With one hundred and sixty three drivers between three classes looking to unseat Wednesday night winners, you would think that someone could get the job done. However, that proved to not be the case in second night racing action during the IMCA TV Winter Nationals at the Central Arizona Raceway as Modified driver Dylan Thornton, Sport Mod driver Tyler Johnson and Hobby Stock driver Zach Olmstead all repeated their opening night victories with only a new face in victory lane for the Stock Cars with Cameron Starry, who finished as the runner up on opening night, taking the win.
The pit area was swelled with race teams once again on Thursday with two hundred and twelve drivers signing in plus the Mod Lites with an incredible ninety four Modifieds topping the list. Numbers in the other three classes continue to run very similar to what last year's event brought but the Modifieds continue to grow and grow.
Thursday produced the first significant change in racing conditions for this track in two weeks of racing. The track had stayed remarkably consistent for the entire Wild West Shootout and had started this event very much the same. However, Thursday found the track much wetter with lots of traction as the cars were pulling hard all the way around the big three eighth mile oval and the corners got quite choppy. Heat race action was white knuckle as the drivers found much character, particularly in the corners. Massive track prep action following the heat races by two graders and lots of other heavy equipment returned the racing surface to a more expected state for the track which is a high speed oval, no matter what condition the dirt may be in.
Whether it was the condition of the racing surface or just an occurrence of the day, the racing was also much rougher than on opening night. There were plenty of grinding wrecks through the course of the evening and much equipment torn up and the B Features continued to test the patience of both drivers, track officials and spectators with their frequent yellows and misadventures. There also seemed to be increased aggressive efforts by some drivers with the Hobby Stocks being especially guilty in that regard, with much rough driving that bordered on the dirty side and led to some major issues.
The program was very much similar to the opening night action with the Stock Cars shrunk down to four heats and they opened up the action. Everything else was on par with Wednesday night's program.
Stock Cars hit the track first for their main event, the only feature race that would prove to have a different winner. The outside line appears to be the best at getting an early jump and Kaden Woodie used that groove to take the early lead. He was chased by Dillon Richards and Cameron Starry in the early going as opening laps in the Stock Car event proved to be smooth. Richards soon closed on Woodie and on lap nine Woodie was a bit slow through the corners and Richards motored past him to take over the lead. Starry continued to run third with Chaz Baca Jr in the Gallaher car and Bo Partain following as the race reached its halfway point
While Richards still led, now it was Woodie that had picked up the pace as he closed to the rear bumper of the leader. With a strong move in turn three, he slipped under Richards to grab the lead, only to meet the yellow flag that was flown for a stalled car, negating his pass for the lead.
Richards maintained on the restart but things went deeply downhill for Woodie who spun in turn one on the restart, came down across the track and with the field tightly packed, triggered a massive pileup that included many of the top ten racers. Seven drivers were eliminated in the grinding crash including challengers Justin Luinenburg, Mike Vondrak, Shelby Williams and Woodie.
Richards still was the leader but the restart of the restart gave Starry a chance to get the jump on Richards and with a bold move, Cameron drove under Richards one lap later to take over the lead with just four to go. He then pulled away for the win with Richards fighting off challenges from Partain to finish second. Opening night winner Curt Lund drove home fourth with Baca Jr. completing the top five.
The Modified feature saw Thornton lead from start to finish but it was a much better race than that would indicate, and indeed, produce the closest finish of the week so far. Thornton started on the outside pole and jumped into the initial lead with Jonathan Mawhinney moving into second as the yellow flew after only one lap for a pair of spinners.
Baca Jr was on the move and he drove into second and began to close on Thornton. The top runners moved to the cushion that appeared to be the fastest route around the track with slide jobs the best way to make passes. By the halfway point of the race, Baca Jr was pressing Thornton for the lead with a couple of slide jobs attempted but Thornton always crossing over and keeping the point.
Ethan Braaksma had moved up to third with Troy Morris III and a charging Brandon Beckendorf next in line as the yellow waved for the second and final time right at halfway. Thornton continued to lead back on the green and he was able to maintain his advantage but as the laps started to run down, Baca Jr again closed up.
Things got very interesting in the final few laps as the two leaders caught a pair of slower cars. It seemed that Thornton had the action covered with the lapped cars down low but somehow Baca Jr found round to throw a last corner slider once again on Thornton who appeared to be a bit surprised to see Baca Jr. Thornton crossed him over, they raced to the line and Thornton was able to edge out the win by .021 seconds over the hard charge of Baca Jr. Beckendorf came from fifteenth to finish third and Kollin Hibdon from eighteenth to fourth with Morris III completing the top five.
Tom Berry Jr was scheduled to start ninth in the main event but engine damage down while winning his heat saw him sidelined for the main event.
Another repeat performance saw Tyler Johnson win his second straight Sport Mod main event. He started third on the grid but slipped back behind Kaden Woodie to third in the early going with everyone chasing Tyler Frye. However, it took Johnson just three laps to drive under both Woodie and Frye and take over the top spot which he maintained the rest of the way.
The last fifteen laps of this race ran off green to checkers and Johnson, just like Wednesday night, pulled away from the pack to let them fight it out for second. Frye had some struggles with the cushion with slowed his efforts as Woodie moved past him for second. A good race for that position saw Trevor Noonan pass Woodie for second but then Woodie returned the favor by the midpoint of the race.
As Johnson was gone, attention turned to the attack of Jake Sachau who started seventeenth on the grid and was not even in the top five by the halfway point of the race. But soon after that he really picked up speed. Lap after lap, he would slide job drivers into the corners, gaining position after position with clean Sprint Car like action.
He made the top five, getting past Matthew Frazier and then Dakota Girard and he just kept coming. He got Noonan for second and on the final lap, while Johnson was long gone, he drove past Woodie to take the runner up slot.
There was plenty of rough and tumble action in the Hobby Stock feature and unless officials intervene, I have the feeling its just going to get worse as the week progresses. Anthony Madrid took the initial lead from the pole while Joel Magee and Nathan Kohl were banging on each other before the first lap was completed.
Madrid continued to lead with Magee, Kohl and Bingston Rogers tight on his tail as the leaders ran in tight, single file formation. Magee was using his bumper to alert Madrid to the fact that he wanted by, and several times that action got to the edge of over aggression.
Finally, a tap going into turn one on lap eight saw Madrid spin to the inside of the track. Madrid appealed to track officials but got no satisfaction and went to the tail with Magee now inheriting the lead. Kohl was right on his rear bumper with Morgan Olmstead now up to third.
On the move was Wednesday night winner Zach Olmstead who started fifteenth but gradually moved his way into contention by grabbing spots as others either dropped back or took each other out. A massive pileup when Rogers spun in turn one following a lap eight yellow really changed the running order. Two more yellows followed and by lap thirteen, Zach was up to second, having edged past his brother for the spot.
And he appeared to be the only driver with the speed to drive under Magee and when Joel got hung up a bit on the cushion with just five laps to go, Zach did just that as he drove into the lead. He then pulled away to take his second straight win while Magee was able to hold off Morgan for second.
Austin Jahnz and Charles McDaniel III completed the top five with almost half the field either in the infield or pits by the time the checkers flew. No doubt there was plenty to hash over in the pits following this race.
Friday night will see the same classes once again in action. Just a note: While I am not charting the Mod Lites, it should be noted that at least six of them have rolled over already in the first two nights of racing action, with several of the crashes being of the "breath taking" variety. Just my opinion, but I believe this track is just too fast for these cars and it is not safe to be racing them here. Hopefully they find another venue for them in 2027.
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