MERIDIAN, Idaho — While some first-time winners were crowned Saturday night at ASA-sanctioned Meridian Speedway, other racers found familiar territory in the winners circle in front of another packed house.
The most exciting finish of the night came in the Legends class as series leader Travis Anderson of Boise, Idaho, made a pass on Brandon Frasier of Nampa, Idaho, on the second-to-last turn of the 30-lap main event. It was Anderson's second consecutive feature victory.
"We put in a lot of time and effort in chassis tuning and anything to go faster," Anderson said in a post-race interview.
Frasier got loose coming out of Turn 4 in a last-ditch effort to recapture the lead he had owned for most of the race. He regained control of his car and held on for second.
Other main event winners included Kuna, Idaho's Jaramie Fuss in Street Stocks; Boise's Tim Elam (first main) and Shelby Stroebel (second main) in ASA Modifieds; Travis Milburn of Eagle, Idaho, in the Pepsi Late Models; Nampa, Idaho's Travis Milburn in the Pepsi Late Models; and fellow Nampan Vern Cornish in the Hornets.
Fuss took advantage of the double-file restart, sneaking up next to race leader Steve Bosselman after second-place racer David Short of Meridian was sent to the back after spinning and getting crunched by the lapped car of Daniel Field on Lap 20 of the 35-lap event.
Bosselman and Fuss raced side-by-side for two laps before Fuss surged ahead at the start-finish line and eventually built a five-second lead.
Fuss' performance kept him at the top of the points standings.
In the second ASA Modifieds main event of the night, Stroebel withstood two late caution flags and a challenge from Star, Idaho's Tony Ackerland to win a 40-lap main event to cap the evening.
"Feels good. We had a little bit of a drop-off this year, but tonight we got through unscathed," Stroebel said before giving a thumbs-up to the front-stretch crowd.
Stroebel passed early race leader Rod Cummings coming out of Turn 2 on Lap 27 and then ran away from the field until Nampa's Dylan Caldwell wound up in the Turn 1 wall on Lap 33 to bring out a yellow flag.
Stroebel and Rick Fowble of Twin Falls, Idaho, were side-by-side for the restart, but Ackerland lurked behind Fowble.
Moments later, first main winner Elam and Chris Fenton of Meridian were among cars that got off-course for another yellow. Fenton's car caught on fire briefly.
Ackerland chose to restart directly behind Stroebel, but when the green flag fell he couldn't catch him over the final six laps.
The modifieds ran a double feature to help drivers qualify for the Joe Gibbs Driven American Speed Association Member Track National Track Championship.
Only four cars finished the 35-lap Pepsi Late Models main event with Milburn collecting his first main event championship trophy of the season. Six cars started the feature, but Nampa's Dan Lowther and Craig Doehling of Boise got together in the middle of Turn 1-2 moments after the green flag dropped. Both cars were knocked out of commission. A third car was lost before the night even started when Tyler Monroe of Star, Idaho, was sidelined after the rear end in his race car broke during practice.
The Hornets drivers began their 30-lap main event under a 50/50 grand prix format in which half the field was placed on the front stretch and half on the back stretch for a standing start. Each wreck in the race resulted in a red flag stoppage -- four in all -- and Cornish won the race after working his way into the lead by Lap 19.
Meridian Speedway takes a week off next Saturday before returning Aug. 8 for another visit from the Intermountain Vintage Sprintcars.
Visit Meridian Speedway online at www.meridianspeedway.com or call (208) 888-2813 for track information.
As an American Speed Association-sanctioned track, Meridian Speedway is part of the ASA Member Track National Championship for the Modified division.
The goal of the ASA Short Track National Championship is to activate a measuring system that takes into account many variables, such as field size, inversion, wins and number of races in a season, and create a level playing field to determine who is the ‘best-of-the-best’ of the ASA Member Track Champions Nationwide.
The ASA Joe Gibbs Driven National Member Track Champion Award was designed to give the National Champion exposure with one of the top teams in racing — Joe Gibbs Racing. Joe Gibbs Driven Oil, a division of Joe Gibbs Racing, sells the actual oil products developed and used by Joe Gibbs Racing to racers at all levels. More information can be found at www.joegibbsdriven.com.
The ASA Member Track program is comprised of a network of short tracks around the United States, as well as a variety of regional and national touring series. For news and information from all the racetracks and tours involved in the American Speed Association, visit www.ASA-Racing.com.
| Late Models |
|---|
| Main event (30 laps) -- 1. Travis Milburn, Eagle, Idaho; 2. Dan Buckley; 3. Phillip Zubizareta, Boise, Idaho; 4. Dennis Wurtz, Kuna, Idaho Fast time -- Milburn, 14.311 seconds |
| ASA Modifieds |
| Main No. 1 (30 laps) -- 1. Tim Elam, Boise; 2. Chris Fenton, Meridian, Idaho; 3. Rick Fowble, Twin Falls, Idaho; 4. Brian Terry, Fresno, Calif.; 5. Jeff Hill, Meridian Main No. 2 (40 laps) -- 1. Shelby Stroebel; 2. Tony Ackerland, Star, Idaho; 3. Charlie Ham Jr., Boise; 4. Rod Cummings; 5. Travis Milburn, Eagle, Idaho Fast time -- Tom Hill, Eagle, 14.458 |
| Street Stocks |
| Main (35 laps) -- 1. Jaramie Fuss, Kuna; 2. Steve Bosselman, Nyssa, Ore.; 3. Melissa Scott, Nampa; 4. Chad Bess, Nampa; 5. Marv Weaver, Nampa Fast time -- Fuss, 15.394 |
| Legends |
| Main (30 laps) -- 1. Travis Anderson, Boise; 2. Brandon Frasier, Nampa; 3. Cameron Cotta, Meridian; 4. Ron Hayes, Boise; 5. Camron Madsen, Boise Fast time -- Anderson, 15.412 |
| Hornets |
| Main (30 laps) -- 1. Vern Cornish, Nampa; 2. Travis Pavlacky; 3. Art Heath, Nampa; 4. Chris Carlson, Boise; 5. Larry Hull Fast time -- Pavlacky and Cornish, 17.707 |
