FANS APPRECIATE BIG WINS BY BELLETTO, THOMPSON AND WINTERS SATURDAY AT MADERA SPEEDWAY

The Madera Speedway returned to action in front of a packed grandstand with more than 3,000 patrons for "Fan Appreciation Night" on Saturday 13th. The special NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series program featured twin features for the Western Late Models and an open comp race for the Grand American Modifieds plus the American Limited Stock Cars, Toyota Sedans, Modified Super Toyotas, Hornets and Spectator Racing Series.

Rick Thompson, of Clovis, started on the pole of the first Western Late Model feature. He was flanked on the outside by 65-year-old Central Valley racing legend Harry Belletto, of Modesto.

When the green flag dropped Belletto jumped into the lead and said "adios amigos" as he checked out on the rest of the field. He crossed the finish line to the checkered flag 30 laps later with nearly a half a lap over Thompson and long tow visitor Gary Glenn, of Orangevale, in a race that ran caution free.

"We were happy to have things go our way tonight because they don’t always do that," said Belletto of his second win of the year. "We have had a couple of times lately where we were leading the race and something would happen to us, but it is all just part of racing."

In the second Western Late Model feature, which the fans voted to extend to 50 laps, Thompson again sat on the front row along with Modesto’s Carl Pierce, but this time Thompson would not be denied as he quickly jumped out into the lead.

On lap six, Pierce, Stockton’s Joey Stearns and Belletto tangled up, which resulted in Belletto and Stearns heading to the pits for repairs. Belletto would be forced to retire just a few laps later with front-end problems.

Thompson chose to restart the race from the outside position and it proved to be the correct call as he was able to hold off a very determined Trevor Schlundt, of Clovis, to maintain control of the top spot. Despite a couple of late race cautions in which he again started from the outside, Thompson would remain in the lead for the entire race to claim his first victory since winning the 2006 track championship.

"This feels great. I really hated to see those yellow flags, but luckily we were able to hold him (Schlundt) off. We were so fast in 2006 and we are finally getting back to it," said a very happy Thompson. "I have to thank my crew and especially my wife for always supporting me during the last 20 years."

Schlundt thrilled the near capacity crowd on several occasions as he slid his car sideways - dirt track style - in his attempts to gain ground on his competitors. Unfortunately, while fighting with Gary Glenn for second late in the race, the two made contact causing Schlundt to fall to fifth in the final order. Glenn held on for second, San Jose’s Dave Byrd took third and Stearns worked his way back to salvage fourth.

"I like Madera. It is really competitive here and I enjoyed it. This is only my second time here in a late model although I used to race a Modified here in 2001," said Glenn, a regular at Roseville’s All-American Speedway. "The thing with Schlundt was just one of those deals. We were both touching and heck, rubbing is racing."

Stearns entered the night with a 17-point edge on Modesto’s Jeff Belletto in the 2008 standings. Although his fifth and fourth place finishes earned him two additional points on Belletto, who finished fourth and sixth in the two races, he struggled in qualifying and as a result left the track clinging to a razor thin 11 point (1008 - 997) advantage over Belletto with two races remaining.

The popular Grand American Modifieds made their third and final appearance of the season at the "Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West" and just as he did back on August 9th when he swept a pair of 50-lap features, Tracy’s Scott Winters once again dominated the show.

Starting Saturday’s 50-lap main from the fourth position, Winters diligently worked his way to the front, taking the lead from trophy dash winner Paul Henry, of Big Oak Flat, with a move to the outside on lap 10. The former two-time Madera Grand Am champion would never look back as he cruised to the victory ahead of Suisun City’s Jeremy Grasty and Ripon’s Mike Regelman.

"Madera has got to be my favorite track. I just love racing here, it is a fantastic facility," said Winters. "It all starts with the crew and preparing a perfect car and that is exactly what I had tonight."

Division points leader Howard Holden, of Clovis, posted an exciting win in the 35-lap the American Limited Stock Car (ALSC) main, becoming the first driver to earn a repeat visit to victory lane over the last eight races in the ultra competitive class.

Holden was able to wrestle the lead from Modesto’s Dennis Saunders Jr. when the pair simultaneously split high and low to get around a backmarker on lap 12. Atwater’s Jason Aguirre was also able to get past Saunders and just hold him off at the finish even though his car began to smoke badly from the rear on the last lap due to a loose seal.

"Dennis has been one heck of a competitor all year. I knew when we went three wide that could be my only shot to get him. I really didn’t think it was going to happen, but I was able to pull it off," explained Holden, who parked his car against the front wall and put on his own smoke show in celebration for the crowd.

Another pair of division points leaders also extended their leads as 2007 defending season champion Stan Hankins, of Fresno, in the Toyota Sedans and Madera’s Randy Fleming Jr. in the Modified Super Toyotas posted impressive wins in their respective classes.

Starting from the fourth position in the 11-car field, Hankins blasted past Fresno’s Steve Trusner on lap six to assume the race lead. Trusner would not go down without a fight as he clung to Hankin’s bumper for the rest of the race. Trusner’s efforts would ultimately prove futile however, as he was forced to settle for a second place finish ahead of Stockton’s John McCollum Sr.

"That was a fun race. He (Trusner) gave me all I could handle," said Hankins, who now has seven wins this season. "I have been out here for six years and this season has been the most fun of them all."

After posting six consecutive wins earlier this season, Fleming has been frustrated recently by mechanical failures and a couple of controversial finishes involving contact with other cars that earned him the wrath of race officials. Fleming had no such problems on Saturday as he cruised to an uneventful win over Chowchilla’s John Bowersox and Oakdale’s Casey Nydal to finally earn that elusive seventh victory this season.

"It feels really good to be back in the front tonight," commented Fleming. "And no problems tonight either. Nobody touched each other and we were able to put on a good show for all the fans."

The always exciting Hornet class had the fans cheering wildly as Ripon’s Dan Miller attempted to take his first career checkers. Miller took the early race lead from polesitter

David Baughman, of Stockton, on the opening lap and soon became engaged in a dogfight for the top spot with runaway season points leader Miles Humphreys, the 68-year-old racing great grandpa out of Clovis.

Miller looked as though he would pull off the upset until Humphreys got underneath him in turn four of the final lap and slammed into the right side of Miller’s car, forcing him to slow to avoid contact with the concrete wall. The hit also slowed down Humphreys just enough to allow 17-year-old Justin Petz, who had been patiently sitting behind the pair, to slip underneath him and take the first win of his young career.

"I didn’t think I would catch them. I am speechless," said an excited Petz. "I saw them bang and I thought ‘Hey, here is my chance’ so I went for it and made it."

After the race, Miller gave Humphreys a good natured bump into the back of his car as they pulled onto the front straight for the trophy presentations.

"I was so busy working on Miller I had no idea where Petz even came from," laughed Humphreys afterward. "Miller had a fast car and you get somebody like him who is not afraid to get on the gas they are hard to beat."

Next weekend Madera Speedway will welcome the coming of autumn with the two-night Harvest Classic. On Friday September 19th the American Limited Stock Cars, Modified Super Toyotas, Hornets and Spectator Racing Series will be racing. The Harvest Classic will then conclude on Saturday September 20th with the final Super Saturday Event of the season featuring the 410 and 360 Super Modifieds, plus the BCRA Midgets, Legends of the Pacific, Western Late Models and Spectator Racing Series.

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.