MADERA, California — Close Battles Create Super Excitement on Super Saturday at Madera Speedway
The ultra-fast SMRA 410/360 Supermodifieds and USAC Western Sprints returned to the “Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West” on Saturday, August 15th for Super Saturday #5, presented by Inside Lines Apparel & Graphics and Action Equipment Rentals. USAC drivers, brothers Tanner and Kody Swanson, impressed the crowd with a close fought one-two finish, respectively, while Troy Reiger and A.J. Russell battled in tight traffic with Reiger eventually taking the checkers ahead of Russell to cap off the evening.
SMRA 410 driver A.J. Russell of Clovis took the lead on lap 10 of the 50 lap event but gave up the lead to Dinuba’s Troy Reiger on lap 41. Reiger currently sits first in the points standings with A.J. Russell in second place.
“It is not bad losing to Troy.” said Russell after the event, “Troy used a lot of traffic to get ahead of us and used a lot of traffic to keep us behind.”
Reiger has one win at Madera this season but his last showing at “the Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West” was fourth place.
“We’ve had to fight this car a little bit recently.” said Reiger, “If it wasn’t for my crew we wouldn’t have won this thing – this win is dedicated to my crew.”
Coming in third place was 410 driver Bryan Warf of Boise, ID. When the checkers flew Reiger, Russell and Warf were the only three cars of a total of 15 that were on the lead lap.
The SMRA 410s ran in a combined feature with Madera’s own 360 Modifieds in a format designed to produce large fields and exciting racing. The first three 360’s across the finish line were Sanger’s Willie Northammer, Kenny Kinchen of Bakersfield, and Madera’s Lance Tatro.
The first place 360 finish was Northammer’s first of the year.
The fans on hand at Madera that evening were also given a special treat, being able to watch Indy racing legend Davey Hamilton pilot a USAC Sprint car in the 50 lap Sprint event. Hamilton was runner up in the competitive IRL series twice and competed in the Indianapolis 500 this season, finishing 29th.
Hamilton finished eighth of 12 cars in the main event and second in his heat race.
Crossing the stripe in first and second place were brothers, Tanner and Kody Swanson, of Kingsburg.
Coming into the event, Tanner and Kody, the 18 and 21 year old sons of nine-time Madera track champion Mike Swanson, had dominated the USAC Western Sprint division this season with two victories each in six races.
Tanner took the lead on lap 17 and held on for the victory with brother Kody close behind.
“I was trying to use every trick in the book to keep Kody behind me.” said Tanner after the race.
“It’s pretty cool. We finished some races earlier in the year where we ran one and two but the problem was that Kody was always the lead car.” said Tanner.
“Both of us grew up together and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses so racing like this is pretty cool.” said Kody.
Tony Hunt, of Lincoln, finished in the third spot with Santa Rosa’s Brian McClish and Eric Humphries, of Chowchilla, rounding out the top five.
Tanner Swanson was doing double-duty on Saturday night, also piloting a USAC Ford Focus Midget. Swanson dominated the 25 lap Midget event, taking the lead on the first lap and never looking back.
Swanson did have to show off his restart skills after a late caution bunched up the field. In final laps, Swanson was heavily pressured by Madera’s Cody Gerhardt but was able survive the challenge. Gerhardt ran the quickest qualifying time earlier in the afternoon.
Ford Focus points leader Nic Romano, of Atherton, rounded out the top three USAC Ford Focus Midgets. Coming into the event, Romano held a 25 point lead over Gerhardt.
The Ford Focus Midgets drew a diverse field, with drivers coming from as far away as Billings, Montana and Claremont, New Hampshire. The Ford Focus series has seen four different winners in four races at Madera this season.
The Legends of the Pacific returned to the track for the fourth time this season, bringing an impressive line up of 16 little hot rods to the “Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West”.
After a deep inversion the two quickest qualifiers, Robby Czub, of Rockland, and Tahoe City’s Phillip Morrissey, quickly moved up to the front of the field and engaged in a battle in which Czub eventually got out ahead.
Several mid-race cautions kept the field tight, with Czub having to battle Tracy’s Jeremy Wood for the lead on the restarts. Wood was eventually involved in a three car incident on lap 27 that wrecked two of the four fastest Legends qualifiers, Wood and the #11 of Tahoe City’s Johnny Morrissey.
When the dust settled on the caution-filled race it was Czub taking the checkers followed by Phillip Morrissey and San Ramon’s Jessica Walker.
The NCMA Sprints started the show with a spectacular 30 lap main event. In qualifying, Modesto’s Jimmy Riddell set an NCMA Sprint qualifying record, getting around “the Fastest 1/3 Mile in the West” in 14.477 seconds.
After a full inversion, Riddell and second fastest qualifier, Napa’s David Goodwill, got to the front of the pack midway through the race and battled side-by-side throughout the final 15 laps. Goodwill eventually won the intense battle, notching his fourth win at Madera this season.
Like Tanner Swanson, Riddell was pulling double duty during the evening, also piloting a USAC Sprint car.
Rounding out the top three NCMA Sprints was Rob Hammond of Morgan Hill.
Next up at Madera Speedway on Saturday, August 29th, the Western Late Models return with a special 100 lap “Race for Autism” night featuring Whelen Night and the Hot Rods & Harleys Car and Bike show. Also on the ticket are the American Limited Stock Cars, Modified Super Toyotas, Hornets and the Toyota Sedans. For open wheel racing, the next Super Saturday event is scheduled for September 19th, 2009.
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.
