On a mostly sunny but cool late Sunday afternoon, the thirteenth annual Wild West Shootout concluded at the F K Rod Ends Arizona Speedway between Queen Creek and San Tan Valley. It was one final shot for all three classes for the glory and cash of feature wins plus point titles(and bonus cash) were on the line in all three classes.
With several of the race cars done for the week due to various mechanical issues and a few of the drivers heading home early to avoid an impending snow storm in northern New Mexico, the car counts were down slightly in all three classes. However, with one hundred and eighteen cars signing in to race, there was plenty of talent in all three classes and the only noticeable difference was that there was only one X Mod B Feature and one less heat for that class.
Like the Toilet Bowl in Clarksville Tennessee and a few other big races, the winners of the feature races and the point champions all receive some very unique, one of a kind, trophies that are probably just as valuable in the long run as the cash they win. Especially impressive were the whiskey barrel trophies that the point champions won and all three feature winners on Sunday got their pictures taken and they had the chance to ride on a pair of Wild West steers. However, only Cole Searing showed that he has the moxie of a Wild West cowboy as he jumped right on to his steer while the other two feature winners and point champions struggled to mount up.
Drivers and crews battled right down to the wire as they made every attempt imaginable to get their cars back on the track for one more race before everyone packs up and heads home. Austin Kuehl, who flipped his car wildly earlier in the week, surprised when he returned to run the Sunday portion of the event and Jess Brekke, who spent all day Saturday working on his car while he missed both ends of that doubleheader, got his car repaired and raced one more time, rather than head back to Devils Lake North Dakota raceless this weekend. Justin Duty missed the second half of Saturday's show with a blown engine in his Late Model. However, they changed it and he was ready to race Sunday, only to plow the wall in time trials and end his Wild West Shootout. Don Shaw, who swapped cars because his new car was just not up to speed and then lost a driveshaft in his other car, had more problems in qualifying Sunday and missed that chance. However, he returned for racing later and would eventually qualify for the main event.
Track officials called for the wheel packing to begin a little earlier on Sunday than scheduled, recognizing that many people hoped to either get home early for the dreaded Monday morning work call or to get on the road early on their many hour drive home. With the qualifying complete and everything ready to go, they called for the show to begin early and many of the spectators that cut it close to the scheduled 5 pm start, found out that they had missed the makeup Modified feature that was rained out on Saturday night when the first green flat dropped at about 4:20 pm.
That makeup feature race provided a great three car battle for the lead and the win. With Ricky Thornton Jr on the pole, one would assume that if he could keep his car running, he would be the favorite as mechanical issues have cost him dearly this week. However, while Thornton Jr did take the early lead, he was soon challenged by Darrell Nelson for the top spot and then soon after that by Rodney Sanders. A great three car battle broke out for the lead, only to see Thornton Jr again bail for the pits as they were racing three wide. Later we would find out that his motor was running hot and he was trying to save it, a plan that would later prove to be the smart choice.
Nelson then edged ahead of Sanders and despite Rodney's best efforts to squeeze back in front, Nelson would hold on for the win. Dustin Strand, still using a borrowed motor after two of his own failed him this week, drove from nineteenth to finish third with Matt Leer and Kody Scholpp completing the top five. Strand's run was even more impressive given that the race went nonstop for twenty five laps.
Nelson has been impressive all week but Sunday he finally got that feature win, trophy and black hat that he had been desiring. Nelson is driving an MB Customs car that Jimmy Mars raced last Fall in some area events in the Wisconsin/Minnesota region and sports and engine from Tim's Automotive Machine in Bloomer Wisconsin, a combination tough to beat in "Cheesehead" country.
The X Mod feature was equally impressive with a great three car battle for the lead right down to the wire. In the early going, it was Canadian Austin Hunter and Cole Searing going wheel to wheel for a number of laps as the front row competitors remained locked together. Eventually, Searing was able to edge into the lead but he had Hunter challenging on the low side in every corner. Suddenly, Carriington North Dakota's Preston Carr came flying to the front as he was driving a very aggressive line on the high side of the track and making it work as he quickly reeled in the two leader.s
While they were busy battling each other, he continued to pound the cushion and with a bold move, blew past both of them to take over the lead. However, lapped traffic would be his downfall as he got stuck on the high side of some slower cars and slid high up against the turn four wall, which cost him two positions. Searing took back the lead and held off Hunter while Carr was just able to nip Sketter Estey at the line for third.
