Idaho Racing News

By Jon Brown
MERIDIAN, Idaho -- Winning a 100-lap race takes a lot of work. Nampa, Idaho's Chad Bess worked hard to even get to the track Saturday night before lugging home a huge trophy.
Bess led the final 50 laps of the College of Western Idaho Professional Truck Driving School Street Stock 100 at ASA-sanctioned Meridian Speedway.
"I feel great," Bess said afterward. "We worked our butts off this week to get ready."
With all the hard work behind them, Bess's crew did nothing during a break at the midway point of the race, and then he took his Chevrolet Camaro to the front in a quick move past fellow Nampan Jeffrey Meads to start the final 50.
Other main event winners included Mike Murgoitio of Meridian, Idaho sweeping the Mtn. Dew Winged Sprintcar double feature; Johnny Giesler of Meridian taking both Pepsi Sprintcars featues; Kirk Sanders of Nampa, Idaho in Mini Stocks; and Larry Hull of Boise, Idaho, in the always wild Tates Rents Hornets.
Bess's dominant victory in the Street Stocks 100 may have created an interesting picture in the points standings as series leader Melissa Scott, another Nampa racer, failed to finish the race.
After setting the fast time in qualifying, Scott started near the back of the pack in the marathon main. But she only needed 20 laps to slip into third place.
She chased down Kuna, Idaho's Pat Young and took the lead with a pass into Turn 3 on Lap 70.
Another Nampa driver who has been hot as of late, Jeffrey Meads, began to put pressure on Scott as the points leader's car began to smoke. She made it to the 50-lap break with the lead and a $100 bonus, but race officials determined her car leaked too much oil and Scott's night was done.
Meads' time in front didn't last long, though. Bess hustled past him and proceeded to lap every car in the field except three over the remainder of the race.
In the Pepsi Sprintcars, Giesler maintained his points lead and ran his 2010 feature win count to eight by sweeping both 20-lap races.
Josh Allen, another Meridian driver, looked destined to keep Giesler out of the winner's circle in the second feature until veteran Boise driver Kelly Newman was pushed hard into the backstretch wall midway through the race when Tyler Barrow pushed up out of his groove and took Newman with him.
The red flag was just what the doctor ordered for Giesler, who began the cone restart on the high side of Allen and charged to the front. Boise's Joe Ransom followed Giesler to the front and wound up finishing second. Allen eventually slipped to fifth place as Wyatt King of Meridian and Carl Marcum of Boise settled in to finish third and fourth, respectively.
In the first Pepsi Sprintcars feature, Giesler won a drag race down the backstretch on Lap 7, passing Eric Ransom of Boise for the lead and checking out for a two-second victory.
Just as he had in the second main of the night, the defending series champion started in the back of the 12-car pack in the initial feature after picking up fast time. That didn't faze him, however, as he worked his way up into the top five after Caldwell, Idaho's Erik Miller smacked the frontstretch wall to bring out the race's only yellow flag.
Murgoitio sprinted low to pass Nampa's Chris Adams coming out of Turn 2 to grab the lead with nine laps left in the second 20-lap main event for the Mtn. Dew Winged Sprintcars.
The former USAC spintcar driver checked out and left the battle to Adams and fellow Nampan Chris Ratterree, who had a rivalry bubbling all night long.
Sharing the front row with Ratterree, Adams jostled past the defending track champion on the green flag to take the lead. Earlier in the night, the pair also had some dicey moments in the first main event.
Adams and Ratterree went three-wide to pass Eagle, Idaho's Don Kithcart later in the second feature. Ratterree got out of the throttle heading out of Turn 2, deliberately losing momentum to avoid a wreck.
In the first Mtn. Dew Winged Sprintcars main event, Murgoitio checked out from the field for a six-second victory.
With Murgoitio cruising to a win to keep his series points lead, the battle was for third place. For a few circuits of the 20-lap race as Chris Ratterree tried to get around fellow Nampa, Idaho, driver Chris Adams. Adams cut his sprintcar teeth on dirt tracks and drove like it while trying to hold on to third place.
Ratterree had to stay high on the track while trying to find away around Adams. After nearly swiping the wall on the backstretch, Ratterree flashed past Adams and also gobbled up Boise's Kirk Wartman to move from fourth to second with three laps to go.
Kirk Sanders's victory in the Mini Stocks kept the series title chase extremely tight. Nampa's Dell Scott entered the night with a slim lead over Ray Bolinger of Meridian, but the standings will probably get jumbled again.
With his engine temperature pushing 220 degrees, Sanders held off Bolinger to get the hardware.
"It was all I could get to stay in front of the 48 (Bolinger)," Sanders said. "He battled real hard."
Sanders took advantage of early race leader Jamey Frostrom's aggressiveness to grab the lead after a cone restart with 10 laps to go. Running out front on his birthday, Frostrom out of Meridian spun out Boise's Duane Gerber while trying to lap him with 10 laps left. The mishap sent Frostrom to the back of the field.
Sanders worked out to a two-car-length lead before he hit lapped traffic and Bolinger was able to sneak onto his back bumper. Meanwhile, series leader Scott was drifting back into the field. He finished out of the top five, possibly opening the door for Bolinger to jump back to the top in the season standings.
In the end, Sanders stuck his nose in front of Bolinger at the finish line to get the victory.
In the 30-lap Hornets main, Boise's Shane Parkkila led most of the way until he slowed on the cone restart after the third caution flag of the race with six laps to go.
Hull took advantage of Parkkila's bad break and led the rest of the way to grab the checkered flag.
Parkkila had survived several other mishaps in a race that got off to a slow start with a wreck in the first turn on the first lap.
