Mayea Upset Wraps Up MIncy Early Thaw

 The seventh and final night of racing for the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw Series was held on Saturday night, January 28th at the Central Arizona Raceway near Casa Grande Arizona. Graced with the warmest temperatures of the week and with the largest crowd of the series on hand, it turned out to be a very interesting night of  racing with plenty of drama taking place during the event and even afterward. 

Rob Mayea, the long time racing veteran from Bend Oregon would get one of his biggest racing wins ever in an event that saw several  dramatic turns during the thirty five lap Late Model feature. The Stock Car feature would also have a dramatic turn post race as apparent winner Montana's Jordan Tocci, along with two other drivers finishing in the top five would all be disqualified with the win awarded to North Dakota's Jordan Zillmer. More according to form, Chaz Baca Jr would lead from start to finish to win the Modified main event and Minnesota's Jake Smith would lead from start to finish to win the Limited Modified feature. 

Despite the  fact that Mayea would start on the pole for the Late Model feature, he would not take the lead for the first time until a lap twenty seven restart after the top two drivers got into a dust up that would send both of them to the back of the field. 

Lance Schill would get the jump on Mayea and take the early lead in the Late Model feature with Mayea, Cody Laney and Cole Schill all moving into a challenging position. As Lance Schill continued to hold the top spot, the battle for second was a good one as Laney and Mayea traded the runner up position. 

Putting on a show was four time feature winner this week Ricky Weiss. Ricky had a poor run in his heat race and would start the feature way back in the seventeenth Weiss immediately began to charge up through the field and was quickly able to work into the top ten. He continued to pick off drivers at a rapid rate as his charge to the front continued. At the halfway point of the race, Weiss had fought his way all the way up to  third behind Lance Schill and Mayea with Cole Schill and Dave Mass also running in the top five. 

Twenty one laps were in the book when the yellow was first triggered when Laney, battling to get back into the top five, slipped over the banking in turn one and was done for the event. Weiss was able to get past Mayea on the restart to move into second and then Ricky began to pressure Lance Schill for the lead. 

Weiss looked high and low but Schill continued to hold back the former Canadian  driver. Going down the back chute on lap twenty eight, Weiss tried to drive to the high side and get by Schill but he caught the right rear quarter of Schill's car and spun him around in front of the field. Several other cars stacked up behind them and the yellow flew. Track officials sent both drivers to the tail for the restart, Schill for stopping on the track and Weiss for questionable driving. After buzz bombing Weiss under yellow, Lance Schill would call it a race while Ricky would race back up to sixth at the finish. 

Thus, Mayea, who was running third to this point, would inherit the lead with Dave Mass, Cole Schill, Josh Zimpel  and Bricen James the top five. Cole Schill would get past Mass on the restart and would put the pressure on Mayes, at one point getting beside Mayea but not being able to complete the pass. 

Mayea would fight off the Cole Schill challenge and then put a few lengths on Schill that he would maintain to get the upset win. Cole Schill would finish off the week with another solid run while Mass would drive the car previously driven this week by Billy Moyer and Don Shaw to a third place finish. Josh Zimpel would get his sixth top five finish of the series with Ryan Corbett completing the top five.

There was much craziness in the Stock Car feature which didn't end even  when the checkered flag waved. Zach Madrid started on the outside pole and got the jump on Trent Grager to lead the first lap. As the week's top winner held the top spot, Grager went flying off the track in turn one in an attempt to pass Madrid and he would have to go to the tail of the field. . Jordan Tocci would move into second at this point while battling with both Scott Sluka and Jordan Zillmer

Shortly after, Sluka would also fly off the end and his race would be done. Tocci would then chase Madrid for the lead when suddenly, with eleven laps complete, Madrid would suddenly drive off the track himself with overheating issues suspected to be the problem. 

Tocci would then inherit the lead just past the halfway point and despite Zillmer's best efforts, he couldn't cut into the lead of Tocci who would drive home for the win. After an emotional victory lane speech, the race seemed to be over. However, we had yet to hear from the technical inspection folks and they turned out to have plenty to  say on this night. Not only did winner Tocci get disqualified, Fourth place finisher Speedy Madrid and fifth place finisher Scott Miller were also disqualified. 

The official finish would give Zillmer his second feature win of the week and he would be followed by Ryan Satter, Grager from the back, Kevin Roberts and Grady Clements. 

The Limited Mods continued to show the balance that marked their week of racing here. Jake Smith would start on the pole and lead all twenty five laps of the feature, earning his first win of the week and becoming the sixth winner in seven nights of racing. Smith would  take the early lead over Lane Johnson and Jake Molitor while the driver on the charge, as he has been for much of the week, was Lucas Rodin. He started seventh on the grid but was soon up to third and challenging Johnson for second. Lance Schill, with plenty to prove after his Late Model problems, rode up to fourth with Terry Reilly next in line. 

The last seventeen laps of this race would go nonstop and Smith would be able to maintain his lead without any serious challenges as the 2022 Midwest Mod WISSOTA champion would drive on for the win. Rodin tried his best but Johnson had a good line as he would hold on for second. Schill and Reilly would round out the top five. 

Despite seven yellow flags that would slow the contest and keep the field packed, Chaz Baca Jr, who started on the pole, would lead all twenty five laps to score his second IMCA Modified feature win in three outings. While Baca Jr would run in front, there was a great battle for second that would see much trading of positions as the challenging drivers took turns throwing slide jobs at each other. 

That group battling for second would include Zach Madrid, Jeremy Thornton, Shane Sabraski, Andrew Prearce and Kollin Hibdon. Also on the move was Tim Ward who started eleventh and would soon be in the top five and looking to move forward further. 

The last yellow set up a five lap sprint to the finish and once again Baca Jr would pull away from the field. He would run a smooth race, holding his line and not being flustered by the multiple slowdowns. Hibdon would get a good jump on the final restart and get past Sabraski to nail down the second spot. Hibdon was in a strange car on this night as emergency moves found him in North Dakota's Brady Bjella ride. Sabraski had himself another solid run in an unfamiliar ride himself as the WISSOTA Modified star showed well in his IMCA runs. Ward and Grey Ferrando  would complete the top five. 

The return of the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw is now complete at CAR. All seven races were completed as scheduled and very positive reviews were the norm from both drivers and fans. Drivers were happy with the purse and fans agreed that they had seen some good racing in all five classes that were on display this weekend. Many were happy to have Late Models return to the desert and the hard efforts of the promotional group were rewarded with some solid racing. Thanks to promoters Don Shaw and Brad Whitfield and their staffs who were both very hard working and great to work with. No word yet on whether the Mincy will return for 2023 but the hope is that it does as many feel the framework has been laid down for a series that will grow each year. 

Flippo and Ward New Winners as CAR Mincy Thaw Rolls On

 Friday night, January 27th would see event number six for the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw at the Central Arizona  Raceway near Casa Grande Arizona take place. It would be an interesting night of racing with several subplots to add to the action. First time winners would include Stock Car driver Jerry Flippo who would inherit the lead when the dominant driver in the division, Zach Madrid, would go flying straight off turn two while leading the event. Tim Ward would also be a first time winner in the IMCA Modifieds after he was denied victory on Friday night when a tire when flat while he was running away with the race. 

Ricky Weiss continued hid dominating performances in the Late Model class as the event's biggest winner added to his totals with his fourth win in six nights and Lucas Rodin became the first repeat winner in the Limited Modified class when he crossed the line second in the feature but was elevated to the winner's circle when apparent winner Preston Carr failed technical inspection. 

A big crowd was on hand for the Friday night show as the second weekend of the series began and the car count continues to increase with one hundred and twenty one drivers signing in to race for the four class event including a sterling count of fifty six IMCA Mods. Three B Features would be included in the show before the fields could be set for the four main events of the night along with heat races for all classes with the Modifieds requiring six heats. The two IMCA divisions would use the draw/redraw format for their show while the other two divisions would qualify using passing points. 

An update on last night's IMCA Mod feature that would see runner up Shane Sabraski disqualified revealed that his car was seven pounds light on the scale following the feature event and that proved to be his down fall. 

The Stock Car feature would see everyone chasing two time winners Madrid and Trent Grager for feature win honors and with Madrid drawing the outside pole for the start, it seemed like feature win number three might well be the result of this race. However, nothing is certain in auto racing and while Zach would take the initial lead, there would be a surprise lurking ahead for him and us. 

Madrid would indeed take the early lead with Jerry Flippo moving into second and Chris McCurdy Sr third. Madrid would have a nice early lead when the unthinkable happened as when he charged into turns one and two, his car simply went straight off the end of the track, shooting over the banking and out of the lead. While he limped back to the pits, his race was over and Flippo took over the top spot. 

As Flippo continued to lead, he was challenged by several drivers including Ryan Satter, Scott Miller and finally Grager for the top spot. Grager moved into second at the halfway point of the race and with the second half of the contest going without a single yellow, Grager would have to track down Flippo under racing conditions. 

And while Grager pushed as hard as he could, he simply couldn't cut into the lead of Flippo who would go on to record his first win of the series in only his second night out. Grager would finish a solid second and would be chases home by Satter, Kevin Roberts and Miller. Flippo would also qualify for the most spectacular driver's suit worn as his fire suit is designed to look like a pair of breeches with a bow tie and suspenders and is certainly quite unique. 

The Late Models would be going thirty five laps on Friday with more money on line for the drivers but the result would be the same as it has been for four of the six nights so far as Ricky Weiss would again come home the winner. Clayton Stuckey would start on the pole and lead the first seven laps of the feature as the Louisiana driver would fight off Weiss in the early going. 

