ZAMPA CASHES IN WITH $10k SHORT TRACK SHOOTOUT VICTORY AT MADERA

 

MADERA, CALIFORNIA (October 6, 2018) – Napa’s Logan Zampa cashed in the biggest win of his career, scoring the 6th Annual $10,000 to win Nut Up Industries Short Track Shootout on Saturday night at Madera Speedway.  Zampa’s unlikely victory was his first in nearly 18 months and came from 11th starting position.  More than 40 RPM Mortgage Pro Late Models from across the Western United States competed at the one-third mile asphalt oval.

 

Saturday’s MAVTV-televised races also crowned the 2018 series champions as well with Matt Erickson emerging with his second series title.

 

Erickson led qualifying but it was Bakersfield’s Racin Vernon who drew the pole position for the start of the 150 lap contest.  Second in points Austin Herzog dove inside Randy Hedrick for fourth in turn three on lap six before Herzog spun, sending them both around.  Both drivers had to restart at the rear with front end damage in a costly incident.

 

Vernon picked the outside on the restart against Shepherd and they ran side-by-side while Erickson and Zampa closed down for a four car lead pack.  Shepherd tucked in on the high line behind Zampa, allowing Erickson to take second.  Erickson then applied pressure on Vernon for the lead.

 

Lapped traffic bottled up the leaders a bit and the caution flew when lapped car Rick Thompson and fifth place running Ross Strmiska crashed hard in turn one.  When racing resumed, Zampa used the outside to charge past Erickson for second on lap 42.  Nick Grossi had a blown transmission for a spectacular red flag on the following lap, with the fluid sending both Adam Lemke and Jagger Jones around.  All three were done for the evening.

 

A lap 50 caution allowed Buddy Shepherd to take the lead away from Vernon on lap 51.

 

Dillon Tucker drove from 23rd up to eighth as he avoided all the melees.  Meanwhile, three-time Short Track Shootout champion Eric Holmes started to make his presence felt after starting eighth.  Holmes went past Zampa for third and then challenged Vernon for second.  Vernon had a slide coming into turn three that dropped him back to fifth.  A top four lead pack emerged in lapped traffic of Shepherd, Holmes, Zampa, and 13 year-old Jesse Love all running nose to tail on the high side.

 

Holmes went for it, going three wide in and out of traffic to take the lead from Shepherd on lap 96 in a thrilling move.  Holmes led the field into the lap 100 break ahead of Shepherd, Zampa, Love, and Herzog who had recovered from the earlier spin to fifth.

 

Coming out of the break, Shepherd challenged Holmes before tucking up behind him on lap 108.  Carlos Vieira had a mechanical failure that sparked a serious crash in turn one that ended Cole Moore’s race as well.

 

Zampa went outside of Holmes on lap 114 and took over the lead on lap 115.  Shepherd tried to go inside of Holmes into turn three and they made some contact for second as well.  Herzog hopped into the fray as he looked outside Shepherd not long after.  The furious battling at the front got a break when Christian Roche hit the turn three wall on lap 129.

 

The following restart was the maddest scramble of them all with Holmes eventually spinning down the backstretch.  He lost a lap in the infield, but was saved when Jarrett Gilmer hit the turn three wall for a caution that gave Holmes the free pass and his lap back.

 

Zampa restarted outside Shepherd but drove away easily while Herzog fell out with a rear end issue to end his possible championship hopes.  Shepherd slid into turn two on lap 136 and fell back to fourth as a result.  Erickson emerged in second but had to watch Zampa drive away to a five car length advantage.

 

Erickson ended up having a great duel with Love but it was for a distant second place.  Zampa went on for a 1.5 second victory over Erickson, Love, Shepherd, and 26th starting Blaine Rocha.  Travis Milburn of Eagle, ID won the 40 lap B Main event worth $1,000 as well.

