TANNER SWANSON, NIC ROMANO AND SAM SOLARI CAPTURE 2009 SEASON FINALE VICTORIES AT MADERA SPEEDWAY

On Saturday, October 24th Madera Speedway closed out a fantastic 2009 racing schedule with the 3rd Annual Pumpkin Smash Halloween Crash, Bash and Blow Up! The 'spook'tacular program included the United States Auto Club (USAC) Western Sprint Cars and USAC Focus Midgets plus a 100-lap Open Comp race for the American Limited Stock Cars (ALSC), a 200-lap Enduro, a Demolition Derby, the Drag Boat Nationals and a dazzling end of the season FIREWORKS show!

The USAC Sprints have already produced some of the most exciting shows of the season at Madera. The Sprints are powered by 360 cubic inch, V-8s that are capable of producing an amazing 750 horsepower and are capable of reaching speeds in excess of 130 mph! They have been the breeding ground for many of the biggest stars in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series including four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, two-time champion Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, J. J. Yeley and Ryan Newman.

Indy Car veteran Davey Hamilton of Indianapolis, IN, held the pole and the early lead in the 50-lap USAC Sprint feature with Alamo’s Scott Pierovich and Kingsburg brother Tanner and Kody Swanson giving chase. The foursome broke away from the rest of the 15-car field and battled for the lead in a tightly bunched pack for several laps before 19 year old Tanner Swanson swooped past Hamilton and his brother Kody for the lead on lap 19.

Once out in front, Tanner slowly built his lead until a yellow caution regrouped the field for a restart on lap 28. It hardly mattered as Tanner once again grabbed the lead from his brother and rolled to a 10-car length victory. Five time USAC champion Tony Hunt of Lincoln finished in third while Fresno’s Audra Sasselli and Pierovich rounded out the top five.

"Davey had Kody pinned to the bottom and I was able to get by both of them. I guess we all get lucky sometimes," said Tanner, who extended his season points lead in the UASAC standings over sixth place finisher JoJo Helberg of Rohnert Park. "I was real happy until that yellow flag came out and I saw Kody would be starting right behind me. It is great to finish one-two with your brother though."

It was the eighth USAC Western Sprint or Midget division victory in ten starts this season

at Madera posted by the Swanson brothers.

"I taught my little brother everything he knows and now he uses it to beat me," laughed Kody as he congratulated his brother in victory lane.

Manteca’s Marcos McGeorge and Sasselli were Sprint heat winners while Hunt earned quick time for the night in qualifying.

Shawn Buckley of Simi Valley started on the pole of the USAC Ford Focus Midget main, but Mindy McCord, a long tow out of Billings, MT, jumped into the lead when the green flag flew to start the race. A caution on lap 6 brought the field back together for a restart and Atherton’s Nic Romano made to most of it by getting the jump on McCord for the lead.

Romano stayed in the top spot for the remainder of the 30-lap race for the victory over Keegan Walmer of Portland, OR and Zack Stout of Vista. USAC division points leader

Cody Gerhardt of Madera finished fifth, behind McCord after smacking the wall in qualifying and taking over his teammate Michael Lewis’ car for the heat and main.

"The car was really good for the first half of the race. It was a rocketship with a ton of grip in the corners, but it started getting loose near the end and I had my hands full," explained Romano in victory lane. "I was really worried about Keegan near the end, but it turned out ok."

Sammy "Slammin" Solari of Salida started the 100-lap Open Comp race for the American Limited Stock Cars from the eighth position in the 11-car field, but it didn’t take the veteran pilot long to get to the front. Solari quickly picked off the leaders one by one and took over the top spot on lap 6 as Lake Don Pedro’s Matt Erickson, newly crowned 2009 ALSC division champion Jason Aguirre of Atwater and 2008 champion Howard Holden of Clovis all gave chase.

Despite a few caution flags and mandatory stop at mid race, none of his challengers were ever able to make a serious run at Solari as he cruised to the victory well ahead of Erickson and Holden.

"I knew Matt was there, but I didn’t let it get into my head. I didn’t want to show him what we had unless I needed to," said Solari, who set fast time in qualifying. "I would really like to thank my crew. I couldn’t do it without them."

There were thrills and spills galore as a 22-car Enduro field attempted to navigate the 1/3 mile oval, which will be wet down, soaped up and smashed with pumpkins before hand to make it even more treacherous, for a total of 200 laps - 100 in each direction.

Linden’s David Pabst once showed his prowess under adverse conditions by driving to his seventh straight Enduro win at Madera. Pabst passed Robert Kieffer on lap 13 of the opening stint and amassed a four-lap lead by the lap 100 halfway break.

While the Enduro teams tended to their cars, the front straightaway was temporarily cordoned off for a rock‘em, sock‘em Destruction Derby. The 11-car field provided fans with plenty of close up, bone jarring hits as Kenneth Chivers of San Jose survived the carnage to take the win over his brother Ryan Chivers.

Following the Demolition Derby and prior to the conclusion of the Enduro, the track lights will be turned off for a huge fireworks extravaganza to celebrate a great 2009 season at Madera Speedway.

Pabst continued his domination of the Enduro as 17 cars made it back to the track for the final 100-lap leg. He cruised across the finish line with a six lap lead over runner up Loren Chitwood. Chris Lancaster, Bruce Nelson and Randy Gens completed the top five of the 12 cars still in action at the checkered flag.

"Everything went great. We are going for a sweep tonight," said Pabst, as he prepared for the Drag Boat race that followed the Enduro.

The Drag Boat race is s a unique event where drivers tether a row boat to the back of their race car and see how far they can get before it is destroyed or torn loose by another competitor. The event was scheduled for 50 laps or until only one boat remains attached to a car.

The event only lasted five laps as Jacob Morgenstern survived with boat in tow to beat out Russ Johnson and David Pabst.

Although 2009 racing is now in the books at Madera, don’t forget to circle Friday, November 20th on your racing calendars for the Madera and Chowchilla Speedway 2009 Awards Banquet at Hatfield Hall located on the Madera Fairgrounds right next to the track.

The banquet will kick off with a no host happy hour beginning at 6:00 PM, a buffet dinner with dessert provided by Gus’s Food Locker will be served at 7:00 PM and the awards ceremony will start at 8:00 PM. A raffle for the Valley Children’s Hospital and DJ/Dancing and Karaoke contest will follow the awards presentations.

Everyone is welcome to this special event including drivers, team members, track officials, media, sponsors and fans. The cost is only $40 per person.

For more banquet information email ppatnaude@racemadera.com or call (209) 983-1689.

You can also find banquet reservation event entry forms on the Madera Speedway website at www.racemadera.com. Banquet reservation can be faxed to (209) 983-0967.

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.