MERIDIAN, Idaho - The Independence Day fire works started early on Friday July 4th at Meridian Speedway. The Winged Sprints, the Late Models, the Grand American Modifieds, and the Non Winged Sprints ran 50 lap main events all night long then the excitement and celebrations were capped off with fireworks provided by the City of Meridian and presented by Dominos Pizza.
In the Grand American Modifieds 50 lap Fire Cracker main Darrel Dolling and Joe Daly led the pack to the green and stayed side by side for the first 3 laps until the outside column faded back leaving Dolling in the lead.
Tom Hill then moved to the outside and tried to take the lead from Dolling and four laps later completed the pass followed by Gary Ovitt. Hill and Ovitt drove away from the rest of the pack with most of the race left to go and at one point had a half lap lead. Shelby Stroebel worked his way to the outside of Dolling and Darvin Ackerland in a small group a half a lap behind Hill and Ovitt and the three of them ran tight for several laps. With the race half over and the entire pack close together except for Hill and Ovitt the race was looking to be a run away to the finish but there was 15 laps left to go.
A caution and a commit cone restart got Shelby Stroebel to the outside front row but Hill took off and led the next several laps with Ovitt close behind. Tom Hill won the first of the firecracker fifties for 2008 with Ovitt, Stroebel, Chris Fenton, and Dennis Wurtz behind.
Kole Bushman and Richard Perkins shared the front row at the start of the 35 lap Non Wing Sprint main. Joe Ransom and Johnny Giesler began to move up in the field but an early caution on the second lap stopped the action for a time.
On the fifth full lap Wyatt King took the lead with Ransom and Giesler close behind. King closely guarded his inside forcing Ransom to work the more difficult outside. After a restart Ransom, King, and Giesler left the rest of the field and seconds later Giesler took second and then pulled to the inside of Ransom but contact was made on turn two sending both cars to the rear at the restart.
With Giesler at the tail end of the pack the trek to the front had to start all over again but Giesler and Richard Perkins contacted and both needed the hook to get restarted. The race was shortened to 30 laps due to the large amount of wrecks and mishaps and Wyatt King took home the trophy.
In the Late Models 50 lap firecracker main event Phil Dugan took off at the green with Justin Ellis and Dan Lowther behind but Chris Ratterree set his sights on the lead and passed for third in the early laps.
John Nesmith moved up tight to Ratterree and just when Ratterree passed Ellis a yellow flag caused by a spin by one of the other drivers stopped his forward progress. At the restart Ratterree again moved around the outside of Ellis and then a few laps later moved up beside Dugan.
Dugan and Ratterree ran side by side for several laps until Ratterree passed for the lead and a few laps later Nesmith followed suit. With just three to go Nesmith passed Ratterree for the lead and took the checkered with Ratterree, Dugan, Travis Milburn, and Dennis Wurtz behind.
The Winged Sprints Firecracker 50 started with Steve Freeman and Matt Elliot on the front row. Elliott took an early lead with Freeman behind and Dave Parrie in third. Mike Cullum was moving up but an early caution stopped his forward progress. Brandon Johnson worked towards the front with Sierra Jackson close behind and when Johnson got caught behind Freeman Jackson blazed a trail to the outside and took third.
The next several laps continued with no passing and the column of cars stretching around the track until Johnson moved to the inside of Hamilton and then passed Jackson for third. Only Cullum and Elliot were ahead but with the number of laps remaining in the single digits the opportunities were running out. Through lapped traffic and potential trouble Elliott held the lead and took the checkered flag with Mike Cullum and Brandon Johnson tight to his bumper.
The racing continued on Saturday night July 5th 2008. Nineteen Late Models from around the Northwest of the ASA Aero Exhaust Northwest Late Model Tour presented by Echo Outdoor Power Equipment and Woody's Outdoor Power Equipment of Caldwell, Idaho raced in the ProjectFilter.org 150 at ASA member track, Meridian Speedway. This 150 lap Late Model main event was run in memory of Janie Elliott, long time fan and supporter of Meridian Speedway and other tracks in the northwest.
The Grand American Modifieds were the first with the main events. Terry Lawrence led the pack of 17 to the green with Darrell Dolling on the outside. On lap five the first caution came out when Al Colwell, Dave Minegar, and Tyler Monroe got together on the back stretch. On the commit cone restart Jeff Hill chose the high side next to Terry Lawrence and then when the pack went back to single file a few laps later the leaders were Lawrence and Hill with Bryan McDaniel a distant second.