However, Weiss would find an opening as he moved to the high side of the track in turn four and would blow past the leader to take over the point and the last twenty seven laps of the main would be his. Weiss would move out to a comfortable advantage while the battle for second would heat up considerably. Stuckey would try to hold off the competition as both Jason Strand and Cody Laney would move in on him with those two taking over the second and third places by the halfway point of the race. 

A long period of green flag racing would then ensue with Weiss catching the back of the pack and finding some difficulty in getting by some of the slower cars. The lead began to shrink considerably with Strand and Laney catching him. The leaders jockeyed with the slower cars and Strand was able to pull up beside Weiss and he went for the win in turn one. However, he got just a bit high in the corner, got out of the groove just enough to spin his tires and fell back to fourth as both Laney and Josh Zimpel would get past him. 

Ricky would still have to deal with the slower cars in the late laps but he carefully maneuvered around them and kept Laney behind him as he drove on to win number four this week. For Laney, who started fifth, it was a great second place run in the Pete Van Iderstine car which he plans to bring to the Midwest along with his Modified and run there all Summer. Zimpel too had another great run as he quietly earned his fifth top five finish of the week. Strand would hold of for fourth ahead of Stuckey's best run of the week also. 

The Limited Modified class has been remarkably balanced so far with five different winners in five nights of racing. This would end on Friday but the results would still be surprising, even after the checkered flag was waved. Preston Carr would start on the pole and the story line of the race would show that he led all twenty five laps to apparently take the win. However, that wasn't exactly what happened. 

Carr would be chased in the early going by Canadian Jamie Davis and Jake Smith with both Lane Johnson and Lance Schill also moving up. Climbing his way through the field too was Lucas Rodin who has started twelfth on the grid. 

By the halfway point of the race, Carr had a nice lead over Davis and Johnson with Rodin all the way up to fourth. Rodin continued that charge as he worked the low side of the track and following a late race yellow, he would get past Johnson to take over second. The drivers had one last short burst to the finish and while Rodin tried, there would be no stopping Carr from driving to victory lane. 

However, there was one force that could prevent victory and that would be the inspection by the tech inspectors. And unfortunately, Carr's vehicle would come up short in the area of its wheelbase and he would have to forfeit his win and the top prize. Rodin would thus inherit the win, his second of the week and fifth top five finish of the week. Davis would end up second while Terry Reilly would get his best run of the week in third and would be trailed by Johnson and Jory Berg. 

The Modifieds would wrap up the evening with twenty six cars going twenty five laps in their main event. Zach Madrid, seeking atonement for his Stock Car difficulties, would start on the pole and lead the first few laps with Chaz Baca Jr, last night's winner and Kollin Hibdon close behind. However, the driver to beat would quickly be established as Tim Ward, who would start eighth but waste little time as he drove to the front. 

Passing some quick cars early, he drove past Shawn Strand and then Hibdon and Baca Jr as he set his sights on Madrid. Working the low side of the track like no one else seemed capable of, he drove under Madrid and would take the lead on lap eight and that would be the contest. From them on, there was a good battle for second but Ward was gone, eventually opening up nearly a full straightaway over the field with the last fifteen laps of the track going nonstop. 

Hibdon would eventually pull into the second place but he had nothing for the winner while Strand made a fine drive in Spencer Wilson's second car to round out the podium finishers. Madrid and Baca Jr would then complete the top five. 

The seventh and final round of the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw is scheduled for Saturday night with a 5 pm start. All four classes that raced on Friday night will again be in action.  

Three More New Winners as Ernie Mincy Thaw Rolls On

 After a three night break for the drivers, teams, track officials and fans to rest and rejuvenate themselves and their equipment, the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw came back in full force on Thursday night, January 26th as the second and final series of races would be held at the big three eighth mile oval here at the Pinal County Fairgrounds East of Casa Grande Arizona. 

The biggest change for the second set of races that commenced on Thursday night for the final three night stand is that the IMCA Modified division will start their three night run on this night, replacing the IMCA Sport Mods who if so desired, could run with the Limited Mods this weekend with no changes necessary to their cars. 

Three first time winners would grace victory lane on Thursday night, with only Late Model driver Ricky Weiss having won an event previously this week. New winners would include Lane Johnson in the Limited Mods, Jordan Zillmer in the Stock Cars and for the first appearance of the Modified class this week, Chaz Baca Jr would end up in victory lane. 

Over half the field of entrants on Thursday night would be making their first appearance of the series with fifty seven drivers on hand that had not raced previously during the week. This was topped by an impressive field of forty seven Modifieds that showed up for the opening night of three straight runs by this class, obviously the most popular among the classes racing here weekly in the desert. One hundred and eight cars in all were on top in the four classes on this night. 

The track had a different, and improved to me, look for the second half of this series. A Blue Grass festival in being held at the Fairgrounds here this weekend so the back side pit parking off turns three and four is needed to park campers and motor homes for folks attending that event. So a new pit area was created just to the West of the current pit area in an area that was flat, hard but not being used for any purpose. New entrance roads to this pit area were graded in since the last race here on Sunday and some temporary lights erected. Frankly, I thought this new area worked far better than the old pits did, were closer to the rest of the action and just made a lot more sense and hopefully they continue to juse this area for pitting long after this event is over. Scouring the pits now included a lot less long distance walking for me too. 

Weiss became the most successful driver of the series when he won his third Late Model feature of the week and became the man to beat in this class. Dave Mass, recovering from an work related injury that saw him lose half of his thumb and delayed his racing in this series, would take the early in the car driving by Kenny Schrader last week. Weiss would quickly move up from the second row to pass Rob Mayea and move into second as the yellow flew when Clayton Stuckey suffered a flat tire. 

Following the restart, Weiss would get up on the cushion and blast past Mass to take over the lead on lap three and that would be it as Ricky would lead the rest of the way. There was, however, an excellent battle for second that would rage for most of the race after another yellow, triggered when second running Mass slowed on the back chute. 

Josh Zimpel would inherit second for the restart but would be challenged by Don Shaw, driving his own car after Billy Moyer headed back home. Shaw would work his way up from fourteenth to challenge Zimpel for second and they would trade that spot back and forth before Shaw finally gained control for  certain at the halfway point of the race. 

The last eighteen laps of the event ran off nonstop and while Weiss got into some traffic, his lead would then shrink as both Shaw and Zimpel would close in on him. Ricky was a bit reluctant to try and pass a couple of the slower cars and this allowed Shaw to close to within a few car lengths of the leader. With just a few laps to go, Ricky was able to get past and put two slower cars between himself and Shaw and that would guarantee victory. Zimpel would continue his string of strong runs here with his fourth top five finish of the week, while Cole Schill would also have another strong run with a fifth place finish, his second best of the week. 

The Stock Car class would see another new winner as after a pair of repeat winners, North Dakota's Jordan Zillmer would visit victory lane for the first time this week. He would start on the pole and dominate the nonstop twenty lap main event as he let no one challenge his lead throughout the contest. 

Zillmer would pull away from a great three car battle for second that would last throughout the race and not be determined until the final lap. Ryan Satter moved up from the second row to drive past Trent Grager for that spot but Grager would fight back and they would duel for the sport and be joined by two time winner Zach Madrid in that battle. 

As Zillmer drove away from the field, lap after lap Grager would try to nose under Satter for second while Madrid rode just behind them both, looking for an opening. Finally, Madrid was able to squeeze past Grager for third and tail gate Satter. 

As Zillmer drove home unchallenged, the battle for second was a three car wad off the last corner with Satter holding off Madrid by inches and Grager trying to race under both of them but settling for fourth. Jerry Flippo came from twelfth to complete the top five. 

The Limited Mods were happy to get rid of the full blown Mods from their class starting this night as the Mods had their own class for the second half of the weekend. In response, three drivers from the upper Midwest battled it out for the win with South Dakota's Lane Johnson holding off a stiff challenge from Lucas Rodin for the win. 

Jake Smith had the pole and would lead the first three laps with both Lane Johnson and Rodin closing in on him. On lap four, Johnson would surprise Smith with a bold outside move and would power past Smith on the banking to take over the lead. He would build up a slight advantage as Rodin took several laps to get past Smith for second but then he began to cut into the lead of Johnson. Rodin has consistently been the fastest driver in this class all week and he began to whittle away on the lead of Johnson. 

The race was stopped just at the halfway point by a red flag as the first flip of the series was recorded. Wyoming's Cory Wilder caught the big berm in turn four and it tipped him over on his roof. He was OK as the car suffered moderate damage. The two car battle for the lead would continue with Rodin closing in again on Johnson as Lane ran the cushion and Rodin dug off the inside lane. 

With just three laps to go, Rodin nosed ahead for the lead but Johnson fought back to lead the next lap as the leaders raced side by side. On the final tour they came up on a slower car that was running the lower line on the track and Rodin had to give way as his lane was blocked. This gave Johnson just the edge he needed and the third generation driver would win by a scant car length over Rodin. Smith would drive home for third, leading Preston Carr and Jamie Davis. Johnson would be the fifth different winner in five nights of Limited Modified action. 

The IMCA Mods would complete the evening and twenty six of them would take the green for their twenty five lap main event. Paul Guglielmoni would surprise Tim Ward, getting the jump on Ward and leading the first three laps. However, Ward, who fell back to third, quickly drove to the bottom of the track and would make a low side pass on Guglielmoni to take over the lead. 

And once in front, he would pull out to a big advantage, building his lead to nearly a full straightaway. A good battle for second would see Grey Ferrando battling with Zach Madrid, a charging Chaz Baca Jr, Shane Sabraski and Devin Fouquette. By the halfway point of the race, Ward seemed untouchable while the battle for second raged. 

