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SHEPHERD AND WINTERS GET BACK TO VICTORY LANE
Madera, CA. (8-3-19) – Two names that are commonly found at the top of the finish order are Buddy Shepherd and Scott Winters, but in 2019 neither had visited the hallowed ground that is victory lane at Madera Speedway. That all changed Saturday night as both drivers found their winning ways with Shepherd winning the Madera Late Model event and Winters taking home the honors in the North State Modified race.
The Madera Speedway Late Model program is one of the strongest in the nation with more than 111 different drivers competing so far in 2019 and many more on the way for the big end of the year Short Track Shootout on October 5th. There has been 28 different drivers compete in the 51FIFTY Jr Late Model Series, 47 different drivers compete in the Nut Up Pro Late Model Series, and 36 different drivers compete in the Madera Late Model Club races.
The Madera Club races have become something special with a big BBQ on Friday night after practice to kick off the weekend that ends on Saturday night with most every car rolling into the trailer, example, last night every car in the pits rolled on the trailer in good condition except for one MST. These club nights are also events were you will find some of the best set up crew members in the business helping out the teams that are learning and improving their skills creating a pit area with the best camaraderie found anywhere in the nation.
The green flag flew in the Madera Late Model Club Race with Austin and Tyler Herzog leading the 23 car field charging into turn one of the 40 lap main event. Buddy Shepherd started in the third position and he worked his way past Austin Herzog and was tracking down the extremely fast Tyler Herzog when the 41 car of Joey Brazil spun in turn three on lap five bringing out the caution flag. Shepherd and Herzog battled after the restart with Shepherd eventually gaining a narrow lead when the caution flew on lap eight for the 28 car of Trevor Schlundt that came to a stop in turn three.
Shepherd was driving the brand new Eshleman prepared Fury late Model with a 602 crate engine and he was the leader on the lap eight restart but he missed a shift at the flag stand on the restart and fell all the way back to the ninth position because of the missed shift. The Herzog verses Herzog battle for the lead developed in an intense manner as the cousins were leaning all over each other fighting for the front spot while the battle from third to tenth raged in side by side fashion throughout the entire field.
By lap twenty five Austin Herzog had taken control of the race with Tyler Herzog running a close second, but right behind Tyler was a huge battle for third to tenth between Jarret Gilmer, Glen Cook, Henk Gaalswyk Jr, Del McIntosh, Elliot Stjerne, Garland Tyler, David Lewellen and Eloy Bazan. The caution flew on lap 27 for a solo spin by the 27 car of Greg Lowhorn cooling off the intense side by side action on the track.
This turned out to be a timely caution that helped Shepherd with the field grouped up again and Shepherd made short work of the opportunity to overtake the second position after the restart on lap 27 and he set his sights on race leader Austin Herzog. Shepherd worked Herzog for several laps and he took the lead on lap 32 with Herzog right behind him, after the first and second place cars fans enjoyed all most the entire balance of the field running side by side.
The caution flew on lap 36 for a solo spin by the 17 car of Tim Menneke setting up a late race shootout by Shepherd and Herzog, not to mention the intense battles from third to tenth that would continue!
Fans were on the edge of their seats when the green flag flew for the final time in the race on the restart and it was Shepherd that had the lead but with Austin Herzog glued to his back bumper. Jarret Gilmer charged past Tyler Herzog on the outside to wrestle the third spot away from Herzog with Cook, Gallswyk, Stjerne and McIntosh locked in a battle that you could cover with one blanket.
The white flag flew on lap 39 with Austin Herzog pushing Shepherd into turn one and as they flew down the back straight of the track the tension was high as Herzog was all over the bumper of Shepherd as they rolled through turns three and four. Shepherd beat Herzog to the finish line with young Jarret Gilmer holding off the hard charging pack for third.