 

Love’s third place finish in the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series was just one part of his night, as he added his ninth 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model win and second consecutive series championship.  The ninth and final round for the series had 15 drivers ages 10-16 years old racing for 70 laps.

 

The Jr. Late Model feature had almost an immeasurable number of lead changes.  Love led the opening ten circuits before things intensified.  Anthony Guiamano from Basking Ridge, NJ and Las Vegas’ Tyler Reif, 11, had some contact coming out of turn two.  In Reif’s attempt to save the car, he spun exiting turn four and clipped both Joey Iest and the turn four wall.  Reif and Iest were both out of the race prematurely.

 

Reif’s brother Tanner put up the challenge to Love and led lap 11, before Love led lap 12.  Tanner Reif then led laps 13-16 and did all of his bidding from the outside line in a seemingly endless side-by-side affair.  Reif bobbled and yielded the lead back to Love for lap 17.

 

Reif was undeterred, using the outside to come back at Love and take the lead on lap 22.  Love fought back and took over laps 30 and 31, before Reif took over yet again!  Meanwhile second in points Dylan Zampa had a front row view of all of it from third.  Reif brought Love, Zampa, Guiamano, and Kabe McClenny across the line for the lap 40 break.

 

After adjustments on the front stretch and MAVTV interviews, Love and Reif continued to trade the lead back-and-forth.  Reif seemed to have the edge by lap 51 and that allowed Love and Zampa to go into their own back-and-forth affair for second.

 

With four laps to go, Zampa was up to second and challenging inside Reif for a move that would have likely won him both the championship and the race.  They went nearly three-wide in traffic coming to lap 68 in turn four, before making contact down the front stretch.  Reif went spinning and the caution flag flew.  Zampa and Reif were both relegated to the rear for their involvement.

 

The incident gave Love a clear path to sail to victory and to the championship, leading the final two laps ahead of Guiamano, McClenny, Jesse Burks, and Jay Juleson.

 

Nevada’s Justin Johnson kept his slim championship hopes alive as he won his first career Lucas Oil Modified race, topping the 22 starters of the 75 lap event.  Taylor Miinch had a chance to close out the title fight but was only able to muster sixth in the series’ penultimate round.  Kyle Tellstrom followed Johnson closely over a long final green flag run to settle for second by just .398 seconds ahead of Cody Kay, former Madera track champion Scott Winters, and former series champion Dylan Cappello.

 

Kale McClenny and Riley Massey each wrapped up championships in the Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros division.  Their 20 lap feature was won by the Bandolero of Kercie Jung who also unofficially won the California state championship with the effort.  Seth Wise finished second while Massey was third.  McClenny won the Mini Cup portion of the field by narrowly topping a late move by Madera’s Joseph Holliday.  Aiden Phillips rounded out the Mini Cup top-three.

 

Racing continues at Madera Speedway on October 20th with the iPulluPull 11th Annual Pumpkin Smash Halloween Bash and Blow Up!, Madera Hobby Stocks, MST's, Toyota Sedans, $2,000 to Win 200 lap Enduro, the Extreme Barrel Racing Series, a Trick or Treat thru the Pits and on Track PUMPKIN SMASH for the KIDS!

 

For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information on RPM Mortgage and to obtain loan information please visit www.rpmwins.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com

 

Madera Speedway is presented by major partners RPM Mortgage, 51FIFTY Energy Drink, Nut Up Industries, NICERIDE, iPull-uPull, and Color Fast Industries.

 

Madera Racing on MAVTV airs Thursdays every week.  The show airs at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PST and is also available on the Lucas Oil Racing TV app.  The fifth round of the 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model Series airs on October 11th!

 

Madera Speedway 2018 Schedule Celebrating 47 years of Racing!

 

October 20th - 11th Annual iPull-uPull Pumpkin Smash Halloween Bash and Blow Up and Monster Trucks!, Madera Hobby Stocks, MST's, Toyota Sedans, $2,000 to Win 200 lap Enduro, the Extreme Barrel Racing Series, a Trick or Treat thru the Pits and on Track PUMPKIN SMASH for the KIDS!

