FROM FULL MOON RACING TO FULL THROTTLE RACING AT THE RED BLUFF OUTLAWS

Source: Jack Waterman
Date: 12/01/2008

RED BLUFF, California — Racing in Red Bluff went from a frenzy of full moon racing last week to some of the finest racing of the year. First off, the brothers rocked. The McCain Brothers and the Becker were simply all incredible. Tyler McCain, one of winning-est, championed racers in the sport jumped to a quick lead over his brother Brian in the A Main Event and held the lead the whole way. If anyone has any doubt about these guys' mastery of the Outlaw Kart just watch their hands as they steer effortlessly around the track. And as the McCains were heading up the pack the Becker Brothers, Sean and Daniel put on a show of skill that would impress ANYONE. These two racers swapped spots at least 3 times in a single turn - putting a new meaning to slidejob. After the race Daniel was all smiles and agreed that the race was a ton of fun, and that there is no one he'd rather race against than big brother Sean.

It was a night when the Open Division veterans ruled the track. Pete Johnston, one of the QRC Factory drivers, and currently ranked #1 in the Burris National Kart standings, edged out Steven Gannon for the quick time by just 1/1000 of a second with a 8.595 second lap. There were 42 Open Division Karts that showed up, 32 of them qualified in under the 9 second mark. The big field of karts were divided into five heat races. David Tarter in the #35T won the first heat of the night. Tyler McCain in his Win-River Casino sponsored #83 kart won Heat Two over Steven Gannon. Heat Three was won by Jeremy Andreason over some of the top talent in the field including Ryan Foster and Daniel Becker. Stephanie Yannazzo in her beautiful Swimming Pool Perfection's H2O kart won her heat race by a commanding lead. "I didn't realize that I had that much of a lead for that race. It was only afterwards that I was told how far ahead I was." Said a very happy Yannazzo. Her great evening was trumped by a mechanical failure before the start of the feature event for the division. The Music Man Shane Graham won the final heat race of the night over Tyler Harris and Jake Park. Andrew Cumpton took his second Trophy Dash win of the season over Daniel Becker and Rowdy McClenon. It's been a good month for the Cumpton Family as dad, Andy, has returned to racing this season in the Sportsman Division and took the honors of the Trophy Dash in that class just last race. The Cumpton's and their extended families are long time Outlaw Kart racers. Familiar names from the group include Perkins, Grahams, Boyds and the Patchens.

The 250cc Division action continued to be hot and heavy. There was some heartpounding excitement and heartbreaking luck for these young drivers who range in age from 10 to 17. This relatively new division has replaced the traditional 125cc 2-stroke class with the karts running the new generation of 4-stroke powerhouse motors. These engines really roar. Their distinctive deep throaty growl is evidence of their incredible power. Gone are the days of the symphonies of 125's with their high-pitched, hornet's nest scream. Not only are the bigger cc motors loud, they are fast! Several times this season the fast qualifying time of the 250cc division has been considerably faster than the Open Divisions'. This week Casey McClain set the fast time for the bunch with an 8.707 second laps. McClain, from Redding, although only in his early teens, is a veteran of Outlaw Karting. He started racing at age 4 and has garnered some truly auspicious awards. Casey's time was just a tick faster than the 'Reno Rocket's' - Tanner Thorson's and Camron Bartlett's. Three heat races were held of the 21 drivers in the class. James Edens won Heat One, but his luck was to change when engine problems ended his feature event run early. Heat Two was championed by "Bombshell" Mallorie McGahan in the #1 kart. And the final heat of the night was won by Camron Bartlett over Wyatt Pruitt. Pruitt, from Shasta Lake City to the north, missed the first few races as he was finishing up his football season in which his team won the division championship. There were 2 main events and only the top four finishers in the B Main moved on to the compete in the Feature Event. These four drivers were Mason Millard, sponsored by Plaza Hotel in Carson City, NV, Jake Morgan and his stable mate Trevor Tennison in their GMG sponsored Gary Gabel Racing Team karts were second and third while rookie Tanner Thomson rounded out the transfers.

Mason Millard took home his second Trophy Dash win in the same number of weeks. This marks two in a row Dash wins for this young man who makes the long tow from Nevada each week his family to compete in Red Bluff. His older brother, Camron, runs the Open Division in the #17 kart while not racing his late model around the western United States during the summer. The A Main event started with another Nevadan on the pole, Zachary Heinz. Zach and his dad also tow in from the far east (Nevada) every week to run the bullring. The two of them have a legendary camaraderie continually joking and teasing one another with hilarious jabs. However, it wasn't all fun for Zach in the feature event. He took off to a huge lead over the rest of the pack from the start. Zach runs a rare Hubbard chassis which he and his dad have gotten dial-in to the ever changing conditions of the Red Bluff dirt. Several laps into the twenty-five lap race the Heinz 57 kart dramatically slowed and came to rest with fatal mechanical problems. The lead was fought for vehemently but it was Tyler Seavey who nabbed the front spot just ahead of Tony Rossi. They led the race till the end as Casey McClain nipped at the tail of Rossi on several occasions but never got the edge over Rossi's ADTS, Furia Heating and Air sponsored kart. Tyler Seavey who has raced with the Outlaws for most of his life was thrilled at the commanding win which added to his impressive resume which includes a National Championship at the Knoxville track in Iowa.