Tyler Herzog fought off Glen Cook for fourth followed by Henk Gaalswyk Jr, Del McIntosh, Elliot Stjerne, David Lewellen, Eloy Bazan, Aaron Mullins, Garland Tyler, Loren Kutz, Trevor Schlundt, Jeff Mead, Greg Lowhorn, Tim Menneke, Ryan Philpott, Matt Kutz, Joey Brazil, Kent Cam, Zachery Cook and Hailey Liles (DNS).
Twelve cars took the track for the North State Modified main event and it was Scott Winters that was able to out duel Cameron Austin for the victory by using the low side of the race track to take the lead when everyone else was on the top side of the track. Jason Philpott rounded out the podium followed by Darrin Knight and Brian Collins for the top five.
Howard Holden won the championship in the North State Hobby Stock Challenge by winning the race over Chuck Dozier, Chuck Aguirre, Richard Herzog and Steve Schermerhorn for the top five.
Ryan Reynolds won the MST race with Kyle Labrie and Shaun Reynolds filling the podium. The top three in the Toyota Sedans was Andrew Parr, Andrew Davidson, and Kurt Davidson.
The next event at the Madera Speedway is the first evet Jr Late Model Challenge Camp on August 16th and 17th. The pits will be open for free so fans can meet the top 15 Jr Camp drivers that are coming from all over the USA and even the UK.
For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information on Nut Up Industries please visit www.nutupindustries.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com
Madera Speedway is presented by major partners Nut Up Industries, 51FIFTY Energy Drink, iPull-uPull, and Color Fast Industries. Contingency sponsors include Five Star Bodies, Maita Motorsports, McAllister Precision Marketing, Shenanigan’s Restaurant and StopTech Brakes.
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.
AUGUST 10TH RACE EVENT POSTPONED
The August 10th race event that was scheduled to have the Madera Midgets as the headliner will be postponed to a later date. We have decided to postpone our August 10th race to show respect for the Tom Manning Memorial race that is taking place at a Stockton on that date.
We are working behind the scenes now with several groups to find the best available makeup date for this event. Keep an eye on www.racemadera.com for an adjustment to the schedule.
DOSS IS $5,000 RICHER AFTER MADERA SPEEDFEST VICTORY
MADERA, CALIFORNIA (July 27, 2019) – A $5,000 check and a polish victory lap capped a challenging Summer Speedfest 100 on Saturday night at Madera Speedway, with Jeremy Doss winning the sixth round of the MAVTV-televised Nut Up Pro Late Model Series. Doss emerged as the first repeat winner of the year after starting tenth on a red-hot evening at the one-third mile asphalt oval.
Two-time series champion Matt Erickson led the opening lap from the pole before losing the top spot to season-opening $5,000 winner Dylan Zampa of Napa. A big crash slowed the action on lap four which included Toni Breidinger suffering heavy front-end damage. Garland Tyler and Dean Thompson went hard into the turn one wall as well. All three of their evenings were done.
Carlos Vieira slid inside after starting fourth to the lead on lap five, before Zampa took the lead back on lap six. The top-four ran two-by-two before Vieira was freight trained back to fifth position. Doss began to enter the picture, advancing to third on lap 20. He began to challenge 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model points leader Joey Iest of Madera for second and took over the position on lap 25. The caution flew that same lap for Racin Vernon of Bakersfield stopped in turn two with a flat tire.
A significant crash brought out another caution when Eric Nascimento, Jr. and incoming points leader Austin Herzog tangled battling just outside the top-ten. The grinding incident on the backstretch ended both drivers’ nights.
Doss took over the lead from Iest on the lap 27 restart. Meanwhile two-time defending Summer Speedfest winner Buddy Shepherd fell steadily through the pack to eighth position by the lap 40 break, then retiring with mechanical issues. Doss led Iest, Matt Erickson, Zampa, and ninth starting Blaine Rocha at the break.
