Southern, Gibb, Juillerat and Holdsworth are 2016 So Cal Oval Karters Champions
Chris Southern, Joe Gibb, Steve Juillerat and Don Holdsworth were crowned 2016 So Cal Oval Karters champions when the club closed its ninth season on Saturday night November 19th at John Aden’s Wheel2Wheel Raceway in Victorville. Appropriately, they all closed their respective title winning seasons with main event victories on the final night.
The most dominating performance by any driver this year came in the Open Class where Joe Gibb of Lakewood stymied the competition by winning an amazing 10 of the 11 races on the schedule. The only race he did not win came when he burned up his clutch at Wheel2Wheel on June 4th and he was forced to run his KT100 in the main and finished fourth. At the season closer, he started on the outside of the front row and needed a last lap pass for the win to spoil the perfect night of Cathedral City’s Dillon Hoffman. Hoffman, who won the two Open class heats, finished second. Fountain Valley’s Scott Bohle and Hesperia resident Southern rounded out the field.
Gibb’s margin of victory in the standings was 125-points over Hoffman. Bohle was third in the championship chase with Southern and San Marcos veteran Norm Reynolds rounding out the top five.
Like Gibb in the Open class, Southern led the championship standings the entire season in the KT100’s. With two races to go, Gibb tied Southern for the overall lead, but when he broke while leading the main event, Southern pounced on the opportunity for the victory that day. It also gave him the point lead going into the finale and his victory in the main event on the High Desert sealed the deal and gave him the title. Oxnard’s Rob Marion, who split the season ending KT100 heat race wins on the night with Southern, finished second to the new champion in the main. Ted Marshall was third followed by Gibb, who tried to make a pass for second on the last lap, dropping back to fourth. Hesperia’s Thomas Southern was fifth.
Chris Southern, who won six of the 11 KT100 mains this year, finished 45-points ahead of Gibb. Marion, Thomas Southern and San Diego’s Randy Truax occupied the third through fifth spots.
The tightest race in the championship standings was another nail biter and it took place in the F200’s where Whittier’s Steve Juillerat edged Banning’s Scott Gaynor for the crown by 30-points. At Wheel2Wheel on the final night, Juillerat sewed up the title in fine style by sweeping the show winning both heats and his class leading fourth main event of the year ahead Gaynor and the Lake Elsinore duo of Troy McIntosh and Jason Voss.
Finishing behind the top two in the F200 standings was Justin Garcia of Riverside, McIntosh and Voss.
The finale for the Senior 4 Cycle class went much the way the entire season did. Menifee’s Don Holdsworth swept the show taking both heat races and the main. However, the win came just in time as he lost an engine going past the checkered flag. Banning’s Desiree Gaynor, Tony de Almedia of Chino Hills and Leland, North Carolina native Ronnie Benton finished second through fifth.
Holdsworth won seven of the 11 F200 races this season and had an extra 109-points over second place finisher Desiree Gaynor in the standings. De Almedia, who also races Speedway Motorcycles, was third in the season long chase with Norwalk’s John Leonhart fourth and Ryan Sherman of Lake Elsinore fifth.
Rounding out Saturday’s program was the Junior/Junior class with Jacey Voss, Troy McIntosh Jr. and Ryan Schank II getting their laps in on the dirt oval.
In addition to winning the Open class title, Gibb was the top winner in SCOK in 2016 with 13 main event wins. As well as his 10 Open triumphs, he also took three KT100 main event first place trophies home.
Next up for the SCOK will be the 2016 Championship Celebration. It will take place on January 28th at VFW Post 9148, 13932 West Valley View Boulevard in La Mirada. The celebration, which will be open for everyone to attend, will include a no host social hour beginning at 4:00 PM, dinner at 5:00 and awards and door prizes at 6:00. Attendees are requested to RSVP the number of attendees who will be coming by texting to 805-857-2595 by January 21st.
Plans for a busy 2016 season for the SCOK are being formulated now. Please keep an eye on the SCOK website and Facebook page for all the exciting information.
The So Cal Oval Karters would like to thank the following sponsors for helping make the 2016 championship series possible. Burris Racing, Cory Kruseman Sprint Car Driving School, Hubcapmike.com, Perris Auto Speedway, R&J Motorsports, THC Home Medical Services, T-MAC Racing and Yamaha of America Racing Engines. If you or your business would like to become a partner of the So Cal Oval Karters 2016 season, please call or E-mail Mike Nigh at (805) 857-2595 or mailto:scokart@gmail.com.
