Published: Saturday, June 20, 2009
Barnes makes history; wins 2nd straight Dirt Cup
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Courtesy of Brian Simonseth, H2H Photo
Jayme Barnes of Marysville (center) won the 38th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway on Saturday, June 20 in Alger. It was Barnes' second straight Dirt Cup win at the speedway, which is owned by Steve Beitler (left).
ALGER – What a difference a few weeks make.
Jayme Barnes of Marysville made history on Saturday night, becoming the first Skagit Speedway regular driver to win the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup two years in a row.
Barnes inherited the lead when Tyler Walker’s motor blew during a lap 35 caution in the 40-lap Race of Champions, then he held off a trio of sprint-car veterans from California: brothers Tim and Bud Kaeding and their father, three-time Dirt Cup winner Brent Kaeding.
“Last week we weren’t sure we were going to be here,” Barnes said. “But we kept plugging away. … I’ve got to thank everybody involved with this deal.”
Barnes, who collected $25,000 of the overall $150,000 purse, became the first Skagit Speedway regular to win back-to-back Dirt Cups, and just the second Washington native after NASCAR Sprint Cup star Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw won in 2002 and ‘03.
There were six cautions periods and one red flag in the Race of Champions – all coming after the midway point of the race. The final stoppage was a red flag on lap 37 so that crews could refuel the cars, which were running very low after all the caution laps.
Barnes started on the outside of Walker on the front row, and the two diced back and forth for the lead in the first six laps. Walker took the lead from Barnes when the cars hit slower traffic, and he stayed on point through six restarts until dropping out.
Barnes began the season racing his own car at Skagit Speedway, but about three weeks ago he had to park it after burning up the motor. Alan Larson and Kelly Welch of LAW Motorsports then stepped in, offering a ride to Barnes in their 410 sprint, which Larson said they didn’t think would be competitive enough to race in the Dirt Cup.
Jason Solwold of Burlington finished fifth behind the Kaedings, followed by Jonathan Allard of Chico, Calif., Travis Rutz of Langley, B.C., Peter Murphy of Clovis, Calif., Jesse Whitney of Stanwood and Shane Stewart of Pittsboro, Ind.
Other than Barnes and Whitney, the Race of Champions did not go well for Snohomish County racers. Rick Fauver of Everett dropped out after tangling with Rutz during a late restart, Jared Ridge of Snohomish pulled off with 13 laps to go and Barry Martinez of Lynnwood was finished at the halfway point.
The Race of Champions capped a packed program of racing, with Dirt Cup scrambles and preliminary mains to set the field for the Race of Champions.
Walker, who entered the night atop the points standings after winning Thursday’s A Main and setting fast time on Friday, started the night by winning the $1,000 Qualifying Challenge.
“We’ve had a great weekend but we’ve got 40 laps to go,” said Walker after winning the challenge. “Hopefully our car will stay together for 40 more laps.”
Walker won the Challenge by default when Allard blew an engine in turn 3 of his first lap. Allard and Walker qualified for the Challenge by turning the fastest laps on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Allard’s fast lap on Night 1 was 11.541 seconds and Walker’s on Night 2 was 11.312.
The Challenge, which was sponsored by the Follman Agency and Industrial Resources, was planned to have each racer run two qualifying laps, followed by a time out for adjustments, and concluding with two more qualifying laps.
Although Walker only needed to turn a sub-14 lap to beat Allard and win the Challenge, he went all out and turned laps of 11.401 and 11.373.
To prove he was the fastest driver at the Dirt Cup, Walker then turned a lap of 11.257 en route to winning the A Scramble. The A Scramble, which pitted the top six drivers in the standings, set the first three rows for the A Main.
Ridge led flag-to-flag to win the B Main and secure one of eight transfer spots into the Race of Champions. Martinez finished second and also advanced, as did Wayne Johnson of Knoxville, Iowa, Marc Duperron of Edmonton, Alberta, Brent Kaeding, Chadd Noland of Central Point, Ore., Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, Ore., and Eric Fisher of Mount Vernon.
Fisher slid around Mitch Olson of Tacoma and into the final transfer spot on lap 17 of the 20-lap B Main, which was stopped by two yellow flags and one red flag after Noland knocked Danielle Huson of Sedro-Woolley into Jeff Hodgson of St. Alberta, Alberta on the frontstretch.
