Idaho Racing News

By Jon Brown
MERIDIAN, Idaho -- A leisurely Saturday night drive turned into a white-knuckled ride for Craig Bell in the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series Gem State 100 at ASA-sanctioned Meridian Speedway.
But the Kuna, Idaho, driver was able to thrill the hometown crowd by holding off Jeff Jefferson's charge over the final 40 laps to win.
"I knew we had to save some car toward the end because we figured the 42 (Jefferson) and (series points leader John Dillon) would be there at the end," Bell said.
Jefferson closed gap in the latter stages of the race as the handling of Bell's No. 99 Bodybuilding.com car began to deteriorate during a long stretch of race without a caution flag.
"That long of a green made the right rear tire mad," Bell said.
Driving with no hood or front fenders after a crash in his heat race, Jefferson methodically worked his way onto Bell's rear bumper over a 35-lap span after Lap 60. The second-place driver in the points chase -- trailing Dillon by 39 points at the start of the day -- Jefferson also was racing without an air cleaner, which had disappeared early in the 100-lap marathon.
Jefferson gobbled up Bell's half-a-lap lead. Starting on Lap 62, Jefferson -- a 13-time winner on NASCAR's Northwest Series -- set out on a mission. Bell and Jefferson were running nose-to-tail by the 88th lap, but the Kuna, Idaho, driver was able to hold on as his counterpart from Naches, Wash., ran out of track despite nosing up to Bell's rear tire a couple times.
"It's great to come back to my home track and win a home game," Bell said, reflecting on his time at Meridian watching his dad, Dale, race and then driving in several different classes himself over the past 15 years.
"It's more special to do it in front of friends and family that watched you go up through the ranks."
Other main event winners included Nampa, Idaho's Marv Weaver in the Street Stocks, Meridian, Idaho's Wyatt King in the Non-Winged Sprints, Ben Matheson in the Legends, and Travis Pavlacky in the Hornets.
There will be two nights of racing next week at Meridian Speedway as the track celebrates Labor Day on Saturday and Sunday.
Bell appeared to be ready to check out from the rest of the RMCS field after he went by Boise, Idaho's Dan Lowther for the lead on Lap 28.
The son of former Meridian racing stalwart Dale Bell, Craig Bell was three seconds in front of the field within four laps of his pass. He was nearly six seconds in front of second-place John Nesmith of Meridian, Idaho.
The feature race of the night was marred on Lap 5 when nearly half the field mixed it up in a chain-reaction wreck as former series champion Zan Sharp of Wellsville, Utah, spun in Turn 1. Eight drivers were involved, and Twin Falls, Idaho's John Newhouse walked away from a destroyed race car, his night over. The series leader, Eagle, Idaho's Dillon, also had the front end of his car crumpled in the exchange, and 10 of the original 14 cars took the green flag when action restarted.
Saturday's RMCS A Heat had a decidedly Southwestern Idaho flavor as Nesmith led a top five that hailed from that region. Series rookie Dylan Caldwell of Nampa grabbed second in front of Bell, while Dillon worked his way into a fourth-place showing, just ahead of Newhouse.
The RMCS B Heat race was interrupted by a four-car crash in Turn 1 on Lap 5. The mishap that caused a red flag stoppage claimed Kuna's Dennis Wurtz Jr., who was running second behind Meridian's Steve Jones at the time, and fourth-place Dan Buckley of Emmett, Idaho.
Jefferson got the worst of the collision, with damage forcing him to remove twisted sheet metal from around his engine compartment before hitting the grid for the 100-lap main event. Jefferson entered the RMCS' second-to-last night of racing 39 points behind Dillon, and managed to finish ahead of him in the finale.
Dillon picked up points by grabbing the fastest qualifying time Saturday, spinning a 13.941-second lap around the paved quarter-mile that the 46-year-old has called his home track for 30 years.
