Meridian Speedway July 26
Meridian Speedway July 26, 2008
By Brian Calkins
for Meridian Speedway
Meridian, Idaho – It was an extraordinary night of racing at ASA member track, Meridian Speedway on Saturday July 26. The Mini Stocks brought out 27 cars to compete in the first Idaho Cup. Saturday was the first of two 75 lap races for the Mini Stock Idaho Cup. The second race will be held at Magic Valley Speedway in Twin Falls. The Winged Sprints, the Non Winged Sprints, the Grand American Modifieds, and the Hornets also ran full schedules.
During qualifying Winged Sprint driver and Meridian Speedway co-promoter, Kenny Hamilton, set a new track record on the tight quarter mile oval on a hot slick track that kept most of the field in the mid 12s during qualifying. Hamilton’s 11.410 pass around the track not only set a new record but kept Brandon Johnson from setting quick time for the night by a whopping two and a half tenths of a second. Then Hamilton backed it up by winning the trophy dash from the back in just five laps.
Hamilton was all set to do the hat trick and it looked like he was going to - everything was in his favor – except for Mike Cullum. Cullum beat out Hamilton in the heat race by the distance of about one front tire. They were side by side at the finish of the eight lap race with Hamilton on the outside and gaining but the checkered came too soon for the Legend. Later in the night during the 35 lap main it looked like Hamilton would have a second chance but lapped traffic gave Cullum too much cushion for Hamilton to overcome at the end. Hamilton had been running fastest all night, including both practice sessions, but starting position in the heat race and the main gave Cullum the edge he needed twice in a row.
After the trophy dashes and heat races were completed the first race after the short intermission was the Impact Radio Group and Rehab Authority Race to Vegas. Five lucky radio listeners got the chance to pull a Mini Stock driver’s name out of the hat and have them race to win for the them in a 10 lap shootout. The winning radio listener was to receive a trip to Vegas and the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Jason Sanders was working his way to the front on behalf of Roy Grimm but at the end of the race it was Ray Bolinger who took the checkered and radio listener Tommy Tomlin who won the trip to Vegas.
Next up was the Mini Stock consolation main. Toby Vincent led the pack of 10 cars to the green and after three laps was still in the lead but Duane Gerber was moving up and looking to pass. A few laps Cody Mitchell took the outside groove and made good use of it towards the front. After another lap Mitchell spun on turn three and Vincent spun to avoid with an almost synchronized spin. Mark Sargent locked up and hit the wall and collected Alyson Clark and Kyle Stradley. The track safety crew came out and the paramedics followed to check on Stradley. After Stradley was taken care of the race was called as finished with Vincent as the winner, Cody Mitchell, in second, and Duane Gerber in third
The Non Winged Sprints started with Jeff Russell on the pole and when the green flag flew Russell took of leaving the others behind. Don Kithcart passed his way to second place and began to make up track behind Russell with Wyatt king close behind. Johnny Giesler and Rob Grice, who started in the back as fastest qualifiers began to move up. On lap 17 King got around Kithcart and set the pace for Giesler who followed. Russell had a huge lead and with King and Giesler fighting over 2nd place and lapped traffic the lead did not close up but King was able to hold off Giesler and took second behind the hard driving Russell. The top five were Russell, King, Giesler, Kithcart and Grice.
Joe Daly led the 12 Grand American Modifieds to the green and slowly edged out Al Colwell on the outside and left him behind. Travis Milburn started right behind Daly and Charlie Ham Jr. was behind him. On lap seven Ham and Milburn bumped and Milburn spun on turn two bringing out the first caution and the subsequent commit cone restart. Shelby Stroebel took the outside at the cone and restarted beside Daly. The Wurtz cousins - Jeff and Dennis II - lined up side by side in the second row. Stroebel passed Daly for the lead after two laps and Jeff Wurtz followed around for second place. Jeff Hill spun on turn three bringing out the second caution and cone restart. This time Jeff Wurtz took the high side next to Stroebel but the inside groove was Stroebel’s and he used it to his advantage.