The first yellow of the race was triggered on lap sixteen for a car over the edge of the track and this would then set off a series of yellows, three more in total for spins and other cars over the banking of the track. 

Each restart would see Baca Jr, now past Ferrando into second, challenge Ward who would then pull away. However, this changed dramatically following  a lap eighteen yellow when Ward didn't take off down the back chute as the green came back out. As he came back around the track, the problem was clear as he had a flat right rear tire and he limped off the track as the race continued. 

This handed the lead over to Baca Jr and while Sabraski, on a charge of his own, would make things tight at the end, Baca Jr would drive on for the win. Sabraski, who crossed the line second, would later fail technical inspection and would be disqualified from the race with Ferrando elevated to second. North Dakota drivers Spencer Wilson and Shawn Strand would then finish third and fourth with Wilson coming from twenty sixth on the grid as Braxton Yeager would complete the top five. 

It was another unseasonably cold night in the desert with a biting wind making things even more uncomfortable but track officials hustled things along as best they could with all racing complete before 9 pm. The same four class program will be held on Friday night with Speed Sport TV covering the action.  

Win Number 848 For Moyer; Docekal Now a Three 'Peat Winner

 Round number four of the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw at the Central Arizona Raceway near Casa Grande was an afternoon matinee on Sunday afternoon, January 29th. With a 3pm start time, this planning was fortuitous in that we thus avoided the coldest weather so far this week, with sub freezing temperatures forecast for "The Valley of the Sun" for Sunday night as the weather here is just as below average as in much of the rest of the country. However, no snow shoveling or  Winter weather driving skills are required here as of yet. 

Round number four of the series would produce some wild and crazy action with the Late Model feature standing out as one that saw plenty of things going on during it. And while many specials of this sort find the winners being produced right from the front of the pack, such was not the case on this Sunday afternoon. While Trent Grager would win the Stock Car feature from the front row, the three other winners would start eighth, twelfth and eleventh  in their mains, thus showing that yes indeed, passing could be done on this three eighth miler in the desert. 

The Late Model feature would prove to be the most action packed and unpredictable as the forty lap event saw five different leaders of the event before Billy Moyer locked down the top spot and fought off his car owner Don Shaw to take the win. 

Rob Mayea would get the jump on Cole Schill to lead the first two laps of the race before Schill would drive to the inside of the track and slip past Mayea for the lead, seconds before a spin would trigger the  first yellow of the event. The restart would prove to be a disaster for many as Schill would lose control in turn one while heading the field, resulting in a stack up that would collect several cars, including Mayea, two time winner Ricky Weiss and last night's winner Bricen James. All would continue but from deep in the pack. 

Arizona veteran Karl Tipton would inherit the lead and he would pace the field for the next four laps before North Dakota driver Jason Strand would blast past him exiting turn four to take over the lead. Meanwhile, Clayton Stuckey and Moyer were quietly and smoothly advancing through the field. 

Strand was running good and with three top five finishes in three nights, it looked for all the world that he was poised to take his first win in this series. However, he was running the top side of the track with little margin for error on the slick afternoon oval and on lap fifteen, with a comfortable lead, he would slip over the edge in turn one and drop from the event. 

Tipton would then get the lead back and lead through the halfway point of the race with Moyer moving past Stuckey for second while series co-promoter Don Shaw would have advanced up to fourth with Josh Zimpel next in line. 

Tipton managed to hold off Moyer until a yellow flew with twenty four laps complete for yet another driver that slipped over the banking as the yellow flag slowdowns continued to mount. On the restart, Moyer gassed up his Longhorn chassis and blasted past Tipton on the high side of the track to take over the lead, a lead he would not relinquish after that point. He still had to hold on through three more yellow flags, including a one lap burst to the checkered after Steve Stultz and Tipton got together on what should have been the final lap. 

Moyer would get a good restart on the final attempt to complete the race and would put several car lengths between himself and Shaw as he would drive on for the win. Stuckey would hold on for a fine third place finish ahead of Lance Schill and Zimpel as nineteen of the original starters would still be running at the end. For Moyer it was a historic eight hundred and forty eighth win of his Hall of Fame career and the first win for him in a Mincy event since way back in 2005. 

While the Late Model feature would be a long and drawn out event, the Stock Car feature was quite the opposite as only one minor yellow for a spin slowed that event and North Dakota's Trent Grager would win his second straight in the class. Grager would draw the pole on the redraw and would lead from start to finish to take the win. Jordan Zillmer would move into second early and hold that spot until he suddenly slowed and headed for the pits, giving the second spot to two time winner Zach Madrid who had started the race from the eighth spot. 

Madrid had plenty of time to catch Grager if he could but on this day, Grager was just the faster car and he maintained and in fact, put distance on Madrid as the final fifteen laps of this race ran green to checkered. Kevin Roberts would come from eleventh to finish in the third spot and lead Ryan Satter, from twelfth, and Jeff Nowak across the line. 

The largest purse of the week so far would be on the line for the Limited Modifieds and it would be the "Marion Nightmare", Lucas Rodin who would flex his muscle and make a stirring drive from the sixth row to get the win. 

North Dakota's Scott Bintz would get the early lead but on lap three he would be replaced by South Dakota's Lane Johnson as the race leader. Rodin would find the low side of the track to his liking and would gradually march forward into the top five and continue to charge. By lap ten he was up to third as he made passes on both Jamie Davis and Shane Sabraski to move into contention. 

Rodin would continue to advance, driving under first Bintz and then on lap thirteen, Johnson for the lead. Also on the move was Jake Smith who has started thirteenth and was also headed to the front. A late yellow would prove to be bad for Johnson, who slipped out of the top five following the late slow down. 

Rodin would pull away on the final short run to the checkers with him recording his third top five of the week but first feature win to match his efforts in New Mexico while Smith would complete his charge by racing into second. The top five would be complete with Davis, Bintz and Devin Fouquette, from eleventh, in that order. 

Iowa's Joe Docekal has been just one bad wheel that probably cost him a win early this week, from sweeping the competition on the opening week of the Mincy series. On Sunday he drew the number eleven pill but that didn't slow him down at all, as he charged through the field to take the lead on lap six and then drive off into the setting Arizona sun to record his third win of the week. 

Andy Clower would take the lead from the pole and lead the opening laps but once Docekal got a head of steam going, there would be no stopping him and he drove through the field like a hot knife through  Wisconsin butter. 

With the last eighteen laps of this race going nonstop, there would be no catching, much less passing of Docekal from that point on. He would take the win by nearly a full straightaway over the field as Clower fought off some attempts by Matt Sanders to hold on to second. Kyler Reynolds would make a nice charge to get up to fourth with Andy Sole completing the top five. 

The Ernie Mincy Winter Thaw has now reached its half way point with four races complete and three to go. The drivers and fans will take Monday and Tuesday off with a scheduled practice session available to everyone on Wednesday. Racing will then resume with three more shows scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, all with 5 pm start times. The biggest change for the coming three events will be that the IMCA Mods will be in action all three nights, as they replace the Sport Mods for the final three shows. Many of the Sport Mods, however, are expected to run with the Limited Mods as they are legal for that class just as they are. 

James and Grager Put a Stop to Winning Streaks; Docekal Starts His Own

 Round three of the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw, presented by Car Quest by Advance, was held on Saturday night, January 21st at the Central Arizona Raceway near Casa Grande Arizona. No weather worries like the Florida rain outs were experienced but the unseasonably cool weather, under sunny skies however, continued here in central Arizona. 

In one of the most stirring races so far during this series, young Oregon Modified ace Bricen James made a name for himself as he first passing legend Billy Moyer for the lead in the Late Model feature and then held off all advances of the series' hottest driver, Ricky Weiss, to take the thirty five lap Late Model feature. 

A pair of two feature race win streaks were both stopped as along with James; win, Trent Grager won the Stock Car main to end Zack Madrid's two race winning streak while at the same time Iowa driver Joe Docekal started his own streak with his second consecutive Sport Mod feature win. 

Despite an increasing car count, the decision was made to run big fields of cars in the main events with the Late Models then being the only class that required a B Feature. Qualifying would see the same format as for previous races with everyone drawing a pill and then the IMCA classes would use their draw/redraw format while the other two classes would use passing points. For the Late Models, the top twenty in passing points would make the main while the rest would go into a B Feature, taking the top four to the main. Provisional starters would be the top driver in passing points not making the main and the top driver is series points also not making the main. The top eight in passing points would redraw for their starting spots and away we would go. 

The running order also remained the same with the Stock Cars starting out as the first main. Two time winner Zach Madrid would be required to do some digging in this race as he would start tenth on the grid with some early difficulties by the field with a couple of spins, one before a single lap was completed. Finally things settled down and Trent Grager would shoot up from the second row to take he early lead. Jordan Zillmer would also be on the move as he advanced from row four to pull into second. 

By the halfway point of the race, Madrid had moved into third and was putting heavy pressure on Zillmer, looking underneath him on each corner as Grager maintained a several car length lead. Madrid continued to apply pressure on second place Zillmer as Madrid needed to get past to challenge for his third win. 

Unfortunately, with only three laps to go, the second place cars made contact exiting turn four with Zillmer sliding into the infield with a flat rear tire. The fourth yellow of the race flew, with Zillmer done for the event and Madrid penalized to the tail of the field. This made things considerably easier for leader Grager as the North Dakota driver then motored on for the win with Kevin Roberts being handed the second place position. Ryan Satter started seventeenth on the grid but was able to finish a strong  third with Madrid digging back up to fourth ahead of Andy Sole. 

