Idaho Racing News

By Jon Brown

MERIDIAN, Idaho — Racers show their respect for speed every weekend at ASA-sanctioned Meridian Speedway. Saturday and Monday they'll pay their respects to the drivers who have sped before them.

The annual Memorial Day weekend races at the historic paved quarter-mile oval come one week after a vintage sprintcar show on Racing for a Reason night was rained out.

This weekend's action begins Saturday with the Sean Miller Modified 40 and the LeeRoy Nelson Pro-4 40. Monday's schedule includes the Bill Crow 50 for the Latemodel Sportsman and the Bob/Tom Naylor 50 for the Pepsi Sprintcars as well as the Dee Forrey/Don VanSchoiack 50 for the Street Stocks.

Tickets both nights are $10 for adults, $7.50 for military personnel with ID and senior citizens, $6 for children ages 7-11 and children 6 and younger are free, as always.

Racing for a Reason tickets will be honored both nights. A bicycle race for children sponsored by Westby's will be run on Saturday.

Gates open at 4 p.m. both nights with racing at 6:30 p.m.

Advance tickets are available at participating Treasure Valley NAPA Auto Parts stores.

The Memorial Day weekend features special races the championship trophies for which are the crown jewels of any driver's season, track general manager Adam Nelson -- the son of LeeRoy and the grandson of Crow -- said.

"Memorial races are a mainstay at the speedway," Adam Nelson said. "Drivers look forward to getting their name on the list and etched in Meridian Speedway history as winners of those races."

The Naylor brothers, Crow, LeeRoy Nelson and Miller all are members of the Western Idaho Racing Association Hall of Fame.

Saturday's schedule also includes Mini Stocks, the Domino's Pizza Legends and Thunder Dogs. Monday's supporting cast includes drivers competing in the Hornets class.

The Naylor brothers were successful open-wheel racers who called Meridian home. Both died in racing accidents -- Bob was killed at the age of 25 during a sprintcar practice run on Feb. 9, 1980, in Las Vegas, and Tom lost his life at the age of 37 while driving at Mesa Marin Speedway in California on Oct. 17, 1992.

The Bob Naylor Memorial was first run in 1981, and Terry Nish took home the championship. Tom won his brother's race in 1984.

A decade later, Tom's name was placed alongside his brother's on the memorial marquee, and multiple-time Indianapolis 500 competitor Davey Hamilton took the checkered flag in 1994.

Hamilton isn't the only Naylor champ to reach the national stage. Mike Bliss, who would go on to USAC and NASCAR, won the 1987 Bob Naylor at the age of 22.

Winning either the Naylor or the Crow memorial races has been a stepping stone to the WIRA Hall of Fame. Eight future Hall of Famers won 18 times. Meridian's Bryan Warf won the 2009 edition.

A former racer from the jalopy days at Meridian, Crow was LeeRoy Nelson's father-in-law. He died in 1975 at the age of 50. Crow's grandson, Tyler Bill Nelson, won the Crow Memorial in 2005.

The Bill Crow Memorial was first run in 1976 with Steve Mason winning the first of his three championships. Meridian driver John Nesmith, whose No. 11 race car this year in the NAPA Latemodel Sportsman class is actually Miller's No. 1, has won the past three Crow championships and has the most Crow crowns with five.

A six-time Meridian Speedway track champion, Miller won the Crow title in 1994 and 1999.

Miller died in an ATV accident in 2001. Star, Idaho modified driver Tony Ackerland is the defending champ in the Miller.

LeeRoy Nelson, one of three generations of the same family to help operate Meridian Speedway, passed away in 2000 at the age of 49. Kuna's Jaramie Fuss won the first Nelson Memorial in 2004, and David Short of Meridian won last year's race.

Forrey died of cancer in October 2005, months after finishing third in the Idaho Super Stock Car Racing Association's season standings. The same disease claimed VanSchoiack at the age of 60 in 2002. Middleton, Idaho's Rick Baldwin emerged as the winner in a wild finish during the 2009 race, which for the first time was also run in memory of Robert Manwill, a young Boise resident whose body was recovered from a canal after he went missing last year.

