2010 Season Opener @ Antioch Speedway

March 20th, 2010 (Morgan Hill, CA) The Devon Racing team traveled to the Antioch Speedway in Antioch, CA for the 2010 season opener.

This race would be more of a test & tune, as we knew there would be a limited number of cars for the event. The heat race got us off to a rough start, as we were experimenting with a new axel bleeder system. The right rear tire ended up loosing 3 pounds of air pressure, which drastically hooked up the car on a very tacky surface. The track stayed hooked up all night so the Devon Racing Car had to be freed up all night to keep up with the tracks very fast racing surface. For the 20 lap feature Devon had troubles on the start and was not able to take advantage like he would have liked to. The laps winded down quickly as the race went caution free, and the top 3 were on the gas around the top of the race track. Devon ended up 2nd as the checkered flag waived.

The Devon Racing Team would like to thank our sponsors; MDR Machine, German Auto Body, Passama Motorsports, Charron Metals, Red Line Oil, Wolf Pak,  Passama Motorsports, Betsy’s Restaurant, Top Line Applications, & JH Designs for their continued support.

May 16, 2009: Petaluma Speedway, Petaluma, CA
Ostheimer and Wright represent Morgan Hill


On the night of May 16, 2009 two drivers from the same small town won the A-Main Features. Devon Ostheimer and Ricky Right Jr., both from the city of Morgan Hill, won their Main Events. Devon won in his 25-car field, and Ricky won in his 18-car field.

Heat Race:
Devon drew a 50 out of 50 for his pill draw which is the worst you can draw. So, that put Ostheimer in the back of his heat race. From the 8th position, due to the rookies having to go to the back Devon was fortunate to move up to the fourth starting position. Ostheimer was able to move into the 2nd position coming out of turn two. Lap after lap went by, with the cars spreading apart. Devon was able to finish in the second position.

Feature:
Devon would start on the front row for the feature event. Beside him was veteran driver Terry Shank Jr, who won the night before at silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA. Shank got the jump on the initial start, and the 22 car field started to settle in. 10 laps had gone by, and lapped traffic was coming into play. Ostheimer jumped up to the cushion in turns 1&2 and realized he was faster than veteran Shank. Ostheimer kept peaking under and on the outside of Shank, trying to figure out how to get by...& then finally came into the corner high. Shank pushed through the center of the corner, and Devon having better car angle to exit, was able to get under him. One corner later Terry Shank Jr. broke a shock and was forced out of the race. Ostheimer took charge on the restart coming into the corner high in the slick stuff, got the car rotated, and avoided the ruts on the bottom. Most of the other drivers behind him were running the bottom trying to take the short way around the track, but did not realize they were hitting all the ruts. Ostheimer led the final 14 laps, & took the Double Checkers to score his first ever Sprint Car Main Event.

May 15, 2009: Ocean Speedway
First GLR Winged Injected 360 Sprint Car Race

Heat Race:
First ever GLR Wing 360 race for Devon was at Ocean Speedway May 15. Devon qualified 14th out of 23 cars, which would put him in the 6th starting position in his heat race. Ostheimer had to get used to driving the Winged Car in harder and deeper into the corner. This is a huge transition from the Wingless Sprint Car Class. Devon did a great job, passing 2 very fast and experienced guys in front of him to pick up the fourth position.

Feature:
Devon would start in the 14th position for the Main Event. The track remained very hooked up for the Main, so we knew that the cars would really be hauling with the throttle full hammer down. The race provided some excellent racing for the fans, with cars passing left & right, topside & bottom as well. Devon did a great job, having some serious battles with many veteran drivers. He gained a few spots, then lost a few, ending the night with a 13th place finish. Devon commented later with an ear-to-ear grin that this was extremely intense, & was quite satisfied with his performance for his first race in the GLR Investment 360 Feature Main Event.
A lot of the veteran drivers came by to congratulate him for an outstanding run in his first race in this extremely competitive division.

May 9, 2009: Antioch Speedway
So close for Devon Racing

Heat Race:
There was a 22-car field at Antioch Speedway Saturday night, another huge car count for the Wingless Spec Sprint Cars! Devon Jumped into the lead in his heat race and never looked back in the 8 lap heat race.

Feature:
All 22 cars started the bone-dry slick Feature A-Main event at Antioch Speedway. Ostheimer drew a lucky 0 for the inversion, which gave him his earned front row starting position for the A- Main event. Ostheimer finally got the 25 -lap feature started after 3 initial double file re-starts due to cars in the back spinning out or getting into tangles. Once the race went green, Devon checked out & had built a full straightaway lead. The pack would get bunched up due to the yellows & reds coming out. During the last red flag stop, the Antioch Track officials threatened to cut the race short. The long race continues with more yellows. Ostheimer finally get a decent green flag run and leaves the field again. The 20x car of Tommy Laliberte starts to catch Ostheimer on the topside of the racetrack. Tommy passes Devon on the top coming out of turn two and the excitement begins for the fans. Ostheimer was able to get right back under Tommy in turns 3&4 on the bottom, then immediately jumped to the topside coming into turns 1&2 and started to leave the pack once again. 10 laps go buy then another yellow. Devons crew told him to keep the car on the topside in turns 1&2 and on the bottom in turns 3&4 and that's just what he did. Unfortunately that was the wrong call in turn 3& 4, and Tommy was able to get around Devon the topside coming out of 4. This pass was with two laps left to go. Ostheimer lead 23 of the 25 laps and got passed right at the end. Ostheimer was able to finish second.

