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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
VERNON AND REIF SNAG WINS IN MAVTV ACTION AT MADERA
MADERA, CALIFORNIA (August 25, 2018) – Bakersfield drivers continued their stranglehold on the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Models with Racin Vernon earning his second victory of 2018 while Las Vegas’ Tanner Reif won his first career 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model Series race on Saturday at Madera Speedway. The MAVTV-televised action played out on the one-third mile asphalt oval at the Madera fairgrounds.
For Vernon, the $2,000 win avenged a two year stretch full of ups and downs in the tough series. Incoming points leader Austin Herzog, 16, earned fast-time before drawing fourth in the redraw. Napa’s Logan Zampa won the pole and led the first four laps of the event. Vernon started third after qualifying fifth and nosed inside Zampa to take the lead on lap five.
The first caution flew on lap nine when double-duty racer Kayla Eshleman spun in turn two. Ross Strmiska used the restart take over second from Zampa on lap 11. Herzog followed suit moving into third on lap 15, with both passes made on the outside.
Herzog looked poised to dash to the front before a rear end failure brought his car to a halt at the top of turn two for a lap 15 caution. This played to the favor of 2016 champion Matt Erickson, who entered the night second in points but started a dismal 11th.
Leading rookie Adam Lemke of Hollister rolled the bottom to grab third from Strmiska and brought his teammate 13 year-old Jesse Love with him. Love, with eight career Jr. Late Model wins, is the youngest starter in series history.
Lemke then took over second from Zampa on lap 22. Lapped traffic tightened up the top-five cars on lap 33 before a caution when Jason Aguirre and JJ Ferguson bounced off the front stretch wall with heavy damage.
The caution flew again on lap 35 when Nick Grossi slowed with apparent issues in the rear end as well. Lemke closed down on Vernon for the lead coming into the lap 50 break with Zampa third ahead of Strmiska and Love.
Vernon slid sideways on the restart but maintained the lead making for a wild two-by-two battle behind him. Both Strmiska and Erickson attempted to swoop past Love on the outside while Lemke and Zampa continued to duel. The caution waved on lap 55 and Love took over third from Lemke on the restart.
Dillon Tucker briefly looked outside Lemke for fourth as well. Tucker had driven from 13th to fifth before he too suffered mechanical issues that derailed his evening.
Zampa and Love closed down on Vernon in lapped traffic on lap 61 before he managed to pull away again. Racin Vernon pulled away for the win with Zampa holding off a great battle with Love for second. Erickson unofficial took over the points lead by finishing fourth while Strmiska was fifth.
Tanner Reif finished second to his brother Tyler in the closest finish in Jr. Late Model history on July 28th. He made up for that performance by getting his first career win on Saturday night in the 70 lap feature. 15 drivers ages 10-16 years old took the green flag with defending champion Jesse Love leading from the pole.
Kabe McClenny had his night end prematurely when he slid up into Tyler Reif on a lap 10 restart in turn two. McClenny hit the wall and had to retire with damage.
Sixth starting Dylan Zampa, the incoming points leader, was the driver on the move as he worked his way up in to third by lap ten. Austin Edwards slowed with mechanical issues on lap 15 and was out of the race as well. Tanner Reif set a new track record in qualifying and drove from fifth up to second to challenge Love. The duo ran nose-to-tail for many laps until a caution on lap 23.
The restart allowed Dylan Zampa to snake into second but Reif took the position back on lap 34. Reif hounded Love all the way to lap 38 when Kayla Eshleman had an incident with Joey Iest in turn one. The scheduled lap 40 break occurred two laps early and Eshleman was removed from the race by race officials for her involvement.
The intensity level never faltered in the second half of the race as Tyler Reif took over third. Tanner Reif stormed to the lead on lap 48 and his lead over Love see-sawed from one car length to third car lengths over the rest of the race distance. On lap 65, Zampa charged back past Tyler Reif for third but he was too far behind the top-two to capitalize. Tanner Reif earned his first career win by .840 seconds over Jesse Love with Dylan Zampa third followed by Tyler Reif and Joey Iest.
MAVTV cameras were also rolling for the 14 car, 20 lap Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros. Bakersfield’s Kercie Jung took the lead on lap four and never looked back for the Bandolero win along with the overall win. The Mini Cup action was wild, punctuated by a lap one incident when the Bandolero of Ethan Nascimento spun in turn four. Both points leader Kale McClenny and Jayce McArthey were eliminated with damage while trying to avoid the spun out car.
Their misfortune thrust Napa’s Aaron Thomas into the Mini Cup fold as he held off Madera’s Joseph Holiday for the trophy. The Bandoleros swept the overall top-five led by Jung ahead of Seth Wise, Hank Hall, Zachary Ginn, and Trenton Eurto.
