Video from the 2011 West Coast Nationals - Courtesy Carl Wilson and Intense Videos
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Congratulations to the 2011 West Coast Outlaw Kart Nationals Winner
Open - Ryan Foster # 41	Sportsman - Jay Salamy # 14
250 - Tanner Thorson # 88	Box Stock - Brian McGahan Jr # 8jr
Beginner Box - Lexi Raudman # 92

Congratulations to the 2010-2011 Red Bluff Outlaws Champions !

Ryan Foster #41 Open Division	Tyler Seavey #91 Intermediate Division
Michael Kofoid #11 Box Stock Division	Lexi Raudman #92L Beginner Box Stock Division
Beau Perkins #35 Sportsman Division

Race #13 Wrap-Up
by Jack Waterman - jack@jwwebs.com

And in a twinkling it was over. Back in October as the anxious drivers unloaded their karts for the first race of the 31st season of the Red Bluff Outlaws the thought of March 2011 and the final race of the year was a hazy, distant future which may have not even been a reality.  And for the parents and fans we scoffed and thought, even as fast as time flies, it was going to be a long winter and the days till the final race of the season were marked with lots of work, lots of travel, lots of racing, lots of fun, but more important, lots of family time and bonding that simply can’t be found in many other activities.

But Father Time has a way to make even six months vanish in a blur of activity. And last night as we sat and watched these drivers race so hard, especially the younger ones, we could all see the improvement over those first races back in the dim past of October.  Beginner Box drivers blossomed from being timid just trying to get a handle on the whole concept of turning left while avoiding obstacles while not becoming one themselves, have become racers – racers looking for lines, positions, sensing track changes, adapting, using extremely complex mental gymnastics to calculate distance times acceleration divided by various vector components and then communicating the necessary actions to all muscles in all the extremities – all to result in what appears to be a simple pass of a slower kart in front of them.

Stop and consider the acuity of these driver’s senses. Their futures are bright, and the racing world will be their oysters. Not only that, they take with them into everyday life a profound self confidence, and a world of experience which has guided them thru some very complex social situations, and interpersonal relationships. Many of theses experiences would never have been possible without their involvement in the Red Bluff Outlaws.  We are so proud of the quality of racers who have graduated thru the Outlaws. They have become unquestionably some of the best racers in the world, and we need to keep this in our thoughts as we enjoy this amazing sport.

There were lots of folks on hand to watch the races.  Fans who only make it to a few races per year flocked in to enjoy the last night of points racing in the 31st season and to witness legendary competitors Steven Gannon and Ryan Foster battle for the final few points which would determine the Open Division championship. And, as the news spread through Facebook, Twitter and Texting that the two veteran drivers were virtually tied in points going into the final feature race of the season – And that they were starting side by side produced an almost palatable buzz in the stands.  But, let’s backtrack to how the day began for the Open Division drivers.

Thirty-seven of the world’s best Open Division Outlaw Kart drivers signed in to compete in this closing round of the year.  In addition to drivers who have raced the entire season, or who have made only some races, there were drivers beginning to arrive from all around the country and even Canada for a night of racing and as a sort of test and tune before next week’s big event: The West Coast Nationals.

Before any karts took to the track many drivers walked the famed bullring, some shaking their heads in wonderment at the latest configuration.  Described as “Beyond Bristol”, and “Mini-Daytona” the new track had some seriously steep banking.  Promoter, Ali Abbassi, has been listening to the drivers; veterans and novices and took their suggestions, weighed all the options for track reconfiguration this late in the season, and so short the heels of the Nationals, and he choose a  radical departure from the last few tracks.  Although steeply banked, the inside groove was expanded, flatted and set off-camber before a quick transition to the banking outer groove.  While some shook their heads and pondered the best way around the oval, others, mainly the veterans I spoke with, were nodding with approval taking note that this track should allow for good old-fashion 2-3 wide, super fast racing.  The top-feeders were counting on a strong cushion to form early which allow them to rocket around the top side and slingshot out of the turns and get side-by-side, or ahead of the bottom-feeders. 

As one veteran quipped, “Well, it’s different, and that’s better.” And, when all is said and done, it was a great night of racing.

In the Open Division, upon whose championship outcome teetered on but a few points, qualifying was a stunning display of speed.  Especially remarkable were the speeds which the seasoned drivers could drive into the steeply banked turns.  I personally have never seen karts entering Turn Three as fast as last night. 