He worked his way to the front five laps into the race and then emerged unscathed when two of the top five -- Mike Fortin of Durkee, Ore., and Danny Canington of Nampa -- collided while running three-wide with Hull on the front stretch.
Parkkila still looked in good shape with eight laps to go when Kaitlyn Stroebel of Nampa stalled while trying to exit the track, bringing out what became a fateful yellow for the race leader.
Hull grabbed the lead on the restart.
This week's fast-paced, exciting action probably only whet fans' appetites for Saturday's Eve of Destruction II.
There's more than racing on tap during this explosive night, which will be capped with fireworks and include all kinds of stunts. Also scheduled is World Famous Boat Racing (rules on how to enter can be found at www.meridianspeedway.com), an appearance by the Armageddon Jet Car as well as the Westby's Bike Races for Kids.
There will be racing, too, with the Tates Rents Hornets Gauntlet race and action from the ESI Express ASA Modifieds, the Domino's Pizza Legends and Thunder Dogs.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $9.50 for seniors and military personnel with ID, $8 for children ages 7-11, and children 6 and younger always get in free. Advance tickets are available at 17 Treasure Valley NAPA Auto Parts locations, and will save fans time in line the night of the races.
Gates open at 4 p.m. with racing at 6:30 p.m.
For more information, visit the speedway's Web site or call (208) 888-2813.
Meridian Speedway
College of Western Idaho
Professional Truck Driving School
Street Stock 100
Saturday’s unofficial results
Main events
CWI PTDS Street Stock 100 —
1. Chad Bess, Nampa, Idaho; 2. Jeffrey Meads, Nampa; 3. Marv Weaver, Nampa; 4. Shawn Hansen, Boise, Idaho; 5. Rick Baldwin, Middleton, Idaho
Mtn. Dew Winged Sprintcars No. 1 (20 laps) —
1. Mike Murgoitio, Meridian, Idaho; 2. Chris Ratterree, Nampa; 3. Kirk Wartman, Boise; 4. Chris Adams, Nampa; 5. Don Kithcart, Eagle, Idaho
Pepsi Sprintcars Main No. 1 (20 laps) —
1. Johnny Giesler, Meridian; 2. Eric Ransom, Boise; 3. Carl Marcum, Boise; 4. Joe Ransom, Boise; 5. Kelly Newman, Boise
Mtn. Dew Winged Sprintcars No. 2 (20 laps) —
1. Murgoitio; 2. Adams; 3. Ratterree; 4. Wartman; 5. Kithcart
Pepsi Sprintcars Main No. 2 (20 laps) —
1. Giesler; 2. Joe Ransom; 3. Wyatt King, Meridian; 4. Carl Marcum; 5. Josh Allen, Meridian
Mini Stocks (30 laps) —
1. Kirk Sanders, Nampa; 2. Ray Bolinger, Meridian; 3. Jason Lampman, Middleton; 4. Tyler Burlingame, Meridian; 5. Jason Sanders, Caldwell, Idaho
Tates Rents Hornets (30 laps) —
1. Larry Hull, Boise; 2. Sharlet Potaro, Mountain Home, Idaho; 3. Fred Nagele, Meridian; 4. Stacy Heath, Nampa; 5. Danny Canington, Nampa
Heat races
(Eight laps each)
CWI PTDS Street Stocks
Fast Dash —
1. Jeffrey Meads, Nampa; 2. Marv Weaver, Nampa; 3. Melissa Scott, Nampa; 4. Jim Anderson, Meridian; 5. Chad Bess, Nampa
B Heat —
1. Brian Williams, Parma, Idaho; 2. Kim Bradford, Boise; 3. Shawn Hansen, Boise; 4. Daniel Vanderveen, Nampa; 5. Rick Baldwin, Middleton
C Heat —
1. Dan Field, Weiser, Idaho; 2. Mark Finley, Boise; 3. Nick Lane, Caldwell, Idaho; 4. Jay Doughty, Kuna, Idaho; 5. Andrew Tuttle, Eagle
Mini Stocks
Fast Dash —
1. Scott Shoecraft, Boise; 2. Jason Sanders; 3. Ray Bolinger; 4. Quentin Ward, Meridian; 5. Lampman
B Heat —
1. Vern Bolinger, Emmett, Idaho; 2. Jamie "Frosty" Frostrom, Meridian; 3. Burlingame; 4. Kirk Sanders; 5. Eddie Ables, Middleton
C Heat —
1. Richard Brees, Meridian; 2. Sarah Shaw, Boise; 3. Travis Pavlacky, Fruitland, Idaho; 4. Larry Hull, Boise; 5. Brandon Shira, Boise
D Heat —
1. Chris Fuhrman, Meridian; 2. John Ellsworth, Kuna; 3. Jerry Perkins, Nampa; 4. Everett Meeks, Boise; 5. Andrew Clark, Meridian
Tates Rents Hornets
Fast Dash —
1. Mike Fortin, Durkee, Ore.; 2. Kaitlyn Stroebel, Nampa; 3. Danny Canington, Nampa; 4. Larry Hull, Boise; 5. Art Heath, Nampa
B Heat —
1. Shane Parkkila, Boise; 2. Stacy Heath, Nampa; 3. Sharlet Pataro, Mountain Home, Idaho; 4. Amber Rogers, Meridian; 5. Ron Johnson, Weiser
C Heat —
1. No. 11 ???; 2. Gary Kyle Jr., Boise; 3. Brendon Fries, Meridian; 4. Andy Stote, Boise; 5. Amber Rogers, Meridian
Fast times
CWI PTDS Street Stock 100 —
Melissa Scott, 15.180 seconds
Mtn. Dew Winged Sprintcars —
Ratterree, 11.792
Pepsi Sprintcars —
Giesler, 13.338
Mini Stocks —
Ray Bolinger, 15.539