Legends of the Pacific presented 15 cars for a 35 lap feature and it was yet another redemption story. Sheldon Crouse had lost the August 11th race with a turn three spin on the final lap that involved Cody Winchel. The pair picked up where they left off, entertaining the fans with a battle that included four lead changes. Crouse finally made the decisive pass for the lead on lap 22. A caution on lap 26 brought the field back together but Crouse again drove away from Winchel. The top-five at the finish were Crouse, Winchel, Pete Soto, Chad Nascimento, and Braden Rogers.
Toyota Sedans was dominated by Jason Lawton, taking over the lead for the final time on lap 17 en route to a commanding victory. Recent race winner Greg Tyler was second ahead of 2016 champ Jillaun Holden and rookies Kyle Labrie and John Tevis, Jr.
Racing continues at Madera Speedway on September 1st with Hampton Inn and Suites Night at the Speedway! Madera Late Models, Madera Hobby Stocks, MST's, Toyota Sedans, F4 and the Jr, Late Model 30 lap exhibition race are on tap
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 re-runs of the 2017 season 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 fourth round of the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Models airs August 30th.
Madera Speedway 2018 Schedule Celebrating 47 years of Racing!
September 1st - Hampton Inn and Suites Night at the Speedway, Madera Late Models, Madera Hobby Stocks, MST's, Toyota Sedans, F4 Beater Cross, and the Jr, Late Model 30 lap exhibition race
September 8th - Closed for the Madera Fair
September 14th - 46th Annual Harvest Classic Night #1 presented by ($5 Ticket Night!) for everyone on night one. Madera Late Models, Madera Hobby Stocks, F4 Beater Cross , MST, Toyota Sedans, USAC Western Midgets and Modified Truck Pulls!
September 15th - 46th Annual Harvest Classic presented by Midland Tractor and John Deere! The Western Winged Super Sprint Series, BCRA Midgets, USAC Western Midgets, NCMA Sprints, CSS/360 Super Modifieds, Legends of Kearney Bowl, California Hard Tops, Plus the Blown, Injected multi engine Pulling Tractors!
September 22nd - Race #8 of the MAVTV televised $2,000 to win RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series 80 laps (50 laps then 30), Race #8 of the 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Series 80 laps (50 laps then a break, the 30 laps), MST, Toyota Sedans, Mini Cup vs Bandoleros Series
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
TYLER REIF & BUDDY SHEPHERD LEAD WINNERS AT MADERA FOR SUMMER SPEEDFEST
MADERA, CALIFORNIA (July 28, 2018) – 11 year-old Tyler Reif of Las Vegas, NV won his first career 51FIFTY Energy Drink Jr. Late Model race while Bakersfield’s Buddy Shepherd nabbed $5,000 in the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series during Saturday’s Summer Speedfest at Madera Speedway. A hot night of racing challenged the drivers in the MAVTV-televised racing on the one-third mile speedway.
Round #6 of the 51FIFTY Jr. Late Models was a 70 lap race. The redraw of the top-six cars placed defending champion Jesse Love of Menlo Park on the pole but he was passed on the outside by Kayla Eshleman of Fontana who led lap one. Love and Austin Edwards were among early drivers to fall out of the race with mechanical problems, with Love credited with 15th position as the last place car.
A four car incident in turn one ended the debut for Bakersfield’s Zachary Ginn, who also races in the Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros series. Calvin Hegje and Tanner Reif were also gathered up. Two-time 2018 winner Dylan Zampa of Napa started a long battle with Tyler Reif for second on lap 11 and the duo rarely separated throughout much of the event.
Reif cleared Zampa then saw Zampa crawl right up to his rear bumper on lap 20. A spin from Watsonville’s Lilly Mead from seventh place on lap 26 brought out the caution. Issues with the pace truck forced an extended stoppage that ended up being the lap 40 break, 14 laps early.
Tyler Reif nosed inside Eshleman for the lead coming out of the break and took over the top position on lap 32. The caution flew on lap 33 and on the restart Zampa went around Eshleman for second using the outside. Eshleman fought to get the spot back on lap 37. The pair went side-by-side in lapped traffic on lap 45 which sparked a wild crash. Eshleman tagged the left rear of Hailey Liles, sending Liles down the track to hook the rear of Zampa. Zampa hit the front stretch wall head on. Liles spun back down the race track and made contact with Eshleman again at start finish.
Remarkably Zampa was able to make repairs to both ends of his race car to continue on as he tried to close the points gap on Jesse Love. Hegje and Kyler Berry had an incident for another caution on lap 46. Madera’s Joey Iest charged up to third in his debut, before tangling with Eshleman in turn three for a caution on lap 47 that sent both to the rear.