For those of you who might not have known, Ryan Foster was trailing Steven Gannon by a mere 11 points going into the final round of racing. Foster needed a strong qualifying, a good heat race finish and a top finish in the A Main to catch or pass Gannon for the Championship points lead.  One-third of the battle was won in qualifying when Foster set fast time for the night with a 7.977 second lap. This remarkable feat left him only 2/1000ths of a second off the all time track record set by rival Steven Gannon at the prior race. 

The importance of the milestone of breaking into the 7 second bracket can’t be underestimated. At a track as small as Red Bluff the most infinitesimal thing can drastically change the time it takes a kart to make the circuit.  And for 31 years and 10s of thousands or laps and races, Steven Gannon was, to our recollection, the first driver to ever break that eight second barrier.  It was such a milestone that former promoter Bob Carrel had put a $100 bounty on any driver who could make a lap in less than 8 seconds.  Steven Gannon accomplished this.  And only one race later, Ryan Foster, on a completely different track also smashed thru the 8second mark.  Rico Abreu came in second quick in the qualifying with a very respectable 8.040 second lap and John Michael Bunch, who entered the evening ranked third in points and not out of contention of for the championship set the third fastest time.  Gannon inexplicably had a rough qualifying and only claimed 11th position, costing him in the champion points totals.

So with the qualifying completed, there were 5 packed heat races lined out to set up the main events.  Heat One saw the first match-up of the night between the points leaders. Gannon got a strong start and won the race just ahead of Foster earning him back some of the ground lost in his qualifying effort. Dean Bare and Casey McClain rounded out the top four.  Heat Two saw the two Abreu Racing karts finish in the one-two with Pistol Pete Johnston (subbing for Kyle Larson) holding off teammate Rico Abreu for the win. David Tarter and Brent Hamilton made the top four.  In the third heat Spec Sprint driver, Rowdy McClenon held off “The Shark” Sean Becker for the win and Oregon Sprint Car driver and longtime RB Outlaw Seth Nunes finished third.  Young Cameron Bartlett held off Daniel “Buckwheat” Becker at the checkered flag and tagging in third and fourth were new daddy Michael Tarter and returning multi-laureled champion Tyler McCain. And out of Nevada Daniel Thorson nabbed the fifth heat race win over Sprint Car driver Tyler Wolf and the #71 of Tyler Taylor. 

When all this was sorted out there were three Main Events packed to the max with all these amazing drivers.  The C Main saw Rookie James Edens dominate the field and hold off last year’s Sportsman Division champion Todd Boyd for the win. Jake Park, Jonny Lentz, Brandon Aldred and Andrew Cumpton would all transfer into the B Main.  The B Main was an excellent run which saw Casey McClain fly over the finish ahead of Tyler McCain, Michael Tarter, Brent Hamilton, David Tarter and Jonny Lentz, who had taken the transfer from the C Main,  all of who would move on to the knuckle-biting A Main.

Always exciting, the Red Bluff Trophy Dash race was next. Six karts, six laps, and it was Tyler Wolf taking the flag and the hardware by winning over Casey McClain and John Michael Bunch.  Foster finished fourth which added yet one more point to his score for the championship.

Tight championship point battles have always been the norm at Red Bluff. In fact last year it was also Steven Gannon and Ryan Foster who were tied going in to the final round – and it was Foster who garnered his first Open Championship at the first track this NASCAR and Richard Childress Development driver ever raced.  But last night was extraordinary in that the point leaders were starting side-by-side, from the third row.  And what a wild start it was.  On the pole Daniel Thorson and Rico Abreu were poised to lead the pack to the cone.  An early incident relegated Thorson to a restart at the back, which opened up the front for Abreu to take the lead.  And, boy did he. He shot off the start cone and never looked back and was never closely challenged.  During these first few laps Foster wasn’t able to advance thru traffic, but Gannon had squirted thru to a strong second.  From this vantage point he drove a smooth, calculated race utilizing every angle of the track to his advantage as he held off Tyler Wolf and Pistol Pete.

From his position, Foster had karts in front of, to the side and behind him to contend with.  It was imperative that he finish strong to win the championship, and he used his decades of experience to not only hold off hard-charging karts from the rear, but to wind through the traffic ahead of him.  The race remained caution-free for the majority of the laps which allowed these drivers to simply flying around the track.  And it was Rico Abreu who flew under the checkered first followed stoutly by Steven Gannon, the Tyler Wolf, Foster and Pistol Pete.  After a quick points calculation in his head and Foster drove to the infield for a few well-deserved donuts, as he notched off his second Open Division Outlaw Kart championship in 2 years.

On to the Intermediate Division. 

