7. Tim Ward; 8. George Fronsman; 9. Marlyn Seidler; 10. Taylon Center; 11. Jeff Conner; 12. Jason Haug; 13. Steve Stultz; 14. Matt Martinez; 15. Justen Yeager; 16. Jason Noll; 17. Ed Beebe; 18. Darren Williams; 19. Dylan Smith; 20. Jeremy Ostram; 21. Matt Brack; 22. J.J. Harpole; 23. James Tabet; 24. Taylor Yazzie.
Jan. 23 – 1. Noll; 2. Belcher; 3. Ward; 4. Matt Brack; 5. Seidler; 6. Smith; 7. Yeager; 8. Jeremy Mills; 9. Will Brack; 10. D.J. Wood; 11. Ostram; 12. Fronsman; 13. Haug; 14. Norton; 15. Harpole; 16. Stacey Mills; 17. Martinez; 18. Jeff Stafford; 19. Conner; 20. Yazzie.
Local favorite 5m Anthony Madrid dominated the opening weekends Pure Stock division pocketing a $1000 payout. Daren Olney-47, Steve Bitting-7, Jeremiah Stevens-2JS and Cody Miller-1.98 rounded out the top five with last seasons rookie of the year Tyler Mecl sitting on the bubble in sixth. Props to Michael Huffman-20X for winning the B-main and charging to an eighth place main event finish.
Sundays Round two finishers were Anthony Madrid-5M, Steve Bitting-7, Daren Olney-47, Jesse Johnson-22 and Michael Huffman-20X finished fifth.
Super Stock shoe Joe Sarginger-57 swapped the lead with veteran stocker Mike Brigner-0 before Sarginger motored to beat Brigner at the line by about a foot. The two then repeated their performance again Sunday finishing one two.
A new face in Scott Gustafson-12 picked up his first Bomber Mania win in the 2011 opener followed by Doug Clark-00, Paul O'Connor-9, Paul Foote-4F and fifth place Chase Alves-14.
Bomber Mania day two saw Trenton Setelin-99, Paul O'Connor-9, John Wilt-72, Scott Gustafson-12 and Bob Legendre-07X.
Friday January 28th will see an open practice for all divisions from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Front grandstand entry is free during practice; pit passes are $15 per person.
Divisions’ running this coming Saturday and Sunday are the IMCA MODIFIEDS, IMCA Southern Sportmods/X-mods, Modlites, Dwarf Cars and ASCS2.
Come enjoy the states only day racing series! General admission opens at 10:00am and racing begins at 1:00pm each day; General admission tickets are $15, senior/military $13 and as always children 12-under are FREE.
Pit gates are open all weekend. All access pit passes are $30 per person each day with no age restrictions.
BYOB in cans only and FREE camping is permitted (no hook-ups).
Call 602-258-race(7223) or checkout http://www.canyonspeedwaypark.com for more info.
CSP 2011 Schedule Has Been Released
The schedule page has been updated with the complete schedule for the 2011 season. There will be a printable version available soon. The schedule is tentative and subject to change without notice.
DwarfCar.com Nationals
(click image to view 2011 DwarfCar.com Nationals Page)
CSP Winter Challenge Chapel Service
(click image to view 2011 Winter Challenge Page)
IMCA MODIFIED WINTER CHALLENGE 2011
PEORIA, Ariz. – IMCA Modifieds take to the track 10 times over the course of the 2011 Winter Challenge Series at Canyon Speedway Park.
Features on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 22-23 and 29-30, and Feb. 5-6, 12-13 and 19-20 all pay $1,000 to win and are qualifying events for the 2011 Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot.
Feature qualifiers earn a minimum of $100. The series champion becomes eligible to qualify for the Harris Auto Racing Race of Champions during the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals next September.
Sport Mods / X-Mods share the series card on four dates, Jan. 29-30 and Feb. 12-13.
National, Butler Built Western Region, Allstar Performance Arizona State and special series points will be awarded each night for the Modi fieds.
Pit gates and the grand stand will open at 10 a.m. each day. Hot laps are at noon and racing starts at 1 p.m.
Entry fee for Modifieds is $50. Pit passes are $30 and grandstand admission is $15 for adults and $13 for seniors and military. Kids 12 and under get in free.
Friday night practice sessions run from 6-9 p.m. on Fridays Jan. 21, Jan. 28, Feb. 4, Feb. 11 and Feb. 18.
More information about the Winter Challenge Series is available from Canyon promoter Doug Gabbard at 602 258-7223.
2011 Winter Challenge
(click image to view 2011 Winter Challenge Page)