Photo by Sherie Bialous

Racing returns to the Redwood Acres Raceway this week for the first time in almost a month as the 2023 season begins to wind down.

On Saturday, the local track will host its annual Fan Appreciation Night, which was originally scheduled to take place on Aug. 26 but had to be pushed back because Cal Fire was using the fairgrounds as a staging base to help fight wildfires in the area.

This will be the second to last race night of the season and will feature a busy night of racing action.

The late models, Legends and mini stocks will all be in action, along with the Upstate Bomber Series, which will be making its second appearance of the season at the local track.

And points will be at a premium as the race for the season championships begins to heat up.

In the late models, there is little separating the frontrunners in a championship that will go down to the final night of the season.

Heading into the penultimate race, Brandon Barnwell holds a slender four-point lead over Luke Hall in second, as the two drivers battle it out for the championship.

In the bomber division, Doug Way currently holds a sizable 36-point advantage in the season standings and appears to be well on his way to finishing first.

Jordan Krupa is second in the standings, with Kadence Toland just one point further back in third. 

Tyler Krupa, meanwhile, is closing in on his first-ever championship in the Legends division but will need to hold his nerve down the stretch with just 15 points separating him from the chasing pack.

In the mini stocks, Gary Klinetobe just needs to avoid any major disaster on Saturday to clinch his fifth mini stock championship in the past eight seasons.

Klinetoble currently holds a massive 77-point lead in the standings, with Cole Peterson in second.

In the Upstate Bomber Series, meanwhile, Dustin Kuhl of Clearlake has a strong 42-point lead over Redwood Valley’s Terry Pittman going into Saturday.

All tickets that were purchased for the originally scheduled Fan Appreciation Night on Aug. 26 will be honored this Saturday. 

Additionally, all tickets that were given away by drivers to fans for Fan Appreciation Night for the originally scheduled date will also be honored.

General admission tickets are $10 and are currently available online at RacinTheAcres.com. 

Tickets can also be purchased in-person at Automasters in Eureka, Don’s Rent-All in Eureka, McKinleyville Barbershop and JC Auto in Fortuna. 

Tickets will also be available at the front gate on race day. 

Grandstands will open at 4 p.m., with racing starting at 5:30. T

he event will also be streamed live on RacinTheAcres.tv and SpeedSport.tv