The field battled hard for second place when the race resumed, with Strmiska using a restart to get the position on lap 47. Rocha meanwhile continued his march through the pack while 20th starting Tyler Herzog entered the top-ten. Davey Manthei, Jr. and Carlos Vieira came together for a lap 65 caution in turn one. Doss restarted outside Zampa, with Zampa shuffled back to fifth in the process.
Shelden Cooper lost an engine into turn three which collected Vieira and Parnelli Jones’ grandson Jace Jones for a lengthy red flag on lap 74. A three-wide battle ensued on the restart with Iest in the middle between Rocha and Strmiska. Iest and Rocha collided into turn one to send Rocha spinning from the top-five on lap 76. Erickson looked poised to capitalize in the standings on Herzog’s DNF, but he wrecked hard on the front stretch with Strmiska for another caution on lap 81.
Doss pulled away over the final 19 laps while Iest briefly tried to challenge Zampa. Doss won his second consecutive Nut Up Pro Late Model race ahead of Zampa, Iest, 12th starting Jason Aguirre, and 2018 Short Track Shootout champion Logan Zampa.
Joey Iest’s Ironman-like performance included 170 laps of competition during an evening where temperatures soared above 100 degrees. He showed no signs of slowing down when he won the sixth 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Series main event of 2019 against an outstanding 20 car turnout.
Rookie Jake Bollman led his first laps of Madera competition when he led the first five of the race. When the caution flew, Iest pounced on the opportunity to go to the outside for the lap six lead. Lilly Mead and Olivia Manke crashed in turn one while several other cars had damage for a red flag on lap 18. All drivers involved were uninjured.
Another turn one incident slowed the action a lap later. The race was fast-paced from there with Iest leading Wise through lapped traffic into the lap 40 break. Jaden Walbridge of Portland, OR, Bollman, and Juleson rounded out the top-five.
The return from adjustments saw Juleson challenging Walbridge for third. Juleson cleared Walbridge on lap 47. Bollman then ran on top of Walbridge for most of the run to the finish but couldn’t complete a pass. The final 30 laps went non-stop with Iest darting to a 1.367 lead for his third win of the season while Wise again settled for second. Juleson, Walbridge, and Bollman were the top-five.
Several incidents and four-wide racing highlighted an equally intense Mini Cup vs. Bandolero feature. Jeffrey Erickson made the most of his debut as he grabbed the surprising 20 lap victory. The turning point of the race came when points leader and 2018 champion Riley Massey hit the backstretch well in an incident with round one winner Dylan Baptista. Baptista ended up retiring from the race himself on lap ten with smoke from underneath the car as he entered the infield.
Erickson won by half a lap over Trenton Eurto with Aiden Phillips leading the Mini Cups from third overall.
Ryan Reynolds won the 25 lap Modified Super Toyota race over Shaun Renyolds with Patrick Geiger rounding out the podium.
Madera Speedway continues a red-hot summer next Saturday night with Children's Hospital Kids Night! North State Modified Series and North State Hobby Stock Challenge plus Madera Late Model Club Race, Toyota Sedans, MST, Jr Late Model 30 lap exhibition race, and Southwest Tour Trucks will be competing.
For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information on Nut Up Industries please visit www.nutupindustries.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com
Madera Speedway is presented by major partners Nut Up Industries, 51FIFTY Energy Drink, iPull-uPull, and Color Fast Industries. Contingency sponsors include Five Star Bodies, Maita Motorsports, McCallister Precision Marketing, and StopTech Brakes.
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 third round of the 2019 Nut Up Pro Late Model Series airs on August 1st!
LOVE FINDS GERHARDT CLASSIC VICTORY LANE IN MADERA THRILLER
MADERA, CALIFORNIA (July 13, 2019) – 14 year-old Jesse Love of Menlo Park came back home to Madera Speedway and grabbed a surprising victory in the 17th Gerhardt Classic 50 for the BCRA Midgets. Love, the two-time 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Series champion, added to his already long list of “youngest ever” accomplishments, including youngest BCRA champion and youngest POWRi Midget podium finisher.
