Document text
Dwarf cars take center stage Drew Fleming photo Dentone is back on track By Greg Stiles WHITE CITY � John Dentone called the Rogue Valley home for most of his life. He loved auto racing, but finding time to pursue that love was another matter. Dentone drove a bit on the Medford Raceway off of Sage Road in the mid-1980s, but the demands of his foreign car service business and raising two daughters kept him in the grandstands rather than on the track. When health problems caused him to take a break from his business, he decided he needed to slow down. By jumping into driver�s seat of a dwarf car, Dentone essentially sped up to slow down. "I do it for nothing more than relaxation," Dentone said. "I don�t get totally wound up. It�s more like a vacation." He dabbled a bit last year at Southern Oregon Speedway, enough to whet his appetite for more. He joined the Western States Dwarf Car Assocation�s four-stop tour this year, placing 12th at Phrump, Nev., in mid-April and eighth in Santa Maria, Calif. After finishing second in Friday night�s qualification race, Dentone placed fourth in the fast dash that pits the top-10 qualifiers. Dentone moved to Boise, Idaho, late last year and opened a second auto service center. But when he moved, his dwarf racing car stayed behind. For one thing, there are no dirt tracks in Idaho, and Dentone still considers Southern Oregon as good as home. "We�ve been to six races here this year and still enjoy the people here," Dentone said. Rogue River�s Jon DeBenedetti, the reigning West Coast Nationals champion, and his dad, Pat, have provided Dentone help in a variety of ways. "I�ve learned a lot from following behind Jon and settling in," Dentone said. "The thing I�ve learned more than anything is patience � because he�s so young." At 39, Dentone is 13 years DeBenedetti�s senior. "If something weird happens, he�ll say try this or that," Dentone said. "He�s never steered me wrong. Dwarf car drivers are real friendly people." The elder Benedetti lends moral support. "He�s told me to settle down and use my head many times," Dentone said. "In reality, he�s right. Many times when I get myself in trouble, I�m over my head and get frustrated and I start thinking about what he�s saying." Jon DeBenedetti topped Friday�s qualifying and followed up with a first in the dash on Saturday. "Any time you win anything here, whether it�s Friday or Saturday, it�s an accomplishment," DeBenedetti said. "Anybody who was in the top 10 was happy to be there. Winning Friday was a confidence builder more than anything." Mark Allen of Grants Pass slammed into the wall just beyond the second turn on lap 12 of the C Main event. The crash halted the race for more than 15 minutes, but Allen was apparently OK. Frank Word III of Grants Pass notched his fifth feature victory of the season in the pro stock main event, padding his points lead. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA