Saturday, January 18, 2020

Shirley and Strand Win WWS Mains in Spectacular Fashion

Night number four of the fourteenth annual Wild West Shootout rolled out on Friday, January 17th at the F K Rod Ends Arizona Speedway near San Tan Valley. Once again it was a sunny day as so far this series has been blessed with great weather as opposed to the last two years when rain has been a factor, postponing shows and deflating people's opinion's of the desert. No such problems have existed this year, and while it gets plenty cool in the desert when the sun sets, no one is complaining too much if they have to go one layer deep in clothing, as long as the skies remain clear.

Friday night begins the last big push of this series with races on three straight days, starting with this evening's event and then quickly followed up by afternoon races on both Saturday and Sunday before many begin their migration back to cold, snow and reality. The racers also hope they don't have to return home to fix up a broken race car but you wouldn't know that by the intensity that they would display during this evening's show. They have definitely "turned up the wick" on both their driving intensity and their lack of "give and take" as we would see several examples of post race "commentary" with the front bumpers of cars who's drivers felt they had been wronged during the course of an event.

Typically, the Friday night show of the second weekend produces the biggest car count of the entire series with the drivers who have been here for the duration joined by a number of others who zip in to catch a quick three days of racing over one weekend. However, that was not the case this year with the car counts remaining quite static from what they had been from the opening weekend. The numbers were forty two, forty one and forty two respectively for the X Mods, Mods and Late Models. Only six drivers in total were new to the track on this night which is considerably less than in previous years. However, with the great racing we would see on this night, I don't think anyone left the grounds feeling they had been "gypped" by track management on this night. And truly, four heats and a couple B Features in each class before the main events is just about the right number to produce a quick program which is one of the standards and hallmarks of this event.

Pre race activity would find Wisconsin's Calvin Iverson changing a motor in his Modified. His was the car that was smoking incessantly during the Wednesday night program but still managed to record a top three finish despite all the smoke. They believe the issue was a valve problem and they pulled the motor so as not to do more damage to the car. Faced with the reality that their only back up engine was a WISSOTA spec motor that would be at least a hundred horse less, fellow competitor Tyler Wolff loaned the team his back up Vic Hill powerplant for the night. Iverson would go on to record another top five finish in the feature, his fourth of the week, and become one the "talking points" of the series as this rookie Modified drivers with just a handful of previous starts in a Mod has very much impressed.

The racing is starting to take its toll as the number of cars with issues would mount as the night wore on. Track champion in the Mods Zach Madrid blew an engine in hot laps while fellow competitor Joey Olschowka Jr hit the wall in hot laps. Joey would attempt to return for his heat but more issues early ended his night. Mike Striegel and Steve Muilenburg would both lose motors during the X Mod feature event and Trevor Anderson ended up the Mod feature with the motor smoking badly. Scheduled to be the first car out for Late Model time trials, Jimmy Mars fired up his car, only to find major engine issues that sidelined him for the night after finally recording a solid finish on Wednesday.

Three straight hard trips into the wall during heat race action saw Alan Owen Jr, Xavier Ortega and Mark Smith all go off on the hook with only Smith able to return and actually qualify for the main. Chad Switzenberg joined that group during a B Feature and for the second straight night Bumper Jones hammered the wall although he too was able to return and qualify for the Modified feature.

Track conditions continue to mystify the drivers with the track seemingly different on each of the four nights raced so far. It has been everything from slimy to dry for the start of the action on various nights but it still turns into a blinding fast track as the evening progresses. On Friday it looked markedly drier than it had earlier in the week yet the heat races saw the track still tremendously fast and tough on the equipment as everyone scratches their heads, trying to figure out how to slow down the track and make it a big easier on the equipment. Yet, with that being said, it still has raced very well and the finales on Friday night would probably be considered to be the best racing of the entire week with the Modified and Late Model feature both be exceptional. 

The Late Model feature on Friday night would be one of the best Late Model races seen in quite some time with the top four drivers running in a group right to the end of the race. Chris Simpson was the early leader but he was challenged by Cade Dillard, Ricky Weiss, Brian Shirley and Brandon Sheppard. Sheppard was looking for a repeat win, along with Shirley but his eighth starting spot seemed to make that dubious.