Defending Gerhardt Classic and ’18 and ’19 Vukovich Classic winner Jerome Rodela led the field to green. Love tried to diamond the corner to knife inside Rodela on several occasions but couldn’t complete the pass. Fred Gerhardt’s great grandson Cody passed teammate Dylan Nobile for third behind them. The advantage for Rodela over Love seesawed by a few car lengths before things tightened up in lapped traffic on lap 19.
The race remained an all-green flag affair with the leaders continuing to run times within a tenth of their best lap throughout the 40-lap run. Love pounced on an opening underneath Rodela on the front stretch on lap 40, but the gap closed entering turn one. He slid onto the rumble strips to bring out a caution, giving Rodela sole possession of the lead.
Rodela’s car stumbled on the restart, however, handing the lead to Nobile while Love swept around the outside into second position. Rodela came to a stop in turn one with six laps to go in the feature for a caution.
Love moved underneath Nobile with four laps to go to take the lead and grab the coveted Gerhardt Classic. Love thanked his team in an emotional victory lane celebration. Nobile finished second with Gerhardt third.
Bakersfield’s Buddy Shepherd outlasted a tough race for the California Challenge Cup cars to win the 50-lap contest. After taking fast-time, Shepherd raced side-by-side with fellow two-time Pro Late Model champion Matt Erickson. Shepherd led the opening three laps before Erickson edged forward on the outside to lead lap four.
Shepherd then took the lead back by a nose on lap five to clear Erickson a few laps later. Erickson went upstairs to follow Shepherd on the highline. The first caution fell on lap 17 for tire trouble on Thomas Martin’s car. Erickson suffered tire trouble of his own on the restart, spinning in a shower of sparks in turn two for a lap 21 caution.
Erickson and Martin eventually succumbed to further issues, allowing Shepherd to top Paradise’s Camp Fire survivor Justin Funkhouser at the finish.
17 Central Valley Mini Stocks made their debut appearance on asphalt with Joshua Cross of Manteca topping qualifying, his heat race, and the 25-lap feature. Cross’ victory came after numerous cautions and restarts in the rough and tumble event. Randy Brown, Sr. and Darren Wilson were involved in two separate incidents, the second of which nearly involved third place running Joe Flowers as he attempted to lap them.
A caution for Ryan Doglione spinning into the turn three wall set up a five lap run to the finish with Joseph Reichmuth and Flowers going back and forth for second. Cross took the victory ahead of Reichmuth, Flowers, Greg Baronian of Selma, and series points leader Dan Myrick of Coalinga.
Joey Iest of Madera, CA won his third consecutive Focus Midgets feature, leading the final 26 laps for the victory. Derek Loweree fended off a race-long charge from Madera-based racer Joseph Holliday for second.
Justin Kawahata won the 20 lap NCMA Sprints feature comfortably after starting third. Kawahata took the lead on the second lap of the feature leaving the battle between veterans Denny Burrell and David Burchett. Kawahata lapped the field while Burrell hung on for second over Burchett.
Madera Speedway will host one of its biggest events of the season on July 27th with the $5,000 to win MAVTV-televised Madera Speedfest for the Nut Up Pro Late Models. The 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Late Models, Modified Super Toyotas, and Mini Cups vs. Bandoleros will also be competing.
For more information about Madera Racing on MAVTV please visit www.racemadera.com or www.mavtv.com. For more information on Nut Up Industries please visit www.nutupindustries.com and for more information about 51FIFTY Energy Drink visit www.51fiftyenergydrink.com
Madera Speedway is presented by major partners Nut Up Industries, 51FIFTY Energy Drink, iPull-uPull, and Color Fast Industries. Contingency sponsors include Five Star Bodies, Maita Motorsports, McCallister Precision Marketing, and StopTech Brakes.
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 second round of the 2019 51FIFTY Jr. Late Model Series airs on July 18th!
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