Twenty six Late Model drivers would take to the track for their thirty five lap main event and despite the heavy traffic, they would do an outstanding job, running green to checkered without a single yellow flag and only six of them would fail to go the distance. However, with so many cars on the track, lapped traffic was a huge issue and quite frankly, this is what helped Bricen James take the win as he was brilliant in the heavy traffic. 

Hall of Famer Billy Moyer would take the early lead from the pole as he would get the jump on James. Moyer would pull out to a nice early lead as James chased him with Ricky Weiss working his way into third after starting in the third row. It didn't take long for the leaders to start to catch the back of the pack and soon they were weaving through traffic, looking both high and low. 

Moyer got bogged down a bit and soon James was on his tail with Weiss racing to catch the top two. Coming off turn four on lap fifteen, James looked to the inside of Moyer and drove past to make what would turn out to be the winning pass. Soon after, it was Weiss' turn to do the same and as Moyer faded back, it became a two car battle for the lead. 

The leaders made some spectacular moves as they drove through the traffic, with Weiss getting under James on several occasions but the Oregon driver refused to yield as he fought off the Canadian ace. As they started to get into the heart of the pack, the top two continued to battle it out with every move by Weiss being countered beautifully by James. With just a few laps left, Weiss moved to the low side of the track and they split a slower car with James able to use the banking in turn one to hold on for the lead. 

Weiss was right there at the finish but James refused to slip up and he would drive home for a most impressive win. What was equally impressive was that James was using a 525 crate motor for power against a variety of open and spec engine type motors in the car owned by Jerry Schram. Perhaps just as impressive was the run by Cole Schill. The North Dakota driver, utilizing a spec engine, drove by Moyer in the late going to grab a strong third place finish with Moyer and Jason Strand, also very consistent this week, completing the top five. Only eight drivers were on the lead lap at the end in this wild event. 

The Limited Mods would see a couple of home state drivers enter the action on this night with their Modifieds and they would do quite well, with Modified track champion Jeremy Thornton eventually ending up as the winner. It seems like there has been one feature each night that has had its issues and on Saturday, those "honors" rotated to the Limited Mod class where five yellows slowed the action and eventually led to the race being cut short due to time limits. 

Chaz Baca Jr. would lead the opening lap of the feature race before he would be passed by Thornton for the lead. Those two would then battle back and forth as Shane Sabraski, last night's winner, would move into third. Things went awry on the back chute on lap nine as the leaders tried to pass a slower car with Baca Jr and the lapped car getting together and flying off the track with Baca Jr being eliminated from the race. 

Thornton would take the lead on the restart but then a large tangle in turn one would involve several cars with strong contender Preston Carr being eliminated from the event. Sabraski would then chase Thornton for the lead but he couldn't catch the leader. Meanwhile there was quite the battle going on behind those two with Jake Smith, Jamie Davis, Terry Reilly and others all jockeying for position. 

With only a couple of laps left, another multi car tangle slowed things down and when they tried to restart, several cars went flying off turn one which triggered the yellow and checkered from flagman LeRoy, who was actually the flagman also when the first Ernie Mincy race was held way back in the early eighties. 

Thornton would get the win while Sabraski would finish second despite a front wheel sagging badly while Smith would be scored third, despite a rear wheel ready to leave the car. Davis and Lance Schill would round out the top five. 

Joe Docekal now appears to be the driver to beat in the Sport Mods. After running second on the opening night with a dragging left front wheel, Joe has now won two mains in a row as he started in front on Saturday and led all laps, never being seriously challenged. There were three yellows in the first half of the race while the last eleven laps would go nonstop and Docekal put lots of distance between himself and the pack as his win would be an easy one. 

There was a good battle for second with Gary Goodrich Jr. holding that spot for the first half of the race until he was overtaken by Kyler Reynolds for that position. Reynolds would then go on to hold the runner up spot the rest of the way. Clay Erickson, after blowing a motor last night while challenging for the lead after winning on opening night, would change a motor back to his crate engine but it would do well, giving him third at the finish over Andy Sole and Rex Hasley. 

Cars flying off the track continues to be one of the very few rubbing points of this series so far with the rule being if all four wheels leave the track, you are immediately black flagged from the event. With no outside walls, this seems to happen fairly often and especially for drivers that exit the track to avoid other cars or incidents, this rule has not "flown" too well. I'm told that a concrete wall surrounding the track is in the works and the way things have been going, that would seem to be a good thing to eliminate some of the controversy and hard feelings that have prevailed at times. The gigantic berm, perhaps two feet or higher that surrounds the inside of the track has caused its share of issues too as slowing drivers have a tough time finding  a way off the track and minor spins to the inside of the track often result in some pretty heavy contact with the berm and do see cars then kicking back out into traffic. 

Track officials continue to run off a quick and smooth program in all other regards however, with the final checkered waving around 8:30 pm on Saturday. The fourth and halfway point of the series comes up on Sunday with a matinee event and we will see just how the early start with the intense Arizona sun affects the racing. All involved will step back and take a breath for a couple of days before a practice night resumes on Wednesday followed by three more nights to round out this series with the IMCA Mods moving in next week to replace the Sport Mods. However, the Sport Mods will then be able to jump over and run with the Limited Mod division so there still should be plenty of cars. I'm told that over forty Mods have already pre entered for their, thousand dollar to win events. 

Ernie Mincy and his family were on hand Saturday to hand out the trophies to the winners and both Schrader and Moyer, previous winners on this  event back in the eighties, were both interviewed on the stage before the show. The car count gradually keeps rising each night with over one hundred drivers signing in on this night in the four classes and the crowd significantly larger than it has been for the first two rounds of the series as the weekend arrives. 

Weiss and Madrid Repeat at CAR Mincy Thaw

 Round two of the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw presented by Car Quest by Advance was held on Friday  night, January 20th at the Central Arizona Raceway near Casa Grande at Eleven Mile Corner. 

Round two would see two repeat winners from opening night as Ricky Weiss would score a thrilling Late Model win while Zach Madrid would dominate the Stock Car main event. The two new winners would be Shane Sabraski in the Limited Mods and Joe Docekal in the Sport Mods. 

Round two would see an increase in both the individual class counts as well as the overall car count in the pits with just under one hundred cars signing in for the four classes program with the first B Feature of the week needed when thirty Late Models signed in to race. In fact, they were the largest field of the four classes. 

A good addition to the program was the famed "The Hook" team out of Tucson. This group travels around the Southwest and were first seen working at Wild West Shoot out races when that event was held at that facility. They specialize in race track recovery operations and are about the quickest team around and while you hope they never have to be used, the reality is that they will and the best always help to speed up a race program. 

The program would be identical to Thursday night's opening  round with the exception of the lone B Feature. Other wise, the program would be the same and run in the same order with the two IMCA classes running draw/redraw programs while the other two classes would use passing points. 

For the second straight night, the program would start right at the scheduled time with the first Stock Car heat to hit the track and despite a rather caution plagued Sport Mod finale, all racing would be completed before 8:30 pm. And of the cars that raced on Thursday night, only one single car failed to return for Friday night's round as any difficulties incurred on opening night, and there were at least two motor changes executed between shows, were completed and all raced. 

For the second straight night, the pole starting car in one of the main events failed to show when the event was called to the line as Jim Horejsi, who was scheduled to start on the pole for the Stock Car main and would have been one of the strong favorites, failed to appear on the track for the start of the race. This would bump Jacob Madrid up to the pole but on the opening lap, a wild scramble that saw outside pole starter Jeff Nowak spin and cars going every direction on the track, the waters opened up and Zach Madrid, who started fourth, found himself in the lead after a single lap. 

Well, the pretty much determined the outcome as Madrid, also a strong contender for the win in prerace factoring, would not be dislodged from that spot in twenty laps. Trent Grager would chase him for several laps before being passed for second by Scott Sluka and that would be the finishing order. Sluka and Grager managed to stay within several car lengths of Madrid but would get no closer. Aaron Hetrick and Jordan Zillmer would complete the top five. 

Twenty six Late Models would take the green for their thirty five lap main event with five extra laps for more money on Friday night. The legend from Batesville Arkansas, Billy Moyer, would take the early lead from the outside pole. He would quickly build up a several car length lead as Jason Strand and Ricky Weiss would battle for second. Weiss tried several times to get past Strand but the North Dakota driver proved to be no slouch to get by.

The field got stretched out on this big track and Moyer was soon trying to fight his way through traffic, which proved to be quite the challenge. Billy was hung up behind a slower car that he couldn't get by and both Strand and Weiss caught him quickly and suddenly it was a three car battle for the lead. 

On lap fourteen Weiss made a brilliant move down the front chute as he moved to the extreme high side of the track and was able to pass both Strand, Moyer and the slower car all in one grand sweep to take over the lead. Just one lap later, Spencer Wilson spun to trigger the first yellow of the race. 

Back under green, it was Weiss' turn to pull away from the field as Strand and Moyer would now battle it out for second. Moyer would move back into second and then set sail after Weiss. With it now being Ricky's turn to fight through traffic, Moyer would catch up to him and another good battle for the win would take place. 

Several times Moyer would get a nose under Weiss but each time Ricky would be able to fight off the racing legend. Finally, Weiss was forced to make a bold move down the front chute as he dove under a slower car, was able to clear that vehicle and then pulled away by several car lengths, a lead he would then maintain to the finish as he took his second straight win here. Moyer would finish a close second with Strand getting another top three finish. Josh Zimpel would prove that the 525 crate motor was indeed competitive as he would get his second straight top five with Bricen James making a good run up from twelfth to complete the top five. 