April 11, 2009: Antioch Speedway, Antioch, CA

Antioch Speedway provided Saturday night action with a fast and tacky track.
23 cars showed up for points race number 2. The event started with the heat
races. Devon would start 4th, 2nd row outside. Ostheimer was able to get the
jump on the third place car. Coming into turn 1, Devon was able to maintain
the third place spot. With the track being very tacky it made it very hard
to pass. With three laps remaining in the 8 lap heat race, Devon was able to
make the bottom work and take the 2nd place spot in his heat, to take a 2nd
place finish.

6 cars made the trophy dash. Devon would start 3rd for the 4-lap dash. The
track was still holding up well,& the cars pretty much finished in their
starting order, with Devon maintaining his position for the 3rd place
finish.

The inversion for the A-Feature was a 0, So that put Devon in the fourth
starting spot. With all 23 cars starting the Main Event, it was about to get
a little crazy. As the green flag drops for the Wingless Sprint Car 25 lap
A-Main Event, Ostheimer got the jump on the 3rd place car, & maintained the
3rd place spot coming into turn 1 and coming out of turn 2.
Unfortunately, a tangle in the back brought out a yellow flag, so they would
have to re-start in their original side by side positions. The same thing
happened four times in a row, each time with Devon getting the jump on the
3rd place car as the top side of the race track was the preferred line on
the tacky race track. Finally on the 5th restart Ostheimer got the jump
again and maintained the 3rd place spot. The top 6 cars pretty much pulled
the rest of the field, as these guys were getting everything out of their
500HP race cars, flying around this hooked up track near the 90 mph range.
As the laps were winding down, it became the top 4 as they were pretty even
trying to work their way through lapped traffic..& trying to stay in the
middle/top side of the race track.
Ostheimer was able to maintain the 3rd place spot until a veteran racer
passed him on the white flag lap. Once they were finally able to take the
green, the 25 lap feature went green to checkered, with Devon taking home a
4th place finish.

Next up:
Friday, April 17, Ocean Speedway points race # 2.

Saturday, April 18, Antioch speedway points race # 3.

April 3 and 4, 2009: Watsonvilles Ocean Speedway Wingless Spec Sprint Car season opener was this past Friday night, April 3rd, 2009. Team Devon Racing was really
pumped to get back to their home track. Devon would be in the 2nd
heat, starting on the outside front row. When the green flag waived,
Devon immediately got the jump on the outside, but as he past by the
flag man entering turn 1, Devon biked up on two wheels & almost went
over due to the really bad ruts on the top side of the race track.
There was a tangle at the back of the pack, bringing out an opening
lap caution. On the following restart, Devon got the jump once again
on the top side, & maneuvered around the ruts, and was able to
immediately check out from the the rest of the pack.

As the laps wound down, Devon would extend his lead to capture the
heat race win.

For the 25 lap A-Main Feature Event, the inversion was a 5, which
would put Devon in the fourth position. The track was dry slick and a
"bottom feeder". On the start, Devon made an excellent move to get
down on the bottom, & hang out the front row outside starter. That put
Devon into 3rd. The top 3 cars ran pretty much nose to tail. There
were a few restarts due to cautions, & with about 10 laps left Devon
was able to move into the second position. It was a very difficult
track to make a pass on, & Devon would have to settle with a 2nd place
finish. A great way to start off the home opener….

Night 2 of double duty took place at Petaluma Speedway on Saturday
Night, April 4th. This would also be the season opener there for the
Spec Sprint Car class. This race track is known to stay pretty hooked
up throught the night, but this night it had an unusually dry slick
track. Devon drew the 9th qualifying spot out of 19 cars, but the
track was going away quickly, & the early qualifiers had a slight
edge. Devon ended up qualifying 8th.

Devon was scheduled to start 4th in his heat, but there was a car with
a rookie flag lined up in front, which they sent to the back, which
put Devon front row outside in his heat race. On the start, Devon
tucked right under the leader coming into turn 1, and was able to hold
the second place position for the remainder of the race with everyone
running right on the burm.

For the A-Main Feature Event, Devon started in the 8th position. On
the start, Devon was able to get down on the bottom in the 9th
position. Devon’s car was very hooked up as he started to pick off
cars one by one. As the 25 lap feature started to wind down, Devon was
able to pick up the left front and ride the burm nice and smooth
around the speedway, moving into 2nd from his 8th starting position
with about 6 laps to go, which is where he finished. The competition
level at Petaluma is very tough, and the Devon Racing Team pulled off
a very respectable finish to end the night.

NEXT RACE: Antioch Speedway Saturday April 11 2009.