Hometown hero Wins
Hometown hero Derek Thorn wins the 21st annual Kelseyville Lumber – Deake Lyndall Memorial Race with the Airport Auto Brokers Late Models. Derek Thorn makes the 7th different winner of the AABLM 2009 Tour. AABLM has had 35 different drivers competing with us this year. As this is only the 2nd season for the AABLM, the series is growing fast and attracting talent.
Seventeen late models qualified for the Saturday evening main event, with Kevin Ostern setting a fast time of 11.803. He was followed by Mike Doss 11.808, Mike Lovell 11.917, Jeremy Hopkins 11.929 and Forrest Kuecker 11.998. Kuecker won the fast dash; followed by Doss, Joe Aiken, Hopkins, Ostern and Thorn. Charlie Collins won the slow dash; followed by Berndt Akerstrom, Eric Williamson, Blair Aiken, Mike Bourbon, Allen, and Myles Anderson of Fort Bragg CA.
Ostern pulled the 12 invert, and that put Williamson on the pole with Allen Gibney on his outside. Gibney, of Pacific Auto Body, put up a $100 challenge if fast timer Kevin Ostern would elect to start last and go for the win. Ostern took the challenge, and started at the back; but was unable to collect the $100, so the 
challenge will roll over to the next race. Williamson took the lead on the start and led the first 28 laps; he had a few car lengths on the field, so the battle was between Cory James and Kuecker for 2nd. Kuecker took over 2nd from James on lap 26, and 3 laps later he took the lead from Williamson. Hopkins and Doss were charging to the front and on lap 41 they both passed Kuecker with Hopkins taking the lead, Doss in 2nd. The race 
was stopped at lap 45 on yellow, and all the late models headed to the pits for a break so the fans could watch the Lakeport fire works show. The Speedway turned off the lights and driver and crew families came to the infield to watch the show. The drivers took the opportunity to do some tuning on their late models. The race resumed after the show. Hopkins restarted the field after collecting $200 for leading before the break. On lap 48, Hopkins and Doss were racing hard and 
collided, causing Hopkins to spin and sending 2 very fast late models to the back. That put Thorn into the lead followed by Ostern, Kuecker, Williamson and James in 5th. On the restart Thorn got a jump and Ostern had Kuecker all over him. By lap 52 Kuecker took 2nd from Ostern and once again Hopkins and Doss were charging back to the front. Thorn took the checker on lap 75 followed by Kuecker with his best finish with the AABLM, Point Leader Ostern, Williamson with his first top five and Doss coming up from the back to finish 5th. On the win, Derek Thorn was quoted, “Although I won the “Racing for a Cure Challenge” in 2004, I’m happy to get my first win with the AABLM series. I’m proud to win for ALS.”
See you at the Track
Bob Cook
Doss Sets Track Record; Takes Home Trophy
Mike Doss, doing double duty as Airport Auto Brokers Late Model promoter and driving his own blue # 75, set fast time and broke the previous record with a time of 11.734. The Kulture Shock car club was in attendance at Lakeport Speedway and provided added value for the fans that came to see restored cars and watch a great day of circle track racing. Lakeport’s own David Furia even took to the track in his Rhino ATV to launch Airport Auto Brokers Late Models t-shirts at the crowd.
Seventeen late models qualified with Mike Doss setting fast time with an 11.734. He was followed by Kevin Ostern 11.910, Eric Graham 12.024, Forrest Kuecker 12.025 and Charlie Collins 12.030. Kuecker won the fast dash; followed by Doss, Jeremy Hopkins, Graham, Ostern and Collins. Joe Aiken won the slow dash; followed by Mike Bourbon, Allen Gibney, Berndt Akerstrom, Curt Agustinovich, and Vinnie Marsili of Corning CA.
A 17 car count meant there was plenty of competition 
and a good looking lineup. There was a 10 invert so Myles Anderson started on the pole with Kevin Estep on his outside. During warm-up laps, Estep’s red #21 sponsored by P&L Auto Body, broke and headed back to the pits for the night. That put Jim Stillman on the outside pole, moving the whole outside up one position. Stillman got the jump on Anderson at the start and led for the first 5 laps. Charlie Collins, back with AABLM for the 1st time this season, took the lead from Stillman at lap 
6. Collins, feeling the pressure from past winner Graham and fast qualifier Doss, led for the next 11 laps. On lap 18, Doss took the lead over and Graham followed right behind him. On lap 39, the 1st of 3 cautions came out for an “officials yellow”. The flagger, Kelly Coburn, saw a big cloud of smoke from Hopkins and threw out a yellow for the safety of all. Great job Kelly! After a quick look from the officials, Hopkins was able to continue on, holding his position. During the yellow, Curt Agustinovich’s red & white # 89 sponsored by Budweiser, returned to the pits. On lap 45, points leader Ostern took over 2nd from Graham and quickly started putting pressure on Doss. By lap 48, Ostern took the lead and it didn’t take long for 
him to put a few car lengths between him and the competition. A 2nd yellow came out on lap 54 for a single car spin in turn 1. This gave the lead cars a chance to cool off their tires. You could tell by the way Doss was scrubbing his tires; he wasn’t going to settle for 2nd. On the restart, Ostern, Doss and Graham were nose to tail waiting to make their move. On lap 60, Doss made the pass by Ostern. On lap 61, the 3rd and final yellow for Collins who had been running in the top 5 all night. On the restart, Doss took the high groove leaving the bottom open, but before Ostern or Graham could make their move, Doss took his first win with the AABLM. Following were, points leader Ostern, Graham, Hopkins and Kuecker. On the win, Mike Doss was quoted, “Once I took the lead for the 2nd time, I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. The bottom groove was slippery, so I held onto the high groove. If they were going to pass me, they would have to do it on the bottom.”