Noland received a warning from track officials, but was able to continue. The night was over for Huson and Hodgson.
The Dirt Cup ended early for Colton Heath of Everett and Steve Kilcup of Sedro-Woolley. The first caution of the B Main was thrown when Heath lost power on lap 5. Heath returned to the track, but later pulled off for good during the red flag period.
Kilcup slowed considerable and then pulled off on lap 14. Kilcup, who had been announced as competing in the C Main, started in the back of the B Main after it was discovered that his points had been miscalculated after Night 2.
Nick Enberg of Burlington got around polesitter Brent Bjork of Fremont, Calif., on the opening lap en route to a win in the 15-lap C Main – and a ticket to the B Main. Also moving up was second-place finisher Bjork; Heath, who finished third after starting near the back of the pack; and Toni Lutar of Whiterock, B.C.
Barnes finished second in the A Scramble, followed by Roger Crockett of Medford, Ore., Tommy Tarlton of Easton, Calif., and Murphy.
Allard’s crew changed his engine and got the car back to the track in time for the A Scramble, but the two-time Dirt Cup winner couldn’t get the motor fired.
In the B Scramble, which set the first three rows for the B Main, Ridge finished first, followed by Martinez, Huson, Duperron, Hodgson and Brent Kaeding.
Bjork won the C Scramble, followed by Enberg, Kevin Smith of Burlington, Glenn Borden of Raymond and Kelleigh Johnson of Sedro-Woolley.
Jayme Barnes of Marysville made history on Saturday night, becoming the first Skagit Speedway regular driver to win the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup two years in a row.
Barnes inherited the lead when Tyler Walker’s motor blew during a lap 35 caution in the 40-lap Race of Champions, then he held off a trio of sprint-car veterans from California: brothers Tim and Bud Kaeding and their father, three-time Dirt Cup winner Brent Kaeding.
“Last week we weren’t sure we were going to be here,” Barnes said. “But we kept plugging away. … I’ve got to thank everybody involved with this deal.”
Barnes, who collected $25,000 of the overall $150,000 purse, became the first Skagit Speedway regular to win back-to-back Dirt Cups, and just the second Washington native after NASCAR Sprint Cup star Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw won in 2002 and ‘03.
There were six cautions periods and one red flag in the Race of Champions – all coming after the midway point of the race. The final stoppage was a red flag on lap 37 so that crews could refuel the cars, which were running very low after all the caution laps.
Barnes started on the outside of Walker on the front row, and the two diced back and forth for the lead in the first six laps. Walker took the lead from Barnes when the cars hit slower traffic, and he stayed on point through six restarts until dropping out.
Barnes began the season racing his own car at Skagit Speedway, but about three weeks ago he had to park it after burning up the motor. Alan Larson and Kelly Welch of LAW Motorsports then stepped in, offering a ride to Barnes in their 410 sprint, which Larson said they didn’t think would be competitive enough to race in the Dirt Cup.
Jason Solwold of Burlington finished fifth behind the Kaedings, followed by Jonathan Allard of Chico, Calif., Travis Rutz of Langley, B.C., Peter Murphy of Clovis, Calif., Jesse Whitney of Stanwood and Shane Stewart of Pittsboro, Ind.
Other than Barnes and Whitney, the Race of Champions did not go well for Snohomish County racers. Rick Fauver of Everett dropped out after tangling with Rutz during a late restart, Jared Ridge of Snohomish pulled off with 13 laps to go and Barry Martinez of Lynnwood was finished at the halfway point.
The Race of Champions capped a packed program of racing, with Dirt Cup scrambles and preliminary mains to set the field for the Race of Champions.
Walker, who entered the night atop the points standings after winning Thursday’s A Main and setting fast time on Friday, started the night by winning the $1,000 Qualifying Challenge.
“We’ve had a great weekend but we’ve got 40 laps to go,” said Walker after winning the challenge. “Hopefully our car will stay together for 40 more laps.”
Walker won the Challenge by default when Allard blew an engine in turn 3 of his first lap. Allard and Walker qualified for the Challenge by turning the fastest laps on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Allard’s fast lap on Night 1 was 11.541 seconds and Walker’s on Night 2 was 11.312.