 

October 27th - Closed

 

November 10th - 2018 Championship Awards Banquet

 

ERICKSON CLOSES IN ON CHAMPIONSHIP WITH THRILLING MADERA WIN

 

MADERA, CALIFORNIA (September 22, 2018) – Two of the most dramatic finishes of 2018 came during the penultimate rounds of the 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model Series and the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series on Saturday night at Madera Speedway.  When the smoke cleared, Dylan Zampa and Matt Erickson emerged with critical victories in their runs for the championships.

 

For Erickson and the Pro Late Model drivers, they are staring down the upcoming $10,000 to win Nut Industries Short Track Shootout on October 6th.

 

13 year-old Jesse Love started the Pro Late Model feature from the pole position for their 80 lap affair, but Modesto’s Garland Tyler swooped past him on the outside to take the lead.  Love was undeterred, fighting back on the inside to take the lead back on lap five.  Erickson followed suit to take second place while sixth starting Austin Herzog, the incoming second in points, was up to fourth on lap 14.

 

Erickson closed down on Love by lap 18 and used the lapped traffic to box Love, taking over the lead on lap 24.  Nick Grossi spun in turn four on lap 32 for the first caution with Loren Kutz collected as well.

 

When action resumed, Racin Vernon dove to the pits with a blown engine while Love had to retire with failing brakes.  April winner Blaine Rocha and Ross Strmiska battled for fourth with Strmiska staying on the high-side for several laps.

 

A multi-car melee on the backstretch saw Howard Holden and Jarrett Gilmer both suffer significant damage on lap 37.  Herzog knifed up into second on the restart and ran on top of Erickson nose-to-tail when they reached the lap 50 break.  Tyler, Strmiska, and Rocha rounded out the top-five.

 

Strmiska took over third coming out of the break.  Tyler fell into the clutches of a very strong battle with Rocha and Aguirre where they fanned out nearly three-wide on more than half a dozen occasions.  The battle lasted for 15 laps until the next caution.

 

Jack Wood spun on lap 65 for the yellow flag and Strmiska tried to take second away from Herzog on the restart.  Strmiska grabbed the position by lap 70 but Herzog edged back underneath him.

 

Herzog had second by a nose at the stripe on lap 75 when the caution came out for Gilmer and Kutz stopped on the front stretch.  Herzog tried to capitalize on the following restart but Erickson drove away, before another caution on lap 76 for Tyler Herzog spinning.

 

Herzog drove up alongside Erickson for a side-by-side run to the finish.  The pair got tight coming to the white flag, backing Herzog into Strmiska down the front stretch.  Herzog spun and tagged Strmiska, sending Strmiska’s car hard into the turn one wall.  The race was ended on a yellow checkered flag with Matt Erickson taking the $2,000 victory ahead of Rocha, 15th starting Dillon Tucker, Aguirre, and Logan Zampa.  Herzog was unofficially credited with a distant 14th place in the final rundown.

 

The 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model finish was similarly spectacular, with cars sliding across the finish line backwards.  In the end, Dylan Zampa was credited with the narrowest of victories by .017 seconds over a spinning Tanner Reif.

 

Joey Iest started the 70 lap race for drivers ages 10-16 from the pole position, but was immediately passed by his teammate Jesse Love.  The move was nullified by a caution, but Love, the 2017 champion, made the move again on the next attempt.  Dylan Zampa followed him past Iest with the top-two in the points occupying the top-two on the race track.

 

A significant crash on lap four brought out a red flag when Calvin Hegje and Hailey Liles bounced off the front stretch wall.  Both drivers were uninjured.  Major crashes continued on lap 16 when Tyler Reif climbed over the top of Iest’s driver’s side door on a restart, with both cars eliminated from contention.

 

Zampa kept applying pressure to Love with the pair running closely across the line at the lap 40 break while Las Vegas’ Tanner Reif up to third at that point as well.

