Miles Humphreys of Clovis was a marked man even before the green flag fell for the first race of round #2 of the HotWood Tri-Holiday series at Madera Speedway on Saturday June 30.
As the trackʼs Hornet division points leader, Humphreys was given the honor of drawing the eveningʼs invert at the pre race driverʼs meeting. He promptly plucked an 18 out of the hat, which meant that there would be a full invert of qualifying times for all four classes of the NASCAR Whelen Racing Series.
"I got some happy looks and some very unhappy looks from the other drivers" said Humphreys with a grin. "I figured I would draw a two or a four, but not that."
While Humphreys draw may have earned mixed reviews from the drivers, it received all thumbs up from the 2,840 fans in attendance that witnessed some of the best and most exciting racing action of the 2007 season.
Stocktonʼs Pete Anderson Jr. was the biggest beneficiary of the invert as he quickly moved from the third row of the starting grid to the front of the 20 car field during the opening laps of the 100-lap Western Late Model feature.
It wasnʼt until midrace that pole sitter Harry Belletto of Modesto, Rosevilleʼs Jim Courage, the winner of round #1 of the HotWood series back in May and Stocktonʼs Ross Strmiska were able to claw their way from the back of the pack to the front and challenge Anderson for the top spot.
Courage and Anderson were side by side as Courage made multiple attempts to slip under Anderson. He finally succeeded in making the move stick, just getting his front bumper past the 2005 Stockton 99 Speedway track champion coming out of turn two on lap 93 and out dragging him down the back straight.
"That was a lot of fun. I really had to work hard to get by Anderson," said the smiling Courage, who pocketed $2,000 with his win. "I really enjoy this track. It is a racerʼs track. You can run a couple of different lines and try a lot of different things here."
Anderson hung on to second place, Strmiska finished third, Belletto fourth and track points leader Mark Holeman, of Los Altos, completed the top five in the Western feature.
"I think Courage may have had just a little better car than we did, but I donʼt think he could have gotten by me except I slipped up a just a bit when we caught a lapped car," said Anderson. "That was the most fun I have had racing in a long time."
Strmiska was pleased with his car, but a little frustrated by the outcome of the race.
"We had a really good car tonight, probably the best one weʼve had all year, but Courage and Anderson were racing so hard that I got stuck behind them and couldnʼt go anywhere," lamented Strmiska. " I wish we had a few more laps."
Mercedʼs Carlos Viera was one of four drivers who transferred into the Western Late Model feature after he led a 7 car field to the finish in the 15-lap B Main.
The late models of the SRL Wild West Shootout Series put on an equally impressive and entertaining show. Long tow Porter Smith, of Aztec New Mexico, had the early race lead in the SRL 100-lapper until he was forced to pit with a flat right front tire after catching some debris from the car of Bryon Herzog, of Clovis, who clipped the turn 2 wall on lap 25. That incident brought out a yellow caution and former two-time Madera track champion Jim Pettit II, of Prunedale, grabbed the lead from Salidaʼs Jeff Belletto on the ensuing restart. Pettit held a comfortable lead until a planned 10-minute break for adjustments on lap 70. When the race resumed he had his hands full fending off the charges of Modestoʼs Steve Belletto and Seasideʼs Dave Byrd.
The three veteran drivers, who have numerous track championships and racing titles between them, fought tooth and nail throughout the final 30 laps. Pettit was able to hang on to the top spot as the race finished under a last lap checkered/yellow while Belletto pushed his way past Byrd on lap 92 to take second.
"We had a great race car tonight and I knew that as long as I took care of it and we didnʼt have any misfortunes on the track, that we would be good," exclaimed Pettit. "It is always great to come back here, see some old friends and win in front of my hometown fans. Itʼs special."
AlAthough he came up just short of a victory, Steve Bellettoʼs second place effort was good enough to take over the SRL points lead from his brother Jeff, who suffered a mechanical failure and ended up a disappointing 13th.
"We are pretty happy with this. Our car was good on short runs, but it wasnʼt quite good enough on the long runs," said Steve Belletto. "That was a lot of fun mixing it up with those guys."
Byrd was also satisfied with his effort. It was the first time in seven tries this season that he was able to go full 100 laps in the Bob Standwold owned car.
"We just missed the setup and it still was a little off even though we threw everything at it during the break. I felt like the weak link sitting between Pettit and Belletto," explained Byrd, who won the curfew shortened 70-lap SRL event at Madera back on May 26. "It was a lot of fun to just be up there and compete a 100 laps."
Stocktonʼs Donny Darter continued his season long mastery of the American Limited Stock Car (ALSC) division.
Despite colliding with another car and damaging his front end while taking the green flag to open the race, Darter was able to work his way to the front of the 18-car field by lap 7 in the 50-lap ALSC feature. He was never to be seen again as he cruised to a $500 payday with his seventh win in eight ALSC starts at Madera this season. Matt Erickson of Lake Don Pedro and Lodiʼs Steven Fraser completed the ALSC podium.
"It was a really hard hit that I took at the start and I thought we were done after that. It knocked the bumper off, but I guess we just have a well built car," said Darter. "The team has worked really hard and we have a good engine and car this year."
Fresnoʼs Stan Hankins took the win in the 30-lap Toyota Sedan feature and as for Miles Humphreys? After taking fast time in qualifying the 67 year old grandfather methodically worked his way from the back of the 13 car starting field in the Hornet division, took the lead on lap 12 and cruised to an easy victory in the 30-lap Hornet main.