Shane Sabraski, with rev box issues on the opening night cured, would draw the pole for the Limited Mod feature and that would be bad news for the competition as he would take the immediate lead and go on for an uncontested win in the twenty five lap feature. Sabraski would pull away from Terry Reilly in the early going with a trio of Preston Carr, Lance Schill and Lucas Rodin all moving in as a group to fight for that second spot. 

Only one early yellow would slow the action and after that the field would do a fine job of racing without spinning. Sabraski would build up nearly a full straightaway over the pack as he would carefully pick his way through traffic. Carr would move to the second spot but Schill would be pressuring as he would finally take second near the halfway point of the race while Rodin was digging up through the field after starting eleventh. 

Sabraski would go on for the early win with five lapped cars between himself and runner up Schill while Rodin would continue to charge, getting up to third at the finish. Carr and Devin Fouquette would complete the top five with Fouguette making a late pass on Don Earven to get that spot. Sabraski's win would be the  eight hundred and twenty fifth of his illustrious career with likely still many more to be accomplished. 

The Sport Mods would be the only class to struggle through their main event with the big twenty six car field matching the late Model race from Thursday night as the yellow would wave a numbing eight times in their twenty lap main event. Andy Clower would take the early lead from the outside pole, a lead he would manage to hold through the first nine laps of the race, during which half the yellows for the event would wave. 

A good battle for second would see Brandyn Johnson, Crystal Hemphill and Dylan Jones battling hard for second. On the move to the front would be both Clay Erickson and Joe Docekal, both coming from the fifth row. Erickson would get up to third and seem to be the man to beat when he would suddenly explode a motor on the back chute and dive to the infield, done for the night. 

Clower would maintain the lead but Docekal was charging, getting up to third behind Hemphill as the race neared the halfway point On a lap ten restart, Docekal would make his move, diving to the low side of the track and was able to pass both Hemphill and Clower to take the lead. 

After that, Joe had to withstand three more yellow flags but each time he would pull away from Clower and with all four wheels pointing the right direction, unlike Thursday night when he limped home for second with a steering and suspension issue, the Iowa driver would race home for the win. Clower would cross the line second but an issue at tech inspection would see him disqualified for the event. 

Camron Spangler would then earn the second spot over Tate Johnson, Hemphill and Rex Hasley as just half the starters would be around at the finish of he prolonged main event. 

Round three of the Mincy series will continue on Saturday night with the same four classes running at the same time. The event will again be shown on Speed Sport TV for those interested. 

Weiss Tops Mincy Thaw Opener at CAR

 The Ernie Mincy Early Thaw series at the Central Arizona Speedway, as it was known by back then, last was run in 2008. However, that early season special event for the Late Models was reinstated this year and the opening night of the series was held on Thursday night, January 19th at the recently reopened and know known as Central Arizona Raceway. Brad Whitfield, the promotor at Cocopah Speedway, was recently named as the new promoter of this facility with their first race held in November of last year. 

The driving force behind this event, however, is Don Shaw from Ham Lake Minnesota. Don, who is a long time Late Model and Modified driver and a successful businessman in Minnesota, is also the owner of I94 emr Speedway in Fergus Falls Minnesota, one of the nicest racing facilities in the Midwest and certainly not as well known by the public in other areas as it should be. This track hosts the annual WISSOTA 100 as well as a number of other traveling series events each year along with a very strong weekly program. 

Don is also a home owner in the Phoenix area, likes to bring his race cars out to the West in the Winter and race them and has seen a diminishing number of Late Model opportunities available in Arizona to do just that. He also wanted to give the racers from the upper Midwest an opportunity to race in the Winter time with rules that make their cars competitive. Thus, the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw Series was created, working with Whitfield here at Central Arizona Raceway. Well over thirty drivers from the upper Midwest responded by showing up for this series. 

Five different classes of cars will be competing over the course of a seven race series over eleven days here in central Arizona. Late Models will be the top attraction with a set of rules that sees the open motor, spec engine and even the crate engine cars all running together on what would seem to be fairly even terms. IMCA Modifieds, Stock Cars and Sport Mods, a staple of tracks in this area, will also be racing along with the Limited Mods which is a set of rules that allows WISSOTA Midwest Mods, X Mods and USRA B Mods to all race together. All three sanctioning bodies had cars represented for this opener. 

This race series is an experiment this year, something to build on with the hopes that it will do well this year and the plan is to make it bigger and better each year. While not offering any huge purses, just glancing at the purse it looks like it is bigger and better than the recently run event at Cocopah which had a huge number of drivers in attendance. So we will see if this event builds in numbers as we head into the weekend events when it is easier for the local drivers to get here and when the very popular Mods are added to the show which will be next week. 

Shaw went all out for t his race, bringing a number of his key staff members all the way down from Minnesota to help with this event in key roles such at track prep, ticket sales and even the announcers with Minnesota announcers Chris Stepan and "the Legend" Ron Krog, calling the action. Tech inspection was provided by Gene Kloeckelman, who is a WISSOTA tech at home, is well versed in all the different group's rules and winters in Mesa AZ. Shaw also trucked down much of the track prep equipment needed for this event as CAR is sorely short on such equipment. He brought down his water trucks, packers and even a grader which they used to do some reshaping of the track and needed when Mother Nature threw them a curve with over two inches of rain in the last week to an area that gets much less than that a month normally. He also provided Late Model race cars that both Billy Moyer and Ken Schrader are racing this week. 

The format for this show is a little more Midwestern friendly also. The IMCA classes will be using the draw/redraw format while the Limited Mods and Late Models will be using passing points with the top eight in points redrawing for the feature races. 

Shaw is also using this series to do a little experimenting, running this weekend the IMCA Mods with the Limited Mods. The IMCA Mods must run a 6400 rpm chip instead of their normal 6800 rpm in the crate motors while the open IMCA motors must run a 7300 rpm chip instead of their normal 7800 chip. There was some blow back from the Limited Mod drivers not excited about racing with the Mod drivers but Shaw said he would adjust if needed and as it turned out a Limited Mod would win their main event over the Mod later. 

Seventy nine cars were on hand in four classes for the opening night of racing and a decent sized crowd trickled in as the evening wore on with the 5 pm early start time no doubt as issue for local fans. The Late Models were the high light class of this show with twenty six of them on hand for the opener with one car in the pits, waiting for the driver to return on Friday from vacation in Mexico. Eight different states were represented with a strong field of drivers from the upper Midwest, where this series was designed to entice drivers from. It was also an interesting mix of cars with everything for open motors running restrictor plates to spec engine type cars to 525 and 604 crate motors on hand, all mixed together. The number of cars was such that no B Features were required with heats and a main in all four classes, actually quite perfect on what would be a quickly cooling evening in the desert. 

Twenty five cars would start the Late Model feature after Steve Stultz damaged the  front end of his newly purchased from Johnny Scott car and couldn't get it fixed in time to start the main. North Dakota's Dustin Bluhm would get the early lead and he and Moyer played some "games" on the first two attempts to get the race going with them finally settling in racing. Bluhm has thrashed all day to replace a motor after he blew one up on practice night and he was rewarded with a strong start for his efforts.  Moyer was quickly challenged by Ricky Weiss, formerly a native of the Winnipeg MB area but now living in Tennessee with his whole family joining him on this outing as they have a home in the Phoenix area also. 

Weiss would stalk Bluhm through the first half of the race but Dustin would hang tough. The Late Models would be the only class of the four racing tonight that seemed to have a bad case of "the yips" as several minor spinouts would slow the action. On lap thirteen, after sizing up Bluhm for several laps, Weiss would blow by on the outside in turn one to take over the lead and he would then race on relatively unchallenged the rest of the way to get the win. 

However, there was still a very good battle for the second through fifth spots with Jason Strand making a strong run up from fifth starting spot along with Ryan Corbett to challenge Bhuhm for second. Moyer had slumped all the way back to fifth but he came fighting back up to join the battle also with Buhm unfortunately getting dumped which cost him a good finish. 

Weiss would go on unchallenged at the end for the win with Strand and Moyer swapping he second spot back and forth three times on the final five laps before Strand would take the position. Jared Zimpel made an outstanding drive as he came from twenty fourth to wind up fourth after he smoothly worked his way through the field with Corbett, broken shock and all, would complete the top five. 

The Stock Cars would have a spirited race of their own in the main event which would see three different leaders in twenty laps. Minnesota's Ryan Satter would be the early leader with the duo of Anthony and Zach Madrid challenging him. The three of them raced closely together during the first half of the race while making a charge to the front was Jim Horejsi who has started eleventh. 

Just at the halfway point of the race, Satter pushed up the track with both Madrid's getting past him with Anthony in the lead. However, just one lap later, Zach would make the pass to take over the lead. At this time both Satter and Horejsi, in the top five , would park their cars and Jordan Zillmer would become a strong contender. He would move into second and was challenging Zach Madrid for the lead when he was dumped in turn four by Anthony with both sent to the back for the restart. 

Zach would then drive on for the win with Trent Grager coming through the field to finish second. The top five was completed with Kevin Roberts, Zillmer and Scott Sluka. 

It would be tough luck for Minnesota's Alan Bohlman who was slated to start on the pole for the Limited Mod feature but serious motor issues at the end of his heat would park his car. Jake Smith would then start on the pole but he would be beaten into the first turn by Devin Fouquette for the early lead. Smith would follow closely for the opening laps but would then be overtaken for second by Preston Carr who would then close in on Fouquette. 