The second yellow flag and commit cone restart put Gary Ovitt on the outside of Lawrence but after less than one lap after the race went green Dave Minegar got loose and bumped Chris Fenton to the turn three wall which put Fenton upside down. Fenton climbed out and waved to the crowd while the race was red flagged to clear the track.
At the next restart with just 13 of 35 laps down Jeff Hill pulled to the outside of Lawrence and they drove side by side for a lap until Lawrence left Hill in second place. At the end of the 35 lap race Lawrence still had the lead with Hill a close second. Bryan McDaniel, Travis Milburn and Darvin Ackerland rounded out the top five.
At the start of the Late Model 150 Charlie Hamm Jr. led the group of 19 cars to the green. Brad Stanwood took an early lead with Travis Bennett following. John Nesmith moved up to third in the early laps with Chris Ratterree behind.
When the leaders caught lapped traffic the scene was tense for a few seconds but Stanwood kept the pace with Bennett, Nesmith and Ratterree in a tight four car rat pack. Nesmith moved to the outside of Bennett and a few laps later moved back in line while Ratterree looked inside.
On lap 22 a new leader emerged when Bennett moved to the inside of Stanwood. Nesmith and Ratterree followed and Stanwood lost position and got left behind. After a caution flag and a restart Bennett again held off the hard charging Meridian Speedway regulars, Nesmith and Ratterree, and maintained a good lead. Another caution and a restart Ratterree looked to the inside of Nesmith but could not get up to his door and backed off leaving Nesmith in second.
When Bennett caught lapped traffic again and passed it Nesmith followed but got bumped by Ratterree from behind while exiting turn four. This got Nesmith so loose that he could not gather it back up on the front stretch and backed into the turn one wall. After a short red flag stop to put Nesmith's car on the hook and clean up the track the race continued green leaving Ratterree behind the leader. With the race just a few laps to go to 100 Bennett again caught Hamm and led Ratterree around With 40 to go the leader caught more lapped traffic and allowed Travis Milburn to temporarily move up along side of Ratterree but when they cleared the traffic the top three did not change.
With three laps to go Justin Ellis spun bringing out a green white checkered finish. When the green waved it was Bennett all the way to the finish with Ratterree left to accept second best. Johnny Newhouse, Travis Milburn, and Dennis Wurtz rounded out the top five.
After Late Model 150 the Mini Stocks came out for their 35 lap event. John Ellsworth led the pack of 24 to the green. In the early laps Eddie Ables got to fifth place and then virtually flew around traffic to gain on the leaders. Everett Meeks spun and brought out a caution temporarily stopping his advance to the front in third place. When Ellsworth took the green flag Ables took the lead and pulled away. Ables took the win with John Ellsworth a distant second followed by Donavan Parker, Jason Sanders, and Jeff Hasson.
The Hornets started with a guest driver from Fresno, California, Brian Terry, on the pole but a spin and a stalled car on the first lap brought out the red flag. Terry maintained the lead but Tony Johns was right behind and looking for an opening or a mistake but Vern Cornish pulled around the outside to move from third to first in one pass. Johns passed Terry but still was in second place. Terry spun and collected three others and brought out another red flag. At the count down restart Cornish again had the lead but Johns was close behind. A green white checkered finish then left Cornish as the winner with Kyle Burrill, Tony Johns, Chet Thorson, and Mike Davis in the top five.
In the trailer races Verlin Wright led the trailers to the green with his hot tub on behind his Cadillac Eldorado. After 15 laps of mayhem most of the trailers had fallen apart when Darrell Stogsdill took the checkered flag. But the race winner was decided by the fans for the most dramatic trailer pulling demolition. After it was all said and done the fans chose Travis Pavlacky and what was left of his trailer as the winner.
Next week the Late Models return along with the Non Winged Sprints, the Street Stocks, the Legends, the Bandoleros, and the Thunder Stocks. The gates open at 4 with the time trials at 5 and the racing at 6. Admission is $10 for adults, $4 for kids 6 to 12 while 5 and under are free. For more information log on to www.meridianspeedway.com or call the speedway office at 208-888-2813.
