Idaho Racing News

Winged Sprint Showdown in Downtown and Stock car night at Meridian Speedway

By Brian and Pauline Calkins – Idaho Racing News

Meridian, Idaho – The Winged Sprints came out in full force for the 100 lap Showdown in Downtown at ASA member track, Meridian Speedway, on September 6, 2008. The race card also included the Super Stocks, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks and Thunder Stocks. It was championship night for the Thunder Stocks. With only four points separating the top two positions the drivers were primed for a shootout. After qualifying for the Thunder Stocks was completed the championship was a dead heat going in to the heat race and the main event.

The first main event of the night was the Thunder Stocks’ 25 lap feature. After the heat races the leaders were separated by only one point with RJ Lewis ahead of Bill Lawrence.

Dan Tyler brought the eight Thunder Stocks to the green flag but Lowell Heesch took over after one lap. RJ Lewis pulled up behind the leader to defend his points lead while Bill Lawrence had to work his way through traffic and after three laps had a three position deficit behind Lewis. On lap six a cut tire forced Lawrence to exit to the pits to leave the race and the championship to Lewis. After almost ten laps in the pits Lawrence returned to the race to try and maintain second place in the championship. As the race wound down Lowell Heesch still had the lead with Lewis right behind. Bill Lacy, Tommy White, and Dion States rounded out the top five. Bill Lawrence would take home the second place championship but RJ Lewis finished the season ahead. Heesch, normally a track worker at Meridian Speedway, tried his hand as a driver and won his first main event ever.

The Idaho Center for Professional Truck Driving Street Stocks hit the track with thirteen cars. Bruce Zacharias had the pole with Mark Finley right beside him. At the drop of the green, Zacharias took the early lead but Finley moved out and around him the claimed that spot for himself in lap four. Finley began to pull away from the field, but in lap eight he saw yellow as the field was slowed for Casey Hart. Hart earlier in the evening during the heat race made a surprising move to the outside to jockey for the lead position. He ended up losing one position in that move but stayed calm and jetted around the two leaders to take the lead and win the heat. With moves like that great things were expected from him in the main, but misfortune struck when the fuel pump went out on his bright orange #23 truck and he was forced to call it a night.

The main event restarted with Finley in the lead and David Short, Casey Scott, Zacharias, and Shawn Hansen rounding out the top five. Dave Harris was a close sixth at the restart; he made his move around Zacharias and started to work on Hansen. Once again yellow flew for Scott Murray who spun in turn four which sent him to the back of the pack. Race control reset the field and the race continued with Finley still in the lead. Harris continued making his move to the front and started picking off those who stood in his way. In lap sixteen only Finley was in front of him and Finley was quickly relieved of the view from the front when Harris took over the position.

Points leader Darrell Lankford quickly showed why he was the points leader with his strategic moves that got him from twelfth to second by lap nineteen. The race continued to the end with Harris and Lankford battling for first until the checkered flag waved and Harris was declared the victor. Murray made his way from the back to claim third with Finley fourth and Scott rounding out the top five.

Tyler Monroe brought the Winged Sprints to the green with Austin Hager on the outside for the first ever Tater Cup 100 lap race dubbed the “Showdown in Downtown” Monroe took off for a quick lead which ended up being the safest place to be. Before the field completed the first lap Hager’s coolant line broke spraying water all over him which caused him to slow on the front stretch stacking up half field behind. Dave Quick tumbled to the infield. Kenny Hamilton slid to a stop in the dirt with major front end damage that a fast working pit crew was able to repair before the race restarted. Matt Cullum and Cody Veenstra piled up on the front stretch and Cory Lockwood nosed in to the front stretch wall. Chris Rattarree also was involved but was able to continue without pitting. The race initially started with 16 Winged Sprint cars but after the wreck the field was down to

At the restart Monroe again had the pole but Shawn Smith had the outside front row. Smith took an early lead but Brandon Hohnson took it away on the inside after one more lap. Kenny Hamilton moved up a coucple of positions from a tial end restart while Sierra Jackson move to second behind a disappearing Johnson. Matt Elliott moved to third aronf Smith and Rattarree passed for fourth with ten laps down in the 100 lap race. As Jo]hnson caught an passed lapped traffic Jackson caught Johnson and followed for several laps umtil on lap 16 she tried to pass on the outside and the two of them contacted giving Jackson a flat tire. On lap 18 Tim McCuchan slowed to a stop on the front stretch bringing out another caution. The caution flag gave Jackson the chance to return to the pits and get a tire changed and return to the race.

