October 22-23, 2011 ..... The 2nd annual “Bubba” Silva Memorial auto race at Ukiah Speedway was a big success for both the competitors and race fans alike. The 2-day event saw over 2500 spectators witness the best in stock car auto racing absolutely free. More than 2 dozen Lake County and Mendocino County merchants and businesses came together to sponsor the driver's prize money, making it possible for free admittance into the grandstands.
Saturday night's action included time trials, trophy dashes and heat races that set the stage for line-ups in Sunday's feature events. Fast qualifiers were Junior Roddy of Gualala (12.312) in the Late Models, Thomas Wright of Kelseyville (13.049) in the Modifieds, Jeremy Doss of Upper Lake (14.033) in the Legends Cars, Chris Straka of Lakeport (13.219) in the Pro-4 Mods, Richard Poppert of Orangevale (14.003) in the Street Stock class, and Ron Duke Sr. of Redwood Valley (15.355) in the Bombers.
Trophy dash wins went to Bill Binns (Late Model), Andy VanderVeer (Modified), Forrest Kuecker (Legends Car), Codi Barba (Pro-4 Mod), Kevin Owens (Street Stock), and R.J. Randall (Bombers.)
All heat races were 20 laps long with inverted starts (fastest cars starting in the back.) Roddy won the Late Model heat; Modified heat wins went to Kenny Spencer and Darin Snider; Mikey Lovell and Jeremy Doss took the Legends Car heats. Other heat winners were Vince Sanchez and Straka in the Pro-4 Mod cars, Spencer Emerson and Jason Poppert in the Street Stock class, and Tim Buzzard Jr. and George Abella in the Bomber division.
Sunday afternoon's festivities began with a “Pit Party” where all the drivers brought their cars to the front stretch to interact with the race fans. At the same time an appreciation bar-b-que was served to the event sponsors with interviews and entertainment provided by Shasta Speedway Raceway Park celebrity Rick Faeth. In addition the crew from the “Checkered Flag Talk Show” was filming the event for broadcast on local TV. The pre-show activities put both race fans and competitors in a good mood in anticipation of a fun, entertaining afternoon, and that's exactly what they got.
Bubba Silva feature winners were Jeremy Doss (Late Models), Jason Philpott of Sacramento (Modifieds), Jeremy Doss (Legends Cars), Codi Barba of Cobb (Pro-4 Modifieds), Terry Pittman of Ukiah (Street Stocks), and Ron Duke Sr. (Bombers.) By fan applause Ariel Thurman of Ukiah was the winner of the boat race.
LATE MODELS
A six-car invert put Clay Caturegli on the pole for the start of the 100 lap late model feature, but at the end of the race it was discovered that it was Jermey Donahoo behind the wheel and not Caturegli. Bill Binns forged ahead of Donahoo at the start with Howard Ford settling in behind Donahoo. The first yellow fell on lap six when Allen Gibney lost an axle and spun in turn four. Binns shot out in front again, but this time Donahoo lost ground to both Ford and Junior Roddy. The yellow flew next on lap 10 when Ford and Roddy were playing tag, but both retained their position.
Two rounds later Donahoo and Ford make contact resulting in Ford spinning around. Both cars restarted in the back, and at the 
drop of the next green flag Roddy powered by Binns to take the lead. Binns settled into second with Forrest Kuecker third and Jeremy Doss fourth. Doss pulled along side of Kuecker on lap 16 and made the pass for third stick on lap 21.
Lap 27 saw Donahoo tag the back of Tony Ramazzotti with Ramazzotti spinning on the back stretch. Doss slipped under Binns for second on the restart, and when Roddy pushed slightly on lap 34, Doss filled the hole and stole the lead. Two laps later Roddy slowed and stopped on the 
track in turn four with a flat tire. At the same time Kuecker pitted for repairs but both returned to take the next green.
When racing resumed Corey James drove under Binns for second. Donahoo and Ramazzotti went at it again on 39 for another caution. Ten rounds later Roddy and Binns swapped places, and at the half-way point it was Doss, James, Roddy, Binns, Kuecker, Donahoo and Ford.
The next 10 saw Kuecker pass Binns and Roddy drive under James for second. When Donahoo pushed high into Binns on lap 61 he was black-flagged for rough driving. Binns was forced to pit to change a flat.
Doss continued to lead the way through three more yellow flags, the first when James drove off the track in turn one; the second when Ford drove off the track in the same place; and the third when Kuecker spun on the back stretch. Doss earned $2000 for his victory. Roddy finished second with Kuecker third, Ford fourth and James fifth
MODIFIEDS
The modified line-up also had a six-car invert placing Corey James and Tri-Track champion Jason Philpot in the front row. James was out in front the first two rounds until the race was slowed when Richie Potts and Darin Snider tangled in turn four. The next round Snider and Andy VanderVeer made contact sending VanderVeer on a wild ride off the turn three track.
Philpot powered ahead on the next green with James in second and Thomas Wright third. Two laps later Kenny Spencer slapped the front-stretch wall. Two more went by before Brian Shuster spun for another caution.
When racing finally got underway Philpot lead the way with James, Wright, Snider and Potts next in line. Potts passed Snider on 11, and when James pushed high on 12, Wright took advantage and slipped into second. Potts followed Wright's path, dropping James to fourth.
