Monday, January 8, 2024

Dillard Sweeps Wild West Shootout Opener

 The eighteenth annual Wild West Shootout kicked off on Saturday afternoon, January 6th at Royal Jones' FK Rod Ends Vado Speedway Park in Vado New Mexico. One of the most anticipated races of the entire racing season, racers and fans from all over the country would again flock to the "Land of Enchantment" to participate in a six race series at one of America's finest short tracks. 

The Wild West Shootout has always been a great way to kick off a new racing season and this third edition of racing at Vado would again present a three division program featuring open Late Models, Modifieds running under USRA rules and the X Mods, a combination class of B Mod, Midwest Mod and X Mod rules. 

One hundred and forty four drivers would sign in to race for the opener with forty four Late Models, sixty Modified cars and forty X Mods. The Late Model car count would be very similar to recent years. The change was that a few of the national driving stars that had been here in recent years were not on hand this year with more regional drivers on hand this year. The Modified car count was both bigger than last year and even stronger as this field would rival the best Modified gatherings of the entire year. The one big drop was in the X Mod field, a drop that would least likely bother too many of the traveling fans. Much of this drop is due to the rules package which allows many of the drivers to basically rebuild the bodies on their cars for this event, a factor that has turned off many of the drivers that used to run this event. 

There used to be twenty to thirty upper Midwest drivers that would come for this event but with the way the rules are structured and the emergence of a new series in Arizona that will commence in a couple weeks, many of those drivers now chose to attend that series instead. This probably doesn't bother WWS management too much anyway because they consider the X Mods to be just a "filler" anyway but it still disappoints me. We are left with just the local racers plus the Missouri USRA crew that redoes their cars just for this week. 

The weather forecast for this week is for even cooler temperatures than normal so the FLO pay per view will probably see some large numbers this week as only the toughest of fans will be on hand to watch this race live. While Vado is a great facility it isn't in the desert like the Arizona tracks are and it is still Winter in New Mexico with cold temperatures and even some rain and snow not out of the realm of possibility. 

The opener would see cool but tolerable conditions for racing. The format would remain as it has been for years with the Late Models qualifying while the other two classes draw for position and then use passing points in the heats to determine the rest of the night. Following time trials, there would be four heats for both the Late Models and X Mods and six heats for the Mods. Double B Features for all classes and then the three mains would round out the evening. On three nights. Pro Power Engines would sponsor a dash that would allow one other driver to opt in or out of the Late Model main. The Late Models were split into two groups with Garrett Alberson and Bobby Pierce being quick qualifiers. The opening race of a new season is always an interesting one with new driver combinations, new cars and lots of experimenting going on which is one of the attractions of this series.

The three class program definitely has its advantages as the whole show can be completed much quicker and within a reasonable time limit, packaged as it is for TV. And on cool nights it is nice to be done with the show by 9 pm local time. 

A few opening night gremlins caused some stress as scoring and timing was having some early issues. The p.a. system was not working quite right with speakers and microphones cutting in and out. Even the cars were being combative as Rodney Sanders had to requalify four times before they could finally get his transponder to work correctly. Mike Marlar also gave his fans a scare when he finished his qualifying with a cloud of smoke but it proved to be minor.  However, everything was worked through and by 5 pm, the advertised starting time, it was time to race. 

Once they start the program here, there is no messing around for any reason. The top notch crew of Vado, along with a lot of experts brought in for this series by event promoter Chris Kearns, make this show a smooth one. With folks like Kelly Carlton and Matt Curl behind the scenes and voices like Ben Shelton, Dustin Jarrett and Trenton Berry calling the action, the best in dirt track racing are in charge here. 

All qualifying goes off very quickly and soon it is time for the main events after some track prep is done to ensure that the best racing can be provided. The Late Models always go first here and twenty five cars would take the green flag as Eston Whisler chose to race rather than take the dash money. 

And what a night it would be for Cade Dillard! Who would have thought that sharing the front row for the forty lap main that he would get the jump on Bobby Pierce and lead all forty laps to claim the win? It was a surprise for sure when Dillard took the early lead but just as much so when Alberson would also pass Pierce for second. Perhaps it was a tire choice that saw Pierce take off slower but before the end, he would be a factor. 

This race would go nonstop with Dillard building up a nice sized lead in the first half of the race with Alberson and Pierce following. Kaden Honeycutt was a surprise as he ran a strong fourth for much of the race. 

As the race got to its second half, Dillard started to hit a group of slower cars and his progress was slowed. Alberson started to catch him and Pierce picked up the pace as he moved to second and began to close on Dillard. Cade made a couple nice moves in traffic that saved him time but Pierce started to get relentless, closing to Dillard's rear bumper and looking for an opening. 

As they raced through traffic on lap thirty four, Pierce tried one of his wicked sliders in turn three and he eased past Dillard but Cade successfully crossed back under him and would maintain the lead. After that, Pierce would get close but simply couldn't make a move. When he stayed on the top side on final lap, it was clear that Dillard had the speed and space to hold him off for the win. Tyler Erb closed up on Alberson at the end for fourth and Kyle Larson came from fourteenth to complete the top five in the nonstop race. Only six drivers failed to finish but only ten were on the lead lap at the finish. 

The X Mod feature would produce a slight surprise also. Nick Rivera is a solid local competitor so the fact that he ran strong was not a surprise but the surprise was that he would get the jump on Kris Jackson and then beat him. Rivera used the outside to take the early lead with Jackson and J.C. Morton following him. 

The X Mod had a few issues with the yellow waving five times in their twenty five lap main. At the halfway point, the yellow waved for a spin and under yellow, Jackson suddenly headed to the pits, turning the second spot over to Morton. 

But even a one lap sprint to the finish after another late yellow would not give Morton the opportunity to pass as Rivera was very quick and would drive on for the win. Josh Cain would finish third.

The Modifieds would complete the night and this would cap the great night for Dillard as he would double up, winning the Modified main as well as the Late Model event. Jacob Hobscheidt would get the jump on Terry Phillips for the early lead but Dillard was on the move after starting sixth. The lone yellow on lap six would bunch the field with Dillard up to second by this point after passing Phillips. 

It took Dillard only two more laps to blow by Hobscheidt on the top side and once in front, he ran away from the field in a dominating performance. He pulled to nearly a full straightaway over the field as the contest was in no doubt. Johnny Scott made a determined drive as he started fifth and worked under Hobscheidt in the late going for second but was far behind the winner. A late race shuffle would find Phillips driving back up to third ahead of Dan Ebert and Hobscheidt. 

Smooth racing marked the opening night of the series with a three hour program being completed by 9 pm. on what ended up being a cool night in the high desert. 

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