KT100
- Chris Southern – Hesperia – 1st
2. Rob Marion – Oxnard – 3rd
3. Ted Marshall – 4th
4. Joe Gibb – Lakewood – 6th
5. Thomas Southern – Hesperia – 2nd
6. Randy Truax – San Diego – 5th
Open Class
- Joe Gibb – Lakewood – 2nd
2. Dillon Hoffman – Cathedral City – 1st
3. Scott Bohle – Fountain Valley – 4th
4. Chris Southern – Hesperia – 3rd
Senior 4 Cycle
- Don Holdsworth – Menifee – 1st
2. Desiree Gaynor – Banning – 2nd
3. Tony de Almedia – Chino Hills – 4th
4. Ronnie Benton – Leland, NC – 3rd
F200
- Steve Juillerat – Whittier – 1st
2. Scott Gaynor – Banning – 2nd
3. Troy McIntosh – Lake Elsinore – 3rd
4. Jason Voss -Lake Elsinore – 4th
Junior/Junior
Jacey Voss – Lake Elsinore
Troy McIntosh Jr. – Lake Elsinore
Ryan Schank II –
Point Standings
KT100
- Chris Southern – Hesperia – 1555
1. Joe Gibb – Long Beach – 1510
3. Rob Marion – Oxnard – 1480
4. Thomas Southern – Hesperia – 1429 *
5. Randy Truax – San Diego – 1249
Open Class
- Joe Gibb – Long Beach – 1620
2. Dillon Hoffman – Cathedral City – 1495
3. Scott Bohle – Fountain Valley – 1475
4. Chris Southern – Hesperia – 1000
5. Norm Reynolds – San Marcos – 940
Senior 4 Cycles
- Don Holdsworth – Menifee – 1590
2. Desiree Gaynor – Banning – 1481
3. Tony de Almeida – Chino Hills – 1141
4. John Leonhart – Norwalk – 782
5. Ryan Sherman – Lake Elsinore – 680
F200
- Steve Juillerat – Whittier – 1555
2. Scott Gaynor – Banning – 1525
3. Justin Garcia – Riverside – 980
4. Troy McIntosh – Lake Elsinore – 865
5. Jason Voss – Lake Elsinore – 805
KT100 Main Event Winners
3-12 Wheel2Wheel – Chris Southern
4-23 Wheel2Wheel – Chris Southern
5-14 Wheel2Wheel – Chris Southern
6-4 Wheel2Wheel – Chris Southern
6-18 Perris Auto Speedway – Joe Gibb
7-23 Wheel2Wheel – Joe Gibb
8-6 Grand Arena at Industry Hills – Chris Gibb
9-17 Wheel2Wheel – Thomas Southern
10-22 Perris Auto Speedway Road Race – Joe Gibb
11-5 Perris Auto Speedway – Chris Southern
11-19 Wheel2Wheel – Chris Southern
F200 Main Event Winners
3-12 Wheel2Wheel – Jason Morheiser
4-23 Wheel2Wheel – Steve Juillerat
5-14 Wheel2Wheel – Troy McIntosh
6-4 Wheel2Wheel – Steve Juillerat
6-18 Perris Auto Speedway – Steve Juillerat
7-23 Wheel2Wheel – Steve Juillerat
8-6 Grand Arena at Industry Hills – Scott Gaynor
9-17 Wheel2Wheel – Scott Gaynor
10-22 Perris Auto Speedway Road Race – Jason Voss
11-5 Perris Auto Speedway – Troy McIntosh
11-19 Wheel2Wheel – Steve Juillerat
SR 4 Cycle Main Event Winners
3-12 Wheel2Wheel – Jason Morheiser
4-23 Wheel2Wheel – Don Holdsworth
5-14 Wheel2Wheel – Don Holdsworth
6-4 Wheel2Wheel – Don Holdsworth
6-18 Perris Auto Speedway – Don Holdsworth
7-23 Wheel2Wheel – Don Holdsworth
8-6 Grand Arena at Industry Hills – Ryan Sherman
9-17 Wheel2Wheel – Bryan Dawley
10-22 Perris Auto Speedway Road Race – Matt Martis
11-5 Perris Auto Speedway – Don Holdsworth
11-19 Wheel2Wheel – Don Holdsworth
Open Class Main Event Winners
3-12 Wheel2Wheel – Joe Gibb
4-23 Wheel2Wheel – Joe Gibb
5-14 Wheel2Wheel – Joe Gibb
6-4 Wheel2Wheel – Chris Southern
6-25 Perris Auto Speedway – Joe Gibb
7-23 Wheel2Wheel – Joe Gibb
8-6 Grand Arena at Industry Hills – Joe Gibb
9-17 Wheel2Wheel – Joe Gibb
10-22 Perris Auto Speedway Road Race – Joe Gibb
11-5 Perris Auto Speedway – Joe Gibb
11-19 Wheel2Wheel – Joe Gibb
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