Tellstrom Takes Thrilling Title At Idaho 200
Post Falls, Idaho (July 27, 2024) — The 25th edition of the Idaho 200 at Stateline Speedway had plenty with which to remember for the largely-filled grandstands.
There was the big purse with $20,000 to the winner. A huge field of 41 wannabe’s were trying to crack the 26-car starting grid. And a warm July evening of racing that ran caution-free through 137 laps on the crowded quarter-mile track.
But it may be the finish that people will talk about in years to come where Kyle Tellstrom led a three-wide drag race to the finish line for the win over Haeden Plybon from Mead, Wash. and Senoia, California’s Bubba Pollard. Rounding out the top five were John Newhouse from Twin Falls and Spokane’s Trayten Tarr.
Tellstrom’s margin of victory was just .084 seconds with Pollard a quarter second back as the trio banged their way to the stripe and the checkered flag.
The Idaho 200 adds another notable regional late model victory notch on Tellstrom’s belt with him having won the 2023 Apple Cup at Tri City Raceway. Tellstrom is from Ukiah, Calif.
“I knew it was going to be hard to get there,” Tellstrom said after the race. “I was waiting for the bumper, got there a couple times, and just luckily made the right moves and everything worked out for us.”
The clean nature of the race went away somewhat over the final 50 laps when a series of yellow flags began to fly with spinouts and the only crash between Michael Kuntson (driving the #64 of Garrett Evans) and Thomas Stanford with just eight laps remaining.
That set up the late-race drama as both Plybon, the race’s 2022 winner, and Pollard were able to further tighten an already close race.
The trio went at it bumper to bumper until the final push through turns three and four when Plybon tried the high side and Pollard went down low.
“I had to run Haeden pretty tight, he kind of was driving down my door,” Tellstrom said.
Plybon dominated the race from the start and bolted to the lead on the first lap from his outside front row starting spot. He maintained that spot until just before the break on lap 92 when Tellstrom trimmed an early seven-second lead and grabbed the lead.
At the midpoint the teams pulled onto the front straightaway where each car was able to do minor adjustments and swap tires. This race was run under a six-tire rule where just two tires were allowed to be changed.
Plybon, who faded a bit in the final part of the first half and said via text message, “The first hundred we were just riding.”
“At the halfway we put on two right side tires and did some minor adjustments to get the car more forward drive,” Plybon explained. He ran the entire race in the top-three — never very far out of the lead.
That late caution gave Plybon a shot of new life and he seemed to make the best of it.
“The caution with eight to go definitely put us in a better position with us starting right on the outside of the leader,” he said. “But unfortunately, we came up one spot short.”
While there was no win for him personally, Plybon suggested, “It seemed to have been quite the show for the crowd.”
Other former Idaho 200 winners did not have much luck with Nick Gibson (2023) landing in 10th while Corey Allard (2021) was 19th.
In the support show, the “Gauge Howell Memorial” Hobby Stock 50-plus 10 lap main, Garrett Huffines from Selah, Wash. finished first and pocketed $10,010 in the race honoring a young racer who passed away in 2023.
Kyle Tellstrom celebrates his Idaho 200 victory. Photos by Paul Delaney
Roar Regional RC Race is August 2-4
Spokane Valley, Wash. — Hank Perry Raceway at Sullivan Park in Spokane Valley will host the Remotely Operated Auto Racers (ROAR) Region 11 Dirt Off-road Championships for 1/10th scale cars August 2 through 4.
Friday’s schedule consists of controlled practice from 10 am to 8 pm with a $5 fee.
Saturday, gates open at 7 am with qualifying at 9 am.
On Sunday, gates open at 7 am with racing at 9 am.
The Radio Controlled Car Club of Spokane (RCCCS) is a volunteer-driven 501(c)3 non-profit club with bylaws. RCCCS’s is led by a Board that includes Club Officials and Club Affiliates. The Club Affiliates bring a diverse ideology to the decisions and practices of the club.
