ROBINSON SNARES MARYSVILLE WHILE THORN, DOSS WIN KERN SRL RACES

(May 17, 2020) – Short track racing continued its slow comeback in the state of California with Ryan Robinson riding his hot streak at Marysville Raceway Park to another 360 Sprint Car victory. Meanwhile 300 miles south, Kern County Raceway Park ran an unpublicized event for both the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour and the SPEARS Mfg. Modified Series with Derek Thorn and Jeremy Doss scoring wins. Marysville Photos by Casey Lee

Robinson, 19, won the Toller Memorial in February and ran second to DJ Netto in last weekend’s event as well. He also picked up a victory at the Stockton Dirt Track earlier this year. Saturday’s race at Marysville paid points however, raising the stakes even higher with 32 cars in the pits.

Blake Carrick jumped out to the early lead in the feature with Robinson in pursuit ahead of sister Jodie Robinson. Ryan Robinson dove underneath to take the lead but could not hold the bottom, leading to a side-by-side duel. Robinson finally persevered for the lead. Jodie Robinson took over second a few laps later when Carrick bobbled in turn one. Carrick then spun in turn three as well.

Silver Dollar Speedway’s #1 Driver of the Decade Sean Becker reeled in Ryan Robinson over the final two laps but was unable to overtake him for the victory. Fast-time qualifier Tanner Carrick finished third ahead of Jodie Robinson and Washington’s JJ Hickle. Phillip Shelby in IMCA Sport Mods and Ryan Winter in Dwarf cars were the other winners on Saturday night.

“It’s super rough out there. Just tried to be as smooth as possible and make the least amount of mistakes,” Robinson told Speed Shift TV. “Just can’t thank this team enough. It’s been an absolute blast. I just love running with them.”

At the other end of the valley, the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour surprised many by staging a race at the Kern County Raceway Park. Originally scheduled to be at Roseville’s All American Speedway, the series took its show on the road with an internally organized event at the half-mile in Bakersfield.

Four-time Southwest Tour champion Derek Thorn led the 23-car turnout in time trials. The JM Environmental Saturday Night Fever 130 saw Thorn handle pressure from fellow Bakersfield standout Buddy Shepherd throughout the race.

The race was halted by a red flag on lap 92 with a multi-car crash. The melee on the front stretch involved significant damage for second-fastest qualifier Jack Wood, NASCAR XFINITY veteran Dylan Lupton, and series veteran Bob Lyon.

When the dust settled Thorn came across the finish line with a 1.421 second advantage for his 43rd series win ahead of Shepherd and 2019 series champion Cole Moore. Preston Peltier was strong in his first outing with Sigma Engineering Solutions with a fourth-place finish ahead of second year driver Kyle Neveau.

2018 SRL champion Jeremy Doss claimed the 75-lap SPEARS Modifieds race earlier in the afternoon over a 15-car turnout. Doss’ win avenged the result at Irwindale where a dominant performance was unhinged by contact with Travis Thirkettle. Eddie Secord ran second with William Guevara maintaining his recent stretch of success with a third-place finish. Multi-time KCRP champion Chris Dalton finished fourth ahead of Travis McCullough.

The weekend of May 23rd is expected to see several races taking place up and down the state of California. ShortTrackLive.com will have updates whenever available.