Idaho Racing News

By Jon Brown
MERIDIAN, Idaho -- Kenny Chandler Jr. was the picture of consistency -- or was it survival? -- during a crazy crash-filled Saturday night at ASA-sanctioned Meridian Speedway.
The veteran Boise, Idaho, driver -- a 2003 inductee of the Western Idaho Racing Association Hall of Fame -- won two of three segments, including the penultimate 100-lapper, to capture the Project Filter Pro-4 All-Star Challenge perpetual trophy.
He joins Joe Barton as a winner in the two-year-old 150-lap segment race.
Other main event winners on Military Appreciation Night included Chris Fenton of Meridian, Idaho, in his first start in the NAPA Latemodel Sportsman class; Boise's Tim Elam in the College of Western Idaho Professional Truck Driving School Street Stocks; defending series champion Travis Anderson of Boise in the Domino's Pizza Legends; and the Winged Snot Rod, piloted by Boise's "Crazy" Chris Carlson in the Thunder Dogs;
The all-star challenge began with 18 Pro-4s, including a driver from Lewiston, Idaho, and another from Hermiston, Ore., battling for the second annual championship. Only nine cars were on the grid at the end of the feature 100-lap race.
And only three of those cars were on the lead lap thanks to a dominating performance by Chandler in the No. 33 Fairly Reliable Bob's Corvette.
Driving his familiar yellow Vette with a white nose devoid of sponsor stickers, Chandler took the lead three laps into the final 100-lap segment and never looked back. In the process, he also padded his speedway series points lead.
Three laps after the first restart of the 100-lapper, Chandler had built a lead of three car lengths. Two-thirds of the way through the race, he was on cruise control with a seven-second lead as Jim Bailey of Middleton, Idaho, drove hard to try to catch him.
With Chandler running a 15.30-second lap on the 67th circuit of the race, Bailey seemed to have no chance of making it a contest. He cut into the lead, but never got closer than four seconds behind.
Elam won the Street Stocks class's rain-postponed Dee Forrey/Don VanSchoiack/Robert Manwill Memorial to cap the night.
Pat Tully led for nearly half the race. Starting from the front row, the Caldwell, Idaho, driver pushed his No. 90 Camaro to the front and stayed there until Elam's car came into its own about 10 laps into the 30-lap main event.
Elam passed Tully on Lap 17 and stretched out to a two-second lead. Elam won by eight seconds, with Tully holding on for second place in a clean green-flag race.
"This is a lot of fun," Elam said. "I want to thank the fans for coming out. I really appreciate that. I hope you enjoyed the show."
In the Latemodel Sportsman feature, the first time was the charm for Fenton, who has been running in the top five in the ESI Express ASA Modifieds series this season.
Making his debut in the class, Fenton nailed a fast time of 14.212 seconds and parlayed that into an easy main event victory as series regulars Dan Buckley of Emmett, Idaho -- the points leader -- and Star, Idaho's Tyler Monroe battled violently for the runner-up slot.
Monroe banged on Buckley's rear bumper all night long but could never get around him. The drivers wound up wrecking at the checkered flag.
For Fenton, the victory was the culmination of a long preparation process, including wrench-turning sessions into the early-morning hours in the days before the race.
"I haven't seen my wife in two weeks because we've been putting the race car together," Fenton said. "I don't know what to say. This is awesome."
Buckley took the lead five laps into the race, but began feeling heat from Fenton after Nampa, Idaho's Dylan Caldwell spun out on the backstretch while running in third place with 22 laps left.
Buckley and Fenton were side-by-side at the front row on the restart after the yellow flag. The newcomer grabbed the lead the next time the two racers crossed the start-finish line.
He would survive two more double-file restarts with Buckley at his door and roared out to a three-second lead in the waning laps as Buckley and Monroe battled each other.
Defending Legends series champion Travis Anderson rode comfortably to the win in the 30-lap feature. Newcomer Travis Archer finished second, and Austin Hager of Meridian passed McCall, Idaho's Brent Collins over the last half of the race to finish third.
