DEREK COPELAND WINS SHASTA 125 AND CLAIMS $10,000 SUPER LATE MODEL CHAMPIONSHIP

ANDERSON, Calif. (October 5, 2025) – Anderson’s Derek Copeland added his name to the rich history of Shasta 125 winners while also finishing off the $10,000-to-win 2025 championship, during Saturday night’s Super Late Model season finale at Shasta Speedway in Anderson. Copeland topped an outstanding 23-car turnout of drivers from all over the western United States and Canada for his fourth feature win of the five race season. Photo by Twisted Road Photography

Copeland earned fast-time in a narrow qualifying session where the top-seven were separated by less than a tenth of a second. He then lined up 12th after the invert.

“This is awesome. It was a great race. Starting 12th I didn’t know what to expect. All it takes is for one car to spin out in front of you and ruin your whole night. Our car was amazing. These guys did a great job. I think anybody could have got in this car and won with it,” Copeland said.

Spokane, Washington’s Dave Garber raced side-by-side with Eureka’s Luke Hall at the start of the Shasta 125 for the lead. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada’s Brandon Carlson entered the mix, driving to the outside of Hall to lead lap six. Copeland charged quickly into the top-five by lap 33. Second fastest qualifier Dylan Zampa of Napa make quick work of the pack as well, passing Canada’s Darrell Midgley for second on lap 37.

Garber was a part of a multi-car crash which required a red flag on that same lap. Garber slid down the track in turn four, hooking Livermore’s Ryan Philpott into the front stretch wall. Fort Bragg’s Trey Daniels darted left to avoid but went over the top of Garber in a wild crash. All three drivers were uninjured.

Midgley then mixed it up with Loomis’ Kenna Mitchell and Stockton’s Joey Stearns to require the next caution flag and bounce all three drivers out of the top-ten.

Copeland used the bottom to knife underneath Zampa on the ensuing restart, following Carlson. Copeland hounded Carlson for several laps before Carlson got loose on the exit of turn four. Copeland pounced up the inside to lead lap 54. Melanie Schmitt spun on the front stretch for a caution flag with just 31 laps to go. On the restart, Zampa soared past Copeland on the high side to take the lead. Copeland battled back, using a bold dive into turn one to retake the position on lap 98.

Derek Copeland paced the final 27 laps through lapped traffic for a one car length victory over Dylan Zampa. Carlson succeeded in a back and forth duel with round four winner David Miller for third as well. Stockton champion Justin Philpott finished fifth.

Copeland earned the $10,000 championship followed by Miller with a $7,500 second and Stearns with a $5,000 third.

Scott MacLeod of Happy Valley wrapped up the Bomber championship while Brian King of Shasta Lake had a successful return to the driver’s seat with the 25-lap feature win. Bobby Crowell finished second with MacLeod in third.

A frenzied battle among the Hornets racers for the lead saw more than a half a dozen drivers take a turn at the front of the pack. Brian Mollath of Palo Cedro timed the winning move well to take the 25-lap feature. Colton Stankey led on several occasions and finished second. Travis Root of Anderson finished fourth but claimed the 2025 championship.

Branden Benedix of Valley Home won in just his third career INEX Legends race. Braden Judge of Rocklin made his Legends debut with a second place finish followed by Kyle Borden of Cottonwood.

Shasta Speedway thanks Big Valley Sanitation, Inc., Northern California Hall of Fame, DarsCox Construction, Cox & Cox Construction, Darren Taylor Construction, McEntire Landscaping, Eddie Axner Construction, Mendes Supply, Redding Now, Harvest Printing, All Car & Truck, Les Schwab, Predotti Materials, Sunoco Fuel, Design Time and Tile, Diesel Emissions, Wards Concrete, Hoosier Tire, Tehama Tire, and Valley Pacific for their support of the 2025 season.

Rules and procedures are available at www.ShastaSpeedway.com. For more information on the 2025 season, contact Shasta Speedway at info@shastaspeedway.com or call (530) 524-6283

SHASTA 125 OCTOBER 4, 2025 RESULTS

Super Late Models A Main (125 Laps): 1. 80-Derek Copeland[12]; 2. 44-Dylan Zampa[11]; 3. 14-Brandon Carlson[6]; 4. 22-David Miller[14]; 5. 50-Justin Philpott[7]; 6. 6-Joey Stearns[9]; 7. 16-Kenna Mitchell[8]; 8. 6X-Mike Beeler[10]; 9. 81-Darrell Midgley[3]; 10. 36-Luke Hall[2]; 11. 27-Ian Elliot[5]; 12. 86-Tim Spurgeon[16]; 13. 57X-Eric Price Jr[17]; 14. 5-Scott Baker[22]; 15. 10-Melanie Schmitt[15]; 16. 52-David Dillinger[18]; 17. 93-Dave Garber[1]; 18. 52P-Ryan Philpott[4]; 19. 8X-Trey Daniels[13]; 20. 02-Eric Gannon[19]; 21. 83-Douglas Atkins[23]; 22. 1-Craig Baker[20]; 23. 57-Eric Price Sr[21]

Bombers A Main (25 Laps): 1. 9-Brian King[3]; 2. 69X-Bobby Crowell[2]; 3. 7S-Scott Macleod[4]; 4. 7M-Carissa Macleod[1]; 5. 36-Dustin Hills[7]; 6. 43-David Dillinger Sr[5]; 7. 7A-Tim Macleod[6]

Hornets A Main (25 Laps): 1. 29-Brian Mollath[7]; 2. 01C-Colton Stankey[5]; 3. 88-Peter Smith III[8]; 4. 20-Travis Root[4]; 5. 9-Gavin Smith[6]; 6. 67-Karen MacLeod[3]; 7. 44-Noah Smith[1]; 8. 6-Mark Felch[9]; 9. 22R-Kendell Rowley[10]; 10. 3-Hue Moua[2]; 11. 71-Titan Hills[13]; 12. 4-Becky Rowley[12]; 13. 21F-Emory Fryberger[11]; 14. 8-Brayden Smith[14]

INEX Legends A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 17-Branden Benedix[6]; 2. 56-Braden Judge[3]; 3. 78-Kyle Borden[4]; 4. 08-Deakon Kamisky[5]; 5. 31-Russ Lowe[1]; 6. 64-Evan Barnhart[7]; 7. 8C-Nico Caldeira[2]