The Challenge, which was sponsored by the Follman Agency and Industrial Resources, was planned to have each racer run two qualifying laps, followed by a time out for adjustments, and concluding with two more qualifying laps.
Although Walker only needed to turn a sub-14 lap to beat Allard and win the Challenge, he went all out and turned laps of 11.401 and 11.373.
To prove he was the fastest driver at the Dirt Cup, Walker then turned a lap of 11.257 en route to winning the A Scramble. The A Scramble, which pitted the top six drivers in the standings, set the first three rows for the A Main.
Ridge led flag-to-flag to win the B Main and secure one of eight transfer spots into the Race of Champions. Martinez finished second and also advanced, as did Wayne Johnson of Knoxville, Iowa, Marc Duperron of Edmonton, Alberta, Brent Kaeding, Chadd Noland of Central Point, Ore., Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, Ore., and Eric Fisher of Mount Vernon.
Fisher slid around Mitch Olson of Tacoma and into the final transfer spot on lap 17 of the 20-lap B Main, which was stopped by two yellow flags and one red flag after Noland knocked Danielle Huson of Sedro-Woolley into Jeff Hodgson of St. Alberta, Alberta on the frontstretch.
Noland received a warning from track officials, but was able to continue. The night was over for Huson and Hodgson.
The Dirt Cup ended early for Colton Heath of Everett and Steve Kilcup of Sedro-Woolley. The first caution of the B Main was thrown when Heath lost power on lap 5. Heath returned to the track, but later pulled off for good during the red flag period.
Kilcup slowed considerable and then pulled off on lap 14. Kilcup, who had been announced as competing in the C Main, started in the back of the B Main after it was discovered that his points had been miscalculated after Night 2.
Nick Enberg of Burlington got around polesitter Brent Bjork of Fremont, Calif., on the opening lap en route to a win in the 15-lap C Main – and a ticket to the B Main. Also moving up was second-place finisher Bjork; Heath, who finished third after starting near the back of the pack; and Toni Lutar of Whiterock, B.C.
Barnes finished second in the A Scramble, followed by Roger Crockett of Medford, Ore., Tommy Tarlton of Easton, Calif., and Murphy.
Allard’s crew changed his engine and got the car back to the track in time for the A Scramble, but the two-time Dirt Cup winner couldn’t get the motor fired.
In the B Scramble, which set the first three rows for the B Main, Ridge finished first, followed by Martinez, Huson, Duperron, Hodgson and Brent Kaeding.
Bjork won the C Scramble, followed by Enberg, Kevin Smith of Burlington, Glenn Borden of Raymond and Kelleigh Johnson of Sedro-Woolley.
38th annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup Night 3
Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger
Three-tenths mile clay banked oval
(Car number in parenthesis)
Race of Champions (A Main) 40 laps
1. (33B) Jayme Barnes; 2. (83) Tim Kaeding; 3. (29) Bud Kaeding; 4. (69) Brent Kaeding; 5. (73) Jason Solwold; 6. (0) Jonathan Allard; 7. (26) Travis Rutz; 8. (18M) Peter Murphy; 9. (88) Jesse Whitney; 10. (7K) Shane Stewart; 11. (38) Chad Hillier; 12. (6) Kyle Hirst; 13. (59) Eric Fisher; 14. (40) Brock Lemley; 15. (1F) Rick Fauver; 16. (24) Tyler Walker; 17. (11) Roger Crockett; 18. (21) Tommy Tarlton; 19. (12) Jared Ridge; 20. (11D) Marc Duperron; 21. (83V) Kyle Larson; 22. (7N) Chadd Nolan; 23. (66) Barry Martinez; 24. (35A) Wayne Johnson.
B Main 20 laps; top eight advance to A Main
1. (12) Jared Ridge; 2. (66) Barry Martinez; 3. (35A) Wayne Johnson; 4. (11D) Marc Duperron; 5. (69) Brent Kaeding; 6. (7N) Chadd Nolan; 7. (83V) Kyle Larson; 8. (59) Eric Fisher; 9. (98M) Mitch Olson; 10. (57C) Chris Schmelze; 11. (94) Zack Zimmerly; 12. (4X) Toni Lutar; 13. (4E) Nick Enberg; 14. (7B) Brent Bjork; 15. (7S) Cory Chamberlain; 16. (18) Steve Kilcup; 17. (5X) Colton Heath; 18. (V8) Jeff Hodgson; 19. (73H) Danielle Huson.