With this race going nonstop from start to finish, the laps would wind down quickly. However, Carr made several inside attempts to get by Fouquette and when they didn't work, he made a surprising outside power move in turn one, blew past Fouquette and drove into the lead. Once in front, he quickly drove away and would cruise the rest of the way for the victory worth a grand to the North Dakota driver. Fouguette would finish second while Lucas Rodin would charge up from the tenth starting spot to finish third ahead of Smith and Dan Wheeler. 

The Sport Mods would round out the evening and in a race that would see three different leaders, it would be Clay Erickson that would get the win. Nic Savaglio would hold the point for the  first lap until he was overtaken by Matt Sanders for the lead. Meanwhile, Erickson was on the move after starting ninth as he drove past Crystal Hemphill and Tate Johnson to move into second. 

He would make an outstanding move on lap nine driving deep into turn one and rolling around the top side of Sanders to take over the lead. Also on the move was Iowa's Joe Docekal who was up to third and charging. A lap fourteen yellow would bunch the field and despite a left front wheel that was dangling badly on his car, Docekal would drive past Sanders into second and then make a serious challenge to the leader. 

However, Erickson would fight him off to take the win over Joe with Sanders, Johnson and Andy Sole completing the top five. 

This was the first time I had been to Central Arizona Raceway at Eleven Mile Corner at the Pinal County Fairgrounds East of Casa Grande Arizona. The track is a big three eighth mile oval that is kind of D shaped and just a bit oddly shaped at that. It has big sweeping turns and despite slicking up quite a bit it still carries a lot of speed. Passes have to be well calculated and Midwestern drivers thought it raced somewhat like either Miller Central Speedway in South Dakota or Madison Speedway in Minnesota and I couldn't come up with a better comparison myself. It has no outside walls but plenty of run off space and I'm told that walls are in the plan eventually. The track has one unusual rule in that if you slip off over the banking and out of the track that you must return to the pits and no retry by flying back over the banking is allowed. My guess is this is because of a safety concern. 

This is plenty of seating with three big grandstands on the front chute, two with open grandstands and one covered concrete grandstand that features cement slabs for seating with no bleachers as such. However, if fairness to all, no lawn chairs are allowed in the grandstand, much like is the rule at Cocopah. Bathrooms and concessions are located under the main grandstand with one oddity noted; the bathrooms have steps down to use the facility and I can't recall ever seeing restrooms where you had to go down steps at a track before to use the facilities. There is currently no scoreboard at the track. 

For the opening event of this series, it was a very well run and smooth operation. The races started right on the dot at 5 pm and it took only one hour to run all the qualifying heats. they took a short break to do a little track prep and then moved right into the features. The entire program was completed in less than three hours and by 8 pm we were on our way to a post race tour of the pits. While some would say that part of the early hour was because the field of cars wasn't huge, that may be true but sometimes it is nice to just have a quick show and not have to sit through a whole series of seemingly endless B Features just to get to the main. Especially for a midweek show. In any event, the track officials moved things along nicely all night. 

Pierce "The Man" at Vado; Jackson Also Collects Big Bucks In WWS Finale

 The 17th annual Wild West Shoot Out, held at Royal Jones' Vado Speedway Park nestled between Las Cruces New Mexico and El Paso Texas, concluded on Sunday afternoon, January 15th. Featuring the largest paying events of its six night run, Bobby Pierce would top what was a spectacular fifty lap Late Model feature and earn twenty five thousand dollars for his efforts. Kris Jackson would also have a most lucrative finale as between the his feature win, the bonus for features won and the point title, his X Mod win would earn him sixty five hundred dollars on the night. The evening finale would see Tyler Wolff nip Dan Ebert to win the Modified feature and the two grand top prize. 

The finale would be run under probably the poorest weather conditions of the week with mostly gray skies and most significantly, a tremendously windy day here on the high desert. Winds would gust over fifty mph most of the afternoon with mini sandstorms every where and while it finally did settle down later as predicted, it was a wild afternoon of weather. 

Most amazingly, with such difficult conditions, somehow the track prep crew managed to produce a very racy and dust free surface which had much to do with the great racing we would see. Frankly, how they did it I have no idea but there can be no doubt that their efforts had much to do with the entertaining show we saw. In fact, the track held moisture so well that several extra track rolling sessions by the race cars to widen the groove were necessary several times. It was quite remarkable. 

The Sunday show always marks the lowest car counts of the week, oddly on the night when the most money is on the line but by Sunday, there are always some teams out of equipment, money or enthusiasm and they head for home early with most of the racers looking at some long pulls home. Still, there were enough cars on hand for four full heats in all three classes, double B Features and the three main events. Actually, for the finale with Monday morning work or a head to the highway or airport ahead, this is the perfect number of cars. And it should be pointed out that car counts in all three classes were significantly higher than for last year's finale. Overall, one hundred and ninety three different drivers raced in the three classes over the course of the six day event. 

An indication of just how well the track prep crew did was when Pierce set quick time for the night with a lap of 14.033 which was also the quickest time of the entire week. Not that he needed it, but his quick lap also earned him another grand. Jonathan Davenport would set quick time of the other group of Late Model entries. 

Four heats and a pair of B Features would set the twenty four car starting field for the Late Model fifty lap feature. Some tough racing and some bad luck would see a number of top drivers like Dustin Sorensen, Chris Simpson, Ricky Weiss, Rodney Sanders and Terry Phillips along with others have to fight their way through those B Features with not all surviving. 

The fifty lap feature for the Late Models would produce a spectacular event and likely one that will be rated among the best of he year. Other than to check the official finishes for accuracy, I try not to read other accounts of races before I write about them so as not to skew my observations. However, sometimes this also produces what might not be totally accurate statistics, so bear with me. 

My stats have their being unofficially six different lead changes over the course of the race with three different drivers, Pierce, Davenport and Mike Marlar all holding the top spot at one points. There were certainly more lead changes than this within laps  but let's just say it was an event with plenty of action.

before the green flag would even fly things were happening as Dillon McCowan would lose a wheel on the warm up laps as apparently some lug nuts were forgotten by an now ex-crew member. McCowan would get back into the race but have to forfeit  a great third row starting spot.  

After that, things started off with a bang when Pierce and Davenport exchanged the lead on each of the first four laps as they traded slide jobs for the point. On lap four Davenport would grab the lead for the second time and would show the way for the next fourteen laps. He was the first of three drivers that would at some point seem to have things locked down but then see fate change. 

Pierce would even slide back with Kyle Larson moving into second ahead of Pierce as the top four which would include Garrett Alberson were running in a tight group. Stormy Scott, along with Kyle Beard and Johnny Scott were also in the mix. Just when it looked like Pierce would be a non factor he picked up the pace again, moving past Larson and then closing on Davenport who was having his troubles with lapped traffic. On lap eighteen, Pierce drove back past Davenport to retake the lead for the third time. 

Almost unnoticed, Mike Marlar was making a concerted drive to the front as he was knocking off positions quickly after starting ninth on the grid. By the halfway point of the race, he was up to second with Davenport, Larson and S. Scott in the top five. Marlar then began to put big pressure on Pierce and after Bobby pinched him off a couple times on the low side where Marlar was so good, he rolled to the middle groove that had worked so well on Saturday for him and he blew right past Pierce with one of the most impressive passes of the night on lap twenty eight. 

Then Marlar stepped away from the field and for the second time in the race, it looked like the outcome was determined. However, once again that proved to be false. Pierce adjusted his line on the track and he came flying back to the front. Marlar fought, but on lap forty three, Pierce drove past him and retook the lead once again. 

We had been waiting for a Kyle Larson charge for the entire race and the last seven laps we were treated to that. Larson would get past Marlar for second and then close on Pierce and they would battle it out to the finish with Larson trying every move possible to get past Pierce but Bobby would counter each one and while they raced extremely close to each other, I don't believe they ever even so much as touches. Larson's last shot came up short and Pierce would take the win by a couple car lengths with Marlar holding on for third. A most impressive run was put on by Stormy Scott who would forge his way up to fourth at the finish ahead of Alberson as Davenport faded at the end. This race, as announcers Ben Shelton and Dustin Jarrett pointed out, was a perfect example that with good racers and a track to race on, that they can most definitely put on quite the show!

There was good news for the X Mods even before the first green flag waved on this night. A post race game of dice on Saturday night had produced a sixteen thousand dollar prize for one lucky entrant and he contributed six thousand dollars then to the X Mod feature on Sunday, so suddenly the first place payoff went from a grand to three thousand dollars to win with the top six places getting a boost.

This was particularly sweet news for Kris Jackson who had dominated the action all week in this class and he took it upon himself to kick some butt one more time and take home the big pot. It would be a North Dakota front row for the X Mod twenty five lap main with Nate Reinke taking the early lead following a first lap spin that called back the start. Reinke would continue to lead for the first three laps but Jackson was on him almost immediately, digging to the inside of Reinke. 

On lap four, Nate could not hold the bottom tight enough and Jackson drove under him and took over the lead. Once in front, he showed the tremendous speed that he had displayed all week as it is not often in this class that one driver has such a dominant car as to be able to pull away from the field at will. However, that would be the machine that Jackson had this week and there was no one that could hope to stay with Jackson on a open track. 

As Jackson disappeared into the distance, Jimmy Ray, who has also been very good this week, would drive past Reinke to take over the second spot. However, the X Mods ran a clean show on this night with the last twenty three laps clicking off nonstop and there was no way that Ray could even begin to catch the far flung Jackson. He would put ten drivers at least one lap down on a night when all but one of the starters would still be racing at the end. 