Chris Carlson took his dad's words to heart in the Thunder Dogs feature.
"He said if you're not first, you're last," the Boise-based driver of the Winged Snot Rod said after jockeying -- rather roughly -- for a victory.
There is no official bump-to-pass rule in the Thunder Dogs, but after Saturday, one would think Carlson -- and the fans -- would be more than happy if it were instituted.
Sent to the back of the pack twice because of a Thunder Dogs rule that requires the lead car to be docked when the yellow flag comes out, the Winged Snot Rod crashed and banged to the front again and again.
Carlson finally sealed the victory when he bumped Cab Fare, driven by fellow Boisean Kennon Irons, out of the way heading for the white flag. Cab Fare went through the infield and got side-by-side again, but Winged Snot Rod was able to nose back in front and take the checkered in a fitting conclusion to a bump-to-pass festival.
After the race, Carlson -- who takes his nickname of "Crazy Chris" to the extreme -- announced he would donate all his winnings to help Cory Keegan. Keegan suffered a broken back earlier this season in a spectacular Thunder Dogs rollover crash while piloting Lightning Van into Turn 3.
Saturday's early action in the Project Filter Pro-4 All-Star Challenge was just as thrilling as the Thunders for the 2,000 fans at Meridian.
The first two segment races featured spectacular crashes.
Kale Freedman of Meridian rebounded from a wreck-abbreviated first segment to go wire-to-wire in the second 25-lap race.
But Freedman's win didn't come without some excitement behind him.
Nine laps into the race, 20-year-old Tyler Bailey found himself out of the action for the second straight race. The Middleton driver slammed into the Turn 3 wall as he and Neal Latham of Boise went three-wide in an attempt to get around the lapped car of Dave Latham, also of Boise.
A couple debilitating wrecks highlighted the first segment, too.
Chandler didn't want to see the final yellow flag of the race, which dropped with 11 laps left when Jordan Fitch of Meridian plowed into the Turn 4 wall, tearing off a front tire and destroying his fender.
But Chandler checked out within two laps of the restart. He led by as much as three seconds on the way to the checkered flag.
Just five laps into that first race, eight cars piled up in the middle of turns 3 and 4. Tyler Bailey and Meridian's David Short were knocked out of the race with the contact. Short returned later in the race, and both racers started the second 25-lap segment.
Next Saturday, fast men of faith will compete in the Preacher Feature to find the Fastor Pastor. Also on the track will be the Mtn. Dew Winged Sprints, the ESI Express ASA Modifieds, Mini Stocks and Tates Rents Hornets.
Also on tap is another round of Westby's Bike Races for Kids.
Gates open at 4 p.m. with racing starting at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7.50 for senior citizens and military personnel with ID and $6 for children ages 7-11. Children 6 and younger get in free, as always.
For more information, visit www.meridianspeedway.com or call (208) 888-2813.
