Jeff Dyer Experienced Mixed Results in Last Two Races – Weather May Affect Where He Races Saturday - Speedway Digest

For veteran open-wheel racer Jeff Dyer, the past two weeks have produced vastly different results in two separate disciplines of open-wheel competition. On March 9th, the racing California Highway Patrol Officer finished second in the California Lightning Sprint Car Series main event at the Bakersfield Speedway. One week later, he ended up 19th in the Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series main event at Perris Auto Speedway.

423472487_7629935493692695_7096159110103324975_n.jpg
Jeff Dyer at the 2024 Avanti Windows and Doors USAC/CRA season-opener at Perris in February.
Anthony Hernandez photo.

Dyer, who turned 41 last week, hopped into his son Seth’s car for the impressive performance at Bakersfield. The unselfish teen offered Dyer the ride after the latter lost an engine during the California Mid-Winter Fair races at the Imperial Valley Raceway. The CLS has a throwaway rule where each driver throws out a race throughout the year. The elder Dyer used his throwaway when mechanical ills plagued him at the season-opening race. Thus, he could not afford to sit out the Bakersfield event. However, he was prepared to do so until Seth approached him with an idea. The teen would sit out and use his throwaway and his father would not lose a race. The move paid great dividends for both. Jeff got to race and in doing so, he got seat time in Seth’s car and adjusted it for the teen’s future races.

After qualifying fourth fastest in the 14-car field with a lap of 13.062, the Yucca Valley, California racer placed fourth in his eight-lap heat race.

For the main at Bakersfield, Dyer, who won a main event at the track last June, was starting on the inside of row three. After initially slipping back to sixth, the veteran racer moved back to fifth on lap four. Two laps later he executed a daring pass going into turn one. He passed two cars at one time and found himself in third.

From laps six through 19, Dyer became mixed up in one of the best scraps for position the CLS has seen in quite some time. It was initially a seesaw battle with Aiden Lange that had them fighting for third place. Simultaneously, they sandwiched the second-place car and suddenly the battle between the two was for the number two spot. Dyer finally took control of that position on lap 19. He set his sights on the race-long leader, but victory was not his to be and he raced home second.

When the CLS next hits the track in April, Dyer will be sixth in points.

While things went well at Bakersfield, the same could not be said for the March 16th race in the USAC/CRA Series at Perris Auto Speedway. After qualifying with a lap of 17.117, things spiraled downhill in a hurry. In his heat race, lap seven contact with another car knocked him out of the 10-lapper. The tangle destroyed the front shocks, a wheel, and a few other bolt-on parts.

Dyer and his crew got the car repaired for the main event and he started the 30-lapper in 19th. Things were going better until lap 22 when disaster struck. As Dyer sped into turn four, a car was stopped on the cushion. With no time to miss the car, Dyer threw it sideways and hit it. The contact saw Dyer get airborne and head back across the track where he landed on top of another car before settling right side up. This time the yellow #39 sustained too much damage and was towed back to the pit area to be loaded back into the trailer.

“We hit sideways,” he commented about the main event tangle. “It was no man’s land at that point in time as I had already committed. We hit Ricky Lewis bounced down the track and then Cody Williams hit us. We were ready to flip and when Cody hit us it brought us back down to earth. Cody had nowhere to go. It (the crash) ripped the rear end out of the car and it destroyed the header and some other bolt-on pieces. Actually, it was not as bad as we thought. The chassis is okay. I thought it was going to be bent for sure. It is all fixable. Unfortunately, I was gone last week and we could not get it fixed for Cocopah.”

“I really did not expect the track to be that good and I completely missed the setup in qualifying,” the CHP Officer nicknamed “Ponch” lamented. “We were way too tight. In the heat, we were doing pretty good and then we got in that tangle. We were pretty good in the main, too. We need to do a little bit more to the car. I called Spike ( the Spike Chassis company) and got some notes from them. Actually, the notes they gave me, we were quite a bit off from where we should be. With the changes they told us, we should be a lot better.”

Last week Dyer was doing some training at the CHP facility in Sacramento, California. Being there for the week meant he did not have time to fix his car for last Saturday’s USAC/CRA race at Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway. Weather permitting, he will return to the track for the first race in the new Ultimate Sprint Car Series presented by Inland Rigging at the Kevin Harvick Kern Raceway this Saturday, March 30th. In case of inclement weather, Dyer and his teenage son will head south to the Barona Raceway for the So Cal Lightning Sprint Car race.

If the race happens at Kern, hot laps will begin at 4:45 p.m. and opening ceremonies will be at approximately 6:30. Adult tickets are $25.00. Kids five and under are free. The track is located at 13500 Raceway Boulevard Interstate 5 and South Enos Lane in Bakersfield. The track website is https://www.kernraceway.com/ and the office phone is (661) 835-1264.

If the weather gets the best of Kern and Dyer heads to Barona, the track is located at 1754 Wildcat Canyon Road, in Lakeside, California. Gates will open at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday with racing at 6:00. Adult tickets are $20.00. For kids 7 to 17, admission is $10.00. Seniors, Military, and EMTs also get in for $10.00. Children 6 and under and parking are free. Family packs of two adults and two kids are $50.00. The track website https://baronaspeedway.com/ and the phone number is (619) 994-6560.

Upcoming on Dyer’s schedule is a date at Arizona’s Mohave Valley Raceway on April 6 for round #4 of the USAC/CRA Series. On April 13th he and Seth will make the long drive north to the Merced Speedway for the opening battle in the annual California Lightning Sprint Cars vs Bay Cities Racing Association Civil War Series.

In 2024, the following marketing partners will help keep the Dyers on track. Dependable Machine Inc., Haircuts By Susie, Jobu Racing, LBA Investigations, Straight Time Stirrups, Justice Brothers, Fonseca Racing, Specialty Fasteners, and Blud Racing Lubricants. If you would like to be a part of Dyer Motorsports in 2024, call (760) 550-7237 or send an email to mailto:[email protected].

Jeff is racing in memory of his grandparents, Glenn, and Beverly Sels, throughout the 2024 season.

Jeff Dyer Racing PR