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Thrills, spills highlight races Photos by Andrew Kemp/Mail Tribune Jason Solwold of Mount Vernon, Wash., whips around the Southern Oregon Speedway track Monday during time trials on a special night of racing. By KEVIN GOFF WHITE CITY -- The Fourth of July atmosphere came late to the Southern Oregon Speedway on Monday. The Northern Sprint Tour made it's second trip appearance here, kicking off the fourth-annual Northwest Speed Week. The fireworks - in the form of rollovers and accidents - started early and lasted until the final turn. The thrills and spills resulted in a trip to a hospital for one Medford sprint-car racer and caused the start time of the main event to be pushed back until close to midnight. Due to the lateness of the race, results were not available by press time. The event started with 54 cars signing in and featured an all-time high five women competitors. Previously, no more than two women had entered a Northern Sprint Tour race. Speed Week continues today with a race in Lebanon then moves to Portland on Wednesday. It finishes over the weekend in Washington. Medford's Kevin Cory was involved in one of three separate spills on the first lap of the B main race, suffering a shoulder injury. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital for observations. Rick Fauver took the pole heading into the feature race and looked to end the streak of 12-straight Northwest Speed Week victories for racers from California. "Everybody's out there running as hard as they can," said the Everett, Wash., resident. "We proved we can run with them. They're not unbeatable." The action started from the get-go in heat No. 1. Also moving into the main event by way of winning the B main was last year's A main champ. Brent Kaeding. Kaeding, a Campbell, Calif., resident, is an 11-time champion in the King of California Series. Willy Croft took second, while Dan Menne and Jay Cole finished third and fourth, respectively. Johnny Rodriguez set the tone early in sprint cars with the fastest qualifying time ever at the Southern Oregon Speedway. His mark of 12.311 edged out Steve Kent's time of 12.599. But for Rodriguez, the action was just beginning. The Elk Grove, Calif., driver almost didn't make it out of his heat after several close encounters. Rodriguez came together with Gary Taylor, of Snohomish, Wash., on the first turn and spun sideways to draw the first of several yellow flags that marred the first heat, which was won by 17-year-old Steve Tiner of Elverta, Calif. Rodriguez finally got his car going again just long enough to lose his front wing. His crew quickly tore off the wounded limb and got him back on his way. But not for long. Just two turns later, Jim Richardson went bounding into an end-over-end flip right in front of the grandstands, taking out the top railing of the fence and sending his front fin spiraling into the stands. Then, when racing resumed, Rodriguez and Taylor hooked up again in lap No. 7 of the 10-lap heat. The two battled for the fourth and final qualifying spot when Rodriguez's front right wheel lifted Taylor into a violent flip. Taylor climbed out unharmed, but his crippled car allowed Rodriguez to move into the trophy dash. In pro stocks, Tony Walker edged out Frank Word III to take the checkered flag in the trophy dash. Chris Charlton took third and Butch Poppa finished fourth. SPRINT CARS FAST TIME - 1, (track record) Johnny Rodriguez, 12.311; 2, Steve Kent, 12.599; 3, Rick Fauver, 12.640. HEAT 1 - 1, Steven Tiner; 2, Rick Smith; 3, Johnny Rodriguez; 4, Barry Martinez. HEAT 2 - 1, Destiny Hayes; 2, Jason Solwold; 3, Gary Morgan; 4, Steve Kent. HEAT 3 - 1, Scott Aumen; 2, J.R. Harkness; 3, Roger Crockett; 4, Rick Fauver. HEAT 4 - 1, Jeremy Cooper; 2, Jamie Barnes; 3, Jeff Hodgson; 4, Shawna Whilskey. B MAIN - 1, Brent Kaeding; 2, Willy Croft; 3, Dan Menne; 4, Jay Cole. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.