It’s time once again for LoCO SPORTS, the occasional but action-packed local sports stuff column that runs in the Lost Coast Outpost when people send us their write-ups of local sports things.

For today’s installment we head to the Redwood Acres Raceway, where Matthew Sullivan had the honor and privilege to witness a thrill-filled night of daredevilry on the oval last weekend … and the writing chops to memorialize it for posterity.

Lots of local heroes in this one! Take it away, Matthew!

A special Friday night event took place this past week at Redwood Acres Raceway. It was day two of the Redwood Acres Fair and the excitement could be felt throughout the entire fairgrounds including the 3/8-mile paved oval.

While the Fortuna Wheel & Brake bombers and the Mid-City Motor World late models were not in action, all four other divisions took to the track on Fair Night at the Races presented by Pepsi, Del Reka Distributing and Humboldt Lighting. In addition, the night finished with a boat race which has become a big hit with fans in the past several years.

Nick Ford was fast time in the Compass Community Credit Union roadrunner division with a 20.525. The first main was run in normal fashion and was a thriller from start to finish. Ford and Tim Ratzlaff traded the lead 10 times in the 20-lap main event. Ford was able to take the lead from Ratzlaff on the final lap to take the victory. Ronnie Crump was third with Jennifer Murrell fourth and Austin Peterson fifth.

The second main event was run backwards and proved to be a completely different race. Ratzlaff dominated only losing the lead to Steve Kimberling with three laps left to go. Ratzlaff was able to retake the lead and crossed the line first. Kimberling was second followed by Crump, Andy Savage and Shawna Estes.

Lane Anderson has displayed terrific pace in the first season for the Bandoleros. Anderson was fast time with a 21.706. Anderson took the trophy dash while Maleesa Miles hung on to win the heat. Kadence Mace led the first lap of the 15-lap main event. Lap two saw Anderson take over. From that point on, Anderson was able to run away from the rest of the field to victory lane. Miles placed second followed by Mace, Trey Daniels and Aiden Kimberling.

The NorthCoast Lighting & Electric Legends division had a great turnout for the evening. Chris Lawrence has become the main to beat in the division this season. His qualifying time of 18.133 was fastest of all. Tyler Peach was the heat race winner while the two heat races were won by Katina Baker and Lawrence.

The main event was a race to see how fast the quicker qualifiers would be able to maneuver through the field. Kylie Daniels showed great speed and led the majority of the race. Lawrence quickly sliced through the field to get second on lap five. Daniels and Lawrence had a fantastic battle for the lead with both drivers displaying great patience. On lap 19, Lawrence took the lead and was able to pull away. At the finish it was Lawrence beating Daniels, Peach, Tyler Krupa and Katina Baker.

The Humboldt Hydroponics mini stocks had a special 40-lap main event on the night. Brian Murrell, Sr. was quickest in qualifying with a time of 18.846. Gary Klientobe took the trophy dash win. Heat race victories were claimed by Jordan Paiment and Klientobe. Paiment took the lead at the start of the main event. Things got jumbled five laps into the race when Brett Murrell’s hood got loose and blocked his windshield. While he was able to get to the pits, Paiment was able to put a major gap on the field while faster qualifiers like Murrell, Sr. and Eugene Palmer lost significant track position.

It appeared as nobody had a chance of catching Paiment but a caution flag on lap 20 completely changed the complexion of the race. Klientobe cut a tire and spun out. Then a battle for second between Trevor Eacret and Scott Taylor resulted in Eacret’s truck being disabled, bringing out the caution. Paiment still held the lead on the restart but had Taylor and Palmer right on his heels. As the race drew closer to the checkered flag, things tightened up at the front. On the last lap, Paiment and Taylor were nose-to-tail going into the first turn. Coming off turn two, Taylor got into the back of Paiment who spun. Third place Palmer also got collected. Murrell, Sr. was able to get through the mess and was able to cross the finish line first after being in the fourth position on the white flag lap. Klientobe was able to recover from his flat tire to get second. The next three positions were determined by scoring on the previous lap as none of the drivers were able to make it back to the line. Paiment was credited with third over Palmer and Taylor.

Following the mini stock main event was the crowd-pleasing boat race. At the end of the carnage, the top three finishers were winner Armand Deny, second place Matt Taylor and third place Mark Murray.

The next race in the 2018 season for Redwood Acres Raceway is Saturday July 7th. The big event for the evening will be the Don Graham Memorial Firecracker 100 for the Mid-City Motor World late models. There will be a test and tune on Friday July 6th. Another big event will happen after the races with a spectacular fireworks display.

For more information for Redwood Acres Raceway’s 2018 season can be found at www.RedwoodAcresRacing.com or by visiting the track’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/RedwoodAcresRaceway.