After just two more laps Pete Trammell spun and the restart put Jeff Wurtz on the outside again for a second try at Stroebel. At the green Wurtz got the hole shot but Stroebel pulled away after two and put Jeff Wurtz and Dennis Wurtz Jr. in second and third. After a few more laps Hill got sideways on the front stretch and collected Brian Terry and Chris Fenton bringing out the red flag. The restart was déjà vu all over again with Wurtz and Wurtz following Stroebel and Al Colwell and Jeff Hill in fourth and fifth. The race ran out with Stroebel in the lead and Jeff Wurtz and Dennis Wurtz Jr. following. Colwell and Hill were still in fourth and fifth.
The Winged Sprints brought out 13 cars for the night with Greg Nelson on the pole and Steve Freeman on the outside. Freeman took off and left the pack behind to fight over position Mike Cullum came around and put the pressure on and passed on lap five on the inside of Freeman but by this time Kenny Hamilton had moved up seven places to sixth. As Cullum passed the flagman on lap 15 he had almost a half lap lead over the second place, Matt Elliott, but Tyler Monroe then moved up and put Elliott one position down while Cody Veenstra and Kenny Hamilton gained position.
Hamilton was not content to follow and passed a lap car and Monroe on the outside on the front stretch at the same time and took second but had a six and a half second deficit behind the leader. Hamilton then proceeded to knock off a second per lap for the nest several laps until Monroe spun on the back stretch bringing out a caution with seven laps to go. At the restart Hamilton was right behind Cullum but four lapped cars gave Cullum a cushion that looked to be enough to hold back the hard charging Hamilton. In three laps Hamilton put down two of them but Cullum had gained enough distance to hold him off to the end. Mike Cullum took the win with Kenny Hamilton, Cody Veenstra, Brandon Johnson, and Austin Hager in the top five.
Duane Gerber led the field of 27 Mini Stocks to the green and led the race until Tommy Downs got loose on turn four, went into the infield, and then returned forcing Donavan Parker wide and loose causing Parker to hit the front stretch wall which stacked up five more cars including Jason Lampman, David Short, Josh Culley Kirk Sanders and Scott Shoecraft. The race was red flagged for fifteen minutes to clean up the mess and then restarted.
After two more laps Alyson Clark hit the wall on the back stretch and Lampman stopped to avoid a collision bringing out a caution. After the restart Travis Pavlacky moved to the front of the field with Gerber behind and Cody Mitchell in third. Ray Bolinger was moving up on the outside pulling Jason Sanders along with him but they had a long distance to go. Casey Hart in his Neon snuck up on the leaders and drove side by side for a few laps until Downs spun again bringing out the red flag for fluid clean up. At the restart Hart drove up to the side of Pavlacky but fell back letting Jeff Hasson try his luck. Hasson passed and ran away. A few laps later Casey Hart passed Hasson on the inside but David Short and Jeff Couch wrecked on the front stretch on lap 48 bringing out another caution. Hasson was pushed to the pits with a fluid leak and the race restarted with Hart in the lead followed by Jason Sanders and Ray Bolinger. Bolinger passed Jason Sanders but had trouble getting past the lapped Kirk Sanders. With four laps to go Kirk Sanders drove under Hart and the two of them bumped putting Hart in the turn two wall. Due to time constraints the race was called as finished at 70 laps leaving Ray Bolinger in the lead and the winner of the first half of the two Idaho Cup races. Jason Sanders came in second followed by Travis Pavlacky, Eddie Ables, and Quentin Ward.
The Hornets were the last up for the night with a 35 lap main. Mike Hampton led the race until Kyle Burrill took over on lap four then David Tankersley passed for the lead on lap 10. After 25 more laps Tankersley still had the lead and had lapped all but three of the 24 other cars on the track. Ten of the Hornets went to the pits after wrecks or mechanical problems during the race so the field of cars was reduced to 15 at the end. The top five were Tankersley, David Haslam, Tyler Burlingame, Mike Davis, and Tony Johns.
Next week at Meridian Speedway the Winged Sprints return with the Super Stocks, the Late Model Lites, the Mini Stocks, and the Hornets. The gates open at 4 with the time trials and races starting at 5 and 6. Fr more information log on to www.meridianspeedway.com or call the speedway office at 208-888-2813.