Next Saturday, July 7, Madera Speedway will be presenting a special open-wheel program featuring the UASAC/CASA Sprint cars, Midgets and Ford Focus. In addition, during the day the Quarter Midgets Nationals will be taking place on the 1/8-mile oval located right next door to "the fastest third mile in the west." So come on out and watch the kids race in the afternoon and the USAC/CASA Sprints, Midgets and Ford Focus battle in the evening all for one special ticket price.
The Madera Speedway is located at the Madera County Fairgrounds just off the west side of Highway 99 at the West Cleveland Avenue exit.
| Western Late Models |
|---|
| Fast Time – Harry Belletto (Modesto) –15.195 seconds Dash - None A Main – 100 Laps Jim Courage (Roseville) #33 Pete Anderson Jr. (Stockton) #5 Ross Strmiska Jr. (Stockton) #90 Harry Belletto (Modesto) #74 Mark Holeman (Los Altos) #21x Glen Cook (Fremont) #98 Chris Monez (Turlock) #57 Dale Kascht (Raymond) #33 Rick Thompson (Clovis) #77 Kyle Gottula (Modesto) #21k Amy Rotella-Roberts (Fresno) #25 Trevor Schlundt (Clovis) #28 Vic Machado (Manteca) #2 Justin Philpott (Tracy) #05 Joey Stearns (Stockton) #8 Matt Erickson (Don Pedro) #42 Wes Miller (Turlock) #57 Carlos Viera (Merced) #51 Eric Nascimento (Manteca) #21 Mike Beeler (Modesto) #26b DQ B Main - 15 laps Carlos Viera (Merced) #51 Eric Nascimento (Manteca) #21 Amy Rotella-Roberts (Fresno) #25 Rick Thompson (Clovis)#77 Bret Hughes (Modesto) #54 Ken Ratcliff (Stockton) #66 Del McIntosh (Madera) #28 |
| SRL Wild West Shootout Series |
| Fast Time – Troy Ermish (Fremont) - 14.640 seconds Dash – 1) Steve Belletto (Modesto ), 2) Troy Ermish (Fremont), 3) Porter Smith (Aztec, NM), 4) Jeff Belletto (Salida) A Main – 100 Laps Jim Pettit (Prunedale) #03 Steve Belletto (Modesto ) #30 Dave Byrd (Seaside) #21 Mike Mendenhall (Santee) #10 Troy Ermish (Fremont) #38 Rick Ruzbarsky (Tracy) #7 Todd Bammer (San Leandro) #18 Brennan Newberry (Bakersfield) #09 Carl Pearce (Hilmar) #14c Tracy Bolin (Valley Springs) #02 Bryon Herzog (Clovis)#11 Kyle Gottula (Modesto) #21k Jeff Belletto (Salida)#6 Justin Westmoreland (Madera) #9 Dan Holtz (Los Angeles) #23 Porter Smith (Aztec, NM) #62 Greg Voight (Goleta) #4 |
| American Limited Stock Car (ALSC) |
| Fast Time – Donny Darter (Stockton) – 16.245 seconds Dash – 1) Matt Erickson (Don Pedro), 2) Pete Anderson Sr. (Stockton), 3) Steven Fraser (Lodi), 4) Donny Darter (Stockton) A Main – 50 Laps Donny Darter (Stockton) #99 Matt Erickson (Don Pedro) #42 Steven Fraser (Lodi) #12 Jason Aguirre (Atwater) #45 Garland Tyler (Modesto) #73 Pete Anderson Sr. (Stockton) #85 Roger Selsor (Fresno) #39 Howard Holden (Clovis) #41 Dennis Saunders Jr. (Modesto) #91 John Medina (Galt) #6 Donald Selsor (Fresno) #8 Eloy Bazar () #07 Jason Nieto (Oakdale) #95 Russell Scarillo (Fresno) #32 Randy Bayne (Fresno) #19 Dennis Allen (Oakdale) #85a Phillip Connolly (Clovis) #9 |
| Toyota Sedans |
| Fast Time – Stan Hankins(Fresno) – 18.231 seconds Dash – 1) John McCollum Jr.(Stockton) 2) Jason Kerns(Fresno), 3) Steve Trusner(Fresno), 4) Stan Hankins(Fresno) A Main – 30 laps Stan Hankins (Fresno) #99 Jason Kerns (Fresno) #05 John McCollum Jr. (Stockton) #11 John McCollum Jr. (Stockton) #11 Adam Ballesteros (Dos Palos) #42 Candee McIntosh (Madera) #25 Justin Kawahata (Clovis) #15 Steve Nugent (Madera) #88 Michael Cheeks (Fresno) #31 Steve Trusner (Fresno) #21 |
| Hornets |
| Fast Time – Miles Humphreys(Clovis) – 19.322 seconds Dash – 1) Miles Humphreys(Clovis), 2) David Boyko(Fresno), 3) Kathy Evans(Madera), 4) David Lander Jr.(Madera) A Main – 30 laps Miles Humphreys (Clovis) #14 David Boyko (Fresno) #21d Dan Evans (Madera) #88 David Lander Jr. (Madera) #77 Sue Hannah (Madera) #10 Sheldon Phillips (Fresno) #17s Andrew Aguirre (Modesto) #42 Jamie Sickler (Clovis) #2 Dan Miller (Ripon) #99a Dawn Darter (Stockton) #99 Stephannie Doran (Madera) #24 CJ Dizney (Madera) #37 Kathy Evans (Madera) #22 |
