When it comes to Outlaw Kart racing there aren’t many drivers as exciting to watch as Jesse Colwell. Colwell is known as a driver that isn’t afraid to pull the trigger on a slide job, and not many can go slider for slider with him. Kyle Woodcock gave it his best shot but Colwell came out on top, as he often does.
When the Green Flag flew it was Pole Sitter and Points Leader Landon Brooks who would jump out to the lead. He would lead the opening lap with Kyle Woodcock trailing in the second spot. Woodcock though had a full head of steam built up on the outside of the racetrack and as they completed the third lap he drove around the outside of Brooks to take over the race lead. The yellow would come out on Lap Four and on the restart, we saw the #35 of Casey Schmitz make a daring move through the middle, three wide down the back straightaway to move into the second position just as the yellow flew once again. On the restart Schmitz made his move for the lead. He slid Woodcock into turn three and raced three wide down the front straightaway. Woodcock though would hang on to the lead at the stripe though and the red flag would fly. The red was for Adrian, OR driver Tristen Spiers who had a vicious tumble down the front straightaway. In trying to avoid his younger brother Aiden who had spun in turn four he made contact with another car causing damage to the right front spindle. As he tried to race back to the yellow flag the car dug into the track and launched him into the air, where he was then hit by Garrett Mills. Spiers car flew thru the air before coming to rest on all fours where he was able to climb from the kart, a little dizzy, but was able to walk off under his own power. When the race went back to green it was Landon Brooks and Kyle Woodcock throwing sliders for the race lead for a couple laps before Woodcock was able to get away a little bit. While Schmitz and Brooks battled for the second spot, Jesse Colwell made his first appearance of the race up front. He threw a huge slider into turn number one and was able to clear both drivers and take over the second spot on the racetrack. He was however, a half straightaway behind race leader Kyle Woodcock. Colwell kept his nose down though and kept charging forward, eventually catching Woodcock with about five laps remaining. The battle that ensued was one for the ages as Colwell would slide in front of Woodcock, then Woodcock would drive back by him down the straightaway. They continued to cross each other over each and every corner as the race drew to a close. As they were coming off turn four to take the white flag, Woodcock got into the wall with the right rear and that slowed his momentum enough that Colwell was able to hang on to pick up his third victory of the 2017 season at Cycleland in what was the best race we have seen so far this season. Both drivers put on a great show at the front of the field slider after slider and they raced each other without wearing the other driver out. Kyle Woodcock had to settle for a bittersweet second place finish in the Oroville Cycle #9W kart. Landon Brooks crossed the line in the third position and still has not finished worse than fourth this season. Casey Schmitz returned from a trip to Hawaii to score his second top five finish of the season in the fourth spot. Schmitz has shown a lot of speed early in the year but has had some bad luck that looks to be turning around. Chase Hill picked up his third top five as he rounded out the top five in the fifth spot. Jesse Colwell was the Hard Charger of the Main Event as he charged from his ninth starting spot to pick up the win.
The night began with 26 drivers signing into the pit area for the eighth points race of the season. One of the highest car counts we have seen yet this season in the Open Class. The #83JR of Tanner Carrick turned the fastest lap in Time Trials with a lap of 10.810 seconds. Carrick deserves to be commended for his dedication to the sport. Tanner raced Friday night in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania at the Williams Grove Speedway in an ARDC Midget. He finished second in the Main Event there. He then jumped on a flight and got back into California at about Noon on Saturday and came to the racetrack to compete Saturday night with us at Cycleland Speedway. It was great to have last year’s Track Champion back with us and we look forward to seeing him this weekend as well.
Heat Race competition saw Landon Brooks win his first Heat Race of the season in Heat Race #1. Kyle Woodcock scored his second Heat Race Win during Heat Race #2 and Chase Hill also scored his second Heat Race Win of the season during Heat Race #3.
Trophy Dash competition saw Tyler Brown pick up his second Trophy Dash Win of the season. He now has a pair of Fast Times and a pair of Trophy Dash Wins. Now he just needs to break into the Main Event Win column.
Thru eight points races Landon Brooks holds a 79-point advantage over Kyle Woodcock for the top spot. Garrett Brown leapfrogged Tyler Brown in the standings this week, as the driver of the Ed Brown Trucking #2 moved into third in the standings, 146 points out of the lead. Tyler Brown now sits fourth in the standings, 153 markers out of the top spot. Casey Schmitz still sits fifth in the standings as he is now 185 points out of the lead. These standings have substitute drivers factored in, and may not match what is shown online.
We will be back in action at the Cycleland Speedway this Saturday night, June 24th, with Points Race #9 of the 2017 race season. We have reached the halfway point of the year and the Championship battles are all beginning to take shape. The second half of the year will be ever important to the drivers going for the Championships. Hot Laps are scheduled to begin at 5:30PM with qualifying to follow. For ticket information and/or directions to the racetrack please visit www.cyclelandspeedway.com.