As the race restarted Johnson took off but Rattarree passed the one remaining lapped car between him and the leader. With Johnson and his quarter lap lead and Rattarree with about two seconds ahead of Matt Elliott the rest of the racing looked to be farther back in the field. Shawn Smith led Monroe by only a second or so until on lap 41 Monroe spun on the back stretch bringing out another caution. With the caution laps now counted Monroe ended up down a lap at the restart. At the halfway point of the 100 lap feature Johnson again had a quarter lap lead over Rattarree and another quarter lap over thee third place Matt Elliott. Kenny Hamilton moved up and took third from Elliott and then caught Rattarree and passed with almost 40 laps left to go. Johnson still had a quarter lap lead but the difference was that the second place car was Hamilton and the lead was slowly disappearing. Lapped cars did not come into play with either the Idaho Outlaw or the veteran racer and the race lead was now back into contention. On lap 78 Hamilton took the inside on turn two and took the lead away from Johnson in a dramatic pass with out a front wing which was damaged and removed after the wreck on the first lap. At the restart there were only 12 laps left to go and it looked like Hamilton would be the eventual winner but Rattarree moved to third with Smith and Lockwood behind. As the race ran out of laps Hamilton ran off with the win but Johnson held a large cushion for second followed by Rattarree, Smith and Lockwood.

Fourteen Pacific Steel and Recycling Super Stocks lined up side by side to take the green flag. Dave Harris had the pole. He took an early lead as flagman Brandon dropped the green. It looked like a repeat of the earlier Street Stock race as Harris held off Brian McDaniel and Gayle Carter for twelve laps, but Carter had other ideas. Carter moved around Harris in lap thirteen only to have the lead taken away when Terry Lydell started dropping fluid on the track and a caution was thrown. The restart put Harris back in the lead with Carter right on his tail and Dan Lowther, McDaniel and Steve Gilbert also in contention for the top spot. As the field rounded turn four and saw green, Carter jumped to the outside and quickly grabbed the coveted view from the front position. Lowther moved with Carter and claimed second with Harris in third and McDaniel and Gilbert fourth and fifth. Dennis Brodigan restarted in seventh, but quickly made his way to third before the second caution flew for the spinning Charlie Hamm Jr.

The restart put Carter in the lead with Lowther, Brodigan, McDaniel and Dustin Stephenson the top five drivers. Carter was able to hold off the hard charging Lowther, Brodigan, and Stephenson to take the checkered and the win.

The Larry Miller Subaru Mini Stocks held two main events. Nine cars raced in the B Main to earn a trip to the A Main. In a surprising night, points leader Ray Bolinger had to battle his way out of the B main into the main event. He took the checkered flag and brought Everett Meeks, Travis Pavlacky and Randy Keckley with him to the main.

Twenty-four Mini Stocks lined up for the final event of the evening. Cody Mitchell and Alyson Clark sat side by side on the front row. As the green flag waved Clark shot forward to snatch the lead from Mitchell, but before one lap was completed, Brandon Shira went up into the backstretch wall gathering quite a few before the dust cleared. Only two race casualties ended their night on the backstretch, Shira and John Uhl. Race control lined the cars back up side by side to restart the race.

Alyson Clark jumped ahead of Mitchell at the green and brought Kirk Sanders with her. Clark held on to the lead until lap ten when Eddie Ables sped by the field to take the lead putting Clark in second, Sanders third, Donivan Parker fourth and Jason Lampman fifth. In lap sixteen, Parker bumped Jeff Hasson from behind sending him spinning. Hasson shot back up the tack and tagged Parker as he came around. Hasson’s night was over as he was pushed off the track. The restart put Ables in the lead with Clark, Sanders, Lampman and Scott Wilcox Sr. the top five. At the green Sanders and Lampman push by Clark sending her to fourth.

Bolinger made his move from the B main to the back of the A main all the way up to finish second behind Ables who took home the hardware. Sanders, Lampman and Wilcox rounded out the top five.

Next week the Winged Sprints return to Meridian Speedway along with the Grand American Modifieds, Late Model Lites, Non Winged Sprints, Legends and the Bandoleros. Gates open at 4 with the time trials and racing at 5 and 6. For more information log on to www.meridianspeedway.com or call the office at (208) 888-2813