KYLE GOTTULA TRIUMPHS IN TRI HOLIDAY CLASSIC AT MADERA SPEEDWAY ON SATURDAY

The Madera Speedway was back in action on Saturday, May 24 for the first of three special Tri-Holiday Classic events with Whelen Engineering Night The seven-division Memorial holiday program included the Western Late Models (WLM), American Limited Stock Cars (ALSC), Modified Super Toyotas, Toyota Sedans, WSRA Minicup and Baby Grands and the always wild and crazy Hornets.

Although some very unseasonable Memorial holiday weekend weather drenched the "Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West" in the morning, the skies cleared enough in the afternoon allowing track officials to complete the big seven-division program in its entirety.

Taking advantage of his front row starting position due to an invert draw of six, Stockton’s Joey Stearns pounced into the lead over fellow front row starter Vito Ranuio, also of Stockton, at the wave of the green flag to start the 50-lap WLM main.

Kyle Gottula, age 21 of Modesto, quickly moved up to fill Stearns’ rear view mirror as the pack sorted itself out in the opening laps. Gottula eventually moved to the outside of Stearns on lap eight and took over the top spot.

In an exciting battle for second place Stearns, defending track champion Mark Holeman, of Los Altos, and Salida’s Jeff Belletto went into turn three side-by-side-by-side on lap 12 and as could be expected they did not make it to turn four as they tangled up. Belletto was able to hold his position while the other two drivers spun, putting them in the back of the 11-car pack for the restart.

Despite several other early race yellow caution flags, Gottula was in complete control of the race from that point on as he cruised to his second main event win of the 2008 season. Belletto was able to close in on Gottula in the closing laps, but his late race efforts were in vain as he settled for second place and Ranuio continued his strong rookie campaign by completing the evening’s WLM podium.

"There were a lot of restarts at first and it kind of worried me a little bit and then I saw Belletto coming hard. Luckily there weren’t anymore yellows," said Gottula, son of former Stockton Speedway regular Kevin Gottula. "It feels good to get our second win this year."

Belletto was pleased to take second place, his best finish of the 2008 season.

"We tore the car up a little bit, but that is what we have a body shop sponsor for," laughed Belletto after the race. "We are finally getting this car figured out and we are gaining on it one position at a time."

Ranuio, who started the night sixth in the tight WLM season points fight, was also happy with his result.

"We have been putting a lot of time into the car and we came down yesterday to test and made a whole lot of changes," said Ranuio on the front straight as he waved to his family and friends cheering him on from the grandstands. "It was still a little bit loose, but we had a good time out there tonight."

As a thank you to the fans, drivers and teams who braved the less than ideal conditions Kenny Shepherd, President of the Madera Speedway, fans and even some racers chipped in $1,000 at the end of the night for an seven-car, eight-lap trophy dash for the Western Late Models.

The impromptu mini All-Star Shoot Out had the crowd on their feet the entire distance even though the dash got off to an auspicious beginning when Ranuio collected Stockton’s John Henry right in front of the starter as he threw the green flag.

Gottula grabbed the lead on the restart and one lap later Harry Belletto clipped the wall with a little help by Rick Thompson of Clovis, but the 64-year-old racing legend was able to return. Belletto drove like a man possessed for the remainder of the dash, going wheel to wheel with Gottula as the veteran took his young rival to school, diving to the inside, then outside, finally forcing Gottula to spin on the back straight in the final lap for the win as the crowd roared its approval.

"All I can say is ‘show me the money!’ That was a wild race and everybody was hard at it. That was a little bit of the old Stockton stuff," exclaimed Belletto, a former three-time Stockton 99 Speedway champion. "I want to thank the fans that came out tonight for their support."

You could throw a small blanket over the lead pack of cars in the first half of the ALSC 30-lap feature as Howard Holden of Clovis, Brian Vosburg of Stockton, Jason Aguirre of Atwater, Matt Erickson of Coulterville and Modesto’s Dennis Saunders Jr. all went at it in a pitched battle that had more action than a WWE cage match.

Holden, who entered the night with the season ALSC points lead, eventually emerged from the metal dog pile to earn his third win of the season. Vosburg, Aguirre and Erickson followed him across the finish line while Saunders finished the night in the infield after he left the fray with a blown engine on lap 16.

"Starting back in sixth I knew we were going to have to find a way through and I just followed Brian (Vosburg) to the front," explained Holden about his third victory of the year. "I was able to then get Brian on a restart and the rest was history."

Third generation driver Nic Belletto, the grandson of the legendary Harry Belletto and son of Steve Belletto, finished the ALSC main in sixth, just behind Lloyd Bamping of Clovis, in his racing debut.

Hometown pilot Randy Fleming Jr. started from mid pack of the 25-lap Modified Super Toyota feature and quickly worked his way into second behind Mark Segal. Fleming patiently waited behind Segal for an opening and when he got it on lap seven he never looked back.

Fresno pilots Jason Kerns and Stan Haskins started the night in a flat-footed tie for the lead in the Toyota Sedans with 54 points each. Kerns was the night’s fast qualifier, but Hankins, the defending division champion, got the best of his hometown rival in Saturday’s race for his second win of the young season. Stockton’s John McCollum Jr. rounded out the top three of the 12-car Toyota Sedan feature.

Miles Humphreys, of Clovis, started the evening with a miniscule two point lead in the season standings over rookie Jeff Dizney, of Madera, in the Hornets, but Dizney had a little too much for the racing grandpa on Saturday as he drove to his first ever career win.

"It has been a up and down day with the rain, but for me to get my very first win makes it pretty exciting," said the smiling Dizney. "Everyone was running hard out there rubbing a little paint even though we are not supposed to in this class. This is really a kick. I am having a blast."

To no ones surprise Jake Gomes, age 15 of Manteca, jumped to the lead in the 25-lap WSRA Baby Grands feature to earn his fourth straight win in four regular season starts this year. Younger brother Josh Gomes and Dillon Hutchison, of Citrus Heights, followed Jake to the checkered flag.

"The car ran real good all day," stated Jake Gomes, who also earned fast time in qualifying and won the trophy dash. "Coming out of the corners it would get a little loose sometimes off the bumps, but I was able to straighten it out."

The invert put Antioch’s Brent Curran, Rocklin’s John Bowman and Woodland’s William Camara in the front of the grid for the 16-car WSRA Minicup feature, a class for young drivers age eight to sixteen in half scale stock cars. Despite numerous yellow cautions throughout the 25-lap race that involved virtually everyone else in the pack behind them, the front trio stayed put the entire distance for a 1-2-3 finish.

"The car was awesome. My dad does it all for me. He never stops working on the car," said Curran. "I love him very much for doing this for me."

Madera Speedway will be back in action next Saturday evening, May 31st for Hog Run Bike Night featuring twin 75-lap Hotwood 750 Series mains for the Western Late Models. This great NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series show will also include ALSC, Modified Super Toyotas, Toyota Sedans, Spectator Racing Series, Hornets, Vintage Sprints and Vintage Midgets.

The Madera Speedway is conveniently located at the Madera County Fairgrounds just off to the west side of Highway 99 at the Cleveland Avenue exit.

For more Madera Speedway information visit the track’s website at www.racemadera. com or call the Info/Race Line phone number at (559) 673-RACE and for information on the Madera

Speedway Spectator Racing Series program go to www.spectatorracing. com on the web or call (209) 476-8123.

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