See you at the Track
Bob Cook
Graham does it again with Back to Back wins
Eric Graham does it again; he wins wire-to-wire by leading all 75 laps. Graham started on the outside pole and never looked back, his black # 57 Sponsored by Redding Roofing Supply, Pam and Gary Wilcox, Donâ s Auto Parts and Towing, NCD Painting, North Counties Development, Speedy Signs, Nitro Racing, Renner Petroleum, JSR shocks, Wageman Construction, Jimâ s Quality Quick lube & Nor-Cal Powder Coating.
The Airport Auto Brokers Late Models (AABLM) were well received at Shasta Raceway Park (SRP) last Saturday, 
Rick Faeth and his staff were gracious hosts. Friday’s test-n-tune was a wash out due to rain. Threat of rain on Saturday did not stop the SRP crew from preparing a great race track for the AABLM. Nineteen late models took the green flag, which included a few local favorites; Steven Gannon, Randy Houston, Vinni Marsili and Robert Hirshbock, towing from Oregon. Also joining the AABLM was Junior “Hot Rod” Roddy of Gualala and Mike Caturegli filling in for Clay Caturegli. Mike, having won many late model championships, came out of retirement to have some fun with the AABLM regulars.
Nineteen late models qualified with Mike Doss setting fast time with a 15.905. He was followed by Randy Houston 15.922, Steve Gannon 16.040, Kevin Estep 16.056 and Jim Stillman 16.065.
Houston won the fast dash; followed by Gannon, Estep, Doss, Stillman and Junior Roddy. Chris Straka won the slow dash; followed by Mike Caturegli, Hirshbock, Cory James, Mike Bourbon, and Marsili.
It was once again a great show for the AABLM / SRP fans, and with the rain clouds rolling in, the SRP crew quickly started the race with a rolling start and kept the yellows very short. Shasta Raceway’s own Steven Gannon started in the middle of the pack, due to the 12 car invert, and finished in second. Gannon looked like he was the late model to beat, by lap 37 he was up challenging Graham for the lead, but was unable to make the pass. Mike Doss, with his fast time, started 12th and was collected in a first lap incident and had to restart 
from the back. He charged back to the front, but when he finally caught the leaders on lap 40, he had already used up his equipment. Not being able to challenge the leaders, he gladly finished third. Allen Gibney qualified 12th, putting him on the pole, and he used this to his advantage to hold off the rest of the field and finish 4th. This is also Gibney’s best finish with the AABLM, congratulations! Jeremy Hopkins 5th place finish makes this his 4th straight top 5 finish. Junior Roddy, a North State regular, finished 6th. Berndt Akerstrom’s 7th place was a good finish after having mechanical issues the last two races. Jim Stillman, with an 8th place finish, breaks his top 5 streak but still moves him to 2nd in the points tied with Lovell. The AABLM points leader Kevin Ostern finished 9th with 63 markers ahead of Stillman and Lovell for points. Chris Straka rounds out the top 10 and was followed by Corey James, Forrest Kuecker, Kevin Estep, Robert Hirshbock, Mike Lovell, Randy Houston, Vinni Marsili, Mike Caturegli and Mike Bourbon finishing 19th.
The AABLM Drivers and Staff look forward to returning to the 3/8 mile track, Thanks again to Rick Faeth and his staffs for inviting use to your beautiful facility.
See you at the Track
Bob Cook
Next race is June 20, 2009 at Lakeport Speedway For the Kulture Shock Race Show ’50s & ’60s Nostalgia Night. Also June 19, 2009 Test & Tune 4pm to 8pm at Lakeport Speedway.