Meridian Speedway
Military Appreciation Night
Saturday's unofficial results
Project Filter Pro-4 All-Star Challenge
Project Filter Pro-4 All-Star Challenge champion --
Kenny Chandler Jr., Boise, Idaho
Project Filter Pro-4 All-Star Challenge 100-lap segment --
1. Chandler; 2. Jim Bailey, Middleton, Idaho; 3. John Jackson, Lewiston, Idaho; 4. Kale Freedman, Meridian, Idaho; 5. David Short, Meridian
Project Filter Pro-4 All-Star Challenge Segment 2 (25 laps) --
1. Freedman; 2. Chandler; 3. Jim Bailey; 4. John Jackson, Lewiston; 5. Short
Project Filter Pro-4 All-Star Challenge Segment 1 (25 laps) --
1. Chandler; 2. Kyle Latham, Boise; 3. Tyler Bailey, Middleton; 4. John Jackson; 5. Casey Tillman, Kuna, Idaho
NAPA Latemodel Sportsman (30 laps) --
1. Chris Fenton, Meridian; 2. Dan Buckley, Emmett, Idaho; 3. Dylan Caldwell, Nampa, Idaho; 4. Jaramie Fuss, Kuna; 5. Richard Urrutia, Caldwell, Idaho
College of Western Idaho Professional Truck Driving School Street Stocks Dee Forrey/Don VanSchoiack/Robert Manwill Memorial (30 laps) --
1. Tim Elam, Boise; 2. Pat Tully, Caldwell; 3. Jim Anderson, Meridian; 4. Chad Bess, Nampa; 5. Melissa Scott, Nampa
Domino's Pizza Legends (30 laps) --
1. Travis Anderson, Boise; 2. Travis Archer; 3. Austin Hager, Meridian; 4. Camron Madsen, Boise; 5. Brent Collins, McCall, Idaho
Thunder Dogs (20 laps) --
1. Winged Snot Rod (Chris Carlson, Boise); 2. Hot Wheels (Brett Sullivan, Boise); 3. Cab Fare (Kennon Irons, Boise); 4. Old Skool (Dakota Allen, Kuna); 5. Greased Lightning (Trenton Barrington, Boise)
Heat races
(Eight laps each)
NAPA Latemodel Sportsman
Fast Dash --
1. Tyler Monroe, Star; 2. Chris Fenton, Meridian; 3. Dan Buckley, Emmett; 4. Jaramie Fuss, Kuna; 5. Josh Jackson, Ontario, Ore.
B Heat --
1. Dylan Caldwell, Nampa; 2. Kane Thomasson, Meridian; 3. Jeff Wilson, Mountain Home, Idaho
CWI PTDS Street Stocks
Fast Dash --
1. Jeffrey Meads, Nampa; 2. Melissa Scott, Nampa; 3. Marv Weaver, Nampa; 4. Chad Bess, Nampa; 5. Kim Bradford, Boise
B Heat --
1. Pat Young, Kuna; 2. Rick Baldwin, Middleton; 3. Scott Durbin, Boise; 4. Jim Anderson, Meridian; 5. Tim Elam, Boise
C Heat --
1. Nick Lane, Caldwell; 2. Bobby Riggs, Fruitland; 3. Micky Lawson, Caldwell; 4. Pat Tully, Caldwell; 5. Steve Hansen Jr., Boise
Domino's Pizza Legends
Fast Dash --
1. Camron Madsen, Boise; 2. Travis Archer; 3. Austin Hager, Meridian; 4. Travis Anderson, Boise; 5. Sara Henry, Nampa
B Heat --
1. Josh Allen; 2. Brent Collins, McCall, Idaho; 3. Darin Turpen, Nampa; 4. Mark Zirschky, Nampa; 5. Cameron Cotta, Meridian
C Heat --
1. Ron Hayes, Boise; 2. Jamie Leslie, Meridian; 3. Rod Stiller, Meridian; 4. Lloyd Bigler, N. Powder, Ore.; 5. Randy Keckley, Boise
Thunder Dogs
Heat 1 --
1. Greased Lightning (Trenton Barrington, Boise); 2. 91; 3. Redneck Rampage (Cody Cameron, Kuna, Idaho); 4. Bakonator (Mike Bako, Boise); 5. The Punisher
Heat 2 --
1. Hot Wheels (Brett Sullivan, Boise); 2. The Cougar (Scott Sudduth, Meridian); 3. Winged Snot Rod (Chris Carlson, Boise); 4. Cab Fare (Kennon Irons, Boise); 5. Sledgehammer (David Jolley, Nampa)
Fast times
Project Filter Pro-4 --
Kenny Chandler Jr., Boise, 13.613 seconds
NAPA Latemodel Sportsman --
Fenton, 14.212
CWI PTDS Street Stocks --
Melissa Scott, Nampa, 15.190
Domino's Pizza Legends --
Travis Archer, 15.263