 

Kabe McClenny tried a few times to get around Reif for third before Reif solidly joined the battling up front in the closing stages.  Reif applied a bump and run to take second from Zampa on lap 49 and a caution on lap 54 set up the battling to the checkered flag.  Reif made contact with Love, allowing Zampa to go from third to first in one corner.  Reif and Love traded contact again before Reif muscled back into second.

 

On the final lap, Reif made contact with Zampa down the backstretch and stayed engaged on his bumper as he pushed him into turn three.  He attempted to slide up in front of Zampa in turn four and the pair made contact, sending Reif spinning.  Zampa and Reif crossed the stripe nearly equal – Reif backwards and Zampa forwards.  The MAVTV cameras caught Zampa ahead as did the transponders in one of the wildest finishes in series history.  Love watched it all unfold from third with McClenny fourth and Jay Juleson fifth in his debut.

 

The Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros had a tension-filled evening as well, with their 20 lap event fraught with spins and crashes.  The most notable incident came when Bandolero points leader Riley Massey and her teammate Ethan Nascimento tagged each other on the front stretch sending Massey hard into the wall.  Bakersfield’s Hank Hall, age 10, went on to win the overall and the Bando portion of the event while Mini Cup points leader Kale McClenny was victorious yet again among those cars.

 

Jillaun Holden won the 2018 Toyota Sedan championship to add to her 2016 crown, finishing second in Saturday’s race behind Jason Lawton.  A spin on lap 22 brought the field together but Lawton motored away over the final three laps.  Kyle Labrie overcame the spin to finish third.

 

Modified Super Toyotas were led by the Reynolds 1-2 punch, with Ryan leading 21 laps for the win while Shaun worked his way past both 2017 champion Bert Stephens and John McCullum Jr. to take second.  Patrick Geiger ended up working past them to finish third as well.

 

Racing continues at Madera Speedway on September 29th with the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour 125, the USAC Western Midgets, CSS/360 Super Modifieds, Legends of the Pacific, Madera Hobby Stocks, and the Legends of Kearney Bowl

 

For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information on RPM Mortgage and to obtain loan information please visit www.rpmwins.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com

 

Madera Speedway is presented by major partners RPM Mortgage, 51FIFTY Energy Drink, Nut Up Industries, NICERIDE, iPull-uPull, and Color Fast Industries.

 

Madera Racing on MAVTV airs Thursdays every week.  The show airs at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PST and is also available on the Lucas Oil Racing TV app.  The fifth round of the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Models airs September 27th.

 

Madera Speedway 2018 Schedule Celebrating 47 years of Racing!

 

September 29th – Spears SRL Southwest Tour 125, the USAC Western Midgets, CSS/360 Super Modifieds, Legends of the Pacific, Madera Hobby Stocks, and the Legends of Kearney Bowl

 

October 5th -Practice for the RPM Mortgage Short Track "Best of the West" $10,000.00 to win Shootout Event open to Lucas Oil Modifieds, Late Models, Jr. Late Models, and the Mini Cup vs Bandoleros Series

 

October 6th - 150 Lap $10,000.00 to WIN “NUT UP SHORT TRACK SHOOTOUT” for the MAVTV televised RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series 150 laps! (race #9 of the televised championship), Lucas Oil Modifieds 75 lap TV race! Race #9 of the 80 lap 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Series and the Mini Cup vs Bandoleros Series

 

October 13th - Closed, NO RACES /

 

October 20th - 11th Annual iPull-uPull Pumpkin Smash Halloween Bash and Blow Up and Monster Trucks!, Madera Hobby Stocks, MST's, Toyota Sedans, $2,000 to Win 200 lap Enduro, the Extreme Barrel Racing Series, a Trick or Treat thru the Pits and on Track PUMPKIN SMASH for the KIDS!

 

October 27th - Closed

 

November 10th - 2018 Championship Awards Banquet