The incident thrust Tanner Reif back into the picture behind his brother Tyler. One additional caution late in the running set up a sprint to the finish that wowed the crowd. With both drivers chasing their first career series wins, the younger Tyler held off Tanner by a nose in a sliding duel to the checkered flag. Zampa managed third to unofficially take the points lead. Eshleman and Hegje rounded out the top-five.
The Summer Speedfest 100 for the RPM Mortgage Pro Late Model Series was a battle to see who could outlast a tough night. Points leader Austin Herzog, age 15 from Clovis, drew the pole position but was overhauled by Military Tribute Night winner Racin Vernon of Bakersfield on lap one.
Two-time series champion Buddy Shepherd went inside Herzog to take second as well. Shepherd reeled in Vernon by lap five and they went side-by-side. The Bakersfield drivers battled until lap nine when Shepherd took the lead. The field hit lapped traffic in the 22 car starting grid by lap 18 with the first caution not falling until lap 25.
Dillon Tucker stalled on the backstretch while both Erickson and Kolby Berry spun on opposite ends of the track. The caution was ruled to be for Tucker with an electrical fire, allowing both spinning cars to get their spots back.
Under caution, oil was found on the track from the rear end of Garland Tyler’s car. Both Tyler and Tucker made repairs and returned after a lengthy red flag. Tyler then spun on his own on the restart and B Main winner Ryan Hart tangled with Jack Wood coming back to the yellow.
Racin Vernon fell backwards on the restart getting passed by both Jason Aguirre and Adam Lemke. He eventually fell back to eighth on lap 35 behind Matt Erickson. The battling for Vernon intensified when he went three wide with Ryan Philpott and Logan Zampa, bouncing off the backstretch wall for a lap 37 caution. Vernon managed to make repairs and continue.
Eighth starting Aguirre made his way around Herzog to take second place on the restart with Shepherd leading Aguirre across the stripe to the lap 50 break.
Coming out of the break for MAVTV interviews and adjustments, Herzog and Aguirre had a big sideways slide down the front stretch that bounced them back to fifth and sixth. Rookies Adam Lemke and Nick Grossi took advantage of all the sliding around within the top-five to move up to second and third behind Shepherd. Carlos Vieira started to join the battling as well moving past Grossi into third on lap 62 bringing 2016 champion Matt Erickson with him. Erickson moved past Vieira for third by lap 71 before a caution on lap 73 when Kolby Berry’s engine expired in turn four.
Lemke and Herzog battled for second place on the restart before a red flag on lap 80 for the most serious crash of the evening. Rookie Christian Roche of Oakdale slid off the wall in turn four and clipped Ripon’s Henk Gaalswyk, with both making significant impact to the wall to end their evenings. Another caution came out when Zampa stopped in turn four on lap 82.
Impending curfew meant the final caution would end the event and gave Herzog and Erickson one more shot at Shepherd. Shepherd pulled away when Vieira and Aguirre had a grinding crash off the front stretch wall to end the race on a lap 87 yellow checkered flag. Shepherd, Herzog, Erickson, Lemke and Dillon Tucker were the top-five at the finish.
The Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros 20 lap main event was also spectacular, but not as much in the Bandolero portion of the race within a race. Bakersfield’s Riley Massey got the job done on that end with a comfortable 7.9 second win to extend her points lead. But the battle that transpired half a track behind her was one of the best of the year.
Mini Cup points leader Kabe McClenny and Napa’s Aaron Thomas battled back and forth for the lead of their class throughout the entire race, doing so in the vicinity of second place Bandolero Hank Hall of Bakersfield. The trio ran three-wide on numerous occasions and darted in and out of lapped traffic. McClenny finally drove away from Thomas in the closing stages of the event to win the Mini Cup portion of the evening yet again. The overall finish saw Massey’s Bandolero followed by McClenny, Thomas, and Aiden Phillips’ Mini Cup. Hall suffered a mechanical problem on the final two laps to soldier home in seventh.
The Modified Super Toyotas started with Dave Lander leading the way before a multi-car spin in turn three closed the field up. Shaun Reynolds took over the lead and did not look back ahead of 2017 champion Bert Stephens, while Lander and Patrick Geiger raced hard for third place. Lander and Geiger wrecked hard coming to the finish line with Geiger flipping across the line. He was uninjured and was credited with fourth behind Lander.
Racing continues at Madera Speedway on August 4th with the Children's Hospital Kids Night - Madera Late Models, Madera Hobby Stocks, F4 Beater Cross, Toyota Sedans, MST, Jr Late Model 30 lap exhibition race, Southwest Tour Truck Series
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 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PST and is also available on the Lucas Oil Racing TV app.
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Madera, CA. 93637