It was another cold night in the high desert Wednesday night at the FK Rod Ends Vado Speedway Park in Vado New Mexico, a pattern that seems likely to hold right through this entire series for 2024. However, the race cars on the track still generate plenty of heat as they race hard at this state of the art facility and the hottest drivers remain firmly in control as Bobby Pierce won his second Late Model feature race of the three completed so far while Cade Dillard is doing even better, having won three straight against a very strong field of Modified drivers. On the other hand, Jesse Haynie won his first ever feature race during the Wild West Shootout series which dates to races at Casa Grande, Tucson and Arizona Raceway in Queen Creek.
One hundred and twenty six drivers would sign in to race for this midweek action, a slightly smaller number than for the weekend before but very similar to previous years as a few drivers go home and some just can't make it for the midweek show as there are a number of drivers running this series from the area who just can't get to the track in time for this midweek run.
In response to the smaller field of drivers on hand, track officials cut one X Mod and one Modified heat from the overall program, a move likely not discouraged by the freezing contingent of fans on hand.
Track officials always run off a very quick program here, sometimes actually overly so, and the first heat was on the track at 5:45 pm and ready to race. Earlier, Garrett Alberson and Dustin Sorensen had turned quickest times in their groups of Late Models and would start on the pole for respective heat races. The running order would be the same a normal with X Mods followed by Modifieds and then the Late Models. However, after the Late Model B Mains are completed, track prep is done and then the Late Models are first on the track for their main, a strategy long been run at the WWS and highly appreciated by everyone I would guess.
Such was the case again on Wednesday with Drake Troutman redrawing the pole with Pierce to his outside. There were some fireworks early as after Pierce got the jump and led the opening lap, he would slip off the bottom and a charging Shannon Babb would duck under him for the lead. Pierce immediately realized he was in trouble and moved back under Babb on the next lap and there was plenty of wheel banging between the leaders before Pierce would reclaim the lead.
Babb was pushing hard but it back fired when he slipped off the bottom once again and gave Alberson the second spot. There was only one yellow in the race when Kyle Larson, one of the very few to try and bang the cushion, slowed with electrical problems and called it a night. His performances so far this week in the Rumley car have been disappointing.
After that yellow, there wasn't much movement among the leaders as they pretty much lined up and hugged the low groove on a surprisingly one lane track. The only excitement came when Pierce came upon some slower traffic, also occuping that same lane of the track. He had difficulty passing these cars and that gave Alberson the chance to close in on him.
Pierce decided to make a wild move to the top to try and clear the traffic and it almost cost him as Alberson went low and got beside him down the front chute. Pierce made a big move in turn one to edge around the slower car and then get back to the bottom before Alberson could beat him to the spot.
Later, with just a couple laps left, the same thing happened once again with Pierce this time opting to stay behind the slower car. Alberson made a big move off turn four on the final lap but there was nothing there to grab hold of and he nearly gave away second to Babb as they crossed the line. With his repeat win, Pierce still has a possible bonus of one hundred grand in sight should he win out.
Two drivers graced the top five finishers for the first time with Sorensen and Preston Luckman getting to those positions of fourth and fifth early and staying right there, holding their lines as neither were seriously challenged during the thirty lap feature. A number of drivers dropped out early, finding the one lane track not conducive for passing and thus chose to save their equipment.
Dillard has not only been fast but he has been lucky as well, drawing the front row for the Modified feature for the second straight race. He would blast out into the early lead with Nathan Smith moving to second ahead of Lucas Schott.
Two early yellows in the first half of the race would slow the pace with the second involving Ricardon Olague Jr. and Gary Christian being a grinding collision that would eliminate both. After this slow down, the rest of the race would go green to checkers with Schott moving to second by the halfway point with Tyler Davis and Dan Ebert close behind.
Dillard was lone gone, just as on Sunday but the driver to watch was Nick O'Neill, making his first Modified run of the week after stepping out of the Late Model he had previously raced earlier in the week. He started seventeenth and was one of the few able to make the top side work as he would diamond off the corners and get a great run down the chutes, which would allow him to pass cars both high and low.
He was up to fifth by the halfway point and then worked his way past both Ebert and Smith to move into third and was working on Schott for second when he ran out of time. Eighteen cars would finish the race and all would be on the lead lap.
Jesse Haynie would lead from start to finish in the twenty lap X Mod feature race. He would pull out to a nice sized advantage early and withstand three yellow flags, the last of which was a two lap dash to the finish.
Louisiana driver Jake Haddox would move into second early and he would run there for the length of the event. A good four car battle for third would see Eric McNutt, Rob Moseley, Nate Reinke and opening night winner Nick Rivera fight for that spot.
The final two lap sprint would see Haynie pull away while Haddox would hold off Rivera for that spot. McNutt and Reinke would complete the top five with only three of the starters not on the track at the finish.
Once again it was a very quick program with the final checkers waving at about 8:45 pm. This may sound like a strange comment but sometimes I think that they sacrifice a bit of the overall program by being in such a hurry as they jam so many cars into the heats and B Features with limited laps that they eliminate any possible chance for some of the drivers to gain success.
The crack announcing team was not afraid to state the obvious on this night, for which they should receive credit. And that was the fact that this night was a very rare dud for Vado with the track being one lane most of the night, despite attempts to "farm it" before the feature races. Whey this happened, I don't know and I doubt that perhaps anyone does. The track was certainly plenty wet and built up a berm early that we had not seen before this week with the drivers racing high on the track in the heats. However, come B Feature and Feature time, everyone was right on the bottom. A few tried to move up the track but had little success and the racing was "train style", something we are not used to seeing here.
However, I have confidence that whatever caused the issue, that it will be rectified come Friday night and we will see pack style racing such as we are used to at this track.
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