By the 20th round Philpot was way out in front leaving the battle for second to Wright and Potts. Dustin Knight drove around James for fourth on lap 25, as the action between Wright and Potts was heating up. Finally the two came together with both slapping the wall on the front stretch. Potts was able to continue but Wright retired to the pits.
The final 28 laps went without incident with Philpot the winner. Potts rebounded to finish second ahead of Knight, Shuster and James.
LEGENDS CARS
By virtue of his pill draw, Jeremy Doss was scheduled to start on the pole of the Legends Car main event. But Doss was offered an additional $250 if he started in the back of the pack and won the race, and Doss accepted the challenge. As he moved to the rear, Cameron Austin moved to the number one spot along side Forrest Kuecker. Austin lead the first six laps until the yellow flew for a Chubs Williamson spin. When they restarted Doss was already up to seventh. He started an outside run picking off Caity Miller on lap seven, Jim Sturges on eight and both Mikey Lovell and Forrest Kuecker on nine.
The yellow flag slowed the action on the tenth circuit when Roger Fletcher spun in turn two. Doss took control of the race on the restart and at the same time Lovell drove around Kuecker for third. Fletcher spun again on lap 12. Doss shot ahead again on the 
green with Austin fading in the outside lane, giving way to Kuecker, Mike Doss and Lovell. Austin pulled into the infield ending his run on lap 22.
The final caution fell on lap 31 when Bill Kistenmacher spun. The restart saw J. Doss back out in front. A side-by-side battle with Kuecker and M. Doss ended with Doss pulling into second. Kuecker's car quit on lap 46, and at the checkered flag it was J. Doss, M. Doss, Lovell, Sturges, Miller, Zach Frazer, Kistenmacher and Fletcher.
PRO-4 MODIFIEDS
The Pro-4 Modified class chose to have a fully inverted start in their 50 lapper with John Barker and Vince Sanchez running one-two the first six laps. Marty Lewis and Andy VanderVeer were working their ways through traffic, and on seven Lewis and VanderVeer went three wide and squeezed by Sanchez for second and third. Lewis shot by Barker to take over the lead with Vanderveer tight on his bumper. Then Lewis drifted high and VanderVeer took command. Joe Aiken joined the front runners as did Codi Barba and Chris Straka.
Barba got by Aiken on lap 11 and swapped places with Lewis for second on 14. Straka also passed both Lewis and Aiken and set his sights on the leaders. VanderVeer enjoyed a huge lead until the race was slowed on lap 21 when Scott Brown shot off the track in turn three. At the same time Aiken spun on the back stretch.
When racing resumed Barba powered out in front with VanderVeer and Straka fighting back and forth for second with each pass. The next caution came on lap 35 when Chelsea Champagne drove off the track in turn one. Barba held off Straka on the green to
maintain his lead, and although Straka made several challenges on the outside, Barba was on a mission and stayed out in front. With only three laps to go Straka's car slowed and he retired to the infield.
Barba collected the $500 win followed closely by VanderVeer. Marty Lewis finished third followed by Aiken, Curt Lewis, Sanchez, Brown and Barker.
STREET STOCKS
Seven of the 12 Street Stock drivers were from the Roseville-Sacramento area and came to show the local boys that they were there to take home the money. Heat winner Jason Poppert drew the number two pill placing him in the front row outside of brother Richard Poppert, but when the green flag fell, Richard forged ahead and Jason slowly faded backwards. Kevin Owens quickly moved into second place with Ukiah Speedway champ Terry Pittman next in line.
Pittman drifted high on lap eight, and when he did, J. Poppert drove under to regain third place. Lap 18 saw Owen's car lose power, and at the same time Erick Ray retired his car to the pits. This put J. Poppert back in second behind brother Richard with Pittman third and Spencer Emerson fourth.
The 50-lap non-stop event looked like it was going to be a victory for the Poppert brothers, but on the white-flag lap, Jason drove in too deep, got under Richard, the two cars hooked together and drove off the track into the infield. Pittman was in the right place at the right time, drove by both the parked cars and raced his way to a $750 pay day. The Popperts got back on the track in time to finish second (Richard) and third (Jason). Emerson finished fourth in front of Joe Rhodes, Lonnie Leonard and Louis Hoaglin.
BOMBERS
Rick Jelton and Derrick Crayford shared the front row for the Bomber 50 lapper, and when the green flag fell Crayford pulled ahead. The outside row moved forward with both George Abella and Ron Duke Sr. in second and third by lap five. Lapped traffic helped both Duke and Bob Mook get by Abella as Jimmy Sorrels was making a challenge on Jelton.
The race was slowed only once on lap 24 when Josh Smith's tire went flat and he spun in turn 
three. Crayford and Duke ran side-by-side the next two rounds before Duke finally made the winning pass stick. Lap 29 saw the black flag fly for Robert Byer's smoking car. With only one lap to go Crayford lost his brakes and flew off the track in turn two. The remaining pack raced to the yellow-checkered flag with Duke the winner over Abella, Jelton, Mook and Jimmy Sorrels. Finishing one lap down were Crayford, Joe Rhodes and Lonnie Leonard.
Pre-Race Festivities at the Bubba Silva Memorial at Ukiah Speedway