I’ve noted a most remarkable phenomenon lately in regards to the drivers in the 250cc Intermediate division at Red Bluff; the friendships that these young drivers have on, at and off the track.  While the sport has always provided a great social environment for youngsters with the explosive development and popularity of Facebook I guess it is only to be expected that the drivers in this division would adopt social networking and media sites as a way to stay in touch, and share their passion for racing. At almost any time of the day you can tune into their latest posts as they share their lives and experiences thru this revolutionary technology.  The enthusiasm and passion these youngsters have for life, their quest for adventure, and their affection for friends and families is beyond heart-warming. And it’s not just the kids. Parents, fans, friends all share their racing lives on these networks.

Like I mentioned before, close points battles are not uncommon for the winter series, and this year the 250 Intermediate Division saw only 21 points separating the top three drivers. Tyler Seavey lead Ms. Morgan Sandhagen by 18 points and she held sway over Chase Majdic by a mere 3 points.  The day started with 24 Intermediate drivers signing in for qualifying. Minden Nevada’s Tanner Thorson set the fastest lap of the pack with an 8.358 second circuit.  Down the list continued Chase Majdic, Tyler Seavey and Amanda Moore.

This division’s driver count has remained incredibly stable all season long, as have actually, most of the divisions.  Four heat races were run in this final leg of the season.  Logan Seavey, who sat in the 7th point’s position going into the evening, took the win for Heat One.  Heat Two was all Jake Morgan’s as he finished neatly ahead of Kyler Puckett and Morgan Sandhagen.  Returning from a truncated season due to a shoulder injury (not related to karts) Michael Ing has had a stellar last few races including winning the 6ft Red Bluff Yamaha Perpetual Trophy. He took the honors in Heat Race Three. And Dakota Cardenas started strong and ended his heat race with the win over RJ Johnson and Amanda Moore.

Just two main events were needed, but they were spectacular.  Chase Majdic made an uncharacteristic start in the B Main due to a heat race mishap, but made short work of the race by taking the win over one of his toughest rivals Tanner Thorson and the Outlaw Jesse James Colwell. 

Trophy Dash saw the top six qualifiers battle it out as Morgan Sandhagen won over Tanner Thorson thus narrowing her points spread on rival and Facebook Friend Tyler Seavey. 

The A Main was an important race for the top point leaders, and a knuckle-biting, edge of the seat trial for the parents, friends and fans.  The race got off to a rough start with RJ Johnson taking a hard hit to the wall and a spin collecting up point’s leader Tyler Seavey.  A quick trip to the hot pits and RJ and Seavey were ready to roll.  Pole sitter Colby Cate had a strong start and made a bee-line for the lead.  And he never looked back.  A number of cautions sliced the race into segments, but Colby had a clear field and a great track at his command and he used them to hold off the always hard-charging Tanner Thorson all the way to the checkered flag.  Seavey, though relegated to the back of the pack due to the early tangle, knew his championship was secured ran a calm and collected race to the finish. 

Box Stock

This hard-charging division continued its tradition of coming down to the final race to decide its champion.  Michael “Buddy” Kofoid led the chase coming into the night with Brian McGahan Jr. and Ren Eberhart tied for second and only 15 points out off the leader.  Michael Call was also still a contender with only a 22 points spread from the top. 

This division gets the unique distinction of being the wheel-packing group that hits the track first thing in the morning to pack the track’s mud and squeeze out any surface water.  This gives them a chance to get a feel for the track’s configuration, which this past weekend was very important seeing how the steep banks and off-camber inner groove were a stark contrast to the prior tracks. 

Brian McGahan out-qualified the other point leaders by setting a 9.414 second lap. Kofoid and Michael Call were second and third and Eberhart, much like Gannon, had a tough time was posted at 10th fastest of the 24 karts. McGahan continued to gain points as he won Heat Race One besting his rival Ren Eberhart who finished second.  Heat Two saw Colton Abel take the checkered ahead of Derek Stone and Hollis Shane Thackeray.  Tanner “The Farmer” Carrick cruised to the win in Heat Three.  Making another great show was Ryan Williams who swapped the lead with the #00 of Steel Powell and in the end was able to take the win. Dustin Heath had one of his best finishes of the year with his third place spot. 

The Trophy Dash line-ups are a 100% inversion of the top qualifiers which put McGahan at the back with Ryan Williams and Derek Stone on the pole.  Williams, nicknamed “The Rhino” took off strong and held on to take home the hardware. 

Going into the A Main, anticipation was high as the point leaders were clustered near the top of the starting grid.  More to come !