Jones emerged unscathed to take the green flag on the restart and went on the win the B Heat. Dan Lowther of Boise, Idaho, grabbed second, while Wurtz worked his way back to third.
In the most ironic finish of the season, a competitor's flat tire helped veteran Street Stocks driver Marv Weaver, the owner of a Nampa tire shop, end a main event victory drought.
Weaver shot to the front five laps before the end of the 35-lap race when fellow Nampan Chad Bess fell off the pace after his left rear tire went flat. Kuna's Jaramie Fuss, whom Weaver has been chasing all season in the points battle, maintained his championship lead by finishing second, 1 1/2 car lengths behind Weaver.
Bess took the lead in a wild exchange with early race leader Shawn Hansen of Boise on Lap 20. Bess passed Hansen on the back stretch, but was tapped in the left rear quarter panel as he tried to complete the move heading into Turn 3. Bess started to go sideways, but gathered the car back in, while Fuss went streaking through the infield to avoid a bigger collision. Bess then took a huge lead before his tire woes.
Wyatt King continued to chase series leader Johnny Giesler, possibly gaining some ground with a win in the 35-lap Non-Winged Sprints feature.
A teenager, King showed off some seasoned driving skills when he deftly moved past the first- and second-place cars on Lap 16 when race leader Carl Marcum and Giesler touched tires and had to slow to avoid a crash.
Marcum, Giesler and King all had slingshot past early leader Kole Bushman of Boise only one lap earlier.
In the 30-lap Legends main event, Ben Matheson picked his spots and took advantage of an opponent's misfortune for a victory.
Matheson went to the front on Lap 7 when race leader Brent Collins of McCall, Idaho, skidded out of his low line while racing side-by-side.
Matheson had crept up beneath Collins during a restart after a 10-car stack-up triggered the first caution flag. The double-file restarts at Meridian allow drivers to change their fortunes, and Matheson moved from fourth to the front row before passing Collins.
Two more double-file restarts would be called, with Matheson holding off visiting driver Matt Henderson of Port Orchard, Wash., each time to grab his first main event victory of the 2009 season.
The winner confessed that he had a little help in his triumphant effort.
"It was a good race," Matheson said. "I want to thank my dad for setting the car up for me."
Travis Pavlacky collected hardware after a typically rough-and-tumble Hornets main event that was more a war of attrition than a car race. Only one of the top five drivers in the season standings -- Boise's Eric Harry, who entered the night fourth in the points -- finished in the top five in the feature.
Points leader Vern Cornish was out front midway through the race when Tyler Saxton of New Plymouth, Idaho, slammed into the Turn 1 wall to trigger the third red flag in the first 12 laps. Cornish wouldn't place in the top five.
Visit Meridian Speedway online at www.meridianspeedway.com or call (208) 888-2813 for track information. To learn more about the American Speed Association, log on to www.ASA-Racing.com.
The CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series is a regional touring series that allows all competitors to race and gain experience on different types of racetracks. It is a high-quality professional racing series that offers maximum opportunity at an affordable price serving the Intermountain West. The motto of the series is to "Race Hard and Have Fun!" For all the latest news and information regarding the CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series, log on to our Web site at www.rmcsracing.com.