Jackson would motor on unchallenged and would have four lapped cars and nearly a full straightaway between himself and Ray at the finish. Gabe Hodges would get his best run of the week as he would come from ninth to finish in the third spot with Reinke holding on for fourth ahead of another North Dakota driver in Preston Carr. 

Tyler Wolff would lead all twenty five laps of the Modified feature to earn two thousand dollars but things got very tight for him in the late going after having had a fairly comfortable lead early. Wolff would jump out to the early lead over Dan Ebert with D.J. Shannon, Darren Fuqua and Steven Whiteaker challenging. Wolff would pull out to a solid lead as no one seemed to be able to run with him while Fuqua forged his way into second as he and Ebert would go back and forth over that spot. 

Several closely spaced yellows slowed things down midrace including the last one that would take Shannon out of his good running position. On the move at this point were both Tanner Mullens and Dereck Ramirez who had started mid pack and were gradually on their way to the front. 

Things grew far less comfortable for Wolff following that last yellow on lap sixteen as an adjusted line on the track by Ebert would see him pick up the pace and began to slowly reel in the leader. Ebert went back to working the cushion and this time it helped him gain ground. He got past Fuqua for second and then began to reel in the leader. He got close several times in the last five laps but each lap would be just short of taking the lead at the line. On the final circuit he got a great run off turn two and looked to be ready to drive by Wolff for the lead but the Arkansas driver made his car very wide and Ebert slowed, rather than crash or attempt a wild cross over. That would kill Dan's momentum and while he tried to scramble off the final corner, Wolff would hold on for the win. Mullens would continue his advance, moving up to third at the finish in front of Fuqua and Ramirez. Ramirez would win the point title and the bonus connected with that . 

Here are some thoughts in conclusion of this seventeenth annual Wild West Shoot Out that has been held at four different race tracks in two states over its life. 

I don't think there were any classic races this year although Sunday's Late Model feature might creep into that conversation.  However, there were a lot of very good races on a track that was in excellent shape to produce solid races night after night, a testament to the great work of the track prep crew. Every program was smoothly run with no delays or screwing around as everything was very well organized and orchestrated with much of that credit going to Race Director Kelly Charlton. I was especially impressed how he kept in contact with drivers that had disabled cars, directing them down into the infield safely  and smoothly and avoided any number of what would otherwise be annoying yellow flags. Every show started on time and every one fit into the tight TV frame. 

There was a great increase in the car count this year in all three classes. After a "wait and see" approach taken by some for last year's first race here, the racers were all in with the number of local cars especially impressive. The one group that seemed to slip this year with the X Mod group from the upper Midwest and that might be attributed to either another event coming up that might split the group or the X Mod rules that seem to hit hard against the WISSOTA group while favoring the local cars. I was hopeful that 2023 might see some adjustment in the X Mod rules but with the large number of local drivers that participated, there won't likely be any changes made unless Vado alters their own track rules.   

I was told ticket sales were up 30% over last year and that was before the final weekend when the Saturday night crowd was what I would guess to be the largest crowd yet since this race was moved to Vado. While the Sunday crowd was only average, the weather had much to do with that and there can be no doubt that the appearance of Kyle Larson stimulated the ticket sales. 

Another visit here just reinforced what a spectacular facility that the Vado Speedway Park is. Easily in the top ten in the entire country, one would have to really nit pick to find anything to complain about at this track. Saturday highlighted how nice this place was as while the show was waiting to start, live music was playing on the all cement concourse area behind the grandstands while Longhorn celebrities Earl and Ike were signing autographs and getting their picture taken with the kids. A large heating tent was set up for the fans' use all week where they could go and warm up a bit if needed while keeping an eye on the racing on the track as well as the Chili Bowl . Not much is missed here in terms of creature comforts and attending to the needs of the fans and the whole staff is very accommodating. 

The dates have been announced for the 2023 WWS and it will again return to Vado Speedway Park. Once and for all, the talk must stop as Vado IS the only place for the WWS. There is no track in Arizona capable of providing the show they do here and no track possibly able to compete with what they offer here. Yes, it can get a bit cool in the high desert but I have frozen my ass in both Arizona and Florida for that matter and while it might not be the vacation destination that the Phoenix area is, there are things to do in the Las Cruces and El Paso area is you look around and the number one factor needed to produce a successful WWS is a great track, and Vado is that. They also have some great sponsors here that simply can't be matched virtually anywhere else. 

While the dates have already been announced for next year's show, there is one suggestion I would like to make for future consideration when setting the schedule. I always feel that the second Saturday of this event should be the finale as it has the biggest car count and largest crowd. Yet we always pay the biggest money on Sunday when the crowd is always smaller and some of he drivers have already headed home.

I would propose moving up practice one day to Thursday, then run the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Take Monday off and then have the second practice on Tuesday night. Take Wednesday off, then run Thursday, Friday and have the biggest show on Saturday. This gives all the fans and drivers traveling the opportunity to use Sunday for travel. Just my thoughts. 

Thanks need to go out to Chris Kearns and all his staff from the WWS. Also thanks to Royal Jones and all his staff who clearly hit a home run this year with the event. Thanks to the great announcers Ben Shelton and Dustin Jarrett for their help and to analysist  Trenton Berry also. I need to send out also very special thanks to Trudy and Ed(Mund not Ward) Healy who provided us with a grand week as their hospitality was simply overwhelming. Also thanks to Mike Archuleta for helping up out at a time of need during the week. That is one thing I have noted is that the folks from this area are so accommodating..

So that's it from New Mexico and the WWS. Folks, if you have not been to this event or this track before, now is the time to start planning a trip for 2023. 

Marlar Tops Late Models; Three Peat Winners Jackson and Ramirez Continue To Roll At Wild West Shoot Out

 The Wild West Shoot Out at New Mexico's Vado Speedway Park continued on Saturday, January 14th with by far the nicest day of the week. Under sunny skies and near record warmth, perhaps the largest crowd ever to attend a WWS at Vado was on hand. Another large field of cars in all three divisions gathered for the late afternoon race start and they would see Tennessee's Mike Marlar drive to his first Late Model win of the series this year after being one of its most successful racers here in 2022. He would break the Davenport-Pierce domination of this week's races by defeating both of them straight up in this night's main event. 

However, domination continued in the other two classes racing here as both Kris Jackson and Dereck Ramirez would win their third feature races of the five contested so far this week. Both performances are worth noting given the large and strong fields of cars entered in both classes. 

There would be no changes in the format or running order for Saturday's event with the Late Models being the only division qualifying on this day while the X Mods and Modifieds would draw for their starting positions in the heat races and passing points in those heats would determine who makes the main events and who gets the privilege of fighting things out in last chance B Feature action, a journey that no driver wants to take in this series. 

The track would be quick early with Garrett Alberson and Davenport setting quick times in their flights with Alberson recording the quickest time of the week to date with a lap of 14,147 seconds, worthy of an extra grand to him if that time would hold out through Sunday's qualifying. 

Four heat races and a pair of B Features would set the field for the Late Model feature, tonight racing for forty laps. Saturday would also be a Pro Power Dash night and winner Preston Luckman would eschew the thousand dollar top prize in that event to run the feature, saying that he didn't come over twenty hours to watch the feature with his car in the trailer, but he came to race. His comments drew much applause for the fans as somewhat surprisingly, all three dash winners so far this week opted to race, not cash Bill Schlieper's check. 

With Davenport on the pole and Pierce starting right behind him, the odds would seem to favor a repeat winner on Saturday but Marlar had other ideas in that regard. The twenty five cars took off at a frantic pace with Davenport opening the early lead as Garrett Alberson slipped high and opened the door for Pierce and Marlar to follow through. Alberson would remain in the lead pack through the first half of the race though with Davenport not able to put a great distance advantage on anyone on this night. 

At the halfway point, the top five were still running close together with Marlar making a move on Pierce that would garner him second spot with Johnny Scott forging his way up into the fourth position ahead of Alberson. Marlar was running a slightly lower line on the track than the rest of the leaders who were all running right up against the wall and this seemed to serve him well as he would dig strong into the corners and definitely gain time on Davenport. 

Marlar continued to press the issue and on lap twenty seven he would drive under Davenport and take over the lead. Just one lap later the lone yellow of the race would take place when Billy Moyer slowed with a tire down. Pierce, Alberson and Kyle Larson would round out the top five at this point. 

The restart would see Marlar pull away from Davenport as Pierce began to fade, eventually falling out of the top five. The driver on the move was Larson as he continued to work his way forward and would eventually get past Davenport for second. With less than ten laps to go, he set out to track down Marlar and he very nearly did so. Things got tight for Marlar as Larson closed and with just a couple of laps to go, the battle was on. Larson jumped the cushion and lost a bit of ground but on the last lap he had a run on Marlar and looked like he might make a last corner "Hail Mary" attempt down low but Marlar had luck in his corner as a slower car had that lane covered and Larson's attempt was blocked and he would have to settle for second as Marlar would drive on for the win. A late charge saw Ricky Weiss have another solid run this week as he would drive past Davenport to get third with Alberson, also steady this week, complete the top five. 

It would be a very smooth night for the Late Models with eight races on their part of the program and the yellow flag would wave only twice all night for them.

The X Mods caught a bit of the yellow flag fever on Saturday as their main event was probably the most tedious of the series so far with seven slow downs for a variety of spins and debris slow downs. In fact, their whole program on this night was one that would be characterized as less than scintillating with the twenty plus car pair of B Features being most odious. 

However, the multiple yellows didn't seem to bother the effort of Kris Jackson would who lead from start to finish to record his third victory if five starts so far this week. He would have a good battle with Jesse Haynie in the early going with Haynie showing good speed all week and recording some solid finishes, he was hoping to top Jackson and get his first win of the series. 