For the second straight year at the WWS, Searing has had a remarkable week. Three feature wins last year during the series seemed remarkable but this year, against an extremely strong field, he even upped that with four feature wins and the point title for the series. And even more remarkable is the fact that he just drives this car for the WWS and few other specials while focusing his Summer racing on his WISSOTA Super Stock, in which he has finished in the top five in national points the last two years.
It was another good year at the WWS as the WISSOTA Midwest Mods completed the week by gaining the top eight spots in the main and if it weren't for the huge delegation of northern cars in both the open wheel classes, there wouldn't be much else to run. And the northern group also brings their fans in droves too.
Rare too was the fact that on Sunday, not only did the X Mods run a twenty four car non stop twenty five lap main, but the nineteen car B Feature also went green to checkered!
Thornton Jr's decision to pull off in the first feature of the afternoon and save his motor proved to be a good one when he was able to win the nightcap for the Modifieds and become the only double feature winner in the division all week. Early on, it was Tyler Wolff and Dereck Ramirez battling for the lead until Thornton Jr moved in to challenge them. Wolff slid high, Thornton Jr took the spot and then did the same to Ramirez to take the lead. Once in front, he gradually pulled away and even when Rodney Sanders raced into second, He didn't have anything for the leader.
A late race yellow set up a three lap sprint to the finish but Thornton Jr pulled away for the win over Sanders and Ramirez. Strand and Nelson completed the top five with their solid runs and Nelson claimed the point title for the week, a proud moment for him in his long and distinguished career racing in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area.
The finale was the fifty lap Late Model main event as the field all chased the fourteen grand top spot while Bobby Pierce could harvest another twenty five grand in bonus money if he could take the win. And after redrawing to the pole, it seemed like Pierce was indeed in great position to earn some extra bucks. After Brandon Overton led the first lap, Pierce slid under him in turn one and took over the lead.
He then started to slip away from the field as he was running strongly. Scott Bloomquist, who started sixth, was on the move too as he used his low line to drive up to second but he was still a ways behind the leader. However, it seemed that mechanical issues were the only thing that could stop Pierce all week and once again it happened to him when he suddenly slowed down the front stretch on lap twenty eight, trailing rear end lube from his car. A quick check in the infield by his father Bob and it was the end of the night for "The Smooth Operator."
Bloomquist inherited the lead for the restart and he quickly pulled away from the field. Ricky Weiss had made some strong moves as he came from eleventh to race into second but he had nothing for the leader. However, then the unthinkable happened which gave this race its bizarre conclusion.
Bloomquist had already taken the white flag and was racing down the back straightaway by himself. However, going into turn three, R.C. Whitwell had spun his car which slid up the banking and when Bloomquist couldn't get stopped or turned fast enough, he slammed into the side of Whitwell's car hard. Bloomquist was able to get his car fired, but it had heavy body damage but didn't seem to be affected otherwise. However, per track rules, if you stop on the track you automatically go to the back and Bloomquist, without arguement, went to the tail of the cars on the lead lap.
Weiss inherited the lead with only two laps to go and he easily held off Brandon Overton and Brandon Sheppard for the win with Chase Junghans and Jimmy Mars completing the top five.
While Weiss was happy for the win, he seemed more stunned than anything else in victory lane as did much of the crowd and the Bloomquist "haters" seemed to even feel that he was deserving of the win except for bad luck.
So, the Wild West Shootout ended on a strange note but the finish will certainly give folks plenty to talk about over the course of the rest of the Winter for those not lucky enough to be headed for Florida.
It was a late arriving crowd on Sunday but it turned out to be a very good one for a date that typically doesn't draw quite as well as some of the other nights. Overall, the crowds were spectacular this year even with the weather issues and this racing series continues to grow by leaps and bounds every year. Dates for next year's event were announced on Sunday with Jan 11th, 2020 through Jan. 19th encompassing the six race series and rumors that the event may move to another track next year seem to be unwarranted A special "shout out" should go to all the track employees who worked above and beyond this year as they battled with the weather issues to make this the great event that it is as well as track management and the promoters who made the best of what was handed them by the weather. .
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