Meridian Speedway
Meridian, Idaho
RMCS Gem State 100
Saturday's unofficial results
Rocky Mountain Challenge Series
Gem State 100 --
1. Craig Bell, Kuna, Idaho; 2. Jeff Jefferson, Naches, Wash.; 3. John Dillon, Eagle, Idaho; 4. John Nesmith, Meridian, Idaho; 5. Dylan Caldwell, Nampa, Idaho
A Heat (12 laps) --
1. Nesmith; 2. Caldwell; 3. Bell; 4. Dillon; 5. John Newhouse, Twin Falls, Idaho
B Heat (12 laps) --
1. Steve Jones, Meridian; 2. Dan Lowther, Boise, Idaho; 3. Dennis Wurtz Jr., Kuna; 4. Zan Sharp, Wellsville, Utah; 5. Jonathon Gomez, Twin Falls
Fast time
-- Dillon, 13.941 seconds
Non-Winged Sprints
Main (35 laps) --
1. Wyatt King, Meridian; 2. Rob Grice, Nampa; 3. Johnny Giesler, Meridian; 4. Carl Marcum; 5. Erik Miller, Middleton, Idaho
Fast Dash (8 laps) --
1. Jeff Russell; 2. Grice; 3. King; 4. Giesler
B Heat (8 laps) --
1. Don Kithcart, Eagle; 2. Sharde' Bement, Kimberly, Idaho; 3. Kelly Perkins, Nampa; 4. Richard Perkins, Caldwell, Idaho; 5. Marcum
C Heat (8 laps)
-- 1. Phillip Zubizareta, Boise; 2. Miller; 3. Brittany Poedy, Emmett, Idaho; 4. Doyle Hartman, Boise; 5. Kole Bushman, Boise
Fast time --
Giesler, 13.831
Street Stocks
Main (35 laps) --
1. Marv Weaver, Nampa; 2. Jaramie Fuss, Kuna; 3. Steve Bosselman, Nyssa, Ore.; 4. Shawn Hansen, Boise; 5. David Short, Meridian
Fast Dash (8 laps) --
1. David Short, Meridian; 2. Marv Weaver, Nampa; 3. Melissa Scott, Nampa; 4. Jaramie Fuss, Kuna; 5. Chad Bess, Nampa
B Heat (8 laps)
-- 1. Micky Lawson, Caldwell; 2. Brian Williams; 3. Shawn Hansen, Boise; 4. Steve Bosselman, Nyssa, Ore.; 5. Nick Lane
C Heat (8 laps)
-- 1. Richard Urrutia; 2. Steve Hansen Jr., Boise; 3. Casey Scott, Nampa; 4. Devin Stephens; 5. Chris McClure, Star, Idaho
Fast time --
Scott, 15.563
Legends
Main (30 laps) --
1. Ben Matheson; 2. Matt Henderson, Port Orchard, Wash.; 3. Don Milbourn, Nampa; 4. Rob Collins, McCall, Idaho; 5. Brent Collins, McCall
Fast Dash (8 laps) --
1. Tom Matheson; 2. Matt Henderson, Port Orchard, Wash.; 3. Camron Madson, Boise, Idaho; 4. Travis Anderson, Boise; 5. Ben Matheson
B Heat --
1. Ron Hayes, Boise; 2. Rob Collins, McCall, Idaho; 3. Don Millbourn, Nampa; 4. Kenneth Allen; 5. Darin Turpen, Nampa
C Heat --
1. Brandon Frasier, Nampa; 2. Mark Zirschky, Nampa; 3. Cameron Cotta, Meridian; 4. Rod Stiller, Meridian; 5. Lloyd Bigler, N. Powder, Ore.
Fast time --
Anderson, 15.524
Hornets
Main (25 laps) --
1. Travis Pavlacky; 2. Eric Harry, Boise; 3. Mark Burghardt; 4. Colin Parker; 5. Danny Canington, Nampa
Fast Dash (6 laps) --
1. Vern Cornish, Nampa; 2. Pat Young, Kuna, Idaho; 3. Eric Harry, Boise; 4. Art Heath, Nampa; 5. Travis Pavlacky
B Heat (6 laps) --
1. Tony Johns, Boise; 2. Tyler Saxton, New Plymouth, Idaho; 3. Mike Davis, Boise; 4. Thomas Weekes; 5. Alex Whitmyer
C Heat (6 laps) --
1. Colin Parker; 2. Travis Zaugg; 3. Fred Nagele; 4. Mary Johnson; 5. Chris Carlson
D Heat (6 laps) --
1. Ryan Bailey; 2. Sean Davis; 3. Andy Stote; 4. Rony Johnson 5. Michael Shriver
Fast time --
Cornish, 17.490