The Board consists purely of volunteers who share a common passion, racing. The Board is dedicated to being fair, balanced, neutral, and committed to the club and racing community. The community can be a part of RCCCS by becoming a member.
RCCCS was originally established in 1986 by a group of individuals who were as equally committed to RC racing and the community as the current Board.
In the same year, RCCCS also established the Hank Perry facility and held the first Hank Perry 240 off-road race in 1987. The Hank Perry 240 has grown in size since the first year and is currently the longest-running outdoor off-road race in the Nation!
RCCCS's mission is to bring structure to the racing community and promote organized RC car racing to the public and help facilitate growth in the hobby/sport.
RCCCS is family-oriented and invites racers of all ages and backgrounds to come out and enjoy racing. RCCCS routinely holds club racing on Saturday evenings, see the events page, as well as practice nights under the lights. There will be a posting on our Facebook page ahead of time so that people can be aware of practice night under the lights.
Find more information on becoming a member by visiting www.RCCCS.net.
RC Race Truck
Columbia Cup Turns Into 'Demo Derby'
Kennewick, Wash. (July 28, 2024) — Fans expecting to see the world’s fastest race boats on the Columbia River in the Tri Cities got to witness a demolition derby of sorts instead.
But Corey Peabody survived the carnage to win his second consecutive Apollo Columbia Cup Tri Cities race — his third in the last four — driving the U-9 Beacon Plumbing to the win over Andrew Tate in the U-91 Goodman Real Estate.
Peabody, who averaged 138.316 miles-per-hour, snapped Tate’s two-race win streak with victories at Guntersville, Alabama, and Madison, Ind. to start the season.
“We had such a strong Beacon Electric hydroplane all weekend long and just so happy we were able to finish off the weekend with a win,” Peabody said.
Peabody fared much better than teammate J. Michael Kelly, who was involved in a spectacular crash in Saturday heat racing.
While the brilliant red hydro suffered extensive damage, Kelly effectively walked away from the wreck that will make the Strong Racing crew work plenty of overtime to ready the hull for this week’s 75th edition of the Seafair Apollo Mechanical Cup on Lake Washington.
“It’s been a tough couple of days for Strong Racing so to come out and get this victory really means a lot to our team,” Peabody said.
Eight race boats entered at Tri Cities but just five were on hand for Sunday’s winner-take-all Columbia Cup finale.
Peabody jumped out to the lead and never looked back. The battle for second place heated up between Tate in the U-91 Goodman Real Estate boat and Dustin Echols driving the U-40 Flav-R-PAC. Tate averaged 136.686 mph to Echols’ 135.769.
Aside from Kelly’s crash, both the U-27 Apollo Mechanical driven by Dave Villwock and U-12 Graham Trucking with Bobby King at the wheel were also scratched in a collision in Sunday’s heat 2A.
King nearly overturned, and his boat sustained damage before getting struck by the Apollo. Villwock drove the U-27 back to the pit area, and King was evaluated and released from the on-site medical center. Both boats would be out of competition the rest of the afternoon.
The 56th edition of the race started under troublesome conditions when Friday qualifying had to be postponed and the usual 2.5-mile course shortened to 2 miles.
A shallow part of the river in the northwest corner was considered a safety hazard, forcing the course correction.
That compressed things to just Saturday and when the Kelly wreck happened it further altered the schedule.
Perhaps the best part of the win in Tri Cities for Peabody comes next year when the Beacon team will have the preferential pit position. That’s under a big tree that was planted decades ago by the late Bernie Little of Miss Budweiser fame.
Heading to Seattle in the next-to-last 2024 race, Tate holds a 4,450 to 3,519 (931 points) lead in national standings.
The wild ride of J. Michael Kelly and the Beacon Electric unlimited hydroplane during a Saturday, July 27 heat race at the Tri Cities Apollo Columbia Cup. Kelly was treated and released from an on-site medical facility, but the boat sustained heavy damage. The Strong Racing crew will spend long hours trying to put it all back together in time for the 75th annual Seafair race this weekend on Lake Washington in Seattle. H1 Photos