A racer from Kuna who competed in Limited Stocks at Meridian, Chaparral and Magic Valley Speedway, VanSchoiack was first honored with the 18 Mile Memorial for Super Stocks in 2002 when Scott Murri won at Meridian Speedway. The scene shifted to Chaparral Speedway in 2003 when fellow Kuna driver Craig Bell won the title. Another Kuna racer, Skip Taylor, won in 2004 before VanSchoiack friend Scott Durbin of Boise won in 2005.

For more information and a list of memorial race winners, visit www.meridianspeedway.com or call (208) 888-2813.

Meridian Speedway

2010 points standings

ESI Express ASA Modifieds — 1. Shelby Stroebel, Nampa, Idaho, 234 points; 2. Tom Hill, Eagle, Idaho, 223; 3. Jeff Hill, Meridian, Idaho, 186; 4. Charlie Ham Jr., Kuna, Idaho, 162; 5. Jentry Pisca, Nampa, 146

Pepsi Sprintcars — 1. Wyatt King, Meridian, 222; 2. Joe Ransom, Boise, Idaho, 201; 3. Johnny Giesler, Meridian, 194; 4. Kelly Newman, Boise, 175; 5. Carl Marcum, Meridian, 160

Mtn. Dew Winged Sprints — 1. Mike Murgoitio, Meridian, 158; 2. Chris Ratterree, Nampa, 153; 3. Kirk Wartman, Boise, 133; 4. Dave Parrie, Boise, 112; 5. Sierra Jackson, Middleton, Idaho, 101

NAPA Late Model Sportsman — 1. Dan Buckley, Emmett, Idaho, 188; Jaramie Fuss, Kuna, 130; 3. Dylan Caldwell, Nampa, 129; 4. Dennis Brodigan, Nampa, 125; 5. Dan Lowther, Boise, 117

Project Filter Pro-4s — 1. Kenny Chandler, Boise, 177; 2. Casey Tillman, Kuna, 119; 3. Tyler Bailey, Middleton, 114; 4. Kurt Madsen, Herriman, Utah, 92; 5. John Peterson, Boise, 91

CWI PTDS Street Stocks — 1. Melissa Scott, Nampa, 285; 2. Marv Weaver, Nampa, 221; 3. Jeffrey Meads, Nampa, 163; 4. Nick Lane, Caldwell, Idaho, 149; 5. Shawn Hansen, Boise, 143

Mini Stocks — 1. Ray Bolinger, Meridian, 114; 2. Dell Scott, Nampa, 104; 3. Eddie Abels, Middleton, 87; 4. (tie) Jason Sanders, Caldwell, 77; Matthew Barfuss, Star, Idaho, 77

Domino’s Pizza Legends — 1. Camron Madsen, Boise, 196; 2. Sara Henry, Nampa, 134; 3. Darin Turpen, Nampa, 122; 4. Travis Anderson, Boise, 120; 5. Austin Hager, Meridian, 97

Tates Rents Hornets — 1. Art Heath, Nampa, 173; 2. Marshall Burnham, Nampa, 144; 3. Larry Hull, Boise, 141; 4. Mary Johnson, Meridian, 127; 5. Danielle Summers, Nampa, 122

Jr. Stingers —†1. Jonathan Hull, Boise, 62; 2. Cody Garrett, 57; 3. Chance Davis, Emmett, 54; 4. Colton Nelson, Meridian, 52; 5. Michael Williams, Caldwell, 49

Thunder Dogs — 1. Fare Lady (Kennan Irons, Boise), 117; 2. Winged Snot Rod (Chris Carlson, Boise), 116; 3. Hot Wheels (Brett Sullivan, Boise), 100; 4. Sledge Hammer (David Jolley), 90; 5. Soccer Mom Too (John Pinkston, Meridian), 84