Eric Graham Leads Wire-To-Wire to Win @ Ukiah Speedway
An amazing 21 cars took the green flag @ Ukiah Speedway Saturday night. There were last minute entries right up till race time. We had 4 newcomers to the AABLM series, although 3 of the 4 weren’t new to Ukiah Speedway. First we have Trevor Cristiani, son of Danny Cristiani. Trevor has been racing for 9 years in many divisions, and has won 15 championships. At only age 14; he is AABLM’s youngest driver. Then there was Rod Skidmore, returning to the track after an 8 year break, who you may remember as a 2 time bomber 
champion and a team mate to Mike Doss back in his Bombers days. Also we had Denny Cashada who is new to the AABLM series, but is no newcomer to Ukiah Speedway or Late Models, with 3 Modified championships and a Late Model championship. Our Fourth newcomer to the series was Tim Bost, showing up just before the main event was lined up, and towing from Gridley Ca. Bost was in his familiar red and yellow #35 late model, known for racing in numerous elite late model series. Like I said before, this track seems to attract driver talent from all over, and the AABLM has some of the region’s best drivers to compete against, so I would not be surprised if we saw more of this at all the tracks we attend.
Eighteen late models qualified with Jeremy Hopkins setting fast time with a 12.524. He was followed by Mike Lovell 12.530, Chris Straka 12.620, Allen Gibney 12.621 and Trevor Cristiani 12.628.
Straka won the fast dash; followed by Ostern, Hopkins, Cristiani, Gibney and Lovell. Ken Gifford won the slow dash; followed by Clay Caturegli, Mike Bourbon, Kevin Estep, Rod Skidmore and Myles Anderson.
It was one of the best late model races around, 15 of the 21 late models took the checker in the end. Blair Aiken, the Ukiah Speedway promoter, did a great job in prepping the outside groove by coning off the bottom and having the drivers run the first set of hot laps on the top. This put some rubber down and also gave the drivers confidence to run the outside. The 12 ball was pulled for the invert and that put Eric Graham on the pole. 
Grahams’ hard luck in qualifying, having a tire go down, had just turned around by placing him on the pole. Corey “front row” James started 2nd on the grid followed by Joe “Potatoes” Aiken, Berndt Akerstrom, Jim Stillman and Forrest Kuecker rounding out the top 6 starters. Blair Aiken, driving the red and white #89 sponsored by Budweiser, was the first late model out due to mechanical issues. Bost was up to tenth from his 21st starting position when his brakes gave out and he retired his JME Enterprises #35 late model for the evening. On lap 19 Akerstrom had a flat tire and suspension failure ending his night early for North Counties Development #37. After some contact on lap 19 spinning in turn 2, Bourbon #47 went into the pits but was not able to return. 28 laps later Ken Gifford’s yellow #86 sponsored by Gifford Backhoe Services crashed in turn 4 ending his night. On lap 71, turn 4 took anther good late model out of the race. Cristiani # 90 sponsored by Fast Lube Plus crashed in turn 4, shortening his first time out with the AABLM.
Eric Graham led all 75 laps wire-to-wire for his first win with the AABLM Series. This is our 4th different winner of the year. Points leader Ostern finished 2nd, stretching his points lead by 45 markers. Straka, with a 3rd place finish, had his best and first top 5 of the year. Hopkins finished 4th, also moving up 3 spots in the point’s standings to 8th. Stillman, who has been very consistent, finished 5th and now sits 3rd in the points standing. Clay Caturegli was 6th followed by Lovell, Kuecker, Estep, Cashada, Gibney, James, Joe Aiken, Anderson and Skidmore with a 15th place finish.
See you at Shasta Raceway Park next weekend
Bob Cook
Remember test and tune Friday night 4 to 8 pm @ Shasta Raceway Park $30 driver & $10 crew
AABLM Back At Ukiah Speedway
It’s the last week of May. School will be out just around the corner, so you’d better head to Ukiah Speedway for your racing fix in before summer hits and vacation plans get in the way.
The AABLM racers are a very competitive group and are always exciting to watch. We have had 3 different first place winners and 3 different contenders for championship points. These can change weekly so don’t miss a race, or you’ll miss a lot of action. Who could win this Saturday, night?
Lovell is currently second in the points standing; he has had 3 top 5 finishes. Jim Stillman has also had 3 top 5 finishes with 2nd being his best finish. Let’s not forget Forrest Kuecker, who sits 4th in the points with 2 top 5 finishes, and Kevin Estep 3rd in the standings who won opening night at Ukiah Speedway. AABLM points leader Kevin Ostern would like to win his 3rd race of the year and hold onto his points lead. This is just a sample of the talent, and any AABLM driver could take the lead during our 75 lap main event.
It’s a little too soon in the season to be counting points, but it’s fun. The 3rd 4th and 5th place in the point standings are only separated by 2 points!
Bring a Friend to the Speedway:
1. Taste the Speedway Snacks
2. See the Excitement
3. Feel the Thunder
4. Smell the Octane
5. Hear the AABLM Roar
See you at the track,
Bob Cook
