James, Ray, Bryant are first in Friday features at Douglas County

Modified, Northern SportMod, Results, Sport Compact

By Ben Deatherage

ROSEBURG, Ore. (July 19, 2024) – The Douglas County Dirtrack had a loaded card of racing on Friday, with IMCA wins gong to Bricen James, Daniel Ray and Burnie Bryant.

The race was off to an exciting start as Bennett Bray took the lead in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main. However, a caution slowed the pace on lap two and on the restart, James seized became the new leader.

Pope got up to second in his IMCA Modified debut in the Grey and Kersey Ferrando-fielded entry a few circuits in. Eventually, the race for second became a maelstrom involving Pope, Trevor La Barge, Carter Patterson and Grey Ferrando. Patterson was able to move into the position by lap six.

A pair of yellows with eight laps down kept everyone on their toes. As the race progressed, Ferrando made an excellent restart, attempting to challenge James for the lead. 

Patterson tried his best to hold on to third as Kevin Williamson pressured him on the inside line. The race remained green for some time, but the yellow would wave with 16 down when Patterson got sideways. Two more stoppages occurred on laps 17 and 20, preventing James from getting too far ahead.

Justin McCreadie rose to the occasion on one of the restarts to progress up to third but brought out the main event’s final caution when he came to a halt in turn four.  

On the final restart, James maintained his commanding lead, securing his fourth win at the Douglas County Dirt Track this year. Ferrando and Williamson completed the balance of the podium in second and third, respectively.

Once the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods started their main event, Matt Sanders scooted to the race lead and created a healthy margin in the early goings. In the first few laps, the contest for second would be in the balance between Trevor Points and Landyn Philpott.

Points secured the runner-up spot with three laps complete.

A series of stoppages occurred on the fourth and sixth circuits that kept the field tightly knit together. On the lap four restart, Philpott surged to second while Points nearly got into the wall; this allowed Jordan Henry and Jacob Shandy to move up one position each. Henry and Shandy went on the offensive to try and get around Philpott for second, but Philpott kept them in check.

Once the lap six restart came, Shandy tried to rise to the occasion, attempting to zip underneath Philpott. It took some time, but by the 14th circuit, he would finally get there. During this whole time, Sanders was out in front by his lonesome.

With eight to go, Ray hit a sweet spot on the inside and made rapid progress with a double overtake past both Philpott and Ethan Killingsworth to move into third. Ray wasn’t done yet as he dispatched Shandy for second. Killingsworth came to call with five to go as he got around Shandy for third and was in pursuit for second.

A pair of cautions on lap 15 slowed things down and eventually set up a green, white, checkered finish. Sanders maintained the pacesetting position and crossed the line in first place. Unfortunately, in post-race tech he was docked two positions for a deck height violation.

That gave the win to the seventh starter, Ray. Killingsworth was second while Sanders was third.

The Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts fired off with Michael Kennerly running off with the race lead. Rich Dickenson and Bid VanLoon battled hard for third in the first couple of laps, with Dickenson eventually securing the position. VanLoon came under heavy fire from Burnie and Melissa Bryant in a melee for fourth place.

Burnie Bryant eventually moved up to fourth, with four circuits complete, as Dickenson and Ken Fox battled for second. While the conflict for the runner-up spot became intense, it allowed Burnie Bryant to move into the picture, but a caution with five laps down would slow things down for the first time in the feature.

Burnie Bryant was brilliant on the restart, moving into the runner-up position. He eventually caught up to Kennerly to challenge for the top spot. Kennerly began to have mechanical issues, forcing him to come to a halt with five laps remaining. Burnie Bryant was the new trailblazer.

Burnie Bryant, who began the race in ninth, mastered the rest of the distance. Jordan Stevens had a late-race surge to second at the finish line while Fox completed the podium in third.

Related Articles

Modified

Douglas County fills a Friday niche for IMCA in Oregon

ROSEBURG, Ore. (Feb. 12, 2024) – Drivers in the Pacific Northwest will chase IMCA points at a newly sanctioned Friday night venue. Douglas County Dirtrack hosts seven dates for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, nine for the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods and eight Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact shows this season. First points races will be April 12 with the final night on Sept. 2. IMCA Sunoco Stock Cars also have a date at Roseburg during Wild West Speedweek on June 18. “We wanted the sanction since day one and running on Fridays gives drivers the opportunity to race two nights a week for IMCA national, regional and state points,” explained Brian Crockett, who heads into his second season as promoter of the 3/10-mile dirt oval and as part of the four-member Roseburg Race Promotions board. “Tracks to the north and south of us are already sanctioned on Saturdays,” he said, “and there are so many things IMCA does, like rules and procedures, that we don’t have to. It would be a nightmare for all of [Read More]

Modified

James wins again at Douglas County

By Ben Deatherage ROSEBURG, Ore. (June 28, 2024) – Bricen James motored to his fourth Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win in his last five starts, and back-to-back triumphs at Douglas County Dirtrack Friday night. The Albany hotshoe, a winner at Roseburg on May 10, was back in victory lane following the first of what would become three IMCA Wild West Speedweek checkers on June 18. He clearly remembered the Fast was around the 3/10-mile oval, pulling away from the pack after gaining the lead on lap seven. Trevor LaBarge wound up second and Brett Muth ended the night third. Lane Zerbin and Carter Patterson got fourth and fifth, respectively. Jacob Shandy regained the lead and got the win with his last-lap pass of Jordan Henry in the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod feature. Lapped traffic and then a caution with just three circuits to go set up that late drama. Lain McCoy, Don Moore and Chad Knee ran 3-4-5. Lastly, the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts hummed to life, with  Ryan Dickenson led early, then [Read More]

Modified

James, Comer, Bryant gain first-night wins at Douglas County

By Ben Deatherage ROSEBURG, Ore. (May 10, 2024) – The newest track in the Pacific Northwest to gain IMCA sanctioning, Douglas County Dirtrack formally opened its 2024 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing season on Friday. The Douglas County Fairgrounds 3/10-clay oval hosted the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods, and the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts. Track and state points were on the line, as well as Shaw Race Cars Western Region for the Modifieds. Bricen James stormed the castle with a brilliant last-lap move in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event. The Albany racer reeled in Grey Ferrando in the last few laps and masterly timed an overtake move to get by him at the drop of the checkers. Ferrando had a speedy piece and stormed towards the front on the first lap. Ferrando was relatively quick but did have to negotiate some slower traffic, which allowed James to give chase. Ferrando was a respectable second, with Lebanon driver Carter Patterson third. The Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod main event was [Read More]

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply