Saturday July ninth marked the return of the “Saturday Night Thunder Series” to Madera Speedway this race was a make up for the rain out on April 23rd. The regular Madera Speedway divisions were the 360 Supermodifieds, Modified Stock Toyotas and new 600 Micro Midgets. The feature division of the night was the California Asphalt Sprintcar Association.
The 600 Micro Midgets debut on the 1/3 Mile paved oval saw a three car field. All three of the competitors are regulars at Plaza Park Raceway in Visalia. That race track is 1/5 mile dirt oval so this was a new challenge for the drivers. Due to the fact the cars can be run by drivers as young as fourteen the cars ran carburetor restrictors as well as wingless to limit speed. The fast qualifier for the night was third generation driver Tanner Swanson (His dad Mike and Grandfather Bill are both former Madera Speedway champions). Swanson went on to win the main event handily ahead of Justin Hopson. Hopson contended for a while but seemed to have the handle fall off as the laps went on. The only yellow was when Cory Eliason broke on lap 8. The class hopes to find a permanent home at Madera if they can more competitors.
The Modified Stock Toyotas looked to once again be a battle between the Dons. Donnie Large and Don Smith have been the class of the field all season. This week started out with the same flavor as Don Smith set fast time. The main event had the usual full invert but it appeared early that the two were passing at will. Then on lap 15 the race took a turn when Don Smith and Doug Bridger got together off of turn four bringing out a yellow. Smith was done for the evening and it left the race to Large. Large took the lead soon after the yellow and went on to dominate the rest of the race. He was followed by a good runs for Shawn Woods and Amy Rotella. Toyota sedan regular Del McIntosh took Jeff Doran’s car to a fourth place and Tom Cook finished out the top five.
The 360 Supermodifieds look to finally be making steps in the right direction as the class had a season high six cars. The class formerly known as Limited Modifieds was mainstay at Madera Speedway for many years until later developing into the CAM 360’s and SRL Lights. The class is now back to its original home Madera Speedway. Fast qualifier for the night was longtime Supermodified racer Jim Tartaglia. The full invert was present but with a few cars electing to head to the rear the invert was essentially a three. The excitement started from the green as Tartaglia went three wide out of turn two to take the lead on lap one. You would think he would drive away but David Tuey ran him back down and passed him. The two traded the lead back and forth and racing side by side until three to go when Tartaglia took the lead for good. Tartaglia was followed closely by Tuey, Bill Wilker, David Gasset, and Willy Northammer. Dave Maseli never took the green in the main.
The CASA sprint series made there second stop of the season at Madera Speedway. Jeff Gardner has not run all of the races in the CASA series but since his victory at Madera on June 4th he has won every race he has entered in the series including the last round at Champion Speedway. The former Madera Speedway regular form Easton, Ca started right where he left off by winning the trophy dash. The main got off to a rough start when Nick Rescino Jr. got in to Jessica Helburg on lap 2. The race went back to green with Tony Iacobitti and Anthony Simone battling for the Lead. Garner was on their tails and took the lead from Iacobitti on the high side soon after. The scary moment in the race came when Iacobitti and Craig Smith got together out of turn four. When Ryan Baumgartner tried to go high, was caught up and sent airborne flipping down the front stretch luckily he walked away. The race from then on was dominated by Gardner, followed by long time central valley open wheel racer Anthony Simone, Glenn Hopper, Jessica Helberg, and Nick Green rounded out the top five.
Madera Speedway once again showed that whether it is stock cars or open wheel cars it is one of the best short tracks to show case exciting side by side racing.
Madera Speedway will be back in action next weekend July 16th for the Late Model Sportsman “Iron Man 100” the event will also feature 360 Supermodifieds, Pure Stocks, Toyota Sedans and Hornets.
Results
600 Micro Midgets
Fast Time: Tanner Swanson
Main Event: Tanner Swanson, Justin Hopson, and Corey Eliason
MST
Fast Time: Don Smith
Main Event: Donnie Large, Shawn Woods, Amy Rotella, Del McIntosh, Tom Cook, Aaron Reeves, Don Smith, Doug Bridger, Britt Wasson, and Greg Boe
360 Super Modifieds
Fast Time: Jim Tartaglia
Main Event: Jim Tartaglia, David Tuey, Bill Wilker, David Gasset, Willy Northammer, and Dave Maseli (DNS)
CASA Sprints
Trophy Dash: Jeff Gardner
Main Event: Jeff Gardner, Anthony Simone, Glenn Hopper, Jessica Helberg, Nick Green, Tony Iacobitti, Craig Smith, Nick Rescino Jr., Earl Stanton, Scott Clough, Joe Hauck, Marvin Mitchell, and Ryan Baumgartner
