By Nugesse Ghebrendrias

Madera Speedway hosts exhilarating, fun night

The 45th Annual Harvest Classic presented by Midland tractor and John Deere was held at Madera Speedway and fans were treated to exhilarating races and ground shaking tractors pulls.

The cool weather, fast cars and loud noise all culminated in a night to remember for fans of all ages.

Super Hobby:

   With a best time of 16.726 seconds and a total time of 6:25.103, Howard Holden won the Super Hobby race at the 45th Annual Harvest Classic.

    Holden made no mistake in taking the front position at the beginning of the race. Jon Schlundt kept himself in the race but it was to no avail.

   Holden separated himself early and never looked back.

   His best speed was clocked at 71 mph.

Winged Sprints:

   With a top speed of 94 mph and a time of 8:56:672, Cody Gerhardt won the Winged Sprints race at the 45th Annual Harvest Classic.

   Although tonight was Cody Jessup’s first race in a winged car, he finished third in the race with a time of 9:06:297.

   “It's a completely different feeling from what I'm used to,” Jessup said after the race. “We drive a lot of non-wing cars which don't have any down down force. You're not really going anywhere but if feels like you are and we put these wings on these cars and they go so much faster. It's a completely different sensation going down the track.”

   The race began with a little bit of drama after Audra Sasseli was clipped from behind and spun out. Sasseli made her way to the center of the track and thankfully continued the race.

   “Well I've been out of a car for a while,”Sasseli said. “I've been trying to recover from an ill  as so personally my performance in the car was better than I anticipated. We kind of came in with a gameplay; run the heat race, kid of adjust the car adjust then for the main event see how I felt and if I really was winded then I might just have to pull it in but I was actually coming on strong the last few laps and thought I could pick off the third place guy.

     “I didn't feel bad in the car with all things considered.”

    Gerhardt and Justin Kawahata jumped to the front of the pack after the restart and they never looked back.

    The pair matched each other but Gerhardt was able to reach that extra gear for the lead. Gerhardt finished ahead of Kawahata by 6.437 seconds.

Western US Midgets:

    Jesse Love IV took first place in the Western US Midgets race after he posted the fastest time, 11:10:412.

   “The whole weekend we had a strong car,” Love IV said. “Going into this race we had a couple fast guys in the front row so we knew it was going to be a little bit of a challenge.

   “Once we go t into the lead we had a strong race ahead of us. Once we broke away from the pack a little bit we knew most likely had it in the bag, so we’re just grateful to be out there.”

    Annie Breidinger followed up in second place with a time of 11:11:176.

   “We definitely improved from last night,” Breidinger said. “I got third last night and tonight we ended up second. The car setup wasn't what I wanted it to be but I worked with what I had, it felt good.”

    Out of the eighth racers, the top 5 were only separated by a couple seconds.

    Love IV posted the fastest time at 82 mph and the fastest lap 14.539.

NCMA Sprints:

   With a best time of 14.831, Denny Burrell outlasted opponent Robb Hammond for the victory in the NCMA Sprints at the 45th Annual Harvest Classic.

    The race began with two clear frontrunners, Denny Burrell and Robb Hammond. The two drivers opened the 22-lap race neck-and-neck. Hammond nearly took the lead until Burrell sped past him on the fourth lap.

    Burrell’s acceleration and smooth turning allowed him to overtake Hammond for the lead.

    The race remained tight however  due to Hammond’s unwillingness to be beat.

     With a total time of 5:44.886, Hammond nearly caught Burrell who only finished .224 seconds faster.

     Hammond kept the race exciting and ended up finishing above the bottom two racers, Charlie Huff and Mark Ferrera by 3.901 and 4.485 respectively.

    Burell reached a top speed of 80 mph with an average speed of 76.

360 Super Modifiers:

    Donnie Large walked away with a shiny trophy after a swift display on the track led him to a first place finish in the 360 Super Modifiers at the45th Annual Harvest Classic.

    With a best speed of 86 mph and a time of 5:12:348, Large held off Lance Jackson and his son, Large Jr.

    Although both second and third place were only a second and a half back

BCRA Midgets:

    With a time of 14:24:479, Chad Nichols finished first among 10 drivers, beating second place finisher, Scott Pierovich by 1.036 seconds.

     Winged Sprints first place finisher, Cody Gerhardt finished third in the race with a time of 14:25:688 and a beat time of 13.939.

Tractor Pulls:

    The Madera Speedway was treated to a thunderous display of multi-engined tractors. From single-engines to triple-engines, the crowd at the speedway were given a show of power and machinery.

    There were a total of six different categories depending on weight and class.

     The farthest pull came from Wild Thing which ran in the 5,800 pound heat. His 350 foot pull seems as if it would never stop. Wild thing trudged down the straightaway kicking up clouds of dirt and smoke.

     The noise alone shook the speedway, leaving the fans in awe. The power and dedication to creating these types of tractors was on display to the entire crowd.

Pro- Modified Trucks:

1st. Triple Throw Down 316.61 feet

2nd. Wild Hare  312.86 feet

3rd. Hired Gun  297.87 feet

9300 Super Farm:

1st. Green Adrenaleen  295.90 feet

2nd. Green Reaper  270.84 feet

5800 pounds:

1st. Wild Thing 350.7 feet

2nd. Mustang Legacy 295.23 feet

3rd. Bail Out  285.92 feet

7200 pounds:

1st.  Earth Shaker  341.78 feet

2nd. Lights Out  304.14 feet

3rd. The Whip 303.63 feet

8000 pounds:

1st.  Maxx Kakl  326.95 feet

2nd. Get R Done  301.58 feet

3rd. Swiss Power 283.63 feet

12000 pounds:

1st. Oliver Money  248.97 feet

2nd. Haymaker  168.27 feet

First place finishes:

Super Hobby - Howard Holden 6:25:103

NCMA Sprints- Denny Burrell 5:44:662

Winged Sprints- Cody Gerhardt 8:56:672

360 Super Modifieds- Donnie Large 5:12:348

Western US Midgets- Jesse Love IV 11:10:412

Friday night winners;

Madera Late Models - Matt Erickson

MST - Bert Stephens

Sedans - Dean Gould

Western US Midgets - Adam Lemke

TWO ROUNDS TO GO IN THE MAVTV TELEVISED SERIES AT MADERA SPEEDWAY

Madera, Ca. (9-18-17) – Fans from all over the nation have watched the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series and the 51FIFFY Jr Late Model Series on television during the 2017 racing season and there are just two rounds to go in these exciting series.

September 23rd is the $2,000.00 to win RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series Round #7 race, and October 7th is the $10,000.00 to win 150 lap final race of the 2017 MAVTV televised series.

The 51FIFTY Jr Late Model Series competes on both September 23rd and October 7th as well and these races are also taped for national broadcast on MAVTV.

Go to www.racemadera.com and hit the $10,000.00 to win link on the front page to get more information on racing in the October 7th Short Track Shootout on national television.

If you have a young driver that is ready to move up to a 51FIFTY Jr Late Model please contact Kenny Shepherd at kshepherd@racemadera.com, we still have a couple of rental seats open . There are also a couple of driver coaches still open for 2018 if you would like to operate your own team.

For more information about RPM Mortgage and 51FIFFY Energy Drink please visit www.rpmwins.com and www.51fiftyenergydrink.com

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