C Main: 15 laps; top four advance to B Main
1. (4E) Nick Enberg; 2. (7B) Brent Bjork; 3. (5X) Colton Heath; 4. (4X) Toni Lutar; 5. (1FK) Glenn Borden; 6. (75) Kevin Smith; 7. (81) Kelleigh Johnson; 8. (20) Ryan Benoit; 9. (25C) Chad Groves.
A Scramble 6 laps to set first three rows of A Main
1. (24) Tyler Walker; 2. (33B) Jayme Barnes; 3. (11) Roger Crockett; 4. (21) Tommy Tarlton; 5. (18M) Peter Murphy.
B Scramble 6 laps to set first three rows of B Main
1. (12) Jared Ridge; 2. (66) Barry Martinez; 3. (73H) Danielle Huson; 4. (11D) Marc Duperron; 5. (V8) Jeff Hodgson; 6. (69) Brent Kaeding.
C Scramble 6 laps to set first three rows of C Main
1. (78) Brent Bjork; 2. (4E) Nick Enberg; 3. (75) Kevin Smith; 4. (1FK) Glenn Borden; 5. (81) Kelleigh Johnson.
Three-tenths mile clay banked oval
(Car number in parenthesis)
Race of Champions (A Main) 40 laps
1. (33B) Jayme Barnes; 2. (83) Tim Kaeding; 3. (29) Bud Kaeding; 4. (69) Brent Kaeding; 5. (73) Jason Solwold; 6. (0) Jonathan Allard; 7. (26) Travis Rutz; 8. (18M) Peter Murphy; 9. (88) Jesse Whitney; 10. (7K) Shane Stewart; 11. (38) Chad Hillier; 12. (6) Kyle Hirst; 13. (59) Eric Fisher; 14. (40) Brock Lemley; 15. (1F) Rick Fauver; 16. (24) Tyler Walker; 17. (11) Roger Crockett; 18. (21) Tommy Tarlton; 19. (12) Jared Ridge; 20. (11D) Marc Duperron; 21. (83V) Kyle Larson; 22. (7N) Chadd Nolan; 23. (66) Barry Martinez; 24. (35A) Wayne Johnson.
B Main 20 laps; top eight advance to A Main
1. (12) Jared Ridge; 2. (66) Barry Martinez; 3. (35A) Wayne Johnson; 4. (11D) Marc Duperron; 5. (69) Brent Kaeding; 6. (7N) Chadd Nolan; 7. (83V) Kyle Larson; 8. (59) Eric Fisher; 9. (98M) Mitch Olson; 10. (57C) Chris Schmelze; 11. (94) Zack Zimmerly; 12. (4X) Toni Lutar; 13. (4E) Nick Enberg; 14. (7B) Brent Bjork; 15. (7S) Cory Chamberlain; 16. (18) Steve Kilcup; 17. (5X) Colton Heath; 18. (V8) Jeff Hodgson; 19. (73H) Danielle Huson.
C Main: 15 laps; top four advance to B Main
1. (4E) Nick Enberg; 2. (7B) Brent Bjork; 3. (5X) Colton Heath; 4. (4X) Toni Lutar; 5. (1FK) Glenn Borden; 6. (75) Kevin Smith; 7. (81) Kelleigh Johnson; 8. (20) Ryan Benoit; 9. (25C) Chad Groves.
A Scramble 6 laps to set first three rows of A Main
1. (24) Tyler Walker; 2. (33B) Jayme Barnes; 3. (11) Roger Crockett; 4. (21) Tommy Tarlton; 5. (18M) Peter Murphy.
B Scramble 6 laps to set first three rows of B Main
1. (12) Jared Ridge; 2. (66) Barry Martinez; 3. (73H) Danielle Huson; 4. (11D) Marc Duperron; 5. (V8) Jeff Hodgson; 6. (69) Brent Kaeding.
C Scramble 6 laps to set first three rows of C Main
1. (78) Brent Bjork; 2. (4E) Nick Enberg; 3. (75) Kevin Smith; 4. (1FK) Glenn Borden; 5. (81) Kelleigh Johnson.
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