Box Stock Firsts - Zachary Rushing in his #98 Lost Cause Racing kart took home his first A Main win of the year in a big way. The competition is fierce in this division as more than racers are currently running the points competition. But on any given race night there are far more karts hitting the track in this class. These youngsters range in age from 8 to 13 and show skills that put most adults to shame. This season saw the implementation of a engine rule which aims to level the playing field and, indeed, does make for some great racing. The motors are sealed Subaru spec engines that crank out an amazing amount of power, in fact, enough to put these 275 to 375 pound karts around the track in under 10 seconds.

This week's fastest qualifying lap of the 28 karts belonged to Jake "The Snake" VanBoekel, son of champion Modified driver Todd VanBoekel. Jake continued his night by finishing 3rd in the Trophy Dash, but was relegated to starting in the B Main and earning a transfer spot to the A Main. The four heat races were won by Ren Eberhard, Morgan Sandhagen, Trenton LaChance and Carley Dougherty respectively.

The Trophy Dash saw the six fastest karts line up to compete for the win which earns them extra points and a great looking trophy. The starting positions are usually always inverted, some completely, meaning the fastest qualifying kart starts from the back of the pack and 6th fastest starts on the pole. This week Colby Cate of Redding held off the other top qualifiers to earn his second dash trophy of the year. But it was Zachary Rushing that thrilled the crowd as he led the field to the checkered in the Feature Event. He had qualified in at the 4th spot and finished runner-up to Cate in the Trophy Dash before dominating the feature event. 10 year old Zachary is a veteran having 5 years of racing under his belt with the RB Outlaws. His competitive spirit is belied by his soft-spoken and mature nature. After the race an ecstatic Rushing was loudly applauded as he left the field. He was proud to thank his loyal sponsors including, Charlie Kramm of ReMax of Redding, Big Ray's Auto Glass, Performance Vynal (sic), Redding Wheel and Brake and American Truck and Auto for starters.

A Triple Crown for the Beginners - Tyler Brown, the 7 year old from Elk Grove, has had a stellar season in his signature red #9 Seller's Race Wings and Fast Signs of Elk Grove sponsor kart. This week he won this Heat Race, the Trophy Dash and the fantastic A Main Event. But let's start from earlier in the day. 23 karts timed in at the start of the day with Michael Kofoid setting the quick time for the division with a 10.562 second lap. Kofoid, who is currently 2nd in the points standings, won his Heat Race ahead of Dustin Heath of Red Bluff, and finished in the second spot in the A Main. Four heat races were needed to set the fields for the main events. Winning these were Mr. Kofoid, Tyler Brown, Tyler Rodgers and Derek Stone. The 5 kart C Main Event was won hands-down by Brad Dolin of Redding. The top 4 went on to compete in the B Main which was headed up by Angelo Cornet, Hollis Shane Thackeray, VJ Stewart and Tanner Carrick who all then advanced to the A Main. It is just amazing how skilled these young drivers are. Even the rookies who just a few weeks ago ran their first laps in a kart are able to complete a 25 lap race with fewer yellow flag cautions than all the other divisions. Hat's off to these future stars. And again, this week's A Main was a clean, nearly caution-free event which ended with Tyler Brown coming out ahead of Kofoid, Blake Johnson and Colton Abel.

Anticipation is running high in the Sportsman division as they await the official word on the reconsideration of implementing a tire rule for the class. Tire rules are a passionately debated part of racing, and the outcome determines a number of factors for the class. The main consideration during these times of economic uncertainty, is the cost factor and how a tire rule can help keep racing affordable to drivers who otherwise not be able to race. Brandon Williams in his Sunrise Excavating #91 KTM powered kart set the quick time of the qualifying session with an 8.847 second trek. What is fun about this division is that there is a mixed bag of motors, from 500cc 2-strokes to giant KTM 4-strokes that rattle the rafters when they fire up down the straight-aways. A good natured competition exists between the 2 camps of engine owners and both motors do excellent on the track. The 16 drivers were split into 2 heat races. Heat One saw Burgess, who was instrumental in developing this division at Red Bluff, take the win over Eric Pettinger. Heat 2 yielded the win to the H2O Kart of Gregg Yannazzo. Greg brings a troop of dedicated crew and fans to the races each week from the deep south (Pacifica, CA) that includes his 2 daughters, Stephanie and Shannon who are now racing against one another in the Open Division. During the summer Greg is part of the Tim Kaeding Racing Organization and travels the circuit with the sprint car team.

Greg Yannazzo ran a strong battle to win the Trophy Dash. He brought his entourage in for the trophy photo which includes Jimmy Patterson, son of sprint car legend, Gary Patterson. And the A Main Event was a wild run that included a red-flag caution and a couple of upside down karts. The two hot shoes for the evening, Mr. Burgess and again Greg Yannazzo were vying for that top spot as Steve Coughlan and veteran Jason Schuppert did their best to catch them. It was Scotty Burgess tho that crossed the line ahead of Yannazzo to take the win, and a few obligatory victory spins.

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