However, Jackson was having none of that as he fought off several challenges by Haynie as the X Mods ran this race is a series of bursts of action followed by another yellow flag for most of the event. Haynie would fight for the lead, then slip high and allow Jimmy Ray and Reece Solander to pass him and then have to fight his way back around them, which he did by the halfway point of the race. 

Lucas Rodin and Mike Striegel  were both moving forward as they got into the top five at this point and were looking for more. Solander was involved in a crash on lap eleven that ended his night and stacked up several other cars. Haynie would hold the second spot until lap seventeen when he would suddenly dive into the infield as his car was overheating and he would be done. 

The last night laps of the race would see Jackson pull away from the pack and roll on unchallenged. Ray, who has been fast this week but until to finish things off, would finally do so on this night and the seventy three year old veteran would accept the second place honors. The battle for third turned into a good one the last few laps with exchanges of position and Striegel would be there at the end to top Rodin for those honors with Gabe Hodges gradually working his way up to fifth at the finish. 

The Modifieds would finish up the night and another three time winner would emerge as Dereck Ramirez would  win for the third time during the series. It would only take him five laps to wrestle the lead away from Tyler Wolff and he would then drive on to a pretty easy win. Wolff would be the early leader with Ramirez trying to get under him in the corners. When that failed he quickly changed lines, moving to the outside where he would blow by Wolff down the front stretch to claim the lead and after that, he would drive away from the field. 

The course of the race would be changed previous to that however, as Ramirez, Gary Christian and Dan Ebert would go down the front chute three wide as they battled for third on the second lap. Ramirez would move down the track to block, getting into Christian who then got into Ebert with those two getting tired up together, triggering a yellow while Ramirez drove away scot free and would then soon pass Wolff to take the win. Ebert would restart and drive up to a top ten finish while Christian would be done for the night. 

One other yellow would slow the action at the halfway point when Ricky Alvarado would get into the back stretch wall and cut a tire down, triggering a slowdown. However, this didn't halt Ramirez who would then drive away from the field and score a relatively easy win. Tyler Davis made a steady charge to the front and was able to get past Wolff for second in the late going with Darren Fuqua and Rodney Sanders completing the top five as the pack got kind of stretched out at the end as the track was pretty used up from a long night of racing and got pretty narrow in the groove. Only five of the starters were not on the track at the conclusion of the race. 

Considering the size and quality of the three fields of cars, for all three divisions to have three time winners at this point in the series is quite remarkable. Sunday will feature the finale for this series with the largest winning prizes on the line along with the point fund money so we will see if any upsets are produced. 

Pierce Halts Davenport Steamroller; Berry and Solander Also Crack Victory Lane

 The Wild West Shootout began the second half of its six race series after a night off, returning to action on Friday night, January 13th with race number four which once again featured the Super Late Models, the Modifieds and the X Mods. 

After Jonathan Davenport won the first three races of this series in the Late Models and made it a reasonable thought that he might indeed sweep all six races of this series and grab all the bonus goodies offered, those thoughts were slammed on Friday when Bobby Pierce outdueled Davenport in a thirty lap shootout that had the crowd on its feet over the two drivers that have been most dominant to this point. The other two divisions, the Modifieds and X Mods would also see two first time winners as Tom Berry won a hard fought win in the Mods while Reece Solander would do the same in the X Mod division. 

Friday night began a final stretch of three races in three nights and typically produces the largest car counts of the series and such was again the case this year. There was a big boost in numbers in all three classes with the series' largest counts in all three classes. Nineteen new drivers made their first runs of the week, the car count was such that officials added four more heat races while still running big ten to twelve car heats and the total car count neared the one hundred and seventy number, this with only three classes in competition. 

Qualifying for the Late Models would be the first order of business as usual and a quick track early saw Davenport and Brandon Sheppard top their two groups with Davenport turning the quickest time of the week at 14,177, putting him in line to earn yet another bonus. The Late Models would run six heats on this night along with a pair of B Features that would set their field of twenty four drivers for their main event as there are no provisional starters in this series and in order to race the feature, you must qualify for it on the track. 

The feature for the Late Models would be the shorter distance of thirty laps and with such a shorter event, passing must be done quickly as thirty laps flies by like the blink of an eye, particularly if there are not a lot of yellow flags. Davenport would jump to the early lead from the outside pole as he out gunned Garrett Alberson in the early going. Pierce would be on the move quickly too, as he would charge from his fifth starting spot, getting past Billy Moyer and Brandon Sheppard to do so. 

As Davenport continued to lead, stretching it early, Alberson and Pierce engaged in an interesting series of slide jobs as they battled for second with Pierce eventually getting the upper hand and moving into second as he appeared determined to end Davenport's streak. The first yellow would appear with nine laps complete when Kyle Beard broke a front end component and stacked up Terry Phillips, Mikey Kile and Justin Duty in turn three with all but Kyle calling it a night. 

It then turned into a war for the lead as Davenport would not be able to pull away from Pierce as Bobby tried a series of sliders with Davenport responding and managing to continue to lead but Pierce remained all over him. At the halfway point, their order remained unchanged with Mike Marlar fighting his way up into the top five while the driver on the move was Kyle Larson. 

Larson, who was battling it out with Pierce for a heat race win when he tangled with a lapped car and wrecked and then came from twelfth to win a B Feature just to start the main, had charged up from the twentieth starting spot into the top ten and was still on the move by the halfway mark.

Just past the halfway point, Pierce set up Davenport for a slider as Jonathan seemed just a bit tight in turns and seemed to be killing his speed slightly, and Bobby slid up in front of Davenport and Jonathan wasn't able to respond as Pierce motored into the lead. Several times after this, Davenport tried to get the lead back and made a few attempts to get under Pierce but wasn't able to do so. 

The leaders were running close when Dillon McCowan blew a tire as they were trying to lap him and while both managed to avoid an accident, the yellow was triggered with just two laps to go. You knew what was coming on the restart and Davenport dove hard into turn one trying to get back under Pierce but he wasn't able  to complete the move and this killed his momentum as Pierce would then motor away and win without challenge. Alberson would run a solid third and Larson would charge all the way up to fourth at the finish ahead of Sheppard. 

Tom Berry is a very accomplished Modified driver, having won a number of very large and important races in the last couple of years running with IMCA. However, the open motor Modifieds are a big of a different animal than the crate racing cars but he proved on Friday that no matter what engine is under the hood and how much horsepower that was being harnessed, he could drive the wheels off it as he out gunned Chad Wheeler and Jake Gallardo to get the win in only the fourth outing for him with his current car. 

Wheeler would get the jump in what would turn out to be a nonstop Modified main event as he edged past Lewis Jackson on lap one. Berry would start in row two and then move to the cushion and on lap five he would drive past Wheeler to take over the lead. 

On the move after putting up with some miserable racing luck so far this week was Gallardo who would quickly move into the second spot and then start to challenge Berry Jr for the lead. Tom was moving around on the track, searching for the best line and while Gallardo got close on several attempts near the halfway point of the race, each time Berry Jr would fight him off. 

As they battled for the lead, Dereck Ramirez was the driver on the move as after starting sixteenth, he would quickly drive up into the top ten and continue to press forward. With no yellows to aid his cause, it took some hard driving to move up but he continued to charge and would eventually crack the top five. 

Meanwhile, Gallardo would continue to press Berry Jr but Tom seemed to have found his good line, diamonding turn one and then riding the banking through turns three and four and while Gallardo would press the issue, Berry Jr maintained control. Gallardo would make one final push but Berry Jr had his line and would drive on for the impressive win. Ramirez would get up as far as third at the finish with his fine charge and Steven Whiteaker Jr.  would also make a late rush, passing Wheeler to finish fourth. 

North Dakota's Eric Haugland would be the early leader of the X Mod feature as he had a duel with fellow "Peace State" drivers Preston Carr and Lucas Rodin along with Solander. On lap five, Solander would drive under Haugland to take over the lead with the yellow triggered one lap later when contender Andy Bryant would pound the turn four wall and be knocked out of the event. 

Solander would continue to hold a narrow lead with Rodin moving into second and keeping the pressure on the leader. Haugland would lose control while trying to pound the cushion, spin into traffic and get clobbered by Allen Owen Jr with both cars eliminated from the contest. 

Solander would continue to lead through the halfway point with Rodin and Carr both racing him close while it was Kris Jackson who was making another of his charges through the field after starting thirteenth on the thirteenth. He would be up to fourth and was still on the move. 

Bad luck struck Carr with fourteen laps complete when his motor went up in a ball of smoke and flames, triggering the red flag as he bailed out of the car in the infield. This set up a six lap sprint to the finish with Jackson taking advantage of the stoppage to shoot into second on the restart as Rodin got shuffled back several spots. 

The final few laps would see Jackson all over Solander for the win, but each time Kris would try the bottom, Reece would block his line and fight him off. One last attempt on the final corner came up short and Solander would drive on for the win with Jackson a very close second. Jesse Haynie, who has been strong all week would again top the local drivers as he would come from eighteenth to complete the top three. Scott Bintz drove a steady race to get up to fourth with Roding holding on for a top five finish. 

The track had a little bit more character in in than the previous nights but drivers were still able to move around on it and while the Late Models and Modifieds found the high side to work best for them with slide jobs the best passing opportunities, the X Mods seemed to favor the low groove which continued to make things interesting. It was another smoothly run show on a cool January evening in the high desert and with big heats and twenty car B Features in most classes, the drivers in this event have little spare time to make something happen or risk watching the mains from the pits. This, however, is much of what makes this such and interesting event.