Kammerzell sweeps midget program at Salem

from Andrew Kunas

SALEM, Ore. - No brooms were in sight, but Doug Kammerzell did a little
sweeping Saturday night in Salem.

The driver out of the Seattle suburb of Arlington earned a clean sweep in
the NOMA midgets at the Oregon State Fairgrounds, winning both of his heat
races, the dash, and the 25-lap main event.

Kammerzell started inside the front row with Friday night winner Tony
Seidelman of Spanaway, Washington, and ran second to Seidelman until lap
three, when he made a pass on the inside coming off turn four of the
1/5-mile dirt oval under the cover of the fairground’s Livestock Pavilion.
Kammerzell never looked back from there and won easily.

The race went caution-free until lap 21 when Mike McCann of Creswell, Ore.
and Mark Hinkle of Scappoose, Ore. made contact in turns one and two,
resulting in Hinkle spinning out. It was the only caution of the entire
race.

After losing the lead to Kammerzell, Seidelman ran second the rest of the
race. His brother Nick Seidelman was running fourth until the final lap,
when he made contact with November winner Dave Pugsley of Albany, Ore. in
turns one and two. Nick Seidelman moved into third as a result and would
finish there. Pugsley would finish fourth and McCann fifth.

Also completing a clean sweep was Orting, Wash.’s Logan Forler, who mastered
the winged 600cc stock micro-sprints. Forler, who won at Salem in November,
also won both of his heat races and the dash before leading every lap of the
main event.

Mitch Hoffses of Beaverton, Ore. won the main event on Friday night and won
both of his heat races on Saturday, but despite running a strong second he
could never catch Forler. Kyle Mehner of Clackamas, Ore. finished third,
Garrett Gaudner of Everett, Wash. finished fourth and finishing fifth was
Austyn Anderson of Tacoma.

Winning his second race of the Salem Indoor season in dwarf car action was
Kelly Gutches of Gold Hill, Ore. Gutches took the lead on lap 10 of the main
event from Molalla, Ore.’s Henry Corbin III and led the rest of the way.

This came after a poor lap nine restart by earlier leader Scott Carneau of
Portland, winner of Friday’s main event. Carneau did not get up to speed and
Corbin and Gutches both drove past him. Corbin finished second and Carneau
third.

Henry Corbin II and Dean Prather finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Sammy Wright won the 600cc restricted micro-sprint main event over Friday
night winner Dylan Westrick, Brandon Benson, and Devin Fought. Making his
Salem debut was Cody Ridge, the younger brother of sprint car racer Jared
Ridge and the son of many-time Skagit Speedway champion Randy Ridge. Ridge
finished a respectable fifth in the main event.

Making their debut were the pro-4 modifieds, which usually run at Sunset
Speedway Park in Banks, Ore. Tim Ferrando bested Stanley Steves to win their
main event. Alyssa Desbiens of Roseburg, Ore. won the 250cc micro-sprint
event and Lebanon, Ore.’s Jeffrey Rivers won the cage kart main event.

Carneau and Corbin III won the two dwarf car heat races and Brandon Benson
won both 600cc restricted micro-sprint heat races.  Tim Ferrando won the
first pro-4 modified heat race and Tom Ferrando took the checkers in the
second heat.

Other dash victories went to Corbin III in the dwarf cars, Steves in the
pro-4 modifieds, Kyler Barazza in the 250cc micro-sprints, and Fought in the
600cc restricted micro-sprints.

The next scheduled event on the 2006-2007 Salem Indoor night schedule is
Saturday, January 6, 2007. Kart racing programs are also scheduled for the
morning of January 6 and Sunday morning, January 7. A complete schedule is
available at Cottage Grove Speedway’s website.