However, Sheppard was out to prove us all wrong as he drove up into a challenging position and for a time in the race, with the top four racing side by side and swapping spots, it was classic Late Model racing at its best. Shirley was able to take the lead but Sheppard was all over him as he tried to find a way by. Two late cautions for spins broke up the action and prevented a possible classic finish as Shirley was able to pull away at the end to lead Sheppard home for the win but much of the event was some of the best racing seen in quite some time. Simpson settled for third ahead of Weiss while Ricky Thornton Jr topped Johnny Scott for fifth as they also battled back and forth for much of the race.

The Modified feature provided one of the "stunners" of the entire week as how often does Rodney Sanders start on the pole and yet not win the main? Not very often indeed but Dustin Strand put in the driving performance of the week to date to beat the two time USMTS champ, heads up and square.

Sanders took the early lead but Strand came roaring up on the outside and blew past Sanders to take over the top spot. I think the move must have greatly surprised Rodney as he got up on the wheel and the chase was on. After a lap two stoppage when Fluffy Dotson clobbered the wall, the last twenty three laps ran off nonstop and it was a classic chase all the way.

Strand found a fast line high in turns three and four and right on the bottom on the other end of the track and he was fast. Sanders was pushing for all he was worth and would occasionally cut the lead down, but then Strand would turn an especially fast lap and open up a few car lengths once again. With such a long green flag period, there was much lapped traffic and Strand was brilliant in the traffic, making every right move at the right time and gaining ground on Sanders on nearly every encounter with slower cars. Strand was able to squeeze by several of the slower cars up against the wall and Sanders had to slow due to lack of room.

However, as the two leaders, still close together , came to the white flat, Tyler Wolff, slid up the track in front of Strand but Dustin made a great move as he cut down across the track and slipped under Wolff while Sanders was blocked which broke his momentum. Stand eased away on the final lap to earn a well deserved victory. Interestingly, Strand will run just a handful of open Modified shows as after this meet, he will head back to East Grand Forks Minnesota and run his Millennium Late Model in the NLRA with occasional Modified starts. Strand builds his own chassis which are locally popular for both the Modified and Midwest Modified drivers of WISSOTA. Tyler Peterson had a great run of his own, starting eleventh and finishing a strong third with Mitch Keeter and Iverson completing the top five. Only eleven drivers were on the lead lap at the finish with a torrid pace throughout the contest. With a bad night by Lucas Schott, Strand took over as the point leader of the series to date.

Mechanical issues played a big part in the outcome of the X Mod feature. Josh Cain started on the pole and took the early lead over Clint Johnson but Lance Schill was coming up fast on the outside. He blew past Cain to take over the top spot and while the battle was still fierce, Schill looked to be in good position to take the win.

All that changed following a yellow flag when as Schill tried to fire and take off, his motor started to band badly and he had no power or acceleration. Fortunately the whole field was able to avoid his abruptly slowing car, but his hopes of winning were shot down.

Cain took over the lead at that point with Johnson pushing him hard. Troy Hovey and Zach Benson were both on the move as they raced into the top five and continued to push. Late in the race, Cain seemed to be slowing a bit and Johnson put some heavy heat on him but Josh was able to hold on for the win, despite a badly smoking and apparently really hot engine. Johnson finished a solid second with Hovey charging up to third. Brennan Gave and Benson completed the top five in a race that saw only four drivers not finish the event. Schill motored around the track at slow speed, trying to maintain some sort of finish and hold on to his point lead but he was two laps in arrears at the end and did indeed get passed by Sketter Estey for the point lead in the series to date.

There was another large crowd on hand and the crowds overall for this entire series to date seen to be the best ever. Despite a complete make over of the track leading up to the Late Model feature, the night was again a short one with the final checkered waving before 10 pm, which is another hallmark of a Chris Kearns production. If you're going to take a "potty break" during a Kearns show, you better move fast or you'll miss a race or so!

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